Transcripts For WMPT Republican National Convention 20120829

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. can you blame them? this administration has imposed 106 new regulations, 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 fs cmmed frdo e 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] for the sake of the future of small business, we need to replace barack obama with 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 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 hold the same job as thomas 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. gavanizigazing 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, our 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 santorumf pennsylvania 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 understand what 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 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 23 million of our children and parents and brothers and sisters who are officially unemployed, underemployed or who have stopped looking for work, let's put the poetry aside. let's suspend the hype. let's come down to earth and start creating jobs again. [applause] this time, instead of moving oceans and healing planets, let's pay our bills down and pay down the debt on that wall so we control our own future. [applause] and, of course, and, of course, we know that opportunity lies outside the reach of sour -- some of our people. we don't need floury words to tell us that. we don't need a party that is led while poverty and hunger rose to world levels to give us lectures about suffering. now, ladies and gentlemen, there are americans who are listening to this speech right now who haven't always been with you, and i want you to let me talk just to them for a moment. i know how loaded up our politics is with anger and animosity, but i have to believe we can still make a case over the raised voices. there are americans watching right now who voted for the president, but they're searching right now, because they know that their votes didn't 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 it sound like recklessness? when you hear the party that glorified occupy wall street blast success, when you hear them minimize the genius of the men and women who make jobs out of nothing, is that what you teach your children about work? >> no. >> when they tell you america's this unequal place where the powerful trample on the powerless, does that sound like the country your children or your spouse risked their lives for in iraq or afghanistan? >> no! >> do you even recognize the america they are talking about? >> no! >> and what can we say about a house that doesn't honor the pictures on its walls? john kennedy asked us what we could do for america. this democratic party asks what can government give you. don't worry about paying the bill, it's on your kids and grandkids. bill clinton took on his base and made welfare a thing you had to work for. this current crowd guts the welfare-work requirement in the dead of night and won't 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 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. you know, the democrats used to have a night when they presented a film of their presidential legends. folks, if they do it in charlotte, the theme song should be this year's hit, "now you're just somebody that i used to know." my fellow americans, when great athletes faulter, their coaches sometimes whisper to them, remember who you are. call your greatness when your body and spirit is too sapped to remember your strength. this sweet, blessed, god-inspired place called america is a champion that has absorbed some blows, but we bend, we do not break. [applause] this is no dark hour. this is no dark hour. this is the dawn before we remember who we are. so may it be said of this time in our history, 2008 to 2011, lesson learned. 2012, mistake corrected. god bless you. god bless you, tampa. god bless you, america. let's take this country back. thank you so much. [cheering and applause] >> ifill: that was artur davis, congressman from alabama. >> woodruff: of alabama. i guess every party has one, somebody who has come over from the other side. he milked that one. he absolutely spent the whole time talking about how much the democrats have failed and president obama failed. >> ifill: we're going to come back with house speaker gingrich gingrich, who has been kind enough to stick with us for a little while and talk about that for a little more. first we'll take a short break. we'll be back with our live broadcast in just a few moments. you can continue watching tonight's proceedings on our live stream. hour has been provided by: computing surrounds us. sometimes it's only sometimes it's surprising where you find it. soon computing intelligence in unexpected places will change our lives in truly profound ways. technology can provide customized experiences, tailored to individual consumer preferences. igniting a world of possibilities from the inside out, sponsoring tomorrow starts today. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> trusted, in depth, independent, pbs. stories, but this october there's more. frontline's award-winning political team takes you behind the headlines and spin. >> what united states both of these characters is their sense that there was a destiny that they had. >> the choice 2012, a "frontline" exclusive tuesday octoberth, 9:00, 8:00 central only on pbs. >> this fall pbs strikes gold. britain's number-one hit comes to america. ken burns shows us a new way of looking at the past. >> the air itself could kill you. >> and "frontline" delivers balance and depth with its look at the candidates. >> this election is a make-or-break moment. >> there's only one place that can take you any place. >> this is going to be wonderful. >> pbs. the pbs "newshour" special coverage of the 2012 republican national convention. