our problem is not that he is a bad person. our problem is that he is a bad president. [cheers and applause] you think he is watching tonight? because his new slogan for this campaign is the word forward. forward? the government that spends $1 trillion more than it takes in? $800 billion stimulus that created more debt than jobs? government intervention into health care paid for by higher taxes and cuts to medicare, scores of new rules and regulations? these ideas don't move us forward. these ideas move us backwards.

these are tired and old big government ideas that have failed every time and everywhere tried. these are the ideas people come to america to get away from. [applause] these are ideas that threaten to make america more like the rest of the world instead of helping the rest of the world become more like america. as for his old slogan, under barack obama the only change is that hope is hard to find. now, sadly, millions of americans are insecure about their future. but instead of inspiring us by reminding us of what makes a special, he divides us against

each other. he tells americans that they are worse off because others are better off, that rich people got rich by making other people poor. open change has become divide and conquer. but in the end, this election, it does not matter how you feel about president obama, because this election is about your future. it is not about his. [applause] and this election is not simply a choice between a democrat and republican. it is a choice about what kind of country we want america to be. [applause] and as we prepared to make this choice, we should remember what made us special. for most of our human history, almost everybody was poor. power and wealth only belong to if you. your rights are whatever your rulers allowed you to have.

your future was determined by your past. if your parents were poor, so would you be. if you were born without opportunities, so were your children. but america was founded on the principle that every person has god-given rights. [applause] founded on the belief that power belongs to the people, that government exists to protect our rights and serve our interests, and that no one should be tracked in the circumstances of their birth. we should be free to go as far as our talents and our work can take us. [applause] and we're special -- we're special because we are united not as a common race or ethnicity, we are bound together by common values. the family is the most important

institution in society. and that almighty god is the source of all we have. [applause] wear special because we never made the mistake of believing that we are so smart that we can rely solely on our leaders or on our government. our national motto, "in god we trust" reminded us that faith in our creator is the most important value of them all. [applause] and were special -- we're

special because we've always understood -- understood the scriptural admonition that for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required. [applause] well, my fellow americans, we are a uniquely blessed people and we have honored those blessings with the enduring example of an exceptional america. i know for many of you watching at home tonight, the last few years have tested your faith in the promise of america. maybe you are at an age when you thought you would be entering retirement, but now because your savings and investments are wiped out your future is uncertain. maybe after years of hard work this was the time you expected to be your prime earning years, but instead, you've been laid off at your house is worth less than your mortgage. maybe you did everything you told you needed to do to get ahead. he studied hard and finished

school, but now your 0 thousand of dollars in student loans. you can't find a job in your field. and you had to move back in with your parents. you want to believe that we are still that special place where anything is possible. but you just don't seem -- things don't seem to be getting any better, and you wonder if things will ever be the same again. yes, we live in a troubled time, but the story of those who came before us reminds us that america has always been about new beginnings, and mitt romney is running for president because he knows that if we are willing to do for our children what our parents did for us, life in america can be better than it has ever been. [applause] my mother was one of seven

girls whose parents often went to bed hungry so their children wouldn't. my father lost his mother when he was 9. he had to leave school and go to work, and he would work for the next 70 years of his life. they immigrated to america with a little more than the hope of a better life. my dad was a bartender. my mom was a cashier, a hotel maid, a stock clerk at kmart. they never made it big. they were never rich, and yet they were successful, because just a few decades removed from hopelessness, the impossible for us all the things that have been impossible for them. many nights a growing up i would hear my father's keys jingling at the door as he came home after another 16-hour day. many mornings, i woke up just as my mother got home from the overnight shift at kmart. when you are young and in a hurry, the meaning of moments like this escape you. but now, as my children get

older, and understand better. my dad is the tellers -- [speaking in spanish] --in this country, you're going to be able to accomplish all the things we never could. a few years ago, during a speech, i noticed a bartender behind the portable bar in the back of the ballroom. i remember my father, who worked as in many years as a banquet bartender. he was grateful for the work he had. but that is not the life he wanted for us. you see, he stood behind the bar in the back of the room all those years so one day i could stay behind a podium in the front of a room. [applause]

