livestock producers by purchasing meat and fish right now while prices are low and we will freeze it for later. we have a lot of freezers. [laughter] that will help ranchers who were going through tough times right now and also over the long term, the food will be used by those in the pentagon and other places. america depend on farmers and ranchers to put food on the table, depend on them to feed our families, so we need to be there for them. not just today but tomorrow and every day until this drop passes because we are americans. that's what we do. we take care of each other. when tough times strike our neighbors, we give them a hand. [applause] now, that speaks to the larger idea of why i'm here.

the notion that i am my brother's keeper, the idea that we are in this together was at the heart of the journey that began here in iowa five years ago. you know, we spend a lot of time on bus tours like this one, in school gymnasiums, small businesses throughout this state. the bus we had was not as nice as this one. [laughter] that campaign back in 2007-2008 had plenty of ups and downs, but no matter what you, the people in iowa, had my back. you had my back. [applause] when the pundits had written us off, when we were down in the polls, you believed in me, and

i believe in you. it was on your front porches and in your backyard where the movement for change in this country began. but our journey is not finished. not yet. i'm going to spend the next three days driving all across this state, just like a did in 2007, to cross from council bluffs to the quad cities. once more, you face the choice. that choice could not be bigger. it is not just between two candidates, two political parties. more than any other election, this is a choice between two fundamentally different visions for this country and the path we have to take. the direction that you choose when you walk into that voting booth in november will have an impact not just on your lives but your children's, grandchildren's for decades to come.

this one counts. [applause] crowd: four more years!four more years! four more years! four more years! >> think about this, council bluffs. we came together. it was not just democrats but independents and some republicans because we understood we needed to restore the basic bargain that made this country great, the basic deal that created the middle class and the most prosperous economy the world has ever known. it's a simple bargain. it says it you work hard, your work should be rewarded. if you act responsibly and you put in enough effort, you should be able tfind a job to pay the bills. you should have a home you call your own.

you should count on health care when you get sick. put away and up to retire with dignity and respect. most of all, give your kids in education that allows them to dream even bigger than you did. that's the american promise. that's the american dream. [applause] the reason we came together was because we had seen a decade in which that dream was being betrayed. jobs were being shipped overseas. you were working harder but making less while the cost of everything from health care to college kept going up. it all culminated in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. we knew that restoring the basic bargain that made this

country would not be easy. we knew it would take more than one year, one term, one president. that was before the crisis hit. we saw friends and neighbors lose their jobs, lose their homes, lose their savings, pushing the american dream even further out of reach for many americans. over the last 3.5 years, we have seen american grit. you are tougher than any tough time. when we get knocked down, we stand back up. some workers lost their jobs and they went back to community college, got retrained, and now have a new job. slowly we have seen 4.5 million new jobs created, 500,000 manufacturing jobs created.

no matter how bad the crisis was, one thing did not change and that is the character of the american people and the resilience of the american people. what has not changed is our determination to do what we came together to do in 2008 which is to make sure that in america, hard work pays off. no matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like, you can make it here in america if you try. [applause] that is what this campaign is about, iowa, and that's why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states of america. [applause] you know, i told you four years ago that there would not be quick fixes, easy solutions. the challenges have been building for decades.

that's still true today. i want everybody to know that we have the capacity to meet every challenge. we have the best workers in the world. we have the best entrepreneurs, the best colleges, universities, the best researchers, the best scientists. we have a diversity of talent and ingenuity. there's not another country that would not trade places with the united states of america. [applause] what is holding us back right now is washington politics. you've got people on the other side to have been thinking compromise is a dirty word and

whose main idea is to go back to the same old top-down economics that got us in this mess to begin with. you know, this weekend, my opponent, mr. romney, it chose the ideological leader of republicans in congress. congressman ryan is a good man, a family man. he is an articulate spokesman for governor romney's vision. the problem is that vision is one i fundamentally disagree with. [applause] governor romney and his allies in congress think we just get rid of more regulations on big corporations and give more tax breaks to the wealthiest americans, and medicare as we know it and make it a voucher system that somehow this will

lead to jobs and prosperity for everybody. the centerpiece of mr. romney's entire economic plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut, a lot of it going to the very wealthiest americans. last week, an independent study, not by me, but by independent economists said that governor romney's plan would are naturally raise taxes on middle-class families with children by an average of $2,000 apiece. this would not be done not to reduce the deficit. it would not be done to create jobs or put people back to work rebuilding roads, bridges, or schools. it's just you paying an extra $2,000 to get another $250,000 tax cut for those making more than $3 million per year.

does this sound familiar to you? they have tried to sell us this trickle-down theory before. guess what? every time and has been tried it has not worked. it did not work then. it won't work now. it won't create jobs. it will not lower the deficit. it is not a plan to lower the deficit. we need tax relief for working families. [applause] you need tax relief. people trying to raise kids, put a roof over their heads, send them to college. that is the choice. that is the reason i'm running again. four years ago, i promised to cut middle-class taxes, and that is exactly what i've done.

