less dangerous now, less chaotic. i wish i could predict with certainty the threats we will face in the years ahead. but on september 10, 2001, we had no idea that america would be at war in afghanistan some day. in december of 2010, we had no idea the a tunisian street vendor would inspire a revolution that would topple three dictators. we live in a time of turbulence and disruption. what i can say with certainty is that we need the national guard's tillich and strength now as much as ever before. with less than two months ago, before election day, i would normally speak to a gathering like this between -- about the differences between my and my opponent's plan for national security. there is a time and place for that.

but this day, is not that. it is a day to express gratitude for the men and women who fought in who are still fighting to protect us and our country, including those who who traced the world of terror to islamabad and delivered just to osama bin laden. [applause] this is also a day where we can hopefully agree on important things. this century must be an american century. it began with terror, war and economic calamity. it is now our duty to steer on to the path of freedom, peace,

and prosperity. america must lead the free world and the free world must lead the entire world. in our dealings -- [applause] cut into the dealings we have with other nations, we must demonstrate confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose, and result in the application of our military might. for this to be an american century, we must have a military that is second to none, that is so strong and no one would ever think of testing it. [applause] american military power is vital to the preservation of our own security and for the preservation of peace around the world.

time and again, america's military has been the best ally of liberty and peace. american forces rest europe price. american forces rescued europe twice. theica's military leads fight against terrorism and secures the global commons. while the war in iraq is over, nearly 70,000 american troops will still remain in afghanistan at the end of the month. our goal should be to complete a successful transition to afghan security forces by the end of 2014. we should evaluate conditions on the ground and solicit the best advice of our military commanders. we can all agree that our men and women in the field deserve a clear mission, they deserve the resources and resolute leadership they need to complete that mission and the

country that will provide for their needs when they come home. [applause] the return of our troops cannot and must not be used as an excuse to hollow out our military to devastating defense budget cuts. [applause] it is true that our armed forces have been stretched to the brink and that is all the more reason to repair and rebuild. we can always find places to end waste but we cannot cancel program after program or jeopardize critical missions or cut corners in the quality of the equipment and training will provide to our men and women in uniform.

[applause] when our troops come home, they should not have to struggle to find work. after all our veterans have done for us, they deserve the opportunity to find good jobs. and the dignity of pursuing the american dream. [applause] we also have to keep the faith with our veterans. no matter when or where they have served, after a strong va system. when the backlog for disability claims reaches nearly 1 million, when a federal building in virginia becomes structurally unstable because so many claims have filed up, we can all agree the system is in need of serious and urgent reform. and it is. [applause]

our veterans deserve care and benefits that are second to none garrett there is considerable work waiting to be done. the backlog of disability claims these to be eliminated. unconscionable wait from mental-health treatment need to be dramatically shortened and the suicide rate among active- duty soldiers and veterans must be treated like the emergency it is. veterans' benefits are not a gift that is given. but a debt that is due. [applause] the problem with the va are serious and they have to be fixed. we are in danger of another danger -- generation of veterans losing their faith in the system so we must ensure the va keeps the faith with our veterans. we must keep our promises and regain the trust of all those who have served our country.

when i was governor of massachusetts, i saw firsthand the guards bravery and valor. in 2006, i visited iraq and afghanistan along with two other governors. we met with members of the national guard from our respective states. we were flung from helicopter by -- by helicopter from base to base. i said to them if they wanted me to call their spouse or family when i got home, i would be happy to do that. when i left for home, i thought i had 63 notes in my pocket. 63 calls to make. i knew that making that many calls would take quite a few days or weeks. after i made only about two or three calls, a guardsmen's wife answered the phone and said oh

hello governor, i thought i might be calling. [laughter] a barely the first spouse's i called a called other spouse's or they e-mail their loved ones in iraq and afghanistan who then e-mail and their spouses back home to tell them to expect my call. so i made 63 calls on memorial day. [applause] you will remember that may of 20 was a difficult time in the iraq war. many of you know that from experience. you were suffering terrible casualties. and terrorism was draining our efforts to stand up the iraq meet -- iraqi government. politics back home had become very deeply divided. as i made those calls, i braced

myself for questions about why the guardsmen i had met could not come home right away. why were they still there? and yet in 63 calls, i did not hear a single complaint. not one. on each call, i would and i expressed my gratitude on behalf of our nation and my state for the sacrifice of their loved one and of their family. these individual and in harm's way. from virtually everyone i spoke with, they will correct me to say instead that it was an honor to be able to sacrifice for america. and to serve the greatest nation on earth. [applause] such is the patriotism of the men and women and families of