that journey from behind that barred two behind this podium, goes to the essence of the american miracle. that we are exceptional, not because we have more rich people here. we are special because dreams that are impossible anywhere else, they come true here. but that is not just my story. that is your story. that is our story. that is the story of your mother's, who struggled to give you what they never had. that is the story of your father walked two jobs so the doors that had been close to them will be open for you. that's the story of that teacher or a coach who taught you the lessons that made you what you are today. and it is the story of a man who

was born into an uncertain future in a foreign country. his family came to america to escape revolution. they struggled through poverty and the great depression, and yet he rose to be admired businessman and public servants. and in november, his son mitt romney, will be elected president of these united states. [applause] in america -- in america, we're all just a generation otwo removed from somebody who made our future the purpose of their lives.

america is the story of everyday people who did extraordinary things, a story of woven deep into the fabric of our society. their stories may never be famous, but in the lives they lived, you will find the essence of america's greatness. and to make sure that america is still a place where tomorrow is always better than yesterday, that is what our politics should be about. and that is what we are deciding this election. we decided -- do we want our children to inherit our hopes and dreams? where do we what do you do we want them to inherit our problems? because mitt romney believes if we succeed in changing the direction of our country, howard golden and grandchildren will be the most prosperous generation ever and their achievements will astonish the world.

[applause] the story of our time will be written by americans who haven't yet even been born. let us make sure the right -- that we did our part. that, in the early years of this new century, we live in an uncertain time, but we did not allow. to cause us to abandon what made a special. we chose more government instead of more freedom. we chose the principles of our founding to solve the challenges of our time. we chose a special man to lead us in a special time. we chose mitt romney to lead our nation and, because we did, the american merkel lives on for another generation to inherit.

my fellow republicans -- my fellow koher -- my fellow americans, i am proud to introduce to you, the next president of the united states of america, mitt romney. [cheers and applause] ♪

[cheers and applause]

[cheers and applause]

>> thank you. mr. chairman, delegates.

i accept your nomination for president of the united states. i do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you placed in me. it is an honor and an even greater responsibility. tonight i am asking you to join me to walk together to a better

future. by my side, i have chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. he represents the best of america, a man who will always make us proud my friend and america's next vice president, paul ryan. in the days ahead, you will get to know paul and janna better. but last night america got to see what i saw in paul ryan a strong and caring leader who is down to earth and confident in the challenge this moment demands. i love the way he lights up around his kids and how he's not embarrassed to show the world how much he loves his mom. but paul, i still like the playlist on my ipod better than yours.

four years ago, i know that many americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. that president was not the choice of our party but americans always come together after elections. we are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than what divides us. when that hard fought election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, americans were eager to go back to work, to live our lives the way americans always have optimistic and positive and confident in the future. that very optimism is uniquely american. it is what brought us to america. we are a nation of immigrants. we are the children and grandchildren and great- grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called america could be better. they came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world but

for the richness of this life. freedom. freedom of religion. freedom to speak their mind. freedom to build a life. and yes, freedom to build a business. with their own hands. [cheers and applause] this is the essence of the american experience. we americans have always felt a special kinship with the future. when every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the statue of liberty, or knelt down and kissed the shores of freedom just ninety miles from castro's tyranny, these new americans surely had many questions. but none doubted that here in america they could build a better life, that in america their children would be more blessed than they.

but today, four years from the excitement of the last election, for the first time, the majority of americans now doubt that our children will have a better future. it is not what we were promised. every family in america wanted this to be a time when they could get ahead a little more, put aside a little more for college, do more for their elderly mom who's living alone now or give a little more to their church or charity. every small business wanted these to be their best years ever, when they could hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times, open a new store or sponsor that little league team. every new college graduate thought they'd have a good job by now, a place of their own, and that they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future. this is when our nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back those massive deficits. this was the hope and change america voted for. it's not just what we wanted. it's not just what we expected.

