you, mr. trump? i don't know. i sat down and the president is talking with joke after joke about donald trump. he was very respectful, actually, and i had a great time. as some of the men and women in the room will do, i kept my wife on her knee. i was trying to act stonefaced. am i supposed to laugh? what am i supposed to do? i am neutral. i taught my wife on the knee. -- tap my wife on the knee. do you believe it? the president is devoting most of his speech to me. this is unbelievable. just so you know, i am a presbyterian. i swear to god that happened.

do you believe this? i have 6000 people in that room, the biggest ball room in washington by far. i think it holds 5000 or 6000. i said, "do you believe this?" he is talking about me. i had a great time. unbelievable. the next day, i wake up and i read, "donald trump had a miserable evening. i could see it all over his face. he felt humiliated." humiliated? it was the greatest. the press is really dishonest. the biggest thing mitt romney has to fear is that press. i am not saying all of them. i know some great reporters. and it is a great profession. there are many dishonest reporters.

they have done stories where they told me they were wrong, but they had to go with it. the story is more exciting. these are some of the most dishonest people ever. there are really good ones, really talented ones. but there are really bad ones. i think it is the biggest fear that the republicans and mitt romney will have, because the level of protection of barack obama -- as an example, mitt romney has done many deals. they have been, generally speaking, fantastic. obama never did a deal, except for one -- his house. ok? his house. he got away with that, but that whole house thing is a very, very bad situation, and he got away with it. i guarantee you, if he was a

conservative republican, or if he was somebody else, he would be in deep, deep trouble, to put it mildly. we have had somebody in the white house who had no experience, who had no track record. honestly, he has made bad deals. they talk about in london. -- osama bin laden. pakistan is getting billions of dollars from the united states, and yet they are supporting osama bin laden. i do not think it was much of a mansion, but they call it in mansion. i would not want to live in it personally. but it was big. it was the biggest house in the area by far, and it was right next to their military academy, where all their best soldiers are. that are very good militarily. they know what is going on. do you think they do not know what is living in that house? how stupid are we.

-- how stupid are we? we are giving him billions of dollars. a caucus made to the president. the call says the following. we think we have osama bin laden. let us assume anybody in this room is president. i give the military tremendous kudos. there are three things we can do. leave him alone? we do not want to touch him. you can do three things. leave him alone. we do not want to touch him. we can go in and get him, or a drop a missile on him. i would have said that, i think. it would have been so nice, right? he said go in and get them. that was good. but who would not have made that

decision? is there anybody that would not have made that decision? instead of sitting back and relaxing, he is bragging, because that is one of the things he did. give him some credit, but i think anybody else would have done the same thing. look at polls of the military, and mitt romney is way higher. they did not like him grandstanding with osama bin laden. they did not like it. anyway, i am sure i will get in a lot of trouble for some of these things, but i do not care. [applause] we actually have a lot of national press back there, and they are celebrating.

we are going to get drama. who cares? but we really have to do something. we have to do something soon. north carolina is one of the most, if not the most important state, in terms of who is going to become the next president. [applause] we need a president who is smart and tough, and gets it. we need a president who has business acumen. we need a president who has business ability. we also need a president who has heart. mitt romney has a lot of heart. the reason i decided not to run is i got to know him. i heard him in the debate about china, that china will not continue to manipulate their currency. they will not continue to destroy this country.

and if they do, we are going to the world court. and if they do, we are going to do other things like tax your product 25%. [applause] they will have a depression in china the likes of which you have never seen. it is not only us. europe is doing unbelievably badly, unbelievably bad light. china -- he is doing a number on them also. there manipulation of currency is sapping the europeans. one thing about europe -- they created the euro. they got together and they created a currency. do you know why? because they wanted to do harm to the united states. they wanted to compete against

the united states. i have a lot of friends in europe. i came from europe, i guess, a long time ago, meaning my mommy and my daddy. but they did want to inflict harm on us, economic harm. and boy have they gotten screwed. what a mess. they were not counting on greece, spain, italy, and everybody collapsing. what people say about europe -- i am not sure. it could be the reverse. every economist disagrees with me. but i went to the wharton school of finance, best business school in the world, and i was very good at economics. the bureau was created to be the united states in business. germany is trying to take over the world. the credit militarily.

