now to deliver our commencement address, i am thrilled to introduce the next president of the united states, mitt romney [applause] >> thank you so very much. good thank you for the very powerful and moving and emotional introduction. thank you for your friendship. . pastor, thank you. faculty and staff and distinguished guests, parents and friends, and graduating

seniors from liberty, for the graduates, this marks a clear ending and a clear beginning. did the task set before you four years ago is completed in full. to the class of 2012, well done and congratulations. i am told some of you may have taken longer than four years to complete your studies. good one of them said he completed its in only two terms, clinton costs and bush's. i share this with kathy.

the romney campaign comes to a sudden stop when we spot a chick-fil-a. it is comfort food during the campaign season. and we needed a lot of comfort. congratulations on your honor today. [applause] of course, there are some people here who are even more pleased than the graduates. that would be their parents. their years of prayers and devotions and investment have added up to this joyful

achievement. -- devotion and investment have added up to this joint achievement. the american dream is not owning your own home. it is getting your kids out of the home you own. lately, i have found myself thinking about life in four your stretches. less -- four year stretches. not many have achieved as much in four years as you have. but that is a top for another day. it is not for nothing that you have spent this time -- but that is a topic for another day. it is not for nothing that you have spent this time here. america needs your time and skill. i am convinced we will see a resurgence in the american economy that will open new doors of opportunity for those as prepared as you are. what the next four years might hold for me might be -- is yet to be determined.

things are looking up. i take your kind hospitality today as a sign of good things to come. i want you to know that i consider it a great life honor to be able to be here to address you today. your generosity of spirit humbles me. the welcoming spirit of liberty is a tribute to the christian example of your founder. in his 73 years of life, dr. falwell a marked. he shared that walk with his wife -- in his 73 years of life, dr. falwell made a mark. we remember him as a courageous and big hearted minister of the gospel. he never hated an adversary. he deserves the tribute he would have treasured most as a cheerful, confident champion for christ.

i will always remember his cheerful good humor and selflessness. several years ago in my home, anne and i were posing with a double-posing for a picture with him. he assisted anne be in the middle and he and i'd be on the size -- he and i be on the side. he explained that christ died between two beans. -- thieves. dr. falwell believe liberty would be one of the most respected princeton universities in the world. the first class graduated only 13 students. and year after year christians would be drawn to the university in ever greater numbers. thanks to what you have gained here, you leave libertine with confidence as your armor. you know what you believe -- you leave liberty with confidence

as your armor. you know what you believe and you know who you are. it will be one of the most prized qualities of your education here. the commitment to spiritual ideas will set you apart in a world searching for meaning. that said, your values will not always be the object of public adoration. the more you live by your beliefs, the more you will in dorothy cen -- endure the censure of the world. it showed in their own way the relentless and powerful influence of the message of jesus christ.

may that be your guide as well. you enter a world -- and economies that are far from equal. the understanding of why some civilizations rise and others falter. his conclusion is that culture makes all the difference the reagan not natural resources, not geography, but what people believe and their value. central is our judeo-christian beliefs. the american culture for both responsability, the dignity of work, the value of education,

devotion to a purpose and the pre-eminence of family, the power of this culture is evidenced by a recent study rick santorum brought to my attention. for those who graduate from high school, get a job, and mary before their first child, the probability they will be for is 2%, but if they are absent, 76% will be for -- will be former -- poor. these may be topics of debate from time to time, so marriage is a relationship between one

and and one woman your your read it and one woman. -- between one man and one woman. [applause] the protection of religious freedom is also a matter of debate. it strikes me as strange that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem. something america is stuck with. instead of being blessed with. perhaps religious content subsets' the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government. but, from the beginning, this nation has rested in god, not

man. [applause] religious liberty is the first freedom in our constitution. whether the causes justice for the persecuted, compassion for the needy, or mercy for the child waiting to be born, there is no greater force for good in the nation than christian conscience in action. [applause] religious freedom opens the door for americans that is close to many others. whether we walked through that door and what we do with our lives after is up to us. someone once observed that the great drama of christianity is not a crowd shot following the movements of collectives or nations. the drama is always personnel. individual.

