he understands business and possibly how we could make the economy work, which would automatically fix or guarantee something for down the road. it would create a spiral. >> i am going for the lesser of evils. obama is already in there, and hopefully he is heading in the right direction than getting romney in there and starting fresh. >> who did you vote for>> who dr years ago? >> john mccain. >> so you are starting fresh. >> there is so much confusion, and what i want to know is how can you speak straight up to the american people so we understand what is going to be on the platform, what is it

you're a good >> who did you vote for four years ago? >> obama. vice with president obama already being in office, -- >> with president obama already been in office, continue your plan, and then we will evaluate where we are, and i will determine whether i would go democrat again. >> you voted for years ago for? >> mccain. >> what are you thinking? >> it reminds me of the two- headed monster on sesame street where they are pulling each other at the end, but they get back together by cooperation and collaboration. >> who is the cooperation candidates? >> is that answerable?

i would like to think romney is triggered strikes you would like to think rahm -- i would like to think romney is. >> you would like to think romney? >> he would like to do more wheeling and dealing in business. >> romney had your votes from the beginning. you are a mccain voter four years later, why doesn't he have in? it should be locked down. >> it should be locked down, and i cannot tell you what it is in the back of my mind, and part of it has to do with the republican platform and women's health issues, which should not be an issue. >> i want to see some good

answers in the debate. i do not want to see a bunch of name calling. i want to see candidates lay on the line what they are going to do and not be diverted by political questions. good i want to hear what they are going to do, and the candidate who gives me that i will vote for them. >> christina you voted for years ago for? >> barack obama. >> you are staying with him? >> a exactly. >> you are staying with him because? >> i think a lot of social issues and women's health issues are making it hard to move towards the republican platform, but i do like a lot of things on the republican platform. i think men romney, one of the things he has going for him is he has a history of working with the other party, and that is what we need right now, but part of me cannot get over the other

little things. >> other little things being? >> womens' health, gay issues, the right for everyone to marry. those things hold me back. >> a.j.? >> romney has bought everything he ever wanted. i was really hoping there would be a good alternative. if there was a mccain-type character this year or even bob dolan and not -- if there were a couple of guys on the republican ticket fed did not heard my sensibilities i would be closer to the middle, but it is not he has basically bought his way into the nomination and

has picnic the extreme right to shore up his base. >> susan? -- he has picked the extreme right to shore up his base. >> susan? >> i would like the one who is successful in business running the country. >> four years ago you voted for? >> both candidates. >> how did you do that? >> i voted for mccain in the primary and barack obama in the general election. i was a mccain supporter in 2000, and i got turned off when we got to the general election. i'd tell me why you are leaning toward seven. >> i want to see hammond works for both sides, but -- i want to see him work for both sides, but obama is the lesser of two evils right now. >> i think nationally security will be stronger. i think it is the republican

congress, and it will be less gridlock if we have a republican president. >> we have covered it. we have covered the world. we have got only two weeks left. stay involved. there is a lot going on here, and these are exactly the things the candidates need to hear, so i want to thank each and everyone of you for joining us, and we will see where it goes from here. thank you all very much. >> thank you.

>> it was enjoyable. >> thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> thank you very much. great job. thank you. good luck. have a great marriage. thank you for being here. i appreciate it. thank you all. what did you learn from peter hart and these undecided

voters, bike's what surprised you the market lacks i am surprised because we spend our time on the campaign trail trying to meet voters, and to meet undecided voters of this point agonizing, going back and forth. was another way. it is hard to understand because most people are decided from birth, and these are people who are at sea. >> i should state that is why i brought them into the room.

we know what 90% of americans are, and we could have brought them in, and it would be exactly what we have seen, and i wanted to try to look at that 10%. some people turn out to be a little more decided, but overall, your point is these people are anguishing but in many cases because neither candidate fulfills where their vision is. >> you have a group of people who feel the economy is getting better, and they had a very good things to say about the economy and how optimistic they are, and then they said, i do not know if i should vote for obama again, so he is obviously getting zero credit. >> i am struck by the fact that compared to the one in a walkie,

they are certainly no more than those, and then you have these tremendous gaps, and they did not have a clue. >> what do people know about obamacare? >> they got the point about kids being covered and pre-existing conditions, so the ones who have experienced knew why they like it, but how much has ever won written about medicare and brian's plan, about vouchers? they are a more educated group now. >> what about a women's health care? if you watch tv, that is what has been dominating. >> that is what struck me, how hard it is for candidates and people who work for them to penetrate, because a lot of things happen. a lot of plans have been offered, and they are not aware of them. >> i was surprised with how little they knew. they should know more than they agreed on. >> i thought this group was

more aware of things that had been going on in the campaign. more than any group i have ever watch. it was staggering the familiarity they had, and what kills us is they want specifics, they want a plan, but that is not what is going to affect them. it is going to be emotional. they said a lot about the few people who are really undecided. 60% of them are not undecided or are pretty close to being undecided, so you are down to a small number of people, and they are looking for something, and it is going to get them or not. >> in the and you had the impression they do not want a

plan. they are longing for a plan, but they do not want it. >> i thought they would observe a lot of campaign talking points. he does not have a plan. that is what it sounds like to a lot of people. >> you have thoughts? >> i thought people were not as undecided as they think they are, and it became pretty evident as the group went on. >> one of the things that interested me this it is almost said you had to look at the threads to be able to see the pattern, and if you stop and listen from the beginning, the

first thing you learned is the economy is better, and if you're the president of the united states, that has to be good news. these people have gotten a lot of messages out of the last week, that it was not like now last week was something no one had seen. for people it created a difficulty in terms of mitt romney, and then at the end you have got another thread of women's health issues and all of those things, so there are a whole bunch of things they told you, but then there were telling you another story, which is the story of the you wish barack obama listened? i wish he was not that certain. now they want a certain humility, a sense of pushing people common so you have got

both sides, and the other thing that fascinated me is the strength of the two women. clearly when we went around the room and talked about michelle obama you could feel the room light up and how unbelievably respected and effective she was, but then we got to the film, all of a sudden you recognize that enron they clearly represents inner strength, that she brings realism. she did everything her husband has not done and has not been able to get to. >> i think if you voted on the 22nd amendment they would have repealed if you're a good the clinton and michelle obama ticket for the united states, i think that came through. the bloom is very much off the

rose on obama, and i think the formulation and now is the question is the faction, and they are somewhere in between, and you can see if it is pervasive, and the question is defection. i am angry, but i am not going to do it. she to me was quintessential. a fact of these people got so much out of the conventions -- they really a sort of so much, region in re -- they really absorbed so much. >> it was hard to see, because we did not have the tabulation, but if you do a net balance, it does not seem it is going to end up as a big romney game.

praxair was one person here who had been for mccain and definitely was for obama. that one, who was not really undecided. >> he liked obamacare, and one of them said he thought obama was his brother, but there was all kinds of affection for obama, and then there was one who said it would be the worst day of his life is obama got reelected. >> i think from my point of view i happen to agree with mark. in the last session i did in milwaukee, michelle was this quintessential voter who you could see the struggle of what was going on common-law -- going on, and i thought mary was much the same.

they are going through the same kind of struggle, yet if barack obama wins, he is going to win the election. if he loses these women, and it is going to be difficult to tout. -- difficult to sell. i think mary is undecided, and i think anne is undecided. >> is she quintessential, because i thought it was interesting that she was very emotional. she was very emotional, and all she said was about the gut feeling. in the end she said, i am leaning towards mitt romney.

in favor of obama, he is young -- >> if you also voted for mccain, it turned out. >> she is in support of obama. in the end she said, i am leaning towards romney. this side did not get. >> this is the greatness of a focus group, so if you are going to ask for something to be totally irrational, do not talk to them. when you go through the complexities, that is why you need to hear, and i do not think every question is e. qualcomm on -- is equal, and you see romney with all the problems he had at the beginning of the campaign. none of these have disappeared. they still remain, but do not miss his strength, which is he

is a businessman. he may be able to solve the economy. he just has not done it at this stage. >> what problems do you think obama has solved? >> that is the important thing. he has got more of the message across, and there is a psychological sense america is better than it was. as barack obama done what he needs to do? no, because he has not given the voters a sense of a second term, and there is that other element. in 1980, the voters were mad. it was not a good economy, and i said to clinton at the time, if

these people can give you a slap across the face, they will, but if they knew they were the final vote between deciding to re-elect you or not, they would re-elect utah mine -- real life -- re-elect you, and there is some of that going on. it is not all of those things, and he needs some way for the voters to feel there has been some learning process, and i thought he did some of it very well at the convention, but i think he has left too much on the table right now. >> how does he strike you compare to the other ones? >> i have not seen the other ones you have done this year. it struck me as not that bad for

obama. there was good will, but i also thought of is this man had some strength to it, so that impressed me. >> definitely the one you did in denver, where there were weather-related questions and there was early spring for most people. the graph you put up, most people thought it was the economy. this is the area of the economy that has been touched by the downturn. there was a lot in northern virginia about that. everybody talked about the desire for bipartisanship, cooperation. that seemed to be one of the themes, a gridlock.

there was a lot of forgiveness toward obama looking at congress said you found in normal, and the wisconsin one was so downbeat it was like another country. that was a month ago? >> i also thought in terms of perceptions of the president and congress, there was a belief expressed by a number of people but in one way or another he does not know what to do about this, and this question if he is faced with the republican congress in the second term, what will he do? >> talking about lbj. >> what surprised me, they were all mentioned in the economy as the main problem, but at the same time they were all talking about foreign politics, so it surprised me the event of the last few days. backs it defined romney in a

very negative light. i was fascinated by this. it put him into a spot like that was uncomfortable. >> i do not think it was as much foreign policy as it was insight into romney, and they saw it, and they found that appealing and attractive. it was a cheap shot. it did not show presidential restraint. it reminded me of gary hart. the airliner was shot down with congressmen macdonald, and he asked what he would do, and he said, i would put the jets and look in the windows, and it was such a silly answer before he decided to shoot it down.

it was a stupid answer, and romney has the same kind of disqualifying -- >> it is interesting. the three who were really undecided common and two of them voted for mccain. faxon it is not a statistic. >> the point is they are going both ways. taiex i will take final thoughts. likes a lot of people said obama is just the lesser of two evils. they know they are going to get to the ballot box, and they are going to say, no one lived up to what i asked him to live up to, so who is the guy who is not that bad? >> i think the women's issues may affected.

