>> right? now, i came up with a specific proposal to make vivid that there could be a better future in practical terms. so i proposed $2.50 a gallon as our goal. [ applause ] >> i have to say my daughter jackie was off campaigning with herman cain and after two days of campaigning with herman she said maybe we should change that. maybe it should be 2.4999. [ laughter ] >> to his credit, herman said no. that will not work as a marketing device, stick with 2.50, which she is very good at. i picked $2.50. i picked it by asking the oil experts what is a price at which you would have continuous exploration because my goal is to have energy independence so

we are free of the middle east. [ applause ] >> when the iranians practiced closing the straits of hormuz which one out of every five barrels of oil flow, the short term answer is the u.s. navy and air force and ultimatum, the closing the straits would be an act of war and their government would cease to exist. [ applause ] >> but the long term solution is to create american energy independence so we could say to china, india and europe, you have a problem in the straits of hormuz we hope you can solve it, we're not in charge of it. [ applause ]

now, the fact is that 2.50 is attainable. governor romney came to town and said i was pandering. by picking that. and i just want to explain to the governor, no, this is called leading. [ applause ] leaders create large goals, leaders create a vision of a better future, leaders arouse the american people to do great things. leaders believe the american people could easily achieve energy independence if the government got out of the way. [ applause ] >> so if your friends ask you why we are emphasizing $2.50 and

is it practical, first of all go to newt.org, we have there an entire 30 minute speech which outlines why it's doable and practical. i wrote a book back in 2008, calista and i did a movie "we have the power" this is clearly doable. but in addition, point out three numbers to them. the price of gasoline whether i speaker was $1.13. the price of gasoline when barack obama became president was $1.89. all of this gigantic increase came from his policies. finally, if you remember the natural gas story the president so proud of? we have now developed so much natural gas that supply is outrunning demand and the price has fallen from 797 to around

$2.86. translate that as a percentage decline and this is by the way within an 11% increase in production. they haven't doubled it, they haven't gotten to 25% yet. in 11% increase in production, suddenly changed the whole equasion of supply and demand. now, if you had the same experience with oil, you would end up at $1.13, what it was when i was speaker. 2.50 is a long way from a radical number. 2.50 is a practical, cautious, doable number. and my goal over the next few weeks is to drive home to every american we don't have to be trapped in a department of anti-energy, we don't have to be trapped with an epa which destroys jobs. we doenl have to be trapped with a president who refuses to build the keystone pipeline, refuses to reopen the gulf refuses to develop alaska.

[ applause ] don with your help we'll get enough people to come to newt.org and sign up, we have 173,000 donors already, 95% of them give less than $250. we have a place you can come in and give one newt gallon, that is $2.50. if you get excited you can give ten newt gallons. that is $25. with your help we're going to go on to tampa and win the nominatio nomination. [ applause ] >> thank you, good luck and god bless you! [ applause ] former house speaker newt gingrich ebullient talking to supporters in atlanta where he was won the georgia primary

tonight. just after 9:00 p.m. on the east coast, here is where things stand right now on super tuesday. ohio the biggest prize of the night, the race there, continues to be too close to call. right now 21% of the vote in, too close to call between rick santorum and mitt romney. the caucuses are also underway in north dakota, but we have no characterization of the race there. some of the states we have called, in tennessee, it's former pennsylvania senator rick santorum who is the projected winner of the tennessee republican primary. that is a big and somewhat surprising victory for mr. santorum. mr. santorum is also the projected winner in oklahoma. in massachusetts, no surprise, mitt romney is patriot jeked winner in the state in which he was governor, his home state of massachusetts. as we mentioned in georgia, newt gingrich won the primary in his home state. in virginia there were only two people on the ballot, mitt romney and ron paul. mitt romney has won that two-man race over dr. paul.

