-tv's 2011 nonprofit of the year. the convention will kickoff today at 2:00, and things will get under way for real tomorrow with speakers throughout the day. that wraps up today's "washington journal." we willwe will have coverage stg at 2:00 p.m. eastern time when delegates will open the convention. we also cover a number of the seceded events, including the politico playbook breakfast. today, they had karl rove. next, we will take a look at a portion of this morning where he was asked about the selection of paul ryan for the vice- presidential spot. >> i am wrong weaver from tampa

appeared paul ryan may be a heartbeat away from the presidency. what are three great messages from the selection of paul ryan and water 3 not separate messages by the romney campaign about the selection of paul ryan? >> perceval, romney's goal is not conventional. -- first of all, romney's goal is not conventional. he chose a gun and he came to know when he was writing his speech about the entitlement reform. he asked him behind the scenes to give comment on and give it my son. nobody paid attention to the speech even though it is a very good speech. it is a very good road map for what romney wants to do. in that process, he took the measure paul close up. everything we know about him

running being capital is that -- at bain capital is not by say we don't care who we hire year. by doing this, he said the one to have this be bold reform of government. i cannot think much bad about it. i think they went about it in a pretty powerful way. they obviously put a lot of effort in this. he talked with a lot of no. people, but kept close council. he made it in a very thoughtful fashion. i hear the criticism that he should have made the announcement here. i think they did absolutely right. did it before the convention so they could milke some ink out of it.

and it also brings a very robust debate of medicare. >> [inaudible] >> we will have a debate about medicare. if we did not want to have that, it would be conducted by late night phone calls from democratic phone banks to scare the crap out of seniors. i would rather have the discretion -- we know that we are broke. the american people are head of the politicians when it comes to entitlement reform. they want a sensible, responsible ideas. >> question here in front. >> looking in some of the chief gets here -- chief guests here, some of the unregistered voters

commit this so much about romney's wealth. you probably pay lower tax rate than him. how does governor romney get past that? what does he have to say to put the $250 million aside? >> you will not put it away. if you deeply care about the fact that he abides by the laws of the united states and drives his income from investments and pays a lesser rate as a result on wages, and you're going to vote against him for that reason, there's nothing he will be what do to convince you otherwise. on the other hand, it tells you something about the united states. is he attacking warren buffett as somehow being an american because he derives his income from investments, by capital gains and dividends? obama is a cheapskate. if he wants is secretary to pay

a lower price than she is, he ought to give her a bunch of stock instead of salary so she can also earn income from capital gains and dividends. alta millikan one of the reasons obama will lose -- ultimately one of the reasons i think obama will lose. >> you said you think obama will lose. if he wins, it will be why? >> another disaster for the country. if he were to win, and i don't think he is, but if he were to win, he would come in for a second term as ill-prepared as any single president in the history of our country. >> but the surgical about this. >> i am surgical. >> but from the architects -- >> i just came from the architect's perspective. tax reform, social security reform, energy reform, we got one out of four. we get the energy bill in 2005.

but we tried. but this guy has not laid the predicate for anything other than the buffet rule which will generate $7 billion over the next 18 years -- in the next 10 years. >> i asked you how he could win. >> wait for my thursday column. it is brilliant. [laughter] damn good column. >> i have a new book coming out next recalled "'s row -- "boss rove." were you intentionally tried to help decision and did you discuss it all with roger ailes? >> no and no. i was complimentary of some of

the same people. when donald trump won out and rick perry went out on the birth three issue, i was critical of it. i am responsible for michael o'connell. he also is responsible for a net named bill simpson. this may be an entertaining work of fiction. i wish you all the best with it. no, i'm not. i am not at all. >> "american crossroads," the biggest of the republican outside groups, what does it's amazing success say about current american politics? >> i didn't do it immediately. i left the white house in september. my final day on the payroll was in the middle of september in

2007. crossroads was not founded until 2010. it says something about -- i don't know. it is a two others to decide what it says. i do know this. the republicans are tired of the democrats beating as by having liberal groups and unions talking to each other and beating of our guys year in and year out. they were looking around for a vehicle that they could support. crossroads is a little bit of a different vehicle. as a result, it garnered some support. we raised $72 million in 29 weeks in 2010. >> you will probably exceed that. >> if you know that, you tell me exactly how sought and call the right people to make that happen. >> we have this cycle where

outside groups are spending more than the campaigns in the party. outside groups, including yours, will spend a billion dollars. >> i think that number is high. i saw i story some time ago. i think that is high. >> what do you think the number is? >> i don't know. on elections, on the issue advocacy, it will be more than half that. unions spend $450 million on behalf of obama in 2008. that is not the only outside group they have had. in 2004, i did add it up. when you have americans coming together, they spend more than $24 million. we don't have a good number for the unions for that year. so it is probably somewhere closer to 506 -- $500 million or $600 million. our object is to meeting -- is

to even up the playing field. >> the magnitude of outside spending as a real consequence for government. when senators and members come here, they're much more beholden to leadership than they would have been in the past. >> they're not beholden to anybody -- how can you be beholden to a group that you don't know -- >> the leadership uses the excuse as much as -- >> i don't know if they do or not. we'll see. >> i am jenny rogers with "the washington examiner." do you think that the candidates' spouses have any chance of making an actual impact on the vote and do you think the candidates never have? >> they do. they have a big impact. people look at the picture the scene of the candidate and his or her spouse and make a decision about it. michele obama i thought was a very effective advocate in 2008,

in a way that most people don't recognize. she was in charge about reached to military families. you go to fayetteville, n.c., mcdade, jacksonville, fla., some of these battleground states to military communities and she had covered the waterfront with the air field or the landscaper knew well. it was a pretty powerful impact. the president is a little bit different than any other office in that we know that we will have to live with the person in our lives for four years. we want to know more about them. one of the things we want to know is their spouse. the outspokenness of barbara bush was a plus. a sort of concern for the common man and common woman that eleanor roosevelt had. all of these have some utility in some races. >> on outside spinney, do you

think that it is a good thing for our country or bad? >> it is what it is and holland was the democrats have been doing it for years and i got -- is what it is. all i know is that the democrats have been doing it for years and i got tired of fighting with one hand tied behind my back. i don't remember anybody right thing frantic era editorial pages in "the new york times" finally gotacp phila millions of dollars to run an ad saying that bush was a racist. the hypocrisy of some of our great liberal news organizations that hyperventilate about one and not about the other. [laughter] >> this is a news gathering.

you cannot applaud. >> [inaudible] >> when we set out to do this, we won is something that would be durable and would be the right model. >> [inaudible] >> that was a cheap shot on your part, but that is what to expect from politico. we have a board of directors of business people and political leaders and we want this to be the place when you are the former political finance german nor the former such and such official of the party that you might get swept up into this in order to continue your service to the party and give it the kind of sensible leadership that groups like this ought to have. we want to be transparent with our donors so they know how the money is spent. >> you want to be transparent

with some of your donors. >> with all of our donors. we want to be transparent to them. >> if the economy comes back, is it possible for president obama to overcome this? >> yes, but i don't think he will. tune in thursday. thursday, there will be other news in the day the sends the column. >> we will go to the back. >> cnn. it seems like an unintended consequence of the pressure from the "establishment" in washington, todd akin rallying with lawmakers for him, guns

blazing to get him out of the rays, do you think that republicans will back him to get the majority? >> 50% of the people who say they are voting for todd akin want him to withdraw. the only people in the mason- dixon poll but want him to remain in the race are democrats. what he said was indefensible and the manner in which he handled it made it worse. he saw nothing wrong with it in his taping. it was shown on a sunday morning and his response on tuesday evening in the form of a television ad. the television ad -- he can say he is sorry, but who are the voters of the state of missouri going to believe? the unforced error or

conservative journalists who are tossing him soft ball questions or television that? you can see it. the guy was in by 10 points just after the republican primary. a weekly, he was below by a curtain. he is a good man. he has a good heart. but he said a really stupid indefensible thing for which there is no recovery. if he really cares about the values of conservatism and pro- life, then he will not go down in defeat with the biggest loss of any canada from the senate in modern history. >> if the republicans nominated a credible candidate, they could take the lead and beat clair mccaskill handily. some people think it is unfair

and you have to stand with him. but it was all so incredibly wrong. it was one thing if he had made some minor misstatement. this is pseudoscience and morally incomprehensible. >> that was karl rove from this morning. that was my kalends breakfast for politico. each day, they will cover the political playbook breakfast live. un looking at the tampa bay for an apparent there will be a brief gavelling in of the convention as a performer apparent as you all know, -- as a pro forma. as you all know, the convention has been delayed.

the weather is holding up nicely for folks in tampa. lots of stuff is going on around town today. there are all kinds of briefings and press conferences and rallies and marches this year as people gathered. they have some time now. in a few minutes, we will take you live to an event not here but for her -- not here, but for some new has a rally gathering at a high school for paul rain. -- for paul ryan. we will be bringing you live coverage of this event. when we have that picture ready, we will take you there live. in the interim, we have cameras out and about in tampa. it has become a tradition in

these conventions to have protests going on. we are watching some protesters as they attempt to get their message out. let's listen in for a little bit. [chanting] >> the people, united, will never be defeated. >> the people, united, will never be defeated. the people, united, will never be defeated.

[chanting] [chanting]

>> you're looking at some scenes from a camera down on the street of tampa and some of the protests of going on here. they have controlled protest areas and people have permits to be in that section of town. it all has become a part of the political convention scene for the past several cycles. this is a live picture in janesville, wisconsin. this is a rally a waiting for the arrival of hometown congressman paul ryan to wish him well, to send him on his way to the republican convention. this is that a high school in the congressman's district. the candidate will be arriving

shortly. we will listen in for a while. ♪

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>> obviously, the crowd awaits the arrival of hometown congressman paul ryan. we will bring you that speech as soon as he gets to the high school. in the interim, we would like you -- we would like to introduce you to the ceo of the tampa bay host committee, the people who are hosting this

committee. he was on "washington journal" earlier today to talk about the largest -- the logistics of putting on something of this magnitude. the tin dig let's listen in kilobit. >> joining us now, -- thank you so much for joining us. hal is the threat of tropical storm isaac affecting things for you? >> it is not affecting it as much as we thought to begin with. it has been a deterioration of the storm from a hurricane down to a tropical storm. this may just be a bad bring some before it is all said and done. we have contingency plans for this event. there may be the possibility of

some inclement weather, but we took all the precautions needed to. obviously, we have an abbreviated day today. we will go into full session tomorrow and make up all the time that we lost. the big thing for me is that we want to make sure that anybody else who is in harm's way, either in the gulf coast, pensacola, alabama or mississippi, that the folks are ok. and that rick scott is traveling around the state. the gunners have been activated and they will make sure that their citizens are ok. we will make sure that everybody comes out of the sting ok. >> had the prepare for an event like this? how're you doing with the protesters? what kind of infrastructure has to be set up for the convention? >> the infrastructure for an rnc convention or a dnc convention is very phenomenal. you have a national security designation, which is done by the department of homeland security. adelaide you have the federal

government to treat, but low -- the local law enforcement. you have a thousand officers in the downtown area just for the week. the infrastructure required italy tantamount to an olympic games. the only bad that even comes close in terms of the logistics is the olympic games. which we know just finished in london. the same company that did the transportation management for the olympic games is here in tampa. game day management. they came from london to tampa. a lot of parallels between the olympics and the buys presidential -- and the presidential convention. we love showcasing our great city to the world. if you'd like to talk with ken jones who is heading of the tampa bay host committee, you can call.

let's talk dollars. you get some public funding, about $18 million from the taxpayers. when will we get a sense of who is actually paying the bill? >> the way conventions are funded your very cow work -- very counterintuitive. the first pot of money is the for the security many. that comes from the department of homeland security through the department of justice grant. it is about $50 million. that comes from washington to the city of tampa. >> that is the head of the tampa bay host committee. up to wisconsin where the rally for paul ryan is getting underway. >> it will take 30 years to get here. [cheers and applause]

>> our pride great tradition continues. is inso glad our daughter the freshman class here this year. we cannot be more proud of that. [applause] being back here, walking through these halls the lot of memories come back. and an unbelievable impact that this institution has had on my family, on us, the teachers, the counselors, the administration. if you grew up in this community and do it in a place like this, you can be impacted and grounded in a set of values that are just phenomenal. teachers like frank douglas.

natalie did he transform his room and brought you into a world that he taught to world geography, but the life lessons that he would impart to apply new were life lessons. i talked to craig of the day. he said, tovey, did you ever think that, when you were putting janesville on the map, that maybe your brother, in his own unique way, would be putting janesville on the map? [laughter] and i thought about it. i said, you know what, it's wrong. its janesville. is this community. it is wisconsin. it is all of you that produced paul ryan. [cheers and applause]

and what role models did we have? you cannot be anything but inspired. before craig and parker became high schools, we had won high school. you look back at the window of time for the class of 1942, class of 1943, class of 1944, those boys graduated, became an overnight as they left school and put on their uniform and went and fought for our freedoms. [cheers and applause] many of those guys did not come back to us. and those that did, who we have

grown up with, almost seem apologetic about coming back. but boy, did those gentleman make a mark on this community. you cannot grow appear without being inspired by such role models. this is the environment that paul ryan grew up in. this is janesville. this is our community. this is wisconsin. and before i introduce paul, i have been asked this question a lot this week. can you believe your brother, on wednesday, will be nominated to the vice president of the mitt romney ticket? i think about it. -- [cheers and applause] not only do i believe it. i think it is right.

[cheers and applause] it is the right time. he is the right man for the job. [cheers and applause] he has the right set of or the right team. [cheers and applause] i get the privilege of introducing the people that matter most to paul. his wife jetta, his three adorable kids, lies the, care early, and salmon and those people will be a comedy -- will be accompanied by your vice president of united states, paul ryan. [cheers and applause]

>> look at this. hey! look at that. hi, and ellen. look at this. thank you. you guys can go ahead and have a

seat. thank you. wow. [cheers and applause] wow, look at this. man. it is good to be home. it is good to be home. it is so good to be home. you know, i think i've recognizes the very face in this room. -- i think i recognize every face in this room. this is my family over here, about half of them. hello, a janesville. it is good to be home. [cheers and applause] you know, now you know i am one

of the less articulate members of the bryan family. -- the tyan family. let me just say -- the ryan family. but me just say that we appreciate your outpouring support. it means a lot to us. i have spent a lot of time in the gymnasium. i never really was as close to center court. most of my stuff was outside with a soccer ball and track. but this is jim means -- but this jym means -- but this gym means so much. it is the kind of community. as we take stock of our community and think we should put in our minds and our prayers

the people who have been victims of the hurricane isaac and those who still stand in the path of the storm. [inaudible] [applause] i also want to thank the janesville police department. those guys are great. they have been phenomenal. thank you, father randy. [applause] i want to thank chief dave maurer. i want to thank mayor levitt. how want to thank our neighbors on court house hill for indulging all of this and for their patients. we really appreciate that. and i want to thank everybody in the broader community. this has put a lot in janesville. i wanted to tell you how proud i am to come from janesville, wisconsin. [cheers and applause]

i see answer and uncles and cousins here. the last time we counted it all up, we had 16 cultigens right here in janesville. -- 16 cousins rate here in janesville. our family's story is not different from most american family stories. back in the 1850's, the potatoes stopped growing in ireland. so our great great grandfather, with the shirt on his back, made his way to boston, worked his way on the railroad to get enough money to buy a farm. and that brought him to the outskirts of jeans the wisconsin. he looked around and it was summertime and he said this looks just like ireland. then came winter.

