love you back. [cheers and applause] that is why i want to make sure you have a good deficit reduction plan. my opponent has a plan, too. the problem is like bill clinton said, there is no arithmetic and it. somehow they think that they can spend trillions of dollars more on tax cuts for the wealthy and somehow bring down the deficit. they cannot say how they will do it. they will not say how you have a $5 trillion in new they won't say how. we have $5 trillion in new tax cuts and we are not raising taxes on middle-class families? or spend another $2 trillion in military spending that our military says we do not need, asking you to foot the bill. the math does just not add up.

i will tell you, milwaukee, i refuse to have middle-class families give their deductions for owning a home or raising kids just to give millionaires' tax cut. [applause] i refuse that -- to ask it college students to pay more or to cut headstart programs or eliminate health insurance for millions of poor and elderly just to fund tax cuts we cannot afford. [applause] i will not turn medicare into a voucher program. [applause] and we are not going to end up creating a social security wall street. we are going to make sure that everybody can retire with dignity and respect.

that is what we are fighting for. now i know we are getting a little wet, but that is ok. [applause] i am going to wrap up, but i have a few more things to said -- to say. just like we have choices here at home, we also have choices oversees. you know, our prosperity at home depends on our security oversees. four years ago i said i would end the war in iraq. and i did. [applause] i said we would wind down the war in afghanistan. and we are. [applause] a new tower is rising on the new york skyline.

al-qaeda is on the path to defeat and osama bin laden is dead. [applause] now as we saw last week -- >> u.s.a! u.s.a! u.s.a! >> now -- as we saw last week, we still have problems. we saw the attack on our consulate. and we will bring those murderers to justice. [applause] and that is why as long as in commander in chief, we will have the strongest military in the world. and when our troops come home and they take off their uniform, we will serve them as

well as they have served us. you protected our people. if you fought for our freedom you should not have to fight for a job when you come home. [applause] mitt romney, he thinks it was tragic for us to end the war in iraq. he does not have a plan to end the war in afghanistan. i have and i will. and i will use the money we are no longer spending on board to pay down our debts and put us back to work. [applause] after a decade of war, we need to do some nation-building here at home. so, i know you are getting wet but i have one more thing to say.

[applause] let me say this. you know my opponents, they will keep on over the next 45 days spending more money than we have ever seen before, trying to tell you that since government cannot do everything, it should do almost nothing. their philosophy is you are on your own.

if you cannot afford health insurance, hope you do not get sick. if you cannot afford to go to college, better borrow some money from your parents. let me tell you something. that is not who we are. i don't think government can solve all our problems, but i don't think it is the source of all our problems. i don't want to spend time blaming somebody else, blaming union groups blaming immigrants, blaming gay people, blaming some other group. [applause] i believe we are all in it together. i believe we have to take responsibility for ourselves but also look out for one another. i believe in possibility in this nation. america is not just about what can be done for us. it is what can be done by us for each other. that is what our election was four years ago. it was about you. you were the change.

all of us coming together. there is our reason there it -- there is our reason there is a mother in madison who does not have to worry about her son being a diabetic and been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. you made that happen. you are the reason there is a student at the university of wisconsin who can afford to go to college now. or a veteran on the new gi bill. you accomplish that. you are the reason there is a family in green bay that has more money to buy groceries, but gas in the car, pay the bills. you are the reason that some young immigrant who grow up here and pledges allegiance to our

flag will not be deported. [applause] you are what an outstanding soldier can still serve in our military because it does not matter who they loved. [applause] you did that. you are the reason those families are welcoming home their incredible men and women who protected us so bravely. you did that. i tried to make the point the other day in florida. i said you cannot change washington just from the inside. i have learned that. you have to enlist and localized, have the american people to bring about change from the outside. [applause] mitt romney heard me say that. he said -- he got all excited. he said, i think obama made a gaffe. he stopped and said "i will get

the job done from the inside." and that made me want to ask what kind of inside job is he talking about? [applause] you know -- you know, is it one of those inside jobs where he is a rubber stamping the republican congress' agenda? we do not want that. if it is letting oil companies right our energy policy or insurance companies write our health care policy or outsourcers write the tax code. that is not the kind of inside job we want. >> no! >> we do not want politicians in washington to tell women they cannot make their own health care choices. [applause]

