in by president that promise hope and change and left many americans with no hope and just change in their pockets. president obama believes the power of big government is the key to american success. let me tell you -- mitt romney believes in the power of the people. ms. romney understanding it is free enterprise and hard work that has made the united states the envy of the world. by choosing paul ryan to be his running mate, is an excellent choice. there are many reasons he will make a great vice-president, not to mention that his wife is from oklahoma, and he has two

dogs named hoover and sooner -- boomer and sooner. they will reverse the decline and promote economic security. they know it is hard working american families said has helped our great and glorious nation. mitt romney is ready to leave. we will restore the american economy and its greatness. i am proud to support his nomination for president, and mitt romney will make us very proud. god bless you, and thank you. >> here is a look at wednesday night's's lineup at the rnc

convention. after republicans to travel in, we will hear from mitch mcconnell and senator rand paul. later, john mccain and enforcement. -- portman. add 10:00 p.m., speeches from condoleezza rice followed by paul ryan's vice-presidential acceptance speech. live on c-span. >> spend this weekend in ohio's state capital as booktv and american history tv join the local content vehicle to discuss america's largest city. brows are rare book collection at ohio state university, and we

chart murder from colonial times to the present. learn about ohio's connection to our 16th president. the discover how buckne prehistoric hopewell people worked. >> now speeches from rick santorum, arthur davis, and niki haley. rick santorum who finished second. he says president obama has undermined family values. this is 20 minutes.

>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome rick santorum. >> thank you. thank you. [applause] thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. it is -- thank you. bless you. thank you, pennsylvania. it is a great honor for me to be here tonight with the love my wife karen over here -- of my wife karen over here and my 93- year-old mother from florida. and some of our children. my oldest son, john, wanted to

be here tonight, but he is a first-year cadet at the citadel. i want to say to you, john, proud of you, son. thank you -- thank you. i am a first-generation american. at the age of seven, my dad came from -- to johnstown, pa. from the mountains of northern italy. on a ship named providence. how providential that one day, his son would announce for president just down the road, from the deep mines were hurt -- his father, my grandfather, my cold -- mined coal until he was 72. when my grandfather died, i remember as a kid kneeling at his casket, and not being able to take my eyes off his thick, strong hands. hands that dug his path in life

and gave his family a chance at living the american dream. working in the minds may not have been the dream he ever dreamed -- in the mines may not have the -- have been the dream he ever dreamed. i did not ask him. america give him more than he ever hoped. america believed in him. that is why he believed in america. [applause] my grandfather, like millions of other immigrants, did not come here for some government guarantee of income equality, or government benefits to take care of his family. in 1923, there were no government benefits for immigrants except one. freedom. under president obama, the dream of freedom and opportunity has

become a nightmare of dependency, with almost half of our receiving some sort of government assistance. it is no surprise fewer and fewer americans are achieving their dreams and more and more parents are concerned their children will not realize there's. -- theirs. president obama spent four years and are of five trillion dollars try to convince you that he could make -- borrowed $5 trillion to try to convince you that he could make things different. and you could trust the government to take care of every problem. the results, and limit growth, and millions more unemployed. -- anemic growth, and millions more unemployed. that is not how america works. in america, we believe in

freedom and the responsibility that comes with it to work hard to make the dream of reaching our god-given potential come true. we believe get -- it, because it still works, even today. graduate from high school, work hard, and get married before you have children and the chance you will ever be in poverty is just 2%. yet, if you do not do these three things, you are 38 times more likely to end up in poverty. we understand many americans do not succeed because the family that should be there to guide them and serve as the first wrong -- rung on the ladder of success is not there or is badly broken. the fact is that marriage is

disappearing in places where government dependency is the highest. most single mothers do heroic work at an amazing job -- and an amazing job raising their children. [applause] if america is going to succeed, we must stop the assault on marriage and the family in america today. [applause] from lowering taxes to reforming social programs, mitt romney and paul ryan are dedicated to restoring the home where married moms and dads are pillars of strong communities raising good citizens in our neighborhoods. [applause] a solid education should be the

second rung on the letters to success. but the system is failing. president obama's solution has been to deny parents choice, attack private schools, and nationalize curriculum and student loans. mitt romney believes that parents at the local community must be in charge of our schools not to it -- in charge of our schools, not to the department of education. [applause] yeah, we all know there is one key to success -- yet, we all know there is one key to success that has helped people overcome the greatest of obstacles. hard work.

that was why hard work was the centerpiece of the law. requiring work succeeded and not just because the welfare rolls were cut in half. but because employment went up, poverty went down, and dreams were realized. it is a sturdy ladder of success that is built with healthy families, education, and hard work. president obama's policies undermine the traditional family, weaken the education system, and he showed us once again he believes in government handouts and dependency by waiving the work requirement for welfare. i helped write the welfare reform bill. we made a lot crystal clear. no president can waive the work requirement, but as with his refusal to enforce our

immigration laws, president obama rose like he is above the law. -- rules like he is above the law. [applause] americans, take heed. when a president can simply give a speech or write a memo and changed the lot to do what the law says he cannot do -- the law to do with the law says -- what the law says he can do, will not be a republic. -- we will not be a republic. yet as my family and i crisscrossed america, something became so obvious to us. america is still the greatest country in the world and with god's help, and good leadership, we can restore the american dream. why?

because i held its hand. i shook the hand of the american dream, and it has a strong grip. i shook the hand of farmers and ranchers who made america the breadbasket of the world. hands, weathered and worn and proud of it. i grasped the dirty hand with scars that come from years of labor in the oil and gas fields, mines and mills, hands the power and build america and our stores of the abundant resources that god has given us. i have grouped hands of that work in restaurants and hotels, hospitals, banks, and restores. hens that serve and care for all of us. i clasped hands with men and women in uniform and their families. hands that sacrificed and

risked all to protect and keep us free and hands that pray for their safe return home. [applause] i held hands that are in want, hands looking for the dignity of a good job. hands growing weary of not finding one a refusing to give up hope. finally tell -- finally, i cradled the little, broken hands of the disabled. hands that struggle, hands that bring pain to my hands that

enable us -- ennoble us and bring great joy. they came to see as. they came to see is when they found out that karen and i were blessed with caring for someone special, too. i stood for a half years ago over a hospital isolette, staring at the tiny hands of our newborn daughter who we hope was perfectly healthy. but her hands were just a little different, and i knew that different was not good is. the doctors later tallest --

told us that she was incompatible with life and to be prepared to let go. they said, even if she did survive, disabilities would be so severe that she would not have the life worth living. we did not let go. [applause] today, bella is full of life as she has made our lives and countless others' much more worth living. [applause] i thank god that america still

has one party that reaches out their hand in love to lift up all of god's children, born and unborn. [cheers and applause] and we say that each of us has dignity. and all of us have the right to live the american dream. [applause]

wilson say that without you, without you, -- we also say that without you, america is not keeping faith with the extreme, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. [cheers and applause] where students of the great inheritance. in november, we have a chance to vote for life and liberty, and a dependency. a vote for mitt romney and paul ryan will put our country back in the hands of leaders who understand what american can and for the sake of our children, must be to keep the dream alive.

thank you and god bless you. god bless america. thank you. >> mid romney won the primary election to become the republican nominee. this was the first day of the convention. [applause] >> good evening. i have the honor of standing before you this evening for one reason, because thousands of grass-roots activists stood

united, not for a candidate, but for the sake of liberty. we are seeing something extraordinary, something that has dumbfounded the chattering class. it began in 2010, right here in florida, in utah, in kentucky, and pennsylvania. it continues in nebraska, wisconsin, and in the lone star state.

we are seeing a great awakening, a national movement of we the people, brought together by what unites them. they share love of liberty and an understanding of the unlimited potential of free men and free women. i want to tell you love story. it is the story of all of us, is a love story of freedom. is the story of our founding fathers who fought and bled for freedom and crafted the most reckless political document ever conceived. the framers understood that our rights come not from marks but from god. and those rights to secure only when government power is restrained. it is the story of the brave texan when general santa ana demanded they haven't -- hand over the guns.

they responded with the immortal cry caught come over and take it. -- the immortal cry, come over and take it. it is the story of the greatest generation, who rose up to confront the grotesque table that was the nazis and who ushered in the greatest era of peace and prosperity the world has ever seen. is the story of civil-rights pioneers like dr. martin luther king who stood up to the surge of discretion. and bravely championed that each of us must be judged not by the color of our skin, but the

content of our character. it is the story of president ronald reagan who turned back the growth of government and restored morning in america. who stood up against the oppressive evil of communism and demanded, mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. it is the story of my mom. irish and italian working- class, the first in her family ever to go to college. she became a pioneering computer programmer in the 1950's. it is the story of my father, imprisoned and tortured in cuba, beaten nearly to death.

he fled to texas in 1957, not speaking english, with $100 sewn into his underwear. he washed dishes making 50 cents an hour to pay its way through college and to start a small business in the oil and gas industry. my father is here today. when he came to america, [speaking spanish] he had nothing, but he had heard. a hard for freedom. thank you, dad. -- a heart for freedom.

it is the story of each and everyone of you. where are the sons and daughters that risk everything for freedom and each of us has the duty to pass that seem liberty on to the next generation. and yet today, many in washington seem content to settle for crushing debt and a limited future. we're going broke. i'm here today with a word of encouragement. millions of americans are standing up saying, we want our country back. republicans, democrats, independents. we will not go down the path of greece.

we will not go quietly into the night. president obama is immensely talented and a man of deep conviction and get his economic agenda is perilous indeed. this election presents a stark choice. we can continue down the road of the aba, democrats, more and more spending, debt, and government control, or we can return to the principles of our nation. free markets, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberty. [applause] unfortunately, president obama's campaign is trying to divide america. to separate us into groups. telling seniors, medicare will be taken away. telling hispanics that we are not welcome here.