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: i'm gwen ifill. coming up, two of tonight's marquee speakers, ann romney and new jersey cover chris christie. first we have grinch gingrich, david brooks and mark shields with us. first, artur brooks on the floor, what did you think of that? >> first, i thought artur was quite good. we've had three jokes tonight, i think he told all through. i don't get the whole ted cruz thing. i thought the hands thing, i was from his iowa victory speech, but it is a very good device. >> i just think that really artur davis gave the best critique of how obama failed on his own terms. it was a very sympathetic thing, look, i believed in all this. i wanted it to work. and then explains sort of step by step what the gap is between promise and performance. i thought it was a very effective. i wouldn't be surprised to see that show up as an ad. >> ifill: mark? >> i thought davis was the most effective speaker of the evening, particularly when he did that $60 tank of gas, which every american can identify with. i do want to make the point that the republican party is an increasingly white party at a time when the nation is getting less white. 45% of voters under the age of 22 are non-white. the republican party is 89% white. we have seen the exceptions and the aberrations tonightment they do have two african american han congress. but this is -- what ha is an appeal to show that we are a diverse party to try to win suburban votes. that's what this is about. >> we're almost certainly going to pick up a third african american ironically from utah. i think almost certainly going to win. it's also true that we're doing the right thing. the fact is we're saying at a leadership level we want to be a part of it that reaches out and you're watching tonight an indian-american woman, you have every time we bring somebody out we have compelly out earlier not a women's part we have lots of women in elected office we're not really minority party. some point the question is, do all the african-americans all the latina, is that buy gasoline pick up your message? $60 a tank i'm not going to be for obama. >> is it a party that listens to your messages in the primary about hispanics, which was a more magnanimous message was rejected by the nominee. basically by the party itself which has platform that is restrictive and punitive for an immigrant. >> i think you're going to see as you just saw tonight with ted cruz and we with susan that martinez. to satay the latina community, at what point does expensive gasoline become acceptable. i think we're going to do much better than people think because i think consumers of all backgrounds are smart and currently not getting a very good product. >> woodruff: why do you think that message has not gotten across? the polls are still showing democrats, the president is running about two to one ahead with hispanics. >> in part because you haven't seen the kind of concerted effort you're going to see in latino media. i suspect you're going to see michael baranes pointed out again, september and october in virtually every western country is a conserve advertising period. you see people move if i was the president or either tied or barely ahead i would not be very comfortable going in to labor day. he's about where jimmy carter -- carter was further ahead than he is right now. >> we've heard astonishing about mitt romney. you ran against him some of the toughest debates were against him. what did you learn? how do you evaluate his character? >> he's very smart. he's very tough. he's very disciplined. he thinks strategically. the reference tonight that he would be the first executive since ice an hour i think is correct. i think eisenhower is probably the right analog in how he would function as a president. >> you were pretty tough about him telling lies about you. >> i tell people, i threw the kitchen sink at romney and turned out he had a bigger kitchen. >> woodruff: that has more than one meaning. >> you look at the florida primary which was the critical point of the campaign. we were just in an overmatched -- the question is going to be, interesting to watch. i don't remember any time that had incumbent president run with fewer resources than the challengers. the next two months, obama will be dramatically outspent. and i think it's a sign of organization fall skill and discipline on the part of the romney team. they have deliberately not tried to compete in june and july and early august. they allowed obama to spend his money. get a little bit ahead if you want foin ohio, in early august you won't be able to sustain it in september and october. >> ifill: having a tough race against mitt romney, what is it that you learned other than he's tough has a bigger kitchen en, that you could advise mitt romney, you could advise barack obama -- >> i want to say this. i've been in a lot of campaigns over the years. the romney team is the easiest team to work with. once we suspended our campaign, we sat down with his team, they are the easiest team to work with of any presidential campaign. i go back to 1976. they're professional, they're open to ideas, they integrate things. this whole newt university that we've been doing is their idea, they are totally supportive of working together. i've never seen a team this willing to absorb new ideas and approaches. >> ifill: that's -- you've been doing a little schooling down there by -- interesting idea. speaker, newt gingrich. thank you. we've been -- i guess we're in to the final hour of tonight's convention at this point, mrs. ann romney is about to speak. but we see south carolina