[applause] this president made a number of promises when he was running three years ago, four years ago. he said he would cut the deficit in half. he has doubled it. he said he was going to cut taxes for middle-income americans. he has not when you consider the extra taxes you are paying that he has put on businesses, he has raised taxes on middle income americans. he also said he was not able to turn around the economy in three years he would be looking at a one term proposition. we're going to collect. let's take it back. [applause] and he points out that he did not cause the recession, and that is true. but he was the one we looked to to end the recession and to lead a recovery, and he did not. today, we have a record number of people on food stamps, over

45 million. we have a record number of home foreclosures, 2.3 million. 30% of single moms and their families are living in poverty. record levels of poverty in this country. unemployment, he said he would keep it under 8%. that is itself a very high level, 8%. he said he would keep it under 8% if we let him are $177 billion. -- borrow $787 billion. it has not been under 8% since 37 months ago. his policies have not been the result -- of a turnaround, but instead, they have made it difficult to come out of it. -- prolong the recession, made a deeper and made it harder to come out of it. his economic strategies are a bust. one of the reasons we are going to take over the white house is because he does not know how to make this economy work, and we do. [applause] these little ones over here have

learned about politics and a very young age. -- at a very young age. they have learned how to shout and scream at the right time. mom, you are doing a great job teaching those kids politics. i need them to come with me to every rally i go to commodified? -- every rally i go to. thanks, girls, and son. [applause] the president said something over the weekend. he said, in an ideal world, government can spend as much as it wanted. in his ideal world, spending more and more money and building bigger government is the object. in my ideal world, governments spend less and the government is smaller. it is a very different vision for america. [applause] and both congressman sensenbrenner and congressman ryan indicated this is a time of choice for america. i hope all around the country people understand what is at stake in this election. this really is a vote about the

nature of what america is going to be over the next four years and probably over the next century. we will have a choice of what kind of america we will have. on the ballot will be economic freedom, religious freedom, america's greatness, our military might, whether we are going to pass on to our kids massive debts that we will have left for them, knowing that we cannot possibly repay them ourselves and we expect to repave the interest and -- expect them to pay the interest and the principal over their lifetimes. this is a love -- a lesson for the america we will leave it to our kids. today, government at all levels consumes 38% of the economy. 30%. and if we let obamacare stand, -- 38%. and if we let obamacare stand, it will consume almost half of the total economy.

and with the intrusiveness of regulations in places like energy and automotive and health care and transportation and so forth, you would have a government that either directly or indirectly controls well over half of the economy. if you have to ask yourself, do you want an america where free enterprise is very much in question? an economy that is led by government, is that where we want to take america? >> [crowd yells "n1"] -- [crowd yells no -- we also have a trillion dollar deficit. the first president to break a trillion dollars. we are adding trillions of dollars in debt. i have a different view. we have to cut federal spending. not just slow down the rate of growth, but cut federal spending. cap it as a percentage of the economy, and finally, balance

the federal budget. [applause] and so, freedom, and economic freedom. and by the way, congress mentioned something about taxes for small enterprises. what has built america's economy over the years? why is it our income per person in america is 50% greater than the income per person in europe? our dna is like other human beings? what is it that makes a difference? we have in this nation a commitment to the principles of the founding, which is that we have been endowed by our creator with our rights. not by the state, but our creator. and among them are life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness. in america, we are free to pursue happiness as we choose. instead of a government that is directing our lives, and directing our economy, individuals, are pursuing

happiness as they wyss -- wish -- individuals create enterprises small and large and the success of the sum is what bill america. and what this government is doing is that regulation after regulation, tax after tax, they are killing a dream. -- slowly but surely crushing the dreams and the dreamers that build the enterprises that make us might still, modern, and leading the world. i want to return to the american people the right they have to economic freedom, for onta bring your ship, for innovativeness. -- on japan or ship -- entrpreneurship, and innovation. i want america to be the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs and job creators. why? because i want economic vitality and we are going to bring it back. [applause] in the president's government centered society, he believes

the government can't do a better -- can do a better job running the economy, government can do a better job -- can do a better job running the economy, government can do a better job of picking the winners and losers, and government can do a better job than you can in guiding your own life. there are few things more personal than deciding what kind of health insurance you're going to have and what kind of treatment you will have for a condition that you have. there is no question in my mind that with obama leading, it is -- where obamacare leads, the government's telling you not only what you have, but what you are entitled to. if i am president of the united states, we will stop obamacare in its tracks and repeal it. [applause] and returned to you authority for your own life. i am just going to mention one of the differences before you get a chance to ask a question or two. and that is come out with relation to our military.

