women what can i do to help, what they speak about is help me find a good job or a good job for my spouse and held my kid, make sure my children have a bright future and better schools and better job opportunities. that is what the women of america are concerned about and the answers are coming from us and not from barack obama. [applause] philip was the first questioner and asked about gas prices. he wants to know why they have gone up so much. the president's answer -- he said the economy has gotten stronger [laughter] on that basis, when we have a recovery, gasoline prices would probably go up to six or $7. is that what he is saying?

this is a classic non-answer. it is pretty clear that when it comes to his policies and answers and his agenda, he is pretty much running on fumes. the american people want real answers and a real agenda and that is what paul ryan and i will become the next president and vice president of the united states. [applause] we take america to two very different places and that is clear by virtue of what you have heard over the last two debates and you will hear over the last one as well. the president will put an america in place that has about $20 trillion in debt, killing the american dream for your kids. if i become president, i will take the action to make sure we kept our federal spending, we limit federal spending as a percentage of our total economy, and we finally get america on track to a balanced budget. [applause]

if president obama were reelected, is spending plan and is borrowing and the death of that borrowing will cost -- cause not only high income people pyrotechnical small but, you will see middle income people in this country facing $4,000 more in taxes. when i become president of the united states, i will lower taxes for the middle-class and on small businesses who need a real break. he made it clear as well in the last couple debates that he is reelected, we will have obama care including $716 billion of cuts to medicare. i hope you know what that means. doctors are saying that half the doctors in america are saying they will not take additional medicare patients because of that. think about that if you're thinking about retiring. that is what is cut in medicare means.

why did he take that money out of medicare? to pay for obama care. i will repeal for obama care, replace it, and put that $716 billion to work. [applause] then there was his jobs plan or lack of a jobs plan. he just keeps on saying what he said before. we need a stimulus and need to hire more government workers. there's nothing wrong with working in the government but hiring government workers does not get the private sector growing. raising taxes is another part of his plan and picking winners and losers. from my calculation, he made about seven big loans to companies in his first year in office. of those seven big lawns, three of the companies have gone bankrupt and one more is in fragile condition. we don't need the government picking winners and losers -- or in his case, losers. let the free market choose the

winners and losers. my plan, and you have heard it time and again. i will get this economy going because i really believe in these things. i believe that it makes sense to take advantage of oil, coyle, gas, renewable -- i believe and those things. i do not just talk about it. the president's record makes it clear that he does not believe and oil and gas. that is why we will get to the north american independency in eight years. there is another place that will get the economy going. and with the trade. we will open up more trade. he said last night that he filed all of these actions against china. he said, we want everyone a and was been adjudicated. we need to label china what it is. a currency manipulator and competing in an unfair manner. a a we've got to help us --

we've got to help small businesses. if you of a small business, you build that business yourself government did not do it for you. [laughter] [applause] and so, this election is going to come down to being a choice between to be zero different americas. an america where they make the rules where it takes more and more from the american people. where it runs more of our businesses and increasingly runs our lives. or instead, an america where we restore the principles that have made the nation that it is. that we bring back the principles. recognizing that god gave us our rights. they include life, liberty, and

the right to pursue happiness as we choose. [applause] we all value and respect our government and the work that government has to do and recognize its role in our society. but its role is to help encourage free people and allow trimmers to reach for their dreams. to keep it from smothering enterprise, freedom, and opportunity. the president does not understand the power of the american spirit, i do not think. he says he loves free enterprise, but he thinks government somehow has to get in there and pull all the strings. government is to encourage free enterprise, but then let the people pursue their own dreams, pursue their own visions, pursue happiness as they know it. and i know that -- and i know something about the greatness of the american spirit. i am convinced that despite all

the challenges we face -- the debt and the joblessness, the challenges we face around the world, schools are not performing as they should reject all of those challenges i am convinced should be overcome not by government, but by the american spirit. by free people. i have seen the spirit of america throughout my life. one of my favorite experiences happened a number of years ago that cemented in my mind the great qualities of the human spirit. they are seen that day in and day out in american citizens across this country. i happen to be at a boy scout court of honor. if you voice doubters here. all right. [applause] -- a few boy scouters here. all right. [applause] the fellow speaking at the microphone was from colorado.

