what lies ahead. and that is, defendingwhat liess defending their record of what they have done, along with the president is simply a large lift, and republicans will be on the offense this election cycle. >> congressman pete sessions is joining us, the chairman of a committee. thank you for being here on c- span. >> you bet. i sure enjoyed this. medicare versus the economy. what is going to do this? >> i think it will be extremely consequential. it looks like the house races were on cruise control, and all of a sudden, you have got this wrinkles round into the race at

the last minute, and democrats have seized on this. they believe that this is sort of a game changer, and the battle to define paul ryan, i think that is going to be essentials to determining who is the november winner. >> we will see that, including at the convention, and after that, the presidential debate. days before the election. >> yes, november is coming faster than we think, especially going back to the medicare issue, about how the issue plays into these house races. it is on both sides, where medicare has become a big issue. so it is really interesting. i think the one lesson learned by both sides is that the messenger really matters.

when you have a good candidate who knows how to talk about the issues, and paul ryan is one of those, he generally can overcome some of the specifics that come off of the entitlements and medicare reform. it is when you have candidates who are not skilled with the world that are really going to struggle. there is a real anxiety, because they know the message. they know what works. >> you were trying to pin him down. let me throw when the congressman from georgia. these are a bellwether races for democrats and republicans. >> and important for different reasons. i found it interesting that the chairman singled this out in the northeast. it had all but been extinct until recently. this is very interesting.

this is different in the sense he is one of the most polarizing figures. and i think that has brought interest across the country. you can see this in fundraising, because he does so well with direct mail. that is a national race that everyone will be paying attention to, but what is interesting to me is the john tierney race. this would probably be the bluest state in the nation. >> and one thing about paul ryan and the ryan plan, its impact. >> it has the potential of being very volatile. i imagine that a lot of strategists are keeping their fingers crossed. there are looking to see how this is coalescing. i do think it would be very telling. or the issue might resonate, like in suburban denver.

this is on the republican party platform. they are key bellwethers to look at. >> what did you learn today? >> well, i have been watching for some signs, and they have finely tune and finely calibrated political antenna, and as soon as they begin to sense something, you get resistance, anger, and there is still a pretty tight embrace of paul ryan. at this moment, pete ossetians just had a pfirman race of paul ryan again. >> we will give you the last word. >> once you have a lot of

defectors, that is what makes it difficult. they have some defectors. they may take a united front, and one of the thing so far is you do not see a lot of republicans. they are going to have it. we will be working with you the week ahead. you can find more on line. gentlemen, thank you for being with us on c-span. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> ron paul spoke earlier, and you can see the remarks at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on c- span. >> a view of the tampa bay times forum, the site of the

convention, as this becomes a three-day event. this is becoming one of two stories that people are talking about. this is as isaac makes its way up the coast. activists and others are descending for this late last august -- this late-august convention. as the hometown newspaper reports, this has changed significantly, now home to 19 million residents, and one of the battleground states in this presidential election. as part of the previews, we will be talking about the politics, and we want to begin with a bit of irony. possibly the hurricane of because, it was 40 years ago as the republican convention was getting underway in minneapolis st. paul that we heard this

announcement from first lady laura bush as another hurricane, gustav, was making its way up the coast then. >> americans are known to help during crises like these. today, and in the coming days, let's work together to provide the means to restore and rebuild the community. [applause] the charities listed on the screen behind us have been identified by each of the gulf coast governors to accept donations of funds, clothing, and other necessary and much- needed supplies. if you can and if you are willing, please support this important effort. thank you. >> thank you all, and god bless

you. [cheers and applause] >> cindy mccain in 2008, years later dealing with a similar story. of course, the hurricane again moving its way up the coast. we want to talk about the podium. there is a communications director. thank you for being with us. let's talk about this than you, first. what people can see. >> our producer and his team have done a tremendous job. this is a place setting to nominate the next president of the united states. what you will see in the next couple of days, due to a tropical stormisaac, -- tropical storm, isaac, we talked to the

mitt romney and paul ryan campaigns. and we will convene and then adjourn and go into recess and come back on tuesday, and we look forward to packing some of the contents of our monday schedule into the remaining part of the convention. high unemployment numbers. the debt climbing. mitt romney, and a better future for americans. that is really what we will see over the next two days of the convention. >> this is the forum. it has been transformed into a political arena in the last month. what is the senate? >> sure.

first of all, in the rafters, you can see these. this is a balloon drop on the night of the acceptance speech from our political nominee, and then on the floor, we have got all of the delegations, and one of the things that is new for this convention, if you notice these markers, we have our hashtag on there. we invite people to participate. you can use that to participate. we will try to get back to you as much as we can during this convention. also, you will see banners around the arena, and one of the things, one of the marquee things that you'll see at the start of our convention is the

debt clock. we will have a debt clocks -- clock, and that will start ticking, and you'll see how much debt we are running up during this convention. >> there are production staff and crew behind us, totaling more than thousands of man hours, and 9 million total pixels that make up the screen. this is led systems integrated into the system. it amplifies power. this is up above us, 250 thousand pounds of lighting, audio, and video gear now suspended. a lot of information. a lot of material. what does it mean? >> this is a global press corps. the media in the united states is very interested, but we have credentialed media, from

