's speech on wednesday, his opportunity to introduce himself to millions of people. today was a day off with this it is chance to just get acclimated, and i was scared to clock when chairman previous gavel then and gaveled out -- when the chairman priebus ga velled in and out. >> we are talking about health is not coincidental that all the swing states had the best seats in the house. ohio, virginia, wisconsin, michigan, new hampshire, etc. then we salt nevada away in the

back. why is nevada all the way in the back? >> a lot of the caucus states have a good number of ron paul delegates. all congressman paul seems to be playing nice with the romney campaign lately, his delegates have a lot of passion and feel very strongly about the issues they believe in. i can only speculate that the romney campaign just did not want them too front and center in case they had other ideas about the convention. >> we look forward to checking in with you later this week here in tampa. >> we had planned to buy coverage of the proceedings today, so tomorrow among the headliners will be ann romney. also the keynote address by new jersey governor chris christie. we will also hear from rick santorum. we'll have live coverage beginning in the afternoon when the gavel comes down, and then

following the session, our phone lines will be open. we will get your reaction be a social media, and you can follow the convention at c-span.org. a lot of reformation is available at the website. you can clip and share video and see whether exclusives. -- web exclusives. you can post your own 15-second video. we will be doing it this week here at tampa and this week in charlotte, north carolina. >> this week, coverage of the republican convention. next week the democrats meet. every minute, every speech, like here on c-span. next, republican vice- presidential candidate paul ryan campaigns in wisconsin before he heads to tampa for the convention.

then, former white house adviser karl rove. later, public campaign finance and political ads. some of the republican delegates in tampa are tweaking about what is happening at the convention. governor ron ramsey speaks to the tennessee delegation. another one, local republican excited about first trip to a national convention. we would like to hear from you with your comments about what you are seen from tampa and also about what republican vice- presidential candidate paul ryan said today. some 2000 people came to the rally. mr. ryan saying that he and mitt romney are "going to honor the

fact that our country was founded on ideas by our fathers ." >> 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 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.

[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. notfamily's story is 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 this. 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. -- over at lear. 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 nationn 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. -- make more things in america. 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! usa! usa! >> 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. -- janesville. we are not going to duck the tough issues and kick the can down the road. we are going to lead. [applause] we are not going to spend the next four years planning other people for problems. we are 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] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

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>> this event in congressman ryan's hometown billed as a sendoff rally before he heads to the rnc convention. a couple of tweets about the rally. mr. ryan will accept the republican nomination for vice president on wednesday night. we will have that live as part of our gavel-to-gavel coverage. there was a brief session today, the opening minutes of the convention at the tampa bay times forum. >> please give a warm welcome to

the chairman of the republican national committee, reince priebus of wisconsin. [applause] >> thank you. 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, florida, starting at 2:00 p.m. on a 27th day of august, 2012. so it is my privilege to proclaim the 2012 republican

national convention in session and called to order. [applause] becerra announces, pursuant to clause 12, rule one of the rules of the house of representatives, 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, as depicted by the real time national debt clock shown here in the arena. for this convention, we have actually saw a second national debt clock 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 are able,lease stand, and if you are wearing a hat, please remove it. i would like to take a moment to recognize the hard work of all the security personnel, emergency responders, and volunteers who are working to keep all convention attendees, and all of those in the path of hurricane isaac, out of harm's way. thank you for all your efforts.

now, i am pleased -- >> presidential candidate mitt romney's wife was scheduled to speak tonight, but because of the weather delays, she was big tomorrow night. which speaker are you most looking forward to hearing, and why? go to our facebook page and let us know. this is the rnc convention floor live from tampa. delegates will vote to approve the republican platform. every morning in tampa but during the republican and democratic conventions, c-span is featuring the political playbook breakfast. earlier today we heard from karl rove, white house adviser and deputy chief of staff and the

doors of the bush administration. he is interviewed by politicos' chief white house correspondent. >> he became a fox news contributor, you helped start american crossword -- crossroads. >> i could lose a few pounds. [laughter] >> it were a man who knows conventions and you specifically no re-election conventions. you planned president bush's reelection campaign in 2004. what should be true then that is not true now that you could say this convention was a success? >> this is president obama's reelection convention coming up.

in a way, it is more like 2000 from mitt romney. as we saw today, there have been a variety of polls. we have been at this process for 19 or 20 month. particularly those of us in this room who are following it closely as junkies. we have all the problems of attics. we think everybody should -- shares our experience. people really decide this election don't know as much mitt romney as they know about barack obama. when people say i know something about him personally that i did not know about him personally. the more we know about these candidates about the issue side of it, the personal side of it escapes a lot of people.

frankly, it's part of the nature of the process. the people who are up for grabs in this election taken a lot less information. they take it didn't at the sonically -- episodically. they can hold it deeply conflicting opinions of the same time on the same subject. they get serious about it sometime between august and september. >> if you were to do another column channeling david axelrod, what would he do with his reelection? >> i am writing this column for thursday. i do not know what it is, but there is somewhat of a physics that allow former senior advisers to listen in. last year, i was hit with these slots of david axelrod. this is my thursday column for

the wall street journal. it shows the desperation that you turn something in every week. [laughter] i must admit i am completely mystified by the obama campaign. because the campaign is dominated the presidency and not the other way around. that is low by column will be about this week. >> it is a bad economy and he is even. that is good, right? >> no. he cannot take himself above 50%. the other guy will get better- known and more accepted. >> how do know that he will get more accepted? >> it is just the nature of things. how many people have had a lousy convention? 1972.

george mcgovern. a convention for a challenger, by and large, with few exceptions, the people are going to find out things about mitt romney from a personal perspective. there was the candidate flipping campaign -- flipping pancakes and having an exchange with his wife talking about when she was ill and he was running the olympics and what he did. people saw a side of him that they did not see. that matters to the people who are up for grabs. they don't know about tax cuts and the huge economic plans and blah blah blah. that matters a lot to them, but now they want to know who is the person asking for their vote. >> we welcome political.com viewers.

we will take your questions. mitt romney has yet to put a way a state that he needs to. has he put away virginia? >> he has put away every state that john mccain carried which makes the election close. not a single state john mccain carried is in question. swipesed one of obama's last time. i think he is on the edge of putting away north carolina. we have a couple of states in place that should not be. wisconsin was a 14. victory by obama is back to looking like wisconsin of 2000. having a wisconsinite on the ticket will make that easier. is that because it is

comfortably put away? no. it is absolutely up for grabs. that is a sign of weakness. colorado, new hampshire, nevada, new mexico. >> in order, mitt romney's chances of winning pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan, ohio. >> i would say, pretty close between ohio and wisconsin. these are battleground states. i hate to be critical of the media here. [laughter] it is a painful thing. "usa today" ran its third store on their battleground poll. 12 states. and they said, looked at this. obama has a narrow lead, 47-44. context matters. if you look at those states four years ago, they were won

by barack obama and every single one of them, all 12 of them, one by a 55 margin. you think that would be worth mentioning in the coverage. you look at those battleground states, if you are running eight points behind and your opponent is running one point behind what your opponent ran in your the incumbent, and you can i get above 50, that is a problem. >> these were bought from someplace in charleston south carolina. if i could remember the name, they might give me a free pair of cuff links. >> if you are watching on c- span, you can get them there. in free advertising on c-span. >> you are famous for being an architect. tell us 3, 2, 1.

>> this is a column from earlier this year. i wanted to sketch out for republicans with the most obvious path was. it was to star with the mccain states. if you only when those, the electoral college's 12 of votes closer. -- if you only win those, the electoral college is 12 of votes closer. together, they have 37 electoral college votes. you have to get those back. obama has no chance of carrying indiana.

i asked mitch daniels if there was a white democrat south of indianapolis supporting all -- supported obama. he said, not that i can think of. indiana is gone. i think north carolina is gone. they play like it is not gone and will keep spending hoping against hope. you cannot pull out of a state where you're holding your convention. when you're 20% of the people in the democratic primary voted for somebody voting for someone other than barack obama, the party is in disarray. there were a lot of new south independents who are racial moderate economic conservatives who think this would be good for our country. this time, they are saying, i like him, we did the right thing, but he did a lousy job on the economy. he is not a fiscal conservative. it will not be voting for him. i feel good about virginia. i feel good about the state. that is not to say any of these

are settled. i think it will flow back in. the two are ohio and florida. here is the nation as a whole. here's the nation into dozen 8. here are the states in two dozen 4, 2008. this wind for obama -- there is a little bit of resistance. anyone. if you when those five states. >> was the most likely? >> the neighborhood in new hampshire. the home state of michigan. there's the gambling state of nevada. just one. >> in just a minute we will go to him in his extreme weather gear.

the first question goes to a man who spells his last incorrectly. >> thank you. that thing is well below your belt. i have read abc standards and that is just [laughter] not right] -- that is just not right. [laughter] >> this is off topic. matt roads recently said that he thought president romney would be like president paul. nobody knows more about presidents than you. so, help me out. president polk, i know he clashed with abraham lincoln. would you make? >> that is the way to reveal that. >> congratulations. [laughter] [unintelligible]

>> first of all, he will be like polka. -- polk he carried his own state. the last president got elected failed to carry his home state. wilson, 1916. how about virginia? this is an attempt to undermine my credibility. you may be the smartest guy in the room, but i just one-upped you. he might carry the state he was born in, mich., but not the state in which u-boats'. -- in which he votes.