he said that when he was -- back in colorado, that the boy scout troops that he was responsible for wanted to have a special flag. so the purchase of the flight with gold tassels and the had it flown above the capital. when it came back, they said they wondered if they could have the flag go on the space shuttle. they contacted nasa and said, we have this special flag. would you take on the shuttle? i am sure there were kind of reluctant to take souvenirs' fourth -- from was captured, but they said, ok. we will take your flight. they put it on the shuttle and you can imagine how proud of their boys were to be sitting in school and watch the shuttle wanted to stick to their friends, our flags on the shuttle. and in this audit explode in the air. -- they saw it explode in the air. they called nasa announced the

had any remnants of the flag. he called every week for months to see if it had found anything from the flight. and then he said in about september, this is about 3/4 of a year later that he is reading an article in the paper that described some of the debris from the challenger disaster. on their it mentioned something about a flag. so he called nasa again and they said they had found something that would like to present nasa and the boy scout troops and their parents of came together for a presentation. the hand of the boy scouts in little plastic container. the open the container and inside was their flag in perfect condition. [applause] " and then the scoutmaster said and that is it on the flagpole next to mr romney. i reached over and i grabbed the flag and i held it out and it was as if the electricity was running through my arms. as i thought about the heroes,

the patriots, americans, who lived for something bigger than themselves. who lived for pioneering and discovering. for new knowledge, not for themselves, but for the world and for america. that is the nature of who we are. every day i see people who live for something bigger than themselves. pioneers, heroes. i think of single mothers wondering how they will put food on the table at the end of the week, scrimping and saving to do so. i think of dads and moms taking two jobs so they can afford to give their kids the same kind of clothes that other kids are wearing at school. i think about young people coming out of college and putting aside their career because they feel it would be an honor and duty to serve in our military. i think about parents and christmastime coming up, saying, let's not exchange to get so we have enough to make sure our kids have a great christmas.

this is who we are as a people. and the divisiveness we have seen in washington has spread across this nation. it has got to stop. we can talk about differences on issues without making personal attacks. we can draw on the great american spirit. encourage people to lift themselves. [applause] in in awe of this community -- i am in awe of this community. i love that line from one of our national hymns -- oh beautiful, for heroes proved in liberating strife for more than self their country loved. mercy more than life. what our veterans of the armed service fees raise your hands and be recognized -- would our veterans of the armed services please raise your hands and a recognized? [applause]

a great military town. 20 days. we decide what can america we're going to have. we will decide what kind of debt relief to our kids. decide if we want a real recovery. 20 days to decide if we will fundamentally change america into something we will not recognize or restore to the principles of the earth. i am counting on you. i will do everything in my power to get america back. i thank you for being here. get out here and vote. let's take back this great country. that's restore what makes america america. thank you very much. thank you. ♪

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[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] while mitt romney was in virginia, president obama was in iowa. this is 40 minutes. ♪

♪ >> hello iowa. [applause] >> thank you. thank you.

are you fired up? are you ready to go? [applause] >> well, first of all, can everybody please give a big round of applause to rachel for that great introduction? i want to thank the rams for hosting us here today. i appreciate you guys. we've got your outstanding senator tom, congressman bruce, another congressman who has i guess professor right here dave, to of my oldest friends in iowa, your attorney general tom miller and your treasurer mike

fitzgerald. [applause] and i'm thrilled to see all of you and i hope you're enjoying the warm weather. >> i love you. >> i love you back. [applause] >> i just want to know -- look, i'm from chicago and i campaigned in iowa in january so this is basically the warmest you will be for the next six months. now i've come back to this college today to ask each of you for one big thing.

i'm asking for your vote. i'm asking for your vote. [applause] in iowa you can vote today, today, as long as you're registered before october 27, you can vote right up to election day. in fact, you can go vote right after this event at the cole library. and anyone can find out how to register and vote. so iowa, are you going to vote for me today if you haven't already voted? [applause] i need you. now as many of you know, we had our second debate last night. [applause]

i'm still trying to figure out how to get the hang of this thing, debating. but we're working on it. we'll keep on improving as time goes on. i've got one left. but, you know, the interesting thing is that governor romney has been running around talking about his five-point plan for the economy for quite some time. and as i pointed out last night, and you guys heard yourself, it's really a one-point plan. it says folks at the very top can play by their own set of rules. that's why they can pay lower taxes than you do or they can use offshore accounts, or they can invest in a company, bankrupt it, fire the workers take their pension, ship jobs

