to add jobs and build factories, wicked smart. >> when i became governor of massachusetts, i took the skills i learned in business and looked at our budget. we were $3 billion out of balance. >> i will never forget the first cabinet meeting the governor list of billion gap iny-day fund. >> when he came into office we were in fiscal crisis. when we came out we were on much more solid footing. >> his whole life has brought him to this point of being able to have the skills and the experience to be able to tackle something as difficult as this the, as

turning this country around. >> mitt romney is in this race, i believe, not just for himself. he's in it to improve the lives of the american people. >> an extraordinary chief executive officer. i know he understands the economy. >> uniquely qualified to get our economy moving again. >> takes control. >> not a stuffed shirt guy. >> charismatic. >> he is rock solid. >> an authentic leader. his values are so strong. >> he's a man of faith. >> extraordinary character. >> he cares about the lives of those and voices that are unheard. >> amazing, humble man. >> i think he has a great deal of pride. >> finds a way of turning adversity into opportunity. >> he knows he is the only guy that can do what it will take to turn this country around.

within i did devote every waking hour of my energy to getting america strong again. that's what an american president has to do. >> u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! >> woodruff: i've seen some effective video presentations of a nominee that has to be at the top. >> ifill: we've been talking all night everything seems to be a progression of one to the other. we have had lows with emotion and highs with excitement and music and now obviously they're building to a dramatic mystery again. >> we know who it is but we'll let everybody who is watching figure it out when they see him, when he walks

out on stage. pay attention, i think we'll recognize him. (cheers and applause) >> thank you very much. (cheers and applause) >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. save a little for mitt. (laughter) i know what you're thinking, you're thinking what's a movie tradesman doing out

here. you know they are all left wingers out there, left of lennon, at least that is what people think. but that's not really the case. there's a lot of conservative people a lot of moderate people, republicans, democrats in hollywood. it is just the conservative people by the nature of the word itself play it a little more close to the vest and they don't go around hot dogging it. so-- (laughter) (cheers and applause) >> but they're there, believe me, they're there. and i just think, in fact, some of them around town, i saw jon voilt, there's-- vote, terrific guy, and these people are all like-minded like all of us. so i have got-- i've got mr. obama sitting here and he's-- i just was going to

ask him a couple questions. but you know, about, i remember three and a half years ago when mr. obama won the election. and though i wasn't a big supporter, i was watching that night when he was having that thing. and they were talking about hope and change and they were talking about yes, we can. and it was dark outdoors and it was nice. and people were lighting candles. and they were saying, you know, i just thought this is great. i mean everybody's crying, oprah was crying. (laughter) i was even crying. and then finally i haven't cried that hard since i found out that there's 23 million unemployed people in this country. (applause) now that is something to cry for because that is a

disgrace, a national disgrace. and we haven't done enough, obviously, this administration hasn't done enough to cure that. and whatever-- whatever interest they have is not strong enough. and i think possibly now it may be time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem. (cheers and applause) >> so mr. president, how do you handle-- how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election? and how do you handle-- how do you handle it? i mean what do i say to people? do you just-- you know, i know people, people are wondering-- you don't-- you

don't-- okay, well, i know even some people in your observe party were very disappointed when you didn't close gitmo. and i thought well, i think closing gitmo, why close that, we spent so much money on it. but i thought maybe it is an excuse, what do you mean shut up? (laughter) okay, i thought it was just because somebody had a stupid idea of trying a terrorist in downtown new york city, maybe that was it. (cheers and applause) i've got to hand it to you. i have to give credit where cede sit due, you did overrule that finally. and that's, so now we're moving onward. and i know, i know you were against the war in iraq. and that's okay. but you thought the war in afghanistan was okay. you thought that was

something that was worth doing. we didn't check with the russians to see how they did there for the ten years. (laughter) but we did it. and it was-- you know, it's something to be thought about. and i think that when we get to maybe, i think, you mentioned something about having a target date for bringing everybody home. and you've given that target date and i think mr. romney ask thed only sensible question. he said why are you giving the date out now. why don't you just bring them home tomorrow morning. (applause) i thought yeah-- i'm not going to shut up. it's my turn. (laughter) >> so anyway, we're going to have to have a little chat

about that. and then i just wondered, all these promises. and then i wondered about you know, when the-- what? what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. he can't do that to himself. you're crazy. you're absolutely crazy. (laughter) you're getting as bad as biden. (laughter) (cheers and applause) of course we all know biden is the intellect of the democratic party so-- (laughter) just a kind of a grin with a body behind it, you know, that kind of thing.

