the guy who picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, i could actually see the pavement going by in a hole at the end of the passenger side door. he was a guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he found in a dumpster. is the only pair of decent shoes was a half size too small. when barack started telling me about his family, that is when i knew i had found a kindred spirit, someone whose values and upbringing were so much like mine. you see, barack and i were bob raised by families who did not have much in the way of money or material possessions, but that -- but who had given us something far more valuable, there unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves.

my father was a pump operator at the city water plant. he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when my brother and i were young. even as a kid, i knew there were plenty of days when he was in pain. i knew there were plenty of mornings when it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed. but every morning, i watched my father wake up with a smile, grab his walker, propped himself up against the bathroom sink and slowly shaved and but in his uniform. and when he returned home after a long day's work, my brother and i would stand at the top of the stairs of our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him, watching as he reached down to lift one leg and then the other, to slowly climb his way into our arms. but despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work.

he and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind of education they could only dream of. [applause] and when my brother and i finally made it to college, nearly all of our tuition came from student loans and grants, but my dad still had to pay a tiny portion of that tuition himself. and every semester he was determined to pay that bill right on time, even taking out loans when he fell short. he was so proud to be sending his kids to college, and he made sure we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. you see, for my dad, that is what it meant to be man -- to be a man. [applause] like so many of us, that was the measure of his success in life, being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family.

and as i got to know where rock, i realized that even though he had grown up all the way across e country -- as i got to know barack, he was brought up just like me. he was raised by a single mother who struggle to pay the bills and buy a single grandmother stepped in to help. his grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank and moved quickly up the ranks. but like so many women, she hit a glass ceiling. for years, men and no more qualified than she was, men she had actually trained, were promoted up the ladder ahead of her. they after day, she kept on waking up at dawn to catch the bus, arriving at work before anyone else, giving her best without complaint or regret. she would often tell rocks, as long as you kids do well, that

is all that really matters. like so many american families, our families were not asking for much. they do not begrudge anyone thats success, or care anyone else had more than they did. they admired it. they believe in that fundamental american promise, that even if you don't start out with much. if you work hard and do what you are supposed to do, you should be able to build a decent life for yourself, and even better life for you kids and grandkids. that is how they raise dust. that is what we've learned from their example. we learned about dignity and decency, that how hard you work mattered more than how much you make. that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself. we learned about honesty and

integrity, that the truth matters. take shortcuts are played by your own set of rules. and success does not count unless you earn it fair and square. we learn about gratitude and humility, that so many people have a hand and our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean. we were taught to value everyone's contributions and treat everyone with respect.

those are the values that barack and i and to many of you are trying to pass on to our own children. that is who we are. standing before you four years ago, i knew that i did not want any of that to change if barack became president. today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways i never could have imagined, and i have seen firsthand that being president does not change who you are. it reveals the you are. -- who you are. [applause] i have gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like. and i had seen how the issues that come across the president's desk are always the hard ones. the problems were no amount of data are members will get you to the right answer. the judgment calls where the stakes are so high and there is no margin for error. and as president, you are going to get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people, but at the end of the day when it comes time to make that decision as

president, all you have to guide you are your values and your vision and the life experiences that make you who you are. [applause] so when it comes to rebuilding our economy, barack is thinking about folks like my dad and his grandmother. he is thinking about the pride that comes from a hard day's work. that is why he signed the better fair pay act to help women get equal pay for work. that is why he cut taxes for working families at small businesses and fought to get the of the industry back on its feet. that is how he brought our economy and the brink of collapse to creating jobs again. jobs you can raise a family on, good jobs.

right here in the united states of america. [applause] when it comes to the health of our families, barack refused to listen to those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day. another president. he did not care whether it was the easy thing to do politically. that is not how he was raised. he cared that it was the right thing to do. [applause] he did it because he believed that here in america, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine. our kids should be able to see a doctor when they are sick. and no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or illness. [applause] and he believes that women are more than capable of making our

own choices about our bodies and our health care. [applause] that is what my husband stands for. when it comes to giving our kids reeducation they deserve, barack knows that like me and so many of you, he never could have attended college without financial aid. and believe it or not, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bill was actually higher than our market. we were so young, so in love, and so in debt. and that is why barack has fought so hard to increase to 80 keep interest rates down because he wants every young person to attend college without a mountain of debt. in the end for barack, these

issues are not political. they are personal. because barack knows what it means when a family struggles. he knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids. barack knows the american dream because he has lived it. and he wants everyone in this country, everyone to have the same opportunity no matter who we are or where we are from or what we look like or who we love. [applause] and he believes that when you work hard and done well and walk through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. no, you reach back and you give other folks the same chances that help you succeed.

so when people ask me whether being in the white house has changed my husband, i can honestly say that when it comes to his character and his convictions and his heart, barack obama is still the same man i fell in love with all those years ago. he is the same man who started his career by turning down high-paying jobs and instead of working and struggling -- in struggling neighborhoods where steel plant shutdown, fighting to rebuild communities and get folks back to work. because for barack, success is not about how much money you make. it is about the different to

make in people's lives. -- the diffrence you make in people's lives. he is the same man when our girls were first born with anxiously checked their cribs every few minutes to ensure they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew. you see, that is the man who sit down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering questions about issues in the news, strategizing about middle school french ships -- friendships. that is the man i see in this quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk, poring over the letters people have

sent him. the latter are the father struggling to pay his bills. -- the letter from the father struggling to pay his bills. on the young people with some much promise but so few opportunities. and i see the concern in his eyes. and i hear the determination in his voice as he tells me you will not believe what these folks are going through. it is not right. we have got to keep working to fix this. we have so much more to do. [applause] i see how those stories -- crowd: four more years!

>> i see how those stories, our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams, i see how that is what drives barack obama every single day. and i did not think it was possible. but let me tell you today, i love my husband even more than i did four years ago. even more than i did 20 years ago when we first met. let me tell you why -- i love that he has never forgotten how he started. i love that we can trust barack to do what he says he is going to do, even when it is hard, especially when it is hard. i love that for barack, there is no such thing as the us and them. he does not care whether you are a democrat, a republican, or any of the above. he knows that we all love our country. he is always ready to listen to good ideas. he is always looking for the very best.

-- in everyone he meets. i love that even in the toughest moments, when they are all sweating it, -- when we are all sweating it, barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and noise. just like his grandmother, he keeps getting up and moving forward with patience and wisdom. anchorage and grace. -- with courage and grace. he reminds me that we are playing along came here. and that change is hard. change is low and never happens all at once but eventually, -- change is slow and it never

happens all at once but eventually, we get there. because of men and women who said to themselves, i may not have a chance to fulfill my dreams but maybe my children will. maybe my grandchildren will. so many of us stand here tonight because of their sacrifice. and longing and steadfast love. time and again, they swallow their fears and doubts and did what was hard. so today, when the challenges we face start to seem overwhelming or even impossible, let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation. is who we are as americans. it is how this country was built. [applause]

and if our parents and grandparents could toil and trouble for us, if they could raise beans, sen man to the moon, connect awhirl with a touch of a button, then surely we can keep on sacrificing and building for our own kids and grandkids, right? and if so many brave men and women could wear our country's uniform and sacrifice their lives for our most fundamental rights, then surely we can do our part as citizens of this great democracy to exercise those rights. surely we can get to the polls on election day and make our voices heard. [cheers and applause]

if farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire, if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores, if women could be dragged to jail for speaking -- for seeking the vote, a generation could it be a depression and a fine grade is for all time, if a young creature could lift up to the mountaintop with his righteous dreams, and if prada americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love, then surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at a at great american dream -- at that great american dream.

because in the end, more than anything else, that is the story of this country. the story of unwavering hope, grounded in an unyielding struggle. that is what has made my story and so many other american stories possible. let me tell you something, i say all of this tonight not just as first lady, not just as a wife. you see, at the end of the day, my most important title is still mom in chief. my daughters are still the heart of my heart in the center of my world. but let me tell you, today i have none of those worries from four years ago. not about whether barack and i

were doing what was best for our girls, because today, i know from experience that if i truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and for all of our sons and daughters, if we want to give all of our children a foundation for their dreams, and opportunities worthy of their promise, if you want to give them that sense of limitless possibility, their belief that here in america, there is always something out there better if you are willing to work for it, then we must work like never before, and we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward. my husband, our president, barack obama.

thank you, god bless you, and god bless america. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> coming next, more highlights from the democratic convention in charlotte. we'll hear from a group of congresswomen, former president jimmy carter, new york mayor

cory booker, and chicago mayor rahm emanuel. you are watching "road to the white house coverage on c-span. on tomorrow morning's "washington journal," the capital bureau chiefs -- in north carolina, laura leslie, and university of north carolina at charlotte political science professor of margaret croft will discuss the north carolina above. "washington journal" is live from charlotte all this week, starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern, here on c-span. >> c-span coverage of the democratic convention continues through thursday night. every minute, every speech, live on c-span, c-span radio, an online at c-span.org. >> let me make this pledge to you right here and now.

for every american who is trying to do the right thing, for all those people in government who are honoring the pledge to uphold the law and honor the constitution, no longer will you hear the eight most dreaded words in the english language, the white president's office is on the phone. >> what the obama campaign has been trying to argue all along, and whether people will buy this or not, i don't know. it is not are you better off than you were four years ago, but are you better off than you would have been without barack obama's policy. >> share your opinions and connect with other c-span viewers. >> carolina festival is lining up and down the streets with thousands of people here.