>> i will ask you a question. >> i have an answer. i think there may be some similarities. polk is one of the great spirit will not recognize him. here is a guy who ran who said he would do four things. he said he would reform the treasury, did read of jackson's fed bank, stopping federal money in these banks. he was going to lower the tariff. he was going to resolve the oregon border dispute with britain and which was a huge dispute. he did all four. were it not for his actions in texas, -- [unintelligible] might not be at all. he served one term and got out. but he came in with a clearly defined program. tariff reform had been a huge issue.

oregon had dominated the u.s.- british relationship for 15 years and was getting worse. it was a contagion issue. if you result texas, both the north and south were having a nervous feelings about the result. if you're a northerner, you were uncomfortable. >> the believe he will do those things and it will cost him a second term? >> it did not cost of a second term. he made the decision not to run. but making it about big things and making it about achieving. this -- he is methodical, we know, from his brain experience. -- bane experience >> to try a new format here.

i will ask a question and he will rebut. >> my famous -- my favorite color is blue. >> the closest historical analog to this point was -- >> we don't know if it was 1980. you could make a case that this could be 1980 for you have a incumbent who is challenged by circumstances and policies. a general sense of well-meaning individuals. the question is, does the challenger reassure the american people. at this point, is as rough like the middle of august of 1980. james earl carter jr. was ahead of ronald reagan. this is a close and unpredictable race. >> it is 2012.

most of these things. >> the obama people hope this is 1996 or 2004. you were involved in that in some significant way. is it not like she doesn't for? in what respects is it like 2004? >> a couple of really important ways. first of all, bush was seen as a strong leader. obama is not. a republican poll said 2/3 of people thought obama was a weaker leader than they thought he would be. only 20% thought he was a stronger leader. 51% said strong leadership applies to obama. that is very low for a sitting president.

and bush, whether you agreed with a more lot, people saw him as a strong leader. he made the campaign about not just the past, his record, but also the future. also, about his opponent. we were talking about this morning. i went back and got the speech of the convention. it says it all. after acknowledging everybody, the president's election as a contest for the future. i'll tell you where i stand, widely, and where i want to take this country in four years. obama has not done that. it has been about my opponent is a weird, rich vampire who cannot be trusted because he will still your money and send it to a swiss bank account. this is not been a campaign in which he has said look in my record, i am proud of it. i just think the dynamic is different. bush was talking about bold things.

the next at an energy policy. this was not just in one speech. this was the campaign fabric. i just cannot see that being the case this time. >> we are going to give one minutes of the microphone. first, i will ask you, you are relishing the analyst's role. do you miss the other role? >> agena know about relishing. i enjoy it. -- i do not know about relishing. i a joy it. >> it is long career for you. >> i do have a higher tax rate and president obama and i do make more contribution all -- more charitable contributions.

mark up be underwear and given away to goodwill. [laughter] i get to still be involved. i'm doing some stuff in politics. i enjoy that. i really enjoyed writing for the wall street journal and doing fox. the most lucrative part of my existence is debating howard dean which is not only the lucrative, but i do relish that. [unintelligible] he is a very thoughtful, soft- spoken guide. [unintelligible] [laughter] >> what role do you play in that quartet? >> i think he got tired. we will meet in san francisco for speeches. stumbled onto a format that

makes it possible for dean's stomach to be in the same room as me. we start off by talking about the art of our lives in that kind of stuff. but, anyway. >> adam smith. >> talk about how concerned you are with the hispanic vote. this election and then -- term. >> i am concerned -- term. because if the republican party cannot deal with a growing part of the electorate than it will find themselves in a place where we get 5% and a consider ourselves fortunate. 13% 14%, we are ecstatic. it ought to be ours. we are talking about strongly pro-family. an incredibly entrepreneurial group.

informed by a deep love of this country. they volunteer for military service higher than any other demographic and america. that ought to be ours. in this election, i think there is something we're going on. for the first time in modern history we've seen the number of latino voters flat line and a decline from 2008. i think that is because, in part, some elements of the latino community have been impacted far more deeply than other elements of the poor economy. for 3.5 years, they say we've been missing to your problems and has not worked out for us. the other interesting thing is the latino community is concerned about immigration reform. we had some interesting focus groups among latino voters whose principal language in the house in spanish.

these are people who are changing clothes and hotels and digging ditches. talking about becoming integrated into the american experience, but on their way there. there are more than you might expect. more aware of the economic difficulties, but less likely to apportion blame, to have a way out. things are bad and there was the work better as opposed to things of that, here is who is responsible and what we need to do to get out. information was immigration. president obama told us he would take care of this. this would be something he would do. he had the ability to get it done. they're telling us he had 60 votes in the senate. that was all he needed.

if he could have done it. it was not important to him. now he is talking about it again. he had his chance. he was more interested in deporting us than getting it done. i think that eventually works its way out by latino turnout been depressed. >> you see it argued that if the demographics of the electorate in 1980 were within our today, ronald reagan would not have been elected. a very structural barriers. the argument is that if you have a demographic of 2008 voting as they did in 2008 applied to 1980, you could make some case. this would made by james carville and a famous book in 2010 which protested a 40 year thomas by the democratic party and then came november 2010. a little bit of a bomb on the way there. i do not know.

demography is not destiny. this is true when it comes to latinos. i don't know why we get there. he may have seen this controversy about joshua. he has a latino last name but i'm not sure he is considered to be latino. i have a nephew. his father is a liberal democrat. his mother is mexican-american. he is about as avant -- an avid a republican is you can imagine. but he is latino. the question is, how to these groups play out? -- how do these groups play out? in canada, you have a significant slice of asian-

americans to a member of the conservative party. they are entrepreneurial and pro limited government. anti-regulatory state. you know, the can easily play out here. just depends how we play it. >> off when you split your time, you were building a house. congratulations. i think your selection on the door knobs is excellent. thank you for asking me. [laughter] >> to what degree is the 10 decrees victory in that primary, is that a texas story? -- the ted cruz victory? our national started? what does that tell us? >> it tells us some things, but it does not over platelets -- let's not overplay it to. when he ran for example, he ran

for reelection, contested republican primary. he ran television ads and to be identified as being by george w. bush. he won. where he ran no television, he tended to lose. this showed that it is out the door. second of all, it shows that being an active, aggressive campaigner matters. it also shows the difficulty of running negative ads in a primary or runoff. i met with some people, and you would have expected this couple to been extremely established in orientation he sheepishly said, but we voted for a cruise in the runoff.

i said why? he said, we decided to give the young guy and a sheriff's. -- a chance. he did not like that they attacked the mayor, so this said some big things about the strength of conservatives and tea party conservatives in particular, but we had two conservative guys running, and it said something about the willingness of republicans saying, we want a latino leaving our tickets in taxes, and it also said something about the negativity. >> the tea party is waxing or waning? >> here is the tea party, and we have two elements. we have the element of wants to

be done ones that run the ads and pick the candidates. good here is this much that says, we do not want to be the ad giant. we want to influence people on both sides the reagan we want to be like the second amendment rights movement or the pro-life movement, and that will affect people in both sides. they have a difficult time trying to figure out how to become a terrible. they are nervous about getting along with others. there are some institutional difficulties to this group is finding its way. they are winning a little bit. this group is waxing.

sometimes it is understated. richard murdock one more. getty went to everything he did go to, and he is an -- he went to everything he could go to. he is a self-made lincoln scholar. richard murdock would give a seven minute speech about abraham lincoln, and it would be something you have never heard before, and each one would be different year ago region would be different year ago one guy said, the problem is the last dinner he went to was in the 1980's. he never went home. good one of the ranking members

of the indiana republican party said, i have never met dick luger. that part of the movement is relative. we spent too much time looking at the movement. here is the sentiment that gave rise to the movement. it is still there. it is driving a lot of this election, particularly among independent voters. they will not go to a tea party meeting, but this concern about the deficit and debt and where the economy is heading common on and whether obamacare is too big, and that is what is driving it. >> we have a question. give we will come back. go ahead.

>> all right and maybe just a foot away from the presidency of people have their way. what are the messages about paul ryan as candidates? >> everybody said he was going to be comfortable, and instead, he chose as eads said he asked to give advice on, and nobody paid much attention that was a very good road map to what ann romney wants to do. i think he put the measure, and everything and we know is that he did not succeed.

he wanted to pick somebody he thought would exemplify what he wanted to make his presidency about, and he said i want this to be about reform of the government or for social safety nets and -- before the social safety net break. i think she was very discreet. they obviously put a lot of effort into this. he talked to a number of people but except close accounts of -- but kept close council. i hear criticism he should have made the announcement here in order to give this plays juice, and i think they did it exactly right so they could milk some ink, and they could be very healthy and very robust about

medicare before the convention. >> [inaudible] >> we are going to have a debate about medicare whether we want it or not. they are scaring the crap out of them, and i would rather have a discussion. the american people are ahead of politicians when it comes to entitlement reform, and what the republicans have is an awful idea stolen from the democrats. >> we have a question. >> looking at some of the tv ads, talking to some non committed voters, it is so much about mitt romney's tax rates,

and you probably paid a lower tax rate than him. how does governor romney get past that? what does he need to say to put a tax rate away salmon -- to put a tax rate away? >> if you deeply care about the facts that he abides by the laws of the united states and derives his income from investments and pays a lesser rate on wages, you are going to vote against him for that reason there is not much he is going to be able to say to convince you otherwise. it says something about the president of the united states if that is what he is reduced to doing. is he attacking warren buffett as being un-american because he derives his income from investments like capital gains and dividends?