[laughter] and he said, oh, crop. but they made a go of it. and lots of immigrants came in those years. this town has lots of immigrants. there were colons, kennedy's, its urals, holy res, fagins, ryan's. we all made a go of it. we all raised their families here. we are fifth generation janesville, wisconsin natives. [cheers and applause] and it is not a unique story. it is the american story. the reason our family came here and the reason everybody else's family came here is because of what this country stands for. america is not just a piece of geography. it is an idea. [cheers and applause]

it is the only country founded on an idea. and that idea is precious. that idea -- please, have a seat. i don't make you stand the whole time. [laughter] thank you. that idea is so precious. we believe in free speech. [chanting] that is the idea. that is right. >> usa! usa! >> thank you. thank you.

awesome. [cheers and applause] it sounds like we just went to state, doesn't it? you know, we think about our communities and each generation passes on a better country. i remember sitting here on bob suter days. my buddy ryan masterson coaches over at parker. what we see is each generation sticking up for legacy and carrying on. and what we do in our communities is a look out for

one another. that is what is so special. that is what the government cannot replace or displaced. think of the charities that we all work together to raise right here in janesville to make a community's smaller -- communities stronger. our executives come out of retirement to wage campaigns here in janesville. community nursing homes. we have rotary gardens where people come from all around to see. we have the house of mercy. [applause] we have health net. we have a great boys and girls club. we have a ymca. we have a ywca. these are the things we do in our communities that bring us together. to help our neighbors in need. they call it civil society.

i call it janesville, wisconsin. [cheers and applause] and what is important is that our government respects thi that our government honors this, that our government workers for the people and not the other way around so that we can do this. [cheers and applause] that is what this is all about. you know, we have been hit pretty hard here. you know, we used to always say, as gm goes, so goes janesville. remember that statement? you know what? we have been hit hard. we had a hard knock. but we are a hardy people and we will recover from this. i have a lot of friends who lost

their job at the plant. one of my buddies went to black hawk tech and got an hvac contacting degree in now he is doing a great job, has a great career and is happy. one of my buddies lost his job over earlier. he went to whitewater and is on a path to a brighter verizon in a career that will be there for him for the rest of his life. that is the thing we need to do. pick ourselves up, help people in need, give them the drive for the skills that they have, entrepreneurs and small businesses so that people can get back to their feet. that is what the romney-ryan plan is all about doing. [cheers and applause] friends, family, this is a defining moment for our country. this is not an ordinary election

because it is not an ordinary time. we have a big choice to make. we are not just picking the next president for a few years. we are picking the pathway for america for a generation. [cheers and applause] and what mitt romney and i pledge is to make sure that you get to choose what kind of country do we want to have appeared what kind of people do we want to be? it comes down to that because the stakes in this election are so high. we have seen with the president has offered. we have seen the path he has placed us on. it is a nation in debt. it is a nation in doubt. it is a nation in decline. or we can choose a better path reapplying those founding

principles, reclaim the american idea and get people back to work and get the american idea prosperity and opportunity back on track. and that is exactly what we will do. this is why we need leadership. let me tell you about the man who asked me to join him in this quest. >> you're the man! >> mitt romney -- thank you. [laughter] but me tell you about this man. [cheers and applause] this is a man of faith, a man of honor, in and of family, a man of integrity and achievement -- and a man of family, a man of integrity and achievement. remember the embarrassing

scandals? sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? [laughter] they asked this man in boston to utah and he dropped everything he was doing and served in a dutiful way and he saved us and he made us proud and he revived the olympics in that time. that is leadership. [cheers and applause] it is a man who created literally tens of thousands of jobs. by the way, when people are successful in business, that is a good thing. that is not something to resent. we are proud of that. we lift that up. [cheers and applause] that is what makes america grow. that is what makes us tick

appeared that is what creates opportunity and prosperity. he started small businesses. he turned around failing small businesses. he created companies like staples, bright horizon, sports authority. i see an entrepreneur or their and their and their paradise the business leader here, a job creator there, a job creator there. everywhere i look. there is one right there, too. [laughter] everywhere i look. i see friends. as the community leaders. i see family members who get up early in the morning, who take risks, who work hard, who sacrificed. they don't know if it will work, but it does because they work hard. and you know what? they don't need their president telling them that the government gets the credit. they need to know that they built the businesses and they get the credit. [cheers and applause]

that is how jobs are created. just look at the contrast between where we are with president obama and what mitt romney achieved during his four years as governor. president obama, the u.s. credit rating has been downgraded for the first time in history. under mitt romney, the massachusetts credit rating was increased. under president obama, 23 million americans are struggling to find work today. nearly one in six americans are living in poverty today. it is the highest rate in a generation. unemployment has been above 8%. household income in america has gone down for families on an average of $4,000 in the last four years. when mitt romney was governor of

massachusetts, the unemployment went down, household incomes went up by a thousand dollars. he reached across the aisle from he did not demonize democrats. he worked with democrats and balance the budget without raising taxes. that is the kind of leadership we need. [cheers and applause] every now and then, the president, in moments of candor, tells us what he really thinks. [laughter] he kind reveals his thinking and his philosophy of government. remember when he was talking with this guy joe the plumber? he said we just needed to spread the wealth around? it is this economic school of thought, this belief that the pie of life is somehow fixed, that the economy is static and that it's the government job to redistribute the slices more

equitably. that is not the government's job. the government's job is to set the conditions so we can grow the pie for ready so that everybody in america can get their vision of the american dream. [cheers and applause] remember when he has -- when he was talking with the donors in san francisco? he said people in the midwest, people like us, we like to cling to our guns and religion. [cheers and applause] all i got to say, from a guy who goes to st. john the honey over there -- this catholic deer hunter is guilty as charged and proud of that. [cheers and applause]

that is freedom. the last one is the most doozy. when he is thought -- when he is talking with small-business people, that they don't get the credit, that the government does come it reveals why we are stuck in the route we are in. here's my point. it is not too late to get this right. it is not too late to treat other people with respect. it is not too late to get our spending under control, to get our budget under control, to clean up the mess in washington, to get people back to work, to have an energy policy, to have spending cuts, to a business is growing and thriving, to make more things in a mad and sell them overseas. it is not too late to get people back to work. it is not too late to fix this country's problems. we can do that. [cheers and applause]

[chanting] >> usa! >> here is our commitment to you. everywhere i look, i see so many familiar faces. it is very moving. i love you, too. and we want to know that the values that built this country are going to stay in this country. we want to know that those little things in life that tie us together as a community are going to continue to tie us together as a community. we want to know that we are going to reclaim those great ideas and principles with respect for one another and give

the country solutions to fix these problems while they are still within our control. here is the commitment that mitt romney and i are making to you, our fellow citizens, my fellow citizens of chains will. we are not going to duck the tough issues and kick the can down the road. we are going to lead. [applause] here is thewe are not going to e next four years planning other people for problems. we are or to take responsibility. -- going to take responsibility. [applause] we are going to honor the fact that this country was created by an idea from our founders, our rights come from nature and got,

and not from government. [applause] our founders secured this and every generation of veterans -- there are the ones that gave it to us to preserve it -- and we thank them for that. [applause] and the way we will honor their sacrifice, their legacy of our ancestors, our forefathers, who did everything to make it so we could have the opportunities we have. my dad, a lot of you knew him. he said, some, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. he usually says that to me when i was part of the problem. but the solution is that we are

not going to try and transform this country into something it was never intended to be. we're not going to try to replace our accounting principles. we will reapply our founding principles. that is what we would do to get the country back on the right track. that is how we preserve the american legacy. [applause] friends, we can do this. we can get this done, we can turn this thing around. i simply want to say to you, together, we will get this country back on the right track. we will get this done, we can do this. god bless this country, god bless wisconsin. thank you for coming out. we love you all. [applause]

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>> that was paul ryan with his family in wisconsin. the citizens of the congressional district in his home town sent him off to tampa to the here for the republican national convention and nomination for the gop ticket as vice presidential candidate. you are watching live coverage from tampa, florida. for a few minutes, we have a phone lines open to your reaction to presidential politics and particularly reaction to the speech. we would like to hear what you think. the phone lines are on the screen divided up by party affiliation. let's listen to a comment from chuck arm roanoke, virginia. he is a republican.

>> obama about needing more revenue and that the rich should pay more. i kind of wonder what would happen with the revenue stream for america if, number one, we made it to where no one could ever received a federal income tax refund greater than what they paid in federal income taxes. i think that occurs, if i'm not mistaken, because of the earned income-tax credit. comment is if we are all in this together, which we are, we should all be paying something in federal income taxes, regardless of income. it seems to me to everyone, every wage earner should have to pay at least 5% of their wages in federal income taxes. i just wonder what kind of impact those changes would have on our revenue stream.

>> thank you. a phonet's go to call from san francisco. kyla ross is on the line. >> thank you for taking my call. i want to discuss what i feel is the mainstream media covered up just how large these crowds are that the romney-ryan ticket is getting. i have been watching the rally for a while now on c-span. the thing that i have noticed is since paul ryan was put on the ticket, there have been huge crowds at these rallies. paul ryan is talking about ideas, he is talking about real reforms. obama and his friends in the mainstream media, for the last week, have been talking just about todd akin and contraception. this ticket is talking about the issues that matters for the majority of americans when the

economy is in the chocolate and unemployment is at record highs. i just wanted to point out. i think c-span does a good job of covering these things but the vast majority of mainstream media does not seem to notice just how big these crowds are at these rallies. >> thank you for your call. as we are watching these live pictures from wisconsin, if you want to be part of the twitter community commenting on this, use the has tag 2012. here is one on twitter. another phone call in washington. >> my problem is with the economy. however, i feel the decisions for the economy were made on

january 2009, when the republicans made their decision to not do anything for the american people. i have a real issue with that. i know president obama has had some downfall and mitt romney had me, up until i saw that he made the decision on women's rights, to close planned parenthood, all those decisions have really turned me to obama. >> next is a female caller, at the lane in atlanta. a democratic caller. >> thank you so much. i am really upset. they are really brainwashing

people. all of us have issues. not all the women's rights. can you imagine a woman getting raped and she had to keep the baby, and then the rapist is still able to contact that woman because of his right to the child? the woman has already been traumatized. that is a traumatic event to happen to someone. the father would really brainwag people. still have rights to the child. you're telling me the woman does not have the right to get an abortion? i do not really believe in abortions, but in certain circumstances, abortions should be available, at least give the person the choice. at least give them the choice. not only that, the way of a talk about medicare -- i worked in the medical field. they would really privatize it to a voucher. eventually, medicare will become a voucher.

can you imagine seniors tried to get insurance when they already have a condition? can you imagine trying to get insurance with a voucher? it is impossible. >> thank you for your call. taking your phone calls as we watch the pages from wisconsin. paul ryan in the crowd greeting family members, supporters. they talk about their extended family at the outset. at the 2:00 hour, a brief session inside the tampa bay times form convention center. that will be the gabbling of the convention shortly for about 10 minutes or less. then they will also start a debt clock. the chairman of the gop will do that. then they will welcome delegates back to the actual start of the

program tomorrow afternoon. as we wait until that, we will bring you coverage of events around the city of tampa, some live, some taped, mixing in your phone calls and reaction by twitter. you can also send as a brief video reaction. here is one comment. >> good morning. rights to the child. my name is maria. i am a delegate from new jersey from the 12th congressional district. i am supporting mitt romney. i am so excited to be here. >> my name is diane. >> back to the rally in wisconsin as we take more telephone calls. next is ray from syracuse, republican.

>> can you tell me why nothing is being done about the keystone pipeline? president obama keeps on shooting it down. we need the pipeline very bad. >> thanks for your call. chicago is next. mike is an independent. go ahead. >> hello? >> we are listening. your comments please. >> i am a small businessman. i voted for obama the last time. i am from chicago. i was very impressed by the remarks made by paul ryan today. i think he does bring the kind of enthusiasm to restore america's economy. i have been a democrat all my life, probably because i was

raised in chicago, but i will definitely support this man and romney as well. i think they are speaking the right way about business, about creating jobs. i only wish they had the convention here in chicago and brought it right into the lion's den here where we have a state that is now bankrupt with all of these liberal programs that have been taking over. they have been through in the democratic party that i remember growing up in chicago. the democratic party is no longer the democratic party. especially in in this last -- >> can i ask you a question? would you have supported governor romney is paul i had not join the ticket? >> i would have, yes. i know what it takes to run a

business. everything that has been done in these last three years has literally almost destroyed my business. i have so many friends who can say the same thing. it has destroyed us. i never thought he would go in this direction when he was promising a different open government, etcetera he has gone in the direction of europe, in the direction of socialism. i have seen it personally in my own business. what this man is saying here today, what he is talking about his basic americanism. that is what we have to get back to. the kind we had with harry truman. this is the kind of democracy we have to have, is what he is talking about, ground level

people wanted to push this country forward, not this division thing about who is rich and who is poor, going after certain classes. that is not america appear that is not the america i fought for. >> thank you. level people wanted to push this next up is a call from willie, watching in west virginia. a democrat. >> i am really going to go with the republicans this time. i am going to vote for ryan. i like what he said. i was not too hung up on romney. but i have no choice but to change parties and to vote republican because the party that we have now, mr. obama -- he has promised a lot. he is a good speaker, makes a lot of promises, but i cannot really see where he has achieved anything.

i think he has taken us too far to the left, dividing people, black, white, hispanic, rich, poor. he is always trying to divide someone to get an edge. i do not like that. i am turned off with him. >> thank you for your call. a tweet from cathy. she believes the republican party is dividing people through their role changes. a couple of more phone calls. carol is from pontiac, michigan. an independent. >> i am excited about this, what i'm hearing from everybody. a lot of people changing over. there needs to be a change. we have been desperately

hurting in the detroit area and michigan, due to the automotive industry going down. now that we have a new governor, even the city of detroit is building and we have some hope to become more money- wise, more jobs. i think paul ryan and mitt romney, it is going to write into the fold and make it better. i am disabled and a college student and an advocate for people who are mentally and physically disabled. i have seen how hard it is for people to be able to get their medication, get the help that they need. i am so glad.

i hope there is a big change before it is too late because i just watched people suffer because of the changes in the system and as far as -- >> we are going to jump in. thank you for your phone call. that is it for the phone calls right now. lots of opportunities throughout the day and other days that we are here in tampa. our washington journal program as well. lots of opportunities for you to be part of the conversation. we are going to finish with one more tweet. in their view, paul ryan just one over the midwest when he mentioned his deer stands. right now, we are going to take you to taped coverage from an event last night. ron paul was here with his

family and his supporters. on wednesday night at the convention, it is scheduled and they would show a video about ron paul, a tribute to his career, but he will not be speaking. he did speak last night however at the south florida sun dome where thousands of supporters got together to listen to the candidate. the speech was over one hour long altogether. we have picked a portion to show you. >> it is so great to come together for something so important. people say today is an important day, and i think it is. they say that this convention is very important this week, and indeed it is. this election is very important, but let me tell you, there is something even more important at all that, and that is because that we are leading, the cause of liberty, the attention we're

getting right now. [applause] there has been a lot of talk about whether or not i would get to speak at the convention, and of course, i had written that off. today i was excited. i got a call from the rnc. they said they changed their minds and they were appearing to give me one whole hour. i could say anything i want. tomorrow night. just kidding. first off, i want to recognize our delegates. thank you.

it takes a lot of hard work. you know the rules better than they thought they knew the rules. but that did not stop them. they learned how to bend the rules, ben rose, and now they want to rewrite rules. then again, maybe they have been paying attention to what has been going on in washington. they have been rewriting the rules for too long. that is what we have to stop from happening. them. they learned howpeople at the ce worried just how much trouble we would cause. generally, you know what my advice is, stopping something for the sake of stopping does not do a whole lot.

i have been cautious. they have overstepped the bounds. there is a big fight going on and we are involved in it but others are telling us that we have gone too far. the ron paul people will write about overstepping their bounds. -- were right about overstepping their bounds. [applause] it has been great the experience i have had these last five years. it is an important time, not only for me personally, but for the attention we are getting. i have received a lot of compliments and given some credit, but i will tell you, it takes you and a lot of other people, there have been lots of things going on for decades, and it is coming about.

not only because i believe we are right on the issues, but what is coming out right now is proof positive that their philosophy of government, whether foreign policy, monetary policy, economic policy, is failing, and they need something different. [applause] i have often quoted victor hugo, samuel adams about an ira time with minorities, bringing about changes in that way. ultimately, that minority is irate.

the light the fires of liberties in the minds of men, which is important, but ultimately numbers count. even numbers count when they do not count on them as well because we do have the number. [applause] those who promote ideas, ultimately have to have an influence on the prevailing attitudes of the people. that is what is happening today. the people now are waking up and they are realizing the failure of what we have and the reason that these ideas are coming about. in this primary had close to 2 million votes. that does not swing an election. it is no big deal. but guess what? for every vote that we got in the primary, let me tell you, from my personal experience of traveling around the country and meeting people, the support out

there is much greater fear they do not feel comfortable coming to a republican primary, so the support there is two, three times the number that begun and the primary. we have talked a lot about the excitement that the young people bring, the excitement over the campuses. i asked somebody on staff after the last campaign event on a college campus -- how many campuses did i go to? it told me i will go to this number of campuses in the campaign. i probably would have said there is no way you can do that. we went to 33 college campuses.

