ptioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> lehrer: good evening. i'm jim lehrer in washington. i welcome you to this special edition of the newshour. in a few minutes, president obama will deliver his state of the union address to a joint session of congress and to the nation. he's expected to focus on the economy and jobs among other things. you are looking now at a live picture of the floor of the u.s. house of representatives. we just lost them. there were two of the nine members of the united states supreme court. coming down the center aisle are members of the cabinet. there's the secretary of labor.

secretary sebelius, the former governor of kansas. secretary sean donovan. secretary of labor. there is ray lahood right behind him, the secretary of transportation, former republican congressman from illinois. there's secretary chu who is the secretary of energy. there is secretary sebelius. in the red. you will notice that everyone is wearing... there's secretary lahood. everyone present here today, tonight, is wearing a ribbon in honor of congresswoman gabrielle giffords who, of course, was... is... and there are two other or three other members of the cabinet from the left the attorney general of the united states, eric

holder, secretary of defense robert gates and secretary of the treasury geithner. there is arne duncan in the gray suit, the secretary of transportation. long-time friend... i mean, of education. long-time friend and fellow basketball player with president obama in chicago. he's the former head of the school system in chicago. there of course is secretary chu in front of him. behind him is the veteran affairs secretary. janet napolitano behind him, homeland security. there on the left you see the left side senator john kerry of massachusetts, now chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. a man who was of course in 2004 the democrat nominee for president. now we see behind secretary

napolitano bill daley former secretary of commerce in the clinton administration and now the new white house chief of staff. replaced rahm emanuel who is back in chicago to see if he can become mayor. he is now shaking hands with tom coburn, senator coburn of oklahoma. now, of course, the big deal here... there is secretary clinton laughing with secretary gates and secretary geithner. there on the right is senator sessions. my guess is they're laughing about the idea that they've got all... many of these members of the house and senate have dates more or less tonight. they've gone with this idea of in the old days up until tonight big sessions of congress like this, all the democrats sat together. all the republicans sat

together. but they decided at the suggestion of senator come udall, democrat, to... mark udall. tom is the guy who is working to fix the filibusters and mark udall his cousin is the man who suggested this... that everybody sit with another member of his or her party. there is secretary sebelius. secretary donovan. helping me all evening are shields and gerson that's sind i caned columnist mark shields and "washington post" columnist michael gerson. there we just saw the supreme court. a quick shot of the supreme court. i haven't had a chance to count them. have either of you, michael or mark, there are supposed to be

six present. ahead of time they said there would be six. the three who are not here are justice alito, justice scalia and justice thomas. but i see justice roberts, chief justice roberts is here. everybody who was watching the last time. it wasn't at the state of the union. it was at the joint session of congress where president obama addressed a joint session of congress for health care reform. he made a comment, the president did, about the supreme court decision on campaign finance. justice alito shook his head. it became a big deal. here is william livinggood who is the house sergeant of arms. he is now going to announce the president. ( applause )

>> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. ( applause ) >> lehrer: mark, this is the magic moment for many members of the house in particular who like to be seen shaking the president's hand. it doesn't matter who the president is. coming down this aisle for this event. >> congresswoman sheila jackson is not there because she's seriously ill. and congresswoman... congressman eliot ingall of new york. >> lehrer: behind the president is the escort committee. that's the leadership of the congress of the united states. senator mitch mcconnell who is the minority leader of the senate. ñ

and congressman ingall who is always there on the aisle. right to the president's left behind his shoulder is eric cantor who is the house majority leader, the republican leader behind the speaker john boehner. speaker john boehner, of course, will be presiding over this joint session of congress. he will be assisted by the vice president of the united states, of course, who is the president of the senate. that's joe biden. we'll see them in a few moments here. that's where the president is headed down to the front. so he can deliver the speech. there is handshaking to be done. as the president gets down the aisle, we'll get to members of

the supreme court. and then to the members of the joint chiefs. members of the diplomatic corps. there's senator tom coburn who despite their party differences, senator coburn and president obama worked together on a lot of things when they were together in the senate. good relationship. >> right after congressman eliot ingall is jean schmidt one of the president's fiercest foes in the house. she gave him a big hug. one of those moments when partisan differences seem to melt. >> lehrer: now the president is now welcoming his cabinet. secretary of state hillary clinton. secretary geithner. secretary of the treasury. there's john roberts. chief justice anthony kennedy.

associate justice stephen breyer. there the president is is now talking to. ruth bader ginsberg between them. between justice breyer and justice kennedy. there is justice sotomayer and justice kagan the two newest members of the supreme court of the united states. now the joint chiefs mike mullens. the navy admiral who is the chairman of the joint chiefs. general casey, the head of the army, who is going to be retiring soon. and mike mullins' last year. no word. michael and mark, who will replace mike mullin. general cartwright has been mentioned. he's the vice chairman now. the marine general and marine aviator. they already have one marine aviator in the joint chiefs,

general amos. you see his back there. he's the commandant of the marine corps. two marine aviators. one small group. >> it might be a little much. >> lehrer: there is the president shaking hands with the new speaker of the house john boehner. he delivered the speech to the speaker. and to vice president biden. a process that began many many years ago. hand delivered. they introduce the president officially again. then we're off to the speech. of course the first lady in the red there.

and on the right is the wife of the vice president. >> i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting the president of the united states. ( cheers and applause ) . >> thank you. thank you so much. thank you so much. thank you very much. thank you. everybody, please have a seat. thank you. mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, distinguished guests, and fellow americans. tonight i want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th congress as well as your new speaker, john boehner. ( applause )

and as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and we pray for the health of our colleague and our friend gabby giffords. ( applause ) it's no secret that those of

us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. the debates have been contentious. we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. and that's a good thing. that's what a robust democracy demands. that's what helps set us apart as a nation. but there's a reason the tragedy in tucson gave us pause. amid all the noise and passion and rancor of our public debate, tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater, something more consequential than party or political preference. we are part of the american family. we believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we

are still bound together as one people. we share common hopes and a common creed, that the dreams of a little girl in tucson are not so different than those of our own children, that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled. that too is what sets us apart as a nation. ( applause ) now by itself this simple recognition won't usher in a new era of cooperation. what comes of this moment is up to us. what comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight but whether we can work together tomorrow. ( applause )

i believe we can. i believe we must. that's what the people who sent us here expect of us. with their votes, they've determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. new laws will only pass with support from democrats and republicans. we will move forward together or not at all, for the challenges we face are bigger than party and bigger than politics. at stake right now is not who wins the next election. after all, we just had an election. at stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country or somewhere else. whether the hard work and

industry of our people is rewarded. it's whether we sustain the leadership that has made america not just a place on a map but a right to the world. now we are poised for progress. two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. corporate profits are up. the economy is growing again. but we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. we measure progress by the success of our people. by the jobs they can find and the quality of life that those jobs offer. by the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. by the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children. that's the project the american people want us to work on. together. ( applause )

now we did that in december. thanks to the tax cuts we passed, americans' paychecks are a little bigger today. every business can write off the full cost of new investments that they make this year. and these steps, taken by democrats and republican, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private-sector jobs created last year. but we have to do more. the steps we've taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession, but to win the future, we'll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making. many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a neby factory or a business downtown.