governor nikki haley at the lecturn. we'll listen to her before we see the -- she just said good night. going to hear the thank you. >> thanks for stay can. >> ifill: of course we were just mentioning ann romney is first first lady, say warm and wonderful things about her husband, mitt romney. but first going to be introduced by mrs. luce fortuno the first lady of puerto rico. >> good evening, tampa, my name is luce and it is great to be here with you tonight. i am the proud mother of 20-year-old triplets, i'm a practicing attorney, a very proud latina and a diehard republican. [ applause ] i am also the wife of someone we're extremely proud of back home in puerto rico, luis fortuno. [ applause ] as the governor, he has unleashed a true republican revolution that has already accomplished so much. it is a success story of fiscal responsibility, controlled government spending, lower taxes and pro growth policies. but it is also one of caring and compassionate attention to social and faith-based agenda of unprecedented reach and consequence. through it all, i have stood by his side and learn what it takes to be the support to a great leader. just like our next speaker has done for 43 years for our next president, mitt romney. [applause] ann's story is one of remarkable perseverance and commitment. a story that stands on its own right, one that inspires all who know her. a woman of faith, a devoted wife, a caring mother to five wows boys, a multiple sclerosis and cancer survivor, a tireless advocate and a timeless first lady of massachusetts. [ applause ] for decades she's been a fighter who has championed the cause of disadvantaged children, been an advocate of teenage pregnancy prevention, a leader of faith and community-based initiatives and ambassador for multiple sclerosis awareness. watching her in a recent visit to puerto rico i marveled at her ability to endear children, connect with the elderly and engage workers at a farmer's mash coat with such ease, heart and purpose. that made people wonder who was that handsome gentleman next to her. [ laughter ] no wonder she's been mitt romney's secret weapon for 43 years. no wonder mitt calls her his personal hero. ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to in produce to you, my friend and the next first lady of the united states, ann romney! [ cheering and applause ] >> wow! what a welcome! [ cheering and applause ] thank you and thank you, luce. i can't wait to see what we're going to all do together. this is going to be so exciting! just so you all know that hurricane has hit landfall and we should all take this moment and recognize the fellow americans are in its path and just hope and pray that all remain safe and no life is lost and no property is lost. we should all be thankful for this great country and grateful for our first responders and all to keep us safe in this wonderful country. [ applause ] well, i want to talk to you tonight -- not about politics and not about party. and while there are many important issues we'll hear discussed in this convention and throughout this campaign, tonight i want to talk to you from my heart about our hearts. >> we love you, ann! >> i want to talk not about what divides us but what holds us together as an american family. i want to talk to you tonight about that one great thing that unites us, that one great thing that brings us our greatest joy when times are good and the deepest solace in our dark hours. tonight i want to talk to you about love. i want to talk to you about the deep and abiding love i have for a man i met at a dance many years ago. and the profound love i have and i know we share for this country. i want to talk to you about that love so deep, only a mother can fathom it, the love we have for our children and our children's children. and i want us to think tonight about the love we share for those americans, our brothers and our sisters who are going through difficult times. whose days are never easy, nights are always long and work never seems done. they are here among us tonight in this hall, they are here in neighborhoods across tampa and all across america. the parents who lie awake at night side by side wondering how they will be able to pay the mortgage or make the rent. the single dad who is working extra hours tonight so that his kids can buy some new clothes to go back to school. can take a school trip or play a sport. so it's kids can feel working moms who love their jobs but would like to work just a little less to spend more time with the kids, or how about that couple who like to have another child but wonder how they will afford it. i had been all across this country and i know a lot of you guys. [ applause ] and i have seen and heard stories of how hard it is to get ahead now. you know what, i've heard your voices, they have said to me i'm running in place we just can't get ahead. sometimes i think that late at night if we were all silent for just a few moments and listen carefully, we can hear a collective sigh from the moms and dads across america who made it through another day. and know that they will make it through another one tomorrow. but in the end of that day moment they just aren't sure how. and if you listen carefully you'll hear the women sighing a little bit more than the men. it's how it is, isn't it? it's the moms who have always had to work a little harder to make everything right. it's the moms of this nation, single, married, widowed, who really hold this country together. we're the mothers, we are the wives, we're the grandmothers, we're the big sisters, we're the little sisters and we are the daughters. you know it's true, don't you? [ applause ] i love you women! and i hear your voices. there's my -- those are my favorite fans down there. you are the ones that