-- and that relates to our military. i do not think the world as a safer place today. i think it is a tumultuous place. -- in some regions of the world. i have to describe that -- to describe to what reagan thought, that america has peace to our military. this president has spoken of reducing the size of our navy further, reducing the number of personnel that we have. my view is entirely different. i would add to our military. -- i would add it to our navy. i would increase shipbuilding. i would add to the purchase of aircraft. i would add active duty personnel. and i would make sure that the veterans get the care that they deserve. [applause] this is a question about a vision for america. we're going to have to ask ourselves who we are as americans. do we believe in free

enterprise? do we believe in economic freedom? do we believe in personal freedom? do we believe in larger deficits and massive debts? these are the questions we will have for 2012 and for 2016 and for the years after. we're going to have to ask if we are going to be true to the founders of this nation in passing and america to us that is stronger for the next generation. i believe we are going to do that. i believe we are going to stay true to those principles. i believe we will take the next step here in wisconsin, which is, on tuesday i need you to get out and vote and get your friends to do the same thing. give me the support we need to keep the america that we know and love. [applause] and so, with that rather lengthy introduction, i'm going

to turn to you for questions that you might have. are you raising your hand? yes, please? >> [unintelligible] i am an eagle scout. i was getting back from a trip, from a scouting program. from camp -- indian mount just yesterday. we heard that on tv they said something about the boy scouts, private stuff on the boy scouts. there when to the court -- they went to the court. they got $99,000 from the court. >> i did not see that story. i cannot comment on that story. but i can tell you this, i was

not an eagle scout. i wish i had learned the lessons that eagle scouts learn. we would all benefit from that. but i have three sons who were eagle scout. [applause] you know i have five, and that means the first two did not get eagles. the reason for that is that mom and dad did not know how important was -- it was for mom and dad to help them get their eagle scout and get out there and do their service project. but we learned after the first two and got it right for the last three. i love the scouting program, the principles of scouting. i love that young men learned person responsibility, respect for the fly, love of the country. those principles are very much in viewed in my boys. did you make eagle scout?

>> and no, i did not. i got two bobcats in the family. i made it to bear. we spent the night in eagle cave. does anybody here know about eagle gave? about 250 kids and their dads in a cave overnight. the day after, you could not see a speck of trash anywhere in that cave. [applause] good people, good ethics, good morals. it is a fantastic thing. >> does that say sooners in? oklahoma sooners? how do they let you in here? you guys have a border problem here. [laughter] >> i'm actually from l.a., but my family is from oklahoma. i got this on a trip. first, i think you both are outstanding. [applause] imad automotive technician. i have worked at several dealerships around milwaukee. i love the automotive industry.

i know your dad was heavily involved in it. with the person that is currently in the white house kind of waging a small war on cars by requiring them to get certain fuel economy and with ethanol and stuff, i'm wondering what you are going to be able to -- i know you made your plans to do everything -- but what you would be able to do to help, number one, sales of cars go back up from where they are right now. they are all down because of his effect on the economy. i wonder what you can do for small businesses. things of that nature. my wife owns her own small business and they are struggling -- my wife's mother owns a small business, and they are struggling under the things that obama has done. >> i will turn to the congressman. i love cars. when you grow up in detroit you think the whole world revolves around cars, and then you realize you are right. [laughter] i happen to have a great deal

of affection for the people that work in that industry. i want to see it thrive and grow. there is no reason we cannot be the leader in the automobile industry globally. there are some people who feel that america cannot compete. the truth is, america can compete. there is no industry that we have aspirations to be a leader in that we cannot be a leader in. what has happened over the years is government stepping in and trying to guide a political agenda, or perhaps trying to be more popular with our friends in europe has made it harder to compete in some respects. and management has made huge errors. in some businesses. and in some other cases, i think the uaw ask for too much, and i think the management gave too much. they began putting into effect legacy costs', retiree costs that were so large that america -- the american companies could not compete with the foreign cars that came here. and we started losing market