[applause] talked to close to 150,000 young people who were enthusiastic. they could the conservative college campuses or where they the liberal college campuses? no, they were all the college campuses. they welcomed us. wouldn't you think if there is a party, we have an open chance. we want new people to come in. we want to appeal to the young people. don't you think they would be begging and pleading, as they come into the big tent? well, we will get into the tent, believe me. because we will become the 10th eventually. -- tent eventually.

[applause] once they know we are the future, they will know about us. young people certainly have the enthusiasm. i think it is the enthusiasm that really energizes a campaign. energizes not only themselves and the college campuses, and i have always maintained there will not be a true revolution unless the college campuses are alive and well with those ideas. [applause] there has been so many times that the young people, not only those of voting age, but sometimes 13, 14, 15, they bring their parents to the office and they have them converted into understanding about what liberty is all about. young people energize other people and give the energy to the remnants who are with us

already. this is exciting with the energy that we have. it seems to me and they would be begging and pleading for us to come into the party. [applause] begging and pleading for us to come into the party. [cheers and applause] you know, most people in this room probably read that book called "1984." it was required reading in high school for so many years, and i figured it out. i can explain to you where the problem is. "1984" has been read by a lot. i would assume that everyone who read it assumed it was a dire warning of what can happen to society if you are not careful. i think a bunch of people read the book and thought it was a business plan, and they ran for congress. [laughter] because so many claim they read

it, and they claim that they understand it, and yet, they do the very things that we have been fighting against in trying to stop. during the campaign, i got a lot of advice. can you believe that, a lot of advice? sometimes from our friends, sometimes from our enemies, sometimes for others, as well, but there was a very well meaning, individuals who were in the category of maybe mainstream republicans, and they would come up and say, "ron, we really like you. we really like what you are doing, and we really like what you are saying, but if you would just change one thing, you would have a lot more success. you need to change or foreign policy." [crowd boos] and, of course, if i did not have the same policy, i do not

believe we would be here tonight. [cheers and applause] and this is something they obviously do not understand. those understand fear it, with the military industrial complex, so it is complex, but they strongly resent this, but it was mentioned already today, i have mentioned it before, and i think it is the best test. my support, coming from more so than anybody else from the military. [cheers and applause]

the subject of monetary policy comes up, of course, in washington, but often on over quite a few years, and the question has already been, what are we going to do with the penny? they want to change it to steel. we are off the gold standard, the silver standard, the zinc standards, but by the time you get done making the penny, it costs more to make the penny than the worth of the pennant. can we save a penny? and i got to thinking, well, they did not understand monetary policy, or they would not be talking that way. the biggest question we will be forced to ask is can we save the dollar? [cheers and applause]

there was a bill passed not too long ago. that was the dodd-frank bill. did you ever hear of that monster? [crowd boos] they created a financial protection bureau, to protect all of the consumers, and they were given the test to make things more efficient, and this is that efficiency is the answer to our problems. we want to get the government out of the business that they are not supposed to be doing. [cheers and applause] and this new consumer protection board was given the task of simplify applications for the mortgage loan, because

it is complex. they had a bubble, and they do not know where the bubble is coming from. what we need to do is simplified these forms. they provided the solution, and it was 1000 pages long on how to reduce two forms to one form. [laughter] all of the new regulations placed on some -- and this will be the solution, but that is not the solution. the solution is get the government out of our lives and off of our backs and out of our wallets. [cheers and applause]

now, we are serious, and we are serious. when we have the help, what we do is we do not think around with 1000 pages to simplify things. what we review is we repeal dodd-frank, is what we do. and there was another time when they were there that they passed sarbanes-oxley. this is when the conservatives were in charge, so when we are getting rid of dodd-frank, we get rid of sarbanes-oxley, as well. [cheers and applause] i am convinced that we're living at a time where an era

is ending, and this is significant, because you can be depressed at a time when you look at what is happening in washington. you come close. you get close to having victories, and this is too overwhelming, and washington is responding too slowly, but the end of an era presents an opportunity, and i have the sinking recently about what era are we talking about, and i would say in the last 100 years, probably about 1913, that was the beginning of an era. [crowd boos] that is an era where they said with the income-tax, we would make the world safer for democracy, and we will have a war to end all wars, and we will have the federal reserve to get

rid of the business cycle. on and on. we were going to introduce this wonderful era. so guess what? that era is not with us anymore. it is over and done with. we are just looking at the vestiges of a bad program started in 1913. we will eventually get rid of the federal reserve. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting] also, at approximately the same time, something else was started, and that was the domination of the oncoming communism, 1917.

the bolsheviks taking over, and communism was a panacea. it was a good intention to take care of the people, all of those wonderful promises. well, communism lasted 74 years. it dissipated in 1989 to 1991. people do not talk too much about communism anymore, but at the same time, it is hard to count when you get up into the hundreds of millions. it is estimated 200 million people died by people who were able to put a bad idea on the table and look at the tragedy of what happened. that era is over and done with. we are not like to see the world go back to that type of a program. [cheers and applause] one of the books that still in pressed to name what i was still in medical school was "dr. zhivago," and lara, she says to zhivago, "what a terrible time to be alive," and

she was absolutely right. anticipating just what was coming, but i think things are different now. i do not think we should be as depressed. we have more knowledge now than ever before. [cheers and applause] we also had the 1930's, the continuation of the progressive era. we had the keynesian economic policies taking over, the new deal policies taking over, the fascism of hitler and mussolini, and they contributed to another 25 million people who died, just the fascism of europe, so the 1930's did not do well either, and, of course, when you have bad economic policy, and you have a war to

end all wars, and it is just a war to start more wars, another world war ii, and then after world war ii, we have the development of the united nations and the imf and world bank. [crowd boos] of course, they were working towards a world wide currency, so they set up an agreement on monday, which was a total farce. the austrian economist at that time said, "it will not work, and it cannot work," and when it fell apart, it was a very, very impressive day to me, and it was a sunday evening like tonight, 1971, when the monetary system collapsed. that was predictable. it is over with. there are some, no doubt, who want to go back to it. but it gives us the wonderful opportunity to advance. there is a failed policy. the project for a new american

century. [crowd boos] you already know there are a bunch of neo-cons running that show. they opened up an office in 1997. they closed their offices in 2006. that does not mean they are gone. that does not mean they are not influencing most of the politicians in washington, but, believe me, they are losing steam. the wars fought in the last years has given us $4 trillion

worth of debt, are unpopular, we cannot afford, the american people want them out, and they want to bring the troops home. [cheers and applause] >> bring them home, bring them home, bring them home, bring them home! >> now, if they do not listen to your shop, and they do not listen to common sense, they will listen to the facts of life, and the fact of life is we cannot afford it anymore. the soviets did not leave because they had the enlightenment. they left because they were broke. why do we not wise up and just take care of ourselves and defend our country and not be this for the world?

[cheers and applause] these conditions that have been developing for the past 100 years, and now we are in the midst of a change, remind me for the opportunity for a revolution towards liberty. this has provided some very serious problems for us. it will not be smooth sailing, but there is reason to be optimistic that we can have great achievement, but for me, there are some problems we have to face. number one that i see as the problem, if we solved it, it would probably solved most of the other ones, and that is the

attack on personal liberty. [cheers and applause] is people truly understood what personal liberty means, that you have self ownership, that you have eight natural god- given right to your live, and therefore, you have a right to your liberty, and we defend all right and all liberty despite our judgment on how we feel people are using that liberty, then we will have a chance to say, if that is the case, you have a natural right to keep the fruits of your labor. [cheers and applause] personal liberty, when it returns, once again, you will be able to drink raw milk. you'll be able to make rope out of hemp. you will be able to secure your

house, that the federal government will not be able to spy on you or bust in on you without a search order. [cheers and applause] you will be allowed without a government permit to find a nutritional permits fists -- find traditional permits for what you need. no longer will the government have the responsibility of protecting you against yourself. nobody can do that. [cheers and applause] the emphasis will no longer be on economic and personal security. the government will take care of it, but the government will be there to protect our liberties. they can give us security, whether it is economic or personal, but if they say we can provide you with perfect security, is that not what we do with animals that we agreed to raise up and eat? i mean, this is what we do. you put them in cages, fatten

them up. they have all of the food that they want and the nutrition until it is time to butcher. with liberty, you do not want a false sense of security that government cannot give you. [cheers and applause] it is true. in a free society, you can make your nutritional choices and drink raw milk, but in a free society, you are allowed to make even more controversial choices. you might decide to drink alcohol, and there is a a little bit of a risk of alcohol, but in a truly free society, they tried that out of business, and it did not work too well. too many politicians drink alcohol, so they repealed that.

what types of things you smoke and drink or whatever you do to your own body. [cheers and applause] now, first, the argument is, what would happen to the world if you have freedom of choice to try drugs and all of these dangerous things? well, why did not go back to look at the history and find out how many people were using these in the 19th century, so once again, you get to make these decisions, but the hardest thing for people to accept, both liberals and conservatives, your freedoms. we want you to have your

freedom and make your own choices, and we are not going to tell you you cannot make bad choices. people say, "does that mean you endorse it? what if people make bad choices?" >> they have to assume the consequences of their actions, totally and completely. [cheers and applause] but it is under the pretense of taking care of ourselves that we have this drug world. our government agencies at the known to be involved in the drug trade, law enforcement agencies have been involved, and guess what? guess which industry would like to see marijuana never legalized? that is the alcohol industry. how about the drug companies that sell all of these tranquilizers. they do not want marijuana

legalized either, so there is a lot of special interest that would like to keep drugs illegal, but that attack is on our liberty. we want the freedoms to make these decisions even when the wrong decisions are made. [cheers and applause] there are some people say, "if it is legal, then we endorse it." no, that is not true. what about religion? some people choose no religion, some pick other ones, 50 different types of religions, but we generally protect that and say that is your own choice. we are not judgmental about that. [cheers and applause] and we are pretty good, but we are getting sloppy on it,

protecting intellectual freedom. now that they want to regulate the internet and arrest people for saying things. [crowd boos] this is one thing to pay attention to, because when they feel under attack, that is one of the first things they do, get rid of the freedom of speech. to take away our ability to communicate, but the ideas that change the world, that is why the first amendment is so crucially important. [cheers and applause] and in the second area that we have to be concerned about is economics. we are in an economic mess, and it is very, very bad. i am convinced this is worse than anything we face, wars and the great depression, worse than the major wars, because the

foundation of our economic system, the an understanding of property rights, the understanding of monetary policy has so eroded, the bubble that exists is so huge and worldwide, in europe, what is going to happen to the euro or the european community, what is going to happen to us, but so far, when our federal reserve is like this, we say we had better be in europe because our bank is over there, and we do not want to have everybody fail, and we do not want to keep bailing them out. i would say that will bring the downfall of the dollar and the downfall of the economy, which means there will be more excuses for them to crack the whip and crack them on our civil liberties. civil liberties, individual rights, these are so crucial, and tying it into monetary policy and property rights because we cannot allow that to

happen. [cheers and applause] the economic system today was based on debt. for too long, what we have done is bail every attempt for the market to correct mistakes made since 1971. we have always jumped in and interfere. we spent more money, printed more money, lower interest rates, and there seemed to always be a response, even though the statistics are showing how devastating this economy and the structure of the currency is. the average american family is losing. they know it.

it was on the news this week. significantly. austrian economics teaches that if the government deliberately to values and destroys the value of the currency, it will destroy the middle class, and the wealth will gravitate to the wealthy. this is the reason monetary policy is important. ultimately, we get rid of the fed. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting] but people ask, well, have we not had an accumulation of wealth and the last several decades? some people have got the wealthy. the average person has not.

the middle class is smaller, especially in these past years, so you print money, and even if you get the gdp to go up, the government spending more money on cruise missiles or something, and that does not help you. that does not help keep prices down. it does not help you one bit, and it is so destructive, because when the trouble comes, and the fed is that we are all rock -- all wise, we know what it should be, guess who qualifies? the big banks. they get free money, and they learned back to the government, they buy the bonds, is so unfair. once again, the people are protecting the big banks and

corporations, and politicians. the other area where we are in the middle of a transition, we are spread too far around the world. we are in 140 countries. they are preparing right now to go into syria and probably it will not be too long before we are in iran. we do not need another war. we need less war. [applause] one of the strongest things we

have to deal with is the tremendous fear about being attacked by a terrorist. terrorism is a serious subject to deal with. we think we can do a lot to reduce it. right now the threat of any of us being killed by terrorists is about one in 25 million. the odds of being killed by a car is one in 19,000. lightning is one in 5 million. guess what? if you are in the military and you have to go over and get involved in a shooting battle to save the world for democracy, made the world safe for democracy and bring peace and tranquillity to these countries, that what? the estimates are -- there is no

precise number -- it is somewhere between 2%-20% that you will be killed by friendly fire. what a tragedy. they say we have to have a drone warfare. we are preparing to send out drone missiles. [crowd boos] ? why? that does not win friends. it does not help us in any way whatsoever. >> we are leaving this event right now from last night. this was from his supporters in florida. now it is time to go inside the forum. the convention will be held briefly this afternoon by the chairman of the gop republican

party. they have a theme running throughout the convention of the debt class. let's watch.

>> and its and alternates, please give a warm welcome to the chairman of the hubble can national committee, greenspan rebus of wisconsin. [applause] >> thank you. ladies and gentlemen, by the authority contained in the rules adopted by the 2008 republican

national convention, the republican national committee has directed that the 2012 republican national convention be held in tampa, fla. starting at 2:00 p.m. on the 27 day of august 2012. it is my privilege to proclaim the 2012 republican national convention in session and called to order. [gavel bangs] [applause] the chair announces, pursuant to clause 12, a liberal one of the rules of the house of repetitive, the 2012 republican national convention stands in recess subject to the call of the chair.

[applause] all right. now we are in recess, but for this convention, we also want to draw your attention to the unprecedented fiscal recklessness of the obama administration has depicted by the real time national debt clock, shown here in the arena. for this convention, we have actually installed a second national debt clock that will log the amount of debt that accrues during the course of this convention. now, we are still in recess, but ladies and gentlemen, i kindly ask for your silence, and if you're able, please stand. if you are wearing a hat, please remove it. i would buy to take a moment to

recognize the hard work of all the security personnel, our emergency responders, and volunteers have working to keep all convention attendees and all those in the pasth hurricane isaac out of harm's way. thank you for all your efforts. [applause] now i am pleased to welcome the rev. dr. russell levenson of houston, texas, who will offer a prayer. >> ladies and gentlemen, please belle your hands as we pray. mighty god, father of ball whole human family, we thank you and ask your blessing as we gather

for this uniquely american moment here we thank governor scott and the good people of florida who have opened up their arms of hospitality to welcome those gathered here into their midst. lord, you give life and health and safety, we pray for those already affected by the hurricane and for those in its path. keep them safe, lord. deliver them and provide for their every need and bless those that assist them during this time of trial. we also remember this day one of our great american heroes, neil armstrong, who captured the american spirit, as he reminded us americans have always reached for the stars, inspiring all humankind to do what others deemed impossible. we thank you for guiding our nation's founders who secured the inalienable rights that you bestow upon us, life, liberty,

and the pursuit of happiness. we ask you to guide and direct with your wisdom our president, congress, and the courts. made america continue to be a light and to all of the nation's enabling those who will lead us to make dreams, hopes, and aspirations of all americans into realities, and to automate the american ideal a certainty, not just for some, but for all. and finally, by your mercy, we me -- may we never forget that the freedoms that we have have been won by the sacrifice of our patriots. always remember our industry and innovation has been forged with the sweat and toil of american men and women. always believed that houses of worship and places of service are born of the fruit of your inspiration and the desire to honor and serve others, and may we never forget that we are at

our best when we know in our hearts that we are not just one nation, but one nation under god. in the name of our lord i pray, amen. [applause] >> generations of immigrants looked up and saw the statue of liberty for the first time. one thing they knew beyond any doubt, they were coming to a place where anything was possible. as americans, their children would have a better life. i believe in that america. i believe you believe in that america.

though each of us comes from very different backgrounds, though each of us has chosen to walk a different path in life, we are united by one great overwhelming passion. we love america. we believe in america. enterprise, innovation, can do propelled our economy pass that of any other nation on earth. and in the campaign to come, the american ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and i intend to make it because i have been in it. i stand for freedom and opportunity and hope. the principles that made this nation a great and powerful leader of the world have not lost their meaning. they never will. i am mitt romney. i believe in america. and i am running for president.

[applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> that is live coverage of the opening minutes of the republican national convention from florida. the worst familiar with the lead with from the house of representatives will recognize the official status of in recessed subject to the call of the chair. the convention follows the same goals as the house of representatives, so you will be hearing similar terminology as they proceed through the events. that means the convention is

officially in session but in recess until 2:00 tomorrow. but see what that looks like tomorrow. scheduled tomorrow are the platform fallen by the roll call, and then the session gets underway officially at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. among the speakers on the docket at 7:00, house speaker john boehner, former presidential candidate rick santorum, and cathy mcmorris rodgers, part of the house representatives leadership team. we have time for some phone calls as we talk about presidential politics, get your reaction to the events here in tampa, the selection of the ticket, and the contest between the republicans and president obama for his reelection. let's hear from antonio, miami. he is a democrat. >> good afternoon.

i am a democrat, and a cuban- american, i have been in this country 51 years. i know almost everything about it when it comes to politicians. they are now blaming president obama for the $16 trillion, they are charging that to him. say anything about the president prior to obama about the war is that he created? why not tell for 30 years, how much we owe it or how much we had? the only problem he has had is because he is a black person. he is the president. it happens in this country, okay? i hope god takes care of you guys, republicans.

i will never be republican. >> next is maria, in west chicago, a republican. we continue to talk presidential politics here. [no audio]

independent line about three years ago. i was trying to help out with the economy because my life, especially where i am now in atlanta, georgia, i was seeing what was going on with the economy and everything. even when bush was in office, i was getting unemployment.

i had my own business and all of that. i keep telling my lawyers, it is left to us to go to the white house ourselves with this problem. the world needs to know the truth of what is going on. now i have been writing to the president. i see that they have some serious stuff going on right now but later the economy should get better. if somebody could sit down and read my letters that i have been sending to the white house. stuff like that. >> thank you for sharing your story with us here. concerned about the economy. next is a call from jennifer in redding, conn.. you're looking at live scenes from the tampa bay times forum. >> thank you for c-span.

as a democrat, i would hope that women across the country would take a position for the women in this country. the male republicans have not passed the fair pay for women act. they failed to do that. that is a ridiculous situation. they have blocked health care for women in all kinds of ways. thank god obamacare is here. this mitt romney is, however and forbid, elected and tries to undo it, well, the supreme court already has it in law. women, please do not vote republican. they are not going to give any cover for you because they do not care about you. they really only care about the wealthy.

expect more tax breaks for the wealthy and cutting the middle- class and working court. anybody who sees this and vote republican, i am very sorry about that. thank you. >> jennifer from redding, conn.. watching live scenes from the republican convention floor. the chairman of the republican committee working the crowds of delegates, media who are already in the form for this brief opening session. we're taking your calls, a conversation about the presidential campaign. we have a tweet -- the national debt includes nearly $5 trillion in intergovernmental debt. next phone call from gilbert, ariz.. jen is a republican. >> today, i saw stuff and i could not believe on msnbc. chris matthews attacked pribus

and said that mitt romney was a racist. i was waiting for this. chris matthews has been going on almost every hour on msnbc -- because nobody watches him. he says mitt romney is a racist. let's put this out here. every day, the liberals have gone on and talked about -- i do not even know his name in missouri. that is not what i think, that is not what republican women think. that is what the liberal media has done. why don't we go about what the president thinks. he loves to rip babies out of people's wombs. he takes legs, brains. why don't they talk about that? the other thing, andrea mitchell is going on -- how can the republicans have this? how can they have balloon's dropped if the storm hits? hound does the president of the united states have a balloon

drop next week with 23 million people out of work? i am one of those 50% of people paying federal taxes. my school bill went up $200 this year. my health went down. i see in baltimore they spent $500 million on fantasy trips for the schools. that is what is wrong with the democratic party. keep throwing that money into the schools. for what? where does president obama's kids go to school? the first day they tried to get poor kids out of their school. it is the republican that want kids to go to decent schools. union money, 400 million. do democrats understand they gave $800 million to the democratic party in 2008? now they are crying about these whatever outside groups. all i have to say is god bless america. please vote for romney-try to

save our country. >> jen in gilbert, ariz.. next phone call from aurora, arizona. he is a democrat. >> i was listening to that last lady speak about all the problems that have been created by this administration. education and all that stuff, there is no blame on the president -- printed on any president. it is the people, like the people who was just on, who does the pay attention to what is going on. there are a lot of especially wealthy people that take their kids to the better schools because they are afraid of the shootings and all of that and then you have the majority of your shootings in the rich schools, not in the inner-city schools. then we talk about the deficit. the unemployed and all that stuff.

talking about jobs and that. technology has taken away a lot of jobs and everything like that. therefore, in any situation -- people need to understand, unemployment is also created by technology. romney is going -- not going to bring back all these jobs. there are a lot of things. when they talk about the race card. there has been a lot of racism involved in this presidential election. there are a lot of people that just do not like to see a man of color up there making decisions. there has been more focused on what the president of the united states has done since he has been in office than any other

president. we never saw hot anything worked until he came to office. take a look at the country. he did not create a trillion dollar deficit. he did not go out and do that. this deficit has been going on since before. back to the war of 1812. >> i am going to jump in at that point. thank you for your call. let's look at a tweet next. we have a tweet from a viewer reacting. she writes, democratic women are also wary about the economy. that is why we are fighting for our rights as women, all of our rights. next is surely in marysville, tennessee. republican.

good afternoon. >> obama promised change. he promised change when he was running. that is all we have left in our pockets, a change. if people want america toward the rest of the way down, go ahead and vote for obama. i am voting for romney and ryan. thank you. >> thank you. next up is mike from florida. he is an independent. >> good afternoon. i have been watching c-span closely for the past few years and i have seen nothing but obstruction of president obama. they had to struggle with the jobs bills. they filibustered and voted against even bill that would help out a military veterans, women who were homeless. i can understand why the

republicans would go to the committee and say they would do a big change for the country, but they are the one that got us into this debt. all the money that you see up on that clock of the debt, and that is money that is left over from the bush administration. they put us in debt by borrowing from china instead of raising taxes, giving bush tax cuts, all to pay for these wars. our benefits such as entitlements, social security, medicare, medicaid had nothing to do with the spirit we pay into those programs while we work. people that are retired deserve to have that money there. if the republicans in office did all things they have been talking about for the past two years on women's health care, abortion rights, boater rights, all that will be gone. obama has lifted the american dream.

president obama knows what the country has been going through over the past 12 years under the bush administration. my vote is with obama. >> thank you, mike. next up we will bring you a discussion hosted by bloomberg media that was taped just before the start of the republican convention. it is on campaign spending and political advertising by the obama and run the campaigns. participants include bill burton, runs a super pac supporting president obama. you will also hear from republican strategist mike murphy, who has worked for mitt romney in the past, and new york times executive editor jill abramson. >> thank you very much.

it is so nice to be here. i think all of you for coming. i have a special personal thanks to my dear friend david eisenhower, who has brought his students with him. we refer to harvard as the penn of new england. we are glad that you are here. we are to have a fun panel today. i know this is harvard, this is an invert, i know this is highbrow. that is not what you are here. you think it is going to be the perillo and manila. pauli versus frazier. we make, we will see, but we are going to talk about -- the larger issue of the data david talked about -- money and politics. we can expand to other areas if you want as well. we have a terrific panel.

let me introduce them one by one. first is bill burton, the senior strategist for priorities usa, a barack obama super pac. i first met built at a bar and madison, wisconsin in 2004. we have had a wonderful relationship, although on two occasions, he told me that if republished this story, it would be the single most irresponsible new story of all time. i said worse than the chicago tribune breaking the japanese cold war? anyways, bill, we are delighted that you are here. charlie spies is the treasurer of a mitt romney superpac. he has a history in campaign finance law. he was governor run the's council in the 2008 campaign. charlie has an impeccable republican conservative credential except that he is a graduate from georgetown

university. just a little bit soft. next is mike murphy. mike is one of those guys, he has worked for the bushes, john mccain, mitt romney, a lot of republicans. i think he has just as many friends on the other side of the aisle as he does on his own. he really loves the business. mike had a great epiphany a couple years ago. he discovered what his friend bill discovered 25 years ago. if you move to california, there are gold in those hills. there are more media markets there than there are states in the united states. if you are a campaign consultant and media person, california is great. finally, the last person is jill abramson. dill was recently voted one of the five most powerful women in america. i want to know who the other four were. she would get my vote. she is the first woman editor of

"the new york times." it is very hard for me to introduce jill abramson because she rules out so many things that i cannot say. i am not allowed to tell the story of how i hired her in the middle of a hiring freeze. she says she is border that story. i am not allowed to point out her career as a newspaper editor, not allowed to talk about male body parts. i cannot do that. i have never known a better journalist. she is even a better friend. she is really an extraordinary legend. and she has covered money and politics as a reporter, has directed coverage for a long time. so we have a great panel. we may get into the thriller in manila potentially but who knows? let's start off by setting the groundwork for this campaign. it will be a campaign which will

spend at least $3 billion, maybe up to $5 billion. the super pacs have already raised $350 million. a quarter of that has come from 10 very rich people. there are people that argue this is bad for the system. there are others argue this is good for the system. let's start with that basic question, jill. >> it is neither good nor bad. having a profound effect on this race. what we do not know is whether the money from the people who are funding the superpacs, the people that frank rich in a recent article called the sugar daddies of this election, whether all that money will mainly fund negative tv ads from the democratic side to tear down

mitt romney, vice versa for the other party, whether that will seriously change the tone of politics and perhaps even add a certain point the turnaround in the fall. we do not know pier we have seen a lot of really negative advertising so far. a ton of money being spent by the superpac. what is interesting about this convention is the people that run the super pacs are converging here, along with stalwarts of the republican party, the top people in the mitt romney campaigns. i think the romney campaign and the party, to some degree, would like the super pacs to control. they are not able to constrain the message. the danger, i think, is the message goes all over the place

and becomes really sharply negative, more so than either side wants. what effect does that have won voters? we do not know. >> mike murphy? >> i am torn about it. money is the big game in politics. i thought it would be the big game in the convention, and after the convention, i find that it is through overtime. 1500 police pedaling around on bicycles on sunday. the issue is the money is a process issue. the process question of volume of money i do not think -- and the courts back this up by labeling political money speech. the bigger problem is the content. i am less worried about the public than the quality of the water. yes, it can be -- if there is a vulgarity to it -- but you have to the context. every year we talk about more money than ever.

this year the ankle is super pacs. the truth is, this is a huge country. 328 people i think voted in the last presidential election. if you were to take the current estimate of my expertise, advertising spending, voter context, advertising, the best estimate is $1.25 billion. 131 million voters. that is about $9.33 per voter. if you go to the movies, popcorn, diet coke, about $17. for almost half the price we give you a two-year show. i am not sure if it is the volume of money in a big country. we can increase the political advertising money and we could cosmetics for what they spend. mcdonald's is in the billions. the junk mail industry is in

that $40 billion a year in marketing spending. we're trying to get to $1.3 billion and there is shock and horror. the number has the shock value, but my view is to fix the content, the quality of the discourse. trade running ads that treat people like idiots. quit running ads that are two- thirds untrue. when i was doing as, there were only one-third untrue. it was the golden days. [laughter] we did not throw the murder thing around much. >> that is because of willie horton. >> we did not accuse the candidate of doing it. finally, it is up to the voters. if they punish spending, it would not be an issue. >> i thought was interesting on a presentation about the

disparity between conservatives perception and the media and more liberal perception of the media, and even on this panel, with respect, i notice in 2010, you al, and you, jill, wrote apocalyptic are about how citizens united would be the downfall of the country, using watergate references. i would suggest that it is not that different if you go back to 2004. you had $150 million being spent by groups. $23 million from george soros. this is not a new phenomenon of money and politics. if people do not like it, they would -- i would also suggest that we go back to look at the mccain fine gold law as the cause of the spirit is not a citizens united problem, it is a mccain-finegold problem. you constrain the parties and you push it to outside groups

and you end up with this more negative discourse from the unaccountable outside groups. >> yes, all this money in politics is that. what might says is interesting. if you compare to the number of people that by cosmetics or dog food, or editing like that, that is irrelevant. the issue is there are a small number of people who have the power to contribute to campaign organizations. some like sheldon adelson is buying his seat at the table. the reason he travels around the country with mitt romney. there is a reason that the first fund-raiser that paul ryan did was at the casino of sheldon adelson. there was a reason he was in israel with mr. romney. and not everybody can do that. when the numbers get so big and corporations can give unlimited sums and individuals can give unlimited sums, no disclosure of what they're doing, the voices that get drowned out are the

folks in the middle-class. you get to a point where the $25 donations make less of an impact than they could otherwise because the numbers are so extraordinary. if mitt romney wins, it will basically be an affirmation of the system. yes, you can buy your way through this process. a lot of people talk about all the super pacs through the primaries. one person who has rarely benefited from superpac is mitt romney. he would not be the nominee today if it was not for charlie and the hard work he was doing at that super pac. the difference in this race, i think, is that president obama looks at the system as it is and as a need dramatic reform. mitt romney looks at the system and thinks, this is my path. >> charlie, do you want to respond? >> i will not take the rest of the time going point by point,

but just a bit of fact checking to my knowledge, sheldon adelson had never traveled to mitt romney -- with mitt romney. the money he has spent is not -- it is fully disclosed. you know give money to new gingrich's pac. he gave more in the primary that he has now in the general. on the prairies usa, which does not disclose their donors, the reason you know about sheldon adelson's contributions and a large owners to restore our future is because we do disclose our donors. that is in no way a secret. my understanding -- i have seen governor romney talk about campaign finance. he has said he would let the system to be changed, that he would let the system to be under the control of the campaigns, and the political parties -- jill alluded to that -- he has publicly said that it would be

better if they control the message. if the campaigns could control the message and take credit for it. when you have things like the president of the united states at a press conference having to answer for your ads, that is a unique circumstance. i am guessing that he would like to have that money and be able to run his own message also. >> i think we both made our case well. let me ask you about a broader question. a number of you have touched upon this. it goes to both mike and jill. apart from the amount, let's talk about the context. -- content. is it not true that most of the super pacs, including the ones that you run, and others, the ads are overwhelmingly negative. negative ads assert they have a role in politics, but also when then -- when there is that kind of saturation, do they not also have the effect of driving participation down?