we don't want that inside job from washington. we have always said in this campaign that change takes more than one term. it takes more than one president. it takes more than one party. it cannot happen if you write off half the nation. in 2008, 47% of the country did not vote for me, but i said to those folks on election night, i said "i may not have won your vote, but i will be your president, too." [applause] so, i don't know how many folks will vote for me this time around, but i can tell you i will be with you no matter what. i am not fighting to create democratic jobs or republican

jobs. i am fighting to create american jobs. i am not fighting to increase school -- to improve schools in red states or lease base. i am fighting to improve schools in the united states. i am not fighting just on behalf of workers or businesses or rich or poor. the 1% or the 99%. i am fighting for american values. they belong to all those. and if you still believe in that, if you still have hope if you are still ready to go, i am asking you for your vote. [applause] if you get out there and work these last 45 days, if you are willing to make some phone calls for me and not on some doors for me -- knock on some doors for me, we will win at milwaukee. we will win wisconsin. and we will remind the world by

the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you. god bless you. [applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

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>> liz cheney and laura romney campaigned in colorado does the. following the remarks ms. cheney takes questions from the audience. it is about 40 minutes. >> laurie romney is married to matt, one of five sons of mitt romney. she graduated with a bachelor of arts in organizational communication in 1964. she is a member of the chi omega sorority, university of iowa chapter. she studied abroad in a jerusalem program during the

summer of 1992, which i thought was fascinating. she served on a service mission for her church in los angeles from 1994-1996. she married matt in december of 1996 in salt lake city. she worked in advertising for boston agencies before becoming a mother. she has four children. she has lived in boston and seattle since being married. currently they are living in san diego, california. she enjoys photography reading, exercising, and cooking in her free time. please help me welcome laurie romney. [applause]

>> i actually graduated from college in 1994, just in case you are wondering why i look so young. [laughter] thank you for the introduction. it was really nice. i'm laurie romney, and i am married to mitt romney's second son, matt. i am grateful that you are here. thank you for coming. this really is an important cause. that is why we are all here. the reason i am excited to be here -- i am not a professional speaker, so please excuse me if i am not as articulate as some -- but i feel that i have

personal insight and stories to share about mitt that can help you develop a real feeling for how much he cares about women and how confident he is and how hard he will work for you. that is what i want to share with your today. i know that the unemployment rate has gone up in the colorado recently. i know that you have the same concerns regarding the economy and your family, as the rest of the nation. i also share your concerns. my dad is worried about his veterinarian business that he started in colorado where he went to veterinarian school. my mom was laid off from her job at delta, but has luckily been re-hired.

the worry is a great weight on their shoulders, and on mine worrying about them. a worry for everyone else, as well. my kids are in the public school system. we are facing budget cuts and all sorts of possibilities -- not as good public education as they could be having. i worry about health care and consumer choice. i know you have these concerns as well. mitt's experience in politics and experience makes him the perfect candidate to help our economy grow, but you already know that. what i want to share with you is a little bit more about him.

i have been able to get to know him over the past 16 years. i have been married for 16 years. he is really amazing. he and ann welcomed me with open arms into their family when i was first married. they have supported matt and i every step of the way of our marriage. i appreciate that. the first thing i noticed about mitt was how dedicated he is to ann. he values her counsel and advice more than that of anyone else by far. the second thing i noticed over

the years is his extreme frugality. [laughter] it's true. and also his work ethic. he is probably the most frugal person i have ever met maybe besides my husband, who was raised by him. [laughter] when we are together, he is always on alert on how the energy in the home is being used. my husband does this as well. if you are doing the dishes and then turn away to do something else, he will come and turn off the water. it is how they are. they cannot help it.

mitt is constantly watching the air conditioning. it is turned off unless it is absolutely essential. another thing that is kind of funny that he does is that a lot of the times he consolidates the garbage because the waste management company in is area charges by the bag. [laughter] he makes sure not to have many bags. watching his father eat an entire batch of homemade ice cream that was actually sweetened with salt so that it would not go to waste had a huge impact on mitt. waste is not tolerated. i think his sons could write a very funny book about it.