share. they started to cut corners to keep up with the huge costs. i felt that some of them should have gone through bankruptcy. i said that early on when the executives came to washington. i said, do not write the checks. they need to go through bankruptcy and get rid of the excess costs. and they finally did. [applause] i'm hoping it will come back. i get nervous when i see what is, apparently, the president's team trying to influence what is happening in the companies. if you want to have an american company that is successful, they need to understand the needs of the marketplace and a tune themselves to those. i'm not sure america was ready for the chevy volt. i hope it is. i do not want to disparage any product coming out of detroit. but i do not think we should let politicians tell us what kind of cars we want. we need to let the market decide that.

with regards to business generally, i was generally disturbed to hear the head of coca-cola say that the business environment was friendlier in china than here. and he was not just kidding. when you look at the tax rates here, when you look at the regulatory environment here, when you look at the heavy hand of government trying to pick winners and losers, the people of this country are saying the business environment here is pretty tough. when you add on to that obamacare, which says to small businesses in particular, i will be stuck with new health care costs i did not anticipate. and then if you have an administration trying to force unions into businesses where neither the employees at nor the management want them, you feel like you are under attack. i mentioned to the guy who began the amplifier manufacturing business. he and his son. they did a calculation and they added up what they pay in taxes.

i cannot verify how i carried it is, it was their perception. it was their corporate income tax, federal, state income tax, fica, gasoline taxes, and real estate taxes. they said 65% of what they make goes to government. when you consider the regulations and taxes, the cost of high energy here. because we do not have a and energy policy that makes it good for businesses here. -- that takes advantage of the energy resources here, we are making it awfully hard on small business. particularly under this administration. the number of small businesses that have dropped -- that have started per year has dropped by 1000. -- dropped by 100,000. we have to have a president that recognizes, as i do, that the right way to get the economy going is to make america the most attractive place for small businesses to mantra for doors, no bidders. -- for small businesses, for entrepreneurs, and we've got to get jobs going again. [applause]

>> my wife is from oklahoma, we were in the market for a dog will recall him bucky badger. what kind of like a dog and bought his brother -- and now we have two dogs, boomer and sooner -- the mascot for the sooners. ok, one person from oklahoma who liked the line. the president likes to think that he can manage -- micromanage every aspect of our economy from washington. if we take more power from our communities and give it to smart technocrats, they can't michael might -- micromanage life better that -- they can micromanage life better than you can yourself. take a look of the bailout they pride themselves on. i represent janesville, kenosha, a creek. -- oak creek. there are four of our manufacturing plants that we lost.

the president isn't practicing cash for clunkers economics. -- is practicing cash for clunkers economics. cash for clunkers did not work. and it does not work when you take the idea and apply it to the rest of the economy. take money from successful businesses. take money from families. ascended to washington, swish it around the bureaucracy, -- send it to washington, swish it around the bureaucracy. and then send it back to your favor constituencies? pick winners and losers -- losers. what happens when you do that? you end up with the corporate welfare, cronyism. you end up with bankrupt solyndra firms. that is not entrepreneurial capitalism. that is crony capitalism. we do not want that. we want to get out of the way of -- of businesses so they can succeed. i will simply say this -- nine out of 10 of our businesses in wisconsin are not corporations. they are successful small businesses. they are the businesses that pay their taxes as individuals. the president is promising, if reelected, in the budget he has

been calling for, that the top spot -- the top tax rate on businesses goes as high as 44.8%. how do you compete in a global economy when you are taxing your employer twice as much as your competitors are being taxed in their countries? -- foreign competitors are taxing their employers. you do not. we just have a different perspective. the genius of america is the individual. it is the family. it is not the government. that is a philosophy that we have to repudiate this fall so we can get the american economy back on track. [applause] >> they've got a microphone for you. watch this. >> dhhs mandate, governor, congressman, what do you think is the motivation behind this administration doing this?

