boarded up. it turns out about a month ago, the reason it is staying there is because it is owned by the councilman who is supposed to be representing them. the money has -- he got from fema went into his campaign. the person they elected to represent them and you as their neighbor is tearing down the neighborhood. those old buildings are where people are doing drugs. there was a woman raped nearby. this is their councilmen. no wonder they do not trust the government. tavis: the documentary, it premieres. what were you trying to get through about these stories about these individuals?

>> the book puts it in a larger context. the movie is much more intimate. you get to sit down and have dinner with carolyn parker. i think what i want to get across were there were these people the took a stand. there is still trouble and it is going to be a long fight, but they refuse to leave. i wanted to document this. wherever you are in the country, when they say they don't want you to come back and they say they don't want you, it is possible to sit down and say, i am not leaving. this is my home. this is where a stand and this is where i fight. it is important to keep reminding people that there is this possibility. tavis: is there anything in new orleans that the city is doing

better than prior to the storm? if we have the will, what the storm allows us to do on the other side of it is to start over. education comes to mind. is there any area where you can sense or see that they're taking this opportunity a bit more seriously? >> i think the environmental side, which is a key, they are doing a better job. i was amazed -- there is this mississippi river gulf outlet. it was a boondoggle and a bad idea. they said, we better clothes that purred all the businesses said, we are going to lose jobs. -- we'd better clothes that.

the businesses said, we're going to lose jobs. that was a clear thing about priorities. environmentally, you cannot keep losing your marshlands. i think new orleans is beginning to understand that is going to be a top priority. it is not like, by the way, we ought to preserve the environment. we're not going to make it without the environment. new orleans is so extreme on the edge of the river. education is more of an open book. 80% of the kids are now in charter schools. the experiment that is going on around the country is more extreme. i think the jury is still out on the charter schools, frankly. there is a lot of negative and some positives. tavis: daniel wolff has written a wonderful book.

on september 20, you will see the premier of the academy award winning jonathon demme directed documentary. ms. parker is a character. i say that in the kindest way. you'll want to see this on a september 20. good to have you on the program. that is our show for tonight. i will see you back next time. thank you for watching. keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with david brody. plus melanie lynskey.

>> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions good evening, from the tampa bay form in florida, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: i'm gwen ifill, we welcome you to the republican national convention. tonight we will be bringing you the major speeches and other hatchings from the convention itself along with interviews with the delegates with party officials and other political observers and analysts. your all access pass to the convention extends beyond our newshour sky box to the floor. to the back room and on-line where you can find or 24 hour live stream coverage of events inside and outside the hall.

down on this floor tonight here in tampa as will be for all three nights of this convention is our own jeffrey brown. jeff, so they got this nomination process over with pretty quickly. they've selected their president and their vice president by acclimation and they're taking a break, is there any let down on the part of the dell gults that it's over except for the rest of the convention. >> brown: you know judy, the whole thing started a little strangely didn't it. a day's delay so a lot of people filling time. and then they got this thing going as you said earlier than we expected. they did it in a very very timely fashion i must say. they kind of raced through it. we were down on the floor and we would be talking to people in delegations and then they'd realize suddenly their state was suddenly coming up so things were happening much faster than i think anybody expected. but these are scrint scrimentd . ron paul supporters would yell out free ron paul because they

were getting a sense their guy wasn't get what he deserved. >> those that were watching when mitt romney went over the top there were a lot of people excited about what was going on that floor and it involves the people you never heard of like the governor of wisconsin. >> brown: well there was great excitement of course because that was the moment when it was official. i was actually right near scott walker, wisconsin is, you know, i was at a wisconsin breakfast yesterday and they were joking about what's in the water in wisconsin although they say what's in the beer in wisconsin. because scott walker, with his big recall election, we covered that one. big victory for him, big victory for republicans for the party and now of course paul ryan from wisconsin. that's the big news out of wisconsin. so they feel a great energy there. they maybe, maybe their state's

in. >> ifill: i was going to say jeff, it used to be that the state that would put the nominee over the top would be that the home state or one of the really critical swing states. but in this case, it was new jersey, which isn't at this point anyway, a swing administrate. it's looking pretty democrat but it is the home state 06 one of the major speakers tonight. >> brown: that was a head scratcher judy. i don't know why. i'm with you. normally it's scripted and for the particular state either the home state of the nominee or a very important state in the election is given that honor. didn't happen this time. i don't think anybody quite understood why. but yes, chris christie is going to be the keynote speaker and we'll see. that's the last big speech of the night. and the keynote speech is often part attack and part set up the nominee. and chris christie is perfectly capable of doing both. he's a great speaker, i think and we'll see what he delivers. but that's the one that we'll be

watching after, after ann romney of course. >> ifill: jeff, it's interesting, there's not a lot of drama in these conventions anymore. people don't sit on the edge of their seats waiting to see who is going to win the nomination but all the whys and wherefore's really matter. i wonder how much of those disgruntled wall of ron paul are going to matter in the end and whether they are being sidelined. >> brown: it just got real loud down here as you can hear. >> ifill: i can tell. >> brown: that's a good question. it's a little hard to tell, judy, about that one. there were people coming up to me as it's walking the floor all day and they wanted to talk about how they felt kiesmed of shut out. and you know, it was sunday when there was a very large 10,000 people rally for ron paul. and in a sense that was his moment and their moment. and they were very energized and they wanted to recognize what he's done. and he said to everyone, we've

got a movement that walsh going to maintain. maintain -- we're going to maintain. they're at the convention. how are they going to maintain it. that's not very clear because he's not going to speak here. he's got a lot of supporters here and you hear pockets of people, you certainly heard it during the roll call. i think i said it earlier on the 6:00 show. when his numbers were not read out by the secretary, there would be a chance free ron paul. so they're voicing their opinions, they're letting everyone know that they're here but it's not really clear that they can have much impact beyond that. >> you're right, jeff. i mean it's one of those interesting things. i happen to be up here this afternoon pretaping an interview with speaker john baron and spontaneously ronal paul showed up on the floor and he was mobbed by television camera cruise and by people. the delegates were here, it was around 2:00 the time in the day time convening of this

convention. there's still a lot of excitement for him. it's not going to matter in terms of mitt romney. he still gets the nomination. y the one who is running against president obama but symbolically it's an interesting thing to see. >> brown: absolutely. he's a folk hero to a lot of people. especially judy more important to young people. a lot of people i talked to here in the party. the key issue is how do you attract and maintain the interest of these young people who are attracted to ron paul and not make them feel outsiders as though they've been shut out. how do you keep them as part of the party. how do you throw them into members of the party and how do you, especially now, how do you use the youthful energy they have in this selection. so i think that's going to be a real test over the next couple months. clearly the convention is ground zero for that, at least for the first step in that. >thatwood. >> ifill: you can't see what we're looking at right now but that's ron paul from earlier in the afternoon on the floor of

the convention. now thank you jeff, we'll be back with you in a moment. judy and i however will not be alone up here in our sky box. as always we'll be joined by news hours regulars mark shields and david brooks. signed sealed and delivered on yours. is there some significance of the song, david, what do you think? >> there are some words ann romney is spin cling out and it looks pretty good. >> woodruff: what do you mean by that. >> there are some effects and it's sort of things if she can pull it off she'll bring the house down. >> ifill: is that what you do in the first night bring the house down. >> i think she will bring the house down, no question about it. she is the better half. the more human half, the more

personal half. it's a rather remarkable couple. but it take me back to the 1988 convention of george herbert walker bush was nominated. they talked about a gesture. you're going to see a kinder gentler mitt romney tonight. people in the hall do not have a sense of who he is. that's her job. >> the points for the delegates when you talk to them have been we're not warm and fuzzy, we just get the job done. they're not trying to oversell the kind her and gentler warm and fuzzy. >> ifill: we don't have to like you to elect you. >> as romney said in the interview you may not love me but i'll help the bottom line. >> ifill: it's the subject of a lot of conversation here and that is how much does mitt romney need to warm himself up, need to make himself more likeable to american voters. and is it enough or is it enough just to say hey i'm the guy who can get the job done, i'm the guy who can go and create jobs we were just talk big in that last segment. >> 20 on 4 john kerry won all

three degates against george w. bush and he won re-election. peter hart, the democrat pollster contradicted by republicans either. made the analysis that people preferred i like the iq. they were more comfortable with george w. bush. it was in a comfort level. i think there are two steps for the president challenger. the challenger has to make the case against the president seeking re-election but at the same time he has to reach a comfort level. the only time that hasn't happened judy in my adult lifetime is richard nixon. >> woodruff: in 2004 the issue was the war. now it's the economy. does that make it a tougher hurdle for the president. not that the war -- it affected many families but this economy affects everyone. >> i think with the economy people have a much more tough minded mentality and a lot of it just get the job done. so i think it's a lower hurdle. romney's personal numbers are

terrible and needs time. and so done pretty well with pretty bad personal numbers. and if he can get it up and someone whose followed him, he's a much better person than most people think. the question is how much can they communicate. >> ifill: won of the themes tonight is they seem to be reaching out to people who might change their minds. we'll hear from the former congressman from alabama who was the second nomination of barack obama four years ago at the democratic national convention now has become a republican, moved to virginia and is speaking on behalf of mitt romney tonight. is there a realistic chance do the romney people think they had they can reach those folks who hasn't made up their minds who are disappointed in barack obama. >> i think that's a major theme of the romney campaign and several of their add ads latelyr their attack ads emphasize it's okay. >> ifill: outside spending. >> it's okay if you voted for

barack obama. you don't have to dislike him, he's made his best effort, he's a decent man, a good family man but it's time for a change. >> ifill: do you think that's affected. >> i think they are important hoods. it depends how well done they are. i think it's a reasonable message if you're trying to run against the president that's more popular than you are and who is highly regarded and has had higher personal numbers. i do think today this follows a great trop disk as jeane kirkpatrick former democrat who went to san francisco democrats, you know, charlie crist is coming to the democratic convention. >> ifill: returning the favor you could say. >> former republican going to charlotte. archer davis is a convert. >> ifill: one of the themes tonight is switchers. archer davis leads that group. there are a number of people

speaking who say they change their mienltdz. >> ifill: he's african american, he's a harvard graduate. he fan seed himself to be close to broke. he'broke -- barack obama. he's nor valuable in some ways isn't he. >> he's tremendously valuable. harvard doesn't have a voice. and so you know he's arguing for that, being african american and for being you know someone who is close. and you meet people if you cover this race, you meet people every week who said i voted for obama, i'm not going to do it this time. so those people are out there. if romney's going to win he's going to have to get a chunk. >> let's go back to jeff on the floor. a few minutes ago he talked to california congressman kevin mccarthy. he's the republican whip and that's an office not a tool in the house. jeff. >> brown: i'm here with kevin mccarthy one of the top leaderships in the republican

congress. what do you think is the biggest challenge for the party here at the convention? >> i think our challenge is just delivering a message. a message of what we believe america should look like and moving forward. a lot of people still don't know mitt romney, do not know his background and do not know the history of job creation he's done or the person of who he is from a character setting. i think tonight's going to start that message. in fact there's some sense he's had, if he's had a problem it's connecting i guess with people, right and letting them know who he is. >> i don't know so much of connecting who he is. what we're dealing with now is we have a current sitting president and we know what his economic policies are and it's driving us in the wrong direction. so the cowan tree is now massachusettsing and saying let's look at mitt romney. now is the opportunity to start laying out that message. you're going to get into the debate and get into the election. now it's a layout what he believes america should look like and what direction he'd taken in. there are big contrasts in the background of these two