overseas and still make money doing it. it's the one-point plan that says it's okay for wall street to keep engaging in the recommendless behavior we've been fighting back from for the past four years. it's the same philosophy that's been squeezing the middle class for more than a decade. it's the same philosophy we saw in the previous administration and i have seen too much pain and too much strug toll let this country go down that same road again. so iowa, we can't -- i want you to know, i want you to know folks here in iowa, understand this, you cannot grow this economy from the top down. you grow this economy from the middle class up. we're not going to go back to

what we were doing before. we're moving forward and that's why i'm running for second term as president. now governor romney also took another stab at trying to sell us his $5 trillion tax cut that favors the wealthy. he said heel let you know how he's going to pay for it after the election. here's a tip. usually when a politician tells

you they're going to wait until after the election to tell tu plan, they don't have a pleasant surprise in store for you. and in this case it's because just about everybody who has looked at governor romney's $5 trillion in tax cuts say it can't be done without racing taxes. he says he has a plan to create 12 million new jobs in the next four years. but when folks started crunching the numbers, it fell apart faster than his tax plan. turns out his job math isn't any better than his tax math. "the washington post" called it a bang switch. so let's recap what we learned last night. his tax plan doesn't add up. his jobs plan doesn't create jobs. his deficit reduction plan adds to the deficit. so iowa, everybody here has heard of the new deal, you've heard of the fair deal, you've heard of the square deal? mitt romney is trying to sell you a sketch i deal. we're not buying it.

we've been there. we're not buying it. we've been there. we've got to finish what we started in 2008. [applause] you don't want to invest in that sketchy deal. let me tell you. four years ago i told you we'd end the war in iraq and we did. i said we'd tend war in ask and we are. -- i said we would end the war in afghanistan and we are. i said we would focus on the terrorist who attacked us in 9/11 and we have and bin laden is dead. [applause]

four years ago i promised to cut taxes for middle class families and we have by $3600. i promised to cut taxes for small business owners and we have 18 times. we passed a law to makes sure the tax funded payouts are over for good. we passed healthcare reform so your insurance company can't jerk you around. [applause] we made sure insurance companies had to let parents keep their children on their parent's plan until their 26- year-old if they don't have a job. -- if they do not have health insurance. we said insurance companies you got to charge women the same as men because being a woman is not a preexisting condition.

[applause] we repealed don't ask don't tell so no one is ever kicked out of the military because of [inaudible] >> when governor romney said let detroit go bankrupt we said no and we have an auto industry that came roaring back. [applause] last time i was here i said to students we're going to help you afford a college education. and we took $60 billion going to middlemen in the student loan program and we cut out the middlemen and as a consequence millions of students have benefited from lower interest rates and pell grants. [applause] today, four years after the worst economic crisis in our life times we're moving forward

again. after losing 800,000 jobs a month when i took office we've added jobs over the past two years. unemployment has fallen from 8% to 7.4%. your 401-ks have started to recover. foreclosures arthur lowest. -- are at their lowest in four years. manufacturing is coming home to america, our assembly lines are starting to hum again. look, we've got a lot more work to do. but we've got to build progress and i've got a plan to grow the economy and create jobs and create security for middle class americans. i want to export more products, outsource fewer jobs. we can give those tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in iowa, right here in the united states of america, rebuilding our

manufacturing. [applause] i want to control more of our production is up, natural gas production is up. what we've also said is we've got to develop a new source of energy and we've got to be more fisht with our economy. -- we have got to be more efficient with our economy. so we raised fuel efficiency on cars so your car will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. we had double the amount of renewable energy we generate from wind and solar and buy fuels. today the united states of america is less dependent on foreign oil than any time in the last two decades. so the question -- so the

choice you have -- you heard last night, it's not a choice between oil versus solar or natural gas versus wind. we all agree we got to increase oil production and natural gas production. but the question is whether we build on the progress for the new energy source of the future. i'm not going to keep on giving corporate tax funded welfare to oil companies $4 billion a year when we could use that money to promote wind and solar and long- lasting batteries and putting americans back to work right now. develop that technology right here in the united states instead of china or germany or some other country. [applause] and i've got to tell you iowa, this is not a pipe dream.

