happening across america that he does not rest the real consequences of his failures? the answer is easy. the answer is yes. compelling personality and appealed to many americans. although the reality has failed the hope and change that he promised, he runs with true believers who attack anyone who challenges the power. each day they will fight more fiercely to hold on to the power. that is all to be expected. let go easily. the white house has lost touch with the american people. well. we should also remember that candidate obama pledged that he wanted to transform the nation.

unfortunately, that is exactly what he has been doing. this is one more reason i believe the election is so critical. the choice before us could not be more clear or profound. barack obama and i have of america. he has spent the last three or four years laying the foundation for a new government- centered society. i will spend the next four years rebuilding the foundation of our opportunity society, led by three people and free enterprises. part of a pattern for work as a community organizer motivated him to help communities that had beenhis desire to help others could not be more admirable, but it is clear that he saw free not

the solution. the only real solution to helping communities devastated by lost jobs is more jobs. president obama never seems to that a plant closes the way business starts to lose money. businesses for making money, when his policies make it more difficult for businesses to make money, he is attacking the very help. that is how it works in america. at least how it works america is working. under president obama, america has not been working. the ironic tragedy is that the community organizer that wanted to help the people who were hurt by a plant closing became the president on watch for the most closings since the great depression.

instead of doing it impossible to promote and create jobs and get us out of this crisis, barack obama has -- has promoted the power of government. the results have beenbut he has transformed us, as he likes to say. closer to his vision of a of government-centered society. in barack obama's society, the government must do more, because less. then the debate becomes about how much to extend unemployment insurance. because you are guaranteeing that there will be more than -- there will be millions more employer -- unemployed. tax rates are bestowed not to make us more productive or build a stronger economy, but to correct.

of course, because business is inherently suspect, government must oversee and direct business decision making. patin his government-centered society, barack obama's tax increases become a necessity and a desire tool for social justice. in a world of shrinking means, there is a finite amount of money. as someone famously said, use the taxes to spread the wealth around. i am barack obama government- spending will always increase. because there is no reason for it not to. entitled to something more and will vote for anyone who promises them something more. society, government dispenses the benefits, are those with a

cannot take, consuming a greater and greater share of the total economy. think about these numbers. today, government at all levels consumes 38% of the total economy, or gdp. if obama-care is allowed to stand, government would directly control almost half of the u.s. economy. then, through increasing controls the government has imposed on industries like energy, financial-services, and automobiles, it will directly or indirectly control well over half of the u.s. economy. so, you have got to ask yourself, will we still be a free enterprise nation? will we still have economic freedom? america is on the cusp of

having a government-run economy. president obama is transforming america into something very different than the land of the free and land of opportunity. and we know where that transformation leads. other nations have followed that path. it leads to chronicand i will get that job done. [applause] freedom and opportunity have made america the most powerful economy in the world. let me say that again. what made us powerful?

freedom and opportunity. those are the foundations of a nation that has full employment. that has rising wages. that is fiscally stable. the best thing that we can do for the economic well-being of our people is not to grow government. opportunity. it is opportunity that has always driven america. it has a fine dust, as americans. my father -- actually, my grandfather was the first in construction in my family. himself. but he held to commit -- convince my father that he could accomplish anything he set his mind to. by father had no chance to go to college, but he was an apprentice. based on his excellent training, he went on to run and turnaround a great car company.

of michigan. my father made the most of the opportunities that came before him. by the time i came along, fourth out of four kids, i had the chance to get the education my father could not. i love cars and was tempted to stay in michigan and go into the car business, like he had. but i would always wonder if my success was due to my father. when i got out of business school, after staying in massachusetts i got an entry- level job the best company that would hire me. most importantly, i was married and on the way to having five sons. for the last 25 years, my business career has had ups and downs, with great successes and definite failures, but each step of the way i learn more about the transforming power of the american free enterprise system. i am not so naive to believe

that free enterprise is the solution to all our problems. but i am also not leave enough to doubt that it is one of the greatest forces of good and this world has ever known. free enterprise has done more to lift people out of poverty, to help to build a strong middle- class, to help to educate our children and make our lives better, than all of the [applause] if we become one of those societies that attacks success, one outcome is certain. that is not who we are. the promise of america has always been that if you work

