discussion. >> i want to thank the panel for being here. we will be here for a few minutes after to answer any individual we hope you enjoyed this. the free to ask questions individually. thank you. >> next, republican governors talk about the issues they face. then president obama and mitt romney and july's unemployment figures. >> at the foot of the bridge, i was beaten. i thought i was going to die. >> in 1965, and 25-year-old john lewis took part in the voting rights marks to mccormack, alabama. -- montgomery, alabama. >> a man identified himself.

he was with the alabama state troopers. one of the young people walking beside me said, give us a moment to pray. the major said, coopers advance. >> sunday at 8:00 p.m. on c- span "q &a." >> republican governors gather to discuss education, health care, gun-control, and the shootings in colorado. chris christie of new jersey, nikki haley of south carolina, bobby jindal of louisiana, bob mcdonnell of virginia. this discussion is a moderated by walter isaacson.

this is an hour. >> welcome, everyone. please take your seats. it is good to have the republican governors paddle back again. i want to thank those who have pulled this together. this is part of our speakers series. thank you. thank you to are near aspen residents. good to see you. we have carl. he has been a friend of the aspen institute and louisiana right after the storm. i will start with bobby jindal. i have been barred him for so long. thank you for being here. you have been a leader in education reform.

yet not all it reformed education, but it has been a revolution -- you have not only reform education, but it has been a revolution. competition and choice. explained why you are doing that. >> first of all, thank you for your leadership. many of you may not realize that he was very involved in louisiana and trying to help it get back on its feet. [applause] about want to talk briefly education reform in the orleans and across the state. katrina did not cause all the problems. it is tempting to say everything was fine and the tremendous for the school system. the school system was one of the worst public school systems in

the entire country. we had dozens and dozens of employees down to be paid at companies that did not exist. that people get paid in new orleans as well. what was terrific was the lack of education. -- horrific was the lack of education. there were no supplies. it was terrible. the trend comes through and destroys the buildings -- katrina comes through and the stories the buildings. the state comes in. interestingly, charter schools.

the state was not in position to directly operate all of those schools. it is one of the most chartered cities in america. 80% of kids in new orleans go to charter schools. the percentage of kids are reading and doing math and great love in new orleans has doubled. the percentage of kids has doubled. for anyone says who you can do this quickly, new orleans shows you can do it quickly. this does not mean you need a charter school everywhere. we have shut down charter schools that were bad. we have had great charter schools. several different groups of come in and help us do this. paul did a phenomenal job. we now have a new guy from new york state doing a great job. we are doing this state wide. we have done several things of the state level.

here are three very important state reforms. one, we gave a letter grade on all public schools. the letter grade is based on quantifiable data. how will i students during on standardized -- are students doing on standardized tests? are my kids learning? are they reading? are they doing math? how are they comparing two kids in other states? -- to other kids in other states? it turns out there were not doing as well as others. one-third of our kids were above grade level. we responded $1 billion on failing schools. this was a very important for step. if you do not do this, a lot of people argue the status quo was fine. we had to argue that it was not fined. we passed a law lot this past

year saying the dollars will follow the students instead of the students following the dollars. students can take the dollars and go to a private school or charter school, whatever made sense for this child. >> basically, a voucher system. >> we call it scholarships. the teacher unions call it four-letter words. call it whatever you want. the average tuition was roughly $4,600. the kids are doing better. we had over 10,000 kids are applied. 000 slots.ween 5000-6 happe one of the teacher indians came out and said that parents do not have a clue when it -- one of the teacher unions came out and

said that parents do not have a clue. i want a couple of things out there. we reformed how we evaluate, hire, pay, and hire or fire our teachers. it is no longer based on seniority. [applause] the teacher union said, we do not mind you evaluating teachers. this did not try it closely to student achievement. -- just do not try to tie it closely to student achievement. we're very proud of what we're doing in louisiana. some people say this is

ambitious. but i am here to tell you that are many governors doing similar things. bob has done great things. he has an education summit coming up. chris has been fighting for school choice in new jersey. we look at what nikki is doing in south carolina. this is extremely important. if we want to compete economically with other states and other countries, we have to improve education in america. we cannot be 16th in the world. [applause] the teacher unions stopped by and announced they were suing schools participating in this program. they try to fight us every step

of the way. you are trying to recall others. they are the coalition for the status quo. it cannot be about the adult in the school system. it has to be about the kids. >> thank you, governor. governor chris christie, i want said thank you. he did wonderful things in new york. home run. you talked about newark and great reforms there. it said that charter and choice. explain that. >> we passed tenure reform in new jersey. it ties directly to student

achievement. it allows a teacher to lose tenure at the two years in a row of partially affected operating are one year of an effective reading. we have all this tenure law in america. it is 100 years old. the people who are paying to not have that amended was the teacher unions. we have a good charter law. we close some bad charters as well. we opened up more in new jersey. we focus on the struggling districts. some parents do not have the ability to send their kids into schools. we want to give them a choice. >> how are you working with

cory? >> he is my favorite democrat. what booker understands is that his city will never turn around until the educational system turns around. but he understands is that the status quo is not the unable in being able to turn his city around. we are working together on expanding charters and trying to get the choice in the city of newark. the teachers' unions make the argument that money equals folley. in new york, we spend $24,000 per student per year. the kids who entered ninth grade

last year, 20% of them will graduate with a high school diploma in four years. the argument we are making is that for 30 years, big teacher unions have saying things that are simply not true. what we find is that the more money we spend, the worst of the results debt. -- results get. we are paying for students to not go to class. >> day have a new contract? >> we do not have one yet. she ran the public school system in new york city. if she did work get there, we

newark.hoct in school line, newark's system -- mmy parents made the decision that the school system was so bad that they wanted their son to have a future. they had to get us out. we have the ability to get out and go to a better school district. most parents do not. pretty marta's into the district while carter's turn around . >> and john white, the person that you mentioned, the thing

they have in common is that there were both teach for america members. speaking of unions, governor scott walker. [cheers and applause] you have had an interesting year. what lessons did you learn from the recall? >> right on cue, our budget has turned into a surplus. i was able to put money into the rainy day fund. eight of these great governors are great friends of mine. they help me out on this campaign. the biggest lesson in our state, a state that is truly a swing state in the presidential election, the voters said they elect us and what leaders

willing to make tough decisions. that was the most compelling message of all. we have heard it. [applause] all of us as candidates, we hear of voters complain about two things up -- to buy complain about candidates who say things and then break their promises -- they complain about candidates who say things and then break their promises. why is it that all of us can see perfectly clearly what the problems are, what needs to be done, but the politicians in coppice failed to take heard on those issues? but we did. -- office failed to take action on those issues?

but we did. people like my friend paul ryan is one of the most courageous men i know in politics. i knew that if we did not prevail in the election, it would set aside courage in congress and in washington. the only thing that is different from me and the other governors is that i got a little bit more attention. but all of them have been doing. will it courageous things around the country. the results are really amazing. think about it. the states elected these governors in 2010. the unemployment rate is greater than the national average. republican-led states have a 1% difference lower in in the unemployment rate. that is because we're willing to take on tough decisions. voters want us to do that. [applause]

>> one of the things that governor christie and governor jindal have in common is that if you are working very well with democratic mayors and legislators. you need every day with a democratic leadership. after your recall, did you find a way to reduce the partisanship and reach out? it cannot be done? >> sure. mayors, it may be tough. it may take some time. my wife said before the election, on election night you have to say something that will bring the state back together. your supporters acknowledge this was a great win. bring the state back together.

she suggested having the lawmakers over to eat. i love june cookouts. we will have bugers and beer. we have 400 law makers and spouses come over and sor tof dave -- sort of gave them permission to be social again. it really put a freeze on the ability for people to work together because there were outside pressures. now that it was gone, each week lawmakers come over for breakfast or lunch to talk about things we can work on. when we talk about the economy, it is about moving our states forward. >> the vendonikki haley, welcomo

the stage. on the national level when it comes to fiscal issues, it seems there is a cliff we are about to drive off but people are not ready to compromise. at the state level, you always have to be ready to do that. you have a great reputation as anyone for being against taxes. at times, you have voted for a sales tax increase would have to be part of the package to keep a clip from happening. do you think it is possible vote on the federal level -- do you think it is possible on the federal level to find a solution somewhere to are the simpson-bowles came out? will there be tax reform, but also a larger proportion -- dor

do you think it is too big of a compromise? >> instead of steps looking at where the income will come from, how are we spending the money? [applause] whether you are a republican or a democrat, everyone needs to understand that government money belongs to the people. how they spend it matters. this last budget, i said that any additional revenues that come in -- i do not think any states are out of the woods -- i think any additional revenues that come in should pay off debt or go into trust funds are back into that tracks fund relief. nothing else. -- or back into the tax fund relief. nothing else.