he also worked harder than anyone i know. he has more energy and stamina than i do by far. he is appropriately named "the energizer bunny." i will never forget visiting him when he had just taken on the role of being head of the winter olympics. he was barely eating or sleeping because he had taken on such a great weight. he was stressed out and worried about it. he was working himself to the bone. he was very concerned about turning it around and making it a success, which he did, but it took a lot out of him. he also loves manual labor. he is not afraid to get down and dirty. he works hard all of the time. any time he has an opportunity he digs in and works hard.

third and probably the most relevant thing i have heard is that mitt fixes things. he is gifted at finding a solution and taking action to fix the problem or improve a situation. i have never seen a more natural born leader. i am not saying that because i am his daughter-in-law. he was born to lead. he manifests this in every situation he is in, no matter how small. one example i will share with you is when i was expecting my twins. i started labor at 28 weeks. i was put on strict bed rest by my doctor.

mitt and ann came to visit me that first night. they were worried about what would happen. he immediately took over the situation. first, he went downstairs and brought our tv up the stairs. he built a tv stand and set it up in my room. he connected the cables and got everything working. he called his best friend and asked if his daughter could come and help me with errands and things i have not yet finished. in a matter of minutes he greatly improved my situation and left me feeling relieved and hopeful.

this is one small example. he did not even think of it. that is the way he operates. in every situation, i could tell you 1,000 stories. it is the way that he thinks. he is very good at it. mitt truly cares deeply for women. you do not need to look any further than his family to see the love and respect and commitment that he has toward women. i have felt it deeply. my life has been blessed by him. my husband cares for me in the same way that mitt cares for ann.

all of our lives can be blessed by him if he becomes the next president. i thank you again for your time and appreciate all of your support. [applause] >> that was an incredible glimpse into who we all want to help elect to be the next president of the united states. he loves his family. he is committed to his family. he is frugal. he is hands-on. he is a problem solver. he does not wait for someone else to solve the problem, but

jumps in. isn't that who we need in the white house, ladies? [applause] i am very excited to introduce our next speaker. liz cheney has been a woman who has been a role model for me. she is an incredibly accomplished woman in foreign relations. she is someone who has known and worked with mitt romney. i want to tell you a little bit about her. she was an attorney and specialist in u.s.-middle east policies. she is a founder and chairman of keep america safe, a non- profit organization dedicated to education and advocacy about american national security policy. as a fox news contributor, she provided analysis on on u.s. national security policy in the 2012 election. she was the second ranking state department official responsible for u.s. policy in

the middle east. prior to that, she served as deputy assistant secretary of state from 2002-2004. i hope i got the dates right. [laughter] she is responsible for the establishment of the $300 million middle east partnership initiative to support educational reform and the empowerment of women. from 1999-2002, she served on assignment with the international corporation, a member of the world bank group.

she served previously at the department of state and at the agency for international development, designing and managing u.s. assistance projects in eastern europe. she received her bachelor's degree in colorado. don't you love that all of them have colorado connections? [applause] she was married to philip perry and they have five children. please welcome liz cheney. [applause] >> thank you.

>> thank you. it is an honor to be here in the presence of these wonderful strong the women. i was listening to them talk about the exemplary character of governor mitt romney. it just occurred to me that the difference between the kind of human being the the does whatever he can in every circumstance to try to make things better, no matter what the circumstance is and the man who currently inhabits the oval office who since to try to find somebody else to blame somebody -- summit to avoid the crisis. we have all seen what happens now after four years of that kind of leadership.

five, three of them daughters as someone who comes from a long line of strong women, and i know that most of you know my mother -- my great-great grandmothers i am sure that some of you in this room have a similar story. lots of us in colorado share a similar family history. my great-grandmothers came here on the oregon trail. my great-grandmother raised four kids in a ragtop house in casper, wyoming. if you think they sound tough you should have met my grandmother who was the first deputy sheriff in a town in wyoming. [applause] so, i do feel like i have some authority to talk about women and what we care about and what this election means to as. when i think about the women in my family and the dreams they have and the kind of world they wanted their daughters and granddaughters to live in, and i thought of them when i watched the democratic convention. and the democratic convention

and the obama administration and the democratic pitch to women this time around seems to be focused entirely around the a guarantee that the government will pay for everyone's contraception. as i watched the convention and thought about my grandmother and my great-grandmother's and the dreams they had, i wondered is it really the case that that is the limit of the dream that those speakers have for their daughters and granddaughters? [applause] and don't you all think we should aim may be just a little bit higher than that? [applause] now, if you happen to be a stay at home,, this administration also has a message for you. i am sure that many of you heard this.