it's what americans deserved. [cheers and applause] you deserved it because during these years, you worked harder than ever before. you deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car, you cut out movie nights and put in longer hours. or when you lost that job that paid $22. 50 an hour with benefits, you took two jobs at 9 bucks an hour

[cheers and applause] and fewer benefits. you did it because your family depended on you. you did it because you're an american and you don't quit. you did it because it was what you had to do. but driving home late from that second job, or standing there watching the gas pump hit 50 dollars and still going, when the realtor told you that to sell your house you'd have to take a big loss, in those moments you knew that this just wasn't right. but what could you do? except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic. hug your kids a little longer; maybe spend a little more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day. i wish president obama had succeeded because i want america to succeed.

[applause] but his promises gave way to disappointment and division. this isn't something we have to accept. now is the moment when we can do something. with your help we will do something. [applause] now is the moment when we can stand up and say, "i'm an american. i make my destiny. and we deserve better! my children deserve better! my family deserves better. my country deserves better!" so [cheers and applause]

here we stand. americans have a choice. a decision. to make that choice, you need to know more about me and about where i will lead our country. i was born in the middle of the century in the middle of the country, a classic baby boomer. it was a time when americans were returning from war and eager to work. to be an american was to assume that all things were possible. when president kennedy challenged americans to go to the moon, the question wasn't whether we'd get there, it was only when we'd get there. [applause] the soles of neil armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on our souls and in our national psyche. ann and i watched those steps together on her parent's sofa. like all americans we went to bed that night knowing we lived in the greatest country in the history of the world.

god bless neil armstrong. [cheers and applause] tonight that american flag is still there on the moon. and i don't doubt for a second that neil armstrong's spirit is still with us: that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an american. [cheers and applause] my dad had been born in mexico and his family had to leave

during the mexican revolution. i grew up with stories of his family being fed by the us government as war refugees. my dad never made it through college and apprenticed as a lath and plaster carpenter. and he had big dreams. he convinced my mom, a beautiful young actress, to give up hollywood to marry him. he moved to detroit, led a great [applause] automobile company and became governor of the great state of michigan. we were mormons and growing up in michigan; that might have seemed unusual or out of place but i really don't remember it that way. my friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to. my mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all the gift of unconditional love. they cared deeply about who we would be, and much less about what we would do. unconditional love is a gift

that ann and i have tried to pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. all the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers. [applause] if every child could drift to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family and god's love -- this world would be a far more gentle and better place. mom and dad were married 64 years. and if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist because every day dad gave mom a rose, which he put on her bedside table. that's how she found out what

happened on the day my father died she went looking for him because that morning, there was no rose. my mom and dad were true partners, a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. when my mom ran for the senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. i can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, "why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?" [cheers and applause] i wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like governor mary fallin, governor nikki haley, governor susana martinez,

senator kelly ayotte and secretary of state condoleezza rice. [cheers and applause] as governor of massachusetts, i chose a woman lt. governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women, and in business, i mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies. i grew up in detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy, like my dad. but by the time i was out of school, i realized that i had to go out on my own, that if i stayed around michigan in the same business, i'd never really know if i was getting a break because of my dad. i wanted to go someplace new and prove myself. those weren't the easiest of days too many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this

need to re-enact a different world war every night. but if you ask ann and i what we'd give, to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room. well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that. those days were toughest on ann, of course. she was heroic. five boys, with our families a long way away. i had to travel a lot for my job then and i'd call and try to offer support. but every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done or the kids out the door to school. i knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine. and i knew without question, that her job as a mom was a lot

more important than mine. [cheers and applause] and as america saw tuesday night, ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to. [cheers and applause] like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church. when we were new to the community it was welcoming and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved to town or just joined our church. we had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregants from all walks of life and many who were