everywhere except antarctica. we had to do a lot of infrastructure to even house that much media. we have upgraded the data that will allow it to come in and out. unlike most productions in most stages, for us, the delegates are really the show. that entire delegate floor, as part of the production stage, there is a lot that goes in. >> we have a picture, and we want to look at richard nixon, the last time they met for a convention in this state, and a very different set up. this is high above the delegates. this has all changed. >> absolutely. this is a very personable environment. this is a great environment to connect with people as they watch by youtube, and certainly

you guys are broadcasting gavel- to-gavel. it is an opportunity to really embrace what is happening on the stage. it is a way to connect, and we are very proud of it. >> 83-day convention, moving ahead, with the democrats also hosting the convention. time to change this? >> we do not plain our schedules around. we try to put on the best convention for our delegates and our nominee, and we think we have done that here. we're going to try to move forward and pass all of this programming in there. we have a lot of notables and leaders around the country to really help in telling the mitt romney story and helping to support his vision for a better future, and that is all very important. even the campaigns have gone longer and longer, many

americans tune in and around the time of the convention, and this is a time to educate all of those voters out there. >> and finally, a personal question. what is your job in the next three or four days. >> it has been a great experience. we and our dog, hannah montana, we move down here since october. we have been down here about 11 months. it has been very enjoyable. we will probably stay there to sell, all that tampa has to offer. they have been great hosts to us. when we leave, we will say that they are generous guests. >> along with hannah montana, thank you. we are getting a better opportunity of these candidates. they have made past performances.

they are speaking at the convention. congressman paul ryan. >> buying oil, nothing worse than selling nuclear technology. they are siphoning more than $500 billion per year, in what can become the greatest transfer of economic growth in the history of the world. this is no time for a timid, liberal, empty gestures. a lot of people are hurting. what happens? mortgage money was handed out like candy, and speculators acted like it was free. status strophic -- status pyrrhic -- statospheric prices. this is the same path europe took a few decades ago.

it led to double digit unemployment. this is the right course, championed by ronald reagan and by john mccain and sarah palin today. [cheers and applause] and the right choice is to rein in government spending, lower taxes, take a we wacker -- a weed wacker, and stand up to government unions. [cheers and applause] . >> when george bush entered the white house, he inherited an economy that was going towards part recession. they had the dot com bubble which exploded.

and these create the jobs that drive the economy. he doubled the child tax credit. he cut the marriage penalty, to help make ends meet. putting this on the path to extinction. we created 1.5 million new jobs. unemployment is falling. they are adding jobs.

their appearances at previous conventions. you can check out all of the coverage on line, c-span.org. you can click on the video library. chairman, thank you very much for joining us. >> what is the message coming out of tampa? what do you want them to take away from this this week? >> one is that we want to show them that we can offer a better situation for the future. we are the party that that increases success. i do not think that any parent wishes for their kids this glass half empty america that barack obama is trying to sell. we increased the american dream, and that is the message you are

going to see in the coming week. >> the first day of the convention was canceled. part of the country hit by a storm. if, as scheduled, this convention goes up on tuesday, it will be kind of a split- screen image of what is happening a few hundred miles away. >> we really do not know what is going to happen. we are going to be nimble and smart in the decisions that we make, but as of now, we are planning 100% moving forward, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, but we have the ability to be nimble if we need to be. >> what about the theme as allied? >> we think they are the same themes. we can do better. i think these are droppo -- a propos .

he can get a lot of speeches, but he is not good falling along with promises. >> any reaction? >> i was not surprised. my guess is that if charlie crist can take a shot, he will do that. >> why? >> i do not know why. you will have to ask him. >> running as a constitution party nominee, trying to dig his name on the ballot in virginia, which is a key state. any chance that the impact florida, virginia, ohio, some of the other key states? >> i think you can take as many away from barack obama. i think people are very frustrated with this president. any third-party candidates give an opportunity on both sides for barack obama's supporters to go to the other direction.

i am not too worried about that because i think we have done a great job in virginia and elsewhere, educating voters. this is what we do. we need to communicate to those voters and drive those voters to the poll. if we do not do that, we are not doing our job. everyone understands this is a choice situation between two people. >> what is your role over the next two or three days. what will you be doing? >> we are running the convention. we have obviously got a lot of good help, a lot of professional people to do it, but we will be conducting business, starting on tuesday. the platform, the rules, and then in the evening, i will be kicking things off with the speaker and governor rick scott for the evening session, so it is a busy week, and it is a huge teams. >> years ago, the conventions

would be in july and august, and now they are back-to-back for the second campaign cycle. in terms of scheduling in terms of the calendar, what impact does this have for you? >> generally, this has been happening over the last several conventions, cramming some things in before and during labor day. i think there is an idea that things start when the kids go back to school. it kicks off, and then you lose all of the momentum coming out of the convention. the flag is down. we are going to be off to the races. the monday night session, what were your thoughts about that? >> we are sort of used to the mainstream media snubbing us.

