person. but in politics you have a person who is a nice guy, and you have a vice presidential candidate who is a hammer. lee wrights is a hammer! i ask you to nominate lee wrights to run with governor gary johnson so liberty will win! [cheers and applause] >> i find myself in a position to thank my family once again for giving me this honor for you to even consider me. we already won. we showed america how different libertarians can be, and we're not the crazy boogeyman we've been painted to be. i'm proud of each and every one of you. i thank you for your support. i'll tell you what i bring to this race. it's not just about me.

it's about the libertarian party winning with gary johnson and lee wrights leading the way. you don't just get me. you've seen my body of work by now. the videos, the op-eds, the press releases. i'm proud to say, i'm humbled to say that my whole life has pledged to work six more months for free to make this happen. they're not doing it for lee wrights. they're not doing it for gary johnson. they're doing it for the libertarian party for america. and i'm proud of every one of them! [cheers and applause] i plan to be a help mate to governor johnson. i want to be there when he needs me. i'll get out of his way when he doesn't need me. i know how to do that already. i'm a libertarian.

[laughter] thank you for coming. thank you for spending the time, the precious time and money it takes to come and do the business of this party, and thank you for this honor of considering me for vice president of the united states. i hope you will give me your votes. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] [background conversations] >> i guess come to order was the magic word.

so based on the prior motion that was passed to dispense with the reading of the vote totals from each of the delegation chairs we will now close the--we will now post the results on the screen for everybody to see. >> thank you. you will never regret this. i haven't been so excited about

anything that i can think of. the work is now beginning. we have the very best candidate i can think of to lead this party ticket, and i'm going to do my party a--my part as well. however, let me tell you my strategy. we need everyone in this room to take this election personally. we need you to get our information, to pass it around to your circle of friends, your your emails, your discussions, your lunch clubs, whatever it is, and tell them to take it personally as well. when that happens we will start polling. we're now about 7% with governor johnson. we're going to start polling around 12%, 15%, 18%. you know what happens then? governor johnson will be in the presidential debates with obama and with romney! you'll be proud! you know what else will happen? it will make them talk about issues they don't want to talk about. it will change the dynamics

completely, and we'll have to talk about liberty, prosperity, and equal opportunity. and if he is in those debates, and by the way i can't wait. i've been involved with one of them with biden. i can't wait. i can't wait. [cheering] if we are in those debates, all bets are off, folks. this will be that revolution that we all crave. so yes, thank you. yes, i appreciate it. yes, all of that stuff. and now for heaven sake, knock it off. let's go to work. thank you! [cheers and applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, before we move on, i would like to thank all of those from staff of c-span. they covered our debate last

night, the presidential and vice presidential election this morning and now into this afternoon, and the poor guys need a lunch break so they can get some food. so they will be breaking down while we conduct the race. >> i please do not want to let this opportunity go by without saying my deep thanks for the professionalism, for the integrity, for the philosophy, for the acts, for the work of lee wrights. what a man, what a man, lee. thank you. [applause]

>> i don't know what i could possibly say that you haven't heard me say already. except let's stop all these wars. let's put this ticket over the top. i'm not going anywhere. we need to get at least 1 million votes for these guys. that's what the million-vote march is all about, folks. [applause] i'm going to put in a shameless plug for that little project that we started. because i said from the beginning it's not for my campaign but the libertarian party. there has got to be at least a million people who want to stop killing people. there has got to be at least a million people who want to stop the war on drugs alone. take a message.

send it to the politicians in this corrosiocountry and let the are at least a million people who don't like what is going on. vote for gary johnson and jim gray. let's make this happen. we can make a difference by being different. >> i have seem to have earned a certain place where people will listen to me, and i've always cared about the country. the greatest generation right in that book gave me a kind of a platform that was completely unanticipated. so i thought i ought not to squander that. so i ought to step up as not just as a citizen and journalist but a husband, father, and grandfather. if i see these things, i ought to write about them and try to start a dialogue, which is what i'm trying to do with this book about where we need to get to next. >> in his latest, "the time of