when greece looks at who is buying out all their debt, germany is doing very nicely. but you may only end up with germany. i really feel that it is very possible that with respect to europe, if it gets weaker and weaker, which is probably happening, that is a positive thing for the united states. in a statement about europe, they talked about other countries that were taken advantage of. i am here because i love this country. i would much prefer, as much as i love north carolina -- i would not mind being home, playing with baron trump. but this is so important to me. these are political pundits, but

i tend to agree with them. i have heard numerous times by a very smart people, some of whom i can respect, most of whom i do not respect, is who wins north carolina wins the election. in other words in other words, you are in a very important position, and you can bring it home. i hear the polls are very uncertain. most people do not like barack obama. but he is a great campaigner. that you have to give him credit for. and you are going to have to fight like hell. probably, it is true. you might add florida. you might add ohio.

the fact is every time i am listening to some of the most respected people, they are talking about the people in this room. i wish you luck. i have enjoyed being here. you are great people, amazing people. i really am honored to be with you tonight. have a great evening. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [applause] >> i want to see everybody playing on the trump national golf course in north carolina. thank you, sir. >> tomorrow on "newsmakers," we are joined by the enforcement chief of the securities and

exchange commission. he talks about s.e.c. efforts to prosecute insider-trading and prevent fraud. that is sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> the chair of the democratic government association was the keynote speaker at new hampshire is democratic party convention today. he talked about what he sees as competing visions in the campaign and the importance of new hampshire in the presidential election. he discussed mitt romney as massachusetts governor and his private sector experience at bain capital. >> you all seem pretty fired up here in new hampshire. it may be cloudy and rainy outside, but it is warm and fired up inside. great to be in new hampshire. [applause]

senator, thank you for your very kind introduction, and for your recognition of the important and good things the people of my state are doing. i want to say thank you to my friend, chairman buckley, who has been a great guy. he has done a great job for the new hampshire democratic party. thank you for doing this important job. new hampshire is critically important to our country this year. [applause] i also want to thank first vice chair clark, second vice chair solomon. it is an honor to join all of you, the granite state democrats. i had occasion to see backstage your terrific united states senator, jeanne shaheen, who is doing an outstanding job. also, i had occasion to listen to governor john lance. don't you think you have a great

governor these last eight years? john lynch has not only -- you know what a great governor he has been for new hampshire. he is a great governor in the democratic governors organization, which i have the honor to chair this year. he has been that person brings people together to get important things done, to create jobs, to improve education, to reduce the cost of health care, to keep streets and neighborhoods safe, to protect the environment of this beautiful state. you do have a beautiful state. i am glad to say that i have had the pleasure of going door to door in some very picturesque places in new hampshire. mount washington to be waters of portsmouth, one can just picture

mitt romney driving his family -- [laughter] up here to one of his many homespun. children in the back of the station wagon. dog tied firmly to the roof of the car. [applause] as the dogwood a test, -- dog would attest, mitt happens. [applause] you know, as governor, i do not get to watch much television, but i have to confess i was sad to see that wonderful reality series, the republican presidential primaries, end. weren't you?

it was very sad to see it end. that reality show of fear and loathing. when it came to the end, in the final episode, everyone was voted off the island except governor mitt romney, who managed to fight off his would- be competitors, armed with nothing but his trusty but to sketch pad. -- etch a sketch pad. now, we enter another phase. it is critically important phase for new ventures future -- new hampshire's future. it is a question about whether our country continues to move forward. you could be the difference in the re-election of president barack obama. you could be those four votes of difference.

it is critically important that you get your state house back, critically important that you restore some pragmatism and some common sense to your executive council, right? [applause] and it is critically important that you have a successor to john lynch that will be able to stand up with integrity, with respect for the dignity of every individual, bring the people of new hampshire together, and move them forward. i wanted to talk with you about the challenges that you and i, led by our courageous president barack obama, have taken on, especially at this time. there are competing views that are now struggling for our country's future. this is being played out in every state house. i want to suggest to you how we

win in this important electoral choice that all of us, as the community, have to make. i remember with -- remember being with you five years ago. i believe were in a gymnasium. at that time, we resolved to move our country forward out of eight disastrous years of the presidency of george w. bush, forward out of eight years of trading at record surpluses for record deficits, government by and for the 1%, out of eight years where opportunity was declining, where wages were shrinking, the worst job losses and home losses our country had suffered since the 1930's. the truth can defend herself, but she needs to be stated.