we would have made it work. i think the other networks, c- span and the others, they do a great job. i think most people in america are pretty used to going to cable. >> there is some speculation that if there is a mitt romney's/paul ryan win, you could run for a seat? >> i think anyone running for that seat should be disqualified because they are putting themselves before mitt romney and paul ryan. there will be plenty of time afterwards. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> there are a lot of ways you can follow on c-span. you can watch an share this. vice president of digital media. >> the c-span's convention website is designed to complement your viewing throughout both the rnc and dnc

conventions. it is on-line with campaign 2012. when you go there, you will see it is front and center. this will provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of both conventions, and on the right side of the page are four video-on-demand options. these are programs which you may have missed, which you get a chance to watch on the website. you will see prominent links to twitter and facebook, right on that hub. if you scroll down the page a little bit, you will see front and center that we are offering you the ability to see clips about programs, and all of the convention speeches will be available on the website, and using our player, you can pull up a short clip, email it to your friends, posted on the website, and share in on your social networks, as well. we are also going to have two

distinct twitter feeds. on the left side with the hash tags, you can participate on the conversation and monitor what people are saying about the convention while they watch. there are the tweets that they are producing throughout. we also have a google+ lay off, that you can watch, and there are short 15-second videos that would give you the opportunity to precipitate -- participate in the conversation. we are also producing a series of infographics, and these will include famous quotes from previous elections as well as statistics about the conventions as they take place.

we are also going to be putting together highlights from blog postings and you can stay up on the recent news. we also published are complete convention schedules. just click on the convention tab and then click on any one of the days, and you'll be presented with an even by event list and times for those scheduled for of the day. also, we have put together a convention library, where we have the events taking place throughout the conventions. you can see any and all of the speeches that you may have missed, and you can even access the video library because we have captured every minute of every convention since 1984. that is available for you at any time. just as a us at c-span.org. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> and we are live from tampa,

fla., this side of the national convention. this is outside the tampa bay forum, and inside is called the bird's eye view. this is from the scaffolding of overlooking the podium inside the arena, and joining us across the way it is a veteran political correspondent from "the washington post," who attended his first convention back in 1968 and has covered every convention since then. how did mitt romney get to this point? >> this has been a minimum of a six-year effort, and many say it is a 10-year effort as many saw that he went back, but it really has been a six-year campaign. there was a trial run, a not very successful one, but a lot of the lessons learned in the campaign applied to this one.

he understood much better the world of the nominating process. -- the result of the nominating process. -- the rhythm. he had to adapt himself to a republican party that continued to change out from under him between 2008 to 2012, and his ability to do that and his relentlessness and doing this as a candidate against a variety of opponents, many of them unexpected. it tells us about the competitiveness of mitt romney. >> mitt romney, will he be able to reintroduce himself to the american people? he ran for the senate in 1994,

governor, won, and then 2008. he has been in the spotlight for many, many years. >> he has, but not in a way that a presidential nominee is in the spotlight, and i think that is an important distinction. this is what the convention is all about. he is known. and in some ways, he is known in ways that are negative. there are the negative advertisements that are run, and republican rivals in the primaries did things to him that have given him an image that is not as favorable as many nominees have when they come into the convention. so in a sense, he has a bit of a disadvantage. he has not been that well known to people, so he does have an

opportunity for people to say, "at least, i will take a fresh look at him, and if i like what i see, maybe i will be inclined to vote for him. >> what has the romney campaign been telling you? >> important goal they have this week in tampa is for him to be seen as somebody who has the leadership capability and the know-how to do something about the economy. they recognize that president obama has a greater advantage on the issue of liability. i do not think they think they are going to win that. what they want to do is fill in his bio. he is known for being someone who ran a private equity fund. that has positives and negatives. there is a lot more to his life than simply his time at bain

capital. they hope to use this week to tell that story. more on what he did as governor. what his family means to him. the role he has as father and grandfather. and also, to try to deal with his faith, his mormon faith. we are going to see people who know him through the church and will provide testimonials for the kind of work he did there. this is a departure for what they have done. they have talked little about his faith throughout the campaign. i think they hope to do that this week. >> why they have been so reticent to bring up the issue. he allowed cameras outside of the church service attended. he will be talking about it this week. >> i think they decided there is no way they can gain by hiding behind it. they know there are questions about the morning church --

mormon church. i think they want to show he is a person of faith. they believe that americans respect people of faith, regardless of what their views are. i think they want to show that. the of this thing coming in his role as a church leader, he administered help to people. he counseled people. they want to show that side of him as a way to soften the image that he is more of a cutthroat business man. >> dan balz joining us from the fourth convention. also dillon in us is a familiar face, congressman david dryer. the republican of california. congressman, you have a very different role. something you are familiar with. what is the job of the

parliamentarian? >> let me say it is great to feel like a kid. first convention was 1968. mine was 1976. i feel like a child. dan has no response. >> just the facts. >> exactly true. >> since you talking about his father, that was the year he ran for president in 1968. my job is a very important one. it is to make sure that every member of the c-span viewing audience understands that if they want to get the economy growing that they have to vote for mitt romney. doing, this is a

challenging time because of the uncertainty of the hurricane. we are all concerned. we're focused on one priority item. that is to ensure that mitt romney is our presidential nominee and paul ryan is aware vice presidential nominee. that is the role of the parliamentarian. to insure that things go smoothly. there have been some changes in the schedule. there has to be a degree of validity because of the uncertainty of the elements. for that reason, the plan is tomorrow we will convene. interestingly enough, people keep saying, now you are dealing with rules of order. the rules of the house is what applies to the convention. what that means is, because of the structure that was put into place after september 11, with

hour continuity of congress, the speaker of the house has the authority to convene the house of representatives. that authority lies in the operations of the conventions. we go by the rules of the house. that is what will take place tomorrow. >> we will have live coverage when the gavel comes down. let me ask you, with the truncated schedule, on tuesday, we are going to get some of the details. with regards to the business of the convention, walk us through what is going to happen. >> obviously, there is a process through which we go. there will be a very smooth structure. the other candidates who had challenged mitt romney, dan was just talking about the primary campaign, ron paul, newt gingrich, rick santorum, they are all very supportive.