when you have this number of people participating, isn't that counter to what we're trying to achieve? >> we decided early on that we have a specific goal, and that was to fill in the black -- >> i am trying to address the question of negative advertising. >> i am getting to that. if we think our role in the campaign is to help to answer the question of who is mitt romney, that leaves -- president, mitt romney himself to tell their own stores, talk about their vision for the country. i think that is the role of an outside group, not necessarily to take on with the candidates themselves would have to do. the role of an outside group is to engage in the election in a way that offers new information to help voters understand the people running. >> mike, does that worry you, the negative can drive down

participation? >> it is very hard to prove a correlation between negative advertising and turnout. some of the most negative campaigns actually turned out higher because everyone gets worked out. here is what is the secret about negative advertising be rea. it is like extramarital affairs. everyone condemns them but there are sure a lot going on. >> shocking that you would say that. >> would it does do is increase cynicism in the electorate. where we are in the campaign dialogue now -- i am lucky to not working in the campaign. i can say whatever the hell i want. the new campaign a argument is, yoi am right, you are evil. the sharpness of it is new. the result is, what you have? the campaign starts an hour later again. it is hard to get anything done. i am not one of those people

that is particularly churlish about negative advertising. the independent monday on one hand, you like it because you have a big cannon on your side. on the other side, you cannot control the but you are held accountable for it. that is a huge headache. the last thing i would say is, i have to respond to bill. you have to look at history. in 2008, the obama campaign did a terrific job of fundraising. they blew the lid off all the records and they crossed john mccain. this year because there was a republican reaction, which is, they have unlimited money now. it cannot let that happen. we have to get a lot of money. the money came in. here we are now. now we are hearing more of the pies this from the democrats. if you have been able to get the same money out of sheldon for

anybody else in hollywood, you would be spending the same amount. that was the only failure. we opened up the gates. the truth is, neither campaign is incentivized to spend less. >> i think we can agree, there is consensus there is no monopoly on political piety. charlie, your description of my columnist is absolutely right. i said everything. i think she was much more measured, however, that i was. jill, pick up on some of these points. >> some of the things that we are ignoring, talking about the super pacs, even though i also cited the possible danger of them going to far with a message that makes the presidential candidates feel uncomfortable. the reality is that most of the major supertax are run by people who directly work for either barack obama or mitt romney. >> charlie and bill are no

stranger to the candidates. >> exactly. all of these people are in the same sphere. the idea that they are independent of one another, i think, is questionable. the times ran a story early in the campaign about one address in alexandria where all these different super pacs have their offices right in the same building. i think you cannot overstate the danger. i do not think someone like -- bill burton is a completely trusted person by the obama campaign. >> this might be one place where charlie and i agree. it is not questionable. there are rules that exist and you follow the rules.

i know there are insinuations -- it is easy to joke about it -- but the truth is there are regulations in place. you follow the rules. even that address you are talking about in alexandria, that is a collection of independent republican groups who are a lot according with one another. >> bill, you are right. i do not think either one of you are lawbreakers, but this independence is really fiction. >> that is not fair to say. bill, you are exactly right -- >> we have got the lead. burton and spies agree. >> it would be strange if you have people running organizations who did not have some sort of former relationship with those candidates and have credibility to go out and raise money and advocate for them.

of course we do. but that, in no way, means they were illegally coordinating -- i do not think you said anyone was breaking the law. i do not think it is a fiction. i think that manifests itself when you see the strategies of campaign is having to respond to outside groups. but look a primary. that is easier to talk about. you have rick tyler, newt gingrich's spokesperson who went up and set up a super pac to support speaker gingrich. they spent millions of dollars on ads attacking bain capital and governor romney's business experience. i think a lot of people would say those backfired. they were harmful to the campaign. i do not think speaker gingrich would take credit for those. >> but your ads in iowa on speaker gingrich and freddie

mac, those were effective. >> sure, i agree -- but that does not go to the point of whether the campaign was happy with them or if they would have done differently. i have no idea. >> i do not know if they would have discouraged them. >> i think a court mate without coordinating. they comply, but you will see some of thsame footage -- you will see the same steelworker telling the same story in a super pac add and and a local bombing campaign ad. i am not alleging that they broke the compliance rules, but these are not unsophisticated people. at least they know how to join in on the course and hit the same notes without sharing in the sheet music. i do not think anybody is breaking the law, but it is a fantasy to say they are not connected.

if i run a super pac, i am going to watch what romney does, i will do polling similarly, and i will turn on my dollars to support these other places. i think they are legally separate, but that does not mean that they cannot act essentially in concert, which i do not think is so bad. does not bother me if it is disclosed. >> do not want us and with that one then. the idea of having somebody who was a campaign spokesperson who was on an obama campaign conference call and fully integrated with the obama campaign at least talking and giving his message, then doing as that are allegedly independent for the superpac, is not something that i would have signed off on if it were on our side. >> we have talked around add a little bit here we - will talk about what it was. we determined early on -- we knew we would have a lot less

money than charlie and his friends. as it turned out, it was true. we knew we had to be ruthlessly efficient and how we spend our money. we decide we would focus on romney. if he was going to make his business experience essential argument for why he's a president, that is what we would focus on. we thought we would go around and talk to people who knew firsthand what mitt romney met for their lives. in the case of joe, he told his story. he told his story in a lot of different places. it is fairly easy to find these folks. just google people who were quoted -- >> [inaudible] >> a lot of those stores are sad and uncomfortable. the truth is, -- you talk to joe. you know his story is true. what we thought was, these are

the stories that understand what mitt romney's businessmen's in their lives. we had a long conversation about mitt romney's business experience, and it has been a liability for him, not an asset. but it has been a large part of advertising that show the impact of mitt romney's decisions and his life in business on across america. >> forget about the content. even though i disagree with that. how did you do it? same day two cameras? the same guy saying the same stuff beer can better not supposed to talk to each other? >> i appreciate the question. yes, it was separate times. it was filmed months ago. if you look at the ad -- which i'm not sure you have -- the messages are very different. >> which one was first? >> i am not sure. the obama campaign. >> did your share in one of biomarker by mistake? >> no, it cost $8,500 to produce.

there are over 1 million views on youtube now. >> you had a win win on that? >> we spend some money promoting online, no doubt, but we're having a conversation we want to have, which is, is mitt romney's business experience an asset or liability? according to the polls they are a liability. >> if anybody here is all the than i am, i think lyndon johnson's famous days a commercial. it ran once. >> could i comment? this goes to the point of independence. that ad, you may have met your strategic objectives, but it was also describes as disgraceful, a new low, outrageous. it got to the point where even president obama had to answer for it, was asked questions about it. >> it started a conversation in a lot of places. it was the conversation we

wanted to have. >> let me ask another question. in 1980, when ronald reagan was elected president under that old system, with a lot of people like to criticize now, publicly financed elections, he ran on a conservative platform. as president, he tried to enact a entire platform. the candid was about the same as the president. no one ever wrote a piece that he would pay off campaign contributors. it was the old system, i would argue -- maybe it was the same result. doesn't that say something about public confidence, the lack of -- that the old system produced at least less cynicism, despite its other flaws? >> it is a strong hypothetical. >> recon was elected in 1980, he did what he said he was going to do.

>> there was a lot of class warfare on reagan, to. >> that is different. >> >> it is all the same basic argument. i do not know who is the particular fat cut mitt romney is accused of paying off. >> this is not republican- centric. george soros, sheldon adelson. ok, and hypothetical. if romney is elected and the justice department decides to drop the investigation of sheldon adelson, which way -- and have done anyway, there will be a lot of stories that say -- and conversely, if obama is elected and he sides with the hollywood types, then the same thing. >> one thing that bill never mentioned and has not come up with it here is unions. unions are the largest donors to

bill's superpac -- i believe they are. to my knowledge. they announced earlier this year they would spend $450 million, elections. then "the wall street journal" estimated it would be a lot more than that. when you have the president saying that the private sector is doing fine, what we need to be doing is helping the public sector, and it is public-sector unions that are usually found in the campaign, i think that's a big part of the discussion also appear that is nothing new. -- discuss in also. that is nothing new. >> when sheldon adelson's investigation is dropped by a run the justice department, of course people are going to ask questions. that is why we need to reform the system. that is the problem. there is an appearance of

impropriety because there are such large contributions that get funneled into -- there are large contributions on both sides. i'm not suggesting impropriety on all the one side. that is a part of it. generally, contribution must be seen as something. often, contributions are about, i do not like the other guy, a hopi loses beer that is why sheldon adelson is putting so much money in. he does not want to put a casino in the mall washington, d.c. >> the thing is we do not know. that is the main thing. the system we are not talking about a lot, i thought it was interesting that mitt romney said earlier today on fox news,

if he ran for reelection, he would abide by the public -- public funds for his campaign. it in some ways, i guess i'm tempted to ask bill whether he feels president obama opened the door to what we have this time? it was obama's decision in a very different campaign where money was literally raining down on you, mainly from small donors. to decide we are casting aside the public system -- >> after earlier saying that he would abide by it. >> first of all, i think that, is hilarious that he would abide by the public system after it is this system that got him into office. i think his flexibility allows him to say that.

on president obama -- and this goes back to some nat mike said earlier which was not true. in 2008, the president said there should not be super pacs or independent organization supporting him. it is not that this is a new- found thought on campaign finance beard is a the president believes. he believes there should be reformed the system. at the same time, both sides should not play to different rules of. >> but that is not in response to the question. >> in 2008, it was a different time. the president did raise a lot of money, mostly from small donors. i do not think there is necessarily a direct analogy to what is happening now. >> he was the first general election candidate -- i will say quickly in the republicans defense, it was the democrats in 1988 the first started to find loopholes around it. barack obama was the first to

say i am not going to play by those rules. >> but he was also the candidate in that race who thought the system ought to be fundamentally reformed. the question is, who is going to reform the system? certainly not mitt romney. >> you can say that with a straight face? >> michael, you kn that is true of every politician. on each side. jill? >> you are right to cite the loophole in the beginning, but the next campaign cycle you had george bush senior do team 100 got around a loophole before, which, in some ways, is what we're talking about in this election cycle. it is a version of the same

thing. money is the mother's milk of politics. big money also always finds a way. if it is cordoned off -- monday was constrained so the party is one of the big engines of it anymore. big money finds a way. >> it is hard to understand. let me pitch a quick reform to transparency is good because you can decide whether you are for and against. one of the nifty loopholes that we do not have transparency is not what unions do is what you did spend on their own electioneering. it is very hard to get those numbers. i am a member of two unions. one of my unions copps and e- mails me to tell me to give money to this and that by giving more money than nancy pelosi. the cost of the solicitations are not paid for by the people in the organizing brought to me

to vote. they are paid out by the union the spirit i have no opinion about that. i want to know at a minimum, what is it? that spending is totally off the books. >> if it is a disclosure issue, mitch mcconnell is wrong. >> also on the republican side, there are the undisclosed contributions going to be 501c4's. >>, wrote and public welfare -- >> it is a joke. >> i want to open the floor to everyone here. i am sure you have questions. if they do not mind, quickly

identify yourself. you can direct a question to any and all panelists. >> [inaudible] i would like to answer what obama would do to reform this. we hear this all the time, and we don't get any details on what he will do. so could you tell us that? >> i could. go to the website and you will see it. go to any member of the democratic house or senate. the disclosure act would -- the president has said there ought to be a constitutional amendment that would reform this as well. mitch mcconnell is blocking those in the senate and john boehner and eric cantor are not enthusiastic to bring them up in the house, either.

>> who else has a question? c'mon, this is not a shy group. >> i have one question. delegate?u a delicat >> no, i am a guest. >> the ad that was discussed several minutes ago, one that was called disgraceful, the one that a lot of people objected to. i don't have closure on that. i would like to know whether you try to find people who had good experiences or just people who had bad experiences with bain? >> that is a great question. we talked to a lot of companies that mitt romney took over and ended up firing all the workers,

liquidated the property, and cutting off promised benefits to those employees. i think i said 18, but the number was larger. people just tell their story. we talked to them about telling their story to a larger audience, and they were happy to do it. i know that the theatrics that people fell into, talking about it, because it discusses tough, sad, emotional subject. all the faxes that add are true. if you look in the context -- all the facts in that ad are true. every single fact checker has looked at it has said it is a lot about welfare reform. there was an ad in the primary against newt gingrich talking about the one child policy in

china, basically implying that he supported forced abortion. that is obviously not true. back in 2008, people think that sarah palin started the whole death panels thing. the speaker of the house, john boehner said that health care reform was going to lead to government encouraged euthanasia. the speaker of the house said that. to call this ad where joe tells his story, at the moment of terror for a family, when a family member gets diagnosed with terminal illness, he did not have health care that was promised him. when choosing a president of the united states of america and knowing which side he is on, is important. >> the only person here who is both the grandson and son-in-law

of president of the united states, david eisenhower. >> we are equating advantage with more expenditures. to what degree do greater expenditures actually afford an advantage, in your experience? is there a lot diminishing returns, and at what level? how high can this go? i am impressed by this argument that national campaigns are really inexpensive, for the amount of news that they deliver. where is the fair, effective market value for campaign expenditures, and what advantage the someone who is outspending have? >> that is a very good question. first of all, the one footnote to the numbers i gave earlier about the scope and size of the country, is most of the campaign advertising is focused on nine or 10 states. that is why people who live in

the washington d.c. media market are dilutes war than people in columbus, ohio. more money helps, but it is not the secret. you ask people, what hurts more, to have one grand piano dropped on their head, or three? inside campaigns, campaign consultants know that spending, most of the time, if everything else is working, can have a crack -- can have an aggregate effect that can be very helpful. it is very good to be able to do what the obama campaign has been doing, which is passed on the -- pound the hell out of your opponent. campaigns would always rather have that extra amount of time

in the media market. the final incentive this commercial. sometimes consultants are very incentivized to keep this spend dolling. >> we have one great political reporters of all time, jeff greenfield. >> you are right, al. [laughter] i would like to know whether you think there is a distinction between how much money is spent and how it is raised. is there a distinction between $100 million that comes from zero million people giving $100, and 100 people each giving 1 million? if so, given the supreme court's current money is speech philosophy -- should there be a distinction legally between how that money is accumulated?