our national guard. many of those calls left me with tears in my eyes. i will never forget meeting the brave men and women who had volunteered for the national guard in massachusetts. who found themselves on the front lines in iraq and afghanistan. i will never forget speaking with their loved ones and i will always hold the greatest admiration for every one of them. on the campaign trail, it has been my privilege to meet with troops and veterans from just about every corner of america. they come from our farms, our great cities, our small towns and quiet neighborhoods. many have known violence. so their neighbors could no peace. they have done more than protect america. their courage and service defines america. [applause]

on this 11th anniversary of september 11th, 2001, we remember the victims who perished in the attacks. we also remember the men and women serving in dangerous places around the world. we will not forget why they are fighting for who they are fighting for. they are faithful to us and to our country. we must not break faith with them. i want to personally thank you for keeping us safe, to be into the company of men and women of courage i stand before today -- is an honor to be among those whose sense of duty and love of country list our hearts and our spirits.

we are blessed to live in a country where freedom is a highly cherished, where it is so spiritually protected and where it is so admirably defended by the noble men and women of the national guard. i respect you. i admire you. our respect and admire the men and women who serve with you. you are a great force for good in america and the world. our debt of gratitude can never be repaid except by saying god bless you, god bless the united states of america, and god bless the great people of the national guard. thank you so much. [applause] >> governor romney, thank you so much for joining us today. we hope you will continue to

make the nation's defense and security a key part of your campaign. as a memento to this occasion, of a like to present you with this special coin of the national guard association of the united states, especially put together for this conference. we give it to you with our gratitude. thank you for being with us. >> thank you, major general. thank you. [applause]

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

♪ ♪ ♪ >> president obama is back on the campaign trail this week with visits to nevada and colorado. tomorrow, his other grass-roots campaign event in las vegas. we will be live with the president starting at 8:25 eastern on c-span2. former president bill clinton campaigned for president obama in miami on tuesday, part of it today trip to florida.

he campaigned in orlando on wednesday. from florida international university, this is 40 minutes. >> let's give lieutenant carroll another hand. [applause] i want to thank all the people who spoke before me because represent something good about america and the acting president obama has tried to support -- all those who spoke before me represent something good about america and i think something president obama has tried to support. all of these people present the idea of citizenship and service. i want to thank joe garcia for being here, all of the other elected officials.

the obama campaign volunteers. and the president of fiu. [applause] this school, vicky thousand strong -- 50,000 strong, is the largest number of graduates from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in the stem field in the united states. [applause] all this represents the best of america. i believe on this 11th anniversary of 9/11, this is the first public event i have participated in on this day in more than a decade. it was -- that was unrelated to that date. but this day is about citizenship.

on that day, i was in australia and president bush arranged for me to fly home. so that all americans could be together. sethat day, my wife's -- down, everybody relax. on that day, my wife was a senator from new york with the world trade center towers were. [applause] on that day, our daughter was a 21-year-old young woman working in york city in lower manhattan and was one of the thousands of people to walk north and could not find her. on that day, the chaplain of the new york city fire department and a friend of mine was killed along with a number

of other people we knew. i decided to come here on this day because i think if you looked around at how this day is being honored, it is being honored by service products all over america. -- projects all over america,by people try to be good citizens. the most important thing i can say today before i get into my remarks on behalf of the president is register to vote of that the florida. [applause] there are volunteers here today who will register you to vote. where are they? raise your hand. [applause] and --you can go online at gottaregister.com. i like that. slang online.

this is really important. you want to honor the people who have warned the country's uniform, who have hot -- come home bearing the wounds of war who need help finding jobs and education and housing. who may need years of help because of the staggering number of people with post- traumatic stress syndrome or brain injuries. be a good citizen. the lease we can do is show up a vote. [applause] when people try to discourage you from voting which is happening in a lot of these voter changes all over america, is to redouble your determination to vote. [applause] i will never forget when i was in cleveland running for president 20 years ago and a magnificent minister named otis

moss who became a very good friend of mine and was very active in the civil-rights movement described the first day his father was legally eligible to vote. the equivalent of all of these new barricades was basically jacking african-americans around and sending them to different places to vote. he said his father waited all his life for this day. first went to one place and is that i am sorry, your at the wrong place. he did not have a car. yet to walk. -- he had to walk to the next place. so he walked. even though it took him two hours. the next place, they said i am sorry, you are at the wrong place. hours. -- and he had to walk another two hours andthen he had to stand in a long line when they finally got there, he said you are at the right place but we're close in the polls at 7:00. and otis moss looked out at the

