Transcripts For CSPAN Washington This Week 20120901

the vulnerabilities are relatively evenly spread. we could have between 25 or 30 seats, but the net could potentially be europe. if you had to force me to take a side and say which was more likely to pick up seats, i would probably still say democrats are more likely than not, but it will not be a large shift either way, and i do not think democrats are anywhere near the 25 seats they need to take back the house. maybe somewhere in the low to mid-single digit range. i would not rule out that republicans could pick up a small number of seats, but probably not the five the seven congressmen sessions said -- 527 -- five to 7. >> you wrote a column the other day about how you wrote what you eat. in 2010, out of the 56 democratic seats republicans picked up, 82% of them contained a cracker barrel old country store, and just 20% contain a whole foods market. i think we are going to see a continuation of that. but i was retired -- reciting a statistic before a group of young democratic professionals, and a young lady in the audience raised her hand and said, cassette and excuse me -- are you sure you did not mean crate and barrell? i have never heard of cracker barrel." that tells you something about the democratic mindset. >> this is why the chick-fil-a thing matters and why it got so big -- because we have such a connection to some of these institutions. by the way, the largest turnover was not a big net gain either side. it sounds a lot like 1992, also. congress is unpopular. this sounds like history is repeating itself. >> also, we had 19 incumbents that lost primaries, 24 that lost general elections. we have a similar pattern this year. part of that is the fact is we have 13 members. there are already 11 members guaranteed to lose primaries. we already have 16 incumbents who are guaranteed to lose primaries between five that have lost nominations and the 11 who are guaranteed. could we see almost as many members lose primaries as general elections? it goes back to the point that across these districts, we have fewer districts that are competitive between the parties and the general election. a primary in more and more districts has become tantamount to election. >> jennifer, over the last two cycles, we have seen a new phenomenon of the d.c. republican set being not only not welcome in a primary contest, but actively a bad thing. if they go into a race, thereby will lose. what does it say about the republican party at large? this year, we have seen texas and indiana, two conservative insurgents winning. on the other hand, more moderate candidates winning in wisconsin, nebraska, and arizona is sort of debatable as to where they are on that. what do you make of this? >> even in missouri, i do not think the tea party movement there was ever united by a candidate. when tea party activists are united, they can actually make progress and win races. they were united in texas. they were united in indiana, but there were a number of places where they just could not unite behind one candidate. it paved the way for tommy thompson to win, and he is the more delectable general election candidate. as somebody who has done this for a long time, i guess i have something i do not understand -- why is it electability first, right? sometimes half a glass is better than an empty glass, so i have never really understood this desire to have this ideological security, but i will say that it has absolutely put republicans for the last three cycles -- i understand the nrsc's position they have been put in and why they have taken a hands-off approach. at some point, you know, tea party " are going to realize that they have done in terms of elections the party a lot more harm than they have done good. i'm sure i'll get a lot of hate e-mails following that comment -- looking forward to it -- >> hi, c-span! >> i usually do, by the way. >> let's talk about some of the vulnerable republican seats. scott brown is a head -- do you agree? >> scott brown is a headache. being from an island and learning politics in rhode island, what a lot of people do not understand about massachusetts is that massachusetts does not begin in and in boston. there were a lot of places in massachusetts where scott brown actually really resonates, you know, these blue-collar democratic towns. the other thing you need to appreciate about massachusetts is 52% of the voters there register as independent. in point of fact, when you look at democratic vote, scott brown needs 20% of that, which is doable. i think there is a path to victory for him. i think they have run a really strong campaign against some thoughts, not the least of which is this perception that he might not be able to win, and the sheer strength of fund raising has been impressive, and she has won -- run a good campaign, but she has made some of the mistakes first-time candidates make. >> what about nevada, where you have berkeley, who faces ethics problems? i felt like maybe there was a thumb on the scale for her before this popped up. >> in nevada, these ethics problems did take that come off the scale -- thumb off the scale, and she will now have trouble making inroads in a place she needs to. she will win vegas and clark county pretty easily, but what she really needed to do is get north a little bit where democrats have been trying to make inroads in the last few elections and really, you know, run even on those or better there. i think that will be very hard for her now. what i would never dismissed in nevada is the democratic party operation that harry reid has spent years putting together. i think it will be a close race. i really do. >> let's talk about some of the races that are overlooked, the ones we do not get to talk about all the time. what are the races that we are not talking about today that people should know who these candidates are? >> i would not say that the situation in colorado is sixth beer goggles ugly quite yet, but i think he has had a transition -- a tough transition from beer to politics, and jennifer can eliminate that a little bit. in 2010, we had a very difficult election for congressman ed kroll, moderate democrat. he faced a very strong candidate. he hung on. i do not see how after winning in 2010, he was in 2012 -- he will lose in 2012, particularly since the obama campaign will really be ramping up their turnout effort, and latinos are a fast-growing demographic in the denver suburbs. some of the other races we have had to overlook include states like north carolina, where we are paying a lot of tension -- states like north dakota where we are paying a lot of attention to the race. democrats have a very appealing candidate in the former state representative. if i had to pick a race to watch that is not really close right now on the democratic side, and it ray hall in southern west virginia -- nick ray hall. i agree about energy issues in that part of the country hurting democrats and president obama, and it is possible that rates will tighten up quite a bit before election day if obama is somewhere south of 35% in southern west virginia. >> i am fascinated by the race in north dakota. tell us about it. >> you've got a state-wide elected official, essentially, who was elected as the at large congressman in 2010. you have the former attorney general, who was the gubernatorial nominee in 2000. she has been out of politics since then, but she is running as the moderate moderate here. she talks about health care reform being necessary but not perfect, and it needs to be tweaks. she really goes after the president hard on things like energy, especially the keystone pipeline. she talks about -- she is not a huge fan of the federal government, but she does not dismiss it. the struggle in this race is -- he got $2 million in negative advertising thrown at him in 2010. he is a member of an institution with an approval rating of 12, which i think makes people think twice. this is a much closer race than it ought to be. i think that this is a fight to the finish. i really do. the problem is she has to weigh over perform the president in that state by 10 points better. >> if you tell me in senate races across the country -- >> i think we are talking about a lot of states like that in some respect. massachusetts, you've got a split ticket. i think scott brown is going to win. i think you will need a little bit of that in places like nevada. hawaii, also competitive race. new mexico, another place you will need to see that. >> ladies and gentlemen, i would like to open it up for a few questions. >> thanks. i have a question about two races in 2010 that are replaying again in 2012. they were really close races last time, so i would be really curious what your thoughts are. >> fantastic races. thanks for the question. in kentucky, ben shambler got a sweetheart deal in redistricting. he is one of the few democrats left from a region that is really challenging for democrats, more challenging every year. the republican candidate is really strong with a little bit more of a head start this time around. i would be more cautious about predicting that rates than i first.ew york's attended think that on the eastern tip of long island when tim bishop won in 2010, turning his opponent into the total boogieman, he is totally the favorite to win again. i do not think things can get much worse for democrats in long island than they did in 2010, and he may enjoy a little bit of a rebound. we will see. >> somebody else? questions for david or jennifer? we should have one of those twitter scrolling screens. if nothing and, i will go ahead and ask about indiana. it should be in the likely republican column. president