gingrich and santorum not on the ballot in virginia. in vermont, the green mountain state, mitt romney the projected winner. listening to newt gingrich i have to tell you my biggest impression how happy he is. he's giving the 2012 version of the drill baby drill thing from 2008 and he's never been more delighted by anything this his life makes me happy to see politicians happy with what they are doing even when he had a lot of -- >> his own drilling area is limited to contiguous territory. he has won south carolina, georgia and the panhandle of florida. as you know advertisis th notic going to to alabama. >> basically he's a cluster, i could throw a noun but he is a cluster of states where he will not break out from, but hold that southeast. santorum on the other hand is interesting, we're watching that tonight. i don't know, maybive ee not asked for the right information, i don't know who will win in

ohio, i don't know when the experts know it or not. my sense is they don't know yet. my sense is nobody will know by midnight. have some coffee, if santorum can squeak this guy by two votes like he did in iowa, if he can win this tonight on top of the two southern states, look out. it's a break out opportunity for him. if he can't, it's just an okay i'm still in the race night, am i right? it's a big casino tonight. >> winning for santorum, we can't overstress this involves the survival of a bombardment from mitt romney the likes of which we have not seen in presidential primary campaigns before this. it is an amazing achievement for santorum to be as close as he is in tennessee and ohio under what happened to him with romney. >> ed, you look -- >> we need to say something about the complete misinformation that newt gingrich put out about gas

prices. he said that the reason why gas prices are where they are right now is because of president obama's policies. what were the policies under president bush when gas prices were higher than what they are right now? first of all, how can anybody keep any credibility with the american people and not talk about speculation on wall street when you talk about oil prices, gas prices? you can't do it. he lost all credibility in the energy sector tonight. he's lying to the american people if he has the formula to get us guaranteed down to $2.50 a gallon. i don't mean to diss the south but low information voters might grab on to that, but i don't know. >> let me point out one fact checking matter. >> you talk about credibility outright lied. >> he paraphrased the president saying he said at the press conference he only cares about high gas prices because it will affect his chances at reelection he said i'm not make it up.

and all of us said "yes you are making it up" because this what is the president actually said in the press conference. >> your critics will say on capitol hill you want gas prices to go higher because you have said before that will wean the american people off fossil fuels on renewable fuels, how do you respond to that? >> ed, from a political perspective, do you think the president going in a reelection wants gas prices to go higher? is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense? look, here is the bottom line with respect to gas prices. i want gas prices lower because they hurt families. because i meet folks every day who have to drive a long way to get to work and them filling up those gas tanks gets more and more painful and it's coming out of their paychecks. and a lot of folks are operating on the margins right now.

it's not good for the economy. when gas prices go up, consumer spending often times pulls back. and we're in the midst right now of a recovery that is starting to build up steam and we don't want to reverse it. >> that was what newt gingrich paraphrased. >> see, see? >> i'm not making this up. >> that was a different ed that asked that question. i want to clarify that. >> is there a republican rule in place, whenever they say "the president said x" it is always a lie. the president said everyone should go to college. no, he didn't. never said anything close to that. he said this reasonable thing about the technical schools for some people, different ways to do this but do something, anything you can do beyond high school. just like this, whenever they say "the president said x" it's never true. i haven't found one instance on my show where what they described the president saying is anything close to what the president's words are.

>> did we notice he brought up "saturday night live" steve i thought of you when he said this. he's making fun of the president on biofuels and al gee. whether or not you believe that is the way for, a lot of republicans have been pursuing biofuels for their districts, but this is the guy who wants the 51st state to be the moon. and he's make the case that "saturday night live "ought to be making fun of the president. >> i don't know what to say about the speech. it kind of defies description. look, i think that he has a strategy to accumulate a couple of states, he's clearly decided he's going to talk about energy issues, he thinks this is the ticket to wrap-up the southern states, we'll see how it plays out but i think his campaign is a serious matter for the presidency ended a while ago,

nothing he said tonight changes my mindle. >> do you think santorum's campaign is serious? >> i do think it's a serious campaign particularly if he can squeak by in ohio. certainly by winning two states, there is no rationale for people to say to get out of the race. he earned the right to stay in, compete for another week, it's a close race in ohio. i still think that a win is a win. if mitt romney wins ohio, he takes a giant step forward to being the republican nominee. if he loses ohio, i think this race is in unchartered territory. >> i think though, steve, with all due respect, i'm serious, i think gingrich candidacy is a serious need of a couch, because he seemed to really have a lot of bitterness. he attacked everybody in the race, very personal terms. he went through everything he ever achieved. he seemed to be going through a therapy of himself in front of the american public.