crowd and said the happiest day of my life was when i took my daughter to vote with me when she was first eligible and walked into the voting booths together and i pulled the curtain. before i voted, i put my ear to the edge until i could hear her pull the voting levers. [applause] he said, in my family, we do not miss voting. we are there every time the polls are open. [applause] so i say to all of you here, you need to talk to your friends about this -- i keep reading that young people are not quite as sure as there were four years ago if they are going to vote. i tried to argue down in

charlotte next week that that is a bad mistake. -- last week that that is a bad mistake. we have a lot of reasons to vote and we have a good candidate to vote for. and we need to get out the vote and do that. [applause] if you sit on the sidelines, you are responsible for the consequences. the next time somebody says i wish that or the other thing had not happened, if he sat on the sidelines, you contributed to it happening. [applause] the whole purpose of the university is to empower people to live their dreams. [applause] your president was telling me before we came in about the bank -- the magnificent of the progress of fiu and what you were going to do in the next 10 years and how important the pell grants are and the loans. [applause]

if it matters, you should be heard on election day. a lot of what is that in politics today bothers me because we all long for the unity we felt on 9/11 and for months afterwards. and we know that to some extent, that level of unity cannot be maintained because we do have honest disagreements and we need to have honest debate. benjamin franklin once said our adversaries are our friends because they show us our faults. but if you believe it until honest debate, you believed in it because you think nobody is right all the time. not because you think it is my way or the highway. there is a big difference. [applause] and if you believe that on this debate, you would want everybody to vote, not to make it harder for the young,

minorities, the disabled, the elderly, and the poor to vote. [applause] so i will say again and that the much less time with a try to say last week -- this is a pivotal election. i believe we should be working in an interdependent world for an america of shared responsibility, shared opportunities, shared prosperity, and shared membership in one american community. that to -- that's what i believe in. [applause] if you look around the world today, no country making progress on creating a society where people share the future, not a single one got there with the militant, bitter, anti- government strategy. [applause]

why? because what works in the modern world is partnership. the president was telling me about how you work closely with miami-dade and how you are going to read a whole new set of jobs -- create all new set of jobs and businesses here for the people back to waiting. [applause] if you look at the investment made in florida and into the space program, there will be new businesses and jobs created that are part of the 21st century economy. that requires that we work together. it is not business versus government. the way it is set up by our opponents in this election. it is business and government working together. that is why it was president obama who restore the cuts in the small business [applause]

administration program to make loans to small businesses and to put america on the side of small business again. [applause] that is why it was president obama who gave dozens of tax cuts to america's small businesses and because he believes we have to do this together. let me talk about the economy. the other night, i said the republican case against the president was will let him a mass, he did not fix it all, fire him, put us all back in. [laughter] his case is i stopped the slide into depression, i laid the foundation for the long road to recovery, we have begun it, and we have the building blocks of the modern, new, different economy. [applause]

i believe it is important every american decide whether i was right when i said i believe that the economy sustained so much damage -- keep identified in the -- keep in mind is that in the quarter quarter that is the three months period before the president took office, the economy strong -- shrunk 9%. that's almost a depression level. we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. the average middle-class family lost 40% of its wealth when housing prices collapsed. no one, not me, not anybody, could have completely healed that and built a whole new economy and brought us back to full employment in just four years. [applause] it has never been done in the history of the world. it could not be done. [applause] so the test is not whether you

think everything is hunky dory. if that were the tests, the president would vote against himself. he knows how that some people are hurting. he knows what the problems are. the test is whether he is taking us in the right direction and the answer to that is yes. [applause] exhibit a -- the recovery bill. but often derided tim as packet. -- the oft derided recovery act. -- the stimulus acts. 35% of tax cuts went to95% of the american people. [applause] there were people who were afraid they would not be able to buy groceries. they were afraid every small business on every corner was going to close down. when those tax cuts went out, people could go out and buy and

support their local merchants to keep things going. about one-third went to keep people like that fine man who introduced me on the job. [applause] because they cannot support themselves. local governments were out of money. 1/3 of it went to save 1 million jobs. [applause] i know that worked because when the president back and said we need to do this one more year, we got a real solid economic growth. the current congress said no and they stopped and we lost 700,000 jobs. so you know i am not making it up. it got a little better in states were able to keep 300,000 of those people on the job but there were thousands without jobs. i do not feel america is better off -- i think we would have