>> we will just go left to right. >> when people give contributions, we are clear we are born to make decisions, regardless of how big the contributions are -- going to make decisions. >> you end up with the same amount of money. >> i would say that probably -- the concern would be called back to what al was saying earlier, the appearance of influence based on the largeness of the donations. from a mechanics' standpoint, you don't end up with the same amount of money. a million people giving $1 has a much higher cost of fund raising and you are getting not a lot of money. >> [unintelligible]

>> you could argue that both ways. example.play out your there is a good argument in this hypothetical about the sec, there is no way the administration could ever drop it, because it would fall back on them and i would say they were repaying it. you can argue that both ways. >> going to my earlier reagan in the devil, if it were 1 million people given $100, no matter what the justice department said, you would not say it was a political fix. everyon't assume contribution is a political fix. with most of the donors i know,

it is not a political fix. in a democracy, is there a moral standing difference between 50 million people giving $1 and learn person giving $50 million? there is. what i would say is, because money is speech, i believe that. get to do a lot of stuff. >> excuse me, because this one really interests me. money equal speech, then my $50,000 office -- offer to congressman free speech. >> you want to believe that all congressman are for sale. >> it is bribery, that is a crime. you cannot do that. >> but if i give $50,000 to help him keep his job, it is not a bribe. >> if you use your massive

megaphone of a newspaper to support him also. >> this is why i think the money as speech statement is so simplistic. there are a multitude of sins that come under this. the ultimate expenditure of money is it is. it is the same thing. >> the premise is wrong. media assumes that -- i have been in a million fund-raisers. i have watched the checks go across the table. in the republican moral, nine out of 10 times, you get involved with the local mayor it will be a different story. federal offices, if some guy who built a plastic bottle factory cries a little bit and says save free enterprise --

>> it is not asking about the nine out of 10. he is asking about the one. >> priory is illegal. it is an uncomfortable subject, but let's throw this back on the media. you sit down with the editorial board and discuss your issues in return for a favorable op ed and newspaper coverage. is that a robbery? >> first of all, when they meet with the editorial board -- is that bribery? >> it has nothing to do with a rule news coverage. mike was making the point that there is a difference between barry big donors who give for ideological reasons -- between very big donors who do not have narrow business interests, or things that they have going in washington that they want to influence. and almost every case, there is a confluence of those things.

yes, they have a defined set of beliefs and an ideological stake in politics, but they also have regulatory issues and issues related to the energy business. i don't think it is one or the other. >> i thought you were going to use the example of solyndra on the energy issue. >> "the times" just read front -- just ran a front-page story about exelon. we did not know of any specific government action that had been a gift to exelon, but we did document that exelon represented

had an unusual number meetings with people high up in the administration. many times, that is what money buys. it buys access. >> i think access is good, make your pitch. >> the thing one person's access because they have money should be greater than another person's access to is just noble? >> if i want to talk to any senator, and if i represent a diesel company and 50,000 manufacturing employees, and joke represents the new york times, or influence. -- who has more influence? >> i would like to ask charlie and bill to go little bit further on the question of where you hit the point of diminishing

returns, or backlash on negative advertising? charlie, you correctly pointed out that there are people in the gingrich campaign we think that the rick tyler ads on bain for counterproductive for newt gingrich. they were in effect are giving to republican conservatives that there was something wrong about the free enterprise system, or at least it sounds that way. you guys very relentlessly measure the impact and the results of what you do. where do you think the boundaries are? have you found the boundaries yet? have you seen anything in this general campaign that you have data suggesting has been counterproductive? >> i am guessing will have similar answers, and that with our organizations, we are both doing our best to independently attempt to help the candidate we are supporting. maybe history will judge this,

what was effective and what was not. we could go back and forth over this specific ad, or you may have examples of our ads that you think are unfair. it may not be helpful, but in real time i don't how to answer whether it is helpful or not. >> on the gingrich bain ads, a lot of the information in those ads was wrong. people forget that where those ads ran, newt gingrich one. when they pulled back from the attacks, they ended up getting smoked in florida, in large part because romney and charlie had so much money. one point of diminishing returns, the republicans have so much money on the independent groups side. because of all these different messages, i thinks if you are in

toledo or richmond, the voters are getting a cutoff of it -- a cacophony of attacks on president obama. afp is up on obamacare or solyndra. the romney campaign on welfare reform. there is so much throw away in cash. it is hurting their ability to tell the story of who mitt romney is, and this story they are trying to tell about who president obama is. every single one of our ads has been about the impact that romney would have on the middle class. what is happening on the democratic side is why romney has such a disadvantage on his business experience there are questions like, who is on your side? >> bill's message in charlotte

next week is, don't give us too much money because we are better off. [laughter] >> i like the example you present, which is come over the last six weeks, you have had $150 million of negative attack ads run by the obama campaign. it has been a relentless onslaught, consistent with his spending the most money ever in american history on negative attacks in 2008. the example bill gave was, groups on the right have been able to cobble together response and protect governor romney who did not have as much primary election money left. >> are we not going to see a torrent of negative ads about president obama? >> we already are. >> the point i wanted to make,

but this was not done for years ago, there would have been no ability to respond. you have just had an 8 to 1- message from obama. now you have groups from the right who are able to come in and push another message. i don't know if it is still overwhelmingly obama negative message, but it still has not been balanced out. >> here is the part of the machine that is now different and may be broken. if you are running a super pac, you make a big mistake, then you can say we barely know the guy, and bill burton can say it was built on mitt romney narrative

due to campaign stuff. >> mitt romney right now has an ad that he himself was personally approved that lies about the president's welfare reform. no matter how many reporters talk about it, it is still on the air. it does not appear to be having the same effect. >> i went out to do a column in south dakota. john boone was running against sununu -- john thune was running against sununu. one of thune's adviser said to me, one night, just sit in your hotel room from 7:00 to 11:00. you go one hour and you have 47

different ads. it is like underlining every page in a book. that may have more money -- i am wondering if on the presidential level as opposed to the congressional level, if it will have far less impact than is commonly supposed. knowson't think anybody the answer to that question. but i think that what matters here is more what mitt romney and president obama do to lay out their vision and talk about what they are for. >> there is a window for compelling to positive -- compelling positive messages. >> i think the obama convention will be all about romney. their campaign strategy is very clear, we have nothing to offer so destroy a ann romney.

the question for the romney campaign is, can they try to break through and pushed the election forward. romney has to go from third to first. >> one quick question, sixth -- since this is allegedly a conversation about politics and the media. may be unclear how much the candidates benefit from all this spending. it is pretty clear the media benefits a lot. many of us may be grateful for those ads. i am curious whether the amount of advertising in media anyway affect either the coverage or the editorial positions of the places where you are advertising. >> that is a great question. still trying to decide at "the

new york times." just kidding. i bet somewhere in america there is a small-town newspaper that is just barely hanging on, and a couple of those ads help. nobody will admit it, but in the media, if procter and gamble, the largest advertis in america were to call ahead of a tv network and save what is your tv news beating up on us, i bet there would be a conversation. i think there is power there. i am not sure it is used very often. it is impossible to say at least theoretically that it cannot exist. i have found it to be pretty rare when there are instances when people in the newsroom have any idea what is airing.

>> i have heard that there are stations that don't cover them when they don't receive any advertising. that is not far-fetched in this day and age. >> because all the stations get leverage, they shrink the local news coverage bandwagon. the consultants come in and the news faces not what it used to be a local television. >> because we are interested in the interplay between traditional media and the new media and these ads, i wanted you to talk a little bit about the way in which you see the interplay between add to put on the air, the use of your media and your money, and what you

hope the free media does in terms of how it plays those ads, talks about those ads and rebroadcast ask them. >> i think the d.c. press and the political reporters have caught on to the game. you are releasing an ad on one station in one state, that will give a lot less coverage and not treated as seriously as you are treating it as a serious strategy. you can get away with it once, during an ad in the media, but most reporters will not let you get along -- get away with fixed multiple times. >> i had a bet with a democratic consultant friend of mine this year that every year there is always a different magic group.

blue-collar moms, soccer deaths. we invented one call overly mobile latinos. -- soccer dad's. -- upwardly mobile latinos. there is always a need for a like for some new gadget that. whenever you do an advertising campaign, you try to market your bigger message -- rahm the hates working people, for example, -- romney hates working people, for example, through that. >> i think it is a hideously cynical portrait of media. i don't want to sound dutiful about the importance of a free press, but really, why we cover

advertising and negative advertising and the money behind ditka is to study -- behind it is to study what effect it has on people and what voters think about them and how they influenced by them. "the times" still sends political reporters out to talk to voters and find this out. it is not just that we cover manipulation as some kind of fun game that is fun and entertaining to cover. >> we create manipulation for you to cover to sell or larger message. you like that sophistication. >> what we want to know is something like bain, and what the facts were, what the deals were, who benefited and who did not, and to try to give a balanced and fair view of that,

not to do what ads do and find the one most extreme case, but to really try to bring the facts out. it is an important part of his record and we will be talking about it at this convention a lot. what is beneath the rhetoric and the senator adds, and try to eliminate the issues in this campaign and help voters reach an informed decision. that is what we do. >> today we heard in the presentation that young voters get their information from a different source than the older brokers. ads.alked a lot about tv dad is that affecting this particular campaign? how does the interplay work with the new media, and the alternate media, especially reaching out

to younger voters troop not watching local news? >> these questions are related. there are different ways you can get messages to voters. the traditional tv ad still commands the most amount of money, just because it is the best way to communicate with a large group. a lot of voters, especially 18- 29, if they are watching tv that are watching it on their gdr for their computer, so they are not seen the same advertising. the media coverage is important, what the advertising is. if it can spark conversation, more people will get their eyeballs on that ad. one worker talked about building the stage from which he was fired. by the time we put it up, it had

gotten 2 million of views. not because we manipulated the media into covering it, it was because the ad itself was compelling. the media was covering it because it was an important part of who mitt romney is and what his story was. we pay for a limited advertising for almost every spot that we do, and it gets a lot of attention. one thing i learned this year is that americans as a whole watch tv a lot, about 67% of the time. in the hispanic community, the number is 93% of the time. >> charlie, do you like to pick up on the question? shrek a quick point back to the crafting of postmodern process

messages. as reporters, you have to watch out for the youtube views trek. what we love about broadcast television is, it is force. unless you advance the channeled, in the yogurt -- in the younger demographics, you are totally right pick with you see 1 million youtube, watches, that is a choice to go and watch it. for moving voters who can be persuaded, the accounts can be very exaggerated. there is not as much push media on the internet. >> one more question from mike riley. >> certainly we all believe that there is no coordination between you guys and the campaign, certainly. but let me ask, what is the

effect of this money you are spending on the air to the decision making inside the campaign on what they are spending money on? in other words, how many dollars are you freeing up for them to do things other than commercials? >> we spent $20 million this summer focused on mitt romney business experience. for six weeks of that time, we were the only entity that was advertising on that. >> do you think that affects obama's decisions? >> my point is the campaign does not have to do that same work. that is money they are not spending >> during that same time this summer, the obama campaign spent $150 million due in a similar message on mitt romney. i don't know that it affected their spending decisions at all. when you have disparity in resources, this summer i would

certainly hope that our being on the air provided some air cover for the romney campaign that they did not necessarily have the resources board. then i think it was useless and they needed to do their own advertising. >> the premise of your question is totally correct the campaign still expense of the tremendous amount of energy have in detail information on who is buying what media, where, and when. >> we are born to wrap this up. i want to ask the three of you one question and did not have jill summarize. what commercial or add that the other side has done in any campaign have you said, my god, is that good. i wish i could have done something like that. >> i was doing gordon's comeback

race in washington state and that brought me in late. he was losing. nobody remembered much about the former senator . >> , the ads were another reason why we fired clay norton, that was an extremely strategically effective ad. >> in 2008, barack obama was running a positive campaign on hope and change and there were some very uplifting adds about home, change, a positive vision for the future. i personally like those. -- ads about hope and change. >> just to keep it to this guy " -- to this cycle, charlize add on the olympics was pretty good. ad and the olympics

was pretty good. that is probably a spot where they spend money that the campaign did not have to. >> i cannot possibly summarize, but i feel that so much of this discussion has focused on money and advertising and accumulation of cenacle stratagem is. -- cynical stratagems. come november, what has the effect been on the electorate? we have no idea. this could be a lower turnout election than four years ago. we don't know. it distresses me to see all this

couched as a bit of a -- whether there is coordination. the fact that this is more money than we have seen in a long time pilfering through our system, and what its ultimate effect is on the way voters view the leadership of this country and what the choice is. it is really important and gets overlooked. >> that is a terrific summary. i want to thank all of you. let's give them and hand. [applause] two we things, i want everyone to stay for reception now which we are going to have at our not overly ostentatious place here.

over the next couple of days, if there should be inclement weather and need a place to come and get out from the cold and --n cause >> they have food. >> you are all welcome whenever you come. please stop back in early and often. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> that was coverage of looking and campaign financing and political advertising in the 2012 election cycle. you are watching c-span's coverage "politics from tampa, florida.

there was a delay because of the storm tracking for the gulf on to tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. you'll see live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of all the conventions on this network. coming up in our next block are two archival features from first ladies. first we will hear from laura bush in 2004, when she spoke to delegates at her husband's first convention. later on, cindy mccain from st. paul in 2008. we will be back with an event that happened in tampa up with chris christie at one of the many events held with varying delegations here around temple. at 6:30 we take you to the floor of the tampa bay times forum for a special program looking at politics and this convention. among the guests will be major garrett, debby wasserman schultz, who will be in tampa

this week on an opposition mission, and former new hampshire governor and former white house official, john sununu, will be our guests for that segment beginning at 6:30 p.m. eastern time. now we will begin our to make speeches by people who wanted to present their spouse to the delegates of the convention -- we will begin with our two speeches. we were to show you a clip this morning from karl rove when he spoke to the political playbook breakfast. he talked about the role of political spouses and how they present their husband and their candidate to the voters. [video clip] >> do you think a candidate spouses have any impact on the

actual vote? >> they do have a big impact. people look at the picture they see of the candidate and his or her spouse and make a decision about it. michelle obama was a very effective advocate in 2008, in a way that most people do not recognize. she was in charge of our reach to military families. you go to fayetteville, north carolina, you go to jacksonville, florida, you go to some of these military communities, and she covered the landscaper well. the president is a little bit different than almost any other office. we know we will have to live with him and our future lives for four years, so we want to know a lot about him. we want to know about their styles, and the outspokenness of

barbara bush was a plus. the concern for the common man and, in a moment of eleanor roosevelt was a plus. all of these things have been a great utility. >> that was karl rove talking about the role of political spouses in the campaign. up next we are going to show you laura bush from the 2004 convention in new york city where she makes her pitch to the delegates about why her husband should be elected for a second term. [video clip] >> thank you so much, and thank you, george. i like being introduced by the president of the united states. i also want to recognize the best father and mother-in-law

anyone could ever ask for, president bush and barbara bush. [cheers and applause] and my husband's brothers and sisters, who have become my brothers and sister to. thank you all. thanks so much for being here. [applause] and watching tonight from her home in texas, my mother, jenna welch. hi, mom. and vice-president cheney and and all of the cheney

family. thanks so much for all that you do. [applause] i want to thank everybody here tonight. thank you all very much for the wonderful privilege you have given me and my husband of serving our great country. our lives have been enriched by meeting so many of our fellow americans. we visited your communities. we have witnessed your decency, your kindness, and your character. i am enjoying this campaign. has reminded me of our very first one, 25 years ago. george and i were newlyweds and he was running for congress. our transportation was not quite as fancy back then. an oldsmobile cutlass, and george was behind the wheel. even then, he was always on time, and he knew where he wanted to go. [applause]

you learn a lot about your husband when you spend that much time in a car with him. by the end of the campaign, he had even convinced me to vote for him. [laughter] this time, i don't need any convincing. i am so proud of the way george has led our country with strength and conviction. tonight, i want to try to answer the question that i believe many people would ask me if we sat down for a cup of coffee, or if we ran into each other at the store. you know him better than anyone else. you have seen things no one else has seen. why do you think we should reelected your husband as president? as you might imagine, i have a lot to say about that. [laughter]

i could talk about my passion, and education. at every school we visit, the students are so eager. last fall, the president and i walked into an elementary school in hawaii, and a little second grader came out to welcome us and said, "george washington." close, just the wrong george w. he worked with congress to surpassed sweeping education reform. the, the no child left behind act provides historical levels of funding and an unprecedented in the to higher standards, stronger accountability, and proven methods of instruction. we are determined to provide a quality education for every child in america.