one of the president felt he wrote operative said that ann romney in particular had never worked a day in her life. yes. because she was stay at home. if you think about every stay at home on that you know, first of all, i am 100% confident, you pick any stay at home mom and she will know more on her little finger about how to balance the budget, about how not to live beyond her means than the entire obama administration combined. [applause] and it occurs to me that we have won it very clear and easy solution to follow the grave challenges we face as a nation and that is on november 6, let's make sure we make barack obama a stay at home dad. [applause] and it will not, a day to send.

[laughter] you all know, you have heard jane talk about in particular the challenges we face here at home. i know the president did not use this word. i am pretty sure mrs. obama did not use this word. "record." because they do not want to talk about president obama's record. the only thing they can do is criticize governor romney, tell you things that are not true about governor romney, tell you things that are not true about republicans, try to scare people. because his record is abysmal. if it is possible, i will tell

you that his record on national security is even worse than what we have seen him do here at home. you know the numbers here at home. 50% of college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. we see unemployment among women above 8% across the board. unemployment among all americans above 8%. did you all see the president say the other night "that's not the short term." i think it is $50 billion a day in debt. that is not in the short term? and when we think about what is happening overseas, i know you turn on the tv every day. when this president came into office, i believe -- and i think you can go back and look at his words and see -- he was dedicated to the notion that he had to bring america down a notch. he did not believe america should be ascended. he went to the united nations and said any world order that elevates one nation above the others cannot survive.

that is not only on odd to believe that, but it is completely anti to everything we know from history. what we know as republicans, and frankly what most democratic presidents have also known, is the world is a safer place when america leads. the world as a safer place when america is strong. [applause] and governor romney has made it absolutely clear that he will never apologize for the great united states of america. governor romney was right last week when he out after the embassies were attacked in cairo. [applause] and condemned the statement that our embassy released. we have extremists coming over the walls of our embassy and

they are burning our walls and the department of state apologizes for people who have hurt the religious feelings of muslims. governor romney added exactly right. and he had it right the next day, too. [applause] although the administration's response to the crisis of the last 10 days or so has been appalling, anyone watching could not have been surprised. this president has made it clear he wants to bring america back he wants to put us in retrieve. he has also failed to stand with our most important ally the state of israel. -- most important ally the state of israel. governor romney has said he will stand shoulder to shoulder

with israel and he will ensure through whatever means is necessary that iran, the world's leading sponsor of terror is never allowed to obtain nuclear capability. [applause] so, when you are talking to friends of yours, whether they are men or women, but especially women because it is us who will decide this election. not me, but you guys who will decide this election in colorado. please talk to them about what governor romney is going to do for this nation. talk to them about the extent to which he understands it is through economic growth and opportunity that everybody in this nation gets a fair shot. and for an economy that is not hindered by the massive taxes of obamacare, an economy that is not hindered by the total unpredictability of the mass of regulations and more are coming, governor romney knows the private sector is the engine of growth in this country.

and he knows our greatest days are when we remember that. we kept taxes low. we kept government small. we had strong national defense. when i talk to people in my home state of wyoming about what they can do in this election cycle, i say count on colorado. i have got to tell you guys -- our record is better than yours. we are always in the red column. with your help, we can put colorado in governor romney's column this november, and it is so important. and i want to leave you with just one more thought, and that is, you have seen things get nasty. i know what it feels like, laurie, when you see someone you love attacked, when you see lies told about you. they are trying to make it so

bad and so awful, first of all that they win, and second of all that we stop fighting. we have to send them a mission -- we have to send a message. we will not sit down and shut up. we need to take a lesson from what we did in wisconsin which is one we combined organization hard work, and the right message -- and we have but all three this time around -- we can and we will prevail. [applause] so, i want to thank you all for everything you've already done, and i want to tell you it is not nearly as much as you are going to have to work this next 46 days or what ever we have got left. it is going to be a fight. we will have to fight harder and