they are doing everything they can to ensure that things go smoothly. we are going to see tributes. they are going to be recognized. they are all participating. we will see the platform proceed. we will see the rules for the next convention passed. these are things that are done. four years ago we went through a similar situation with the prospect of a hurricane. another hurricane hitting the gulf coast. we were prepared. we moved one day off the coast that will. we were in indianapolis -- off of our schedule. we were in minneapolis. by the end of the week, we are going to have a very positive message. what was just referred to as the reintroduction of mitt romney. he has been introduced. there are people who have not

focused on the campaign. he has been able to successfully rally republicans, regardless of where they sit. the key is to reach out to like- minded independent and democratic voters. i have no debts that by the end of this week, whenever it does and, that is what we are going to be able to do. >> congressman david dreier. thank you for being with us. >> wwe are in the skybox. you might hear some of the sounds behind me. the band was rehearsing a earlier. things seem to be in place for the brief session tomorrow. let's go back to dan balz.

one of the things that has changed is the rapid response from the opposing party. it used to be that the opposing party would often cease and desist the week of the convention. let the other party have the glory. that is not the case anymore. >> there is no letup. it was symbolized most by the plan by vice-president biden to come to tampa in the early part of the week to do well rallies. that was an unprecedented step and an escalation in the steady drumbeat of neither side giving the other any opportunity. in the past, the candidates would go off the campaign trail. the republicans would have their week. the democrats would have their week. it is not that way anymore.

we are in this new environment. there is a hunger to have people talking from both parties throughout the convention. there is no let up in the debate. it creates a different kind of dynamic for anybody planning a convention. it used to be, you thought you had four nights of an infomercial. you could do with unfettered and uninterrupted. that is not the case anymore. you can do all of the planning, you will have to fight for the time. the one thing you know is you and not going to have a free hand at being able to get the message out. >> some of the sound behind me, one of the issues that came up on friday when mitt romney was talking about a growing up in michigan and making the offhand remark, it hit the twitter universe. in less than the time of a sitcom, his comments became a

full-blown store it. it shows is the rapidity of the process. >> it is astonishing. the speed and velocity with which information moves. that was an example of how everything is on a hair trigger. a candidate, mitt romney says he was not intending to make any kind of a birtehr statement. everybody is ready to pounce. neither side is willing to yield to the other. when one side does something, the other side johnson. as people have said, neither side wants to show weakness. when you get something like that, because of the ability to move information, it becomes quite caught almost instantly. balz's work is available on-line.

one individual we have check in is a man from nbc news. he is now the executive producer of the national convention. thank you for being with us. >> no problem. >> what is your job? >> my new job is to be the executive producer for the republican national convention. friends that i have made asked, when i decided to leave nbc, if i would help them. i love politics and a love conventions. it was too hard to turn down. >> we were talking about how the conventions have changed. they are television productions. >> that is correct. what is interesting is mike miller and bill harris approached me because a lot of people forget this is a news event. the production, which has been professionally done, has been

handled by folks from the entertainment field. they wanted a different approach. a lot of what you see is from after all those years of covering conventions. i thought about what i would do. >> there are cameras throughout the hall. the gavel comes down on tuesday. what is your job and had the produce -- how do you rpoduce the event? >> there is a group called official proceedings, they work with the campaign. the job of myself is to turn this into interesting television, or, it has to be an interesting event for people who were watching this on all platforms. what we try to do is, everybody likes to scroll and look at it fast. we are trying to make it an attractive moment.

what i would love is for people to take more of an interest in the political event so when november rolls around they are better informed. >> if a speaker is running long, if you are behind schedule, what do you do? >> a fellow handles the official proceedings. he will decide how people will have to be cut, a limited, or trim. we also build and to the program musical interludes. they can be d'ivoire pad. you are able to take commercials and bombs -- we also built into the program musical interludes. they can be our pad. >> with changes been announced, might cut to be bogus begin on wednesday, jeb bush on thursday, -- might cut to be will be speaking on wednesday, -- mike huckabee will be

speaking on wednesday, the jeb bush on thursday. >> we have been talking about the situation. safety is the first concern. let me clarify one thing, the convention will double in tomorrow. the chairman will bring the convention to order. in terms of who will be here, that is an open question. the convention will start tomorrow. we will all come back on tuesday. on tuesday, it will start at two o'clock. we will go until 11:00. at wednesday and thursday we will begin at 7:00 and go to a 11:00. we are trying to fit everything into three days that we planned for four days. we have to be sent to the four the number of people that are here -- sensitive to the number of people that are here. >> finally, on tuesday, who will

be on the stage? >> my son, who is an aspiring opera singer, has been invited back by the campaign and the republican convention to sing the national anthem. we are quite excited. he has also joined the ranks of us journalists. he is producing for the first time as well. >> joining us, the executive producer of the republican national convention. thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> let's go back to dan balz. we conclude our preview. we will have live coverage on tuesday. it will be a brief session. looking at the polls, the romney

campaign saying, we are in this. we are still competitive. >> that is right. we have a poll which continues to show a close race. this is a competitive election. we are likely to see that until we get through the debate. the notion that somebody is going to get a big bounce this week or next week is something that is old fashioned. these conventions provide the opportunity for either side to get a big advantage. once we get through this week and next week, the race will still be where it is paid it is a pretty close race. a lot of battle ground states within the statistical margin of error. we will go into the fall the way we have been all summer.

