lot of i think theus a good thing. i'm glad the republican party, at least republican candidates are moving in this direction. >> are you surprised that you're come peeing with cruz and trump? rick: i don't think anyone would have suggested that donald trump was one of them and i certainly was one of them. but i thought cruz and rubio were credible candidates as incumbent senators and their ability to raise money -- that they would have some ability to make this a race. there are others who i thought would be better candidates. they started out the race last year -- early last year. people were saying, oh, we have such a much better field of candidates. people weren't feeling so much

that way anymore. they were finding the problems of every candidate. they said we had really good people. but we had really good people. and then the folks who had problems in communicating with the public and you find out that maybe the great candidates aren't so great after all. i think we've seen a lot of that in this race too. >> in 2012, you really didn't take off until pretty late and you were in a doldrum. when did you realize that things were turning around? were there some sign on the ground that you're looking for now? rick: really just the last couple of days. it was a whole different environment. it was twice as many candidates and as a result of that it's been difficult to get any airtime what sover that's made it harder to break out. we've had to work that much harder on the ground and doing a lot of events like this where

you get in front of as many people as you can. you try to make an impact and, you know, the last few days are always tough because as you see, you have a lot of people here who aren't from iowa coming to events and the same thing is true in new hampshire. i remember in new hampshire when i went there the last two weeks, 75% of the crowd were people not from new hampshire because they're political tourists and they come from all over the country to participate, which is great. but we've done a lot of homework. we've planted the seeds out there. over 300 events across the state of iowa. we've built a lot of relationships and our issue is to continue to follow through and make sure that those activists show up at caucus night and do what they did last night. 36% of the people that voted for me decide on caucus night. i hope we have a good, strong representation and move people in our direction. i made a statement last

night which was true after being asked another question how terrible your campaign's going as if there's -- that -- all of that responsibility lays on the candidates themselves. rtainly a big part of it does. if you look at my town hall meeting, i don't talk about that very much. i talk about what we're going to do to get this country on the right track as we did here today. we get a chance to be in front of them. >> did you get any nostalgia from the photos or anything that you've been reminded of? >> no, this has been a great experience. campaigning in iowa -- obviously, i campaign here than any other state. but from the last campaign, i recall very, you know, several

states sort of pop out in in my mind to being fun to campaign in. -- will miss iowa. but i look forward to other state where is we can have some fun. >> thanks for your time, senator. most there a problem that american universities officers are willing to accept those type of students because they work hard and they operate with american students so they annot be easily accommodated in american culture --

>> i'm not sure i understand the question. do you understand -- maybe you can help me -- >> get more foreign students in america -- >> the american universities -- for the on to chinese students to make friends. and so they cannot accept chinese students. rick: i'm not -- >> i'm not sure -- rick: do you understand? i'm not trying to -- i'm sorry. >> he wants to build relationships with students here. there's some -- [indiscernible] rick: i just didn't -- i'm trying to understand but -- >> if you don't mind me putting

this on you. rick: thank you. [indiscernible] rick: that's funny because everybody said oh, you came out -- no -- this guy? >> yeah -- [laughter] rick: a lightbulb went over your head. > oh, yeah, i remember that. rick: i wouldn't say that. [laughter] i can't help but when we were talking earlier, the frustration of the process this year -- >> it's ban much more difficult

process. rick: i think every -- i can't imagine that every candidate doesn't feel some level of frustration that this is what -- the way a normal campaign is set up. but you know what, you've got to go with the cards you're dealt. and we're -- we're -- i've expressed my concern about it with the media. not about the other candidates -- the other candidates, hey, it's fair game. you can do what you want and run the campaign that you want. if you've figured out the political campaign, i tip my hat to you. the rule of the media has been, i would say less than fair in this process and i think it just needs to be pointed out that this is not healthy for democracy. and -- and they shouldn't be weighing in as to, you no, what

candidates they believe are legitimate based on things that have nothing to do with it. >> with so many people running how do we get -- rick: there are all source of people suggesting the solution and it would have been the fairest solution which is you've got all 15 candidates and you mess them up and you have randomly assigned them to debate. we're not picking the winners or the losers. we're not picking the top tier or the bottom tier. what we're saying is, it's too early in the race. look at a year ago. scott walker was in the middle. he's not even here. so that's what i'm saying, they've stacked the deck early and they made it very difficult for other candidates to do what i did four years ago. the reason so many people in this race is in part because they saw what happened four years ago. and they saw someone who worked hard and had a good message and

was able to deliver that message effectively and get an opportunity to get rewarded in iowa or new hampshire. and i think a lot of folks are feeling frustrated that's not happening this time or that they're putting a lot of work in -- not just me, a lot of the candidates and it's been relegated to a stature that frankly is not what the role of the media is to do. >> you've been very consistent on issues for decades. you've been in politics a long time. just since 2008 or 2012, a lot of things changed in the world. talk a little bit about how the political environment, the views in some issues have changed that make this is election different policy-wise. rick: i think what you look at -- just look at the families have endorsed. they've endorsed a position on the marriage issue which four issues would have been a disqualifier. >> that's what i'm talking about.

rick: no, it has. for me it's disappointing. if you're a group who's advocating certain principles, the last thing you should do is compromise on those principles, but they have. maybe they have made a calculation that that's what hey need to do to have any success going forward. >> they had a column last night and they said they don't want somebody who's one of them but somebody who can protect them. rick: yeah, that's sort of an interesting way of looking at it. look, i think you're rolling the dice when you're talking about supporting candidates that have no real track record on these issues and -- and for in terms that here to -- when a candidate speaks that way, you say they're not with us. they're sort of trying to placate us in order to support them or not oppose them.

it's a challenging time for a lot of us who believe in the importance of a nuclear family. and we'll wait and see how this race turns out as they cast a lot with someone who isn't as passionate about these issues as with others. >> you spent a lot of time here in iowa, past four or five years. what's the weirdest thing that's happened to you? not weirdest but something that stands up that someone who is watching this might not know how this works. i'm sure you've got got hundreds. rick: i know people who moved to iowa. >> rick santorum moved to iowa. rick: i'm. i know people that decided that they want to have -- they care enough about this country that they'll come to iowa and locate here so they can be involved --

i hear this not all the time. but i have met many, many people who have come here not because they have a job but because they just moved here because they wanted to participate in this process. and that's -- that's a pretty cool thing. a lot of people take this pretty seriously. and it's actually good to see. i've got -- you know -- >> a weird one? do you remember any good weird storys? rick: i tell the joke about the woman in the diner in storm lake. i don't know if you've heard that one before. but the older woman in the diner. >> no. rick: anyway, i'm in storm lake and i'm at a diner, an event in the back. so i came out front and were working the takes because these are the people that don't go to the event but are there having lunch anyway. so i worked the table. there was an older couple on one side of the booth and an even older woman on the other side. and so i walked up and i introduced myself to the older couple and said who i was. it's nice meet you.

i looked over to the older woman. she looked at me and said, "stop calling me". i was taken aback. i said excuse me, ma'am. stop calling me. you guys call me all day. you just call me and call me and call me. i said i'm not the one calling you. when you call me, you're not calling for me. you're calling for my husband. and he's been dead for three years. i said whoa. i'm so sorry about your husband the fact that he past away. and she said, oh, don't worry, he was 100 years old. and so i looked at her and i said, you must have robbed the cradle. and she looked up at me and aid, you can call me any time. there you go. >> thank you. >> it's been a joy to see you

the last four years. thank you, senator. nice to see you. ick: hey, hey. [indiscernible conversation] rick: where are you guys from? >> florida. rick: you're political ourists? [indiscernible] rick: your tourists? >> i guess so. [laughter] >> good to see you. would you like to help in the campaign? come help ours. > all right. > see you, guys.