unfolding in one's own life. we are not alone in sensing this. men and women of every faith and good people with none at all sincerely strive to do right and lead a purpose-driven life. i can tell you this much, all that you have heard here at liberty university about trusting in god and in his purpose for each of us makes for more than a good sermon. it makes for a good life. so many things compete for our attention and devotion. that does not stop as you get older. we are all prone to treat the trivial things as all important. the all important things as trivial. little by little, we lose sight of the one thing that endures forever. the lord's words of bring us back to ourselves into something far greater than ourselves. what we have, what we wish we had come ambitions fulfilled. ambitions disappointed. investments won, investments

lost. elections won, elections lost. each is subject to the serendipities of light. our relationship with our maker depends on none of that. it is entirely in our control. for he is always at the door. he knocks for us. our worldly success cannot be guaranteed, but our ability to achieve spiritual success is entirely up to us thanks to the

grace of god. [applause] the best advice i can give is to give those worldly things your best, but never your old. reserve your hope for the only one who can grant it. many preachers advise the same. if you as memorably as dr. martin luther king jr. he said, with most of my life ahead of me, i decided to give my life to something eternal and absolute. not to these little dots that are here today and gone tomorrow but the one who is the same today and forever. [applause]

the commitments that come closest to forever are those of family. my dad was the ceo, a governor, and a member of the president's cabinet. my wife asked him how what was your greatest accomplishment? without a moment's pause he said, raising our four kids. my wife and i feel the same way. i have never once regretted missing an opportunity so that i could be with my children and grandchildren. among the things in life that can be put off, being there when it matters most is not one of them. the home is the ultimate career. all other careers exist to support the ultimate career. promotions often marked the high points in a career. i hope i have not seen the last one of those.

[laughter] sometimes, the high points come in unexpected ways. i am embarrassed to recall that when this opportunity was presented to me, i dismissed it. the winter olympics. i was busy. i was doing well. by the way, my lack of athletic prowess did not make the olympics it logical step for me. after i accepted the position, my son called and said, dad, i have spoken to the brothers. we saw the paper this morning. we want you to know there is not a circumstance we could have conceived of that would put you on the front page of the sports section. [laughter] the olympics were not a logical choice. but, that was one of the best and most fulfilling choices of my life. opportunities to serve in

meaningful ways may come at inconvenient times. that will make them all the more precious. people of different faiths sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose. when there are so many differences in theology. certainly, we can begin service. in shared moral convictions about our nation, stemming from a common world view. the best case for this is always the example of christian men and women working and witnessing to carry god's love into every life. people like chuck colson. he recounted a story from his days after leaving prison. he was assured by people of influence that even with his record, a man with his connections and experience could still live very comfortably. they would make some calls, get him situated. set him up once again as as important.

his choice at a crossroads would make him, instead, a great man. the call to service is one of the fundamental elements of our national character and culture. it has motivated every great action of conscience. sometimes, as dr. victor frankel observed, it is what live is asking of us. how often the answer to our own problems is to help others with theirs. in all of these things, family, faith, work, service, the choices we make as americans in other places are not even choices at all. for so many on this earth, life is filled with orders, not options. right down to where they live, the work they do, and how many children they can have.

all the more reason to be grateful. this and every day, we live in the united states of america with a talent god gave us and we can use this in freedom. thank god for this nation. [applause] that this great christian institution, you have all learned a thing or two about these gifts and good purposes they can serve. they are yours to have endorsed a share. sometimes, your liberty education will set you apart. and always, it will help direct or path. as you leave, and make for new places near and far, i hope for each one of you that your path will be long and life will be kind. the idea that the bride you hear in the friends you have found

here, made these blessings be with you always. thank you all of you. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪ >> this evening, remarks from president obama, then discussion with the constitution party's presidential nominee, and then "q&a" with nancy gibbs

about the latest book. the bipartisan association is hosting a discussion about iran's nuclear program. the group represents the five permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany. we will hear from the former middle east advisor to president clinton. that begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern. and we will have live coverage of the former undersecretary for political affairs and the u.s. ambassador to it is ahead of the two day summit. on friday, president obama concluded his two day trip to the west coast with a visit to reno, nev. where he highlighted his home under the financing initiative. as part of his to do this, he is urging lawmakers to pass a bill that would reduce barriers