>> i would say susan did not pay much attention. america is a business. it is not a big family. that is a bold statement. >> can you find out why obama took two weeks to go to katrina? >> i think it is great restraint when someone says something like that. good >> i think this is a reminder of why that surveyed in november is so big. >> they need help, but there is an awful lot going into this debate these people know, and it is the question they have been trying to get answered through

the selection, and there are larger questions rather than turning into exclamation points. thank you, everyone. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> in just over two weeks, the first of the presidential debates on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. coming up, a couple of campaign evens, first with president obama in cincinnati, ohio, and then mitt romney in los angeles, followed by michelle obama campaigning in florida and senator mccain campaigning for

mitt romney in new hampshire. tomorrow morning we will look of the democrats' legislative and campaign agenda with maryland representative don edwards. a good republican senator, a member of the committee, will discuss the on rests in the middle east and the so-called fiscal cliff at the end of the year. -- the unrest in the middle east and the so-called fiscal cliff at the end of the year. our guest is jamie strawbridge, managing editor of inside u.s. trade. " the washington journal is every day 7:00 a.m. eastern. a forum on the supreme court 2011-2012 terms.

we will be live, here in c-span. >> the president and i have fundamentally different positions and different believes the guide us. >> he looks to government as a great benefactor in every live. they have a new model. they say government is the only thing we belong to. i do not know about you, but i never thought of government as something i belong to. >> what does the campaign moves toward the october debate. the presidential candidates face

softened three -minute debates -- face off in 390-minute debates. follow our coverage on c-span, c-span radio, and online at c- span.org. >> of trade complaint against china regarding auto subsidies. president obama made a stop in cincinnati. this is a little more than an hour. ♪ >> hello, cincinnati.

thank you. thank you. thank you so much. crowd: four more years! it is good to be back in cincinnati. it's good to be in ohio. it is great to be in this beautiful setting. it seems that we should have a picnic. who has the chicken? [laughter]

na little chicken. a little potato salad. baked beans. he said -- who said beer? it is beautiful. can anybody please give andrew a great round of applause for that wonderful introduction? wasn't it great? but we say we could not be -- let me say we could not be prouder a disservice to our country as a veteran. we are very proud of the work he is doing and the work he does with his union but the thing i am most proud of is the fact that he has triplets and he is still standing. i had a chance to meet his wonderful wife. triplets. that is serious.

you cannot play man-to-man defense. you have to go into a zone. so we are very proud of him and we also have your outstanding mayor in the house. [applause] it is great to see all of you. thank you. thank you. now, you may have heard that there is an election going on. and over the past couple of weeks, each side has been able to make its case. they had their thing down in tampa, we had our thing in charlotte. and now just 15 days from now, ohio starting on october 2, you guys can start voting and you

have a big choice to make. i honestly believe this is the clearest choice in any time a in a generation. it is not as between two candidates or political parties but a choice between two fundamentally different visions for how we move forward as a country. and our vision, our fight, as for the basic bargain that built the greatest middle class on earth and the strongest economy the world has ever known. it is a bargain that says if you work hard, that hard work will pay off. that responsibility will be rewarded. that everybody should get a fair shot. everybody should do their fair share. everybody should play by the same rules from a street to wall street to washington, d.c. [applause]

four years ago i ran for president because i thought that basic bargain was eroding. to many jobs getting shipped overseas. to many families struggling with everything from groceries to gas and college of healthcare. racking up more and more debt to keep up with expenses because paychecks were not going up the way costs were. and then because of bad debt, it may think that much harder when that house of cards collapsed in worst recession since the great depression. we saw millions of americans lose their jobs, homes, life savings. and we're still fighting to recover from that tragedy. the other side, they are more than happy to talk about what it is wrong with america. they will not tell you how it started. but they are happy to talk

about what is wrong. they do not do much to tell you what they are going to do to make it right. they want your votes but they do not want to tell your their plan. the reason is because the plan they have is the same one they have been offering for the decades. tax cuts, tax cuts, gut a few regulations and then let's try some more tax cuts. tax cut in good times. tax cuts in bad times. tax cuts when we are at peace and tax cuts when we are at war. you want to make a fight? you do not need the new iphone, try tax cut. [laughter] want to drop a few extra pounds? try a tax cut. they have one answer for

everything. i have cut taxes, too. for folks who need it. [applause] middle-class families, you are paying about 3600 dodd -- $3,600 less in federal taxes since i had been president. i cut taxes for the middle-class like a promise. small businesses, i have cut taxes 18 different times. but i do not think another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs back to ohio or pay down our deficit. i sure did not believe firing teachers are teaching students off of financial aid will help grow our economy or compete with countries like china producing engineers and scientists. after all the we have been through, does anybody believe that rolling back regulations on wall street are somehow going to sell -- help the small

businesswoman in cincinnati expand or the construction worker who has been laid off? we have been there, we have tried that. we are not going back. we in not going back. [applause] we are not going back to trickle-down. we are not going back to top down, you are on your own economic. we are not going to tell folks that you are on your own because we believe we are all in this together. we do not think the economy grows from the top down. we think it grows from the middle out. from the strong middle-class. strong working families. when people are doing well in the middle, then everybody does well. what happens when you have a little more money in your pocket? you spend it. and that means businesses have more and make more profits.

then they hire more workers. and we get a virtuous cycle going on. going forward, we are not going backwards. we are moving forward. that is what this election is about. [applause] i want you to know, cincinnati, i have never promised that the path we are on will be quick or easy. as delaware -- as bill clinton reminded us at the convention, it will take more than a few years to solve challenges that have built up over decades. but let me tell you something, i know we will get there. when i hear some of these folks in the other party talk about the nation in decline, they are dead wrong. we still have the best workers in the world. lee had the best entrepreneurs and the best businesses in the world. we have the best scientists and

researchers in the world. we have the best colleges and universities in the world. there is not a country on earth that would not trade places with the united states of america. our problems can be solved and our challenges can be met. the past the offer may be hard but it leads to a better place. i am asking you to choose that future. i am asking you to rally around a set of goals to create new manufacturing jobs here in ohio. to build on what we have already done terry to create a new energy strategy for america. building on what we have already done. to prove -- improve education and bring down our deficit. turn the page on a decade of war. that is what we can do in the next four years, cincinnati. that is what i am running for a second term as president of the united states of america. [applause] crowd: four more years!

and what everybody to be clear -- the goals we have set our concrete and they are achievable. first part of the plan is to export more products and outsourced fewer jobs. after a decade of decline, this country has not created over half -- now graded over half a million new manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half years. a lot of them here in ohio. when some of these other folks said which of the detroit go bankrupt, when this abbas to walk away from an industry that supports one in eight jobs in ohio, i said we are not going to go that way. i'd bet on american workers and three years later, the american

auto industry has come roaring back with nearly 250,000 jobs. now you have a choice. we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas or we can start rewarding corporations and companies that offer up new plants and for our creating new jobs might here in ohio, right here in the united states of america. right here. i understand my opponent has been running around ohio. crowd: boo! don't boo, vote. vote. but he has been running around ohio claiming he is going to roll up his sleeves and take the fight to china. [laughter]

now, here is the thing -- his experience has been owning companies that were called pioneers in the business of outsourcing jobs to countries like china. he made money investing in companies that up routed from here and went to china. pioneers. ohio, you cannot stand up to china when all you have done is send them our jobs. you can talk a good game, but i like to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. [applause] in my experience has been waking up every single day and doing

everything i can to make sure american workers get a fair shot a in the global economy. when other countries do not play by the rules, we have done something about it. we bought more trade cases against china in one term than the previous administration did in two. and every case we have brought that has been decided, we won. when governor romney says that stopping on a fair surges in chinese companies would be bad for america, we ignore his advice and got over 1000 americans back to work, creating tires right here in the united states. [applause] earlier this year, i said that a new task force to go after on fair trade practices that harm our workers.