when he should have been making the case to the people of alabama and others why to vote for me. he never appealed to the people, it was all this guy did this to me, the establishment did this, he never saw a vision of anything, telling the people that stood by him he could have went and done that all in adelson's living room, that is who he should have made the speech to, that who is stood by him. one man in vegas revived him, he should have flown to vegas and gave the first part of the speech to one man. >> he made a speech for that man and threatened to bring this country to war over oil. he said if the iranians close the strait of hormuz we will go to war over oil after saying my plan is make this country energy self-su h self-sufficient. >> after we kraushed -- crushed saudi arabia. >> it's so close in ohio, we saw

santorum is leading by a little bit. >> could we put up -- >> santorum's opinion on birth control and women's health issues are really hurting him. there is 38% of republican female voters are supporting mitt romney, 29% are supporting rick santorum. that reflect as 10 point shift in a week. >> wow. >> if you look at that shift and look at where santorum is right now -- >> so close. >> had he had gone down the road of the women's issues, had he stayed on the economy, that gap might be a heck of a lot different than right now. santorum might be up further than what he is right now. i'm not saying he's going to win it, this is not a bad number in ohio for rick santorum, considering he did not win catholic women in michigan, he did not win the women's vote in michigan. and he is now losing shaving 10% off of his women's support in ohio, yet he still leads and he wins in oklahoma tonight and

also in tennessee. what's happening here? >> santorum is doing all that with the gingrich vote drain everywhere he goes. so -- >> and no money. >> he has to suffer the gingrich math pulling the voters away. when you still look at the number, ed, rom nice still getting a minority of women in ohio. >> former presidential candidate howard dean, happy to have you with us tonight. >> hi, rachel, hey guys. >> we are looking at ohio with increased interest. rick santorum winning in oklahoma and tennessee, what will the results in ohio ultimately tell us how important for the general? >> it's a big -- i don't know how important it is for the general, this is a small sliver of the electorate voting, republicans only, so i would say if romney wins it's probably still his to lose. if santorum wins, it may land on

the floor, we'll see. >> i have to do you hold on, because rick santorum is stag the stage in steubenville, ohio, we will be back with him until a moment. he was won oklahoma, he was won tennessee he's in ohio and addressing his happy supporters. >> thank you. thank you for coming out steubenville, ohio, god bless you, thank you for being here. [ applause ] >> for the folks listening at home, we're in steubenville, ohio. [ applause ] >> not too many presidential candidates come to steubenville,

ohio, much less hold their victory party in steubenville, ohio. [ applause ] . >> we're in a high school gymnasium. i just came from our war room. which doubles as the weight room for the lst. was pumping iron to get myself psyched for coming out here. and we just prepared our talk, where many talks were prepared for this gym floor, in the coach's room. this is our roots. here behind me is part of our family. because this is where we're from. we're from down here in the area of southeastern ohio, southwestern pennsylvania, where the folks who worked hard and built this country lived and worked for many, many decades. [ applause ]

>> i'm particularly excited to be here with my family. when i say my family, i mean not just my family of our immediate family, but my mom, who is right here, that is my mom kaye, 93! [ applause ] >> and karen's mother and father, thank you! [ applause ] >> i got my brother here and his family, and karen has several -- karen is one of 11 children so you can imagine -- brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, we have a great crew back here. all behind us. all behind us. because this campaign is about

the towns that have been left behind and the families that made those towns the greatest towns across this country. [ applause ] this was a big night tonight, lots of states, we're going to win a few, we'll lose a few. but as it looks right now, we're going to get at least a couple gold medals, and a whole passel of silver medals. [ applause ] we can add to iowa, missouri, minnesota, colorado, now oklahoma and tennessee! [ applause ]