you didn't always need a degree. and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. if you worked hard, chances are you would have a job for life with a decent paycheck and good benefits and the occasional promotion. maybe you'd even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company. that world has changed. and for many the change has been painful. i've seen it in the shuddered windows of once booming factorys in the vacant store fronts on once busy main streets. i've heard it in the frustrations of americans who have seen their paychecks sdwindal or their jobs disappear. proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game. they're right. the rules have changed.

in a single generation revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. steel mills that once needed a thousand workers can now do the same work with 100. today just about any company can set up shop, hire workers and sell their products wherever there's an internet connection. meanwhile nations like china and india realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. and so they started educating their children earlier and longer with greater emphasis on math and science. they're investing in research and new technologies. just recently china became the home to the world's largest private solar research facility and the world's fastest computer. so, yes, the world has changed. the competition for jobs is real. but this shouldn't discourage

us. it should challenge us. remember, for all the hits we've taken these last few years, for all the nay sayers predicting our decline, america still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. ( applause ) no workers are more productive than ours. no country has more successful companies or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. we are home to the world's best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on earth. what's more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea-- the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. that is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come

here. it's why our students don't just memorize equations but answer questions like, what do you think of that idea? what would you change about the world? what do you want to be when you grow up? the future is ours to win. but to get there, we can't just standstill. as robert kennedy told us, "the future is not a gift. it is an achievement." sustaining the american dream has never been about standing pat. it has required each generation to sacrifice and struggle and meet the demands of a new age. now it's our turn. we know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. we need to outinnovate, out educate and out build the rest of the world. ( applause )

we have to make america the best place on earth to do business. we need to take responsibility for our deficit and reform our government. that's how our people will prosper. that's how we'll win the future. ( applause ) and tonight i'd like to talk about how we get there. the first step in winning the future is encouraging american innovation. none of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be or where the new jobs will come from. thirtyy years ago, we couldn't know that something called the internet would lead to an economic revolution. what we can do-- what america does better than anyone else--

is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. we are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices, the nation of edison and the wright brothers, of google and facebook. in america, innovation doesn't just change our lives. it is how we make our living. ( applause ) our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. but because it's not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout our history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. that's what planted the seeds for the internet. that's what helped make possible things like computer chips and gps. just think of all the good jobs from manufacturing to retail that have come from these breakthroughs.

and half a century ago when the soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. the science wasn't even there yet. nasa didn't exist. but after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the soviets, we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs. this is our generation's sputnik moment. two years ago i said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven't seen since the height of the space race. and in a few weeks, i will be sending a budget to congress that helps us meet that goal. we'll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology. ( applause )

an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people. already we're seeing the promise of renewable energy. robert and gary allen are brothers who run a small michigan roofing company. after september 11, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the pentagon. but half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. today with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. in robert's words," we reinvented ourselves." that' wh americans have done for over 200 years: reinvented ourselves. and to spur on more success stories like the allen brothers, we've begun to reinvent our energy policy.

we're not just handing out money. we're issuing a challenge. we're telling america's scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we'll fund the apollo projects of our time. at the california institute of technology, they're developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. at oak ridge national laboratory, they're using super computers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. with more research and incentives we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels and become the first country country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. ( applause ) we need to get behind this innovation. and to help pay for it, i'm asking congress to eliminate the billions in tax payer dollars we currently give to

oil companies. ( applause ) i don't know if you've noticed but they're doing just fine on their own. so instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's. now clean energy breakthroughs will on anslate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling. so tonight i challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of america's electricity will come from clean energy sources. ( applause ) some folks want wind and solar. others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. to meet ts goal we will need

them all. and i urge democrats and republicans to work together to make it happen. ( applause ) maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to america's success. but if we want to win the future, if we want innovation to produce jobs in america and not overseas, then we also have to win the race to educate our kids. think about it. over the next ten years nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education. and yet as many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school. the quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. america has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. and so the question is whether all of us, as citizens and as

parents, are willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. that responsibility begins not in our classrooms but in our homes and communities. it's family that first instills the love of learning in a child. only parents can make sure the tv is turned off and homework gets done. we need to teach our kids that it's not st the winner of the super bowl who deserves to be celebrated but the winner of the science fair. ( applause ) we need to teach them that success is not a function of

fame or p.r., but of hard work and discipline. our schools share this responsibility. when a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. but too many schools don't meet this test. that's why instead of just pouring money into a system that's not working, we launched a competition called race to the top. to all 50 states, we said, "if you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we'll show you the money." race to the top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. for less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. and these standards were developed, by the way, not by washington but by republican

and democratic governors throughout the country. and race to the top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace no child left behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what's best for our kids. ( applause ) you see, we know what's possible for our children when reform isn't just a top-down mandate but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities. take a school like bruce randolph in denver. three years ago it was rated one of the worst schools in colorado, located on turf between two rival gangs. but last may 97% of the seniors received their diploma. most will be the first in their families to go to college. and after the first year of the school's transformation,

the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said, "thank you, ms. waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it." ( applause ) that's what good schools can do. we want good schools all across the country. let's also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child's success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. in south korea, teachers are known as nation builders. here in america, it's time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. ( applause )

we want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. ( applause ) and over the next ten years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math. ( applause ) in fact, everyone person listening tonight who is contemplatin their career choice, if you want to make a difference in the life of our nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a child, become a teacher. your country needs you. ( applause ) .