and it has already delivered 32 months ago, we move to hold sein accountable -- delivered. 2 months ago, we move to hold against -- china accountable. these subsidies that directly harm working men and women on the assembly lines in ohio and michigan and across the midwest. your senator has fought as hard as anybody to stop this and we are going to stop it. it is not right. it is against the rules and we will not let it stand. american workers build better products than anybody. made in america means something. let andrew said, when the playing field is level, america will always win. but what we need is folks who

actually walk the walk, not just talk the talk. we do not need folks who during election time suddenly are worrying about trade practices. but before the election, are taking vantages of unfair trading practices. ohio, if you stand with me, if you choose the path we're talking about, we are going to help bring factories and small businesses -- experts and will sell more goods around the world stamped with made in america and create 1 million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years. we can do that. but i need your help. [applause] that is not all we are going to have to do to rebuild our economy. we have to train our workers. that is why the second part of my plan is to get more americans

the chance to earn the skills they need to compete. education was the gateway of opportunity for me, for michelle, and it is the gateway of opportunity for a lot of you. and right now, he is studying -- andrew right now is getting to get his degree with help from pell grants that we expanded because the understand that even though he is doing well now, we constantly have to build up our skills treat it as the gateway to a middle-class life. -- skills. it is the gateway to a middle- class life. we said let's get the money directly to students and we have been able to help millions more young people get an education. so, you have a choice. the other side, you look at their budget.

they are proposing to gut education to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy. that is one pass. i am offerina different path. we can decide no trout should have their dreams the ford because of an overcrowded -- note how the -- no child should have their dreams deferred because of an overcrowded classroom. i am asking you to help me recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers in the next 10 years. and improve early shot of education. let's help give 2 million workers a chance to learn this suppose they need at community colleges that will lead directly to a job. with colleges and

universities to keep tuition down. to cut in half the tuition costs over the next 10 years. we can meet those goals together. that is the future we can choose. third thing -- i have a plan to control more of our own energy. after 30 years of inaction, we raised fuel efficiency standard so by the middle of the next decade, your cars and trucks will goal tries as far -- will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. that helps our national security and our environment. we have double the amount of renewable energy. thousands of americans have jobs today building went turbines and long-lasting batteries. we are less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in the last two years. you of a choice.

between plan to repurchase this progress or one that built on it. as long as i'm president, i will not begin our not let oil properties right in this country's energy plan and i will not let them keep collecting $4 billion in tax payer funds in corporate welfare. we have a better path. we will keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal technology. we will help farmers harness new biofuels. let's put construction workers back to work rebuilding our homes and factories so they waste less energy. we've got to develop a nearly hundred-year supply of natural gas beneath our feet. we can do it in a way that is safe. if you choose this path, we can cut our oil dependence in half by 2020.

that is a plan for the future, not a plan looking backward. number four, we will reduce our deficit without sticking it to the middle class. i put forward a plan that will reduce our deficit by $4 trillion. an independent analysis has looked at this. just in case you are skeptical, we have got real numbers behind it. i have worked with republicans in congress to already cut $1 trillion in spending, and we're willing to do more. i do not want a government that is wasting money. it has to make sure it is focused on the people that are working hard, but need a ladder up.

there are programs that do not work. i want to reform the tax code so it is simple and fair. i have done my own taxes. i do not know about some of these other folks, but i have done mine. i know we can make this a more simple and fair system, but we have to ask the wealthiest households to pay a little bit more on incomes over $250,000, the same rate we had when bill clinton was president, the same rate when the economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, and we helped millionaires to boot. if we are helping middle-class families, what happens?

you are going to spend the money. middle out, not top down. my opponent has a plan when it comes to taxes. one thing is missing from it -- arithmetic. they talk about -- they say the most important thing we have to do is reduce the deficit. then the first thing they do is to spend trillions of dollars more on tax breaks for the wealthy. not just the bush tax cuts. on top of the bush tax cuts, $5 trillion more.

they must have skipped math class when they were in school. that math does not add up. whenever you ask them to explain the plan, they will not. they will not say how they will pay for $5 trillion in new tax cuts. sometimes this money gets all mixed up, millions, billions. $5 trillion over 10 years means $500 billion every year. $500 billion is about the amount of our entire defense budget. everything we spend on our military -- everything -- troops, planes, carriers -- it is about $500 billion. they are saying they are going to give a tax cut equivalent to our entire defense budget every single year. they cannot tell you how they are going to pay for it. and the truth is they cannot pay for it without raising taxes on middle-class families.

but then on top of that, they want to spend another $2 trillion in new military spending, they say, without adding to the deficit, but they do not tell you how they are going to do that. the only thing they can do is keep trying to bluff their way through until november, and hope that you will call them on it. but understand, cincinnati, i want to work with them to reduce the deficit. if the republicans need more love, if they want me to walk the dog or wash their car, i am happy to do it. and i genuinely believe that most americans -- they just want us to solve problems. so i am ready and willing to work.

but i refuse to ask middle-class families to pay over $2,000 more so that millionaires and billionaires can pay less. i refuse to cut clean energy investment and put 125,000 clean-energy jobs here in ohio at risk just to give me or romney a tax cut. i refuse to ask more than 365,000 of students to pay more for college or take children out of head start programs or eliminate health insurance for millions of americans who are poor or elderly or disabled just to pay for a tax cut for wealthy folks who do not need it. and i will never turn medicare into a voucher.

you know, folks have worked hard their whole lives. they should not be spending their golden years at the mercy of an insurance company. they should retire with dignity and respect, and, yes, we have to reform and strengthen medicare, but we have to do it by reducing the cost of health care, not by dumping the costs on to seniors. we will keep the promise of social security by taking responsible steps to strengthen it, but we will not turn it over to wall street. now, rebuilding our economy is essential, but our prosperity at home is linked to our policies abroad, and current events remind us of that. four years ago, i promised to end the war in iraq, and we did. i said it is time for us to wind

down the war in afghanistan, and we are. we have got a new tower rising above the new york skyline, even as al qaeda is on the path to defeat and osama bin laden is dead. what happened this past week underscores that we still face threats in the world. we cannot pull back. we have to stay engaged and involved for our security. we have to remain vigilant. that is why so long but as i am commander in chief we will have the strongest military that the world has ever known. we will do what is required to keep our personnel safe around the world, and when our troops come home, when they take off their uniforms, we will serve them as well as they have served us, because in america no one

should to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home if they have fought for america. again, you have a choice because my opponent said it was tragic for me to end the war in iraq. he will not tell us how he is going to end the war in afghanistan. while he wants to spend more money on military programs that our joint chiefs say will not keep us safer, i will use that money that we are no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and to put more people back to work rebuilding some of these bridges around cincinnati, rebuilding schools and runways. after a decade of war, it is time to do is a nation-building

here at home. that is the choice you face. that is what this election comes down to. 50 days and you will start making that choice. -- 15 days and you will start making that choice. over and over again we have been told by our opponent that their way is the only way, that if government cannot do everything, they should do nothing. if a company is polluting the air your children breathe, that is the price of progress. if you cannot afford to start a business or go to college, borrow money from your parents. [crowd boos] don't boo. vote. you know what? that is not who we are. that is not what this country is about.

as americans, we insist on personal responsibility. we insist on individual initiative. we cannot help folks who are not even trying to help themselves. nobody is entitled to success. we believe in somebody who is starting a business, the drivers, the dreamers, the risk takers who drive our economy. that is what we believe in, and the free enterprise system, the greatest energy for prosperity, but we believe in this country as citizens we accept certain obligations to each other and to future generations. as citizens, we understand america is not just what can be done for us, it is what can be done by us together as one nation, as one people. all of you understand that. the election four years ago was not about me.

it was about all of you. it was about us. you are the reason that there is a cancer survivor in medina who can afford their health care plan. you did that. you are the reason that young man in columbus whose mother worked three jobs to raise him can afford to go to college. that is because of you. you are the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will not be deported from the only country that she has known as home. you are the reason we don't do don't ask don't tell.

you made that happen. cincinnati, you can turn back now. if you buy into the cynicism that says change is not possible, then change does not happen. if you give up on the idea that your voice matters, and somebody else -- folks who are writing the $10 million checks cannot try to buy this election, that folks who are trying to make it harder to vote, washington politicians who want to make this is about who you can marry, tell women they cannot make their own health care decisions, that is who will fill the void. only you can make sure that does not happen. only you can keep this country moving forward. it depends on you. it depends on you. you've got to register to vote

before october 9. it depends on you to start showing up and voting october 2. if you do not know how to do it, look at that sign there. to go gottavote.com. find out how and when to vote. the thing is then you can spend the rest of your time getting other things -- the other folks to vote, because we have to come too far to turn back now. we got too many good jobs to create. we got too much home-grown energy to create. we got great teachers to hire and schools to build. we have more troops to come home and more veterans to care for. we got more doors of opportunity to open for everybody who is willing to work hard, everybody who is willing to walk through those doors. we have got to make sure this is

a country where in america, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, the matter what your last name is, you can make it if you try. that is why i am asking for a second term, ohio, and if you are willing to stand with me and knock on some doors for me, and make some phone calls for me, and vote for me, we will win ohio. we will win this election. we will finish what we started. and we will remind the world what the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] mitt romney is thought to president obama's announcement to end subsidies for chinese of the pots big chinese auto parts.