the health and human services mandate. >> the obamacare mandate? >> and not just the obamacare mandate, but telling churches and religious organizations what they can do and what they cannot. i think -- >> i think there is in this country a war on religion. i think there is a desire to establish a religion in america known as secularism. and based on these reports, the obama administration gave us a lot of discussion. -- gave this a lot of thought, a lot of discussion. this was not a side issue. they gave it a lot of thought. and what they decided was in this country, the church, in this case the catholic church, would be required to violate its principles and its conscience and required to provide contraception and boring after pills to employees of the church. sterilization and-- morning

after pills to employees of the church. it came as a shock. those that are people of faith recognize that an attack on one religion is an attack on all religions. it is a reason why we need to get rid of obamacare. it is also a reason why we need to get rid of obama. [applause] >> speaking as a catholic, i've got to say how proud i am of tim dolan. [applause] it is pretty cool seeing the red hat on it -- on him. it is kind of small on him. he is a good guy. jim and i debate this in congress all the time. the ways and means committee, which is the primary committee that wrote this, it is this belief that our rights and do not come from god and nature, like they say in the declaration of independence. they now come from government. to have this new philosophy

where we have government granted rights, it is a new philosophy that says -- a treat our constitutional rights as were vocable by the government rather -- rate vocable privilege by the government rather than the inalienable rights that our government protects. in particular, this health disease prevention, called preventative medicine, if this conflicts with our first amendment rights to religious liberty and freedom of conscience, then it trump's it -- then it trumps it. freedom of liberty, freedom of conscience, a trust that. if the president is willing to do this controversy will mandate, which they did get lot of thought to the -- they met with time -- tim dolan several times. he made it really clear, you will shut down churches and schools.

not to mention, you are making people violate their own religious teaching. if that is what this president is willing to do in a tough election year cannot imagine what he will do after the election if he never house to face the vote -- face the voters ever again -- if he never house to face the voters ever again? yes, more flexibility. unbelievable, isn't it? this is a moment where we have to reassert our constitutional rights, our rights that are ours as individuals before the government. if we embrace this philosophy that president is asking for, then we are giving him our power as individuals. we should never give government that kind of power. [applause] >> governor romney, thanks for being here in wisconsin. by the way, welcome. my buddy and i both sold our both old businesses, and i sold my businesses last fall. i started up a new one.

health care costs have skyrocketed in the last few years. my biggest concern as i seek to hire employees is how to afford that for them. i know we will repeal obamacare. old live the supreme court will strike it down. -- hopefully the supreme court will strike it down. but my question is, how will you help small business owners in this way? >> we have a strange health- care system in a lot of respects. the issue that obamacare should have dealt with, the high cost of health care, and he should have dealt with malpractice. and other features that cause health care to be expensive. instead, he focused on something entirely different. in my view, we will have to do in health care to get the cost down is get health care to be a more consumer driven market as opposed to a government dominated and driven sector of our economy. health care in america is about 18% of our total economy. in the next highest country in the world, it is about 12%, switzerland. it is a huge difference in cost here. why is that?

it is in part because we are running health care like we run other things that the government runs, amtrak and the post office. not terribly well. if you want things in america to be lower cost with better quality, then you try to get them to work with the kinds of principles that exist in a consumer market. why do i say that is not the case in health care? i will tell you. if you are unfortunate enough to get a very serious condition and you have the insurance most people have, which is, you have a deductible. you pay a deductible and after that it is free. you will go to a doctor or a hospital and you never think of asking how much is going to cost because you do not pay the bill. the insurance company does. in other countries -- and by the way, in switzerland, they have to pay 20% of the bill for elective surgeries. if it is an emergency, they do not. it gives you the chance to shop around. i was with a doctor, an

orthopedic surgeon. he said, i found that with people with health savings accounts, meaning they will pay a share of the health care costs, when i tell them that they need an mri, they say where can i get one at the best price. he said when they do not have a at -- a held savings account, they just ask where the closest one is. we need to bring in an incentive for people to shop around and find the best job at the lowest price. i would like to see state-by- state an experiment for ways to make that happen. part of making that happen is to allow people to buy insurance themselves and to own their own insurance, rather than have their company by for them. -- buy it for them. right now, companies get a deduction if they buy health insurance for you. but if you want to buy yourself, they do not. we make it a disadvantage for an individual to own their own policy. i would like people to have the