obama is not going to -- this time around, and yet >> obviously, republicans talked about the primary there. what is interesting is people who know him never associate him with the tea party, but i have never seen a candidate have a worse first 48 hours of a general election than richard morris did. he talked about his idea of compromise, and that is sort of positive. democrats did a good job of finding a candidate who again is the moderate. he is in tune with a lot of indiana voters. in this race now, i think it is fairly even. but this is again one of those things where the candidate will have to over perform the president to win. i think you will see some republican outside money pretty soon. i think that they are going to start talks about his voting record a little bit more. and try to put some light between he and murdoch before long. >> anybody else? yes, sir? start here. there you go. >> thank you. you spoke a little bit about the florida race for senate. could you expand on that a little bit? what are your thoughts? >> it is interesting. one of the things that i think is completely true is that especially in presidential battleground states, you are starting to see the senate races polarized around the presidential campaign, and i think that florida is an excellent example of that where republicans had one of the more interesting -- i cannot even call it a primary contest. one of the most interesting recruiting seasons -- candidates would get in and get out. the primary was just this past month, so the race has just started, but i think this is going to end up being a closer race than most people think. just because of the presidential contest. i think you will see republicans put some money in here. they think nelson has gotten a free ride since he got elected to the senate. if you look at the 2006 race, you might have to stipulate that that is true. i do not have it in a toss of yet, but i can see it getting their at some time before september. >> this is the primary decided to not debate because the primary was over three weeks after the election was over. >> if i were campaign manager, i would have made the same decision. >> time for one more question right here. where is the microphone? >> i will take off my taxes had and put on a new york have. i was wondering if we talk about chris gibson and the other freshmen who won and republicans who won in new york who may be in trouble -- i will take off my taxes -- texas hat. >> let's talk about the republicans. burkle in syracuse -- i think that is the most challenging race for republicans to hold of the freshman crop. then you have races in the hudson valley. one in the southern part of the hudson river valley. in both of these districts, we have talked of races for very different reasons. hayworth is in trouble not because of redistricting. redistricting did not change her district all that much, but rather because she has really been a forceful, more tea party flavor economic conservative in a district that is really middle of the road, and she is facing a very strong opponent in sean patrick maloney, who was a clinton white house aide, and has raised a lot of money after moving to the district. in gibson's district, he has gotten rave reviews. he is a very middle-of-the-road guy. he has not focused on cup captain balance. he focused on lyme disease and roll broadband and issues that are more bread-and-butter to his district -- role -- rural broadband. but his district changed a lot in redistricting. president obama will carry it. a prosecutor who is a democratic nominee there will be very competitive against gibson. it will absolutely be one of the bellwether races. >> all right. i want to thank you all for being here and stopping by national journal's daily policy briefing. [applause] [inaudible] >> thank you all very much. great panel. hope you all enjoy it. tomorrow morning, same time, same place. we will have ron brownstein of our team, editor of "the atlantic,", and they will be interviewing people from the mitt romney campaign. it is going to be a pretty top line program. let me also invite you tonight if you want to come and hang out and watch the convention with good food here at the top house and good people and good drinks. there is no security getting in the door, so it is a lot easier. have a good day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> c-span is going to bring some live road to the white house coverage to you today as soon as he appears -- he was scheduled to appear at 2:20 eastern time. we will be hearing from president obama from the living history farms at a campaign rally in iowa, just near des moines. it may look more like a summer music festival. at is part of a rock the vote event -- it is part of a rock the vote event. we will bring that lie to you shortly. tonight, some past democratic national convention speeches. those will start at 7:00 p.m. eastern, ahead of the democratic convention coming up in charlotte on tuesday. we will see the 1960 speech by john kennedy, 1964 lyndon johnson, and bill clinton in 1992, and then we will backtrack a little bit and go to harry truman and his speech in 1948. those get under way at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. tomorrow here on c-span, we will show you "newsmakers," where we have los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa. he talks about how the democrats' convention will differ from the republicans and areas where he thinks republicans fall short -- like on immigration and the future of medicare. that is tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> as c-span covers the republican and democratic party conventions this year, here's what some viewers have had to say that the candidates -- >> i thought governor romney had to do two things in his speech tonight. explain why obama deserves not to be reelected, and the other is explain why he, governor romney, deserves to be reelected, as well as giving some idea of the roots of his values. sort of an introduction to america at large, and i think he largely did a good job. >> i thought the speech honestly was a fairly good speech. it did reintroduce romney to the american public. however, it did not change my mind. i will still vote for president obama. >> i watched the whole convention. i am extremely impressed. i was undecided. now i am decided. i am 100% and from the -- a romney supporter. >> i am and obama supporter. i am latino. i think he can create new jobs, compared to romney, where we have to start all over. you put obama's record up against what romney has done, there is no comparison. the ticket of romney and ride together against obama and died in -- there's just no comparison there. >> president obama has a republican house. how does he get anything done? that is what we really need to focus on -- putting obama back in and let him finish what he has started. >> mr. romney did a fabulous job on this convention. he opened my eyes in a lot of things i was not sure of about, and his wife -- she did a fabulous job. my whole family will be voting for mr. romney and mr. ryan. >> next week, watched gavel-to- gavel coverage of the democratic convention from charlotte, north carolina. every minute, every speech, live on c-span. >> shortly, he is going to be at the living history farms. he is in i would just outside of des moines, and we will bring you those events live as soon as he gets there. it is a rock the vote rally going on for hours and hours today with country music and rock music singers. he hopes to reach some of the younger voters that he relied on in 2008. we are taking a look now. this is the democratic convention committee's unveiling of the stage. inside the time warner cable arena in charlotte, north carolina. charlotte mayor anthony fox and the committee ceo gave a tour of the arena. the theme of the democratic convention -- americans coming together. >> we welcome you here to the 2012 democratic national convention. in just seven weeks, the sports arena has been transformed into a world-class convention facility that will host our nearly 6000 delegates and thousands of other official guests and visitors. not to mention thousands and thousands of members of the media. we have said from the beginning that this will be the most open and accessible convention in history, one that will engage more americans than ever before, and delivering on that mission begins and ends with our friends and partners and neighbors here in charlotte. this event today kicking off this open house really will help us thank our friends and neighbors. it will allow us to thank the queen city for their incredible hospitality and partnership. right now, we are joined by is to and from the north carolina school for the death -- deaf as well as our tweet-up participants. welcome. later today, we will also welcome other students and members of the community for an exclusive first look at this arena. thank you all for welcoming us to your city. i moved here in june of 2011, and it is amazing to see this all coming together. we are just a few days away from the official proceedings beginning here on tuesday september 4 with michelle obama, the first lady of the united states. on the fifth, we have president bill clinton and so many others speaking here. our great keynote speaker, the mayor of san antonio, and so many others, who will be taking to the stage to talk about the vision and the message that the president and his campaign has for the next four years. the stage and screen is behind me will allow them to deliver that message in a visually engaging way, both to the thousands of people here in the arena and to the millions who will be watching