''Well I believe that we've got to have a commonsense conservative as president, one with experience, one who's been able to bring together diverse groups of people and get things done. Frankly if you look at it we've had unprecedented economic expansion over the last number of years; it's been primarily because Reagan cut marginal tax rates from 70 percent down to 28 percent by 1986. I was one of the handful who convinced him that that should be done.''
''In addition we of course are in relative peace, but the fact of the matter is we're paying wartime tax rates. They're too high. Our IRS is unfriendly. We ought to get rid of the Internal Revenue Code, and if I had my way I'd get rid of the Internal Revenue Service, and we'd come up with a new system that would be fair, decent and workable for the American people.''
''On health care, let me just say that I don't think anybody running for president this year has had the experience in health care that I've had. Just working on the Finance Committee this last week, we've been able to do an awful lot to solve and resolve health care problems. But to give you an illustration, in 1984 we passed a bill that basically created the modern generic drug industry and of course knocked the cost of drugs down by 50 percent so that senior citizens would not have to give up food in order to have their pharmaceuticals. That's the kind of thing we should do with commonsense conservatism and I can do that throughout the process.''
''There's a number of reasons why we are experiencing this almost unprecedented prosperity--among them are lack of regulation, free trade, and most importantly we are going through a revolution the likes of which the world has seldom seen. You could compare it to either the invention of the printing press or the Industrial Revolution. This information technology period that we're going through is incredible, it's exciting and it's wonderful to be an American and it's wonderful that America leads. That all is not necessarily permanent.''
''I think we do face an enormous crisis. It's a moral crisis. We have been through the most shameless and humiliating period in our country's history and it has threatened the integrity of our most important institutions. On those grounds we absolutely need to change the hands that are now upon the White House and give them to folks who will have the kind of integrity that Democrats have not shown during this moral crisis.''
''Well you know Cokie I think one of the things we need to focus on is exactly why that many of our children are living in poverty. And quite frankly the reason for that in large measure is the breakdown of the American family. If you have an incredible number of out-of-wedlock births, which is what we've had now for a long, long time, I think you're going to inevitably condemn those women and children to poverty. So we can do things: we can have a safety net for the poor; we certainly need to figure out everything we can to help people enter the economic mainstream, but I think the suggestion that government can solve the problem in many cases is due to the personal decisions that people are making in their own lives is to go down the wrong road.''
'Raising the minimum wage isn't the answer because what that does is that freezes out the people at the bottom level who are under-educated, under-trained, under-skilled. They don't have an opportunity, and it happens all the time; we lose 300- to 500,000 jobs every time. But you know what it comes down to. It comes down to example in many respects. That's why I've been talking about having a commonsense president who literally will set an example morally, from an integrity standpoint, doing the things that are right in our society, who really exalts family over a lot of these things in the world that are wrecking our families...''
'There are 11 million of these children also who are without health care and that's a disgrace in America and we ought to change that and we ought to change it very quickly. But I also get back to education. Education in America has become a civil rights issue. The very wealthy in our society get the best education in the world; the very poor in our society obviously are getting the worst. The conditions in our schools are still deplorable. We need choice and competition in education. We need a national test voucher program in the poorest school districts in America. We can get the money for that by eliminating the sugar subsidies and the gas and oil subsidies and the ethanol subsidies--which are--ethanol subsidies are $700 million a year which goes to Archer Daniels Midland, and we also need to reward good teachers, we need merit pay for teachers--''
'  ...It comes up every time I travel around--New Hampshire, Iowa--doesn't matter. Doesn't matter if the voter is a conservative or a liberal; everybody's worried about it. Steve that sounded real good, but you've got to go beyond the generalities of this. Look, let's get very specific.''
'  Washington is gridlocked by special interests. Gary, why do you think it is that we couldn't give patients some fundamental rights? There was a movie a long time ago I saw called "As Good As It Gets." One of the characters said, "I think I ought to have the right to choose my own doctor." Everybody in the audience applauded.''
''The Democrats are in the grip of the trial lawyers who want everybody to sue everybody for anything. The Republicans are in the grip of the HMOs and the insurance companies and their huge--''
'  --six- and seven-figure donations, which have kept us from coming together; which have kept us from coming up with a reasonable bill of rights which most doctors in America agree with and that we could come together. Instead we are gridlocked and we will not deal with it as long as the special interests rule in Washington over the public interest.''
''I think that the premise that we need in our health care system is to make the individuals who are receiving that health care once again into empowered consumers, who will actually be able to police the relationship between price and value instead of turning that chore over to bureaucracies in the government or the insurance companies. And that is why we need voucherization. We need medical savings accounts. We need the things that will once again make those individuals empowered parties, who will be able to determine who their doctors are, whether they are getting the kind of service that they need, but who will be able to enforce that, then, by taking their dollars where they want to take those dollars.''
''The president, President Clinton's national security adviser Samuel Berger, has been complaining about a neo-isolationism that he says is abroad in the land, particularly in the Republican Party. He points to an unwillingness to engage, the refusal to pay UN dues, the cuts in the foreign aid budget, that we've not funded the Middle East peace accords. Where do you stand on that Senator?''
'  We've gone during the Cold War from a very, very dangerous, but a very predictable world to one that is much less predictable and slightly less dangerous because we no longer face the threat of massive nuclear exchange. But it's complicated, it's difficult, and it requires attention. This administration has conducted a feckless photo op foreign policy which may cost us in American blood and treasure in the next century. This administration has failed to understand that we have to have a concept of what we want the world to look like, where our threats and our interests and our values lie. If there's a problem, send troops to Haiti; if there's a problem send them to Somalia. Our military men and women are more overtaxed and more overworked and more deployed than at any time--peacetime period in the history of this country. Our men and women need help. Our men and women need their morale restored. They need the equipment and the housing and the pay that they deserve.''
''There are 12,000 enlisted families in America on food stamps. I'm going to change that. And I'm going to change it; and it's the Congress' fault as well as that of the president of the United States because of massive pork barrel spending that goes on and on. And I identified $6.4 billion worth of pork barrel spending on the last bill. That's a shame.''
'  I think that what we have to recognize is that when you live in a world where you have somebody in a high position like Strobe Talbott who tells us that the nation-state is going to be a thing of the past, and we should surrender to some global government, those of us who resist that idea are not isolationists. We're just defending the sovereignty and the Constitutional integrity of the United States. And I think it is essential right now. We should not follow the Clinton Administration in the surrender of American sovereignty.''
''I want to go just back one second to the veterans. I just wrote a book and I've been on a book tour, a book-signing tour.''
''I've had the most unusual and incredible experience. Veterans, particularly of World War II come, and they show me the pictures of themselves and their units and where they served. Some of them cry, some of them--it's a really emotional experience. And as Gary just said, they're not getting the health care we promised them. They're not getting the treatment that they promised them. They need long term and geriatric care. We need to work together with the VFW and DAV and the American Legion and provide them with what we promised them when the greatest generation went out to fight and defend democracy. We need to do that not only for them, but for future generations we may have to call upon.''
'  By the way I do differ with Gary. I do think that Gary is right on the human rights aspects of China, but we cannot help but engage China, and we have to do it on the basis of competition.''
'  ...should be no on the World Trade Organization on concessionary terms. What we need with China, Cokie, is real foreign policy. This administration clearly does not have one. The Chinese need to know what the rules of engagement are.''