>> we are right across the street. >> convention hub at c-span.org . >> now, a group of female members of congress addresses women voters. they charged republicans with waging a war on women in their policies on health care, the economy, and abortion. we will hear from house democratic leader nancy pelosi. [cheers and applause] >> good evening. good evening. i am nancy pelosi --

[cheers and applause] but my grandchildren call me nimi. for me, politics is an extension of my role as a mother and grandmother. for the democratic women of the house, our work is not about the next election, but rather the next generation. working with president barack obama, we are committed to reigniting the american dream, the ideal that, if you are willing to work hard, played by the rules, and take responsibility, you will have the opportunity to climb the ladder of success. the democratic women of the house are ready to join president barack obama to move america forward. [cheers and applause] >> i am congresswoman rosa

delauro of connecticut -- america's women still make just 77 cents for every dollar men earn. it is even tougher for women of color. those pennies add up to a real difference to middle-class families who are trying to pay their bills, trying to get ahead, and trying to achieve the american dream. we are making progress. the fair pay act -- yes. [cheers and applause] the fair pay act to give victims of pay discrimination their day in court was the first bill the president signed into law. [applause] now we want to pass the paycheck fairness act.

real protection to ensure equal pay for equal work. the democratic women of the house are committed to closing the wage gap for america's families and to move america forward. [applause] i am congresswomen carolyn maloney from the great, great state of new york. [applause] president obama made health- care a right, not a privilege, for all americans. that was a change that brought hope to millions. now, women are beginning to get to the preventative services that they deserve. including birth control. [applause]

if they get sick, or become pregnant, they will not lose their health insurance. [applause] soon, for the very first time, no longer will being a woman be a pre-existing medical condition. [cheers and applause] healthy moms mean healthy families. when my republican colleagues refused to include one single woman on the first panel of witnesses to speak for the concerns of women, i asked, where are the women? where are the women?

where are the women? [cheers and applause] where are they? we are here. now, the women of america are here. and we are on our way to reelect our president, president barack obama. we support our president. [cheers and applause] >> the democratic women of the house are committed to women's health, and to moving america forward with president obama. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> i am congresswoman allyson

schwartz of the great commonwealth of pennsylvania. moving america forward means never going backward on america's great promise of health care for our seniors. medicare. as a daughter who cares for an elderly parent, i know that medical care is not optional for our seniors. we will not let the republicans and the guarantee of medicare, which will cost seniors thousands of dollars and endanger the health and retirement security of millions of americans. americans have worked for medicare. they have paid for their medicare. whether you are 65 or 55 or 45 or 35, you have earned your medicare. [cheers and applause] americans deserve the security

medicare provides. president obama will strengthen and protect medicare. he already has. [applause] democrats will make the tough choices, the right choices, to reduce the deficit and preserve medicare for this generation and the next. the democratic women of the house know that secure retirement moves america forward. [applause] >> i am a congresswoman from wisconsin. i am a mother of three and the

grandmother of three granddaughters. our daughters and our granddaughters, we are working hard to end violence against women. [cheers and applause] no victims of domestic violence or bullying, man or woman, should feel unprotected in america. yet when democrats acted to strengthen the violence against women act, republicans of the house moved to weaken it. [crowd boos] they have even tried to change the definition of rape. [crowd boos] vice president biden wrote the violence against women act. he and president obama and democrats are standing strong to prevent violence for all.

whether you were born on a reservation or in another country, whether you love a man or a woman. [cheers and applause] the democratic women of the house will fight back to move america forward. [applause] >> i am a congresswoman from the great state of new york. [applause] women in business are helping to lead the way for america's economic recovery. nearly 8 million american women own small businesses. they are the engines of job creation and the backbone of the american economy. in this tough economic time, they need a level playing field and a fair shot to get ahead. supporting small businesses means expanding access to credit and supporting

investments that will help them grow. working with president barack obama, house democrats gave entrepreneurial americans the freedom to pursue their passions, success, and the american dream. the democratic women of the house know that when women succeed in our economy, we move america forward. [applause] >> aloha. i am a candidate for congress in hawaii and a captain of the national guard. [applause] when i stepped down from the state legislature and headed to a war zone, i joined a long, proud line of americans who

sacrificed to make us the land of the free and the home of the brave. [applause] as a combat veteran, i know the cost of war. the sacrifices made by our troops and military families are immeasurable. these days it is often women in uniform, moms, wives, even grandmothers, to deploy and leave their families behind. such women and patriots need leaders who truly understand and care about their hardships and will fight for them. leaders like president and michelle obama, and vice president and dr. biden, the strongest advocates our military families could ever have. the democratic women of the

house will honor the service and sacrifice of our troops to move america forward. aloha. [cheers and applause] >> i am running for congress in the great state of ohio to move america forward. moving america forward means higher education that is affordable and prepares our young people to lead in the 21st century a economy. moving america forward means affordable health care and equal pay for equal work. [applause] to unleash the power of moms in the economy, this means affordable, quality child care. we will move america forward on behalf of view, your families

and community, your aspirations. your hopes for your children. that is because america's success is dependent on the success of women, women in education, women in business, women in the military and public service. women will lead us to victory for a strong, democratic majority in congress. [applause] and to reelect vice president joe biden and president barack obama. [cheers and applause] the democratic women of the house are ready to move forward. [applause]

♪ >> fellow democrats, good evening. 36 years ago, i accepted your nomination as president of the united states. i said then that america needed a president who cherished dreams and take the strength and wisdom from you, the american people. ladies and gentlemen, both now and for the next few years, we have just such a leader in the white house. you realize quickly in the oval office that the easy decisions are not the ones that make their way to your desk. whether issues of war and peace are great economic matters. be they popular or unpopular, only a president can make those most difficult choices.

in those moments, it takes integrity and an understanding of why and who you serve. from president obama's first in office, i watched him, as i know you have, face these tough decisions, and always put the issues of middle-class americans above those who, often with larger wallet, have an ever louder voice. i have all boards in march and for that. everyday people from planes to order, to pittsburg, have somebody on their side, thinking about them, working to give them an equal chance in life. in just board short years, he has worked to avert economic calamity, put it dignified in to the ill-conceived war in iraq, and signed into law historic health care reform, a dream that was already decades overdue when i called for it at this convention 36 years ago. he has done it all in the face of bitter, unyielding, in fact,

unprecedented partisan opposition. president obama has restored the reputation of the united states within the world community. dialogue and collaboration are once again possible, with return of a spirit of trust and goodwill to our foreign policy. of course there remains much to do. in communities across america and countries around the world, like this too hard for too many people. we see their struggles and our hearts go out to them. in the coming years, our hands must continue to reach out to them. yet for all that remains to be done at home and abroad, the evidence is overwhelming. president obama is a leader for america. it is up to all of us to make sure the american people understand exactly what is at stake and at risk in this

election. with president obama in the oval office, we can make good progress toward becoming a fairer, more prosperous, and stronger america. a nation adjusting to changing and challenging times while holding true to unchanging principles. a leader among the community of nations. next month, god willing, i will enter the 88th year of my life. one month later, rosalynn and i will enter a voting booth in our hometown of plains to cast another wrote for barack obama and joe biden. we will do so with the confidence and conviction that they understand the challenges and difficult choices that face our nation and our people. in fact, all the peoples of the world, for the years ahead. one thing i have learned over a lifetime as a submarine officer, as president, and as leader of the carter center, is that the biggest challenges and problems that we face don't lend

themselves to quick fixes or to the snappy rhetoric of a television commercial. solutions are complex and difficult, requiring the judgment, skill, and patience to pursue the right policies for the right reasons. there is a clear choice facing voters this november. i am confident that when the facts and policies have been examined, when the record and performances have been reviewed, barack obama and joe biden will once again be elected to lead our beloved country to a better future. thank you. >> newark, new jersey americorps booker, as the co-chair of the democratic platform committee, presented the platform to the delegates. then we will hear from chicago mayor rahm emanuel. >> thank you. thank you.

thank you. thank you very much. our platform is crafted by democrats, but it is not about partisanship, it is about pragmatism. this cannot about left or right, but about moving america and our economy forward. our platform and our president stand firm in the conviction that america must continue to out build, out in the bay, and how to educate the world. you see, this platform is a clear choice between economic pathways forward or back, inclusion or exclusion, both

together as a nation court be a country of savage disparity that favors the fortunate few over the greatest driving force of any economy, a large and robust middle-class. we must choose forward. we must choose inclusion. we must choose growing together. we choose american might an american muscle, standing strong on the bedrock of the american ideal. a strong and empower an ever expanding and growing middle class. [cheers and applause] our platform emphasizes that a vibrant, free, and fair market is essential to economic growth.

we also must pull from our highest ideals of justice and fairness to protect against those skills that destabilize our economy in recent years, like predatory lending, over leveraged financial institutions, and the unchecked avarice of the past that trumped fairness and common sense. our platform calls for significant cuts in federal spending. our platform calls for a balanced deficit reduction plan, where everyone, everyone from elected officials to the wealthy and the super wealthy pay their fair share. please listen to this, because when your country is in a costly

war, with our soldiers sacrificing a broad, and our nation is facing a debt crisis at home, being asked to pay your fair share is not class warfare. it is patriotism. [cheers and applause] we all know that it is common sense that for an economy built to last, we must invest in what

will fuel our economy for generations to come. this is our history, from the transcontinental railroad to the hoover dam, from the dredging of ports to the building of our most historic bridge is, our american ancestors prioritized growth and investment in our nation's infrastructure. and today, our businesses, industry, contra eppendorf, an economy realize -- contador's, an economy realize those investments. let us not fall prey to the rhetoric that speeds of bet investment and stars are nation of critical common-sense building for our future. an investment must include the real engine of job growth in america ", the american small- business.