at home or online. today is really exciting for me. i started working on convention planning almost three years ago, believe it or not. and moved here, as i said, last june to oversee this process. it is hard for me to thank so many people who have worked tirelessly on this. i would like to thank first and foremost our staff, the staff of the democratic national convention committee, and our partners at the host committee here in charlotte for the incredibly hard work they did to make today and to make next week possible. it really has been an amazing ride. and also thank our construction management and event architect and exposition service partners and so many others who have been huge partners here. i also want to take a moment to thank ricky kerschner, the executive producer for this democratic national convention. rickey has grown to become a great friend to a lot of us and does an incredibly good job with the production you will see over the next several days and into next week, and we could not be more proud than to have a great partner like ricky and his entire team who have worked tirelessly to make sure that this stage is ready to go and has the look and feel that we need to convey the proper messages for the president. some of you were here last the timber when we had our kick off. more than 2000 members of the public were in the arena. today, we have come full circle as we celebrate the end of convention planning, and the kick off -- a different type of kick off of official commission activities. once again, the doors of the arena are thrown open to the public. it is part of our effort to make sure that the public is as much a part of this convention as we are. while we only received the keys to the arena seven years ago, today marks the culmination of a longstanding partnership. i again want to thank everybody for everything they have done to get us to this important milestone. with that, i am honored to welcome another great partner, a man without a home -- and this is not hyperbolic at all -- without whom we would not be here. a man whose leadership led to an incredible bid for the city of charlotte to host this convention. a man whose leadership throughout the course of the last year-and-a-half since we have secured the convention here in charlotte has been flawless and endless and inexhaustible and whose friendship i have really grown to enjoy. he is a remarkable leader, not just here in charlotte and in north carolina, but all across the united states of america. your mayor, the mayor of the city of thank you for that kind introduction and we will continue to be great friends for the next several years including 2016 when you can come back. you have been an incredible partner and i'm excited as we get closer and closer to the opening day of the convention you can already feel the excitement in our community. you can see and feel the energy even in this room. and when i look at how this room has been transformed into a convention hall i know that the queen city will put on a first-rate 2012 democratic national convention. that's exciting. as i travel around the carolinas, i also feel that excitement. the city has been gearing up for this convention for more than two years. and the enthusiasm from charlottens continues to be palpable. in just four days, this arena is going to be packed. the queen city is going to be on a national and international platform like never before. and we will put our best foot forward. our city is a city on the move. a city that makes great things possible. and that's the tag line our local host committee has adopted. we are filled with innovative businesses, a burnlning world energy capital, and a community that comes together to make great things possible for its citizens. time warner cable arena is charlotte's arena. and being here today makes me proud to see the finished product knowing that most of the work to transform this arena into a world-class convention hall was done by local companies and local workers. their first-class work will be seen by tens of thousands of people in this arena and by millions of people across the world. from day one, we in charlotte knew that this convention would come with a tremendous economic opportunity and more importantly we knew that our home-grown talent and the capabilities of our people to take advantage of these prospects were great. and when our convention guests leave and leave the doors of this arena and head out to our diverse and vibrant communities, they will find a thriving new american city filled with wonderful places to eat and entertain. so i'm really excited because today marks the beginning of the world's introduction to charlotte. now, i would like to turn it over to the chief operating officer of the dncc and has worked around the clock to make today possible as well. steve, your words were very good. he is another person without whom we would not be here today and he will tell you why in a minute. thank you. >> thank you mr. mayor. and good morning to all of you and thank you again for joining us here today. seven weeks ago, we received the keys to this arena and i knew we had an ambitious time line but our staff and our vendors, our construction management team, architects, the production teams, we knew they would rise to the occasion. they hit the ground running back in july and as you can see in front of you they have transformed this arena into a world-class convention hall for the 2012 democratic national convention. our construction management partnership with har grove, rogers builders, hunt construction group and hj russell -- >> you will see the rest of this on line. we will take you live now to iowa just outside des moines with remarks from the present , barack obama. /♪ >> hello, everyone. oh, it is good to be back in iowa. i love you back. that's why i'm back. this is a great crowd. it's good to see my outstanding friends tom harken in the house. leonard bozz well. tom miller. and can everybody please give lucus a big round of applause not just for the big introduction but for his service to our country. and it is great to see all of you. we've got a spectacular day. college football is in the air. we will try to get you home in time to see the hawk ayes and the cyclones. i know we've got kickoff later. and although you have got to see the nationals, and press cornell perform before i got here, i just want you to know that i could not appreciate them performing -- i could not appreciate more them performing for us. so please give them a big round of applause as well. [applause] now, iowa, this is our first stop on the road to our convention in charlotte, north carolina. but there was a reason for me to begin the journey right here in iowa. where it first began. more than four years ago. because it was you, iowa, who kept us going when the pundits were writing us off. it was in your living rooms and back yards and vfw halls and diners where our movement for change began. and it will be you, iowa, cho choose the path we fake from here. -- we take from here. now, last week the other party gave you their pitch at the convention down in florida. don't boo. vote. it was something to behold. despite all the challenges that we face in this new century, what they offered over those three days was more often than not an agenda that was better suited for the last century. it was a rerun. we had seen it before. you might as well have watched it on a black and white tv. if you didn't dvr it, let me recap it for you. everything that is bad, it's obama's fault. and governor romney is the only one who knows the secret to creating jobs and growing the economy. that was the pitch. there was a lot of talk about hard truths and bold choices. but nobody ever actually bothered to tell you what they were. and when governor romney had his chance to let you in on his secret, he did not offer a single new idea. just retread the same old policies that have been sticking it to the middle class for years. he talked a lot about me. they talk a lot about him. but they didn't say much about you. and they spent even less time talking about what they planned to do. not just because they know you won't like it, but because you have lived through it and you can't afford to repeat it. see, it turns out that we don't think making the middle class pay for another budget busting $250,000 tax cut for folks making thrrs 3 million a year or more will magically translate into jobs and prosperity for everybody else. we don't think families will be better off if we undo financial reform that are there for prevent another financial crisis or rules that are there to protect our air and our water. protect and to make sure your health care is there for you when you get sick. we really don't think the best way to strengthen medicare is to give seniors a voucher that leave them to pay any additional costs out of their own pockets. iowa, they have tried to sell us these tired trickle down you're on your own policies before. they did not work. they've never worked. they won't create jobs, they won't cut our deficit. and they will not strengthen our middle class. they are not a plan to move our country forward. and we believe in something better. we believe in an america that says our economic strength has never come from the top down. it comes from the bottom up. it comes from the middle out. it comes from students and workers and small business owners and a growing thriving middle class. that's what we believe. we believe in an america that doesn't let how much money you've got determine whether or not you can afford good health care or get a higher education. we believe in an america that leads not just by