tonight the state of the union. the president makes his case on the economy, jobs, gridlock in washington against the backdrop of a divided nation, a troubled world and a wild presidential campaign that's just getting started. from nbc news, the state of the union address. live from washington, here is brian williams.

>> good evening from washington. tonight the president enters back in to the national political conversation that has been dominated by a history-making gop primary fight. we'll show you the chamber right now. the president gets to deliver an election year state of the union address tonight. not the highest interest speech of its kind of the modern era, but make no mistake, a huge platform for an incumbent president always. and tonight he gets a national audience at the peak of the vitriol in the campaign against hill including debates coming sometimes at the rate of two per week, and that would include last night in tampa and another one coming up thursday of this week. the president has told those close to him he has not been watching the gop debates, but associates add he comes into the chamber tonight as we'll see in a few moments motivated to take on a number of top ibs tonight

including taxes and american ingenuity and workers and american values. our team members are here in place in our washington bureau. in the studio with me watching and listening, nbc's andrea mitchell, david gregory, chuck todd, kelly o'donnell is in the chamber tonight. as you look at congresswoman gabrielle giffords, more on her in just a moment. after the address by the president, we'll hear the response from indiana governor mitch daniels, then a live interview tonight with mitt romney, a man squarely in the news today. about congresswoman giffords, she will submit her letter of resignation tomorrow. this is an emotional night for her in the chamber. she was escorted in just a few minutes ago. you see her talking with the secretary of state. the president will, no doubt, drop by to offer his greetings, and it will be, we anticipate, a high emotional moment. this was just a few minutes ago

as she entered into the house chamber. you see congresswoman debra wasserman schultz, the party chair, behind her, shaez made her way to a prearranged seat. so she is just off the main route down the aisle as the president comes in. as we watch this, andrea mitchell, what a year-long journey this has been. >> this is one of the most extraordinary and poignant stories and a story of real sacrifice because her decision not to hold on to that seat, there was no pressure on her political, emotionally or otherwise from anyone in that district to step down. but she's giving up her seat because she feels she needs to work on her rehabilitation because she's not fully serving the people of that district. we see her there. she is becoming an icon politically. it's not the last, i think, we'll see of her in public service. but she is a tribute to people with physical challenges and just a hero to men and women around the country.

>> as we await this cue and we'll hear the gavel and we'll stop talking and allow the proceedings to go on, while kelly o'donnell is still able to talk in the chamber, kelly, describe to us where congresswoman giffords is in relation to the trek the president will make, as we look at the u.n. ambassador susan rice. >> she is about two sections over from the president's left when he comes in to the chamber. she's in the front row right off to the right of the vice president. really a moment that transcended the plit ibs of the day. there were cheers and applause when she entered the chamber. she's joined on either side by fellow arizona representatives, one a republican, jeff flake, and a democrat, raul grijalva. she has been greeted in person by the vice president. you mentioned secretary clinton. she has been waving, even blew a kiss toward the speaker and the vice president. it's a moment people have looked forward to.

there will certainly be tough moments tonight of politics. there will be applause from one section but not the other, but when it comes to gabrielle giffords there is real unanimity here. in her letter she'll submit tomorrow she says, i will recover and i will return and we'll work together for arizona and for all americans. she'll cast her last vote tomorrow on a bill she helped bring dealing with the border, important in her home state of arizona. i talked to members of both parties who say when she recovers fully, she can have any job she wishes. brian? >> the president of the united states. >> that was our first glimpse at the new sergeant of arms paul irving. longtime secret service veteran. and here is the president coming into the chamber. we ran a tape there briefly of the first lady arriving at her seat in the box above. we'll take in some of this as the president makes his way down the aisle. remember, the members of congress on both sides here, many have been in their seats since this morning staking out

their turf so they can get just a brief bit of face time with the president and get on television, quite frankly. >> good to see you. how are you? good to see you. thank you. thank you so much. good to see you. i was wondering. i appreciate that. thank you.

>> so if kelly o'donnell's description was correct, the president has a few more feet to travel here until he is in the vicinity of congresswoman giffords. some of the greetings are more boisterous than others for the president on down the aisle. house leadership behind him. when he starts to go to the president's left, that's where the members of the supreme court and members of military leadership. there's the cabinet.

senator kerry sporting a broken nose and two black eyes from a hockey game. during the break. probably learned more about his family than he intended to share with a national audience. >> members are bringing iraq war veterans with them, both parties, as special guests. >> chief justice roberts. secretary of state. >> good job tonight. good job tonight. >> oh, a nice compliment for the head of the pentagon, leon panetta. justice kennedy, justice ginsburg. enthusiastic hug for the president. justice breyer.

justice kagan. tall gentleman right there is aodieao drks aod aodierno a gentleman from the iraq war campaign now with the pentagon. a distinctive tall figure. the president is two people away. there now congresswoman giffords.

>> speaker of the house. navy veteran, restaurant, husband of congresswoman giffords.

>> member of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states. thank you so much. thank you very much. . >> mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, distinguished guests and fellow americans, last month i went to andrews air force base and welcomed home some of our last

troops to serve in iraq. together we offered a final proud salute for the colors underwhich more than a million of our fellow citizens fought and several thousand gave their lives. we gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the united states safer and more respected around the world. . for the first time in nine years, there are no americans fighting in iraq.

for the first time in two decades, osama bin laden is not a threat to this country. most of al qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. the taliban's momentum has been broken and some troops in afghanistan have begun to come home. these achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness and teamwork of america's armed forces. at a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. they're not consumed with personal ambition. they don't obsess over their

differences. they focus on the mission at hand. they work together. imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. think about the america within our reach. a country that leads the world in educating its people. an america that attracts a new generation of high tech manufacturing and high paying jobs. a future where we're in control of our own energy and our security and prosperity aren't so tied to unstable parts of the world. an economy built to last where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. we can do this. i know we can because we've done

it before. at the end of world war ii when another jennergeneration of heroes return home from combat they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. my grandfather, a veteran of patton's army, got the chance to go to college on the gi bill. my grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line was part of a work force that turned out the best products on earth. the two of them shared the optimism of a nation that had triumphed over a depression and fascism. they understood they were part of something larger. that they were contributing to a story of success that every american had a chance to share. the basic american promise that