and sending the vice-president to preach a message of division. it is tragic how far we have come from hope and change. all this is designed to distract from the real issues that matter. 23 million americans struggling to find work. 16 trillion dollars in national debt and government takeovers of much of our economy. imagine for a moment, if someone surreptitiously charged thousands of dollars on your credit cards, settling your kids with debts they could never escape, my wife and i are blessed with two little girls. caroline and kathrin, four and one trade when caroline was born, our national debt was $10 trillion. today, as the debt clock shares, is $16 trillion.

larger than our gross domestic product. how do we turn our nation around? president obama thinks the answer is more and more government. government is not the answer. [applause] you're not doing anyone a favor by creating dependency. destroying individual responsibility. when my dad was a penniless teenager, thank god some well-

meaning bureaucrats did not put his arm around him and say, let me take care of you. let me give you a government check and make you depended on government. do not bother learning english. that would have been utterly destructive. instead, my parents worked together to build a small business, to provide for their families, and to chart their own future. that is the american dream. mitt romney and paul ryan understand the government does not create jobs. all entrepreneurs do. two-thirds of all new jobs that are -- in our economy, from small businesses and 2.3 million hispanics own small businesses. and yet, this administration has waged a war on small businesses. a war that is costing our future and our opportunity. i want to close by asking a few

questions. with apologies to barack obama. can we restore the constitution? yes, we can. can we retake the senate? can we repeal obamacare? and can we defeat president barack obama? [applause] stand together with mitt romney and paul ryan.

restore the american love story. that, my friends, is change we can believe in. thank you and god bless you. [applause] >> the former alabama congressman was an early supporter of barack obama and was given a prime speaking spot at the democratic national convention. this year he hasn't doors mitt romney and asked democrats and independents to be open-minded -- he has endorsed mitt romney

and asked democrats and independents to be open-minded. >> please welcome the former democratic congressman artur davis. [applause] >> thank you. ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. thank you so much for that warm welcome. thank you so much. last time i spoke at a convention i was in the wrong place. so tampa, my fellow republicans, thank you for welcoming me where i belong. thank you. we have to get off the shelf. we have to get on with the show

because we have a country to turn around. this very night, you nominated the most experienced executive to seek the presidency in years. he has no illusions seep -- illusions. he does not confuse the presidency. what a difference four years makes. now the democrats' negative ads -- his record convinces me he knows how to lead and we need more. and now, america is the land of second chances and i gather in this close race to have room for the estimated 6 million of us who got it wrong in 2008 and

one to fix it. maybe we should have known that night in denver that things that began with styrofoam, greek columns, and artificial smoke typically do not end well. maybe the hollywood stars and the glamour blinded as a little. you thought it was the clear, some of us thought it was a halo. -- glare, some of us thought it was a halo. do you know why so many of us believe we lead with our heart and our dreams that we could be more inclusive than america had ever been and no candidate had ever spoken so beautifully. so many of those high flown words have faded. remember, my friends, the

president saying of negative politics and in true ads, not this time? who knew not this time just meant, not unless the economy is stuck and we cannot run on our record. remember when the president said of his own election, this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to swell and our planet -- who knew the plain english of that was, middle america, get ready to shell out $60 to fill up your car. and their crown jewel legislative the chief men -- an achievement, who knew that government could impose a

federal mandate requiring middle class americans to buy health insurance whether they could afford it or not, that the obama answer would be, yes we can. so this time, in the name of 22 million of our parents and children and brothers and sisters who are officially unemployed or underemployed, or who have stopped looking for work, let's start creating jobs again. this time cannot instead of moving motions and healing planets, let's pay our bills down and pay down the debt on the wall so it can control our future. -- we can control our own future. and of course, we know that opportunity lies outside the

reach of some of our people. we do not need floury words about inequality to tell us that. and we do not need a party that has led while poverty rose to record levels to give us lectures about suffering. ladies and gentlemen, there are americans who are listening to the speech right now who have not always been with you. i wanted to let me talk just to them for a moment. i know how loaded up our politics is with anger and animosity. i'd have to believe we can make a case over the raised voices. there are americans now who voted for the president but they are searching right now because they know that their votes did not build the country they wanted. to those democrats and

independents, whose minds are open to argument, listen closely to the democratic party that will gather in charlotte, and ask yourself if you hear your voice in the clamor. ask yourself if these democrats still speak for you. when they say we have a duty to grow government, even when we cannot afford it, does it sound like compassion to you? or does this sound like recklessness? when you hear the party that glorified occupy wall street, when you hear that minimize the genius of the men and women who make jobs out of nothing, is that when you teach your children about work? when they tell you america is this an unequaled place where the powerful trample on the powerless, does that sound like the country your children or your spouse risk their lives for in iraq or afghanistan? do either recognize the america they're talking about? -- do you recognize the merit that they are talking about?

what can we say about a house that does not honor the pictures on its walls. john kennedy asked us what can we do for america? do not worry about the bills. bill clinton took on his base and made welfare thing you have to work for. this current crowd that's the work requirement in the dead of night and will not tell the truth about it. bill clinton, jack kennedy, and lyndon johnson reached across the aisle and said, meet me in the middle, but their party ran through a health care bill that took over one sixth of our our economy -- of our economy without accepting a single republican idea, without winning a single vote in either

house from a party whose constituents make up half of this country. the democrats used to have a night when they presented a film of their presidential legends. if they do it in charlotte, the theme song should be "now you're just somebody that i used to know." my fellow americans, when great athletes falter, their coaches sometimes whisper to them, "remember who you are." calling to their greatest at a time when their bodies and spirit are to sapped to remember their strength, this sweet, blessed god-inspired place called america is a champion that has absorbed some blows, but we bend, we do not break. this is no dark hour. this is no dark hour. this is the dawn before we remember who we are. maybe said of this time in our history, 2008, to 2011, lesson

learned. 2012, mystics corrected. god bless you. god bless you, tampa. god bless you, america. let's take this country back. thank you so much. >> representing the palmetto

>> i love south carolina. i am the proud daughter of indian immigrants to reminded my brothers, my sister, and me how blessed we were to live in this country. they loved the fact that only in america we could be as successful as we wanted to be and nothing would stand in our way. my parents started a business out of the living room of their home and 30 + years later, it was a multimillion-dollar company. there was not a single day that it was easy and it was not a single day that my mom and dad did not put everything they had into making that business. president obama, with all due respect, do not tell me that my parents did not build their business. [applause] almost 45 years after my parents first became americans, i stand

before you and then tonight as the proud governor of south carolina. [applause] we build things in the palmetto state. we have three of the four largest tire producers in the world and we're about to become the no. 1 producing state in the country. "the wall street journal" says anyone who is thinking the u.s. has lost its chops has not been to south carolina. we have so much potential and so much to be proud of. but like so many states, we have our challenges. whether they be on employment or education or poverty, and like so many of my governors, i work day in and day out to try to improve the lives of the the people of my state, and, sadly, the hardest part of my job continues to be this federal

government. this administration, and this president. [applause] as i said to my parents love it when they came to america. if you worked hard, the only things that could stop you were the limits you placed on yourself. unfortunately, these past few years, you could work hard. try to be as successful as possible, follow the rules, and president barack obama will do everything he can to stand in your way. south carolina recently passed one of the most innovative illegal immigration laws in the country. what did this president who has failed to secure our borders and address this issue in any way do? he sued us. if this president refuses to secure our borders, refuses to

protect our citizens from the dangers of illegal immigration, and states have to take it upon ourselves. [applause] he sued us. if this president refuses to secure our borders, refuses to protect our citizens from the dangers of illegal emigration, then states have to take it upon ourselves. we said in south carolina that come at you have to show a bit friday to buy a sudafed, to set foot on an airplane, then you should have to show a picture i.d. to protect one of the most available, more central rights in america, the right to vote. [cheers and applause] and what happened? president obama stopped us. and now we come to the most unbelievable of them all. in 2009, south carolina was blessed to welcome a great

american company that chose to stay in our country, to continue to do business. that company was selling -- was boeing. it gave our state a shot in the arm when we needed it. at the same time, they expanded their numbers in washington state. not a single person was hurt by their decision. not one. and what did president obama and his national relations board do? they sued this iconic american company. it was shameful. and not worthy of the promise of america. but we did one of the things we do best in south carolina. we got loud. we are fighters in south carolina. we watched an amazing thing

happened. you fought with us. and guess what. we won. a few months ago, high set on the tarmac in north charleston and watched as a new mac daddy plane rolled onto the runway, sporting a "made with pride in south carolina" decal and surrounded by 6000 non-union employees, a cheering and smiling and so proud of what they had built. [cheers and applause] we deserve a president who will not sacrifice american jobs and american workers to pacify his bullying -- american businesses deserve a government that does not stand in their way. fighting american ingenuity and innovation, that is what this

president has meant to this governor. that is why this governor will not stop fighting until we send him home, back to chicago, and send it and ann -- and send mitt and ann romney to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. [cheers and applause] i have had the pleasure of knowing mitt romney for several years. there is so much to appreciate about him. he fixes things'. he is results-driven. he has taken companies and made them successful p.m. he took the solid olympics and made it a pride of this country. and, by the way, he actually balanced his budget.