the force of our military but also with the strength of our ideals. and the power of our example. we believe in an america where no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter who you love, you can pursue your own happiness and you can make it if you try. that's what the last four years have been about, iowa. and that's what this campaign is about and that's why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states. now, this thursday night i will offer you what i believe is a better path forward, a path that grows this economy, creates more good jobs, brings in the middle class. and the good news is you get to choose which path we take. now, we can pick -- we can take their path or we can take the path that i'm going to present. we can choose whether we give massive new tax cuts to folks who have already made it or whether we keep the tax cuts for every american who is still trying to make it. i have cut taxes by a total of about $3600 for the typical family and i am now running to make sure that taxes aren't raised a dime on your family's first $250,000 of income. that's the path forward. now, you're going to have to choose it. it will be up to you. you can choose whether we see new jobs or new industries to countries like china or germany or whether we fight for those jobs in states like iowa. now, my opponents' experience he likes to talk about it has been investing in companies that often were called pine nears in the business of outsourcing jobs. and when his advice was to let detroit go bankrupt, i said a million jobs are at stake, an eye con mick nern jobs are at stake i'm going to bet on american workers and american manufacture rg and today the american auto industry has come roaring back. that's the choice. unlike my opponent i want to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, i want to start arewarding companies that create jobs right here in iowa, right here in the united states of america. that's where we're fighting for. you can decide whether borrow money from your parents is an acceptable answer for a young person hoping to go to college or start a business. or you can say let's make sure america once again leads the world in educating our kids and training our workers. let's help more young people go to college ready to learn. let's hire more great teachers. especially in math and science. let's help more americans go to community colleges to get the skills for the jobs they need right now. governor romney wants to end the college-backed credit we created that save families up to $10,000 over four years in tuition. i want to extend it. in america, higher education can't be a luxury. it is an economic necessity and something everybody should be able to afford. that's what we're fighting for. iowa, you can choose an energy plan written by and for the big oil companies or you can choose an all the above energy strategy for america. at a time when home grown energy is creating new jobs right here in iowa, when farmers are helping to create new biofuels, when shutrd factories are turning out wind turbines my opponent wants to end tax credit for energy producers. he said new sources of energy like these are imaginary. his running mate calls them a fad. nearly 7,000 jobs in this state depend on the wind industry. those jobs aren't a fad. they are the future. and i think it's time to stop giving $4 billion in taxpayer subzizz each year to big oil companies that are making money every time you go to the pump. let's give some of that money to home grown energy sources like wind that have never been more promising. that's the choice in this election. that's what we're fighting for. it's up to you whether we go back to a health care system that lets insurance companies decide who to cover and when. or whether we keep moving forward with the new health care law that's already cutting costs and covering more people and saving lives. now is not the time to refight the battles of the past four years. now is the time to move forward. this november you get to decide the future of this war in afghanistan. governor romney had nothing to say about afghanistan last week. let alone offer a plan for the 33,000 troops who will have come home from the war by the end of this month. you know, he said ending the war in iraq was tragic. i said we would end that war and we did. i said we would take out bin laden and we did. today all of our troops are out of iraq. we are bringing them home from afghanistan. and as long as i'm commander in chief we will serve our veterans as well as they've served us. veterans like lucas who got his education thanks to the post 9/11 g.i. bill because nobody who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or an education or a roof over their heads when they come home. that's what's at stake in this election. on issue after issue, iowa, governor romney and congressman ryan will take us back wards. but the story of america is about moving forward. and soon you will get a chance to choose a path that will actually lead to a better future. but over the next two months, the other side will spend more money than we have ever seen on ads that basically tell you the same thing they told you at the convention. the economy is not doing good and it's obama's fault. they know their economic plan isn't popular. go figure that raising taxes on middle class families to pay for new tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires doesn't go over that well. so that's not what they're going to talk about. they're counting on the fact that you get so discouraged by these negative ads that you decide your vote doesn't matter. you'll decide that you can't compete with $10 million checks from wealthy donors. i'm counting on something different. i'm counting on you. and i need your help. first and foremost, i need you to go to register.com to make sure that you are redgestrd to vote. this is gotta register. i'm sorry any english teachers in the room. and once you're registered, then you've got to go to gotta vote.com. that's d.o.t.t.a. vote.com to find out how to cast your ballot early. because in iowa you don't have to wait until november 6 to vote. you can be among the very first to vote in this election starting september 27th. that's gotta register.com, gotta vote.com. because we've gotta lot more work to do. we've gotta lot more work to do. we've got more good jobs to create. we've got more home grown energy to generate. we've got more young people to send to college. we've got more good teachers to hire. and we've got more good schools to build. we've got more troops we've got to bring home. we've got more veterans we've got to take care of. we've got more doors of opportunity to open to every single american who is willing to work hard and work harder. we've come too far to turn back now. that's why i'm asking for a second term, iowa. and if you're willing to stand with me and join with me, and knock on some doors with me and make some phone called with me. and if you're willing to vote for me in november we will win iowa again. we will win this election. we will finish what we started and we will remind the world just why it is that the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. /♪ >> president obama wrapping things up in iowa. he's going to continue on from here and go to colorado and then on to ohio before he heads to louisiana one of the gulf states there that had damage from hurricane isaac. we're going to take your phone calls. numbers are up on your screen. if you can't call but you want to join us on twitter, go ahead and send us a tweet. you can also send us a tweet using the hash tag dnc if you want to weigh in on the upcoming democratic national convention that starts tuesday. we're going to go straight away and take calls now from las vegas, nevada on the democrat's line. caller: hi there. i would like to comment on our commander in chief and the wonderful work he's has accomplished and i would like to see him be there for mour years and we as americans back him up and he's had a tough time being able to turn things around. we've had the house kind of block some things but i know he can continue to do the good work that he has done. >> you're in nevada. what are his chance there is? >> they're going to be outstanding because we as nevadaance are there to support president obama. >> and what wha do you like most about what you've heard from him so far? he's already had four years in office. >> i most like about education. i am hopeful and optimistic about continued growth in jobs. again, i believe the economy is turning around. we've got to remember that we had almost 20 years of the republican administration that put us in the position that we were in. so i believe that president obama is still has a lot of work to do and we in nevada we are hopeful. he's already done some great things. and me personally i appreciate all what he's done. >> call now from the republican line. this is south carolina stanley on the line. >> i enjoy your coverage of the g.o.p. convention and i am a romney-ryan supporter. and i don't agree with everything about their plan bus i do support it. but i did vote for santorum in south carolina. i am voting for romney-ryan in the general election. >> what is the thing you like that you're hearing from romney and ryan? >> i am on medicare and medicaid and i am disabled and i really support that plan. if it's not changed it's going to die as is. >> all right. taking a look now. president obama greeting supporters in iowa. he's here at a rock the vote rally. and he's going to go on from here to colorado. he'll be in boulder tomorrow and then ohio and louisiana to tour the damage from