election season in newark. let's leave it until then. we mention chris christy by christie by name, didn't take any shots ahim. we have a great working relationship right now. because we're not putting partisanship ahead of progress. he and i disagree on everything from he's a meat eater i'm a vegetarian. sometimes he eats raw meat. >> in a political sense. >> of course. of course. >> my point is right now the governor and i -- people are trying to destabilize. that i walk out of my door at newark and people need job and education. newark is going through the biggest era of economic development since the 1950's. i'm not here to bash my governor. i'm here to go back to new jersey on friday and work with him. when it becomes an election season if i choose to run -- if i choose to run, which say huge if then we'll leave politics for that season. i'm interested in progress and working with people.

>> woodruff: the mayor of newark, new jersey cory booker. we're pleased to have you with us. great to see you thank thank you very much woonch we've been competing with a group i guess it's ledisi. you can clear that up. >> reporter: i'm on the floor with he had markey one -- ed markey. nobody calls massachusetts a battleground state but how much could turnout for the top of ticket drive what is a critical senatorial race? >> the turnout in massachusetts is going to go off the charts. we're on obama loving state. once people cast that vote for obama to set the course for another four years, thinks to going to auger for elizabeth warren very well. i think there's going to be a lot of momentum in her direction. >> reporter: when voters talk to each other is there

consciousness that the senate is so site and a change of seats could mean so much to massachusetts? >> i think today it's not the case but within the final two weeks, yes. i think it's going to be very clear that the senate is in the balance and each one of these senate seats depending on how each day votes will determine whether or not there's a progressive on energy, on health care, on foreign policy or there's a very conservative member who is making those decisions. i think that's going to drive a lot of the vote in massachusetts. >> reporter: is it tough to drive turnout when a lot of people have experienced underwater mortgages, loss of equity in their homes when they've lost overtime, feeling not as wealthy as they were a couple years ago? >> i can't speak for the whole country but in massachusetts, you are born a voter and a red sox fan. so people just know they have to vote and that's why our turnout is usually right at the top of

the list and it will be the same this year. >> reporter: most members of house have safe seats because of way we do redistricting. what do you do in the last 60 days? what keeps you busy? >> as you are saying the house of representatives and the senate could is the balance. new hampshire could be decisive. many of us are helping barack obama in new hampshire as well. that could very well decide the presidency. there's a lot of work to be done even by members who come from so-called state seats, a lot of work to be done. an historic set of decisions are going to be made this year. >> suarez: ed markey thank you for talking us to. >> ifill: joining us is nancy pelosi of california. welcome. >> my pleasure to be here. >> ifill: quite an impressive group of democratic women on the floor. >> thank you.

>> ifill: people look at the house of representatives and it seems like a drag for anybody running for office how do you balance that out? >> i think you are seeing how many house democrats are participating, nearly 30 in the presentations made here. we're very proud of the work we did when we were in the majority, most productive congress some say in modern history at least for several decades. i disapprove of now up to. i don't know who approve of the obstruction and lack of ideas that is going forth. but i don't think anybody thinks we're a drain. everything is eager as you saw congressman markey. our members are fang out to help each other, to help win the house for the democrats, to help elect barack obama and joe biden. that's the most important thing. >> woodruff: but it's a challenge. the republicans picked up how much seats in the house in 2010?

it was a huge year for the tea party, the republicans, you lost the speaker's gavel and the consensus seems to be it's a really long hall for democrats to win back the house? >> what i say is don't agonize, organize. it's exactly what we're doing. we have great candidates and that is the most important part of it. we the only need to win 25 seats. although they won many seatings, i wasn't that many votes. only 250,000 votes that lost the majority in the house. we think in a presidential year that we can pick up at least 25 seats with president obama at the top of the ticket. >> you think you can regain the majority? >> i think it's very close. i think under the leadership of steve israel, our chairman, it's a 50/50 thing. it could could this way or that way by a few votes but we're not ceding one grain of safnld we're fighting every fight, precinct

by -- mnchts ano ymano. >> not men, mano hand. >> my being illiterate. >> i'm italian -- [ laughter ] >> the democrats have been weakest on the house level and s- whites with high school and some college, middle class. you are a party that talked so much tonight and all week about the middle class. why are those people not voting democratic? >> some of them are not. some of them are not. what i think we have to do is talk about the path that president obama wants to take us down. the path that he was on before, before the obstructionist republicans took over and blocked him at every turn and people have to make a choice between going back to where the -- the poll at thiscies under -- policies under

president president bush or going forward and this is on jobs and political reform and emphasis on reducing the deficit. you remember when president clinton left office we were in $5.6 trillion until surplus. under president bush it was turned around amount by the same amount an $11 trillion swing. i hear saying deciding voters concerned about the deficit but the republicans never cared about the deficit when president bush was amassing it during his eight years in office. >> ifill: instead they are spending time talking about unemployment rate, mark? >> i know your capacity and unsurpassed ability to fund raise. you've raised over $300 million. the longest established campaign

reformer in washington told me nobody is more committed to finance change that he has met than nancy pelosi. what would you do to change this? we're awash in a wave of money this year. what would you change? >> i issued a dare. d, disclose i'm nancy pelosi a prove this will message. i have to say that but billionaires putting hundreds of millions on the table do not have to identify themselves as sponge an ad. disclosure is transparency, sunshine very important. amend the constitution to overturn citizens united. it was a wrong decision. we have to begin the process. we can do it. reform, d-a-r, reform. i'm talking about campaign finance reform to the extent of public financing of campaigns

and e elect performance. we have to do that to take the democracy back from the pliew -- pliew tock casey it's become under citizens united. our founders sacrificed for the government of many inch how much enthusiasm is key to getting barack obama reelected? >> i think it's an unusual year in that i think enthusiasm on both sides is really going to determine the outcome of the election. i think you've seen enough time go by where people are competing for a sliver of votes, maybe a million and a half votes and that is one thing. but at the same time, people are digging deeply into their base for turnout mano y mano,

door-to-door. we learned a new term. the minority leader in the house, nancy pelosi. >> thank you. >> woodruff: thank you very much. go back to ray on the floor. >> suarez: i'm with congresswoman barbara lee, a veteran member of the house from oakland, california. >> woodruff: i think we had a little difficulty there with ray's microphone. we're going to -- we're going to try to get ray back. let's see ray. this is the mayor of minimum april list. his name is r.t. rybak. he's in the third term as the mayor of minimum -- minneapolis. >> in minimum april list president president obama's leadership has helped us train 500 unemployed worker and clean energy jobs.

in denver, hundreds more are working on the commuter line. in minimum -- minimum -- minneapolis where we know the tragedy of bridge collapse thank you president obama for rebuilding the bridge and that bridge in lowfl and -- louisville and bridges and infrastructure across this country. thank you, president obama. president obama did all this and much, much more in spite of a republican party that said it's number one goal wasn't to solve any of these problems. they said the number one goal was to stop barack obama. think about this, ladies and gentlemen, in the middle of one of greatest crisis in american history they sat on their hands and play politics. look, i was raised a republican, but i don't recognize a once proud party hijacked by extremists who driven it off the flat ernl they pretend we're living on.

they spent eight years creating a colossal mess, and the last four doing almost nothing except, of course, trying to blame it on president obama. hey, pyromantic -- pyromaniacs shouldn't blame the firefighters. now mitt romney wants to go back to the bad old days that got us into this mess. he would give up everything that creates opportunity for the middle class just to pay for the massive tax breaks for those who are already very, very comfortable. romney's message is clear: in tough times, folks, you are on your own. now, president obama knows something different. he knows that america became great because in tough times we come together. my pioneer relatives didn't cross the plains alone they did it in a wagon train. my immigrant relatives who settled in a tiny town in

minnesota could succeed in their general store on main street could suck seed because they needed the farmers and the farmers needed them. when it snows in minnesota today, all over town, people look in on the elderly neighbor and shovel their walk. when my dad died and left my mom with three kids and a drugstore in the inner city, they picked up the pieces and i owe everything to her, but my mom would be the first to tell you she didn't do it alone. we were surround bade community of support. in tough times we come together. it's the most basic american value. it's the value that built the midwest. president obama learned that from his kansasan family and he believes where every person, hubert humphrey said, can walk out of shadows and into the

bright sunlight of equal rights where you can serve the country you love without hiding who you love and every child -- every child -- can live the american dream. we come together in tough times. you know, back on that cold day in buffalo center, i was so incredibly proud to support a man named barack obama. i am so much more proud today. back then i hoped he would be a great leader and today i know it. they tried to stop barack obama but they couldn't because they underestimated president obama and more important they underestimated you. president obama has earned every gray hair on his head. fighting for the middle class and every american, now it's time to stand up, america, and fight for this man as hard as he has fought for you. if you do that, we've come a

long way but the best is yet to come. let's go get 'em! >> ifill: they are moving them in and moving them out. they are one person after the other is rousing this crowd which is -- when they slow down a little bit they start to dance. come together podium is jared polis, one of the few openly gay members of congress. >> we're watching joe biden and -- >> i'm jewish, i'm gay. i'm a father. i'm an entrepreneur and a congressman from the great state of colorado. [cheers and applause] but first and foremost, first and foremost i'm an american and the america that i believe in is the america barack obama believes in. it's the america you believe in one where if you play by the rules and work hard, you can get ahead and succeed and live the american dream, one in which

loving families of all forms are respected and celebrated as a backbone of society. one in which today's divisions become tomorrow's unit, in which we transcend partisan bickering arkd work together to forge a better future for ourselves and our families. diversity is america's strength and only by working together as one nation can be form a more perfect union. that's why president obama brought to washington a vision for one america, an american in which we can overcome divisions of red and blue to make our country better. it's why he is fighting to make citizenship a reality for young immigrants who good to college and serve in our military. [cheers and applause] it's why he repealed don't ask don't tell so that no person is prevented from serving the country they love because of who they love. [cheers and applause]

and it's why barack obama became the first sitting president in american history to show his personal support for same-sex marriage. [cheers and applause] consistently over the last four years as our nation has strugglinged through the worst depression -- recession since the great depression. barack has shown strong leadership and take on politics as usual. he has challenged our nation to come together. barack obama is the first presidential candidate to refuse contributions from lobbyists. he set strictist ethics rules in the history of the executive branch. his vision for one america, one in which we can overcome our divisions to make our country greater continues to be an enormous challenge to washington, d.c., a town professional pundits and polls whose entire livelihood is never-ending partisan bickering. now is our chance to tell the

dividers, no, to tell the sprifts no -- special interests, no, to tell the pacs no and our fellow countrymen and country women, gay and strich, muslims, jews, christians nonbelievers, east and west, north and south it's time to tell them yes! together -- together we are stronger, together we are better, together we are america. and that's why we must continue bringing america together. so tonight i don't just ask my fellow americans to respect my relationship with my parter marlon and my role as a father to our son, i also ask my fellow americans to respect the christian family concerned about decaying moral val yooz and crash commercialism. i ask my fellow americans to

respect the difficult decision of a single mother to bring a child into this worlds but of her beliefs. s that you why we must help her have the support she needs after her child is born. [ applause ] we celebrates americans of all backgrowns and beliefs even republicans because it's their future, too. they might have mocked our desire to heal the planet but we'll heal it for republicans, too and create jobs and improve our schools for republicans, too. we're a diverse country but we are one country and the our best when we come together as americans not despite our differences b.u. but in celebration of them. from the newest arrivals to our native american brothers and sphrs, we're one america. barack obama understands that together we can take on any challenge and together we can move our country forward, out of many, we are one. god bless america!