he also laid out his five. economic plan. ♪ >> another rally in ohio today, in columbus, and there you see mitt romney on the stage in los angeles, speaking out to the u.s. hispanic chamber of commerce. >> thank you so much for that warm introduction. and congratulations to christina as well. thank you. good to be here. i have a son here. hi, guys. it is an honor to be your guest and speak to you as we begin national hispanic heritage month. i am pleased to represent the party of governor susana martinez and marco rubio and ted cruz.

these leaders are republicans for the same reasons as millions of other hispanics. they see ours is the party of opportunity, the party that will restore america's prosperity. at our convention, governor martinez described that experience that is so familiar. at the beginning of her career she was a democrat, and she got an invitation to go to lunch with a couple of republicans. the words "democrat" and "republican" did not come up. they talked about issues, such as how to keep welfare from becoming a burden to work. she said, "i'll be darned, we are republicans." i like to hear stories like that. i am convinced the republican

party is the right home of hispanic americans, but my speech today is not about my party. it is about the country we love and the future we want to build. during the course of the campaign i have traveled across the country, seeing people who have fallen into poverty, living paycheck to paycheck, people who are tired of being tired. over 23 million americans are out of work. the number of people on food stamps has risen by almost 15 million since president obama took office. median household income has fallen four years in a row. seeing such a poor jobs and income picture, the federal reserve has announced it will print more money.

the fed knows this comes with a high cost and risk for the future. it feels it has no other choice. our leaders in washington have failed to produce a real recovery. no one is exempt from the pain of this economy, but the hispanic community has been particularly hard hit. while national unemployment is at 8.1%, hispanic unemployment is over 10%. over 2 million more hispanics are living in poverty today than the day president obama took office. in 2008, candidate obama promised us a world of limitless hope. what we got instead is a world where hope has painful limits, limits that make it hard to start a business, to grow business, or to find a job. the administration promised us that its policies would have brought unemployment down to 5.4% by now. they have not. unemployment is still above 8%, and the difference between the 5.4% they promised and the 8% unemployment rate we have is millions.

i have a plan, and my plan for a stronger middle class will create 12 million new jobs by the end of my first term, and it will raise take-home pay. my plan is premised on the condition it is freedom that drives our economy, that free people creating free enterprises is what creates the jobs with good wages. government supports the job creators, but it cannot take their place. my plan has five key steps.

first, we will take advantage of our oil, gas, and renewables to achieve north american energy independence. that will not only give us the affordable energy we need, but also create nearly 4 million new jobs. it will bring manufacturing back to our country. [applause] second, we got to give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today. we got to give our kids the education they need for the careers of tomorrow. there are too many of our kids trapped in failing schools. as president, i will assure every child from every background receives quality education. i will empower the parents of our low-income and special-needs students to choose where they go to school.

at the same time we will jump- start our economy by expanding trade with latin america, and hispanic businesses will have the most to gain. president obama has not initiated a single new trade agreement with latin america. i will. i will pursue a comprehensive strategy to confront china's unfair trade practices and do that from day one. the president may think that announcing a new trade lawsuit will distract from his record. american businesses and workers struggling on an uneven playing field know better.

if i found it took only to run an ad, i would have done one a long time ago. fourth, we have got to cut the deficit and put america on track to a balanced budget. i believe it is immoral for us to spend more than we take in and to pass our debts on to our kids. i like to spend some time talking about this issue. as businessmen and businesswomen and as hispanics, you understand the threat his spending poses for our future. many hispanics have sacrificed to help build our country and economy and a brighter future for their children. today those sacrifices are being put at risk. the president likes to claim he will reduce the deficit by $4 trillion. what he does not tell you is it is included in that figure over $1 trillion of cuts that have

already been put in place where he is cutting deficit reduction for 12 years. that includes five years after he leaves office, even if he were to be reelected. under president obama, federal spending peaked at 25% of the total economy. that is a level we have not seen since world war ii. i propose to being spending back its historic levels, and i will pursue a 5% cut in non-security discretionary spending on my first day in office. it is time for a president who is committed to cutting spending, and i know how to do that. i have done it before. we have balanced my budget in my business and at the olympics and every year in my state. i will put the government on track to a balanced budget by eliminating programs, eliminating programs that are not absolutely essential, and cutting subsidies for things like amtrak and the corporation

for public broadcasting and the legal services corporation and the national endowment for the arts and humanities. i like some of those things, by the way, but we cannot afford them. my test for each program is this -- is the program so critical it is worth borrowing money from china to pay for it? if not, i will cut it off. in addition i will send a number of programs that have been growing uncontrollably fast back to the states, limit their rate of growth to the rate of inflation. i will look to sharply increase the productivity of washington by reducing federal government employment by 10% through attrition by combining departments, to reduce the overhead, by cracking down on the $115 billion a year in improper payments to the government programs, and also align government compensation with that in the private sector.

you do those things that i just described and reduce federal spending by $500 billion a year by the end of my first term. the president i am convinced has put us on a road to greece. i will put us back on the road to a stronger america. number five, and you will find this of interest, to get this economy creating the jobs we need an more take-home pay, we have to champion in this country small business. [applause]

i started a business myself. we began with 10 people. today it employs hundreds of people. our business was investing to help turn around or grow or to start up other small businesses. today, over 100,000 people work at companies that we helped start, companies like staples, the sports authority. small businesses often grow into large businesses. 2/3 of american jobs created over the last 15 years were created by small business. i know small business. not because i studied it at school, but because i lived small business. i know that small businesses are being crushed by this administration's policies. too often regulators treat businesses like they are the enemy and crush them with an avalanche of regulations.

large businesses can deal with that, but small businesses cannot. i met an entrepreneur in the electronic industry in st. louis who said that he and his son had gone through a calculation to determine how much they paid to the government, in federal income taxes, payroll taxes, state income taxes, gasoline taxes, sales taxes, and real estate taxes. it amounted to over half of what their business earned. over half. you think about that. the likelihood of success of a small business is not real high, and if you are successful, the government wants to take more than half. no wonder business startups are at a 30-year low. the president plans to raise the federal income tax on small businesses even more to 40%. that will kill about 700,000 jobs. we need more jobs, not less. a recent study concluded that my plan which reduces the tax rate on small business will instead create 7 million jobs.

we talk about "obamacare." the chamber of commerce surveyed 13 of its members and found that 3/4 of them said they are less likely to hire people because of "obamacare." that will replace consumer choice with government choice and will cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket. i will repeal "obamacare" and replace it. if we take advantage of our energy resources at home and we fix our schools and open more trade and we cut the deficit and we truly champion small business, our economy will come roaring back.

we can do better than this lackluster economy. we can create 12 million jobs and rising take-home pay. my confidence comes from the entrepreneurs i met across the country. we're in a room full of them right here. in 1988, a person founded a spanish-language weekly, and she became an expert in search- engine marketing and she turned it into an on-line powerhouse. we're joined by another successful entrepreneur, who oversees one of the nation's top construction management firms.

she has been collecting so many awards that we're lucky she did not have a conflict today. i happen to believe that entrepreneurs like martha and doreen are the future for america. i believe the credit for their work goes to them, not the government. i sure do not believe the government should take more of what they earn away from them. this is at the heart of the difference between president obama and my vision for the future of america's economy. he wants government to tax more and regulate more because he believes government can do a better job than you can. i believe in you. i believe you can do a better job than government. i believe -- i am confident you and your dreams and your freedoms will build a stronger future for all of us and for our children.

this belief in free people and free enterprise that is the american heritage. it is why americans outperformed economically over every nation on earth. i want to say a word about immigration. americans may disagree about how to fix our immigration system, but we can agree is broken. for years, republicans and democrats have been more interested in playing politics with immigration than fixing it. candidate obama said one of his highest priorities would be to fix immigration in his first year in office, with his party having majorities in both houses of congress. the president never even offered up a bill. like so many issues confronting our nation, when it comes to immigration, politics have been going on for too long.

i will work with republicans and democrats to permanently fix our immigration system. we will never achieve a legal system that is efficient if we do not get control our borders. what we need are fair and enforceable immigration laws that will stem the flow of illegal immigration while strengthening legal immigration. i want to make the system for more simple and transparent. you should not have to hire a lawyer to find out how to legally emigrate to the united states. i want to shift our diversity to bring together immediate family members and i want to structure our temporary worker visa programs so these meet the needs of our employers. if someone gets an advanced degree, i want them to stay here, so i will give them a green card with a diploma.

america is a nation of immigrants, and immigration is essential to our economic growth and prosperity. 1 million immigrants legally enter america every year, the largest number of any country in the world. i like that. i want to preserve our heritage of robust legal immigration, and i want to make sure those who abide by the law and wait in line and do so legally are not at a disadvantage. that is why i oppose amnesty because amnesty will make it harder to strengthen our legal immigration system. it is why my administration will establish an employment verification system so every business can know whether the people who are hired are legally eligible. there will be strict penalties for the businesses that do not. in the midst of the campaign,

president obama created a stopgap measure for children who were brought here illegally through no fault of their own. i will pursue permanent immigration reform and i will start by insuring those who serve and our military had the opportunity to become legal permanent residents their country. [applause] those who have risked their lives have earned a right to make their life in america. i spoke about my father, who was born to american parents living in mexico. when he was 5, they left everything behind and started over again in the united states. my dad grew up poor. he believed in a country where the circumstances of one's birth were not a barrier to achievement, a place where hard work could turn dreams into reality.