hurricane isaac. taking your phone calls. we want to see what you think of the rally that's just wrapping up here. we're going next to tony in los angeles on the democrat's line. >> hi. >> what do you think of what you saw? >> i think it's marvelous and i think that your caller from nevada hit it right on the nail. i think it's important that after seeing the convention of the g.o.p. we think of a proverb that's an important proverb in times like this. if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then it's a duck. and i think we need to look at our history and remember that the mormons are good people but they have a theology that's founded on something that has to do with kings and queens. >> and you think that's going to affect how mitt romney would be as president? >> well, it is inevitable. everybody is a product of their early childhood upbringing. when individual is told right from the first time they are initiated in the temple that they are going to become a king or queen, there is a mind-set of royalty. there is a mind-set of monarchy. look at the history. when johnson's army went into utah, they had to take over that area. why? it was a monarchy. it was not one of the twin relics of barbarism. it was the state was a monarchy. >> a lot of talk about mitt romney's religion, his personal life, his family life at the republican national convention that we just showed over the last few days this week. you can go back and watch some of those at c-span.org /campaign2012. watching as president obama just wrapped things up. he is greeting the crowd here after speaking to them at the rock the vote event. on to the republican line. what did you think about what you saw? >> myself, i am so appalled that the man obama can stand up there and spew out of his mouth the things that he said let's go forward -- well, what happened to the last four years. he had everything going for him, and he did not do nothing. i am just appalled by the allies and the assassination of character on the republican party that he has put out there and all of his supporters. i am appalled by it. america needs to wake up here the only question i want to know right now is how, if our voting day is november 6, how is it that you can register online, and most importantly, how can we vote online? it would appear that that would be legal. i am just amazed every time i hear the man talk. >> what have you heard from mitt romney that you like? >> mitt romney is a businessman. he has been that all his life. he has produced so much for everyone that has come in contact with him, and obama has done nothing but cause havoc in the united states. he does not want us to be a progressive country by having jobs and so on. >> said it set you off, but we do have a tweet coming in regarding the president, saying that he is good at making people feel good after a speech, but there is still a lot he needs to answer for. our next call is kevin from connecticut on the independent line. caller: how are you doing? the last four years with the gridlock -- the republicans were locked into these pledges, and their hands are tied because they cannot raise taxes. they raise taxes, then their jobs are on the line. it seems they care more about their jobs than the future of the american people with these pledges, with this norquist lobbyist. it is a security risk, having a special interest hold these politicians to pledges that the american people elected them to solve the problems, not have their hands tied and have to worry about their jobs and what they do. >> do you think either president obama or mitt romney will be able to handle those problems in congress? >> no, because their hands are tied -- the republicans' hands are tied, and if they vote for raising taxes, they will jeopardize their jobs. that is the bottom line. why do all the special interests get to get close to these politicians? they were elected to do a job. you do it. you solve problems, not create gridlock, you know? i think the american people are fed up with this. >> will you be voting in november? >> you better believe it. >> another tweet coming in -- liberals said former governor mitt romney is not qualified to be present, but a community organizer is. crazy. >> again, we are taking your tweets and comments on the phone, and if you go to our main page, you can take a look at what other people are saying about the democratic national commission and campaign in general. next, jason is on the line for republicans from miami beach, florida. what do you think about what you saw from president obama today? >> like always, president obama is very great at providing a great speech and very in a sense inspiring. i do think that for some but purposes, it sounds great, but it leaves a lot open for the american people who are unsure about a lot of key issues to make a key decision about this election. >> what have you heard from mitt romney that you like? >> not too much as well. mitt romney, who has spent his campaign praising his business experience -- being a young business veteran myself, i have learned through my experience that in order to fix the deficit problem, which is a major concern of mine, that we need to gradually do this in a sequential order that keeps some of the current spending in place because there are so many people who are currently unemployed that rely on so many of the things the government does provide. for us to drastically cut a lot of the programs that he and paul in are suggesting -- it does not sound like sound economic policy. if we want to actively and substantially reduce the market or reduce the deficit. >> are you leaning one way or the other? >> i am. i voted for president obama four years ago. i voted for him primarily because i felt like he provided a great outlook for young americans, especially young students. he did provide great stations along his tenure, but i do not see a lot of the key substance to move us forward as he is proclaiming. same with mitt romney. he provides some great sound bites, but there's not a lot of great substance. there is more division in politics than anything else, which turns off a lot of young voters like myself. the enthusiasm among a lot of us is not as popular, i guess. >> this week, our coverage of the democratic national convention starts on tuesday. minute by minute, gavel-to-gavel coverage. you can check it out on c-span or c-span.org if you want to stream that live. our next call is john in st. louis on the democrats' line. >> i guess i would say i am pretty disappointed, even though i voted for president obama last time. i guess i called in on the democrats because i was a democrat. i feel like he has brought a lot of contention to washington, d.c., and if he was talking about hope and change -- did not see any of it. >> will that change your mind in november? >> i was really looking for some hope and change, and i got it. >> what you think about mitt romney? >> the biggest thing is someone with experience in running large corporations and managing -- i think he is just physically more intelligent than president obama, who has never really had any experience in that regard. >> will use to and i into the convention this week? >> oh, yeah. oh, yeah. >> what do you want to hear that might change your mind? >> a plan on how he will turn around the economy. >> all right, on now to new jersey, adrian on the independent line. what do you think about what you saw from the president today? >> i did not like it at all. i really did not. i am a health-care professional, and when i read about the bill, one of the few people who has read the affordable care act, i just cannot vote for someone who ran that through, which was really a draft, and i will be voting for governor romney. he is just a successful businessman. he turned around the olympics. i just do not like the divisiveness, what i am hearing from president obama. it is really turning off. i just cannot vote for him. >> all right, and another twee -- tweet. we go to another battleground state. jan in arizona on the republican line. are you there? >> yes, i do not think this is a battleground state. we are going to wipe out obama. i do not know where to start. he had the nerve to say romney is going to come after him with all his money. this is a man who helped john mccain sign a pledge that they would take federal money, and finally, he said, "screw you. i will do whatever i want. i will say all these dirty things. i will do whatever i want." look at what he did to the clintons. i cannot believe bill clinton would speak for him. called him a racist. after -- he's go talked "i got in lawton -- bid laden." george bush, you talked about filled every day, george bush put that thing together. you did not put that team together. >> what are you looking forward to if mitt romney becomes president? >> honesty. the president said all this money has been thrown to him. this president has been so dirty. they said after the 2008 -- they had never seen such a dirty campaign on this man. even msnbc said that. now he is doing the same thing. he puts on his little happy smile and he just -- what has he done? 23 million people -- the first day he was there in the white house, he did not want minorities to go to his kids private school. his kids were in private school when he was a nobody. he does not want any public schools, but he wants minority kept dumb, stupid, and voting for the unions. >> the images you saw there were from president obama speaking in iowa. if you missed his comments, you can go online, c-span.org. we would take one last call from bobby in north carolina on the democrats' line. >> it is nice to follow such a big fan of the president. she