>> i haven't given you much consideration. rick: will you help us out? >> thinking strongly. rick: i appreciate that very much. thank you. > wonderful. rick: already. >> sir, this is denise hayes. she helped me with the show. rick: thank you. fun listening to you and made so much sense that you made me cry. you're keeping the right people around you with the right values. thank you. rick: appreciate your help. >> you bet. rick: thank you. >> rick? ck: would you --

>> rick? would you sign my bible? ick: there you go. > thank you. [indiscernible] [laughter]

>> next "road to the white house" coverage of the republican presidential candidates in iowa. we again with new jersey governor chris christie. then jeb bush in carroll. after that our interview with terry brandstat and then ben carson in iowa city. >> on the next "washington journal" police cal science professional steffen sh myth with the iowa caucuses preview. former u.s. senator tom harkin of iowa talks about his support for democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton. and we'll take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span.

>> the weekend prior to the caucuses, there will be a frenzy of activity across iowa. there are so many candidates on the republican side. there are three viable candidates on the republican side. and they will have each of them three, four, five, six of them today. and what we're going to be looking for are those events that really give you a sense of what it's like to campaign for the caucuses. keep in mind what's key is organization. you need to make sure that those people who support you get to the caucuses. so it's going to be interesting to see how the candidates are trying to close the deal, sell the message and convince those people who might still be on the fence to go for candidate a or candidate b. so what you'll see is wall to wall coverage on c-span as these candidates make their final pitches. >> c-span this weekend, live coverage of the presidential candidates in iowa. >> next, republican

presidential candidate governor chris christie of new jersey at a town hall gathering in ottumwa, iowa. he discussed financial regulationings the u.s. roll in the middle east and what he would do to keep medicare solvent. iowa's caucuses can will be held monday. this is about an hour and 20 minutes. >> great to see you again. >> happy to be back. > thank you.

good morning, guys. good to see you. doing well. how are you? > great. i. >> hi? how are you? good. how are you? >> hello. i. >> hi. [applause] > thank you.

>> thank you everything for being here and welcoming what i hope to be the next president of the united states to ottumwa, iowa. thanks for being here. i'm craig paulson, former speaker of the iowa house of representatives and also the chair for the christie for president campaign here in iowa. i know you didn't come to hear me speak but i just wanted to take this opportunity to say what a -- how proud i am, how proud my wife is to support governor christie in this endeavor. we look at our country right now and washington, d.c. is an absolute mess. i probably don't need to justify that statement. we're probably all on the same page there and we're also going through the middle of worst recovery following a recession in modern history. so who is the right person to ead us through that? it seems to me as i evaluated the candidates and got to know governor christie over the last couple years there is a man here who is able to do things in new jersey with a, probably contentious democratic led legislature and yet was still

able to stand on his principles and pass conservative policies where new jersey has grown its economy. more employees in the state of new jersey than any time is what i remember. let me point this out. he didn't do it with government employees because there are actually fewer state government employees in new jersey today than there were when he took over. lower unemployment, lower spending. great leader. governor chris christie. >> thank you all so much for oming. i appreciate it very much and appreciate the warm welcome. you know it is serious time now because we're caucusing monday night. the way you know it is serious for me is i have brought with me to iowa the first lady of the state of new jersey my wife mary pat is here. mary pat? [applause]

so happy to be here. happy to participate in the debate last night in des moines. it was a lot of fun. i enjoyed myself. seemed like a few of the other guys didn't enjoy themselves as much as i did but that's okay. we had a good time. i had a good time because i got asked questions and i answered the questions. that's what you're supposed to do i think not only in these debates but when you're a leader. people bring you problems, concerns, opportunities. answer them directly. look them in the eye. listen to them. and answer them. and it seems elementary, right, what human interaction is supposed to be. we're not talking about human interaction but washington, d.c., everybody. much different set of circumstances down there. it is tragic what is going on in washington right now. we have a president who doesn't like congress and a president that doesn't like the president. that means republicans and democrats. don't have a relationship with the president of the united

tates. we have a world around us that has less and less respect every day for our country. i read just this morning that iran is now reporting it flew a drone over one of our naval vessels and took pictures. how is that happening? how is it that iran believes that it has the ability, the uthority to mess around with the united states that way? i will tell you there is only one reason why. they think they have a president of the united states they can walk on and that's what's happening. they are walking on the united states of america testing ballistic missiles to try to get them far enough so they can reach us. taking our sailors. and getting them on their knees with their hands over their heads. taking pictures of it. drones over our naval vessels and taking pictures of hat. it is all just to embarrass our country and make us seem less than who we are.

that is unacceptable to me. forget about as a leader. that is unacceptable as an american. like many of you, not all of you, but many of you are old enough to remember 1979. when the iranians took our hostages at our embassy in tehran. i am old enough to remember them walking them out with blind folds and mocking them. i am old enough to remember the images of them burning our flag day after day and chanting "death to america." i'm old enough to remember how humiliated we were when we tried to go and rescue them. and the president, the commander-in-chief couldn't put together a plan to get us off the ground in the desert. i'm old enough to remember how humiliating that felt as a country. and now what changed that? e got rid of a weak, hand-wringing president and

replaced that president with a strong, outspoken, no nonsense overnor. we got rid of jimmy carter and we replaced him with ronald reagan. is it any coincidence that on the minute ronald reagan took his hand off the bible to take the oath of office on january 20 of 1981 that the iranians released those hostages immediately? i'd say it is no coincidence. they knew that they were dealing with a different character. someone who said what he meant and meant what he said. someone who had run one of the biggest and most complicated states in the world. someone who knew exactly, exactly what he believed and was willing to fight for it and someone who knew how to inspire the american people to fight with him for the things that we believe in, the strength and freedom of our country, and the future of our children.

ronald reagan turned this country around. at a time when people said it couldn't be turned around. interest rates, double digit. unemployment double digits. people told we couldn't even heat our homes anymore. told us to turn the thermostat down and put on a sweater. told us that america had to settle for where we were. i remember this time so well because it was such a formative ime in my youth. 1979 into 1980 was my senior year in high school. was getting ready to go off to college. it's that really exciting time in your life when you feel like you're about to become an adult even though you're not and your whole life is right before you.

and every dream and aspiration and hope that you have is right there just quite a little bit out of your reach. when you feel like you're etting closer. and i had a president of the united states who told me i had to settle. i had to settle for less. my first vote when i turned 18 in september of 1980 while i was sitting in my dorm room at the university of delaware was by absentee ballot for ronald reagan. and when my oldest son asked me, we talked about this years ago, why did i vote for ronald eagan? i said, because he made me believe i could be anything i wanted to be if i worked hard enough and believed in this country. and that's what i wanted to o. and he made me believe that was possible. so i voted for him. we are in the same times now, everybody. a weak, hammering president,

who makes america believe they have to settle for less. who undercuts our long-time values. who betrays or long-time friends. who is being made a mockery of by the same country that made a mockery of us 36 years ago. so what do we do? we don't need to reinvent the wheel. we do the same darn thing we did 36 years ago. we elect a strong, no nonsense governor who has governed a complex and what i love to call lovingly an unruly state fraught with difficulties and challenges but also opportunities who knows exactly what he believes and what he is willing to fight for and you know it, too, because you've watched me fight for it. we need someone who knows what they're doing here. we cannot afford another mistake.