>> we have won in the west the midwest, and the south, and we're ready to win across this country! [ applause ] >> i want to thank again my wife, i know that those who have seen her on the campaign trail, the common refrain is more karen, less rick but i'm working on it. i'm trying to get as good as she is at this political stuff, but she has been an amazing partner for me and my conscience, my biggest supporter, my most important, my most honest critic and someone who kept our family together and continues to do remarkable and incredible things every day for me and all of us, thank you very much, my love. [ applause ]

>> we have almost all the kids here. we have john, sarah maria, where are you? patrick, elizabeth, peter and daniel. they are all wearing buttons for our little bella. we have everybody here. we went up against enormous odds, not just here in the state of ohio where who knows how much we were outspent but every state. there wasn't a single state in the list that i just gave you where i spent more money than the people i was able to defeat to win that state. in every case we overcame the odds, here in ohio, still too close to call. [ applause ]

but just like the folks in steubenville and throughout the ohio valley and all the valleys of this country, that are the heart and soul of the country, they worked hard and overcame odds. they are part of the greatest generation of america. [ applause ] they preserve d liberty by sacrificing to keep this country free from despots. ladies and gentlemen, it's a bit different battle we're engaged in today but no less a battle for the basic liberties that

this country was founded upon. we have a group of people in washington and in other places around this country who believe that the elites in washington are the ones who should be making the decisions for all of us, and they have systematically gone and grown the size and scale of government to beyond where it's unrecognizable. we are running deficits where we are borrowed 40 cents of every dollar. as you look at all the young people here, the leaders in washington are saying to you "on your tab" and you will pay for this. the rest of your life. what right does a government have to do that to the next generation? we have people who believe that america's best days are behind us. they believe that it's no longer

possible for free enterprise, a free economy and free people to be able to build strong communities and families and be able to provide for themselves and their neighbors. no, we now need an increasingly powerful federal government to do this for us. [ boos ] >> the reason karen and i ultimately decided to get in the race was because of that issue and in particular one issue. i've said it almost every stump speech i've given. if it wasn't for one particular issue, that to me breaks the camel's back, with respect to liberty in this country, and that is the issue of obama-care. [ boos ] >> what we will go to in a very short period of time, the next two years, a little less than 50% of the people in this

country depend on some form of federal payment, some form of government benefit to help provide for them. after obama-care, it will not be less than 50%, it will be 100%. now, every single american will be looking to the federal government, not to their neighbor, not to their church, not to their business or to their employer, or to the community or non-profit organization in their community. will be looking always to those in charge. to those who now say to you that they are the allocate tore and creator of rights in america. ladies and gentlemen, this is the beginning of the end of freedom in america. once the government has control

of your life, then they gotcha. that is why we decided to step out, as you look karen and i have seven children. ages -- [ applause ] >> ages 20 to 3, not exactly the best time to be outrunning for president of the united states. we've given up our jobs, we're living off our savings. yeah, we're making a little sacrifice. for a very, very big goal. and that is replacing this president on november of this year! [ applause ]

>> in order to make that happen the republican party has to nominate somebody who can talk about the broad vision of what america is, as i talk about it in every one of my speeches i talk a how important it is we remember who we are. ronald reagan in his farewell address to the american people worried about whether america would remember what made us great, that we are not a great country because we have a great and powerful government, we are a great country because we believe that rights don't come from the government, but as in our founding document, the declaration of independence says, our rights come to us from

our creator. [ applause ] >> the government's job and constitution of this country was intended to do one thing, protect those rights so each and every one of you would have the opportunity to build their own life to take your own path, to create a strong family, strong neighborhood community, states and country. that is what made america great. we built a great country from the bottom up. and we need people to go up against president obama and his vision of a top-down government