hard and were willing to take some risks, there was an opportunity to build a better life for you, your family, and the next generation. it is not the role of government achieve success. this nation was founded on the principle that we have a god- given right to pursue happiness. the pursuit is guaranteed. not the result. it is the opportunity that is guaranteed, not the outcome. we are an opportunity nation. women, pursuing happiness in their own unique ways have made as we look to the future i am confident that the principles that created our strength of the very principles that will preserve it. smaller. placed on its power. obama care violates those principles. as president, i will repeal it. haveand [applause]

taxes should be as low as possible, in line with those of competing nations, designed to foster innovation and growth. i will cut marginal tax rates redwood across the board for all americans. regulation -- a [applause] sometimes people get confused about this one, but regulations are necessary. but they have to be continuously updated, streamlined, and modernized. regulators should see that part of their job is protecting economic freedom and promoting enterprise, fostering job creation. workers should also have the should not be forced on them. union should not have the power to take money out of their members paychecks to buy the by

union bosses. [applause] in short, government must make america the best place in the world for innovators, small business, big business, the job creators of all kinds. business is not the enemy. it is a friend of jobs and rising wages. the friend of revenues the government needs to care for -- government needs to pay for national defense. they often said they want a strong economy, but they do not like business very much. but the economy is just a product of all the nation's businesses added together.

it is like saying that you love higher on let's -- omelettes, but you do not like eggs. reducing poverty, building a strong nation, you need successful businesses of every kind imaginable. attacking successful businesses of every kind imaginable. apple, microsoft, they were not neither were general motors or alcoa. nor were companies like i started, like staples or the sports authority. have great ideas and ambitions and they became great commercial ventures and successes. which is just a way of saying they help people buy homes, go to school, retire, start other businesses. whowe have always been a

country dreams -- or one dream with success and an idea creates of other dreams and successful ideas. by the way, if those dreamers be encouraged to dream as well. we have to understand that today much of the world is hungry for big dreamers with big ideas. america has to fight to grow them. to attract them from other lands as well. my father used to have a favorite saying. prepared ornothing is as vulnerable as entrenched success. nothing is as vulnerable as entrenched success. today, because america has been so successful for so long, we

new competition, to massive substitute more government power for more freedom. we made some bad choices. we have ignored many of the mounting threats. if the hill is a little steeper nation of stepping big. country. from student unions to kitchen byrd proved hoover and board rooms. i have heard frustration and anger, but rarely hopelessness. not thought about giving up on ourselves, on themselves, on each other, on america. we have a sacred duty to restoreand we will do it. his formerthis tuesday, i want the people of wisconsin to join me in the next step towards that of people destination, november 6, when across america

we can give a sigh of relief and know that the promise of america has been kept. the dreamers can dream bigger. the help wanted signs can be dusted off and we can startthis time, we will get it right. we will stop the days of apologizing for success at home and never again apologize for america abroad. have[applause] together, we will build the greatest america we have known. where prosperity is known and shared, not limited and divided. and herand america the guarantees thatthere was a time not long ago when we could walk caller and stand straighter,

because we had a gift that no one else in the world shared. we were americans. something special to all of us. those days are coming back. that is our destiny. join me. what together this tuesday. take another step. we believe in america. we believe in ourselves, our greatest days are still ahead of us. we are, after all, americans. god bless you. thank you so much. [applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national i ♪

-- [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] ♪

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-[inaudible conversations]

>> mitt romney% borat is keen or to are taking today in. -- mitt romney, rick santorum, newt gingrich are speaking today in wisconsin. coverage begins at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. now, president obama at a fund- raiser at the university of vermont in burlington, vermont. talks about his accomplishments during his first term and his plans for the second. he made four campaign stops. two in vermont, two in maine. this is 35 minutes.

[applause] >> hello, vermont. [applause] hello. thank you. thank you. thank you. oh, this is a good crowd here in vermont. [applause] it is good to be at uvm. [applause] it is good to be in vermont.