[cheers and applause] >> woodruff: representative jared polis of colorado. you can see the gorgeous ski slopes for those of you who like to ski behind him, behind the podium here at the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. not a whole lot of skiing in north carolina but a little about it. joining us here at the sky box is tim kaine, fomenter governor of commonwealth of virginia, also the former chairman of this democratic party and right now he is a candidate for the united states senate. governor kaine it's good to see you. >> great to be with you. thanks. >> woodruff: this convention tonight feels like something you would see in the middle of new york city or another big american city. it doesn't have the feel of a convention. >> first praise to charlotte. i was the chair and chose it as a city because they were so excited to welcome everyone

here. they are doing a great job. you have a wonderful feeling in the room. people know that the next nine weeks are real challenging but there's a lot of excitement. >> ifill: it should be said that v.a. v- is front and center on the floor. that's not by accident. >> it's not by accident. we were used to nosebleed seats before but 2008 and 2012 we got good seats. >> ifill: you used yourselves as check mate to describe the role that virginia has in this process. does it help you running for senate? >> i think it helps. i'm a virginians before i'm a politician. we were irrelevant in presidential politics. if you -- democrat, republican or independent you were watching what happened in ohio or florida but now that we're relevant everybody in virginia gets to seat candidates up close and personal. the president information norfolk today. everybody in virginia knows that they matter which is really

great. >> woodruff: the president won virginia in 2008 it's a lot tougher this time. why? >> well, look. it is it's a challenging race. it's very close. it was a close race until the end in virginia in 2008. a lot of folks didn't think he could do it. i think the president has shown in virginia that he has a high floor for interesting reasons. as you are wresting, for example, with the deficit. one side would say deal wit through cuts. pledge allegiance to grover norquist. we're so connected to spending. people realize we have to find savings but have balance, too. and second, the president won virginia by six points in 2008 when i was, you know, a neophite running against a war hero. this president say battle tested war-time president running against a new comer to the

foreign relations stage. one of three of us in v.a. v- are directly connected to the militarism he will do better among those voters in 2012 in virginia than in 2008. >> democrats tend to be moderate on gun and social issues. is that the party we're seeing this week? is it true? is the democratic party that the moderates are out of step? >> when i made my pitch on the stage a minute ago i talked about democrats we're results people. we do our best work when we let the other folks be ideology people and we become the results people. that's what brought virginia democrats from the wilderness -- we turned it from red to purple. at the national level we've got to do the same thing. i was make mg i case for the president tonight based on results. big problems how do we get out of iraq? we did it. how do we get osama bin laden?

we did it. let's downdrawn afghanistan. in virginia for the first time in ten years none of virginia guard units are deploy the ployed outside of virginia. 15,000 guardsmen and women were demied in the last ten years and they are home today. it's important. >> ifill: governor kanie we have to go to the floor. nance yeah keegan the president of national abortion rights action league. thank you, governor. ♪ [cheers and applause] hello, delegates. [cheers and applause] on behalf of nara prochoice america and our one million activities, i'm honored to be here to talk to you about what is at stake for women in 2012. i am proud to say that the democratic party believes that

women have the right to choose a safe, legal abortion with dignity and with privacy. [cheers and applause] we believe in family planning because it helps to prevent unintended pregnancy. we believe that a woman considering an abortion should not be forced to have an ultrasound against her will. [cheers and applause] we believe -- we believe that rape is rape. [cheers and applause] we believe -- we believe that a woman should make health care decisions with her family, her doctor and her god.

[cheers and applause] and we believe that there is no room for politicians especially those politicians who don't know how women's bodies work. [cheers and applause] we are proud, we are so proud to have a president who stands with women and who trusts women. [cheers and applause] a president who signed into law one of the greatest advance. s for women's health in a generation -- advancements for women's health in a generation. a president who believes in a woman's right to make her own decisions. [cheers and applause]

i know this president, and i can tell you that he cares deeply about the next generation of young women in this country, his daughters, all of our daughters. president obama had the courage to stand with sandra fluck. without hesitation he defended her right to tell her story. mitt romney did not. that moment -- that moment illustrates what is at stake in this election. put simply: women in america cannot trust mitt romney.

[cheers and applause] we cannot trust mitt romney to protect our health. he would repeal obamacare taking aware our access to better maternity and prenatal care and the law's near universal coverage of birth control. we cannot trust mitt romney to respect our rights. he would overturn roe v. wade and sign into law a wave of outrageous restrictions on a woman's ability to make decisions about her pregnant six mitt romney would take away our power to make decisions about our lives and our future. but there is one decision that he cannot take away and that's

the one women will make on november 6. [cheers and applause] i want to leave you with a story tonight: one that serves as my inspiration. i grew up in annaanaconda, montana, it is in the heafort state's mining country. my dad worked at the copper smelter. it was a dangerous place where copper would boil at 1200 degrees. he had a brass tag and on it was his number 720. workers like my dad would throw their number in a bucket as they arrived for their shift and at the end of the day, they would

hang it on a peg board so their buddies would know they made it out safely. every day my dad through that tag in that bucket, he did it for his family. he did it for his car workers he did it for his community. he did it for his country. he passed away -- he passed away when i was in my 20s, before i decided to run for public office. i carried that brass tag with me during every campaign in montana. [cheers and applause] this number symbolizing the value of hard work and opportunity and the importance of sticking together. we are ready to do the hard work. we are ready to work together. we are ready to reelect

president barack obama. [cheers and applause] >> woodruff: nancy keenan the president of national abortions action league making her position clear. >> women deserve to determine the course of their own lives. i gotta tell ya, don't assume that every voter knows what barack obama has done for the women in this country. and don't assume that they know the truth about mitt romney. tonight i'm asking you to talk with your friends, your neighbors, your relatives, even the ones you have never talked to about reproductive rights. that's how you can throw your tag into the bucket and stand with a president that has stood

with us. conversation by conversation, vote by vote, door by door, we will reelect president barack obama. [cheers and applause] i will see on the campaign trail! thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> woodruff: our apologies for stepping in before nancy keenan was finishes the president of the national abortion rights action league planting a flag making it clear where the democratic party stands when it comes to reproductive rights and refer together very controversial statement from todd akin about rape. she mentioned that and very tough words about mitt romney saying he would take women back -- take away women's rights. we're going take a short break now ourselves. we'll be back with our live broadcast in a few moments. you can continue watching the proceedings on the live stream.

newshour special coverage of 2012 democratic national convention. i'm again gwen ifill. >> woodruff: i'm judy woodruff. we we were hearing that there's no doubt where the party stands on women's reproductive rights but we have to say nancy keenan got the crowd going. >> she said the word abortion. i don't think it was spoken before she said it. they were always talking in terms of choice. she is very emphatic and unequivocal. this is really a prochoice

women -- prochoice voters night. if repetition is the first law of learning they are practice it tonight. >> i failed linguistics when nancy pelosi was here. >> mano y mano. >> i took french. >> every speaker a politician, labor leader, activity not a single person from the private sector. if republicans were accuse of talking to themselves as a part of small business the democrats are talking to themselves. >> woodruff: the night is young. >> ifill: i am curious if you noticed the same thing. >> the party of government is that what you are say something in. >> yes. >> i don't even get that. if they were celebrating government that would be one

thing. talking about governmental achievement it's talking essentially raising this issue and drawing this difference between them and the republicans. they've concluded that this is -- they want to make this race -- when abortion is quite frankly about 9th on an issue list. >> ifill: now walking out on the stage is cami duckworth, an illinois national guard member wounded in the war in iraq and assistant secretary for veteran affairs getting a very warm welcome on the floor. >> my name is tammy duckworth. my father served in the army and

marine corps oohrah. a vietnam vet. his family has worn our nation's uniform since the revolution. my husband is an army officer and my brother saved lives in the coast guard. my mom is thai and chinese she proudly became a citizen in her 50s. dad's work -- dad's work took us all over the world until he lost his job. it was a tough time. we used up our savings, moved into a studio apartment, but our family did the responsible thing and we rolled up our sleeves. mom took in suing. my 55-year-old dad kept looking for work. but at 15 years old, i was only the one with a job after school for minimum wage. thank god for the food stamps,

public education, and pell grants that helped me finish high school and college. [cheers and applause] in time, we pulled through. with this start, i was able to earn my own commission as an army officer, and i became an assault helicopter pot working my up to command a blackhawk helicopter company. [cheers and applause] in 2003, my national guard unit was mobilized and i became one of first army women to fly combat missions in iraq. and almost -- almost a year into my tour i was wounded and recovered at walter reed with other wounded warriors. some of us are obvious injuries,

others had scars on inside that were less visible but no less real. at the hospital, i realized my new responsibility, to honor the buddies who saved me by serving our military men and women and i became the director of the illinois department of veterans affairs. [cheers and applause] we led the nation -- we led the nation in screening for traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress and we created a tax credit for illinois businesses that hire veterans. then president obama asked me to help keep our sacred trust with veterans of all eras at the u.s. department of veterans affairs. we worked to end the outrage of veterans slope og the same streets they once defended. we improved services for female veterans, and i reached out to

young vets by creating the office on online communication. barack has also lived up to his responsibilities as commander in chief. , ending the war in iraq, refolk refolk -- refocusing on afghanistan and eradicating terrorist leaders including bin laden. [cheers and applause] president obama pushed for fairness in the military, listening to commanders as we ended don't ask don't tell and -- [cheers and applause] -- and on how to allow women to officially serve in more combat jobs. don't you think -- don't you think it's time that we stopped being surprised that america's daughters are just as cape -- capable of doing their jobs and defending liberty as her sons? [cheers and applause] when it comes to our men and women in harm's way, we have a

clear choice on november 6. last week mitt romney had a chance to show his support for the brift -- the brave men and women he is seeking to command but he chose to criticize president obama instead of even uttering the word afghanistan. barack obama will never ignore our troops. he will fight for them. that's why he is my choice on november 6, my choice -- [cheers and applause] my choice is to do what my family dm when times were hard, roll up our sleefs -- sleeves and get to work. my choice is to do what my crew did for me in a dusty field in iraq. on november 1, 2004, i was copilotting my blackhawk north of baghdad when we started taking enemy fire. a rocket propelled grenade hit our helicopter, exploding in my

lap, ripping off one leg, crushing the other and tearing my right arm apart but i kept trying to fly until i passed out and that moment my vieferral and the survival of my entire crew depended on all of us pulling together. even though they were wounded themselves and insurgents were nearby, they simply refused to leave a fallen comrade behind. their heroism is why i'm alive today and ultimately -- [cheers and applause] and ultimately that is what this election is about. yes, it's about the issues that matter to me, building --

building an economic that will create jobs here at home, that -- building an economy that will create jobs at home and competing around the world. it's about something else, it's about doing for fellow american what's my crew did for me, whether we'll look out for the hardest hit and disabled, whether we'll pull together in a team of need, whether we'll refuse to give up until the job is done. lets let's finish what we started. let's keep moving forward with barack obama. let's do what this country has always done. look adversity in the eye and work together to overcome it. god bless our military men and women in harm's way today. god bless their families and always god bless the united states of america. [cheers and applause] >> woodruff: congressional

candidate tammy duckworth sharing her remarkable story. her presence on the stage and you heard her tell what happened and you see vice president biden there with the delegates. she's getting a standing ovation. he has the crowd waving american flags chanting u.s.a., u.s.a. as she said governor romney never uttered the word afghanistan in his remarks. >> ifill: now rhode island independent governor lincoln chafee, a former republican senator. >> good evening and thank you for having me here to celebrate with all of you as the nation's only independent governor, i'm here tonight to join with my democratic friends -- [cheers and applause] -- on the eve of an election critical to the future of our children and their country.