for home owners to refinance at a lower rate. it has increased 50% nationwide. [applause] >> he did not have to stand back. that is your shot. good afternoon. thank you for a range in a beautiful day. this is just spectacular afternoon. i am thrilled it is going to

take by. they're plenty of steps we can take to speed up the recovery there things we can do right now to help create jobs and help restore some of the financial security that some many families have lost. i have to say that there are few too many republicans to do not seem to be as optimistic as we are. they think that all we can do are things that have been done in the past, things that they have tried in the past. they want to cut our taxes especially for the wealthiest americans. did they want to cut back on rules we put in place for banks and financial institutions. they said they want to let the housing market hit bottom and hope for the best.

that is a. we have heard those ideas before. i do not buy it. i think they are wrong. we have tried their ideas. they did not work. i refuse to sell this country shore by going back to the exact same ideas that got this and this mess in the first place. our goal is to build an economy where hard work and responsibility are rewarded. the combined a good job, make a good job, are in a good wage, start a business, centered kids to college. -- send your kids to college. that is where we need to go. i have been pushing congress to help us get there by passing a awaremmon-sense policy ies

convince to make a difference. we even made a handy to do list for congress to they could check them off. paul is familiar with that list. there are only five things on that list. i do not want to overload congress with too much at once. we have told congress it is time to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and use that money to cover moving expenses for companies that bring jobs back to america.

second, instead of talking about job creatures, they should help small businesses and small business owners accrete most of the new jobs in america. we want to give them a tax preparer for paying them higher wages. the third thing, congress should extend tax credits that are set to expire for clean energy companies. they're putting folks to work here in this state of nevada. i went to see a huge solar plants. a lot of folks are working on the construction of it. this is happening all across the country. we have to make sure we are helping those folks. it helps break our dependence on foreign oil. it will help drive down gas prices. it is the right thing to do.

fourth, congress should create a veteran's job corps so that we can help communities hire returning heroes as cops and firefighters and employers. no one who fights to this country should ever have to come home and fight for a roof over their head. that is for. that brings into the fifth. the fifth thing on the lest is why i am here. i'm calling on congress to get every responsible home on undere chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing a mortgage. it is a simple idea. it makes great sense. i know it will have an impact. last october i was in clark county where i announce new

steps to help responsible homeowners refinance their palms. congress was not willing to act so we did. we did what we could do administratively without a new law being passed. american solar previously stuck in high interest loans have been able to take advantage of this lower rate. they have been able to save thousands of dollars every year. two of the people are your neighbors. paul and valerie keller. i just had a chance to visit with paul and valerie and look of their beautiful home and check out the grow up that. dollars says paul was a pretty good cook. i'm going to take her word for it. the colors of lives in this house for 14 years.

other works nearby helping secure loans for farmers and ranchers. paul is a retired election for a contractor who started a family business with their son. last year, withmortgage rate mortgage rates them to refinance. they thought it would be easy, since they're current on their mortgage, they make their payments on time. refinance, they were told they couldn't do it. because the kellers' house, like thousands of others in this state and probably some of the neighbors here, their house is underwater, which means that the price is currently lower than what they owe on it. with a historic drop in housing prices which caused the

value of the homes in their neighborhood to plummet. and a lot of banks historically have said, well, we're not going to refinance you if your home is underwater. now, luckily, the kellers saw my announcement that i had made down in clark county. so i'm assuming it must have been val because whenever something smart is done, it's usually the wife in the house. so they called their lender, and within a few months, within 90 days, they were able to refinance under this new program that we set up. their monthly mortgage bill has now dropped $240 dollars a month, and that means every year they're saving close to $3000. now, val says that they've been talking to some of their neighbors -- maybe some of you are here today -- and you're saying, well, that sounds like a pretty good idea. and a lot of folks across the country recognize this is a

smart thing to do not only for homeowners but for our economy, because if paul and val have an extra $240, $250 a month, then they might spend it on the local business. they might go to a restaurant a little more often. they might spoil their grandkids even more. and that means more money in the economy, and businesses do better, and slowly home prices start rising again. so it makes sense for all of us. and the good news is, since i've made this announcement, refinancing applications have gone up by 50 percent nationwide and 230 percent here in nevada alone. that's the good news. people are taking advantage of this.