''The day that NAFTA was signed we had $300 million a day trade with Canada. Today there's a billion dollars worth of trade. There have been several hundred thousand jobs created just because of NAFTA. Think of the potential if we expanded that free trade. One of the reasons why New Hampshire's economy is so good is because the trade between this state and Canada. In Mexico, the most prosperous part of Mexico, guess what, is the northernmost part, where we have these free trade zones. And it's working and it will continue to work.''
'  We need to repeal most favored nation status and Steve needs to remind some of his corporate friends that there are American companies--''
'  I served as Ambassador to UN Economic and Social Council and Assistant Secretary of State. I dealt with those issues having to do with development and what we do, or don't do, and how third world countries are doing, and what the terrible situations are in day in and day out for several years. And I'll tell you the truth: the notion that we can wave some magic wand, send money, do loans, do whatever, that's fundamentally going to change the situation of a lot of these developing countries is false. Do you know why? Because at the end of the day it is up to the people in those countries themselves to adopt the path of freedom, and to establish the institutions that can sustain it. Including institutions we don't always think of, like honest courts, where you can go to suit in order to sustain business relationships, and things of that kind.''
'  Yes, it was a moral, it was a moral interest, and you're looking at a Senator who helped to devise the National Endowment for Democracy, who actually worked with the AFL-CIO in helping to get books and money and pencils and mimeograph machines to the Solidarity when it was just starting in the late '70s. And I have to say we do have an obligation, a moral obligation to help people, but we cannot be the complete sustenance of the whole world. We just don't have those kind of assets, nor should we saddle the American people with more taxes to do it. I think though that we do have to be careful of our vital interests, and if we don't do that we're going to reap the whirlwind.''
''And that is: Nationwide, education is being cited by voters as the number one issue. Here in New Hampshire even more so it's being cited by voters as the number one issue. Now that could be because New Hampshire feels it's in something of an education crisis since the Court has thrown out its primary system of financing the schools. And today the State Senate voted for an income tax to try to finance the schools. We'll see how that all comes out; it's politically very up in the air. How do we get bollixed up like this and how do we get out of it?''
''In Milwaukee, for example, they've had an experiment for several years of allowing parents true choice, growing each year. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court refused to throw that experiment out. You know what happened? The regular school system made this offer to parents. They said if you enroll your child in a public school in kindergarten we the school system guarantee that your child will be reading at grade level by the end of second grade or the school at its own expense will provide the tutoring and teaching necessary to bring that child up to speed.''
''First, let's start paying teachers more. Let's put in merit pay. Let's help those teachers who are not good teachers find another line of work. There's no reason why a good teacher should be paid less money than a bad Senator. Let's try vouchers. I have a proposal--take away the ethanol subsidies; take away the sugar subsidies; take away the gas and oil subsidies. You can have a test voucher program in every poor school district in every state in America. Let's try it.''
''Charter schools work in my state; they're a resounding success. We have a wonderful superintendent of education, Lisa Graham Keegan, who's done a marvelous job. We can through choice and competition improve the level of education in America to put it to the same level as our colleges and universities, which are the best in the world, but we're going to have to do a lot of work and we're going to have to break the grip of the teachers unions if we're going to be able to achieve that.''
'  Well, I think it is clear that one main principle needs to be re-implemented in our approach to education: parents need to be put in the diver's seat once again, instead of educrats and bureaucrats. To that end, we need to break the government monopoly on education by making sure that the money we spend on education follows the choice of parents, not the choice of the educrats and the bureaucrats.''
''That will then do two things. It will make sure that the schools have to be responsive to the parents, who will then be able to send their children to schools of their choice, set up new schools if they think that is what is necessary. But it will also reestablish a vital link that has been broken between faith and moral viewpoint, and our educational system.''
'  Thanks Cokie. You know I was undersecretary of education for a number of years under Ronald Reagan, and it was an incredible experience to be in that bureaucracy personally and be able to deal with it. I had about 17,000 people that were under me at the department; a $17 billion budget. Those bureaucrats were by and large nice people. But I have to be honest with you. I spent about 95% of every day saying "No" to the dopiest ideas I've ever heard of in my life. They all thought they knew how to run the schools of New Hampshire and every other state better than the parents and the teachers of those states did. That budget then of $17 billion, it's about $37 billion now. It may be headed to over $40 billion. I doubt if people in New Hampshire and around the country have noticed the improvement.''
''We do need vouchers, educational choice; we need to get back to basics. One of the sad things I found in the schools is that many of our children even at the high school level don't know the central moral idea behind America. Again in the Declaration of Independence where it says, "All men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." I asked that question at a high school recently and the student said, "I think it said, "All men are entitled to rights." Well he left out the moral idea. We need to teach all of our children that; we need to get back to basics. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, we need to teach our children to have knowing heads and loving hearts because nothing less than that will do.''
'  Well I have to say that Gary Bauer did a very good job when he was at the Department of Education. I was a--I'm former chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee that oversaw the federal education programs and I agree with everything he just said.''
'  Just a brief comment. Special education is an unfunded mandate. The federal government has that obligation to pay for special education programs. But the problem is compounded because local schools take discipline problems and put them in the special education programs. We've got to tighten that up, but we also have to take care of our children who have special problems.''
''That's why I think it is essential that we stop talking out of both sides of our mouths, stop talking about "national standards" and "what I'm gonna do when I get in there to make education this and that." I'll tell you one thing: it's not what I'm going to do as President that will satisfy the need. Am I going to put power back into the hands of people at the grassroots, so they can do what has to be done? And once I have achieved that, am I going to do what Ronald Reagan promised to do, abolish the federal Department of Education, so that we can make it clear that education is a local, grassroots responsibility?''
'  Cokie, a couple of points. First of all most Republicans did vote for choice, and most Democrats overwhelmingly voted against it because they are [inaud] control of the teacher unions.''
''I think there's something else we need to get at and it's simply this. We need to get the courts out of the schools. Not only here in New Hampshire do we see this judicial activism. Out at Columbine High School six months ago you two boys, Eric and Dylan, coming to school every day giving each other the Nazi salute in the hallway. Nobody sent them home, nobody brought them to the principal's office, nobody asked their parents to come in for a parent-teacher conference, and yet if a teacher at Columbine had hung up the Ten Commandments voluntarily she would have been in the principal's office the same day. See the reason those boys weren't disciplined is that the administrators, the adults in that school, were afraid that they might violate the boys rights, that they would end up being dragged into court. We've got to get these judges out of the classroom. What's happening here in New Hampshire right now, with the state Supreme Court trying to run the schools is a state tragedy.''
'  I would have said the Roe v. Wade--I would have voted for the abolishment of Roe vs. Wade.''
'  You're asking the wrong person because that's a personal religious belief to me.''
'  People should be able to believe the way they want to. On the other hand, I think there are moral values that have to be upheld.''
''I think the ground is beginning to shift in America. We saw it on the partial birth debate where Americans now realize this is a form of infanticide. I've put forth a proposal to get step-by-step to convince the American people to move towards the life amendment. And Gary is right. Judges should be pro-life. My running mate will be pro-life and share those principles. I think we can change hearts and minds in America and have a country again--when you see that sonogram, that baby, that baby is deserving of the full protection of the laws [inaud].''