he went from selling paint out of the trunk as his car to becoming the chief executive of a great car company, and ultimately to become the governor of the state of michigan. my wife's father was a first- generation immigrant, and he ended up founding a manufacturing company. many of you in this room have similar stories. that is the american story, one that is told over and over and over again, the story of the american dream. the american dream is not gone. it has just been put a little further from us. i know what it takes to bring it back, to have inspired our fathers and mothers, who sacrificed so much that we could have as part of our lives, and now it is our turn, a responsibility to restore the opportunity and prosperity and dreams that have invigorated this nation from its beginning, and is a responsibility we will fulfill together.

thank you so very much. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] ♪

♪

>> the first of the presidential debates, live on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org. coming up on c-span, a couple of

campaign events first with michelle obama campaigning for her -- her husband in florida and senator john mccain campaign for mitt romney in new hampshire. tuesday, former political prisoner of the burmese league for democracy will talk about her country's transition to democracy and its relations with the u.s. live at 12:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. 5:30 eastern, we hear from general james amos, speaking at the atlantic council about the role of the marine corps. >> i watched c-span2 find the unfiltered truth. what they're saying, when and why. beyond that, i like to use c- span as a thermostat for what is happening in the country.

sometimes you get caught up a in the beltway. one of the shows are really enjoy watching is "washington journal." it makes my job easier when i do the work that i do. there are morning interviews and c-span talks about the same topics i am getting a hit on. it allows me to get my arguments before i>> richard wan comcast. cabled by america's companies in 1979. brought to you as a public service by your cable company. >> first lady michelle obama campaigns for president obama in gainesville. this is just over 30 minutes.

>> wow. [applause] thank you so much. wow. [applause] amazing. that's amazing. thank you so much. i am beyond thrilled to be with you today. let me just say, go gators. [applause] oh. let me just start. i want to give a special shout out to anybody here who might

be from the gator marching band. you were incredible. you performed when we were in london for the olympics. thank you so much. i also want to thank alex for sharing his story and the very kind introduction and for all of his outstanding work. let's give him a round of applause. [applause] we have a few other special guests. congresswoman brown, mayor lowe, the state party chair, they are all here. for those celebrating rosh hashana, i want to wish you all

a happy and healthy new year. i want to thank all of you. this is my biggest event to date in this election cycle. [applause] yeah, this is good. you all seem pretty fired up and ready to go. that is a good thing. after our convention a few weeks ago, i am feeling pretty fired up. when we were in charlotte a few weeks ago we heard from president clinton and vice president biden. they remind us of how much we have accomplished together, how much is at stake and why we need to reelect my husband for four

more years. my job in charlotte was pretty simple. i have the pleasure and honor to talk about the man i have loved and honored for 23 years and why i married him. listen up to all the ladies. let me share a little something. when i first met barack, he had everything going for them. he was handsome, still is. he was charming, talented, and smart. but that is not why i married him. fellas, this is where i want you to listen in. what truly made me fall in love with barack obama was his

character. [applause] it was his decency. it was his honesty, his compassion, his conviction. i love that barack was so committed to serving others that he turned down high-paying jobs and he began his career by trying to get people back to work in struggling communities. yes, yes. was so that barack so s devoted to his family, especially the women in his life. i saw the love and respect he had for his mother. i saw how proud he was that she put herself through school football supporting himself and his sister as a single mom.

i saw his tenderness for his grandmother. long after she should have retired, she was still waking up every morning and catching a bus to her job to support families. he watched as she was passed over for promotions and simply because she was a woman. he also saw how she kept doing the same job, getting up your or your -- after year without complaint or regret. in barack i found a real connection. in his life's story, i found so much of my own. growing up on the south side of chicago, i saw my father make the same uncomplaining journey every day. it was at the city water plant. he have the same dignity.

we all have somebody in our lives like that. that same hope, that same pride in being able to provide for his kids, hoping that they would have opportunities he could never dream of. our families were not asking for much. they did not begrudge anybody else's success. they did not mind that other people had more than they did, they admired it. love you, too. [applause] our families and families like ours believed in that fundamental american progress -- promise that even if you do not start out with much if you worked hard and do what you are

supposed to, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grandkids. and they believed that when you've worked hard and done well and walked through the doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. you always reach back and help folks with the same chance that help you succeed. that is how we were taught. that is how barack and i and so many of you were raised. those were the values that we were taught. we learned that how hard you work values more than what you make. we all learned that. we learned that the truth matters. you do not take shortcuts to scam the system. you do not play by your own set

of rules. we learned that nobody gets where they are on their own. each of us has a community lifting us up. each of us. [applause] from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who keep our schools clean. we learned to value everybody's contribution and treat everybody with respect. we learned through citizenship and service that we can be part of something bigger than ourselves. with our blessing, it is our duty to give back to others who have less. [applause] these are the values that make

barack such an extraordinary husband to me and a phenomenal father to our girls. value a about barack's few weeks ago not just as a father and a mother, but as somebody who has seen that firsthand and how important those values are to leading the country. let me tell me what i learned. over the past 3.5 i can see how the issues that come across the president's desk that are always the hard ones. the decisions that are not just about the bottom line, but laying a foundation for the next generation. it is important to have a president who tells us not just we want to hear, butells us the truth, especially when it is

hard. i have seen when it comes time to make those tough calls, and everyone is urging you to do what is easy or what polls best or what gets good headlines, as president, you need to be driven by the struggles, hopes, and dreams of all you serve. you need to have a strong inner compass of commitment to your fellow citizens. that is what it takes to be a leader. let me tell you, since the day he took office, on issue after issue, a crisis after crisis, that is what we have all seen in my husband. we have seen his values at work. we have seen his vision unfold. we have seen the depth of his

conviction. think back to when barack first took office and our economy was on the brink of collapse. newspapers were using words like meltdown, calamity, wall street implodes, the economy in shock. for years, folks have been lured into buying homes that could not afford. their mortages were under water. banks were not lending, companies were not hiring, the automobile industry was in crisis, the economy was losing 800,000 jobs every month. a lot of folks were wondering if we were heading for another great depression. this is what barack faced on day

one as president. instead of pointing fingers or placing blame, barack got to work. [applause] he was thinking about folks like my dad and his grandmother. that is why he crack down on lending abuses. when you apply for a mortgage or a credit card, you know what you are getting into. he believes that teachers and firefighters should not pay higher tax rates than millionaires and billionaires. [applause] he got the auto industry back on its feet. today, new cars are rolling off the line at proud american companies like gm today. yes, while we still have a long

way to go to rebuild our economy, we have at 30 straight months of private sector job growth under this president. a total of 4.6 million new, good jobs in the united states of america. here is more proof. when it comes to health care, the health of our families, barack did not care if health reform was the easy thing to do politically. he care that it was the right thing to do. today, as alex mentioned, because of health reform, our parents and grandparents on medicare pay hundreds of less for their prescription drugs. kids can stay on insurance until -- their parents' insurance until they are 26 years old.

now insurance companies have to cover things like contraception and cancer screenings without any of pocket cost. they will not be able to discriminate against you because of a pre-existing condition like diabetes or asthma. here is another thing. if you get a serious illness and you need expensive treatment, no longer can they tell you that you hit your lifetime limit and we are not paying a penny more. that is now illegal because of health reform. [applause] for the young people here, when it comes to giving young people the education they deserve, like me and so many of you, you never cut have attended college without financial aid. never.

in fact, as i shared in my speech at the convention, when we were first married, our combined student loan bills were higher than our first mortgage. he doubled funding for pell grants and fought so hard to keep interest rates down. he wants all of our young people to have the skills that you need for the jobs of the future. jobs that you can raise a family on. jobs that will help our economy for decades to come. finally, when it comes to understanding the lives of women and when it comes to standing up for our rights and opportunities, we know that my husband will always have our

backs. barack knows from personal experience what it means for families when women are not treated fairly in the workplace. he knows what it means when women fail to meet the demands of their jobs and families. he knows as a father to know what it means to have our daughters to have the same freedom and opportunity is as our sons. very first bill he signed as president was to help women get equal pay for equal work. that is why your president will always, always fight to ensure that women can make our own decisions about our bodies and our health care.

that is what my husband stands for. when the people ask you what this president has done for our country, when they are deciding who will keep america moving forward for four more years, here is what i want you to tell them. i want to start by telling them by -- about the millions of jobs he has created. tell them about the kids that can finally afford college. tell them how barack ended the war in iraq. tell them how we took out usama bin laden. tell them how barack fought to get veterans and military families the benefits they have earned. tell them about young immigrants

brought to america through no fault of their own and how they will no longer be deported from the only country they have ever known. tell them how brave men and women in uniform will never have to lie about who they are to serve the country that they loved. [applause] tell them that barack obama knows the american dream because he lived it. he has been fighting every day so everyone in this country can have the same opportunity no matter who we are or where we are from or what we look like or who we love. clear.e

while he is proud of what we have achieved together, my husband is nowhere near satisfied. he knows that too many people are hurting. he knows that there is too much work to be done. as president clinton said, it will take a lot longer than four years to rebuild the economy from the brink of collapse. [applause] what i know fo rsure, barack obama, since the day he took office, he has been fighting for us. he has been struggling with us. together, slowly but surely, we have been pulling ourselves out of the whole we started in. for 3.5 years we have been

seeing the change that we believe in. are weteh question, going to turn around and go to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place? are we going to sit back and watch everything that we fought for just slip away? or are we going to keep moving this country forward, forward, forward? [applause] but in the end, the answer to these questions is up to us. all our hard work, all of the progress we have made, it is all

on the line. it is all at stake this november. this election will be even closer than the last one. it could all come down to what happens in just a few battleground states like florida. [applause] you all know a thing or two about close elections in florida. to put it in perspective, i want you to think about what happened in this state in 2008. back then, we won florida by 236,000 votes. that might seem like a lot. that is just 36 votes per precinct. think about that, 36 votes. that could mean one more vote in

your neighborhood, your dorm, that could be a single vote in your apartment building. if there is somebody here thinking that their vote does not matter, that their involvement does not count, that in this complex political process that normal votes cannot make a difference, i want you to think about those 36 votes. we all know 36 people, right? with just a few evenings on a phone bank, just a few weekends knocking on doors. in this stadium, you all could swing an entire precinct for barack obama.