[applause] tes, out of all 50 sta vermont has on the longest without a presidential visit. [applause] the last time a president stopped by was president clinton in 1995. we decided that today, we will reset the clock. [applause] give a big round of applause for the introduction. [applause] youa f-bat one of the best governors in the country -- you have one of the best governors in the country. when flooding came and disaster struck, he was here.

every single day, working on your behalf. we could not be more proud of him. [applause] uva two outstanding senators. -- you have two outstanding senators. [applause] you have got an outstanding mayor. [applause] give that up for the nocturnal s.iri ands [applause] i want to thank the entire house committee for helping to organize this event. -- host committee for helping to organize this event. i want to express my condolences and to everybody who knew and loved melissa jenkins.

i know some of you are going on to the funeral. this is a woman who devoted her life to our community into shape young minds. vermont is heartbroken. we can look after her students and her son. michaud and i want to express our pairs -- michele and i want to express our prayers. [applause] now, i am here -- [applause]

you know, maybe i should quit while i'm ahead. [applause] media, i will take off my jacket. i am here not just because i need your help. i am here because the country need your help. no, there are a lot of reasons that you have worked your hearts out for your campaign in 2008. it was not because it was like to be easy. it was that because it was a short thing. when you decide to support a candidate named buraku st. obama, that is not a guarantee. -- barack hussein obama, that is not a guarantee. heavy sweating there. he did not during the campaign because of me.

he joined it because -- you join it because we had a shared vision for america. it was not a vision where everybody is left to fend for themselves. it was not a vision where the rules are made just for the powerful. it was a vision of an america where everybody who works hard has a chance to get ahead. [applause] everybody. that is the vision that we share. that is the change we believe in. we know it to -- we knew it would not come easy or quickly. we had confidence and faith in each other. we believe that when americans make commitments to each other about a bold, generous vision for the country, we can achieve

it. there is no challenge we cannot overcome. and, here is what i want to report. in three years, because of what some many of you did in 2008, we have begun to see what change looks like. [applause] we have got to see what change looks like. change is the first bill i signed into law. one that says women deserve an equal day's pay for equal day's work. [applause] our daughters are treated just like our sons. [applause] changes the decision we made to rescue an auto industry on the verge of collapse even when some said butts let it go bankrupt. -- said let us let it go bankrupt.

>> gm created 200,000 new jobs. the american auto industry is back and it is making cars that are more fuel-efficient and that is helping the environment, even as we are putting people to work. [cheers and applause] change is a decision we made it to stop waiting for congress to do something about our oil addiction. we raise our fuel efficiency standard and by the middle of next year come out -- the next decade, we will be driving american cars with 55 miles a gallon. [applause] this will save the family more than a thousand dollars at the pump. that is what change is. change is a fight we want to stop handing $60 billion in taxpayer giveaways to the banks

who are processing student loans. we decided to give the student loans to students. [applause] this means we can make college more affordable for young people who need it. [applause] that is what change is. that happened because of you. [applause] yes, change is the health care reform that we passed after over a century of trying. [applause] reform that will finally insure that in the united states of america, no one will go broke because they get sick. already, already, 2.5 million young people now have health insurance who did not have it before because this law let them stay on their parents' plan. [applause] already, millions of seniors

are paying less for their prescription drugs because of this law. already, americans cannot be denied or dropped by their insurance companies when they need care the most. [applause] already, they're getting preventive care they did not have before. that is happening right now. [applause] change is the fact that for the first time in history, you do not have to hide who you love in order to serve the country you love because we ended do not ask, do not tell. [cheers and applause] change is the fact that for the first time in nine years, there

are no americans fighting in iraq. [cheers and applause] we refocus our efforts on terrorists to actually attack us on 9/11 and thanks to the great men and women in uniform, al qaeda is weaker and osama bin laden is no more. we have a transition in afghanistan to put them in the week and start bringing our troops home from afghanistan. that is what changes. [cheers and applause] -- that is what change is. [cheers and applause] none of this has been easy. we have had a little bit of resistance from the other side. [laughter] we have got more work to do. there are still to many americans who are looking for work. there are still too many families who can barely afford to pay the bills or make the mortgage.

we are still recovering from the worst economic storm in generations. i love you, back. [laughter] [cheers and applause] but, over the past two years, over the past two years, businesses have added 4 million new jobs. [cheers and applause]. our manufacturers claim -- our manufacturers are creating jobs for the first time since the nineties. our economy is getting stronger. the recovery is accelerating. all of this means the last thing we can afford to do is to go back to the same policies that got us into this miss in the first place. [cheers and applause] that is what the other side wants to do. they make no secret about it. they want to go back to the days where wall street plays by

its own rules. they want to go back to the day when insurance companies can do whatever they want. they want to go back to the day when -- continue to spend trillions of dollars on tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals in america, even if it means adding to the deficit or cutting education or gutting investment between energy -- for clean energy. their philosophy is simple. you are on your own. you are on your own. if you are out of work, tough luck. you are on your own. if you do not have health care, that is your problem. you are on your own. if you are born into poverty, lift yourself up with your own bootstraps, even if you do not have boots. you are on your own. they believe that that is how america -- they believe that is how america has advanced. that is the conception they have of liberty.