[applause] this is a man at peace with who he is, with the challenges he faces, and with what he it -- what he intends to accomplish. this is not just a candidate looking to win an election. but a leader yearning to return our nation back to its potential. this is a man who has a silver bullet, his greatest asset by far, the first lady of the united states -- the next first lady of the united states ann romney. ann is the perfect combination of strength and grace. she does what some many women in america do. she balances in an exceptional way. she raised five amazing boys, battled ms, is a breast cancer

survivor. through it all, she was a true partner to mitt. ann romney makes all women proud by the way she has conducted her life, by a strong woman of faith, as a mother, as a wife, and as a true patriot. she is an amazing inspiration to me and for some many women across the country. [cheers and applause] not too long ago, i traveled to campaign for the romneys. toward the end of the day, two self-described independents came up to me and said, we like what we hear about governor romney. although we don't know everything about him, what we do know, without a doubt, is that we deserve better than what we have today. [cheers and applause]

they are so right. we deserve a president who will turn our economy around. we deserve a president who will balance our budget. we deserve a president who will reform and protect our retirement programs for future generations. we deserve a president who will fight for american companies, not against them. [applause] we deserve a president who will strengthen our military, not destabilize them. [applause] america deserves better than what we have today. we deserve a president mitt romney. [cheers and applause] thank you. god bless you. and may he continued to bless the united states of america. [cheers and applause]

>> they discussed the issue of power, but only after word we got what they said to each other in private. it turns thought they spent a lot of time talking about bad press coverage, and make mellon said, why do you care? it does not matter. you have other things to worry about, and he said, that is easy for you to say. how would you like it if he said your wife is a drug, and he replied, you should -- wife is a drunk, and he replied you should have seen her mother. >> sunday, your questions,

tweets onmails, and whea the lives of presidents. perhaps we watch senate hearings or the house, confirmation hearings, things like that. i like it because it is immediate. it is real. is not spin. usually it is true. it is real research, experts talking, or congress in action. that is why i like it. it is more real than other media.

>> sees them, brought to you as a public service and -- c-span, brought to you as a public service by your cable provider. but shortly after the close of the republican convention, the staff of politico set down to discuss the campaign. this is an hour. ♪ >> welcome to politico at a 2012 republican national convention. we are proud to be partnering with c-span, which is carrying this lives. which is an exciting night. we have mike allen, who is

always joining us. he spent a lot of time on the speech and preparations. we have john harris, the editor in chief of politico, who is running our coverage. what did you think? >> there are only four words that matter, and they come out of ann romney's mouth. you can trust mitt. they will stick. >> i was really surprised by gov. christie's speech. i expected a lot more. there was so much expectation he would deliver a speech the would stir, and it was more about him than nit romney -- mitt romney.

>> that was awkward. they said the first third of it was his stump speech. >> he had many more references to himself than nit romney -- mitt romney. the criticisms are definitely about ann romney's speech. >> she looked happy, but content was, her speech was disappointing. >> what did you expect but not get? >> i thought we were going to get more depth about him and his life. instead i felt it did not have of the market -- did not have a team at stake are. they used her to close the gender gap, so i love women,

things like that. she did not give a reason for going to him. it was i love him, he has been great to me, and you should love him, too. >> give us your analysis of those, particularly in the context -- your analysis of both speeches, particularly in context. >> she is an appealing woman, and she conveyed strong feelings about mitt romney and made it feel genuine. i did not feel a lot of substance in that speech. it did not connect him with being a good president, and i think that is necessary in a speech like that. there is an unspoken assumption all women care about is the most remote, is he a good guy? is he a caring person?

when we are picking a president, we want substance, so blows seem to be struck by the same thing i was struck by, but it was only half of the equations. you did not like chris chris the's speech. we got a very forceful speech, trying to tap into a constituency for a generation, sick of politics as usual, that he needs to man up and solve problems. >> the expectation is i know he put so much into that speech. his handlers saw it as his national debut and his speech felt familiar. i have seen him where he has a

moment where he can captivate an audience. i did not get that. what did you think? >> the question is how he did behind the podium, and he does not do well. in a more natural setting, it is not his gift. >> why do you think this speech had to be vetted and written with the campaign? >> we are told they did not make a single change. >> is that right? >> there is a trust. chris christie wrote the speech and gave it to the campaign with not one change. >> let's watch a clip of m. r. -- of enron may -- a clip of ann

romney and whether she hit the mark. >> i read somewhere that we have a storybook marriage. a house with five boys screaming at once. [laughter] those storybooks never seemed to have a chapter called ms or breast cancer. a storybook marriage? not at all. what mitt romney and i had was a real marriage. [applause] you may not agree with his positions on issues or his politics -- massachusetts is only 13% republican, so it was not a shock to me. but let me say this to every american who is thinking about who should be our next president. no one will work harder. no one will care more.

no one will move heaven and earth like mitt romney to make this country a better place to live. [cheers and applause] >> >> john, i feel like in your analysis you were expecting too much from the speech. everyone said you wanted to humanize mitt romney, to feel more about him as a person. i do not think anyone thought this would be a policy speech, or you would be able to link his life with his policies. an elaborate where you think she fell short. are right, we do not have harris. you feel the same way john did. >> i thought she was just saying, i trust him so you should trust him. i promise you he will not let you down. why? >> step back and point out, the speech was not designed for that. it was designed for people at

home ho had not in tune into politics who were just trying to learn about this family. when she talked about the women around the country she had talked to, the moms who worry more, she said, i have heard your voice is. it is the beginning of a connection. this speech alone will not do it, but if the romneys can take that idea and make this fall about talking to regular americans, my instinct is that, watching this, they have so mismanaged mitt romney's image. i am not sure you can put the toothpaste back in this youtuber. >> we have john harris now, joining us. we were getting e-mail's from

different republican women who watched it -- they love it. they felt she hit it out of the park, she really connected with them. i do not think republican women are the audience they need to reach for. it is independent women who are clearly a little bit cold on barack obama. they are looking for a reason to like mitt romney. do you see anything in this speech that would connect with those independents? that is true they have to connect with. one thing i will be looking for is, who watched this speech? it was not a big audience of people just tuning in. i would love to know -- >> in terms of demeanor, she was a little too pumped. i thought she could have brought it down. she got almost giddy, she was too happy. >> for somebody who has never given a big speech to pull this

off -- >> an amazing achievement. i am always amazed when you are the spouse, when it is not your job. the delivery was good. she delivered the speech that she wrote and we read. >> i think, let me step back. i think our expectations were very high. she made them high. she will round out his life. she will tell the story going back to his dad. she can reach deep. i felt -- i did not learn anything. i would have liked to learn something. thatthere is a big concern because people are sick of politics we will wind up with republicans watching the republican convention, democrats watching the democratic convention, and that is where you get this idea of what matters is the pitch -- what

matters is what jay leno or david letterman says. the top official of the romney campaign says they now believe that ads really matter. >> it will be interesting to see what those numbers look like afterwards. cravaack we do not know. this is the first convention where a lot of people will be getting things online. they might be reading it, watching on a smaller device -- what kind of feedback we get from this. it is interesting. we had an interview with ted mitt romney today. then a speech with ann romney. it is clear, they are trying to say, dad is really normal, he does a lot of nice things. my husband is normal, he does a lot of nice things. >> they are on a message.

they had the same points -- he does all these great things but does not tell anybody. they had the exact same point. >> that is true, as far as it goes. >> i feel like it is a talking point. when you hear it so many times, he does all this great stuff -- >> the elder son of the romneys told us that one of the key things in the mormon church is you are supposed to do your good axe without boasting it. you are not supposed to stand on the corner and trumpet your good deeds. he says he does good deeds all the time and does not talk about it. we heard from ann romney that that is a virtue. that is her requiring an audience to have tremendous trust in her, take my word for it that my husband is a good man. part of the equation that the rodney fox have to convince --

he is a good man, somebody who understands our problems. interesting factor -- one polling question that will decide this election, and does mitt romney relate with the problems of ordinary americans? >> that is what they are trying to do with this speech and every speech going forward. does he relate to? does he get it? he is richard and i will ever be, but does he get what our problems are? if you think that the problems -- were is the use -- they kept saying, he gets it. >> they will bring out tomorrow, we will hear from a lot of romney friends and church members, family, the kids. i do not know if it is ordinary americans, but we will hear about people who have known him. >> the convention producer came to him and asked him for a list

of people who would say nice things about him. they are using three of them. >> one of our political writers is joining us outside the forum. one of our reporters who is on the road. she spent a lot of time with paul ryan, with mitt romney, both early in the cycle and now, give us your assessment of ann romney's speeds through the lens of knowing what they needed and wanted to accomplish. >> i am having a little bit of trouble hearing you back in the studio, but an romney's speech was incredibly well received. this is about trust. and romney made the argument -- ann romney made the argument that this is somebody who has been a steady and constant for their entire lives. she tried to knock the idea that there was a gender gap in the republican party completely out of the water. >> and do you feel that the target audience is not just

republicans inside the convention -- do you think that that speech, do they feel it is going to penetrate with those undecided voters, particularly skeptical independent women voters? >> i do not think this is a speech just for people in this convention hall. if you listen closely to what she said, she talked about single moms stan at night and coming home from work to do book reports, the kind of people who are maybe not in the republican party, but it can resonate. they obviously have a very idyllic family, very country club model. she wants to make sure their message resonates with all americans. >> thank you very much. the last 10 weeks of this campaign is so fascinating. both know that it comes down to voters who basically come to the conclusion that, you know what,

i am not happy with the first four years of the obama administration. i am just not comfortable yet with the idea of turning it over to mitt romney. everything that romney has to do is say, come on, you can trust me, trust me. every thing that obama has to do is, you cannot trust him, too rich, to mormon. >> fascinating, he cannot get away from it, no matter how hard he tries, talking about leadership, all he has done. he has led an accomplished life. they cannot get off the topic of his personality, his likability, whether he can connect with the middle-class. >> we heard from the official said, if they win, it will be by a good number of points. he will either make his case or he will not. >> he will not squeak by. >> he says they will lose by one

or win by 5. >> we spent some time in reviewing mitt romney. he laid out his case for how he will govern. he says he will govern differently from what we have seen in the last 20 years. he will govern like a businessman, have almost his board of directors, he said he will have more people in his cabinet from the private sector than the public sector, which is something we have not seen in a long time. what the advisers told us is that they believe they are more confident today that several weeks ago for several reasons. one, paul ryan has energized the republican party in a way they have not been energized with just mitt romney. they believe that barack obama has thrown the best they have at mitt romney. they have given him the bain treatment, and it has not worked. it made him less likable and popular, but it is still a tie. for the final 10 weeks, there