individuals from what he did for job creation to what the president's done. i think those are good contrasts and good policy messages for the country to look at and debate and see which way they want to do. >> brown: i want to talk to you about your colleague paul ryan, right. one of the young, of your generation, i guess, right, young power 40usz an houses ando the nominee of vice president. what do you think that gives to the ticket? >> i think it gives so much enthusiasm. paul's one of the young guns, one of the organizations paul and myself and cantor started. one thing about paul when you get to know him, this is the man who has the courage, the heart can conviction and most importantly the brain to put us on a good economic path. with what's different with him is he does not demonize the other side. he does not go after character assassination. he talks about policy that debates it. when the country gets to know him they're going to fall in love with him and most important fall into the love with the idea

of not politics but putting people first. >> brown: what about when they get to know the details about his policy. there's a potential for controversy, right, over what he wants to do with medicare, what he wants to do with other government programs. >> you're going to love it because he's the only person out here that's willing to fight to save medicare. everybody else is ignoring it and it's going to go bankrupt. you look at the budget. the president has gotten no votes. the senate democrats don't even propose a budget. paul proposes a budget. he has the heart and courage to pick on big issues but offers solution. and he's fil willing to do it wh democrats as well. a lot of the legislation that helps save medicare is bipartisan. when the country gets to hear about the real plan they'll like it instead of the demonizing of the politics to try to destroy somebody for offering an idea. >> brown: one more thing. he does come from congress. now congress, with due respect, not all that popular. >> yes but he is so anti-congress. he's the guy that's been trying to change it. and i think that's what, if you

look at his background and what he's thought for. you look at his own district. he comes from a democrat district. he comes from a middle class democrat district that obama has carried. he's able to listen and reach independent democrats. i just hope he gets the opportunity to go across this country and others get to know him because they're going to really like him. >> brown: kevin mccarthy, thanks so much. >> thanks jeff. congressman mccarthy of course is a loyal lieutenant to house speaker john baron wh baron boew on the floor speaker of the house of representatives. >> delegates, alternatesla, es and gentlemen, the convention will be in order.

it begins tonight with a fundamental question. can we do better. the answer in my view is obvious. you bet we can. the american people are still asking the questions, where are the job. president obama only offers excuses instead of answers. his records a shadow of his rhetoric. yet, he has the nerve to say that he's moving us forward and the audacity to hope that we're going to believe him. allow me to illustrate. i'm what you call a regular guy with a big job. i've got 11 brothers and sisters, indemnify da my dad and a bar in cincinnati. i grew up there mopping floors, waiting tables and tending bar. ably me when i say i know how to deal with every character who walked into the door. let me say right now some guy walked into our bar full of guys looking for work having a tough

go of it and the guy said well the private sector's doing fine. do you know what we do? that's right, we throw them out. think about this. a guy walks into our bar full of people paying more for healthcare, paying more for gas, paying more for everything and this guy would say, well, we're better off than what we would have been. well you know we'd do? we'd throw him out. now the guy walked into our bar full of folks who couldn't tell, couldn't tell you the last time they got a raise or their house was above water. and the guy said well we tried our economic plan and it worked. you know what we'd do. we'd throw him out. now let's say a guy walked into our bar and before he could say anything he overheard a regular telling his story. tissues outurns out this guy ral business, got involved in it while he was in school.

then out of no where his business partner died. they had just one customer. so he went through sleepless nights and close calls and he made it thank god, paid their dues proud of what they managed to do. a guy walks in the bar heard that story and says well, if you got a business, you didn't build that. well you know what we'd do with him don't you? we'd throw him out. by the way, that small business guy is my story. that was our business and we did build that. but you know, it could have just as easily been the story of anyone whose built something from nothing. no guarantees, no government there to hold your hand. just a dream and the desire to do better. president obama doesn't get this. he can't fix the economy because

he gn doesn't know how it was built. so in 70 days when the american people walk into the voting booth, what should we do? should throw him out. because we can do better, we can do a lot better. and it starts with throwing out the politician who doesn't get it and electing a new precede whpresidentwho does. mitt romney comes from a family of builders. his father built houses, built businesses, built industry. george romney was a can-do kind of guy and he was fond of the whole saying that when things are at their worst, that's just the place and the time that the tide will turn. well delegates, this is that time and this is that place. [cheers and applause] we're here to preserve this country the same way we built it, by exercising our god-given

right to set a new course. so who wetter t better to turn e than a man dead gated his career for doing just that, for the stage and businesses and olympic games. president romney, boy i like the sound of that. president romney will keep his word and he'll keep his courage too. he'll keep faith with the idea that government exists to serve the people and that people who built this economy. mitt's job ll build a stronger middle class through energy and dependence, schools and kids not where the teacher's union comes first, free trade, the balanced budget and an answer to the uncertainty and the tax hikes that threaten small businesses. it's a big job. so we're fortunate that myth hat chosen his running mate by rooting out and fixing washington's first habits.

when i met paul ryan he was a student at miami, ohio volunteering for my campaign for congress. soon he will be our party's nominee for vice president of the united states. who says this isn't the greatest country on earth? [cheers and applause] you know they call this america's come-back team. i need a good come-back, i need some true believers. if you believe we can do better, if you want your children and our children to have a stronger more prosperous america, then mitt romney and paul ryan need your help. because we cannot turn this tide only though if all of us are all in all of the time. all the way until the 6th of november. it starts here with the convention that will lead to victory for our party and more importantly victory for our people and a great cause of freedom. god bless you.

[cheers and applause] >> those were the remarks of house speaker john boehner, just concluded a few moments ago. right now we're going to join in progress priebus, the chairman of the republican party after chairing the gop. >> he just asked how can i help. that's the mark of a true leader. a humble focus on getting the job done. mitt romney spent his life turning around failing enterprises. america needs a turnaround, specifically we need barack obama to turn around and go back to chicago. [crowd cheering] guys, let me tell you about my

friend paul ryan. a man of true integrity, he doesn't descend into the gutter politics of the other side. he rises above it and charts a better path. he's my buddy, my congressman. and i can't wait to call him our next vice president. and hey, won't it be nice to have a second in command who can spend his days doing more than just prying his foot out of his mouth? paul and janet's three children are the lights of their lives. and congress. paul doesn't worry about his political future. he worries about the future of his children in the same way

sally and i worry about the future of our two kids, jack and grace. their future is in jeopardy because president obama has added $5 trillion to the national debt for all of our children to pay off. that's unacceptable. our founders didn't declare our independence, only to see us become dependent on the borrowed money of foreign nations. we still have time to chart a better course. if barack obama gets four more years, it might be too late. we're not just spending borrowed money, we're living on borrowed time. look at the record of the outgoing administration.

23 million americans struggling for work. 42 months of unemployment above 8%. the worst jobs record since the great depression. it's time to elect mitt romney show we can get moving on the great america come back. [cheers and applause] now, the obama appall jitionz ie maybe stream media say it's not his fault. we have news for the media. we knew that things were bad, but that's no excuse for making things worse. four years ago, barack obama was an unproven leader.

well today he's proven himself. he's proven that he's not up for the job. mitt romney and paul ryan will be up to the job on day one. [cheers and applause] like paul ryan, i'm from wisconsin, where republicans have done pretty well in recent years. well here's why. because we govern like we campaign. we made promises and we kept promises. that's what americans want. leaders of their word. well, president obama, as we all know, is a man of many words but he's not a man of his word. he broke his promise to cut the deficit in half. and he broke his promise to fix

the economy. and adding insult to injury, he actually attacks success. this president looks down on american free enterprise. as speaker boehner just said, the president said if you got a business, you didn't build that. we do build it, right? [crowd cheering] that makes me think, that makes me think that barack obama has a problem with the american dream. i grew up in a place called cause kenosha, wisconsin. my dad was an electrician and he

retired from the unified school district. you know when we drove through the town, he didn't point to that big beautiful house on the corner, and my dad didn't say hey, look at these lousy people over here. he did what every one of your parents did, he said listen up, pal. if you work hard and you go to school, you're going to be in that house. and mom and dad, well, we pray that it's three times bigger. no parent in america, democrat or republican wants the kind of negative glass empty view of america that president obama is trying to sell. we're the party that celebrates success. we're the party. we're the party that believes in

the american dream and wants all of our children to have a chance to succeed. so, this convention is an invitation to all americans to join us as we fight for a better future. this is our generation's rendezvous at destiny. this is our generation's time for choosing. if you believe that america can do better than the last four years, we stand with you. if you believe the next generation deserves a shot at the american dream, mitt romney and paul ryan stand with you. we are so blessed to be here together. we're going to have a great

week. i thank you all for being here, and god bless you. thank you very much. thank you. >> we've been listening to the chairman of the republican party, reince priebus with some pretty tough words for president obama. no surprise, david, gwen and mark. barack obama had a problem with the american dream and that was just maybe among the milder comments that he had. >> there's the head of the american enterprise arthur brookses no relation to me but he's the formulation of earned success that america's built on the idea you earn it and you get success. it's interesting how the word success has become a cultural signal here and in a lot of speeches already today, success is something we admire. those people don't admire it. we work hard and had small struggling businesses john boehner said and we achieve success. a lot of republicans feel that's under threat so that's one of the concept of earned success is something they've been hitting again and again and again.

>> we do build things and president obama said we've been taking it he's been saying on the campaign trail triggering a real talking point, you didn't build that. in context he meant something more. >> no, he did. and one of the few times actually stressed himself. honey said of saying you know we we -- instead of saying we take great provide in the succes prid imagination to do it you know we're a large part of a larger family that we all do this. as americans under the american law, american schools and so forth, it didn't come across that way. they grabbed that opportunity and they've used it. >> we're going to hear a lot more of that. jeff brown is on the floor. jeff. >> brown: judy, gwen and i were talking early in the program about the one note here so far having to do with ron paul supporters. so an interesting thing just happened. we were walking over to the main

delegation to do an interview, and nobody was there. it turns out that much of the main delegation has walked out of the convention and we've been told some members of the phoenix and severatexasand other delega. here with me he's what's going on. it's affecting our dell gults are counted. >> basically what's happening is we are going to -- what the republican national committee has done is that they've eliminated the possibility for activists to actually, like we did with ron paul, it will never happen again. this is not going to happen again because they're going to accept straw polls as the actual votes for delegates to represent the republicans. and so for example in the county that i was in, there's no way we would have ever won. it wouldn't happen. >> brown: so how oranged is

this among ron paul supporters is there's a walk out of one delegation. are there a lot of people involved in this at this point it could grow. >> yes. there's actually talk in the blogs sphere about forming another party. about forming another party. >> brown: so that would mean clearly impacting the support of mitt romney in this selection. >> it would drastically impact the support of mitt romney in this selection. >> brown: there's going to be a sense here from the party that hey, this is all happening. it's a done deal now and it's time to get in line. and if you support the party, you got to support the nominee. >> see, here's the problem. everyone's talking about democrats and republicans and it's not about democrats and republicans, it's about creditors and debtors. and see the ron paul people realize that and it's not about ron paul, it's just about the ideas. and so the thing is that you know, all of the creditors, international bankers are running the show and now they get to make the rules and

choose -- before this thing started, they wanted to have the nominees choose the delegate. that's absolutely ridiculous. they don't like the delegates, they get to choose the delegates but they backed down in the last seconds. it's absolutely corrupt and ridiculous. >> brown: all right. gary higher of minnesota, thanks a lot. that's a little tails of one -- one taste of what's going on down here. back to you guys. >> it's interesting this whole idea of whole delegations walking out because of what seemed like minor reflecting the ron paul delegates. he had 177 delegates. what's going on here david. >> i automatically assume the ron paul people will be invisibly folded into the republican party. that clearly is not happening. it's a lot of people, a thought of enthusiasm and a lot of people. it raises the possibility it could become the raffl ralph nad the spotlight will shift. does he say support mitt romney or does he say no we are something different.