if he really wants his secretary to pay a lower tax rate than he is he ought to give her a bunch of stock so she can keep driving her income from capital gains and dividends. i think one reason obama is going to lose, people are desperate for the president to offer more. goodbye to you think obama is

going to lose -- >> do you think obama is going to lose? the tracks if he were to win, and i do not think he would, and he would come until prepared. davi>> what about tax reform, ey reform, this guy has not laid a predicate for anything but the volcker rule -- >> you are answering how he could lose. how could he win? geithner i have a good -- >> i have a good column. >> i am from vanity fair, and i also have a new book. >> go ahead. >> you took highly critical of sarah palin, donald trump, what are the questions here? were you doing that intentionally to help romney's chances, and did you discuss it at all? >> no, but i was complementary

at different times. when they embrace the issue, i was critical. andre has an interesting book. he depends on dain and joe simpson, who claims i personally got her to investigate the governor of alabama. this is going to be a work of fiction. i wish you all the best on it. >> what were your first projects when you left the white house endowment -- you left the white house democrats -- when you left the white house? what does this say about american politics? >> i left the white house in september. my final day on the payroll was

2007. >> what does this say for the presidency? >> it is of two others to decide what it says. i do know this. the republicans were tired of having liberal groups and unions talking to each other and beating up guys and gals here, and they were looking for a vehicle they could support, and this was a different vehicle, and it has garnered some support. our goal is to raise $300 million this cycle, and i think we will do that. >> you will succeed that. >> you tell me how so i can find the right people to make sure that happens. good >> if you have the fun of non -- the phenomenon where the

outside groups are spending more than the party. outside groups including yours are going to spend 1 billion. >> i think that is high. >> what do you think the number is? >> i do not know, but i think it is going to be slightly more than half. we know from the union they spent $450 million on behalf of obama in 2008. in 2004 i did add it up. we were outspent by $104 million, and this had been customary. we do not have good numbers for the unions for that year. it was probably closer to $600 million we were spending in 2004, but our object is to even out the playing field. >> the magnitude of outside

spending is a consequence for governors, and that is when these members come here they are much less the golden to leadership than they have been in the past. >> they are not be holding. how can you be holden to a group mnemonic new leadership has got its own groups out there. -- how can you be holding to a group? >> leadership has its own there.out >> you think the spouse has an impact? >> they do make a big impact. people make a decision about it, and michelle obama i thought was a very effective advocate

in 2008 in a way most people will recognize, and she was in charge of outreach for families. if you go to north carolina, jacksonville, fla., some of these battleground states and military communities, and she had covered the airfield or the landscape pretty well, and there was a powerful impact. the president is a little bit different than almost any office in that we know we are going to have to live with them in our lives for four years, so we want to know a lot about them, and one thing we want to know is their spouse, so the outspokenness of barbara bush was a plus. this concern for the common man or the common woman was a plus. all those things have been of great utility in those races. >> i have a question about out

side spending. you think it is a good thing or bad? >> democrats have been doing it for years, and i get tired of doing it with one hand behind my back. i do not remember when americans were coming together funded by george soros -- i do not remember anybody writing of frantic editorial in the pages of "the new york times" when they announced a $14 million contribution from an anonymous donor in order to run an ad attacking bush as a racial and bigger. i love it now that conservatives are doing it, but for me it is a sign of hypocrisy for some of the liberal news organizations that they hyperventilation about one but they did not hyperventilating in the other. >> [inaudible]

>> this is a newsgroup, so i cannot applaud. >> what is the next act? >> when we set out to do this, we wanted to have something that would be durable and what would be the right model. durable is a cheap shot on your part, but that is to be expected from politico. we have a board of directors and businesspeople and political leaders, and we want is to be part of the former chairman and not so you might get swept up into this in order to continue your service and give it the kind of sensible leadership of the groups ought to have. we want to be transparent with our donors.

>> i am going to go to the back, but i have to ask you has the president come back? is it possible for him to overcome this? it strikes sure it is, but i do not think he will. this is going to be a good one. thursday there will be other news thiazides mccollum. >> there will be other news. >> if you talk to people, there is other consequences because of the pressure on akin to get out of the race. you have any regrets about coming out so hard to get him out of the race, and you think republicans will need to back

him to get a majority? >> his approval rating is 17%. people want him to withdraw. the only people who want to have him remain in the race are democrats, and i do not think they have the best interest of the republican party at heart. this is a program he take to. -- he taped. did he can say he is sorry, but who are the voters going to believe.

he says in the case of a legitimate rape a woman's body has the ability to shut it down. they were ahead by 10 points and a week later are behind, and i know talk. he is a good man, but he said a really stupid things from which there is no recovery, and if he really cares about the values of conservatism and pro-life, he will not go down in defeat for the biggest loss. >> how soon? >> i think if the republicans nominate smith a credible candidate, they will want -- nominate a credible candidate, they will win. i talked to some who said it is not fair.

i get that. it is also incredibly wrong, and there is no recovery from that. this is pseudoscience and morally in comprehensible. >> as you look ahead, what was your strategy for president boris coming out of this convention -- president bullish coming out of -- what was your strategy coming out of the convention? >> i know there is concern about the youth vote, but i think they are making a mistake. they asked about president obama campaigning. he said it was disrespect for the civility in modern american

politics, but i also think it is a tactical mistake. the president is exhausted. now there is the reason he said if you build a business, somebody else did not do that. >> how many fund raisers? >> 205 and counting. >> do you think -- how much less influential do you think the tv ads are than they were four years ago? how much do you see that contradicting? hughes spent a lot on tv, but a lot of people think they are less in the -- use and a lot of tv, but a lot of people think they are -- you spend a lot on tv, but a lot of people think they are less influential. >> some of the most cost- effective things we have done

are geared towards the web. they are geared towards the comments about the russian prime minister -- i will have some flexibility after the election. television is just part of what any modern campaign is trying to do. good it may be difficult to punch it through than three difficult. you have to buy cable in order to target the voters you are talking about, and you have got to devote some parts of what you would normally give to television to alternatives means, whether it is radio or internet or the targeting of voter files. it is allowing them to do ever more of it seeing things and -- ever more amazing things. all i know is if you have tv

ads, and one reason it is tight in michigan is the outside groups have run television ads in michigan and obama has not. the outside groups have run before paul ryan had, because obama had not, and not so the volume of teams, you cannot have not too vague a similarity. -- too big a similarity. >> what you think is the way we are going to consume political information? >> i am going to make an application and hardware is the brain to -- that hard wires the brain to politico. >> where would you be putting your chips if you were in the media business? >> i am not in -- i am glad i am

not in the media business. people are trying to figure out what the next big thing is. see driving? deado you >> i have no idea. it is like watching people blow up a vacant building. you know it is going to be blown up, but you do not know what is going to take its place. >> you mention wisconsin and michigan as democratic states republicans might have a shot at. what is the next down the wish list? >> oregon, which mystifies me. good oregon was a battleground state in 2000, and this time around there is a little bit of evidence obama has some difficulty there. you do have this weird element in oregon centered around portland that looks at obama as

a dangerous reactionary, but you also have something with this libertarian and now, iconoclast, i am not going to be put in a box, but something is going on in oregon. the republicans came within 15,000 votes of winning the it is theip common yeyet most unchurched state in the union, but oregon might be next. >> how would you respond to the fact of obama is asking romney for his tax return? strikes this i do not say -- this is an issue that has hurt to hear from maine -- that has

hurt romney, but i have also been mystified by his response. want to issue more returns, fine. if you do not, fine as well. you ask john mccain to put out two years, and you were content with that, and now you are not content. this is all about politics. i understand why you are doing this. i get it, and so do the american people, so i would have called them earlier more forceful than they have secure a good -- than they have. it reinforces people who might have already bought into that, but there is not a lot of foregrounds. good -- not a lot of for grabs.

i guess it is 46-46 now, so i do not see the issue has done a lot. >> what are gonna details -- there will be a third-party candidate? >> i want to say zero, but there is a reason we have never really had a third-party candidate. the time seemed perfect for a sharp ceo to run. that could be michael bloomberg, but there has got to be one of them. we have political parties with the identities, the groups of atllowers and a structure th let both parties get in.

we see that occasionally, 1856, 1854, close to it in 1912. it is hard to do. >> you are a stamp collector. why? >> that was one of the great achievements of james capek. po who instituted a postage stamp. my grandfather and my father were practicing stamp collectors. they founded a society that studies stamps, so i was brought up in a household filled with stamps. i collect political covers. >> we thank you for being here today. we thank our lives streaming audience. we are grateful for the bank of america and the tampa bay times

for making this possible thing. bikes i am grateful. -- >> i am grateful. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> and other breakfast hosted by the romney campaign. we will also have the national journal daily briefing. in washington journal begins at 7:00 eastern with your calls, cleats, and e-mails -- calls, tweets, and emails. \ after the national journal daily briefing, we will talk to the lead sponsor of the state's mount locke, and our final guest is the tampa mayor with a look at the city's economy and how it

now prepared for the republican convention. live tomorrow morning at 7 eastern on c-span. mitt romney is coming to tampa tomorrow. good he will fly from boston to florida. his wife and is scheduled to -- wife ann is scheduled to deliver her speech. we will have live coverage here on c-span. ♪ fax if we turn away from the needs of others, we align ourselves with those forces which are bringing about suffering. >> you ought to take advantage. >> obesity is nothing short of a public health crisis. >> i have a little antenna that

went up and told me when somebody had their own agenda. >> it would be a shame to waste it. >> i think they show a window to the past and what was going on with american women. >> many of the women were writers. journalists, they wrote books. >> they were more interested in human beings only because they were not limited by political ambition. >> dolly was both politically adept and savvy. good >> dolly madison loved every minute of it. mrs. monroe hated it. >> she warned her husband you cannot rule without now

including what women want and what they have to contribute. good >> there was too much looking down, and i think it is a little too fast, not enough change of pace. >> she is probably the most tragic of the first ladies. >> she wrote in her memoir, i never made any decision. i only decided what was important now and when to present it to my husband. if you stop and think about how much power that is, it is a lot of power. >> the power against cancer is to fight the fear that accompanies the disease. >> she transformed the way we look at buggaboos and made it possible for countless people to

survive and flourish as our results. go -- as a result. i do not know how many presidents have an impact on the way we live our lives. >> i am constantly reminded about all the people who live there before and particularly all of the women. >> first ladies, a new feature on c-span, coming in february, 2013. >> a very empty convention center in tampa right now, where tomorrow thousands of people will fill the convention hall, and gavel to gavel coverage will continue next week with the democratic convention. good here is a discussion on campaign spending by the obama and the romney campaign.