[applause] that is why this platform committee is proud that our president has made a profound difference for people and businesses in newark, in new jersey, and in our nation as a whole, by cutting taxes for all working families and giving small businesses 18 different tax cuts. for our president, home of the brave or not just the last words of our national anthem, but also a call to action. this is why the president's policies and our platform includes incentives to train and howard bge and higher our troops returning home, not just because it is our moral responsibility,

but because it makes for a stronger, more secure american economy. investing in people does not stop with our troops. our platform and our president make it clear that the most critical investments we can make in the 21st century, knowledge based economy is education. and so, our president has already doubled pell grants, invested in research and development at our universities, and early childhood education in our neighborhoods. this is because our platform and

our president stated clearly our nation cannot continue to beat the world's number-one economy if we are not committed to being at the world's number-one .ducator [applause] it is plane that our platform and our president are not interested in petty political arguments. instead, this platform of big and practical ideas sets forth an emboldened pathway towards the historic hope which has driven generation after generation of american sport. it is our fundamental national aspiration, that no matter who you are, no matter what color or

creed, how you choose to pray, or who you choose to love, that if you are a citizen of the united states of america, if you are an american, first generation or 16th, one who is willing to work hard, played by the rules, and apply your god- given talents, then you should be able to find a job to pay the bills. you should be able to afford health care for your family. you should be able to retire with dignity and respect. and you should be able to give your children the kind of education that allows them to dream even bigger, to go even

further, and accomplish more than you could ever imagine. this is our platform. this is our platform. this is our platform. [cheers and applause] this is our american mission. these are the dreams of our fathers and mothers. this is the demand from the next generation, who calls in a torrent of conviction in classrooms from sea to shining sea, from north to south, when our children proudly proclaim those sacred word from our most profound pledge, that we are a nation with liberty and justice for all.

[cheers and applause] and so --god bless america. god bless america. and so, this november, with the reelection of barack obama, this generation of americans will expand upon the whole, the dreams, the truth, and the promise of america. and so, mr. chairman, on behalf of every single member from every single state in the united

states, we are pleased to move for the adoption of the 2012 democratic national platform. thank you. thank you. ♪ >> please welcome chicago mayor rahm emanuel. >> from president obama's hometown of chicago, it is, honor to speak to you about the president i served. i want to tell you what i saw up close. while serving our president in a time of crisis, about the values

he leans on and the voices he listens to. when president obama entered the white house, the economy was in a freefall. the auto industry on its back. the banks frozen up. more than 4 million americans have already lost their jobs. our men and women in uniform were fighting for what soon would be the longest war in our history. the remember the uncertainty and the fear that seized our country question on that first day, i said, mr. president, which crisis do want to tackle first? he looked me in the eye, with that look he usually reserved just for his chief of staff. "rahm, we were sent here to

tackle all of them, not choose between them." there was no blueprint are how- to manual for fixing a global financial meltdown, and of crisis, two war, and a financial crisis all at the same time. it existed, i would have found it. it crisis was so deep and so dangerous, in one of them would have defined another presidency. we faced a once in a generation moment in american history, and fortunately for all of us, we have a once in a generation president. in those uncharted waters, i saw where the president finds his north star. every night, president obama reeves, 10 letters from everyday americans. when i met with the president at the end of each day, he made

sure that he had their letters to read at his residence. letters from people just hoping for someone in power to understand their struggles. i cannot tell you how many times, whether we were discussing the economy, health care, or energy crisis, the president walked to his desk, took out one of the letters, and wouldn't read it to us and say this is who we are fighting for. parents working hard to save for their child's education. middle-class americans fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their job, their home, or their life savings. it is their voices that president obama brings to the oval office. it is their values i saw him fight for every day. in the first months in office, he fought for the american recovery act to cut taxes for the middle class, to put people to work building america's roads, rails, and runways.

today, our economy has gone from losing 800,000 jobs a month to adding pour point up -- to adding 4.5 million private- sector jobs in the last 29 months. [applause] banks are slowly but surely linney again, and never again will taxpayers foot the bill for wall street excesses'. in case we forgot, that was the change we believe in, bought four, and the change president obama delivered. president obama took office knowing full well that for the last century, presidents have tried to reform our health-care system. today, because the president obama's courage, kids can stay on their parents' plan until they are 26. insurers cannot take you off your policy because you have a pre-existing limit. that will not be able to deny

you because you have a pre- existing condition. because of president obama's leadership, every american will have access to affordable, quality health care. i that the change we believe in and bought for, and the change president obama delivered. i saw him make the tough calls in the situation room. today, our troops in iraq have finally come home so america can do some nation-building here at home. that was the change we believe in and fought for, that was the change president obama delivered. i remember when the president received a report that the auto industry had a few weeks before its collapse. we met in the roosevelt room late into the night. some of the adviser said that in order to save general motors, you had to let chrysler go under. others said it is like throwing

good money after bad. among all the experts, they were only guesses, and nobody put it better than a 1 in 4 shot. only the president suggested going all in to save the industry and the jobs. rising above all the voices in washington, president obama listened to the voices that mattered to him most, the voices of the autoworkers in the committees that depended on them. just like the voices of the field workers in the communities on the south side of chicago where he worked earlier in his career. there were not just companies that needed a loan. they needed a leader to stand up for them. and because a bomb made the right choice, over 1 million americans are still working today.

the american auto industry is not just surviving -- is thriving. [cheers and applause] when mitt romney was willing to turn his back on at akron and toledo, ohio, the president said, i have got your back. that was a change we believe in. that was a change we fought for. that was a change president obama delivered. in those first few months, the president worked to put accountability into schools with race to the top, so that every child has an education that measures up to their full potential. he was willing to demand change and pursue reform. that is also a measure of leadership. [cheers and applause] every challenge was different. every choice was difficult. every time, the leadership was

steady. the one thing i know with absolute certainty, having served too great presidents, is that, in the next four years, an unforeseen crisis, a challenge, or conflict is going to show up and sees this country. whose leadership, whose judgment, whose values you want in the oval office when that lands on the oval office desk? a person who says, in four words, let detroit go bankrupt, or another president who had another four words, not on my watch. [cheers and applause] a person who believes i'm giving tax cuts to the most fortunate, or a president who believes in making college affordable for all americans? a person who wanted to keep don't ask don't tell, or a president who believed that to

you love should not keep you from serving the country love? -- you love? [cheers and applause] when the fog of uncertainty that surrounds a crisis storms into the white house, all the advisers and chiefs of staff have only guesses and hedges to offer the president, it will be the president's leadership that determines how we as a nation meet the challenges that face the middle-class. it is the president paul sebelius that shaped the future in which the middle-class has hope. the president who takes the oath of office will ship not just the next four years, but the next 40 years of this great nation. these next four years -- we need proven leadership, judgment, and values. america needs four more years of barack obama. thank you, and god bless you. [cheers and applause] >> at the new web site, you can see conventions and find out

what viewers are saying on social media sites. here are some of the top video is treated by dnc convention goers. >> i am the state chair from wyoming. for me, the most important issues are honesty and realism. >> i am a delegate from long beach county, florida. in 2008 i was the only barack obama delegate from the county. now the whole county is enthusiastic to re-elect our president. >> i am mayor of the city of tallahassee. i am here at the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. where is your to reelect the president. the most important issue is to save the affordable care act. >> i am from orlando, florida,

congressional district 3. i am supporting president obama because he was a brilliant individual who understands and has compassion that will make a difference. go obama. >> i am state senator from the state of florida. the most important thing for me in this convention is that the president is able to get his message to everyone and can not let them know if he is the better choice. >> i am a delegate from florida. the most important issue for me in this election is education. i am a teacher and elected school board member. obama is the best for education. >> i am a congressman from north carolina. welcome to theing district and to charlotte. most important issue in this election is the economy. we have to get on track. >> the convention continues wednesday night with speeches by massachusetts senate candidate

elizabeth warren and former president bill clinton. it will also feature the official vote on the presidential nomination and a roll call of the state. you can watch our live gavel-to- gavel coverage from charlotte, here on c-span and at c- span.org. >> anytime i want to get the real message of what is going on on tv politics, etcetera, c- span is the source. i do not have -- have to have it filtered through people giving me their opinion. i can hear from the horse's mouth what the source release for dinner. >> she watches our program on up -- c-span on time warner cable. created by cable companies in 1979. brought to you as a public service by your television provider. >> former virginia governor tim kaine is running for senate this year. in 2008, barack obama 1 virginia.

the first time a democratic presidential candidate had done so in 44 years. after tim kane, we would hear from colorado congressman jared polis and former ohio governor ted strickland. >> it is so great to be here tonight. charlotte is doing a great job. i specially want to give thanks to my friends from virginia. [applause] you know, a few years ago, very few imagines virginia would be a battleground state. virginia had last voted for a democrat for president in 1964, but in 2008 we proudly casts our electoral votes for president obama. [cheers and applause] 2008, we elected to outstanding senators, jim

webb and mark warner, and if i had anything to do with it we will win again in 2012. [applause] how did virginia go from red to purple? we did it with grass roots excitement and hard work. we showed virginians that democrats get results. [applause] when i was governor, during the worst recession since the great depression, virginia maintained one of the lowest unemployment rates in america. we kept our aa bond rating. we were named the most business friendly state, best managed state, bessie to raise a child. in virginia, we cut billions from the state government while making critical investments in schools, roads, and bridges. we worked together with democrats, republicans, and independents to get results. over the last four years, the

gop pushed ideology and a wedge issues. just last week, they passed a platform that the man's privacy for super pac's and denying privacy for women in making health care decisions. [crowd boos] meanwhile, democrats fought for the middle-class. we cut taxes for 95% of american families. [applause] we went from 25 months of job loss to 28 straight months of private sector job growth. the auto industry is back and manufacturers are hiring again. but we know we have more to do. this fall, there is a real choice. the other side fights to protect subsidies for big oil. but we want to invest in america's small businesses. they want bigger tax cuts for

those who need them the least. we want to invest in our communities, roads, bridges, infrastructure that will make us more competitive. they want to slash education and training. we want to invest in our future. [applause] there is just a stark choice when it comes to fixing america's budget. remember, the last time they were in charge, the other side churned -- turned a record surplus into a massive deficit with two wars, trillions in tax breaks, loopholes, and entitlements, none of which they would pay for. today, you see what they are pushing. they are pushing budget-busting tax cuts and economy-busting spending cuts. this is to pay -- to pay for the plan, they would raise taxes on the middle-class, turn medicare into a voucher system, and,

rather than raise taxes on the wealthy by even one penny, they put thousands of defense jobs at risk. nots be clear -- that is fiscally responsible, that is fiscally reckless. we cannot afford to try it again. [applause] we have got to move forward. well we have made progress, we still have a long way to go. we will only get there if we elect leaders to put results over ideology. i support president obama because he is that kind of a leader. [applause] he said he would end the war in direct-- iraw.