it will be fascinating to see how he reacts to it. >> ifill: it's not about ron paul it's a personality issue. >> woodruff: talk about what is happening is absolutely corrupt. there's clearly more than just momentarily upset here. >> there is, judy. i don't know how deep or wide it is. but this goes back to a question of who does pick the delegates. does the candidate. and if somebody runs under a candidate's name, i think the candidate really does with all due respect to this ron paul people, a candidate has that film call. you're going to run for select hundred to a primary to david brooks and you are the local troublemaker or whatever else. david brooks has a right to pick and i really do think this is a problem that is a real one. what they're arguing about is how barack obama actually won

the nomination in 2008. the paul people showed up in caucuses in great numbers and the romney people, a measure of passion and intensity and that's what barack obama beat hillary clinton and that's why ron paul showed. >> they're playing i want you to want me. i want you to want me. it's not happening with ron paul. >> woodruff: subliminal message that's not so subliminal. we've been led to believe this is kind of settled that ron paul was not going to make a big deal out of it but it looks like his fans are going to make a big deal out of it. >> if you heard the language from the diswra from minnesota about the bankers. >> if that's your suspicion, mitt romney is your answer. that suggests some of the debt philosophical and emotional differences. >> the question i all had about the ron paul voters is whether they really are republicans. whether they actually show up or whether they would just stay home and it would be a wash. >> well if you go to a ron paul

event, and hear ron paul's position endorsed by one corner of the world when he talked about, when he talked about afghanistan and iraq and the united states militarism and another part of the r5078 when e talked about government being smaller and individual freedom, you would hear the marijuana legalization folks cheering. so it is a quilt. it's not a homogeneous group. >> we're about to here a video from the mayor of saratoga springs in utah. let's take a look. >> i remember she looked at me very seriously and she said mia, your mother and i have done everything to get you to where you are right now. we have never taken a handout. we have worked hard for everything we've had to personal responsibility. you will not be a burden to society, you will give back. my favorite part of running for

congress hands down talking to people and meeting with people. i love utah. i mean look how beautiful this is. we live in the greatest place in the world. my heroes are my parents, my husband and my children. they understand that they've got dream and all they want to do is fulfill those dreams. washington needs a little bit more of that. >> if i were to start listing the things she was involved in, her role as mayor, her participation and service in our local church, she teaches fitness classes. she makes our home a wonderful place and helps me as a partner to raise our children and to teach them good principles. she's very talented. her mind works very quickly. >> we're going to do one. good news is, you'll be happy when it's done. i am passionate about running, i'm passionate about having a healthy life. not about how healthy you are in life it's about how stronger and

how much inducer yo endurance y. disthings are worth it. if i can describe freedom in one word, it would be the ability to make decisions and reap the benefits of those decisions or suffer the consequences. if i could go to washington tomorrow and change one thing, it would be to restore the power and the decision-making back to the people. it's not government's responsibility to save our country. it's up to us to save our country. what makes america great is this idea that we are free. free to work, free to live, free to choose and free to fail. because our failures make us better. n regretssay i rtsegre being where i am and i love my life. i'm mia love and i'm running for congress.

>> i am thrilled that you are here in support of mitt romney. let me tell you about the america i know. my parents immigrated to this country with $10 in their pockets and a hope that the america they heard about really did exist. when tough times came, they didn't look to washington, they looked within. so the america i grew up knowing was centered in self reliance and stilled with the possibilities of living the american dream. [cheers and applause] the america i know is grounded in the determination found in patriots and pioneers. in small businesses with big

ideas. it's found in the farmers who work in the beauty of our landscape and our heroic military. it's found in the olympic athletes and every child who looks at the seemingly impossible and says, i can do that. that's the america i know. [crowd cheering]nt obama's versf america is a divided one. often pitting us against each other based on income level, gender and social status. his policies have failed us. we're not better off than we were four years ago and no rhetoric, bumper sticker or hollywood campaign ad can change that. [crowd cheering] mr. president, i'm here to tell

you the american people are awake and we're not buying what you'ryou're selling in 2012. [crowd cheering] the american dream isn't just my story. it isn't just your story. it's our story. it's a story of human struggle standing up and striving for more. our story has been told for over 200 years with mall step small d giant leaps. from a woman on a bus to a man with a dream. from the bravery of the greatest generation to the innovators and entrepreneurs of today. this is our story. this is our america. this is the america we know because we built it. [crowd cheering]

[crowd chanting usa. >> thank you. with paul ryan, with mitt romney as president and paul ryan as vice president, we can restore and revive that america, that american story we know and love. the world will know it. our children will tell it and our grandchildren will possess it for years to come. god bless america. this is our time. we are truly the best last hope on earth. thank you. [crowd cheering]

>> mia love, they're very excited about her. she is by the way challenging incumbent in a brand new district in utah. jiljilljim matheson, the encumbe not very popular. what is it about mia love people love so much. >> she's a star. very good video. i thought a very good speech. if you got a game around it, we've built it. but she gave a very forceful speech and this is a story and again that's the concept of struggling that you pay for it and it's all about you and your work. it's that immigrant. she delivered from the heart. >> jim matheson is the only democrat elected in the most republican state in the union.

>> ifill: the son of a former governor. >> he survived a number but this is a tough challenge. i would say what the republicans are trying to do is steal what barack obama's biography was. barack obama is to americas many the personification and validation of the american dream. the single mother who came from no where with no sponsorship, no pedigree, no special promise. and achieved it and america affirmed it. this is kind of the running rhetoric here is no, no, we're the american dream, we're the last best hope. i hope they're going to hear gratitude. >> there's a tough mind in this. difficult things are not easy hill, i'm not sure ifnd runnint it's on the next treadmill over there. but we've seen that in boehner and we've seen it continually and it may be well attuned to

hard times that you are going to suffer. and life is not pleasant but you work through it and you work through it on your own. as she said, she was the going to become a burden on society. that's pretty tough rhetoric. >> totally the polar opposite rhetorically from one of the great moments of the democratic speech to hear america's a family we share our burdens we share our blessings and we can write each other's successes and we console each other. this is not the message, there's a countermessage to that. >that. >> ifill: let's thank you more what's happening in congress especially these people with new faces who are actually challenging, who are actually challenging. judy's over there with gauze of the boston political report and our great political e editor. >> woodruff: we'll be talking with you and christina over the days of this convention. we've just heard this really remarkable candidate from the

state of utah, daughter of haitian immigrants. and christina, this is different for the republican party to be putting someone forward like this as a candidate for congress. >> absolutely. and not just her speaking on the stage but very biographical video sitting there and looking as one of the stars of the party. she's in a competitive race here with congressman jim matheson. he's a democrat obviously so they are really trying to showcase her as one of the younger fresher faces of the party. she's one you'll see continually out on the campaign even though she's from a state like utah not considered a battle ground state. >> woodruff: the political report. how much diversity is there in the republican members of congress right now. >> i think it's growing. it's slowly growing but it's something that they're trying to get through this recruiting class. it's not just mia love. someone like ricky gill in california. so they are trying to cycle by cycle grow the minority base of

the republican party and the faces within the party. >> woodruff: why do they think that's important. >> in part, when you look at polls you have the president and the majority of african american votes and the majority of hispanic voters. they really have been showing this tonight with the theme of the economy. what we're looking at here as well the economy touches everyone. it doesn't matter what your demographic is and that's something you've heard continually from the romney campaign saying we're going to showcase the stories. but of course they're going to showcase some of the parties we hear from sandoval who is hispanic and the louisiana governor bobby as well. >> woodruff: nathan, we talked earlier this afternoon to house speaker john boehner and he says he is feeling much more confident that the republicans are going to hang on to their majority in the house. what does it look like from your perspective. you're looking at these races every day. >> me la mia loves the race agat

jim matheson. republican has a good chance of holding the house. democrats need to hold the seats. jim matheson and democrats have to spend money to help bring him back to congress and that's less money they can spend to feeding the republicans. >> woodruff: what does that race look like right now. >> it's a pure toss up. you have one of those strongest republican recruits to give one of the strongest democratic incumbents. remember this is utah. mitt romney is going to pull numbers like you never seen before. these aren't john mccain numbers, these are mitt romney numbers and mattson has to get those voters. >> woodruff: that's important around the country. >> you will be hearing that with congressman paul ryan. that's the democrats trying to win the 25 seats. trying to use them in local races but it really matters where you do that. it might matter in pennsylvania for example where a lot of the voters are older and potentially awe of coursed by medicare more than say utah or california. that's where democrats seize the opportunities but the

republicans will be showcasing their best candidates because they are going to be able to pick off some of those seats which makes that democrats candidates they need. >> woodruff: what is the outlook for the current tre coua whole. this is something you're looking all the time and the projections change from week to week. what does it look like. democratic pick up, republican pick up, a complete one known. what do you think. >> i think in the house it's most likely there's a small democratic gain. we'll have a republican house. the senate is truly up for grabs. there are nerve -- i think no matter which way you look at it we're going to have a very closely divided got because the margins and majorities. >> woodruff: in the house the republicans picked up 65 seats. so there's a gay in the house. no wonder they may lose a few seattle even if it's seats even. >> there are weaker freshmen who

won. because the president is so polarizing it's going to make it tough for democrats to make that change argument. >> woodruff: what's going on at the presidential level typically mean in these congressional and senate races. >> it's really different from what you saw in 2008. 2008 every congressional candidate wanted to be seen with president obama. they were appearing at rallies lining up to see him. you go to ohio and see for our five candidates. now not every candidate wants to be there because of that polarization. but in part they are looking at what matters. look at new hampshire for example where both members of congress, that was a big switch from what happened in 2008, 2006 those seats turned over in 2010. that could happen again if the president does well. these are all a lot of mix and matching when you look at the gatlbattle ground. >> woodruff: this is something we'll look at.

cells tina and our political editor, nathan gonzales with the political report. >> ifill: you and i have covered a lot of convechtz and wconventions andwe have a lots . we decided to ask other folks for their favorite convention moments as well and we'll show you all week long. first up. >> what my favorite moment was when i heard sarah palin speak because she really electrified the audience. and at one time in our speech. this was just the alaskan vention in minneapolis, she really electrified that room. her teleprompter was not working right and she was ad libbing and that's when she did her famous lipstick on a pig joke and the crowd was just going wild. john mccain needed that game changer. mccain says he was glad he picked her, she became an international figure. i like effect lying moments when

you're in a crowd with just a few thousand of your closest friends. >> ifill: you're listening on the dance floor -- on the convention floor. it deals like a dance floor. we have been watching a lot 06 conventioofconventura long the . how about you david, what do you think is your favorite convention moment. does one come to mind. >> the obvious one, the barack obama moment, the mario cuomo speech. i like the unexpected and the one i'm coming back to is a weird one. i was walking down the hall in the middle of the afternoon and al sharpton had given like 6 minutes and he took 27 minutes and he was fabulous. it was an unexpected speech. i'm sure the people organizing the convention were ripping their hair out. he went off script but he's a good speaker. you could see suddenly the whole crowd, something important is happening. those unexpected thing that

drive the establishment crazy. >> ifill: how about you mark. >> the most historic moment and i wasn't there but reading it and hearing it was hubert humphrey's 1948 speech at the democratic national convention to take up civil rights for the first time. the party had not, it had been a party that was on a solid -- >> ifill: sorry to interrupt you. we're going back to the podium to a small business owner running for governor. >> two years ago i would never have imagined i would be here with you tonight speaking at the republican national convention. i've seen these on tv. what an honor to be with you tonight. i'm a mother from delaware. a co-owner with my husband, a first state manufacturing. and after this november, i plan on taking on a new title. the next lieutenant governor of the great state of delaware.