been better are try to come out of this thing together. working together. helping each other together. [applause] then a third of it went to bring bat manufacturing and building new energy economy. we have doubled renewable energy production. [applause] you need to know this -- florida is leading the way in solar power. [applause] but we just passed a certain -- we have just scratched the surface spirit and went to the largest solar profit in the country the other day on the nevada-california border. hundreds of solar panels. 2,000 construction workers. two dozen people from all over -- 2000 people from all over america, people-- men, women, white, african-american, hispanic, asian. about the only thing they had in common -- a whole lot of the press of tattoos. [laughter] but these were people could

explain to you the economics of solar energy, the environment but benefits and the feature to america strength. [applause] they know that we -- the boom in natural gas production is making a big difference. it is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels. the president has opened up new areas for that to be produced in a safe way to meet with strong standards. all of the above. this is a good thing. the kind of investments that have been made are good things to build an economy. the old economy will not come back. we will not have as many jobs related directly to home building but will have more jobs related to home energy efficiency. [applause] repairing homes, repairing office building, fixing university buildings, putting

people to work. [applause] the health care bill was the good thing for the the american economy. [applause] when the affordable health care bill passed, people defending the old system -- let me tell you something. most people have no idea about health care economics because if your employer carries you on an employee policy, you do not pay the whole cost to your health care. because of the tax deductions, the employers do not pay the holocaust. -- the holocaust. -- the whole cost. here is the bottom line -- your country spends almost 80% of national income on health care. no other rich country in the world spends more than 11.8%. it is $1 trillion a year.

to ensure a smaller percentage of our people in a way that does not make us healthier. if you want to compete, you should want us to spend more less the same perspective -- percentage of the rich countries that have the best health care systems. like germany, france, and others. [applause] we have good health care if you can afford it. do not misunderstand me. i am exhibit a. [applause] i have more scars on our body then dies in a fight. -- i have more scars and our body than someone who has been in a fight. i know about this. but if you look at the overall health of the american population, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that we're not spending our money in the most affect away at the institute of medicine issued a

report last week that said we are spending up to 75% of our health care dollars in less than the best way. what did it do what the mark this city are going to repeal this. -- what did it do? they say they are going to repeal this. let me walk you through this and it is important to florida. and the rest of the country. since the health care bill passed, more than 1 million people in florida have got to be a bit of more than $123 million -- rebates -- because the law requires the insurance company to spend 85% of your insurance premium on health care, not on profits or promotion. to you already have $100 million in rebates. -- so you already have $100 million in rebates. [applause] because the health care bill closed at the doughnut hole in the medicare drug program,

30,000 florida residents have saved an average of more than $600 a year of their prescription drugs. [applause] more than 220,000 young floridians for the first time have health insurance because they're covered on their parents' policy. [applause] insurance companies will logar -- will no longer be able to deny coverage to 960,000 florida children because they have pre- existing conditions. [applause] the answer is -- on the other side is this is terrible and we will repeal it.

the president's upon it has said -- the president's opponent has said that he bought medicare of $760 billion. they said that against us last time in the elections and a lot of republicans got elected to congress in florida. it is not true. [laughter] nobody lost anything. they took the report and read deuced future reimbursements by $716 billion. embarrassingly,for the republican ticket, the nominee for vice president who was chairman of the house budget committee, produced a budget that had exactly the same dollars in savings that the obama budget did and that was to 2010 when they were

advertising at them -- that was true in 2010 when they were advertising. against them. you have to give it to them. six real brass to attack the people -- it takes real brass to attack people doing the same thing you're trying to do. you have to give it to them. [applause] governor romney says they are going to repeal the health care bill and put the savings back in. the so-called savings. what we're going to do -- here's what we're going to do. -- here is was going to happen. they are going to take the $716 billion dollars and give it back to providers and repeal the whole health care bill. here's what will happen -- the seniors on medicare, part d, they will pay $600 more a year.