but i just think that there's so much to be done. and i think that mr. romney and mr. ryan are two guys that can come along. see, i never thought that it was a good idea for attorneys to be president anyway because-- (applause) i think attorneys are so busy, you know, they're always taught to argue everything and weigh everything and weigh both sides. and they're always, you know, they're always devil's advocating this and bifurcating this and bifurcating that, you know, all that stuff. but i think it's maybe time, what do you think, for maybe a businessman, how about that. (cheers and applause) a stellar businessman,

quote, unquote, a stellar businessman. and i think it's that time. and i think if you just kind of stepped aside and mr. romney can take over, you could still use the plane. though maybe a smaller one, not that big gas guzzler that you are driving around when are you going around to colleges and talking about student loans and stuff like that. you're an ecological man, why would you want to drive that truck around. okay. well anyway, all right, i'm sorry. i can't do that to myself either. anyway. (laughter) but i would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen, something that i think is very important, is that you, we, we own this country. (cheers and applause)

>> thank you, thank you. yes, we own it. and it's not you owning it and not politicians owning it. politicians are employees of ours. and so-- they're just going to come around and beg for votes every few years. it's the same old deal. but i just think that it's important that you realize that, that you're the best in the world. and whether you are democrat or whether you are a republican or whether you a libertarian or whatever, you are the best. and we should not ever forget that. and when somebody does to the do the job, we've got to let them go. (cheers and applause)

let them go. okay, just remember that. and i'm speaking out for everybody out there. it doesn't hurt. we don't have to be-- i don't say that word any more. well, maybe one last time. we don't have to be, what i'm saying is we don't have to be masochists and vote for somebody that we don't really want in office. just because they seem to be nice guys or maybe not so nice guys if you look at some of the recent ads going out there.

i don't know. (applause) but okay, you want to make my day, huh? all right. (cheers and applause) >> all right, i'll start it, you finish it. go ahead -- >> make my day! (cheers and applause) >> all right, thank you, thank you very much. >> of course that was the actor clint eastwood getting the crowd to chant along with him, make my day. when someone doesn't do the job you've got to let him go is what he says. and now the introduction of the nominee, falls to florida senator marco rubio, rising star, son of cuban

immigrants. tough act to follow in some ways, gwen. >> ifill: i'll say. >> thank you. i think i just drank clint eastwood's water, thank you. i want to thank you so much. thank you so much for having me here today. and thank you so much for doing this convention here in florida. you know, before i begin-- thank you. before i begin, this is such an important night for our country. i want to take just, with your permission, just a few seconds to talk about another country, a country located just a few hundred miles away from the city, the country of my parent's birth. there's no freedom or liberty in cuba. and tonight i ask for your prayers that soon freedom and liberty will be theirs as well. (cheers and applause) this is a big honor for me.

not so long ago i was just a deep underdog candidate, the only people that that thought i could win all lived in my house. (laughter) four of them were under the age of ten. but this is incredible when i was asked to introduce governor romney who we will hear from in just a moment. i promise you, he is backstage ready to go. (cheers and applause) >> and so i called a few people and i asked them, what should i say. and they had a lot of different opinions. but the one thing they all said was, don't mess it up. (laughter) so i thought the best way to introduce mitt romney tonight, the next president of the united states-- (cheers and applause) is to talk about what this election is about. and i'm so honored to be able to do it here in florida at the republican national convention in front of all you patriots. (cheers and applause) >> i watched my first convention in 1980 with my grandfather. my grandfather was born to a

farming-- farming family in rural cuba. childhood polio left him permanently disabled. because he couldn't work the farm his family sent him to school. he was the only one in his family that knew how to read. he was a huge influence on me growing up. as a boy, i used to sit on the porch of our house and listen to the stories about history and politics and baseball, as he would puff on one of his three daily pedrone cigars. now i don't remember, it's been three decades since we last sat on that porch. and i don't remember all the things he talked to me about. but the one thing i remember is one thing he wanted me never to forget, that the dreams he had when he was young became impossible to achieve. but there was no limit how far i could go because i was an american. (cheers and applause) now for those of us, here's