'  Well I think anytime somebody leaves our party it's bad. It was interesting in recent months to suddenly hear all that talk about big tent being dropped; when it came to a conservative leaving we found that the tent was fine without him. I wish he could stay. I certainly want his supporters to stay and quite frankly I'd like his supporters to vote for me because I believe that I've got the kind of conservative philosophy that they...''
'  I think the key is if the Republican Party has an exciting, conservative, principled agenda, such as we had in the 1980s, whether there are three parties or ten parties, we will win. If we have mush like we did in the recent elections we lose.''
'  Pat Buchanan left the Republican Party.''
'' Thank you very much. Thank you, Bernie. Good to be here. Thank you.''
'' Well, first of all, let me also thank WMUR and CNN and Dartmouth College and all of you for being a part of this. Tipper and I have been spending an awful lot of time in New Hampshire here lately and you've been very hospitable to us and we're very grateful to you.''
''I understand the disappointment and anger that you feel toward President Clinton, and I felt it myself. I also feel that the American people want to move on and turn the page and focus on the future and not the past.''
''He's my friend. I took an oath under the Constitution to serve my country through thick and thin, and I interpreted that oath to mean that I ought to try to provide some — as much continuity and stability during the time that you're referring to as I possibly could.''
''And it was also a time of some real hard fights to keep Social Security on track, to make sure that we expanded health care to more children, to keep the economy going strong, and they're still fights going on for the health care patients' bill of rights.''
''And I think campaign finance reform ought to be passed. I think all candidates ought to be open and give out their income tax returns, sources of income.''
''I favor public financing of elections. I favor the McCain-Feingold bill. I don't accept any PAC money. I strictly abide by the $1,000 limit. And I have the smallest average contribution in the race.''
'' I was out in Iowa a couple months ago and had a conversation in a small roundtable, and a man described symptoms that were obviously colon cancer. And I said, did you see the doctor? He said, no, I can't afford to. I don't have any health insurance.''
''In this country we ought to be able to cover people with health insurance. There are 45 million people without health insurance this year: 1 million more this year than last year.''
''It is a big problem and it needs a big solution to that problem. So I'm glad that you've looked at the proposal and you see that it covers all children, that it brings many adults who don't have health coverage into the system now, that it provides a drug benefit for the elderly.''
''We spend $1.2 trillion, health care, 450 billion on administrative costs. By simply moving things from paper to Internet, you will be able to achieve significant savings.''
''Just today, the respected Emory School of Public Health came out with a nonpartisan analysis of both my plan and Senator Bradley's. and they said that his plan costs $1.2 trillion. That is more than the entire surplus over the next 10 years. We have to look ahead and save some of that surplus for Medicare.''
'' So I think that the cost is way excessive.''
''We need more of that, people's involvement.''
''And third, you need a president that is going to make campaign finance reform one of the top three or four or five issues, because he recognizes how it is connected to our ability to insure more Americans, to our ability to reduce child poverty.''
''I think that the national government should increase what it spends on special ed, thereby liberating monies that are raised locally to be spent locally on general school needs.''
''I also believe that we need to look out at the future, and we have to say, what do we have to face in this country in the next decade. We're going to lose 2.2 million teachers, not just special-ed teachers, but teachers.''
''The key priority is to make sure that there is a good teacher in every classroom. And one of the things that I propose in this campaign is a combination of scholarship and loan forgiveness that would create 60,000 new teachers every year going into urban and rural school districts across this country to help those school districts meet the needs of their students: not only the special needs students, but clearly special needs students, but all students.''
'' One daughter, 17 months old, and a husband.''
''If the entire surplus is spent and there's no money left over for new initiatives on education, the numbers have to add up. That's important. One of the reasons we have a strong economy now is because we've been able to keep interest rates low, balancing the budget and better, by having fiscal responsibility. So spending more than the entire surplus and then piling on top of that, proposals that may sound great, but for which there's no money, is something that ought to be looked at very, very carefully.''
'' We're the natural leader of the world. I don't think that's a chauvinist American statement, I think it's a statement of fact. People respect us as Americans because we're a brave people. We try to uphold high values and standards and so the rest of the world does look to us. They want the kind of freedoms and prosperity that we have.''
''We have to accept that mantle of leadership. And when there is terrible violence in the rest of the world we have to pay careful attention to it.''
'' I'll be glad to answer this, but first I just want to make on clarification. On the cost of the health care plan, we each have our own experts. I dispute the cost figure that Al has used. [applause]''
''Now, in answer to your question, I think it was a serious loss. I regret it deeply. I think there's no more important issue than the control of nuclear weapons in this world.''
''I think that it is a major job of the next president of the United States to bring this treaty back to the Senate, and to do so in a way that allows the reasonable people in both parties to understand and move toward a vote in favor of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.''
''This is an issue for all of us to think about. I support gays being able to serve openly in the military. If a gay American can serve openly in the White House, in the Congress, in the courts, in the Treasury Department and in the attorney general's office, why can't they serve openly in the U.S. military? It doesn't make sense.''
'' Bill and I have the same position on that. I'm for domestic partnerships having legal protections, but not the same sacrament, not the same name, because I favor protecting the institution of marriage as it has been understood between a man and a woman. But I think that a partner should have legal protection and contractual rights and health care and the rest.''
''But we have taken the inner meaning and power of our founding documents and the spirit of America and breathed new life into them in each new generation. And the time has come for gays and lesbians to be recognized within the circle of human dignity.''
''We have two challenges. One is to clean up that which has already been polluted: the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Superfund Cleanup Act. And then second, to protect those areas which have not been polluted from becoming polluted.''
''Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or in the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest, I think that this is why the environment has to be preserved...''
'' ... so that people can have this experience. [applause]''
''One of the things that I've offered as a part of the health care plan was to allow Medicare to pay not only for health, but also for plans that would cover health and provide the social services to people who were in their homes. Now, it wouldn't be quite the special services that an Alzheimer's patient needs, but it would give relief to someone who is caring for an Alzheimer's patient in the home.''
'' I strongly support a health care patients' bill of rights — an HMO patients' bill of rights. I support moving toward parity in the treatment for mental health as in the same way as physical health. The availability of treatment for diabetes and the availability of treatment for depress or schizophrenia ought to be the same, in my view.''
''Tipper has — I'm proud of the leadership she's provided on this, and she has — she's worked a long time on this. And I guarantee you I'm committed to it. I...[laughter]...but I feel very — very strongly about it. And on — and I promise you, you give me a chance to roll up my sleeves and go to work on this. This is one that I will — I will fix for you.''
''Now, I've got a little less than a minute left. I want to tell you a story that I heard recently about three neighbors who died and went to Heaven.''
''And St. Peter met them at the gate, and he asked the first one: What did you do on Earth? And she said: I was a doctor, I cured the sick all my life. And St. Peter said: Well, come on in to Heaven.''
''So St. Peter hesitated and then said: Well, come on in, but you can only stay three days. [laughter and applause]''
''Early childhood education is critical. Getting people ready to go to school is important. I've laid out a program on child poverty, a part of which is doubling the number of funds available for Head Start. But there's more than just a specific program, or more than the dollars is the spirit behind it.''
''It's enough and change has to come. [applause]''
''I favor tough teacher testing for new teachers including in the subjects that they teach. Tough peer evaluation for existing teachers.''
''I proposed a 21st century teacher corps to give $10,000 hiring bonuses to young people who come out of college, get qualified for teaching and go to areas where teachers are needed, and mid-career professionals who are willing to switch careers and get certified.''