there are 7,000 jobs in iowa depending on wind energy. governor romney didn't have a plan to end wind jobs in iowa but he called these jobs imaginary. my plan will keep these investments and we'll keep reducing the carbon pollution that's heating the planet. the floods, the whiled fires, those aren't a joke. those are a threat oh our children's future and we can do something about it. that's part of what is at stake in this election. i want to give more americans the chance to get a great education and get the skills they need to compete in the 21st century. i tried to talk about education last night. and we kept on getting waylayed. if you're talking about jobs and economic growth. what is more important than making sure everybody has the skilled they need? i'm here because of a great education. all of the young people making

an investment in a college education right now, you have to understand you need to be quipped. -- got to be equipped. i shell, her gait way into opportunity was her education system. her dad was a blue collar worker, her mom was a secretary. and right now because of the actions we already took, millions of young people are paying less for college because we took on that system that was wasting taxpayer dollars. rachel, by the way, i took a photo with her parents backstage and she talked about the fact we put in place a tax credit for middle income families to attend college is helping her attend school right now. [applause] but and you saw last night, even though we weren't able to talk about it as much as i would have

liked is a fundamental different. romney says hiring more teachers won't grow our economy over the next four years. what about over the next 40 years, what about our economy for the next 40 years? we could gut education, pay for the $5 trillion tax cut or recruit math and science teachers over the next decade helping our young people refocus on science and technology, engineering, math. we should make sure all our young people, our daughters as well as our sons are thriving in these fields. [applause] i've got to tell you, we don't have to collect a bunch of binders to find qualified women ready to learn in these fields

right now when young women graduate, they should get equal pay for equal work. that should be a simple question to answer. [applause] when governor romney was asked about it, his campaign said we will get back to you. that should not be a complicated question. people -- equal pay for equal work. i want my daughters paid like somebody else's son is paid for the same job. that is the way forward. [applause] last night, governor romney finally admitted that the governor did not support the bill. you don't have to wait for an answer. the late ledbetter fair pay act was the first bill i signed into law. [applause]

that was the first bill. governor romney did not want to talk too much last night about how he wants to end funding for planned parenthood, how he supports legislation that would turn decisions about women's health care to her employers. he did not want to talk about it because he cannot sell it. i don't think your boss should control the health care you get. [applause] i don't think insurers should control the health care you get. i certainly don't think politicians should control the [applause] health care that you get. [applause] we passed obama care -- i like the term -- we passed it.

because i do care and i want to put these choices in your hands where they belong. the fourth part of a plan to create jobs right here is to use the money we are saving from ending the wars in iraq and winding down or in afghanistan to pick up our deficit and put our people back to work, including our veterans, building roads and schools and bridges across america. [applause] governor running mate and i have -- governer romney and i have a different theory on this. he said it was tragic the week ended the war in iraq. he double down on that in a speech last week and said we should have kept jobs -- troops on the ground in iraq. i disagree. i know these troops. i know their families. i know how dedicated they are

and the sacrifice they and their families make. it was time to bring those troops home to their families. it was the right thing to do. [applause] and every brave american who wears a uniform for this country needs know that as long as i am commander-in-chief, we will maintain the strongest military in the world and when those troops takeoff the uniform, we will serve them as well as they have served us because nobody should have to fight for a job after they have fought for our country. nobody should have to fight for a roof over their head or the health care they need after they have fought for america. [applause] finally, i want to cut the deficit by $4 trillion or the next 10 years and i have worked with republicans and democrats to cut $1 trillion dollars worth of spending and i'm ready to cut more spending that is not contrary to erode.