if we win enough precincts, we will win this state. if we win florida, we will be well on our way to putting barack obama back in the white house for four more years. from now until november, this is what i want you to do. we need every single one of you to work like you have never worked before. young people have always driven yourk's campaign with energy and passion. we need you to talk to everyone you know. your friends, neighbors, the cousin you have not seen in a while. the student sitting next to you in class. your parents and grandparents,

especially them. let this -- let them know what this election means to your future. remind them of what is at stake. remind them of what this president has accomplished. bring them to events like this one. make sure that you and they are registered to vote. you have to be registered. especially soon. if you have not reregistered, do not assume your situation. if you have never voted before, you definitely need to register. if you change your address, you may need to register. we have volunteers today that can make that happen. they are here today with their

clipboard. make sure you get to the polls and cast your vote on election day. here in florida, you do not have to wait until november 6. for young people, the one-day timeframe is tricky. you might oversleep, you might forget about it, you might not feel like it. you can request a ballot now. starting october 27, you can vote early at convenient locations throughout the state. do you hear that, young people? vote early. to find out where to vote, and go to gottaregister.com, love you. got to vote.

got to vote. because here is the thing, this is not just about barack obama, this is about your future. this is about all young people making your voices heard. you have got to do it every election. pretend i am not the first lady. i am like your mother. you have got to vote, got to vote. [applause] i have got to be honest with you. i always try to be honest. love you. vote, vote. understand this. this journey is going to be hard. these next days are going to feel long.

when you start to get tired, and you will, when you think about taking a day off, and you will, i want you to think about what we do for the next 50 days will make the difference between waking up on november 7 at the day after election day and asking ourselves, could we have done more, for feeling the promise of four more years. [applause] from now until november 6, we need you to keep on working and struggling and pushing forward. that is how change always happens in this country. if we keep showing up and fighting that could fight, we eventually get there. we always do. maybe we do not get there in our lifetimes.

maybe in our children's lifetime. maybe in our grandchildren's lifetime. that is what this is about. that is what keeps me up. that is what elections are all about. do not let anybody tell you differently. elections are always about hope. it is the hope i saw on my father's beaming face as i crossed the stage to get my college diploma. it is that kind of hope. his is the hope of barack's grandmother, she cast her vote for the grandson that she loved and raise. it is the hope for all of those that worked that extra shift. for those who save, and sacrificed so we could have

something more. the hope that so many of us feel when we look into the eyes of our own kids and grandkids. that is why so many of us are here today. we want to give all of our kids in this country a foundation for their dream. we want to give all of our kids opportunities worthy of their promise.

>> i would like to see a plan if that is the plan we are going to follow. to know if paul ryan will be in charge of the polls. the medicare part. mitt romney me is the one who was had the experience with trying to do something with

medical insurance. >> does that concern you at all? >> yes. i would like to see him more and evolved rather than having paul ryan out there all of the time. -- to have a more involved. >> let us look at some statements. i think maybe it will, up. one other thing -- let me bring this up. i may need a little help from the back room. ok.

maybe if i can yet some help. let me ask one thing, if i could come in terms of barack obama. give me three words that best described him. adjectives to describe barack obama. >> inspiring. >> smart. >> yes. >> overconfident. >> strong. >> cool, smart, overconfident. >> let me have us look and a couple clips. i will start with ann romney.

each from their convention speech. i want you to watch any of me a quick comment after watching this. i think if you use the arrows. >> i read somewhere that i had a storybook marriage. let me tell you, in the store books i read, there were never long rainy afternoon in the house with five boys screaming at once and they never seem to have a chapter called "ms or breast cancer." what we have is a real marriage. [applause]

i know the good and decent man for what he is. he is warm and loving and patient. he has tried to live his life with a set of values centered on faith and love of one's fellow man. i have seen him spend countless hours helping others. i have seen him drop everything to help a friend in trouble and then there when late-night calls come from a member of our church whose child is in a hospital. you may not agree with his positions are politics. massachusetts is 13% republican so it is not like it is a shock to me. [laughter] let me say this to every american who is thinking about

who should be our next president. no one will work harder. no one will care more, and no one will [inaudible] to make this country a better place to live. >> she wants us to love him. >> your impression? >> of her. >> elegant and well spoken. a perfect first lady. >> she is an incredible woman and to raise that many boys, i can only imagine. i think that she speaks the truth, all the wonderful thing she says about him. >> dedicated asset. >> she loves her husband and her family. that is obvious. >> and feels that he has what it takes. >> how does she add to your impressions about mitt romney?

>> makes him seem more human. >> adds an element of reality. >> she is an asset. >> a real person, not a robot. >> she sees something that we have yet to see. >> she is more private. hard for him to open up in public. >> anybody else? i also have a clip of mitt romney and i will have us look at that now. >> i am running for president to help create a better future. a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job. where no senior fears for the security of their retirement and america -- an america where

every parent knows their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon. i have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. [applause] paul ryan and i have 5 steps. by 2020, north america will be energy independence by taking full a bandage of -- advantage of our oil and gas and [inaudible] [applause]

we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. when it comes to the school that your child will attend, every parent should have a choice and every child will have a chance. we will made trade work for america. and when nations cheat at trade, there will be unmistakeable consequences. and fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in america will not vanish as has those in greece. we will cut the deficit and put america on track to a balanced

budget. [cheers and applause] we will champion small businesses, america's engine of job growth. reducing taxes on business, not raising them. it means modernizing the regulations that hurts small business and we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of health care by repealing and replacing obamacare. president obama promised to begin the rise of the oceans. -- slow the rise of the oceans. [applause] and to heal the planet. my promise is to help you and

your family. >> ok. reaction. what do you think, what was your thought, he talked about different ideas. what do you think about that? >> it sounds all good, but it's just -- it is all talk. nothing about how he will get it done. >> what did you think? >> how are you going to do that? to some of his points. >> what did you think as you watched? >> been a geologist and working in the oil industry, the first point sets things up and if you do take back the regulations, all the other steps easily fall into place. making us independent will be the greatest thing for the country and he is the one that is pushing back. all the other things fall into place. >> what do you think as you saw this? >> for every one of the points he made, i felt like there was a subtext. someone will get richer and it

will trickle down to you. >> what did you think? >> i want someone getting richer because it does trickle down. i agree with ben. under obama, the epa has put some money roadblocks on the economy. if you get rid of some of those roadblocks, the economy would do better. >> what did you think? >> i like he did not promise to balance the budget. he said on track to balancing the budget so that is a bit more realistic. >> did you feel more solidity toward romney? you felt you were leaning? does this make you feel closer or i am still in the same place. >> it justifies where he is.

meaning far over. >> what do you think? >> i hate that 12 million jobs. some of the things were going on nicely but 12 million bits seems like -- i know we need 12 million. how is he going to do that? i understand there are lots of ways but it seems like such -- >> dave. >> i want to see the jobs first. that has been my biggest complaint. you have the jobs cut on the forefront. the thing that always sticks with me is education -- the education plan and i do support that choice. the current president supports it. it is not a big deal anymore. those are the things that stuck out to me. >> anybody else? >> trade agreements. >> what is this man going to do about china? >> i have not heard him say that once. >> this man meeting -- >> brahney. -- romney.

>> he was not speaking to me. >> let me turn and do barack obama. three adjectives to describe him. give me an adjective. >> school. >> cool. >> airtran. >> why? >> the way he has his presence and he is a great speaker. he is so convincing but when you see that things have not happened, it is a feeling i get. he can say it and glasshoff that we're going to believe. it seems arrogant. >> i would say strong.

>> overconfident and it has to do with mary's comment. very well said. great intent. >> too radical but not practical. >> inspiring but more on coal. -- cool. >> his cool -- where does this leave you as you think about him in his reelection? >> that is what has me thinking that i am not as in favor of him as i was. it is leaving me disappointed. i am not just single out, want to see. >> the outcome is what? >> more jobs. the economy improving at a

quicker rate that and has. -- than it has? >> where does that leave pamela? >> as far as my vote? >> i am trying to understand. >> i do not believe a man in that position can get much done in four years and there is a part of me that still wants to give him a chance because i think he had some great ideas and because of his confidence, i was hoping against all hope. he is a relatively young and new in the game, romney is not. in four years he might get the hang of it. >> a very good talker and i voted for him. he has not accomplished what he said he was going to. that is why i am undecided. >> he talks a good game, but he is hesitant in action. >> biggest accomplishment, write it down. first four years. we will start with ben. 10 seconds each.