q. and he has. he said he would draw down troops in afghanistan. today, every single virginia member isguard a studen home for the first time in a decade, and we are so happy. [applause] he said he would go after al qaeda and go afterbin laden, -- go after al qaeda and take out bin laden, and with our great seal team, that is exactly what he did. [applause] he said he would try something teddy roosevelt first talked about -- reforming health care systems -- and he did. [applause] he promised to fight for equal pay for women, college affordability for students, fair treatment for lgbt americans,

and he has kept his word. [applause] our president, president obama, is a tough leader who gets results for the american public. [applause] now and next week, next week we commemorate the 11th anniversary of 9/11. many virginians, too many virginians, who lost their lives at the pentagon on a 9/11 and in the wars that we have fought since. when i was governor, i went to the funerals of our virginia guard members. i know people who lost their kids. i know service members who returned with their lives changed forever. their sacrifice reminds us that we are not democrats or republicans first. we are americans first. [applause]

so, we have been through tough times, we have been through tough times as a nation, but we are tough people. remember, folks, tough times to not last, but tough people do last. [applause] so let's come together. let's come together and show how tough americans are and prove that our best days will always, always be ahead of us. thanks, and have a great night. appreciate it. [applause] >> please welcome colorado congressman in jared polis. ♪

>> my name is jared polis. my great grandparents were immigrants to this country. i am jewish, i am gay, i am a father, i am a son, i am an entrepreneur, and i am a congressman from the great state of colorado. [cheers and applause] first and foremost, i am an american. the america i believe in is the america barack obama believes in. it is the america you believe in, one where, if you play by the rules and work hard, you can get ahead and succeed and live the american dream, one in which loving families of all forms are respected and celebrated as the backbone of society. one in which today cost divisions become tomorrow's unity. in which we transcend partisan bickering and work together to forge a better future for ourselves and our families.

diversity is america's strength. only by working together as one nation can we form a more perfect union. that is why president obama brought to washington a vision for one america, and america in which we can overcome divisions of red and blue to make our country better. it is why he is fighting to make citizenship a reality for young immigrants who go to college and serving our military. it is why he repealed to do not ask -- don't ask don't tell so that no person is prohibited from serving the country they love so that -- because of who they love. [cheers and applause] it is why barack obama became the first sitting president to show his personal support for same-sex marriage. [cheers and applause] consistently, over the last four years, as our nation struggled through the worst depression -- worst recession since the great

depression, barack obama has shown strong leadership and has taken on politics as usual. he has challenged the nation to come together. barack obama is the first presidential candidate refused contributions from lobbyists. he has had the strictest ethics roles in the history of the executive branch. his vision of america where we can overcome our divisions and make our country greater continues to be an enormous challenge to washington, d.c. a challenge to professional pundits whose entire livelihood is never ending partisan bickering. now is our chance to tell the dividers no. tell the special interests and cynical insider's, no. tell the lobbyist, now. -- lobbysists, no. to tell our fellow country -- country when, gay and straight, jewish, christian, muslim, nonbeliever, east and west,

north and south, it is time to tell them, yes. together we are stronger, together we are better, together we are america. that is why we must continue bring america together. tonight, i do not just ask my fellow americans to respect my relationship with my partner and my role as a father to our son, i asked my fellow americans to accept -- i ask my fellow americans to respect the very difficult decisions of this single mother to bring a child into this world because of her heartfelt beliefs. that is why we must help that courageous mother had the support she needs after her child is born. we celebrate americans of all backgrounds and beliefs, even republicans, because it is their

future, too. republicans may have mocked our desire to heal the planet, but we will heal it. for republicans, too. we will create jobs and improve our schools, for republicans, too. we are a diverse country, but we are one country, and we are at our best when we come together as americans, not despite our differences, but in celebration of them, from our newest arrivals to our native american brothers and sisters. we are one america. barack obama understands that together we can take on any challenge and, together, we can move our country forward. out of many, we are one. god bless america. [cheers and applause] ♪ >> please welcome ohio governor ted strickland. [cheers and applause]

>> i am ted strickland, and i come from ohio. let me tell you -- folks in ohio knows what happens when you have a president who stands up for average working people. ina is a grandmother who lost the ability to provide for her family when they closed down the auto plant in ohio. she says thanks to barack obama for having the courage to back an industry that others had given up on. [applause] she is an auto worker and a breadwinner once again. as he celebrated the birth of his newborn sleet -- baby boy, bryan lost his job at the moment he needed it most. today, he is back, making auto batteries in a family -- factory in springfield township, ohio. [applause] he says there is only one reason

that he has a steady paycheck again -- barack obama refused to let the american auto industry die. barack obama refused to let the american auto industry die. [applause] james mason felt like there was no tomorrow when he was laid off. i believe in working everyday, he said. and that was taken from me. but today, james is working 60 hours a week on the jeep liberty line in toledo, ohio. he is thrilled to say that his life right now is the, sleep, and jeep. he is back, he said, because barack obama gave us a chance for a comeback. the auto industry supports one out of their create jobs in ohio than it is alive and growing in america again.

late last year, chrysler announced they were hiring 1100 new auto workers in toledo. just last month, gm announced plans to invest two hundred million dollars in lordstown, keeping 5000 jobs in ohio and building the next generation of the chevy crews, a car we are proud to say is made entirely in ohio. [applause] and just today, the big three auto makers all announced that their auto sales are up by double digits since last year. it has been a long slog back, and we still have a long way to go. but men and women are back to

work who are proud to make something stamp with "made in america appear " it looked like that -- "made in america of." ." for barack obama took office, it looked like that pride could have gone forever. but today,the nation has had 29 straight months of job growth. workers across my state and across the country are getting back to work, the dignity of having a good job and a good salary. you know, vince lombardi was right when he said, "it's not whether you get knocked down, it is whether you get back up." my friends were all knocked

down, but brian, ina and james are all standing today. the auto industry is standing today. the middle class is standing today. ohio is standing today. america is standing strong today. [cheers and applause] that is what happens when you have a president who stands up for average working people. barack obama has stood up for us and now, by god, we will stand up for him! [cheers and applause] quite frankly, barack obama knows what it is like to pay a mortgage and student loans. and he knows what it is like to

watch a beloved family member in a medical crisis and worry that the treatment may be out of reach. barack obama knows our struggles and, my friends, he shares our values. [applause] now mitt romney lives by a different code. to him, american workers are just numbers on a spreadsheet. to him, all profits are created equal, whether made on our shores off all or off -- on our shores or off. that is why he was named outsourcing pioneers. our country was not made by pioneers seeking offshore profits at the expense of american workers here at home. mitt romney proudly wrote an

op-ed entitled "let detroit go bankrupt." if he had had his way, devastation would have cascaded from ohio and across the nation. mitt romney never saw the point of building something when he could profit by tearing it down. if mitt was santa claus, he would fire the reindeer and outsource the elves. [applause] mitt has so little economic patriotism that even his money needs a passport. it summers on the beaches of the cayman islands and winters on the slopes of the swiss alps.

[applause] in matthew 6:21, the scriptures teach us that where your treasury is, there will your heart be also. and my friends, any man who aspires to be our president should keep both his treasure and his heart in the united states of america. [cheers and applause] a and you know, it is well past time for -- the welfare to work, he is lying, as simple as

that. and on his tax return, he is hiding. you know, you have to wondered just what is so embarrassing that he is going to such great lengths to bury the truth. but whatever he is doing to avoid taxes, can it possibly be worse than the ryan-romney tax plan that will slice its to less than half of 1%. there is truth in this election. barack obama is betting on the american worker. mitt romney is betting on a

bermuda shell corporation. barack a obama -- barack obama save the american auto industry. mitt romney saved on his taxes. barack obama is an economic patriot. mitt romney his an outsourcing pioneer. my friends, the stakes are too high. the differences are to start to sit this one out. so let us stand as one on november 6 and move this country for word by reelecting a president barack obama. thank you. [cheers and applause]

>> go to c-span's convention hub to watch web exclusive videos, create and share clips from our coverage, and add your comments. this is all at c- span.org/campaign2012. well there, you'll be able to watch and for his bid in google hangouts. here is one of them, with some pnc delegates. >> you are young people -- not as part of the convention, but also there on the stage, younger leaders, mayors, and members of congress. >> that is absolutely important to have the young people here -- in fact, today, here in the indiana delegation we have the mayor of south bend. he is only 30 years old, the youngest mayor of a city with over 100,000 people. he had a lot to say about what he was trying to do in south bend carri.

the importance of getting involved. seeing a young american like him getting involved in public service, giving back to the community, is inspiring. we need to get more people to do that. >> that you are from another gentleman -- you have been to conventions before. how important are they to the parti? >> conventions are very important to the party. decades ago, you walk into a convention and did not know who would be the nominee. that has changed. but the convention is very important in terms of firing up the base. everybody knows, 2008, a lot of hope, a lot of excitement around the candidacy of president obama, then-senator obama. the country has been hurting. i think this convention is even more important to the base of our party. i myself -- it reminds us of why it is so important to re-elect

vice president biden and president obama. this convention this week, the enthusiasm and energy is important as we go into the fall and drop the contrasts. romney-ryan -- i see it as bush- cheney on steroids. the significance of this election could not be more important to communities like mine, urban communities that are hurting in america. the mayor has talked about steady job growth. i see this very much as a halftime moment, it's time to reenergize the party, remind us of our hopes and values. what we see going for it. i am very much looking forward to the coming days to hear from leaders in our party. >> coming up, speeches from maryland governor martin o'malley, san antonio mayor julian castro, and then first lady michelle obama. you are watching c-span's road

to the white house coverage of the democratic convention. here is what some of you are saying about this year's presidential candidates. >> i am sticking with president obama. for one thing, his health care reform -- my grandson, for the first time in his 23 years, has health care. nobody, nobody has a right to take that away from him. >> romney, after this convention, showed us a very trustworthy and compassionate man he is. also very knowledgeable internationally in business. he has thousands of -- given people thousands of jobs. >> i hope the american people wake up and choose the right president. i have not made my mind up yet. i hear too many lies coming out of all of them. >> i think mr. obama has done a very good job keeping a safe from terrorists. they are still trying to kill us.