same treatment, whether they buy the policy themselves or the company buys it for them. let them make that choice. let them buy from places across the country. let them have a health savings account. if you have these kinds of market principles, in my view, you will get health care to start coming down like everything else in a free economy. when america has challenges, you look to see if you can make it act more like a supermarket economy. -- consumer market economy. i am not naive. i do not think everything can be solved by free-market principles. but i'm also not naive enough to think that government can do it. -- that not a heck of a lot problems that could be a lot better run and if we got the government out and return back to the free-market. [applause] >> because i can see it says sooner there, i got lasik surgery there 10 years ago,it

now costs half as much today and the techniques are much better. 300% average price disparity in health care in just the milwaukee area. we want those doctors, the insurance companies, hospitals competing against each other for our business, based on price and quality, so that we are the nuclear portion of the marketplace, not the government. we need to inject the choice and competition principles in this part of the economy where it has not. the one reason i want to say that is because i saw it -- ted, where did it go? i just would to single you out. he is the chair of the romney for wisconsin campaign. is albert said there as well? -- alberta there as well?

i just wanted to mention that. thank you, ted. [applause] >> i've got a gentleman over here. >> you talked in your earlier remarks about calling beyond yourself in the run for presidency. obviously, that is not a light decision. am assuming you had discussion with your wife, ann. could you tell us some of your thoughts and her thoughts in this? >> ann played a big role in this. she is the best. she is absolutely extraordinary. i fell in love with her in high school and i'm still passionately in love with that woman. she is a fighter. and she has ms and has done a great job overcoming that. she has also battled breast cancer successfully. she is a champion and cares about people who have real challenges. two years ago when we were thinking about this, i said, ann, let's talk about the pros and cons.

she said she wanted me to run again. i said, let's talk about this and she said, talk to the hand. you have to run again. in her view, having spent my life in small business, then a bigger business that got in trouble and i helped turn around -- having spent my life in business, i understand how the economy works at the level of business. and by the way, when people talk about the economy, everybody, liberals, conservatives, they want a strong economy. liberals, however, do not like business. what they do not understand is the economy is simply the addition of all of the businesses in this country. you have to like the businesses as well. [applause] i know a good deal about businesses and what is hard in a business and why you worry about hiring and when you have to have a business shrink, how painful that is.

and how you know how much pain it will cause. it is a tragedy. i know what happens when government makes a decision, for instance, about the steel industry, and it causes us to lose all sorts of facilities and jobs in this country. i understand that firsthand, having spent 25 years in business. that experience, i believe, is essential if we are going to get our economy going again, get people back to work. >> at this time of the year, most of us are struggling with the income tax. as you know, we have one of the biggest, largest, convoluted tax returns in the world. i would like to see you in one of your platforms to simplify our tax code. it is ridiculous. people cannot do their own taxes. [applause] >> i have heard the congressman answer this question better than i can the last time we chatted. i will just have him describe for a moment his plans on the tax code, which are very

similar to my own. do you remember bowles-simpson, by the way? a republican and a democrat came together and talked about changing the tax code by -- balancing the budget and talk about simplifying the tax code by lowering the rates and changing some of the deductions. that's the philosophy of my plan and the congressman's plan. i agree, let's make texas simpler. let's also get our rates down so we are competitive. today, we have the highest corporate tax rates in the world. that means we will lose employers. they will go -- and elsewhere over time. as sure as can be. we've got to keep our rates down, so we can keep businesses here, and we do not overwhelm them with the complications of our tax code. mention the g story. that was amazing. >> g.e. is a big employer in this area and i had a great job -- they do a great job.