seven years ago we elected a first-term united states senator who had never run anything bigger than a 30-person senate staff, and we put him in charge of the most complex government the world has ever known and we're wondering why it doesn't ork. well, guys, he never ran a thing in his life. he never had to make a responsible decision. he was held accountable for based upon the safety and security of others. let's not do the same thing again. just because we may agree with that person's philosophy more than we agree with president obama, heck, i agree with ted cruz and marco rubio. nine times out of 10 over barack obama. right? that's easy. right? but, that doesn't mean ted cruz or marco rubio is ready to be resident of the united states. that's different. when i sit in that chair the first day you're going to know i'm ready. you're going to know i've been there. i've made decisions. 've dealt with crises.

i've helped people to be safe and secure. both as a prosecutor and as a governor. i've been doing it for the last 3 years. seven years as a federal prosecutor. six years as governor of new jersey making decisions every day and being held accountable for them. my favorite part of the debate last night, the part that showed you the biggest difference between me and senator cruz and senator rubio. you watched as two of them argue with each other about immigration. you watched fox news, hardly a liberal outlet, put up on the creen those two men in their own voice saying their positions previously on immigration. and you heard them say, despite the words you saw coming right out of their mouths that what they said then and now is the same. that's why i finally

interrupted the argument and said, i feel like you need a washington-to-english ictionary. one that would actually help me, right? one that would help me understand how these creatures of washington, d.c. speak one way that sounds like english to us, but obviously it isn't. listen, i have no problem with ted cruz changing his position on immigration. i have no problem if marco rubio had changed his position n immigration now twice. he is a thinking, breathing human being and he's allowed to change his mind. you all changed your minds about things sometimes. i change my mind about hings. here's what i resent. tell the truth. just tell us you changed your mind. it's not a mortal sin. tell us you changed your mind and tell us why. that's okay. we'll move on. but don't insult our intelligence. don't say to us you believe me or your lying eyes and ars?

we heard it last night. i stood there and watched it and so did you. and then they said, oh, no. that's not what i mean. it's not? what language was that exactly then? that's the difference between being a senator and being a governor. a governor can never get away with that. the people who elected you say, no, we elected you to do something. tell us what you're going to do and get it done. in the senate it's like being in school, isn't it? really, it's like being in school. at school you're told where to be and what time. in the united states senate they tell you when to show up in washington and what time. in school they say where to sit. in the united states senate they tell you where to sit. you sit in that one. you sit in that one. in school they give you a list of questions to answer. in the senate, you don't get different questions. you get -- they give you the list. here is what your questions

will be today. this is what we're voting on. in the senate they tell you when recess is. just like in school. and in school they tell you when to go home for the day. just like in the senate. let me tell you that's not what it is like to be a governor. that's not what it's like to be n executive. when you're an executive the call comes in the middle of the night. when you're an executive the storm comes off the atlantic ocean. and there is no answer key. when you're an executive, a murder occurs and you have to help people to solve the crime. when you're an executive a terrorist attack comes and you have to protect people and deploy people to make sure that lives are saved. there is no answer key. and there is none for the presidency of the united tates, either. that's the difference. and that's what i was trying to say last night when i said, let's get this washington-to-english dictionary and convert what the heck these guys are saying. that's why i said, stop the washington bull.

now everybody thought because i was from new jersey i might inish that word. they had their hands on the button ready to push the seven-second delay on me. i've grown up. i'm older. i just stopped right at the two l's and that was it. so i appreciate you coming today. we have a lot of work to do between now and monday. you're my second town hall today. i have two more after this. doing 17 events in the next three days. we are going to be in every part of iowa to answer your questions the same way i answered the questions of those moderators last night. one last thing. ou deserve better than to have somebody go and take a little hisy fit and walk away and not show up at the debate. okay. you deserve better than that. [applause]

i mean, that was really quite a performance wasn't it? i'm taking my marbles and going home. when you're president you don't do that. if you do it is going to cost merican lives and american fortune and american reputation. so you invite me, i show up. you give me a microphone, i talk. and you raise your hand and ask me a question, i answer. that's what leaders are supposed to do because we work for you not the other way around. so one rule for my town hall meetings, you raise your hand i call on you, you ask a question, i answer. that's the rule. so let's do it. who's got their hands up? sir. right on the back on the aisle. >> governor, my wife and i were privileged to attend the meeting last night. i was very proud that you didn't turn tail and run. you actually stood your ground against that little blonde girl. >> she's tough. >> she is mean. >> she is. she's tough. >> the other question that i would like to ask, your position on the right to own and have arms, second amendment.

here in iowa there is nobody that doesn't carry or at least have the right to carry as long as they're not a criminal or a felon. >> that's the way it should be. that's the way it should be. let's start right there. the fact is you're a law abiding citizen. you should have the right to exercise your second amendment rights. are we allowed to place restrictions on that? only in the most extreme of circumstances. like if you're a felon. have you committed a violent crime? then you foisted your right to be able to hold that fireman. if you're a terrorist you forfeited your right to buy a fire arm in this country. if you have severe mental illness we don't want you to be able to carry a fire arm in this country but otherwise we should be able to exercise your second amendment right. i don't think the founders put the bill of rights in random order. i don't think they dumped these rights in and pulled it out randomly and said okay here is the order. look at the first amendment.

freedom of speech. freedom of religion. prevention of the establishment of religion. freedom of association. freed osm the press. bedrock things that help define who we are as a democracy. the next one is the right to bear arms. the second amendment. they put it there for a reason. the reason they put it there i believe from all the history 've read is they were afraid of a big government. they had just finished getting out from under one and fighting a war against all odds to get out from under it and they wanted to remind the american people, this is your country not the government's. there may be a moment when you may need to rise up as we did to take back your country. and they wanted you to have the right to bear arms not only to protect yourself against criminals but to protect yourself against your own government. and so that principle is a bedrock principle, too, one of the things that helps to ensure the future of freedom and liberty in our country.

so i fought hard in new jersey against further restrictions on gun rights. my state is one of the worst gun rights states in america. now, all of those laws got passed before i became governor. so what i've had to do is play defense. so they tried to ban the 50 caliber rifle. i vetoed it. they tried to lower the magazine size from 15 to 10. i vetoed it. they tried to institute a statewide i.d., required i.d. system for all gun owners. i vetoed it. and for folks, six different folks who traveled into my state from out of state who legally owned a fire arm in the state where they came from they got pulled over for a traffic nfraction and wound up being against the law in new jersey to carry the fire arm they had and faced criminal charges including jail. starting back in 2010, all six people that happened to i've pardoned. and given a full and complete pardon so they never have to face criminal charges or the possibility of jail.

the folks in my state who are second amendment advocates, the new jersey pistol club, will tell you that there would be no second amendment in new jersey if it was for governor christie. i just vetoed more bills this last session in the same way. as president of the united states i will be released off defense and go back on offense and that's what i'll do on the second amendment. thank you, sir. sir? > thank you, governor. what are your plans to update and keep the promise of social security for those generations on it and the generations to come? >> i am shocked given the shirt he has on. he's asking me a social security question. we need to take a stand. they're here at every one of my meetings. it is like an open book test. t's great. you know what's coming. listen, here is the thing you should know. [audio difficulty -- stand by] i am the only candidate in this race with an entitlement reform lan.