i will stick with him. plus, the fact he is trying to get us out of the depressions. i think he has done a pretty good job under the circumstances. >> it is dependent on performance the first term. obama has not performed. so we know we will vote for. -- romney. somebody who will perform. >> it seems to be impossible to support either of the major candidates. i wish that huntsman were still running. maybe i will go with gary johnson. they seem to have a rational approach to the whole situation. >> for the -- from the democratic convention. martin o'malley. he is also chairman of the democratic governors association and -- these are followed by remarks from julian

castro and first lady michelle obama. [cheers and applause] since the first days of the american revolution, maryland has been called the old line state. that is because of this true story of a group of soldiers called the maryland line. they were immigrants and native-born, black-and-white, volunteers all on august 27, 1776, two months into our declaration of independence, out numbers and surrounded, washington's army is about to be crushed forever at brooklyn heights. the british are closing in. with america's future hanging in the balance, word is passed up and down the maryland line. fixed bayonets, we are moving forward and they do. into the breach. they hold off the british just enough for washington's army to escape and fight another day.

today, there is a plaque at the end mass grave of those american soldiers. it reads "for the the 400 who on this battlefield saved the american army." we'll understand that progress is choice. job creation is a choice. whether we move forward or back, this too is a choice and that is what this election is all about. democratic governors with the support of our president are leading their states forward, putting job creation first, balancing budgets, protecting priorities and making the tough decisions right now to create jobs and expand opportunity. together with president obama, we are moving america forward, not back.

with 29 months in a row a private-sector job growth, president obama is moving america forward, not back. by making college more affordable for millions of middle-class families, president obama is a moving america forward, not back. by securing the guarantee of medicare for our seniors, president obama is moving america forward not back. by putting forward a concrete plan to cut waste, asking those of us at the top to pay a little more and reduce our deficit, president obama is moving our -- moving america forward, not back. by adding american manufacturing jobs for the first time since the 1990's. president obama ism -- moving

america forward, not back. facts are facts. no president since franklin delano roosevelt in the great depression inherited a worse economy, a bigger job losses, or deeper problems from his predecessor, but president obama is moving america forward, not back. yet mitt romney and paul ryan now say they want to take america back. and we have to ask, back to what? back to the failed policies that drove us into this deep recession? back to the days of record job losses? back to the days when insurance companies called being a woman a pre-existing condition? no thank you. i do not want to go back -- do you?

instead of the balanced and capable plan to create jobs and reduce the deficit, mitt romney says -- puts forward a plan that would cut taxes for millionaires while raising them on the middle-class. instead of improving public safety and public education like president obama, mitt romney says we need less firefighters, teachers, and police. instead of safeguarding our seniors, romney and ryan wood and the guarantee of medicare and replace it with a voucher in order to give bigger tax breaks to millionaires. -- billionaires'. instead of investing in america, they hide their money in swiss bank accounts and ship our jobs to china. swiss bank accounts never built an american bridge. swiss bank accounts never put cops on the streets, or teachers

in our classrooms. swiss bank accounts never created american jobs. governor romney, just because you bank against united states of america does not mean that the rest of us are willing. [cheers and applause] we are americans. we must act like americans. we must move forward, not back. my parents, tom and barbara o'malley, like so many of yours, were part of that great generation that won the second world war. dad flew 33 missions over japan in a b-24 literature. he was able to go to college only because of the gi bill. our parents taught us to love god, love our family, love our country. their own grandparents were

immigrants. their first language may not have been english, but the hopes and dreams they had for their children were purely american. you see, there is a powerful truth at the heart of the american dream. the stronger we make our country, the more she gives back to us, to our children and grandchildren, our parents and grandparents understood this truth deeply. they believed, as we do, that to create jobs for a modern economy requires modern investments. educating, innovating, and rebuilding for our children's future. building an economy to last in the middle class out, not from the billionaire is down. yes, we live in changing times. the question is, what type of change will we make of it? as we search for common ground and the way forward together.

let's ask one another -- let's ask the leaders in the republican party -- without any anchor, mean ness, or fear, how much less do you really think would be good for our country? how much less education would be good for our children? how many hungry american kids can we no longer afford to feed? governor romney, how many fewer college degrees would make us more competitive as a nation? the future we seek is not a future of less opportunity. it is a feature of more opportunity. more opportunity for all americans. [cheers and applause] close your eyes -- see the faces of your parents and great grandparents. they did not cross an ocean, settle a continent, do hard backbreaking work, so their children and grandchildren could live in a country of less. they did here because -- came

here because the united states of america is the greatest job generating, opportunity expanding country ever created by a free people in the history of civilization. and she still is. let us not be the first generation of americans to give our children a country of less. let us return to the urgent work of creating more jobs, more security, more opportunity for our people, and together, let us move forward, not backward, by reelecting barack obama. president of the united states. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you.

thank you. thank you. thank you. my fellow democrats, my fellow americans, my fellow texans, i stand before you not as a young american, a proud american, a degeneration born as the cold war receded, shaped by the tragedy of 9/11, connected by the digital revolution and determined to reelect a man who will make the 21st century another american century, president barack obama. [cheers and applause]

the unlikely journey that brought me here tonight began many miles from this podium. my brother and i grew up with my mother, rosie, and my grandmother, victoria. my grandmother was an orphan. as a young girl, she had to leave her home in mexico and moved to san antonio, where some relatives had agreed to take her in. she never made it past the fourth grade. she had to drop out and start working to help her family. my grandmother spent her whole life working as a maid, a cook, and a baby sitter, barely scraping by, but still working hard to give my mother, her only child, a chance in life so that my mother could give my brother and me an even better one. as my grandmother got older, she begged my mother to give her grandchildren. she prayed to god for just one grandchild before she died. you can imagine her excitement

when she found out her press would be answered -- twice over. she was so excited that the day before, she and i were born, she entered a menudo cookoff and one $300. that is how she paid our hospital bill. by the time my brother and i came along, this incredible woman had taught herself to read and write in spanish and english. i can still see her in the room that my brother and i shared with her, reading her agatha christie novels late into the night. i can still remember her, every morning, as my brother and i walked out the front door to school, making the sign of the cross behind us, saying, may god bless you. my grandmother did not live to see us begin our lives in public service, but she probably would have thought it extraordinary that just two generations after she arrived in san antonio, one

grandson would be the mayor and the other would be on his way, the good people of san antonio willing, to the unitedtates congress. [cheers and applause] my family's story is not special. what is special is the america that makes our story possible. ours is a nation like no other, a place where great journeys can be made in a single generation, no matter who you are or where you come from, the past is always forward. [cheers and applause] america did not become the land of opportunity by accident. my grandmother's generation and generations of for all we saw beyond the horizons of their own lives and their own circumstances. they believed that opportunity created today would lead to

prosperity tomorrow. that is the country they envisioned. that is the country they helped build. the roads and bridges they built, the schools and universities they created, the rights they fought for and won -- these opened the door to a decent job, a secure retirement, the chance for your children to do better than you did. that is the middle-class. the engine of our economic growth. with hard work, everybody ought to be able to get there. with hard work, everybody ought to be able to stay there. and go beyond. the dream of raising a family in a place where hard work is rewarded is not unique to americans. it is a human dream. one that calls across oceans and borders. the dream is universal, but america makes it possible.

our investment and opportunity makes a reality -- makes it a reality. [cheers and applause] now, in texas, we believe in the rugged individual. texas may be the one place where people actually still have bootstraps. we expect folks to pull themselves up by them. but we also recognize that there are some things we cannot do alone. we have to come together and invest an opportunity today for prosperity tomorrow. [cheers and applause] it starts with education. [cheers and applause] 20 years ago, my brother and i left home for college and then to moscow.

in this class -- law school. in those classrooms, we met some of the brightest folks in the world. at the end of our days there, i could not help but think back to my classmates at thomas jefferson high school in san antonio. they had the same talent, the same brains, the same dreams as the folks we sat with at stanford and harvard. i've realized that the difference was not one of intelligence or drive. the difference was opportunity. [cheers and applause] in my city of san antonio, we get that. so we are working to insure that more 4-year-old access to pre-k. we opened a college where students get help with everything from test prep to financial aid paperwork. we know you cannot be pro- business unless you are pro education. [cheers and applause] we know that pre-k and student

loans are not charity. they are a smart investment in a work force that can fill and create the jobs of tomorrow. we are investing in young minds today to be competitive in the global economy. -- tomorrow. and it is paying off. last year, the milken institute ranked san antonio as the nation's top-performing local economy, and we are only getting started. opportunity today, prosperity tomorrow. [cheers and applause] now, like many of you, i watched last week's republican convention. and they told a few stories of individual success. we all celebrate individual success. but the question is, how do we

multiplied that success? the answer is president barack obama. [cheers and applause] mitt romney quite simply does not get it. a few months ago, he had been to a university of ohio -- in ohio and the students some entrepreneurial advice -- start a business, he said. but how? our money, if you have to come up premier parents, he told them. -- borrow money if you have to from your parents, he told them. gee, why did i not think of that? [cheers and applause] some people are lucky enough to borrow money from their parents. but that should not determine whether you can pursue your dreams. not in america. not here. not in the 21st century. i do not think governor romney

meant any harm. i thing he is a good guy. he just has no idea how good he had it. [cheers and applause] we know that in our free-market economy, some will prosper more than others. what we do not accept is the idea that some folks will not even get a chance. the thing is, mitt romney and the republican party are perfectly comfortable with that america. in fact, that is exactly what they are promising us -- the romney-ryan budget does not just cut public education, medicare, transportation, and job training. it is not as pummel the middle- class. it dismantles it. it dismantles what generations have built to ensure that every person can enter and stay in the middle-class. when it comes to getting the middle-class back to work, mitt romney says know. when it comes to respecting women's rights, mitt romney says no.