of course, the education race doesn't end with a high school diploma. to compete, higher education must be within the reach of every american. ( applause ) that's why we've ended the unwarranted tax payer subsidies that went to banks and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. ( applause ) and this year, i ask congress to go further and make permanent our tuition tax credit worth $10,000 for four years of college. ( applause ) it's the right thing to do. because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today's fast-changing economy, we are also revitalizing america's community colleges. last month i saw the promise of these schools at forsyth

tech in north carolina. many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. one mother of two, a woman named kathy proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. and she told me e's earning her degree in biotechnology now at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. as kathy said, "i hope it tells them to never give up." if we take these steps, if we raise expectations for every child and give them the best possible chance at an education from the day they are born until the last job they take, we wlleach t goal that i set two years ago: by the end of the decade, america will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. ( applause )

one last point about education. today there are hundreds of thousands of students exceling in our schools who are not american citizens. some are the children of undocumented workers who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. they grew up as americans and pledge allegiance to our flag and yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. others come here from abroad to study8z in our colleges and universities. but as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. it makes no sense. now i strongly believe that we should take on once and for

all the issue of illegal immigration. i am prepared to work with republicans and democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. ( applause ) i know that debate will be difficult. i know it will take time but tonight let's agree to make that effort. let's stop expelling talented responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation. ( applause ) the third step in winning the future is rebuilding america. to attract new businesses to our shores, we need the

fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information from high speed rail to high speed internet. ( applause ) our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped. south korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. countries in europe and russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. china is building faster trains and newer airports. meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation's infrastructure, they gave us a d. we have to do better. america is the nation that built the transcontinue netal railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the inter-state highway system. the jobs created by these projects didn't just come from laying down track or pavement. they came from businesses that

opened near a town's new train station or the new off-ramp. so over the last two years we've begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. tonight i'm proposing that we redouble those efforts. ( applause ) we'll put more americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. we'll make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what's best for the economy not politicians. within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of americans access to high speed rail. ( applause ) this could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. for some trips it will be

faster than flying without the patdown. (laughing) as we speak, routes in california and the midwest are already underway. within the next five years, we'll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high speed wireless coverage to 98% of all americans. ( applause ) this isn't just about faster internet or fewer dropped calls. it's about connecting every part of america to the digital age. it's about a rural community in iowa or alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. it's about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building on to a hand hel device, a student who can take classes with a digital textbook or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor. all these investments in

innovation, education and infrastructure, will make america a better place to do business and create jobs. but to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success. for example, over the years a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. but all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. it makes no sense, and it has to change. ( applause ) so tonight i'm asking democrats and republans to simplify the system. get rid of the loopholes. level the playing field.

and use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years without adding to our deficit. ( applause ) it can be done. to help businesses sell more products abrought, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home. already our exports are up. recently we signd agreements with india and china that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the united states. and last month, we finalized a trade agreement with south korea that will support at least 70,000 american jobs. this agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor, democrats

and republicans, and i ask this congress to pass it as soon as possible. ( applause ) now before i took office, i made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements and that i would only sign deals that keep faith with american workers and promote american jobs. that's what we did with korea, and that's what i intend to do as we pursue agreements with panama and colombia and continue our asia pacific and global trade talks. ( applause ) to reduce barriers to growth and investment, i've ordered a review of government regulations. when we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. ( applause )

but i will not hesitate to create or enforce common sense safeguards to protect the american people. ( applause ) that's what we've done in this country for more than a century. it's why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. it's why we have speed limbs and child labor laws. it's why last year we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. and it's why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients. ( applause )

now i have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new health care law. (laughing) so let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. if you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, i am eager to work with you. we can start right now by correcting a flaw in the ledge legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses. ( applause ) what i'm not willing to do, what i'm not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny

someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. ( applause ) i'm not willing to tell james howard, a brain cancer patient from texas, that his treatment might not be covered. i'm not willing to tell jim houser, a small businessman from oregon that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. as we speak, this law is is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents' coverage. ( applause ) so i say to this chamber tonight instead of refighting the battles of the last two years, let's fix what needs fixing and let's move forward. ( applause )

now the final critical step in winning the future is to make sure we aren't buried under a mountain of debt. we are living with a legacy of deficit spending that began almost a decade ago. and in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people's pockets. but now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. that is not sustainable. every day families sacrifice to live within their means. they deserve a government that does the same. ( applause )

so tonight i am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. now this would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since dwight eisenhower was president. this freeze will require painful cuts. already we've frozen the salaries of hard working federal employees for the next two years. i've proposed cuts to things i care deeply about like community action programs. the secretary of defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without.

( applause ) now i recognize that some in this chamber have already propose deeper cuts, andi'm willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. but let's make sure that we're not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. ( applause ) len and let's make sure what we're cutting is really excess weight. cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening and overloaded airplane by removing its engine. it may make you feel like you're flying high at first but it won't take long before you feel the impact. now most of the cuts and savings i've proposed only address annual domestic spending. which represents a little more than 12% of our budget.

to make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. it won't. ( applause ) the bipartisan fiscal commission i created last year made this crystal clear. i don't agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. and their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it, in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes. ( applause ) this means further ducing health care cts,including programs like medicare and medicaid which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. the health insurance law we passed last year will slow these rising costs which is

part of the reason that non-partisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. still i'm willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that republicans suggested last year: medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits. ( applause ) to put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen social security for future generations. ( applause ) we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities. without slashing benefits for future generations and without

subjecting americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market. ( applause )?z and if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of americans. ( applause ) before we take money away from our schools or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. it's not a matter of punishing their success. it's about promoting america's success. ( applause ) in fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all americans is to simplify the individual tax code. ( applause )

this will be a tough job but members of both parties have expressed an interest in doing this and i am prepared to join them. ( applause ) so now is the time to act. now is the time for both sides and both houses of congress, democrats and republicans, to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. if we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future. let me take this one step further. we shouldn't just give our people a government that's more affordable. we should give them a government that's more competent and more efficient. we can't win the future with a government of the past.

we live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black-and-white tv. there are 12 different agencies that deal with exports. there are at least five different agencies that deal with housing policy. then there's my favorite example: the interior department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water but the commerce department handles them when they're in salt water. i hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked. (laughing) ( applause ) now we've made great strides over the last two years and using technology and getting rid of waste.

veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of a mouse. we're selling acres of federal office space that hasn't been used in years. and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. but we need to think bigger. in the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate and reorganization the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive america. i will submit that proposal to congress for a vote, and we will push to get it passed. ( applause ) in the coming year, we'll also work to rebuild people's faith in the institution of government. because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. because you deserve to know

when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, i ask congress to do what the white house has already done: put that information online. and because the american people deserve to know that special interests aren't larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in congress should know this: if a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, i will veto it. ( applause ) i will veto it. the 21st century government that's open and competent. a government that lives within its means. an economy that's driven by new skills and new ideas. our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and

innovation. it will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs. just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. no single wall separates east and west. no one rival super power is aligned against us. and so we must defeat determined enemies wherever they are. and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. and america's moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice and dignity. and because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that american leadership has been renewed and america's standing has been restored. look to iraq where nearly

100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. ( applause ) american combat patrols have ended, violence is down, and a new government has been formed. this year our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the iraqi people while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of iraq. america's commitment has been kept. the iraq war is coming to an end. ( applause )

of course as we speak, al qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. and as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that american muslims are a part of our american family. ( applause ) we've also taken the fight to al qaeda and their allies abroad. in afghanistan, our troops have taken taliban strongholds and trained afghan security forces. our purpose is clear.

by preventing the taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the afghan people, we will deny al qaeda the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11. thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer afghans are under the control of the insurgency. there will be tough fighting ahead, and the afghan government will need to deliver better governance. but we are strengthening the capacity of the afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. this year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an afghan lead. and this july we will begin to bring our troops home. ( applause ) in pakistan, al qaeda's leadership is under more pressure than at any point

since 2001. their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. their safe havens are shrinking. and we have sent a message from the afghan border to the ayab arabian peninsula, to all parts of the globe. we will not relent, we will not waiver and we will defeat you. ( applause ) american leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. because republicans and democrats approved the new start treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the handsof terrorists. ( applause )

because of a diplomatic effort to insist that iran meet its obligations, the iranian government now faces tougher sanctions, tighter sanctions than ever before. and on the korean peninsula, we stand with our ally south korea and insist that north korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons. ( applause ) this is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. with our european allies, we revitalized nato and increased our cooperation on everything from counterterrorism to missile defense. we have reset our relationship with russia, strengthened asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like india. this march, i will travel to brazil, chile and el salvador to forge new alliances across the americas.

around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility. helping farmers grow more food. supporting doctors who care for the sick. and combatting the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity. now recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power. it must also be the purpose behind it. in south sudan with our assistance, the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. ( applause ) thousands lined up before dawn. people danced in the streets. one man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "this was a battlefield for most of my life. now we want to free... now we want to be free."

we saw that same desire to be free in tunisia where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. and tonight let us be clear, the united states of america stands with the people of tunisia and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. ( applause ) we must never forget that the things we've struggled for and fought for live in the hearts of people everywhere. and we must always remember that the americans who have born the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country. ( applause )

tonight let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. let us serve them as well as they have served us. by givin them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits that they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own

nation. our troops come from every corner of this country.6/ they are black, white, latino, asian, native american. they are christian and hindu, jewish and muslim. and, yes, we know that some of them are gay. starting this year no american will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. ( applause ) and with that change, i call on all of our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and the rotc. it is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. it is time to move forward as one nation.

( applause ) we should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. reforming our schools, changing the way we use energy, reducing our deficit. none of this will be easy. all of it will take time. andt will be harder because we will argue about everything. the cost. the details. the letter of every law. of course some countries don't have this problem. if the central government wants a railroad, they build a railroad. no matter how many homes get bull dozed. if they don't want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn't

get written. and yet as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, i know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on earth. ( applause ) ( cheers and applause ) we may have differences in policy but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our constitution. we may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. we may have different

backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything is possible. no matter who you are. no matter where you come from. that dream is why i can stand here before you tonight. that dream is why a working class kid from scranton can sit behind me. ( applause ) that dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father's cincinatti bar can preside as speaker of the house in the greatest nation on earth. ( cheers and applause ) that dream, that american

dream, is what drove the allen brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. it's what drove those students at forsyth tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. and that dream is a story of a small business owner named brandon fisher. brandon started a company in berlin, pennsylvania, that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. one day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world 33 men were trapped in a chilean mine and no one knew how to save them. but brandon thought his company could help. so he designed a rscue that would come to be known as plan- b. his employees workd around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment.

and brandon left for chile. along with others he began drilling a 2,000-foot hole into the ground, working three or four days at a time without any sleep. 37 days later, plap plan-b succeeded and the miners were rescued. ( applause ) but because he didn't want all the attention, brandon wasn't there when the miners emerged. he had already gone back home, back to work on his next project. later one of his employees said of the rescue, "we proved that center rock is a little company but we do big things." ( applause )

we do big things. from the earliest days of our founding, america has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. that's how we win the future. we are a nation that says, "i might not have a lot of money but i have this great idea for a new company. i might not come from a family of college graduates, but i will be the first to get my degree. i might not know those people in trouble, but i think i can help them and i need to try. i'm not sure how we'll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but i know we'll get there. i know we will." we do big things. ( applause ) the idea of america endures. our destiny remains our choice. and tonight, more than two venturis later, it's because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes

forward, and the state of our union is strong. thank you, god bless you, and may god bless the united states of america. ( cheers and applause ) >> lehrer: there we have it. the state of the union address by president barack obama. just over an hour. i'm joined here again with michael gerson and mark shields. they've been listening to the speech with me. what did you think, michael? >> i thought it was a sober economic speech. covered a lot of ground. effective in a certain way. it covered a lot of topics, everything from high speed rail to better cell phone coverage. in the great tradition of the state of the union address. but it reminded me very much a

clinton speech from the 1990s. those were very effective speeches. there was one thing that was lacking though. unlike clinton there was no moment where he said the era of big government is over. it was pretty unapologetic in his activism. that sets up oddly in a very bipartisan speech a large contrast with the republicans, ideological contrast. they think we're in a fiscal crisis that requires a visiting of the role of government itself. that's really not what obama talked about in his speech. >> lehrer: mark? >> i thought the speech had two central themes to it. one of which was not surprising. that is education. a democratic president and particularly this democratic president. the other was surprising, and that was america is open to business. that's who we are. we're a country of entrepreneurs. we're a country of ingenuity.