>> thank you very much. >> i thank you all for coming. i am glad you all are here. we are going to have a lot of fun.

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 thrilla in manila. ali versus frazier. we make, we will see, but we are going to talk about -- the larger issue of the day that 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 match l'oreal 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 words 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. someone 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 content. is it not true that most of the super pacs, including the ones that you run, and others, the ads are overwhmingly 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 blank -- >> 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. 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 be working in the campaign. i can say whatever the hell i want. the new campaign a argument is, i 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 lareakers, 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 the same 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. he was for the rich, not the poor. >> 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 he would 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.

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, i hope he loses. 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 something 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 know 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 aroundoopholbefore, 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 the 501c4's.

>> 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 you 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. >> are you a delegate? >> 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. 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 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 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. -- spend going. >> 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 going to make decisions, regardless of how big the contributions are. >> 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. >> let's play out your example. 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.

>> i don't assume every 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. billionaires' get to do a lot of stuff. >> excuse me, because this one really interests me. if money equal speech, then my $50,000 office -- offer to a congressman meant 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 bribery? >> first of all, when they meet with the editorial board -- >> it has nothing to do with real news coverage. mike was making the point that there is a difference 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 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 the 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 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 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. >> i don't think anybody knows 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, 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 advertiser 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 lal 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 it 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 dads. we invented one call upwardly mobile latinos. there is always a need for a hook for some new gadget like that. whenever you do an advertising campaign, you try to market your bigger message -- 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 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. we talked a lot about tv ads. 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 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 ads about hope, change, a positive vision for the future. i personally like those. >> just to keep it to this cycle, charlie's ad on 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 rain -- >> 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] >> tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern with the democrats following next tuesday. every minute, every speech live

on c-span, c-span radio and online at c-span.org. tuesday night in the 10:00 hour include and romney in chris christie with his keynote address. wednesday at 8:00 p.m., arizona senator john mccain. then congressman paul ryan delivers his vice presidential acceptance speech. thursday evening at 10:00, mark rubio introduces republican presidential nominee mitt romney. use our online convention hub to watch web a video feed, at, as it connect with the worst. all at c-span.org/c ampaign2012. >> c-span talk to kevin fulton at the republican convention in tampa. we chatted with him for about 5 minute. >> tell us where you are from

and a little bit about yourself. >> i am from houston, texas. a former veteran. as a storm. -- desert storm. i try to stay very active and stay involved as much as possible. >> what are you doing? are you retired from the military? >> i am currently a lawyer in houston. >> is this your first convention? >> yes, it is. >> what do you think so far? what so far it has been a hurry up and wait because of the weather and the changing of the convention schedules but it is exciting to see some of the people and the party, especially some of the leaders in normally only see on the news could you get an opportunity to shake hands and talk to them about any

concerns you might have. >> bob was a process like for you to become a delegate? -- what was the process like for you to become a delegate? what they put people on the floor for nomination and i was nominated by a couple of groups. ultimately it came down to me having the majority of the votes for the delegates congressional district. i was honored to be allowed to attend. >> why are you a republican? >> i started out not unlike a lot of blacks in this country like a democrat. it seems like something you are born to think that is what you are supposed to be. so that is where i started. a mentally being -- eventualy being raised in the city, i got to see some of the things the democratic party was pushing.

it was hurting more than it was helping. so i went in search of something different. i spoke to a lot of republicans and listen to the platform. for the first time, i felt like i was not being treated like a victim. i could do things by working hard and things like that to rise above my situation. that made me feel a lot better than the platform that was being pushed when i was a democrat. >> one of the criticisms of the republican party is that it is the white party. do you think there could be better or different out reach to minorities? >> yes. i think the big dilemma for republican out which is most of the programs, one of the big things about the republican party -- not looking at people's

race and trying to treat people based on their position as an american. what they need to do is probably create a little bit better programs that are geared specifically toward minorities and being able to communicate to minorities in a way they would understand. -- where the republican party is trying to go. democrats go in -- do a good job of going into minority communities and speaking with them and try to show them or make an attempt to make it look like they are concerned with what is going on in the community. republicans have to communicate their message because most of the beliefs of the republican party are more in line with minority groups and then the democratic party. pro-church, school vouchers, those types of things are

believed held strongly in minority communities. we just have to get out there and let them know that is what the republican party is about. >> were you please with mitt romney when he went to the naacp meeting in houston? >> i was pleased. you look at what is being counted as the first black president, president obama, he did not show up. it was the democratic party taking the minority vote as a given period that they no longer have to show up at the convention to get the vote. it will continue to be that way as long as you have over 90% of the black vote is going towards one party. as long as you do that, they will continue to take that vote for granted. it is an insult to blacks that she could not even show up for the naacp convention.

which was started by republicans. >> will you have a chance to meet mitt romney, paul ryan or some of the other leaders in the republican party what you are down here? >> i am going to try my best. it is hard but so many people clamoring for their attention. i have had the opportunity to meet governor perry which was a thrill. 'm andy -- i met the new senatorial candidate from texas. leading a lot of texas leadership has been fairly easy and i have had an opportunity to talk to a lot of them. now it is about try to get close to some of the national leaders. hopefully there will be some mitt romney people there so i can get a quick handshake at least. >> he does not necessarily visit all the delegations westmark >> know, he does not.

texas is a direct stake at a national party a lot of times may not come around as much. it will come around for a fund- raising. outside of that, not a lot of effort is spent in texas because it is such a red state. >> i hope we will be able to check in with you during the convention. a final question. you are from houston. you are used to this humidity and hurricanes. what do you think about this weather and the fact that the convention is being delayed in the hurricane may hit other republicans are having their day convention? >> i am still getting used to it. i have been in houston now about eight years. originally from southern california. i am still adjusting. to not being able to enjoy mid-

70's temperatures throughout the year. as a lawyer, i wear suits every day so it is pretty hot. and i am getting used to hurricanes. i am used to earthquakes. still adjusting to the hurricanes. so far it has not been as bad as i thought it would be. >> kevin fulton, first-time delegate from the state of texas. we look for to checking in with you throughout the four days of the convention. thank you for joining us on our internet chat. >> thank you. >> as we bring you can -- republican convention coverage this week and the democratic convention next week, go to see saddam's convention hub. what's our videos from -- go to c-span's convention hub. watch our videos or find as on

facebook. tweet and facebook your comments here on c-span. >> we watched senate hearings or the house whenever that is up. confirmation hearings. things like that. i like it because is immediate. it is real. courset spin unless of you know the typical speakers maybe spiining it in a hearing. it is real research. experts talking. congress in action. it.'s what i8 li like about it is more real than other media appear >> she watches our programming. c-span.

brought to you as a public service by your television provider. >> new jersey governor chris christie spoke to california republicans at this first public event for the republican national convention. ahead of his keynote speech to the convention tomorrow night. governor christie call to reject president obama's chicago politics. he also compared his election as a fiscal conservative in new jersey to california postelection of democratic governor jerry brown. -- california's election of democratic governor jerry brown. >> thank you for being here. are we going to win in november? this is the first of that of the convention -- invented. make sure people 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 martha house. please come up and give us an indication. -- an invocation. >> please dial your head with an attitude of prayer please. -- please bow your heads with an attitude of prayer, please. >> lord, i pray you will instill in every american the desire to be in unity with other americans. maybe mutual respect, franchot, brotherly love among the people of this great land. -- friendship, brotherly love

among the people of this great land. work in as a willingness to choose the right way. you have made america at large diverse family of many beautiful colors and a tapestry of cultures. i pray that in the family of our nations, there will be appreciation and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. help us to be unified with our leaders. keep our leaders in a place of unity among themselves. i pray that this unity will never be allowed to tear our country apart. bless the food being prepared for us and those who prepared it. in jesus' name i pray, a man. -- amen. >> please welcome dick ackerman who 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 -- megyn 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? me glad you did not fight 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 2012 to -- we've got to use 2012 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 sure you 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] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> chris christie will deliver the keynote address on tuesday. ann romeny, wife of mitt romney, will speak just before governor christie. live coverage of the republican convention here on c-span. you're front-row seat to the

convention. a day before the republican convention kicks off, john boehner spoke with reporters. he criticized president obama's economic policies. he spoke about paul ryan and signaled his preference for a shorter conventions that will in the future. he also said the party should have a one-page party platform. this is just under 50 minutes. >> thank you for showing up. boehner. this is his eighth visit with us. the thank you for coming back. our time is short and there are many reporters with questions. he has led the american dream, and drew up in modest circumstances, and worked his way through a university. the move into leadership ranks.

he was elected majority leader in 2006. since generate 2001 he has been the 61st bigger of the house. he is not operational detail. these are being sponsored. our thanks for their support. sponsored or not come in the ground rules change. blogging -- now live blogging or tweeting. c-span has agreed not to use video for at least two hours after our gathering concludes. if you like to ask a question, please send me a nonthreatening signal. i will do my best to call on as many folks as possible.

i will confine myself to one question and ask that you do so as well so more reporters can participate. i will start off by offering speaker boehner to make some opening comments. he will leave promptly at 12:50 but we can continue the talks with dessert. thank you for it joining our busy schedule. >> than me say thank you for being here. this is the eighth time. i am glad you are keeping track. in august, i travelled over 9,000 miles. i did 47 events in about 21 days. you the people were asking before where are the jobs, i can tell you the small business owners said you did not build that. i made it about 10 times worse.