no president since franklin wars, or asvelt inherited a large a deficit as our president inherited from george w. bush, when he was our president for eight years. [applause] let us start off with a little bit of audience participation. but us resolve today that for the next seven months we never say the words recession, deficit, or job losses without proceeding them with the proper pronoun, "bush." [applause] all right? repeat after me, would you? altogether. for those of you who are roman catholic and accustomed to not singing along with others, i

would like you to suspend your disbelief. repeat after me. the bush recession. the bush deficits. bush job losses. don't you feel better already? now when tea party republicans like kevin smith, charlie bass, the franc -- frank ginza, and mitt romney -- when these folks say they want to take us back, i think all of us should rightly ask. back to what? i do not want to go back to those days -- the job losses, the deficits, the endless wars. i do not want to go back. here in the granite state,

moving forward is part of who you are. it is in your dna. going back is not in your blood. it is not the new hampshire way. it is not the way america was built. with governor lynch's new hampshire working initiative, new hampshire chose to move forward, not back. with health first helping the small businesses provide health care, new hampshire chose to move forward. with public education, new hampshire chose to move forward, not back. with your kids dropping out of high school, new hampshire chose to move forward, and not back. now, we have a leader, in president barack obama, who is

making the right and the very difficult choices to lead us forward as a country. on the road to recovery, there will be ups and downs. no worthwhile work is without its ups and downs. with 27 months in a row of private-sector job growth, president obama is moving us forward, and not backward. with more jobs created last year and in the entire eight- year presidency of george w. bush, president obama is moving us forward, not back. by driving foreclosures down to a lower level than when he was first sworn into office, barack obama is moving us forward, and not back. by driving unemployment down to levels of the lowest in three years, president barack obama is moving america forward, not back.

the facts are stubborn things. you know what? sometimes, they are also helpful things. job creation is up. unemployment is down. we still have more work to do. because of president obama's leadership, general motors is alive and hiring, and osama bin laden is not. [applause] now, could our jobs recovery be happening faster? sure, it could. it could. but that would require compromise. it would require some pragmatism.

and it would require a laser focus on the common good. those are three concepts the newly-radicalized tea party congress is entirely in capable of. we had a job creation congress -- excuse me. we have a job-creation president, and a constipation congress. [applause] i mean, if they thought it would help the recovery speed up, these guys could not pass gas, you know? not if they thought it would help the president speed up our jobs recovery. this is the same crowd that find themselves having to fall back to mitt romney as their party leader. having now twisted into a pretzel to appease the radical right, he now tells us that his

private sector experience at bain capital and his public sector experience as governor of massachusetts qualify camps for this office. let us look at the facts. at bain capital, where his job was to return profits as quickly as possible to a very narrow view, rather than creating long- term jobs for the many, he was driving up that, bankrupting companies before walking away from these businesses, leaving a trail of lost jobs and economic hardship. there is nothing illegal about that. that is part of this free- enterprise system. there are some builders, and there are to ship brokers. -- shipwreckers. there are people who manufacture cars and there are people who scrap cars. every job is needed. but the mission of bain capital

was wealth creation, not job creation. that are different things. the second claim, which is a claim he has not been making much even himself, had to do with his experience in the commonwealth of massachusetts. in better, far better, economic times, under mitt romney's governance, massachusetts ranked 47 out of 50 in job creation. where did massachusetts ranked in job creation? 47 out of 50 states, in job creation. get this. of the few jobs created during those years, six times as many were created in the public sector than were created in the private sector. what is more, in a relatively short time, one term, governor romney drove up the largest per capita debt on the backs of the

people of massachusetts. contrast that with the president. last year, our nation created more jobs than it created in the eight years of the presidency of george w. bush. decide which of these gentlemen actually is the job creator. [applause] it is all about choices. we can move forward, or we can move back. a lot of buyers remorse right now, when some of your neighbors thought they were expressing their frustration. they settled your state with a bunch of people who you wonder why they would ever run for office, when the only value they seem to share in common is their desire to dismantle the people's government. elections have consequences. [applause] elections have consequences. the better future we seek for

our children is not inevitable. it is a choice. right now, across our country, here in your state house and this one -- this upcoming election, is a struggle between different vision of the future our children should share. our vision, a division of democratic governor john lynch, the vision of president obama, is different from what our tea party republicans see for our future. we believe in america at united in the belief of the dignity of every individual. we also see an america that is still growing, where opportunity is expanding, and america that is moving forward, creating jobs, creating opportunities, growing in every way, including our understanding of one another, our care, our respect,

an america that is strengthening and growing the ranks of an inclusive and more upwardly- mobile middle-class. that is our vision for our country. [applause] our vision is not unlike that of our parents and grandparents. it is a vision of greater economic security and greater freedom for the many. it is a vision that says our best days are still in front of us as a nation. what is their vision? it is not a vision. i would submit to you it does not keep faith with the hard work and sacrifices of our grandparents. it does not believe in a better life for all america's children. it is the vision of an america that can no longer afford to grow its middle-class or to send its children to college, or perhaps even to send its