why i say that. here's why i say that. because for those of us who were born and raised in this country, sometimes it becomes easy to forget how special america is. but my grandfather understood how different america was from the rest of the world, because he knew life outside america. tonight you will hear from another man who understands what makes america exceptional. (cheers and applause) mitt romney knows america's prosperity didn't happen because our government simply spent more money. it happened because our people used our own money to open a business. and when they succeed, they hire more people who invest or spend their money in the economy, helping others start a business or create jobs. now tonight we have heard for a long time now about mitt romney's success in business, it's well-known. but we've also learned that he's so much more than that.

mitt romney i a devoted husband, a father, a grandfather, a generous member of his community and church. a role model for younger americans like myself. everywhere he's been he's volunteered his time and talent to make things better for those around him. and we are blessed that a man like this will soon be the president of these united states. (cheers and applause) now let me be clear so no one misunderstands. our problem with president obama isn't that he's a bad person, okay. by all accounts, he too is a good husband, and a good father, and thanks to a lot of practice, a good golfer. (laughter) our problem is not that he's a bad person. our problem is that he is a bad president. (cheers and applause)

>> you think he's watching tonight? (laughter) because his new slogan for his campaign is the word "forward" forward, a government that spends $1 trillion more than it takes in? an $800 billion stimulus that created more debt than jobs? a government intervention into health care paid for with higher taxes and cuts to medicare, scores of new rules and regulations. these ideas don't move us forward. these ideas move us backwards. (cheers and applause) these are tired and old big government ideas that have failed every time and everywhere they've been tried. these are ideas that people come to america to get away from. (cheers and applause)

these are ideas that threaten to make america more like the rest of the world instead of helping the rest of the world become more like america. (cheers and applause) as for his old slogan, under barack obama the only change is that hope is hard to find. (laughter) now sadly millions of americans are insecure about their future. but instead of inspiring us, by reminding us of what makes us special, he divides us against each other. he tells americans that they're worse off because others are better off. that rich people got rich by making other people poor. hope and change has become divide and conquer.

(applause) but in the end this selection doesn't matter how you feel about president obama because this election is about your future, not about his. (cheers and applause) an this election is not simply a choice between a democrat and a republican. it's a choice about what kind of country we want america to be. (cheers and applause) and as we prepare to make this choice, we should remember what made us special. you see, for most of our human history,-- history, almost everybody was poor. power and wealth only belong to a few. your rights are whatever your rulers allowed you to have. your future was determined by your past. if your parents were poor, so would you be. if you were born without opportunities, so were your children. but america was founded on the principles that every person has god given rights.

(cheers and applause) founded on the belief that power belongs to the people, that government exists to protect our rights and serve our interests. and that no one should be trapped in the circumstances of their birth. we should be free to go as far as our talented and our work can take us. (cheers and applause) and we're special, we're special because we're united not as a common race or a common ethnicity. we're bound together by common values, that family is the most important institution in society. (applause) and that almighty god is the source of all we have.

(cheers and applause) we're special, we're special because we've never made the mistake of believing that we are so smart that we can rely solely on our leaders or on our government. our national motto in god we trust reminding us that faith in our creator is the most important american value of them all. (cheers and applause) an we're special, we're special because we've always understood the script actual admonition that for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required. (applause)

well, my fellow americans, we are a uniquely blessed people. and we have honored those blessings with the enduring exame pell of an exceptional america. (cheers and applause) i know from any of you watching at home tonight the last few years have tested your faith in the promise of america. maybe you're at an age when you thought you would be entering retirement. but now because your savings and investments are wiped out, your future is uncertain. maybe after years of hard work this was the time you expected to be your prime easterning years but instead are you laid off and your house is worth less than your mortgage. maybe did you everything you were told to do to get ahead. you studied hard and finished school. but now you owe thousands of dollars in student loans, you can't find a job in your field and you've had to move back in with your parents. you want to believe that we're still that special place where anything is