imagine how crazy that is. 71% of all federal spending today are entitlements -- 71 cents of every dollar you send to washington and we borrow from the chinese gets spent on entitlements and debt service. it is bankrupting social security and it is bankrupting our nation. yet 12 republican candidates, three democratic candidates still in the race, i'm the only one with a plan. why? ecause they're afraid. they're afraid of getting you angry. here is the difference. i'm from new jersey. anger is a part of our every day life. 'm not afraid of it. what i want you to do is respect me. because i will confront the issues that need to be confronted. here's our plan. first off you need to know on all entitlements which includes medicare, medicaid, social security disability i have a 12-point plan to deal with that. it is on my website at chris christie.com. i'm not going over all 12 oints now.

i'll go over four. you need to go look at that. it is scored by the congressional budget office and it will save over a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. this is a real plan. it's going do real good things o see social security. here's what it will do. on social security two main points. one we have to raise the retirement age. this is for good reason. we're all living longer. the average life expectancy of a woman in america now is 83. the average life expectancy of a man is 79. when these programs were designed we died in our mid 0's. so we're now drawing out 15 to 20 years after retirement in order to continue paying, getting paid for as long as we live. it's not sustainable that way. so i say we raise the retirement age two years and we phase it in over 25 years. so when i run against hillary clinton in the fall, she says i'm throwing grandma off the cliff, just remind her, that it takes 25 years for grandma to hit the ground.

that's a high cliff, everybody. a very high cliff. 25 years. so that means eligibility age goes up one month a year every year for 25 years. if you're on social security now it does not affect you at all. if you are close to receiving social security it will affect you just a little. a month or two or three. but what it will do for your age is it is going to make it much more sound. it will deal with the tables and the increase in life xpectancy. and it may have to go up again after that. but that will all be for good reason. because we're living longer. because of medical science and pharmacology, we're living better lives and longer lives. second, we need to means test social security. now i know that a lot of people don't like that idea but let me tell you what it is. if you make $200,000 a year or more in retirement income, that means you got four to five million dollars in the ank.

if you have that in the bank when you retire god bless you. good job. you raised your family. you worked hard and you were able to save four or five million dollars god bless you and god bless america. because it is the only place in the world you could have done t. let me ask you a question. you make $400,000 a year in retirement do you need the $1200 a month social security check? will it change your lifestyle one bit? of course it isn't. i know the argument because i've gotten it both here in iowa and over in new hampshire as well. i put my money in. want my money back. i understand that. here's the bad news for you. the government lied to you and they stole from you. your money is gone. it is gone. they go in and spend it now. you know this. take a stand people know this. they spend your money now. you know what's in the trust fund? a pile of i.o.u.'s from the ederal government. tan's unconscionable.

they just did it again a couple months ago. you folks know this. the republican congress. the democratic president. stole $150 billion from the social security retirement fund and put it in the social security disability fund because they don't want to reform the disability program. this is going to put a band-aid on it and the band-aid they took from the social security account. it's wrong. they've done it for years. starting back with lyndon johnson and the vietnam war. he started stealing from the social security fund. and they haven't stopped since. so we got an imbalance problem. more money going out. less money coming in. when you have an imbalance problem in your checkbook you ave to deal with it. bring more money in or spend less money. this is where hillary clinton and i differ on this. hillary clinton says take the cap off the social security tax. have everybody pay on every dollar they make. she says that gets at the rich. she's right. but so does my plan.

my plan gets at the people who are the most privileged and well off because if you make over $200,000 a year on retirement and you don't get a check that's getting at those folks too. here is why my plan is better. let's say someone opens up a new bank here in ottumwa. you went and put your money in that bank and a year later it went belly up and you lost some of your money. then six months later you get a knock on the front door. a guy at the front door says, hey. i'm opening up a new bank in ottumwa and i'd love you to consider giving me your eposits. you look at him and you go, you know, you look strangely like the guy who opened up this bank a year ago in ottumwa and i put my money in that bank and i lost all my money. are you that same guy? yes i am. now listen. iowans are very nice people. i've learned that over the last nine months. you're welcoming, warm, very nice folks. i guarantee you something. he ain't leaving your front porch with any of your money.

there is no chance after he blew it the first time. why would we treat the government any differently? they stole your money. now they're asking you for ore. why would you give it to hem? my plan is safe. you don't have to pay any more money in but the people who do est don't get money out. and we balance the books that way so that the folks who depend upon social security for heat and rent and food will get their social security. because we don't want anyone growing old in this country in poverty who has worked hard and played by the rules. but that means there has to be sacrifice and the reason there has to be sacrifice is because we got stolen from. so we can complain about being stolen from but as my mother use today say all the time, christopher, life isn't fair. all right? it's not fair. but it is the fact. and that's what we need to do to fix it. on medicare i'd do the same thing by the way. raise the eligibility age two years and phase it in over 5.

and for those people making $200,000 a year or more instead of subsidizing their medicare premiums 75% which is what we do today, i subsidize it 10%. so you still get some subsidy for the money they put in but less. and why? because they don't need it. now, i know that's not popular. i know that's not popular. but social security could go insolvent. or if we have to make a massive payroll tax on you, not take the cap off, increase the rate. i remember when our son got his first job. he got his first job in college. e got his first taste of -- he got his first pay stub. he showed it to me. what is this fica thing? i said you will learn. we don't want to make that number bigger. the bigger we make that number the more money we take out of the economy. we hurry our economy.

we hurry our able to grow our economy and our businesses. so, that is the plan. there are eight other points that go to medicaid, social security, disability insurance. they all have numbers next to them. they are not my numbers. i will tell you one less thing about the difference between s. the debate before, the fox business news channel asked senator rubio what you would do about entitlements. senator rubio gave a 90-second answer on tax reform. ok? then senator cruz raised his hand. he wanted to get in on the game. he gave a 60-second on tax reform. senator rubio raised his hand again to argue with senator cruz. i said can i interrupt this argument to actually answer the question that maria asked,

which was on entitlement reform? they don't have a plan. they are afraid if they tell you you will get mad. that is the difference between me and them. i have faith in you. you know social security is going insolvent. you know medicare is going insolvent. i'm not bringing you a newsflash. i'm telling you how we are going to fix it together. they are trying to hide the truth from the american people. they will have to fix it when they get into office. when they get into office you know what they will do. they will have to deal with it. they are going to have to deal

with in the next presidential term. what you rather than take it on faith? put your hand on your wallet. it is coming. that is what i would do on social security and medicare. we need to address this. if we don't we will not be able to grow and prosper as a nation. we won't be able to have the honor of caring for our senior citizens who have worked and earned the right to be cared for. that is what i would do. >> governor christie. thank you for your no-nonsense approach. will you be president that makes us a sanctuary country, and what are your plans for current illegals in the u.s.? >> i will not make us a sanctuary country. and in fact, in my first weeks in office i will make sure we send a notice to the 200 mayors who now run sanctuary cities that they have a time to enforce immigration laws or i will move to cut off federal aid that has a sanctuary city name.