control of not just health care, but energy, manufacturing, financial services, and who knows what else is next. but this is a president who believes, who believes that he simply is better able to do this than you are, that he will be fairer than you are. with your fellow man. ladies and gentlemen, this is ele election about fundamental liberty. the piece of legislation that points this out where you have economic rights created by the government, and then the government using its heavy hand to force you to buy insurance, to force you to take policies that you don't want, and of course to force you to take coverages that may even violate your faith convictions. [ boos ] >> in this race there is only one candidate who can go up to

the most important issue of the day and make the case because i've never been for an individual mandate. at a state or federal level. i've never -- [ applause ] >> rick, rick, rick, rick, rick, rick, rick, rick. [ applause ] >> i've never passed a state-wide government run health care system when i was governor because well, i wasn't governor, but governor romney did, and now we find out this week not only did he pass it in massachusetts, he advocated for it to be passed in washington d.c. in the middle of the debate on health care. [ boos ] >> it's one thing to defend a

mandated top-down government run health care program that you imposed on the people of your state. it's another thing to recommend and encourage the president of the united states to impose the same thing on the american people and it's another thing yet to go out and tell the american public that you didn't do it. we need a person running against president obama who is right on the issues and truthful with the american public. [ applause ] >> this race provides a great opportunity for a great contrast, big things have to happen in this country to bring us back from the brink of

insolvency. big things have to happen so we can secure our freedom and as i talked about this morning, in front of apac, that we have a president that stands with our allies and defends the country and does not apologize for america around the world. [ applause ] >> we need a fighter, we need a fighter and someone who learned what america was about by growing up in communities just like this. understanding how america, neighborhoods and families work. and believing in them. understanding they are under a lot of stress and strain right now. much of which is put upon them by the government. understanding that that is the

greatness of our country. my mom and my mother-in-law and father in law represent here on this stage the greatest generation. [ applause ] >> mom is hamming it up over there, okay. >> go mom! >> the greatest generation was the greatest generation not because they had greater character or courage or perseverence than those of us today. the greatest generation was great because when freedom was at stake, they rose to meet the call to defend this country. [ applause ]

at a time when freedom is at stake and you are all blessed as i am to be here at a time when your country needs you. to be here at a time like the original founders of this country who signed that declaration of independence. to be here at a time when freedom was at stake and people were willing to go out and do heroic and courageous things to win that victory. i want to thank all of you here in ohio, for overcoming enormous odds to make this a great night for us here in the buckeye state. [ applause ]

>> i want to thank mike and fran dewine for all the help and support and standing up and fighting for me throughout the course of this time, thank you. [ applause ] >> tonight it's clear, it's clear we've won races all over this country against the odds, when they thought okay he's finally finished, we keep coming back. [ applause ] >> we are in this thing.

we are in this thing not because i so badly want to be the most powerful man in this country. it's because i want so badly to return the power to you in this country. [ applause ] thank you, steubenville god bless you and god bless america. rick santorum speaking in a high school auditorium in steubenville, ohio, ohio is too close to call. senator santorum has won in oklahoma and won in tennessee, where he spoke from in that high school auditorium in ohio is a place from which he cannot win delegates tonight even if he does very, very well in ohio. senator santorum's campaign having organizational difficulties, did not file a full slate of delegates and that

gives you a sense of the crazy narratives that created the strange, long primary process on the republican side. in ohio it's too close to call, rick santorum is having a big, big night. but his own organizational difficulties preventing him from capitalizing on that even in terms of the delegates. >> well, if he hangs on in ohio, he has the early lead in north carolina, there is a lot of territory being taken up by rick santorum -- >> north dakota. >> there is a lot of taken up by him tonight. and surprisingly considering all the issues that he has had with the media, we were talking earlier about the political s f self-inflicted wounds and the road he travelled, as far as women's issues, but it looks like he's recovering somewhat from it. and if you look at the maps where he's win, i mean rural america is coming out to work for this guy. they are going with rick santorum. all across in every state that he has won, he has beaten mitt