as a former republican, i represent a group of americans who all too often have no one to speak for them. they group doesn't necessarily have a name. we've been called moderate but that term can be misleading. there's nothing moderate about our love of country or our passion for america's future. there's nothing moderate about our desire to work together within the broad political center in which most americans live. no matter what you call us though this is certain: there are a lot of us and all over the country and in november we will once again help elect. barack president of the united states. [cheers and applause] we are at our core conservatives in the best sense of the word. ment thoughtful, responsible with public resources and

respectful of personal freedom and we're liberal in the best sense of the word. we believe that government can and should be an instrument for the greater good. and although my former party has hijacked the term, there's really nothing conservative about today's republican party. no. [cheers and applause] in fact, there's no room there for traditional conservatives like us. but i am proud to say that in my friend, president. barack, we've found a -- president. -- president barack obama we've found a friend who holds these principles dear. we love this land. we believe in steward ship protecting our air and water because despite what big business and this party would have you believe destroying

these precious resources will cost us far more in the future than preserving them now. second, we believe in personal freedom. we do not want the government controlling our personal lives or most personal decisions. believing in freedom as we do, we don't think it's the role of government to pass judgment on a relationship between two consengt adults regardless of their orientation. that's freedomment and believing in freedom we believe a woman should make her own reproductive decisions. [cheers and applause] third we take seriously the decision to enter into foreign entanglements. during the last administration then senator owe -- obama and i served together.

we shared a desire to end the attitude of arrogance and recklessness on matters of war and peace that characterized those years. president obama knows wars are not to be entered into lightly. he knows overseas conflicts don't only do damage in the land in which they are fought but the land of those who fight them as well. fourth, we believe in using the tools of government to help americans help themselves. for instance,, programs such as head start and pell grants have brightened the futures of countless american young people and given them a hand-up into the middle class. now mitt romney and the republicans are proposing a budget that would squeeze the life out of headstart and pell grants. let me ask you: should only the children of wealthy have access to early education? should only the children of

wealthy have access to a college degree? no the answer is absolutely no. american education is still the wonder of the world and we must open the schoohouse doors. students of america working families of america, president obama will not turn his back on you. [cheers and applause] finally, we believe in fiscal responsibility. we think it's reasonable to pay for a valuable service that the people want but asking everyone to do their part. the lack of fiscal responsibility is one of main reasons i finally left my old party. [cheers and applause] in -- that's right. that's right. in 2001, president bill clinton

handed the republicans a surplus and they went on to scwawnder it -- squander that surplus by launching two wars and giving tax cuts and failing to pay for any of these. mitt romney and paul ryan want to return to the fantasyland of never having having having to ps we buy such education, medical research, good roads and cleefn energy. that's not conservative, that's not responsible and that's not what this country needs. [ applause ] the values i have spoken of tonight are not republican or democratic value they are american values. they are the values of abraham lincoln who affirmed a dignity of all americans regardless of the color of their skin. they are the values of theodore roosevelt who protected the

environmental development. these are the values of eisenhower who presided over an era of peace and prosperity because he knew that those two conditions go together. these are american values but because they have no place in today's republican party, neither do i and neither do millions like me. [cheers and applause] but my fellow traditional conservatives, my fellow moderates, my fellow independents there's a candidate who shares our values, a candidate who share ours belief in environmental protection, personal liberties, smart and responsible american leadership, degreing the middle class and fiscal discipline. that candidate is our president,

barack obama. thank you. >> woodruff: former republican senator from the state of rhode island, now the independent governor of the state of rhode island lincoln chafee. let's go back to ray and the interview did he earlier with congresswoman barbara lee of california. >> suarez: i'm with congresswoman barbara lee from oakland, california. last week we heard the republican party make a sustained argument that because the president hadn't accomplished the thinged he promises in 2008 we shouldn't rehire him. what is the democratic counter argument? s but a lot of people in places like oakland are still suffering? >> sure. the counter argument is first of all we have to remember that president obama saved this country from going into a deep depression. he saved us from leading. and it is a fact that the president's american recovery act created more jobs, the stimulus act, the investments and infrastructure, getting

people back to work, making sure that teacher and firefighters and first responders were not laid off. that made a huge, huge difference. we have a more to do. the unemployment was much too high. i have to tell you one thing as a member of congress i see each and every day the obstructionist agenda of the republicans. mitch mcconnell said early on the first priority office to make sure president obama was not reelected. they tried to stop his agenda to create jobs at any cost. secondly, let me just remind the public that the tax cuts under the bush administration to billionaires and millionaires are totally unfair. it's created a huge deficit in this country. the president has moved forward to create tax cuts for middle income individuals and working to really help those who are low-income, those who need education, pell grants, higher ed. if you look at the health reform bill, benefits people already have received through the

affordable care act. i have to remind the public we were in much worse shape than when he was elected four years ago. >> ifill: we go to the floor for testimony about arizona mother on health care. >> we were so excited for president obama when we voted for him but that's not true. today there was the day affordable care angt passed and i no longer had to worry about getting zoe the care she needed. there was the day the letter arrived from the insurance company saying that our daughter's lifetime company had been lifted. [cheers and applause] there was the day the supreme court upheld obamacare. [cheers and applause] like so so many moms -- knowinge have that net below us to catch

us if we fall or if god forbid zoe needs a heart transplant obamacare provides my family security and relief. [cheers and applause] but we're also scared. governor romney repealing health care reform is something we worry about literally every single day. zoe's third open heart surgery will happen either next year or the year after. if mitt romney becomes president and obama care is repealed there's a good chance she'll hit her lifetime cap. there's no way we could afford to pay for all the care she needs to survive. when you have a sick child it's always in the back of your mind and sometimes in the front of your mind. on top of that worrying that people would let an insurance

company take away her health care because of politics -- one in 100 children are born with a congenital heart defect, president obama is fighting for them. [cheers and applause] he's fighting for families like mine and we need to fight for him. [cheers and applause] >> ifill: you bring a little girl on to the stage and there's people crying and screaming and a lot of life and got emotional but that is emotional. >> woodruff: it's pretty powerful, gwen, saying bluntly if mitt romney is elected president they won't be able to afford the operation her daughter needs. it doesn't get more direct than that. >> i doesn't. i thought the last two have hit a different theme altogether,

tammy duckworth's personal narrative is quite compelling. i mean her personal story about where they came from and the crew as being the metaphor for the democratic party and what a community should be and the health care and what it means to an individual. something quite frankly the administration has not been able to do is put in personal terms. it was quite compelling. >> woodruff: this is the governor of the state of ohio ted strickland -- former governor of the state of ohio. >> let me tell you, folks in ohio knows what happens when you have a president who stands up for average working people. ina sidney is a grandmother who lost her ability to provide for her family when they closed down the auto plant in perriesburg, ohio. she said thanks thanks to baraca

for having the courage to back an industry others had given up on. she's an auto worker and breadwinner once again. as he celebrated the birth of his newborn baby boy brian lost his job at the moment he needed it most but today he is back making auto batteries in a factory in springfield township, ohio. [cheers and applause] and he says there's only one reason he has a steady paycheck again, president obama refused to let the americ auto industry die. [cheers and applause] james fason felt like off. i believe in working every day, he said, and that was taken from me. but today james is working 60 hours a week on the jeep liberty line in toledo, ohio.

he's thrilled to say that his life right now is eat, sleep and jeep. [cheering and applause] he's back, he said, because barack obama gave us a chance for a comeback. the auto industry supports one out of every eight jobs in ohio, and it's alive and growing in america again. late last year chrysler announced they were hiring 1,100 new autoworkers in toledo. just last month gm announced the plan to invest $200 million in lordstown, keeping 5,000 jobs in ohio and building the next generation of the chevy cruz, a

car we are proud to say is made entirely in ohio. [cheering and applause] and just today, just today the big three automakers all announced that their auto sales are up by double-digits since last year. it's been a long slog back, and we've still got a long way to go, but all over america, all over ohio, men and women are going back to work with the pride of building something stamped "made in america." [cheering and applause] before barack obama took office, it looked like that pride could have vanished forever. but today, from the staggering depths of the great recession, the nation has had 29 straight

months of job growth. [applause] workers across my state and across the country are getting back to work the dignity of having a good job and a good salary. you know, vince lombardi was right when he said, "it's not whether you get knocked down. it's whether you get back up." and, my friends, my friends, they were all knocked down, but ina, brian and james are all standing today. the auto industry is standing today. the middle class is standing today. ohio is standing today. america is standing strong today. [cheering and applause] that's what happens. that's what happens when you have a president who stands up

for average, working people. barack obama has stood up for us, and now, by god, we will stand up for him. [cheering and applause] quite frankly, quite frankly, barack obama knows what it's like to pay a mortgage and students loans, and he knows what it's like to watch a beloved family member in a medical crisis and worry that treatment may be out of reach. barack obama knows our struggles, and, my friends, he shares our values. now, now, mitt romney, he lives by a different code. to him american workers are just numbers on a spreadsheet, to him all profits are created equal

whether made on our shores or off. that's why companies that romney invested in were dubbed "outsourcing pioneers." now, you know our nation was built by pioneers, pioneers who accepted untold risks in pursuit of freedom, not by pioneers seeking off-shore profits at the expense of american workers here at home. mitt romney proudly wrote an op-ed entitled "let detroit go bankrupt." you know, if he had had his way, devastation would have cascaded from michigan to ohio and across the nation. mitt romney never saw the point of building something when he could profit by tearing it down.

if mitt was santa claus, he would fire the reindeer and outsource the elves. [applause] mitt has so little economic patriotism that even his money needs a passport. it summers on the beaches of the caiman islands and winters on the slopes of the swiss alps. in matthew chapter 6 verse 21, the scriptures teach us that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. and, my friends, my friends, any man who aspires to be our

president should keep both hi treasure and his heart in the united states of america. [cheering and applause] and, you know... and, you know, it's well past time for mitt romney to come clean with the american people on wha he's saying about the president's policies of welfare to work. he's lying, as simple as that. and on his tax returns, he's hiding. you know, you have to wonder just what is so embarrassing that he's going to such great lengths to bury the truth. but whatever he's doing to avoid

taxes, can it possibly be worse than the ryan-romney tax plan that would have sliced mitt's total tax rate to less than 1%? [audience reacts] and so, my friends, there is a true choice in this election. barack obama is betting on the american worker. mitt romney is betting on a bermuda shell corporation. barack obama saved the american auto industry. mitt romney saved on his taxes. barack obama is an economic patriot. mitt romney is an outsourcing pioneer. my friends, the stakes are too

high, the differences too stark to sit this one out. so let us stand as one on november 6th and move this country forward by reelecting president barack obama. thank you. >> ifill: former ohio governor ted strickland. we're joined here by brian schweitzer as we wait for kathleen sebelius, the secretary of human services to come out. what did you think of that speech? we're going to come to you in a moment. i realized you're mott miced up. here comes kathleen sebelius anyway. we'll come back to you after that. >> from 1965 to 1967, my dad jack gilligan served in congress and helped passes landmark laws like the voting rights act.