[crowd cheering] tonight is my honor to talk about the three things that inspired me to run for office. my family, the business we built and my belief in america's unlimited potential. but it starts with a wonderful story. shortly after our son was borne, my husband and i received some news that would change our lives forever. we learned our son simon was autistic. we loved him with every fiber of our being. but the experts told us not to expect much. your son will never learn to read, write or communicate effectively they said. accept these limitations they seemed to say. it was a tough time. we realized quickly that the pay checks from our jobs wouldn't

pay for the professionals that simon needed to overcome the odds. so we followed a deep and longstanding american tradition. we took a risk, we bet on the future and we started our own business. [crowd cheering] when serving in the army, my husband had taken a mail order course on upholstery. one day i came home to find him pulling out the secondhand sewing machine he learned his crafts on crafts o he cold her old betsy. mexican american my husband will do whatever it takes to provide for his family. [crowd cheering] our friends thought we were crazy. didn't we have enough challenges trying to raise simon.

why not just accepted our lot in life. that's when i remembered something my dad used to say. my dad was an old school guy, a former drill surgery, blue collar worker his while life. he taught us to work hard but think big. i remember he once pulled off the road and pointed to a big factory. that's more than a building he told me. it took a lot of work to get that big. but it all started out as an idea around someone's kitchen table. i guess you could say our upholstery business was our kitchen table idea. 15 years later, we employ more than 70 people in our 70,000 square foot factory. [crowd cheering] and we're so proud of what we do. we make umpire vests for little

league, products for the men and women who serve our country. restaurant seats for pizza chains and protective gear for our allies in the israeli military. [crowd cheering] we're actually taking work away from chinese and mexican comerts and bringing it bac -- competitd bringing it back to delaware. [crowd cheering] how did it happen? we defied the odds, we rolled the dice defied the odds. we rolled the dice. we didn't listen to the experts. we grew our dream. and with our son simon we didn't listen to the experts either. yes, he still struggles with autism but this past june, he completed his first year at the university of delaware. [ applause ]

i can't tell you how much this means to him and how much it means to me, the mom of a special needs child. [ applause ] raising our family and building our business have been the twin passions of our lives but how struck me is how similar they are. if you've ever raised a child or you started a business, you know what i'm talking about. you put your heart and soul into it, you work to find the 25th hour in the day. you struggle to open -- overcome insurmountable odds, and you do it all because you believe in an

unlimited future. isn't that what america is all about? [ applause ] but today when i talk to the young families and the struggling businesses that i meet throughout delaware, i have to ask: are we creating an unlimited future for them? a galup report recently said nearly 50% of small business owners are not hiring because of what they call regulatory uncertainty.ulations, major regulations. they are on track to create 109 million paperwork burden hours, and by year's end 110 billion dollars worth of new regulatory costs will be laid on the backs of business owners and tax

payers [audience boos] you might call that regulatory uncertainty. i call it an all-out assault on free enterprise. [cheers and applause] cha is what worries me about this administration. they seem to eager to fix society but they don't have a clue about how to fix the economy. [cheers and applause] in the end, it comes down to what you believe. and yes, they are believers. the obama administration believes in experts and blue ribbon panels. they believe in creating new agencies and boards. they believe in all that but she -- they just don't trust the entrepreneurs ability to grow her own business and to create jobs. [cheers and applause]

mitt romney not only believes in the values of economic freedom, his entire life has been committed to advancing it. last april i was privileged to be one of a dozen business leaders in delaware to sit down and meet with mitt romney. this wasn't a scripted photo op. i wasn't a staged event. this was a real discussion with someone who understands where small businesses are coming from. you see, governor romney, for him it's not free enterprise, it's not just a theory free enterprise, it's not just something you study in graduate school. it's a cree, did, it's a commitment, it's a world view. it is what connects americans, families and the communities to an unlimited future. that's why this election is so important to small businesses and to our country. i represent the small businesses, the women, the

families working so hard to rebuild our communities. in order to secure our unlimited future, we need a leader who understands the moral case for freep enterprise -- for free enterprise. [cheers and applause] someone -- someone like mitt romney who believes in an unlimited future. these aren't just words to mitt romney. his track record proves this. let's secure that future together by sending mitt romney and paul ryan to the white house in november! [cheers and applause] [speaking spanish] god bless america, thank you. >> >> woodruff: we were hearing her story. we've been talking in the days leading up to the convention about hurricane isaac.

we have news to report. just about 20 minutes ago the eye of hurricane isaac crossed into louisiana, the southeastern part of louisiana, near the mouth of the mississippi, just 90 miles south of new orleans. we're told it's a category one, winds of about 80 miles per hour. the center is said to be about 200 mile across. we take note of this as we know that tomorrow is the anniversary of katrina. that hurricane that missed florida is very much still a factor for the people of louisiana. >> ifill: and the threat of that hurricane that shortened this convention. it weighs heavily on the louisiana delegation, which is here, and a lot of the people worried about what is happening at home as well as just a taste of having people celebrate when one part of nation is in disgrace. we're about to listen to the oak ridge boys sing amazing

grace. ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound ♪ ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ i once was lost but now i'm found ♪ ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ 'twas grace that taught my heart to fear ♪ ♪ and grace my fears relieved ♪ ♪ how precious did that

grace appear the hour i first believed ♪ ♪ when we have been there 10,000 years ♪ ♪ bright shining as the sun ♪ we have no less days to sing god's praise than when we first begun ♪ >> god bless!

>> god bless you! [cheers and applause] >> please give a big hand to welcome to the stage congresswoman mcmorris-rogers of washington state. [cheers and applause] >> good evening, ladies and gentlemen. i'm proud to represent eastern washington in congress. [cheers and applause] tonight we're going to do things a little differently. i have the pleasure of serving as your host for the evening. guiding you through the next few hours, and i'm delighted to report, we have a wonderful lineup for you. each speaker will be joining

together to send a message to president obama. and that message is three simple words: we built it! [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting we built it] well before -- before i ran for congress, i worked in my family's business, the peach crest fruit basket for 13 years. i worked hard every day. and i can assure you that my family built that business from the ground up. [cheers and applause] today that hands-on experience guides my decision-making in congress.

unlike president obama, i know that small businesses are the true engine of our economy, not the government! [cheers and applause] and what businesses need to grow and create jobs is less taxes and less regulation, not more. [cheers and applause] tonight you'll hear a variety of stories from people who work hard every day to build our economy. you'll hear from jack gilcrest, the owner of a family-owned metal fabricating business in new hampshire. a number of our leading nation's governors are with us tonight. the chief executive from states like ohio -- [cheers and applause] , wisconsin. [cheers and applause] oklahoma, south carolina, nevada and virginia.

[cheers and applause] places where they have created an environment that unleashes american ingenuity instead of stifling it. they'll tell us how the job creators in the communities are not found in the statehouse, they are found on main streets. [cheers and applause] and one of the speakers i'm most looking forward to hearing from tonight is someone who i think we can all agree will make a fabulous first lady. ann romney. [cheers and applause] to close out the evening we'll hear from a dynamic -- dynamic and engaging leader who is shake up the way they do business in new jersey,

governor chris christie. [cheers and applause] so let's get started. our next speaker is from the granite state and elected to the u.s. senate in 2010. ladies and gentlemen, senator kelly ayotte. [cheers and applause] >> live free or die, that's the motto of the great state of new hampshire. but i believe tonight we all share that view. as have generations of americans before us. like most americans, our life changed after 9/11. my husband joe, who was on track to be a commercial

pilot instead served our great country flying combat missions in iraq. [cheers and applause] and when joe returned home from the war, he found himself in the same position as so many americans: he needed a job. sew started a family business, a landscaping and snow plowing company. and when i say he, i mean we because i spent many a sleepless night shoveling snow in and i'm proud of the fact that in addition to being a united states senator, i'm also pretty good with a snow plow. [cheers and applause] we're no different from most families who take risks

starting their own business. we borrowed money to pursue our dreams, and believe me, there was no guarantee of success. we were certainly not too big to fail. we had to make it work. yet through all the hard work and sacrifice, we pulled together as a family. and as the business grew, so did our extend family. and i speak -- our extended family. i speak to you tonight with great concern for our myees, their families, my family and your family. my concern is that president obama is making it very difficult for small businesses to get started, to create jobs and to survive.

[ applause ] you know what i hear all the time from small business owners that i speak with? they want to focus on their business. the obama administration wants to bury them with rules, regulations and red tape. [audience boos] from the national labor relations board to the department of labor to the e.p.a., under this administration the regulations are up and the job creation is down. president obama's view is clear. he actually believes that as a small business grows, the federal government should take a larger and larger share of its earnings. that's punishment for expanding and creating more jobs.

i call it a success tax. [ applause ] and you know, the very best example is obamacare. and let me tell you what i hear in the real world about that. just a couple of months ago, a successful restaurant owner in concord, new hampshire, told me about his dilemma. he wanted to open up a second restaurant and hire more employees. but you know what? he realized if he did he would trigger penalties under obamacare and he couldn't afford it. so he never opened up that restaurant. is that what we want for small businesses in america? [audience reacts] no. to be afraid to grow because

of the government? to face penalties when you create more jobs? to be told you are earning too much? isn't it time we had a leader who believes that creating jobs ought to be celebrated, not penalized. [cheers and applause] that is why mitt romney is running for president. [cheers and applause] he'll get the federal government out of the business of small business. [cheers and applause] he will fight to lower and simplify taxes. he'll work to eliminate job killing red tape.

and he will roll back obamacare starting on day one. [cheers and applause] in both the private sector and as governor of massachusetts, mitt romney always asks, "how can i help small businesses grow, ino rate is and -- innovate and compete? it's the right question and the question this administration never thinks to ask. why should we be surprised? president obama has never even run a lemonade stand. and you know what? it shows. [cheers and applause]uture replh

mitt romney. [cheers and applause] we need to replace barack obama with mitt romney because mitt truly gets it. mitt understands the hopes and dreams of small business owners throughout our great country. but don't just take my word for it. i want you to hear from someone who is directly on the front lines of small business. jack gilcrist is a small business owner from hudson, new hampshire. three generations of his family have used their own hands to build gillcrist metal fab caight. it's a true family business founded by jack's father and

carried on by jack and his son. jack is the face of small business in america. and, yes, he did build it. [cheers and applause] please join me in welcoming my friend jack gilcrist. [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. boy am i glad to have you as a champion of small business for new hampshire. [cheers and applause] governor sununu, like many small business men, my dad borrowed against our house to purchase the machinery to start gilcrist metal fabricating.

machines making equipment for drilling oil, television broadcasting, procession food and many other industries that touch our lives every day. machines run by tax-paying americans like us. [cheers and applause] >> we employ about 40 people, most with families including my son stuart. though we have enjoyed success, we face more global pressure every day. so doll our supply -- so do our suppliers, so do our customers. if we don't streamline our processes to stay efficient, we'll lose out to our competition. we don't have a choice. we often make decisions that are difficult. running a business means taking responsibility. presenting a certain future to the management team, developing a functional budget, ensuring that we

have adequate supplies and making a commitment to fulfill our customers orders on time. sure there are things which i cannot control but running the business is my job and mine alen. i blame no one else for the challenges we face. i'm often reminded of something lee ioacocca said, "lead, follow or get out of the way." [cheers and applause] every who runs a business understands this. everyone but our federal government. they won't lead. their rules and regulations are too hard to follow and they won't get out of our way. this administration is killing us out there. small business needs a leader, a leader who understands the entire spectrum of business and industry, a leader who can work with all parties involved, a leader who will

not avoid dealing with difficult issues, a leader with special to understand what it takes, a leader who is in touch with america's small businesses. mitt romney is exactly that leader. help us elect mitt romney for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen from ohio, please welcome governor john caseic. >> thank you. thank you. you know, you know, i don't know about you -- i don't know about you but i've got a feeling, you know i got a

feeling and it's just cause i don't like the black-eyed peas but i got a feeling that we're about to elect a new president of the united states of america. [cheers and applause] let me tell you why it matters because it really matters. we need a president who will restore the strength and the power of american people so we the people can rebuild our economy and so we the people can rebuild the united states of america. [cheers and applause] plain and simple. [cheers and applause] you know we've made real progress in ohio in restoring confidence because that is what so much of life is about. and we're setting people free we need a new partner in washington. this relace shim is just not working. it's holding us back.