when it comes to letting people love with love and marry who they want to marry, mitt romney says no. when it comes to expanding access to good health care, mitt romney says that no. actually -- [laughter] [cheers and applause] actually, actually, actually, mitt romney said yes and now he says no. governor romney has undergone an extreme a makeover. and it ain't pretty. here is what we are going to say to mitt romney in november -- we will say no. of all the fiction's we heard last week in tampa, the one i

find most troubling is this. if we all just go our own way, our nation will be stronger for it. because if we sever the threads that connect us, the only people who will go far are those who are already ahead. we all understand that freedom is not free. what romney and ryan do not understand is that here is opportunity. we have to invest in it. [cheers and applause] republicans tell us that the most prosperous among us to even better, then somehow the rest of us will, too. folks, we have heard that before. first they called it trickle- down. then they call the supply-side. now it is romney-ryan, or is it ryan-romney? either way, it has been tested and failed. our economy failed.

the middle-class paid the price. your families played -- paid the price. mitt romney just does not get it. [cheers and applause] barack obama gets it. [cheers and applause] he understands that when we invest in people we are investing in our shared prosperity. when we neglect that responsibility, restore promise as a nation. it just it -- we risk our promise as a nation. a few years ago, families who asked -- never asked for anything risk losing everything. the dream of my grandmother held, that work will be rewarded, that the new class to be there for her children -- that dream was being crushed. then president -- president obama took office and took action. when detroit was in trouble, president obama save the auto

industry and 1 million jobs. [cheers and applause] 7 presidents before him, republicans and democrats tried to expand health care to all americans. president obama got it done. [cheers and applause] he made a historic investment to lift our nation's public schools and expand pell grants so more young people can afford college. because he knows we do not have an ounce a ton to waste, the president took action to lift the shadow of deportation from a generation of young, law-abiding immigrants. [cheers and applause] now wait is time for congress to enshrined in law the right to pursue their dream in the only place they have ever called home -- america. [cheers and applause] four years ago, america stood on

the brink of a depression, and despite incredible odds and united republican opposition, are president took action. now we have seen 4.5 million new jobs. he knows better than anyone that there is more hard work to do. we are making progress. now we need to make a choice -- it is a choice between a country where the middle-class pays more for the millionaires to pay less, or a country where everybody pays their fair share so that we can reduce the deficit and create the ferret -- jobs of the future of. . [cheers and applause] it is a choice between a nation slashing funding for schools and a nation that invest more in education. it is a choice between a politician who rewards companies that ship american jobs overseas or a leader who brings jobs back home. [cheers and applause]

this is the choice before us. to me, to my generation, all the generations to come, our choice is clear. a choice is a man who has always chosen us. a man who already is our president -- barack obama. [cheers and applause] >> for more years! -- four more years! >> in the end, the american dream is not a sprint or even a marathon. it is a relay. our families do not always crossed the finish line in the

span of one generation. each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor. my grandmother never owned a house. she cleaned other people's houses so she could afford to rent her own. but she saw her daughter become the first and her family to graduate from college. my mother fought hard for civil- rights so that, instead of in ma, i could hold this microphone. -- a mop, i could all this microphone.

>> if you look at soft obama boulders, soft rahm the voters and undecided voters. maybe at 10%. >> what is their demographic makeup? >> if i told you that, i would be telling neil that. he may have a different view. >> are we looking at white suburban women with college degrees? >> when you start trying to define them, there are some overlap among groups.

white suburban women always have been an important part of presidential elections in this 21st century, going back to the gore-bush race. they tend to be late to ciders. i believe people have decided earlier in this race. -- to be late deciders. i believe people have decided earlier in this race. i think you have a lot more voters who are locked in but you're seeing your link -- younger voters getting more galvanize. they are returning back to campuses. more are registering to vote. more are participating in the system. they are volunteering in the campaign again. we obviously will continue to do work to turn out our core of voters.

african-american voters, latino voters. i think white suburban women, we did very well by the way -- and the last campaign was light in depend of rural voters -- white independent rural voters. president obama did hire was world older than any president since jimmy carter. -- did well with rural voters than any president since jimmy carter. what do you try to measure mitt romney's bounce? >> there are so many wonderful public polls coming out every hour. he almost can just sit back and see what happens. i think there are a couple of things going on. the answer to this is no one is seeing in the kind of doubt. no one saw a big bounce from paul ryan being put on the ticket.

there are two things happening -- i think their convention has gaps in it from a message perspective. and inconsistencies as you live from day to day, speaker to speaker. i do not think they created a real threat about -- thread about what they wanted to do. other than obama failed here. it was all pretty negative. i do not think that helped them. i think the data shows it did not help them. but there are other structural factors that are minimizing the bounce that you get from these things. i think when john kennedy was nominated around july 15 in 1960, even when bill clinton had his invention in 1996, it was around july 20. we are past labor day already, the traditional beginning of the campaign. he went from the conventions, and then he went out there and campaign. here we are a few days past labor day and we have not

officially have the reid nomination of president obama. -- the re-nomination of president obama. people are going to dig into the campaign sooner and they will align themselves sooner. >> we're going to take questions from the crowd. but i want to follow up on that. given where you're saying, the various low return on investment for either party is, is perhaps the last time we will see a 3 are for a convention? >> we have had for a convention for a really long time. we went to a three day convention not because of the unfortunate hurricane that happen -- they have to shrink their convention and i think they probably found that you could get everything into three days. and you may see that. especially as the goal later in

the campaign. he went to campaign with real people. you have to deal the business of work with their party. what did you briefly considered one day more grass-roots conventions? >> at the bell was discussed and shelved -- i think that was discussed and shelved early on. >> i am a public schoolteacher in new york city. i teach ap u.s. government. this semester i will be focusing in lock on the election. are we dealing -- my question is to use -- to you. an op ed in the new york times a few days ago said 10% of the

electorate is up for grabs and each campaign has their own way of getting at that 10%. his thesis was the media is far behind where the campaigns are and there has been a transition in the last 10 years where campaigns have become much more sophisticated in terms of polling and the media has not been able to keep up. >> i did not know how many of you saw the article but he was not as saying the media cannot keep up with the on the polling site. his article was about the technology of campaigns becoming more advanced generally and the campaigns in corporate in that technology to their advantage. you have to remember the media covers these things once every four years straight or once every six years. this is the business people are in to and between the four years, we spend our time

maximizing the techniques we can use to communicate with voters. particularly in a more cluttered environment. someone asked me last -- less like if there are 65 million democratic voters -- last night, it there are 65 million democratic voters, how many can you communicate with directly? we talk about this tv stuff, there are a lot of ways voters are being talked to on a very personal level which i think it's probably good for the profits. but it is hard to keep up with that if you're not making investments in the kind of techniques and data analytics you use. it techniques -- those are big investments. a lot about work is done using database modeling. and then going back and setting up models. so it was not just about media: -- media polling.

there are two ends of the spectrum. the was the second part to one thing i said -- these techniques are advancing but there's also an increasing pressure on journalists. he wanted to talk to me because i was with the daily news as a political reporter for many years but there is an increasing pressure on the other side of the equation for journalists. some of whom i have known for 25 years, to get out there within the next hour with whatever you haven't said a try to think it through and get to a better place to bottom forming your readers. the web is a great blessing for the way we can dispense information but it is putting pressures of political reporters in a way where you put that out there, even if you want to do a longer piece, the new changes so rapidly now and the ability of your editors to say okay, we know you want to go deeper into that but the des moines register has this story, go chase that.

so they are under more pressure to be more immediate. i think that conversations i have had with every journalist i know, they understand that pressure. they have worked through it. most of them do a fantastic job of working through it. we have to have a strong media and a strong space. we need the media to hold any of us accountable when our ads and not telling the truth. there are things people need -- we need honest broker said in the conversation. that would be something that could be a way for the media to counter some of the daily pressure as to figure out how you establish as an honest broker of what is being said. >> active bows for the former argument. i did book in 2005 for with when i got -- idi did a book in 2005

with matthew dowd. things are moving so quickly. from the australian financial review. i am interested in the gender disparity between the two candidates' support levels. is it anomalous? you see it changing when a new generation of republican leaders comes along but mark obama has a temper sense that advantage among women. -- come along. obama has a 10% advantage among women. >> in a democrat who went to the

2010 election can tell you that because there was no gender gap. women broke 50/50. the reason there is a gender gap is in this election, and the -- and it works on the candida level and there is a party program -- party problem the republicans have theory but here you have a president who signed into law -- the first bill gave women equal pay in the workplace. this is what -- this was a woman who in her life was under pay for doing the same work as men and was never able to recoup that money. she did this for a granddaughter. when you talk about decisions about women's health care, they're not just decisions about health care. when you go out and say you want to get rid of planned parenthood, on their women in this country who are breadwinners, the primary breadwinners, who get mammograms, pap smears, and go

there for treatment can i get anywhere else. that not only keeps them healthy and strong for their families but working and on their jobs. we have one president who seems to understand that until the belize it and another one who seems not to understand that. when you stand up and fight for women, you get their votes. when you do not, you did not. on the party level, i believe they do have a structural problem. there are a lot of issues with young women they are out of touch on a writ this is more generational but it also has some universality. when you do not embrace global warming and the idea that we have some environmental threats -- you look of floods, fires, the hurricanes and the debris of them. there are men and women who feel out of touch if you do not understand the dynamics and an awful it committed to creating clean energy.