dad later became another great governor of ohio, but one of his proudest accomplishments was when as a congressman he helped to draft and pass medicare. today dad's 91, and he's happy beneficiary of that effort to bring quality health care to every senior citizen. and president obama is bidding on that legacy. by bringing quality and secure health care to every american. i was governor of kansas when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts. now, many of us watched in amazement, envy even, as he passed a universal health care law in his state. well, republicans may see romney care as a scarlet letter, but for us democrats, obamacare is a badge of honor. [applause] because no matter who you are, what stage of life you're in, this law is a good thing.

first, if you already have insurance you like, you can keep it. insurance companies can no longer refuse to cover americans with preexisting conditions. that's what change looks like. more than five million seniors have already saved money on their prescription drugs, and almost 33 million have benefited from free preventative services. the president's cracked down hard on medicare and health care fraud, recovering a record-breaking 10.7 bill whereon dollars over the last three years pro, teching our senior citizens. that's what change looks like. this law gives tax credits to 360 small businesses so they can give their employees health coverage. and an array of affordable, private insurance plans to choose from. that's what change looks like. if you're self-employed, between

jobs or can't get insurance through work, you'll have access to affordable health insurance, as good as congressman paul ryan's. that's what change looks like. if you're under 26, you can stay on your parents' plan. you can go back the school or get extra training without fear of a health catastrophe bankrupting your entire family. over three million previously uninsured young adults are now on their parents plans. that's what change looks like. under obamacare, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against women. now, before some didn't even cover women's most basic health needs like contraception and maternity care, but still charged us up to 50% more than men for a worse plan. they said women who had c-sections or survived breast cancer or even domestic violence

had a preexisting condition and would deny them coverage. but this president made it illegal to discriminate against women. [applause] and ended the practice of insurance companies charging women higher premiums than men for the same coverage. the president ensured women's free access to preventative services like breast cancer screenings, so the good news is being a mother is no longer a liability and being a woman is no longer a preexisting condition. now that's what change looks like. today nearly 13 million americans, including some of you in this hall, are experiencing something remarkable. instead of sending your checks to your insurance companies, your insurance companies are sending a check to you, over a billion dollars out this year

alone, because if insurers don't spend at least 50% of your premium dollars on your health care, you get a refund. that's what change looks like. now, i've spent my career fighting the worst practices of insurance companies. i know how tough it is to stand up to powerful forces that pray on consumers. governor romney and paul ryan know how tough it is, too. that's why they won't do it. they'll let insurance companies continue to cherry pick who gets coverage and who gets left out, priced out or locked out of the market. president obama is making sure that everyone, from cancer survivors to children with asthma, get the care they need. what's missing from the romney-ryan plan for medicare is medicare. so instead of the medicare guarantee, republicans would give seniors a voucher that

limits what's covered. costing seniors as much as $6,400 more a year. president obama extended the program's life by eight years while improving seniors' benefits and strengthening the medicare guarantee. the president agrees there should be no vouchers. [applause] romney and ryan will take away women's basic health services and turn a blind eye to insurance discrimination. president obama stands up for women, giving us control over our own health care. romney and ryan would put insurance companies back in control. now, barack obama was raised by kansas women. i know kansas women. they taught him the values of hard work and responsibility and fairness. that's why president obama believes that if you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve the security of health

care. governor romney, congressman ryan and their republican colleagues say it's everyone for themselves, and that's fundamentally the choice in this election. between republicans who only fight for the favored few or a president who fights for the middle class. between nation whose politics play on the worst of our fears and a nation whose law reflects the best of our values. 47 years ago, my dad proudly watched president johnson sign medicare into law. that day president johnson said few people have the courage to stake reputation and position and the effort of a lifetime on such a cause when there are so few that share it. president obama is one of those people. a leader with uncommon compassion and uncommon courage, he's earned more than our gratitude. he has earned four more years.

[cheering and applause] >> warner: first cabinet secretary in the obama administration to speak at this convention, kathleen sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, carrying the banner for health care reform. and here comes rahm emanuel, the mayor of chicago. he was barack obama's first white house chief of staff. >> good evening. from president obama's hometown of chicago... [cheering and applause] ... it's my hon moore to speak to you about the president i sperved. i want to tell you what i saw up close. while serving our president in a time of crisis, about the central brews he leans on and

the voices he listens to. when president obama entered the white house, the economy was in a freefall. the auto industry on its back, the banks frozen up, more than four million americans had already lost their jobs, and america's bravest, our men and women in uniform, were fighting for what soon would be the longest war in our history. you remember the uncertainty and the fear that seized our country. on that first day, i said, mr. president, which crisis do you want to tackle first. he looked me in the eye with that look he usually reserves just for his chief of staff, "rahm, we were sent here to tackle all of them, not choose between them." [applause] there was no blueprint or how-to

manual for fixing a global financial meltdown, an auto crisis, two wars and a great recession all at the same time. believe me, if it existed, i would have found it. each crisis was so deep and so dangerous, any one of them would have defined another presidency. we faced a once-in-a-generation moment in american history, and fortunately for all of us we have a once-in-a-generation president. and in those uncharted waters, i saw where the president finds his north star. every night president obama reads ten letters from everyday americans. when i met with the president at the end of each day, he made sure he had their letters to read at his residence, letters

from people just hoping for someone in power to understand their struggles. i can't tell you how many times, whether we were discussing the economy, health care or another crisis, the president would take out another letter, read it to us, and say, "this is who we are fighting for," parents working hard to save for their child's education, middle-class americans fighting tooth and nail to hold on the their jobs, their homes or their life save lings. it is their voices that president obama brings to the oval office. it is their values i saw him fight for every day. in the first months in office, he fought for the american recovery act to, cut taxes for the middle class, to put people to work building roads, rails and runways. today our economy has gone from

losing 800,000 jobs a month to adding 4.5 million private sector jobs in the last 29 months. things are slowly but surely blending again, and never again will taxpayers foot the bull for wall street's excesses. in case we forgot, that was the change we believed in, that was the change we fought for, that was the change president obama delivered. president obama took office knowing full well that for the last century presidents had tried to reform our health care system. today, because of president obama's courage, kids can stay on their parents' plan until they're 26. insurers can't kick you off your policy because you have a preexisting limit, because you're hit the preexisting limit. they won't be able to deny you because you have a preexisting condition. because of president obama's

leadership, every american will have access to affordable quality health care. that was the change we believed in. that was the change we fought for. that was the change president obama delivered. i saw the president make the tough calls in the situation room. and today our troops in iraq have finally come home so america can do some nation building here at home. that was change we believed in, that was the change we fought for, that was the change president obama delivered. i remember when the president received thereport that the auto industry had a few weeks before its collapse. we met in the roosevelt room rate -- late into the night. some of the president's advisers said that in order to save general motors you had to let chrysler go under. others said it's like throwing good money after bad. among all the experts, there

were only guesses and nobody put it better than a 1 in 4 shot. only the president suggested going all in to save the industry and the jobs. [applause] rising above all the voices in washington, president obama listened to the voices that mattered to him most, the voices of the autoworkers and the communities that depended on them. just like the voices of the steelworkers and the communities on the south side of chicago where he worked earlier in his career. to president obama, they weren't just companies that needed a loan. they were communities that needed a leader to stand up for them. and because president obama made the right choice, over one million americans are still working today. the american auto industry is not just surviving.

it's thriving. where mitt romney was willing to turn his back on akron, dayton and toledo, ohio, the president said, i've got your back. that was a change we believed in. that was a change we fought for. that was the change president obama delivered. and in those first few months, the president worked to put accountability into our children's schools with race to the top so that every child has an education that measures up to their full potential. he was willing to demand change and embrace reform. the president never changed his views to suit the moment or the audience. and that is also a measure of leadership. every challenge was different. every choice was difficult. but every time the leadership was steady. now, the one thing i know with

absolute certainty, having served two great presidents, is that in the next four years, an unforeseen crisis, challenge or conflict is going to show up and seize this country. whose leadership, whose judgment, whose values do you want in the white house when that crisis lands like a thud on the oval office desk. that's right, a person who said in four words -- let detroit go bankrupt -- or a president who had another four words -- not on my watch. [cheering and applause] a person who believes in giving tax cuts to the most fortunate, or a president who believes that making college affordable for all americans? a person who wanted to keep don't ask don't tell, or a president that believes that who you love should not keep you from serving the country that

you love. believe me, having served two great presidents, when the fog of uncertainty that surrounds a crisis storms into the white house and all the adviseddors and chiefs of staff have only guesses and hedges to offer the president, it will be the president's leadership that determines how we as a nation meet the challenges that face the middle class. it is the president's values that shape the future in which the middle class has hope, the person who takes the oath of office in the next four months will shape not just the next four years but the next 40 years of this great nation. in these next four years, we need proven leadership, proven judgment and proven values. america needs four more years of barack obama. thank you and god bless you! [cheering and applause] >> ifill: chicago mayor rahm emanuel delivering a full-throated endorsement of his former boss. we're joined by now montana

governor brian schweitzer, who has been listening to these last couple of speeches. i want to go back to a couple speeches ago. former governor ted strickland of ohio, he was the opposite of what we saw. his was a full-throated attack on mitt romney. >> well, you know, it actually reminded me of just four years ago in ted strickland's speech, he did a spectacular job tonight, but just four years ago he walked up to the podium, and the speech that was loaded for him started out by saying, "i'm a rancher from montana." you guys don't know this. he got up there and people all cheered. he said thank you, thank you. he pointed and then it took a while, and, of course, four years ago mine was pretty well received. later i said to ted, you should have just gone with it. >> warner: governor, you govern the state of montana. if the president should be given all of these things we've been

listening to, especially from rahm emanuel, why is he having such a time in a place like your state? >> well, this has been tough times. nobody said this would be easy. do you remember on the 15th of september of 2008 when lehman brothers went down and every bank all around the world was on the edge of going upside down? then the stock market lost 11% in september and then more and then more and then more. and the stock market was worth half of what it was just in september of 2008. the stock market's back. we've got back up to where we were, but we're growing jobs at a slow pace. >> >> warner: why isn't he being given credit for the kinds of things that we heard rahm emanuel, tough decision, he stood up to the auto industry. he ticked off several things. if you believe what he said, you're thinking, why don't people recognize that. >> you've been paying attention. there's two sides to this story. the republicans have been beating the drum and telling us their side of the story. and, you know, they've got a story to tell. but the facts are simple: we

were in the ditch four years ago. we're back on the bus and we're headed back down the road. we're not going 75, but we're going to go there. >> but as you suggested, this election is about the economy and growth. we're scuffling around at 1.7, 2.1. so far i don't think i've heard a single growth agenda item. what's the democratic growth agenda to get us up to 4%? >> i don't know we heard anything from the republicans in tampa. our economy has fundamentally been changed. there's been a whole lot of outsourcing over the cows of the last ten, 20 years. because of inexpensive natural gas, electricity is the cheapest in america of any place on the planet. we have the best-trained, most motivated workforce, and for the first time in a generation we're bringing manufacturing jobs back to the united states. it's a good start. we got more work to do. >> governor schweitzer, you are term limited. barack obama is reelected, the

race to succeed him begins. he faces the term limit, 22nd amendment to the constitution. how do you feel about term limits? do you think they're a good idea? do you think they're wise? ronald reagan said he thought voters had the final say on term limits and should have. >> i think there ought to be term limits for chief executives. >> you do? >> i was reelected. got many more than twice as many votes as the guy running against me, but eight years is enough time. if you can't change the course of your state or your country in eight years, you're probably not going to get her done. for legislators, maybe there shouldn't be term limit, but for chief executives, come in, do your job, move on. >> >> ifill: you're the governor of a pretty red state. >> you think? >> ifill: are red states like yours permanently out of reach for democrats? >> i don't know about permanently. we last got to 50% with a president, candidate with lbj. so once or twice a century we might be able to get there. >> what about your senate race?

you have a very competitive senate race this year. >> i looked at a lot of polls during the last 18 months. it's dog dang tied. it has been. the associated press has been calling around trying the find an undecided voter and can't find one. you have a congressman who is i think five terms, and we only have one congressman in montana, so he's just as well-known as our u.s. senator. they like john chester more than they like this fellow, but there's more republicans than this are democrats. bottom line, both sides get your bases out and i like the chances of john kester, but it will be right down to the last day. >> warner: montana's democratic governor. >> ifill: i like that dong dang tied. >> i've only been here a few minutes and you've already voted me. >> governor. one of one, not one of 100. >> warner: we've been talking about the senate too much. do you think montana is out of reach for the president? >> this time probably.