that's what we want to see. but here's the only catch -- and this is where you come in, because you're going to have to pressure congress: the pool of folks who can refinance right now, when their homes are underwater, is still too small. the reason the kellers were able to refinance is because the only thing that we could do without congressional action was to give opportunities for refinancing for folks with a government-backed loan, an fha- backed loan. but in order to expand that opportunity -- we want to include everybody; people whose mortgages aren't government- backed.

and in order to do that we've got to have congress move. there's absolutely no reason why they can't make this happen right now. if they started now, in a couple of weeks, in a month, they could make every homeowner in america who is underwater right now eligible to be able to refinance their homes -- if they're making their payments, if they're responsible, if they're doing the right thing. and think about all those families saving $3,000 on average a month year-- that's a huge boost to our economy. and for some of you who are underwater, you might say, instead of spending that money i can plow that back into equity in my home, and build that back up, which would further strengthen housing prices here in nevada and around the country. so it's the right thing to do. there's already a bill in the works. it's supported by independent, nonpartisan economists. it's supported by industry leaders. congress should pass it right now. and let me just say this -- maybe there are some members of

congress watching. if you need some motivation to make this happen, then you should come to reno and you should visit with folks like the kellers. i'm not saying the kellers want all these members of congress up in their house. it's bad enough having me and secret service in there. but at least they -- they probably wouldn't mind saying hello and talking to them here in front of their house.

but they should talk to people whose lives are better because of the action that we took. all over the country, there are people just like paul and val, folks just like you, who are doing everything they can to do the right thing -- to meet their responsibilities, to look after their families, to raise their kids right, give them good values. you're not looking for a handout. you just want to make sure that somebody is looking out for you, and that when you do the right thing that you're able to keep everything that you've worked for. that's what folks are looking for, and that's what they expect from washington: to put the politics aside and the electioneering aside, and just do what's right for people. so i need all of you and everybody who's watching to push congress on their "to-do" list. nag them until they actually get it done. we need to keep moving this country forward. send them an email. tweet them. write them a letter if you're old-fashioned like me.

but communicate to them that this will make a difference. it's one small step that will help us create the kind of economy that all americans deserve. and that's an economy that's built to last. an economy where everybody has a fair shot, everybody gets a fair share, everybody is playing by the same set of rules. that's what made us great in the past. that's what's going to make us great in the future. all right. thank you, everybody. god bless you. god bless america. and give paul and val a big round of applause. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> president obama is an york city tomorrow where he is delivering the commencement address to a woman's college founded over 120 years ago. he is scheduled to speak after 1:00 and will have live coverage.

>> our discussion this morning with a constitution party's nominee. then "q &a"." the highlights from britain's phone hacking inquiry. >> joining me is a constitutional party presidential nominee virtual goo -- virgil goode. we covet your nomination speech which is available on our website. why did. you decide to run? guest: at this point in our nation's history, we need

several courses of options. a constitution party is are candidates for president. it will enable us to focus on balancing the budget. securing our borders by eliminating illegal immigration and reducing legal immigration. i also favor term limits for example. i believe if the incumbent president was focusing more on the needs of the country, the country would be better off. i also support term limits for members of the house and the united states senate. air campaign is taking no donation over $200. i had a little funds left over from the congressional accounts.

citizens from across the country were limited to 200 per individual. the action committees are pouring the money into the national democrats in public since into the campaigns of -- republicans and into the campaigns of romney. we need grassroots leadership, not an were the first order of business is listening to the big pacs. >> usage to only have one term. let's talk about getting elected.