>> health care. >> i need more time. >> health care. >> getting people involved. >> bin laden. >> bin laden. >> health care. >> bin laden. >> health care. >> health care is the biggest

accomplishment. how many say i see that as a positive accomplishment? and it is a big accomplishment because? >> uninsured. that is a big one. to get that done. however he got it done, it is a big deal. >> children are able to be insured logger when they are in college. >> he let the secretary of defense not have that kind of coverage for military children for a number of months, almost a year. >> any healthcare?

>> i think it was a big deal as far as accomplishment. i cannot get my head around what it means. >> biggest disappointment. >> the economy. like of direction. >> health care again. >> the debt ceiling. >> unemployment. >> the deficit. >> the economy. >> tell me one thing. finish the sentence. here is what really bugs me about barack obama. >> there are so many things. his arrogance. friendly but not arrogant. >> he flicks the badass switch twice a year.

>> the resources heat through to the unions. >> his hesitancy about things like a tree when he did not show up for more than two weeks. -- katrina. >> washington is more partisan now than before. >> i am in 100% with carlina, they were not able to come to an agreement. >> his inexperience. >> the stimulus going to the places that it did. >> scary future if he gets elected. >> anybody want to give him a quality from a former president? >> lyndon johnson, i would make him a politician.

>> get something passed. >> skills regulation. >> sam rayburn. >> he [inaudible] >> anybody else? thank you. let's see if we can get up the -- system. we will need robert's fine hand to make this work.

great system but it needs a little help. >> i read somewhere that i have a storybook marriage. >> could we go back to the menu? we will go to michelle. we will first hear from michelle. >> barack knows the american dream because he has lived it. and he wants everyone in this country, everyone to have the same opportunity matter who we are or where we are from or what we look like or how we love.

[cheers and applause] and he believes that when you work hard and have done well, and walk through that doorway of opportunity, if you do not slum it shut behind you. you reach back and you give other folks the same chances for help that you received. [cheers and applause] 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 working in struggling neighborhoods where the steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get those back to work because for barack obama, expensive -- expense is not about how much money you make, it is the difference to make in people's lives. >> reaction. dave? >> just as far as what she was talking about what he did after graduation, that strikes home. that means a lot to me. but it is not necessarily -- i do not know how much school that he has as opposed to the other people that things sticks with me. >> she is relatable. the fact they have had hard

times and he has had to work his way up and was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. and the commitment and dedication she has is a plus. >> polish. >> any other feeling? >> she is not telling us why we should vote for him and she reminded me of the fact i had not thought about it but hearing that reminds me of the fact he has never had a job. >> i have heard it before and it seemed very similar to 2008 but it does not have the same effect on me that it did back then. >> i felt like both conventions were political infomercials. >> infomercial. i did not watch. >> aj, what did you think? >> there was no denying the connection she had with the

crowd. >> i felt like i whether it is one degree of separation i feel like she is someone i would know personally. >> ok, let me have you watched part of barack obama's speech. >> when all is said and done, when you pick up that ballot to vote, you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. over the next few years, big decisions will be made in washington on jobs, the economy, taxes, and deficits, energy, education, war and peace. decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and on our children's lives for decades to

come. and on every issue, the choice you face will not just be between two candidates or two parties, it will be a choice between two different paths for america. a choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future. ours is a fight to restore the values that builds the largest middle-class and the strongest economy the world has ever known. [applause] the values my grandfather defended as a soldier in patton's army, the values that drew my grandmother on -- to work on the bomber assembly line when he was gone. they knew they were part of something larger, a nation that tramped over fascism and depression, were the most innovative businesses turned out the world's best products, and everyone shared in that pride and success from the corner office to the factory floor.

my grandparents were given the chance to go to college, to buy their own home, and fulfil the basic bargain at the heart of america's story. the promise that hard work will pay off. the responsibility will be rewarded and everyone gets a fair shot. everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules from main street to wall street, to washington, d.c. >> ok. let me ask your reaction to that. >> he said a lot of things everyone agrees with. it was not saying this is what i think. it is in general so you are like, i agree 85% of the time. it is what it comes to my personal -- the romney would do a better job with what you're talking about. -- mitt romney would do a better job with what you are talking about. if you wanted to vote for him, it would make you want to vote for him more but if you are leaning toward mitt romney, it pushes you more toward mitt romney.

>> pamela. you are not leaning one way or another. >> he is right about the issues and the categories and it will be a difficult choice because there is a lot we have to fix. but, you know, everyone gets a fair shot at a fair share. life is not fair. across the board, it is just not fair. there again, he is overconfident and unrealistic. it gives me the creeps. >> that was the past. what about tomorrow? >> what do you need to hear from him about tomorrow? >> what is our plan? we're in a quagmire. how're we going to get out of this? >> what i would like to hear, one candidate, i do not care what party they are from say, i do not know what to do and why

it don't you help me? help me figure it out. let's get the people involved again. let's hear what you have to say. that is why i am loving this event. >> i felt the speech there was a level of humility there. it was as almost -- begging would be too harsh. he was trying to talk to me about, i know you were enthusiastic the first time, would you do it again? i was not sure again, if he can complete the plan as he presented it. >> there tw -- are two things. the idea that he pulled himself about of nothing and he was raised by single mother and all this. he did have a single mother but he went to the best schools the nation has to offer.

he went to columbia, harvard. he is not everyone -- like everyone else and this idea that he has come up from the bottom. no. he had supported people behind him the whole way who put him through the best way possible. and the second thing is his inability to compromise or to work with people. i said lbj because lbj did the great society and was able to talk to people and convince people, you may have grown up this way but that is not fair. it is not fair that you get great schooling in this person does not. he found a way to get people to get on board. he has not been able to do that yet. it bothers me. >> communistic. everyone needs to have everything equal.

everyone gets everything. >> that is not right. >> some people work for their grades, other people flowed along. life is like that. and to see that everyone deserves the same is not right. >> what did you think? >> i thought his speech was ok. it had a hard time living up to the one that took place the night before. and you definitely get the sense that there was a shadow he was trying to step out of there. but i also just to touch on an earlier point, it is difficult to reach across the aisle when every time you tried to reach across, it gets bitten by a pit bull. that has been what has happened over the last four years. >> let me hear from christine and married. >> i was disappointed by his use of the word "ours." i do not like the idea of us versus them. it was similar to what he did in 2008 but this time my eyes were open more wide.

it was nothing concrete. >> i wanted to be inside but was not -- excited because i was not. it felt like i wanted to say, where's the beef? there is something missing here. >> anybody else? i have a couple of other things that want to discuss. one thing i have heard, the whole question of medicare. redoing medicare. is that good or bad, does it make any difference? is this an opportunity or something that would be a challenge? anybody have any feelings?

>> something has got to be done, regardless. to be put on the right track. >> we need to have the same thing that most people here will be entitled to. there does need to be a change that does not take away things like for my parents who are banking on social security but we cannot live in a false reality that i will be able to get it. it needs to be something, what is. >> the years need to be adjusted. 65 cannot be the golden goose. we live a lot longer. >> as i understand it, does anybody know about the plan that mitt romney and paul ryan are expressing?

>> i wish i did. >> they were saying there would raise the social security age to 75 but -- >> does anybody have any idea about the medicare program about romney-ryan, the details have been limited. >> money will be assigned to states and the states will do what they think is best for theistate. >> it sounds to me like -- >> i am 60 and it will not affect my generation. these changes are going to affect future generations. >> anyone under the age of 55 will be affected. >> when they talked about changing things before, they said they looked at 20-40 -- at 2040. and the politics came out, they will take away grandma's nest egg. >> from what i understand, friends have a problem dock -- finding doctors that will see them.

with a voucher, the doctors -- the like money. there is no voucher. if you say you are on medicare, they do not have room for you. i have a friend who had to visit six different doctors to get an appointment. >> any discomfort -- how many say i do not know enough to have an opinion? that is basically everyone around the room. that is interesting. how about obamacare? does anyone have any sense of how a president romney would handle it and how it would change? how many say i do not now? -- not know? >> i know bits and pieces but my whole thing is, there is

this issue about pre-existing conditions. when i lost my job, i was able to pay into -- our company had less than 50 employees. for three months, i was allowed to pay the cover price and health insurance privacy protection act allows you to go out and look for your own insurance and pay for it yourself but because i had a pre-existing condition, the policy that i was going to go into had a $3,000 deductible and it was $600 a month. because hippa allows you to have this pre-existing condition and get insurance, it did not see anything about having to pay $10,000. it is a gamble. i am trying to figure out if

this new particular -- how that is going to affect people who do have pre-existing conditions, is there going to be a price difference? the internet says it is not. it will be a flat line price. i would like to see it in action. >> here is what fascinates me. you have done great, a marvelous job tonight. i think you so much but here is what fascinates me. you want a plan and yet i would have to say at this moment, a lot of this is not coming through to you. you do not have any sense necessarily what president obama wants to do or what governor romney wants to do. is that true? >> true. >> you have a debate coming up very soon. what do you want to hear from them? what do they have to tell you?

