[applause] when i saw him backstage, he said i just want you to know, we are coming to the white house just like that kentucky team this week. he was not smiling. i also want to think so many of our neighborhood team leaders for being here today. you guys will be the backbone of this campaign. i want the rest of you to join 18 or become a leader yourself because we are going to win this thing door by dora, block by block. neighborhood by neighborhood. >> i love you back. love virginia.

virginia, four years ago, you and i began a journey together. i did not run and you did not work your hearts out just to win an election. the we came together to reclaim the basic part that built the largest middle-class and most prosperous nation on earth. we came together because we believe in america, your success should not be determined by the circumstances of your birth. if you are willing to work hard, we should be able to find a good to -- you should be able to find a good job. if you are meeting your responsibilities, you should be able to own a home and maybe start a business. give your kids a 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. [applause] we believe the free market is one of the greatest forces for progress in human history. businesses are the engine of growth. risktaker should be rewarded. we also believe that it is best -- the free market has never been a license to pay whatever you want. [applause] we have understood that alongside our entrepreneurial spirit, america only prosperous if we meet our obligations to one another in the future generations. we came together in 2008 because

our country had strayed from these basic american values. a record surplus was squandered. tax cuts for people who did not need them and were not asking for them. [applause] two wars were being laid on credit cards. wall street speculated huge profits by making bets with other people take that money. manufacturing left our shores. a shrinking number of americans did fantastically well while most people struggled with incomes and rising costs and the slowest job growth in half a century. and, in 2008, that house of cards collapsed. in the most destructive era 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 months after i took the office. it was tough all across the country. the american people are tougher. all across america, people like you dug-in. people like you fought back. some of them retrained and went to school. small-business owners cut back on expenses and did everything they could to keep their employees. sure, there were setbacks. there have been disappointments. we did not quit. we do not quit. together, we are fighting our way back. together we are fighting our way back. [cheers and applause] we made a bet on american

workers. on the ingenuity of american companies. today our auto industry is back on top of the world. [cheers and applause] manufacturers have started investing in america again. adding jobs for the first time since the 1990's. businesses got back to basics. exports surged. over 4 million jobs were created in the last three years. more than 1 million in the last six months alone. now, does this make us satisfied? of course not. to many of our friends and

family are still looking for work. the market is still weak. deficits are still too high. states are laying off teachers and first responders. this crisis took years to develop. the economy is still facing a bunch of head winds. it will take sustained persistent efforts, yours and mine, for a miracle to fully recover. for us to be where we need to be. that is the truth. we all know it. [applause] i am here to tell you, we are making progress. now we face a choice. for the last few years, republicans who run this congress have insisted that we go right back to the policies that created this miss in the first place. it gets worse because to borrow

a line from bill clinton, now their agenda is on steroids. this time the one bigger tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. and this time they want even deeper cuts to things like education, medicare, research, and technology. and this time the want to give banks and insurance companies even more power to do what they want to. and it now after a long and spirited primary, republicans in congress have found a champion. they have found a nominee for president that promised to rubber-stamp this agenda if he gets a chance. virginia, i tell you what. we cannot give them the chance. not now. not with so much at stake. this is not just another

election, this is a make or break a moment for america's middle-class. it we have been through too much to turn back now. we have come too far to abandon the change we've fought through these past few years. virginia, we have to move forward to the future we demanded in 2008. [cheers and applause] we have to move it forward to a future where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share. everybody plays through the same rules. that is the choice in this election. that is why i am running for a second term as president of the united states. [cheers and applause]

>> gov. romney is a patriotic american. he has raised a wonderful family and has much to be proud of it. he has run a large financial firm and he has run a state. i think he has learned the wrong lessons from these experiences. he sincerely believes that the

ceos and will the investors liked him make money, the rest of us will automatically prosper as well. when a woman in iowa shares a story about her financial struggles, he responded with the economic theory. he told her our productivity equals our income. let me tell the virginia, the problem with our economy is not that the american people are not productive enough. you have never been working harder in your lives. you are working harder than ever. the challenge we face right now, the challenge we have faced for over a decade is that harder work has not led to higher incomes. bigger profits of not lead to better jobs. gov. romney does not seem to

get that. he does not seem to understand maximizing profits by whatever means necessary, whether layoffs are outsourcing or tax avoidance or union busting, might not always be good for the average american or for our economy. why else would he want to spend trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthiest americans? why else would he propose cutting his own taxes while raising them on 18 million working families? why else would he want to slash the investments that have always helped the economy grow while at the same time stopping regulations of the reckless behavior on wall street that helps make the economy crash. somehow he and his friends in congress think the same bad ideas will lead to a different

result. or they are just hoping you will not remember what happened the last time we tried to do it. va., i am here to say that we were there. we remember. we are not going back. we are moving this country forward. [applause] we remember -- look. we want businesses to succeed. we want entrepreneurialism rewarded when they take risks, when the create jobs and brower economy.