longer and stronger. if we do, we will be able to save this nation that we love so much. thank you for being here. thank you for all your hard work. [applause] >> thank you for coming. we are going to have two or three questions from the audience for our special guests so if anybody has any questions, they can give you the might -- the mic, and we will do just a couple. >> thank you. this is for any of you guys. one of my bigger concerns, to be honest, is how this country is going to get reunited. you hear nancy pelosi, she comes off and just shames the republicans, and i think they have lost track that literally a half the country is one party

and tapas the other. how do we get the group together, get the country back together to be united in our focus goals without giving up on our ethics and things like that? [laughter] >> it is a really important question. you know, one of the things that has been so heartbreaking about this administration has been how divisive and it has been. and when you think about governor romney's message across the board, how important it is to restore the private sector, how important it is to give americans opportunity, he understands that it job is the best way out of poverty. a job is the best way for the economy to grow. the obama team has very -- you know, you can watch it. you can see how calculating

they are about this message for this group, this message for this group, how are we going to divide people? i think the american people see through that and i think they get very sick and tired. republicans are not always nice either to democrats. it goes both ways. i happen to think the democrats are worse. the challenges our next president are going to face are so huge, and i think about the fact that, you know, as i said before, president obama's first instinct is always to say, hey it is not my fault. when, we hope, but governor romney is elected, it will be easy for him to look back at the disaster president obama has created, but that is not the kind of man he is. he will bring the country together. he did it in massachusetts. he knows that we are all americans and if we want to deal with the huge debt crisis if we want to deal with the very dangerous situation president obama has created

overseas, -- i think the first answer is governor romney. then i think the people you like to congress, the people you talk to elect to the senate. make sure that they know that they are working for you. you are not pressing them, -- you're not paying them frankly to go to washington, and not give anything done. hopefully we will be unified again after november. [applause] >> i kind of was hoping to hear more about your expertise in the middle east, and especially it seems like there have been a lot more conversations lately about what is going on in the middle east and i was like to hear your point about how that can next to our nation and what we're in right now. >> yes.

>> yes, i think we are all watching very, very troubled by what has happened. it seems to be the first thing you can say is while we applaud president obama for killing osama bin laden -- ordering the operation to kill osama bin laden -- while the has been very worried -- very busy spiking football's about that they seem to have missed the fact that al-qaeda is resurgent in north africa and in the gulf. and killing the bin laden, although we applauded and welcome it, was not the end of the war. unfortunately, i think we will be at war for a long time and i think it is the kind of war we need intelligence, in particular, to win. the kind of enemy we are now facing we have never faced before as a nation. it is an enemy that operates their networks, that requires intelligence.

i think it is really shameful that we do not have any way right now -- non-. you all know the president stopped the enhanced interrogation program. then he revealed the techniques to the enemy. then he said he put another program in its place, but he never did it. there is no program. although we are killing a lot of terrorists with drones and that is good, if you read jose rodriguez's book, for example who oversaw the operation through the cia during a lot of the post-9/11 era, he said every time you incinerate a terrorist you lose the ability to figure out what was on his laptop, what was in his pocket, who did you talk to? our intelligence is getting dated every day because so much came out of that program and

programs during the bush should ministration. so, the first thing we have got to do, i believe, is have a program to interrogate terrorist. the second thing is make it absolutely clear we are the united states of america. we are going to stand with our allies and our enemies better fear us. that is simply necessary. [applause] we are the greatest force for good the world has ever known and the men and women who wear are uniform are not only the best fighting force the world has ever known, but they are also part of the greatest force for good the world has ever known. we liberate people. and when we do what this president has done, when we fail to stand up with israel, when we send a signal to radicals and extremist -- you know president obama went into the rose garden 24 hours after the

embassy was attacked in cairo and he condemned the murder of our ambassador, obviously rightly. he did not say a word about the attack in cairo. immediately the message goes out, you attacked an american embassy, the president is not going to condemn a. we cannot live in a world like that. you cannot live in a world where america is not leading. i think we need to look hard at the relationship with egypt. the president got tripped up over whether they are still our ally. do right answer is, -- the right answer is -- the muslim brotherhood government allowed our embassy to be attacked, looks the other ways and fails to condemn it for least 24 hours -- that is not the action of an allied. we now have $1 billion in loan forgiveness we have promised egypt that clearly should immediately be rescinded.