if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college and put a little away for retirement. the defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. no challenge is more urgent, no debate a more important. we will not settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of americans barely get by. or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules. what's at stake aren't

democratic values or republican values. but american values. and we have to reclaim them. let's remember how we got here. long before the recession when jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores, technology made businesses more efficient but also made some jobs obsolete. folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before. but most hard working americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren't and personal debt that kept piling up. in 2008, the house of cards collapsed. we learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn't afford or understand them. banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people's money. regulators had looked the other way or didn't have the authority

to stop the bad behavior. it was wrong. it was irresponsible. and it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt and left innocent, hard working americans holding the bag. in the six months before i took office, we lost nearly 4 million jobs. and we lost another 4 million before our policies were in full effect. those are the facts. but so are these. in the last 22 months, businesses have created more than 3 million jobs. . last year, they created the

most jobs since 2005. american manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. together we've agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. and we put in place new rules to hold wall street accountable so a crisis like this never happens again. the state of our union is getting stronger. and we've come too far to turn back now. as long as i'm president, i will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum, but i intend to fight obstruction with action. and i will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic

crisis in the first place. . no, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt and phony financial problems. tonight i want to speak about how we move forward and lay out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last. an economy built on american manufacturing, american energy, skills for american workers and renewal of american values. this blueprint begins with american manufacturing. on the day i took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. some even said we should let it die. with a million jobs at stake, i refused to let that happen.

in exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. we got workers and automakers to settle their differences. we got the industry to retool and restructure. today general motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker. chrysler has grown faster in the u.s. than any major car company. ford is investing billions in u.s. plants and factories. and together the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs. we bet on american workers. we bet on american ingenuity. and tonight the american auto

industry is back. what's happening in detroit can happen in other industries. it can happen in cleveland and pittsburgh and raleigh. we can't bring every job back that's left our shore, but right now it's getting more expensive to do business in places like china. meanwhile, america is more productive. a few weeks ago the ceo of masterlock told me that it now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home. today, for the first time in 15 years masterlock's unionized plant in milwaukee is running at

full capacity. so we have a huge opportunity at this moment to bring manufacturing back, but we have to seize it. tonight my message to business leaders is simple. ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed. we should start with our tax code. right now companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in america get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. it makes no sense. and everyone knows it. so let's change it. first, if you're a business that wants to outsource jobs, you

shouldn't get a tax deduction for doing it. that money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like masterlock that decide to bring jobs home. second, no american company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. from now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. and every pen should gony should go towards lowering taxes for jobs that stay here and hire here in

america. third, if you're an american manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. if you're a high tech manufacturer you should double the tax break you get for making your products here. if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment or training for new workers. so my message -- my message is simple. it is time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in america. send me these tax reforms and i will sign them right away. we're also making it easier for american businesses to sell products all over the world.

two years ago i set a goal of doubling u.s. exports over five years. with the bipartisan trade agreements we signed into law, we're on track to meet that goal ahead of schedule. soon there will be millions of new customers for goods in panama, colombia and south korea. soon there will be new cars on the streets of seoul imported from detroit and toledo and chicago. i will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for american products. and i will not stand by when our competitors don't play by the rules. we brought trade cases against china at nearly twice the rate of the last administration, and it's made a difference.

over a thousand americans are working today because we stopped a surge in chinese tires, but we need to do more. it's not right when another country lets our movies, music and software be pirated. it's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they're heavily subsidized. tonight i'm announcing the creation of a trade enforcement unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trading practices in countries like china. there will be more inspection ss. there will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders, and this congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over american manufacturing when it comes to accessing financing or new markets like russia. our workers are the most productive on earth, and if the playing field is level, i promise you, america will always

win. i also hear from many business leaders who want to hire in the united states but can't find workers with the right skills. growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. think about that. openings at a time when millions of americans are looking for work. it's inexcusable. and we know how to fix it. jackie bray is a single mom from north carolina who was laid off from her job as a mechanic. then siemens opened a gas turbine factory in charlotte and formed a partnership with central piedmont community college. the company helped the college

design courses in laser and robotics training. it paid jackie's tuition, then hired her to help operate their plant. i want every american looking for work to have the same opportunity as jackie did. join me in a national commitment to train 2 million americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. . my administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. model partnerships between businesses like siemens and community colleges in places like charlotte and orlando and louisville are up and running. now, you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers, places that teach people skills that

businesses are looking for right now. from data management to high-tech manufacturing. and i want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs so that from now on people like jackie have one program, one website and one place to go for all the information and help that they need. it is time to turn our unemployment system into a re-employment system that puts people to work. . these reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. but to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier. for less than 1% of what our nation spends on education each year, we've convinced nearly every state in the country to

raise their standards for teaching and learning. the first time that's happened in a generation. but challenges remain. and we know how to solve them. at a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced states to lay off thousands of teachers. we know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. a great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. most teachers work tirelessly with modest pay. sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies just to make a difference. teachers matter. so instead of bashing them or defending the status quo, let's

offer schools a deal. give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job and reward the best ones. and in return, grant schools flexibility to teach with creativity and passion, to stop teaching to the test, and to replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn. that's a bargain worth making. . we also know that when students don't walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. when students are not allowed to drop out, they do better.

so tonight, i am proposing that every state, every state requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18. when kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. at a time when americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in july. extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves millions of middle class families thousands of dollars. and give more young people the

chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work study jobs in the next five years. of course, it's not enough for us to increase student aid. we can't just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition. we'll run out of money. states also need to do their part by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets, and colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down. recently i spoke with a group of college presidents who have done just that. some schools redesigned courses to help students finish more quickly. some use better technology. the point is, it's possible. so let me put colleges and universities on notice. if you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down.

higher education can't be a luxury. it is an economic imperative that every family in america should be able to afford. let's also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge. the fact that they aren't yet american citizens. many were brought here as small children, are american through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. others came more recently to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else. that doesn't make sense. i believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. that's why my administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. that's why there are fewer

illegal crossings than when i took office. the opponents of action are out of excuses. we should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now. . but if election year politics keeps congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let's at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our lab, start new businesses, defend this country. send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. i will sign it right away.