have to do a little bit more and you know what it's like to work a little bit harder to deserve the respect that you deserve at work. then you help with the book report at home because it has to be done. you know what those late night phone calls with an elderly parent are like, the long weekend drives to see how they're doing. you know the fastest route to the local emergency room and which doctors answer the phone calls when you call at night. by the way, i know all about that. you know what it's like to sit in that graduation ceremony and wonder how it was that so many long days turned to years that went by so quickly. you are the best of america. you -- [ applause ] you are the hope of america. there would not be an america without you. tonight we salute you and sing your praises! i'm not sure if men really understand this, but i don't think there's a woman in america who really expects her life to be easy. in our own ways, we all know better, you know what, that's nine. we don't want easy. but the last few years have been harder than they needed to be. it's all the little things, the price at pump you can't believe. grocery bills that just get bigger are, all those things that used to be free like school sports are now one more bill to pay. it's all the little things that pile up to become big things and big things, the good jobs, chance of college, that home you want to buy just get harder. everything has become harder. we're too smart to know there aren't easy answers but year not dumb enough to accept that there aren't better answers! [ cheering and applause ] and that is where this boy i met at a high school dance comes in. his name is mitt romney and you should really get to know him! [ applause ] i can tell you why i fell in love with him, he was tall, laughed a lot, he was nervous, girls like that. shows the guy is a little intimidated. he was nice to my parents but he was also really glad when they weren't around. i don't mind that. but more than anything he made me laugh. some of you might not know this. but i am the granddaughter of a welsh coal miner. he was determined -- he was determined that his kids get out of the mines. my dad got his first job when he was six years old in a little village in wales called nancy hufflan cleaning bottles. when he was 15 dad came to america, in our country he saw hope and an opportunity to escape from poverty. he moved to a small town in the great state of michigan. [ applause ] they started a business are one he built by himself, by the way. [ applause ] he raised a family and became mayor of our town. my dad would often remind my brothers and me how fortunate we were to grow up in a place like america. he wanted us to have every opportunity that came with life in this country, and so he pushed us to be our best and give our all. inside the house there were lot of good fathers teaching their sons and daughters the same value. i didn't know it, but one was the dads was my future father in law, george romney. [applause] his dad never graduated from college, he became a carpenter, he worked hard, became the head of a car company then the governor of michigan. when mitt and i met and fell in love we were determined not to let anything stand in the way of our life together. i was episcopalian, he was a mormon. both still in college. there were many reasons to delay marriage. you know what, we just didn't care. we got married and moved in to a basement apartment. we ate a lot of pasta and tuna fish. our desk was a door propped up on saw horses. our dining room table was a fold down ironing board in the kitchen. those were the best days. then our first son came along, all at once i'm 22 years old with a baby and a husband who is going to business school and law school at the same time. and i can tell you probably like every other girl who finds herself in a new life, far from family and friends, with a new baby and a new husband, that it dawned on me that i had absolutely no idea what i was getting in to. [laughter] that was 42 years ago, i've survived. we now have five sons and 18 beautiful grandchildren! [ applause ] i'm still in love with that boy i met at a high school dance and he still makes me laugh. [ applause ] i read somewhere that mitt and i have a story book marriage. well, let me tell you something, in the story books i read, there never were long, long rainier afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. and those stories books never have chapter called m.s. or breast cancer. a story book marriage, nope. not at all. what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. [ applause ] i know this good and decent man for what he is. he's warm and loving and patient. he's tried to live his life with a set of values centered on family, faith and love of one's fellow man. from the time we were first married i've seen him spend countless hours helping others. i've seen him drop everything to help a friend in trouble and been there when late night calls of panic come from a member of our church whose child has been taken to the hospital. you may not agree with mitt's decision on issues or politics, by the way massachusetts is only 13% republican so it's not like it's a shock to me, but let me say this to every american who is thinking about who should be our next president. no one will work harder. no one will care more and no one will move heaven and earth like mitt romney to make this country a better place to live. [ cheering and applause ] it's true, that mitt's been successful at each new challenge he's taken on. you know what it actually amazes me to see his history of success being attacked. are those really the values that made our country great? >> no! >> as a mom of five boys do we want to raise our children to be afraid of success? >> no! >> do