but the true measure of our economy is more than a running tally of every balance sheet and quarterly profit report. i did not care how many ways you try to explain it, corporations are not people. people are people. [cheers and applause] we measure prosperity not just by our total gdp, not just by how many billionaires' we produce, but how well is the typical family doing? we understand that in this country people succeed when they have the chance to get a decent education and learn more skills. by the way, so do the businesses that hire those people for the companies to these people start. we know that our economy grows

we support research and medical breakthroughs and new technologies that lead to the next internet or life-saving drug. we know our country is stronger when we can count on affordable health care and the medicare and social security, when we protect our kids from toxic dumping and the mercury pollution. when there are rules to make sure we are not taken advantage of a by credit-card companies, or mortgage lenders. this is good for business. it is good for the market place. they are good for america. [cheers and applause]

look, we do not expect government to solve all of our problems. it should not try. i learned from my mom that no education policy can take the place of a parent's love and attention and sometimes getting into your face and telling you what you need to do. as a young man i worked with a group of catholic churches that taught me know programs can make as much difference as the kindness and commitment of a caring soul. not every regulation is smart. not every tax dollar is spent wisely. not every person can be helped to refuses to help himself. that is what we believe.

people have to make an effort to. people have to try hard. that is not an excuse to tell the vast majority of responsible, hard-working americans, you are on your own. unless you are lucky enough to have parents who can lend you money, you may not be able to go to college. even if you pay your premiums every month, you are out of luck if your insurance company decides to drop coverage when you need it the most. that is not how we built america. that is not who we are. we built this country together. we built railroads and highways, the hoover dam, the golden gate bridge together. we sat my grandfather's generation to college on the gi

bill together. together we touched the surface of the moon, unlock the mysteries of the atom, connected the world through our own science and imagination. we did these things not because they benefited any particular group or individual, but because they made us all richer. they gave us all opportunities. they move us forward together as one nation, as one people. that is the lesson of our past. that is the right vision for our future. that is why i am running for president of the united states of america. [cheers and applause] [chanting "4 more years"]

i am running to make sure by the end of this decade more of our citizens held college degrees than any other nation on earth. i want to help our schools or reward the best teachers, especially in math and science. i want to give 2 million more americans the chance to go to community college and learned the skills businesses are looking for right now. a higher education can be a luxury. it is an economic imperative that every american should be able to afford. that is why i am running for president.

[cheers and applause] i am running to make sure the next generation of high-tech manufacturing takes place and places like richmond, columbus, cleveland, pittsburgh. i want to stop rewarding companies that some jobs and profits overseas. that is the choice in this election. [cheers and applause] i am running so that we keep moving toward a future where we control our own energy. our dependence on foreign oil is at its lowest point in that 16 years. by the middle of the next decade, our cars will average nearly 55 miles per gallon. that will save you money. thousands of americans have

jobs because the production of renewable energy in this country, it has nearly doubled in just three years. now is not the time to cut these investments to pay for another $4 billion giveaway to the oil companies, now is the time to end subsidies for an industry that has rarely been more profitable. let's double down on a clean energy future that has never been more promising and for the safety of our planet. that is why i am running, virginia. that is the choice. [cheers and applause] for the first time in nine years, there are no americans fighting in the iraq. [cheers and applause]

osama bin laden is no longer a threat to this country. al qaeda is on the path to defeat. by 2014, the war in afghanistan will be over. [cheers and applause] america is safer and more respected because the courage and selflessness of the united states armed forces. a lot of people right here in virginia, putting on that uniform, serving on our behalf. as long as i am commander in chief, this country will serve our veterans, will care for our veterans. nobody who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come back home.

[cheers and applause] my opponent has different ideas. my opponent has a different view. he said it was tragic to end the war and iraq. he said he will not set a time line for ending the war in afghanistan. well, i have it. i have been -- i intend to keep that timeline. [applause] after a decade of war, that has costed thousands of lives and over one trillion dollars, the

nation we need to build is right here at home. [applause] so we are going to use half of what we are no longer spending on were to pay down deductible. we will use the other half to repair our bridges and our airports and our wireless networks. that is the choice in this election. that is why i am running for president. [cheers and applause] i am running to pay down our debt in a way that is balanced and responsible. we inherited a one trillion dollar deficit. the other side does not like to be reminded of this. that is okay. i signed 2 trillion dollars of spending cuts into law.

and now i want to finish the job. i want to streamline government and cut more waste and reform our tax code so it is simpler, fairer, and it asks the wealthiest americans to pay a little bit more. [applause] now, my opponent has a different view. he will not tell us how he pay for his new five trillion dollar tax cuts. five trillion dollars. a tax cut that gives an average $250,000 to every millionaire in the country. even if he will not disclose the details of how he will pay for it, we know the bill will

either be passed on to our children or a it will be paid for by a whole lot of you, a whole lot of ordinary americans. virginia, i refuse to let that happen again. [cheers and applause] i refuse to let that happen again. i refuse to pay for another millionaires' tax cut by eliminating medical research projects on things like cancer and alzheimer's. i refuse to pay for another tax cut by kicking kids off of the headstart program or eliminating health insurance for millions of poor and elderly and disabled americans on medicaid. we are not going to do that. as long as i am president of the united states, i will never allow medicare to be turned into a voucher that would end the program as we know it.