or that i will move to cut off any federal aid that has that label. here is what i think about this. i'm a prosecutor. i believe in enforcing the law. it is what i have done. they laws are on the books to deal with whatever you are concerned about. we're not enforcing them. you know why? the president doesn't like them. i remember the elf i took as governor. his is similar. i will enforce the laws of the state of new jersey. , not i will enforce the laws of the state of new jersey that like. that is the oath i take. i put my hand on the bible and take that oath. this president says don't enforce them. he signed executive orders overriding them. this president doesn't like the marijuana laws so he lets colorado, and washington state and others just legalize marijuana even though it's illegal under federal law. it sends an awful message to

our children and a lack of productivity in our economy from people who go to work in colorado high. kids are getting high and the colorado schools as we speak. i saw an article that the colorado teachers now say the single largest challenge in the school system is marijuana. the kids are coming with edibles to school. brownies and gummy bears. marijuana gummy bears. now, i don't know about you, but let me say this, when i was in school math and physics was hard enough when i was straight. [laughter] if i was high, there would be no chance. no chance i'd be able to do it. we need to enforce the laws of the country. and as president that's what i will do. you will not have to wonder about it. seven years enforcing the law

equally and fairly and justly. equal justice under the law. immigration laws in this country need to be respected and enforced. when you have a prosecutor is the president of the united states you can count on the fact that the law will be enforced and that's what i'll do. thank you, ma'am. yes, sir? >> governor, i manage a large financial institution in southeastern central iowa. i wanted to assure everyone your money is safe and sound. despite the example you gave earlier. do you have any thoughts on dodd-frank and the others you can share with us? gov. christie: dodd frank was passed in 2008 in 2009. as usual with congress, they fixed a problem they could fix with a scalpel with a meat ax.

now both cut but with significantly less precision. i don't defend anyone in here ho wields a good meat ax but he scalpel is more precise. here is what i see. our local community banks are getting crushed. they are closing, they are merging. because the regulatory requirements under dod-frank are so onerous a few things are happening. it costs a fortune to comply with them. they have to hire more lawyers and consultants to make sure they don't step one foot over the line. this is interesting. the banking industry, he wants to put in more laws. immigration, no thanks. marijuana, no thanks. against these guys, he has regulators in their shorts. every day. it costs a lot of money. it is making local bankers hesitant to make loans.

very one of those loans will be scrutinized with a microscope by a federal regulator has the ability to levy a big enough fine he can put you out of business. what that means for the small business owners in iowa, or in new jersey, it means they are not getting loans. it means they cannot expand their business. they cannot add jobs. they cannot meet their obligations. either they downsize or they close. we need to exempt local small community banks from dodd frank. i have no problem with it applying to big banks. they are big boys. they are the ones who caused the problem to begin with. it wasn't guys here who caused the meltdown. it was fannie mae and freddie mac and the big banks, who gave

mortgage loans to people who had no business ever getting a mortgage. they gave away money like it was candy on halloween. they they came to you, the taxpayer to back that up after they screwed up. that is what i would change. local community banks need to be exempted from dodd frank. let the state regulate your banks. there is no need for the federal government to be involved in regulating your bank. f we do that it will free up and as you know enormous capital that can be invested in local communities. 75% of all jobs in this country are created by small business. you better get to it and let the small businesses grow. your community banker is the person who is willing to take a chance on you. they probably frequent your business. they drive by it. they see. they talk to people who frequent your business. they go by a field. they are invested in your community.

they say this is a good person. i will invest in them and take chance. everybody in this room is going to need someone to take a hance on them. so, we want our community banks to be able to do that. so that's what i would do about dodd-frank. financial institutions, my friend. excellent. and? >> i have been in many places. i was in the radiation field most of my life. i'm 80 years old. i live off what i get from the overnment. i can tell you all about it. i'm 83 years old. i walk the streets. i know almost all these guys. i got the guys that are in a halfway house. one of them yells to me, hey, don, and bobby's going to be in the halfway house for about

another year. and we've got 80 people coming into town on the streets that i've had a business on. and our lady here had a business that's here. ok. you have to get those guys off the street. i didn't know you were coming to town. but i have quite a resume. one? i was up at the hospital and hit my head. first time i use my medicare. i still have been paying in. my daughter said to me dad, you're probably helping somebody else. i could get $100 a month. i wrote about 80 pages and alzheimer's. i have been writing since i was in high school. i was raised in a house where my brother made lot colonel.

-- lieutenant colonel. he died but he was over there i was at the foot of mount saint helens the day before it blew because the babysitter had not been there. [indiscernible] what i'm saying is, [inaudible] gov. christie: that is why these people are wearing the shirts they are wearing. they care about folks like you and others who have worked hard, paid into the system, depending on that system to help them in their senior years.

this is not something you were given. this is something you earned. the flip side of the reality is some people have stolen the money you put in. now we have to make good on that. that is our job. i believe the way to make good on is to make sure people who are not in your position, who don't need this check, don't take it. if they do, i remember talking about this with my friend mark zuckerberg. he says entitlement reform is it -- iffy issue. what does it mean for me? it says it means you get nothing. you are worth $38 billion. you are not getting social security or anything else. that is a great problem to have in this country. that you don't need it. you were not successful by yourself. it was this country that gave us the opportunities that we exploited and made the most out. that is what we have to continue to do. absolutely not.

you are done. i let you talk for a while and i want to get to a few more young people. you can ask me a few things on the way out. that is what i'm talking about. you know how to wonder what i'm thinking ever. >> my name is paul finney. i came from kansas. one of the reasons some candidates have been so high in the polls is the country is angry. they are angry at have through -- having their wealth hollowed out. a lot of it is changing the way colas were adjusted in the 1990's which was designed to balance the budget and reduce social security. but unwittingly all the private employers think there was no inflation this year. if i give my people 2% i will be a generous guy.

that is the case of the government lying to us. is it not? what did they do? the price of steak went up. they assume the average housewife will buy that steak. they put hamburger in the basket of what is purchased. it is the government moving numbers around which is deceiving the people and cheating them. what would you do about it? gov. christie: it's about telling the people the truth. but then, but so we train that problem out. that is the government deceiving us. all these numbers are crazy. unemployment numbers. when unemployment averages, they are on the front page of the newspaper. everybody goes wild one way or the other. what i know is there is almost no relationship to reality in a unemployment numbers the same

way there is little relationship to reality on the inflation numbers. we can fix that. we can start time people the truth but when we do it is going to cost more money. the question becomes how are we going to pay for it? that is a conversation i want to have. we can make these things work but it is going to mean sacrifice by someone. in the first debate i was asked about entitlement reform. so, i get asked with this first debate in cleveland. they say governor huckabee disagrees with you. i like governor huckabee. he is an honest man. on this we have a disagreement. he says you should do nothing about this. people got their money stolen so they shouldn't have to pay it back. i said i don't have problem with the argument except where we getting the money from then?