>> warner: is that right? >> he got to 48% last time, the best since lbj. you know, clinton won montana, but he only got it with 41% because old big ears got more than any place else in the country. >> big ears big perot. >> ifill: you were well received four years ago. people were throwing things they were so happy when you came out. what has happened since then? what has your role in the party blown up because of that? >> well, what's happened since then? montana has won seven consecutive years with the largest budget surpluses in history. i've cut more taxes than any time in history. we've invested more in education and we found out that during the last few years montana's increasing the% of her population with a college degree fastest in the country, number one. >> ifill: that's all good news, governor. >> warner: i won't demote you anymore, the give of the state of montana. coming up now, craig robinson

and maya soetoro. she is barack obama's sister. he is michelle obama's brother. >> from the great state of hawaii, i'm maya soetoro, an educator, mother of two and proud to be barack obama's little sister. [cheering and applause] >> i'm craig robinson, michelle obama's big brother, father of four and head coach of oregon state university's men's basketball team. any seven footers out there, give me a call. >> craig and i come from different states. we've had different upbringings and, as you can see, we have different perspectives on the world. >> but no matter how different we may seem, we share a set of values our parents gave us. values the same in chicago as they are in honolulu.

a willingness to work hard, a commitment to education and the responsibility to look out for each other. they're the values at the core of how barack and michelle have lived their lives, raised our nieces and led this country as president and first lady of the united states. >> four years ago at this convention, i spoke with you all about how barack and i didn't grow up with much in the way of wealth, but we were blessed with a mother who taught us that education is the surest path from limited means to limitless opportunity. she inspired me to become a teacher, and she inspired barack's deep commitment to giving all our young people the opportunities our education gave us. he's made sure more of our youngest children have the stable foundation that head start provides. he's saved the jobs of teachers in our schools, and he's helped

more of our students afford a higher education. our mother also taught us that everyone has worth, regardless of who they are or what they believe. that's what inspired barack's vision for a more inclusive and compassionate america. everyone has a part to play in our shared story. he's made sure women can fight for equal pay for equal work and stood up for the freedom to make our own decisions about our health. he named two brilliant women who understand our lives to the supreme court. [applause] and i'll say it again, he ended don't ask don't tell so no one would ever have to hide who they love to serve. making sure everyone in america has a chance to make it like he

did, that's what my wonderful big brother is all about, and that's what he'll do for four more years. >> four years ago, i told you how when she was a young girl michelle used to talk to me about which kids at school were having a tough time at home. and didn't have anybody to stick up for them. and what inspired her most as she traveled this country on that campaign were the stories of brave americans who juggle everything at home while their husbands and wives are off at war. you see, america's military spouses and families make profound sacrifices, too, and michelle promised that if she had the privilege to serve as first lady, she would do everything she could to make sure america was there to honor, recognize and support their unique service. i've been so proud to watch her

rally americans to give millions of hours of time and service to work with families. she's working with schools that educate military courses to add better courses. when barack challenged businesses to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouse, michelle and jill biden rallied c.e.o.s to the cause. and last month they stood with c.e.o.s to announce they've hired 125,000 veterans and military spouses, surpassing the goal more than a year ahead of schedule. she's still the kind little sister she always was. now she's just sticking up for those who stand up for us. and i'm proud of her work to give our children a healthier start in life. and let's face it, maya, i could

use the recruits. >> barack and michelle have always been there for us. tonight we are here for them. and with your help, we can fill the white house with their brand of warmth, compassion and ommitment to all our people for four more years. thank you so much. [applause] >> warner: maya soetoro-ng, the baby sister of president barack obama, and craig robinson, the brother of first lady michelle obama. >> ifill: now we're expecting a video on pay equity. >> every decision i make is all about ensuring that all of our daughters and all of our sons grow up in a country that gives them the equal chance to be anything they set their minds

to, a country where more doors are open to them than were open to us. right now women are a growing number of breadwinners in the household, but they're still earning just 77 cents for every dollar a man does. even less if you're an african american or latina woman. overall a woman with a college degree doing the same work as man will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars less over the course of her career. ending pay discrimination is about far more than simple fairness. when more women are bringing home the bacon but bringing home less of it, then men who are doing the same work, it weakens families, it weakens communities, it's tough on our kids and it weakens our entire economy. which is why the first bill i signed into law was the fair pay act to make it easier for women to demand fairness, equal pay for equal work. we're pushing for legislation to

give women more tools to fight pay discrimination, and we've encouraged companies to make workplaces more flexible so women don't have to choose between being a good employee or a good mom. you don't have to take my word for it. you've got my signature on it. because something like standing up for equal pay for equal work is not something i've got to get back to you on. it's the first law that i signed. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome lilly ledbetter from jacksonville, alabama. [cheering and applause] >> thank you. good evening. my name is lilly ledbetter, and i'm here tonight to say what a

difference four years makes. [cheering and applause] some of you may know my story, how for 19 years i worked as a manager at a tire plant in alabama, and some of you may have lived a similar story. after nearly two decades of hard, proud work, i found out that i was making significantly less money than the men who were doing the same work as me. i went home, talked to my husband and we decided to fight. we decided to fight for our family and for your family, too. [applause] we sought justice because equal pay for equal work is an american value. that fight took me ten years. it took me all the way to the supreme court. and in a 5-4 decision, they stood on the side of those who

shortchanged my pay, my overtime and my retirement just because i'm a woman. the supreme court told me that i should have filed a complaint within six months of the company's first decision to pay me less, even though i didn't know about it for nearly two decades. and if we hadn't elected president barack obama, the supreme court, wrong-headed interpretation, would have been the law of the land. and that would have been the end of my story. but with president obama on our side, even though i lost before the supreme court, we won. the first bill that president obama signed into law, was the lilly ledbetter fair pay act. [cheering and applause]

i think it says something... it says something about his priorities that the first bill he would put his name on has my name on it too. as he said that day with me by his side making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody. the president signed a bill for his grandmother, whose dreams hit the glass ceiling and for his daughters so that theirs never will. because of his leadership, women who faced pay discrimination like i did now can get their day in court. that was the first step. but it can't be the last because women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar men make. those pennies add up to real

money. it's real money for the little things like being able to take your kids to the movies and for the big things like sending them to college. it's paying your rent this month and the mortgage in the future. it's having savings for the bill you didn't expect and savings for the dignified retirement you have earned. maybe 23 cents doesn't sound like a lot to someone with a swiss bank account, a cayman island investment... [cheering and applause] an i.r.a. worth tens of millions of dollars, but governor romney, when we lose 23 cents every hour every day every paycheck every job over the entire life, we

lose what cannot be measured in dollars. three years ago the house passed a paycheck fairness act to level the playing field for women in america. the senate republicans blocked it. mitt romney won't even say if he supports it. president obama does. in the end, i didn't get a dime of money. i was shortchanged. but this fight became bigger than lilly ledbetter. today it's about my daughter. it's about my granddaughter. it's about women and men. it's about families. it's about... it's about equality. and justice. this cause, which bears my name,

is bigger than me. it's as big as all of you, which began as my own is now our fight. a fight for the fundamental american values that make our country great. and with president barack obama, we're going to win. thank you very much and god bless america. [cheering and applause] >> ifill: lilly ledbetter, alabama native whose name is on an act about pay equity. she's an alabama native. >> woodruff: and probably the most memorable line from her, maybe 23 cents doesn't sound like a lot to somebody with a swisss bank account, but that's how much money they're talking about getting their paychecks increased. >> ifill: we keep hearing about that swiss bank account. here comes deval patrick, who will talk about mitt romney's record as governor of massachusetts. he's governor romney's successor. >> good evening. are you fired up? [cheering and applause]

are you ready to go? well, i hope so. this is the election of a lifetime because more than any one candidate or policy, what's at stake is the american dream. that dream, the ability to imagine a better way for ourselves and our families and then to reach for it, that dream is central to who we are and what we stand for as a nation. whether that dream endures for another generation depends on you and me. it also depends on who leads us. in massachusetts, we know mitt romney. by the time he left office, massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation during better economic times and household income in our state was declining. he cut education deeper than anywhere else in america.

roads and bridges were crumbling, business taxes were up and businessonfidence was down. our clean energy potential was stalled, and we had a structural budget deficit. mitt romney talks a lot about all the things he's fixed. i can tell you, massachusetts was not one of them. [applause] he's a fine fellow and a great salesman, but as governor, he was a lot more interested in having the job than doing the job. [cheering and applause] so when i came to office, we set out on a differt course, investing in ourselves and our future, and today massachusetts leads the nation in economic competitiveness, student achievement, health care coverage, life sciences and biotech, energy efficiency and

veterans services. today, today with the help of the obama administration, we are rebuilding our roads and bridges and expanding broadband access. today we're out of the deficit hole mr. romney left and we've achieved the highest bond rating in our history. today, today with labor at the table, we made the reforms in our pension and benefits systems, our schools, our transportation system and more that mr. romney only talked about. and today in massachusetts, you can marry whomever you love. [cheering and applause] we still have more to do, much, much more to do, but we're on track because we place our faith not in trickle-down fantasies

and in divisive rhetoric, but in our values and our common sense, the same choice faces the nation today. all that republicans are saying is that if we just shrink government, cut tax, crush unions and wait, all will be well. never mind that those are the very policies that got us into recession to begin with. never mind that not one of the governors that preached that gospel in tampa last week has the results too show for it. but we democrats, we owe america more than a strong argument for what we are against. we need to be just as strong about what it is we are for. the question is what do we believe? well, with ebelieve in an economy that grows the economy

out to the middle class and the disenfranchised, not just up to the well connected. we believe that freedom means keeping government out of our most private affairs, including out of a woman's decision whether to keep an unwanted pregnancy and everybody's decision about whom to marry. we believe that every american has a stake in that. we believe that in times like these, we should turn to each other, not on each other. and we believe that government has a role to play, not in solving every problem in everybody's life, but in helping people help themselves to the american dream. that's what democrats believe, that's what americans believe. and if we want to win elections

in november and keep our country moving forward, if we want to earn the privilege to lead, my message is this: it's time for democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe in. [cheering and applause] quit waiting. quit waiting. quit waiting for pundits or polls or super pacs to tell us who the next president or senator or congressman is going to be. we're americans. we shape our own future. [applause] and let's all start by standing up for president barack obama. this is the president.