and there are a great missions, but that is not the role of the government. one of the things i vetoed it was the arts commission. we love the arts. but our founding fathers did not say that the government should control the rights of people and the arts commission. they said to control the rights of people and not be all things to people. we have some people saying, how dare you take out arts commission. we did not take the arts out of schools. but i told the people of south carolina, did you know we are paying $1.6 million for 18 people to work in and 18,000 sq. ft. building? there is no way they can do that. educational tv, would be towed back last year. every year, we're putting money on the line item and millions of dollars and they had nothing to show for it. we have reformed it.

now it is paying for other programs. the key is that everyone is looking for money. the money is there. washington is in chaos. what we need to do in the state, we need to balance the budget. we have to take on pension reform. we need to do it in a way that we can. i do not think we compromised on that. >> governor bob mcdonnell of virginia. thank you for joining us. thank you for putting this together. [applause] >> early in this institute, your 20 years in the army, is that right?

others are here is saying, maybe it is time both for military and other ways to expect everyone to do a couple of years of national service. what did think of the idea of expected national service? >> first, thank you for hosting the republican governors as you have done the last couple of years. we contributed by helping end the drought. we have other governors and others who will be here. by the wya, congratulations -- by the way, congratulations on the new book on steve jobs. entrepreneurship is something that needs to be encouraged and awarded at every level. your story about steve jobs is very important. america is the most generous

country on earth. you name it. it goes back to the traditions that our fathers planted here in virginia and other places as well. the military and -- we have people who voluntarily serve. including the husband of nikki haley. thank you for that. [applause] the people are willing to go to foreign soil and fight and defend and die for people they do not know because they love freedom so much. i am not sure, it has been a long time since the draft, but

we have always done things in america because we are motivated by doing the right thing instead of being compelled by government. that may be a noble goal, but what we need is that people who have a blueprint from the president and others to celebrate and start to talk about duty they have as an american. through much is given, much is required. we have a moral duty to give back. we need to talk about that at the heart of the service and not a new government obligation. we should want to do it because it is the right thing to do. it could be mentoring are volunteering at a local soup kitchen. to me, that is the way to keep america a great and not a new government mandate. [applause] >> any of the thoughts i national service?

on governor christie, you are famous for working across the aisle. why does that not happen in washington? what lessons can we learn from new jersey and the lake district of columbia? >> -- the district of columbia? >> it takes effort. one of the things that happened to me dramatic transition was that i saw a mentor of mine. we had weekly meetings. in the first meeting, he sent me the agenda. i sat down and said, what is today? he said, who is your best friend? i said, my wife. he said, no more. [laughter]

i said, really? he said, the senate president will be your best friend. if he did not make yourself friends with the senate president, you will not get anything done. you have to develop a trusting relationship with him. you will agree and disagree badly on some things, but you have to work hard as you can to develop a relationship with him. when there are difficult moments when you are really close anything get compromise, the last barrier in his experience to compromise is a trust. in the end, you are looking across at the other person from the other party. will they make this compromise? will they be true to their word? or will they stick it to me? i think the difference is the relationships in washington. the president did not spend any

time trying to get to the john boehner because he did not need him. he ignored him. when he tried to develop a relationship with him when he became speaker, it was too plate. what we learned in new jersey -- it was too late. what we live in new jersey -- we're not talking about a warm and cuddly guy. he cares deeply about the things he believes in. we have found a way to sit and talk with each other. we have an obligation that is bigger than our parties. we need to get things done. he was the sponsor of the pension and benefit reform bill. it raise the retirement age. it put bigger penalties in for

early retirement. increase the contribution of every union member from the school board to the state. he was the sponsor of the bill. he added that democratic assembly speaker posted a those bills with only one-third of their caucus vote for it. once the caucus and the republicans pass the bill -- he came in for the last meeting before posting it for a bout. our conversation was, we need to protect each other. we had tens of thousands of people for that week on the front steps of the capital. union workers of the public sector from both new jersey and around the country. you ever calling us all kinds of names. he said, we need to be with each other on this. by that time in june 2011, we had a year and have a working together and a year and a half of relationship. that makes a difference. if you do not start the, you

bridging the of breakin gap. because there is no trust. we need a strong leader in the white house who will develop personal relationships with not just republicans, if you are republican president, and not just democrats if you are a democratic president, but everyone. he there now if you will need them. that is what being president -- you do not know if you will need them. that is what being president is all about. [applause] >> in the republican primaries this year so far in indiana, nebraska, and yesterday in texas, the republican who was best at working across the aisle and developing trust and sometimes compromising -- are you worried about our primary

system and the ones who are did we cannot keep compromising as usual? >> i think this is a big difference here. i do not agree with their promise. -- your premise. in general, the candidate winds. -- wins. the more energetic and vigorous candidate won in all three of those. the job of a governor and president is -- you cannot have anyone sacrifice their principles. if you have to compromise your principles, you need to worry about that person.

you cannot get everything you want. the job of the governor is to find that boulevard. it exists between getting what you want and compromising your principles. your job as executive is to find your way on that the boulevard to make progress for your state to puree the sometimes it is obvious. sometimes it is -- to make progress for your state pi. but sometimes it is obvious. sometimes it is hard. they did not see the president as and distant, evil figure. he became more human to them. why did he ask them for a compromise, maybe they will be willing to listen as long as it is not compromising their principles. >> governor walker? [applause]

>> to follow up on what he said, chris talked about the protest he had. there was a protest in the capital around that time. christie + sweetie = walker was protestor sign. 96% of all of the bills i signed into law had the votes from republicans and democrats and independents. 96%. overwhelmingly, most of those bills were about wealth in the economy and things we could do the stimulate the government. republicans initiated them, and many democrats and in the pants

went along with that as well. conversely independents went along with that as well. for years in congress, we have had are giving had a fair amount of members of congress not willing to make tough choices. that is why we face the kind of deficit problems we have today. in that case, that is bipartisanship in a way that i do not embrace. i want bipartisanship to reach across party lines that produces results. one other tidbit to add. the biggest thing missing in the debate -- they are taking a

narrow focus. if these are things that this party and the party hates, if we take an equal number of this, we can balance the budget. there is no growth agenda. there is no strategy for growth. growth is not come from our government. think about it. five simple things we should of the federal level. balance the budget is a big one. reduce the marginal tax rate like we did a generation ago to put more money back in the -- to the american people. rein in the epa. if we did all of those things

-- [applause] >> bobby jindal. governor walker mentioned the repeal of the health care law. i think you were 12 and came back from england. what would you do to agree a new health care law revision? >> one of my greatest disappointment in this president did is his failure to lead on entitlement reform. let at it. every time he talks, he always says, we know we need to reform the entitlement reform. get a little more time. he has said that four years in a row. go back even further when i was

at the hhs. you had democrats and others endorsing premium support. we need to reform medicare. it is not sustainable. one of the greatest failures back then was a failure of the clinton administration. you need to have democrats will not demonize people like paul ryan. everyone was looked up this program know that we cannot continue to do this. the president had a majority in the senate and house. he did i even tried to get republican votes. he have the bill written and then he tried to get them to sign it. >> do you agree there should be better health care?