will be never another day where they get out spent. barack obama has outspent mitt romney. that will not happen again. mitt romney has more money and will have more money. these outside groups, which will spend as much as $1 billion on this election in totality -- >> and the campaign, and the parti. >> they feel that puts them in a pretty good position. they have agreed it will be a knife fight, a very close, and both campaigns agree that if one candidate gets the to pinpoint it will be mitt romney because he will have cleared that threshold. every speech he watched, everywhere to see, every announcement, it is all about that. am i a plausible alternative to barack obama? they say he is never going to be lovable. they say, he may not even be likable. is he plausibly better as a bat and barack obama? that is what it is about. >> they compare him to a

plumber. you not care how nice or plumber is. can they do the job? >> i care how much -- how nice my plumber is. >> it goes back to, do people feel they can relate to him? the more the obama campaign pounce on all the bain stuff, how rich he is, the tax returns he will not release, i think he is susceptible, he has been living in another world. >> governor christie's speech -- let's dissect what he was trying to do. what he wants to do in his career. we know he wants to run in 2016. let's listen. >> i believe we have become paralyzed, paralyzed by our desire to be loved. our founding fathers have the wisdom to know that social acceptance and popularity were fleeting. this country's principles needed to be rooted in strengths > the

passions and emotions of the times. -- larger than the passions and emotions of the time. the leaders of our time have decided it is easier to be popular, to do what is easy, to say yes rather than no one know is what is retired -- or acquire. >> -- required. in recent years, we as a country have too often chosen the same path. it is easy for our leaders to say, not us, not now, in taking on the tough issues. unfortunately, we have stood silently by and let them get away with it. tonight, i say enough. [cheers and applause] tonight, i say, let's make a much different choice. tonight we are speaking up for ourselves and stepping up. tonight we are beginning to do what is right and necessary to make america great again. [cheers and applause]

we are demanding that our leaders stop tearing each other down and work together to take action on the big things facing america. tonight, we are going to do what my mother taught me. tonight, we are going to choose respect over love. [cheers and applause] >> the most important part of this speech, compared to a different approach with romney, is tough choices. when they pick paul ryan they would decide to shift from just saying obama is a bad bet on the economy and would move too tough choices. this sets the tone for what paul ryan is going to say. we have a great story about to go up on politico.com. everybody in the mainstream media thought that the minute he picked paul ryan, republicans

would get hurt on medicare. two polls out, one by "the washington post," when by abc, since ryan has been on the ticket, voters now say republicans are better on medicare. that is a 16-point shift. what they say is that this is evidence that tough choices can work politically. think about the politics -- since 2010, candidates who have been talking about tough choices have defied conventional wisdom. >> scott walker in a wisconsin did things incredibly unpopular, was rewarded. republicans in indiana -- they are making a bet we can continue to do that. it defies a lot of what we thought about politics. >> he said, we will choose respect over love, which is what the campaign is trying to say. you do not have to like the guy, just believe that he can turn the country around and make your life better. --chris christie's line

politicians to lead instead of through perform. this is a long time paul ryan contention. he has contended that people can handle the truth more than we assume. >> one of voting plot that response to that our independence. they routinely say, we want you to work together. in some ways, tough choices is code for working together. who knows? recent evidence suggests they might work -- that might work in republican favor. time will tell. >> let's look at christie and his ambitions. you said, ginger has this great thing about how christie talked about himself 40 times and mitt romney 8. the guy wants to run in 2016. he is one of the few people who has said it. how does this fit in? how does this speak fit in into

the ambitions of christy? >> he wants to be the plane talker, the blunt talker. he wants to get that part of his job. people do want that. that is a appealing part of chris christie. that did not come across from behind the podium. >> there was a lot of talk here from those watching, there was so much buzz over the last 36 hours, is chris christie making it about himself? there is a story in "the new york post, " about how he did not think mitt romney could wind. he had turned down a serious effort to be vice president. a few people said his entourage is bigger than the entourage that the president of the united states travels with. he attract attention. >> there was a story for months ago. he was supposed to show up at an event to introduce romney. he was so late that romney had to introduce him.

>> you heard that romney himself was very irritated by that. one of the great attributes of republicans, they are always on time. whenever we do these tv shows, if you have republican they will show up on time. democrats tend not to show up on time. >> appended christie does not show up on time. the other thing, he does not look like a healthy man. if he really wants to run, he will have to step up and get -- he could not endure the rigors of a campaign right now. i think he would have to get himself in a little bit of a better shape to do that. >> let's talk a little bit about the gender gap. first, let's go to a clip of ann romney talking specifically to women in a speech. when mitt romney went to see -- in ohio, he added a new line where he talked specifically to women entrepreneurs. they look at the state polling

data -- there is a gender gap that is alarming for them. they are adjusting their rhetoric. >> i am not sure if men really understand this, but i do not think there is a woman in america who really expects her life to be easy. in our own ways, we all know better. fine, we do not want easy. the last few years have been harder than they needed to be. it is all the little things -- the price at the pump, the grocery bills that get bigger, all the things that used to be free, like school sports, are just one more bill today. all the little things that pile up to become big things. the big things, the chance at college, all the things you want, they become harder. we are too smart to know that there are not easy answers, but we are not dumb enough to know that there are not better answers. >> if you look at politics, you

have to break it down by demographic. we like to think of one country -- we are not. there are different demographics that respond differently to different messages. for republicans, they are in trouble with women and with hispanics. let's see what they could do about that gender gap. what mitt romney has to do -- what does ann romney have to do to chip away? >> i am not sure how she can do it, but when i watch her i feel like she is not really talking to middle america. you look at her and you do not think she is really sharing in those experiences. they are words coming out, but she has never experienced that are chip. she has never had the burden of being a single mother. she says, we all know it is harder for us, but you look at her and think, is it harder for you? >> does that not hold true for michelle obama?

>> i do not think so. michelle obama was raised very no class. she was on scholarships. she went to good schools, but she was on scholarships. her father had ms half of her adult life. i think you can make that case for michelle. when michelle obama talks to teenagers, she says, you can get here. they believe her. i do not think that romney can say that and they can believe her. >> we have a couple minutes left. let's look ahead. i do not think anybody in most of these settings ever walks away changing their mind because of the speech that made on a tuesday or wednesday. two speeches to make a difference -- the paul ryan speech and the mitt romney speech. we -- what do we know that paul ryan is setting out to do? >> he will hammer at president obama. he will use a very clever device

-- he will use the acceptance speech, the greek columns speech, as the baseline. they will take it word by word and dissect the rhetoric using that speech. romney may be more vague and more glorified. it is the same theme -- this guy is all promises and no talk. >> the idea is you want to take restrengthen micki weakness. what they are trying to do is say, great, you love president obama. you felt good in 2008. you had a great tingling sensation. what did that do for you? do you have a job? do you feel like the united states position is stronger? this is the argument have to make. they have data that works in their favor. they are frustrated because they think, my god, look at the economic data, if you think

about any period in history, how can the incumbent lead in a in barnlike that? >> on paper we lose. >> we got a briefing that said, if the unemployment rate is above 8%, we could be running against donald trump and we will lose. now the world is watching -- thank you very much for watching, too into political live throughout the convention. >> up next, highlights from day 2 of the republican national convention. we will hear from an romney and the keynote speech by new jersey governor chris christie. first, let's watch the roll-call of the states and the nomination of a presidential candidate mitt romney. >> montana, 26 starts. >> madam secretary, from big sky country, the treasure state, with our of oil and gas field in america, we cast all 26 votes

for mitt romney. >> montana, 26. romney. nebraska, 35 votes. >> madam secretary, i am proud to be from the cornhuskers state, a red state, the state with the top ranked college women's volleyball team in the nation, home to the best annual collegiate sporting events in the nation, omaha's college world series. the land of the sand hills, from which our next u.s. senator, a rancher and small business person hales. when she is elected, every federal office and every statewide office in nebraska will be held by a republican. [cheers and applause] a state led by republican

governor dave heineman, who has balanced our budget without raising taxes. the nebraska delegation proudly casts 33 votes for the next president of the united states, mitt romney. [applause] >> nebraska, 33, romney. nevada, 28 votes. >> in nevada, freedom is not just a word, it is a way of life. the silver state is well represented here. we have delegates from clark county, the home of las vegas, entertainment capital of the world, douglas county, the shores of the fall lake tahoe, the mining capital of the world, and washington county, home of the biggest little city in the world. six states nominated the champion of the constitution, congressman ron paul.

[applause] iowa, minnesota, alaska, the virgin islands, ore., and nevada. in the spirit of freedom that inspired the founding of our country, and in honor of the liberty that has made the united states the greatest country on earth. we proudly cast 17 votes for congressman ron paul. [applause] 5 abstention is, and 54 romney. -- five four romney. >> nv, 5, romney. new hampshire, 12 of those. >> madam secretary, new hampshire, the granite state, where it all begins. with this year, not just our

leaves will turn color, but the entire state will turn red. new hampshire, home of wolfeboro, the next second white house for the united states of america. votesmpshire cast's nine for our adopted favorite son, mitt romney of massachusetts, and 34 representative ron paul. >> new hampshire, 9, romney. >> new jersey, 15 votes. >> madam secretary, the garden state, the proud home of tonight's keynote address given by governor chris christie, proudly cast all 50 of -- 15 of its votes for the next president of united states, governor mitt romney. >> new jersey, 50, romney.

[cheers and applause] >> before the nomination vote, during the vote and party rule, delegates in the ron paul camp tried unsuccessfully to get a floor vote. rules that were adopted give the president attended more control over what delegates are seated at conventions. ron paul supporters met outside

the forum and held an impromptu protest. [inaudible] >> all in favor of ron paul for president say i. all opposed, nay. who says this is not a legitimate conference? >> i. >> without objection. [applause] >> run with paul -- president paul. president paul. president paul.