. you see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country. that means women should earn equal pay for equal work. it means we should support everyone who's willing to work and every risk taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next steve jobs. after all, innovation is what america has always been about. most new jobs are created in start-ups and small business. let's pass an agenda that helps them succeed. tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow.

expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs. both parties agree on these ideas. so put them in a bill and get it on my desk this year. innovation also demands basic research. today the discoveries taking place in our federally financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched, new lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet. don't gut these investments in our budget. don't let other countries win the race for the future. support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the internet, to new american jobs and new american industries.

and nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in american-made energy. over the last three years, we've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration. and tonight i'm directing my administration to open more than 75% of our potential off-shore oil and gas resources. right now, right now, american oil production is the highest that it's been in eight years. that's right. eight years. not only that, last year we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years. but with only 2% of the world's

oil reserves, oil isn't enough. this country needs an all-out, all of the above strategy, that develops every available source of american energy. . a strategy that's cleaner, cheaper and full of new jobs. we have a supply of natural gas that can last america nearly 100 years. and my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. the experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. i'm requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. america will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our

citizens at risk. the development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don't have to choose between our environment and our economy. and by the way, it was public research dollars over the course of 30 years that helped develop the technology to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock. reminding us that government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground. now, what's true for natural gas is just as true for clean energy. in three years our partnership with the private sector has already positioned america to be the world's leading manufacturer of high tech batteries. because of federal investments,

renewable energy use has nearly doubled. and thousands of americans have jobs because of it. when bryan ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture he said he worried that at 55 nobody would give him a chance. but he found work at energetx, a wind turbine factory. before that they only made luxury yachts. today it's hiring workers like bryan who said, i'm proud to be working in the industry of the future. our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don't always come right away. some technologies don't pan out. some companies fail. but i will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. i will not walk away from

workers like bryan. i will not feed the wind or solar or battery industry to china because we refuse to make the same commitment here. we subsidize oil companies for a century. that's long enough. it's time to end the taxpayer give aways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable and double down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. half clean energy tax credits, create new jobs. we can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. the differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to

pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change, but there's no reason why congress shouldn't at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. so far you haven't acted. well, tonight i will. i'm directing my administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. and i'm proud to announce that the department of defense, working with us, the world's largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history. with the navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter million homes a year. . of course, the easiest way to

save money is to waste less energy. so here's a proposal. help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade. america will have less pollution, more manufacturing, more jobs for construction workers who need them. send me a bill that creates these jobs. building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair america's infrastructure. so much of america needs to be rebuilt. we've got crumbling roads and bridges. a power grid that wastes too much energy. an incomplete high speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural america from selling her

products all over the world. during the great depression, america built the hoover dam and the golden gate bridge. after world war ii, we connected our states with a system of highways. democratic and republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today. in the next few weeks, i will sign an executive order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. but you need to fund these projects. take the money we're no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation building right here at home.

. there's never been a better time to build. especially since the construction industry was one of the hardest hit when the housing bubble burst. of course, construction workers weren't the only ones who were hurt. so were millions of innocent americans who have seen their home values decline. and while government can't fix the problem on its own, responsible homeowners shouldn't have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief. and that's why i'm sending this congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage by refinancing at historically low rates. no more red tape, no more run around from the banks. a small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won't add to the

deficit. and will give those banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust. let's never forget. millions of americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same. it's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. no bailouts, no handouts and no copouts. an america built to last insists on responsibility from everybody. we've all paid the price for lenders who sold mortgages to people who couldn't afford them. and buyers who knew they couldn't afford them. that's why we need smart regulations to prevent

irresponsible behavior. rules to prevent financial fraud or toxic dumping or faulty medical devices, these don't destroy the free market. they make the free market work better. there's no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary or too cumbersome. i've approved fewer regulations in first three years of my presidency than my republican predecessor did in his. i've ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don't make sense. we've already announced over 500 reforms and just a fraction of them will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years. we got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could afford some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a

year proving that they could contain a spill because milk was somehow classified as an oil. with a rule like that, i guess it was worth crying over spilled milk. now, i'm confident a farmer can contain a milk spill without a federal agency looking over his shoulder. . but i will not back down from making sure an oil company can contain the kind of oil spill we

saw in the gulf two years ago. i will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury poisoning or making sure that our food is safe and our water is clean. i will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage or charge women differently than men. . and i will not go back to the days when wall street was allowed to play by its own set of rules. the new rules we pass restore what should be any financial system's core purpose. getting funding to entrepreneurs with the best ideas and getting loans to responsible families who want to buy a home or start a business or send their kid to college.

so if you are a big bank or financial institution, you're no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers' deposits. you're required to write out a living will that details how you will pay the bills if you fail because the rest of us are not bailing you out ever again. . and if you're a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can't afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices, those days are over. today american consumers finally have a watchdog in richard cordray with one job to look out for them. .

we'll also establish a financial crimes unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large scale fraud and protect people's investments. some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there's no real penalty for being a repeat offender. that's bad for consumers, and it's bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. so pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count. and tonight i'm asking my attorney general to create a special unit of the federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to rid of the accounting practices that led to the mortgage crisis. that will hold accountable those though broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many americans. now return to the american

values of fair play and shared responsibility will help protect our people and our economy. but it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future. right now our most immediate priority is stopping a tax hike on 160 million working americans while the recovery is still fragile. . people cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. there are plenty of ways to get this done. so let's agree right here, right now, no side issues, no drama. pass the payroll tax cut without delay.

let's get it done. when it comes to the deficit, we've already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings. but we need to do more. and that means making choices. right now we're poised to spend nearly $1 trillion more on what was supposed to be a temporary tax break for the wealthiest 2% of americans. right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax codes, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle class households. right now warren buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest americans or do we want to keep our investments in everything else?

like education and medical research, a strong military and care for our veterans. because if we're serious about paying down our debt, we can't do both. the american people know what the right choice is. so do i. as i told the speaker this summer, i'm prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long-term costs of medicare and medicaid and strengthen social security so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors. but in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me and an awful lot of members of congress pay our fair share of taxes.