we send our children out in the world with the advice, try to do okay? >> audience: no! >> let's be honest if the last four years had been more successful do we really think there would be this attack on mitt romney's success? >> audience: no! >> of course not. mitt will be the first to tell that you he's the most fortunate man in the world. he had two loving parents who gave him strong values, taught him the value of work. he had the chance to get the education his father never had. but as his partner on this amazing journey i can tell you, mitt romney was not handed success. he built it! [ cheering and applause ] he stayed in massachusetts after graduate school and got a job. i saw the long hours that started with that first job. i was there. when he had a small group of friends talking about starting a new company. i was there when they struggled and wondered if the whole idea just wasn't going to work. mitt's reaction was to work harder and press on. today that company has become another great american success story. has it made those who started the company successful -- made them successful beyond their dreams? yes, it has. it allowed us to give our sons the chance at good educations and made all those long hours of book reports and homework worth every minute. it's given us the deep satisfaction of being able to help others in ways that we could never have imagined. this is important. i want to you hear what i'm going to say. mitt doesn't like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege. not a political talking point. [ applause ] we are no different than the millions of americans who quietly help their neighbors, their churches and their communities. they don't do it so that others will think more of them. they do it because there is no greater joy. give and it shall be give enunto you. [ applause ] but because this is america that small company has jobs they grew to become college education and first homes. that success has helped fund scholarships, pensions and retirement funds. this is the genius of america. dreams fulfilled help others launch new dreams. [ applause ] at every turn in his life this man i met at a high school dance has helped lift up others. he did it with the olympics when many wanted to give up. he did it in massachusetts where he guided the straight from economic crisis to unemployment of just 4.7%. under mitt, massachusetts schools are the best in the nation. the best. [ applause ] he started something that i really love, he started the john and abigail adams scholarships which gives the top 25% of high school graduates a four-you're tuition free scholarship! [ applause ] this is the man america needs. [ applause ] this is the man who will wake up every day with a determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solved. what others say is beyond repair. this is the man who will work harder than anyone so that we can work a little less hard. i can't tell you what will happen over the next four years, but i can only stand here tonight as a wife and a mother and a grandmother, an american and make you this solemn commitment. this man will not fail. [ cheering and applause ] this man will not let us down. this man will lift up america. it has been 47 years since that tall, kind of charming young man brought me home from our first dance. not every day since has been easy, but he still makes me laugh and never once did i have a single reason to doubt that i was the luckiest woman in the world tonight. i said tonight i wanted to talk to you about love. look in to your hearts, this is our country. this is our future. these are our children and grandchildren. you can trust mitt. [ applause ] he loves america. he will take us to a better place, just as he took me home safely from that dance. give him that chance, give america that chance. god bless each and everyone of you and god bless the united states of america. [ cheering and applause ] >> woodruff: the woman who knows mitt romney better than anybody else spent 30 minutes describing not only why she loves him and why he's a great father and a great businessman and the rest but -- >> ifill: there he is. >> woodruff: he was behind stage the whole time. that was the speech of ann romney's life. this is a woman who loves her husband and who can talk about all the endearing things how they met and raising their family but who is also tough. she looked in to the camera and said, this man will not fail. >> ifill: would not let us down, like president obama. clearly a theme. he is back stage, he flew in to pam that today that was a big moment now we're expecting to have another big moment when keynote speech is to be delivered for chris christie. >> woodruff: this video about the governor of new jersey. >> chris is such a jersey boy and proud of the state and wants the rest of the country to know how great new jersey is. >> chris, what you see is what you get. >> honest and strong willed. >> high level of integrity. >> there is no one above the law. there is no one immune to the law. >> i was a prosecutor for seven years this much i know. i don't pretend that i have all the answers. but i know how to make decisions, i know how to make things happen. i think if folks believe that they have a group of leaders who are going to say to them, this is what is necessary, it needs to be done, i think the american people and people of new jersey are ready to hear the truth. >> chris christie has done a remarkable job. he's taken this state which was going downhill and he brought it back. people are proud of him, people around the country are talking well of new jersey. chris christie gets a lot of the credit for that. >> thank you for giving me the greatest privilege i'm sure i'll ever have in my life, that's to be the governor