i'm going to tell you our story. i'm going to tell you you the story of ohio and the story of lessons learned. i took office in 2011. and when i came into office, we were 48th in the nation in job creation. we had the largest budget deficit in the great state of ohio and we had 89 cents in the rainy day fund. most toddlers have more than 89 cents in their little piggy banks, let alone what was in our treasury. our credit rating was headed down the drain. and we were -- were had suffered a loss of 400,000 jobs. and ladies and gentlemen, tonight the greatest moral issue in america today is job creation. we have lost 400,000 jobs. our people were hurting and our families were hurting as a result of the recession.

in ohio we were following a policy of tax, spend and duck. that's tiewch of what politician dozen. they want to avoid the tough issues. when we came into power with my colleagues in the legislature we took the problems head-on. we balanced the budget. the $8 billion deficit was eliminated without a tax increase in the state of ohio. [cheers and applause] and we could not raise taxes because we were not competitive. so you know how we did it? we did it the way a family does it. we sat down and set priorities. we eliminated those programs that we no longer need and when government people spend our money, they are very wasteful about it. so we went through it and eliminated those things we didn't need but we prioritized those things we did need. i'll give you an exam.

we allowed mom and dad to stay in their own homes if able instead of going into nursing home where the costs are five times as high and when they are in their own home they are healthier, happier and more independent. that saved us a lot of money because we made government work better. that made a heck of a lot of sense for us. we cut taxes because ohio needed to be competitive we were $8 billion in the hole but we cut our taxes. we cut the income tax. the reason we cut it is so that ohio could be competitive. [cheers and applause] and at the same time we killed the death tax. we killed the death tax. [cheers and applause] and we killed that death tax because no person should have to visit the undertaker and the tax man on the same day and small businesses and farmers should be able to pass on their hard work to the next generation. and we need to do it in

washington as well. [cheers and applause] and we restored common sense in our regulations. and you know what? we still protect the american. we protect our families, but we don't overregulate and kill the job creators in our state. we want to honor the job creators in our state and work with them because they help our families. i want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, just like what mitt romney is going to face, the actions that we took were not always easy. and the actions that we took were not always popular. but you know what? when you get yourself in public service, you must lead and you must do what is necessary. i want to tell you the good news of where we are today. i told a minute ago that when we came into office we were 48th in job creation. you know where we are today? we're fourth in america in

job creation and number one in the midwest. [cheers and applause] we went from 89 cents in our raining day -- rainy day fund to $500 million in surplus, a half a billion dollars in surplus from being in the hole. [cheers and applause] and you know, i watched in horror as we saw the italians and the french and the spanish and the greeks have their credit downgrade. i remember the night i watched america's credit go downgraded. but in ohio instead of our credit going down the drain, our credit outlook has been improved because it's been recognized we're managing our finances and creating jobs. but ladies and gentlemen when over those last four years we lost 400,000 jobs in ohio today we have grown new jobs by 122,000.

122,000 families better off. [cheers and applause] but you know what? the wind is in our face. the president has given us headwinds. president obama has doubled the national debt. i was the chairman of the budget committee when we balanced the budget in 1997 and i look with horror up at that clock that shows $15 trillion in the national debt. that is the sort of problem hanging over our heads. the president is increasing that by $1 trillion. let me also tell you that the president says his answer to these problems lie in this: more taxes. let's take more money out of the pockets of the american people and send it to of all places washington, d.c. your even believe it?

we into the knot only need to balance budgets we need to cut taxes not raise them to get on the right track. and the regulations have had a smothering effect on businesses and paralyzed job creators. folks, this is the wrong philosophy. these are the wrong policies aand we need a new leader and that is exactly why i'm for mitt romney for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] you know i want to tell but mitt. he's a business leader. if there's anything we need in government today it's people who understand how to create jobs. plain and simple. and the people that criticize folks in business shrimp don't get it. they put us in this hole. mitt romney has a history of being a great job creator. secondly he was a great governor. he went from billions of dollars in the hole when he

became governor to billions in surplus when he left and he went from the loss of tens of thousands of jobs when he became governor to the creation of 40,000 new jobs when he left office. and he did it in tax-a chusetts of all places. okay? and remember this, beyond his work in his and beyond his work in government, he's a natural leader. he took the salt lake city winter limb -- olympics and fixed them and made every american proud of what he did in salt lake city and built a shinier and brighter america as a result. [cheers and applause] i want tomorrow you this, joe biden disputes a lot of those facts but joe biden told me that he was a good golfer. and i've played golf with joe biden. can i tell you that's not true as well as all the other things he says.

[cheers and applause] folks for the good of our kids, i know we're at a republican convention but this is not about republican and democrat. this is about something that is going to get this country moving again. restore the strength of our country. energize the people. set them free in a fre -- free enterprise system. that is what this is about. it's our children, our families, our country. frank, ladies and gentlemen, it's about the world. because even though they don't want to admit they depend on the united states of america to lead and to bring moral purpose to the globe. ladies and gentlemen, we have to leave here and march and get to everybody to make sure that mitt romney and paul ryan are president and vice president of the united states. thank you all very much. [cheers and applause] ♪ >> if you've been

successful -- >> john kasich never accuse of being a low-energy speaker. he was the chairman of house budget committee in washington and now a combative governor of the state of ohio. governors are so important, faith in the republican party is that they should have -- states should have more power than the federal budget. mitt romney is carrying -- counting on the speakers to carry that out. we're joined by two now. welcome to you both. >> governor branson i want to ask you about something that happened on the floor tonight. the ron paul delegates, were you are one of the few romney delegates in the iowa delegation. what is going on? >> the ron paul people brought a lot of energy to the state. this is my eighth conviction -- convention. this is the youngest delegation we've had.

the state chairman, a.j. spiker, a young guy, said we're going to go all out to help romney and ryan carry the state of iowa. we launched obama but a lot of ohioans feel betrayed because he campaigned as something to bring the country together and spent his time blaming other people. attacking small business and entrepreneurs we need to create jobs. i like to compare iowa with illinois. we have him surrounded now. obama's friends control illinois. they've been raising taxes. they have the biggest debt of any state in the country. they have the most unfund liability in the pension system. look at indiana followed by michigan, wisconsin and iowa we're all doing exactly what kasich talked about. reducing spending, reducing taxes and regulation. illinois raised taxes on both individuals and corp. railingses and they are driving business and jobs out of the state.

>> let me bring you in on this. what do the citizens of puerto rico see here tonight? >> it's important to understand that job creation is the number one issue across america whether it's iowa or puerto rico. the fact that they are overr overregulating businesses, stifling jobs. failed taxes are imposed on the small and medium sides businesses. it's very tough to create jobs. in my case, we created jobs in the last year for the first time in six years but it's very tough. i wish i had a friendlier washington to assist us in creating jobs. and i know most governors feel the same way. >> i think many people watch -- >> woodruff: i think many watching are saying if only governor romney is president everything turns around.

but people say i've been around a while it's not that easy. >> look to the north in canada. when i was governor before canada's taxes were high. dollar was weak. only 65 cents to the american dollar and their financial institutions institute weaker. now the canadian dollar is on par or better than ours. they cut the federal taxes to 15% and obama has stuck us with the highest corporate tax in america. we have companies that won't bring their profits back from overseas and invest them here because of penalties that this administration is placing on them. what does he do to businesses? he threatens them with higher tax and more regulation. there's a company in ames, iowa, working on a cure for cancer to stimulate the immune system as opposed to the other approaches that are used. and the doctor that is doing this says i can't understand why the president of the united states attacks people like me, entrepreneurs

doctors investing and creating jobs to solve problems like the problem of cancer. >> yet one of the things i find interesting is one of conservative governors i've covered want to be free of federal regulations and this latest kerfuffle dispute about welfare waivers, romney folks say obama administration has tried to gut we will fair reform. isn't a contradiction? >> i believe in grant and freeing up states because governors know how to handle this much better than washington. actually there are differences from one state to another. having said that, however, the concern is that the way washington will go is the opsy. we don't need that. we have to be productive. and be competitive to compete with other countries. otherwise jobs will go elsewhere. we want them here. we want to create american jobs.

>> i was governor before when we passed welfare reform. you remember tommy thompson and others were champions of that. we were able to convince the congress and president clinton to reform welfare to tie it to work. welfare to work. we cut the welfare roles in half. obama never supported it in the first place and now he wants to eliminate the work requirement. that will destroy. >> ifill: everybody says that -- >> woodruff: the democrats in the white house did. >> >> why did he take the action he did in july? he didn't have to change it? he's the one that took the action that said we're going to weaken the work requirement. we want to keep it. that was the whole intention of welfare, tie it to work. this administration, he opposed it back when he -- before he was president. and now that he is in the power to do something about it, he is trying to weaken it. now he didn't have to take that action. he's the one that took that action. he made it an issue. he made it an issue because

he never has supported the concept of tying work and welfare together. i think that's critically important. >> woodruff: we're not going to dwell on this. governor, independent fact checkers have looked at the ad they are running. >> i don't care about the ads. i'm talking about the action taken by obama. >> woodruff: that's what the ad is about. >> i don't care about that. he didn't have to take that action and weaken the work require. for welfare. >> woodruff: i want to come back to regulation. are you saying no regulation? >> that's not what we're saying no. >> woodruff: many of regulations are about protecting the environment and protecting health and safety. >> let me talk about the state level in puerto rico. when i came to office you needed 15 agencies to get the permitting necessary to open a business. today you go to one office. you can do it online 24/7. we're creating more jobs. same way with taxes.

in the territories the tax code narrows the federal code. we simpified the code, eliminated brackets and lowered rates. we're getting more money out of taxpayers and creating jobs for the first time in six years. >> ifill: we've heard governors like governor kasich -- >> except in illinois where the democrats are raising taxes. >> ifill: let me finish my question. who gets credit for that when the state is get doing better than the federal government does the state get credit? >> compare iowa to illinois or california where obama's friends are in control and they are raising taxes. all of us that border on illinois. i know what the governor of indiana says. he says it's like living next door to the simpsons. they are trying to drive people out. we're trying to bring business and jobs in. that's true in -- i'm

talking about illinois versus indiana versus michigan. >> ifill: i'm asking about -- governor, please. please. we're talking about the federal government versus the state government. when i ask -- >> we all have the same federal government. the difference in states is because of leadership of the state level and we don't have that leadership at the federal level. >> ifill: let's. >> we hear it all the time some are fleeing illinois why overregulation and higher taxes. it's an interesting case. in the territories you have a mirror image of a code. in that sense the fact that we -- we had a corporate tax rate when i came to office of 41%. today actually 8 different brackets. today we have three brackets and by 2014 it will be two,