this is the president who delivered the security of affordable health care to every single american in every corner of this country after 90 years of trying. this is the president who brought osama bin laden to justice, who ended the war in iraq and is ending the war in afghanistan. that is a man who ended don't ask, don't tell, so that love of country, determines fitness for service, who made equal pay for equal work the law of the land. this is the president who saved the american auto industry from distinction, the american financial industry from self-destruction, the american economy from full-blown depression, who added 4.5 million private sector jobs in the last two and a half years, more than in george bush's eight years in office.

my friends, the list of accomplishments is long, impressive and barely told, and even more impressive when you consider that congressional republicans have made obstruction itself the centerpiece of their governing strategy. with a record like that, and a vision that hopeful and powerful, i for one will not stand by and let him be bullied out of office, and neither should you. [cheering and applause] >> i want you to be clear. what's at stake is real. it's real. the orchard gardens elementary school in boston was in trouble.

its record was poor, its spirit was broken and its reputation was a wreck. no matter how bad things were in other urban schools in the city, people would say, well, at least we're not orchard garden. today thanks to a host of new tools, many enacted with the help of the obama administration. orchard gardens is turning itself around. teaching standards and accountabilities are higher. the school day is longer and filled with experiential learning, art, exercise and music. the head of speed pediatric psyy from a local hospital consults with faculty and parents on the toughest personal issues in students' home lives. attendance is up thanks to a mentoring initiative. in less than a year orchard garden went from one of the worst schools in the district to one of the best in the state. the whole school community is engaged and proud. so am i. at the end of my visit about a

year and a half ago, the first grade led by a veteran teacher gathered to recite dr. king's i have a dream speech. and when i started to applaud, the teacher said, "not yet, governor." then she began to ask those six and seven year olds questions. what, she asked, does "creed" mean, what is "nullification," where is stone mountain? as the hands shot up, i realized she had taught the children not just to memorize that speech, but to understand it. see, today's republicans, today's republicans and their nominee for president tell us that those first graders are on their own, on their own to deal with their poverty with ill-prepared young parents maybe who speak english as a second language, with an underfunded school with neighborhood crime and blight and no access to

nutritious food and no place for their mom to cash a paycheck, with a job market that needs skills they don't have with no way to pay for college. but those orchard gardens kids should not be left on their own. those children are america's children, too, yours and mine. among them are the future scientists and entrepreneurs, teachers, artists, engineers, laborers and civic leaders we desperately need. for this country to rise, they must rise. and they and their cause must have a champion in the white house. that champion is barack obama. that cause is the american dream. let's fight for that. let's canvas and phone bank and get out the vote for that. will rest go tell everyone we meet that when the american dream is on the line, we want barack obama in charge. thank you so much.

god bless you and god bless the united states. [cheering and applause] thank you. >> warner: the gfer of the state of massachusetts who succeeded mitt romney. deval patrick calling on democrats to grow a backbone and not to let barack obama be bullied out of office. mark, maybe the speech of the night so far? >> i don't know if i would put it in the speech of night. it is a strong speech. he changed the speech from stiff an backbone, grow a backbone. he was suggesting democrats lack a backbone and it's try to go one. >> ifill: he said i won't stand by and let the president be bullied out office. that's enough language from a guy who is normally very chill. >> i have never seen him this passionate. i'm mystified by the whole night. independent voters care about two things foremost, economic growth and public debt. these are two issues that have bin ignored tonight. this has been a very base night and that speech was a very base, partisan speech. >> we'll hear from another person who is here.

at the podium right now is maryland governor martin o'malley. >> it is august 27, 1776. two months since our declaration of independence, outnumbered and surrounded, washington's army is about to be crushed forever at brooklyn heights. the british are closing in. with america's future hanging in the balance, word is passed up and down the maryland line. six bayonets. we're moving forward. and they do. into the breech. they hold off the british just long enough for washington's army to escape and fight another day. today there is a plaque by the mass graves of those citizen soldiers, and it reads, "in honor of the maryland 400, who on this battlefield saved the american army," in times of adversity, you see, for our country, for the country we love, maryland always chooses to

move forward. we understand that progress is a choice. job creation is a choice. whether we move forward or back, this too is a choice. and that is what this election is all about. democratic governors with the support of our president are leading their states forward, putting job creation first, balancing budgets, protecting priorities and making the tough decisions right now to create jobs and expand opportunities. together with president obama, we are moving america forward, not back. with 29 months in a row of private sector job growth, president obama is moving america forward, not back. by making college more affordable for millions of middle-class families, president obama is moving america forward,

not back. by securing the guarantee of medicare for our seniors, president obama is moving america forward, not back. by putting forward a concrete plan to cut waste, ask those of us at the top to pay a little more and reduce our deficit, president obama is moving america forward, not back. and by adding american manufacturing jobs for the first time since the 1990s, president obama is moving america forward, not back. facts are facts. no president since franklin delano roosevelt in the great depression inherited a worse economy, bigger job losses or deeper problems from his predecessor, but president obama is moving america forward, not back.)y

and we have to ask back to what? back to the failed policies that drove us into this deep recession? back to the days of record job lozs? back to the days when insurance companies called being a woman a preexisting condition? no, thank you. i don't want to go back. do you? >> no! >> instead of a balanced achievable plan to create jobs and reduce the deficit, mitt romney says-- puts forward a plan that would cut taxes for millionaires, while raising them on the middle class. instead of improving public safety and public education, like president obama, mitt romney says we need less firefighters, teachers, and

police. instead of safeguarding our seniors, romney and ryan would end the guarantee of medicare and replace it with a voucher in order to give bigger tax breaks to billionaires. instead of investing in america, they hide their money in swiss bank accounts and ship our jobs to china. swiss bank accounts never built an american bridge. swiss bank accounts never put cops on the streets or teachers in our classrooms. swiss bank accounts never created american jobs. governor romney, just because you bank against the united states of america doesn't mean the rest of us are willing to sell her out. ( cheering ) we are americans.

we must act like americans. we must move forward, not back. is my parents, tom and barbara o'malley, like so many of yours, were part of that great generation that won the second world war. dad flew 33 missions over japan. in a b-24 liberator. he was able to go to college only because of the g.i. bill. our parents taught us to love god, love our family, and love our country. their own grandparents were immigrants. their first language may not have been english, but the hopes and dreams they had for their children were purely american. you see, there is a powerful truth at the heart of the american dream. the stronger we make our country, the more she gives back to us, to our children, and our

grandchildren. our parents and grandparents understood this truth deeply. they believed as we cothat to create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments, educating, innovating and rebuilding for our children's future, building an economy that lasts from the middle class up, not from the billionaires down. yes, we live in changing times. the question is what type of change will we make of it? as we search for common ground and the way forward together, let's ask one another, let's ask the leaders in the republican party, without any anger, meanness, or fear how much less do you really think would be good for our country? how much less education would be good for our children? how many hungry american kids can we no longer afford to feed?

governor romney, how many fewer college degrees would make us more competitive as a nation? the future we seek is not a future of less opportunity. it is a future of more opportunity, more opportunity for all americans. ( applause ) close your eyes. see the faces of your parents and your great-grandparents. they did notios an-- cross an ocean, settle a continent, do hard, back-breaking work so their children and grandchildren could live in a country of less. they came here because the united states of america is the greatest job-generating, opportunity-expanding country ever created by a free people in the history of civilization. and she still is. let us not be the first generation of americans to give our children a country of less. let us return to the urgent work of creating more jobs, more security, and more opportunity

for our people, and together, let us move forward, not back, by re-electing barack obama president of the united states. ( cheers and applause ) god bless you all. >> woodruff: the governor of maryland, martin o'malley, and as he was talking about let's move forward, not back, miraculously, gwen, blue signs saying "forward" and red signs saying "not back" popped up among the delegates. >> our first truly choreographed moment of the convention. i get a feeling it won't be our last. >> woodruff: here is the intwo duction of the keynote speaker by his brother. this is wathis is joaquin castr. i. >> the have the honor of introducing my twin brother, san antonio mayor cass. as you can imagine this is a very special moment for our

family. for each of us, the places we call home shape our character, inform how we see the world and inspire our imagination. julian is a proud texan. for 18 years-- ( cheering ) for 18 years, we shared a small room and big dreams in our neighborhood on the west side of san antonio. our home town say beautiful place, a place of hardworking, humble folks who grind out a living by day and go home and say prayers of thanks to god at night. since becoming mayor in 2009, julian has worked tirelessly to pursue policies that honor the aspirations of the people he represents. i'm proud that my brother has achieved his dream, but i'm even more proud of the work he's done to help others achieve theirs. today, san antonio is our nation's seventh largest city, a city on the rise and looks like america tomorrow. julian is also a dedicated husband to his wife, erica, a

public school teacher and a wonderful father to his three-year-old daughter garriana. so, it's with much love and pride that i present to you my best friend, my twin brother, san antonio mayor julian castro. ( cheers and applause ). ♪ i got a feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night. ♪ that tonight's gonna be a good night is. ♪ that tonight's gonna be a good, good night ♪ . >> thank you! ♪ that tonight's gonna be a good night ♪ . >> thank you! thank you! thank you! thank you! thank you! my fellow democrats, my fellow

americans, my fellow texans-- ( cheering ) i sand before you tonight as a young american, a proud american of a generation born as the cold war receded, shaped by the tragedy of 9/11, connected by the digital revolution, and determined to re-elect the man who will make the 21st century another american century, president barack obama. ( cheers and applause ). the unlikely journey that brought me here tonight began many miles from this podium. my brother joaquin and i grew up with my mother, rosy, and my grandmother, victoria. my grandmother was an orphan. as a young girl, she had to leave her home in mexico and move to san antonio where some relatives had agreed to take her in. she never made it past the fourth grade.

she had to drop out and start working to help her family. my grandmother spent her whole life work as a maid, a cook, and a baby-sitter, barely scraping by, but still working hard to give my mother, her only child, a chance in life so my mother could give my brother and me an even better one. as my grandmother got older, she begged my mother to give her childregrandchildren, prix trayo god for just one grandbaby before she died. you can imagine her excitement when she found out her prayers would be answered, twice over. she was so excited that the day before joaquin and i were born, she entered a cook-off and won $300. that's how she spade our she pal bill. by the time joaquin and i came along, this incredible woman had taught herself to read and write in both spanish and english.

i can still see her in the room that joaquin and i shared with her, reading her agatha christie novels late into the night, and i can still remember her every morning as joaquin and i walked out the front door to school, making the sign of the cross behind us, saying, "may god bless you." my grandmother didn't live to see us begin our lives in public service, but she probably would have thought it extraordinary that just two generations after she arrived in san antonio, one grandson would be the mayor and the other would be on his way, the good people of san antonio willing, to the united states congress. ( cheers and applause ). my family's story isn't special. what's special is the america that makes our story possibl

ours is a nation like no other, a place where great journeys can be made in a single generation, no matter who are you or where you come from, the path is always forward. america didn't become the land of opportunity by accident. my grandmother's generation and generations before always saw beyond the horizons of their own lives and their own circumstances. they believed that opportunity created today would lead to prosperity tomorrow. that's the country they envisioned, and that's the country they helped build. the roads and bridges they built, the schools and universities they created, the rights they fought for and won, these opened the doors to a decent job, a secure retirement, the chance for your children to do better than you did, and that's the middle class, the engine of our economic growth.