of the place where i was born and raised. i'm going to leave here go back to the state house, i'm going to drive up to that building with the big gold dome on the top and walk in the door and still shake my head, i do, every time. how the hell did this happen? >> the "new york times" calls you one of the most intriguing political figures of our time. >> yeah. go figure. i got sent here to do a job, not on elected prom king. >> i'm passionate about what i believe in. and i also think that the public needs to start being treated like adults. thank you very much. appreciate that. >> you're doing a great job. >> thank you. my mother had a very direct way about her. >> excellent. >> baloney. >> one of the things she said was, just be yourself. because then tomorrow you're not going to have to worry about who you going to remember. but be who you are. and so this is who i am. [ cheering and applause ] >> thank you! thank you! thank y'all very much. thank you. well, this stage and this moment are very improbable for me. a new jersey republican! delivering the keynote address to our national convention. from a state with 700,000 more democrats than republicans. a new jersey republican stands before you tonight. proud of my party, proud of my state and proud of my country. [applause] now i am the son of an irish father and sicilian mother. my dad who i'm blessed to have here with me tonight is gregarious, out going and loveable. my mom, who i lost eight years ago was the enforcer. now she made sure we all knew who set the rules. tells you this way, in the automobile of life, dad was just a passenger. mom was the driver. now, they both lived hard lives. dad grew up in poverty. and after returning from army service he worked at the breyers ice cream bill in the '50s. he put himself through rutgers university at night to become the first in his family to earn a college degree. [ applause ] and our first family picture was on his graduation day with my mom beaming next to him six months pregnant with me. now, mom also came from nothing. she was raised by a single mother who took three different buses every day to get to work. and mom spent the time that she was supposed to be a kid actually raising children. her younger brother and younger sister. she was tough as nails. and didn't suffer fools at all, the truth was, she couldn't afford to. she spoke the truth. bluntly, directly and without much very anybody. i am her son. [ applause ] i was her son as i listened to darkness on the edge of town with my high school friends on the jersey shore. i was her son when i moved in to that studio apartment with mary pat, the marriage that is now 26 years old. [ applause ] i was her son as i coached our sons, andrew and patrick on the fields and as i watched with pride as our daughter, sarah and bridgette marched with their soccer teams in the labor day parade. i'm still her son today as governor, following the rules she taught me, to speak from the heart and to fight for your principles, you see, mom never thought you'd get extra credit just for speaking the truth. and the greatest lesson that mom ever taught me was this one, she told me there would be times in your life when you have to choose. between being loved and being respected. now she said, to always pick being respected, she told me that love without respect was always fleeting. but that respect could grow in to real and lasting love. of course she was talking about women. [ laughter ] but i've learned over time that it applies just as much to leadership. in fact i think that advice applies to america more than ever today. [ applause ] i believe we have become paralyzed by our desire to be loved. our founding fathers had the wisdom to know that social acceptance and popularity were fleeting. and that this country's principles needed to be rooted in strengths greater than the passions and emotions of the times. but our leaders today have decided it's more important to be popular, to say and do what's easy and say, yes, rather than to say, no. when no is what is required. [applause] in recent years we as a country have too often chosen the same path. it's been easy for our leaders to say, not us, not now. taking on the really tough issues. unfortunately we've stood silently by and let them get away with it. but tonight i say, enough. tonight i say together, let's make a much different choice. tonight we're speaking up for ourselves and stepping up, tonight we're beginning to do what some right and what is necessary to make america great again. [ cheering and applause ] we are demanding that our leaders stop tearing each other down and work together to take action on the big things, facing america. tonight we're going to do what my mother taught me, tonight we're going to choose respect over love. [ applause ] see, we're not afraid. we are not afraid. we're taking our country back because we are the great grandchildren of the men and women who broke their backs in the name of american ingenuity, the grandchildren of the greatest generation. the sons and daughters of immigrants, the brothers and sisters of every day heroes, the neighbors of entrepreneurs and firefighters, teachers and farmers, veterans and factory workers and everyone in between. who shows up not just on the big days or the good days but on the bad days and the hard days. each and every day. all 365 of them. you see, we are the united states of america! [ cheering and applause ] now it's up to us, we must lead the way our citizens live. to lead as my mother insisted i live. not by avoiding truth, especially the hard ones, but by facing up to them and being better for it. we can't afford to do anything less. now i know this, because this was the challenge in new jersey. when i came in to office i could continue on