our lives," tom brokaw urges americans to redefine the american dream, and sunday live in-depth your questions, in his half dozen books he has written about the greatest generation, the 1960s, and today. "in-depth" on c-span 2s book tv. >> president obama's weekly address he talks about the u.s. negotiations and the economy. >> this week i traveled to afghanistan to thank our troops serving far from home, and to sign an historic agreement that will help us to complete our mission and end the war. as commander in chief nothing is more humbling than inspiring than the chance to spend time with our troops. i visited with some of our outstanding men and women in uniform. i thanked them for their

extraordinary service, and i let them know that america honors their sacrifice. because of their bravery and dedication the tide of war has turned in afghanistan. we broken the taliban's moment momentum. we built strong afghan security forces, we devastated al-qaida's leadership. one year ago our troops launched the operation that killed osama bin laden. the goal that i set to defeat al-qaida and deny it a chance to rebuild is within reach. because the progress we made i was able to sign an historic agreement between the united states and afghanistan that d defines a new future for our countries. afghans are responsible for the security of their nation and we build an equal partnership between two sovereign states. the future in which the war ends and a new chapter begins. the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform are not over,

but many of our troops are coming home. last year we removed 10,000 troops from afghanistan. another 23,000 will leave by the end of the summer. as our coalition agreed by the end of 2014 the afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country. this is as it should be. because after more than a decade of war it's time to focus on nation-building here at home. as it's new greatest generation returns from overseas we must ask ourselves what kind of country will they come back to? will it be a country where shrinking number of americans do really well while a growing number barely get by. will it be a country where everybody does their fair share and everybody plays by the same set of rules. a country with opportunity worthy of the troops who protect us. america has answered this question before. my grandfather, a veteran of patton's army got a chance to go to college on the g.i. bill. my grandmother who worked on a

bomber assembly line was part of the pork force that turned out the best products on earth. they contributed to a story of success that every american had a chance to share. the basic american promise that if you worked hard you would do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement. keeping that promise alive is the defining issue of our time. but it means making responsible choices. i don't think we should prioritize things like more tax cuts for millionaires while cutting the investments that built a strong-month old class. that's why i called on congress to take the money we're no longer spending on war, use half of it to pay down our debt and use the other half to rebuild america. we've got more jobs to create, nomore students to educate, more energy to generate, more entrepreneurs looking for their shot at success. we got to invest in things like

education, research, we need to build newer, faster communication networks, and for veterans so we serve them as well as they served us. every time i have the privilege of meeting with our troops i'm struck by their courage, commitment, their selflessness and team work. they have something to teach us. recovering from the worse economic crisis since the great depression is a work in progress, but if we follow their example then i have no doubt we'll preserve the promise of this country, protect the freedoms we cherish, and leave for our children an america that is built to last. god bless you and have a great weekend. >> i'm bob, i'm proud to representative tennessee in the united states senate. when i was 25 years old i saved $8,000 started my own construction company. i worked hard, and my business expanded. our country's free enterprise system gave me the opportunity

to earn success and to live the american dream. i became involved in public service to help provides my neighbors with the opportunity to experience the american dream themselves, and i came to washington with the same goal. but i fear our country is moving to a place where politicians have lost sight of the value of earned success. politicians are bankrupting our country by passing legislation without paying for it, and abandoning the free market press that gives people the opportunity to succeed. it's disappointing and i can assure you highly frustrating to see what happens here in washington. more spending and debt and kicking tough decisions down the road, robbing, literally robbing the next generation of the opportunity to pursue success and live their own american dream. last sunday marked three years since the senate had passed a

budget. three years, think about that. the federal government which spends more than $3.5 trillion a year, much of it borrowed from outside of the united states, has no guideline for how that money is spent. the democratic leader of the senate said, quote, it would be foolish for us to do a budget at this stage, and he has even refused to hold a vote. when the democratic chairman of the budget committee attempted to hold a mark-up on a budget he was stopped at the last minute and pulled the vote from consideration. what about our presidential leadership? president obama's budget failed to receive a single yes vote in either house of congress last year. according to the non-partisan congressional office this year's presidential budget would actually decrease economic growth over the next decade. this kind of washington