>> here is something that many people might feel as remarkable. you look at these polls, 43% to 45% for the president, the same for mitt romney. 8% or 9% of undecided voters. all of this effort been spent for a small portion of the electorate. differently.dick from there is a lot of money being spent. a lot of it is being done to mobilize the people who are already willing to vote for governor romney or president obama. they want to make sure they stay energized. that is part of what we are saying. the focus is in all of the battleground states. the amount of money that is being spent on television advertising is record-breaking. there is a portion of those

voters who are undecided who are swing voters. we did a study with the kaiser family foundation that we ran earlier this week. one of the things that distinguishes independents is that they do not like the fighting in washington. they do not like the gridlock. for governor romney and president obama, there is a challenge in calibrating the message and balancing the message. they have to feed the base red meat. at the same time, they have to talk about being able to get things done. being willing to work with the other side. been willing to compromise on some of the aspects to get a deal. you are going to be hearing a little bit of both from both of these candidates to try to get that small group of undecided. >> based on all of that, what does mitt romney need to do to move the needle?

what can we expect from the president in north carolina? >> for governor romney, it is all about the economy. their case is that this election is about the president's performance in handling the economy. governor romney needs to make the case convincingly that the president has not done a good job. that the president has failed. and, that he has the tools and the know-how and the leadership to be able to do something about it. the president's goals based on everything we have seen is to disqualify the of the romney as an alternative. they know they have a difficult hand it to play on the economy. that is a given. the economy is in such a state, it neither guarantees defeat or guarantees reelection. they are in the nether world. he needs to say, you may not be entirely happy, but i do have a

plan. it is quite different. what governor romney would do would be even worse. it would put us in a worse spot. >> dan balz, veteran reporter. covered every convention since 1980. chief correspondent for "the washington post." you can check out our convention hub. you can share video and follow the process. you can click on c-span.org. we have covered every minute of every convention since 1984. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> we are asking middle and high school students to send a message to the president. in a short video, students will describe the most important issue the president should consider in 2013 and then send 18th.c-span.or by january

c-span's video competition is open to students grades 6 through 12. for more information, go online to studentcam.org. the 1956 republican convention was the first to be held on the west coast. the site, the cow palace. quite eisenhower was nominated by acclamation. here is his acceptance speech.

>> chairman martin, delegates and alternates to this great convention, distinguished guests and my fellow americans wherever they may be in this broad land -- i should first tell you that i have no words in which to express the gratitude that mrs. eisenhower and i feel for the warmth of your welcome. the cordiality you have extended to us and to the members of our family, our son and daughter, my brothers and their wives, touches our hearts deeply. thank you very much indeed. i thank you additionally and personally for the high honor you have accorded me in entrusting me once more with your nomination for the

presidency. and i should like to say that it is a great satisfaction to me that the team of individuals you selected in 1952 you have selected to keep intact for this campaign. [applause] i am not here going to attempt a eulogy of mr. nixon. you have heard his qualifications described in the past several days. i merely want to say this -- that whatever dedication to country, loyalty and patriotism and great ability can do for america, he will do -- and that i know. [applause]

ladies and gentlemen, when abraham lincoln was nominated in 1860, and a committee brought the news to him at his home in springfield, illinois, his reply was two sentences long. then, while his friends and neighbors waited in the street, and while bonfires lit up the may evening, he said simply, "and now i will not longer defer the pleasure of taking you, and each of you, by the hand." i wish i could do the same -- speak two sentences, and then take each one of you by the hand, all of you who are in sound of my voice. if i could do so, i would first thank you individually for your confidence and your trust.

then, as i am sure lincoln did as he moved among his friends in the light of the bonfires, we could pause and talk a while about the questions that are uppermost in your mind. i am sure that one topic would dominate all the rest. that topic is -- the future. this is a good time to think about the future, for this convention is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary. and a centennial is an occasion, not just for recalling the inspiring past, but even more for looking ahead to the demanding future. just as on new year's day we instinctively think, "i wonder where i will be a year from now," so it is quite natural for the republican party to ask today, "what will happen, not just in the coming election, but even one hundred years from

now?" my answer is this -- if we and our successors are as courageous and forward-looking and as militantly determined, here under the klieg-lights of the twentieth century, as abraham lincoln and his associates were in the bonfire- light of the nineteenth, the republican party will continue to grow in the confidence and affection of the american people, not only to november next, but indeed to, and beyond, its second centennial. [applause] now, of course, in this convention setting, you and i are momentarily more interested in november 1956 than in 2056. but the point is this -- our

policies are right today only as they are designed to stand the test of tomorrow. [applause] the great norwegian, henrik ibsen once wrote -- "i hold that man is in the right who is most clearly in league with the future." today i want to demonstrate the truth of a single proposition -- the republican party is the party of the future. [applause] i hold that the republican party and platform are right in 1956, because they are "most closely in league with the future." and for this reason the republican party and program are and will be decisively approved by the american people in 1956!