romney in the rural areas. and even when there is low voter turnout in some of the states, he still does it. he was qui he was to point out, i said this is a long speech. >> you take the free stuff when you don't have money. >> he's not only taking the free stuff but taking territory that was very conservative in 2008, that mccain did very well. >> i got to say i realize this is not supposed to be the narrative of the night but i look at this map and i look at results and i think if newt gingrich or rick santorum was out of the race, the other guy left in the race could very well beat mitt romney. as long as both stay in the race, mitt romney's likely going to win as a very weak winner of the primary process, but as long as santorum and gingrich think there is a path, neither of them have a path. one of then has to get out. >> that is the math romney was relying on the start. he liked it when there were more

of them, splitting it up. i think it's clear that santorum would be the one who could go the longer distance, between santorum and gingrich. and so the question becomes is there any form of pressure coming out of this on gingrich? is there anything that anyone can say to gingrich about do you really want to stop romney or is this now about your ego going forward? >> he thinks he can win alabama, it is knin a week. >> south carolina, a couple weeks ago now, romney got 28%. 28% in tennessee, 27% in octobeoctobe october -- oklahoma. >> is it okay to have a southern problem? >> it's a problem. that is the base of the modern republican party, southern party and he can't win in the south. >> he has a religion problem, romney does. 75% of the people that came out tonight in tennessee were asked the question whether religion

mattered and they said some what or great deal, most of them said some what or great deal, and santorum beat romney 2-1, 75% of the people in tennessee said religion matters. this is a real southern problem for mitt romney. he bought florida beyond that, virginia, as you say, only two on the ballot there, but where else will he win down there? >> it is clear that the republicans will win alabama, okay, great, but some of those kind of voters exist in ohio, they exist in all of these swing states. and what does that voter do when romney comes along if romney comes along in a general election in a swing state? does the the voter stay home? does that voter find something of another candidate, third party candidate on the ballot? that is where it counts. it doesn't count in the southern, oklahoma, president obama won't win oklahoma. romney, if he's the nominee will get the victory. what about all the people who

think like that vote like that in the state. >> you're saying don't look at the problem of the south because the republicans will vote for whoever the candidate is in the south, but there is a little bit of the south all over the country. >> where else do you find that mentality in swing states? >> reverend al, when you look at the math, does that make sense to you? >> makes a whole lot of sense, i think that is the real problem they will have. i think also, ed is saying, if 75% of the people are dealing with religion and i know romney's people have always been concerned about that, it might be why he's not trying to get in deeply in a lot of these debates about religion and social issues, because he's afraid how far they will drill down. >> because those are too close to faith. >> very close to faith. he don't need a faith debate in this campaign. >> why are we seeing santorum speak before conclusion in ohio and mitt romney speaking before conclusion in ohio? because nobody wants to make a concession speech. >> they want to get on tv before

10:00, they want to make their case to the country. ann romney is speaking now. this shot is a little counter intuitive, this is in boston. in massachusetts, which is the rom know family's home state, where mr. romney was governor, and also where he and ann rom knee voted today at their polling place in belmont, massachusetts, wealthy suburb outside of boston. the idea here that what is important about that for tonight, newt gingrich was unable to cast a ballot for himself in the state where he now lives in virginia because he did not make it on the ballot. even though mitt romney i don't think would want to be speaking to the country from massachusetts on the night like this -- >> biggest win yet over 60% in massachusetts. >> we began tonight talking about with regard to rick santorum that tonight could be the night where he's denied a rationale to keep going forward. i think he handled the optics of tonight pretty brilliantly. he came out early, he came out with enthusiasm, he looks like a winner, he sounded like a

winner, even before we know the outcome of ohio, he certainly validated his ticket on to the next round going forward. i do think to lawrence's point it will be interesting to see if pressure mounts from the right on gingrich to clear out, for santorum and with the issue in the south, a republican nominee could become the nominee the wholesale rejected by all the southern states, but it really becomes then an unhappy arranged marriage with significant consequences i think in the general election. >> what kind of consequences? >> it means there is an unenthusiastic party that the base of the party, cultural heart is the tension with the nominee. there has not been an example of that in recent history. >> asked jimmy carter what it was like to be president without the party base. it's very uncomfortable. nobody wants to be separated from their party base. i worked for tip oneill, the only time he was uncomfortable