mismanagement has put us in a place where over the last three years our debt has increased by more than 4 trillion-dollar. failing to accomplish even the most basic responsibility of government is a total failure of leadership and represents everything the american people hate about washington. just last month the trustees for medicare and social security reiterated that the programs are on a part edwards insolvency and in urgent need of reform. despite every warning sign imaginable we have no solutions from this administration or democratic leadership in the senate. the president punts almost every tough decision. in fact, as he appeals to college students his administration is robbing those same young people of their american inheritance, spending their money on my generation, and engaging in nothing short of

generation ailing theftgenerati. businesses are crying out for clarity on tax rates and regulation. this uncertainty is what is weighing down the recovery to create jobs in tennessee and throughout the country. washington's lack of courage to deal with out of control spending is only adding to the sense of uncertainty among investors and potential small business owners. at present i ran a bill to deal with these issues, it's our greatest enemy. in other words, we are our greatest enemy, but i also believe it could be our greatest opportunity. we need pro-growth tax reform. this means simply flying the tax code and doing away with most if not all of the $1.2 trillion in

loopholes and tax expenditures that congress has created to try to drive your behavior. this would allow us to broaden the tax base and lower rates for everyone. this kind of tax reform combined with a long-term plan to reduce our debt and strength social security and medicare so they're solvent for the long haul would cause our economy to take off. growing the private sector, not government, will ensure that we remain the strongest country in the world. preserving the principles that have made this country great is the struggle of this generation. free enterprise, personal liberty, and a society where everyone has the tools and the opportunity to earn success. nothing makes people happier than earning success. our founding fathers understood this and considered the pursuit of happiness to be a god-given

right. let's put in place policies that will enable future generations to earn success. it's the american dream. >> coming up on c-span, president obama and first lady michelle obama on the campaign trail today in richmond, speaking with have supporters on the campus of virginia commonwealth university. and then highlights of the libertarian convention in las vegas, including the nominating and balloting process for presidential and vice presidential nominees. after that the bipartisan center host a discussion on the decline of moderate republicans and the rise of the tea party. this week on news makers, richard trumpka joins us to talk about labor issues with the president. last month's unemployment numbers and the possible impact of job growth on the union vote. he's interviewed by peter

walston and melanie trotman. news makers airs every sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> sunday on "q abandon a." >> it's just the biography of lyndon johnson. i want each book to examine the kind of political power in america, and i'm saying this is the kind of political power, seeing what a president can do in a moment--in a time of great crisis, great crisis, how he gathers, what does he do to get legislation moving to take them to washington? that's the way of examining power in the time of crisis. i want to do this in full. i suppose it takes 300 pages in there. so i couldn't--that's why i just said let's examine this. >> robert caro on the panels of power. volume four "the years of lyndon

johnson." this sunday on c-span's "q & a." and look for robert caro sunday, may 20th. >> the president and first lady return to the campaign trail in ohio and virginia. speaking at his second event of the day on the campus of virginia common wealth campus. he was introduced by his wife, first lady, michelle. [cheers and applause] >> whew! amazing! well, hello, virginia!

well, it sounds like you all are fired up! [cheering] it sounds like you are all ready to go? [cheering] let me tell you something, being here with you today i'm feeling pretty fired up myself. [cheering] now, there is a reason why we're all here today. in addition to being fired up and ready to go, and it's not just because we all support an extraordinary man! [cheering] and i am biased. i think our president is magnificent! and it's not just because we want to win an election, which we do. [cheering] we are here because of the values we believe in.

we are here because of the vision for this country that we all share. we are here because we want our children to have good schools, you know? the kind of schools that push them! the kind of schools that inspire them and prepare them for good jobs. that's why we're here. [applause] we want our parents and our grandparents to retire with dignity because we believe that after a lifetime of hard work they should enjoy their golden years. [cheering] we're here because we want to restore that basic middle class security for our families because we believe that folks in this country shouldn't go bankrupt because they get sick. we believe they shouldn't lose their home because someone loses a job. [applause] we believe that responsibility should be with regar rewarded, d

work should pay off. we all know that these are basic american values. they are the values that so many of us were raised with, right? including myself. i told this story earlier, but my father was a blue-collar worker at the city water plant. my family lived in a very little apartment on the south side of chicago, south side. [cheers and applause] and neither of my parents had the chance to attend college, but let me tell what you they did, which was just as important. they saved. they sacrificed. they poured everything they had into me and my brother, because they wanted us to have the kind of education they could only dream of. while pretty much all of my college tuition came from student loans and grants.