[inaudble] >> all to adjourn, say i. >> i second that. >> congressman ron paul was not given a speaking slot at the convention, but his son, senator rand paul, was. senator paul and minority leader

mitch mcconnell are said to speak tomorrow night. you can watch the speeches live as part of our complete convention coverage here on c- span and c-span.org. gave a speechwife at the rnc tonight. she talked about her husband, their five sons, and their 43- year marriage. earlier, mitt romney officially became the presidential candidate. this is 20 minutes. [cheers and applause]

thank you. and thank you, luce. this will be so exciting! [cheers and applause] just so you all know, the hurricane has hit landfall and i think we shall take this moment and recognize that fellow americans are in its path and just hope and pray that all remain safe and that no life is lost and no property is lost. we should all be thankful for this great country and great country. [applause] well, i want to talk to you tonight not about politics and not about party.

issues that we will hear from my heart about our hearts. [cheers and applause] i want to talk about not what divides us, but what holds us together as an american family. i want to talk to you tonight about that one great thing that unites us, that one great thing that brings us to our greatest joy when times are good and the deepest solace in our dark hours. about love. deep and abiding love i have for years ago. and the profound love i have and i know we share for thisi

want to talk to you about that love so deep, only a mother can fathom it. a love that we have for our children. and i want us to think tonight about the love we shared for those americans, our brothers and our sisters, who are going through difficult times, whose are always long and his work never seems done. they're here with us tonight in this hall. america. the parents who lie awake at night, side by side, wondering or make the rent. the single dad who is working extra hours tonight so that his kids can buy new clothes for or play a sport. so his kids can feel, you know, just like other kids. and the working moms who love their jobs, but would like to

work justin little less to spend more time with the kids, but that is just out of the question with this economy. or how about that coupled with like to have another child but wonder how they will be able to afford it? i have been all across this country and i know a lot of you guys. [cheers and applause] and i have seen and heard stories of how hard it is to get ahead now. you know what? i have heard your voice is. they have said to me i am running in place and we just cannot get ahead. sometimes, i think that, late at night, if we were all silent for just a few moments and listened carefully, we could hear a collective sigh from the moms and dads across america who made it through another day and know that they will make it through another one tomorrow. but in the end of that a moment,

they are just not sure how. and if you listen carefully, you'll hear the women find a little bit more than the men. it is how would this, isn't it? it is the moms who have always had to work a little harder to make everything right. it is the mom's of this nation, single, married, widowed, who really hold the country together. we are the mothers. we are the wives. we're the grandmothers. we're the big sisters. we are the little sisters and we are the daughters. you know it's true, don't you? [cheers and applause] i love you, women! [cheers and applause] and i hear your voices. those are my favorite fans down there. you are the ones who have to do

a little bit more and you know what it is like to earn a little bit harder earn the respect you deserve at work and then come home to help with the book report just because it has to be done. you know what those late-night phone calls with an elderly parent are like. you know what it's like to go to the emergency room and which doctor answers the phone call when you call at night and i know all about that. you know what it is like to sit in a graduation ceremony and wonder how it was that so many long days turned into years that went by so quickly. you are the best of america. [applause] you -- [cheers and applause] you are the hope of america. there would not be an america without you. tonight, we salute you and sing your praises! [cheers and applause]

i am not sure if men really in a stand this, but i don't think there is a woman in america who really expected live to be easy. in our own ways, we all know better. that is fine. we don't want easy. but the last few years have been hotter than they needed to be. it is all the little things, the price of the pump you could not believe and the grocery store bill that is bigger good all the things that used to be easy, like high-school sports are now one more bill to pay. the little things become the big things. and the big things, the kids going to college and the home you want to buy have become harder. everything has become harder. we are too smart and know that there are no easy answers. but we are not dumb enough to know that there are not better answers. [cheers and applause]

and that is where this boy that i met at a high school dance comes in. his name is mitt romney and you should really get to know him. [cheers and applause] i could tell you about him again he was tall and laugh a lot. he was nervous. girls like that. he was nice to my parents. he was also really glad when they were not around. [laughter] i don't mind that. but more than anything, he made me laugh. some of you might not know this, but i am the granddaughter of a welsh coal miner. [applause] he was determined that his kids get out of the mines. my dad got his first spot in a little village in wales. cleaning bottles. when he was 15, dad came to

america. in our country, he saw hope and opportunity to escape from poverty. he moved to a small town in the great state of michigan. [cheers and applause] michigan! [cheers and applause] there he started a business, one he built by himself, by the way. [laughter] [cheers and applause] he raised a family and he became mayor of our town. my dad would remind my brothers and me how fortunate we were to grow up anyplace like america. he wanted us to have every opportunity that came with life in this country. he pushed us to be our best and to give our all appeared inside the houses that line the streets in downtown, there were a lot of fathers teaching their sons and daughters the same values good one of those ads was my future father-in-law, george romney. [applause]

this data never graduated from college. instead, he became a carpenter. he worked hard and then he became the governor of michigan. when we fell in love, we were determined not to let anything stand in a way of our future. i was episcopalian and he was mormon. we were both in college. there were many reasons to wait. but we just didn't care. we got married and moved into a basement apartment. [cheers and applause] we walked to class together, eight a lot of pasta and tuna fish. our dining room table was a pull down dining board in the kitchen. but those were the best days. then our first son came along.

all at once, a 22-year-old who was going to business school and law school at the same time, probably like every other girl who finds herself in a new life far from family and friends with a new baby and a new husband, it dawned on me that i had absolutely no idea what i was getting into. [laughter] that was 42 years ago. i survived. we now have five sons and 18 beautiful grandchildren. [cheers and applause] i am still in love with that boy that i met at a high school bands and he still makes me laugh. [cheers and applause] i read somewhere that mitt and i have a storybook marriage. well, let me tell you something. in the storybooks i read, there never were long, long rainy

winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once and the storybooks never seemed to have chapter's called m.s. or breast cancer. this storybook marriage? nope, not at all. what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. [cheers and applause] i know the good and decent man for what he is. he has tried to live his life with a set of values based on family, faith, and one of service to his fellow man. i have seen him work several several hours. he has been there for late- night calls of panic from a member of our church with a child taken to the hospital.

you may not agree on his issues on politics. massachusetts is only 13% republican, so it is not a shock to me. [laughter] but let me say this to every american who is thinking about who should be our next president. no one will work harder. no one will care more. and no one will move heaven and earth like mitt romney to make this country a better place to live. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause]

it's true that mitt has been successful at each news challenge he has taken on. i know that he has been attacked. as a mom, do we want to to raise their children afraid of success? do we send our children out in the world with the advice tried to do okay? >> know! -- no! >> and let's be honest. if the last four years had been more successful, do we really think there would be this attack on mitt romney's success? >> no! >> of course not. he would be the first to tell you that he is the most fortunate man in the world. he had to loving parents who

taught him the value of work. he had the chance to get the education his father never had. but, as his partner in this amazing journey, i can tell you mitt romney was not handed success. he built it. [cheers and applause] [chanting] >> let's go mitt! let's go, mitt! >> he stayed in massachusetts and got a job. i was there when he had a small group of friends talking about starting a new company. i was there when they struggled and wondered if the whole idea was just not going to work. his reaction was to work harder

and press on. today, the company has become another great american success story. has it made those who started the company successful beyond their dreams? yes, it has. it allowed us to give our sons a chance at good educations and made those long hours of the reports and homework worth every minute. it has given us the deep satisfaction of being able to help others in ways that we could never have imagined. this is important. i want you to hear what i am going to say. mitt does not like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege, not a political talking point. [cheers and applause]

we are no different than the millions of americans who quietly help their neighbors, their churches and their communities. they don't do it so that others will think more of them. they do it because there is no greater joy. give and it shall be given unto you. [cheers and applause] but because this is america, that small company that helped so many lead better lives, the company that grew from the risk, that has helped fund scholarships, pensions and retirement funds. this is the genius of america. dreams fulfilled, help others launch new dreams. [cheers and applause]

at every turn in his life, this man that i met at a high school dance has helped lift the others feared he did it with the olympics when others wanted to give up. he did it in massachusetts where he guided the state. the massachusetts school for the best in the nation. the best. [cheers and applause] he started something that i really love it. he started the john and abigail adams scholarship which gives the top 25% of high-school graduates a four-year tuition- free scholarship. [cheers and applause] this is the man america needs. [cheers and applause] this is a man who will wake up every day with the determination to solve the problems that

others say cannot be solved, to fix those who say will be beyond repair, this is the man who will work harder than anyone so that we can work a little less hard. i cannot tell you what will happen or the next four years. but i can only stand here tonight as a wife and a mother and a grandmother, an american, and make you this solemn commitment. this man will not fail. [cheers and applause] this man will not let us down. this man will lift up america. it has been 47 years since that

tall, kind charming young man brought me home from their first dance. not every day since has been easy. but he still makes me laugh and never once did i ever have the reason to doubt that i was the luckiest woman tonight. i said tonight that i wanted to talk to you about love. look into your hearts. this is our country. this is our future. these are our children and grandchildren. you can trust mitt. [cheers and applause] he loves america. he will take us to a better place, just as he took me home safely from that dance. give him that chance. did america that chance.

god bless each and everyone of you and god bless the united states of america. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause]

>> thank you! [cheers and applause] thank you! thank you all very much. thank you. well, this stage and this moment are very improbable for me. a new jersey republican. [laughter] delivering the keynote address to our national convention. [applause] from a state with 700,000 more democrats than republicans.

a new jersey republican stand before you tonight proud of my party, proud of my state, and proud of my country. i am the son of an irish father and a sicilian mother. home and father was gregarious. in the automobile of love, dad was just a passenger. mom was the driver. they both lived hard lives. dad grew up in poverty. and after returning from army service, he worked at the briers ice-cream plant in the 1950's.

it was that job and the g.i. bill. he put himself through rutgers university at night to be the first person in his family to earn a college degree. our first family picture was on his graduation day with my mom beaming next to him pregnant with me. mom also came from nothing. she was raised by a single mother who took three different buses every day to get to work. and mom spent the time that she was supposed to be a kid actually raising children, her younger brother and younger sister. she was tough as nails and did not suffer fools at all. the truth was she could not afford to. she spoke the truth, bluntly, directly and without much garnish. i am her son.