was lebanon when he wasn't connected to the party base. >> have we ever seen a group of folks dislike the president as much as they dislike president obama? >> in terms of the southern voters they may not love mitt romney. >> will mitt ask for money tonight, we going down the road again? >> on the night of michigan and arizona the first time he ever mentioned his website. you see newt gingrich like rudy giuliani talking about 9-11, every third word is newt.org. and he just made me say it, too, but romney had never before told anyone to go to mittromney.com. >> i can't wait to see the rachel surge in contributions. go to newt.org. >> give a rachel gallon, it's a penny. >> is he the least tea party looking person you've ever seen in your life? >> look at him standing there

like the gentile gentlemen, he's not one of them. >> steve, what are we watching where the wives of the candidates in the case of gingrich and romney take the microphone first? this is new. >> it's -- look i think ann romney is an enormous asset for him i expect you will see more of her in a close race going forward. >> let's go to mitt romney speaking to his supporters in massachusetts. >> thanks, guys. >> go mitt go, go mitt go. go mitt go. >> she is -- she is the best and that was my son tag with her and his wife jen and their children, ali and joe, thomas, great to have my family to be back in our home of massachusetts. it's wonderful to be able to go home tonight for the first time in two months. [ applause ] >> ann said it right, what a

great night. there are three states now tonight under our belt and counting, we're going to get more before the night is over. we're on our way. [ applause ] >> we're so excited to be at the base state tonight celebrating with family and friends who worked tirelessly on the campaign. and of course it's such an honor to have the citizens i served as governor as part of our cause. your support really means everything to ann and me. i'm not going to let you down, i'm going to get the nomination. [ applause ] >> tonight we're doing counting. counting up delegates for the convention looks good and counting down the days until november and that looks even better. [ applause ] >> we're going to take your vote, a huge vote tonight in massachusetts and take that victory all the way to the white house.

[ applause ] >> all the way, all the way, all the way, all the way. >> now it's been -- it's been a long -- a long road getting to super tuesday. let me be honest. and my opponents have worked very hard. i want to congratulate newt gingrich on a good night in georgia and rick santorum on his good night and ron paul for his steadfast commitment to our constitution and his strong support almost every where you go, he has good followers, thanks, you guys, nice races. [ applause ] >> now, we officially started our campaign about nine months ago, not far from here at a farmhouse in new hampshire, a beautiful spring day, full of hope and promise. a day that made us recognize once again how lucky we are to be americans. what we launched that day was an

effort not just to win more votes or more delegates, it was the start of an effort to restore the promise of america. a promise we know has been frayed by difficult times. we sounded our call from airport tarmacs to factory floors, to door-to-door, heart-to-heart, face-to-face across the country. i met with moms and dads and teachers and students and factory workers and business owners. i've listened and i've learned. i hope i'm a better candidate for the way having done all that. [ applause ] >> i'm going to forever be grateful for you for the help you've given me and grateful to all the people who helped me through the process and taught me along the way. i met some extraordinary folks, i met someone named norm burn, who for me exemplifies the innovative spirit that built the

country. norm didn't go to college, didn't get an engineering degree, he has 100 patents in his name. he turned a small shop in his basement in a successful company that employs a lot of people. it's successful company that employs a lot of people. it's entrepreneurs like him that are going to get the country back on track if we can get the government out of the way. i've met parents like david mcarthur, maybe you saw him on the huckabee show. whose children in his case have served their country in war. david's son was seriously injured in afghanistan. he only returned from the front lines to face a new fight, to get the medical care he needed. and he surely has earned. and as i told david i believe that to those who put everything on the line for us. we owe everything to them that