children to the doctor. it is an america where jobs and opportunities are shrinking, where wealth is being concentrated. it is an america where women's rights are rolled back. where voting rights are rolled back. we're working rights are rolled back. it is an america whose best days are behind her. this is not a scary tale. as you note here, especially, what they might do, it is overreaching, right wing, already happening in states like florida, new jersey, wisconsin, ohio, arizona. even in virginia. across the border in maine, even babies are not safe from the effort to repeal the baron -- the ban on [unintelligible]

what does that have to do with creating jobs and securing our children's future? [applause] and you have seen a yourself. at a time when we should be spurring innovation in research and development, they put anti- choice of riders on bills. where would new hampshire be without john lynch keeping these guys from overreaching? [applause] where would new hampshire be? actually, you would be in maine. that is where you would be. in states like new hampshire, the only thing protecting the common good from the radical republicans like bill o'brien has been your democratic governor. elections have consequences. that is why we need your help.

our parents and grandparents did not, throughheir hard work, sacrifice, and love, give to us a car. they gave us the country. this is not a thing to be traded in when the engine knocks or the corporate forgets old. she is something to be treasured, loved, strengthened, and built up. it is not about what other countries are doing to us. it is what we need to do for ourselves. as research in this election for the good intentions of our neighbors, for common ground and a way forward, perhaps we should ask one another, especially our neighbors who may have been seduced into this hard right- wing approach -- we might ask of them how much less do we think would be good for our country. how much less education would be

good for our children? how much less public safety? how many fewer college degrees would be good for america's economic competitiveness? how much less research and development? how many hungry american kids can we no longer afford to feedbacks to create jobs, a modern economy requires moderate investments. some of these are public investments, investments by all of us for the benefit of all of us. innovating and rebuilding -- that is not democratic or republican. it is an economic truth, and an american truth. it was true for our parents and grandparents. it is the core that built our country. the united states of america is the greatest job-generating entity ever created by a free people in the history of civilization.

[applause] and we have it within our power. we have it within our power to champion free enterprise and expand opportunity at the same time. let us not be the first generation of americans to give our children a lesser quality of life with your opportunities and fewer freedoms. the better and stronger america that we seek is ahead of us. like the early light of dawn, it is forward, and not back. god bless you, new hampshire, in your important battle.

>> in his weekly address, president obama talks about the economy and creating jobs for veterans. he spoke at the honeywell manufacturing plant in minnesota. then john cornyn speaks about u.s. tax policy and creating jobs. >> today i'm at one of honeywell's manufacturing facilities in golden valley, minnesota, where i just announced a step that will make it easier for companies to hire returning service members who have the skills our country needs right now. it's another part of our effort to make sure that no american who fights for this country abroad has to fight for a job when they come home. that's why businesses like honeywell are answering our challenge to hire 100,000 post- 9/11 veterans and their spouses by the end of next year. that's why i've directed the government to hire over 200,000 veterans so far -- because our economy needs their tremendous talent, and because millions of americans are still looking for a job.

right now, this country is still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis since the great depression. the economy is growing again, but it's not growing fast enough. our businesses have created almost 4.3 million new jobs over the last twenty-seven months, but as we learned in this week's jobs report, we're not creating them fast enough. and just like last year at this time, our economy faces some serious headwinds. gas prices are starting to come down again, but when they spiked over the last few months, it hit people's wallets pretty hard. the crisis in europe's economy has cast a shadow on our own. and all of this makes it even more challenging to fully recover and lay the foundation for an economy that's built to last. but from the moment we first took action to prevent another depression, we knew the road to recovery wouldn't be easy. we knew it would take time, that there would be ups and downs along the way. but we also knew that if we were willing to act wisely, and boldly, and together; if we

were willing to keep at it, and never quit, we would come back stronger. nothing has shaken my faith in that belief. we will come back stronger. we do have better days ahead. and that's because of you. i would place my bet on american workers and american businesses any day of the week. you're the reason our auto industry has come roaring back. you're the reason manufacturing is hiring at its fastest pace since the 1990s. you work hard. you play by the rules. and what you deserve are leaders who will do the same; who will do whatever it takes to fight for the middle-class and grow this economy faster. because while we can't fully control everything that happens in other parts of the world, there are plenty of things we can control here at home. there are plenty of steps we can take right now to help create jobs and grow this economy. i sent congress a jobs bill last september full of the kinds of bipartisan ideas that would have put our fellow americans back to work and helped