kind of took my breath away. i am a fan of barack obama. i always say everyone would like to have everything done that he agreed to try to accomplish, but anybody that cannot see the roadblocks that were put in front of him from day one needs to get glasses. i am in a unique position in that i was involved with three companies in north carolina that mitt romney's company came in. i was in executive management. i viewed it from the top. it really was arbitron at its best. coming into a company that perhaps did not have the best managerial skills, coming in, breaking up the parts, selling them. i watched the individuals that they put in place in each of these three companies, and that was their role. that was certainly their role. the enriched themselves -- i hate to say it, but it is true. >> you watched the rnc. will you be watching democrats this week? >> interestingly enough, i will be watching from los angeles. i am leaving town on wednesday. i will see some of it here, but the truth is, in all politics, these are so locked down by corporate interests. it is still best to watch it on tv. c-span shows the entire thing. it will be interesting to watch my home town being portrayed from someplace like los angeles. i am looking forward to that. >> he is going to have the last word. if we did not get to your call, apologize, but to let us know what you think on twitter. you can send us say -- a tweet. you can also check out what other people are saying and check out the conversation at facebook dot com/c-span. we will bring you some of the past democratic national convention speeches from truman to clinton, starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. >> i can only surmise, you know -- in the movie, we rattle a lot of cages. >> i grabbed my cameraman and continued -- pretended to be important. i had to escort the security council back to the airport, and i finagled my weight onto one of the un buses. the security council people seemed pretty uptight. ♪ 99 bottles of beer on the wall 99 bottles of beer ♪ , on, nobody? i was told there were you in peacekeepers who had killed people. >> the french, at the beginning of the crisis, and here, we had this belligerence fighting each other. >> sounds to me like he is dodging the question. i walked out of my apartment. the upper west side of manhattan, nice, comfortable place to live, nothing particularly exciting generally happens there. can now -- came out, and i was greeted by a man who was very nicely dressed, nice, well-made suit, waited for me by my apartment, and he asked if i was ami horowitz, and my spidey sense started tingling a little bit, and i said i am, and he as i of this film was more important than my family. >> sunday with ami horowitz at 8:00 on c-span's "q&a." >> now, some of the speeches from last week's republican convention. next, former pennsylvania senator and 2012 presidential candidate rick santorum from tuesday, followed by texas senate candidate ted cruz and later, former sen democratic candidate artur davis. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome it santorum. [applause] -- rick santorum. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thanks. thank you. thank you. it is -- thank you. thank you. thank you, pennsylvania. it is a great honor for me to be here tonight with the love of my life wife karen over here, and my 93-year-old mother from florida. [applause] and some of our children. my oldest son john wanted to be here tonight, but he is a first- year cadet at the citadel. [applause] so i just want to say to you, proud of you, son. thank you. [applause] i am if 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 providential 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. [applause] 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 minds may not have been the dream he ever dreamed. 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, did not come here for some government guarantee of income inequality 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 dependents with almost half of america receiving some sort of government assistance. it is no surprise fewer and fewer americans are achieving their dreams and more and more parents are concerned their children will not realize there's. 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 results -- massive debt, anemic growth, and millions more unemployed. the president's plan did not work for america because that is not how america works. in america -- [applause] in america, we believe in freedom and responsibility that comes with it to work hard to make the dream of reaching our god-given potential come true. we believe get -- 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 do not do these three things, you are 38 times more likely to end up in poverty. we understand many americans do not succeed because the family that should be there to guide them and serve as the first wrong -- rung on the ladder of success is not 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 at an amazing job -- and an amazing job raising their children. [applause] if america is going to succeed, we must stop the assault on marriage and the family in america today. [applause] from lowering taxes to reforming social programs, 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 letters to success. but the system is failing. president obama's solution has been to deny parents choice, attack private schools, and nationalize curriculum and student loans. mitt romney believes that parents at the local community must be in charge of our schools not to it -- in charge of our schools, not to the department of education. [applause] yeah, we all know there is one key to success -- yet, we all know there is one key to success that has helped people overcome the greatest of obstacles. hard work. that was why hard work was the centerpiece of the law. requiring work succeeded and not just because the welfare rolls were cut in half. but because employment went up, poverty went down, and dreams were realized. it is a sturdy ladder of success that is built with healthy families, education, and hard work. [applause] policies obama's undermine the traditional family, weaken the education system, and he showed us once again he believes in government handouts and dependency by waiving the work requirement for welfare. i helped write the welfare reform bill. we made a lot crystal clear. no president can waive the work requirement, but as with his refusal to enforce our immigration laws, president obama rose like he is above the law. -- rules like he is above the law. [applause] americans, take heed. when a president can simply give a speech or write a memo and changed the lot to do what the law says he cannot do -- the law to do with the law says -- what the law says he can do, will not be a republic. -- we will not be a republic. [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 hand of farmers and ranchers who made america the breadbasket of the world. hands, weathered and worn and proud of it. i grasped the dirty hand with scars that come from years of labor in the oil and gas fields, mines and mills, hands the power and build america and our stores of the abundant resources that god has given us. i have grouped hands of that work in restaurants and hotels, hospitals, banks, and restores. hens that serve and care for all of us. i clasped hands with men and women in uniform and their families. hands that sacrificed and risked 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 a refusing to give up hope. finally tell -- finally, i cradled the little, broken hands of the disabled. hands that struggle, hands that bring pain to my hands that enable us -- ennoble us and bring great joy. they came to see as. they came to see is when they found out that karen and i were blessed with caring for someone special, too. our bella. [applause] i stood for a half years ago over a hospital isolette, staring at the tiny hands of our newborn daughter who we hope was perfectly healthy. but her hands were just a little different, and i knew that different was not good is. -- news. the doctors later tallest -- told us that she was incompatible with life and to be prepared to let go. they said, even if she did survive, disabilities would be so severe that she would not have the life worth living. we did not let go. [applause] today, bella is full of life as 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 hand in love to lift up all of god's children, born and unborn. [cheers and applause] and we say that each of us has dignity. and all of us have the right to live the american dream. [applause] wilson say that without you, without you, -- we also say that without you, america is not keeping faith with the extreme, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. [cheers and applause] where students of the great inheritance. in november, we have a chance to vote for life and liberty, and a dependency. a vote for mitt romney and paul ryan will put our country back in the hands of leaders who understand what american can and for the sake of our children, must be to keep the dream alive. thank you and god bless you. god bless america. thank you. >> now texas republican candidate accrues. he won a republican runoff in july. >> good evening. i have the honor of standing before you this evening for one reason. thousands and thousands of grass-roots activists stood united with the sake of liberty. we are seeing something extraordinary, something that have dumbfounded the chattering class. it began in 2010 right here in florida. in utah, in kentucky, and in pennsylvania. it continues this summer in the state of iiana, in nebraska, in