20% and 25%. all the companies are coming to puerto rico. it's plain and simple. it's exactly what we need to do at the national level. >> ifill: thank you both very much. governor branstad, next time you come please say what is on your mind. [ laughter ] we thank you both. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we want to go to jeff brown on the floor and talked to another governor. the former governor of the state of new hampshire john sununu. >> reporter: i'm here with former new hampshire governor john sununu. you've been to a few of them? >> too many of them. my body tells me it's time to quit. >> reporter: what does the energy feel like? >> it's a lot of energy. the republican party is united and energized to fix the mess that president obama is leaving america. >> reporter: are you sure about -- there was talk here, some people walking out from the ron paul debt

gates. i was -- delegates. i was at a tea party event the other way. -- day. there's different voices? >> this party is united. the bulk is solid. there's always some individuals that don't -- a lot of folks when they don't get their way at the convention get cranky. this is a united party. the energy level is high. i've had a couple breakfast sessions with the delegation and they are popping through the roof. >> reporter: is the energy antipresident obama or progovernor romney? >> it's both. it's both. there's no question that president obama has unified the republican party but mitt romney and his election -- selection of paul ryan have excited party. toes a great combination. >> reporter: what is the biggest challenge for this delegation. one mitt romney has to let america know who he is. >> they do but there are cycles to political

processes. the presidential cycle is one in which a lot of america, almost half of america probably doesn't pay attention until the kids start going back to school. that happens labor day plus or minus a few days. the timing for this convention is great. there's two months left. i often say presidential elections are like a basketball game. in the a basketball game it's the last two minutes in a presidential election it's the last two months. >> reporter: this is political proand sports fan in you. it's getting down to crunch time? >> it's getting down to crunch time and these folks are petting ready to -- getting ready to go out and work hard. politics is an art form for people that care about something. that is what this party is ready to do. >> reporter: the last few instances instances have been pretty shrill and negative. >> let's understand why it's negative. look at the all 2011 article

in politico in which the title was kill romney. they laid out an agenda of nastiness, of tough campaigning, of destroying a candidate's character. the amazing thing is they admitted it publicly then and they are executing on that plan well. all due re inspect to the president it all flows to the top. >> reporter: you don't think the republicans have given as good as they get? >> we're giving on issues. there's the unemployment, there's 25 million americans of underemployed or unemployed. we're happy to argue on its issues. they are going after taxes and accused mitt romney of being complicity in a lady's death and stuff like that. >> reporter: thank you being here. >> nice to be here. >> woodruff: governor sununu was in new hampshire and his son was a senator

from the state. >> serve in the army and now thomase same job jefferson and patrick henry. what an incredible country we call home here in the united states of america. [cheers and applause] this nation is powered and defined by the great idea of the american dream. that's an idea that says if you work hard, if you dream big, if you follow the rules and pursue opportunities the sky is the limit in the united states of america. we cannot lose that dream. [cheers and applause] now, unfortunately, many americans are now hurting very badly. too many americans are looking for work because this president's policies simply haven't worked. washington today has the surplus of rhetoric and a

deficit of leadership and results. [cheers and applause] and you know the problems, unemployment over 8% for 42% months. the national debts, immoral at $16 trillion and growing. new business start-ups at the lowest levels in 30 years. and now the e.p.a. is the employment prevention agency. [cheers and applause] these times call for new leadership to get this great county out of debt and back to work. and the choice is very clear. the status quo versus the change in leadership society. that's what we need in america. we need a president who will

say to a small business woman, congratulations, we applaud your success. you did make that happen. you did build that in america. [cheers and applause] big government didn't build america. you built america. small businesses don't come out of washington, d.c., premade on flatbed trucks. that coffee shop in the county, the florist in virginia beach, that bakery, they were all built by american enter entrepreneurs wih big dreams. it's remarkable in 236 years of the american experiment what the ingenious people of this magnificent nation can

do what they are given the opportunity. every american deserves the opportunity of a limited responsibility government that performs the core functions well and gets the heck out of the way. that's when good things happen in the united states of america. [cheers and applause] look at the results of republican policies in the states. in states with republican governors, the average unmyment rate -- unemployment rate is a full point lower than in states stats with democratic governors. it makes a difference. republican governors lead seven of the ten states with the lowest unemployment rates. and 12 of the 15 states that have been ranked best for business have republican governors. well, the obama administration borrows now $3 billion a day just to

keep the lights on, republican governors have closed $65 billion in budget shortfalls without raising taxes. [cheers and applause] in virginia over the last two years with republicans and democrats working together our unemployment rate is down 20% to 5.9%. we've added 151,000 net new jobs in virginia. we've had nearly $1.4 billion in budget surpluses and we've done it by keeping regulation and litigation to a minimum and we haven't raised taxes. [cheers and applause] so, my friends, while the president talks, republican governors lead. talk is cheap. results matter. conservative fiscal policies are working and so are more

americans in the states with republican governors today. [cheers and applause] now just think what we could do if we had a president who would support us and not obstruct us, someone who has created jobs in the private sector, who understands the economy, and when has actually balanced a budget. heck, for that matter somebody who has actually passed a budget. [cheers and applause] we need president mitt romney. [cheers and applause] i can tell you when mitt romney and paul ryan get together and they work with scott walker or john kasch kaschdkd -- governor

branstad. we'll get back pem back to work in this country. our great country could no long afford the policies coming out of washington, d.c. we don't have to just hope for change. we can make the change this november. we will lift up and grow the middle class. we will celebrate job creators again. we will restore that great american dream that led my grandfather here from ireland 100 years ago. and that all starts with electing mitt romney and paul ryan this november. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> governor bob mcdonnell of virginia, another one of rising stars.

it's very interesting. they have a common message the governors, slate legislators, pretty much anti-obama more than proromney. >> it really is. this is the we built it night. they've take than and bind it and given it 18 different variations but that's what it comes down to. it's barack. -- it's barack obama's fault. it's surprising to me. this happens at conventions but i think the task is to sell mitt romney, to persuade a nation that has doubts about him. >> woodruff: there's been conversation about mitt romney. we've heard a couple speakers at that about working in the private sector and able to work with paul ryan, but a lot of the conversation is critic with the president. >> i'm in the sure anybody's mind will be changed about barack obama in either convention but romney is the blank slate.

the people are not well informed. besides ann romney and chris christie, nobody has talked about it. i think about the julia ad. a young woman helped along the way by various government programs, student loans, things like that that's one vision of the american dream and the republicans are offering a completely alternative to the dream. >> ifill: who are the messages we're hearing tonight, who will they resonate with? >> tonight it seems they are directed toward wavering republicans. the undecided you could say with great degree have made up their mind about barack obama. those informed. they question and doubt whether he deserves reelection. the doubt are about mitt romney. i don't see them resolving the doubts by driving

further nails into the particular board about barack obama. >> woodruff: what do you mean wavering republicans? i thut thought every republican in the country was anti-- ron paul republicans? >> we saw some restlessness here. whether they are convinced of that there's no question, expwriewdy, that mitt romney is not a positive enthusiastic galvanizing figure. he's not ronald reagan. it's not barack obama in 2008. he is running against somebody who does unite republicans. barack obama is the galvanizing, organizing tents cl of this campaign for the republicans. >> woodruff: it's been the source for the republican. >> and the entrepreneurial uplift. a lot of people think that it's the american dream and powers the american economy. the question is in a time of recession when you are blown about by global winds, do people really want to be

reminded it's tough to do it yourself or do they feel there are powers outside of my control and i need help along the way ands that's a divide. >> ifill: we just had a lively discussion with the governor from iowa. he came with this w- things he needed to say and volume. i wonder what you think? >> he is in the eye of the storm in iowa. he is -- has always been in a state that is known for sort of its open mind. he has been a fierce partisan. he showed that tonight. >> iowa is a swing state where the farm economy is doing reasonably well. the oddity iowa, ohio, governor in virginia the economy is better than it is nationally and that may help obama. >> it's tricky for governors. we were reading not long ago that they were urged not to say anything at least kasich

was urged not say anything about how he felt about ohio. >> it's tough in ohio to ignore the bailout that was barack obama's bailout. >> woodruff: one of real stars is scott walker, the man they are introducing right now. the governor of wisconsin. he won that bitterly fought recall election earlier this year. you can see the delegates are looking forward to hearing from him. >> thank you and good evening. on june 5, voters in wisconsin were asked to choose between going backwards to the days of double digit tax increases, billion dollar budget deficits and record job loss or moving forward with reforms that lowered the tax burden, balanced the budget and helped small businesses

create more jobs. on june 5 voters were asked to decide if if they wanted elected officials who measure success by how many people are department on the government or if they wanted leaders who believe success is measured by how many people are not department on the government because they control their own destiny in the private sector. [cheers and applause] on june 5, voters in wisconsin got to determine who was in charge. was it the big government special interest in washington or the hard-working taxpayers of our state? the good news is on june 5, the hard-working taxpayers won. [cheers and applause] just ask sandy why that's important. when the economy took a dive a few years ago, she took a pay cut. not long after that, she lost her job. today, however, she's

working at g3 industries in wisconsin. she just received a promotion. g3 is one of those companies that added jobs during the past year and now has plans to add even more. the owner told me that he is creating a additional jobs in wisconsins but he likes the way we're moving our state forward and he's even more committed since the last election. without our positive changes, he the confidence to grow business in wisconsin. improving the business climate is not only good for small business owners, it's good for people like sandy and her family. we need more stories like her's in america because the last couple years have been, well, pretty tough. like many places across the country, wisconsin lost more than 100,000 jobs from 2008 to 2010. unemployment during that time topped out at over 9%. but because of our reforms, wisconsin has added thousands of

new jobs, and our unemployment rate is down from when i first took office. equally as important, we improved the economic climate for job creators. today 94% of our employers believe wisconsin is headed in the right direction. [applause] that compares to just 10% who thought that two years ago. elections have consequences. as was the case in wisconsin two years ago, too many americans think our country is headed in the wrong direction, but mitt romney understands, like i understand, that people, people, not governments, create jobs. with that in mind, my administration is making it easier for people to create jobs in wisconsin. our reforms put the hard-working taxpayers back in charge, people like sandy. sadly, the federal government

seems to be going in the opposite direction. nationally, we've experienced 42 consecutive months of unemployment above 8%. last month 44 of the 50 states saw an increase in the unemployment rate. more than 12 million of our fellow citizens are unemployed. we need someone to turn things around in america. that leader is governor mitt romney. [cheering and applause] mitt romney turned businesses around in the private sector. he saved the winter olympics and he balanced state budgets without raising taxes in a way that helped the private sector create more jobs. then with the announcement of paul ryan as his running mate, governor romney not only showed that he has the experience and the skill to become president, he showed he has the courage and the passion to be an exceptional

president. with this pick, he showed that the "r" next to his name doesn't just stand for "republican." it scadz for "reformer." now more than ever we need reformers, leaders who think more about the next generation than just the next election. that's what you get... that's what you get from mitt romney and paul ryan. now, in a few weeks we will celebrate the 225th anniversary of our federal constitution. moments like that remind us that what makes america so great, what makes us exceptional is that throughout our history, in moments of crisis, be they economic or fiscal, military or spiritual, what makes america amazing has been that there have always been men and women of courage who think more about the future of their children and

their grandchildren than they did about their own political careers. [applause] let this be one of those moments. let this be our time in history so that some day, some day we can tell our children and our grandchildren that we were there, that we changed the course of history for the better. let us tell them that we helped elect mitt romney and paul ryan to save america. [applause] thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome --. >> ifill: we're joined now by our entire group here, mark shields, david brooks, and we want to talk about that scott walker reception just now. we're also joined by the senator from wyoming. i'll get to you in a moment, but

respond what you saw. he started to talk and people were still applauding. >> scott walker is the symbol of republican success, no doubt about it. he's become a folk hero. he's the only governor in american history to defeat a recall effort, and he did it. it's rather remarkable. i mean, what he achieved in a year out there in wisconsin was to suspend, curtail very sharply the collective bargaining rights of public employees and put it to the test and raised a lot of money and a lot of money against them, and he prevailed. i think he's a folk hero to this room in particular. >> woodruff: david, a lot of people think lasting damage to the organized labor movement in this country. >> i think so. mostly he had an effect of reassuring republicans. when that recall was held, he took some very tough steps. meanwhile new york washington there were a lot of republicans who were taking very risky positions on medicare and a lot of entitlement programs. if he had lost, that would have