[cheers and applause] i was her son as a listened to the darkness on the edge of town with my high school friends on the jersey shore. i was her son when i moved into that studio apartment with mary. i watched with pride as a guard daughters marched with their soccer teams in the labor day parade -- and i am still her son with the rules the she taught me, to speak from the parts and to stick to your principles. the greatest lesson she taught me was this one. she told me there would be times in your life when you have to choose.

between being loved and being respected. she said to always pick being respected. she told me that love without respect was always fleeting, but that respect could grow into real and lasting love. of course, she was talking about women. [laughter] but i have learned over time that it applies just as much to leadership. in fact, i think that advice applies to america more than ever today. [applause] you see, i believe we have become paralyzed by our desire to be loved. our founding fathers had the wisdom to know that social acceptance and popularity were fleeing. and that this country's principles needed to be rooted in strengths that are greater than the passions and emotions

of the times. but our leaders of today have decided to be popular, to say and do what is easy come to say yes rather than to say no when no is what is required. [applause] in recent years, we, as a country, have too often chosen the same path. it is easy for our leaders to say not us, not now in taking on the tough issues. and we have stood silently by and let them get away with it. but tonight, i say enough. [cheers and applause] tonight, i say it together, let's make a much different choice. tonight, we are speaking up for ourselves and stepping up. tonight, we're beginning to do what is right and necessary to make america great again. [cheers and applause] we are demanding that our

leaders stop tearing each other down and work together to take action on the big things facing america.

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>> the doctors later told us that bella was incompatible with life. and to prepare to let go. they said even if she did survive, her disabilities would be so severe that she would not have a life worth living. we did not let go. [applause]

today bella is full of life. she has made our lives and countless others much more worth living. [applause] i thank god that america still has one party that reaches out their hands in love, to lift up all of god's children, born and unborn. [applause]

and we say that each of us has dignity. and all of us have the right to live the american dream. [applause] and we also said that without you, america is not keeping faith with its dream. that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. [applause]

ladies and gentlemen, we're stewarts of a great inheritance. in november, we have a chance to vote for life and liberty, not dependency. a book for mitt romney and paul ryan will put our -- a vote for mitt romney and paul ryan will put our hands -- put america back into the hands of leaders. thank you and god bless you and god bless america. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> here is a look at tonight's lineup. we will hear from the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell as senator rand paul. in 8:00, senators john mccain, john thune and rob portman. at 9:00, luis fortuno, tim pawlenty and former arkansas

governor mike huckabee. at 10:00, speeches by condoleezza rice and the new mexico governor. all by paul ryan's vice presidential nomination acceptance speech -- followed by paul ryan's vice-presidential nomination acceptance speech. up next, some of mitt romney's top campaign advisers talk about the presidential race. then last that convention speeches by ann romney and new jersey governor chris christie. >> john kennedy once met with harold macmillan, the british prime minister. they discussed arms control and issues between the two powers. but only long afterwards did we get the notes on exactly what is said to each other in private. kennedy spent the law the time complaining about bad press coverage. the past -- the press was a tough on jackie.

macmillan said it by you care? brush it off. does that matter. you have other things to worry about. kennedy said that is easy for you to say. how would you like it if the press said your wife was a drug? mcmillan replied, i would simply say you should that seeing her mother. [laughter] that is the kind of thing that later on makes it a fun thing to give an idea of what these people were like. >> historians and biographers use the advantage of hindsight to understand their subtext through a prism of time. sunday, your questions, calls, e-mails for presidential historian michael on the lives of presidents and wars hot and cold. at noon eastern on c-span2's book to be. -- book tv. senior staffers with the mitt romney campaign discussed the candidate at a forum hosted by abc news in yahoo.

participants include mitt romney's senior campaign advisers and the campaign's advertising director. this is an hour. >> hello and welcome to newsmaker is live. i am jonathan karl. >> i am david calian. thank you for turning into newsmakers life. throughout our discussions, be sure to tweet us questions. we will try to get a real time questions back to our esteemed panel. >> i have no idea who is running the mitt romney campaign now. we have them right here. neil millhouse, beth myers, eric fehrnstorm. thank you for joining us. i have to start with the weather.

obviously you cannot control it. but you can control the convention. do you think we will see with this storm bearing down on new orleans, any further adjustments that have to be made to the message or the schedule? >> we are on track for study in the convention today. we are keeping our schedule acted. we are keeping a close eye on the weather and we will make adjustments accordingly. >> what does that mean? how're you tracking this and what kind of adjustments? >> i think everyone is watching the weather. we will wait and see what happens. >> we have heard of this conference call to your colleague -- not only are you watching it but you are aware there could be some tonal concerns. that's what screen image of terrible weather hitting the gulf coast while there is a

party going on here. will we hear a different tone and tenor out of the convention? >> our first priority from the beginning was the safety of people who find themselves in the path of the hurricane. that is why the decision was made a few days ago to cancel the first day at the convention programming. the convention will be called to order today. they will conduct the roll-call of the states. there is official business that will be transacted. we will hear a great speeches from ann romney, governor christie of new jersey. we are monitoring what is happening with the storm. we are thinking about the people of mississippi and alabama and louisiana. governor romney has been in communication with some of those governors. he spoke with governor jindal. we will be in continue -- we will be in communication with them. we will consider changes as appropriate. >> last question on the weather.

mali are sitting here and having this conversation, president -- while we are sitting here, president obama will address the nation. it is insert itself into what you plantain hope for -- an uninterrupted week of messaging. >> we did not view the weather as political. a storm of this magnitude deserves the attention of the president of the united states. i think the american people, particularly those in the gulf coast region, want to hear from him. we will be turning in like every american and listening to his remarks. we have already made changes to our convention scheduled. further changes are needed, we will consider those as we go for. we will hear some great speeches from some of our rising

stars and from the wife of governor rahm a. >> let's start there. anybody who spent time around specialey's know how the relationship is. had she ever done anything like this? a staged this debate. what is going through her mind? >> we have a unique perspective because we have known her for a long time. like everybody who knows ann, we are very fond of fur. one thing that has been fun to watch as our growth and development as a campaigner. she started off in the political business in 1994 as the spouse of a neophyte candidate. i think she has warmed to the challenge of campaigning. i think she got better with each successive campaign that her husband ran. she was a terrific campaigner

for years ago when all over iowa and new hampshire and some of the early states. to see her in this campaign in full flower as a candidate's spouse and somebody americans are getting to know on a more personal basis, it is very heartwarming. >> what is our message? >> her message is talking about her husband. the thing about ann is she is so smart,. . she is a really amazing person. we have known her for 10 years at the first lady. we have known her as a mom. we have known her as a grandmother. she has 18 grand kids. my favorite thing is whenever i see her, i see -- i say is anybody in your family private? but that is ann. she is selling days with everybody around here -- around

her. seeing that warmth that she has in person translate into the public arena has been really wonderful and special. you will see the real ann. >> is her mission tonight to transfer some of that war to the perceptions of her husband? >> at the issue will talk from marquardt and people will take about what they will -- i think she will talk from her heart and people will take up -- take from that what they will but he will get a great speech from her. >> chris christie. and he spent some time around the guy. what do we expect out of him? we have spoken about -- here is a guy that conservatives love. but he has managed to be pretty popular in a state like new jersey with independence. >> this is going to be a -- let me back up a talked-about ann

romney. governor romney does not feel that comfortable talking about himself. he is just not built that way. what you are going to see over the next few days is other people talking about him and filling in this book -- those blanks in a way he cannot do for himself. he does not feel like doing. starting with ann romney denied all the way through this week, you will fill in the blanks on his background. family, personal, business, governor. tonight is the first move toward that effort. he will learn more about mitt romney than i think anybody ever wanted to know. it will fillon in the blanks and terms of the kind of person he is. -- it will fill in the blanks in terms of the kind of person

he is. >> in terms of governor christie, i have not read the speech yet. i am anticipating a strong speech. will her get a heckler in the first row? [laughter] he is one of the leading champions of government reform. reforming health and affect of retirement pensions and teacher tenure. it is remarkable. the selection of governor christie as the keynote address our says the republicans are serious about fixing the jobs crisis but also the fiscal crisis. there are some decisions that need to be made by the next chief executive. this president has been unwilling to make the tough choices.

mitt romney has led as governor christie is doing in new jersey now in massachusetts during difficult times. he took office during a fiscal crisis. the state was in recession. losing thousands of jobs every month. four years later when mitt romney left, he balanced the budget every year without raising taxes. we were creating thousands of jobs every month and he lowered the unemployment rate to 4.7%. what voters have before them is a candidate on the republican side who has a track record. four years ago, barack obama presented himself to the nation promising only what he would do with not being able to look back and point to a record of accomplishment. we do not have that problem with mitt romney. his record of accomplishments is there for everybody to examine and see. not only with respect to the four years to spend as governor but the 25 years in the private

sector helping businesses turnaround and a two-year suspended in salt lake running the winter games. >> one more are christie. can you knock down the york post story. making it sound like chris christie turned the governor down on running mate. said he would then forced to step down as governor to take the post and was concerned that mitt romney could not win. is there any truth at any level to any of that? >> i am not going to talk about any of the vp candidates and anything about the search. sorry. >> he did not turn you down? >> i am not going to talk about it at all. >> you have talked a little bit about -- i do have a question about that. i find it hard to believe we did use it you wanted to maintain the integrity of the process,

that he did not want to offer your own two cents a bottle you thought might be a candidate. a lot of other people did offer their two cents. you're one of his closest advisers. you knew more about the candidates. you did not offer your two cents at all? >> i was his chief of staff for four years. the way that i worked with him then was when he had to make a decision, i brought him the information. i brought both sides of it. i brought it as objectively to him as possible. i think that is why he asked me to help of with the vp search. i had my opinions. >> was your pick? >> i did keep them to myself. i endeavored to make sure the portfolios that brought them --

each of them was the equally well and each of the candidates presented to him were full and round without any thumb on the scale. that is what he wanted. >> we have some questions over the transom. let's make it news question. we hear there will be a mystery speaker on thursday. who is it? >> i have no idea. >> somebody up here knows. >> i cannot. -- i don't. [laughter] >> i have not heard that. that there was going to be in mr. speaker. but he could be a little hint. -- you could leave a little hint to request a question from rachel -- hint.ttl little