i had their head of their tax, and see me, on the ways and means committee. this is the committee that gives you all of the loopholes over the years. what we're saying is, clear up the loopholes and tax shelters. on businesses, when it comes to corporations, as the governor just said, we have the highest in the world. general electric did not have an income tax liability last year. they still made a lot of money. that was legal. general electric legally literally did not have a tax liability last year. even though they made something like $7 billion. i asked their chief tax officer, how is it that you did not pay income taxes last year, i asked him? he said, it was complicated. we had a lot of write off some things. i said, how much was your tax code? -- how big was your tax return? he said, it was big. he said week filed electronically, not pages. and i ask, how much would it be

in pages? he said, i will give back to you. 57,000 pages. have you ever heard of this? you cannot make this stuff up. like i said, they get it legally. there is nothing legally wrong with this. government did this engaged in -- government did this and gave them this kind of tax code so you can control your business plan and fit this kind of thing. but look at another business we are proud of, ubs. -- ups. they paid 34% effective tax rate last year. but a german company paid 24%. bring g e up to 25% and bring ups up to 25% and make it equal and fair. [applause] so they do not spend all their time in washington trying to get some kind of special car out, some special tax break. give up all that stuff. do not spend millions filling out forms. if you make missing amount of

money it as the next business or person, you pay the same kind of tax -- tax and get washington out of the business of picking winners and losers and help us grow our economy. that is what we are proposing. [applause] >> my name is robert. gentleman, governor romney, representative ryan, it is an honor and a privilege to be addressing you two today. governor romney, you spoke in the past about the economic necessity of reforming our naturalization and citizenship system in the past. -- immigration system, in the past. my girlfriend is from spain. she is studying at the university of maryland getting a master's degree. in the middle of may, her welcome into the country is going to be taken away and she is going to have to go back unless she can find a job to get a working be at the -- visa. that is not so easy. extra burdens are placed -- restrictions are more difficult on companies if you're hiring a non-american worker. how much is this for you to

actually get reform done? and the second part can also be answered by rep ryan. and how would you go about this specific legislation? what would you be looking for? >> first, let me note something that will hopefully not be lost upon the people that have come into this country legally and illegally as immigrants. that is, this has always been a priority for the president he chooses to do nothing about. he campaigned saying he would reform immigration laws and simplify and protect the border and so forth. and then he had two years with a democrat house and a democrat senate, a super majority in each house, and he did nothing. let the immigrant community and not forget that while he uses this as a political weapon, he does not take responsibility for fixing the problems we have. my own view is our immigration

policies are upside down. we make it very hard for people who have the skills that we need. education and english speaking, and workplace skills, would make it very hard for people to come here and to stay here. on the other hand come some are -- on the other hand, those that cannot have any of those things are often able to overstay their visas and remain in this country indefinitely. we have got it backwards. if someone has a degree from an institution of higher learning, a master's degree, a ph.d., staple a green card to their diploma. we want those people in our country. and we want to stop illegal immigration so we can protect legal immigration. we like it when people come here legally, particularly that speak english and can work in jobs and create new industries and be innovative.

they do not come here for a check. they come here for opportunity. these are our voters. i want to work on an immigration policy that secures the border and also works on a simplified legal immigration process. so we can bring people here who can help build our economy and future. that is something i will not just talk about during his campaign. this will be a priority of mine if i become president to make sure that we finally reform our immigration laws step by step, secure the border, and improve our legal immigration system so that we can keep people here and welcome people here that will improve our nation. -- that will make america a stronger nation. [applause] >> one of our foremost immigration leaders is jim sensenbrenner. i would also say that we have to work on identity theft. this is an issue that has to be dealt with so that people who come illegally can do so with identity theft. the primary victims are people

with of hispanic surnames, legal immigrants. we need to address the rule of law, the border, identity that, and then fix the legal immigration system so that it works and we make sure we do not have any immigration problems. -- illegal immigration problem. this is a president that has clearly not made it a priority. it is a broken system. we have a system that we have to go back and try to fix every 10 years. we need to fix it once and for all. i agree with or you said, governor. >> thank you. [applause] i am told that you have been here for a while. i just want to say a couple of things and then get a chance to shake up a love hands. -- shake a couple of hands here. i got a message from the governor this morning. [applause] what a guy.