they need. america's vet rafrnz, they deserve a lot better than long lines and reduced benefits. as president i'm going to make sure they get the care they deserve. so in running for office i've had the chance of meeting people like norm and david and their stories are inspiring. but i've also met some people who are hurting under this stagnant obama economy. and their stories are heartbreaking. some people lost their jobs. others are working two jobs to make ends meet. some used to be middle income and now they're struggling again right back where they started. the prices for gasoline and food and clothing and health care keep going up, but their paychecks stay the same if they're lucky. president obama keeps telling these americans that the recovery is here. but for them, the recession is

not over, that's for sure. from generation to generation in this country americans have always known that the future would be brighter and better. we've always believed in a tomorrow full of possibility and prosperity. and security. that deep confidence in a better tomorrow, is the basic promise of america. but today that promise is being threatened by a faltering economy, and a failed presidency. to the millions of americans who look around and can only see jobs they can't get and bills that they can't pay, i have a message. you have not failed. have you a president that's failed you, and that's going to complaining. >> president obama --

[ crowd chanting usa ] >> when with he was campaigning president obama said he would create jobs. but for 36 straight months unemployment has been above 8%. he said he would cut the deficit in half, and he's doubled it. the debts today are too high, the opportunities are too few. we've seen enough this president over the last three years to know we don't need another five of this president. that's for sure. look, i've said -- [ crowd chanting ] >> this president has run out of ideas, he's run out of excuses and in 2012 we're going to get him out of the white house.

now, president obama seems to believe he's unchecked by the constitution. he's unresponsive to the will of our people. he operates by command instead of consensus. in a second term, he would be unrestrained of the demands of re-election. if there's one thing we cannot afford is four years of barack obama with no one to answer to. so these days. you're the president and his team, they keep telling us things are going to get better. but 24 million americans are still struggling for work. they're high fiving each other in the west wing. my friends, the truth is,% unemployment is not the best america can do, it's just the best that this administration can do. when i'm president, this american economy will not be lagging behind. this american economy will be leading the world as it has and as it should. and as it will do in the future.

for this -- [ crowd chanting ] >> you know, for this administration, the unemployment numbers are another statistic, standing in the way of a second term. but those are more than numbers on a spreadsheet. tonight i'd like to say to each of them, you are not forgotten. we will not leave you behind. our campaign is on the move and real change is finally on the way.

>> these times may be tough. but our citizens still believe in the promise of america, and they deserve a president who believes in them. that's why our campaign is about more than just replacing a president. it's about restoring america's promise and we will do. we won't settle -- we won't settle for this president's new normal. i'm offering a real choice and a new beginning. i have a plan that will deliver new jobs, less debt and a smaller government. president obama raised the national debt, i will cut, cap and balance the budget, finally.

he passed obama care, i will repeal obama care. he lost our aaa credit rating, i will restore our aaa credit rating. amazingly, he rejected the keystone pipeline, i will approve it. you know, he has stalled domestic energy production, i'm going to open our lands for development, so we can finally get the energy we need at a price we can afford. when it comes to the economy, my highest priority will be worrying about your job, not worrying about saving my job. and by the way, i have a

pro-growth jobs plan that's going to jump start the economy. president obama wants to raise your taxes, i'm going to cut them. that starts with an across the board 20% rate cut for every american. we're also going to repeal the alternative minimum tax and i will finally abolish the death tax. the president's proposed raising taxes for job creators. i will cut taxes for job creators. the president wants to raise taxes on savings and investment. i will help middle class families save and invest tax fr free. it's interesting after three years, this president does not have a serious proposal for

saving medicare or social security. i have a plan that saves both them. and i have the courage to put the plan on the table and we'll win with the truth. as president i will get our economy back on track and get our citizens back to work. and unlike president obama i actually have the experience to deliver on that promise. as you know, i spent 25 years in business. i've been the steward of the olympics and this great state we're in tonight. i turned a budget shortfall into a surplus. i know how government kills jobs, and i know how it can help create jobs. i stand ready to lead our party. and i stand ready to lead our nation to prosperity.