. tax reform should follow the buffett rule, if you make more than a million dollars a year, you should not pay less than 30% in taxes. and my republican friend tom coburn is right, washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. in fact, if you're earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn't get special tax subsidies or deductions. on the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year like 98% of american families, your taxes shouldn't go up. you are the one struggling with rising costs and sagging wages. you are the ones who need relief. now, you can call this class warfare all you want. but asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? most americans would call that

common sense. we don't begrudge financial success in this country. we admire it. when americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it's not because they envy the rich. it's because they understand that when i get a tax break i don't need and the country can't afford, it either adds to the deficit or somebody else has to make up the difference. like a senior on a fixed income or a student trying to get through school or a family trying to make ends meet. that's not right. americans know that's not right. they know that this generation's success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other and to the future of their country. and they know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared

responsibility. that's how we'll reduce our deficit. that's an america built to last. . now, i recognize that people watching tonight have differing views about taxes and debt, energy and health care. but no matter what party they belong to, i bet most americans are thinking the same thing right about now. nothing will get done in washington this year. or next year pf. or maybe even the year after that because washington is broken. can you blame them for feeling a little cynical? the greatest blow to our confidence in our economy last year didn't come from events

beyond our control. it came from a debate in washington over whether the united states would pay its bills or not. who benefited from that fiasco? i talked tonight about the deficit of trust between main street and wall street, but the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad. and it seems to get worse every year. some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money and politics. so together let's take some steps to fix that. send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of congress. i will sign it tomorrow. . let's limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact.

let's make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for congress can't lobby congress and vice versa. an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of washington. some of what's broken has to do with the way congress does its business these days. a simple majority is no longer enough to get anything, even routine business, passed through the senate. neither party has been blameless in these tactics. now, both parties should put an end to it. . for starters, i ask the senate to pass a simple rule that all judicial and public servant nominations receive an up or

down vote within 90 days. . the executive branch also needs to change. too often it's inefficient, outdated and remote. that's why i've asked this congress to grant me the authority to consolidate the federal bureaucracy so that our government is leaner, quicker and more responsive to the needs of the american people. finally, none of this can happen unless we also lower the temperature in this town. we need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction, that politics is about clinging to rigid ideologies instead of

building consensus around commonsense ideas. i'm a democrat, but i believe what republican abraham lincoln believed. the government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves and no more. . that's why my education reform offers more competition and more control for schools and states, that's why we're getting rid of regulations that don't work, that's why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a government program. on the other hand, even my republican friends who complain the most about government spending have supported federally financed roads and

clean energy projects and federal offices for the folks back home. the point is we should all want a smarter more effective government. and while we may not be able to bridge our biggest philosophical differences this year, we can make real progress. with or without this congress, i will keep taking actions that help the economy grow. but i can do a whole lot more with your help. because when we act together, there's nothing the united states of america can't achieve. . that's the lesson we've learned from our actions abroad over the last few years.

ending the iraq war has allowed us to strike decisive blows against our enemies, from pakistan to yemen, the al qaeda operatives who remain are scrambling knowing that they can't escape the reach of the united states of america. from this position of strength, we have begun to wind down the war in afghanistan. 10,000 of our troops have come home. 23,000 more will leave by the end of this summer. this transition to afghan lead will continue and we will build an enduring partnership with afghanistan so that it is never again a source of attacks against america. as the tide of war recedes, the wave of change has washed across the middle east and north

africa, from tunis to cairo, from sanaan to tripoli. a year ago gadhafi was one of the world's longest serving dictators, a murderer with american blood on his hands. today he is gone. and in syria, i have no doubt that the assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change cannot be reversed and that human dignity cannot be denied. . how this incredible transformation will end remains uncertain. but we have a huge stake in the outcome. and while it's ultimately up to the people of the region to decide their fate, we will advocate for those values that have served our own country so well.

we will stand against violence and intimidation. we will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings, men and women, christians, muslims and jews. we will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets because tyranny is no match for liberty. and we will safeguard america's own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends and our interests. look at iran. through the power of our dip lomb as ay a world that was once divided over iran's nuclear program now stands as one. the regime is more isolated than ever before. its leaders are faced with crippling sanctions and as long as they shirk their responsibilities this pressure will not relent. let there be no doubt, america is determined to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and i will take no options off

the table to achieve that goal. . but a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible. and far better. and if iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations. the renewal of american leadership can be felt across the globe. our oldest alliances in europe and asia are stronger than ever. our ties to the americas are deeper. our ironclad commitment -- and i mean ironclad to israel's security has meant the closest cooperation between our two countries in history.

. we've made it clear that america is a pacific power and a new beginning in burma has lit a new hope. from the co-ligs we built to secure nuclear materials to the missions we've led against hunger and disease, from the blows we dealt our enemies, to the enduring power of our moral example, america is back. anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that america is in decline or that our influence has waned doesn't know what they're talking about. . that's not the message we get from leaders around the world

who are eager to work with you. that's not how people feel from tokyo to berlin, from capetown to rio, where opinions of america are higher than they've been in years. yes, the world is changing. no, we can't control every event. but america remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs, and as long as i'm president, i intend to keep it that way. . that's why working with our military leaders, i proposed a new defense strategy that ensures we maintain the finest military in the world while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our budget. to stay one step ahead of our adversaries i've already sent this congress legislation that will secure our country from the

growing dangers of cyberthreats. above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. . as they come home, we must serve them as well as they've served us. that includes giving them the care and the benefits they have earned, which is why we've increased annual v.a. spending

every year i've been president. and it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation. with the bipartisan support of this congress, we're providing new tax credits to companies that hire vets. michelle and jill biden have worked to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. tonight i'm proposing a veterans jobs corps that will help our communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters so that america is as strong as those who defend her. . which brings me back to where i

began. those of us who have been sent here to serve can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops. when you put on that uniform, it doesn't matter if your black or white, asian, latino, native american, conservative, liberal, rich, poor, gay, straight. when you're marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. when you're in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit serving one nation, leaving no one behind. one of my proudest possessions is the flag that the s.e.a.l. team took with them on the mission to get bin laden.