[applause] the average working family here in iowa and across the country has seen their tax go down about $3,600. when you hear the other side talking about democrats raising your taxes, your taxes are lower since i have been president. that's the truth. now, i want to keep your taxes right where they are. for the first $250,000 of everybody's in the come. if you make under that, which is 98% of america, you will not see your income taxes go up by a single time next year. [applause] 97% of small businesses will not see their taxes go up. here's the thing, council bluffs.

this is important. and omaha. we love you. [applause] we did not want to leave our nebraska folks left out. [applause] here's the thing. if you are lucky enough and fortunate enough to have been blessed enough to be in the other 2%, the top 2%, you still get a tax cut for your first $250,000 and then come. all we're saying is after that, and maybe you can do a little bit more to help pay down this deficit and invest in things like education to help our economy grow. [applause] listen. government will do its part.

we have already cut $1 trillion in spending. we will cut more. we have to streamline government and make it work efficiently and effectively, but what we can also do is to ask people like me to do a little bit more. all we're asking is for people like me to go back to the rates we paid under bill clinton. by the way, that was a time when we created nearly 23 million new jobs and we created the biggest budget surplus in history. here's the kicker. folks at the top actually did well because guess what? when a factory worker, a construction worker, receptionist, a teacher, firefighter, kopp has a little bit more money in their pockets, what do they do? maybe they go out and buy a new car after writing that old be around for the last 16 years.

maybe they finally get a new dishwasher because the old one has been broke for a long time. maybe they go and buy a computer for their kids for the new school year or they go to restaurants. heaven forbid, they take a vacation. that means businesses suddenly have more customers. that means businesses start hiring more workers because they are making more profit. everybody does better. that's how we grow the economy. not from the top down but from the metal out and the bottom up. that's the choice in this election. that's why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states. [applause] you know, across the board there is a sharp contrast between me and mr. romney. when the yacht industry was on the brink of collapse, more than 1 million -- when the

automobile industry was on the brink of collapse, romney said to lead detroit go bankrupt. i refused to turn my back on one of the great american industries. i bet on american workers. three years later, the auto industry has come back. [applause] now i want to make sure that high-tech manufacturing jobs take root here, not in china. i want them to take root here in council bluffs. governor romney likes to brag about his private sector experience. a bunch of that was investing in companies that have been called pioneers of outsourcing. let me tell you something. i want in sourcing, not outsourcing. i want to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. let's give tax breaks to those

companies that invest in america, higher american workers up to sell all over the world with those goods made in america. that's what i believe in. [applause] here's another difference. right now, home grown energy, things like wind energy, creating new jobs oliver states like iowa. governor romney wants to end tax breaks for wind energy producers. american now produces twice as much electricity from wind as we did before it took office. we doubled the amount of electricity we are producing from wind. it supports about 7000 jobs in iowa. without these wind energy tax credits, a lot of these jobs

would be at risk. 37,000 jobs across this country would be at risk. i think we should stop spending billions on taxpayer subsidies for an oil industry making all kinds of profits and keep investing in a clean energy that has never been more promising. that's a disagreement i've got with governor romney. that is the choice in this election. [applause] back in 2008, i said it was time to end the war in iraq. we ended it. i said it was time for us to go after bin laden and al qaeda. and we did. [applause] we set a time line to start bringing our troops out of

afghanistan. after a decade of war, i think it's time to do some nation- building here at home. [applause] we cannot have accomplished any of this without the extraordinary service of our men and women in uniform. i promise you this. as long as i am commander in chief, this country will care for our veterans and serve our veterans as well as they served us. if nobody who fought for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home. [applause] that is why we've invested so heavily in making sure the va works like it's supposed to. that is why we have put more money into treatment of ptsd and traumatic brain injuries, ending homelessness among veterans. those are investments we have to make. my plan says let's take half

the money we are no longer spending on the war and also use it to put people back to work building our roads, runways, imports, wireless networks, creating a veteran's job course of local communities can hire our veterans to be firefighters, police officers in communities that need it. that's the america we want to build. that's the choice in this election. that's why i'm running for his second term. [applause] i want to make sure that america, once again, leads in education. i want to help our schools hire of the best teachers, especially in math and science. i want to give 2 million more americans the chance to go to community colleges and learn the skills businesses are hiring for right now. [applause]