when you take the position that is harsh on how you want to teach bidi treat children brought to this country as infants who have raised their hands and pledged allegiance to america, they want to stay in this country and the americans and you want to veto a bill that would that the state there and become the kinds of citizens that the executive at microsoft was talking about, who can become the engineers of work in your tech industry and you want to veto that? you lose a whole lot the people with these issues are also very important to women. i think you've earned those votes. the republican party has had a sick -- a system problem on some of these issues. we have the fighting those issues out. that is why we have a gender gap into this race. let's let's go back to the top. how caucus is the president about the risk of talking about race to much? -- how cautious is the president about the risk of talking about

race too much? >> i did not know how to add to that question. he talks about the american people, what is on the allies, what is on their minds every day. he said at 110 letters and night from people to read. he keeps them, he reads them. he brings them up to people attend a conversation on the white house staff and talking about them. this is a president who is focused on the life of american people day in and day out. >> i am struck by the fact that president clinton really made an effort and was a big part of who he was to talk about race relations. president obama the not seem to put as much emphasis on it and i am wondering why. >> people govern and run in different times. one of the most controversial issues president clinton had to deal with was a reaction to end affirmative action case in the united states supreme court. the african-american community embraced bill clinton in a way and still do, very

affectionately. he's the first black president of america. it was a change. he was young, hip. and he is bringing that saxophone on mtv and young people, african-americans saw somebody he would be the next generation of leaders in america. with president obama, it is 20 years later from the first time clinton got elected. president obama comes into office. four years ago, lehman brothers had not collapsed yet. we are already losing five of the thousand jobs a month ago we're 13 days away from the lehman brothers collapse in the entire financial system being brought to its knees. our economy was shaken to the ground. that was the issue that was front and center and that was what president obama was focused on. >> polling is one thing and the

other thing is voter turnout. it is came back from colorado and you hear people talking about this -- a silent majority. hispanics said they would vote for barack obama, if they vote, but burger turnout might be very low. is that a problem you are seeing? >> we had a term operation and we said in 2008 it was going to be a turnout operation unlike anybody had ever seen. and then we turned out the vote. you also in colorado with the crowd was twice the size than anticipated. some of the voting groups that people said they are worried about turnout with lot to the voters, african-american voters, young voters, we have not seen. i do not believe there is any enthusiasm out there. at think are engaging more as it gets closer as they historically do. this is when they pay attention

to the race. young kids are back in college. they are registering to vote again. at every stop the president has been not this week, crowds have been bigger. we have to work very hard at it. but we have sophisticated models. we have sophisticated ways of identifying who our persuasion targets are and making sure we spend the right amount of time communicating what we need to communicate to get those voters to the polls and those or persuade a will to come over to our side. you are not paying everybody with the same brush our message when you do that. i think it will have a very good turnout operation. >> thank you very much for coming.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> can you all hear me? ok. thank you so much for being here. i wanted to start off with the same question asked our republican pollsters in tampa last week. when you look at the polls and see which demographic groups obama is doing well and where he is not doing so well, what number is the scary as the number to you? -- the scariest number to you? >> there are two voting groups that keep me up at night. well, three. one of them is seniors. there is no question about -- particularly white seniors. the president lost white seniors four years ago.

we had some bounce back with the reinfeldt - with the ryan nomination. the real question as, we have to make up for seniors with our youth vote and when you're not sure about how high the turnout will be, that makes a senior both even more important. seniors are starting to drift back a bit. this some evidence as well for at might have had in fact. it keeps us this -- it keeps us up this year but a king keep us up for two years. white nine college-educated independent women i think will be the decisive vote in this election. they will be the swing voter. very worried about the economy. i also think the president with

a swiss bank account is totally out of touch with their lives. who is on their side. the republicans really fail at delivering a view of how a kitchen table economics -- how you will make pro-life. we have a challenge for the next three days. i think we have a stellar lineup to make the argument but we better get it made. the third member i would say is enthusiasm. democratic and disease has been lagging behind. their convention trying to solidify their enthusiastic theory having trouble with that. i did not think clint eastwood did much to ignite their enthusiasm. but we have to make sure our enthusiasm catches up with theirs. >> those would be my top to as well. in terms of not just the

presidential but i think democratic politics. i would look at it differently so as not to repeat it. it looked -- and look geographically. when you look at florida, virginia, north carolina, those were great states for obama. and democrats in some ways in 2008. geographically, those become important. the democratic party has to move beyond being a north east, midwest party. these are continued battleground states. and we want them to be that above and beyond national politics just at the presidential level. you see that in virginia with cain, holding his own. i look and little less at

enthusiasm and i try to focus more on pragmatism. that goes in terms of your message at the end of the day. when people go into that voting booth -- who will look out for me? who is a little more like me? i think we sometimes overblow enthusiasm because politics starts so early. we are sitting there talking about enthusiasm gaps in march. labor day is when the bell rings. people do really days. but they will bring gate at it pragmatism level. >> i would agree with everything they just said. first is the young women and moms. we did survey working in 2011 and set a series of focus

groups deceit. we asked the question. we said are you more concerned by your household economy or the national economy and nations that? walmart moms said 221, more concerned about their own personal economic situation. voters overall, about half theories that was one of the biggest differences we saw the imams and voters overall they are across the board. but they tend to be swing. they really are looking at women in particular. their household finances and decision making. and how that affects how they view the political debate. the other thing i would mention how the people feel about right track, wrong track? that is something we have ben --

we had a low point in terms of that before obama took office but obviously the nation is going through a tough time. in the sea that how that number has been stable in a long way. where does president obama's plane land? and mitt romney? >> here is the one thing i do think we lose perspective. we all know the battleground states. >> i do not know where he is going. i would go -- virginia, ohio, florida. let's put it into perspective the 2008 victory -- three had a 64 lead toro votes. that means -- can this lot

carolina, virginia, indiana, and still win this. there is a big map of our. at the people forget the magnitude of the wins and what mitt romney has to do. we could lose iowa and new hampshire, for example. we have 67 days. he will hit everyone will battleground states. in brest what, so is mitt romney and paul ryan terry >> what mitt romney should not do is what he did yesterday which is go boating as did the talking to regular voters on labor day. only two steps and that was the campaign 10 years ago. i think he goes ohio and i would

add, to the mix. and also what is interesting is wisconsin has gotten more into -- >> are you surprised midline -- >> it is a very clean state. mine has held on to a blue- collar district. and has a lot of personal appeal there. i think that in the end, it will be less the local guy and more that mitt romney paul ryan ticket. >> chemical on a put michigan in play? >> know, he cannot carry this to a lot of money up there -- no, he cannot. and they put a lot of money up

there. i did want to make another thing about with the bland. nowadays you have these eight or camp battleground states and is not just even the staid. now it is the media market. it is charlotte. our washington, d.c. orlando. presidential campaigns now are not even really -- the communicate in the entire state. but you can take a look at the public and see where the intensity is with any state and see geographically again not only are eight or 10 states going to get most of the attention but there is media markets within the state. it is quite fascinating. >> the other thing is to go to a college campus or someplace in the city where you can improve enthusiasm. >> i wanted to ask about the

demographic makeup of the electorate. in 2008, we saw very different electorate them what we saw in presidential elections before. knowing what you know about the enthusiasm gap, can you really expect an electorate that looks like it did in 2008? here it specifically address black turnout. anybody want to take that.

>> people are not thinking about the number of minorities that have been registered here or that if you can move the hispanic vote from 1% sein -- 23%, it means a lot at the end

of the day. -- 1% to 3%, it means a lot at the end of the day. one of the problems is the minority vote again. it is not being talked about as much as it was in 2008. you have to remember -- the electorate in north carolina is more african-americans and was attended 2008. more hispanic. that becomes important. >> you know that this is a threat because that is why conservatives are so concerned -- aggressive about the voter suppression aphorist. not used to nineties, and early votes. that is how you know the threat this changing their regret -- demographic represent. >> that is an excellent point.

a lot of voters will not be basing their voting decisions on which party is using voter i.d. loss. it is important. the other thing is, i think this is a sense of the coverage. place the blame on the beat of the young people and minorities for not staying with obama. that 530 is not the same as a midterm -- 53% is not the same as a midterm election. i think it seems out of sync with how the electorate is working. >> do you think that mitt romney's campaign is playing the race card with welfare reform?

>> ps. -- yes. >> it is fairly blatant that they are trying to appeal with what is an untruth. why else would they be playing it so hard? >> i cannot speak for their motivations and whether they are knowingly playing the race card. if they are not knowingly, they should be able to think that through and wondered the effect it has on the dialogue, how it affects the way the romney campaign is viewed. whether not they are deliberately or accidentally doing it. >> i do not know that they're moving voters. there are certain things they do for the base as well.

paul ryan is one of them. we have not necessarily seen that yet. >> why wasn't joe willing to say that they were playing the race card? why does he think it is not affecting voters'? >> why would some democrats be afraid of saying they're playing the race card? >> i do not know they would be. there's probably disagreement about whether this is happening. there is an honest disagreement in our party. we talked about this last night. whether or not we already lost any voters that have been influenced by the race card. that is a part of the honest debate in our party.

racism is alive and well in this country. >> margie was talking about walmart moms, not college educated white women. there has constantly been this tension in terms of decision making. the democrats speak to them on economic issues, a health-care, fair wages. the republicans talk to them on immigration, god, and patriotism and welfare reform. they are trying to touch a nerve that basically isolate the fact that a lot the middle class people feel like they are on their own.

we are trying to do the pragmatic thing and talk about them. the republicans are trying to attack it as the worst possible ankle to read them away. this is nothing new. you can call it what ever you want. i agree in terms of the motivation. they are playing a card which is a wedge card to get them at an emotional level that has nothing to do with their economic interests. >> what it is tapping into is this worry that a lot of people have, that somebody is getting a better deal than me. some people get to the head of the line for support. they literally feel this is some anxiety that someone has an advantage in like that i cannot get.

the republicans use that very reasonably -- that's a reasonable and i need to their advantage. they're hiding that incident encouraging middle-class voters to get up for themselves. correct i would take it even further. i to not even think they're trying to hide it. they know if they are double digit a behind the middle-class they have a tough time winning the election. thatre trying to minimize distinction. met ronnie was a -- mitt romney was not releasing his taxes. they know the vulnerability. >> you are doing a good job of explaining the dog whistles. help me understand what barack obama and his advisers might be worried about in terms of messages.