they are wrong. [cheers and applause] they're wrong. in the united states of america, we are greater together than we are on our own. [cheers and applause] this country advances when we keep that basic american promise. if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family. on a home. send your kids to college. put away for retirement. it does not matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like. that is what has created this extraordinary country of ours. [cheers and applause] that is what we are fighting for. that is the choice in this election. this is not just your usual run-of-the-mill political

debate. this is the defining issue of our time. a make or break a moment for the middle class. that is what we have to fight for. [cheers and applause] we can go back to an economy that was built on outsourcing and bad debt and phony financial problems -- profits, or we can build an economy that is built to last. an economy that is built on american manufacturing. american innovation. american energy. american workers who are skilled. at the values that make this country great -- hard work and shared responsibility. that is the vision i believe in. [cheers and applause] that is what i am fighting for. we have got to make sure that the next generation of

manufacturers take root in factories in detroit and pittsburgh and cleveland. i do not want this nation to be known for buying and consuming things. i want is to build and sell things all around the world. [cheers and applause] i want us to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, record companies that are investing right here in the u.s. [cheers and applause] i want to make our schools the envy of the world. [cheers and applause] that starts with the man or woman at the front of the classroom. [cheers and applause]. a good teacher can increase the lifetime earning of a classroom by over $250,000. and a great teacher can help a child trapped in poverty dream

and then live beyond their circumstances. i do not want people in washington to be bashing teachers. i do not want them to defend the status quo. i want us to give schools the resources they need to hire good teachers. [cheers and applause] reward great teachers. i want us to grant schools flexibility to teach with creativity and passion and stop teaching for the test. i want to replace teachers who are not helping kids learn. that is what i want to see happen. [cheers and applause] when kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. when americans owe more tuition

debt than they do credit card debt, you know we have a problem. the first thing we have to do is congress has to stop interest rates that are currently scheduled -- this is a huge problem for a lot of people. i a party as congress to do it. they have not done its. they have not done it so far. colleges and universities have to do their part to keep tuition from going up. [cheers and applause] higher education cannot be a luxury. it is an imperative that every family in america should be able to afford. [cheers and applause] an economy built to last is one that supports scientists and researchers and science. and whether we're talking about stem cell or climate change, we do not need science deniers.

we need people to understand that america is always succeeding because of our belief in science. [cheers and applause] our investment in research. we have to make sure the next great breakthrough in clean energy happens here in the united states of america. [cheers and applause] we have been subsidizing oil companies for 100 years now. through taxpayer giveaways. i think -- i just talked about this yesterday. it is time to stop taxpayer giveaways to an oil industry that has been rarely more profitable. let us double down on clean energy that has never been more promising. [cheers and applause]

that is what we need to be investing in. we have got to rebuild america. our businesses and our people -- want them to have access to the best things. the faster high speed internet access. it is time for us to take the money we were spending at war, use half of it to pay down the debt and use the rest of it to start doing some nation-building right here at home. [cheers and applause] and we have to make sure that we have a tax system that is actually fair. [cheers and applause]

part of that is something i call the buffett rule. very similar. re-. -- very simple. if you're making more than a million dollars a year, you should not pay a lower rate than your secretary. [cheers and applause] that is a simple proposition. now, if you make less than $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of all families, your taxes should not go up because right now, folks are struggling to dig themselves out of this incredible recession. if you are making more than $1 million per year, you can do it. this is not class warfare. this is basic math. [cheers and applause] that is what this is.

look, if somebody like me gets a tax break that they do not need, and that the country cannot afford, then one of two things will happen. one, it adds to the deficit. or, we are taking something away from somebody else. the student has to pay a higher interest rate on their student loans because we have to make up the money somewhere. or that senior has to start paying more for medicare. the money has to be made up somewhere. or that veteran does not get the ptsd they need after serving the country. or a family that is struggling to get by is getting less home assistance. there is no way of getting around that. i there folks like me are doing more -- either folks like me are

doing more or somebody who cannot afford it is getting less. that is not right. that is not who we are. [cheers and applause] that is not what america is about. [cheers and applause] i hear politicians talking about values in an election year. i hear a lot about that. let me tell you about values. hard work. personal responsibility. those are values. looking out for one another, that is of value. [cheers and applause] the idea we are all in this together. i my brother's keeper. i and my sister's keeper. that is a value. -- i am my sister's keeper. that is a value. the idea that we think about the next generation and we are taking care of our planet. that is a value. [cheers and applause] each of us is only here because