i want to give colleges and universities the chance to bring down the cost of tuition once and for all because education is not a luxury. it's an economic necessity. everyone should be able to afford it. i have a plan to help homeowners refinance their homes at historically low rates to save an average of $3,000. my opponent solution is to let the market bottomed out. that's what he said. that's not a solution. that's part of the problem. that's the difference in this election. my opponent says one of the first things he would do would be to repeal obamacare. crowd: boo! >> i think that part of being middle class in america is making sure you do not go bankrupt when you get sick. because of this law, if you have a pre-existing condition he will be able to get health

insurance. that is why 6.5 million young people can now stay on their parents' plan. that is why seniors are now getting discounts on their prescription drugs. that's why insurance companies cannot drop your coverage or impose lifetime limits when you need it most. that is why we passed this bill. the supreme court has spoken. we are not going backwards. we are going forward. [applause] you know, all of these things, whether it is bringing back manufacturing, creating more construction jobs, protecting people's health care, making sure your kids get the best education, making sure our veterans of the same kind of

opportunity my father had when he came back and was able to go to college on the gi bill, this is all part of what makes middle class. they are all bound together in the idea that made this country great. that basic promise that if you work hard, you can get ahead. it is not always going to be smooth. there will be times when times are tough. but the idea that if you work hard and look after your family, that work will be rewarded. that is the promise that our grandparents passed down to us. now it is the promise we ought to pass on to our kids and grandkids. that is what is at stake in this election. over the next three months, you will see the other side spend more money on negative ads than we have ever seen in history.

some folks, they've got really rich people writing $10 million checks. and basically, they are going to say the same thing over and over again. they know their economic theories are not going to sell. or member what happened when we tried them. all they will say is that the economy is not as good as it should be and it is obama's fault. they expect you to have and asia and not remember who it is that got us into the mess. [applause] but they figure, if we run these ads often enough, maybe folks will start thinking about it. that is true. they may have a plan to win the election, but they cannot hide the fact that they do not have a plan to create jobs or revive the middle class, or grow the economy. and i do have that plan.

i have a plan to put you first. i have a plan that puts middle- class families and folks trying to get into the middle class first. but i'm going to need your help. i've got to make sure you are registered. i'd get to make sure your friends are registered to vote. in iowa, you can get register online. all you have to do is go to gottaregister.com. the thing is, we have been outspent before, and we have been counted out before. but what you told me in 2007 and in 2008 was that when the american people cut through all of the nonsense, when you focus

your attention and you remember the story of your own families and all the struggles that your parents and grandparents went through, and how maybe because you got a student loan somewhere, maybe because your dad was able to get that job at the factory, you guys were able to build a good life together, just like nichelle and i were able to get opportunities that our parents could never have imagined. when you focus on that thing that is best in america, the way we pull together and give everybody a fair shot if everybody is doing their fair share and everybody is playing by the same set of rules, and everybody is taking responsibility, when you come together and reaffirm those core values that make this the greatest country on earth, you cannot be stopped. all of money those folks are spending does not matter. you are democracy.

you make decisions about the direction of this country. and i've got to tell you, we've come too far to go back now. we've got too many good jobs we still have to create, too many teachers we still have to hire, too many schools we still have to rebuild it, too many students we still need to help get an affordable education. we've got homegrown energy, more trips we've got to bring home, and most of all, we've got more doors to opportunity that we've got to open for everybody willing to work hard enough to walk through those doors. that is what is at stake in this election. that is why i'm running for president of the united states. that is why i'm asking for your vote, not just for me, but for this country that we believe in. [applause] and if you are willing to work with me and stand with me and knock on doors with me and make phone calls with me, if you vote for me in november, iowa, we will win this election and

we will finish what we started in 2008 and will remind every nationwide the united states is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> we take care of our own ♪

of our own ♪are ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ we take care of our own ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> you will see paul ryan's arrival at the state fair. [no audio] [no audio]

[cheers and applause] >> nice to see you. >> thanks for your hospitality. thanks for having me. >> we are happy to have you and plan to work for you from now to november. >> you know, my mother-in-law is

from clinton, iowa. [inaudible] he was like my wife's third or fourth cousin. her mom was norman's second cousin or something like that. that is great. >> and then they will come back to the iowa capital. we have the buildings in downtown des moines. every year, we do this. >> the thing we did at the hall. a gold medal, yes.