''We ought to make the same size commitment in our generation that the World War II vets did in theirs.''
''Now, one experiment that I don't support is vouchers, and that's one of the areas where we've disagreed for 18 years in the Congress. I think vouchers are a mistake. [applause]''
''You know, I have talked with so many working parents here in New Hampshire who are really stressed out trying to balance work and family. It's hard.''
''Tipper and I met a couple in a hospital whose child was seriously injured. Both of them lost their jobs because they chose to be with their child instead of staying at work.''
''They ought to — you also ought to have the right to go to parent-teacher meetings and doctors appointments. It ought to be easier to balance work and family.''
''I engaged outside of Washington in the dialogue with the American people about where they saw their lives and where they'd like to take this country.''
''And after doing that for two years, I made the decision that I thought that I was the person that could improve the quality of life for millions of Americans, that the ability matched the national moment, and therefore, I was going to step forward and run for president of the United States: for very clear reasons.''
''I don't think I'd be running for president of the United States had I not taken those two years, had I not been able to get outside and work in the private sector, encounter people where they live their lives on an everyday basis and develop a sense of where I think we ought to take the country.''
''And I concluded that if you're going to do this, you ought to deal with the big problems. And you ought to have big solutions to big problems, because that's what America's all about. It's about dreaming and being able to fulfill those dreams.''
'' There's so many to choose from. [laughter]''
''Because there was a little network called DARPANET in the Pentagon, and I did take the lead in the Congress in providing funding for the people who created what later became the Internet: held hearings, got the money through the process and tried to proselytize the idea of an information superhighway.''
''I think that's an important example of how we can proceed in this area in the future. It doesn't mean that you never deploy forces. But it means that if you do deploy forces, the national interest has to be clearly at stake and has to be consistent with values. And if we're talking about the smaller areas, that it would be better to work through multilateral institutions.''
''And third, I think that a president has to assert values, and elevate those values so the people buy into them and base their decisions on those values. I think Abraham Lincoln was the finest example of that trait. I think that Franklin Roosevelt was the finest example of articulating a vision of how we could get through the Depression...''
'' Well, I think there are three values that are important that a leader has to have.''
''One is absolute integrity — honesty and integrity. And there I think of Jimmy Carter.''
''Second, I think that a leader has got to have the ability to see around the corners, to see the future before it's here. I think Woodrow Wilson had that. What he talked about America became America in the 20th century.''
''And next, I think a leader has to have courage. Example of that, I would pick somebody who's not an American, Mikhail Gorbachev, who saw that the world was change, and had the courage to make that change.''
''I was a journalist for seven years. I asked my editors not to assign me to any political stories. But after a couple of years, I was promoted to cover city hall and I saw how people became heroes in the community by rolling up their sleeves and trying to make things better, and I was drawn toward that.''
''That's one reason why I would like to have a debate every week on a different issue.''
' No, I think, you know, I like Alan Keyes and John, I just would be a better candidate. I am a person who, when given the responsibility of being the chief executive officer of a state, I have performed. Our test scores are up in the state of Texas for African-American students and Hispanic students. I reformed our tort laws and premiums are down on small businesses in my state. We reformed welfare, but also confronted suffering, which remains by rallying faith-based organizations. I have got a record, a record that is conservative and a record that is compassionate.''
' Well, I don't think so, Doyle. I think the fact is that I have rejected the leadership of these two individuals. They have led our party in the wrong direction. We have lost the last two presidential elections. We have lost the last two congressional elections. The message of intolerance and exclusion rather than inclusion is directly in contradiction to the message that I have been trying to send around America and that is: Come to our proud, conservative banner. We will reform the government. We'll give it back to you.''
''But ours is a message of inclusion. Ours is a message that says: Come take part in this noble experiment. This is the greatest opportunity that America has had. And I want all of you there. And that's the Ronald Reagan-Theodore Roosevelt-Abraham Lincoln tradition. And I am positive that Christian conservatives all over America will flock to that banner. They will desert, I hope, the intolerant and wrong-headedness of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.''
''What I want to do is lead the Republican Party back, back to where we were before, back when Ronald Reagan was able to assemble a coalition of the people we used to call the Reagan Democrats, proud conservatives who shared our vision for the future of this country. And that's really what I am trying to do with this party. I am loyal no matter who our nominee is, I will support that nominee.''
' Not at all. Not at all because most of those improvements came as a result of the work of governors and Republican mayors like Rudolph Giuliani. I may not agree with him on everything, but I sure think he cleaned up crime in New York to such an extent that, by itself, New York's drop in the crime rate has accounted for part of the drop in the national crime rate, as everybody knows. So, no, you don't give to a shameless, lying, oath-breaking president any kind of credit for an improvement in the nation's moral atmosphere which he has polluted with his lack of integrity, and which the Democrats have polluted by circling the wagons around that lack of integrity.''
' ...have betrayed the basic moral principles of this nation's life.''
''Where I have differed in the past and continue to differ with Mr. Falwell and Mr. Robertson is on issues such as the issue of President Clinton. I voted to impeach President Clinton. I don't believe he's a murderer. Mr. Falwell believes that he's a murderer. Mr. Robertson has espoused some cockamamie theories about the Freemasons. I believe that they have led the — some very good and wonderful people in a message of intolerance. We share the same values, but their practice of politics is exclusionary and not inclusionary. I want the party of Abraham Lincoln, not the party of Bob Jones.''
''But look, those phone calls were made, they are done. I'm interested in the issues of the day and stop the squabbling and address the issues of education, health care, the military and others that are important to the future of this country.''
' Well, I think you would agree with that if you believed that the power of the teachers' unions cannot be broken. The power of the teachers' unions in my state of Arizona fought tooth and nail against charter schools, yet we prevailed. And the best schools in my state happen to be charter schools.''
''I'm glad to have been involved in the — in the military to teachers' programs...''
' ...where people who leave the military can become teachers if they're qualified to do so.''
' I don't mind trigger locks being sold with guns. I just don't understand how you're going to enforce it. I think the ultimate solution is for guns — smart guns to be manufactured that require a certain hand print in order for the gun to be used. I think that's hopefully where society is headed. But I have no problem with trigger locks being sold, Doyle. What I have a problem with is figuring out how you're going to enforce whether or not somebody is actually using the trigger lock on the gun in the first place. Now we have passed a law in my state that says if a adult is irresponsible in securing that gun and a child uses it...''
' Actually, I have to confess that I think it's kind of an irrelevant question at one level, because...[laughter]...No, seriously, the — first of all, that prohibition against religious tests was for the national government, just as the First Amendment was intended to make sure that at the national level there would be no established religion in America. The specious doctrine of separation as developed by liberal judges in the last 40, 50 years which extended that doctrine to the states through a perverted interpretation of the 14th Amendment is simply wrong and has been interfering, in fact, with the free exercise of religion in this country at all levels.''
''At the time that amendment was put in place, there were religious tests in most of the states in that country. The founders couldn't possibly have meant for that amendment to eliminate those tests, and in fact it was worded in such a way as to make sure the federal government did not interfere.''
' ...not professions, but actions and results.''
' No, I don't regret going to many places, but I do regret guilt by association in politics. I do regret people labeling me for somebody I'm not. I have got a record of inclusion in the state of Texas. I have got 50 percent of the Hispanic vote in my state because I have reached out to people from all walks of life.''