[applause] my friends, i have just made a very fiat statement for victory for the republican party in november, and i believe it from the bottom of my heart. but what i say is based upon certain assumptions, and those assumptions must become true if the prediction i make is to be valid. and that is this -- that every american who believes as we do -- the republicans, the independents, the straight- thinking democrats -- must carry the message of the record and the pledges that we here make -- that we have made and here make, to all the people of the land. we must see, as we do our civic duty, that not only do we vote but that everybody is qualified to vote, that everybody

registers and everybody goes to the polls in november. here is a task not only for the republican national committee, for the women's organizations, for the citizens' organizations, for the so-called youth for eisenhower -- everybody that bears this message in his heart must carry it to the country. in that way we will win. [applause] and which reminds me, my friends, there are only a few days left for registering in a number of our states. that is one thing you cannot defer. the records show that our registration as compared to former years at this time is way down across the land -- registration across the board. let's help the american heritage, let's help the boy scouts, let's help everybody to get people out to register to vote. [applause]

now, of special relevance, and to me particularly gratifying, is the fact that the country's young people show a consistent preference for this administration. [applause] after all, let us not forget, these young people are america's future. parenthetically, may i say i shall never cease to hope that the several states will give them the voting privilege at a somewhat earlier age than is now generally the case. [applause] now, the first reason of the five i shall give you why the republican party is the party of the future is this -- first -- because it is the party of long-range principle, not short- term expediency.

[applause] one of my predecessors is said to have observed that in making his decisions he had to operate like a football quarterback -- he could not very well call the next play until he saw how the last play turned out. well, that may be a good way to run a football team, but in these days it is no way to run a government. [applause] now, why is it so important that great governmental programs be based upon principle rather than upon shifting political opportunism? it is because what government does affects profoundly the daily lives and plans of every person in the country. if governmental action is without the solid guidelines of enduring principle, national policies flounder in confusion.

and more than this, the millions of individuals, families and enterprises, whose risk-taking and planning for the future are our country's very life force, are paralyzed by uncertainty, diffidence and indecision. change based on principle is progress. constant change without principle becomes chaos. [applause] i shall give you several examples of rejecting expediency in favor of principle. first, the farm issue. expediency said -- "let's do something in a hurry -- anything -- even multiply our price-depressing surpluses at the risk of making the problem twice as bad next year -- just so we get through this year." people who talk like that do not care about principle, and do not know farmers.

[applause] the farmer deals every day in basic principles of growth and life. his product must be planned, and cultivated, and harvested over a long period. he has to figure not just a year at a time but over cycles and spans of years, as to his soil, his water, his equipment, the strains of his stock -- and the strains on his income. and so, for this man of principle, we have designed our program of principle. in it, we recognize that we have received from our forebears a rich legacy -- our continent's basic resource of soil. we are determined that, through such measures as the soil bank and the great plains program, this legacy shall be handed on to our children even richer than we received it.

[applause] we are equally determined that farm prices and income, which were needlessly pushed down under surpluses -- surpluses induced first by war and then by unwise political action that was stubbornly and recklessly prolonged, shall in the coming months and years get back on a genuinely healthy basis. [applause] this improvement must continue until a rightful share of our prosperity is permanently enjoyed by agriculture on which our very life depends. [applause] a second example -- labor relations. expediency said -- "when a major labor dispute looms, the government must do something -- anything -- to settle the

dispute even before the parties have finished negotiating. get an injunction. seize the steel mills. appoint a board. knock their heads together." principle says -- "free collective bargaining without government interference is the cornerstone of the american philosophy of labor-management relations." [applause] if the government charges impatiently into every major dispute, the negotiations between parties will become a pointless preliminary farce, while everyone waits around to see what the government will do. this administration has faith in the rightness of the collective bargaining principle. it believes in the maturity of both labor and business leaders, and in their determination to do what is best not only for their own side but for the country as a whole.

the results -- for the first time in our history a complete steel contract was negotiated and signed without direct government intervention, and the last three and a half years have witnessed one of the most remarkable periods of labor peace on record. [applause] another example -- concentration of power in washington. expediency said -- "we cannot allow our fine new ideas to be at the mercy of 51 separate state and territorial legislatures. it is so much quicker and easier to plan, finance and direct all major projects from washington." principle says -- "geographical balance of power is essential to our form of free society.

if you take the centralization shortcut every time something is to be done, you will perhaps sometimes get quick action. but there is no perhaps about the price you will pay for your impatience -- the growth of a swollen, bureaucratic, monster government in washington, in whose shadow our state and local governments will ultimately wither and die." [applause] and so we stemmed the heedless stampede to washington. we made a special point of building up state activities, state finances, and state prestige. our founding fathers showed us how the federal government could exercise its undoubted responsibility for leadership, while still stopping short of the kind of interference that deadens local vigor, variety,

initiative and imagination. so today we say to our young people -- the party of the future will pass along to you undamaged the unique system of division of authority which has proved so successful in reconciling our oldest ideals of personal freedom with the twentieth-century need for decisiveness in action. [applause] my second reason for saying that the republican party is the party of the future is this -- it is the party which concentrates on the facts and issues of today and tomorrow, not the facts and issues of yesterday. [applause] more than twenty years ago, our opponents found in the problems of the depression a battleground on which they scored many political victories. now, economic cycles have not been eliminated.