with hard work, everybody ought to be able to get there, and with hard work, everybody ought to be able to stay there and go beyond. the dream of raising a family in a place where hard work is rewarded is not unique to americans. it's a human dream, one that calls acrossed oceans and borders. the dream is universal, but america makes it possible, and our investment and opportunity makes it a reality. ( cheering ) now in texas -- ( cheering ) we believe in the rugged individual. texas may be the one place where people actually still have bootstraps. and we-- we expect folks to pull

themselves up by them. but we also recognize that there are some things we can't do alone. we have to come together and invest in opportunity today for prosperity tomorrow. ( applause ) and it starts with education. 20 years ago, joaquin and i left home for college, and then for law school. in those classrooms, we met some of the brightest folks in the world. but at the end of our days there, i couldn't help but to think back to my classmate as thomas jefferson high school in san antonio. they had the same talents, the same brains, the same dreams as the folks we sat with at stanford and harvard. i realized the difference wasn't one of intelligence or drive.

the difference was opportunity. in my city of san antonio, we get that. so we're working to ensure that more four-year-olds had access to pre-k. we opened cafe college, where students get help with everything from college test prep to financial aid paperwork. we know that you can't be pro business unless you're pro education. ( cheering ) we know that pre-k and student loans aren't charity. they're a smart investment in a workforce that can fill and create the jobs of tomorrow. we're investing in young minds today to be competitive in the global economy tomorrow. ( applause ) and it's paying off. >> yes, it is! >> last year the milken institute ranked san antonio as

the nation's top-performing local economy, and we're only getting started. opportunity today, prosperity tomorrow. ( cheering ) now, like many of you, i watched last week's republican convention. ( booing ) and they told a few stories of individual success. we all celebrate individual success. but the question is how do we multiply that success? the answer is president barack obama. ( cheers and applause ) mitt romney, quite simply, disappoint get it. a few months ago, he visited a university in ohio and gave students there a little entrepreneurial advice-- start a

business, he said, but how? borrow money, if you have to, from your parents, he told them. gee, why didn't i think of that? ( laughter ) ( applause ) some people are lucky enough to borrow money from their parents, but that shouldn't determine whether you can pursue your dreams, not in america, not here, not in the 21st century. i don't think governor romney meant any harm. i think he's a good guy. he just has no idea how good he's had it. ( applause ) we know that in our free market economy, some will prosper more than others. what we don't accept is the idea that some information won't even get a chance, and the thing is, mitt romney and the republican party are perfectly comfortable

with that america. in fact, that's exactly what they're promising us. the romney-ryan budget doesn't just cut public education, cut med character cut transportation, and cut job training. it doesn't just pummel the middle class. it dismantles it. it dismantles that generations before have built to ensure that everybody can enter and stay in the middle class. when it comes to getting the middle class back to work, mitt romney says no. when it comes to respecting women's rights, mitt romney says no. when it comes to letting people love who they love and marry who they want to marry, mitt romney says no. when it comes to expanding access to good health care, mitt romney says no. actually -- ( applause ) actually-- ( cheering )

actually-- actually, mitt romney said yes and now he says no. governor romney has undergone an extreme makeover. and it ain't pretty. so here's what we're going to say to mitt romney in november. we're gonna say no. of all the fictions we heard last week in tampa, the one i find most troubling is this-- if we all just go our own way, our nation will be stronger for it. because if we sever the threads that connect us, the only people who will go far are those who are already ahead. we all understand that freedom isn't free. what romney and ryan don't understand is neither is opportunity. we have to invest in it.

( cheers and applause ) republicans tell us that if the most prosperous among us do even better, that somehow the rest of us will, too. folks, we've heard that before. first they called it trickle down. then they called it supply side. now it's romney-ryan, or is it ryan-romney? either way, their theory has been tested. it failed. our economy failed. the middle class paid the price. your family paid the price. mitt romney just doesn't get it. ( cheers and applause ). but barack obama gets it. ( cheering ) he understands that when we invest in people, we're investing in our shared prosperity. and when we neglect that

responsibility, we risk our promise as a nation. just a few years ago, families that had never asked for anything found themselves at risk of losing everything. and the dream my grandmother held, that work would be rewarded, that the middle class would be there, if not for her, then for her children, that dream was being crushed. but then president obama took office and he took action. when detroit was in trouble, president obama saved the auto industry and saved a million jobs. ( cheering ) seven presidents before him, republicans and democrats, tried to expand health care to all americans. president obama got it done. ( cheering ) he made a historic investment to lift our nation's public schools and expanded pell grants so that more young people can afford college.

and because he knows that we don't have an ounce of talent to waste, the president took action to lift the shadow of deportation from a generation of young, law-abiding immigrants called dreamers. ( cheers and applause ) now it's time for congress to enshrine in law the right to pursue their dreams in the only place they'd ever called home, america. ( cheering ) four years ago, america stood on the brink of a depression. despite incredible odds and united republican opposition, our president took action, and now we've seen 4.5 million new jobs. he knows better than anyone that there's more hard work to do, but we're making progress, and now we need to make a choice. it's a choice between a congress where the middle class pays more

so that millionaires can pay less, or a country where everybody pays their fair share so we can reduce the deficit and create the jobs of the future. ( cheers and applause ). it's a choice between a nation that slashedfunding for our schools and guts pell grants or a nation that invests more in education. and it's a choice between a politician who rewards companies that ship american jobs overseas, or a leader who brings jobs back home. ( cheers and applause ) this is the choice before us. and to me, to my generation and for all the generations to come, our choice is clear. our choice is a man who has always chosen, us, a man who already is our president, barack obama. ( cheers and applause ).

>> four more years! four more years! four more years! four more years! >> in the end, the american dream, the american dream is not a sprint or even a marathon, but a relay. our families don't always cross the finish lean in the span of one generation, but each generation pazs on to the next the fruits of their labor. my grandmother never owned a house. she cleaned other people's houses so she could afford to rent her own. but she saw her daughter become the first in her family to graduate from college. and my mother fought hard for civil rights so that instead of a mop, i could hold this microphone. ( cheering )

and while she may-- while she may be proud of me tonight, i gotta tell you, mom, i'm even more proud of you. ( cheers and applause ). today-- ( cheering ) s today, my beautiful wife, erica, and i are the proud parents of a three-year-old little girl, garriana victoria, named after my grandmother. a couple of mondays ago, a couple of mondays ago was her

first day of pre-k, and as we dropped her off, we walked out of the classroom, and i found myself whispering to her, as was once whispered to me, "may god bless you." ( cheers and applause ) she's still young and her dreams far off yet, but i hope she'll reach them. as a dad, i'm going to do my part, and i know she'll do hers. but our responsibility as a nation is to come together and do our part as one community, one united states of america, to ensure opportunity for all of our children. the days we live in are not easy ones. but we have seen days like this before, and america prevailed. with the wisdom of our founders and the value of our familyes, america prevailed. with each generation going

further than the last, america prevailed. and with the opportunity we build today for a shared prosperity tomorrow, america will prevail. it begins with reelecting barack obama. it begins with you. it begins now. may god bless you and may god bless the united states of america. ( cheers and applause ) thank you! >> ifill: an auspicious step on the national stage for the mayor of sa san antonio. sharing the spotlight with his three-year-old daughter who was having fun seeing himself. that is his mother. that is his wife on the right. and his mother, who was listening i'm sure with more than a little emotion to what her son was saying and talking about his grandmother, her mother. he and his twin brother, both graduatees of harvard and stanford. and he talked movingly about how he was able to trade a mop for a microphone. now we're about to see the video introducing the big speaker of

the night, michelle obama. >> i have t privilege of meeting folks from different backgrounds and hearing what's going on in their lives. know that when our men and women in uniform are called to serve, their families serve right alongside them. we are trying to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in a generation. when the world is swirling around you and you're faced with tough challenges, if your family is good, you're good. if any family in this country struggles, then we cannot be fully content with our family's good fortune, because that is not what we do in this country. that is not who we are. that is not who we are.

>> our house growing up was extremely modest. i remember our bedroom being formally the living room that my parents had divided using paneling. >> it basically carved the room out into two small rooms that were small enough for a twin bedroom and a desk. a special treat was that we could sleep out on the back porch when things got hot. >> as far as where we lived, that just wasn't an issue. i was raised to have fun where we were with what we had. and it seemed like it was okay. >> neither one of our parents went to college. but with a lot of love, a lot of caring, we were afforded an opportunity to go to college. >> we didn't say, "you should be a lawyer," ear "you should be a school teacher," but, "you should get an education." >> we had to take out student loans in order to pay for those.

>> i know now how much my father had to work and struggle because he had to take out loans to cover his portion of our tuition. >> he understood his responsibilities that despite this hardship, despite his challenges, he was going to be there for his kids, always, no matter what. >> my husband did not feel like ms was a battle. he would bounce out of bed and almost sing his way out of the door to work on crutches. and that would sort of break me up. and i'm sure that did the same thing for the kids. >> we did a lot of laughing in our household, and all of that happened in those few little rooms. ( cheers and applause ) >> michelle obama, now stepping into america's most traditional role, the full-time, nonpaying

multidimensional job of first lady. >> part of what makes her extraordinary is that she has been able to continue to be down to earth, even as the first lady. i mean, she's just michelle. our friendship developed, i think because we both have an interest in military families. when i met michelle, she said, "what do you think would be the issue you're most interested in?" and i said, "military families. >> and i said to jill, "that's what i'd like to do." and that's where it all began. >> we've done three tours. it's meant a lot to our family during some difficult times just ton that there are folks in the white house going in the same direction with us. >> whether it be helping homeless veterans through employment, trying to incorporate the military culture into the school systems, helping spouses find jobs, that's all come together. >> she genuinely seems to care and want to know what military

families are going through so that she can make changes on the national level. >> you all don't even ask for much, you know? it's like so we should be able to step up in whatever way we can. >can. 1% of the country is serving to protect the freedoms of the other 99% of us. so my view is that there's a lot more that we can be doing for them to make that service and sacrifice a little-- little easier. >> oh, she's so good with young people, and she sees herself in them. she treats the young children just the way she treats her own kids. and so they look at her as their mom because she is a mom. >> it's a natural for me to see her getting the nation's kids out there exercising and moving around. >> the best way to take care of yourself is to own your health, to eat better, exercise more. >> it's about the whole child. it's about understanding how a child develops and how we can best put a child in a position to be successful. >> and she wanted it to be fun, to come up with "let's move." it has such a great name.

let's move is something we do together. >> she is a strong woman, physically, obviously, we all saw poor jimmy fallon. ♪ ♪ >> i was wondering if you can do more pushups than i can do. >> and i thought it wouldn't be good to show off the first lady, so i thought-- >> i've seen a lead by example, a get right into it, a pull up your sleeves, hula hooping, jump roping first lady, and i think that's what we need. >> hello, mrs. obama. >> hey, dave. >> and the number one fun fact about gardening. >> with enough care and effort, you can grow your own barackoli. >> wow, look at this. >> we harvest some healthy food.

a lot of carrots. >> she encouraged us to exercise more and to eat healthier. >> you really are a wonderful woman. >> i think you're the perfect wife for obama. >> i am barack obama, and this is my wife, michelle. >> hey. i'm his date. >> family is everything. i think there's nothing more important to her than her children and her marriage and her mom and making sure that that all works well together. >> she was very clear, she came in with a very clear, we're going to make sure our kids are okay. >> every parent thinks their kids are fabulous and remarkable and special, and my kids are fabulous and remarkable and special. and the reason they are is because of michelle. i always say that in our household, she's the conductor. and i'm second fiddle.