e.t sent ralph nader getting 2.7%. none aren't any electoral votes. houhow you do it personally? host: you did not go quite far enough. abraham lincoln was a third- party candidate when he won the presidency. third-party candidates in 1948 received electoral college votes and in 1968. in 1892, the people's party received a number of electoral votes in the midwest. this is more like 1860 than it was 1980. the level of dissatisfaction

across this country with both major parties is significant and with the course that both are taking us down. in dealing with the federal government, obama submitted this. the republican budget resolution is over 600 billion in deficits this year. we need persons in the white house. they have the courage. host: how you answer this question. he is writing about americans elect which is trying to get a third party candidates by having a place. his question is, why has a third-party effort been sputtering? where is the constitution party?

guest: the constitution party is on the ballot already. we are ballot eligible in several states including florida and ohio. we hope to be on at least 40 state ballots. with regard to the elect, and number of individuals have participated. they have told me that it was very hard. my wife tried. she found it very difficult. a lot of persons do not live giving part of theirs security number in order to cast a ballot. and number of citizens told me i am going to do my bella --

.alancballot i know previous persons were talking about it. a lot of people do not want to do this. there is the sputtering of the americans elect. it is to say someone like myself cannot be a candidate. if you have any party nomination, they cannot be a candidates. i would like some options

besides that. gilour guest is virig goode. our phone lines are open. he can also send us an e-mail. give our listeners and viewers are pitch. why should you be the next president? we are on a downhill slide. under president obama, the course of increased indebtedness is running on that speech. over $5 trillion added to the national debt. it does not encourage them to end the deficit spending. tech choices have to be made.

i will submit a balanced budget. i will totally eliminate illegal elimination. i will work to some vividly reduce illegal elimination. i'm the only candidate who has called for more on green card emissions. why should we admit persons by giving them a green card and 2/3 go immediately into the workforce when our unemployment rate is between 8% and 9%? we need jobs for americans. we need a candidates that is

free of the big special interests in washington. and other issues, such as traditional marriage, i have been a consistent supporter a defining marriage as between one woman and one man. but president obama and governor romney have wavered and flipped and flopped on that issue. host: how on earth do you expect to make any headway with a legitimate campaign? guest: we're going to make an effort to get on the ballot. it is an uphill fight.

we are going to make an effort and see how this panned out. host: what does this say about the difficulties that americans elect? guest: it varies greatly. yet to get 10,000 signatures. -- you need to get 10,000 signatures. others are able to achieve this in virginia. ron paul made it by a close shave. governor romney worked at it longer.

it is scrutinized. we get them all across the state. eking get on this. -- you can get along. people are working in vermont now. we are going to get on a lot of states. it likely will not be on in every state. we are already ballot qualified in michigan which is a key state. of ohio, missouri, colorado, utah, wyoming, south carolina. i have to go on in name all 17.

we're optimistic on getting on a few more right away. new mexico was the most recent state which which we were ballot qualified for. also i believe north dakota just as it. host: danny is on the phone from connecticut. the morning. >> and co-head. >> me know about the u.s. commission of the presidential debates. it sounds like a government agency but it is run by the democrats and republicans. they say you need 17% to get on the debate.

why would you exclude everybody else? i was being constitutional. they run their own debate under the guise of this. it seems inherently unfair to the american public. >> thank you for the call. the parties and not directly involved. it is an independent commission. mike mccurry is the other co- chair. only one in 1992 and 1996 a that? one bridges of a ta

>> it to be great with a constitutional party nominee. a couple of others. if they did, of the united states citizens would be able to see a broader perspective on many different issues. the problem with the democratic nominee is there's often a choice between twiddle dum and tweedle dee. i will go back to the amatory am on letting some any green cards go into the united states. gov. romney is not for that. neither is president obama. you will not hear that discussed. they are not going to focus on the adverse impact on the budgets, on the economy of this country in on the job level of so much illegal immigration. we have one of the most legal immigration in the world. when we have unemployment at the

level that it is now, we certainly should not be letting so many persons and to this country that cost them jobs. baking get public assistance and hire them, too. have not seen governor romney focus on this issue. this is against amnesty. i remember talking when he was in the u.s. hierarchy. he did this in 2008. he seemed less sure. he may be a more sure on that issue. i'm not heard him talk about the birthright citizenship. he will not hear president obama talk about it. they want special blocks. if i am elected, i am going to