-- it made it 10 times worse. there always be distractions. this election will be about the economy and jobs. there is one word i have been preaching to our members and challengers over the course of the last four or five weeks. republicans are on offense on all the big issues, whether it is jobs, spending, or medicare. we are on offense on the big ones as well. many of the stops i did overall in august were for challenges, the emphasis being on lot of our orphan districts. i think we are in the strong position to keep our majority in try to expand. we have a lot going on. that is why i am going to

continue to get our focus on jobs. in 2009, president obama said he would have the economy fixed in three years he would suggest to one term proposition. based on the objective, it has not fix anything. he promised to fix the economy. he made it worse. 23 million americans are out of work. the worst stretch of unemployment since the great depression. he promised to cut the deficit in half. he made it worse, adding more than $5 to international debt. he promised us health care. he made it work. -- worse. premiums are going up. he cut medicare to pay for the new entitlement program. he promised to solve our energy crisis. he made it worse. gas prices have doubled. he also promised to change the

tone in washington. anyone who watches tv comic the advertisements will tell you he has made it worse. this will give the american people a chance to learn more about mitt romney and paul ryan. they're going to put americans back to work. i think they are poorly qualified. -- they are clearly qualified. they understand what the government can do to interfere in the private marketplace to make it more difficult to create jobs. they will provide the american people with a solution. the leadership will be deserved. let me answer your questions. >> i want to ask about the divide. the latest poll found that president obama lead governor romney among women voters by a margin of 51-41.

that was before a akin's comment. three aides are of women have a favorable view of republican party -- 38% of women have a favorable view of the republican party. what can the republican party due to fix the gender gap? >> american women's number one concern are the jobs. they are responsible for households. they pay most of the bills. they make 80 5% of the health care decisions. this economy is hurting women more than it is hurting men. that is getting the american people back to work. >> someone is going to bring you a microphone. it may not happen in my lifetime.

>> there we go. this is the second convention in a row that republicans have had to chop a day off because of weather. the democrats decided already to go to a 3 day convention. do you think the four day convention still makes sense? do you think it is the last time we will see a party try for a 4 day 1? >> these are very expensive proposition. i think given as much news as people get today and the way they get their news, i am not sure having a four day convention for the future makes a lot of sense. i am sure that the rnc and the democrat national committee will assess whether this type of convention is worth the tremendous resources that are put into it. >> back earlier this year you talked about the republican majority that they were doing

well. yesterday your office said there raising all kinds of money. what do you put the odds at seeing new seats? how many do you pick up? >> i think our team is doing well. we have spent a lot of time over the last 18 months trying to get our members and as solid position as we could get them in. as a result, many of them are in better shape than i would have guessed. i want to use more of our resources on offense rather than defense. while they are talking of how macy's we will lose, that is not my -- of how many seats we will lose, that is not my goal.

in the last election their 10 seats left on the table by a very few votes. we are on offense. i will keep our team on offense through election. >> here comes the microphone. >> given all the facts you laid out about the economy, what is your diagnosis about why this election seems so close? given what he said about one and be motivated by the economy, why the gender gap? >> we have a gender gap between the parties for a long time. sometimes it gets a little mirror were.

sometimes a little wider. -- a little narrower. sometimes it gets a little wider. there's never a war on women. we have had a gender gap amongst men on our side for a long time. the issue is the economy. when you look at the economy and to talk to small business owners, and i talked to a lot of them, it is all the uncertainty coming out of washington. no one knows what the tax rates will be in january. how can you make an investment when you do not know what your tax rates are going to be and what the tax laws going to look at? when you look at all the regulations, whether it is obamacare or dodd/frank or the epa the regulatory environment is as hot style to the private sector as i have ever seen. -- hostile to the private sector as i have ever seen.

you have a very serious debt issue. the president added $5 million to the national debt. until these three big issues and it the national energy policy if decided, we will have a tough time. that is why we have got someone running for president, mitt romney, who understands the interference of government and what he can do to kill jobs in america. [inaudible] >> modern-day presidential campaigns are close. well a lot of us have paid a lot of attention to this election, not many real people half. -- real people have.

real people that live in the real world adjusting to tune in. i think the election is about to begin. i like our chances. >> michael warren, back in the corner. here comes the microphone. >> thank you. you have no paul ryan for a long time. -- known paul ryan for a long time when he was budget chair. can you talk a little bit about your relationship with paul ryan and your history with him? >> 22 years ago i was in congress for the first time. i was in a race i could not win. if they cannot say your name they will not vote for you. i was running against -- i had a student named paul ryan putting up yard signs for me.

i've known him for a long time. i helped him get elected to the house. i helped him become chairman of the budget committee over at least half a dozen others then were more senior than him. paul ryan is a bright young man who works hard, and knows more about the debt crisis and solutions to it than most anybody in the house and probably knows more about economic policies than anyone. i think mitt romney's selection of a paul ryan really says more about mitt romney than it does about paul ryan. for mitt romney to take what i call it is your choice -- a riskier choice, it showed that

he had to be on offense with this election. putting someone as strong with a clear record as paul ryan says a lot about our nominee. i think it has brought energy to the campaign. i think a broad energy to the candidates. i cannot be happier about the election -- about the selection. >> as the highest ranking republican and respected on both sides of the aisle, can you make me love mitt romney? the american people probably will not fall in love with him. what is it going to take for people to like him?

>> you cannot really properly introduce yourself in the middle of a republican primary while you are trying to. your opponents are busy tearing you apart. that is one of the reasons why i think his speech this week is important. this is his opportunity to reintroduce himself to the american people. i have now met ronnie for a long time. -- i have known mitt romney for a long time. he's one of the most honest human beings you will find. most americans are just starting to tune in to all of this. what you were repeating was a question that a lady asks me somewhere along the campaign trail. i will take you back to this. there is one issue in this

campaign. one. the president's economic policies have failed. they made things worse. he cannot run on his record. he's trying to find every way to slice and divide the american people to try to win reelection. i am telling you. i am from ohio. he was a governor for 16 years. every four years he ran on two issues, politicians who will put money into your wallet and jobs. mitt romney has a solid record on jobs. he has created jobs.

he understands it. the present cannot defend his record. i think the american people are going to vote and in the army will do well. >> you just said that the main issue in this election is jobs. a few weeks ago todd akin made the main issue of abortion. i am wondering how badly that has hurt the republican chances of taking the senate. have you caught him and asked him to step aside? >> i made it clear that i thought his comments were wrong. i strongly disagreed with him. i support what governor romney and others do, calling for him to step aside. this is another distraction. the american people are not asking the question who istodd akin. they are asking where are the jobs? the american people's focus on what is going on with the economy, and the economy is not based on what the unemployment rate is.

to average american voters their view of the economy is how i feel about my job. how i feel about my wife or my spouse's job. that is their view of the economy. >> have you had a conversation with ken? -- with him? >> i have not. >> can the republican party continue to win general presidential elections if they do not appeal to more voters than they are today in terms of non-white voters? there is a problem with the party in terms of latino voters. a recent poll shows mr. romney had zero%. >> we have never done well with those group.

think about who this economic downturn has affected the most, blacks, hispanics, young people. i think our economic message in this election cycle will help us recruit more of those groups them it would have otherwise. i think it is important for our party. we have to reach out. that means showing up in their neighborhoods. it is a tall order. it can be done. >> has it happened so far? >> this election is about economics. these groups are hit the hardest. they may not show up to vote for our candidates, but they will not show up and vote for the president. >> move the microphone down to the people in the back.

>> your than half of the freshmen republicans were elected last cycle and are planning to come to the convention. i am wondering if you could talk about what you might think that mean and what he may have learned in leading the house this year with this robust class that has often challenge the leadership and push the conference here. >> they have campaigns to run. they have family obligations. i do not think it is an issue at all. in terms of our freshman class, i'm they went through a row baptism of fire. -- they went through a real baptism of fire. we went through hundreds of amendments. no sooner than that was over we had to deal with the debt limit. it was one issue after another.

we went through a difficult time. as i look at our team now, they have been there a real process. they understand more about their jobs, more about their constituents than they did 18 months ago. i think we are in a much more solid position. 89 freshmen make up 40% of our majority. one of the smartest things we did starting last february was we met with them personally every week that we have been in session over the last year and a half. we can outline for them where we were going, why we were going there.

get their input. most importantly, answer their questions. i feel good about where we are. 89 freshman from every walk of life, trying to bring them into our team. you know the challenges. it does in a high hill to climb. i feel good about where we are. nice haircut. >> even gigabyte of your food. -- you can take a bite of your food. >> if the storm slammed into new orleans? -- if the storm slammed into new orleans, what would you do? >> i think we are clearly concerned about people's safety. we are clearly concerned about those who may be more effective than we are.

i am confident that the rnc and the campaign will continue to monitor this and make the appropriate decision. >> i think it will be up to the rnc and the romney campaign. >> you talked about the need for governor romney to enter self -- introduce himself to the american people. how do you get people to focus? a lot of focus is on the store and people safety. this is coming at a time. this is where it happens. >> you cannot predict mother nature. you have to make the best of it. i was chairman of the convention in minneapolis.

when the storm was heading the gulf coast four years ago. you have to make the best of it. there will be enough people paying attention. i am certain. >> right there. we will wait for a microphone. >> for the past few weeks the romney campaign has been accusing the president of ending the welfare work requirements, which a number fact checkers pointed out is false. in an interview, he said there is no question in my mind that the president's action was calculated to shore up space. have we gone too far? would you reject that type of a charge that obama is ending work requirement?