wisconsin, and in the lone star state. we are seeing a great awakening, a national movement of we the people, brought together by what unites them. they share love of liberty and an understanding of the unlimited potential of free men and free women. i want to tell you love story. it is the story of all of us, is a love story of freedom. is the story of our founding fathers who fought and bled for freedom and crafted the most reckless political document ever conceived. the framers understood that our rights come not from marks but from god. and those rights to secure only when government power is restrained. it is the story of the brave texan when general santa ana demanded they haven't -- hand over the guns. they responded with the immortal cry caught come over and take it. -- the immortal cry, come over and take it. it is the story of the greatest generation, who rose up to confront the grotesque table that was the nazis andho ushered in the greatest era of peace and prosperity the world has ever seen. is the story of civil-rights pioneers like dr. martin luther king who stood up to the surge of discretion. and bravely championed that each of us must be judged not by the color of our skin, but the content of our character. it is the story of president ronald reagan who turned back the growth of government and restored morning in america. who stood up against the oppressive evil of communism and demanded, mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. it is 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 1950's. it is 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 its 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, [speaking spanish] he had nothing, but he had heard. a hard for freedom. thank you, dad. -- a heart for freedom. it is the story of each and everyone of you. where are the sons and daughters that risk everything for freedom and each of us has the duty to pass that seem liberty on to the next generation. and yet today, many in washington seem content to settle for crushing debt and a limited future. we're going broke. i'm here today with a word of encouragement. millions of americans are standing up saying, we want our country back. republicans, democrats, independents. we will not go down the path of greece. we will not go quietly into the night. president obama is immensely talented and a man of deep conviction and get his economic agenda is perilous indeed. this election presents a stark choice. we can continue down the road of the aba, democrats, more and more spending, debt, and government control, or we can return to the principles of our nation. free markets, 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 are not welcome here. and sending the vice-president to preach a message of division. it is tragic how far we have come from hope and change. all this is designed to distract from the real issues that matter. 23 million americans struggling to find work. 16 trillion dollars 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 cards, settling your kids with debts they could never escape, my wife and i are blessed with two little girls. caroline and kathrin, four and one trade when caroline was born, our national debt was $10 trillion. today, as the debt clock shares, 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. government is not the answer. [applause] you're not doing anyone a favor by creating dependency. destroying individual responsibility. when my dad was a penniless teenager, thank god some well- meaning bureaucrats did not put his arm around him and say, let me take care of you. let me give you a government check and make you depended on government. do not bother learning english. that would have been utterly destructive. instead, my parents worked together to build a small business, to provide for their families, and to chart their own future. that is the american dream. mitt romney and paul ryan understand the government does not create jobs. all entrepreneurs do. two-thirds of all new jobs that are -- in our economy, from small businesses and 2.3 million hispanics own small businesses. 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, we can. can we retake the senate? can we repeal obamacare? and can we defeat president barack obama? [applause] stand together with mitt romney and paul ryan. restore the american love story. that, my friends, is change we can believe in. thank you and god bless you. [applause] >> please welcome to the republican party, former democratic congressman archer davis -- artour davis. >> thank you. ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. thank you so much for that warm welcome. thank you so much. last time i spoke at a convention i was in the wrong place. so tampa, my fellow republicans, thank you for welcoming me where i belong. thank you. we have to get off the shelf. we have 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 years. he has no illusions seep -- illusions. he does not confuse the presidency. what a difference four years makes. now the democrats' negative ads -- his record convinces me he knows how to lead and we need more. and now, america is the land of second chances and i gather in this close race to have room for the estimated 6 million of us who got it wrong in 2008 and one to fix it. maybe we should have known that night in denver that things that began with styrofoam, greek columns, and artificial smoke typically do not end well. maybe the hollywood stars and the glamour blinded as a little. you thought it was the clear, some of us thought it was a halo. -- glare, some of us thought it was a halo. do you know why so many of us believe we lead with our heart and our dreams that we could be more inclusive than america had ever been and no candidate had ever spoken so beautifully. so many of those high flown words have faded. remember, my friends, the president saying of negative politics and in true ads, not this time? who knew not this time just meant, not unless the economy is stuck and we cannot run on our record. remember when the president said of his own election, this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to swell and our planet -- who knew the plain english of that was, middle america, get ready to shell out $60 to fill up your car. and their crown jewel legislative the chief men -- an achievement, who knew that government could impose a federal mandate requiring middle class americans to buy health insurance whether they could afford it or not, that the obama answer would be, yes we can. so this time, in the name of 22 million of our parents and children and brothers and sisters who are officially unemployed or underemployed, or who have stopped looking for work, let's start creating jobs again. this time cannot instead of moving motions and healing planets, let's pay our bills down and pay down the debt on the wall so it can control our future. -- we can control our own future. and of course, we know that opportunity lies outside the reach of some of our people. we do not need floury words about inequality to tell us that. and we do not need a party that has led while poverty rose to record levels to give us lectures about suffering. ladies and gentlemen, there are americans who are listening to the speech right now who have not always been with you. i wanted to let me talk just to them for a moment. i know how loaded up our politics is with anger and animosity. i'd have to believe we can make a case over the raised voices. there are americans now who voted for the president but they are searching right now because they know that their votes did not build the country they wanted. to those democrats and independents, whose minds are open to argument, listen closely to the democratic party that will gather in charlotte, and ask yourself if you hear your voice in the clamor. ask yourself if these democrats still speak for you. when they say we have a duty to grow government, even when we cannot afford it, does it sound like compassion to you? or does this sound like recklessness? when you hear the party that glorified occupy wall street, when you hear that minimize the genius of the men and women who make jobs out of nothing, is that when you teach your children about work? when they tell you america is this an unequaled place where the powerful trample on the powerless, does that sound like the country your children or your spouse risk their lives for in iraq or afghanistan? do either recognize the america they're talking about? -- do you recognize the merit that they are talking about? what can we say about a house that does not honor the pictures on its walls. john kennedy asked us what can we do for america? do not worry about the bills. bill clinton took on his base and made welfare thing you have to work for. this current crowd that's the work requirement in the dead of night and will not tell the truth about it. bill clinton, jack kennedy, and lyndon johnson reached across the aisle and said, meet me in the middle, but their party ran through a health care bill that took over one sixth of our our economy -- of our economy without accepting a single republican idea, without winning a single vote in either house from a party whose constituents make up half of this country. the democrats used to have a night when they presented a film of their presidential legends. if they do it in charlotte, the theme song should be "now you're just somebody that i used to know." my fellow americans, when great athletes falter, their coaches sometimes whisper to them, "remember who you are." calling to their greatest at a time when their bodies and spirit are to sapped to remember their strength, this sweet, blessed god-inspired place called america is a champion that has absorbed some blows, but we bend, we do not break. this is no dark hour. this is no dark hour. this is the dawn before we remember who we are. maybe said of this time in our history, 2008, to 2011, lesson learned. 