>> we have got all of that displayed in downtown des moines. >> oh, really? >> yes. he was a wrestler for the university. >> i knew that. >> thanks for coming to iowa. >> my pleasure.

>> you said yesterday that the president -- >> i want to enjoy this fair right now. >> have you ever seen this? >> no, i have not. i usually lose to a 17-year-old woman who is wearing a tiara.

i'm going to keep myself in shape, that is for sure. that is your -- that is interesting. that is great. yes. i am looking forward to it.

oh, yes. good to see you. ok. we will get to that later. right now, i just want to enjoy it. >> nice to meet you. >> what is your name, ma'am? enjoy the fair. hi.

you are enjoying the fair? how are you doing? nice to meet you. nice to meet you. they make those. what is your name? angry bird. good to see you. watch the baby, everybody. hey, how are you doing? hey, what is your name? hey, buddy. what is your name? >> mckenna. >> where are you from? >> des moines, iowa.

>> we are running for office. that is why we have all of these people around. >> a prediction poll. >> you know what? we like to think of it as america's team. good to see you. what is your name, ma'am? like a tootsie roll. very cool. nice to meet you. hey, aidan. how are you doing? that is pretty cool. you get a little velcro strap and put it on your --

>> is he named after hayden fry? good to meet you. you have to put a strap on these things. they help out a lot. >> right, right, right. they work well. my kids just spit them out o nthe ground. -- on the ground. nice to see you. take care. >> the majority in your state and iowa -- >> we will play all these issues. our job is to strengthen medicare. president obama -- we will see these issues later. hey sir, thanks for your support. thanks for your service. hello, jenna. i am just getting used to it. it is different. thanks for coming out to the fair today. >> thanks for coming to iowa.

the competitive edge has a lot of promotional things. all of this -- >> oh, really? no kidding. and in mitt's first campaign, i was in landsford also. >> welcome to iowa. thanks for coming. >> good to see you. >> not provoked -- >> because we could get away with it. you don't try to get someone -- >> so what nfl team do you have? >> iowa state and iowa. >> are you more -- >> this is a factor.

>> you have a lot of basketball. >> we have a lot of cubs fans. >> i live an hour and a half -- >> i am behind you 100%. >> my grandfather went to -- great school. i keep going. we had an event for governor crawford. -- governor walker and the recall. that is the centerpiece -- this is -- >> you -- we got this and -- >> we ran again.

>> he ran before and almost beat him. and now he's running again. >> this year -- >> good to see you. >> later in the day represents to bryan spoke at the state fair in the political soapbox area. -- later in the day, rep ryan spoke at the state fair in the political soapbox area. we will wait just a second to let the media get positioned. my name is rick green, the editor and vice president of the des moines register. we want to thank you for being here and appreciate your patience.

we know it is hot and warm but it is worth the wait. [applause] >> this has been a political soapbox. this is a chance to bring forward great candidates from different levels to interact with you, the voters. the great tradition is that we have great civil discourse and we are respectful to our guests. i introduce the great governor of iowa, terry grandstatt. -- branstad. >> it is my honor to introduce a man who will be a great vice- president for the country.

[applause] the voice of fiscal responsibility and a great congressman from our neighboring state, paul ryan. [applause] >> hey. i appreciate it. [applause] >> are there any packer fans here? all right, cool. hey, everybody, how are you doing? what a beautiful day to be at the state fair. do you have wristband day here? wristband day, you can ride all the rides with one wristband all day. from a wisconsinite to an iowan, have wristband day.

your kids will love it. i heard president obama is starting his bus tour today. to i heard he wasn't going come to the iowa state fair. it'snk it's -- i think become so -- you know, it's funny. it is funny because iowans and wisconsinites love to be respectful of one another and listen to one another, but these ladies must not be from iowa or wisconsin. and so -- oh. they are starting to hear. like i said, you must not be from iowa. so, hey, all right.

my guess is, my guess is the reason president obama isn't making it here is because he only knows left turns. you know, but have you see nhim come through on his bus tour, you may ask him the same question i am getting asked, and that is where are the jobs, mr. president? [applause] now, one thing we have to get straight, one thing we have to get straight is we are not growing this economy or creating jobs like we can in america. that is why mitt romney and i have a plan for a stronger

middle class to get this country growing jobs again and get us back on the path to prosperity in this country. [applause] there are five things we will do right away to create 12 million jobs. we have energy in this country, let's use this energy in this country. [applause] renewables, biomass, nuclear, and oil and gas. let's get it. let's not keep buying from other countries. we also need workers with skills to thrive and survive in this economy. you know what we need to do? we need to stop spending money we don't have. [applause]