[applause] i could talk about the small business owners and on to producers who are now creating most of the new jobs in our country. women like the only woman to on the tow truck company in all of iowa. -- to own a tow truck company in all of iowa. the president's tax relief help her modernize her business and expand her fleet. she is living proof of what should tell me. she said if you are determined and you want to work hard, you can do anything you want to. that is the beautiful thing about america. [applause] i could talk about healthcare.

for years, leaders in both parties said we should provide prescription drug coverage and medicare. george was able to bring republicans and democrats together to get it done. [applause] i could talk about the fact that my husband is the first president to provide federal funding for stem cell research, and he did it in a principled way, allowing scientists to explore the potential, while respecting the dignity of human life. i could talk about the recent record increase in home ownership. home ownership in america, especially minority home ownership, is at an all-time high.

all of these issues are important, but we are living in the most historic struggle my generation has ever known. the stakes are so high. so i want to talk about the issue that i believe is most important for my daughters, for all of our families, and for our future. george's work to protect our country and defeat terror, so that all children can grow up in a more peaceful world. [applause] as we gather in this hall and around our television sets tonight, joshua frame stands watch. his brothers, matthew and

nicholas, stand watch near fallujah. at home in colorado, their mother, cindy, stands watch, to, with worry and prayers. she told me all three of her sons and listed after september 11 because they recognized the threat to our country. -- of river sons in listed -- all three of her sons in listees ted. we are grateful to all the men and women who are standing guard on the front lines of freedom. a dad whose wife is deployed in iraq recently wrote about what he is learning as he struggles

to rear his three children alone. i have learned from three loads of laundry. once you turn everything pink, it stays pink. i know what our soldiers' wives have known for generations. hope that, and grief, and perseverance. this time of war has been a time of great hardship for our military families. the president and i want all our men and women in uniform and their wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, to know that we appreciate their sacrifice. [cheers and applause]

and we know that it will mean a more peaceful future for our children and grandchildren. no american president ever wants to go to war. abraham lincoln did not want to go to war, but he knew saving the union required it. franklin roosevelt did not want to go to war, but he knew defeating tyranny demanded it. and my husband did not want to go to war, but he knew the safety and security of america and the world depended on it. [cheers and applause] i remember some very quiet nights at the dinner table. george was waiting grim

scenarios and ominous intelligence about potentially even more devastating attacks. i listened many nights as george talked with foreign leaders on the phone or in our living room or at our ranch in crawford. i remember an intense weekend at camp david. georgian prime minister tony blair were discussing the threats from saddam hussein. i remember sitting in the window of the white house, watching as my husband walked on the lawn below. i knew he was wrestling with these agonizing decisions that would have such profound consequences for so many lives, and for the future of our world. and i was there when my husband had to decide, once again, as in our parents' generation, america had to make the tough tauruses, the hard decisions, and lead --

a tough choices, and lead the world toward greater security and freedom. [applause] i was not born when my father went to world war ii, like so many of our greatest generation. he is now gone, lost to alzheimer's nine years ago. he served in the united states army in europe for almost three years and helped liberate one of the concentration camps. you can imagine his horror at what he found there. the message of the terrorist we face today are different, but my father would know this struggle. our parents' generation confronted tyranny and liberated millions. as we do the hard work of confronting today's threats, we can also be proud that 50 million more men, women, and

children live in freedom, thanks to the united states of america and our allies. [cheers and applause] after years of being treated as virtual prisoners in their homes by the taliban, the women of afghanistan are going back to work. after being denied an education, even the chance to learn to read, the little girls in afghanistan are now in school. almost every eligible voter, over 10 million afghan citizens, have registered to vote in this

fall's presidential election. more than 40% of them are women. [applause] wasn't it wonderful to watch the olympics and see that beautiful afghan sprinter race in long pants and a t-shirt, exercising her new freedom while respecting the traditions of her country? i recently read a young iraqi woman. she is one of the new iraqi fulbright scholar studying in the united states. she survived horrific horrors, including the gassing of her village by saddam hussein. she told me that when people look at iraq, what they don't see is that iraq is a country of 25 million people, each with their own hopes. as we watch the people of iraq

and afghanistan take the per se steps to build free countries, i am reminded of what block of kabul once told me -- vaclav havel once tell me. he was then president of the czech republic. he said to me, laura, you know, democracy is hard. it requires the participation of everybody. i think how long it took us in our country, even though we were given such a perfect document by our founders, it took almost 100 years after the founders declared that all men are created equal, to abolish slavery. not until 84 years ago this month that american women get the right to vote. [applause]

our nation has not always live up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. they expose our flaws and they lead us to mend them. we are the beneficiaries of the works of generations before us, and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. these last three years since september 11 have been difficult years in our country's history. years and have demanded a halt, grief, and perseverance that our soldiers' husbands or roosevelt. we have learned some lessons that we did not want to know, that our country is more vulnerable than we thought. we stand for liberty, religious

freedom, and tolerance. we have been heartened to discover that we are also greater than we thought, stronger, and more generous. [applause] these have been years of change for our family as well. our girls went off to college and graduated, and now they are back home. we are so happy they are campaigning with us this fall, and we are so proud that they will be pursuing their own careers soon. my mother moved out of my childhood home and into a retirement community. we lost our beloved dog spotty, and had our hearts and warmed by the antics of barney. people ask me all the time whether jordan has changed. he is a little grayer and he has learned and grown, as we all have, but he is still the same

person i met at a backyard barbecue in midland, texas, and married three months later. [applause] you have come to know many of the same things that i know about him. he will always tell you what he really thinks. it can count on him, especially in a crisis. his plans don't change, and neither do his values. he has boundless energy and enthusiasm for his job, and for life itself. he treats every person he meets with dignity and respect, the same dignity and respect he has for the office he holds.

[applause] and he is a loving man with a big heart. i have seen tears as he has some of families who have lost loved ones. i have seen him returned the salute of soldiers wounded in battle, and then, being george, he invites them to come visit us at the white house. and they have come, bringing an infectious spirit of uniquely american confidence that we are doing the right thing, and that our future will be better because of our actions today. many of my generation remember growing up at the height of the cold war, hiding under desks during civil defense drills, in

case the communists attacked us. now when parents ask me, what shall we tell our children? i think about those desks. we need to reassure our children that our beliefs, -- our police, our farming, our military, are doing everything possible to keep them [applause] we need to remind them that most people in the world are good and we need to explain that because of strong american leadership in the past, we do not hide under our desks to any more. [applause] and because of president bush's leadership and the bravery of

our men and women in uniform, i believe that our children will grow up in a world where today's terrorist threats will also be a thing of the past. [applause] these are also years of hope for our country and our people. we have great confidence in our ability to overcome challenges. we have a new appreciation of the many blessings of america. george and i grew up in texas where the sky seemed endless. he brings that optimism, that sense of purpose to his job everyday. and with your help, he will do it for four more years.

>> 4 more years! 4 more years! >> these are times that require an especially strong and determined leader. i am proud that my husband is that candidate. god bless you and god bless america. [applause] >> that was laura bush at the 2004 republican convention in new york city. let me tell you what is coming up as our schedule continues. we will show you another archival speech from 2008 from

cindy mccain, addressing the republican delegates to the convention in st. paul. following that, governor chris christie of new jersey. governor christie is the keynote speaker of the republican convention this year. and then house speaker john boehner. this is one of a series of discussions the christian science monitor will be doing. and tonight, c-span's live programming from the headquarters for the convention. we will have a number of guests to show you the inside of the convention hall. they include major garrett, debbie wasserman schulz, and john sununu.

i will tell you about a conversation at happening right now. earlier today, the republicans had a very brief session on the floor of the convention center the debt clock. they were counting down the debt as it accumulates. we have posted a picture on our facebook page, and we will talk about whether the emphasis on the debt matters to you. you are most welcome to join with your comments if you would like. and some of those comments -- there are a few we can show you on our facebook page. if not, we will come back to them with our next program. next, we have cindy mccain at the 2008 republican convention in st. paul. here she is making her presentation to the delegates on the convention floor about why

her president -- why her husband should be the next president of the united states. let's listen in. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. before i begin, i would like to introduce you to the seven reasons john and i are so happy as a family. this is meghan mccain, in the mccain, cindy mccain, the mccain, sidney mccain -- doug mccain, sidney mccain. [applause]

thank you everyone. john and i are so proud of them and so happy to have them here with us tonight. nothing has made me happier or more fulfilled in my life than being a mother. but while john and i take great joy in having been able to spend time together this week as a family, our hearts go out to the thousands of families who have had to leave their homes once again due to devastating weather. it is not only our natural instinct to rally to them, to lift them up with our prayers and come to their aid, it is also our duty to our country. that duty is what brings me before you tonight. and it's much larger and more important than just me or john or any of us: it's the work of this great country calling us together - and there is no greater duty than that, no more essential task for our generation -- right now. that's been very much on my mind these last few months as i traveled our country.

each day, after the bands packed up, the speeches were done, and the camera lights darkened, i always came back to how blessed and honored i was to be part of our national conversation. and in these times, when so many of our fellow americans face difficult situations, what i saw moved me deeply. families worried about losing their homes. towns deserted by industries once at their center. mothers with no choice but to send their children to unsafe and underperforming schools. but i have also seen the resilience of the american people. i've heard stirring stories of neighbor helping neighbor, of cities on one end of the country offering help to fellow citizens on the other. despite our challenges our hearts are still alive with hope and belief in our individual ability to make

things right if only the federal government would get itself under control and out of our way. [applause] so tonight is also about renewing our commitment to one another. because this campaign is not about us. it's about our special and exceptional country. and this convention celebrates a special and exceptional republican party the hand we feel on our shoulder belongs to abraham lincoln. our country was born amidst the -- our country was born -- admidst the struggle for

freedom and our party arose from a great battle for human rights, dignity, and equality for all people. we give way to no one and no other party in that cause. [applause] from its very birth, our party has been grounded in the notion of service, community and self- reliance and it's all tempered by an uniquely american faith in - and compassion for - each other's neighbors. a helping hand and friendly support has always been our way. it's no surprise that americans are the most generous people in history. [applause] that generosity of spirit is in our national dna. it's our way of doing things. it's how we view the world. i was taught americans can look

at the world and ask either: what do other countries think of us or we can look at ourselves and ask: what would our forefathers make of us and what will our children say of us? that's a big challenge. in living up to it, we know the security and prosperity of our nation is about a lot more than just politics. it also depends on personal commitment, a sense of history and a clear view of the future. i know of no one who better defines how to do that whose life is a better example of how to go about that than the man i love and with whom i have shared almost 30 years of my life: my husband, john mccain. [applause]

from the beginning of time, no matter how accomplished in other fields, women have always sought a husband with an eye to what kind of father that man would be. well, i hit a home run with john mccain! i got the most marvelous husband and friend and confidant a source of strength and inspiration and also the best father you could ever imagine. [applause] in that most sacred role, he brought to our children his great personal character, his life-long example of honesty and his steadfast devotion to honor. he has shown the value of self- sacrifice by daily example and, above all, john showers us with

the unconditional love and support every family dreams of. i know what his children say of him. and his courageous service to america in war and peace leaves no doubt what our forefathers would make of him! [applause] character virtues of that led him to this campaign, to this moment. john mccain is a steadfast man who will not break with our heritage no matter how demanding or dangerous the challenges at home or abroad. and let's not be confused: these are perilous times, not just for america, but for freedom itself. it's going to take someone of unusual strength and character -- someone exactly like my husband - to lead us through the reefs and currents that lie ahead.

i know john. you can trust his hand at the wheel. but you know what, i've always thought it's a good idea to have a woman's hand on the wheel as well. [applause] so how about governor sarah palin! john has picked a reform- -- [applause] john has picked a reform-minded,

hockey-mommin', basketball shootin', moose huntin', fly- fishin', pistol-packing mother of five for vice president. [applause] and as a fellow hockey mom myself and a western conservative mother, i couldn't be prouder that john has shaken things up as he usually does! no -- [applause] no one can do the job alone. and that's why i'm glad john will have gov. palin by his side. we all to have work together

build consensus - the way john has done all his life. his leadership inspires and empowers and places ultimate success in all our hands. ronald reagan was fond of saying, "with freedom goes responsibility -- a responsibility that can only be met by the individual himself." i have been witness to great service and sacrifice - to lives lived with humility and grace. b-world war ii, my father's 17 was shot down three times. he was awarded the distinguished flying cross. but he was quiet about that and never claimed to have done more than his small share. just like my husband. i think john was a hero in vietnam. [applause]

but you know something? but he thinks it was just his turn. our son, jack, will graduate from the united states naval academy next year -- fourth generation -- ready to do his service. and our son jimmy -- a lance corporal in the marine corps -- served honorably in iraq as -- [applause] as hundreds of thousands of

other young men and women just like him are doing for america and freedom everywhere. the stakes were never more clear to me, than the morning i watched my son jimmy strap on his weapons and board a bus headed for harm's way. i was born and raised in the american west and will always see the world through the prism of its values. my father was a true "western gentleman." he rose from hardscrabble roots to realize the american dream. with only a few borrowed dollars in his pocket, a strong back and a can-do spirit, he built a great life for his family. his handshake was his solemn oath. he looked you straight in the eye and he always believed the best of you unless you gave him good cause not to. modest and good-natured, he had deep roots in our american soil. he taught me life is not just about you, it's also about

nurturing the next generation, preparing a better world for all our children and helping them find the right way up. we all come to that knowledge in different ways. for me, the great moment of clarity came when i became a mother. something changed in me, and i would never see my obligations the same way. it was after that, i was walking through the streets of dhaka, bangladesh, surrounded by terrible poverty and the devastation of a cyclone. all around me were the children, and the desperate faces of their mothers. the pain was overwhelming, and i felt helpless. but then i visited an orphanage begun by mother teresa, and two very sick little girls captured my heart. there was something i could do. i could take them home.

and so i did. today both of those girls are healthy and happy. and one of them you just met: our beautiful daughter, bridget. much is expected of a country as blessed as america and our people are at work all over the globe, making it a better planet, doing their part. it was my privilege to work with the men and women of the american voluntary medical teams in places like zaire, micronesia and vietnam, watching as they relieved whole towns from disease and rescued countless children from sickness. the reward for sharing in that

work is truly indescribable. to see a child rescued from a life in the shadows by operation smile is to witness and share a joy that is life- changing. and the challenges go on. i just returned from the republic of georgia, where halo trust -- an organization specializing in clearing the debris of war - and others, are rescuing innocent victims from landmines and missiles. sometimes the courage of others leaves me breathless. i only need to speak the word rwanda and the images it conjures are beyond description. in my box tonight is ernestine, a woman, a friend, a mother like myself, whom i met in kigali. she suffered unimaginable horrors and was made to watch appalling havoc wreaked on her

family. yet, as the violence in her country subsides, she doesn't seek retribution -- instead, she offers love and seeks reconciliation for her people. she says, simply, "it's time to move on for me and my country." ernestine, would you please stand up? [applause] your courage is humbling. your forgiveness is healing. you are my hero. [applause] forgiveness is not just a

personal issue: it's why john led the effort to normalize relations with vietnam to retrieve the remains of our mia's, to bring closure to both sides. that's leadership - national leadership. and it's leading by example. [applause] the presidential contest will begin in earnest when this convention closes. if americans want straight talk and the plain truth they should take a good close look at john mccain, a man tested and true, who's never wavered in his devotion to our country, a man who's served in washington without ever becoming a washington insider, who always speaks the truth no matter what

the cost, a man of judgment and character a loyal and loving and true husband and a magnificent father! this is a good man, a worthy man. i know. i have loved him with all my heart for almost 30 years and i humbly recommend him to you tonight as our nominee for the next president of the united states. [applause] >> john mccain! john mccain!

john mccain! >> i'm so grateful to have had the chance to speak with you tonight and for the honor you are about to grant my husband -- and, indeed, our entire family. i promise you i will work every day to help john strengthen our freedom to serve this great country with the honor, dignity and the love it deserves from each and every generation it blesses. may god bless all of you. our beloved america, the citizens of the gulf coast and all the sons and daughters serving this great country around the world tonight. thank you. [applause]

>> that was cindy mccain from the 2008 republican convention in st. paul, minn.. and romney will have her opportunity to -- ann romney will have her opportunity to introduce her husband as a presidential candidate. we will be presenting every minute of the convention from tampa. let me tell you what else is coming up for our live afternoon of programming. we will show you from earlier in the day, gov. chris christie. he is the keynote speaker. we will tell you more about that in a moment. at 5:30 eastern time, house speaker john boehner. and then at 6:30 at the

convention center, alive preview program. we will be joined by major garrett and others. we have posted on our facebook page the debt clock. we have had over 250,000 people share the lead of the debt clock. here's a sample of what a few of our viewers had to say. linda bowman rights -- -- writes -- and trent censored says they complain about the debt when they aren't an office or rented

out when they are in office. you can find c-span's facebook page and add your comments to the discussion on the importance of the debt. right now, we will take you to an event from this morning, and new jersey gov. chris christie. we will show you what he had to say. chris christie is speaking tomorrow night at the 10:00 p.m. our -- 10:00 p.m. hour. en, thank and gentlema you for being your. are we going to win in november? [cheering] make sure the people watching on c-span understand -- we are going to win in november. [applause] we always start with two things. let's begin with the pledge of

allegiance. to lead us in that, i would like to welcome our thought house. -- martha house. will you come up and give us an indication? -- invocation? >> would you please about your heads for prayer please? lord, i pray that you give every american the desire to bring unity to all americans, that there be friendship and brotherly love along -- among the people of this great land. help us do our part to bring peace on earth. help us distinguish right from wrong with regard to how we will treat one another and work with

a willingness to choose the right way. we have a large, diverse family and a tapestry of cultures. help us to be unified with our leaders. and i pray anddisunity never be allowed to tear our country apart. less those who are here. >> please welcome our next speaker will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. >> let's remember our men and women in the military who protect us and renew our pledge to the greatest country in the

world. >> [all together] i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [applause] >> bazell phones are off, right? -- cell phones are off, right? where are waiting a little while norgard -- for governor chris christie to arrive because we were all asking him for money. it is kind of like these boards a lizard occurs. arnold did it in 2004. i told him to be careful because you end up with a glass jar after this. i'm so happy to be introducing the person who will introduce him to you. meg whitman interest him at the

convention two years ago. it almost worked, but it and it did not. pipa -- qubad often happened -- people often have to hit rock bottom before they can consider a different road. i'm hoping she will we consider. [cheers] hd kaine server and faster to help turn that company around and she did. -- h-p came to her and asked her to help turn that company around. it, the skill set that she brings to the job is so extraordinary that not surprisingly, if you read politico this very morning, governor romney, our next president, gave an interview on how he was going to run this country, and he mentioned by name he knew people in his cabinet with the same leadership, the same dynamic concerns for the country as meg whitman.