-- that is not contributing to our growth. but we cannot cut our way to prosperity. we've got to make investments in science and research and infrastructure. we cannot do all that and reduce our deficit unless we ask the wealthiest households to pay a little bit more. pay a higher tax on incomes over $255,000. somebody making $500,000 -- they are still keeping the tax break for the first $250,000. after that, let's go back to the same rate we had when bill clinton was president and our economic -- our economy create new jobs and when from deficit to surplus. [applause] governor romney was asked if it wasis fair that he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher who makes $50,000? he said he thinks it is fair. he thinks that's how you grow an economy. he is wrong.

you look at our economic history. that is not how we grow an economy by having a few folks at the top paying less than folks in the middle. i will not ask middle-class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids are sending them to college just to pay for another millionaires' tax cut. [applause] i'm not going to ask the students here to pay more for college so i have little more money in my pocket. i don't need it. i'm not going to eliminate health care programs or head start programs. or eliminate health insurance for americans who are poor or disabled. governor romney again last night, over and over, said i can cut taxes for everybody, i can increase military spending by $2 trillion, i will lower taxes for middle-class families and i will close the deficit.

he keeps on saying it and when people ask what will you cut? i don't know about you, if i look at my budget, i am trying to shrink my debt, i got to cut something out. so far, he has offered cutting support for planned parenthood and getting rid of big bird. and ending wind tax credits. it adds up to less than 1/100 of 1% of the budget. that was an estimate, by the way. [laughter] i was doing that off the top of my head. he claims is $5 trillion tax cut will create millions of new jobs and pay for themselves. we have heard this page before. -- this pitch before.

you know where we heard it? in the previous administration. we know it doesn't work. we know what we're talking about and now the choice is up to you. the election now is up to you. it comes down to this -- our opponents tell us that because government cannot do everything, we should do almost nothing. if you can afford health insurance, you don't get sick. if you cannot afford to start a business or go to college, borrow money from your parents. if your company releases harmful pollution into the air, that is the price of progress. that is not who we are. that is not what america is about. we are in this thing together. [applause] that's what this country is about. here in america, we believe that we are all in this together. everybody. we understand america is not just about what can be done for us but what can be done by us as one people, as one nation. you are the reason that we got

shuttered factories in places like newton that are humming again with workers manufacturing components for amazing when turbines buried made that happen -- wind turbines. you made that happen because you believe we could do this together. you are the reason a mother in cedar rapids, a mother right here in this audience, doesn't have to worry about surgery for her daughter because the insurance company can not limit her coverage. you are the reason student aid -- a student can get help paying for college education and we have a new gi bill for returning veterans. [applause] that all happened because of you. and we got to do it again. you are the reason young immigrant will not be sent away from the only country she has ever called home. you are the reason that we were

able to bring our troops home and those families are reunited with their loved ones. you made that happen. if we don't fight as hard as we can over the next three weeks, all that could be set aside. that is what we are fighting for. that is what we are fighting for. that is what we are fighting for. you cannot turn away. your voices are not heard, than the lobbyists and special interest will fill the void, the folks running the $10 million check to buy this election, the folks trying to make it harder for people to vote in this election and you cannot let that happen. i will not let that happen. [applause] we have worked too hard to gather over the last three years to let that happen. [applause] you know, back in 2008, it started here in iowa.

you are the ones who first showed america that change was possible. and everything we fought for is now at stake. we can choose to go back to the same top down policies that got us into this mess or choose to move us forward with the policies that have gotten us out of this mess. you can choose to go back to a foreign policy that gets us into war with no plan for getting out or you can help move us forward by ending the afghanistan war responsibly and bring our troops home and focus on the terrorists who attacked us. you can choose to turn back the clock 50 years for women and for immigrants and for gays and lesbians or you can stand up and say we want to move forward. we believe in the country no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, you can make it if you try. [laughter]

-- [applause] that is what is at stake in this election. that is what i still believe in and of that's what you still believe in, we've got to fight as hard as we can for the next three weeks and i promise you, if you're willing to stand with me and knocked on doors with me and work as hard as you can and talk to your friends and neighbors and classmates, and if you will vote for me, we will win lynn county again, we will win iowa again, we will win this election began and show the world why the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you and god bless america. [applause] ♪

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♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> the former head of israel's intelligence agencies speaks about middle east policy and security at noon eastern.

and in the afternoon at 3:30 eastern, the brookings institution posts former un secretary general talking about his career. see the presidential debate monday night, live on c-span, c- span radio and online at c- span.org. watch and engage. in a few moments coming today's headlines and your calls, live on "washington journal." at 1:00 p.m. eastern, we will be live from georgetown university for secretary of state's clinton's speech. and at 4:00 p.m. eastern the connecticut senate debate. in about 45 minutes, celinda drake. we wil