because of the doughnut hole. the medicare trust fund instead of running out of money in 2020 for one not go broke in 2016 -- will now go broke in 2016 because they're spending more money which means they will have to change medicare as we know it or take more money away from education. not the fifth person is on -- not to pay for seniors on medicare but to pay for providers. worst of all, they propose to cut medicaid by 25% over the next 10 years. and what every person over some it is certain age here knows is that this will really be devastating to poor children but that is only about a third of medicaid expenses. about two-thirds go for seniors on medicare and nursing homes

because they have limited disposable income and they help families with disabilities. including a lot of middle-class families to have a child with down syndrome, autistic conditions, terrible policy -- cerbral palsy. this is a huge deal. i literally -- families are going to do. if we decide to repeal the health care law and put this money back where it was. they say this is necessary because we have to give it to the providers for medicare a dentist. -- for medicare advantage. florida at the number one stated that the country as seniors enrolled in the medicare and that this program. -- the medicare advantage program. the rest of you may not know what it is but basically the idea was you will get everything medicare gives you plus some preventive and primary care. in will -- and it will be better for you. and it was. when they started, they were giving $600 worth of benefits

and taxpayers were paying 11 the dollars for them. -- $1,100 for them. in fairness, beginning in the bush presidency the margins started to whistle. -- started to be whittled. there were no cuts in medicare and that is. -- they cut the profit margin becausethe people on medicare and this preventive care. -- now you have millions of seniorsnow you have -- on medicare tend preventive care. it will all be gone if they repealed it. you tell me if it needs saving. under the current law, the profit margin is now down to 14%. years what happened last -- after obamacare went in. more providers than ever before

asked to participate. they were not run off three days that led us in. -- they said let us in. we want to get this health care. [applause] 70% more seniors got into the -- 17% more seniors get into the medicare and that this program. -- medicare advantage program. the price of being a that it dropped 16%. [applause] if president obama's goal was to destroy it medicare advantage, he did a poor doctor he strengthen medicare. -- he did a poor job. he strengthen medicare. he did not weaken medicare advantage 3 he strengthened it. but if you repeal the health care law and repeal the savings, you are going to weaken medicare advantage and medicare. it is going to run out of money quicker. you're going to really weakened a senior drug program. those are the facts. that is the arithmetic. [applause]

they got away with this in 2010. countless thousands of seniors voted because they were given misinformation against people who supported a plan that strengthen the medicare and medicare advantage. so i am talking about it everywhere because the first time they did that, it was their fault. if we let it happen again, it is our fault. [applause] and we should not do it. [applause]

the government sets aside its own loan reserves and they can make lower interest rates. this will be cheaper for you to repay. far more important, starting in 2013, every student who borrows money under the federal student loan law, however much you borrow, you'll be able to pay that loan back for up to 20 years at a small fixed percentage of your income. [applause]

furthermore -- because there will be fewer defaults and because the program is cheaper, it will actually save $60 billion over 10 years. [applause] and all the money was put back into raising the pell grants to pay for people to go to college. [applause] i personally believe upping the pell grants and making it possible for every person to pay that loan back at a percentage of your income means two things -- it means you never have to drop out of college because you think you cannot repay your loan because you know your loan obligation will be fixed by your salary and you'll never have to

take a job even though it pays more like being a doctor in rural america because of your school alone. [applause] it will change the future for young americans. [applause] thank you. here is what you have to decide -- you have to decide whether you believe in this or not. you have to decide whether it is a better path to the future to send more kids to college, more kids to community college, campus government, and the business community, and the

education center can work together to create more jobs to more or not. you have to decide whether it would be a good thing if we had the world's best health system and it was competitive with all these other countries in terms of how much it costs. [applause] you have to decide whether you think it is a good thing that the government imposed responsibilities and restructured the auto industry and now there are more than 250,000 more people working in that industry. [applause] you have to decide whether you believed that this 500,000 new manufacturing jobs that we lost since the bottom of the recession is an accident or you like it that we are making things in america again and you want to see more. [applause]

you have to decide whether you think it is a blind accident that we have had 4.5 million private-sector jobs since the economy bottomed out in 2009 and we stopped losing jobs. and that is more jobs by far than we had in the previous administration in the seven years between the beginning and end of the short recession they had in 2001 and the financial crisis of 2008. in 2.5 years, president obama's plan created more jobs than in the previous seven years. [applause] you have to decide if you think it is an accident and you were willing to bet your future on it. i am telling you, i do not believe anybody could have

prepared this economy as damaged as it was in four years. i believe the health care bill set the foundation for a stronger health-care system for people of all ages and a stronger economy because it will be more competitive. [applause] i believe that bringing back manufacturing and the race for a clean energy future and trying to make sure we should not have cities up and down the eastern seaboard flood because we did not do anything about global warming. [applause] i believe that the percentage of americans with people with college degrees needs to be built up. it is the right thing for america. [applause]