the same path that led to wealth and jobs and people leaving our state. or i could do the job people elected me to do, do the big things. now there were those that said it couldn't be done, but the problems were too big, too politically charged and too broken to fix. but we were on a path we could no longer afford to follow. now, they said it was impossible, this is what they told me. to cut taxes in a state where taxes were raised 115 times in the eight years before i became governor. that it was impossible to balance a budget at the same time with $11 bill job deficit but three years later we have three balanced budgets in a row with lower taxes, we did it. [ cheering and applause ] they said it was impossible to touch the third rail of politics, to take on the public sector unions and to reform a pension and health benefit system that was headed to bankruptcy. but with bipartisan leadership we saved taxpayers $132 billion over 30 years and saved retirees their pension, we did it. [ applause ] they said it was impossible, to speak the truth to the teachers union. they were just too powerful, the real teacher tenure reform that demands accountability and ends the guarantee of a job for life regardless of performance they said it would never happen. but for the first time in 100 years with bipartisan support, you know the answer, we did it. [ applause ] now the disciples of yesterday's politics they always underestimate the will of the people. they assumed our people were selfish, that when told of the difficult problems, the tough choices and the complicated solutions that they would simply turn their backs. that they would decide it was every man for himself. they were wrong. the people of new jersey stepped up, they shared in the sacrifice, you know what else they did? they rewarded politicians who led instead of politicians who pandered. [applause] but you know, we shouldn't be surprised. eve never been a country to shy away from the truth. our history shows that we stand up when it counts and it's this quality that has defined america's character and our significance in the world. now, i know this simple truth and i am not afraid to say it. our ideas are right for america and their ideas have failed america. [ applause ] let me be clear with the american people tonight. here's what we believe as republicans and what they believe as democrats. we believe in telling hard working families the truth about our country's fiscal realities, telling them what they already know, the math of federal spending does not add up. with $5 trillion in debt and over last four years we have no other option but to make the hard choices, cut federal spending and fundamentally reduce the size of this government. [ applause ] want to know what they believe? they believe that the american people don't want to hear the truth about the extent of our fiscal difficulties. they need the american people need to be coddled by big government. they believe the american people are content to live the lie with them. they're wrong. we believe in telling our seniors the truth about our over burdened entitlements. we know seniors not only want these programs to survive but they just as badly want them secured for their grandchildren. our seniors are not selfish. [ applause ] here is what they believe. they believe seniors will always put themselves ahead of their grandchildren, sheer what they do. they prey on their vulnerabilities and scare them with misinformation for the single, cynical purpose of winning the next election. here is their plan. whistle a happy tune while driving us off the fiscal cliff as long as they are behind the wheel of power within thee fall. now, we believe that the majority of teachers in america know our system must be reformed, to put students first so that america can compete. if teachers don't teach to become rich or famous they teach because they love children. we believe -- [ applause ] we believe that we should honor and reward the good ones while doing what is best for our nation's future. demanding accountability, demanding higher standards and demanding the best teacher in every classroom in america. [ cheering and applause ] get ready. here is what they believe. they believe the educational establishment will put themselves ahead of children. that self-interest will always trump common sense they believe pitting unions against teachers, educators against parents, lobbyists against children. they believe in teachers unions, we believe in teachers. [ applause ] we believe that if we tell the people the truth that they will act bigger than the pettiness we see in washington, d.c. we believe its possible to forge bipartisan compromise and stand up for our conservative principles. [ applause ] because it's always been the power of our ideas not our rhetoric that attracts people to our party. we win when we make it about what needs to be done, we lose when we play along with their game of scaring and dividing. make no mistake about it everybody, the problems are too big to let the american people lose. the slowest economic recovery in decades, a spiraling out of control deficit and an education system that is failing to compete in the world. it doesn't matter how we got here. there's enough blame to go around. what matters is what we do now. see, i know we can fix our problems. when there are people in the room who care more about doing the job they were elected to do than they worry about winning re-election it's possible to work together, achieve principle compromise and get results for the people who gave us these jobs in the first place. [ cheering and applause ] the people have no patience for any other way any more. it's simple. we need politicians to care more about doing something and less about being