>> the president came out and announced that he was going to waive the work requirements that were required. he is the one that said it. those work requirements have facilitated moving people from welfare to work. in 1996 we knew it was the first step. for the last 10 years the been trying to take the second step. if you that the work requirements, states get credit for increases in employment. most states have never had to impose the kind of serious work requirements that the law intended.

for the president to try to weigh those -- waive those is wrong for the country. it is really wrong for those people who are on welfare who need training, who need skills, who need to get in the mainstream of american society. the premise to question -- i think is wrong. >> do you think the policy is to shore up his base? >> i did not have an opinion on why. all i know is that he did it. why would he do it 85 days before the election? i will let you answer yourself. >> this ought to be good.

>> the initial program had a big chunk of speaking plots for candidates. that has been paired down. do you feel like house republicans are getting the exposure you like to see at this convention? >> we are doing fine. >> would you like to be -- would you like they're to be more? >> sure. the convention has gone from 4 to 3 days. allow the people have been cut out of the schedule. but i do not think it will be any material impact. >> and back to the significance of paul ryan on the ticket. you believe if mitt romney wins

he will have a clear mandate to enact the ryan budget? >> i think if mitt romney and paul ryan when -- win, they will have a clear mandate to fix those four big issues i talked about. the debt crisis, tax reform to make our system for more competitive, our international companies more competitive, to clear up the regulatory nightmare coming out of washington and in national energy policy. >> but not the traian budget or medicare plan? >> -- budget oran medicare plan? >> the president and i took the bowls since a report as a menu -- bowles simpson report as a

menu. the super committee to the many the president and i developed and added more selections. in terms of how do we solve these problems? we have a big menu. it is a matter of having elected officials with the courage to do it. i do not know that medicare is going to go broke if we do not fix it. everybody in washington knows this. paul ryan want to put a plan on the table to show people how you can fix it. where are the other ideas from the president and others? they are hiding. i am sure there will be other ideas about how you save

medicare. all of those will be part of a big policy debate come next year. and it will come next year regardless of who wins the election. >> [inaudible] for a party that seems defined by the freshman republican class, there is on -- only one freshman republican and adjusting the convention. do they deserve a bigger role? >> i love our freshmen. if it were not for 89 getting elected, i would not be the speaker. the rnc make decisions about who will speak. i remember speaking at the 1992 convention when i was a freshman.

7.t of the gang of it was at 2:00 in the afternoon. no one was watching. >> here comes the microphone. >> mr. speaker, i am wondering what your thoughts are that president obama does win another term. what sort of mandate do you see he would have and how do you see his relations with congress and what he could actually accomplish? >> i think he is going to have some big decisions to make it that were the case. there is nobody more open to solving the problems facing our country than me. nobody more transparent about

what needs to be done but it is going to be the president. i will everything i can to solve the major challenges facing our country. i will sit down with anyone on either side of the aisle. i have a long track record marking across the aisle with people like ted kennedy. we did an awful lot of good things together. why? because while he has strong opinions and i may have had strong opinions, we understood our job was to find common ground. it was common ground that they found. i have no doubt that if required, i can find common ground with the president. we found an awful lot of common ground last year in attempting to solve our debt crisis. unfortunately, the president lost his carriage. for those that know me -- lost his courage. for those that know me. -- i never give up.

i never give up on the president regardless of who is occupying the office. >> mr. speaker, you talked about the myth -- maturation process of the freshman class. you struggle to passed continuing resolutions multiple times during this congress. right before the recess, you and harry reid announced he had an agreement for a six months cr to pass. have you seen a shift in the fundamental beliefs of this freshman class in terms of what government needs to do that maybe they were not willing to do a year ago and what that might mean for -- >> the freshman understand there are basic things the government has to do. that was never the issue. the issue was how much really need to spend.

we came to an agreement last summer. during the debt crisis. a 302 a number for this coming fiscal year. we told everyone in the spring, if we do not get these appropriation bills finished, we will move a continuing resolution. it has never been over the need to pass a bill. >> when you were looking at appropriation bills, you were trying to come in even lower than what was agreed upon. >> i understand. we went round and round this. everybody understood the number. our team wanted spending. as the appropriation bills

continue to move, i hope we continue to look for ways to cut spending. maybe we can cut some money so it is not wasted on their fancy parties. >> i am going to go way back to the memorial table. thank you. mr. speaker, to continue on your conversation about what happens after the election, what you think is possible after a lame duck, and how do the scenarios look different? in particular if you are dealing with a reelected president and with a lame duck president? >> the house passed an extension return rates for one

year. the house has done its work. secondly, the sec western region the sequester the president has imposed on us is the house has acted to replace it. the bill will be passed in may with $316 billion over the next 10 years, so the house has done its work, and now it is time for the senate to do its work. at some point, things like regular order matter, and i think it is time for the senate bill, hopefully we can resolve this by the end of the year. >> wait for a microphone to come to you.

>> thank you. the republican platform is circulating about in different cab -- different copies online and on print. is this a good document to run on foley, and in particular, the part about auditing the federal reserve and the view of -- review of government agencies as to the efficiency without calls to shut them down. are those things you feel republican house members will run on? >> i am not seeing the platform, but i do not see any major changes on this platform from what we have had in the past, and if it were up to me, i would have the platform on one sheet of paper. has anyone read the platform? i have not met anybody. it ought to be on one sheet of

paper, and i was on this kick about knave or 12 years ago region about eight or 12 years ago that we ought to have a one- page party platform so people might be able to read it or would be willing to read it. >> in the right-hand corner, over here. here we go. >> you spoke about how the current house freshman class has evolves, but what about the new recruits, the challengers amount -- the challengers? are you seeing things in terms of the tea party, or has cut waned a little bit? >> our freshmen have been labeled all kinds of things.

good about 80 of the freshman are as rock-solid as they can be, but if you look through them, you are going to find we have some really solid people, and if you look at our candidates that are out there, you are going to find a pretty and i think they saw them come to washington and have an impact and want to join them. look at the harvard grad, decorated military hero, a business guy, really solid candidate. >> i did not see a lot of tea

party challenges but might have taken place during the cycle. >> we have a strong class. they are very good to work with, very good to work with, and i suspect our new candidates will be good to work with as well. >> thank you. did you talk quite a lot about the deposition, but this time as you go into the election you are seeking the trifecta. why should the american people trust you with it. last time you pass health care reform that was not adequately funded. you tried to suck us into a deficit, and you lead the

country into a catastrophic recession in 2008. why should anyone give you that much power? how has the republican party changed? >> i think republican policies are the right prescription for this country. i think getting our taxes reform to will make american companies more competitive, american exports more competitive, and helped bring 3 trillion dollars worth of u.s. corporate property overseas back to america and create more jobs here. i think we have a solid plan for giving our economy back on track. the president has failed. they made things worse. he did not do what he promised he would do, and i think the american people should hold him

accountable. >> we are going to go way to the back. have you got your hand up? >> you saw governor romney rolled out his energy plan last week. it did not include the wind tax credit of some republicans do like and others do not want to continue. how did you think you can continue to make republicans the all of the above party. >> i think my colleagues are for the all of the above energy plan. that does not mean we are going to subsidize all of the above,

and i think there is a lot of scrutiny going into how much subsidy goes to oil or gas or wind or solar or nuclear, because i know i believe the market place will judge these various forms of energy in a much more efficient way than government could ever judge it, but there is a lot more scrutiny over all the subsidies the go to various forms of energy supplies. >> we are going to the corner booth. >> the idea that i am going to eat here is alive.

-- a lie. >> please share in a broad sense your ideas on how to make the american people have a more favorable view of congress. >> congress has been america's favorite whipping boy for 200 years, and i do not think that will change anytime soon. there are 435 members, and on any given day they are doing things they should not be doing. that is just a fact, but i know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and while there may be some differences between democrats and republicans, i can tell you 99% of my colleagues

are decent, honest people trying to do the right thing for the country, but we were in a setting that makes it very difficult for people to see this. people do not realize that 80% of the time we are working in a bipartisan manner and getting the people's work done because only thing they can to see are the issues where we have a big disagreement. when we are passing bills in a bipartisan way, it is not news, so i think americans do not get the biggest picture of our body, but i am proud of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the service they do for my constituents and for our country. bikes i am going to pass you the

microphone. >> i just want to ask one question about the farm bill. 60% of the country is mired in drought, and we are approaching a deadline. you foresee congress passing a new bill, extending the current bill, or do you see a temporary extension? >> i unfortunately know more about this than i should. the farm programs and nutrition programs contained in the farmville cover the entire crop year, so most farmers, there is no reason for this. democrats when they have the house and senate moved to the farm bill but only had disaster

relief for livestock producers in, for whatever reason ran out of money, so the only authorized it for four years. that is why the house extended the disaster program for livestock this year, went back to january. give we are waiting for the senate to do it. that is the most critical parts that needs to be done to take care of those in agriculture. how we proceed with the five- year bill or a one-year extension, i think no decisions have been made yet. >> i want to thank the speaker for being here. i also want to thank the staff for helping to set this up. >> thanks, everybody.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> gavel to gavel coverage of the republican convention starts tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern with democrats following next tuesday with every minute on c- span, sees them radio, and online. featured speakers include ann withy and chris christiny his keynote address paul ryan will deliver his is a vice presidential acceptance speak, and mark rubio introduces mitt romney. watching web exclusive video feed, create and share video clips, and your comments, and

create videos. >> good evening from the tampa bay forum, the site of this year's republican convention. this is day one. they did gavel in, but very briefly but. official business is delayed until tomorrow, and depending on the severity of the storm, the speaking program this week could be adjusted. we are going to preview what to expect. at the top of the hour, what to expect next week. the democratic response. later in the program, the romney adviser, as we take a look live

inside the tampa bay forum. let's take a look at the schedule of this convention. they won was scrubbed. good we will hear from the party chair -- day one was scrubbed. we will hear the keynote address that will be delivered by governor chris christie. john boehner will be delivering remarks tomorrow. rick santorum and ann romney were originally scheduled to speak this weekend. she will be speaking tomorrow. >> the press secretary for the republican national convention is joining us here in front of the podium. you have been furiously working while we have been waiting for the program to begin. and what updates can you give us on the schedule of of events?