' I accept the fundamental principle, Doyle, that they pose a threat to the United States' national security. When North Korea tests a three-stage missile over Japan, they pose a threat, and when there's transfer of technology which allows nations to acquire these weapons of mass destruction, they are a threat. I am willing to explore all options, all options to prevent that threat from ever being realized. And clearly those are countries that threaten our security and this administration has conducted a feckless photo-op foreign policy for which the next president of the United States may pay a very heavy price in American blood and treasure.''
' I think the most important way to stop the coarsening of our culture is to return that culture to its basic moral principle. I think the most incredible coarsening of American life occurs when we sanction things like abortion, which are basically on the argument that might makes right, because the mother has absolute power over the child, she can dispose of the child's life according to her will. That notion that you do what you can get away with, that you go after anything that's successful, that you make your profits exploiting human lust, greed and whatever effects it might have on the decency of a society you go forward, that is what is destroying us.''
' ...that will have greater respect for our moral decency.''
''It's important for the Chinese to recognize that we — our relationship is going to change from one of strategic partner to one of competitor, but competitors can find areas of agreement such as in trade. But when it comes to violating the one-China policy, the Chinese must hear loud and clear that we will help China — I mean, Taiwan defend itself.''
' I would hope Taiwan would also hear the call that a one-China policy is important for the peaceful resolution of the dispute between China and Taiwan. Taiwan must be told by our country that the one-China policy has — I mean, reminded by our country that the one-China policy has allowed this country to — Taiwan to develop into a market-oriented economy and to a flourishing democracy. It has worked, and the role of the United States is to use our prestige in the world to make sure the one-China policy remains intact.''
' Well, I don't think it should be a source of worry. But anything is fair game, as I have found out during this campaign. The fact is, I respect Bill Bennett's views. He has criticized me on several times in the past, and I am sure that criticism has been constructive.''
' Well, you just made your case. The man is out. I'm sorry he's out. he's a really violent person. I hope he gets retried soon. But the system worked in this case, Jeff. And the question isn't about the ones that are coming up, the question is the ones that have been put to death, and I am absolutely confident that everybody has been put to death, two things, one, they were guilty of the crime charged and, secondly, they had full access to our courts, both state and federal.''
''The people who are enforcing the law on our streets deserve that they be treated with the same justice we would expect, and that means judge according to the facts.''
''And the reason I withhold judgment, I didn't sit through all the testimony. I haven't gone over all the details. The jury did, and they reached a conclusion that I think they in conscientious detail thought was the correct conclusion. The only thing I have heard from a lot of the critics of this case have to do with the number of bullets and other things. I haven't yet heard a good case made that, on the facts that were presented and that existed, one should question that verdict. And until I hear that case, I'm not going to indulge in sort of emotional rhetoric, scapegoating police officers.''
' No, absolutely not. I really protest against the liberal tendency to want the federal government to take over those responsibilities which rightly belong to states and localities. On the assumption, I suppose, that we are to consider people at the state and local level too depraved to do justice without federal supervision. I believe that assumption that the people of this country are too depraved to defend their rights and acquit their responsibilities as citizens is a wrong assumption, and therefore we should not turn over power to the federal government based on that assumption.''
''But I'll tell you what I would do without a doubt, and that is that I would push the development of sea-based missile defense systems as — from the U.S. standpoint, so that in case of tensions in the region I could move those ships very close but in international waters and make it clear to the Chinese that the consequences of aggression against Taiwan far, far exceed anything they might gain from committing that aggression.''
' Well, it would be a little odd for me to argue against that simply because in my state that's the way it is. People can give — individuals can give to a candidate the amount they want to give, so long as there's disclosure.''
''I believe that — I believe that Supreme Court case was a liberal interpretation of the Constitution. I do. I believe in freedom of speech. I understand there's going to be limits and I live with them, but I believe the best reform policy is to say individuals can give. And we ought to have instant disclosure on the Internet. We ought to let everybody know who's giving to whom. And we ought to do it on a real-time basis so that nobody has anything to hide.''
''I have a campaign reform package — campaign funding reform package. It includes banning of corporate money and labor union soft money, so long as the reforms are complete, so long as labor union bosses can't spend AF of L-CIO members' money for example without their permission.''
' Well, there are rules and there are laws, and we ought to have an attorney general that enforces the laws. That's what we need. We need an attorney general that enforces the laws and we need an administration that's honest. If you want campaign funding reform, let's have honest people in office. I believe in freedom of speech. I don't like some of the ads running against me. I don't. But nevertheless, people have a right to run issue ads in America. That's freedom of speech. It's an inherent part of our country.''
' Jeff, it requires any state that receives Title One money to develop standards and accountability at the local level...''
' It is a requirement that states, in return for receiving federal money, show us whether or not the children are learning.''
''And you mark my words what's going to happen. Our children are going to start to learn. But if not, I won't accept mediocrity. I'll challenge the status quo. And this is what this plan does.''
''Maybe that's — explains why there have been the sleepovers in Austin at the governor's mansion by the pioneers. Maybe that's why it's being set up, the apparatus, right now of the so-called pioneers and other apparatus to raise unlimited amounts of money to funnel into this political campaign coming up in the same way that Clinton and Gore did. That's a matter of published reports.''
''Campaign finance reform is the key element and an important element and a vital element if we're going to give the government back to the people, and if you're going to allow people like Bernard Schwartz of Loral to give a million dollars...''
' Thank you. You talk about people staying with me at the governor's mansion. These are my friends, John.''
' I don't think so. By the way, George, if I am ringing it like the dinner bell, you have got both feet in the trough because you have raised five times the amount of money in Washington that I have. Look, I get along with them. Two-hundred-and-thirty-four pieces of legislation has borne my name.''
''I'm proud of many major pieces of legislation playing a major role in foreign defense policy, Y2K product liability reform. My committee churns out more legislation than any other. I am very proud of my record and the work that I have done with all of my colleagues, and if I have a mandate, they're going to follow.''
' Well, I use it quite a bit. My campaign has used it quite a bit. I have to make one comment, though, and — because I think that this whole campaign finance reform thing on Senator McCain's part is just another example of the hypocrisy of these politicians. They have shoveled the money in their mouths hand over fist, then walk into the arena professing to be shocked at the discovery that it's there, and then turn to us and say we should give up our right to give money to support the causes we believe in because they don't have the integrity to do their jobs.''
' We shouldn't give up their rights. They should give up their offices and that would be the right kind of campaign finance reform.''
' Well, I put my contributors on the Internet for people to see. I believe in full disclosure, and I think all candidates ought to do that.''
' I am familiar. I can click around and surf around and — but you know...[laughter] But let me tell you something, we don't have time running for president. We're out there talking to the voters.''
''It's been marvelous. Governor Bush talks about the interests in Washington, I think he's gotten $700,000. Seven million dollars, people just coming in on the Internet and contributing to our campaign because they want reform. They want the government back and they want it back in their hands, and that's what this campaign is all about, and I'm exuberant about giving it to them.''
''You know that I speak the truth, the true bedrock conservatism, do it better than anybody who has appeared in these debates, and it's one of the reasons that my colleagues did not feel that they had the strength to stand up and say, kick him out, you see, because they know that, that would rouse your ire. But if it will rouse your ire, how come it doesn't inspire you to get out there in the voting booth and stand with the same integrity for what you believe that I stand with here in this arena?''