still, the world has moved on from the 1930's -- good times have supplanted depression; new techniques for checking serious recession have been learned and tested and a whole new array of problems has sprung up. but their obsession with a depression still blinds many of our opponents to the insistent demands of today. the present and the future are bringing new kinds of challenge to federal and local governments -- water supply, highways, health, housing, power development, and peaceful uses of atomic energy. with two-thirds of us living in big cities, questions of urban organization and redevelopment must be given high priority. highest of all, perhaps, will be the priority of first-class education to meet the demands of our swiftly growing school- age population. [applause]

the party of the young and of all ages says -- let us quit fighting the battles of the past, and let us all turn our attention to these problems of the present and future, on which the longterm well-being of our people so urgently depends. third -- the republican party is the party of the future because it is the party that draws people together, not drives them apart. [applause] our party detests the technique of pitting group against group for cheap political advantage. republicans view as a central principle of conduct -- not just as a phrase on nickels and dimes -- that old motto of ours -- "e pluribus unum" -- "out of many -- one." [applause] our party as far back as 1856

began establishing a record of bringing together,. as its largest element, the working people and small farmers, as well as the small businessmen. it attracted minority groups, scholars and writers, not to mention reformers of all kinds, free-soilers, independent democrats, conscience whigs, barnburners, "soft hunkers," teetotallers, vegetarians, and transcendentalists! now, a hundred years later, the republican party is again the rallying point for americans of all callings, ages, races and incomes. [applause] they see in its broad, forward- moving, straight-down-the road, fighting program the best promise for their own steady progress toward a bright future. some opponents have tried to call this a "one-interest party." indeed it is a one-

interest party; and that one interest is the interest of every man, woman and child in america. [applause] and most surely, as long as the republican party continues to be this kind of one-interest party -- a one-universal-interest party -- it will continue to be the party of the future. and now the fourth reason -- the republican party is the party of the future because it is the party through which the many things that still need doing will soonest be done -- and will be done by enlisting the fullest energies of free, creative, individual people. republicans have proved that it is possible for a government to have a warm, sensitive concern for the everyday needs of people, while steering clear of

the paternalistic "big-brother- is-watching-you" kind of interference. [applause] the individual -- and especially the idealistic young person -- has no faith in a tight federal monopoly on problem-solving. he seeks and deserves opportunity for himself and every other person who is burning to participate in putting right the wrongs of the world. in our time of prosperity and progress, one thing we must always be on guard against is smugness. true, things are going well; but there are thousands of things still to be done. there are still enough needless sufferings to be cured, enough injustices to be erased, to provide careers for all the crusaders we can produce or find. we want them all! republicans, independents, discerning

democrats -- come on in and help! [applause] [applause] one hundred years ago the republican party was created in a devout belief in equal justice and equal opportunity for all in a nation of free men and women. what is more, the republican party's record on social justice rests, not on words and promises, but on accomplishment. the record shows that a wide range of quietly effective actions, conceived in understanding and good will for all, has brought about more genuine -- and often voluntary

-- progress toward equal justice and opportunity in the last three years than was accomplished in all the previous twenty put together. [applause] elimination of various kinds of discrimination in the armed services, the district of columbia, and among the employees of government contractors provides specific examples of this progress. in this work, incidentally, no one has been more effective and more energetic than our vice president who has headed one of the great committees in this direction. [applause] now, in all existing kinds of discrimination there is much to do. we must insure a fair chance to such people as mature workers who have trouble getting jobs, older citizens with problems of health, housing, security and

recreation, migratory farm laborers and physically- handicapped workers. we have with us, also, problems involving american indians, low-income farmers and laborers, women who sometimes do not get equal pay for equal work, small businessmen, and employers and workers in areas which need special assistance for redevelopment. specific new programs of action are being pushed for all of these, the most recent being a new 14-point program for small businessmen which was announced early in august. and the everyday well-being of people is being advanced on many other fronts. this is being done, not by paternalistic regimentation. it is done by clear cut, aggressive federal leadership and by releasing the illimitable resources and drives of our millions of self-reliant individuals and our thousands of private organizations of every conceivable kind and size -- each of these is consecrated

to the task of meeting some human need, curing some human evil, or enriching some human experience. finally, a party of the future must be completely dedicated to peace, as indeed must all americans. for without peace there is no future. it was in the light of this truth that the united states proposed its atoms for peace plan in 1953, and since then has done so much to make this new science universally available to friendly nations in order to promote human welfare. we have agreements with more than thirty nations for research reactors, and with seven for power reactors, while many others are under consideration. twenty thousand kilograms of nuclear fuel have been set aside for the foreign programs. in the same way, we have worked unceasingly for the promotion of effective steps in disarmament so that the labor of

men could with confidence be devoted to their own improvement rather than wasted in the building of engines of destruction. no one is more aware than i that it is the young who fight the wars, and it is the young who give up years of their lives to military training and service. it is not enough that their elders promise "peace in our time"; it must be peace in their time too, and in their children's time; indeed, my friends, there is only one real peace now, and that is peace for all time. now there are three imperatives of peace -- three requirements that the prudent man must face with unblinking realism. the first imperative is the elementary necessity of