>> absolutely. >> what would you do to make sure people could have better health care? >> it is not that complicated. health care needs to be more affordable. indeed did give tax incentives to business owners who do not ha. people should not have to buy their health care. it should be able to. but if they want to buy it through their churches are their unions -- we need to reduce the costs of health care. it and send tens of millions of dollars a federal taxpayer dollars. [applause] i understand folks are worried and they want protection. give them a voluntary basis.

if you are willing to adjust for the population growth and inflation, if you will produce lower inflation, in return you show us your health care outcomes as good or better than what you were doing before, i bet to every governor would take that deal in a heartbeat. >> would you take that deal? >> if you would save millions of dollars. -- younger adopt a premiu working adults need march was in competition sitting dead innovative health care plans and will meet their needs. -- more in the competition and innovative health care plans that will meet their needs. instead of a consumer based

health care, we would like the consumers incentives with the providers incentives with the employers' incentives. if you can save money, you get to pocket some of those savings. there are many other things we need to do. this is where we need to move to in the health care in america. we have opened up dozens of clinics to get people out of the emergency room. we have a portable records. if the understand it in a way so consumers can make real choices. the what bureaucrats running your health care or do you want your provider's -- do you want bureaucrats running your health care idea what you're providers running the health care? >> governor haley, but you can governor jindal are both the children -- but both you and

governor jindal of the children of immigrants. do we need to be more welcoming to illegal immigrants? how do that in immigration reform? >> we have passed one of the strong as illegal immigration reform in the country. i tell people i am the proud daughter of indian parents remind us every day how blessed we are to live in this country. but they came here the right way. they've paid in their time and money. they are offended by people who come here illegally because they did the right way. what we have to say is that we will not take legal immigration in this country. we are a country of laws. , give up the laws, we give up everything america is made of -- when we give up the laws, we give up everything america is made up. [applause] border control is not just every

time someone icrosses the border, there goes another one. we have a lot of good talent that comes to our universities. they come here and we educate them and given the talent and emmys and the back to their country. we need to expend the working department so we keep the talent here and also do it legally so that it works. people think it is one or the other, but it is not. >> questions. raise your hand. i will call you out if i can. there in the red. >> i am a foot soldier at the white house.

i miss having a discussion was someone about economic issues. had to deal with it ahmanson and recognizes there could be an issue on the policies? governor christie, you are reaching for your microphone? >> in new jersey, i in the first pro-black governor who has been elected since roe versus wade. -- pro-life governor president- elect it since roe versus wade. i think what most people who are concerned about some of those issues where we have differences of opinion, what they want to here is your honest feel. usa did not want to hear your deriding someone else.

what want to hear -- they do not want to hear you deriding someone. they want to hear your honest deal. to't try to be all thigns all -- things to all people. here is where we stand. if you are talking to someone who is passionate about social issues that are opposite from the candidate you would support, he has the freedom to go. if you try to hedge and morph your view on these tough issues, then you are nothing. need more people like that in politics. [applause]

>> scott walker. >> a message to them is the same as other swing voters out there. the most compelling issue is the future of our children. our country is in a fiscal crisis. this president knew in 2008 knew what economy was facing at the time. we have lost almost half 1 million jobs in this country under this president. it is not working. it is a people who voted for him last of member that it is ok for them to try, but he has failed. we need to move on and find someone who can fix this. we're looking at this from an economic and fiscal standpoint. paul ryan and i earlier this

summer stood up and remind the voters in our state that after years earlier, barack obama stood up and said it was on page added to add four trillion dollars to the national debt at that point. five trillion dollars has been added and. this president has failed. what better candidate than some western businesses around? -- who has turn businesses around? this is a candidate, mitt romney, who sit in the olympics 10 years ago -- saved the olympics 10 years ago. he literally rolled up his

sleeves and fixed something the federal government had screwed up abundantly. this is a guy who can turn america around. we need someone who can fix things. [applause] >> governor haley. >> there is simple. to tell yourd say is friends to ask who has lost jobs? it is all about the jobs in the economy. we can have our social issue debate. social issues are tough to talk about when you are seeing many people unemployed. >> governor christie, to follow up on what you are saying, do you think it would be possible and permissible in the republican party for governor romney to pick a running mate who was not pro-life?

>> i have to say that the party will look at what governor romney wants to do and who he will pick and who he is comfortable with. for me, i would not want to do that. if you're voting for someone wh -- people want consistency in that regard. in the end, it will be governor romney's choice. there is a one vote. he gets to make it. this is the kind of thing where people will only talk about that in our party. let me ask you the same question back. would barack obama be free to

pick a pro-life president at the democratic national convention? i think we play defense of this too much because the question always comes our way. why would we ask governor romney in this? let's turn the question around. all barack obama and pick a pro-left candidate? bob casey was not allowed to speak at a convention because he is pro-lifers. -- pro-life. my point is, the fact that the question is a sincere is proof of the context that we have included. that question is never asked of the democratic party. i have never heard it since the

bob casey. but my predecessors was a pro- choice republican. good to imagine the democrats making a pro-life democratic co- chair of the convention? -- could you imagine the democrats making a pro-let democratic co-chair of the conventions? it is possible. but i would not do it. [laughter] [applause] >> right there. and gentlemen in the back. >> as always, great the governors and great leadership for our country. thank you. >> please identify yourself. >> richards.

unemployment among the young people has more than doubled. when we take a look at college graduates in their 20's, the bigger problem is under employment. if we continue to have people pay for this education and come out as workers or managers of starbucks and begin to address the unemployment of our twentysomethings, we have a big problem. internships clearly help students get to the goal line of jobs. yet government who could clearly help with the resume does not pay interns. the government could use a lot of endurance, but we do not pay interns. >> governor mcdonnell.

>> let me talk about the broader issue a workforce development and how to get the greatest country on earth back to work. that will determine who wins this election. that is what this election is about. [applause] i'll give you the political answer and the policy answer. politically, that statistic that you give is one of the best reasons why mitt romney will win. those voting blocks that were attracted before, it did not work so well for those 10 people. they are getting out of college thousands of dollars in debt and there are no opportunities that used to be there. it is young voters that are suffering worse in the obama

economy. the make up a majority of that 8.1% unemployed. growth through economic development and not more taxes is exactly the message to i want to hear. second, that the voting block is the one that will pay the bills for the absolutely irrespo nsible tax policies of the last several years. we want to get it on track. let me tell you what the real answer is. paid it and ship -- internship. the top thing they want to know about is what to do long-term to train and motivate a workforce

to sustain a business for the long haul? that is why when we look at china and singapore and other places, we have our work cut out for as. we have a great education system. we have the best workers in the world. but if we do not have the focus, if we do not have the workers turning for the some people, we will not cut it. one of the most alarming statistics i have heard recently, and this is the biggest challenge for the next president and governors, is that we are the lowest level of new started businesses in america in 30 years. think about that. small businesses in america. there is no way for the existing corporations medium and large to create and sustain economic growth we need to keep america the hope of the earth. you need to have a steve jobs or bill gates. until we create a culture of

entrepreneurship and we have every policy at the federal and state level focused on creating the next generation of entrepreneurs and motivate the some people are getting out of college and to think about the american dream in a new way and be willing to take new risks and that is whyelail -- romney is the best for america. >> this is about jobs. what will we do to get people jobs? that goes back to, what are we doing to recruit businesses? i am looking forward to the day when we're not taking from each other. a south carolina has started to do that. in the south carolina, we build things. we build the cars and planes. all of that comes with a workforce to do it.

there are three factors that allows south carolina to be a state where companies are coming in. we're keeping the costs of doing business low. i replaced my entire board -- tiem is money -- time is money. for them.he workers they tell me how many engineers and they need. i make sure i have those workers ready. i am telling you. i will continue to be a union buster all day long. we are still one of the lowest unionize states in the country. for all of you who have asked me about the national labor report, you need to go. what happened in south carolina, boeing, a great american

company wanted to expand to thousand jobs in washington state. not one person was hurt. the ball and the national labor board sued and said -- president obama and the national labor board sued. every one of the governor stepped up and said, this is the most on american thing we have ever seen. it being an election year, i think president obama realized it could be a problem. we ask every presidential candidate but they thought about it. everyone spoke about it except for president obama. that lawsuit was dropped. instead of those thousands employees in boston, a few weeks ago we saw one of those big mac daddy planes, onto the tarmac and saying made with pride in the south carolina, followed by 6000 non-union employees.