''You know, I thought that Senator McCain's speech made a very powerful point, and I agree with him on a lot of the points that he made. I agree with him in his advocacy of campaign finance reform. I agree with him in taking on big tobacco and the special interests, but I think his speech illustrated that the Republican Party today is in the midst of an identity crisis. They're trying to figure out who they are. And frankly, he was introduced by Gary Bauer for that speech. Both he and Governor Bush are for taking away a woman's right to choose. Neither had the guts to speak out against the confederate flag flying above the state capitol building in South Carolina. Both are in the hip pocket of the NRA. So I agreed with the speech as far as it went.''
''I want to make one other point. James Madison in the Federalist Papers pointed out that what he called faction — the word we would use now is maybe "ultrapartisanship" — can stir passions that come about because of relatively small differences, and then can unleash an amount of energy that is seemingly out of all proportion to the cause of the disagreement. And I think that some on the extreme right have allowed themselves to get carried away by so much hostility toward the people they disagree with that they've lost perspective.''
''So I'd have to have that answered for myself before I made the appointment.''
''I think the government should play a role, but a small role. It's an emerging technology. The Internet is growing in directions that we don't know. Fifteen years ago, the only people that ever heard of the Internet is the Defense Department. And now look at where it is today.''
''I thought I saw you kind of glance quickly over at me when you said the word "Internet." [laughter] I appreciate that. I didn't invent it, but I worked hard to get the funding for it to help the scientists and engineers who took that small network in the Defense Department called Garfonet and then gradually expanded it to what it is today.''
''President Clinton and I are now pushing a project called the next generation Internet, Internet II, that will be a thousand times faster than the present Internet. I think that the government's role should not to regulate content, obviously. I think the government should give parents more tools to protect their young children, give citizens more protections against violations of privacy. I think we should keep the moratorium on taxing transactions on the Internet, while the questions are dealt with by all the parties, and I think we have got to close the digital divide so that everybody, regardless of income or social circumstances......has access to the Internet.''
''Bill Kennard, the chairman of the FCC, is from Los Angeles, and has implemented a law that I helped to write called the e-rate, which puts $2 billion a year into subsidizing the connection of all classrooms and libraries to the Internet to even up access.''
'' Well, if I am entrusted with the presidency, I agree with Tipper on that question. [laughter] Whatever her answer is, I agree with it. [laughter]''
''But let me tell you a little bit about her. She has been a passionate advocate for mental health care, and I agree with her that we should have access to mental health care that is equal to the access that we have for health care, if the condition or disease affects some part of the body other than the brain. Why should we have discrimination against people who have diseases of the brain compared to the heart or the lungs or the liver?''
''Now, she has also been an advocate for the homeless to try to get these people off the sidewalks and the streets, and I strongly agree with that too. Because of her work and our family's work, I had 13 major workshops on how to end homelessness. And she would be working on those issues and advocating for children and families. But I am concentrating on trying to win this thing before we look too far down the road.''
''My wife is an immigrant. She would be the first immigrant first lady. If she — if I was successful. She's a college professor, a professor of comparative literature. She just finished a book called "The Language of Silence" about how Western literature did or did not come to terms with the Holocaust. She's a breast cancer survivor. She's a dynamic human being. She's a conscientious mother.''
'' Oh, well, I can talk a lot more than 30 seconds about my wife. I am glad you gave me that opportunity. [laughter]''
''Now, we also need to get busy and develop alternative fuels, more energy efficiency, a whole new generation of vehicles that will rely on technologies like fuel cells to cut way down on the pollution and have much more efficiency.''
'' Both the producers and the consuming nations have an interest in stable prices over time. There's just no question about that. But we have an interest in being less dependent on sources of oil from a region that is, over time, vulnerable to instability.''
''I helped to put in place a program called the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, which commits the big three automakers in our country to getting new vehicles into the marketplace that have three times the efficiency...''
'' I think it will be an issue in the presidential campaign, and it should be. I met here in Los Angeles two weeks ago with Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard. What suffering that family went through when that young man was crucified on a split-rail fence by bigots.''
''Yes, we need hate crimes legislation. Those crimes are fundamentally different. We also need the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to end discrimination in the workplace. I worked on that two years ago and we came within one vote of passing it in the Senate. If you entrust me with the presidency...''
''I think that we are justified in collecting information to see whether or not racial profiling is common throughout the United States, anecdotal evidence would have us believe that it is. I think it is, and I think it has to stop. I want to be tough on crime. I want to be tough on discrimination, too. Our future depends on a much lower crime rate and ending discrimination, especially in law enforcement.''
''The Amadou Diallo case is a case in point. As you know, West African was surrounded by police in New York, they fired 41 shots, 19 hit him. He fell, died, and that was a tragedy. But what it said to me was that the real tragedy was how deeply racial profiling had seeped into the mind of those who were in the police department so that a wallet in the hands of a white man would be viewed as a wallet, but a wallet in the hands of a black man would look like a gun. I looked at this, and I say we have to challenge ourselves.''
'' I do condemn the language that he used. I think that in America we believe in redemption and the capacity of all of our people to transcend limitations that they have made evident in their lives in the past.''
'' I would not be so quick as to completely dismiss what he has to say about some of these issues.''
'' Look at the number of rabbis who went to join Reverend Sharpton in his organizing of demonstrations and pickets following the Abner Louima case, and the — we had that case and the Amadou Diallo case. And I don't think it's that hard to understand that there a lot of people who have felt disrespect themselves, victimization themselves, who when he has spoken into the void silence that others have left...''
'' The last four presidents in both political parties have purposely refrained from spelling out the details of what kinds of circumstances would trigger a direct military action on the part of the United States in the Taiwan Straits. That ambiguity is not due to a failure to think it through. It is due to a considered judgment that we do not want to give the hot heads on either side of the Taiwan Straits an ability to drive circumstances toward American involvement for their own purposes.''
''Now remember in interpreting these recent statements, Bernie, that the election in Taiwan is just a short time away, and some analysts said, well, maybe this was a crude effort by Beijing to try to influence that election. It was nonetheless challenging. We immediately challenged it. We took them to task. And we do not accept their effort to change the description of what would justify force there.''
''But on Taiwan and China, it's a very specific problem. We should tell the Taiwanese that if they take steps toward independence, that we would reconsider the Taiwan Relations Act. We should tell the Chinese that if they move by force to overtake Taiwan, that we have responsibility under that act to take appropriate actions, the ambiguity that Al talks about. I think that if we can keep that going, then we will wait to see how things evolve.''
'' In previous periods like this, Beijing has also done some even more threatening things in the past, and I was part of the decision that the — that President Clinton and the administration made to quietly, without notice, without ballyhooing it, send the U.S. Pacific fleet right down — not the entire fleet, but send warships right down the middle of the Taiwan Straits without ballyhooing it, and it was a very deft demonstration of diplomacy and...''
''I was in El Serino Middle School in East L.A. here not so long ago, and in one meeting heard the story of the 7-year-old — a parent tell the story of a 7-year-old who was caught in the crossfire, killed. Another parent told the story of a young man walking through a high school hallway, killed. And the students at El Serino Middle School decided they would raise money to try to buy guns back, and they asked me if I would contact Mayor Riordan and ask him to meet with them.''