maintaining our own national strength -- moral, economic and military. it is still my conviction, as i wrote in 1947 -- "the compelling necessities of the moment leave us no alternative to the maintenance of real and respectable strength -- not only in our moral rectitude and our economic power, but in terms of adequate military preparedness." during the past three and one- half years, our military strength has been constantly augmented, soberly and intelligently. our country has never before in peacetime been so well prepared militarily. so long as the world situation -- [applause] so longas the world situation requires, our security must be vigorously sustained. our economic power, as everyone

knows, is displaying a capacity for growth which is both rapid and sound, even while supporting record military budgets. we must keep it growing. but moral strength is also essential. today we are competing for men's hearts, and minds, and trust all over the world. in such a competition, what we are at home and what we do at home is even more important than what we say abroad. here again, my friends, we find -- [applause] here again, my friends, we find constructive work for each of us. what each of us does, how each of us acts, has an influence on this question. now, the second imperative of peace is collective security. we live in a shrunken world, a world in which oceans are

crossed in hours, a world in which a single-minded despotism menaces the scattered freedoms of scores of struggling independent nations. to ensure the combined strength of friendly nations is for all of us an elementary matter of self-preservation -- as elementary as having a stout militia in the days of the flint-lock. again, the strength i speak of is not military strength alone. the heart of the collective security principle is the idea of helping other nations to realize their own potentialities -- political, economic and military. the strength of the free world lies not in cementing the free world into a second monolithic mass to compete with that of the communists. it lies rather in the unity that comes of the voluntary association of nations which, however diverse, are developing their own capacities and

asserting their own national destinies in a world of freedom and of mutual respect. [applause] there can be no enduring peace for any nation while other nations suffer privation, oppression, and a sense of injustice and despair. in our modern world, it is madness to suppose that there could be an island of tranquillity and prosperity in a sea of wretchedness and frustration. [applause] as america's sake, as well the world's, we must measure up to the challenge of the second imperative; the urgent need for mutual economic and military cooperation among the free nations, sufficient to deter or repel aggression wherever it may threaten. [applause]

but even this is no longer enough. we are in the era of the thermo-nuclear bomb that can obliterate cities and can be delivered across continents. with such weapons, war has become, not just tragic, but preposterous. with such weapons, there can be no victory for anyone. plainly, the objective now must be to see that such a war does not occur at all. and so the third imperative of peace is this -- without for a moment relaxing our internal and collective defenses, we must actively try to bridge the great chasm that separates us from the peoples under communist rule. in those regions are millions of individual human beings who have been our friends, and who themselves have sincerely wanted peace and freedom, throughout so much of our mutual

history. now for years the iron curtain was impenetrable. our people were unable to talk to these individuals behind the curtain, or travel among them, or share their arts or sports, or invite them to see what life is like in a free democracy, or even get acquainted in any way. what future was there in such a course, except greater misunderstanding and an ever deepening division in the world? of course, good will from our side can do little to reach these peoples unless there is some new spirit of conciliation on the part of the governments controlling them. now, at last, there appear to be signs that some small degree of friendly intercourse among peoples may be permitted. we are beginning to be able -- cautiously and with our eyes open -- to encourage some interchange of ideas, of books, magazines, students, tourists,

artists, radio programs, technical experts, religious leaders and governmental officials. the hope is that, little by little, mistrust based on falsehoods will give way to international understanding based on truth. [applause] now, as this development gradually comes about, it will not seem futile for young people tm of brave and new and shining world, or for older people to feel that they can in fact bequeath to their children a better inheritance than that which was their own. science and technology, labor- saving methods, management, labor organization, education, medicine -- and not least, politics and government. all these have brought within our grasp a world in which

backbreaking toil and longer hours will not be necessary. travel all over the world, to learn to know our brothers abroad, will be fast and cheap. the fear and pain of crippling disease will be greatly reduced. the material things that make life interesting and pleasant will be available to everyone. leisure, together with educational and recreational facilities, will be abundant, so that all can develop the life of the spirit, of reflection, of religion, of the arts, of the full realization of the good things of the world. and political wisdom will ensure justice and harmony. this picture of the future brings to mind a little story. a government worker, when he first arrived in washington in 1953, was passing the national archives building in a taxi, where he saw this motto carved

on one of its pedestals -- "what is past is prologue." he had heard that washington cab drivers were noted for knowing all the washington answers, so he asked the driver about the motto. "oh that," said the driver, "that's just bureaucrat talk. what it really means is -- 'you ain't seen nothing yet.'" [laughter] [applause] my friends, the kind of era i have described is possible. but it will not be attained by revolution. it will not be attained by the sordid politics of pitting group against group. it will be brought about by the ambitions and judgments and inspirations and darings of 168 million free americans working together and with friends

abroad toward a common ideal in a peaceful world. [applause] lincoln, speaking to the republican state convention in 1858, began with the biblical quotation, "a house divided against itself cannot stand." today the world is a house divided. but -- as is sometimes forgotten -- lincoln followed this quotation with a note of hope for his troubled country -- "i do not expect the house to fall," he said, "but i do expect it will cease to be divided." a century later, we too must have the vision, the fighting spirit, and the deep religious faith in our creator's destiny

for us, to sound a similar note of promise for our divided world; that out of our time there can, with incessant work and with god's help, emerge a new era of good life, good will and good hope for all men. one american put it this way -- "every tomorrow has two handles. we can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith." my friends, in firm faith, and in the conviction that the republican purposes and principles are "in league" with this kind of future, the nomination that you have tendered me for the presidency of the united states i now -- humbly but confidently -- accept. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]