you can relate to that. [cheers and applause] my dad still paid a small portion of that tuition himself. and every semester my father was determined to pay that bill on time. because like so many parents, he was so proud to be sending his kids to college. he couldn't bear the thought of me or my brother missing that registration deadline because his check was late. like so many people in this country, my father took great pride in being able to earn a living that allowed him to handle his responsibilities to his family, and to pay all of his bills, a and to pay them on time. and truly, more than anything else that is what is at stake in

this election. it's that fundamental promise that no matter who you are or how you started out, if you work hard you can build a decent life for yourself, and yes, even a better life for your kids, right? [cheers and applause] and it is that promise that binds us together as americans. it's what makes us who we are. and whether it's equal pay for women, or healthcare for our kids, whether its tax cuts for middle class families, or student loans for our young people, that is what my president, my husband, your president works for everybody every single day. [cheers and applause] let me tell you, as first lady i have had a chance to see up close and personal what being

president looks like. i have seen how the issues that come across a president's desk are always the hard ones. the problems with no clear solutions. the judgment calls where the stakes are so high, a and there is no margin for error. as president, you can give all kinds of advice from all kinds of people, but at the end of the day when it comes time to make that decision all you have to guide you are your life experiences, your values, and your vision for this country. [cheers and applause] in the end when you're making those impossible choices it all boils down to who you are and what you stand for. and we all know who my husband is, right? [cheers and applause]

we all know what he stands for, right! see, barack obama, he is the son of a single mother who struggled to put herself to school and pay the bills. he's the grandson of a woman who woke up before dawn every day to catch a bus to her job at a bank. and even though barak's grandmother worked hard to support her family, as she was good at her job, as so many women she hit that glass ceiling. men no more qualified than she was was promoted up that ladder ahead of her. believe me, virginia, barack obama knows what it means when a family struggles. [cheers and applause] he knows what it means when someone doesn't have a chance to fulfill their potential! those are the experiences that have made him the man, but more

importantly the president that he is today! [cheers and applause] but i have said it before, and i will say it again and again and again, he cannot do this alone. and fortunately he never has. he never has because we have always moved this country forward together. yes, we have. [cheers and applause] today more than ever before barak needs your help. he needs your help. he needs every single one of you to give just a little part of your life each week to this campaign. he needs to you register those voters, right! [cheering]

and to all the college students out here, listen up. [cheering] if you all are going to be moving over the summer, remember to register at your new address in the fall. you got that? barak needs you to join one of our neighborhood teams and start organizing in your own community. and just one thing i want you all to understand. if you have any doubts about the difference that you can make, i just want you to remember that in the end this election could all come down to those last few thousand people who registered to vote. it could all come down to those last few thousand votes who get out to the polls on novembe november 6th. when you average all of that out over this entire state, think about it, it might mean

registering just one more person in your town. just one more person. it might mean helping just one more person in your community get out and vote on election day. think about it. one more person. so with every door you knock on, with every single call you make, every conversation, i want you to remember that this could be the one, right? this could be the one that makes the difference. that is the kind of impact that each of you can have in this election. know that. now, i'm not going to kid you. this journey is going to be long. and it is going to be hard. but that is how change always happens in this country. that's how it always happens. and if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight,

then eventually we'll get there. we always have. we always do. maybe not in our lifetime, but maybe in our children's lifetimes. maybe in our grandchildren's lifetimes. because in the end that is what this all about. that's all that it's about. [cheers and applause] in the end that is what i think about when i tuck my girls in at night. i think about the world i want to leave for them. and for all of our sons and our daughters. i think about how i want to do for them what my dad did for me. i want to give them a foundation for their dreams. i want to give them opportunities worthy of their promise. i want to give them that sense of limitless possibility, that belief that here in america there was always something better out there, if you're willing to work hard for it.

that's america! so we can't turn back now! no, we can't! we still have to keep moving forward. we've come so far. we have so much more to do. so much more to do. and if we keep on moving forwa forward, then we need to work our hearts out. work them out for the man that i have the pleasure of introducing here today. [cheers and applause] virginia, i introduce to you my husband and our president, president barack obama! cheer plu[cheers and applause]

[cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] >> hello virginia! [cheers and applause] what do you think about michelle obama? [cheers and applause] i hate following her.