new to america. we prayed together, our kids played together and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways. and that's how it is in america. we look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support, in good times and bad. it is both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. the strength and power and goodness of america has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families, our faiths. [applause] that is the bedrock of what makes america, america. in our best days, we can feel the vibrancy of america's communities, large and small. it's when we see that new business opening up downtown. it's when we go to work in the morning and see everybody else on our block doing the same. it's when our son or daughter calls from college to talk

about which job offer they should take. and you try not to choke up when you hear that the one they like is not far from home. you that good feeling when have more time to volunteer to coach your kid's soccer team, or help out on school trips. but for too many americans, these good days are harder to come by. how many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in america? many of you felt that way on election day four years ago. hope and change had a powerful appeal. but tonight i'd ask a simple question: if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's president obama? you know something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. [laughter]

[cheers and applause] the president hasn't disappointed you because he wanted to. the president has disappointed america because he hasn't led america in the right direction. he took office without the basic qualification that most americans have and one that was essential to his task. he had almost no experience working in a business. jobs to him are about government. i learned the real lessons about how america works from experience. when i was 37, i helped start a small company. my partners and i had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses. so some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. we should bet on ourselves and

on our advice. so we started a new business called bain capital. the only problem was, while we believed in ourselves, nobody else did. we were young and had never done this before and we almost didn't get off the ground. in those days, sometimes i wondered if i had made a really big mistake. i had thought about asking my church's pension fund to invest, but i didn't. i figured it was bad enough that i might lose my investors' money, but i didn't want to go to hell too. [laughter] [applause] shows what i know. another of my partners got the episcopal church pension fund to invest. today there are a lot of happy retired priests who should thank him.

that business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great american success story. some of the companies we helped start are names you know. an office supply company called staples where i'm pleased to see the obama campaign has been shopping; the sports authority, which became a favorite of my sons. we started an early childhood learning center called bright horizons that first lady michelle obama rightly praised. at a time when nobody thought we'd ever see a new steel mill built in america, we took a chance and built one in a corn field in indiana. [cheers and applause] today steel dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the united states. these are american success stories. and yet the centerpiece of the

president's entire re-election campaign is attacking success. is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the great depression? in [applause] america, we celebrate success, we don't apologize for it. [cheers and applause] we weren't always successful at bain. but no one ever is in the real world of business. that's what this president doesn't seem to understand. business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding,

but always striving. it is about dreams. usually, it doesn't work out exactly as you might have imagined. steve jobs was fired at apple. he came back and changed the world. it's the genius of the american free enterprise system to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent and industry of the american people with a system that is dedicated to creating tomorrow's prosperity rather than trying to redistribute today's. [cheers and applause] that is why every president since the great depression who came before the american people asking for a second term could look back at the last four years and say with satisfaction:

"you are better off today than you were four years ago." except jimmy carter. and except this president. this president can ask us to be patient. this president can tell us it was someone else's fault. this president can tell us that the next four years he'll get it right. but this president cannot tell us that you are better off today than when he took office. america has been patient. americans have supported this president in good faith. but today, the time has come to turn the page. today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us. to put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations.

to forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be. now is the time to restore the promise of america. [cheers and applause] many americans have given up on this president but they haven't ever thought about giving up. not on themselves. not on each other. and not on america. what is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. it doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what america needs. what america needs is jobs. lots of jobs. [cheers and applause] in the richest country in the history of the world, this obama economy has crushed the middle class.

family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher, food prices are higher, utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices have doubled. today more americans wake up in poverty than ever before. nearly one out of six americans is living in poverty. look around you. these are not strangers. these are our brothers and sisters, our fellow americans. his policies have not helped create jobs, they have depressed them. and this i can tell you about where president obama would take america: his plan to raise taxes on small business won't add jobs, it will eliminate them; [applause] his assault on coal and gas and oil will send energy and manufacturing jobs to china; his trillion dollar cuts to our