reinforce our economy against those outside shocks. i sent them a plan that would have reduced the deficit by $4 trillion in a way that's balanced -- that pays for the job-creating investments we need by cutting unnecessary spending and asking the wealthiest americans to pay a little more in taxes. since then, congress has only passed a few parts of that jobs bill, like a tax cut that's allowing working americans to keep more of your paycheck every week. that was important. but congress hasn't acted on enough of the other ideas in that bill that would make a difference and help create jobs right now. and there's no excuse for that. not when so many people are looking for work. not when so many people are struggling to pay the bills. so my message to congress is, get to work. right now, congress should pass a bill to help states prevent more layoffs, so we can put thousands of teachers and firefighters and police officers back on the job. congress should have passed a bill a long time ago to put

thousands of construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our runways. instead of just talking a good game about job creators, congress should give small business owners a tax break for hiring more workers and paying them higher wages. let's get that done. right now, congress should give every responsible homeowner the opportunity to save an average of $3,000 a year by refinancing their mortgage. next week, there's a vote in congress on a bill that would give working women the tools they need to demand equal pay for equal work. ensuring paycheck fairness for women should be a no brainer. and they need to pass that bill. right now, congress also needs to extend the tax credits for clean energy manufacturers that are set to expire at the end of the year -- so that we don't walk away from 40,000 good jobs. and it's long past time for congress to end the tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and use that money to

cover moving expenses for companies that are bringing jobs back to america. it's not lost on anyone, least of all me, that this is an election year. but we've got responsibilities that are bigger than an election. we've got responsibilities to you. with so many people struggling to get by, now is not the time to play politics. now is not the time for congress to sit on its hands. the american people expect their leaders to work hard, no matter what year it is. that's what i intend to do. and i expect democrats and republicans to join me. >> i am texas senator john cornyn. president spoke and change, president obama has opted for fear. the senate majority leader is scheduled in political showboats. meanwhile, millions of american workers remain unemployed, and our biggest national problems loom large without the

leadership americans deserve. gimmicks will not solve those problems. unless congress and the president act, january will bring us the largest tax increase in american history, roughly $500 billion. make no mistake. every single working american will see his or her taxes go up on january 1, absent action. family budgets will be squeezed tighter. disposable income will shrink. many jobs will be destroyed. this will be a body blow for our economy, and it could easily push us back into recession. everyone knows that, including the president, who seems to prefer campaigning to governing, demonstrating a disappointing unwillingness to lead. millions of households across the country have seen their income shrank, while the cost of health care, food, and gasoline have increased. the president still seems to think there is nothing wrong

with our economy that a tax increase on job critters will not solve. the resulting uncertainty over federal taxes has been deeply harmful to our economic recovery. after all, if you are a business owner, would you hire new employees or make substantial investments if you do not know your tax rate on january 1? why would you expect the economy to improve, when the president has repeatedly indicated the problem is not the federal government spends too much, but taxes are too low. raising taxes is the last thing we should do amid the weakest economic recovery since world war ii. unfortunately, even if we avoid that scenario, the health care what includes a new tax on investment that will take effect in 2013. this will hamper small business investment, which is the lifeblood of private-sector job creation. i would remind the president

that back in 2010, 47 house democrats signed a letter that said, "raising taxes on capital gains and dividends could discourage individuals and businesses from saving and investing." that was true in 2010, and it is true in 2012. the good news is that we now have emerging bipartisan consensus on tax reform. the bad news is that president obama is missing in action. the bipartisan consensus is simple. we should lower the rates and broaden the base. that would make our tax is more logical, more efficient, and more conducive to strong economic growth. but we will not get real tax reform until we get real presidential leadership. the time for action is now. the longer president obama dithers, the greater the damage to our economy. republicans are eager to prevent the largest tax increase in

american history, and we do not see any reason to delay. we want to strengthen the economy. that is what most americans want, and that is what they deserve. thank you. >> coming up, medal of honor recipients tell their stories at the ronald reagan library. president obama presents the medal of freedom. and the unveiling of president george w. bush in the east room of the white house. >> sunday -- >> with walter cronkite, people see him only as the avuncular, friendly man, which he was. but there was another side of him and wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings, beating the berger report. he was probably the fiercest competitor i have ever written about. i have written about presidents and generals.

the desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> douglas brinkley on his new biography ceo news anchor walter cronkite. >> the president has a hard time selling an argument of economic optimism when, at the same time, people are not feeling it. >> the way the american people approach this election is they understand that we did not get into this crisis overnight, and we are not going to get out of it overnight. >> it is what the people in ohio and florida, virginia -- what they think about their lives. is it getting better? getting worse? who is responsible? that is not as quantifiable as saying the unemployment rate is down. >> the national journal focused

on the 2012 presidential election. what's the discussions on line at the c-span video library. >> medal of honor recipients to other in california earlier this year to talk about their experiences. speaking to an audience of several hundred middle and high school students, the veterans talked about the importance of community service. i also answered questions from the audience. hosted by the congressional medal of honor foundation, this is about an hour and 15 minutes. [applause] >> for those of you who i have not had the fortune to meet, i am the director of the presidential learning center here at the ronald reagan presidential foundation. the video you have just seen is an introduction to amazing work being done by our partners.

today, you will have an opportunity to witness firsthand the power of this program. before we can start our discussion, it is the tradition here to honor our men and women of uniform by saying the pledge of allegiance. please rise. [pledge of allegiance] thank you very much. please be seated. before i invite our special guest to the stage, i would like to point out a few of the people we have in the audience, who are here to suggest the learning does not necessarily stop when the bell rings or your diploma is conferred.

we have in the audience today roy rocco and his wife, christina. we have in the audience a corporal benjamin robert smith, and his wife emma. he is a recipient of the victoria cross, the preeminent award for acts of bravery in wartime, and australia's highest military honor. thank you for joining us all the way from australia. [applause] from our partners at the congressional medal of honor foundation, we have a number of members of their board, as well as family members i want to recognize. that includes donald schwartz, jennifer ludden, and all of the family members of our panelists.

thank you for coming today. [applause] from the office of our state senator, we have miss linda johnson. i would also like to take a moment to recognize all of the veterans and active duty military who have joined us today. please stand and be recognized for your service. [applause] in remarks to the congressional medal of honor society in 1983, president ronald's reagan said freedom, we must always remember, is never more than one generation away from extinction. each generation must do whatever is necessary to preserve it and pass it on to the next, or it would be lost forever.

i speak to our audience of students about both parts of what president reagan said about insuring freedom. each generation must do their part first to preserve freedom. our speakers today represents some of america's best efforts to preserve freedom over the generations. but to preserve freedom is not enough. president reagan also points out the necessity of passing it from one generation to the next. the congressional medal of honor foundation has put together a remarkable curriculum, which invites students to delve into the stories of medal of honor recipients, and explore courage, commitment, sacrifice, patriotism, integrity, and citizenship. it is one of the finest examples i have seen of how we can pass on these generations of freedom from one generation to the next. a lot of the discussion of education happens in the media, in politics, and in general results around tests.

from kindergarten onward, you have been tested continuously. some might say relentlessly. the word test, for some of you, probably causes a physical reaction that is not positive. your scores in literacy and math are used to evaluate what you have learned and how well your schools and teachers have done. you have spelling tests, math tests, science tests, physical education tests. just when you think you have been tested enough, you spend a week or two filling in bubbles on the exam. we call these high-stakes tests. i want to let you in on a little secret. the test that you take in the classroom is not the real high- stakes test. the tests you take out side of the classroom, the tests you cannot really prepare for -- those are the real tests. a real test is standing up to

one of your best friends if you think that are being a bully. the real test is being honest, even if it would be more convenient to live. -- to lie. the real test is when you are on patrol in the french countryside, and your platoon comes under heavy fire from german machine guns and mortars. a staff sergeant was in this scenario when he scrambled to the top of the mound of earth specifically to draw the attention of the machine guns and the martyrs, so the other -- and the mortars, so the other members of his platoon could flee to safety. in a real test is when you are flying in an attack helicopter in fog and fire, trying to rescue soldiers. major general brady flew through precisely these conditions. despite the 400 blowholes found -- bulletholes found in the helicopters he flew that day, he was able to rescue more than 50 men. the real test is when an infantry commander closes a landing zone to further operations because of the

intensity of enemy fire, but you know american forces are in desperate need of aid. under the circumstances, a man made 22 flights in an unarmed helicopter, delivering ammunition, and tibet to winning -- and evacuating more than 70 wounded men. despite having slept for 36 hours, you are sent down the river to join an intense battle. colonel vargas, in just this situation, carriage fellow -- managed to carry fellow marines to hundreds of yards of intense enemy fire to get them to a safe evacuation site. only after three days of battle did he allow himself to be treated for shrapnel wounds. no amount of cramming could prepare you for these tests. lucky for us, we have role models like our panelists, who are willing to pass their lessons on to the next generation.

i invite you to please join me in welcoming these men. [applause] your seat is the first. you are in this first seat. [applause] i would like to start our panel

by asking you to reflect a little bit. the name of the curriculum the medal of honor foundation has developed is called "lessons of personal bravery and self sacrifice." i would like to ask you to reflect on what that means, given your experience. after that, we are going to turn to our student audience for questions. let us start here. we will head to the left. staff sergeant? >> i am walter. i was born and raised in the state of kansas. world war ii broke out in europe. i was going to high school. my grandfather was actually a german born in the united states, and so forth. he told us we were going to have a war with germany, or something like this.