look out for the american system. they do not want to hear my views in the debate. you would be surprised how many citizens are fed up with tweedle dum and tweedle dee km i think the majority would agree with me if we had the opportunity in the form of a provincial debate between barack obama and it romney offering the course of action. >> we were pleased to be the only network to cover this in its entirety. >> i certainly appreciate that. we have talked about some of those issues. c-span, i know you have given

gary johnson in opportunity to be on "washington journal" and you are certainly trying to achieve fairness across the board. host: we will look for other ways to showcase their parties. welcome to the conversation. caller: i live in florida. i would like a gentleman opinion on very few of the constitutionality of the patriot action. i would like to know how he feels about this.

guest: we will cover the patriot act. when i was in congress i did vote for the patriot act. enlightened me.e m they deserve to be free from

unwarranted searches and seizures. i know your previous program addressed some of the issues with regard to gps tracking, cell phone tracking and things like that. i would assess the patriot had for reapportions. the second issue was the geneva convention. i can say as a matter of principle the sovereignty of the united states is supreme. and do not think we should be subject to participating in the world court and then have that

supreme over our sovereignty. they have subjected to some third party or foreign entity. at the time, we have that address to talk to. host: let me ask you about the larger issue of the constitution. did these issues come up when you were in congress? did you personally get involved in these constitutional issues? guest: yes.

i was one of the leaders in the fight against it. we work very hard on this issue. in my view, we never tell was the reason. -- we were never told this was the reason. caller: rosalie is on the phone. the morning. good morning. i'm hearing your concerns. by just wonder how you could

possible crane gain knowledge about the country in the world. i understand what more than one can come to an abuse of power. it will eliminate a waste of time. half the time they're not doing their job. how can we mitigate this? guest: you made a great reason for term limits. with regard to term limits, if you elect the person with common sense focus on balancing the

budget, they do not need to terms to get it done. they only need that one term focus on what is doing right and not be focusing on what is best for the election. this is my way to gain of votes and say i am for the average person. i could mention some. the first one would be they let illegals get tax identification numbers in cats someone in mexico as a dependent and get a deduction, $4.2 billion and one years.

that's to be off the table immediately. it will not be. obama does not want to event in any way the hispanic caucus. i was there. as soon as you get elected, get a brace yourself for the next election. this'll be to turn max. -- two term max. [unintelligible] you have hit the nail on the head. you have member so worried about what we're going to do to get

the money for the next election, i do not want to take a stand on this issue but we cannot trim education picture it. acts to thetake ta department of education. i was against no child left behind. it is time to cut other programs across the federal budget. i will submit a balanced budget. it will make a lot of citizens mad. be will be doing the right thing. we have to reduce debt lately

and eliminate the deficit. otherwise, we will be sliding downhill. this would be a disaster for the united states. guest: you can get more information by logging onto the web site. our guest is former congressman virgil goode. there is this from want of our viewers. how many times did you vote for the president debt limit increases? president bush raised seven times. much did you add to the debt? guest: it is possible i voted a time or two. as the about the next election. i was one of those of that

votged against raising the debt. i think ron paul was the only appearance on that. i want to salute him for always voting no. we have to do what is right for the country first. not party first. host: what question from mike freeman. many votes would have gone to al gore. the third parties tend to be spoilers. how do you respond? guest: this country needs some

spoiling. i am not out here to spoil. i am out here to win. we need somebody with my philosophy and my view running the country. if they were, the united states would be a lot better off. and so many of the issues, you have a real headache -- you do not have a real big choice. on a lot of issues, i will take more votes from obama. he said that if i am on the ballot in virginia, you will take a vote away from obama. we will get a lot of democratic votes that would not vote for the republican nominee. we will be taking votes from both sides.