people ask me from time to time -- i was in an interview today and the guy as what i was most proud of. when i served. i said i was glad i have more jobs but the most stunning statistic is that we moved 100 times more people out of poverty into middle-class as the previous 12 years. [applause] why? because that means the american dream is alive and well. i believe with all my heart that a society that basically says you are on your own is never going to be as successful and highly competitive independent world as a society that says we don't have a person to waste. we are all in this together. [applause]

if you just took a cold-blooded view of what is in it for me, remember this, every kid that dropped out of school, every kid that shows up too hungry to learn because they are malnourished, every kid that cannot cope with all the economic problems at home and is 50 pounds overweight and is more likely to die and early death, every kid that dropped out of college -- that is a constraint on america's growth. it will compromise your future. [applause] if you don't care about them, it will compromise your future. [applause] we are all in this together works better than you are on your own.

the last thing i want to say is -- the republicans have a debt clock, remember that at the convention? that is a problem but not this day. for a very simple reason -- on this day, there is not enough private economic activity to grow the economy fast enough to allow us to effectively bring down the debt. if you cut public spending and there is not private investment to make up for it, you fall further behind. that is why when the republican congress got rid of the aid to state and local government, unemployment went up 700,000. that is why the european union has an unemployment rate 3% higher than ours because president obama and the congress did the right thing on that recovery act. [applause]

but, for all of you young people is important for this reason -- when the economy starts to grow again, interest rates will rise. if interest rates today were what they were when i was president, the amount of money we would have to spend, your tax money, paying interest on the debt, would be almost three times what it is today and that would cut money for education and our future. we need a 10-year plan to deal with it. president obama has offered a plan to reduce the debt by $4 trillion. there is spending restraints and adequate revenues and a reasonable amount of growth. if you don't have growth and revenues, you cannot balance the budget. what is their plan? they say the first thing we have to do is spend $2 trillion over

a decade more on defense than the pentagon wants. i am big and strong military. it is important. i trust the pentagon to design a 21st century military to make 21st century security threats. what will you spend it on, says the republicans, they said see me later. they say we have this huge debt so we will cut taxes $5 trillion more over the next decade and we're going to pay for that by including exemptions. which ones and how much will you say? see me after the election. [laughter] if you have an arithmetic problem to solve and you want to get from negatiuve to zero, would your first move to add -

7? [laughter] this is their strategy. i am not making this up. [applause] i am saying this because on this day of all days, we should know that there are good and noble people who work for the government. i remember when the oklahoma city bombing occurred before 9/11 and that was the biggest terrorist incident united states had seen. a man who had bitten my secret service detail had transferred there because he thought it would be a great place to raise his children and he was killed that day. along with other people.

like every other politician, i had gotten up set on occasion of some example of government and referred to government bureaucrats and i promised myself that i would never use those two words together for the rest of my life -- i would treat those people that served our country with respect whether they are in uniform, law enforcement, fire fighters, military or any other thing. [applause] that is it. if you're looking to the future, the president's budget plan is better. [applause] i think the health care plan is better. i know the higher education plan is better. [applause] i know the economic plan is better. and i know it will not amount to a hill of beans if you don't

register and vote and get your friends to so do it. thank you, god bless you. [cheers and applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> visit our campaign website. you can read what the candidates are saying on major issues. watch and to engage that c- span.org/campaign 2012. in four weeks, the first of the presidential debates live on c- span, cspan radio, and c- span.org.

watch and to engage. coming up today, "washington journal" looks at the farm bill, the upcoming election, and the president obama pledge for clean energy. live it 10:00 eastern, the house convenes for more speeches and at 11:00, arnold palmer will receive the congressional medal. >> i think people really like to see where politicians the views have shifted over the years. i think people like to see whether mitt romney in 1994 was campaigning for welfare reform or against, for abortion, they want to see what he did in his 2002 campaign. i think people like to see how these politicians have it evolves. there is an element that is almost eight gotcha element but others think it is incredibly interesting. >> i have tried to think

whitesid is he has changed so often, why does he find it so difficult to come down on one side of the issue. >> someone who is running for state office the first time, -- >> rod is a trailblazer. >> it is the beating heart of the internet. >> more with buzzersfeed reporter sunday night on "q &a." >> president obama is back in the campaign trail this week in nevada and colorado. at 8:25 p.m., he is at the grassroots event in las vegas and we will be live on c-span 2. in 45 minutes, senator charles grassley from iowa talks