possible. but you just-- things just don't seem to be getting any better. and you wonder if things will ever be the same again. yes, we live in a troubled time, but the story of those who came before us reminded us that america has always been about new beginnings. and mitt romney is running for president because he knows that if we are willing to do for our children what our parents did for us, life in america can be better than it has ever been. (cheers and applause) >> my mother was one of seven girls whose parents often went to bed hungry so their children wouldn't. my father lost his mother when he was nine. he had to leave school and go to work. and he would work for the next 70 years of his life. they immigrated to america

with little more than the hope of a better life. my dad was a bartender, my mom was a cashier, a hotel made, a stock clerk at kmart. they never made it big. they were never rich. and yet they were successful, because just a few decades removed from hopelessness, they made possibl for us all the things that had been impossible for them many nights growing up i would hear my father's keys jingling at the door as he came home after another 16 hour day. many mornings i woke up just as my mother got home from the overnight shift at kmart. when you're young and you're in a hurry, the meaning of moments like this escape you. but now as my children get older, i understand it better. my dad used to tell u us-- (speaking spanish)-- in this country, in this

country are you going to be able to accomplish all the things we never could. a few years ago during a speech i noticed the bartender behind the portable ball in the back of the ballroom. and i remembered my father who worked for many years as a banquet bartender. he was grateful for the work he had. but that's not the life he wanted for us. you see, he stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years so one day i could stand behind a podium in the front of a room. (cheers and applause) >> that journey, that journey from behind that bar to behind this podium goes to the essence of the

american miracle. that we're exceptional not because we have more rich people here. we're special because dreams that are impossible anywhere else, they come true here. (applause) but that's not just my story. that's your story. that's our story. that's the story of your mothers who struggled to give you what you never had. that's the story of your fathers that worked two jobs so that the doors that had been closed for them would be open for you. that is the story of that teacher or that coach that taught you to the lessons that made you who you are today. and it's the story of a man who was born into an uncertain future in a foreign country. his family came to america to escape revolution. they struggled through poverty and the great depression. and yet he rose to be an admired businessman and

public servant. and in november, his son mitt romney will be elected president of these united states. (cheers and applause) >> in america,-- in america we are all just a generation or two removed from someone who made our future the purpose of their lives. america is the story of every day people who did extraordinary things. a story woven deep into the fabric of our society. their stories may never be famous, but in the lives

they live, you will find the essence of america's greatness. and to make sure that america is still a place where tomorrow is always better than yesterday, that is what our politics have been about. and that is what we are deciding this election. (cheers and applause) we decide do we want our children to inherit our hopes and dreams or do we want them to inherit our problems. because mitt romney believes that if we succeed in changing the direction of our country, our children and grandchildren will be the most prosperous generation ever and their achievements will astonish the world. (cheers and applause) its story of our time will be written by americans who haven't yet even been born.

let us make sure they write that we did our part. that in the early years of this new century we lived it in an uncertain time. but we did not allow fear to cause us to abandon what made us special. we chose more government instead of more freedom. we chose the principleses of our foundings to solve the challenges of our time. we chose a special man to lead us in a special time. we chose mitt romney to lead our nation and because we did, the american miracle will dawn for another generation to inherit. (cheers and applause) my fellow republicans, my fellow americans, i am proud to introduce to you the next

president of the united states of america, mitt romney! (cheers and applause)

is. >> thank you. >> that's mitt romney making his way through the crowd. they changed in the few moments in the time if took him to come out from the back of the hall, shaking hands along the way, they have taken the stage and changed it again. the podium where mark o-- marco rubio was standing has been dismantled to make it closer to the crowd, in front of a row of plexi glass that has been puts up

today with a whole extension of the stage that was built just last night. this is quite a transformation of it. he is making his way to the front. i guess we should have figured this out when they were holding people back along that aisles but this is a quick change and it is-- it's going to be dramatic, mark. >> the antidote, which is a way symbolically trying to rebut that. >> michael dukakis did this in 1988. >> it really worked for him. >> coming out to neil die pond's coming to america. it was quite a rather remarkable moment t was interesting, mark, how many references there have been to immigration and immigrants. mitt romney, the nominee of the republican party.