on it are each of their names. some may be democrats, some may be republicans, but that doesn't matter. just like it didn't matter that day in the situation room when i sat next to bob gates, a man who was george bush's defense secretary, and hillary clinton, a woman who ran against me for president. all that mattered that day was the mission. no one thought about politics. no one thought about themselves. one of the young men involved in the raid later told me that he didn't deserve credit for the mission. it only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did their job. the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of control. the translated who kept others

from entering the compound. the troops who separated the women and children from the fight. the s.e.a.l.s who charged up the stairs. more than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other. because you can't charge up those stairs in the darkness and danger unless you know that there's somebody behind you watching your back. so it is with america. each time i look at that flag, i'm reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those 50 stars and those 13 stripes. no one built this country on their own. this nation is great because we built it together. this nation is great because we worked as a team. this nation is great because we

get each other's backs. and if we hold fast to that truth in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great, no mission too hard. as long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward and our future is hopeful and the state of our union will always be strong. thank you, god bless you and god bless the united states of america. >> a rouse recitation a reminder of why the nation is great from president obama, his state of the union address in an election year tonight. as we watch him say his good-byes to the front of the house. david gregory at the front of our analysis, what did you make of this? >> this is the power of the presidency that we've been talking about. this was a president who was very forceful, as we see

congresswoman giffords there. making another plea, hayes did last year, for congress to come together, for the two parties to come together. yet he knows as well as anybody that there's a deep philosophical divide about what government should be doing right now in great economic distress. this was his pitch for re-election. economic fairness is at the core of it. he wants to double argument, take it into the campaign in the fall. how many times did we hear the word "fairness" about economy, the taxes. this is the argument he wants to make. >> anything wrong with reminding people that as a nation we're best when we have each other's backs what is great about america? >> the other thing that struck me about this was that we know that the president paints the most presidential candidate that paints the optimistic picture does usually end up winning election or re-election. it was interesting. usually when you hear populism,

it can have a little bit of a tinge of anger or resentment in it. this was, if you will, the optimistic populism. basically we've got to start rooting for everything in here was definitely about america first, a little bit of nationalism in here, but in that optimistic tone saying we've got to build jobs here. let's make companies do it here, let people do their fair share. it's clear when you had aides admit we'll hear a lot of this on the campaign trail that this was an attempt to set the political agenda and the campaign's agenda. >> in fairness, the rich need to do more. that's what i really think is about the fairness argument. >> one more thing, by the way, about this speech. it felt like, hey, by the way, i've got a few things to say about in response to all the presidential candidates that have been attacking me for the last six weeks. and i'm going to say it. >> the first time he's talked about bin laden in depth since back when bin laden was killed. andrea mitchell?

>> he opened with that and with iraq. perhaps some would say took too much credit for progress in afghanistan. but the troops with bin laden the opening and resounding finish to his speak. and chuck has been saying we've been hearing on the campaign trail this mitt romney said that this president apologizing for america looking back to the cairo siege. any viewer watching this, despite personal prejudices pro or con or partisan difference, would look at this speech and it would be very hard to say he is apologizing for america. this is resoundingly positive and optimistic in every way. it becomes the predicate of the campaign because now he set the scale very high of all the things he said can be achieved. now he can campaign against congress for failing. >> chuck, if folks notice something nice in the chamber tonight that we noted and felt the need to explain, there were

more instances of applause on both sides of the aisle at once, it's because of a kind of pairing up system. it's what, second go around. >> it is. this was, of course, in the aftermath of the gabby giffords shooting, the state of the union was just a couple weeks after that. every member of congress found a bipartisan date, if you will. most of these members did it again this year. so you might have seen, somebody might notice, look he's getting -- it was still a very partisan applause that you heard, but it was sort of interspersed in the video. >> sprinkled more fully throughout the room. david? >> these speeches are about a president's vision about the future of the country, not just a report on where the country is, but a real vision. and again this is a re-election pitch in an election year. the white house believes quite firmly that whoever wins the vision for the future of the economy win this election. that's really what you heard.

you got contrast between all the things he talked about, programs big and small and the notion that we don't want to go back to what got us in the mess. that's the contrast. and we know if mitt romney is the nominee, is going to be the foil for people who are working the system in a way that the president thinks is unfair. >> and his mention of the buffett rule, proposing that millionaires lose deductions and that there be a minimum tax of 30% we're told is the detail on millionaires, that in such exquisite contrast with today being the day that mitt romney finally bowed to pressure by the media and others and gives the tax returns. and that effective rate was under 14% for 2010. >> i was going to ask you, chuck, how much of this, by percentage of this speech, was aimed at the republicans who have just been having at the president. 18 debates now. >> i felt like i had three or

four references, the envy. this is not envy when it comes to iz explanation of the buffett rule. that's a direct word used by romney in describing the attacks on him that were actually coming from newt gingrich. you heard the response to foreign policy that felt like a response to bothing in ing innewt gingrich and rick santorum. but we talked about the tone being optimistic. the word "america" may have been said more times than in a while in a state of the union. but it is still clear who he wants to be against. hey, you're mad at wall street, so i am. i'm setting up a criminal unit to go after them. i'm going to go prosecute them. hey, where was that three years ago? you're upset with the way congress works? so am i. you're upset with the rich not paying their fair share? so am i. >> and china. that with unsbened consequences. >> the president is just about at the doorway.

when he exits the door, a clock starts and halfway across the country at the war memorial in indianapolis, at an appointed moment, we will get the republican response tonight. we'll explain further, but it is by the governor of indiana, former head of omb under president bush, mitch daniels, who a lot of republicans have thought wistfully about, is the polite way to say, about this season when they've been faced with the alternatives. david gregory, you talked about this. just sunday the kind of fantasy football, as you called it, wish list of republicans not running that they wish they could draft into the race. >> look what's happening in the party right nout. you have republicans wringing their hands over whether romney is the guy, and if gingrich is

the guy, is that just the way to lose to obama. now mitch daniels, someone republicans wanted to get into the fray like a governor christie and decided not to do it. still dissatisfaction with the field out there and it could be underlined by what we hear tonight. >> bring us back to all the people who do love a good game of fantasy football. we're starting to hear the broker conventions and will someone enter late. correct me if i'm wrong, it's not going to happen. >> it's unlikely to happen. however, if newt gingrich wins florida, the panic that is going to set in in that chamber among republicans that want to win re-election, that want to hold the house, there is this low simmer right now. the assumption is, well, it's newt. he'll blow up, he'll shoot himself in the foot. romney will get this nomination, but if he loses florida, there will be some who panic. bill kristol and mitch daniels,

the conservative writer at the "weekly standard." you will hear a small drumbeat. reality is it's hard to do this. we live in the 20th century. we don't live in the 19th century where we do these smoke filled rooms, but there will be real chatter. >> we'll take a break and when we come back, the run-up to the republican response by governor h miustceldanidos a mitch daniels. please stay with us. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car is totaled we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy?