[applause] >> thank you. i have heard some wonderfully inspiring things. one of the things you said that one of the problem once of leadership is taking difficult positions, especially public decisions. why do i hear a few people stand up in the republican party speaking about weapons and reform and assault weapons that are designed to kill human beings? there is no excuse for them. [applause] >> who wants to take that? [laughter] >> any form of assault weapons

or anything else that wiswe s hould consider. >> we need to enforce the laws that are on the books. not think taking weapons away from law-abiding citizens will make it safer. we need to keep weapons away from those who will break our laws. it does not lack courage. there is a principled this agreement. we can have that this agreement. i think it is i have a different view. the left sometimes try to create rights that are not in the constitution. they find all these things. the spring -- the supreme court ruled our state cannot with the deaths convicted child molester, this said it was not constitutional for us to put him to death and get some of the same folks that said that do not want to read what is in the

amendment. if folks want to sit -- change that, they should change the constitution. i think it is a principled stand. the way we make our communities safer is not by disarming the law-abiding citizens but focus our efforts on enforcing laws on the books, stop these nonsensical operations like fast and furious. and crack down on the criminals, not the law-abiding people. [applause] >> i would agree with the premise. political courage is in the eyes of the beholder. i disagree with the premise of the question, too. in new jersey, we have some of the toughest gun laws of any state. with the most densely populated state in the country. we have people with some tempers there's a you have to be careful. you have to be careful about what is going on but the fact is the terminations -- these

determinations should be made state-by-state. >> you have supported the gun control laws. which are produced it in new jersey. >> i have because that's what the people of our state want. they have been found to be constitutional. i did not have any problem with that or different states making different determinations. but i disagree with the premise of the question. i have been really repelled by the reaction to the things that happen in this state. by politicians tripping over each other to take a tragedy, before people even have their funerals, and try to turn it into a political cause. i think it is wrong. it has been done by a number of politicians. toomey please have the funerals for the dead first before we start lining up with the bills in congress -- can we please have the funerals first in before we start winding up with the bills in congress.

we should not use tragedy's in the day are to afterwards to have people jump up holding press conferences saying because of this, now we have to do a, b, or c. let's let people mourn and recover first before we start to do a political grandstanding. that is why people hate politicians. things like that. these are people suffering and now we are going to turn it into a big political circus. we should not have that in this country. we should have more caring for each other and the human spirit and not have every politician running for a microphone every time there is a tragedy in this country. [applause] >> i want to take the all for being here. we will see you next year. i do want to stress we are not -- a non-partisan institute. there is a dinner for madeleine albright that i'm about to hand over to. but i really do appreciate all of you being here again. thank you very much. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> next, president obama and republican president to a candid mitt romney on july unemployment figures. then first lady michelle obama had a campaign rally in new hampshire. after that, i rally on capitol hill against the health care law. --a rally on capitol hill against the health care law. tomorrow, the president of generation opportunity talks about the role of 18-29 year old boulders in this year's election.

we analyzed the july unemployment numbers released by the labor department. and attended general william ingram jr., directory of the army national guard, discusses the role of the corporate washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> at the foot of that bridge, i was beaten. i thought i was going to die. i thought i saw death. >> in 1965, at 25-year old donald the west took part in the voting rights march from selma to montgomery alabama that would take them across the bridge. >> became within distance of the state troopers. a man identified himself and said i am major john cloud of the alabama state troopers. this is an unlawful march and it will not be allowed to continue. one of the young people walking beside me said major, give this

in my mind -- give us a moment, and he said mayor -- supers, advance. sunday at 8:00 on q&a. now, president obama speech at the eisenhower executive office building, urging congress to extend a middle-class tax cut for those making under two and a $50,000 a year. the senate passed a bill last month but the house defeated a similar measure. instead, the house passed the bill but would extend the tax cuts for high-income earners as well. the president comments on the july unemployment report. with 163,000 jobs added, despite a rise in the unemployment rate to 8.3%. this is about 10 minutes. [applause]

>> thank you, everybody. good morning. everybody please have a seat. it is great to see all of you. i hope you guys are having a wonderful summer. i'm joined here today by moms and dads. husbands and wives. middle-class americans who work hard every single day to provide for their falies. like most americans, they work hard and they don't ask for much. they do expect, however, that their hard work will pay off. they want to know that, if they put in enough expert, if they're acting responsibly, then they can afford to pay the bills, that they can afford to own a home that they call their own, that they can afford to secure their retirement and, most of all, that they can afford to give their kids greater opportunity, the other children and grandchildren can achieve things that they didn't even imagine.

every single decision that i make is focused on giving them that chance. if we want to keep moving this country forward, these are the folks who will get us there. this morning, we learned that our businesses created 172,000 new jobs in the month of july. that means that we have now created 4.5 million new jobs over the last 29 months. and 1.1 million new jobs this year. those are our neighbors and family members finding work. and the security that comes with work. but let's acknowledge that we

still have too many folks out there who are looking for work. we have more work to do on their behalf. not only to reclaim all the jobs that were lost in the recession, but also to reclaim the kind of financial security that too many americans have felt has been slipping away from them for too long. and we knew, when i started in this job, that this would take some time. we have not had to come back from an economic crisis this before this painful since the 1930's. but we also knew that, if we were persistent, if we kept at it, and kept working, that we would gradually get to where we need to be. here is the thing. we will not get there -- we will get to where we need to be if we go back to the policies that helped to create this mess in the first place. and the last thing that we should be doing is asking

middle-class families who are still struggling to recover from this recession to pay more in taxes. the building a strong economy begins with rebuilding our middle-class. and what we should do right now is give middle-class families and small business owners a guarantee that their taxes will not go up next year. when families have the security of knowing that their taxes won't go up, they are more likely to spend and more likely to grow the economy. when small business owners have certainty on taxes and can plan ahead, they are more likely to hire and create new jobs. and that benefits all of us. that is why, last week, i was pleasantly surprised -- i was glad to see the senate come together and extend tax cuts on the first $250,000 of every family's income. that means that 98% of americans will not see their taxes go up next year. that means that 97% of small businesses wouldn't see their income taxes go up next year, not a single dime.

that would be important. that is why it is so disappointing that so far, at least, house republicans have refused to follow the senate's example and do the same thing. on wednesday, they bolted to hold these middle-class tax cuts hostage unless we also spend a trillion dollars over the next decade on tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of americans. in fact, it is worse than that because their plan would actually raise taxes on 25 million hard-working american families by about $1,000 each. at a time when too many working families are already struggling to make ends meet, they want to give millionaires and billionaires and folks like me tax cuts that we don't need and that the country cannot afford, even if middle-class families have to pick up the tab for it.

those are their priorities. this week, we learned that there are some in the republican party who do want to stop there. an independent nonpartisan study found that one plan at least would give more tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires and they would pay for those tax cuts by raising taxes on middle- class, an average tax hike of more than two thousand dollars for families with children. i just think that we have our priorities skewed if the notion is that we give tax breaks to folks who don't need them and, to help pay for that, we tax folks who are already struggling to get by. that is not how you growing economy. you grow in economy from the middle up and from the bottom up.

and the kind of approach that the house republicans are talking about is bad for families and bad for our economy. the people standing behind me should not have to pay more just so the wealthiest americans can payless. that is not just talk-down economics, but upside down economics. [laughter] instead of the middle class paying more, we should ask the wealthiest americans to pay a little more, a modest amount, so we can reduce our deficit and still make investments in things like education that help our economy grow. we are talking about folks like me going back to the tax rates that existed under bill clinton. if you remember, that is when we created 23 million new jobs, we went from deficits to surplus, and most of the top did well, too, because, when middle class families have money in their pockets, they go out to buy that new car, the new appliance, the new computer for the kids come and go out where restaurant or, heaven forbid, they take a vacation every once in awhile.

businesses do well because they have more customers. here is the thing. there are a lot of well-to-do americans, patriotic americans, who understand this and are willing to do the right thing, willing to do their part to make this country strong. for those of you who are keeping score at home, here's where we stand. we might have a whole bunch of disagreements with folks in the other party on whether it is a good idea to spend more money giving tax breaks to millionaires were billionaires' and, frankly, that issue is probably not going to be resolved until after november. in the meantime, we say we all agree on extending tax cuts for middle-class families. the house says it agrees. the senate has already shown that it agrees. and i certainly agree. so let's at least work on what we agree on.

let's keep taxes low for 98% of americans and we can argue about the other 2%. let's keep taxes low for the 97% of small-business owners and we can argue about the other 3%. if congress sends me a clean bill extending the tax cuts on the first $250,000 of every family's income, i will sign it right away. [applause] i will sign it right away. there is no reason to wait. there is no reason to make families and small businesses anxious just so one party can score political points. go ahead and given that guarantee now that their taxes will go up next year.