[applause] you are a state of champions, by the way. you have great leaders who take on tough issues and make you proud and serve the country well. he heard me speak the of the day and he said, keep talking about the olympics and your experiences there. i want to tell you why i am so confident in the future of our country. this does relate to an experience i had at the olympics. as you know, i had the occasion to help organize the olympic winter games of 2002. at the closing ceremonies, the vice president, dick cheney, asked me to choose an american athlete to sit with him to represent all of the athletes of america. i chose a fellow named derek para. about 5 feet 4 inches. he was born in los angeles. he is an hispanic american. he is a roller blader. his friends said in income but

if you want an olympic medal one day you look -- better learn another sport. he tried ice skates and he was fast. he worked at it hard and long and competed with some big guys, i imagine, what from wisconsin and minnesota and michigan, where i come from the originally. and he competed at the olympic speed skating team. he came out and got a silver medal. that was in the 500 meters. -- silver medal in the 5,000 meters and then a gold medal in the 1,500 meters. the fastest man in the world on the ice. i cannot imagine being the best in the world at anything. i invited him to sit by the president. -- sit with the vice-president. he came in and i said, what was the most meaningful experience of the games? it was not the gold or silver medal. he said, it was being asked to carry the flag above the world trade center on september 11, 2001. [applause]

he explained he was one of the 8 athlete chosen to carry in the flag. it is about 8 feet by 12 feet and is torn and burned. you cannot put it on a flagpole. you have to carry the war is on a lake, which they did. -- carry it horizontally, which they did. he said, when they came into the stadium he expected the audience to burst into cheers. he said, instead, it was total silence. total silence and respect. -- total silence, complete reverence. the flag holders were surrounded by the members of the port authority police. and the police and firefighters of new york. and he said, we stopped in front of the choir and they began to perform the national anthem. and he said it was hard to hold on to my emotion as i was holding that flag and they were singing those words. and then he said the choir did something unexpected.

i knew this was coming because i got to choose the version of the national anthem the choir was singing. i chose the version in the 1930's are raised by robert shaw where you repeat the last line. one active higher for the choir. -- what ought to give higher for the sopranos, with orchestration. oh, say does the flight yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. and he said a gust of wind lifted it and blew it up in their hands. and he said it was like the spirit of all of those that had died were lifting the fly. -- flag. and tears ran down his face. that was my great experience also from the olympics, one of many. i thought then and i think today that passion for america, the patriotism that we have for this country, our conviction that this is the greatest nation in history of the earth, our

affection and appreciation for those who have gone before us and have sacrificed with their lives for our freedom, that conviction convinces me that america will rise to the occasion. the challenges that we face, the deaths that we have, the government out of control, a government increasingly intrusive in our lives, iran trying to go nuclear, we can overcome those challenges if we have leaders who tell the truth and live with integrity, who know how to lead. who actually have led before and will also draw on the patriotism of the american people, and i intend to be one of those leaders. with your help tomorrow. thank you so much. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

♪ ["born free" by kidd rock] ♪

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>> c-span's "road to the white house" coverage today with the wisconsin, maryland did, and washington, d.c. primaries. we will bring your results and speeches from the candidates as we simulcast part of politico's coverage. join in by phone, facebook, twitter, and watch all of our coverage on line at c-span.org 012.paign2 >> this year's studentcam competition asked students across country what part of the constitution was important to them and why. today's third prize winners selected the first amendment. >> this can be hard. >> our teacher sure did not do a good job explaining this. >> i do not understand the first amendment, especially freedom of speech. does it give us the right to say anything we want? >> and does it allow the

government under certain conditions to limit freedom of speech? >> good question. let's do research. memories light the corners of my mind misty watercolor memories of the way we were scattered ♪ >> ♪ gather round, people the waters around you have grown been drenched to the bone

your time to you is worth saving ♪ >> today, some big tobacco companies to try to block these labels because they do not want to be honest about the consequences of using their products. unfortunately, this is not surprising. we've always known the fight to stop smoking in this country will not be easy. don't speak too soon no telling hwo or the loser for the times, they are a changing ♪ >> it is true that smoking kills. sending this message to smokers, are those thinking about smoking or just started to smoke, just got easier. these new, graphic health warnings that will appear on cigarette packages, and in