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it's a big time for the great city of indianapolis, by the way. tonight the location of the republican response specifically the war memorial and, of course, they are hosting the super bowl this year, though they got some bad news last night. danica patrick would not be in this year's indianapolis 500 because she's pursuing nascar as a racing series.

again, mitch daniels, the governor of that state, former omb official, former omb head. the really the darling of a whole lot of people in washington, d.c., who like his brand of politics. by all indications tonight we're in for a fairly strongly worded and full throated republican response. after which we'll be talking with david plouffe, widely considered the lead architect of the obama election effort last time and governor romney will be with us to take a few questions. here now, governor daniels. >> greetings from the home of super bowl xlvi. the status of loyal opposition imposes on those out of power some serious responsibility. to show respect for the presidency and its occupant. to express agreement where it exists. republicans tonight salute our president, for instance, for his aggressive purr soviet the

murderers of 9/11 and for bravely backing long overdue changes in public education. i would personally add to that list admiration pore the strong family commitment that he and the first lady have displayed to a nation sorely needing such examples. on this evening presidents naturally seek to find the sunny side of our national condition, but when president obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true. the president did not cause the economic and fiscal crises that continue in america tonight, but he was elected on a promise to fix them, and he cannot claim that the last three years have made anything but worse. the percentage of americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. one in five men of prime working age and nearly half of all persons under 30 did not go work today. in three short years, an unprecedented explosion of spending with borrowed money has added trillions to an already

unaffordable national debt, and yet the president has put us on a course to make it radically worse in the years ahead. the federal government now spends one of every four dollars in the entire economy. it borrows one of every three dollars it spends. no nation, no entity lar other small, public or private can thrive or survive intact with debts as huge as ours. the president's grand experiment in trickle-down government has held back rather than sped economic recovery. he seems to sincerely believe we can build a middle class out of government jobs paid for with borrowed dollars. in fact, it works the other way. a government as big and bossy as this one is maintained on the backs of the middle class and those who hope to join it. those punished most by the wrong turns of the last three years are those unemployed or underemployed tonight and those so discouraged they've abandoned

the search for work altogether. and no one's been more tragically harmed than the young people of this country, the first generation in memory to face a future less promising than their parents did. as republicans, our first concern is for those waiting tonight to begin or resume the climb up life's ladder. we do not accept that ours will ever be a nation of have and have nots. we must always be a nation of haves and soon to haves. in our economic stagnation and indebtedness we're only a short distance behind greece, spain and other european countries now facing economic catastrophe. but ours is a fortunate land. because the world uses our dollar for trade, we have a short grace period to deal with our dangers. the time is running out. if we're to avoid the fate of europe and those once great nation of history that fell from the position of world leadership. so 2012 is a year of true

opportunity, maybe our last, to restore an america of hope and upward mobility and greater equality. the challenges aren't matters of ideology or party preference. the problems are simply mathematical and the answers are purely practical. an opposition that would earn its way back to leadership must offer not just criticism of failures that anyone can see, but a positive and credible plan to make life better, particularly for those aspiring to make a better life for themselves. republicans accept this duty gratefully. the roots back to an america of promise and to a solvent america that can pay its bills and protect its vulnerable start in the same place. the only way up for those suffering tonight and the only way out of the dead end of debt into which we've driven is a private economy that begins to grow and create jobs, real jobs, at a much faster rate than today.

contrary to the president's constant disparagement of people in business, it's one of the noblest of human pursuits. the late steve jobs, what a fitting name he had, created more of them than all those stimulus dollars the president borrowed and blew. out here in indiana, when a business person asked me what he can do for our state i say first, make money, be successful. if you make a profit, you'll have something left to hire someone else. and some to donate to the good causes we love. the extremism that stifles the development of home grown energy or cancels a perfectly safe pipeline that would employ ten of thousand ors jacks up consumer utility bills for no improvement in either human health or world temperature is a pro-poverty policy. it must be replaced by a passionate pro-growth approach that breaks all ties and calls all close ones in favor of private sector jobs, that

restore opportunity for all and generate the public revenues to pay our bills. that means a dramatically simpler tax system of fewer loopholes and lower rates. a pause in the mindless piling on of expensive new regulations that devour dollars that otherwise could be used to hire somebody. it means maximizing on the new domestic energy technologies that are the best break our economy's gotten in years. there's a second item on our national must do list. we must unite to save the safety net. medicare and social security have served us well and that must continue. but after half and three-quarters of a century respectively, it's not surprising they need some repair. we can preserve them unchanged and untouched for those now in or near retirement, but we must fashion a new affordable safety net so future americans are protected, too. decades ago, for instance, we

could afford to send millionaires pension checks and pay medical bills for even the wealthiest among us. now we can't. so the dollars we have should be devoted to those who need them most. the mortal enemies of social security and medicare are those who in contempt of the plain arithmetic continue to mislead americans that we should change nothing. listening to them much longer will mean that these proud programs implode and take the american economy with them. it will mean that coming generations are denied the jobs they need in their youth and the protection they deserve in their later years. it's absolutely so that everyone should contribute to our national recovery including, of course, the most affluent among us. there are smart ways and dumb ways to do this. the dumb way is to raise rates in a broken grocery complex tax system choking off growth without bringing in the revenues we need to meet our debts.