keep in mind one last point that i want to make. we are saying that nobody's income taxes go up on the first $250,000 of their income. even someone who makes more than that will still get a tax break on the first $250,000. do you understand? even somebody who is worth $200 million, on that first $250,000, your taxes will be lower. it is the right thing to do for our economy. this shouldn't be one of those things we argue about for the next five years. [applause]

let's do what the american people sent us here to do. let's work on those things we can agree on. let's make progress. let's do right by the people behind me and the millions of americans that they represent. i will be fighting every single day to make sure that you have opportunity. i expect and i hope that congress will do the same. thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. [applause] god bless america and have a great weekend. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> campaigning in nevada, mitt romney called the increase in the and implement rate to 8.3%, an extraordinary record of failure by the president. he talked about his five point plan for the middle-class. due to technical problems, we joined as about one minute into his remarks. -- we join this about one minute in his remarks. >> i understand you declared a state of emergency, and declared this a disaster area under state law. this economy has hurt american families, and we need help. this is a place that is really struggling. we just got a new number from the unemployment report. it is another hammer blow. the president has not kept policies that put america's families back to work. i will get america working again. [applause]

i mean -- you know this. these numbers are not just statistics. these are real people, really suffering, having hard times. 23 million americans out of work, or stopped looking for work, or way underemployed. the official unemployment number, 8.3%. that is the longest time, 42 months -- the longest time we have had unemployment above 8% in american history, since this has been recorded. this is an extraordinary record of failure. the president's policies have not worked, because he thinks government makes america work. he is wrong. it is people that make america work. [applause] i hope the president understands. but all the businesses that the

mccandless family organized were not built by government. they were built by people, not by government. and so the time has come for a plan that will actually get america's workers back to work, that will create more jobs and more take-home pay, and i know how to do that. this is not a mystery for me. this is not theory. this is practice. i have five things i am going to do, five things i am going to do in my plan to help get the middle class working again, with more jobs and more take-home pay. putting them in place, it will get the economy going again, get higher incomes again. we are going to take advantage of energy -- oil, gas, coal. [applause]

and when i say take advantage, let me tell you the gold. by the end of my second term, by the end of my second term -- [applause] you got that, did you? by the end of my second term, north america will be energy independent. will not be buying any oil from the middle east or venezuela. number two. the american workers of today and tomorrow will have the skills to succeed in america. that means better schools, better job training. we cannot continue to allow our schools to perform at the bottom of the world. we need our schools to be the best in the world. we did it in my state. we can give our kids the future

they need with great schools. [applause] number 3, we have to have a trade that works for america. that means if people cheat like china, we do not let them keep doing that. we open new markets, so we can sell our products to new places. i want to open up latin america, so we can sell more goods to latin america. we have language skills that will help us get there. i want to open up latin- american. number four, there is a problem in a country that has too much debt. what happens is the people who have looked at the amount of debt the country has have shown that if you have too much debt, it slows down the rate of growth of businesses and job creators, and the overall economy.

we are going to have to get serious about doing something politicians talk about, but do not do. that is cut spending, cut the deficit, and finally get america on track to have a balanced budget, and i will do it. that is number four. [applause] number 5, we finally have to champion small business in this country, instead of attacking it. almost everywhere i go, people who are in small business say, "why does it feel like the government treats me like i am the enemy? the government is always on my back." the government now has a plan to raise taxes on small business, taking the tax rate from 35% teel 40%. the national foundation of independent businesses has said those tax policies will cost 700,000 jobs.

we cannot afford to lose more jobs. rice university looked at my tax plan and said it will create millions of jobs. that is what we have to do to help small business. [applause] there are a lot of things hurting small business these days, but there is something else that has been a cloud. i was talking to a guy who owned a number of restaurants in the las vegas area. he said if obamacare goes through, i do not know how i can hold on to my businesses. i am going to take out the cloud of obamacare and return it to personal responsibility. [applause] let me tell you what those five things will do. in just four years, in my first term, we will add 12 million new jobs to america.

will have more jobs and take home pay. as employers are competing, they will have to raise wages and benefits. i want better -- better benefits, better wages, and more jobs for american middle-class citizens and their families. this is the course america has to take. the road we are on now, you will see bigger government and fewer jobs. that is not the right way. let us get america working again. [applause] by the way, by the way, this five. plan is not based -- five point plan is not based on spending years in academics, coming up with theories. this is based on actually having

had a job in the private sector. [applause] i started a business of my own, which started small and grew to become very large. i also was able to help invest in some other businesses that started up. you have heard some of those names. you have heard of staples, of course, but also the sports authority. my firm was able to help get it going. another is called bright horizons children's centers. each employs thousands of people today. when free individuals, when the free market -- when individuals encourage the start of a new business, people are careful with their money and make sure every dollar is being spent as well as it possibly can be, for the right products, getting the customers, making sure your distribution is in place. staples, when we got going, we did not rent a fancy office building.

we were brand new. the managers and our team said, "we are going to use the back of an old shopping center that has been abandoned." we got used furniture for the people who worked there. in the board room, we had a big table surrounded by used naugahyde chairs. these were so old that once you sat down, you had to be athletic to rise out of these things. i compare that with what happens with president obama's government giving hundreds of millions of dollars to some start up a country -- company like someone drove -- like solyndra. the corporate headquarters looks like the taj mahal. i have been there. today, staples employs roughly 90,000 people. [applause]

solyndra, i think you know how many people it employs. the president does not understand how the private sector works, how small business works, what it takes for a business person to say, "let us hire another person. let us invest in that person." these are the people who build enterprises, not government. you heard what he said the other day. i could not believe what he said. it may go down as the most famous "of his entire presidency. he said, "if you have a business, you did not build that. someone did that for you." he does not understand that it is entrepreneurs of all kinds that have built this country, free individuals, reaching for excellence, reaching for achievement.

it is kid saying, "i am going to study hard to make the honor roll." i appreciate the work of the bus driver who got them there. i love the bus driver. i want as many good bus drivers as possible. if that kid got the honor roll, it is because he or she earned it, not because the bus driver got them there. if somebody working in a factory or a shop like this decides, "i am going to get more skills, take more training to get a job promotion" -- to get those skills, he or she had to drive their cars, which meant the dmv had to give them a license. but they deserve credit for that promotion, not the dmv. [applause] when john mccandless and his sons took the risk with the money they had saved, to start these businesses and hire other

people -- if credit goes to them and the people they hired, the people they work here -- i appreciate government, but it did not build this. those people build this business. [applause] the prison and has been saying we are taking him out of context. you go look at the rest of his speech. it is on youtube. the context is worse than the " -- the quote. he said, "a lot of people think they are smart, and think they are working hard." i do not know where he is going with this idea. we celebrate people who are smart and who work hard. we celebrate achievement in this country.

we do not celebrate government. [applause] look. this goes back to the very beginning of america. this is something that is so fundamental to the american spirit that we are surprised as we hear the president talked about smart and hard work and who built a business in the way that he did. it just seems so strange to us, because we know that when the founders wrote the declaration of independence, they saw something which was perhaps beyond their years and experience.

they saw something perhaps inspired or brilliant. they said it was not government who gave us our rights. these rights were in doubt on us by our creator. -- endowed on us by our creator. among these rights were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. three people in this country have come here for centuries. people come here today, seeking these freedoms. the right to pursue happiness as they choose. that has made america the powerhouse we are, respected around the world. i just came back from overseas. i got the chance to meet a hero. i met like wallace of -- lech wallesea. he said no to despots and oppression. i am always impressed by the power of one person to say no to people who would be oppressive, and to make a difference, and in some respects change their lives, the lives of their community, perhaps even the life of a nation.

he said no to the tyrants from russia that were occupying his country, and the lead to a change that has brought freedom to millions of people. i think of rosa parks, who was on that bus. when the bus driver said, "give up your seat for this white man," she said no. [applause] a fellow in tunisia was told by a government bureaucrat that he could not open his fruit stand. he, in protest, committed suicide by self immolation. from that came a revolution throughout the middle east that continues to roll.

i think about the man who was leading his nation as a tyrant and a dictator, ceausescu. he got a crowd together, to tell them about the wonderful things he had done. 200,000 people came together. he stood up and began to speak to them, going through all the wonderful things he had done to make their life better. an older woman looked up and said, "lawyer." she said it again, "liar." people around her began saying it. it spreads through the entire crowd. he tried to flee, and a soldier grabbed him. ultimately, he was executed. individuals make a statement of freedom and say no to oppression. they change the world. these are times for all americans to stand for the

things we believe in most equally. i love this country because of the freedom of our people, of our ability to change the world. [applause] this is a time when the world needs american leadership. that is what like woolsey -- lech walesea told me. we need leadership in our homes, in our economy, in our military. a strong america is the best ally peace has ever known. this is a time for choice for america. we are going to decide whether we are going to continue to have the policies of a president who has not had a job in the private sector, policies that have led america to have 42 straight months of unemployment above 8%, 23 million out of work.

those policies lead to an america that is not as strong as it must be for ourselves, for our children, and for the world. we can instead take a course which i will represent, which is to keep america strong air, do the things that will get jobs again, make sure that people know their future is bright and their kids' future is bright. i love this country. i will do everything in my power to keep america strong. we will take back america, and keep america the hope of the earth. thank you so much. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] ♪

>> following his remarks in las vegas, mitt romney spoke to reporters about harry reid's we to comment that mr. romney had not paid his taxes. the republican presidential candidate was asked about when he would announce his pick for vice president. this is 15 minutes. >> good morning. sorry for the extra noise. if we did not have the air conditioner on, you probably could not stand here. i turn to you for any questions you might have. please. >> with the jobs added last month, are we still in recession? >> we still have 23 million americans out of work. you'll see job numbers that bounce around.