why in the world to u.s. taxpayers provide loan forgiveness for a nation that is supporting our enemies? [applause] so, we need to take a big step forward and say, all right look. america is back and you can count on us. we're going to make sure that the iranians do not get a nuclear weapon. we know who the enemy is. we are going to fight the enemy, and we are going to stand up with those moderates across the arab world. i do not know if you noticed secretary clinton went to cairo. american officials often it greeted with protest overseas. that is not unusual. what was unusual is the people protesting her said that there were protesting because americans were supporting the muslim brotherhood. they really believe that we are behind the muslim brotherhood. i have heard that our ambassador in cairo will not meet with any opposition leaders in egypt. not only are we not standing

with our allies, not only are our enemies not fearing us but those people we should be supporting or not in power believe we have walked away from them, we have made ourselves irrelevant. is a very tough situation. it will be very hard if we have to live through another four years of this president's policies and that is why it is so important to make sure we elect governor romney in november. one final question. >> go to this side now. >> liz, i have a couple of points. first, when are we going to hear liz cheney for president? [applause]

i am a big fan. back to the point of the middle east, recently i have been wondering why it obama's poll numbers remain as high as they do. i am in total disbelief. i watched very closely what is going on in the media. seeing that you are a middle eastern experts and with the media as well, i can pull up yahoo news, all kinds of different news, and there is no mention that the pakastani embassy is on fire that americans are being attacked all over the arab nations, and appointment numbers came out today. they are terrible. the deaths increased on and on and on. what they are reporting on is mitt romney's hair does not look good or some asinine story. what can we do as citizens to

stop this crap? this is insane. i'm sorry. it is insane. [applause] >> well, you are exactly right. i think -- and i am not saying this just because i work for fox. i do work for fox. watch fox. [applause] i think the internet is a hugely important tool. the mainstream media, they are absolutely desperate desperate to try to make sure barack obama is reelected. you cannot even make this stuff up. because they are ignorant. no. chris matthews saying the president gives him a tingle up his leg. i mean, you know.

look, i think it is incumbent on all of us to be really well informed as an electorate. because of social media, because of conservative talk radio because of fox, because of the internet, there are tremendous outlets of information. the wall street journal is also a terrific paper. you can get and formed and it is not as easy as it used to be for the media -- you can get informed and it is not as easy as it used to be for the media to turn an election. i think the american people understand what is going on. when you see that there is only one channel showing the crowd outside the embassy in islamabad, there is clearly going -- there's clearly something gone along. educating your neighbors taking advantage of all the outlets out there, and not getting discouraged. when you think about what the

obama campaign did to governor romney of the last couple of months, hundreds of millions of dollars of untruthful negative ads trying to run down his support at the polls, trying to paint him as something he is not, and all the obama campaign has managed to do is tread water, it tells you the american people are not buying it. they know what it feels like out here. they know how tough it is. just work hard and get the message out. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> see the first of the presidential debate live on c- span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. next, your calls on washington journal. then senator joe lieberman. then the house hearing on

operation fast and furious. >> when i first came down to washington i did not know what an ig did. we seldom would run into their law enforcement arm. there would be our agents. for a while i was perry mortgage fraud cases. i was dealing with the inspector general. i did not know what the ig was doing. one of the first things i did was go down and meet the different ig's. over the next couple of years, i found the inspector general's -- although they are supposed to be eased fears watchdogs of thing out for waste, fraud, and abuse, they were just like any other governmental agency. their number one concern. -- seemed to be how to have

concern over their budget. it was really a goal along get along attitude. there were three different types of ig's. a lap dog that would curl up on the lap of management a watchdog, and a junkyard dog. when i was going through the confirmation process, i was told that i needed to be like a junkyard dog. >> more from neil barofsky's book "bailout" tonight on "q &a." >> this morning william becah