(cheers and applause) >> thank you. mr. chairman, mr. chairman and delegates-- (cheers and applause) mr. chairman and delegates, i accept your nomination for president of the united

states. (cheers and applause) >> i do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you placed in me. it's a great honor. it's an even greater responsibility. and tonight i'm asking you to join me to walk together to a better future. and by my side i've chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. (applause) he represents the best of america, a man who will always make us very proud, my friend, and america's next vice president, paul ryan. (cheers and applause)

>> in the days ahead, you're going to debt to know paul and jana better. but last night america got to see what i saw in paul ryan, a strong and caring leader who's down to earth and confident in the challenge this moment demands. and i love the way he lights up around his kids and how he's not embarrassed to show how much he loves his mom. (applause) but paul, i still like the play list on my ipod better than yours. (laughter) four years ago i know that many americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. that choice was not the choice of our party but americans always come

together after elections. we're a good and generous people. and we're united by so much more than what divides us. when that election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, americans were agency other to go back to work, to live our lives the way americans always have, optimistic and positive and confident in the future. that very optimism is uniquely american. it's what brought us to america. we're a nation of immigrants where the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life. the driven ones. the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in the place called america could be better. they came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world, but for the richness of this life. freedom, freedom of religion, freedom to speak their mind, freedom to build a life.

and yes, freedom to build a business with their own hands. (cheers and applause) >> this is the essence of the american experience. we americans have always felt a special kinship with the future, when every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the statue of liberty or felt down and kissed the shores of freedom just 90 miles from castro's tyranny, these new americans surely had many questions. but none doubted that here in america they could build a better life. that in america their children would be blessed more than they. but today, four years from the excitement of that last election, for the first time the majority of americans now doubt that our children will have a better future. it's not what we were promised. every family in america

wanted this to be a time when they could get a little ahead. put aside a little more for college. do more for the elderly mom that's now living alone or give a little more to their church or their charity. every small business wanted these to be their best years ever when they could hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times. open a new store or sponsor that little league team. every new college graduate thought they would have a good job by now, a place of their own, they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future. this is when our nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back those massive deficits. this this was the hope and change america voted for. it's not just what we wanted, it's not just what we accepted-- expected, it's what americans deserved. (cheers and applause)

>> u.s.a., u.s.a.,. is amount of! u.s.a., u.s.a., u.s.a.! >> you deserved it because during these years you worked harder than ever before. you deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car you-- put in longer hours. or when you lost that job that paid 22.50 an hour with benefits you took two jobs at $9 an hour. (applause)

>> u.s.a., u.s.a.! >> you deserve it because your family depended on you, and you did it because you're an american. and you don't quit. you did it because it was what you had to do. but driving home late from that second job or standing there watching the gas pump hit $50 and still going, when the realtor told you that to sell your house you would have to take a big loss, in those moments you knew that this just wasn't right. but what could you do except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic, hug your kids a little longer. maybe spend a little more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day. i wish president obama had succeeded because i want america to succeed. chirs plaus-- (cheers and applause) but his promises gave way to

disappointment and division. this isn't something we have to accept. now is the moment when we can do something. and with your help, we will do something. >> (cheers and applause) >> now is its moment when we can stand up and say i'm an american. i make my destiny. we deserve better. my children deserve better. my family deserves better, my country deserves better. (cheers and applause) so here we stand, americans have a choice, a decision, to make that choice you need to know more about me an where i would lead our country. i was born in the middle of the century, in the middle

of the country. a classic baby boomer. it was a time when americans were returning from war and eager to work. to be an american was to assume that all things were possible. when president kennedy challenged americans to go to the moon the question wasn't whether we would get there, it was only when we'd get there. the souls of neil armstron armstrong-- the soles of neil armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on our souls. ann and i watched those stepsing to on our parent as sofa. like all americans we went to bed that night knowing we lived in the greatest country in the history of the world. (applause) god bless neil armstrong.