president obama has given us four years of trillion-dollar deficits and is making matters worse and spending our children into a diminished future. don't have to stand for that. on november 6, we will change that. [applause] we also need to have free and fair trade to make more things in iowa, make more things here and sell them oversees. 97% of consumers are outside this country. we need to make more things in iowa and the midwest. if we do that, we will create jobs. [applause] >> one more thing. one of the great things about mitt romney, is that he actually knows how to create jobs. he has created jobs, started

small businesses, turned around failing businesses. that's the leadership and experience we want to have. this is a man with real life experiences who knows if you have a small business, you did build that small business. [applause] we need to rebuild and reenergize our small buisinesses and that is where our jobs come from. i have to tell you, overseas, for a wisconsinite this means lake superior, our competing nations are taxing their businesses at a lower rate than ours. president obama tells america's successful small businesses that they want the top tax rate to go to 45%.

the canadians just lowered the tax rate for their businesses to 15%. how on earth are our small businesses going to compete when we have other countries lowering their tax rates? we have to lower the loopholes and reductions. and we have to stop cutting small businesses and spending that money in washington. that's right. that's right. >> usa! usa! >> thank you. another thing. we have people who are hurting in this country. people are hurting because we don't have jobs. families live paycheck to

paycheck and the paychecks aren't stretched to what they have. this is the worst economic recovery in 70 years. we have the largest deficit and biggest government since world war ii. one of six americans live in poverty today. what we have to do and need to do is get the policies that get people from welfare to self- sufficiency and dignity. [applause] what is so disturbing about president obama's reason action -- most recent action is that he took a reform that was bipartisan and he signed this into law by in 1996, we called this welfare reform. this is one of the greatest by partisan policies in 20 years because it said, if you will receive this, you have to get

ready for work, to get back on your feet. [applause] you see, we believe in the safety net. we believe in a safety net that is there for people who cannot help themselves. it is there to help people who are down on their luck to get up on their feet. and the working requirement did more to help the poor and to reduce child poverty than anything we have seen in a generation. and president barack obama just got rid of those work requirements, and they're no longer has to be a work performance for people to receive welfare. this is going to send the wrong message. we want to give people a hand up, but not handouts. [applause] and so, what you see from us is this.

we owe you a choice. you are our fellow citizens and we want to give you a choice to decide the kind of country you want to have, and what kind of people you want to be. we want america to be the land of the free, with a safety net but upward mobility, a society of people reaching their potential and making the most of their lives. we do not want to follow europe or have a welfare state, we do not want to have a long recession, or see the path of household incomes going down. we want to turn this around. and with mitt romney, we are used to this in wisconsin. and with mitt romney, we have leaders -- a leader who is proven, who knows to create jobs. we have a leader when his country needed him, he moved to

salt lake city and he saved the olympics and he made us proud. we have a leader, when he was governor of massachusetts, balance the budget without raising taxes, and he increased household income. and lowered unemployment. he increased the take-home pay. our job is to grow the economy and get people back to work and help people have bigger paychecks. this can be done and we can turn this around and get this economy going. do you know what we will do? we will do this in iowa and all around the country. we will do this anywhere that we can go. november 6 is the day that we are going to do this. [applause] i feel such kindred spirits here. i live an hour and a half from debut -- iowa.

-- dubuque, iowa. this is where my mother in law is from. some of you -- you may be vikings or bears fans. we are united. i won't hold that against you. i see packers hats. but at the end of the day, we are americans. america is special. [applause] america is the only country founded on an idea. that is the big difference here. what is unique about america is that we recognize the points and facts, the principles that our veterans fought for. our rights, they come from nature and god, not from government. [applause] that is who we are. that is what we believe.

and if we reapply those principles we can get this country on track. help us do this thing. help us bring this state to the mitt romney column. we saved it for our kids, our grandkids. thank you, everyone. have a great -- [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [applause]

[no audio] [no audio] >> you are welcome. >> several live events to tell you about this morning -- the new head of the nuclear regulatory commission speaks at any event hosted by energy daily on c-span 2 at 10:00 eastern. also at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c- span 3, the heritage foundation hosts a discussion on the role

of the defense department in a domestic disaster. in a few moments, today's headlines and your calls live on "washington journal." vice president joe biden will speak at a campaign event this morning in danville, va.. at noon, the cato institute coats the discussion on income and equality and live it 2:00 p.m., there will be a pentagon briefing by leon panetta and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, martin dempsey. in about 45 minutes, michael mcdonald from george mason university will discuss voting in this year's election. we will have a visiting scholar at the american enterprise institute to take your questions about his plan to privatize the postal service