'' We make a mistake when we take an incident like the first grader or like the kids outside Pittsburgh that were killed, the five who were killed today, and we look at that one individual case and we failed to realize a much broader case. Columbine, everybody was struck by Columbine. Why? Because we saw our own kids, they looked like our kids, we thought. But 13 kids are killed every day in America with a gun, and 800,000 kids took a gun to school last year. Now, that is not going to change unless there's concerted leadership...''
'' ...in Washington that's embodied in the NRA.''
''I have embarked on a career that is very demanding of a lot of hard work and commitment. I believe in it! I want to fight for the people of this country. But I have long since learned, nearing the age of 52 doesn't sound like very old to some people here, but sounds very old to others...''
'' ...that you have got to make time for your spouse, your kids, and yourself.''
'' ...decision or turning point. If I reframed your question a little bit and asked: What are the kinds of mistakes that I have learned the most from? You know, every time you're — you're in a situation with a friend or a small group where you're unkind, unnecessarily, that is a mistake, whether it's — and there's no excuse for it, whether it's stress or...''
'' I think another mistake for me that I learned from was the mistake of not speaking out when you feel something deeply. For a chunk of my life, I sometimes held back. And then I realized that life is short. My wife got breast cancer. I realized life was short, you might not live another day. So speak from your heart what you believe.''
''If there's anything that's important in the military of the future it's the talent of our military personnel. We will make investments in research and development, stay on the cutting edge in terms of technology, but you need the talent in order to operate that technology effectively. And that's why they have to get more pay, and better benefits and better training.''
'' I served as an enlisted man in the United States Army. I served in Vietnam. When Tipper and I were first married, we lived in Daleville, Alabama, outside the gates of Fort Rucker, and we lived on a private's pay.''
''I think it is unacceptable for the men and women who serve in uniform to not have adequate pay and for some of them to have families on food stamps. I think that needs to change. And I have supported efforts to change that.''
'' We need to do more to support the families and the men and women in uniform.''
'' ...the sergeants, I believe, is critical.''
''We should also use assistive technology to close the gap and not ask what is disabled, what is — what are you able to do, not what doesn't work, but how can we get you to work?''
'' ...can make a difference, and I ask for your help to make that difference.''
'' Well, you know, the fact that we have this issue in the Congress every year now, to raise the limits for more highly educated people to come in and take jobs that 60 percent of the businesses in America have open now that they can't fill, should lead to us take two steps. First of all, we should address this on its own merits, yes, I think that we should allow more immigrants to come in.''
'' It is what has made us a great nation. All of us, save the Native Americans, need only count back the generations to find when our families immigrated here, or when they were brought here in chains. We all came from somewhere else. But we should also realize that we have to do more to educate our own people and give the job training necessary for American citizens...''
'' ...who are already here to fill those good jobs.''
'' Yes, I do think that we need to open our doors to more immigrants. I think raising the number for H1B visas, which are the highly talented individuals that the vice president is talking about, is important.''
''So yes, H1B visas, but also late amnesty for those people who were here in the country before 1982.''
'' ...conditions that they deserve to live in. I think that this has been a failing of the Republican Congress, and we need to address it.''
''I was down in Santa Cruz not so long ago with the group called Barrios Sadidos, great group, talked to the young woman, who was a junior in college, and I asked her see was Latino...''
''So back to the question. I believe that fundamental campaign finance reform is absolutely critical. It is the one way that would disconnect the way this whole system in Washington works. Secret deals, special interests money, that's the connection. And you have to break it by making sure that you take money out of politics. That will only happen when people give someone who runs for president a mandate to do that, because otherwise, the culture will not change in Washington. And it is the culture in Washington that...''
'' ...has to change, and the people are the only in place in America that have the chance to make that happen.''
''I also support tough new restrictions on lobbyists. We should have — we should let sun shine in with full disclosure, and we ought to find ways to use the Internet to empower whistle blowers with more of an ability to make public any time there is some kind of situation that is untoward, and then let's just jump on it, and make sure that we expose it, and get rid of the influence of special interests money.''
'' If you entrust me with presidency, I will have regular open meetings all across this country, With citizens invited to come in and speak just as we're speaking right now, and I'll do it on a regular basis. Frankly, one of the reasons I do support the unique role that Iowa and New Hampshire have played in giving were a small audience, to let the candidates talk about their platforms in small groups, is because you...''
'' I think the most important thing that politicians can do is to respect the people, to not play scare tactics with the people, to not use innuendo with the people, to not tell half-truths with the people, but to level with them. And if a leader levels with the people, then that engenders trust, and trust is the absolute ingredient that's needed in tough times between a leader.''
''I also know that in this race that I am in it to change the political process. I am in it because of an open commitment to idealism, to get beyond the interest group politics of Washington, where you try to stuff groups with money, but instead appeal to individuals as Americans, and as human beings.''
'' ...the common values that we have expressed are going to want to see them enacted in the general election.''
''I was out in Spokane, Washington, for example, last week at the United Steel Workers picket line at the Kaiser plant. They had been out 18 months. I talked to a man, lines on his face, calluses on his hands.''
'' ...have the medical decisions made by doctors and not accountants.''
'' Let me tell you where I stand on both of those issues. I'm pro-choice. I will defend a woman's rate to choose, regardless of her economic circumstances. I will not allow Roe v. Wade to be overturned.''
'' No, I don't think that was a concession to the inevitable. I think take-off time is Tuesday. And, I would like to take the remainder of my time to come back to the last question because I don't think it is unimportant.''
''And the people who said this was quotas was really Bob Dornan. In California, you know who Bob Dornan is, that was the author of one of the amendments.''
'' And I do not support that kind of approach or discrimination.''
'' Well, I oppose quotas, and I would vote against quotas every time they are put up. President Clinton and I have taken the approach known by the phrase "mend it, don't end it." And frankly, the court decisions that have struck down some affirmative action schemes can only be overcome if we strictly avoid the quota approach which that represented, and instead, mend it...''
'' We can all be proud of the record of accomplishments in these past seven years. Look at California, for example. We have just entered the period of the longest economic recovery in the entire history of the United States of America.''
'' ...to be president, and if you entrust me with the presidency I will fight for you.''
''I am going to protect the middle class. And in the course of my career, Peter, I have voted for countless numbers of tax cuts.''
''But this president has created an economy that feeds the special interests and the powerful and the corporate power, and he is not helped the average worker in America to advance their cause. I will.''
''And, sure, I would have liked to have been a little bit — done a little better. But I congratulate John Kerry and John Edwards on great campaigns. I think they ran a great campaign.''
''Let me just take a second to talk about this tax stuff.''
''I'm going to take a different position than everybody. I think we ought to get rid of the whole Bush tax cut, and here's why: There was no middle-class tax cut.''
''Sixty percent of us got $304. Has your property tax gone up more than $304 because the president cut cops on the beat, refused to fund special education, refused to fund No Child Left Behind? How about your college tuition? Has that gone up more that $304 because the president cut 84,000 kids off Pell Grants in order to pay for the tax cuts for people like Ken Lay?''
''Your health care, has that gone up because the president cut 500,000 kids off health care?''
''Here is the way I'd like to start this, Peter. I saw a wonderful article recently that said that in a private conversation, President Bush said to someone that the Democrat he thought would give him the toughest fight for reelection was Joe Lieberman. Incidentally, this is an opinion on which I agree with President Bush.''