michael is right. he did make reference to but didn't pause and emphasize government's role in the transcontinental railroad and using the sputnik analogy. he acknowledged and asserted government's importance but he celebrated american entrepreneurial stories and success and said we can outcompete anybody and sort of recast it in a way... i thought it was more reaganesque in terms not of delivery but of evoking our current confidence or what should be our confidence from our past achievements. using that. i thought in that sense it was surprising to me but in many respects it's a speech that one would not have expected from barack obama election night of 2008. i think it's an acknowledgment of the realities not only of

this election but the economic realities of the country. >> lehrer: did you see that? did you hear.... >> i think there was a switch i mean from a stimulus-oriented public job creation, which would have been a year ago to a very business-oriented speech. i'm not sure that's reagan. i think it's more like clinton. a lot of activism there. research and development. we're going to develop new clean energy and do all these things. essentially the government's catalytic role in the private sector which i think is different from the message that the president had adopted before. i was a little bit disappointed that there wasn't more on the deficit. i don't think there was any policy breakthrough here. he talked about a five-year freeze but he talked in last year's state of the union about a three-year freeze. he talked about tax increases that he's been talking about since the primaries. there was really no specifics on social security or medicare. maybe that will come in the budget. maybe there will be more when it comes but it was not a real emphasis of the speech. >> lehrer: what about the

spirit and the tone about what the president said and how he said it? >> i thought he was quite serious. i thought the chamber was quite serious tonight. gone was that unwelcome puppetry from the past where our side jumps up and then sits on our hands and the other side jumps up. i think mark udall's bringing people together, it made me a little less willing to be part of the herd jumping up on my side to cheer each time if i'm sitting with somebody from the other party. i noticed, you know, john kerry sitting john mccain. patty murray the chairman of the democratic senate campaign committee of washington sitting with jon corn inthe republican chairman from the campaign committee from texas. there's a little less willingness to do it. i think maybe it took a little bit of the, what we come to expect, the pep rally aspect of it, of the speech. >> it was a little lower

energy level. but as a former speech writer, it puts more emphasis on the words themselves instead of the up-and-down of the emotions of the chamber. i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. i think.... >> lehrer: people were listening to it. >> exactly. the president is very good at explaining. explaining how our economy has changed. explaining why we need to do research and development, explaining... and he brings the listener along in a logical way. i think it's one of his real skills. i think he's sometimes good at inspiration but is actually better at explanation. this speech had a lot of kind of serious economic explanation. >> i agree with michael. what amazed me was the applause lines were on education. i went through and kind of marked down. i mean when he went through the business of... we must teach our children that it's not just the winner of the

super bowl that deserves to be celebrated but the winner of the science fair. >> lehrer: hold on one second, mark. i just want people to see the return... what we've been watching there as the president leaves and he is now signing autographs. he's almost to that sergeant of arms of the congress area who is going to take him out in a moment. it is almost over. and then in about five minutes we're going to get after that we're going to get the official republican response from congressman paul ryan of wisconsin who is chairman of the bunk it committee. he's going to be speaking from the capitol in the budget committee room. there in that very... in the house. we'll be hearing from him in a few moments. go ahead. >> there were a succession of applause lines, the people who

educate our children with the same level of respect. if you want to make a difference in the life of a child become a teacher. your country needs you. i mean those were not applause lines most of the times. they are certainly positive lines and get a positive reaction. but they got big big hands tonight. >> lehrer: how do you read that? why do you think that happened? >> well, i mean, i hope it's a recognition of the importance of education and the importance of teachers and the importance of values. you know, i think that's... and it's a recognition of america's competition in the world. i mean, i'll be honest with you. every speech contains something in it, gee, i never knew that. what i didn't know is that we were ninth in the world in college graduates. i likely assumed we were still in the top three or whatever. now we're ninth. he said we're going to restore

ourselves by the end of this decade to be number one in college graduates. that got another big applause line. we get the expected applause and deservedly so for those who serve in the u.s. military. that is reliable, predictable and totally legitimate. it surprised me tonight in the sort of inteváuç in a night when there weren't that many standing applause. >> lehrer: were you surprised at all by the reaction, the various reactions from the members? do you think, michael, it was affected by this kind of date situation that existed, that they were not in herd form? >> i think that that's probably exactly right. i mean, when you got a group of people in a certain section, they feed one another. there's a cycle of enthusiasm. this was different. but i actually don't think it was infior. it a different feel. but it was a sober speech.

a sober moment. you know, i think it was appropriate in this case. >> lehrer: then i take it what you're saying is that you expected or thought there should be more specifics about the deficit and about the budget rather than education and future and innovation which he put the number one emphasis on. >> i do think that's a serious test of credibility moving forward is just, you know, and a contrast. you will see paul ryan, his remarks are distributed now. his is a speech about the role of government in american society. and an argument that we're in a financial crisis, an emergency, that requires us to completely rethink the way that government acts, its size and role. the president didn't have that tonight. i mean he talked about expanding high speed rail service to 80% of the american pub. that's a different set of priorities. so there's going... even

though both of them will be very civil and very bipartisan, u're going t e a very large contrast in philosophy. so tonight... this is a good thing from my perspective, you're going to see one philosophy and another one very, very different. a clear choice. i'm not sure who is reading the american public better. the president may well win that contest. but it's a clear contrast. >> lehrer: clear contrast. >> i think there will be. i mean it's the difference being the chairman of the house budget committee, especially as a first-time chair, than it is being president of the united states. the way the president cast his argument was in terms of national competitiveness. we are in a race with china and india, and japan and other countries that obviously have high speed rail and that... the greater penetration of the internet into the homes of south korea than there are in

the united states. he was talking about government's role in that. should there be a government role in it? i think that is a legitimate and probably overdue debate. you know, i think we'll start to see the outlines of it tonight. >> just think he did a better job in explaining how we're going to compete with china than ou how we're going to be avoid being greece. both of them are quite important. i think the republicans will emphasize the second element more tonight. >> the other thing, jim, just in response to michael. how little applause there was for his budget. that was the most tepid response of anything. >> the five-year? >> yeah, the five year we're going to freeze. there was no enthusiasm on the democratic side. no response on the republican side. the old rule in politics that general... everybody.... >> lehrer: just don't cut my area. all right. we're going to be back, michael and mark, in just a