military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and also put our security at greater risk; his $716 billion cut to medicare to finance obamacare will both hurt today's seniors, and depress innovation and jobs in medicine. [boos] and his trillion-dollar deficits will slow our economy, restrain employment, and cause wages to stall. to the majority of americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, i can guarantee you this: if barack obama is re-elected, you will be right. i am running for president to help create a better future. a future where everyone who wants a job can find one. where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. an america where every parent

knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon. and unlike the president, i have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. [cheers and applause] it has 5 steps. first, by 2020, north america will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables. [cheers and applause] second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. when it comes to the school

your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance. [cheers and applause] third, we will make trade work for america by forging new trade agreements. and when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences. [applause] fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in america will not vanish as have those in greece, we will cut the deficit and put america on track to a balanced budget. [cheers and applause]

and fifth, we will champion small businesses, america's engine of job growth. that means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. it means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. and it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing obamacare. [cheers and applause] today, women are more likely than men to start a business. they need a president who respects and understands what they do. and let me make this very clear unlike president obama, i will not raise taxes on the middle class.

[cheers and applause] as president, i will protect the sanctity of life. i will honor the institution of marriage. [cheers and applause] and i will guarantee america's first liberty: the freedom of religion. president obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. [laughter]

my promise is to help you and your family. [cheers and applause] i will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. president obama began with an apology tour. america, he said, had dictated to other nations. no mr. president, america has freed other nations from dictators. [cheers and applause]

every american was relieved the [crowd chants "usa"] day president obama gave the order, and seal team six took out osama bin laden. but on another front, every american is less secure today because he has failed to slow iran's nuclear threat. in his first tv interview as president, he said we should talk to iran. we're still talking, and iran's centrifuges are still spinning. president obama has thrown allies like israel under the

bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on castro's cuba. he abandoned our friends in poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments, but is eager to give russia's president putin the flexibility he desires, after the election. under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty, and mr. putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone. [cheers and applause] we will honor america's democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. this is the bipartisan foreign

policy legacy of truman and reagan. and under my presidency we will return to it once again. [applause] you might have asked yourself if these last years are really the america we want, the america won for us by the greatest generation. does the america we want borrow a trillion dollars from china? no. does it fail to find the jobs that are needed for 23 million people and for half the kids graduating from college? no. are its schools lagging behind the rest of the developed world? no. and does the america we want succumb to resentment and division? we know the answer. the america we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to

build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness. everywhere i go in america, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for america. there is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. [applause] they lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. they pledged allegiance to the united states of america. that america, that united america, can unleash an economy that will put americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and that will restore every father and mother's confidence that their children's future is brighter even than the past. that america, that united

america, will preserve a military that is so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it. [cheers and applause] that america, that united america, will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our creator, and codified in our constitution. [applause] that united america will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly, and will give a helping hand to those in need. that america is the best within each of us. that america we want for our children. if i am elected president of these united states, i will work with all my energy and soul to restore that america, to lift our eyes to a better future. that future is our destiny.

that future is out there. it is waiting for us. our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. and with your help we will deliver it. let us begin that future together tonight. thank you so very much. they god bless you, may god bless the american people, and may god bless the united states of america. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ["living in amarica"] ♪ ♪

[cheers and applause] ♪ [cheers and applause]

["living in america"] ♪ ♪

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>> mitt romney and paul ryan will be making their first joint campaign appearance after the republican convention when they visit richmond, virginia. you can watch a live as part of our road to the why house coverage at 2:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. -- wrote to the white house coverage. it is the democrats' turn to hold a convention next. on tuesday, delegates will vote on the party's platform and they

will hear from former president jimmy carter, the san antonio texas mayor, and first lady michelle obama. on wednesday, massachusetts senate candidate elizabeth warren, former president bill clinton, and gave both on the presidential nomination. on thursday, the conventional wraps up with nomination acceptance speeches from vice- president biden and president obama. as you have seen all this week, you can watch gavel-to-gavel coverage live from charlotte, north carolina, here on c-span. >>stan greenberg offers his reaction to mitt romney's acceptance speech. and then joe allbaugh discusses resources for