if the press or to stand up and say that is race baiting -- president were to stand up and say that is race baiting. >> i cannot speak for the campaign. i think that when you get hit like that, what you do is give the facts. what they are saying is not true. at the end of the day, that becomes the most important thing for american voters to hear, what is the truth. when voters look at barack obama, they are beyond just looking at a black president. they are looking at the president of the united states. someday it will be a woman. someday it'll be a hispanic or another white male. the americans have a good grasp of that.

what dole said -- joel said is right on target. that is not a priority in terms of trying to message on the president's race. >> when you're talking about any ism, we have both been in situations where we have been treated sexistly. it is much more powerful when john paulson out than we do. -- calls it out than when we do. >> allow to push back that republicans are the only -- i want to push back on the thought republicans are only pushing the wedge issues. obama the same mitt romney will support you. how is that any different than what the republicans are doing? >> they brought it up. we did not. if john had said we are going to

get the run on the war on women. they're going to do with the birth control and everything else. we would have said everything was settled in 1960. i do not think they will be that stupid. that is a moderate governor hugh did not have that record in massachusetts. these stands were unimaginable two years ago. we would never have based its strategy on it. whenever would have been handed this strategy. >> the romney campaign welfare ads are based on falsehood. are there republicans who had a hearing about birth control and only invited men? that happens. >> the same fact checkers have also said that the obama ads say

he would outlaw abortion in the cases of rape and are also not true. >> if you want to reverse roe v wade, that in the discussion. i do not know where else you can take that. >> much romney has had a party of different up positions on abortion. paul ryan has his further to the right. that is different than barack obama. barack obama has not had 10 different positions on getting rid of the work requirement. >> i do not think that contraception is a wedge issue. my 20 year old daughter when i e-mail her, i e-mails your something from sandra fluke, she said she is my hero. that becomes important. that is touching their lives in some way.

>> one of the things is women's health a part of health reform. it is beyond abortion and birth control. mandatory breast cancer coverage, among the most popular pieces of the reform. when republicans want to say it the repeal of, why should we have the coverage? >> we talked a lot about the democratic base. but talk about the undecided voters. i think you know something's about the undecided voters. can you talk about that and the challenges in reaching them when they are this tiny sliver of the electorate? >> they are late to ciders.

-- late deciders. they may not all vote. there will be lower information typically. they are going to need even more and more advertising, more and more direct contact. they want specifics. they are not necessarily out looking for specifics. they need a lot of attention. they're hoping to get some information from the debate. they are really going to decide the last few weeks. >> there are two things about them. the debates will influence them. they will not be watching the debate themselves. it'll be the news reporting of the debate. the unusual porting -- the news reporting will have an effect. in 1976, most of america was [unintelligible]

by the next morning, they had reinterpreted whether he won or lost the debate. one of the reasons that joel was being careful was micro- targeting. you have 20 5% of romney voters saying they would consider someone else. the television is actually less trying to influence undecided voters and more trying to keep the 25% in their camp. we do not target anyone. both campaigns are going to go to the ground. now we have the ability. we do not have to go after non- college educated women. we are going to households. they know the doors they're going to walk on -- not on. they have to schedule around each other. >> they know exactly what to

say. >> the undecided vote is so small that it really does, targeting is so different, that it really does come down to this one woman in the media market to a works part-time out of her house and has two kids and merlot. a billion dollars is going to be spent on just this one woman. it is that small. if you go back to the beginning of the year and any of these web sites that do the national polling, this has been street lighting. -- straight lining. it does not move but a couple point up and down. if you go to the battleground states, it has kind of stayed there in the mid-40's.

obama has been ahead in most places by two or three points. they have been in places like michigan, etc.. there is not a whole lot of movement with a billion dollars spent. >> we talked to undecided walmart moms. we asked them, what are you thinking about? how are you trying to weigh between your two options? they are physically grappling with it. i am really shuttling. on the one hand, i feel like i am disappointed in obama. i wanted to believe. i had great expectations. i am not sure if mr. romney is the guy. i can not connect with him. i do not think he is speaking to me. i do not think he is fighting for people like me. these are the things they're

trying to weigh as they had to the election. if i am in the romney campaign, it is more difficult for people to warm up to him if they have not yet. president obama is going to lay out some of his plans this week. you did not hear romney do that next week -- last week. >> we're going to take some questions now. right here. >> i am from the tampa bay times. in florida, we have seen voter registration among democrats with about to under 9000 -- 209, 000. you have lost a lot of ground. the democrats have gained -- republicans have gained during that same time.

now that they have outloud -- al lot of third-party registration, can you make that up? >> that is not a loss. the fact that you did that number could 2008 and did not do as much in last 13 months does not mean that all the same number was available. you have to put the universe in your base. that is a big feather in your cap at that time. that is still why there are big advantages in certain states. what was done in the past. >> i think the thing we have to worry about, we are not so worried that we did not registered to under 9000 -- 209, 000. the issue is the mobile end of

that. what we are concentrating on now, if the two groups that are particularly mobile our young people and on married women. -- unmarried women. that is the issue. that is why so many have been thrown off the rolls. what we have to focus on is the mobile and of that. we can go and. we can get the ones. we have the time to do that if they do not keep changing the laws in ways we consider a constitutional -- unconstitutional. >> paul ryan threw down the gauntlet on medicare. it was based on polling that we discussed at this event in

tampa. i am wondering if you could share with us how medicare will play out in your polling on the issue. >> we have done extensive polling on medicare. some has been released for the national committee. i think it will be doing some more pulling. first of all, to say that paul ryan would end the traditional medicare and leave you on your own to negotiate with your insurance company is a horrific to voters. the republicans know that is a very strong argument. that is why they have been so aggressive. what we did was put it back into medicare. they know this is the danger of argument. at the presidential level it is part of the dialogue in terms of going back to get the senior vote.

the place i think you will see it play out is in the congressional and senate level. all year long we have been trying to tell people ryan. we do not have to define ryan anymore. everyone knows who is. this is a big issue. we watch for it to hurt a lot of republicans. >> there is so much else in there, two. there is the medicare debate which i think polls have shown people opposed right oppose a plan on medicare. so much else in there, cutting college affordability, food assistance for hundred kids, when you talk about that, people say what? it is an endless list that makes the whole thing seem completely

non-starter. >> i wanted to ask about voter i.d. a couple of you refer to it. my native state pennsylvania has a voter ideologue that looks like it will be in effect in texas. i was wondering what you think the effect will be in increasing minority contact. >> i think this has the ability to relate his a lot of people off. when you mess with people access to anything, contraception or the voting booth, it makes people mad. i think it will backfire.

one of the story lines the day after election is early on in the day there is going to be a lot of stories out there. in 2008, it was about the line. are they going to accommodate all this people that came out to vote? one of the stars is going to be with people turned away it'll be early in the day and it be an amazing get out the vote for us. there'll be stories early on about people being denied to vote. the press rightfully will report on it early enough to actually make sure to motivate more people to come out. >> it is unprecedented organizing at the organizational level. i think you're going to see a lot of groups make sure their voters know the steps in a boating. -- in voting.

the obama campaign has launched a very effective campaign. a campaign that those are really done by the naacp. -- originally done by the naacp. i think you're going to see voters and messaging to african- american voters. we a people who died for this right. we're not going to be denied. the idea being that there'll be people playing at important sites you have your back. i think that is going to be very effective. >> i do not think it is going to suppress turnout. i hope that we can package that with issues of undisclosed campaign contributions. our process has really run away from the average person. i think that is compelling to a lot of people. i do not know if it is compelling to everybody. some folks are more engaged and some still angry.

and that government has run amok. i am not sure that that is a swing voter message appeared taken further remind people what is at stake. -- swing voter. it can remind people what is at stake. >> republicans used the obama phrase "you did not build that"" now you see testimony saying "we built that." do you think that will hurt the obama message? >> i think it was taken out of context. i was sorry to see obama even respond to it. if you heard the whole speech, you understood what he meant.

i think the republicans are very nimble. social media has made this a nimble environment. they grasped onto that. we will not give a growing economy unless we are in this together. we run small businesses. we also know that if we do not have good schools, we do not have the people in our firms we need. if we do not have the internet, we do not have any way to send our data out. i think that people knew what the president. it is a partnership. it is a community. if you go back to those undecided voters who are more female, they know. it is everyone in the community doing it together. and they like the partnership. >> we ask moms of what can the government do to make your life better, if they said pay my life to build or buy my milk.

they did not say the regular corporations. they said pay my electric bill. one of the speakers had given a seminar on how to get more government funding or something. lots of people, you can build your company and still get support from the government. you can run your household and get support from the government. a lot of people see that. >> just to push back on that, i agree that comment was taken out of context. if you look at what the president was saying, he was delivering a robust defense of government.

is that a message? that is really the big debate. how much government do we need? busy on the winning side of that? -- do you think he is on the winning side of that? >> it is one of the ban against -- the biggest gender gaps out there. what is interesting right now, things are so bad that women to- one say there is a role for government. it does not mean the government should be in my bedroom or running my small business. this is a partnership. we will take the best that everybody has got. >> the national narrative is going to be interesting. it will be about pell grants and student loans. that is government.

>> do people know that? >> hell yes they know that. >> this is republican messaging. they have done a good job. >> but they expose themselves. they expose themselves on things like the ryan budget. people like to talk about the medicare side of it. what is it that a 20% cut in higher education? you're trying to get your kid to college. things like medicaid, which people do not thinking about, 70% of nursing home patients are on medicaid. we are on the right side of this. right down to what joel was talking about. people will take three-one cuts

to make the upper income pay little more. >> there are no democrats talking about how we should expand government so there is a huge government bureaucracy is handling everything. that is not a democratic message. there is a republican message to just cut everything. they have just push themselves too far on this. these people do what government assistance for themselves. maybe they do not wanted for somebody else. >> there is the whole regulatory agenda. this is particularly true for women voters. you want to be on hold for insurance company for six hours of? i like regulations what they can cannot do to me. small businesses like us cannot get loans anymore. get loans anymore.