i hope you have taken enough votes that we are on top and they are on ticket and third base and not on home plate. host: karen from richmond, virginia, republican line. caller: good morning. i have a comment first and then a question for you. i have had the opportunity -- i am an american but have lived in britain and australia where they have different voting systems. he can go into a polling booth in australia and vote for you and my second preference would be a republican, whatever, and go down the line and it

would be a more honest vote. it was their people the angst of worrying about that wasted vote. always the banks about am i wasting my vote? i did one that does not get obama out of the white house. should there be some kind of look into changing the system? ing to win. gonig ot w there needs to be a change. guest: sure. i would at first glance not be in favor of having your first

choice, second choice vote. i think voting is hard enough for some people. that will make it harder. you change a little bit at the corner. karen said i am an opportunity this because i was an independent and then a democrat. now my constitutional party person. i will tell you why. i am in issues oriented individual. in virginia, they were elected to the state senate.

you ought to get out of the party. i joined the republican conference. not just a conference. this is so i can dance on the preparation committee. my views have stayed pretty consistent. i have been a low spender. i have been consistently against [inaudible] i did not vote for unbalanced budgets. i was a consistent a poser of so much debt and deficits.

i would go to the is conference meetings and urge the chopping of foreign aid. we spent hundreds of billions on foreign aid and over the last the decades. if i was president, and the need act -- the mead act and fore ign aide would come out. we have to look out for these citizens first. we can not be everything to everyone. overall, my principles have remained consistent and steady. the party label is not what is the matter. it is the views of the persons

in office and how they are running the country. host: good morning. go ahead. caller: thank you for having me. what to oslo as a question. for the last eight or 12 years when president bush was in office, why is it that no one ever had anything to say or to stop him from doing certain things to put us in this situation that we are in today but yet everybody wants to blame obama for that? president obama did not create this situation. nobody seemed to want it to stop president obama from giving money away from starting a child

but behind. they know that education is the first thing they give money to. where were you were maybe should have ran for president. guest: i was there voting no on foreign aid. bush was spending too much money. he did not want to cut it on illegal immigration. i disagreed with bush. i voted no. i was one of 65 in the u.s..

it pass unanimously. the federal government should not even be in secondary education school systems and telling them what to do. that should be up to the individual states. john mccain was a republican won for president. we heard rumors that mccain was going to stand up. he did not stand up. neither did barack obama. the lady that called and should criticize them obama. i voted no. that is what we need.

someone in washington is willing to say no when someone wants more money. we cannot keep spending. host: let me ask you about another debate question. they wonder if this a work with americans elect to post your own debate is putting tweedle dee and twiddle done. guest: they already have a debate with the third parties. they will probably have several. in 2008, the candidates for the

party and several others, i do not know of the top of my head all that was there. i am sure this will be a debate. the years ahead in october before the election. my problem with it is that c- span will cover its. c-span will give that attention to the debate. you will not seek cbs. this is highly unlikely. guest: has he signed the covert northwest pledge? guest: i have not gotten the latest pledge. i can tell you i am not for

increasing marginal tax rates. anything above 35% is too high. i would like to see it come down. i would like to see the corporate tax rates come down. there are so many things that make this less that that needs to be addressed. this is not going to set well with a lot of people. if you're going to have the income tax, the current tax code needs to be totally redone. there are other sources and the income tax. if you're going to have the income tax, and needs to be simple.

it is whether you're coming together and some to unlike the taxpay code. it did pass the house several times. never cleared the senate. new orleans, a republican minds. the morning. >> the public already knows about what you are talking about. for you to jump from one party to another, no one is going to trust your judgment. where would you go for the presidential election? guest: they should trust my judgment. i have been consistent.

we need somebody that will have the courage to cut. president obama does not have the courage to cut. he has gone wild on its. we are $5 trillion for when he came into office. president obama ran up the credit card. president obama has gone hog wild. i do not trust governor romney to cut like i would cut. i would submit a balanced budget to congress. a lot of things would be trimmed. we do not have a choice. there is going to be some pain. it is far better to do it now than to wait years in the future.

host: he is the former member of congress. he is joining us from richmond. thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. >> monday, we are joined to talk about his are th organization's drive. we also speak with the enterprise interest tin situ. then a pentagon correspondent for defense news will talk about this for the army, navy, air force and marines. it airs every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> coming up next, highlights from britain's phone hacking ingrate with testimony from andy coulson. coulson.