please welcome the ceo of the company and a great californian, meg whitman. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. good morning, california. [cheers] is 7:00 a.m. our time. [laughter] actually come earlier than that. it is 5:00 a.m. our time. i have the great privilege of introducing one of the great republican governors in the united states of america. his name is chris christie. [cheers] everyone knows chris christie, but i have gotten to know him quite personally. he has become a very clothespress -- personal friend of mine has been an mind. what i have come to know is about how deeply he cares about new jersey and how deeply he cares about the future of the united states of america. he will likely go down in his

governorship of new jersey as the education governor who has fundamentally taken on the teachers' unions and to fundamentally make sure that every child in his state has great access to a great education. [applause] and he has also tackled the but did deficit. he inherited an $8.2 billion budget deficit, which he has worked hard to minimize, and he has done pension reform. he has done all the things that a state needs to do to get passed -- get back fiscal health. but more important, chris christie has character. he always said what is right regardless of what people are going to say about him. [applause] and i will tell you one quick personal story. toward the end of my campaign, it was the last two weeks of the campaign and chris christie volunteer to come out and campaign with me. we were in los angeles at a

roundtable. a big town hall meeting, several thousand people there. when you are at that point in the campaign, you do not take questions from the audience because typically, there are plants from the opposition in the audience and they can get very nasty. two weeks before the election you stop taking questions. in front of this great town hall i said, thank you very much, thanks to chris christie. and a fellow on the left-hand side raises his hand and starts screaming at me. "you must take questions. this is america. you are a horrible person." and he used a fair number of expletives. chris christie was on my right. [laughter] and he is a big guy. he starts coming across the stage. [laughter] the guy is sitting there. he is now standing. the cameras in the back have started to fold up. the cameras are now going back up. chris kristie's security detail is moving in.

my security detail is moving in. chris comes across the stage and confronts the guy. and he says, you know what, you stop. megyn -- myn is trying to do things for america. we are fighting for california. you just stop. [applause] and i was just thrilled to death to be defended by chris christie. [laughter] with that, let me welcome the great governor of the great state of new jersey, governor chris christie. [cheers and applause] ♪ >> good morning. what time is it in california?

i'm glad you did not fight me that time. this is good. thank you all for being here and thank you for the introduction. i did have a good time at that town hall meeting in california. she could have handled the whole thing by herself and she was doing really well, but i just felt that guys like that -- and we have these folks in new jersey all the time. i was talking to governor wilson about this. you know, when you have a bully in the room, you have two choices. you either silence yourself or punching in the face. i decided to punch him in the face. [cheers] we are glad to be here to work as hard as we can and get everybody working hard together because we have a new president of the united states in mitt romney. [applause] i have come to california law. i was there a couple of weeks ago. i was anywhere from la la jolla

to sacramento and a number of stops in between. i always say when i get home how great the people in california are, how friendly and warm and welcoming they are. it reminds me of a story of my interaction with one of your most famous californians. mary patton and i were at the warehouse. -- the white house. we were invited to a state dinner to honor the chinese president. we went and that evening after the state dinner was over there would be entertained in the east room of the white house. we went in and we were looking around for seats. there was very limited seating. we got in there kind of late because we were talking to a lot people. this marine guard was trying to find us two seats together. it was really hard to find. we were resigned to the fact we would have to sit separately during the entertainment.

one of the other governors yelled over to me and said, "chris christie, you have reserved seats over here pure guard did not think barack obama would reserve me a seat -- seat over here." i did not think barack obama would reserve a seat for anything. but apparently he had a nice moment. as we're walking over there, we see two people sit in our reserved seat. and their names were james bolon and barbra streisand. mary patton and i figured it is back to getting seat apart because, you know, who's going to get a better deal in the obama white house, me or barbra streisand? [laughter] we say, we will go look for something with the marine guard. this is why i love the marines. he said, governor, i will handle this. [cheers] that great marine what mary

patton and i over to the second row right on the aisle. and he tapped barbara streisand on the shoulder and said words that until the day i die i'd never thought i'd hear. he said, ms. streisand, excuse me, you are in governor kristie's seats. [cheers] it gets better. you cannot imagine it does, but it does. [laughter] she and her husband get up from their seats and they see across the aisle two other seats together. these have little white pieces of paper like this on them that say reserved. but they sit down in them anyway. and as a marine guard walked back to the end of the aisle, but then he sees them sit down in those seats. he walks right back up and i am convinced this marine was a republican. i know he was. [laughter] he tapped her on the shoulder and he said, excuse me, man,

these are not your seats either. these are not -- get out of the seeds and find other seat. we witnessed barbara streisand and james rowlands of not only getting kicked out of their seats for us, but also for two other people in the chinese delegation. they wound up on the other side of the room sitting separately like we were going to have to. and during the whole concert, i could not help but a glance over there, right? and everytime i glanced over there, barbra streisand was glaring at me. [laughter] and i said, another badge of honor for a republican. [cheers and applause] we have very similar challenges, right? we have similar challenges in our state. we have a huge debt and deficit that needs to be dealt with. we've got great people who are looking for work and want to get back to work.

we have families concerned about paying their mortgages and staying in their homes and being able to save money for their children's futures. and the people of new jersey and the people of california 3,000 miles away from each other, one on the pacific ocean, one on the atlantic ocean, worry about so many of the same things. when i come to california, i like to deliver lots of different messages, but the message i want to deliver to california this morning is, there is hope. not only in this election this november, but i -- because i know that we have a new president and vice president that will make a difference for this state, but all 50 states as well. do not give up on the fact that california can be governed. you have seen it govern effectively before. i have to mention, calif. did once have great governors like gov. pete wilson.

[applause] and when i became governor of new jersey, they said the same things to me that i heard people in california say when i was out there recently to visit. we do not know if it can be fixed. the problems are too big. the challenges are now to grave. maybe we have just given california away to the public sector unions, the masses of huge spending and huge government. but it does not have to be that way. there will be lots of folks that you can tell in california that you paid to come here in tampa, fla. during a hurricane. and it will be wondering what your thinking about. [laughter] do have those cynical folks who sit around your everyday when you say you are involved in politics. and it will say, what are you doing that for? they're all the same. it does not matter who you vote for. one politician is just like the next. you can tell them how you have

one example of how that is not true. look at new jersey and look at california. they made two very different choices. new jersey decided to take a chance. new jersey decided to take a risk on a conservative republican governor in a blue states. california made a bad choice. by going with an old retread, let me tell you this, i cannot believe you people elected jerry brown over meg whitman. [cheers and applause] i do not want to be insulting this morning because it is early and i have plenty of time to be installed in the rest of the day. but i have to tell you, jerry brown -- jerry brown? he won the new jersey primary over jimmy carter when i was 14 years old. and i have to set up the national governors association with this guy and have him come up to me and say, stop telling people i want to raise taxes.

i'm not trying to raise taxes. and i say, yeah, you are, gerry. and he says, no, i'm not. i want to put it on the ballot and let the people decide. [boos] man, that is leadership, is in it? [laughter] california could be moving in a significantly different direction today. i want 2012 to be a launching point for californian republicans. in new jersey, we had not elected a republican statewide in 12 years. we have not elected a republican to the u.s. senate in 40 years. i hear california is blue, but not more than new jersey. what matters is leadership. what matters is who you vote for the next time it comes around for governor. jerry brown is going to establish an awfully failed record. he is already well on his way.

it will be up to you. many people in california say, how can we do what you are doing in new jersey in california? elect a conservative republican governor and what is going on in new jersey will happen in california, only bigger. we have to use 2012 not just to reelect mitt romney and paul ryan, but we've got you to use 2012to -- we've got to use to reassert our role in the debate and on the national stage to say, we can make a difference. we can. in new jersey, every day we are doing it. you see it. i had a $29 billion budget when i came into office with a 30% deficit. they said, all you can do is raise taxes to fix it. we have three balanced budgets in a row now for the first time in a decade, three years in a row, no new taxes and no increase taxes in new jersey with a balanced budget. [applause]

they said you could not take on the teachers union. they said, the teachers union is too powerful, too strong, to top. we took them on in new jersey and they have seen a little bit of that action from 3,000 miles away. i was not subtle about my emotions and feelings toward the teachers union. and it is not that i do not like teachers. is that i love kids. [cheers] and i was born in the big eight -- biggest city of new jersey, new work. i lived there until i was 5 years old. we spent $24,000 in new work per pupil per year and the kids that went into ninth grade last year, only 20% of them will graduate in height -- with a high-school diploma. we will spend over $100,000 per year -- over those four years for that little result of a

high-school education. my parents were born in newark, new jersey. they moved me when i was 5 years old because they wanted me to have a better public education. i guarantee you i would not be standing in front of you today if my parents had left me in that school system. when you become government, it makes you think about how many children are sitting in your school system today who have all of the god-given gifts to be a governor in the future, but will not be, because we did not have the guts and the will to stand up and fight the educational establishment on behalf of every child in our state. we are doing it in new jersey. you can do it in california. [applause] there are lots of challenges to come. there are lots of challenges to come. the biggest one, though, is the one we have to face in the near term, which is this election in november. let me end on this. i was the first governor in

america to endorse mitt romney last october. [cheers and applause] and you may remember some of the complaining going on from the political elite saying they did not think mitt romney could win the nomination. i knew last october. i looked up at that stage and with no disrespect to the other good men and women that stood up there, i just said, this is the guy who fits my two tests. he has the best chance to beat president obama and he is the guy who will lead america in a markedly different direction and knows how to get it done. we are tired, everybody -- i am sureou are -- of the kind of stuff that is going on in washington d.c. it is time for us to bring the members of congress together to solve problems and not just bigger with each other. it is up to us now.

we're going to enjoy the next few days. we are willing to campaign hard when we get home, though. we know california is an uphill climb for mitt romney, the same way new jersey as. but that does not release you from your obligations. there's still plenty of us -- for us to do for governor romney and congressman ryan. it is our job to be talking in the most powerful way that we can, more powerful than the 30- second ad, more powerful than a piece of mail in the mailbox. the most powerful thing in this is a you going to your friends and neighbors, your family members and your business colleagues, whether in california or around the country, and saying to them, i know this guy. i am working for him. i'm committed to him. and i give you the right -- give you my word he is the right man for the presidency of the united states. you've got to do that. [applause]

there will be those who say it is impossible. and there'll be those that tell you that barack obama and his political machine -- let's remember something about the president. the president is nothing more than a cut -- then a chicago ward politician. and that is the way he has been acting on this campaign so far. 90% or more of his ads have been vicious attacks on mitt romney. we've got to stand up to that. we've had enough of the chicago or politics in the oval office. -- the chicago war politics in the oval office. we do not have time to waste. this is our children's future, the future of our country at stake. i know that even in a blue states there is a lot we can do to make these -- this happen. maybe you have a few friends in north carolina. maybe you have a few friends in

virginia. maybe you have a couple of friends in ohio or iowa or wisconsin, nevada, new mexico. maybe you've got a few friends in those states that will determine this election. get into that rolodex. get on your iphone. it into that other stuff that you carry around. whatever you are carrying in your pocket -- or if you are still with the old paper rolodex, whatever it is, go through it when you get home. this is not a spectator sport. we did not work this hard over the last couple of years with two big republican wins in new jersey and virginia in 2009, taking back the house in 2010, 29 republican governors after the election of 2010. there are no excuses. is time to get to work, everybody.

[cheers and applause] i will finish up with this story. it is about what leadership does and how we can make a difference. i understand is one of the congress and state -- favorite stories. he repeated it back to me, so he remembers it. when i've completed my first budget season, we had a democratic legislature that had four years earlier closed down the government on a democratic governor because they could not decide how much to raise taxes. a uniquely democratic problem, they could not agree on how much to raise taxes. i submit that we not raise taxes. they said it was dead on arrival unless i signed an income-tax increase also. and they said they would close down the government again. i knew the folks that have done that in 2006.

i call them in and talk to them. governor corzine mishicot into the governor's office. -- moved a cot into the governor's office. he is not the most exciting speaker in the world. he said, les benjamin, and going to sleep on that hot until this crisis -- ladies and gentleman, i'm going to sleep on this caught until this crisis is over. i do not know whether he did, but i will be clear, i'm not sleeping on a cot. i mean, look at me. what kind of cot do is think we will find? [laughter] you can close down the government, because i'm not raising taxes. that is fine. i will get those black suv's and all right of to the governor's mansion. i will order a pizza and break open a beer and i watched the mets. when you decide to open the

government again, just call me and i will come back. just so you are aware, i also believe in shared sacrifice. i said i was going to watch the mets. [laughter] there is nothing more shared sacrifice than that. and look what happened. they sent me an income tax increase and i vetoed it. and then what happened? they knew i was serious. they would let them keep the government closed for as long as they want because i was not going to compromise my principles. and once they knew was going to stand up for my principles, they sent me back a budget with 99.8% of the line items and the exact same position i had sent them to them. leadership matters. standing up for your principles matters. we have two candidates running for president that both believe they can make a change in -- and

make a difference in washington d.c. they will take the country back toward growth and prosperity and freedom around the world. let's get ready to work together. i know california can help to make this happen. i know new jersey can help to make this happen. that is why my first stop is here at the convention since i saw my people in new jersey yesterday. and i will come to california. we know the challenges. thank you all very much. [applause] >> from texas, mr. folbaum, tell us about yourself. >> i am from houston, texas. former infantry in desert storm. once i got out of the military i tried to stay very active in what is going on and stay involved as much as possible. >> what are you doing? are you retired from the

military? do you have another line of work? >> i am currently a lawyer in houston. >> is this your first national convention? >> yes, it is. >> what do you think so far? >> so far, it has been kind of a hurry up and wait because of the weather affecting the convention schedules. but it is exciting to see the people and the party, especially some of the leaders they normally only see on the news, but you get an opportunity to shake hands and talk about any concerns that you have. that is pretty exciting. >> what was the process like for you to become a delegate? >> i was voted as a congressional delegate. at the state convention, they put people up on the floor for a nomination. i was nominated by a couple of groups. ultimately, it came down to me having a majority of folks for the congressional district -- of

votes for the congressional district. i was honored to be able to attend. >> why are you a republican? >> i started out, quite not unlike especially a lot of blacks in this country as a democrat. it seems something that you are born to think you are supposed to be. that is where i started. eventually, though, being raised in the inner city, i got an opportunity to see some of the social programs and things that the democratic party will were pushing. i thought it was actually helping minorities in the area -- it was actually hurting more than it was helping. i went in search of something different. i spoke to a lot of republicans and listened to the platform. for the first time, i felt like i was not being treated like a victim and that i actually could do good things by working hard and prayer and things like that. to rise above my situation.

it made me feel good about the platform. >> one of the criticisms of the republican party is that it is essentially really white. it is kind of the white party. what do you think could be better or different in average to minority? >> -- in the art reached -- outreach to minority? >> one of the things about the republican party is to not look at people's race, or just to treat people based on their position as an american. but really, what they need to do is to create better programs that are geared it specifically toward minorities. and being able to communicate