moment or in a few moments because now we're going to go to the republican response. it's from republican congressman paul ryan of wisconsin. he is chairman of the house budget committee. he will in fact play a very key role in the g.o.p. drive to cut federal spending this year. he's going to speakin a moment here from the budget committee's hearing room. >> good evening. i'm congressman paul ryan from wisconsin. chairman here at the house budget committee. president obama just addressed a congressional chamber filled with many new faces. one face we did not see tonight was that of our friend and colleague congresswoman gabrielle giffords of arizona. we all miss gabby and her cheerful spirit. we are praying for her to return to the house chamber. earlier this month president obama spoke movingly at a memorial event for the six people who died on that violent morning in tucson. still, there are no words that can lift the sorrow that now

engulfs the families and the friends of the fallen. what we can do is assure them that the nation is praying for them, that in the words of the psalmist the lord heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. and that over time grace will replace grief. as gabby continues to make encouraging progress we must keep her and the others in our thoughts as we attend to the work now before us. tonight the president focused a lot of attention on our economy in general. and on our deficit and debt in particular. he was right to do so. and some of his words were reassuring. as chairman of the house budget committee, i assure you that we want to work with the president to restrain federal spending. in one of our first acts in the new majority, house republicans voted to cut congress's own budget. just today the house voted to restore the spending discipline that washington sorely needs. the reason is simple. a few years ago reducing spending was important. today it's imperative.

here's why. we face a crushing burden of debt. the debt will soon eclipse our entire economy and grow to catastrophic levels in the years ahead. on this current path when my three children who are now 6, 7 and 8 years old are raising their own children, the federal government will double in size and so will the taxes they pay. no economy can sustain such high levels of debt and taxation. the next generation willen her it a stagnant economy and a diminished country. frankly, it's one of my greatest concerns as a parent. i know many of you feel the same way. our debt is the product of acts by many presidents and many congresses over many years. no one person or party is responsible for it. there's no doubt the president came into office facing a severe fiscal and economic situation. unfortunately instead of restoring the fundamental of economic growth he engaged in a stimulus spending spree that

not only failed to deliver on his promise to create jobs but also plunged us even deeper into debt. the facts are clear. since taking office, president obama has signed into law spending increases of nearly 25% for domestic government agencies and 84% increase when you include the failed stimulus. all of this new government spending was sold as an investment. yet after two years, the unemployment rate remains above 9%. and government has added over $3 trillion to our debt. the president and his party made matters even worse by creating a new open ended health care entitlement. what we already know about the president's health care law is this: costs are going up. premiums are rising. millions of people will lose the coverage they currently have. job creation is being stifled by all of its taxes, penalties, mandates and fees. businesses and unions from

around the country are asking the obama administration for waivers from the mandates. washington should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. the president mentioned the need for regulatory reform, to ease the burden on american businesses. we agree. and we think this health care law would be a great place to start. last week house republicans voted for a full repeal of this law as we pledged to do. and we will work to replace it with fiscally responsible patient-centered reforms that actually reduce costs and expand coverage. health care spending is driving the explosive growth of our debt. and the president's law is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy. our debt is out of control. what was a fisl challenge is now a fiscal crisis. we cannot deny it. in instead we must as americans confront it responsibly. and that is exactly what republicans pledge to do. americans are skeptical of

both political parties. that skepticism is justified, especially when it comes to spending. so hold all of us accountable. in this very room the house will produce debate in and advance a budget. last year in an unprecedented failure, congress chose not to pass or even propose a budget. the spending spree continued unchecked. we owe you a better choice and a different vision. our forth coming budget is our obligation to you to show you how we would do things differently, how we will cut spending to get the debt down. help create jobs and prosperity and reform government programs. if we act soon and if we act responsibly, people in and near retirement will be protected. these budget debates are not just about the programs of government. they're also about the purpose of government. so i'd like to share with you the principles that guide us. they are anchored in the wisdom of the founders, in the

spirit of the declaration of independence and in the words of the american constitution. they have to do with the importance of limited government and the blessing of self-government. we believe government's role is both vital and limited: to defend the nation from attack and provide for the common defense, to secure our borders, to protect innocent life, to uphold our laws and constitutional rights, to ensure domestic turang quilt and equal opportunity and to provide a safety net to help provide a safety net for those who cannot provide for themselves. we believe that the government has an important role to create the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility, and individual responsibility. we believe as our founders did that the pursuit of happiness depends on the individual liberty. individual liberty requires limited government. limited government also means effective government. when governmentakes on too many tasks, it usually doesn't

do any of them very well. it's no coincidence that trust in government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high. the president and the democratic leadership have shown by their actions that they believe government needs to increase its size and its reach. its price tag and its power. whether sold as stimulus or repackaged as investment, their actions show they want a federal government that controls too much, taxes too much, and spends too much in order to do too much. and during the last two years, that is exactly what we have gotten. along with record deficits and debt. to the point where the president is now urging congress to increase the debt limit. we believe the days of business as usual must come to an end. we hold to a couple of simple convictions. endless borrowing is not a strategy. spending cuts have to come first.

our nation is approaching a tipping point. we're at a moment where if government's growth is left unchecked and unchallenged america's best century will be considered our past century. this is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock which lulls able-bodied people into lies of complacency and dependencyment depending on democracy to foster innovation, competitiveness and wise consumer choices has never worked and it won't work now. we need to chart a new course. speaking candidly as one citizen to another, we still have time but not much time. if we continue down our current path, we know what our future will be. just take a look at what's happening to greece, ireland, the united kingdom and other nations in europe. they didn't act soon enough. now their governments have been forced to impose painful austerity measures, large benefit cuts to seniors, and

huge tax increases on everybody. their day of reckoning has arrived. ours is around the corner. that is why we have to act now. some people will back away from this challenge. but i see this challenge as an opportunity to rebuild what lincoln called the central ideas of the republic. we believe a renewed commitment to limited government will unshackle our economy and create millions of new jobs and opportunities for all people of every background to succeed and prosper. under this approach, the spirit of initiative not political chroult determines who succeeds. millions of families have fallen on hard times not because of our ideals of free enterprise but because our leaders failed to live up to tse ideals. because of poor decisions made in washington and wall street that caused the financial crisis, squandered our savings, broke our trust and crippled our economy. today a similar kind of