there is no question we have 42 months with unemployment above 8%. this administration said, if they got there stimulus, they would hold unemployment below 8%. they said the measure and have not been below 8% since. with this number of middle-class families struggling, it is clear these policies have not worked. his team said that by now we would have unemployment at 5.5%. it is still above 8%, 8.3%. i am not going to look at every monthly statistic. but this continues a pattern of american families really struggling, having hard times. to president's policies are blame for not having gotten the economy back on track. a lot of people are suffering in

this country. i think it is an extraordinary failure of policy, a failure of leadership. and i think it is a moral failure for a country as successful and prosperous as our own to go for years in a mode that feels too many people like a recession. some said that if you are unemployed, it is a depression. there are a lot of people having a hard time. the president's approach has not worked. we have listened to him give a major speech on his economic plans to get people working, and there was nothing new. just another stimulus. i have laid out a plan which will get americans working again, will create 12 million jobs, and perhaps more than that. i am confident we can get america working again. it will take not government stepping in, but government encouraging the private sector to take the lead in creating new businesses, starting the kind of employment opportunities that americans look for. the economists will tell us what the future holds. we are all ready for the 23 million americans -- it is a

recession for them, if not worse, if not a depression. >> we have heard about uncertainty for the private sector, based on government decisions. big issues you would have to deal with -- one is the cuts to the pentagon, the automatic sequester. how urgent is it to address that? what are your ideas? some people are also saying tax reform, which provides uncertainty and could take up to a year. what is your view of how long major tax reform would take, if you were elected president? >> the sequestration, i would like to see the president and congress come together and put a year-long run away from where we are now through the term of the next president. hopefully me, but if not me,

president obama. give me or the next president the capacity to reform our tax system and make sure our military plans are consistent with the needs of american leadership. i thk the idea of massive cuts to our military is a terrible idea. it is going to cause layoffs. it is good to cause a sensation of various programs essential to american workers. -- it is going to cause a cessassion of various programs essential to american workers. clearly, the president should step forward and say these cuts are unacceptable. the cuts to the military are unacceptable. and the uncertainty caused by the tax changes -- some call it a tax cliff. these things do not help the american economy. we need stability. let us have at least a year of run with, or even six months after the new president is elected, so we can have the tax reform and the military spending plans and budget plans consistent with that individual's leadership and views.

my own view on tax reform is that we should make our tax code simpler. we should bring down rates. high income people are not going to pay a smaller share of taxes in america if i am president. i have been interested in seeing that the president continues to say things that are patently untrue. my tax policy will not reduce the taxes paid by high income americans. with regards to middle income americans, i want to lower the taxes paid. i know there are groups out there that put together assumptions and say different things, but my plan is clear. i will not raise taxes on the american people. i will not raise taxes on middle income americans. assertions to the contrary are simply false.

i am afraid the campaign knows that, and i hope members of the media focus on that. i want to bring down rates, limits deductions and exemptions for high income people. but when you finish going to my plan, and we scored it properly, i will not have a plan that lowers the share paid by high income folks, or that raises taxes on middle income americans. >> individuals are looking for some sense of a plan. if you are a president, with tax reform takes six months? a year? >> the length of time is dependent in part upon whether we elect republicans in the senate and house, and by what number, so i cannot give you a prediction of how long it would take to put in place a full tax reform program until we had those individuals in place. i can tell you i think one of the great opportunities for our nation was proposed when the tax commission, the budget commission, came back. i am talking about some symbols -- simpson-bowles.

why the president did not seize upon that -- if he thought some aspects needed to be adjusted, make some adjustments. instead, it just died. we need to have presidential leadership. we have not had presidential leadership on budget matters. with regards to the senate, we have gone three years without a budget. it is absolutely extraordinary that a nation like ours, by virtue of the failure of leadership, does not even have a budget in place. >> senator reed has said you did not pay taxes for 10 years. could you silence these remarks by disclosing more of your tax returns? >> harry reid really have to put up or shut up. who are your sources?

let us have him explain who that is. by the way, i understand what he is trying to do. he is tried to deflect the fact that jobs numbers are bad, that americans are out of work, and throw anything up on the screen that will grab attention from the fact that policies of the white house have not worked to put americans to work, and the senate does not even have a budget in place. let me say categorically i have paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes. a lot of taxes. he is simply wrong. that is what i am anxious for him to give us the names of the people who put this forward. i would not be surprised to hear names from the white house or the obama campaign. like these other charges -- this is a time when i took the president at his word, when he called me. he said, "this is going to be an important campaign on the direction of the country, and a debate for the direction of the country."

i had hoped it would be a debate on the direction of the country. what we are seeing instead is an attack -- one attack after the other, misleading, false attacks. the advertisements saying i will raise taxes on the middle class. that is patently false. by the way, the president has raised taxes on the middle class, as determined by the supreme court. that being said, the president has advertisements on my stand on life, which are also wrong, and they know they are wrong. this is a time to have a debate on the direction of the country, not a series of attacks that are misguided, inaccurate, untrue, and detract from the real issues america faces.

and those are important issues. i happen to believe that when we finally come to the debates and have a chance to talk about these things, and the american people really focus on what is happening, that they will put aside this silliness. i think that are putting it aside now. they realize what it is -- politics at its worst. >> instead of going back and forth with harry reid, when not release the tax returns and put the issue to bed? >> you can go on our website and see my financial disclosure statements, going back to 2002. you can see the tax returns i put out for 2010. those are, i think, hundreds of pages of documents. i have already received an estimate for 2011. as soon as that is completed, we are waiting for information to complete that. as soon as that is completed, we will put up the most recent year. i have already learned, from harry reid and others, that the people on the other side of the aisle will try to go to anything we give them, to distort it, to turn it into something it does not say, and to try to make political fodder.

i am falling -- following the president of john mccain, putting out two years of income tax returns and our financial disclosure statements, as required by law. you'll be surprised to see the amazing amount of data associated with our disclosure on line. i do not know who has the microphone. >> the obama campaign filed suit in ohio to try to reduce early voting by a few days for military living overseas. your reaction to that? the you think it is just unfair, going after the military in that way? >> i have not seen that report, so i cannot comment on the specific filing that you describe. i can tell you that i believe our military and the men and women in uniform have an absolute right to speak in this election. their lives are affected by what happens in policies here in this country, and the direction of

america. every effort should be taken by the government of the united states of america to assure that every member of the military has the right to vote, and their vote is counted. any effort to impede the right of our military members overseas or domestically in voting would be an extraordinary violation of the trust we should have for those who serve so valiantly. >> there are culture fights in your party recently -- a battle about chick-fil-a and about the muslim brotherhood, with michele bachman and members of congress calling on an investigation of those in the federal government. the you think these are important things your party is talking about now? >> those are not things that are part of my campaign. >> as your party puts together its platform, do you think auditing the senate should be part of that platform?

>> my view is that we should audit the fed, and that the actions of the fed should be open for the review of congress and the understanding of the american people. >> your advisers have publicly hinted that you are close to making a decision about your running mate. why can't you address where you are in that process and whether you have made a decision? >> i will absolutely beside it and announce my running mate before the third day of the republican convention in august. other than that, i have nothing for you. please. >> than in the spotlight with the gsa. president obama cannot take a trip on the taxpayers' dime. what are your thoughts on comi to las vegas? we need the tourism dollars. we need the convention. what is your take, locally?