pamela, i am president obama. i am dying for your vote. charlie, i am governor romney, i am dying for your vote. mary, i am both candidates. you were saying you were genuinely undecided. you seem fairly committed. aj's committed toward president obama. i think you're, also. -- you are, also, you talk about where you are at interposition in life and you talked about this debate coming up and your disappointments with president obama and your uncertainties about mitt romney. how do you decide what you need to hear in this debate? that is what it is about. what do you need to hear? >> i cannot answer what you're asking me to do. i am hoping which is probably

really stupid on my part that somebody is going to pull something incredible out of the air that no one has thought about before and we're all going to go, yes. it is totally unrealistic. >> as long as you admit it. and so, given your situation where you're at, what will help you decide? clearly, there are things about mitt romney you do not like, there are things about barack obama that you are not happy with. there are things that make them each interesting. how do you decide? >> it is going to be emotional, i can tell you that. you're asking me what they're going to say to me. instead of being an emotional feeling based on something they

say that rings true with regard to humanity, the struggles, a realistic opinion about what it is, we as americans as a whole need to achieve. i can -- tend to want to hear about global foreign policy because again, it is not just us here in the united states. i want to hear something -- obama has had this much experience. that is why i want to know who their visors work. that would influence my vote tremendously. >> mary, you have been terribly supportive and terribly critical and terribly realistic also. >> i want some answers and i realize in the debate, it is not reasonable to think that you are going to get a plan. i also feel like if there is some structure with how you're going to do this, what is going to look like and how are you going to put it together?

it is very worrisome. obama cannot get people to work with him. romney has a piece that is essential with his strong business background so to get the economy moving forward, what are you going to do? >> when i watched both the conventions, when i watched the first one, was all for mitt romney. it is just hard. hard to decide. i know it is important. >> you're going to get one of them. >> the one thing that has not come up is women's health and women's rights. >> who do you think will be

better on women's health and women's rights, just instinctively? >> obama. >> does that make a difference to you? >> yes. one part of it. >> here you are with these marvelous observations and we have sam rayburn floating in here. tell me where your at and what is the -- you are at and what is the point at which you come out on all this. >> at the debate i would like to see how well they talk on their feet. without stumbling over a number of things. let's not have someone say, i knew jack kennedy and your not him.

let's have them be prepared with some rudimentary concrete plans. and give us an inkling of where they would like the country to go and how they think they might be able to do it. >> >> who did you vote for four years ago? >> john mccain. >> what about this time around? >> i am interested because i think we are in such a quagmire. i am interested in hearing what both sides have to say, especially if we can get down to the nitty gritty. >> what about those who would say it is time to stay with obama versus going with mitt romney? >> i would like to see them reform the department of education, the epa, and i would really take a look at some of

the laws on the books that are outdated or religious put out so someone can make a lot of money -- or really put out so someone can make a lot of money. good >> i have listened to you for two hours. you can say you are undecided, but i have only heard one side, so why won't romney get your vote? >> i am leaning more towards romney, i guess, and part of it is from what i saw on the tv. based on what some of the people are saying, i am leaning a little towards romney, and i think it is because i feel trephine -- trick by obama. i voted for him. i believe in him.

i thought he had a great platform, but he has not accomplish that much. good obamacare, i am very much hurt for universal health care, but i feel tricked. it is more of a tax, and one area i feel tricked on is he said he does not want to raise taxes for people who make less than $250,000. i make a lot less than $250,000, and i am paying a lot more in taxes. they are taking money out of my pocket. the value of the dollar goes down and the price of gasoline goes up. that is basic economics, and to me that is a tax. >> i am going to go around the table for final comments. thank you very much. it is important to note their

work, and it is so eliminating and so helpful, and i can feel everything you are going through, and i am equally fascinated. pamela, i can hear the struggle where you are, and each of you are a rising at this in a fascinating way, but my final question is going to be that you can deliver one message, and do not say, give me a plan. i got it. there is one thing you would like to be able to deliver, and as i mentioned, the media is watching all this. any message you say this is what i would like the candidates to

know as they go into the final month and a half. i will start with ben. what is the message? >> the job creation is the most important thing going for the country right now. >> you feel you know what mitt romney is going to do for job creation? >> i think his plan really shows where he is aiming. >> i want to hear that he cares about his generation and my younger sons generation. i want to hear they are thinking forward and care about what these people are going to have to deal with when they are my age. >> the you feel one of the candidate speaks to you better, that understands where you are and where your kids are act? >> i would have to say romney. >> romney becomes closer to me because? >> he seems more realistic. he understands business and

possibly how we could make the economy work, which would automatically fix or guarantee something for down the road. it would create a spiral. >> i am going for the lesser of evils. obama is already in there, and hopefully he is heading in the right direction than getting romney in there and starting fresh. >> who did you vote for four years ago? >> john mccain. >> so you are starting fresh. >> there is so much confusion, and what i want to know is how can you speak straight up to the american people so we understand what is going to be on the platform, what is it you're a good >> who did you vote for four years ago? >> obama.

vice with president obama already being in office, -- >> with president obama already been in office, continue your plan, and then we will evaluate where we are, and i will determine whether i would go democrat again. >> you voted for years ago for? >> mccain. >> what are you thinking? >> it reminds me of the two- headed monster on sesame street where they are pulling each other at the end, but they get back together by cooperation and collaboration. >> who is the cooperation candidates? >> is that answerable? i would like to think romney is triggered strikes you would like to think rahm -- i would like to think romney is. >> you would like to think

romney? >> he would like to do more wheeling and dealing in business. >> romney had your votes from the beginning. you are a mccain voter four years later, why doesn't he have in? it should be locked down. >> it should be locked down, and i cannot tell you what it is in the back of my mind, and part of it has to do with the republican platform and women's health issues, which should not be an issue. >> i want to see some good answers in the debate. i do not want to see a bunch of name calling.

i want to see candidates lay on the line what they are going to do and not be diverted by political questions. good i want to hear what they are going to do, and the candidate who gives me that i will vote for them. >> christina you voted for years ago for? >> barack obama. >> you are staying with him? >> a exactly. >> you are staying with him because? >> i think a lot of social issues and women's health issues are making it hard to move towards the republican platform, but i do like a lot of things on the republican platform. i think men romney, one of the things he has going for him is he has a history of working with the other party, and that is what we need right now, but part of me cannot get over the other little things. >> other little things being?

>> womens' health, gay issues, the right for everyone to marry. those things hold me back. >> a.j.? >> romney has bought everything he ever wanted. i was really hoping there would be a good alternative. if there was a mccain-type character this year or even bob dolan and not -- if there were a couple of guys on the republican ticket fed did not heard my sensibilities i would be closer to the middle, but it is not he has basically bought his way into the nomination and has picnic the extreme right to shore up his base. >> susan? -- he has picked the extreme right to shore up his base. >> susan?

>> i would like the one who is successful in business running the country. >> four years ago you voted for? >> both candidates. >> how did you do that? >> i voted for mccain in the primary and barack obama in the general election. i was a mccain supporter in 2000, and i got turned off when we got to the general election. i'd tell me why you are leaning toward seven. >> i want to see hammond works for both sides, but -- i want to see him work for both sides, but obama is the lesser of two evils right now. >> i think nationally security will be stronger.

i think it is the republican congress, and it will be less gridlock if we have a republican president. >> we have covered it. we have covered the world. we have got only two weeks left. stay involved. there is a lot going on here, and these are exactly the things the candidates need to hear, so i want to thank each and everyone of you for joining us, and we will see where it goes from here. thank you all very much. >> thank you.

>> it was enjoyable. >> thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> thank you very much. great job. thank you. good luck. >> coming up to nancy span, a couple of campaign events. first with president obama in cincinnati. and then with mitt romney at hispanic chamber of commerce. live at 7:00 a.m., washington journal with donna edwards and the wyoming senator on their party's agenda is. followed by organization. >> have you visited the new c- span 2012 website? you can watch events from the campaign trail with mitt romney, president obama and others. can read with the candidates are

saying on major issues like the economy, the deficit, national security and immigration. watch and engage. >> today on c-span, the cable institute hosts reform on the supreme court's 2011 and 2012 -- live at 10:30 a.m. here on c- span. >> the country faces a stark -- the starkest choice for president in my memory. you see, the president and i have fundamentally different visions then governor romney and congressman ryan. and eight different value set that guides us. under the current president, we are risk of becoming a poor country. because he looks to government as a great benefactor in every light.

they say -- government is the only thing that we all belong to. i do not know about you, but i have never thought of something -- as government as something that i belong to. >> the vice presidential candidates will debate october 11 in ky. the presidential debates are october 3, october 16 and october 22. >> united states has filed a trade complaint against china regarding of the subsidy. this is a little more than a half hour.

>> hello, cincinnati. thank you. thank you. thank you so much.

crowd: four more years! it is good to be back in cincinnati. it's good to be in ohio. it is great to be in this beautiful setting. it seems that we should have a picnic. who has the chicken? [laughter] a little chicken. a little potato salad. baked beans. who said beer? it is beautiful. can everybody please give andrew a great round of applause for that wonderful introduction? wasn't it great? [applause] let me say we could not be prouder a disservice to our country as a veteran. country as a veteran.