irresponsibility threatens not only our livelihoods but our way of life. we need to reclaim our american system of limited government, low taxes, reasonable regulations and sound money which has blessed us with unpress depteded prosperity. and it has done@z more to help the poor than any other economic system ever degned. that's the real secret to job creation, not borrowing and spending more money in washington. limited government and free enterprise have helped make america the greatest nation on earth. these are not easy times. but america is an exceptional nation. in all the chapters of human history there has never been anything quite like america. the american story has been cherished, advanced, and defended over the centuries. and it now falls to this generation to pass on to our children a nation that is stronger, more vibrant, more

decent and better than the one we inherited. thank you and good night. >> lehrer: that was congressman paul ryan of wisconsin giving the republican response to president obama's state of the union address. now some closing thoughts from shields and gerson. that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "washington post" columnist michael gerson. as michael said there are two very contrasting views of the world or the itedtate of america, would you not say? >> i would certainly say that they are. congressman ryan made his case directly. and with the emphasis strong on spending. with president obama there was the sense of this is what we can do. and with congressman ryan there was a sense of if we don't do it, this is what will happen. sort of a little bit of a paul revere sound to his speech. but, you know, straightforward.

serious. he did not present his own proposals, a plan, as he was speaking for the party. he is of course the architect of the republican... the principal republican budget- cutting proposal. >> lehrer: is that the way to read that, michael, this was paul ryan speaking for the republican party. this wasn't just paul ryan's view of what should be done. >> yes, he didn't go into the details of his own budget blurint. that comes next. i strongly agree with mark. i think this was a tough, serious little speech. it was very philosophic. he kept talking about limited government. he seemed to imply that this was at stake, that the principle of limited government was at stake given these decisions on the deficit. i think that would appeal to tea party people not just to republican mainstream. i think that it's reagan-like in a certain way. reagan made similar arguments.

a philosophic contrast. i'm not sure where america is. you know, after the last election it looked like they were ready for this kind of fundamental reconsideration of what government should be and do. but now, you know, things may have shifted a little bit in the last few months. it's hard to determine. i mean we'll find out. these are two very different appeals. >> lehrer: is the ryan approach, the republican approach, in terms of tone and spirit the same thing i asked about president obama's, what kind of marks would you give ryan's speech? >> i think it was tough but civil. you know, and there were even some memorable lines in the speech where he said we still have time but not much time. that's a tough message. it's very, very different. the president had much more of a re-election message which is hope and opportunity and creativity and innovation.

i think that's a better political message in many ways to be honest with you. but, you know, i fear that ryan's analysis may correspond closer to our reality right now. and e whole political philosophy of republicans and democrats have to take that seriously. >> there are two kind of conservatives the five minutes to min need midnight conservative and the five minute to dawn conservative. ronald reg want as the five minute to dawn conservative. things are bad but they'll get better. i thought paul ryan came closer to the five minutes to midnight. the one line in it that surprised me is this is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock which lulls able bodied people into dependency. i haven't heard that since 1995 to 1996. that was the one jarring note i thought that may have been a

concession to a particular constituency. but i think that's the contrast. if i had one major speech was that there wasn't enough optimism. if you do this, if we have this castor oil and have it in this cold showers and root canal tha itis gng be bete and itoing t b a lot better. that did not come through to me. >> lehrer: was there enough there about, other than just say this is what we need to do, here's how we need to do it. that's big stuff he's talking about. >> i agree with that. but he is a big supporter of entitlement reform and medicare. but i'm not sure that there's a consensus within the republican party on that either. i think this fiscal challenge is a challenge to both parties not just to one. i think ryan has not necessarily built a consensus within the republicanarty. it's a big debate going on right now where they are on this. both of them will have to

become more specific over time. you're going to have the president's budget in february and the house putting together their own budget. we'll get more details. >> lehrer: of course congressman ryan says we need to limit government. president obama said we need to reorganize government. if you wanted to say, oh, they're saying the same things but they're not, are they? >> no. reform and energize it. president obama was government as an engine of social and economic change. >> lehrer: and the ryan republican approach is.... >> overreaching government is actually an enemy of self-government. that's a very tough political philosophic argument. there was a more positive element return to go this lincolnian vision of self-government but it's definitely, you know, a contrast. >> lehrer: and a very stark difference as you say, yes. okay. good to see you, michael. thank you. mark, good to see you. thank you both for being with us. that is our state of the union coverage. it does continue online and

hari sreenivasan previews that. >> our newshour correspondent along with a cast of experts in foreign affairs, economic, health care and other field are annotating the full text of tonight's speech with links for context, commentary and background. we're gathering reactions from lawmakers on capitol hill. watch those interviews later this evening on our you-tube page. and we're even trying to translate the president's addressnto several different languages. it's part of a new crowd- sourcing tool if you have foreign language skills check the rundown blog to find ou how you can help. all on o wbsi at newshour. >> lehrer: that's one part of the project i not be involved in. thank you. that does end this special edition of the newshour. in addition to our on-line coverage, we will have analysis and reaction to the president's speech and the response right here tomorrow evening on the newshour. for now, i'm jim lehrer. thank you and good night.

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the japanese began invading our section of the country in bataan. >> ausman: now, you also were a survivor of the death march. >> that was in april 9 when we surrendered. i was not actually rescued. i was able to change my army uniform into civilian clothes, and then the japanese were not so much conscious of me anymore. they just let me go. and finally, when there were no japanese around, i walked into the outside of the line and went into the houses and hid there for a while. >> ausman: you and your wife raised nine children. >> yes. >> ausman: could you tell me what some of the most important things you taught them were?