>> we are moving forward. the chairman open the convention and then move us into recess, so we basically postponed the daisy vents, and we will start tomorrow and have a great convention on tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. >> any changes to the schedule? >> we posted a scheduled but was a little more detailed but essentially the same schedule. >> you get a lot of requests for speaking time, and how the you mentioned -- how do you manage that? >> we have a tremendous amount of speakers, so it is a process to figure out who would be the most dynamic, who would be the best in telling the story of mitt romney's vision for a better future, and who would show a better contrast between mitt romney because of vision and a failed policy of president obama. >> is it difficult to message --

to manage two messages, the message you want to get out and the message of isaac moving up the coast? >> it is a challenge, but it is one we are handling. we took steps to postpone today's defense theory of we want the convention goers -- to postpone today's events. we want a convention goers to be saved. >> no other changes to? >> we are moving forward with the convention on tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. >> as paul ryan of arrived? >> i do not know. >> speaker brynner says he is doubtful whether four days is necessary for a convention. >> we did three days four years ago, and it looks like we are doing three days this year.

>> when did you start with the republican convention? >> i moved down here two months ago. price as the planning start before this is known? >> the planning goes like years. >> when did you start with the presumed nominee? >> probably after senator santorum expanded his campaign. >> when we see this program for the last three days, would this been -- the republican national convention, who has the stamp on this? >> it is an interesting thing. you have got the republican national committee. you have got a host committee, and you have the romney for president campaign. you have four different entities, but what has been refreshing is the way everybody

is moving to the same goal, which is to nominate nit romney and paul ryan to be the next president of the united states. >> when you see these convention halls, what do you think when you hear them described as a giant tv studios? >> i think that is one way of looking at it, but there is more to it. there are several different audiences. of course there is a television audience, which is massive. we are expecting an 40 million viewers during prime time. this is the 21st century, so we have all whole new audience, which is the on-line audience. we are launching a massive social media effort within every aspect of our communications plan, so i did not know if we will ever be able to measure how big of an audience we'd pick up online, but it is great because of soldiers serving overseas

kellogg on and basically have the same experience as a delegate on the floor, because they are going to be communicating with smartphones and youtube pages, so there is going to be a big dialogue between folks on the floor of the convention and with people across the country and across the world. >> the best website if people want to see your work? >> gopconvention.com. >> joining us is a familiar face. he hosted a panel we covered. good he goes to the white house and politics. it is a pleasure to be with you. it >> let me pick up on this image of split screen between what is happening in tampa with isaac.

bikes i think republicans are wrestling with may be some legitimate fears about a convention that was missed entirely. there was a little bit of rain, a little bit of wind, but not much else. the latest projections are for new orleans, mobile, and somewhere in between, i category two hurricane. good they are wrestling with a political celebration and a storm that could not only in french residents along the gulf coast but could inflate some severe damage. there are a evacuation orders already in place. they are girding for a very big storm. bobby jindal announced he is not coming to tampa. the other governors are not going to be here, because they are preparing for the storm, so

that is something the republicans are going to have to deal with, and i think they are somewhat cautious. they are going to do proceed with three days instead of four days, but i think they are a bit nervous. good >> the person who knows how this is going to unfold is going to do be joining us to give us the latest on planning within the romney campaign. our phone lines are open. we also have a line for independence. we will get to your column in just a minute. let me get back to what the romney campaign needs to do, because there was a piece this week said says one of the things they want to do is present a personal side of the candidate,

but ms. romney basically said, i am a business executive. good i am a turnaround guy. >> i do not think mitt romney wants to use this convention to try to do something jarringly dissimilar to what he has done a political conventions men do not purport with what the candidate already is do not intend to work. good there is not a lot of movement you can make based on someone like governor romney, who is not an unknown figure. there are some who believe another introduction might be helpful, but nit romney has been running for president of the united states for five years, and i do not think he wants to use this convention to do something dramatically different, and the idea is they

will advertise he has unique skills for this time in american history economic and otherwise, something this convention is going to be about, and one thing that was mentioned about the interactive nature of this, the digital space and house social media is changing this. good on the convention floor for the first time, it is not just cable cameras. there are going to be delegates with iphones or joya devices -- droid devices. the delegates are doing, providing their own photo or video commentary of the proceedings, it is a different world from this convention even from 2008, and i was at the

democratic one in 2008. >> andrew ferguson is generally positive, but at his own wedding he declined to have a photographer taking a picture of him kissing his own wife. it says in the end he is a good guy, but how does he get over that image people have of him to go after voters in swing states to? >> candidates convey a part of who they are on the campaign trail, and some are better than others. i spent a lot of time in the senate. good bob dole and gramm for president. those covering him and found him to be sunny and someone who was able to make fun of himself, and so many people kept wondering why that did not translate on the campaign trail. some people close to mitt romney say the governor is very

similar. it could be an impediment to his pursuit of the presidency, and a convention can deal with that in some ways. you can sock in your image, but the idea of mitt romney to convey more of his personality on the stump is something all he needed only he can do. -- is something only he can do. >> we will go to sandy in arizona. go ahead. are you with us? >> i am here. are you catching mean? host: please go ahead. caller: i find it appalling we

do not hear much of the pundits talking about congress, which has a 12% rating among americans, and the reason is because they do nothing that will help the american people get jobs and to change the economy. that is what we should prestressing, those people doing nothing. >> i think the latest polls had a congressional approval rating of about 12%. that might have been a little too high. >> this is an interesting dynamic. i wrote a piece before mitt romney announced paul ryan would be his running mate, saying that he believes minh romney would take tim pawlenty. one reason is they believe

governor romney would not want to tie his campaign to republicans in washington and congress because of this overall approval rating, and what is interesting is that it has been constant since august of last year. it is still historically low and now back to 12%, and one of the themes here in tampa and will be the mitt romney can change washington, but many people on stage are representatives of washington common on people acting right now. good governor chris christie is not of washington, but gov. mario rubio is. next week in charlotte at the democratic convention i think you will see a more persistent message from democrats but one of the things that has complicated things for president obama has been the republicans

and their unwillingness to compromise. one thing he was here in tampa is some house republicans will say we did not compromise and we are proud of it because he needs to be replaced, not compromise with. those are some things that reflect that low approval rating. >> you are keeping an eye on some of the other speakers. senator marco rubio on tuesday. often there are one or two individuals who come out of these conventions as news stars. what are you looking for? what are you predicting? >> it is difficult to know who will resonate. i have examples 11 was ron and governor bill clinton's comments on the speech that went on and

on. there were calls from the floor to get off the stage. people thought that might lead to the ruination of bill clinton's political career. but i was in boston in 2004 when barack obama gave his speech on behalf of john kerry, and it was the most electrifying thing i have seen at a political convention for either party. bill clinton looks like he had done his future great harm, but barack obama did a great favor and capital could himself into the national consciousness, made himself an overnight presidential contender with that speech, so you can gain or appear to lose and still gain something back. a speech can catapult you, and it does not necessarily need to insulate you. it is what you do afterwards that matters most.

>> trichet is joining us from new york city. go ahead, -- . >> i support president obama. host: why is that? >> he is getting the job done. almost everything he said he would do he did, and he did it in such a small time frame picots this country who -- even though this country has been jacked up. >> what would you say to people who support the president? >> in those first two years they were tremendously active and promises were made. many of those promises were kept, and then the president's advocates will say something

happen. the president was restrained, and there is an intense battle over the future of the country, and one thing the president is going to say is if you like the first four years and the health care law and other pieces of legislation that were passed, you need to reelect me because the opposition will try to repeal most if not all of those accomplishments, and if you want to move in the direction i sat forward, president obama and joe biden will say you have got to reelect this president reagan -- to reelect this president. they will say if you want to continue what started in 2010 you need to reelect gov. rahm

may -- you need to elect governor romney. you are going to have an intense debate over the first two years for democrats, and it will be a completely different take on what is happening in america and what needs to happen in the future. good >> some facts about this convention. it is the first time since 1972 the republicans have come to florida. now democrats and republicans are meeting in miami beach. now they are gathered in tampa. florida is a key swing state, but a lot of conversation is about whether or not these conventions should change. good should they go to three days from now we have seen them moving to three days. good question came up today --

this question came up today. >> i think these are very important question spirited given as much news as people get today and the way they get the news, i am not sure having a four-day convention makes a lot of sense, but i am sure the rnc and the democratic national convention will assess whether this type of convention is worth a tremendous resources put into it. >> john boehner earlier today. should we see changes to the length of this convention and the schedules? >> the speaker understands national party's control those. it is worth pointing out they decided to make the democratic events just three days and not

four. tropical storm isaac intervene. give we have had a lot of reports from republicans who say two things. the delegates like a large party. they liked the idea of coming to a city and celebrating their involvement in national politics. you also have something behind the scenes. they are invested in the process of a four-day convention. they like being the subcontractors. they are usually the people who get these contracts every year. i do not want to call it a gravy train, but it approximates it were they are identified for