>> you know, barack always gives me so much credit for who our girls have become, but let me tell you, our girls wouldn't be who they are without a man in their life who loved them deeply. >> what i love about my wife more than anything is she knows what's important, and she knows that the best and most important legacy of anybody's life is making sure that your kids turn out all right. they have good values, they're kind, they're caring. and what's very gratifying to me is that i know the girls at this point are going to be fine because they've got the best mom in the world. ( cheers and applause ) >> coming on stage now is elaine bry, a resident of ohio, mother of five members of the u.s. armed services.

>> wow. what's a mom like me doing in a place like this? i'm not even a political person but what i am is a military mom. ( cheers and applause ). my husband and i are so proud of our five kids, one each in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines. ( cheers and applause ). is our youngest is still in high school, and, yes, we are hoping he will join the coast guard. they are a mom's most precious treasures. and i don't know when i'm going to get them together again because within of them is always

deploying. but because of dr. biden and the first lady, our lives are a little bit easier. along with president obama, they have made helping military families a top priority. they've brought together the american people, including thousands of businesses, to become part of a nationwide support network. it is honor and respect in action. and it warms this mother's heart. ( applause ) last december, i wrote michelle obama a christmas card, just a mom-to-mom note to say thank you for caring. the first lady not only read my letter. she invited my husband and i to the white house. ( applause ) it was an amazing experience,

but what's even more amazing is knowing that our commander in chief and first lady are thinking about families like mine every single day. ( applause ) so like i said, i'm not a political person, but i'm a mom, and if someone is there for my family and families like mine, then i'll be there for them. ( cheering ) that's why i am so proud to introduce my fellow mom and our first lady michelle obama. ( cheers and applause ) ♪ oh, yeah, baby like a fool i went and stayed too long. ♪ now i'm wondering if your

love's still strong. ♪ oh, baby, here i am, signed, sealed, delivered, i'm yours. ♪ then that time i went and said good-bye is. ♪ now and i'm back and not ashamed to cry. ♪ oh, baby, here i am, signed, sealed, delivered, i'm yours ♪ ( cheering ) >> thank you. thank you so much. thank you.

oh, thank you so much. with your help-- with your hel help-- let me-- let me start. i want to-- i want to start by thanking elaine. elaine, thank you so much. we are so grateful for your family service and sacrifice, and we will always have your back. ( cheers and applause ) over the past few years as first lady, i have had the extraordinary privilege of traveling all across this country, and everywhere i've gone and the people i've met and the stories i've heard, i have seen the very best of the american spirit. i have seen it in the incredible kindness and warmth that people have shown me and my family, especially our girls. i've seen it in teachers in a

near-bankrupt school district who vowed to keep teaching without pay. i've seen it in people who become heroes at a moment's notice diving into harm's way to save others, flying across the country to put out a fire, driving for hours to bail out a flooded town. and i've seen it in our men and women in uniform and our proud military families. ( cheers and applause ) in wound warriors, who tell me they're not just going to walk again. they're gonna run and they're gonna run marathons. ( cheering ) in the young man blinded by a bomb in afghanistan who said simply, "i'd give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what i have done and what i can still do." every day, the people i meet inspire me. every day, they make me proud. every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the

greatest nation on earth. ( cheers and applause ) serving as your first lady is an honor and a privilege, but back when we first came together four years ago, i still had some concerns about this journey we'd begun. while i believed deeply in my husband's vision for this country, and i was certain he would make an extraordinary president, like any mother, i was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance. how will we keep them grounded under the glare of the national spotlight? howould they feel being uprooted from their school, their friends, and the only home they'd ever known? see, our life before moving to washington was-- was filled with simple joys-- saturdays at soccer games, sundays at grandma's house, and a date night for barack and me was either dinner or a movie because

as an exhausted mom, i couldn't stay weak for both. ( laughter ) and the truth is, i loved the life we had built for our girls, and i deeply loved the man i had built that life with, and i didn't want that to change if he became president. ( cheers and applause ). i loved barack just the way he was. you see, even back then, when barack was a senator and a presidential candidate, to me, he was still the guy who picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, i could actually see the pavement going by in a hole in the passenger side door. he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he found in a dumpster. and whose only pair of decent shoes was a half size too small.

but, see, when barack started telling me about his family, see, now that's when i knew i had found a kindred spicket someone whose value and upbringing were so much like mine. you see, barack and i were both raised by families who didn't have much in the way of money and material possessions, but who had given us something far more valuable-- their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves. ( applause ) my father was a pump operator at the city water plant, and he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and my brother and i were young. and even as a kid, i knew there were plenty of days when he was in pain. and i knew there were plenty of mornings when it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed. but every morning, i watched my father wake up with a smile,

grab his walker, prop himself up against the bathroom sink, and slowly shave and button his uniform. and when he returned home after a long day's work, my brother and i would-- would stand at the top of the stairs of our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him, watching as he reached down to lift one leg and then the other to slowly climb his way into our arms. but despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work. he and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind of education they could only dream of. ( applause ) and when my brother and i finally made it to college, nearly all of our tuition came from student loans and grants, but my dad still had to pay a tiny portion of that tuition himself, and every semester, he was determined to pay that bill right on time, even taking out

loans when he fell short. he was so proud to be sending his kids to college, and he made sure we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. you see, for my dad, that's what it meant to be a man. ( applause ) like-- like so many of us. that was the measure of his success in life, w being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family. and as i got to know barack, i realized even though he had grown up all the way across the country, he'd been brought up just like me. barack was raised by a single mom who struggled to pay the bills and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help. barack's grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank, and she moved quickly up the ranks, but like so many

women, she hit a glass ceiling. and for years, men no more qualified than she was, men she had actually trained, were promoted up the ladder ahead of her, earning more and more money, while barack's family continued to scrape by. but day after day, she kept on waking up at dawn to catch the bus, arriving at work before anyone else, giving her best without complaint or regret. and she would often tell barack, "so long as you kids do well, that's all that really matters." like so many american families, our families weren't asking for much. they didn't begrudge anyone else's success or care that others had much more than they did. in fact, the they admired it. they simply believed in that fundamental american promise that even if you don't start out with much, if you work hard and

do what you're posed to do, you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grand kids. that's how they raised us. ( applause ) that's what we learned from their example. we learned about dignity and decency, that how hard you worked matters more than how much you make, that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself. ( applause ) we learned about honesty and integrity, that the truth matters, that-- that you don't take shortcuts. ( applause ) or play by your own set of rules. and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square. we learned about gratitude and humility. that so many people had a hand in our success from the teachers

who inspired us, to the janitors who kept our school clean. and we were taught to value everyone's contribution and treat everyone with respect. ( applause ) those are the values that barack and i and so many of you are trying to pass on to our own children. that's who we are. and standing before you four years ago, i knew that i didn't want any of that to change if barack became president. well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways i never could have imagined, i have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are. no, it reveals who you are. ( cheers and applause )

you see, i've gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like. and i've seen how the issues that come across the president's desk are always the hard ones. you know, the problemses where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer. the judgment calls when the stakes are so high and there is no margin for error, and as president, you're going to get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people, but at the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision as president, all you have to guide you are your values and your vision and the life experiences that make you who you are. ( cheers and applause ) so when it comes to rebuilding our economy, barack is thinking about folks like my dad and like his grandmother. he's thinking about the pride

that comes from a hard day's work. that's why he signed the lily ledbetter fair pay act to help women get equal pay for equal work. ( applause ) that's why he cut taxes for working families and small business and fought to get the auto industry back on its feet. ( cheers and applause ) that's how he brought our economy from the brink of collapse to creating jobs again, jobs you can raise a family on, good jobs, right here in the united states of america. ( cheers and applause ) when it comes to the health of our families, barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. he didn't care whether it was the easy thing to do politically. no, that's not how he was raised. he cared that it was the right thing to do.

( applause ) he-- he did it because he believed that here in america, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine, our kids should be able to see a doctor when they're sick and no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or an illness. ( cheers and applause ). and he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care. ( cheers and applause ) that's what my husband stands for. when it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never could have attended college

without financial aid. and believe it or not, when we were first married our combined monthly student loan bill was actually higher than our mortgage. yeah, we were so young, so in love, and so in debt. ( laughter ) and that's why barack has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt. ( cheers and applause ) so in the end, for barack, these issues aren't political. they're personal. because barack knows what it means when a family struggles. he knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids. barack knows the american dream because he's lived it. and he wants-- ( applause )

-- everyone in this country, everyone to have the same opportunity, no matter who we are or where we're from or what we look like or who we love. ( cheers and applause ) and he believes that when you work hard and done well, and walked through that door way of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. no, you reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed. ( cheers and applause ) so when people ask me whether being in the white house has changed my husband, i can honestly say that when it comes

to his character and his convictions and his heart, barack obama is still the same man i fell in love with all those years ago. he-- ( cheers and applause ) he's the same man who-- who started his career by turning down high-paying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work because for barack, success isn't about how much money you make. it's about the difference you make in people's lives. ( cheers and applause ) he's the same man, he's the same man when our girls were first

born would anxiously check their cribs every few minutes to ensure that they were still breathing. proudly showing them off to everyone we knew. you see, that's the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering questions about issues in the news, strategizing about middle school friendships. that's the man i see in those quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk, poring over the letters people have sent him, the letter from the father struggling to pay his bills. from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won't cover her care. from the young people with so much promise but so few opportunities. >> i love you michelle! >> and i see the concern in his eyes. and i hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, "you won't believe what these folks

are going through, michelle. it's not right. we've got to keep working on fix this. we've got so much more to do." ( cheers and applause ) i see-- i see how those storie stories-- >> four more years! four more years! four more years! four more years! i see how those stories, our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams, i see how that's what drives barack obama every single day. and i didn't think that it was possible, but let me tell you, today i love my husband even more than i did four years ago, even more than i did 20 years

ago when we first met. let me tell you why. see, i love that he has never forgotten how he started. i-- i love that we can trust barack to do what he says he's going to do, even when it's hard, especially when it's hard. yeah, i-- i love that for barack, there is no such thing as us and them. he doesn't care whether you're a democrat, a republican, or none of the above. he knows that we all love our country, and he is always ready to listen to good ideas. he's always looking for the very best in everyone he meets. and i love that even in the toughest moments, when we're all sweating it, when we're worried that the bill won't pass and it seems like all is lost, see, barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise. no. just like his grandmother, he just keeps getting up and moving

forward with patience and wisdom and courage and grace. ( cheers and applause ). and he reminds me-- he reminds me that we are playing a long game here. and that change is hard. and change is slow and it never happens all at once, but eventually, we get there. we always do. we-- we get there because of folks like my dad, information like barack's grandmother, men and women who said to themselves, "i may not have a chance to fulfill my dreams, but maybe my children will. maybe my grandchildren will." see, see, so many of us stand here tonight because of their sacrifice and longing and steadfast love because time and again, they swallowed their fears and doubts and