>> i go back to the experience of what happened with rudy giuliani, in the case of a real national disaster. he said, "please come to new york." if i am president of the united states, i will tell people to come help nevada. las vegas is having tough times. north las vegas has declared a state of emergency, a disaster. the level of unemployment, the home prices are severe. i hope people recognize that nevada is open for business, doing well. company meetings are welcome. it is a fabulous site for conventions. come and enjoy this environment of warmth and water and hospitality. i will certainly carry that message, and hope that people recognize this is a great place to come and visit. i know it is a great place to

live as well. thank you. >> democrats voting next weekend on their final platform recommendations in detroit. followed in mid august as republicans thought their platform profits -- process in tampa. the coverage of the party conventions begins august 10 with the reform party in philadelphia all but of coverage of the republican national convention beginning monday, august 27 from tampa and the democratic national convention live from charlotte, north carolina, monday, september 3. >> first lady michelle obama was on the campaign trail thursday making stops in new hampshire. she spoke to campaign supporters in southern new hampshire and avert -- university in manchester about her husband's accomplishment and why he should be reelected to a second term. this is about 30 minutes. ♪

[applause] >> thank you also much. -- all so much. you know, thank you so much. first of all, i am so excited to be here and i wanted thank you all. it is hot in here and you guys are hanging in there. let me just say this, if anybody needs to sit down, sit down. i will not be offended. if you start feeling sick, said down. thank you some much. i am thrilled. i want to start by thanking meredith for that kind introduction. heartfelt, passionate. and for all for work and service to this campaign, to this country. let's cover a round of applause. her a round of applause. and i want to thank the state

party share for joining us as well as pam brown 4 words earlier. most of all, i want to thank all of you. thank you everything you're doing every single day to make this campaign possible. thank you for knocking on those doors, registering voters, giving people the information they need about the issues they care about. because the grass-roots work that you all are doing, that is at the core of everything we do in this campaign. that is how we did it for years ago. that is how we are going to do it again today. so thank you. [applause] and i know this work that you are doing, it is not easy. being involved in a campaign is not easy. i know you are all busy. everybody is busy. you have liked to live, jobs to do, class is to attend, families

to raise. i also know there is a reason why you are here today. it is not just because we all support a phenomenal president, my husband. [applause] and it is not just because we want to win an election, which we do and we will. [applause] what i remind people everywhere i go is that we are here and we are doing this because of the values we believe in. it is our values. we are doing this because of the vision for this country that we all share. we are doing this because people the that everyone in this country should have a fair shot and that means -- [applause] and that means that every single child in this country should have good schools to go to, right? [applause] all of our kids should be able

to attend college without a mountain of debt. [applause] we believe that everyone should do their fair share which means teachers and firefighters could not pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. [applause] we believe that if you work hard, you should not go bankrupt because somebody gets sick. you should not lose your home because someone loses a job and after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with dignity and security. [applause] these are basic american values. these are the foundations of this country. the values that the many of us

were raised with, including myself. you all know my story by now. my father was a pump operator at the city water plant. he did that job his entire life. neither of my parents had a chance to get a college degree. but let me tell you what my parents did for me which i know many people share this story -- my parents save for us. they sacrificed everything for us. they poured everything they had into me and my brother. so that we could get the kind of education and have the kind of opportunity could only dream of an education was everything in our family. it was our ticket to the middle- class. our pathway to the american dream. [applause] and when my brother and i finally made it to college,

pretty much all of our tuition came from students loans and grants. people can understand that, right? but my dad still had to pay small portion of that to which in himself. and let me tell you, every semester, he was determined to pay that bill and to pay it on time. my father was so proud to be sending his kids to college. he made sure that we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. like so many people in this country, my father took great pride in being able to earn a living that allowed him to handle his responsibilities to his family. that is all he wanted. he wanted to be able to pay his bills and pay them on time. my father's life is a testament to the basic american promise that no matter who you are or

how you started out in this country, if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids. [applause] and what i want people to understand is my husband understands that promise because that is his story as well. that is why i married him. [applause] he is the son of a single mother who struggle to put yourself through school and pay the bills. he is the grandson of a woman who will up every day before dawn to catch a bus at a job at the bank. even though his grandmother was good at her job and she worked hard to support his family, like so many women, she hit that glass ceiling and watched men no more qualified than she was climb up the ladder ahead of per. but what he also saw was a woman

that never complained, never complained. how many people do we know like she just kept getting up. he just kept giving her best every single day to support her family. so what i want you to know is that barack knows what it means to work hard because you want something better for your kids and your grandkids and like me and like so many of you, barack knows the american dream because he's lived it. [cheers and applause] and he believes that when you work hard, right, when you've worked hard and done well, and you've had the chance to walk through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you.

you reach back and you give other folks the chance to succeed and more than anything else, that's at stake in this election. it's that dream. it's that fundamental american promise. and from now until november, we're going to need all of you, all of you to get out there and tell people -- tell them about barack's values. tell them about his vision, our vision and about the choice we face in this election. this election is a choice about our economy. it's about building a strong and growing middle-class. so i want you to remind people that barack has cut taxes for working families by $3,600. [cheers and applause] he has cut taxes for small businesses 18 times.

because your president knows that rebuilding our economy starts with the restaurants and stores and the-ups in this country that create all new jobs in america. i want you to remind people how back when barack first took office, this economy was losing an average of 750,000 jobs a month. a month. that's what he inheriteded. that's what he welcomed after his inauguration. for the past 28 months we've been gaining private sector jobs a total of 20,000 jobs in this economy. while we have a long way to to rebuild our economy, people have to understand today millions of people are collecting a paycheck again. millions of people like my dad are able to pay their bills again.

this election is also a choice about the health of our family. the past is that over the past century, ok, 100 years so many presidents have tried and failed to meet the challenge of health care reform. but your president was determined. yeah, he was determined. barack -- what was driven by the stories of the people he met, the grandparents who is couldn't afford their medicines, the families going broke because a child got sick, a woman dying of cancer who's insurance company wouldn't cover her care and that's what kept him going day after day. that's why he fought so hard for historic reform. and today because of that reform our parents and grandparents are paying less for their prescription drugs. our kids -- our kids can stay

on our insurance until their 26 years old. so our young people in this country don't have to go without health care right after they graduate and they're out there trying to build their lives. because of this reform insurance companies have to cover basic preventive care, things like contraception, cancer screening, prenatal care at no cost. they can no longer discriminate against you because you have an illness that they call a pre-existing condition. and alsos if you get a serious illness you know, something like breast cancer and you need really extensive treatment, your insurance company can no longer tell you, sorry, you've hit your lifetime limit and we're not paying anymore. that is now illegal thanks to health reform.

no more. but making no mistake about it, this november, we get to decide. do we want these reforms to be repealed or do we want the people we love to have the care they need? it's our choice. that's the choice we face in this election. this election is about a choice whether our kids can attend college without a mountain of debt. let me share something with you, when barack and i were starting out we were all in love and taking care -- our combined student lone bill -- loan bill was higher than our mortgage. how many people can can relate to that? so when it comes to student debt, trust me, my husband and i we've been there. and that's why barack double funding for pell grants,s fought so hard to stop student

loan interest rates from increasing because he wants all young people to be able to get their education they need for the jobs they deserve. barack wants all of our kids to fulfill their promise. and that's why he's been fighting for the dream act. you know, he's fighting for responsible young people who came to this country as children through no fault of their own and raised as americans. because he believes that yes, these young people deserve a chances to go to college, to contribute to our economy, to serve the country they know an love. all of our kids. this election is a choice about keeping our country safe. so i want you to remind people that after 10 long years of war, after so many of our heroic men and women in uniform

serve, sacrifice, gave their lives, osama bin laden is no longer a threat to this country. [cheers and applause] and you can remind folks that barack kept his promise to bring our troops home from iraq and he's working hard to make sure they get the benefits and support they've earned. and today our troops no longer have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love because barack's policy of don't ask don't tell. this election is sa choice about supporting women and families in this country. so be sure to let people know that your president believes that women should be able to make our own choices about health care. i want you to remind people that it's now easier for women to get equal pay for equal work

because of the first bill he signed into law. first thing he did as president and of course, we have to remind people about those two brilliant supreme court justices he appointed and how for the first time in history we watched three women take their seat on our nation's highest court. so when people ask you what this president has done for our country, here's what you tell them. tell them how many jobs he's created. tell them how much money he's put back in the pockets of american people. you tell them that more of our kids can afford college, more of our seniors can afford their medicines. remind people how he ended the war in iraq, past historic health reform and stood up for our most fundamental rights again and again and again.

that's what i want you to tell them. that's what i want you to tell them. [cheers and applause] but i also -- i also want to remind everyone that all of that and so much more is all at stake this november. it's all on the line. that is the choice we face. are we going to continue the change we've begun? and the progress we've made? or are we going to let everything we fought for to just slip away? no, we can't do that. we can't turn back now. we need to keep moving forward, right? this country needs to keep moving forward. forward. forward.