the better course is to stop sending the wealthy benefits they do not need and stop providing them so many tax preferences that distort our economy and do little or nothing to foster growth. it's not fair and it's not true for the president to attack republicans in congress as obstacles on these questions. they and they alone have passed bills to reduce borrowing, reform entitlements and encourage new job creation. only to be shot down time and time again by the president and his democratic senate allies. this year it falls to republicans to level with our fellow citizens about this reality. if we fail to act to grow the private sector and save the safety net, nothing else will matter much. but to make such action happen, we also must work in ways we republicans have not always practiced to bring americans together. no feature of the obama presidency has been sadder than

its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some americans by castigating others. naz previous moments of national danger, we americans are all in the same boat. if we drift, quarrelling and paralyzed over a niagara of debt, we will all suffer regardless of income, race, gender or other category. if we fail to shift to a pro-jobs, pro-growth economic policy, there will never be enough public revenue the pay for our safety net, national security or whatever size government we decide to have. as a loyal opposition who put patriotism and national success ahead of party or ideology or any self-interest, we say that anyone who will join us in the cause of growth and solvency is our ally and our friend. we will speak the language of unity. let us rebuild our finances and the safety net and reopen the door to the stairway upward.

any other disagreements we may have can wait. you know, the most troubles contention in our national life these days isn't about economics or policy at all. it's about us as a free people. in two alarming ways that contention is that we americans just can't cut it any more. in word and deed, the president and his allies tell us that we can just not handle ourselves in this complex, perilous world without their benevolent protection. left to ourselves we might pick the wrong health insurance, the wrong mortgage, the wrong school for our kids. why, unless they stop us, we might pick the wrong light bulb. the second view, which i admit some republicans also seem to hold, is that we americans are no longer up to the job of self-government. we can't do the simple math that proves the unaffordability of today's safety net programs or all the government we now have.

we'll fall for the con job that says we can just plow ahead and someone else will pick up the tab. we'll allow ourselves to be pitted one against the other, blaming our neighbor for troubles, worldwide trends or our own government has caused. 2012 must be the year we prove the doubters wrong, the year we strike out boldly, not merely to avoid national bankruptcy but to say in a new generation and america's premier world of opportunity. republicans will speak for those who believe in the dignity and capacity of the individual citizen, who believe that government is meant to serve the people rather than supervise them, who trust americans enough to tell them the plain truth about the fix we're in and to lay before them a specific, credible program of change big enough to meet themental emergency we're facing. we'll face our positive with

confidence because we know there's still an american people born to liberty. there's nothing wrong with the state of our union that the american people address as free born mature citizens cannot set right. republicans in 2012 welcome all our countrymen to a program of renewal that rebuilds the dream for all and makes our city on a hill shine once again. thanks for listening. good night. >> from indianapolis, the governor of indiana, mitch daniels. and andrea mitchell, let's say half of chuck's theory comes true and, you know, newt gingrich wins florida. mitch daniels remains governor of indiana. the republican party go on because voters have a funny way of deciding for themselves what's going on in this cycle. did he just do himself a favor and did he just deliver a welcome message to the base? >> i think it was really a unifying message to the base. this is a message sort of an eat your spinach message on the budget, but he talked about

means testing but also eliminating text preferences, not raising tax rates. that's a purely conservative republican message. it would appeal to tea party supporters, i would appeal to ron paul supporters, the economic side, but with a much more broad based foreign policy. he is a real mainstream conservative and a very appealing one. if he taken himself out of the race. but he can always be someone they can turn to in some way. >> another break. then our coverage will continue with senior counselor, senior advisor to the president david plouffe and massachusetts governor mitt romney both with us live. ssport? . past five years' tax returns. high school report cards. and i'm gonna need to see a receipt for that watch you're wearing. you know, you really should provide us with a checklist of documents we're gonna need up front. who do you think i am? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide a checklist of the mortgage documents you'll need up front. it helps keep you in the

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we're back and from washington we're joined by one of the chief architects of the obama election effort four years ago. david plouffe is senior adviser to president obama. and david, thank you for being with us. as a cynic here in the studio put it, and we won't name any names, the message, the takeaway from the president in one view tonight, nothing of real consequence is going to come out of this chamber in the next legislative term. we'll settle this in the campaign, but in the meantime,

here are a few things i believe about our country. true or false? >> false, brian. thanks for having me. you know, the president laid out tonight a very optimistic blueprint for how we really build in this country an economy that's built to last, that rewafrds hard work and responsibility, make sure everybody does their fair share. now the president made clear he's not going to stand by and let gridlock and inaction block progress. we'll continue to do thins in the area of energy and housing, holding financial firms accountable, protecting consumer. but we do thing that congress will and must act on some things to help the economy and the middle class. we thing there are areas like energy, education reform, building roads and bridges, we think there's common ground and we ought to pursue this. >> this speech comes by dint of scheduling as a barn burner in the gop race. an historic first in the modern ear remarks the first three contests, three different winners.

our debate last night showed the distinct differences between the two at the top of the race. is that okay with you or are you now in the business of fighting for message time? >> we went through a very long primary four years ago, as you remember. this one seems like it will go a long time, too. we have no control over this. we'll have an opponent at some point and when we do we're ready for that person the president should do everything to help the middle class regain security, to create jobs here, to focus on manufacturing energy. that's what our focus will be. there will be plenty of time for politics and we're eager to make our case about the direction the country needs to take. there's work at the white house and for congress to do and to really work with the private sector, with the business community to continue to create jobs, continue this momentum we've seen in our economy. >> is it still true that the opposition research team, the obama re-elect effort is focusing its efforts on mitt romney and his eventual nomination?

>> listen, there's no way to know what's going to happen. that's been a topsy-turvy race as these things tend to be. what's interesting is whoever we run against, newt gingrich, mitt romney, rick santorum, they're going to offer the same economic policieses that got us into the great recession fp for your viewers tonight, if you liked letting wall street write its own rules and tax and economic policy geared toward the superwealthy, if you like the economic policies that led to the erosion of middle class security and something that bordered on the great depression, those are what they're offering. but if you want a blueprint for an economy that really makes things here in america, that focuses on the skills and education we need, a new darnwn of american energy, that's what the president laid out tonight. people are sitting at home saying we've had 22 months of job growth. but it's not enough. the president laid out the passport. the last thing we should do is go back to the same policies

that created that recession. whether it's speaker gingrich or mitt romney or senator santorum, that's what they're offering. >> thank you very much for your time and for taking our questions, david. we will take a break in our coverage. on the other side wul weil talk to governor romney. a sing powerful medicine and natural ingredients from around the world. he called it vicks vaporub. today, the vicks journey continues. introducing new vicks nature fusion cold & flu syrup. powerful multi-symptom medicine flavored with natural honey instead of artificial flavors and dyes. have you tried this yet? save on vicks nature fusion and other innovative products with p&g brandsaver.