1941, a graduate from high school. my brother and i decided we wanted to join the army. he was 4 years older than i am. we went down to ford reddick, kansas. my time changed when i had to go home and get my mother is signature. my dad said he would sign, but she looked me in the eye and she said, with tears in her eyes, "i will only sign if you promise to be a christian soldier." i was shocked, but i promised her that i would do my very best. i remember from that time on she made the impression on me that if i was not going to be a christian soldier, i would dishonor her.

i took that with me through my military career. i did not do anything unusual, and i did not do anything that would dishonor her. i did not want to dishonor gone. -- god. i had a terrific military career, five years in military service. i had three landings. eight campaigns. i went all the way from casablanca and french morocco, sicily, and omaha beach, in normandy. that is how i got started. my life has been changed ever since. it was the best thing that ever happened to me, when she told me that, because i can still remember it, as clear as today, those tears in her eyes.

they were coming straight from the heart. i lived my life. the bad this thing that happened to me in military service -- baddest thing that happened to me in military service was my brother got killed on the d-day. i remember these soldiers all these years. i have been back several years, and it is an honor to go back and to respect the lives of these people, who gave so much. i saw so many people killed on d-day. i talked to schools all the time. one little girl asked me, "how many people did you kill?" i said, "i was not trained to kill people. i was trained to kill the enemy, and they were trained to kill

me. i was probably here today because i did what i had to do. i did learn a lot from my mother, and that set me straight throughout military service." [applause] >> walt got me all choked up here. my name is pat brady. i am universally known as the greatest helicopter pilot that ever lived. [laughter]

your privilege today to meet the credit is and probably the second greatest, although that is questionable. i have been a member of the honor society for many years. i know i don't look that old. the greatest thing that we have ever done in our society -- and we have done a lot of things, with young people, with the veterans, with every cause that we thought wasight and just -- but the greatest thing we have ever done is the educational program that you're here to learn about. they ask a guy, if you had it to do over again, would you do it differently? of course, we cannot. we have been in the arena. we cannot live our lives over again ourselves. but we can live our lives over again three young people. we have been there where you have been. you have never been where we have been.

a boss of mine looked at me -- i really screwed something of a bad -- and he says, pat, don't feel bad. no one is a total loss. they can always serve as a bad example. [laughter] so we are here as kind of a bad example. we want to steer the young people around the obstacles that we faced. you all heard about the first tee program where in the golfers to go out and teach things like honesty and integrity, the central elements of gulf to young people through professional golf. the program goes out to teach patriotism, courage, sacrifice, what a true hero is, how to define a hero to the experiences and vignettes of those blessed to where the metal. that is what we're useful for and that is what we're dedicated to and what part of life is left for us. this is a great thing that we

do. we're happy to do it. and i am looking forward to your questions. [applause] >> my name is bruce crandall. it is always nice to get the microphone after pat. you might think that half the people that got the medal of honor for helicopter pilots. that is not so. although, we had some of the heaviest losses in combat. one of the privileges i had was commanding u.s. troops in combat. and one of the british responsibilities in combat was commanding u.s. troops in combat. -- one of the greatest

responsibilities i had was commanding u.s. troops in combat. i am not fit for basic training anymore pin 61 years ago, i graduated from high school and i was in the same situation as many of you. i was 5 feet 6 inches, weighed about 143 pounds. i did not know what i would do, except that i would play baseball. instead, i got drafted by the army instead of the yankees or the orioles. [laughter] and my batting average is three times my grade point. not too bad if you are graduating, still. [laughter] i ended up making a career out of the army. part of it was because i had been raised in a home that the service's one of the requirements. my father served in the navy, my uncles had served in the navy, and my mother went to work in a shipyard as a welder.