>> a question from rachel. what has been placed on the back burner during the campaign? >> we all know what those issues are because they are not only important to governor romney but every poll we have seen indicates that jobs and the economy is the overriding concern of voters. >> i did not know this question is asking what you guys put on the back burner. what issues have not gotten the coverage they should be getting in this campaign? >> what issues that should be getting covered -- i think your car version reflect what voters are concerned about. but voters are concerned about our jobs, the economy, that is what you ought to be focusing on. that is what voters are focusing on.

when you ask what the press should be focused on, it is what the voters want to hear. they want to hear which candidate will get out of this mess. we have had three and a half years of continuing economic stagnation. they want to hear the plans for the future. >> can i ask about -- you cannot control the weather, major world events. the middle east -- we seem to have this ticking clock regarding iran. and daughter's statements out of the israelis about their need to do something about this -- and stronger statement of the israelis about their need to do something about this. what kind of impact would that happen in the middle of a campaign? >> i did not have any comment about the timing of an attack like that of the governor

believes that iran pose a pursuit of a nuclear weapon is the number one foreign policy challenge facing america and the world. but we have seen over the past four years is that president obama's policy of engagement with ahmadinejad and his radical iranian regime has partly failed. we have not made any progress over the last three and a half years to stop it -- iran from achieving nuclear status. they are now closer than ever based on the reports that we receive. every option needs to be on the table with respect to dealing with this crisis. and governor romney has made that clear as well. running -- the clock is out. israel is a sovereign nation. they are going to take whatever action they believe is necessary to protect themselves and their people.

>> take behind the curtain. as the campaign operation, these unknowable events, do you have a playbook on the shelf? miss is how we need to adjust ourselves to deal with this issue. is that done in real time? what you cannot predict world events but you can look for a leader who is -- has been in these types of crisis situations before. in mitt romney, we have a leader who has an unparalleled capacity to lead. he has said -- he has done in helping other businesses turnaround operations, he did it when he went into the cell nikola became is. they were on the press the press facing a financial calamity. and a lack of public confidence because of the scandal. he turned that situation around.

in massachusetts, he ran for governor when the state was in recession. the budget was severely unbalanced and he directed the problem. what you cannot predict of that double take -- shape a presidency, you can predict how a peter will react based on their previous experience. with mitt romney, we have a track record that can be examined. barack obama was elected, there was no track record. we were voting on the hope that he would rise to the occasion. i do not think anybody belize barack obama is a bad person. but i think he is in over his head. he does not have the leadership policy this is the -- qualities necessary to turn around this economy. >> who does the governor turned to in a situation like that? with governor george w. bush, it was condoleezza rice.

constantly at his side. >> there are a wide range of people. we have a foreign-policy team. the governor communicates with former secretaries of state, whether henry kissinger are george shultz. condoleezza rice. i do not know if he has spoken specifically with colin powell but it is not beyond the governor to call him if he felt necessary to get his input. he succeeded vice of a wider range of people. >> that is an important point. but mitt romney looks for is not one voice. to advise him. he wants to hear a whole spectrum of opinion. then he takes his counsel and make his decision. try to say he goes to this person or that person is not the way he operates. >> let's turn to the overall state of the race. maybe you can answer this question.

i can tell you the answer before the -- 56% disapproved of the way barack obama is handling the economy which inverters say is their number-one issue. why is mitt romney not further ahead? an incumbent with those numbers should not be in the game. >> the key phrase is he is the incumbent. it is not easily beating incumbent presidents. just because he is the incumbent president's, but voters tell us is they do not -- he does not get all the blame for that. they started with great hopes about the president and now there has been disappointment. there is a sense they expected a lot more from the sky. you look at the data and undecided voters, i think there

is a sense among americans that they are ready for a change. the are ready to fire this president. we are making the case right now to hire mitt romney. that is what we're doing here at the convention. this is a very tight race. you just did not beat incumbents with all the power that he has at his disposal that easily. regardless of what the overall numbers are. there is no race -- we have been outspent by $60 million. in television advertisements. >> wait a minute - >> your side has been spent down. >> what we want to do is deliver our message. the super pacs were helpful but we have no coordination with

them and they deliver what they intend to deliver. >> how are they doing? >> i think they're doing a fine job. absolutely. >> there are hits and misses, though. >> yes. the more hits than mrs.. -- thatn misses. >> do viewers at home know the difference between an ad and a super pac ad? >> i did not think so. i think everybody absorbers' the information and they did not necessarily discern from what is a super pac, an ie. all these different players now. >> i wonder if you have different perspectives on this. with this complete saturation we are seeing already on the airwaves -- ohio.

we talked about the numbers in cleveland. >> there have been more at the columbus, ohio, in july of this year then ran in october of 2008. >> with that kind of saturation, i cannot think it will slow down in the fall. do the ads make any difference? the 33rd time they have seen at the mitt romney singing god bless america, does it matter anymore? people tune in doubt? >> i think it is a combination of advertising and the governor's message. i think it plays a in but does not dominate. >> of living have not seen it 33 times. -- hopefully they have no seen it 33 times.

what you see in presidential campaigns, tv ads have less of a role in. people want to learn more about the campaign. ads that inform them and tell the new information they did not know -- >> how many of those are out there? >> b. fill very -- we have had three weeks here where we hit away on medicare and health reform. this was new information to voters. there are only so many different ways to tell people the economy is not very good. >> they are living it.

>> what percentage of tha ds between now and november -- the ads between now and november will be about mitt romney, who he is and what he will do and that in the white house has failed? >> i think it will be an even mix. we started this campaign, we launched our message with what mitt romney would do as president. voters now barack obama's record. they know what they do not like about it and they wanted to know what mitt romney would do as president. that is how we launched our campaign. our first four ads outlining what he would do as president. we will continue to drive that message. >> if you head up the various

folks that make at for the campaigns. we have been reading about how you brought a that the folks from madison avenue. experience selling soap, cars, detergent. is that the same skill set? what is the difference? >> i think there is a little bit of a difference. when you are selling soap, ivory is not being attacked by dove. it is a little bit more dynamic but they bring a lot of creativity. we want it with a bunch of different points of view. >> four years ago, this was our concept of having many voices at the table. ashley has done a beautiful job

on that. she has a team down there. we have had people who of cut their teeth at the political at 4 madison avenue and a combination. it is a dynamic process. scripps are constantly -- scripts are constantly coming through the transom. it is fascinating to see how different creative people bring it back to us in with a different perspective. really fresh. >> what has been the most effective at this cycle? >> that is a good question. i think are most effective at is our welfare act. holding president obama accountable. it is new information.

most effective against that -- i did not know. the obama campaign has spent a lot of money attacking governor romney and it has the move to the numbers. >> we are always -- people are always going to get pinocchio's. we have a very strong case on medicare, welfare reform. we -- scanned the ads. what these fact checkers come to shi -- this with their own sets of thought. >> with our having an argument

about welfare reform. big issue. they have different views than us. they put new rules on the table. they wrote memos about it. clearly they are giving states the opportunity to change the work requirement in their welfare to work programs. they have had different explanations for what they're doing that. first it was requested by the governor's of utah and nevada. we heard from them, they said no, abidine now what to change the work requirement. in the sit nothing has changed. the despicable in place. you do not put the rule in place without an expectation. so this is a good discussion to half. it is over an issue. we are not accusing the president of being a felon or killing anybody. we are taking issue with the change he is making to the welfare program. that is what campaigns are about. >> you bring up the felon and

the man his wife died of cancer which was not an act. what is the ad that has most annoyed, irritated, offended governor romney. i would imagine that is high on the list. >> i think that was probably that at that got under his skin a bit because it was so over the top and some late lee false. -- so blatantly false. but they have put a quarter million dollars behind at online. -- >> they have put a quarter million dollars behind that ad online. >> it is not chicken scratch. >> i know it most irritated me. >> we can talk about the other

ads but there is a long list. this is their strategy. i am not so sure it would not be in strategy i would employ if i was in their position try to defend a bad record on the economy. this will be a referendum. and has to be. >> if he had the good record, he would be talking about it but he is not. at the voiding the number one concern of voters have -- and avoiding the number one, it's a concern voters have. >> this week, trying to get people to hire mitt romney. this whole week you're putting together a program that is to try to give the american people in reason to hire mitt romney.

i want to focus on that for a second. give us a sense of what we will hear from governor romney on thursday night. and what you want -- what is the american voter going to know about mitt romney when you leave that they will know when this is all over? >> @ americans are hungry for more information about mitt romney. over the next 10 weeks of the journal election campaign, they will be acquiring that information. the convention is it a platform for filling in some the biographical blanks. ann romney opens up a door to a dimension of mitt romney that people do not usually hear about. it is his role as a devoted father, a husband, a grandfather. we will talk about that. you will hear from former olympians about the impact that had on their at but the careers. by virtue of his running one of

the most successful games ever held on u.s. soil. so we will be filling in the biographical details. we are answering questions that americans have about mitt romney. this really as the kickoff for the general election campaign. i cannot turn on a cable channel without watching any documentary about mitt romney. these questions are being answered. it is a process. but i believe by the time november 6 comes, people have a full and complete picture of who mitt romney is as a businessman, as a governor, as the leader of a -- in the page movement and as a husband, father, and grandfather. >> in terms of governor romney's speech, -- >> stores stevens. >> what is a process like.