been a message, the voters will never be with you if you take these positions. when he won comfortably by five points, that was reconfirmation it was the right thing. that's why paul ryan's budget was able to be embraced and the reason paul ryan is the vice presidential nominee is because of the electoral reconfirmation his victory earned. >> ifill: senator, as you listen to all this commentary on what's right with washington, what's wrong with washington, you go home to wyoming and what do people tell you about this, about what... are we right or do they hate us as much as we think? >> the message from wyoming that they want me to continue to take to washington is leave us alone. leave us alone, r air, our water, our land, states' rights. let us make decisions about medicaid. let us make decisions about health care. let us opt out of so much of the obama health care law and let us develop our energy resources in wyoming. we're so blessed with coal, oil, gas, uranium and we continue also with renewables but have so

many onerous regulations coming out from environmental protection agency, which to me is actually doing more harm to the nation right now than good. >> woodruff: but cut programs even if it means the most vulnerable ones take the hit. >> we balance our budget every year. families balance their budget. people in wyoming believe we need a balanced budget amendment to the constitution and get the spending in order and control spending long term. >> woodruff: what would happen to medicaid in the state of wyoming if the government cut it loose and said we'll give you money, it will go down every year, but it will be on your shoulders? >> i was on a committee that dealt with that, and if we gave everybody a blue cross blue shield card, we could save half of what we spend on medicaid without having all the washington regulations and cover everyone. >> ifill: i wonder if this is one of these situations, though, where the disconnect is too great to be breeched, i mean, to be found between what's

happening in washington and what senators like you have to tell people when you go back home. >> well, when i get back home, we just had a celebration of the ranches and farms that have been in existence 100 years in wyoming, 100 years through drought, floods, the depression and a government so-called trying to help them, four or five generations of family all come together. when the president says, as you just saw in that tape, if you have a business, you didn't build it, someone else did, people resent that across the country. it's not just the farms and the ranches. it's the dry cleaner, it's the florist. it's the person that started a car wash. these are people that get up every day, work very hard, build their businesses and really feel that the president is out of touch with so many people all across the country. >> with no government support whatsoever. >> i would say, that yes. you take a look at these ranches. some of them have been in existence just before statehood in the state of wyoming. they've done it in spite of having the fight both the weather and the government. >> woodruff: senator, let me

ask you about the "you didn't build it" comment. the senate said that in the context of, yes, there is private sector, private enterprise, but there is also a role for the community and the government in building highways and bridges and telephone lines and all the rest of it, the utilities. so it was not... i mean, i think the consensus of a lot of folks who heard the president that day was that he wasn't saying the private sector doesn't do anything, it's just that there is something in the role that the federal government does, state government does that is helpful in putting a community and a city together. >> of course he said the private sector is doing fine. then he said a statement about if you have a business, and then he said, you know, we know it works and we tried it and it works. his plan has not worked. we're living under the president's economy, the first two years he got absolutely everything he wanted to get. he got his so-called stimulus package. he got his health care law. and now we're living with over 40 months of unemployment over 8%. 23 million americans either

unemployed or underemployed, and a deficit now or a debt of $16 trillion. >> ifill: mark? >> senator, i'm fascinated on the environment. i'm a lot older than you are and i've been in washington a lot longer. but the great lakes were dying. three-quarters of the rivers and streams in the united states were unswimmable, unfishable. air was making people sick. and a republican president, richard nixon, created the environmental protection agency with a democratic congress. and within one generation, four-fifths of the rivers and streams in the united states were swimmable and fishable. the imlaix, the greatest freshwater resource any people have ever been blessed with were dying. they've been reinvigorated, spiritually, economically, recreationally. that was because water flowed across statelines and air blows across state lines. there was a federal role. you don't see that federal role? >> well, i think what the e.p.a. did for those first 40 years made a huge difference, a huge improvement.

now we're at a point where to get any small incremental improvement, the costs are so extensive and then the e.p.a. continues to underestimate the costs, overestimate the benefits and the regulations that continue to come out, make it harder and more expensive to put people to work. these are good jobs. we need to be energy self-sufficient in this country. we need to have energy security. i look at it as energy security, economic growth as well as environmental stewardship. i think we can do all three of those. we've done it in wyoming for the entire history of our state, and we can continue to do that, but the president opposes the keystone excel pipeline, bringing energy from canada into the united states. we ought to be exploring some more energy off shore, on federal land and in alaska. and american energy. >> woodruff: what's the unemployment rate in your state? >> a little over 5 pjt. we have good jobs, energy jobs. we have one of the best-run states by any record. we have a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. we live within our means, as our families do.

>> woodruff: who deserves the credit of that? >> i think the hard-working people of wyoming and the states' rights issues we've continued to fight for. it's a bipartisan effort. >> you're one of the few doctors, a leader in the fight against the obama health care reform. do you think republicans have to tell the country what they're going to replace it with? there's been a lot of talk about repeal, a little less about replacement. what comes after? >> government doesn't do the really big things well. james madison, the father of the constitution said, passes no laws so voluminous they cannot be read, so incoherent they cannot be understood. that's what we have with this health care law. there is not a 2,700-page replacement law. you're not going to see that. you're going to see a step by step in the right direction of letting people buy insurance across state lines, dealing with junk lawsuits, which drives up the cost of medicine to all the defensive medicine practice and the unnecessary test. you want to have people who buy their own health insurance personally get the same tax

breaks as those who get it through work. you want to get businesses to come together. you want incentives for individuals who lose weight, get healthy to lower their premium, as well. >> ifill: i was going to say that, last part rings a bell. there has been a lot of conservative criticism for the first lady for doing exactly what you just suggested, providing incentives for people to lose weight, get healthy and get well in does that also fall under the umbrella of what you're discussing? >> i ran something called the wyoming health fairs to give people low-cost health screenings so they could detect problems early, talking about proper nutrition, diet, all of those things which help individuals. i encourage those sorts of things. i think people that do that ought to be rewarded with lower premiums as opposed to the nancy pelosi premium rating system which will make a lot of people pay a lot more for health insurance and a lot of it is for insurance they don't need, don't want and can't afford. >> woodruff: you mentioned one other thing senator off of david's question that

republicans would do. i talked to a number of voters, and some have said, if that's what republicans want to do, why didn't they do that before? why did they wait until president obama's plan was implemented and then they're critical of it and so forth. why wait? >> those are things that i... one of the reasons i got involved and ran for the senate was because i was a doctor and wanted to work towards health care issues and to try to help patients get the care they need from a doctor that they choose at lower cost. and the president promised a lot of things. the costs of care and insurance would drop by $2,500 a family. that's not happened. he said if you like what you have, you can keep it. now we know that's not the case. and seniors are seeing that they've taken over $700 billion away from medicaid, not away from medicare, not the help and strengthen medicare, but to start a whole new government program for other people. i think that's why this law is still very unpopular. it's also unworkable and it's unaffordable. >>. >> ifill: mark and david,

we've had a lot of guests in the booth with us tonight, all of whom have had a very common, aggressive message. what do you think that they can... first of all, is that resonating with the voters you talk to, and secondly, is this something that mitt romney can take out of this convention? >> well, i mean, mitt romney could take certainly some of the intensity and passion that john brings to this event as well as the personal experience. , no i think that it is a distilled republican message. i do think it's contradictory, i'll be honest with you. probably the greatest educational achievement this country's history was a republican congressman from vermont named morrill and a republican president named abraham lincoln who created the land grant schools that created a system of universities, including the university of california, that produced more nobel prize winners than all the universities combined, total federal program, 10,000 acres of land to every member of

congress' state. there's been a long presence and involvement of the federal government in the well-being of this country. >> i'm giving mark a land grant college act, the homestead act and even the railroad. i think we can stop at health care. >> teddy roosevelt came to wyoming in the early 1900s and he came to the university, a land grant university. he said, you got a great education. what's more important is the character of the people. and the character of the people of wyoming and the people that have built this country and built their businesses. >> we agree. character is deafening. >> ifill: we'll go find jeff brown on the floor. hi, jeff. >> brown: i'm here with jeff labrador. you're here trying to show this is a diverse party, yet you're having trouble reaching hispanics and african americans. what should the party message

be? >> it's pretty simple. under obama the economy has been worse for all americans in general, but specifically for hispanics and african americans. the unemployment rate is higher for hispanics and african americans, and there's more people in poverty because of obama's policies. i think we need to get that message out. >> >> brown: why isn't it getting out? the polls i see suggest that gap is still quite great? >> the gap is great, but i think you'll see mitt romney and paul ryan actually reaching out more to these communities. and they're not changing their message. that's the difference between republicans and democrats. democrats love to pander to minority groups. they actually do nothing to help these groups. what we do is we give growth and opportunity to all ethnic groups, to all genders, and we say that whatever we believe in is actually better for americans in general. >> brown: why do you use the word "pander"? >> [inaudible] >> chief competitor rick santorum of pennsylvania did make a strong showing in the primary. he was one of the last challenges to romney's wrapping

up this american. >> i'm an american. >> one of the interesting things about senator santorum is he actually was not willing to step aside at any point in. this he hung in there, but right until the very bitter end. but he obviously has now made his peace. david? >> he's a good republican. but this was an exciting race. he continued to win. he continued to outperform my expectations and other people's expectations. he had a great message built around the mixture of family values and economic values. he was one of the great surprises. that's why we have primaries. >> woodruff: mark? >> rick santorum surprised me. i think he brought a blend, which was an interesting message, which is the cultural and religious conservatism and passion to it, but also sort of an economic populist message about america and especially american jobs that really did resonate with a lot of

republican voters who are economically distressed. >> ifill: we're joined by newt gingrich, one of the other great competitors who hung in there until the very, very end. we'll break away in a moment to listen to senator santorum. right now. we'll be back with you to, mr. speaker. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thanks. thank you. thank you. it is... thank you. bless you. thank you. thank you, pennsylvania. it is a great honor for me to be here tonight with the love of my life, karen, right over here, and my 93-year-old mother from

florida, and some of our children. my oldest son john wanted to be here tonight, but he's a first-year cadet at the citadel. [cheering and applause] so i just want to say to you, john, proud of you, son. thank you. i am a first-generation american. at the age of seven, my dad came to johnstown, pennsylvania, from the mountains of northern italy on a ship named "providence." how providencial that one day his son would announce for president just down the road from the deep mines where his father, my grandfather, mined coal until he was 72 years old. when my grandfather died, i

remembered as a kid kneeling at his casket and not being able to take my eyes off his thick, strong hands, hands that dug his path in life and gave his family a chance at living the american dream. working the mines may not have been the dream he ever dream. i never dared to ask him. but i think his answer would have been that america gave him more than he had ever hoped. america believed in him. that's why he believed in america. [applause] my grandfather, like millions of other immigrants, didn't come here for some government guarantee of income equality or government benefits to take care of his family.

in 1923, there were no government benefits for immigrants except one -- freedom. [applause] under president obama, the dream of freedom and opportunity has become a nightmare of dependency with almost half of america receiving some sort of government assistance. it's no surprise fewer and fewer americans are achieving their dreams and more and more parents are concerned their children won't realize theirs. president obama spent four years and borrowed $5 trillion trying to convince you that he can make things better for you, to put your trust in him and the government to take care of every problem. the result, massive debt, anemic

growth and millions more unemployed. the president's plan didn't work for america because that's not how america works. in america... [applause] in america, we believe in freedom and the responsibility that comes with it to work hard to make the dream of reaching our god-given potential come true. we believe it. we believe it because it still works. even today, graduate from high school, work hard and get married before you have children and the chance you will ever be in poverty is just 2%. yet if you don't do these three things, you're 38 times more likely to end up in poverty.