somebody somewhere felt a responsibility to their families and to their fellow citizens. to our countries future. -- our country's future. the american story is not just about what we do our own. we are individualist and we expect personal responsibility and everyone has to work hard. but, we also have always understood that we would not win the race for new jobs and businesses and middle-class security if we were just applying some you are on your own economics. it has been tried it has not worked. it did not work when we tried it in a decade before the great depression. it did not work when we tried it in the last decade.

we just tried this. what they are peddling has been tried. it did not work. [cheers and applause] we know this from our own lives. if we attract some outstanding in person to become a teacher -- young person to be a teacher by giving them what they deserve and that teacher educates the next steve jobs, we all benefit. we all do better. america rises. if we are providing faster internet to rural america so that some small business owner, someone can sell his or her goods around the world. that is good for all of us. if we build a new bridge that saves the shipping company time

and money, everybody benefits. we do better. that is america became an economic superpower. this is not traditionally -- this has not been a democratic or republican idea. it was a republican, teddy roosevelt, who called for progressive income tax. it was light as an hour who build the interstate highway system. -- like eisenhower who builds the interstate system. it was president lincoln, who could not win the nomination for the primary right now -- [laughter] [cheers and applause] you know, in the middle of the civil war, he helped make the

transcontinental railroad possible and the national academy of sciences. he understood that we are in this together. we have to make and has been in our futures. it was with the help that fdr gave heroes, including my grandfather, the chance to go to college through the gi bill. [cheers and applause] that same spirit of common purpose still exists today. out here in vermont, and all across america, it is there. [cheers and applause] is there when you talk to folks on main street and when you talk to members of our armed forces. is there when you talk to people in their places of worship. our politics may be divided, but

most americans will understand that no matter where you come from and who you are, we rise and fall together as one nation. [cheers and applause] as one people. that is what is at stake right now. [cheers and applause] that is what this election is about. so, i know we have gone through some tough years. i know that for all the things we have done, we have still got some much undone. sometimes the change we thought for does not come as fast as we want it. when you see what has been going on in washington, i know it is tempting to get discouraged. to kind of think maybe change is not possible. maybe it was an illusion. i want you people to recall, i did say that in 2008, real

change is hard. it takes time. it takes more than one single term. more than a single president. what it takes is ordinary citizens who are committed to keep fighting in to keep pushing and inching us closer and closer to our country's highest ideals. [cheers and applause] you know something else i used to sit back and 2008? i said i am not a perfect man. michaud will tell you that. -- michele will tell you that. [laughter] i will never be perfect president. i made a promise to you then. i will always tell you what i believe and i will always tell you where i stand and i will always wake up every single day, fighting as hard as i know how for you. i have kept that promise. [cheers and applause] i have kept that promise.

i have kept that promise. if you're willing to keep going with me throughout the obstacles, through all the naysayers, if you're willing to keep reaching for that addition of america, -- that vision of america, the commitment you made -- we made to each other, i guarantee you, change will come. [cheers and applause] if you're willing to work harder in this election than the last one, i promise you, change will come. [cheers and applause] if you're willing to knock on some doors and make some phone calls, i promise you, change will come. it we will finish what we started in 2008. fight with me. press on with me and we will remind the world once again just what america is all about. god bless you. [cheers and applause] god bless the united states of america.

thank you.

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>> next, life, your calls and comments on "washington journal." been a discussion on the women's issues in the 2012 campaign. live, mitt romney and rick santorum and newt gingrich speaking at a freedom forum in wisconsin and 11:00 a.m. >> i am appearing here today as one spokesperson for the hundreds of thousands of marines, sailors, their families, and loyal civilian employees who were unknowingly exposed to levels of toxins through their drinking water in north carolina. chroniclesmentariy

a marine and his efforts to expose the toxic drinking water in north carolina. >> one thing they have done over the years is they have skewed the fax so much. they have told so many half truths and total lie is. they have omitted a lot of information to the media and now, if they were to sit down and -- if they were to sit down with me face to face, i could show them with their own documents and counter what they have been saying. >> more sunday night at 8:00 eastern on 6 pay -- on c-span's "q&a." >> this morning, alison black discusses the federal service transportation program.