stored tobacco displays, will let images and gold messaging that will graphically illustrate on every ad and every pack of cigarettes the painful and deadly reality of tobacco use. for years -- >> for years, we watched tobacco rates fall in this country and in 1965, we were in a situation where over 42% of americans smoked. by 2004, the good news is, it had fallen to just under 21%. a fairly significant drop. the bad news is that in recent years, despite the well-known health risks, youth and adult smoking rates have been flat. they have been dropping for decades and now they have stalled at about 20%. every day in america, about 4000 kids under the age of 18 dry their first cigarette. and about 1000 of those young americans become lifetime

smokers. >> do you think the fda has a right to require these images on cigarette packages? >> i think it goes back to the first amendment argument. i am going to suggest that they do, but it may be wrong. >> i don't know if it violates their first amendment rights. it does seem to be crossing a boundary that i did not think the government has any business sticking its nose in. >> you think ordering tobacco companies to use these labels as constitutional? >> i think it is their people know, the product they are buying. >> cigarette smoking is related to many, many diseases. it can start with lungs -- people know it can cause emphysema and lung cancer and if you go from head to toe -- people smoke and have more

chance of coronary artery disease and heart attack. people can have strokes, it can cause osteoporosis. >> by mandating the warning labels, it is the government violating the constitutional right of freedom of speech? individuals still enjoy freedom of speech or bring freedom from speech but commercial speech does not have as much protection -- according to a supreme court ruling, all the government needs to do is pass secretariat to be able to control commercial speech. first, it must show substantial interest. in this situation was alerted the public of the health risks of smoking. it could save the government billions of health care costs. that, i would say, constitutes a substantial interest. second, does the law further the interest?

pictures of dead or dying people would definitely for the interest. therefore, according to the supreme court, the government appears to have the right to mandate the labels. >> people who are addicted to cigarettes will continue smoking. it might cause people to think twice, like the younger kids, but as far as people quitting, making people quit smoking, i don't think so. >> i think some people will do it regardless. >> i think it would cause some people to think seriously about it. then after seeing it, would you consider smoking wasn't improbably not. >> why? and i don't want my lungs to look like that. >> if you were wondering to smoke, the biggest picture would stop it? >> yes. >> yes, a lot. >> of these labels are absolutely not too graphic. they have been field tested by

the food and drug administration. we also had experiences and other countries. what we have learned is strong graphic labels are the best way to get the attention of young people and the best way to get young people to think about the actual health hazards of smoking. there are no negative consequences to the graphic warnings, only the positive effects and they are that more kids will think about the health effects of smoking and hopefully fewer kids will start. >> what is your opinion on the graphic images? >> the images i saw are fortunately realistic and tells the tale of what happens to some people. >> a lot of people are not aware of what it can really do and if somebody sees it on the package it will maybe change their mind about smoking. >> since 2001, teenage cigarette smoking has decreased in canada, but at roughly the same rate teen cigarette smoking has increased without the labels. according to a report, just 18%

of americans believe the labels will decrease -- 80% believe americans are already aware of the risks -- 80% believe americans are already aware of the rest. >> eat up -- build your stomach and clog the arteries. but rather going to work today? if you drive, you die. think about hitting the slopes? you would not be thinking much more about anything, if you do. throwing back a cold one with your friends? keep in mind there is a good chance you'll end up like this guy. >> and by the way, we all received an a on the test. org to seetudentcam all of the videos. >> several live event to tell you about this morning on our companion network, c-span2. the heads of the fbi counter- terrorism division and the site

bird security division will speak at a government security conference at 8:30 a.m. eastern. at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the national academy of social insurance looks at the increase in social security disability claims. here on c-span, in a few moments, today's headlines and your calls live on "washington journal." the american society of news editors continues its annual meeting in washington. we will hear about the international monetary fund's agenda from imf managing director christine lagarde at 10:45 a.m. eastern. and president obama will speak to the editors at 12:15 p.m. and about 45 minutes, we will be joined by delegate eleanor holmes norton from washington, d.c., to discuss the budget, the future of the health-care law, and the possibility of statehood for the district of columbia. at 8:30