is he still making changes? >> they were working on it this weekend. i'm sure we will run through it a few more times. it is probably pretty much done. >> i have personally been the many mitt romney speeches. how's this different? >> this is his -- a lot of people will tune in for the first time. people like us who have been watching at home. every four years, the conventions come on. mitt romney will make his case and tell a little bit about himself. and talk about his vision for america. in a fairly expensive way. this will be -- and in a

personal way. when people watch that, they will see the mitt romney they will get to know between now and november 6. >> this is obviously different for every reason to just said. does it tend to get nervous for stuff like this? >> he's pretty even keel. >> he does not get too anxious. this is a big moment. there will be tens of millions of people tuning in. they want to hear mitt romney lay out his vision for the future. he will contest that vision with the failures of the obama presidency and top about the personal side. i think you're gonna be in store for a terrific speech. >> let's go to jonathan miller of villa twitter. does the ron ryan ticket

support the voting ideologue chances -- changes. >> i'm not totally familiar with what is happening in those states but i can tell you that both governor rahm and congressman ryan want every little vote to count. they are taking steps to make sure that every legal vote count. >> do they support a photo of virgo -- a photo id? >> we support the right of state to insure that every legal vote is counted. >> there have a study showing that is no extra burden. beazer government issue. i live in virginia. and the right across the street from my voting place. i know the people and i have to

show i.t.. you listen to some people advocating these changes and you get a sense there is massive voter fraud. >> yet the show id to get on an airplane. what is showing -- what is wrong with selling and id making sure people -- >> the elderly, the poor. not everybody is going through all that. >> the steps they're taking to make sure people have valid ids i did not is a problem. >> you agree with the legislative leader in pennsylvania who said this law would be a political benefit and help mitt romney win the state of pennsylvania. >> i can tell you that governor romney and congressman ryan

support the efforts to make sure that legal vote count. >> are you ready for the recount? how big a legal team to you have ready for the day after the election? what i am sure our legal team is oliver that. la hopefully -- did you have to read transition some of your people? [laughter] columbus dispatch did a survey. they are very proud of the service in other states. they have a good reputation. they interviewed 1700 people and when they got the results, there was a two-person difference. between who they voted for. >> the single most accurate predictor of who wins as gallup 108th out.

-- 100 days out. >> the other gallup survey, the candidate goes into the first convention had. decem i yesterday. those numbers were up by a and 1. >> we will take that. >> a question i was asked last night -- percentage chance that mitt romney wins. i know you think he's going to win. let's put that aside. >> come on. i am not a betting guy. every but i have made in the campaign, i have lost three >> he does that have a good record. we still very good.

we are going into a convention in the dead heat. an opportunity to tell voters more about who mitt romney is, what he stands for and what he will do as president for the next four years. the undecided voters are not undecided reelecting barack obama. they have made their minds on that. our job is to make the sale. can you paint a portrait of a chris whittle bolder in this collection? so much of the country has already decided. what does a dissuaded voter look like? >> i like going back to the -- >> she looked like ashley. [laughter] they are not pay much attention to health care and campaign yet. they are being squeezed by the obama economy.

there are maybe making more money and it is not going as far as it used to. they had to save. they are couponing on a regular basis. usually white suburban minute -- women, middle age. and they are struggling to make ends meet. the living paycheck to paycheck. lee r. and medical bill away from falling off the financial cliff. they're looking for someone who can speak to their economy. not let the federal members but how is this person going to help me? they have been dissatisfied so far with barack obama. they want to see what mitt romney is all about perry >> what do they think when something like this todd aiken story comes out? >> to these women, the issues they are concerned about are the survival of the family. and making ends meet in the

household. they're worried about providing for their kids. what kind of feature their kids a going to have. those are the issues they're concerned about. they are not we did some of these voters are not paying that much attention to the nightly news. they will pay attention to a couple of different points. >> there are concerned not just about the kitchen table issue that neal described the when i talk to women, they are interested in the deficit because the view that as a burden on their kids. the are very interested in the jobs numbers because they're worried about their kids being able to get jobs. those are the kinds of issues we hear the women we are looking to reach top about. same issues we are talking to men about to a great degree. >> you're looking at a dozen or so states. what is the one state we have to

say look if mitt romney does not win, state x. >> indiana. [laughter] i'm just kidding. we are already giving you that one. >> we are not going to tell you which state. [laughter] >> good try, though. obama, what is the state if he loses he is toast? >> come on. what is interesting is -- he is playing defense. every state up for grabs is a state he won four years ago. >> you look of wisconsin, it is

now a tossup. the commission again. a poll came out a few days ago showing tided there. i think minnesota is down to single digits. these are states -- >> 7 was that the connecticut. >> you're not going to win connecticut. [laughter] the gives an idea of how natural some of the numbers are. if we are down by seven points in connecticut, what does that say about the national numbers? about how close the race is and how tight it will be? >> he sound confident. i know is your job but inside the rahm the organization, there is a steadiness of purpose. people cannot get emotional about the day-to-day development because we know what really matters is the state of the economy. we think we have a candidate with the strongest pro jobs message. that creates a lot of servitude

in the team. it will be a tough battle. it will go down to the last day. but we believe that with the -- what the voters are looking for is someone who can rescue them from this desperately bad economy. >> gillespie close race. if you listen to what he just said, and sounds like you are looking we did you could have an electoral landslide. we assume this is going to be a really close race. is that what you think? >> i think it will be close but i also like that we are on offense and that the states that the obama campaign thought were safely in their column. talked-about wisconsin. the selection of paul ryan has a really shaken things up in wisconsin. the question to be directed to the obama campaign. if you lose wisconsin, how do you make up those 10 electoral

votes? it blows a hole in their strategy to win the electoral college, not ours. >> as the landscapes changing over the last couple weeks and the plainfield starts to get more certain and going in places they did not think it would have to play as hard a in, and the resources they have allotted for certain states, they have to shift to other places. >> i have a question. the villa facebook -- via facebook. it looks like he may not be a fan. the question as -- what qualifies paul ryan as vp? a specific achievements? can he reached across party

lines or is he just another idealark? >> they will tell you he is a good guy? he has worked on a bipartisan basis with the democrats. what i like about paul ryan is he makes wisconsin achievable for mitt romney. are there more practical reasons? we can talk about that in a second. this is a first-generation [inaudible] to be on the ticket. i think they will like the energy he brings to the ticket. everything about him speak to his middle-class values. he went to public university. he had to be a leader in his family at a young age when his dad passed away. he's a catholic. catholics are an important swing vote particularly in states like ohio, pennsylvania, and wisconsin.

so we like that about -- he brings some political energy to the ticket and then on the practical side, he complements mitt romney perfectly. we all know about mitt romney's economic experience. he knows how jobs come and go. he can fix this economy. what paul ryan brings to the governing equation in mitt romney administration is a person who understands the nooks and crannies of the federal budget. it is an unfamiliar document to mitt romney. paul ryan will help them to identify redone the programming in the federal government. redundant agencies, duplication. places where we can economize and streamlined. and do that on an expedited basis because we do have a crisis facing us upon the arrival of the new year. >> democrats were thrilled by his stick. when i started saying a few weeks out -- thrilled by his pick.

when i started saying a few weeks out that paul ryan was on the short list, they said give me a break. they say you had them the whole medicare issue and took ownership of the brian budget -- the ryan budget. why are they wrong? >> the budget that comes out of the mitt romney paul ryan campaign will be the nominee budget. >> democrats will try to muddy the water as much as possible. >> the medicare issue -- i believe perhaps what they were thinking three weeks ago is not what they are thinking today. we did put this issue out right after the selection of paul ryan. we have a great back and forth with the obama campaign on it. that is what we like to do. we like to put issues out there and talk about it.

we are doing just fine on the -- >> the abc poll shows who can better handle medicare, we are up by four points. moving to a voucher system is very unpopular still. >> not as popular as a writ in the medicare of -- >> under a bomb they ryan administration, one of the principles that would follow -- under a romney ryan plant administration, one of the principles that would follow -- that is not a principle that president obama followed. he used medicare as a piggy bank to pay for a massive new entitlement.

>> i think the argument could be made they took money from seniors and transferred it to younger workers. that is what they really did. they did not make those cuts in medicare to make medicare more solvent going forward. they did it to create new entitlements for the federal government. ? they try to rein that in? >> that is not what he did. he took money out of medicare to pay for more federal spending. to pay for the most unpopular program via seen in years in washington -- obamacare. looking at medicare to obamacare makes this issue much more resonant with voters -- linking medicare to obamacare makes this issue much more resonant with voters. >> paul ryan with his mom. he would get hammered over and

over again. your car to get democrats, the obama campaign will hit relentlessly on this. is paul ryan's mother a secret weapon? >> i hope so. she was great. she was wonderful. >> are we going to see him down here in florida. absolutely. >> she was obviously a proud mom. i never met her. >> did you interview his mom? >> no. that was not one of the references i saw. but that was a last-minute thought. he asked if he could bring his mother out onstage. she was wonderful. >> there has been at least one poll down here that makes it

look like florida has moved in the president's direction. >> a survey is not news. we tend to look every single poll as it is breaking news. public opinion is dynamic. it changes all the time. we are going to be fine here. >> mitt romney also inherit the republican party in total. the republican party becomes his lot. demint to todd akin before. - we mentioned todd akin before. the brand of the republican party is down. what is your assessment of the state of the republican party that mitt romney is inheriting? correct excited and united.

-- >> excited and united. what yes seen since the conclusion of the primary process is a blessing of mitt romney and his economic message. i think that is what will carry the day for us. >> you do not see any brand id for the republican party? >> i see a jazzed up base of republic importers. -- supporters. >> you look at the party members now. 3-7 points down. a big change from where we were four years ago. the enthusiasm among republicans this election cycle is through the roof. this is not a 2008 election cycle in terms of the energy. we feel like our base cannot wait for november 6. it cannot wait to both. the are ready to go.