[applause] we are not going to go back to the days when our citizens spent their golden years at the mercy of private insurance companies. we will reform medicare not shifting the cost to seniors but by reducing the spending that is not making people healthier. that is the right way to do it. that is what is at stake. on issue after issue, we just cannot afford to spend the next four years going backwards. if america does not need to read fight the battles we just had over wall street reform, health care reform. here is what i know on health care reform. allowing 2.5 million young people to stay on their parents' health insurance, that was the right thing to do.

[cheers and applause] cutting prescription drug costs for seniors, that was the right thing to do. we are not going back to the days when insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy or deny you coverage surcharge women differently than men. we're not going back to that. we certainly do not need in other political fight about ending a woman's right to choose. taking away access to affordable birth control. [cheers and applause] i want women to control their own health choices. [cheers and applause]

just like the one my daughters to have the same opportunities as your son. we are not turning back the clock. we are not returning to the days when you can be kicked out of the united states military because of you you are and who you love. we are not going back to that. that would be wrong for our national security. it would be a betrayal of our values. it will not happen on my watch. [cheers and applause] this should be the last election where multimillion- dollar donations speak louder than the voices of ordinary citizens. we need more checks on special interests and lobbyists, not

fewer checks on them. we are not going to eliminate the epa. we are not going to roll back the bargaining rights of generations of workers. it is time to stop denying citizenship to responsible young people just because they are the children of undocumented workers. [cheers and applause] this country is at its best when we harness the god-given talents of every individual. when we hear every voice. and when we come together as one american family striving for the same dream. that is what we are fighting for. a bold america.

a competitive america. a forward looking america where everybody has the chance to make of their life what they will. that is what made us the envy of the world. that is what makes us great. that is why i am running again for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] virginia, that is why i need your help. you know, this election will be even closer than the last. to many of our friends and neighbors are still hurting because of this crisis. i have heard from too many people who have been wondering why they have not been able to get one of the jobs that have been created. while a family has not yet been touched by the recovery.

the other side will not be offering these americans any real answers to those questions. they will not be offering a better vision. they will not be offering new ideas. what they will do is spend more money than we have ever seen before. all on negative ads on tv and radio, in the mail, on the internet. as they exploit people pose a frustration for my opponent's political gain. they will tell you america is down and out. they will tell you who to blame. they will ask if you were better off than you were before the worst crisis of our

lifetime. we have seen the play before. we know what they expect. but you know what, the question that will actually make a difference in your life in the lives of your children is not just about how we are doing today. it is how we will be doing tomorrow. will we be better off if more americans get a better education? will we be better off if we depend less on foreign oil and more on our own ingenuity? will we be better off if we start doing some nation- building at home? will we be doing -- will we be better off if we bring down our deficits and responsible way without gutting the very things we need to grow? when we look back 10 years from now or 20 years from now, will be be better off if we have the

courage to keep moving forward? [applause] and that is the question in this election. that outcome is entirely up to you. you know, we are going to have to contend with even more negative ads, more cynicism, more nastiness, and sometimes plain foolishness. it will be worse than we saw in the last campaign. we know because we have seen some of the foolishness over the last three and a half years. but if there is one thing we learned in 2008, it is that nothing is more powerful than

the millions of voices calling for change. [cheers and applause] when enough of you knock on doors and enough of you pick up the phone when enough of you are talking to your friends and your co-workers, when you decide it is time for change to happen, guess what? change happens. change comes to america. va., that is the spirit we need again. when people ask you, what is this campaign about? you tell them that it is still about hope. it is still about change. you tell them it is still about ordinary people who believe in the face of great odds we can make a great difference in the country. [cheers and applause] because i still believe -- i

still believe that we are not as divided as our politics suggest. i think we have more in common than the pundits tell us. we are not democrats or republicans first, but we are americans first. [cheers and applause] i still believe that interview. -- i still believe in you. i am asking you to keep believing in me. i told you in 2008 i was not a perfect man and i would never be a perfect president, i promised you that i would always tell you what i thought.

i will always tell you where i stood. i would wake up every single day fighting for you as hard as i know how. i have kept that promise. i have kept that promise. i will keep it so long as i have the honor to be your president. if you are willing to stick with me and a fight with me and press on with me, if you are willing to work even harder and and this election than in the last election, i guarantee you we will move this country forward. we will finish what we started. we are still fired up. we are still ready to go. we will reminded the world once more what it is the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. thank you. god bless you.

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>> coming up today on c-span, "washington journal." at kennecott, a local newsmakers" with richard trumka. then antenna got 30 a.m., the state of al qaeda one year after the death of the in london. -- then at 10:30 a.m., the state of al qaeda one year after the death of osama bin laden. here is a look at our guests on "washington journal." former cia unit chief joins us to talk about the release of documents retrieved during the raid of osama bin laden's compound. then at 8:30 a.m., we discuss a new poll by the institute that shows president obama has widened the gap among ski team widened the gap among ski team to