something. [ applause ] and believe me, if we can do this in a blue state like new jersey with conservative republican governor washington, d.c. is out of excuses. [ cheering and applause ] leadership delivers. leadership counts. leadership matters. here's the great news i came here tonight to bring you, we have this leader for america, we have a nominee who will tell us the truth and who will lead with conviction now he has running mate that will do the same, we have governor mitt romney and congressman paul ryan we need to make them the next president and vice president of the united states! [ cheering and applause ] i know mitt romney, i know mitt romney and mitt romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to put us back on path to growth and create good paying, private sector jobs again in america. mitt romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to end the torrent of debt that is compromising our future and burying our economy. mitt romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to end the debacle of putting the world's greatest health care system in the hands of federal bureaucrats and putting those bureaucrats to treat american citizens. now, we have an era of absentee leadership without purpose or principle in new jersey. i'm here to tell you tonight it is time to end this era of absentee leadership in the oval office and send real leaders back to the white house. america needs mitt romney and paul ryan and we need them right now! [ cheering and applause ] now, we got to tell each other the truth, right? listen, there is doubt and fear for our future in every corner of our country. i have traveled all the country and i have seen this myself. these feelings are real, this moment is real. it's a moment like this where some skeptics wonder if american greatness is over. they wonder how those who have come before us as spirit and tenacity to lead america to a new year of greatness in the face of challenge. not to look around say, not me. but to look around say, yes, me. now, have an answer for the skeptics and naysayers the dividers and defenders of the status quo. i have faith in us. i know we can be the men and women our country calls on us to be tonight. i believe in america and our history there's only one thing missing now. leadership. it takes leadership but you don't get from reading a poll. you see, mr. president, real leaders don't poll polls, real leaders change polls. [ applause ] that's what we need. that's what we need to do now. we need to change polls through the power of our principles. we need to change polls through the strength of our convictions. tonight our duty is to tell the american people the truth, our problems are big and the solutions will not be painless. we all must share in the sacrifice and any leader that tells us differently is simply not telling the truth. [ applause ] now, i think tonight is the greatest generation, we look back and march at their courage, overcome great depression, fighting nazi tyranny, standing up for freedom. now it's our time to answer history's call. for make no mistake every generation will be judged, but so will we. what will our children and grandchildren say of us, will they say we buried our heads in the sand, we assuaged ourself with the creature comforts we've 'required. that the problems were too big, we were too small that someone else should make a difference because we can't. or wilona say of us, that we stood up and made the tough choices that needed to be made to preserve our way of life, you see i don't know about you, but i don't want my children and grandchildren have to read the history book what it was like to live in an american century. i don't want their only inheritance to be enormous government that is overtaxed, over spent, over borrowed of great people of second class citizenship. i want them to live in a second american century! [ applause ] a second american century. of strong economic growth where those who are willing to work hard will have good paying jobs to support their families and reach their dreams. a second american century where real american exceptionalism is not a political punch line. when it's evident just by watching the way our government conducts its business every day, the way americans live their lives. a second american century. where military is strong, our values are sure, our work ethic is unmatched and our constitution remains a model for anyone in the world struggling for liberty. [ applause ] let us choose a path that will be remembered for generations to come, standing strong for freedom will make the next century as great american century as the last one. you see, this is the american way, we haveever been victims of destiny, we have always been the masters of our own. [ applause ] and i know you agree with me on this. i will not be part of the generation that fails that test and neither will you. [ applause ] it's now time to stand up, let's stand up much everybody stand up! because there's no time left to waste. if you're willing to stand up with me for america's future, i will stand up with you. if you're willing to fight with me for mitt romney, i will fight with you. if you're willing to hear the truth about the hard road ahead and rewards for america, the truth will bear. i'm here to begin with you this new epa of truth telling, tonight. we choose the path that is always defined our nation's history. tonight we finally and firmly answer the call that so many generations have had the courage to answer before us. tonight we stand up for mitt romney as the next president of the united states and together -- [ cheering and applause ] and together everybody together, we will stand up once again for american greatness

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