>> honesty. frankness when they speak. i don't like them telling any lies. and i taught them to be generous to people, treat people nicely. 'cause i've been a--person-- or people person even when i was young. i just love people, that's all. and of course, we taught them strictly about chastity. >> ausman: i understand. and if you had it to do over again, would you still come to the united states? >> oh, definitely. definitely. >> ausman: what about today's youngsters would you change? >> oh. there's not much respect for the elder people nowadays, the way i see it. and there's too much-- well, too much love for money, material things in life. we're surviving on a very small social security pay,

and we're still happy. if other people have our pay-- just a little over $1,000 a month-- but we're very happy. see, in life, when you grow old, you realize that it's not the money that really counts. it's your faith in god and love for your own family and love for people. that's what makes me happy. >> ausman: thank you. nobody has said it better. >> thank you. >> ausman: thank you very much. >> lamont: this family's doing what many families around the world do: demonstrating the importance of living together and helping one another and then passing those values on to the next generation. >> but i think in the asian culture, they really respect the elderly more than our culture does. and i think that that's a sad thing, because i think it's very important that families stay bonded together

and help each other. and that model is a very good model. >> ausman: you've planned your whole future. your life's set out perfectly in front of you. suddenly, you have a stroke and you go blind. that's exactly what happened to sandy lawson. here's how she coped with those challenges. >> sandy lawson six years ago was working on her 24th year with the riverside county sheriff's department as a corporal at the riverside county jail in blythe, california. and i was a training officer. and my whole thing was, i was going to do three more years. i was gonna retire. live in phoenix, arizona, play guitars, play a little flute. my life was just planned out. i was going to relax and have a great time. >> lamont: what happened five years ago? >> i had a stroke. i didn't know i had a stroke. my body just stopped working slowly. and the next thing i knew, i was in the hospital. >> lamont: when did you begin

to lose your vision? >> probably about three weeks after. >> lamont: all right, so between the stroke and the loss of vision, how did things change for you? >> well, after a while, my department retired me because i was no longer viable as a training officer working in a county jail facility. >> lamont: your motor functions are suffering especially on your left side, and they dropped you off at home with a check in your pocket? >> uh, several checks. [laughs] but yes. that's exactly what happened. it was very quick; it was very abrupt. and nothing in your life prepares you for any type of abrupt changes like that. >> lamont: so you had to start working right away just to regain basic ability to clothe yourself, bathe yourself, that sort of thing. >> yeah. it was all about survival. >> lamont: sure. >> and nothing else mattered, you know, but once everything started to come back to me, then i realized that i couldn't do anything. my doctors told me, "you're disabled." >> lamont: all plans are changed

now. >> oh, yeah. you know, i said, "well, you know, i could work at a bookstore," but, no, i had vertigo. i had a whole bunch of other things going on. and i'm a diabetic. so all these things are going on, and i had nothing to do but sit and steam and stew and be angry. >> lamont: you got angry? >> oh, yes. very angry at everybody, at everything. you know, my friends, my best friend, she stuck by me through it all, but i was a terrible, terrible person. >> lamont: so for about three years, you sat at home. >> yes, steaming. >> lamont: at everyone and everything. >> yes. >> lamont: mad at the disease? >> at everything. i--and you know that you're doing it. but you keep on anyway. [laughs] >> lamont: what changed? >> my best friend said to me, "you know, it's about time that you went to this place that i heard about," because she was into charitable works. and she took me to a stroke center. and i went there, and it wasn't too bad, but it wasn't really what i wanted, because my vision was becoming

more of a priority. because not being able to see was more of a hindrance to me than anything else. and so she brought me over to the braille institute. and i talked to the therapist there, and we decided i would start classes here. and that's where i met the people that are here, because they're just like me. they have vision problems, and they're a lot older than i am. i'm 53 years old, but a lot of these people, you know, they are in their 90s. and so when we go to therapy sessions and talk about things, and i would spout out all my rhetoric and everything... >> lamont: all your anger. >> they could say to me, "listen, this is what i did. this is how i felt. this is how i handled that. this is what my friends did, what my daughter did." what every--you know. every little thing, they had an answer for. so i was still angry, but when i went home, i could think about what they said to me and put it in some type of-- what do you say? some type of a situation that i could agree with. >> lamont: now for the past

two years, you've been coming to the braille institute. you've learned how to dress yourself again, how to live life as a stroke victim and as a blind person, and now you've re-learned and regained the ability to cook. >> okay. >> sandy, you'd be the best one. in this pitcher is crushed tomatoes... >> ausman: oh. >> with, again, italian spices and some sauce. and we're gonna cook this all together. go ahead. but don't splash. gently. >> ausman: you wait until it's brown, your other ingredients are brown? >> yeah, everything is cooked. the chicken breasts have been sauteed in good olive oil. >> ausman: fabulous. >> and as you can see-- >> lamont: how's your outlook now? what's your attitude like these days? >> better. i use a transit system called sundial. and they come curb to curb for disabled people, and i'm able to make reservations to go to places that i want to go to. you know, by myself.

i want to go to this restaurant. i've never heard of it, i've never been--you know, i've never been there, but i want to go and try out whatever they got. and so i'll make a reservation, i'll go, and i'm really stretching to move forward with my life. >> lamont: what advice would you give others that find themselves in the situation where a sudden curveball was thrown to them right in the middle of their life, changing all their plans? >> i would say take a deep breath and bear down. just get ready to go through some very unpleasant times. and understand that you're gonna be nasty and terrible to people, but people aren't going to necessarily be mean or ugly to you. there's nothing like people. you learn--when you have some disability, you learn that it's okay to say, "can you help me?" you know, a lot of people won't say, "can you help me?" but it's a big thing, and it's a big challenge to say, "can you help me do this?" and people will. i mean, they actually will. because i've had to say to people, "could you help me

step off this curb? because i can't see it." people are there to help you, and they will help you. if you explain to them exactly what your problem is, they'll help you. >> lamont: sandy lawson had to get rid of her own anger before she could begin to work on accepting her physical challenges. >> ausman: the public libraries and the government have extensive lists of organizations. if you need help, consult them. you may also want to consult our website at: >> lamont: we've had a great opportunity to meet inspiring people on the leading gen! here's just a few of the people you'll meet in future episodes who have found solutions to the challenges in their life. mary and doug austin face tremendous health problems. mary, with pancreatic cancer, and doug, recovering from three strokes. nevertheless, they found ways to help the community, and the community found ways

to help doug and mary. >> ausman: shirley bigna became widowed in her 20s, worked as a hairdresser to provide for herself and her two young children. now, at age 70, shirley drives over the mountains and back 2 1/2 hours a day to get to her new job as one of the few virtual librarians in the united states. >> lamont: social worker kathy halkin provides some important insight on how to care for aging parents. all this and more on the leading gen! what will you do with the rest of your life? >> announcer: if you'd like to purchase a copy of this program or the series, contact us at: or: >> lamont: the leading gen! what will you do with the rest of your life? is produced by the waymaster corporation in cooperation

with kvcr tv. captioning by captionmax www.captionmax.com >> announcer: we thank the following underwriters for their kind cooperation in bringing the leading gen! to you on this station.