avy, and my mother went to work in a shipyard as a welder. a great uncle came to live with us so he could help take care of us. my grandmother lived with us. we learn by example during the war what we owe to our country and how lucky we were to be in our country. the young people of today are probably the best generation we will ever have. some guy wrote an article about the second world war and said they were the greatest generation. so we always have the greatest generation. we are trying to pass on a legacy to you young folks so that you understand that courage is not a battlefield example. you all will have situations where you will be required to have courage, to say no when his

dog proper answer, when others of the angus come to stand up for what is right. you will learn teamwork and relationships in your school life and then your real life. hopefully ever have to sit on the battlefield. no one hates war more than zero warrior. we as a group feel that way -- no one hates war more than zero warrior. the average age of this group is my age, and i don't want to talk about that. [laughter] we have three young guys that came on and they dropped our average age by one year. that did not make me feel any younger. i am real supporter of the program, and i am willing to help in any way i can to see that it gets to our young people.

even in australia, i will be glad to know the teatime is ahead of time. thank you very much for having me here and it is a pleasure to be in the reagan library again. [applause] >> good morning. the first thing i will say it's to the teachers and all the employees that work in the schools around our nation, especially the state of california. thank you for everything you are doing with our young generation. i have been in your shoes. i love to teach, still do, and i know the hardship she were going through in making great citizens out of these people that are here today and throughout the state of california. to ben and emma, thank you very

much for being here, and the rest of the australian team, is always an honor to meet another warrior who has been highly decorated. it is an honor to be in your company. thank you very much. a guess i am a little different than some of the -- i am not a helicopter pilot. i was in the marine corps, and a company commander. i did save about seven of my marines by going back into the battle and going forward with those that were knocked down, including my battalion commander. but there is more to that story. it tied in with an golden keys that my brothers gave to me. on the that i was about to go in to the corps. a lot of what transpired in my

particular situation is based on those keys, and i am going to share them with you. hopefully some of you can put them in your pocket and maybe use a couple of them. i parents were immigrants could my mother was from italy and my dad was from spain. two of her sons were in world war ii. one fought on iwo jima and one fought in open now. --okinawa. the case they get me as i was departing one evening from a small town in northern arizona real very useful. it all came true. my mother, for example, already had three marines, one in korea and to in world warii --two in world war ii. when i came home, i was

devastated, having not been able to climb that ladder all the way up, but i had a wonderful father taught me, just look out for you went up the ladder. it was an honor, too. then i decided i wanted to go into the officers' corps and was in the marine corps. my mother had convinced my three brothers that you get in there, you sit down with him and tell him he is going to the navy. he is not going to be a marine. that evening, she took my brother and my dad and told him to go start the car, we are going for ride. his conversation did not last very long. my brother says, we have been told by mom to convention not to go in the marine corps like we did.

-- to convince you not to go in the marine corps like we did. my older brother and the los that if you don't, we are going to break your legs. [laughter] they were all highly decorated. they did not receive the highest awards, but they received quite a bit. the golden teased as they sat with that evening with me, i want to pass them on to the young people -- a golden keys. always said a good example. set your standards high. always take care of your fellow men. the third one was kind of tough. whatever you do, don't ever ask a marine or anyone you are leading to do anything, in peacetime or in combat, that you would not do. how does that relate to you? if you go back to the first one, setting in your standards and examples high. at this stage in life, you

should be writing down some objectives, but make them reachable objectives. be yourself. believe in yourself. believing your god, or whatever supreme being you believe in. always take care of each other. truly take care of each other. learn to do it now and make your friendships today, because friendship at your level right now will always be forever. like the rest of us, and still close to my high school and appears that i had when i was growing up. we still communicate. take care of each other. in my time, and then there's, we did not have drugs. how did not know what those work. the main thing was, you don't need it. the energy that you can create within your little hearts and your bodies and minds is within you right now. it is a god-given gift.

i will conclude by simply saying that enjoy life, it is truly a one time around. right now is when you want to establish yourself into what you want to be in the future, a great citizen, a great leader, a great future teacher, and educator, whatever dimension you want to get into. what promise me that you will take some of these golden keefe and used them. i transferred them from the core into my everyday life, and they work. they are very simple. set your example, set your standards high, take care of yourself, and never asked anybody to do something you would not do yourself. thank you. [applause]

>> now we are going to get some questions from students. many of the students in the audience have been studying your stories in going through some of this curriculum and learning quite a bit about the medal honoring what it means. some of the traits that are described in the curriculum. just as i know, in the audience we have bill and heather who worked -- who both work with the medal of honor foundation. we will start over here. go ahead. >> firstly, i wanted to thank the panel as well as the collective middle of honor recipients across the country for your undying service to our country. i am here zang from arcadia high school.

my question was, following your respective experiences in the field, how would your reintegration back into society? >> the question was, after your experiences in battle, what was it like to come back into society? >> i would like to answer that one, because i came back to california and became a city manager in northern california, and i like combat better. [laughter] [applause] i actually spent three years doing prop 13, so tho