it is like when my mom asked me to go shopping for her. a young boy. who wanted to go shopping? i would go because i was the oldest son and i was supposed to do what i was told so i did. i always thought i could take it as an opportunity. if i saw something i particularly liked i would get a chance to ask for it. maybe i get a little help. i'd asked for something. can i have that. sure you can. absolutely. here's what you need to do. go home, going the backyard. pick the money off the money tree and bring that money back and you can buy it. we'll have a money tree. exactly. governor huckabee sometimes thinks there is a money tree. these are his words. not mine. he said the way we are going to do this, i will have a new tax system and we make up this problem in social security because we will tax them sent

prostitutes -- pimps and prostitutes. i never thought i would hear the phrase pimps and prostitutes will be the salvation of social security. i've been in 49 of the 50 states. i have seen a lot. there are not enough. [laughter] to solve this problem. i'm telling you. they are not going to have enough to fix social security. this is the stuff people tell you. i like mike. he is a smart guy. he was a good governor. he is a good man. they are so scared to talk to about this stuff that is the stuff they say. they say maybe though by that

and i can find the next problem. you have to tell them the truth. i'm giving you the truth. in return we have to have a conversation with who is going to make the sacrifice to pay for the truth. i'm willing to do it not -- do it. if it's going to cost money, who we getting the money from and how we going to do it? that is the conversation we have to have. i can answer two more questions. i want my staff to understand i'm still the boss. [laughter] you ask, i'm telling you. some day one of them may run for president. probably not both. maybe they will flip a coin or draw straws. you are surrounded every day by people who are younger than you. they tell you where to go and what to do every minute -- every

minute of the day. it's like having parents except they are younger. the only place where i am free of this tyranny of the young is when i stand here with the microphone. i will answer to questions to show everyone i am still the boss. she is going to bring a microphone. >> if someone is collecting welfare benefits, should they be required to take and pass a drug test to receive them? gov. christie: they should have to try to find a job. if you are an able-bodied person on food stamps, we don't want you to go hungry. this is a generous and compassionate nation. we don't want people to starve. if you have no disability you need to show us you are going to find a job. the obama administration has

waived this during the recession. i understand that. unemployment is down to 5%. it is time to make those folks go back to find a job. we pushed people back into having to make the choice to work. not the choice to stay home. it is not just that. they should be looking for a job. not only to help bring some money into the house that contribute to your soul. it feels good for the soul to go out and interact with people and know that your labor is valued. and you have something to come home and tell your spouse but what you did. you didn't just sit on the couch and just watch dr. phil all day. is he still on? i don't watch a lot of tv anymore. sometimes i think i will be dated.

that is what we are doing in new jersey. >> you believe as a world power we should police the middle east to maintain world security or are you more for the get in and get out strategy. gov. christie: good question. we are not the world policeman. we are the world leader. there is a difference. the world policeman is on duty all the time no matter what. the police force here, they are patrolling the streets, working out of headquarters to keep you safe. america doesn't have to be on watch 24/7. when i believe as we need to put together in the middle east -- i assume you're talking about not only syria and libya and iraq, but isis as well.

we need to put together an alliance around the world to have folks fight with us. america should not have to carry this burden on our own. american leadership is a burden and responsibility. it is not a choice. we have to leave. when we don't, bad people do. we don't want them leading the world. it leads to violence and injustice. that comes back on us. we need to go to the other countries of the world who believe in the same things we do. this isis threat is a threat to all of us. we all need to fight together to eliminate them. america will lead. we are the most powerful nation on the world. that is not good or fair to the american people. it's not a most effective way to do it either. the isis folks will say we are

having a war against the great satan. it will help recruit more members. don't forget this. they are attempting to oppose religious beliefs on you. that is what this is about. they want everyone to follow their beliefs and their culture. everyone should be will to believe what is in their heart. i'm roman catholic. i believe in that. there are people in this room of many other faiths. you believe deeply in your interpretation of the bible or whatever book it is that governs your religion. you are someone who believes in your interpretation of what you

hear in your heart, that god is leading you to do. you should have the right to do that without violence. what they want to do is impose their beliefs on you and me. america has to stand up against that. this country was founded by people who were escaping not only political tyranny of religious tyranny. that is the basis of our foundation, the constitution. that is what i would do. we do need to be the world's leader. violence in yemen. the chinese building artificial islands in the south china sea to set up and intimidate korea and japan. that is not the kind of world we like.

it doesn't provide it alone. the job of the american president is to create those alliances. you have to spend the time to do it. by creating any friendship, you have to invest time. you have to listen. you have to be clear about what your expectations of friendship is. if that person knows then you know what to expect. we have great friends around the world. no one is more -- has more friends than in the united states. we are not trying to conquer them. we just want than the -- we just want and operate in peace. we don't want to conquer them. we want to live the way they want to live.

sometimes it would mean the use of force. i hope that it wouldn't. thank you. good question. i will end with two things. thank you. middle of the day on a friday. three days before the caucuses. folks here taking the time to listen to me. i appreciate you taking the time. i tell people if you get cynical about democracy come to iowa and new hampshire. the people of iowa and new hampshire have spent countless hours listening to all of us, meeting us. looking us in the eye. looking at our plans for the future. that is an incredible endorsement for our democracy. the fact is we cannot give up.

the folks in iowa and new hampshire so the rest of the area you have not given up. you will make a difference monday night. the second thing is this. this campaign has been an enormous entertaining. i have been entertained. you have probably been entertained when you're watching tv, going through your mailbox, picking up the countless phone calls you are getting. think about it. we've had senators and former senators in this race. business people. we have had it all in this race. entertainment is fine. showtime is fine. everyone likes to watch a good show. we all enjoy laughing and being amused and entertained.

there is a difference but showtime and game time. showtime is what has happened up until now. 72 hours from now it is gametime. you have a decision to make. we are not taking the entertainer in chief. we are picking the commander-in-chief. we are not looking for the person who can make us laugh the most. we are looking for the person that we want to represent us to the rest of the world. we are looking for the person who we believe not only can burn washington down but who can rebuild it after you burn it down. the easiest thing in the world is to burn something down. sometimes it needs to be burn down. the hard thing is how do you rebuild it to make it work? we don't have an option in this country to not have a federal government. we need someone to protect our

homeland security. we don't have an option on that. who do you think is best prepared to do it? who do you want with their finger on the nuclear button? who do you believe has the temperament, the judgment, the experience to do this the right way and tell you the truth. questions like that to ponder over the next 72 hours and make your decisions. some polls say that you are not doing as well here. what i be wasting your vote? i said to them great question. let me tell you how i feel about voting. voting is a privilege and responsibility.

the fact is, if you vote for someone who you believe in your heart to make the best difference for your country your vote is never wasted. a wasted vote is when you vote for the person you just think would win. if you were betting on this, you get some good odds and you see what you want to do and make some money. a vote is an investment. it is an investment in the person you think is the best person to help lead our country. don't let anything dissuade you from voting for the person you like and appreciate, that you think is the best person to do this job. the best person to beat hillary clinton. i say this over and over. there is no silver medal in this. i mean, eight years of public

housing for those two should be enough. we don't need them back in the white house again. we don't want them within 10 miles. not only vote for someone who you think and do the job but who can win the job. i have won elections in a state that is tougher than anybody on that stage has won elections in. we had an on -- and not elected any public and in 12 years. not only did i beat an incumbent democrat who outspent me 3-1, $33 million to $11 million in 2009 but i got reelected in 2013 with 61% of the vote. in a democrat state where they

told me i was going to be a one termer. but i governed as a pro-life conservative republican. a higher percentage than barack obama had gotten in my state the year before for president. you want someone who will prosecute the case against her? i'm not waiting for the justice department to do it. you want someone who is tough enough to stand up to her and the clinton machine and get our country back on the right track? i'm the guy to do it. thank you very much. [applause]

[indiscernible conversations] [no audio] [indiscernible conversations] [indiscernible conversations]

[indiscernible conversations]

>> i have a serious question. who would play your inauguration? springsteen? >> bon jovi. >> would he do it? >> yes. >> he did a hillary fundraiser last night. >> thank you.