(cheers and applause) tonight that american flag is still there on the moon. and i don't doubt for a second that neil armstrong's spirit is still with us, that unique blend of optimism, humility, and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an american. (applause) my dad had been born in mexico and his family had to leave during the mexican revolution. i grew up with stories of his family being fed by the u.s. government as war refugees. myad never made it through college and he apprenticed as a lathe and plastic carpenter. he had big dreams. he convinced my mom, a

beautiful young actress to give up hollywood to marry him. they moved to detroit. he lead a great-- (cheers and applause) -- he lead a great automobile company and became governor of its great state of michigan. (cheers and applause) we were-- we were mormons and growing up in michigan that might have seemed unusual or out of place. but i really don't remember it that way. my friends cared more about what sport teams we followed than what church we went to. my mom and dad gave their kids the 2k3wr5e9est-- greatest gift of all, the gift of unconditional love. they cared deeply about who we would be, and much less about what we would do. unconditional love is a gift that ann and i have tried to pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. all the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving

hearts and arms of loving mothers and fathers. (applause) you know, if every child could drift asleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family and god's love, this world would be a far more gentle and better place. (applause) my mom and dad were married for 64 years. and if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist. (laughter) because every day dad gave mom a rose, which he put on her bedside table. that's how she found out what happened on the day my father died. she went looking for him because that morning there was no rose. my mom and dad were true partners.

a life lesson that shaped me by every day example. when my mom ran r the senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. i could still see her saying in her beautiful voice, why should women have any less say than men about the great decisions facing our nation? (cheers and applause) don't you wish she could have been here at this convention, and heard leaders like governor narry fallon, governor haley, governor martinez, secretary of state condoleezza rice! (cheers and applause)

as governor of massachusetts i chose a woman lt. governor. a woman chief of staff. 456 of-- half of my cabinet and senior officials were women. and in business i mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies. i grew up in detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy like my dad. but the time i was out of school i realized that i had to go out on my own. that if i stayed around michigan in the same business, i would never really know if i was getting a break because of my dad. i wanted to go someplace new and prove myself. those weren't the easiest of days. many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this need to reenact a different world war every night. but if you asked ann and i what we would give to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up

in the morning and discover a pile of kid as sleep in our room, well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that. those days were the-- (applause) these were tough days on ann, particularly. she was heroic through it all, five boys with our families a long way away. i had to travel a lot for my job then and i would call and try to offer support. but every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done, or get the kids out the door to school. and i knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine. and i knew without question that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. (applause)

and as america saw tuesday night, ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to do. (cheers and applause) >> like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church. when we were knew to the company it was kel come-- welcoming and as the years went by it was a joy to help others that had just moved into town or just joined our church. we had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregations from all walks of life and many who were knew to america. we pray together. our kids played together and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways. that's how it is in america. we look to our communities,

our faith, our families for our joy, our support and good times and bad. it's both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. the strength and power and goodness of america has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families and our faith. (applause) that's the bed rom-- bedrock of what makes america america n our best days we can feel the vibrancy of america's communities large and small. when we see that new business opening up downtown, it's when we go to work in the morning and see everybody else on the block doing the same thing. it's when our son or daughter calls from college to talk about which job offer they should take and you try not to choke up when you hear that the one you like best is not too far from home. it's that good feeling when you have more time to volunteer to coach your

kid's soccer team or help out on school trips. but for too many americans, those kind of good days are harder to come by. how many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in america. many you felt that way on election day four years ago, hope and change had a powerful appeal. but don't-- tonight i would have a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's president obama? (applause) you know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. (laughter) the president hasn't disappointed you because he wanted to.

the president has disappointed america because he hasn't lead america in the right direction. he took office without the basic qualification that most americans have, and one that was essential to the task at hand. he had almost no experience working in a business. jobs to him are about government. (applause) i learned the real lessons about how america works from experience. when i was 37 i helped start a small company. my partners and i had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses. so some of us have this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. we should bet on ourselves. and our advice. so we started a new business called bain capital. the only problem was while we believed in ourselves, not many other people did.

we were young and had never done this before and we almost didn't get off the ground. in those days sometimes i wondered if i had made a really big mistake. by the way, i thought about asking my church's pension fund to invest, but i didn't. i figured it was bad enough that i might lose my investor's money but i didn't want to go to hell too. (applause) shows what i know. another of my partners got the episcopal church pension fund to invest. and today there are a lot of happy retire-- retired priests who should thank him. (applause) that business we started with ten people has now grown into a great american success story. some of the companies we helped start are names you know and su have heard from

tonight. an office company called staples where i'm pleased to see the obama campaign has