and really more than anything else, that's what we're working for. that's why we're here, the chance to finish what we started, the chance to keep fighting for the values we believe in and the vision that we all share. i don't care who you are. and that's what my husband's been doing every single day as president. but let me share something with you. see, as first lady, i have had the privilege for the last three and a half years of seeing up close and personal what being president looks like. and i've seen some things. [laughter] but most importantly i've seen how the issues that come across a president's desk are always the hard ones. you know, the problems with no easy solutions. i don't care what anybody says. the judgment calls where is the

stakes are so high and there's no margin for error. and i also seen that as president, you're going to get all kinds of advice and guidances from all kinds of people but at the end of the day when it comes to make that decision as president, all a president has to guide them are their life experiences. all you have as president to guide you are your values an your vision for this country. in the end it all boils down to who you are and what you stand for. and we all know who my husband is, don't we? we all know what barack obama stands for. and we have seen again and again just how hard he's willing to fight for us. remember -- remember when folks

in washington told barack to let the auto industry go under with more than a million jobs on the line? remember that? but fortunately, barack had the backs of american workers. he put his faith in the american people and as a result today the auto industry is back on its feet again. and more importantly people are back at work earning a paycheck for their family. remember how folks were telling barack not to take on health care, right? remember that? because i do. they say leave it for another president. another day. just keep kicking that can down the road. but fortune natly barack had the backs of american families. and as a result, millions of people in this country can see a doctor when they're sick. they can get the care that they need to stay well.

so what you got tell people is that when it comes time to stand up for the middle-class so our kids can go to college and our families can make a decent living and save for retirement, you know what my husband's going to do, don't you? when we need a president to protect our most basic rights no matter what we look like or who we love, you know, you can count on my husband because that's what he's been doing every single day as president of the united states. that's why i'm fired up. but i have said this before -- i have said this before and i

will keep saying it, he cannot do this alone. that was never the promise. never the promise. you know, barack has said that this election will be closer than the last one. that is the only guarantee. in the end it could come down to those last few thousands votes particularly here in new hampshire. and when you think about that number, right and remember that those votes are spread out across an entire state, across hundreds of cities and thousands offer precincts. so when you're out there wondering whether what you're doing is mattering, i want you to think that, that one new voter that you register in your precinct, that one neighbor that you help get to the poll on november 6th, i want you to think that could be the one that makes the difference. that one conversation that you have, you know, that one new

volunteer, that could be the one that puts us over the top. that could be the difference between us waking up november the 7th and wondering could we have done more or feeling the promise of four more years? that's the difference. one person. one person. [cheers and applause] and that's why we're launching our new initia toif, it takes one. it takes one. let me explain it because it's simple. meredith explained it. with every action you take to move this campaign forward, we're asking you to inspire one more person, one more person bring them with you, have them step up and do their part. bring one more person. bring a friend. if you're going to an event bring a neighbor who's never been involveded in an election before. when you're voting early or even on election day, one new voter along with you. everybody knows one person, right? one friend, one colleague, one somebody who's standing on the

sideline who needs you to just shake them up, send them to barack obama.com/s one and help them get involved. it's like barack has always said it takes one voice to change a room. if one voice can can change a room it can change a city. if it can change a city, it can change a state. and if it can change a state it can change a nation. that's the power of one person moving up and moving this country forward. so we want you all to multiply yourselves. and i'm not going to kid you. this journey is going to be long. and it is going to be hard. and there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way but i want you all to remember that's how change always happens in this country. real change is slow. but if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, then eventually we get

there, we always do. maybe not in our lifetimes but maybe in our childrens' lifetimes. maybe in our grandchildren's lifetime because in the end, that's really what this is about. in the end, i want you to remember that's what elections are all about. don't let anybody tell you differently. elections are about hope. they're about our hopes for our children. they're about the world that we want to leave for them. it's not about us. that's what i think about every night when i put my girls to bed. i think about how i want to do to them what my dad did for me. what barack's grandmother and mother did for him. i want to give my daughters and

all of our sons and daughters a real foundation for their dreams, you know? i want to give them opportunities worthy of their promise because what each of us knows is all of our kids are worthy. they're all worthy. i want to give our kids that sense of limitless possibility, you know? that belief that here in america there's something better out there if you're willing to work for it. when i get tired, i just say to myself we just can't turn back now. not now. we have come so far. but we have so much more work to do. so wife got one last question to ask you -- are you in? are you way in? you ready to roll up your sleeves and fire it up and get it ready to go?

we're going to need you every step of the way. multpi yourselves. bring one person into the fold. we're going to need you every step of the way. thank you all. god bless. [cheers and applause]

♪ ♪ >> the group americans for prosperity reportedly made a $24 million ad bi against president obama. and they hosted a rally today on capitol hill opposing the

health care law. dick morris and jim martin of the 60 plus association were among the speakers. this is about 40 minutes. >> i tell you, you're making these ultimate sacrifice today. i am a southerner, but i think it is 193 degrees out here. all the folks in the back rows have to come on down up. we will shame you for just a few minutes. come around, guys. as hot as it is today, if we keep working this issue, it will get even hotter for harry reid. because i think the american people are fed up. don't you?

today, united as one, we gather -- clear message for the united states senate whose offices are up there. repeal of this disastrous health care now. and if you refuse to repeal this legislation, the american people will repeal you! and today, we have another message for the president of the united states. mr. president, with all due respect to you and your office, keep your hands off our health care. keep it off our health care. over the last two years, three years, really, and a great debate has taken place across

our nation. it is over whether or not washington, d.c. health care is a good idea. i am here to tell you -- and you know this already -- the debate is over. the american people have spoken. they have made their views known loud and clear. in november of 2009, they had a message for then speaker nancy pelosi. is it nice -- isn't it nice to say "then speaker nancy pelosi"? they said thanks but no thanks, on health care coming out of washington. you are fired. and that's what they said to her. [applause] now, 37 days ago, the supreme court had a disastrous ruling, right? it was frustrating. no way around that. we will not sugarcoat it.

it was disappointing to see chief justice roberts in upholding the constitutionality of a law that we believe is unconstitutional. forcing americans to buy a private product by law. that was wrong. it was frustrating. it was difficult. but here's the good news appeared in the end, the supreme court of this great nation, as powerful as it is -- as it is, they don't have the last word. you have the last word. it is not over until we say it is over. and guess what. it's not over. we are starting again today. we are here in washington, d.c. with a clear message for the senate, for the house -- i will tell you this. we sometimes criticize the members of the house and the senate.

they stepped up within days of the ruling and they voted to repeal obama care. they deserve a round of applause for that. we are gathered here not for political reasons. we are gathered here for some basic common sense principles i have twin boys. where are they? right there. i don't know about you, but, when it comes to the government taking care of their health care, do we want that? we don't. we don't trust the government running health care for our children. if my mom and dad are in their late 70's now. they battled hard issues for a

decade. we are -- late-70's, they battled hard issues for a decade. do we want being counters in washington, d.c.? i don't need some bureaucrat from washington telling me that my parents don't have enough quality of life to deserve treatment and we will let that happen. we will stop that from happening. and when it comes to holding down the cost of health care, this is almost laughable -- do we really trust the federal government to hold down the cost of anything? it is laughable. amtrak is not exactly -- every federal program does what? it goes over budget. it goes over spending. over the next 10 years, it will be a trillion dollars. it will be trillions of dollars that this government is spending and wasting.

remember the gsa conferences in las vegas with our money? it will be gsa on steroids. these people will be spending money beyond belief and we will let that happen. when you see obama care all ready, you see also the government cronyism -- when you look at obamacare already, you also see the government cronyism. if you are a well-connected union or a well-connected corporation, you get a waiver from obama care? no, you don't. if you happen to be a small business in nancy pelosi is district, congratulations, you get a waiver. they have given dozens and dozens of waivers to her district were connected. we will let government cronyism take over the greatest health

care system in the world. when they pass this on all of us, who do they exempt? themselves. the president come every member of congress who voted for this monstrosity, their staff -- they have the federal health-insurance program. this is not secret and i don't talk about this very often. confession's good for soul. i worked on capitol hill for three years. i was a chief of staff to a good conservative member. but i had the federal health insurance benefits. i had dozens of choices. sthe very thing that they want to deny you and me when it comes to health care, a choice, the ability to do what is best for us and our families and our children and our grandkids, they want to deny that to everyone else while exempting themselves and keeping their own health care. that is wrong and we won't let that happen.

we won't let that happen, folks. we will appeal this bill. we will repeal this bill. i said, we will repeal this bill. repeals the bill is what we will do. repeal the bill. that is exactly what we will do. i heard the voices. some of them are our friends and they are saying, look, we cannot do it. we will never get 60 votes in the senate to overcome a filibuster. we will never have a president who will sign or overturn this legislation. but there was one silver lining and only one in that health care decision that chief justice roberts and for liberals on the court put through. they said that the individual mandate is what we know it is, a tax increase, right? so the senate rules, under reconciliation, means that, to strip out the tax increases and the spending increases, we don't need 60 votes. don't need 60 votes. and we can do that.