[indiscernible conversations] >> we are old friends.

get in here. [indiscernible conversations] >> thank you. [indiscernible conversations]

>> c-span is live in iowa. they have 25,000 residents. joining us after the chris christie event is trudy, the chair of the republican party here in this county. >> this has been a busy season. it is so great to have the opportunity to meet with people and people to meet with them. >> have you endorsed or do you go to the republican events? >> i go to all the republican events. tuesday i can say who i am for. >> is it trending democratic or republican?

>> as far as voter registration, much more democratic. we have people who really look at our candidates and make their decisions. even though voter registration may not report that. >> what did you think of today? >> it was a great event. he looks them straight in the eye and was able to give them the message. this is going to be so important to tell people the truth. >> 1681 caucus locations in iowa. how many in the county? >> we have 22. the caucus is run by volunteers. we have 5000 or more people volunteers working these

caucuses. >> how many do you expect? >> we are expecting votes for the republican total. we are looking closer to 1000. that will actually vote. we will have children. we tried to make this a family event. it is important for the children to know the democratic process. how better than to come to our caucuses. >> this is face-to-face retail. >> it is. >> trudy, the largest employer, gbs meatpacking. there was a group here sitting in the front row and these ladies got here early wearing matching shirts.

i'm not sure if it is a dance crew. >> it is not a dance crew. they are supporting social security. >> your jackets and t-shirts say -- what is your name? >> my name is marilyn. >> what is the stand you want to take? >> my only grandson is 18 years old. he is in college. i'm lobbying basically because i would like to see that he along with my daughter's age, 53 years old, that it is not for me but for all of the young generation, the ones coming up like 52, 53 years old, will they ever see it? i am taking a stand for them. >> do you attend a lot of events?

>> right now there has been five. i missed one. i was not able to come. some have done all of that. >> democrats and republicans? >> yes. we have done well over 50. >> will you be caucusing at different locations or have you decided? >> we're here for the take a stand. we say social security is our candidate. that is why we are at the event. we are not at liberty to say we are caucusing for one or another. we are just here to talk about social security. >> what brought you out today? >> social security. i look at these two small girls and kept thinking are they really going to have social security? i wanted to remain solvent for my children and great-grandchildren.

that is my stand. >> these are the take a stand group. this is c-span's road to the white house live coverage. we just had a chris christie event here in downtown iowa. we learned earlier the last president to visit was bill clinton, last night. we are being joined by a chris christie supporter. where you from? >> selina jacobs. i am seeking answers. the time is short. there are so many good choices. i want to look them in the eyes,

get a feel for them, see their character. how it is. >> were you undecided? >> i am undecided. i like what he had to say. he seems very genuine to me. >> is it important to look them in the eye? >> i think so. you get a different flavor when you see them in person. then you do on the television set. >> to you feel responsibility to do what you do? >> very much. people have to be proactive, have to get involved more. this is an important election. >> have you gone to a caucus before? who did you vote for? >> i have not gone to a caucus before. i have voted before but i have not been quite as involved. i think things are at a turning

point and i think it is time for the people that are getting involved to get involved. >> do you know where your caucus location is? >> i do. >> will we see you there monday night? >> yes. >> thank you for joining us. tim is the owner of the brewing company. at what point did you learn chris christie wanted to hold an event here? >> a week to 10 days ago. he called again from new jersey. we set it up and said absolutely. >> have you had these events often? >> no. we are new in business. we have only had one election cycle since we were established. we appreciate him coming. >> what do you have to do? >> not much. talk to the campaign. i talked to the campaign.

they took care of it. they came in early this morning. they got everything arranged. c-span also has been fantastic. we didn't have to do anything but provide a little bit of coffee. >> we appreciate that. if another campaign called would you allow them in? >> i absolutely would. we're respectful of all views. >> are you caucusing monday night? >> most likely. i hopefully will caucus again this monday. >> where did the name come from? >> it's a long story but outside the windows here is a river. there were rapids. a long time ago, he named them.

outside of our window are those rapids. >> the des moines river runs through. we are 85 miles southeast of des moines. that is going to wrap up our coverage from chris christie. road to the white house is on every day between now and new hampshire. we will be live monday night at a republican caucus and a democratic caucus. everything we have covered here, going down through the campaign you can watch it c-span.org.

our roads at the white house coverage continues today with marco rubio campaigning in iowa. live at 4:30 p.m. eastern. live at 8:15 p.m. eastern, former president bill clinton and daughter chelsea joins hillary clinton for a campaign event in cedar rapids, iowa. you can watch both events on c-span. >> the c-span bus is in iowa ahead of monday's caucuses to spread the word about c-span. here is a tweet showing some of the resources on the ground. c-span all hands on deck as we prepare for our coverage of the iowa caucuses. democratic presidential candidate martin o'malley stopped by and simpson college students tweeted this -- republican presidential candidate mike huckabee visited

the bus and marco rubio supporters tweeted this -- traveling with the c-span bus. next, former florida governor jeb bush campaigning in car roll, iowa. in a town hall meeting, he talked about his plans to combat isis, make college more affordable and other issues. this is about one hour and 25 minutes. >> all right. hi, everybody. are you guys fired up? i am, t too. i want to say what a great turnout. i'm from your neighboring state

of illinois. iowa looks a lot like illinois. it is great to be here. there are republicans from illinois, so yeah. we have a republican governor now. -- i will first off tell you quickly how i got into politics. i was a military pilot. i fly for the international guard. i remember in may of 2009, i left iraq. i saw president obama was elected and i made the decision at the time that there was a dark moment in history. there was talk about nationalized health care which ended up happening. we had a deficit spiraling out of control and all these things are going on and everybody was pessimistic. i decided to run for congress not because i was buried in pessimism, but because i knew we had to go through tough years. ultimately, america will do what it has always done which is come

out on the other side even stronger than we went in. that is why defended my country and ran for congress and why a continue to do what i do today. it was about a year ago i was taking a look at who was running for president because there is no doubt in my mind this is the most important election cycle, definitely in my short life of 37 years but probably even longer than that. one of the people that really stood out to me was a man named jeb bush. we all knew him. him, but iited about started to look at what the candidates were saying. the thing that struck me about governor bush was he said, i will tell you all the truth. i'm optimistic. i believe in the future of this country. i believe people born into poverty can find a way out and lift themselves to be successful because this is the greatest country in the world. it struck me that in a time of kind of dark pessimism in the

country -- 1979 by the way when president carter was president -- i realized in this dark time, we need a leader who is not just going to reflect our anger back at us, but was going to understand that anger and show us a way out and show was away ahead and show us how to leave our grandkids and kids a country even far better than we were amazingly blessed to inherit. that man by the way was governor bush. i saw that and i fell in love with the message of optimism and the message of hope. i was one of the first people to endorse him before he even announced for president. it is a good thing he ran or else i would have looked stupid. [laughter] as a guy who works for the military, and works with brave men and women, the thing that strikes me is that for 250 years this country has put blood and sweat into what makes america great today. there are some that would have you believe that that 250 years

of american history, and that dream that has been fulfilled somehow dies now. that strikes me is that we have this 250 years of american history and we have that god-given purpose that it would be strange that it would dry -- that this would all die now. people think that we are dominant that we are just good now and not great. that is not true. aboutn 1979 people heard a shining city on the hill, it gave them purpose. had just left vietnam, the russians were more powerful than ever, sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? and a guy named ronald reagan came along. had acause he said he amazing talents but because he could compel people to that. in 1989 as he was giving his farewell address to the nation,

i am going to paraphrase, "i don't know what i meant by a shining city on the hill, that what i meant was a kid could graduate from college and be able to buy a house in an america where people could look at us as an inspirational hope of what they could achieve and see that in other countries." in eightmazing is that years, he set out to accomplish everything and he did it. we are in a tough time right now and we deserve better than what we have been given in the last seven years. race is one man in this that i believe in strong enough and i believe he has the optimism and the understanding of what is going on and what needs to be done. ladies and gentlemen, i am proud to endorse and proud to introduce the next president of the united states, governor jeb bush.