we understand many americans don't succeed because the family that should be there to guide them and serve as the first rung on the ladder of success isn't there or is badly broken. the fact is that marriage is disappearing in places where government dependency is the highest. most single mothers do heroic work and an amazing job raising their children. [cheering and applause] but if america is going to succeed, we must stop the assault on marriage and the family in america today. [applause] from lowering taxes to reformings social program, mitt romney and paul ryan are

dedicated to restoring the home where married moms and dads are pillars of strong communities raising good citizens in our neighborhoods. [applause] a solid education should be the second rung on the ladder to success. but the system is failing. president obama's solution has been to demay parents choice, attack private schools and nationalize curriculum and student loans. mitt romney believes that parents and the local community must be in charge of our schools, mott the department of education. [cheering and applause] yet we all know there is one key to success that has helped people overcome even the greatest of obstacles -- hard

work. that's why work was the centerpiece of the bipartisan welfare reform law, requiring work as a condition for receiving welfare succeeded, and not just because the welfare roles were cut in half, but because employment went up, poverty went down and dreams were realized. it's a sturdy ladder of success that is built with healthy families, education and hard work. [applause] but president obama's policies undermine the traditional family, weaken the education system and this summer he showed us once again he believes in government handouts and dependency. by waiving the work requirement

for welfare. now, i helped write the welfare reform bill. we made the law crystal clear. no president can waive the work requirement. but as with his refusal to enforce our immigration law, president obama rules like he is above the law. [applause] americans take heed. when a president can simply give a speech or write a memo and change the law to do what the law says he cannot do, we will no longer be a republic. [cheering and applause] yet as my family and i

crisscrossed america, something became so obvious to us. america is still the greatest country in the world, and with god's help and good leadership, we can restore the american dream. [applause] why? because i held its hand. i shook the hand of the american dream and it has a strong grip. i shook the hands of farmers and ranchers who made america the bread basket of the world, hands weatherrered and worn and proud of it. i grasped the dirty hands with scars that come from years of labor and the oil and gas field, mines and mills, hands that power and build america and are

stewards of the abundant resources that god has given us. i've gripped hands that work in restaurants and hotels, hospitals, banks and grocery stores, hands that serve and care for all. i clasped hands of men and women in uniform and their families, hands that sacrifice and risk all to protect and keep us free. and hands that pray for their safe return home. [applause] i held hands that are in want, hands looking for the dignity of a good job, hands growing weary of not finding one but refusing to give up hope. and finally, i cradled the

hands, the little broken hands of the disabled, hands that struggle, hands that bring pain, hands that ennoble us and bring great joy. they came to see us. oh, did they come to see us when they found out that karen and i were blessed with caring for someone special too, our bella. [applause] four and a half years ago, i stood over a hospital icolet, staring at the tiny hands of our newborn daughter, who we hoped was perfectly healthy.

but bella's hands were just a little different, and i knew different wasn't good news. the doctors later told us that bella was incompatible with life and to prepare to let go. they said even if she did survive, her disabilities would be so severe that bella would not have a live worth living. we didn't let go. [cheering and applause] today bella is full of life, and she has made our lives and countless others much more worth

living. [applause] i thank god that america still has one party that reaches out their hands in love to lift up all of god's children, born and unborn. [cheering and applause] and we say, and we say that each

of us has dignity and all of us have the right to live the american dream. [applause] and we also say that without you, without you, america is not keeping faith with its dream, that all men, all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [cheering and applause] ladies and gentlemen, you know we are stewards of a great inheritance. in november we have chance to vote for life and liberty, not

dependency. a volt for mitt romney and paul ryan will put our country back in the hands of leaders who unders wtandhat america can and for the sake of our children must be to keep the dream alive. thank you and god bless you and god bless america. thank you. >> ifill: we're here with house speaker newt gingrich. there must be a cringe watching rick santorum give that speech tonight, no? >> new york rick's a great friend of mine, and he was very effective i thought. that's a very powerful, i think very personal speech, and i think it reflects a compassionate side of the republican party that may surprise some people. >> woodruff: the next speaker is ted cruz who won the republican primary in the state of texas. mr. gingrich, what does he mean to your party? >> well, it's an enormous asset. you've had insurgents from

nebraska to texas, missouri, people who are beating big money. and i think that's good for the party. in today cruz's case you have a very attractive latino along with marco rubio along with the governor of new mexico and others. you combine those with people like allen west and tim scott, african americans, and combine them with bobby jindal and nikki haley, indian american, this is a broader party than the media would like to portray, and this is very important to the future of this party. >> ifill: you're saying it's a bigger tent than we see looking out at the faces of this crowd? >> sure. an you see that tent growing every single day. you're about to hear artur davis, following ted cruz, an african american who says, look, the democratic party under obama has left my values and left me. so i think that's a fairly significant thing.

>> woodruff: we're going to go to the floor and listen to some of what ted cruz, the candidate for senate from texas is saying. >> an understanding of the unlimited potential of free men and free women. i want to tell you a love story. it's the story of all of us. it's a love story of freedom. it's the story of our founding fathers who fought and bled for freedom and then crafted the most miraculous political document every conceived, our constitution. [applause] the framers understood that our rights come not from monarchs but from god. [applause] and those rights are secure only when government power is restrained.

[applause] it's the story of the brave texan in the city of gonzalez when general santa ana demanded that they hand over their guns and the cannons that guarded their city. they responded with the immortal cry, "come and take it." [cheering and applause] it's the story of the greatest generation, who rose up to confront the grotesque evil that was the nazis and who ushered in the greatest era of peace and prosperity the world has ever seen. it's the story of civil rights pioneers, like dr. martin luther king, who stood up to the scourge of discrimination and bravely championed that each of

us must be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. [applause] it's the story of president ronald reagan, who turned back the growth of government and restored morning in america. [applause] who stood up against the oppressive evil of communism and demanded, mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. audience: tear down this wall. >> it's the story of my mom, irish and italian working class, the first in her family ever to go to college, she became a pioneering computer programmer in the 1950s. it's the story of my father,

imprisoned and tortured in cuba, beaten nearly to death. he fled to texas in 1957, not speaking english with $100 sewn into his underwear. he washed dishes making 50 cents an hour to pay his way through college and to start a small business in the oil and gas industry. my father is here today. when he came to america, nada. [speaking spanish] he had nothing, but he had heart, a heart for freedom. thank you, dad. [applause] it's the story of each and every one of you. we are all the sons and

daughters of those who risked everything for freedom, and each of us has a duty to pass that same liberty on to the next generation. and yet today many in washington seem content to saddle our children with a crushing debt and a limited future. we're going broke. , but i'm here today with a word of encouragement. millions of americans are standing up saying, we want our country back. [applause] republicans, democrats, independents, we will not go down the path of greece. we will not go quietly into the

night. [applause] president obama is immensely talented and man of deep conviction, and yet his economic agenda is perilous indeed. this election presents a stark choice. we can continue down the road of the obama democrats, more and more spending, debt and government control of the economy. or we can return to the founding principles of our nation -- free market, fiscal responsibility and individual liberty. [applause] unfortunately president obama's campaign is trying to divide america. to separate us into groups, telling seniors, medicare will

be taken away, telling hispanics that we're not welcome here and sending the vice president to preach a message of division. it's tragic how far we've come from hope and change. all of this is designed to distract from the real issues that matter. 23 million americans struggling to find work, 16 trillion in national debt and government takeovers of much of our economy. imagine for a moment if someone surreptitiously charged thousands of dollars on your credit card, saddling your kids with debts they could never escape. my wife heidi and i are blessed with two little girls, caroline and katherine, four and one. when caroline was born, our national debt was $10 trillion.

today, as the debt clock shows, it is $16 trillion, larger than our gross domestic product. how do we turn our nation around? president obama thinks the answer is more and more government. [audience boos] government is not the answer. [applause] you are not doing anyone a favor by creating dependency, destroying individual responsibility. 55 years ago, when my dad was a penniless teenager, thank god some well-meaning bureaucrat didn't put his arm around him and say, let me take care of

you, let me give yaw government check and make you dependent on government. and by the way, don't bother learning english. that would have been utterly destructive. instead my parents worked together to build a small business to provide for their family and to chart their own future. that's the american dream. mitt romney and paul ryan understand that government doesn't create jobs. [cheering andapplause] entrepre. two-thirds of all new jobs in our economy come from small businesses. and 2.3 million hispanics own small businesses.

[applause] and yet this administration has waged a war on small businesses. a war that is costing our future and our opportunity. i want to close by asking a few questions with apologies to barack obama. can we restore the constitution? >> yes! >> yes, we can. can we retake the senate? >> yes! >> can we repeal obamacare? >> yes! >> and can we defeat president barack obama? >> yes, we can! [cheering and applause]

>> woodruff: we're listening to the united states senate candidate nominee from the state of texas, ted cruz, who has done something that i think only the nominee, the presidential nominee and the vice presidential nominee have done in the past, and that is walk around the stage. speaker newt gingrich, you're still with us. is it unusual for one of the speakers to do what he's doing? >> well, it's apparently his style. it's not what they normally set up, but i also think you just got a sense of why he won the nomination in texas. this is a very dynamic, very aggressive guy with a clear message. >> ifill: you've been doing this for a while, mr. speaker, when you look at faces like his, do you think, that's the party, i'm done? >> new york i think this is a continuum. there are a lot of different roles for a lot of different people. i am delighted to see the next generation coming online. i'm delighted that paul ryan represents the beginning of that wave in terms of the vice president, nomination, but when

you look at a bobby jindal, a nikki haley, you are really looking loot a whole new generation of people, scott walker, that are coming on in a very exciting way. >> ifill: here's a new one, artur davis, a former congressman that speaker gingrich mentioned a few moments ago. democrat last we saw and now a republican. used to represent alabama. now endorsing mitt romney. >> as you know, the last time i spoke at a convention, it turned out i was in the wrong place. so tampa, my fellow republicans, thank you for welcoming me where i belong. [cheering and applause] thank you. thank you. now, we got to get on with the show. we've got to get on with the show because we have a country to turn around.

this very night you nominated the most experienced executive to seek the presidency in 60 years in mitt romney. he has no illusions about what makes america great. he doesn't confuse the presidency with celebrity or loftiness with leadership. what a difference four years makes. now, the democrats' negative ads do convince me that governor romney can't sing, but his record convinces me he knows how to lead, and i think you know what skill we need more. now, america's the land of second chances, and i gather in this close race you have room for the estimated six million of us who got it wrong in 2008 and who want to fix it.

[applause] maybe, maybe we should have known that night in denver that things that begin with styrofoam, greek columns and artificial smoke typically don't end well. [laughter] maybe the hollywood stars and the glamor blinded us a little. you thought it was the glare. some of us thought it was halo. but in all seriousness, do you know why so many of us believed? we led with our hearts and our dreams that we could be more inclusive than america had ever been, and no candidate had ever spoken so beautifully, but dreams meet day break. the jobless know what i mean. so do the families who wonder

how this administration could wreck a recovery for three years and counting. so many of those high-flown words have faded. remember, my friends, the president saying of negative politics and untrue ads, "not this time"? who knew not this time just meant, not unless the economy is stuck and we can't run on our record. [applause] remember when the president said of his own election, "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal"? who knew the plain english version of it was, middle america, get ready to shell out $60 to fill up your car. and in terms of their crown jewel legislative achievement, who knew that when asked, could government conceivably impose a