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former massachusetts

governor mitt romney has been kind enough tonight to join us from orlando. after all, we did see a lot of each other at last night's tampa debate. we invited newt gingrich to appear tonight. he declined because of scheduling. he'll appear tomorrow morning on "today." governor, thank you for being with us. once again, did you hear anything in the president's speech that you liked? >> well, he said a number of things that i thought were interesting. he basically adopted a lot of thoughts that we've had on the campaign trail. unfortunately, what he says and what he has done are so dramatically different that you have to be a little surprised. the biggest difference, of course, is that he seems to think america's on the right track and things are going well. and here in florida, as i go around and talk to people, yesterday with eight people that are out of work or have lost their homes, 9.9% unemployment here, home values down, foreclosures up. people are very concerned. the idea that we're on the right track is something which is very foreign to the people here.

>> did you hear anything that seemed to be tailored at you. the headline tonight on the website politico that covers your industry reads president obama takes aim at mitt romney in state of the union address. >> well, in some respects i have to compliment the president on adopting a whole series of ideas that i've been speaking about for the last several years. if you want to get the economy going, lower corporate tax rates. he's raised them. lower regulation. of course he's added regulation at three times the rate of his predecessor. take advantage of our energy resources. he's really held off on coal on oil on gas on nuclear. then he said crack down on china. those are the things i've been say. what he's been doing is the exact opposite. that's why it's so hard for this economy to recover. >> the president notably tonight said, quote, we don't begrudge financial success in this country. we admire it. last night on the eve of today's release of your tax returns, i

asked you about them. and it's fair to ask tonight, will you be explaining further the story of them, the back story, especially as you run there in florida and this critical race because of the amounts we've learned about today equaling unfathomable wealth for most americans who will read about them and hear about them? >> well, brian, actually, the financial disclosure forms that we put out several months ago indicated what my assets were, what my net worth is. so that's no particular new news. but i'm sure people ask questions. as you know, i pay a lot of taxes. millions of dollars in taxes. if you add together my taxes and my charitable contributions the most recent year over 40% goes to charity and taxes. i'm hoping to make a contribution. but i've been extraordinarily successful. i didn't inherit that money, i made made that money.

and in the process, i've put people in jobs. i'm proud of what i do and want to make a contribution to get more people to work. that's one of the reasons i'm running for president. >> what would you say to a fellow wealthy guy, mayor bloomberg of new york made his fortune in the information serves industry. he pays the highest personal income tax rate, 35%. he opposes tax provisions that allows some wealthy individuals to pay a lower rate and went on to say if it were up to him, he would end the concept of so-called curried interest. >> you know, we have a low rate for capital gains, which is roughly 15% tax rate. and there are really two reasons for that. one is that the entities that are taxed at the corporate level pay a 35% rate before the capital gain, which is the 15%. you have two layers of tax, 35 at the corporate, then 15 at the individual for capital gains. in total half is being taken by

government. the second reason is to encourage people to invest in building new enterprises and starting companies and growing companies and adding jobs. if you raise the capital gains tax rate, there would be less money going into creating jobs. if people want more jobs, they don't want to see higher tax rates on job creators. >> did it get tougher for you to tell your story and attract your interests in the state where you are now? we started this conversation tonight you talked about the economic troubles. we were down there last night. over 40% of homeowners are under water. they owe more than the house is worth. i noted rick santorum already used the word "gazillions of dollars" to describe your personal wealth. people are talking about exotic investments in switzerland and luxembourg and the cayman islands. did this make it tougher for you

despite you wanting to be more transparent and release the tax return? >> the people in florida that i talk with and i spoke with a large group of folks today, but i sat around a table just yesterday with a number of folks. they want someone who knows how to fix things. they're not interested in attacking someone else because they've been successful. they're interested in finding someone who understands how to get this economy going again. they've watched this president over the last three years and for the first two years, by the way, who had full rein in congress. he could have done anything he wanted to do. now he's talking about the new ideas, where was he during the first two years? why didn't he get these done during the first two years? they want someone who can get the job done and knows how america work. i'm the only person who has actually run something before. run two business, run an olympics. run a state. that's experience that people want to see helping get this economy going again. people here in florida, they're tired of this almost 10% unemployment.

they're tired of record foreclosures. they want help. they want someone who knows how to provide it. >> governor romney, thank you very much. you've got another debate thursday night. at this rate we'll probably see you in another couple of days. good seeing you last night in tampa. thank you for your time and attention tonight. >> thank, brian. good to be with you. >> former massachusetts governor mitt romney with us from orlando. david gregory, first extended conversation he's had today. >> for the first time i heard governor romney talk about his tax rate and really try to make a case for it. which is not to apologize for being successful and help americans understand that there are two layers of taxes to somebody who is just earning on capital gains and trying to make that case. on the face of it, sure, it's a difficult sell for a lot of americans who don't pay taxes at that rate, but that's what he's got to explain in more detail and try to neutralize in issue. >> we've looked at social media going back to the start of the

president's speep, chuck if you had to sum up the buzz and zeitgeist, what would it be? >> the president's base, if you want to look on the twitter base, they're very excited about the speech because every time he does populism, that does fire up the progressive liberals -- it is, progressive liberal base. but mitch daniels speech is playing well with conservatives. those folks are hang wringd wringing about this race right now. >> they have a funny way of sorting thing for themselves. >> the president and mitch daniels couldn't have more disparate vufs america. that's a good argument to have, that's a good debate. >> what have you seen on social media? >> gabby giffords for one got a lot of comments. we looked at the tweets per minute. the spilled milk line wasn't exactly a barn burner in the paper -- >> but seriously folks. >> over 4,000 tweets per minute on that.

they had a picture that went along with that they posted on twitter as well. they're very engaged there. >> last night former speaker gingrich's soliloquy on beet sugar versus cane sugar did well in our debate. we thank our colleague here. we'll go off the air on what was, by my measure, the emotional high point of the night. what an incredible astounding personal achievement for the congressman from arizona who will now leave this chamber by tendering her resignation letter tomorrow. for her to make it to the chamber. and you see the hug from the president of the united states. it was unfathomable, unimaginable about a year ago tonight. that does it for our live coverage. your late local news is next. for all of us, thank you for being with us.