2012, mystics corrected. god bless you. god bless you, tampa. god bless you, america. let's take this country back. thank you so much. >> and now saratoga springs mayor mia love. [we will rock you playing] i am thrilled to add utah's boys in support -- voice goes for mitt romney. my parents immigrated to this country with $10 in their pockets. when tough times came, they did not look to washington, they looked when stand. the america i grew up knowing was centered in self-reliance and the possibility of living the american dream -- american dream. the america i know is grounded in the determination found in the patriots and pioneers, in small businesses with big ideas. this it is found in the farmers who work in the beauty of our landscape and the heroic military. it is found in the olympic athlete and every child who looks at the seemingly and possible and says, i can do that. that is the america i know. [applause] president obama's version of america is a divided one, pitting us against each other based on income level, gender, and social status. his policies have failed us. we are not better off than we were four years ago and no rhetoric or campaign ad can change that. [applause] mr. president, i am here to tell you that the american people are awake and we are not buying what you are selling in 2012. [applause] the american dream is not just my story. it is not just your story. it is our story. it is a story of human struggle, standing up and striving for more. our story has been told for over 200 years with small steps and giant leaps. from a woman on a bus to a man with a dream. from the reverie 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. [applause] [crowd chanting "usa"] >> yes we did. thank you. with paul ryan, with ms. ryan -- mitt romney as president, we can restore and revive that america that we love. the world will know it and our grandchildren will possess it for years to come. god bless america. this is our time. we are truly the best, a last hope on earth. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to the former u.s. secretary of state, condoleezza rice. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you so much. good evening. good evening, good evening distinguished delegates. good evening, fellow republicans. good evening, my fellow americans. we gather here at a time of significance and challenge. this young century has been a difficult one. i can remember as if it were yesterday when my young assistant came into my office at the white house to say that a plane had hit the world trade center. then a second plane, and then a third plane hit the pentagon. later, we would learn that a plane had crashed into a field in pennsylvania, driven into the ground by brave souls who died so that others might live. [applause] from that day on, our sense of vulnerability and our concept of security were never the same again. then in 2008, the global financial and economic crisis would stun us. it still reverberates as we deal with unemployment and economic uncertainty and bad policies that cast a pall over the american economy and a we have seen that the desire for liberty and freedom is universal. the promise of the arab spring is involved in uncertainty, internal strife and hostile neighbors are challenging the young democracy of iraq. they threatened regional security. where does america stand? that is the question of the hour. where does america stand in? when friends or foes do not know the answer to that question, that the world is going to be a more dangerous a chaotic place. since world war ii the united states has tried to answer that question. we stand for free markets. we will defend and support them. we will sustain a balance of power. the burdens of leadership have been heavy. i know the sacrifice of americans, especially the sacrifice of many of our brave this. uniform and volunteer to defend us at the front lines of freedom. we showed them our eternal gratitude. -- week zero of them -- we owe them our eternal gratitude. i know it has not always been easy though it has been rewarding to speak for those who otherwise do not have a voice. the democracy advocate in venezuela, the political prisoner in iran. it has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. the aids or from in uganda, the young woman who is the traffic into the sex trade in southeast asia. it has been hard yet this assistance together with the compassion network of private charities, people of conscience and people of faith, have sown have shown the soul of our country. i know there is a wariness. it feels as if we have carried these burdens long enough. but we can only know that there is no choice because one of two things will happen if we do not lead. either no one will lead and there will be chaos or someone will fill the vacuum who does not share our values. my fellow americans, we cannot have a choice. we cannot be reluctant to lead and you cannot lead from behind. [applause] mitt romney and paul ryan understand this reality. our well being at home and our leadership abroad are inextricably linked. they know what to do. they know that our friends and allies must again be able to trust us. from israel to colombia, from poland to the philippines. they have to know that we will be reliable and consistent and determined. our foes can have no reason to doubt our resolve because peace really does come through strength. [applause] our military capability and our technological advantage will be safe in mitt romney's hands. if you are worried about the rise of china, does consider this -- the united states has negotiated -- has ratified only three trade agreements in the last few years. those were negotiated in the bush administration. china has signed 15 free trade agreements and is in the progress of negotiating as many as 18 more. we are abandoning free and unfettered trade and it will come back to haunt us. -- free and unfair trade and it will come back to haunt us. we must not allow the chance to maintain energy independence to slip from our last -- from our grasp. we can develop them sensitively, securing our environment but the must develop them. -- but we must develop them. and we have the ingenuity to develop alternatives sources of energy. most importantly, mitt romney and paul ryan will rebuild the foundation of our strength, the american economy. stimulating private sector growth and stimulating small business entrepreneurship. [applause] when the world looks at us today, they see an american government that cannot live within its means. they see an american government that continues to borrow money, that will mortgage the future of generations to come. the world knows that when a nation loses control of its finances, it eventually loses control of its destiny. that is not the america that has inspired people to follow our lead. [applause] after all, when the world looks to america, they look to us because we are the most successful economic and political experiment in human history. that is the two bases of american exceptional was an. -- true basis of american exceptional them. what really unites us is not religion or ethnicity. it is an idea. and what an idea it is. that you can come from humble circumstances and you can do great things, that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going. [applause] my fellow americans, ours has never been -- we have never believed that i am doing poorly because you are doing well. we have never been jealous of one another and never envious of each others' successes. no, ours has been a belief in opportunity and it has been a constant struggle long and hard up and down to try to extend the benefits of the american dream to all. but the american ideal is in danger today. there is no country, not even a rising tide of that can do more harm to us than we can do to ourselves if we do not do the hard work before us here at home. more than at any other time in history, greatness is built on mobilizing human potential and ambition. we have always done that better than any country in the world. people have come here from all over the -- all over because they have believed our creed of opportunity and limitless horizons. they have come here from the world's most impoverished nations just to make a decent wage and they have come here from advanced societies as engineers and scientists that fuel the knowledge base of revolution in the silicon valley of california. in the research triangle of north carolina, along route 128 in massachusetts, in austin, texas, and across this great land. [applause] we must continue to welcome the world's most ambitious people to be a part of us. in that way, we stay young and optimistic and determined. we need immigration laws that protect our borders, meet our economic needs and show that we are a compassionate nation of immigrants. [applause] we have been successful because americans have known that one -- once status of birth is not a permanent condition. americans have believed that you might not be able to control your circumstances but you can control your response to your circumstances. and your greatest ally in controlling your response to your circumstances has been a quality education. today, when i can look at your zip code and i can tell -- and i honestly say it does not matter where you came from. in matters where you are going. in matters where you are going.

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