mr. bush: thank you. thank you. thank you, adam. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you, congressman, for campaigning with me across the country. adam's main job is to do the morning shows after the debates. today was a little easier for him at than the previous debates i think, for him. [applause] mr. bush: thank you for your service. i wanted to recognize two of my jeb, jr.ldren, and my daughter, noelle. i want to tell you two stories and then i will open it up. these are stories of leadership. when i started my campaign, i wanted to talk about the things that were broken and help people

to rise up again. our national security has become more and more of an issue. something i think is important for us to talk about. restore economic growth unless we are strong as a nation. hillary clinton believes that just a third term of the foreign policy of barack obama is ok, that we have got isis where we want them, that the reset button with russia is going to work out. that russia was just a regional power, not to worry, and 30 days ukraine ourinvade enemies no longer fear us -- ukraine, and our enemies no longer fear us. on a military school in south carolina and i laid out a vision for how we could restore

america's presence in the world. it was a blast going to this place because these students are serve in the military. they are patriots. this required to go to vets withlite physical therapy. i am 62 and i am in good physical shape but they were all 21. 50 situps and 20 push-ups, we did more callous nx -- did more exercises and then they said we were going to go do more exercises and run three miles. , was collapsing and they said you want to be commander in chief, do you have are back?

will you defend and support the military? all of the questions you would expect for somebody who is going to go serve in the military. here is what i told them. i will be a commander-in-chief who will respect the military. i won't impose a lyrical considerations. -- impose political considerations. band of chris horton, i got it from his wife, to remind me that we are not talking about a videogame here. the next president has to be serious. he has to have a steady hand. we have to achieve peace through strength, not to be a war but to createon security for our own people and therefore get back to the business of creating high sustaining economic. growth -- economic growth.

which means we can't talk about it. we have to rebuild the military. we have seen through the come of the military cuts, the sequester has continued on and it will not send a signal of seriousness for the world. build the military, the marines, backup to the levels of readiness. half of the marines who are stationed in the united states right now don't meet the definition of readiness. the marines. we have an air force pilot who is fantastic, but the air force, the planes are older than the pilots. the b-52 was launched during the era of harry truman. modernize our equipment, we got to increase the training, we need to be serious about making national security our first priority.

there is a threat that the president thinks that needs to be dealt with as a law-enforcement exercise, that they have declared war on us but we can't even call it for what it is. it is islamic radical terrorism. they're are making their activities to destroy western freedom. vigilant and strong and we needed takeout isis and the caliphate that exists. that is what we need to do. that is a strategy. you want a leader who knows what he doesn't know. at these debates, people talk like this is a game. "we are going to carpet bomb." really? you're going to carpet bomb mosul? we have to have a strategy. idaho to do this.

-- i know how to do this. of the fact that my dad was the president of the united states and my brother was the president of the united states. they knew how to keep us safe. [applause] the second story, and then we will open it up, is a story of leadership. it is a story of being a governor. governors have an interesting job. it is kind of like being a president, but it is not like it. i balance the budget for eight years in a row. we didn't create some artificial game. we balanced the budget. we live within our means. -- lived within our means. i was one of two states that went from aa to aaa bond ratings. we didn't take nonrecurring

revenue to spend on obligations. about our went business was a kitchen table budget. not all of this weird stuff that people don't understand with language they don't get. principalake in the obligations of government, we would cut taxes and give back the rest. when i left, there were $9 billion in reserves. when i left, they called me michael corleone. not because i wanted to be the the stage, but because there was a principle behind this. you have to live within the means of the people you are serving. in that time as governor, i learned that you cannot just excuse when there is a challenge. life doesn't work out the way it is planned, does it? have eightou

hurricanes and four tropical storms in six months. that's what i had. we had $150 billion in insured and uninsured losses. we had homes that were uninhabited. we had people who were living paycheck to paycheck who no longer had anything. i will never forget, i had a largest mobile home park in the world in east central florida and this place was devastated. these were manufactured homes and the storm went right through there and this woman was wearing a salvation army sweatshirt and she came over and she just gave me a hug. and she didn't let go. and ist gave me a hug pressed her back and i was the to her crying and i consoled her and she said she was volunteering for the salvation army. i said, why? she said she felt like it was the best way to give back. man.

there are thousands and thousands of stories from my time as governor when i lead. i didn't talk about it i just did it. it is like filing an amendment and calling it a success. leader, you have a focus on moving towards the fire to take it out, to solve the problems, and that is what we need in washington, d.c. right now. eight hurricanes and four tropical storms hot me that you have to be all in on-the-job. i had a countdown clock and it went backwards all the way to zero. i spent my last four years with the same passion and conviction that i had in my first four years and we are called pushed a law. when -- and we accomplished a lot. i didn't blame benghazi on a videographer and then line to

to theily -- then lie family members. will acceptader who personal responsibility and the first place we should do it is in the veterans administration. i am promising you, heads will roll until we get it right. veterans deserve far better than what they are getting today. [applause] mr. bush: so if you are looking for someone who has got a proven record, a proven, consistent, conservative record across the board, where there are issues of life, which are not political to me, it is informed by my faith. ononverted to catholicism easter sabbath in 1995. it was one of the greatest moments to join the faith of my life. or the second amendment or all of the mms because it is all a package deal as far as i am concerned, -- or all of the

amendments because it is all a package deal as far as i am concerned, the bill of rights. for someoneooking who has that record and who can apply those same principles with detailed plans to fix things and if you are looking for someone who has a backbone and a heart for people, i hope you will 7:00 a.m.,me at seven :00 p.m., excuse me -- don't go at 7:00 a.m.! [laughter] running foram president because i believe we are on the verge of the greatest time to be alive. i want to provide opportunities for the next generation. we are on the verge of doing this and we are going to change the direction of this country and i think i can do it with you and i think you can join me. thank you all very much. [applause] mic, one here is a

mic, two mics, and one back there. here is a question writer. >> -- here is a question right here. >> would you consider barack obama as a nominee? for the supreme court? mr. bush: you have obviously watched the democratic debate. that was pretty breathtaking. i would put that in the pander category. no. >> lieutenant-governor, what is your plan for providing safe, affordable energy in the future? thebush: i think we let markets decide this more than anything else that we drove from des moines and there are wind turbines all over -- through here from

des moines and there are wind turbines all over the place. my guess is that ethanol would be reductions -- would have reductions. my tax plan eliminates depletion i trust people sitting in a garage somewhere, probably a kid, hopefully living in miami because the health effects of these things are pretty extraordinary, someone is going to figure out how to have a sustainable, renewable source of energy that is going to change the world. my bet is that it will be an american and my bet is that it will happen in the freest possible kind of environment and one where you have a venture capitalist arm inside of the government. here is the other point i can make. i as the governor of the stat