[laughter] she is too good. and she looked good, too, didn't she. [applause] yes, she does. i'm just saying. she looked pretty good. i've come to see you! well, before i begin, there are a few people i would like to thank for joining us today. first of all, your mayor's wife is here. [applause] representative bobby scott is in the house. [cheers and applause] your former governor is here!

and a guy i gather is pretty popular in thi these parts. [applause] when i saw coach backstage, he said i just want you to know that we're coming to the white house just like that kentucky team game this week. [applause] he wasn't smiling. [laughter] i also want to thank so many of our neighborhood team leaders for being here today. [cheers and applause] you guys will be the backbone of this campaign. i want the rest of you to join the team or become a leader yourself because we are going to win this thing door by door, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood. [cheers and applause] i love you back.

[applause] i love virginia. [applause] virginia, four years ago you and i began a journey together. now i didn't run, and you did not work your hearts out just to win an election. we came together to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on earth. we came together because we believe in america your success shouldn't be determined by the circumstances of your birth. if you're willing to work hard, you should be able to find a good job. if you're willing to meet your responsibilities, you should be able to own a home, maybe start a business. give your kids the chance to do even better.

no matter who you are. no matter where you come from. no matter what you look like. no matter what your last name is. [cheering] we believe the free market is one of the greatest forces for progress in human history, that businesses are the engine of growth, and the risk takers and innovativers should be rewarded. the free market has never been a license to take whatever you want however you can get it. [applause] we've sounds that along side our entrepreneurial spirit, our rugged individualism, america only prospers when we meet our obligations to one another and to future generations.

we came together in 2008 because our country has strayed from these basic american values. a record surplus was squandered on tax cuts on people who didn't need them and weren't even asking for them. [applause] two wars were being waged on a credit card. wall street speculators made huge profits by making bets with other people's money. manufacturing left our shores. a shrinking number of americans did fantastically well while most people struggled with falling incomes, rising costs, and the slowest job growth in half a century. and in 2008 that house of cards collapsed in a most destructive

crisis since the great depression. in the last six months of that year, even as we campaigned nearly 3 million of our neighbors lost their jobs. over 800,000 more were lost in the month i took the oath of office. it was tough. it was a tough year in virginia. it was tough all across the country. the american people are tougher. all across america people like you dug in. folks like you fought back. some of you retrained. some of you went back to school. small business owners cut back on expenses, but did everything they could to keep their employees. and sure there were setbacks. there have been disappointments. but we didn't quit. we don't quit. together we are fighting our way back.

together we are fighting our way back. [cheers and applause] when someone let those go bankrupauto industrygo bankrupte entrepreneurs, and the auto industry is back on top of the world. america is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s. businesses got back to basics. export surged, and over4 million jobs were created in the last two years. more than 1 million of those in the last six months alone. [cheers and applause] now, does this make us

satisfied? no. of course not. too many of our friends and family are still looking for work. our market is still weak. deficits are still too high. states are still laying off teachers and first responders. this crisis took years to develop, and the economy is still facing a bunch of head winds. it's going to take sustained persistent every, yours and mine, for america to fully recover. we all know it. [applause] virginia, i'm here to tell you that we are making progress, and now we face a choice the last few years the republicans who run this congress have insisted that we go right back to the

policies that created this mess in the first place. but it gets worse, now a line from bill clinton, now their agenda is on steroids. this time they want to get even bigger tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. this time they want even deeper cuts to things like education and medicare and research and technology. they want to give banks and insurance companies even more power to do what they please. and now, after a long and spirited primary republicans in congress have found a champion. they have found a nominee for president who promised to rubber stamp this agenda if he gets a chance.

but virginia, i tell you what, we can't give them a chance. not now! not with so much at stake! this isn't just another election. this is a make-or-break moment for america's middle class! we've done too much to turn back now! we've come to too far to abandon the change we fought for these past few years. virginia, we got to move forward to the future we imagined i in 2008! [cheers and applause] we got to move forward to a future where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. that's the choice in this election. that's