their ability to provide a service at conventions, but i think the overall reality is audiences share is diminishing night to night, and cable networks are beginning to reevaluate the necessity of providing gavel-to-gavel coverage, and the parties are wrestling with these tension points, what to do with their activists, what to do with this commerce generated, and the reality that these four-day events are occupying less permanence in the public mind. i have had conversations with republicans where i have to the rise, what if you created an event that had the entire process collapsed amont? wouldn't that create a platform

that would be more long-lasting and more intense because it is telescoped into one night 7-? i am sure that would be possible. we are going to be sitting in a position where this is going to be changed bit by bit. a good >> there is no better person to talk about its and the point person, and i want to get a sense of what the last 72 hours have been like you as you sort through the storm and the speaking arrangements. good >> it has been interesting, but we have been able to put together our program in a way that we were able to expand it without having to lose too much. we were able to expand the hours by 45 minutes of the beginning of the night. we had to cut a few things common on but not many pure a

good -- but not many. >> what goes through the themes each night and what do you want now going through this? >> we are playing off of president obama's comment, you did not unbuilded. they have a major-league different thing. president obama thinks it is the government that helps businesses. governor romney believes it is the individual that propels the economy. the next day, wednesday, we can change it, and that is going to talk about the specific things governor romney is going to do, specifically his middle-class tax agenda but will allow him to change the economy and the way we are going in the country, and the last one allows us to talk omney in a way rahm

that has not been done so far. governor romney is uniquely qualified to be president of the united states. can you give us a sense of how he is preparing, who is working with him on the speech and what he wants soon conveyed to the american people? parks he has been working on the speech hard for the last couple days. he has a small team helping him and being part of the process. he has taken to his ipad on several occasions and writes good chunks of the speech himself. i think you can look at the speech does not being that

different from some of the themes we have been talking about in this campaign, the idea that the economy needs to get going and that governor romney is the right person to do it. >> will the get personal? will he talked about himself? >> i assume so. >> any surprises? >> i hope we will have a good convention and an interesting convention and also a convention that people enjoy. good >> major garrett joins us from the floor. good he has a question. >> thanks for being on c-span. i know you have been dealing with the schedule, but there were some interesting poll numbers, and i wonder how you evaluate the situation in florida, how you believe paul ryan's addition to the ticket has or has not changed the

agenda and how confident you are about this crucial stage i was able to get a sense of nine different scenarios to reach that magic number, and only one did not include a crucial state of florida. >> florida is an incredibly important states. it is a state that has decided the last several elections. ohio, florida, and i think it is going to be pretty hard for any candidate not to be president of the united states. i think paul ryan's addition is good. i believe the people of florida will understand the problems we face are real, they are serious, and and the romney-ryan ticket is there to work on the serious problems, and i think

that is hardly an example of five. we put them up there as a reminder that every second that goes by we are putting our future deeper in debt, and we are putting our children and grandchildren deeper in debt, and people across the country know that and want to change it. >> while speaking up about the debt clock, and there are cheaper to republicans who are here and got their activism going in part as a reaction about what they thought was lack of attention -- lack of attention under the bush presidency. are there any who will address those concerns of say the republican party will change and be on a different course from under the bush presidency? >> governor romney has already

stated that. he has said the spending has to stop from both parties. unless we come together, and republicans and democrats have to agree as you look at the numbers increase and how fast they have to increase, you realize the situation is untenable, and we have to put an end to it, and governor romney is the only one talking about ways to do that, and president obama has not addressed this issue. >> is there any concern if this storm does move to category 2, you have not what people are calling? >> we will watch carefully what happens with the storm.

it is the weather even, and none of us can predict the weather. we will stop one of the debt talks and see how much has accumulated over the four days we run the convention. >> is the way mitt romney has run the campaign a reflection of how he would run his white house? >> i do not want to appear as if i speak on behalf of any candidate, but my experience is even though there is a sense that political campaigns go on to long, it is the only thing that gives a notion of how its is. i do believe the way decisions are made is a window into how

that candidate if he becomes president will actually take on the rigors of the presidency, and that is true not only for this campaign but every campaign i have covered. i think it is one plays the crucible of the presidency is in theted, and that isn' first place. good >> i think governor romney has had a touch of that experience in the past. he has managed tough situation spoke for. to turn around the olympics was something that was not seen as something that was going to be easy to fix by a long shot, and he turned that into being one of the most successful olympic games ever. as governor of massachusetts he took a $3 million deficit and turned it into a rainy day fund. his business experience gives

them firsthand experience. i think you have to take a look at his entire life, and i think his entire life has been in preparation for this moment and when we believe he can turn this country are round. -- this country around. >> you have been a busy person. good thank you for joining us. >> it was great to be with you. >> karl rove was talking about the 3,2,1 strategy in order for mitt romney to get a like coral votes. -- to get a electoral votes. and trikes reapportionment, if you only when those, you are 12 votes closer. massachusetts, new york, they lost close votes to states like utah and texas and georgia.

there are three historically republican states obama auttook. they have 37 electoral college votes. they have got to get those back. obama has no chance with indiana the ragged he said, is there a white democrat now supporting obama who is not a college professor in bloomington, and he says, not that i can think of. i think north carolina is gone. they will keep spending, and you cannot pull out of the state where you are holding your convention. when you have 20% of the people voting for someone other than barack obama and the state voted for traditional marriage to-one

and the republican party on the move. there are a lot of moderates who have said this would be good for our country, and this time around they are saying, i like him, but he did a lousy job with the economy, but he is not a fiscal conservative theory good -- of fiscal conservatives. those three i think are going to flow back in. ohio and florida, here is the nation in 2004. now here is the nation in 2008. of obama was less than the nation as of hold.

-- as a whole. >> what is the most promising democrats there is new hampshire, michigan. there is nevada, colorado, wisconsin, pennsylvania. just one. price karl rove made his comments this morning on c-span, and joining us is the chair of the democratic committee. thanks for being with us. as you look at theath, what is your response to what karl rove said about what democrats need to do to get new president obama reelected? >> we can run the best grass roots campaign in history. that is what we have been doing since president obama took office. we know he inherited the largest

set of problems, and the economy was hemorrhaging 750,000 jobs a month, and thanks to his policies we have had 29 straight months of job growth we have had a resurgence in manufacturing, more than any time since the 1990's, so that is a nice picture he painted of how of the electromagnet could go either way, region t -- how the electoral map could go their way. we were committed to not seeing any ground to republicans and making sure that when it comes to dramatic contrast that exists in this campaign, one that has mitt romney fighting to increase taxes on the middle class and someone who has his

full-time job was the ceo of a company that cut jobs, deliberately spain erupted companies to make his investor'' money and ship jobs overseas, that is not a message said resinated really well in a state like north carolina, so president obama as commitment to bringing jobs back to the country and taking away the tax incentives, to bring jobs back to america so we can make things again, that is the type of message that is going to be really significant when it comes to actually wins the presidential campaign. good there is a lot of feedback in the sound, and i am getting every word i say back in my own leader. >> we will try to work on that.

we will be covering the republican convention this week. we went on your web site to get a look at how things are coming together, and i know the podium is going to be unveiled next week, but give us a sense of what we can expect next week in what contrast you can draw with next week. >> we had a notion that it was incredibly important after president obama sat down with voters across the country and asked what was important to them when it came to hearing from president obama on how they wanted to go through the nominating process common on and our focus groups told us it was incredibly important to make sure we opened up the convention in even more. give we already were so proud

that president obama accepted the nomination in any event y in the west,unitie that was an open the event. we took out several steps further, and we begin in next week where we have an open series of events, a festival that is stored to focus and highlight the carolinas and virginia and make sure everyone who wants to has the opportunity to participate, and we will close with 70,000 people who will be able to hear president obama as well as are other speakers and entertainment, that he will accept the nomination once again and lay out his vision and talk about why is

this so important to fight for the middle class. they are running a typical corporate funded, corporate interviews, invitation only a ffair, and while i commend them for not running their first day in the face of our hurricane as it pared down on florida, i was a little surprised they still have huge corporate bashes funded by special interests. those still went on while our state is getting hit by a hurricane. we weathered the storm pretty well, but partying with special interests is not something the

middle-class and working families really understand, so i think you will see a contrast. they have used words like reinvention. they might as well have a big old etch-a-sketch, because that is what they are going to be attempting to do. they are trying to reinvent because the first invention did not go over very well. americans want to make sure they have a president in the white house who understands what they are going through, unlike president obama does, not someone who believes we should go back to the same policies of the past that got us in this mess in the first place. >> one thing is whether the dnc will disclose its founders and if so, when? >> we are working with the regular process like we always

have. they have an agreement in which we are going to make sure we disclose those donors through the normal process. >> it will not come down before or during the convention? >> the host committee is committed to following these normal processes, and they are under an agreement in which they will follow the process and prescribed by the federal election commission. >> margaret is joining us. good evening. >> how are you today? i just want to remark that what resonates is the truth.

number of jobs lost, number of jobs created = of deficit. the amount of income lost was not now or thousand dollars per household. the division your party preaches between race, income is terrible. i do not know how you can look anyone in the face, and to talk about romney, he took the olympics for what it was, and this president has done the opposite. you can take the money back to bush if you want to, but he has not done anything with his money. the investments he has made has poison other companies. >> we will get a response.

but i could not disagree more. president obama inherited the largest set of problems than any president since fdr and was hemorrhaging in an economy with 750,000 jobs lost, and thanks to his policies have put a tournament on the bleeding, and we were able to get things turned around. president obama had the courage to rescue the american automobile industry, and it would have been 1.4 million jobs that would have gone down the tubes. we have saved thanks to that decision in florida alone 45,000 jobs another 7000 jobs in the auto industry justin florida. give one in eight jobs are tied to the auto industry, and 80 counties have anom