''In this campaign, I am the only candidate up here on the stage that has come out for genuine tax reform, not only to protect the middle-class tax cuts that middle-class families did get in the last three years, that many of us fought for, but to apply, to carry out, to pass a tax cut for 98 percent of the income tax payers and to pay for it by raising taxes on the 2 percent.''
''That may make some of the higher-income people unhappy, but it's the right thing to do for the middle class and for our economy.''
''And that's what the Democratic Party does. And that's what I want to do as president.''
''The United States should renounce any interest in privatization of the Iraq economy. And we should ask the U.N. to help construct a cause of governance in Iraq with a new constitution and elections.''
''Everyone on this stage has been critical of the way George Bush has conducted this phase of the operation. But at the point where we had to stand up and say yes or no, we had to stand up and vote and support that vote, I thought it would be a mistake for me to say to the president, "What you're doing is right, I support it, go forward, here's your blank check, come back next year and ask for more money."''
''And not only that, had I been the deciding vote, I would have voted exactly the same way. Because what would have happened, had that occurred, is the president would have immediately come back to the Congress with a plan, changing course, so that he could get the approval he needed.''
''It's all well and good to criticize him. That's just words. We came to the point where we had to stand up and take responsibility. I took responsibility.''
''The Sharpton doctrine of foreign policy would be to support emerging democratic nations, and those nations that are underdeveloped, with real trade and aid.''
''There are billions of people around the world that need clean water systems, clean sanitation systems. We don't need to only talk about a military presence. We need to talk about a humanitarian presence, a development presence. And I think that that would aid our country in developing the intelligence that would protect Americans.''
''The fact is that if we're going to maintain this level of commitment on a global basis, and for the moment we have to because of what's happened, we need an additional two divisions. One's a combat division and one is a support division. Now, that's the responsible thing to do.''
''I've also said responsibly, that's temporary, because I intend to be a president who goes back to the United Nations, rejoins the community of nations, brings other boots on the ground to help us in the world and reduces the overall need for deployment of American forces in the globe.''
'' You have that right under the Constitution.''
''No Child Left Behind has not worked out the way that anyone thought it would. And what has happened is, it's become an unfunded mandate. It has become a misdirection of the way education ought to be in America.''
''I would have a universal pre-kindergarten program where children can go to school beginning at age 3, a fully funded elementary and secondary education act, and free college tuition for all America's young people.''
'' I would not have used the word "permission," nor is that what I meant. You know, my words are not always precise, but my meaning is very, very clear.''
''We had successfully contained Iraq for 12 years with no-fly zones. They had virtually no air force to speak of. It turned out they did not have the weapons of mass destruction that people thought they did, myself included. It turned out that much of what the president told us was not so.''
''I believe that Saddam Hussein's removal from power is good. But I also believe that the way to have done it was to do it through the United Nations, which is why I opposed the president's war in Iraq from the beginning.''
''Which just brings me to one other point.''
''Before 9/11, he did not do everything he could have done to keep this country safe. After 9/11, he took us to a war we didn't have to fight and Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida is still going strong. We were at terrorist condition orange.''
''As president of the United States, my top priority will be to keep America safe. We're going to go after the terrorist networks. We're going to go after Osama bin Laden. We are not going to live in fear in this country. And we'll use all the resources of the United States — international law, diplomacy, allies, economics and military force, if necessary — to keep this country safe.''
'' I never used the word "guarantee." I never said that, John.''
'' What I said was that the president had been saying that the attack at 9/11 could not have been prevented, and that further attacks were inevitable.''
''And I consider their statement that further attacks on the United States are inevitable as an excuse to cover for the fact that they are today not doing everything they could do to keep America safe. And that's wrong, that's why I'm running and that's what I'll fix.''
''I would never claim to be an expert on Islam. I am not. But I do believe that Islam, as in a lot of other faiths that we as a nation embrace and lift up, that I have shown respect for faiths that are different than mine my entire life. I think I do understand the tragedy of the day-to-day lives of people who live in Arab countries, who live lives of hopelessness and despair.''
''And part of our ongoing vision — my ongoing vision for America includes getting at the root causes of that animosity toward the United States, which means being able to communicate, not just with the leadership, for example, in Saudi Arabia, but being able to communicate directly with the people...''
'' I think we have a responsibility when we deal with the leadership of these countries. Our relationships, Peter, have been at the leadership level. And we see the results of that. We have ongoing relationship with the Saudi royals, with President Musharraf, with Chairman Karzai. We have relationships with the leaders of these Islamic countries.''
''The problem is, we have no relationship with the people. And not only do we have no relationship with the people, it's absolutely clear that they feel great animosity toward the United States. We need to, first, be able to communicate directly with the people.''
''We need to take advantage of the opportunities available to us and our allies, to reach out, not just to the leaders of these countries for our own purposes, but also to develop a relationship for the people themselves so that they understand what Americans care about and that we actually care about the peace and prosperity of the entire world.''
'' Well, first of all, let me say this. I wanted to say to Governor Dean, don't be hard on yourself about hooting and hollering. If I had spent the money you did and got 18 percent, I'd still be in Iowa hooting and hollering.''
'' I think, first of all, we must have a person at the Monetary Fund that is concerned about growth of all, not setting standards that would, in my judgment, protect some and not elevate those that cannot, in my view, expand and come to the levels of development and the levels of where we need to be.''
''I think part of my problem with how we're operating at this point is that the IMF and the policies that are emanating there do not lead to the expansion that is necessary for our country and our global village to rise to levels that underdeveloped countries and those businesses in this country can have the development policies necessary.''
''I can pledge this to the American people: I will never conduct a war or start a war because we want to; the United States of America should only go to war because we have to. And if you live by that guidance, you'll never have veterans throwing away their medals or standing up in protest.''
''But when it comes — when it comes to supporting our troops in battle, I will never say no. Period. They are our best and brightest. They are our heroes. Generations have fought to protect the freedom that we all are enjoying and exercising in this campaign for the presidency. We owe them our lives and our liberties, and they deserve our unwavering support. That's the kind of commander in chief I will be.''
''Let me tell you one thing I intend to do. I intend to create a universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care system. By the way, we're already paying for that; we're just not getting it.''
''I intend to create a universal pre-kindergarten program, not for profit, that would be run by the public schools, that would be funded by a 15 percent reduction in the Pentagon.''
'' The target date is going to be judged by how much of a rut the president gets us into. I mean, the fact of the matter is, that we have to get out of Iraq, and we have to stop this massive Pentagon expansion. And the president, at the State of the Union address, just said he wants to lock in the tax cut.''
'' Well, I think Michael Moore has the right to say whatever he feels about this.''
''I don't know whether this is supported by the facts or not. I've never looked at it. I've seen this charge bandied about a lot.''
''But to me it wasn't material. This election is going to be about the future, Peter. And what we have to do is pull this country together. And I am delighted to have the support of a man like Michael Moore, of a great American leader like Senator George McGovern, and of people from Texas like Charlie Stenholm and former Secretary of the Navy John Dalton.''
''We've got support from across the breadth of the Democratic Party, because I believe this party is united in wanting to change the leadership in Washington. We're going to run an election campaign that's about the future. We're going to hold the president accountable for what he did in office and failed to do, and we're going to compare who's got the best vision for America.''
'' I think it's a decision that should be made on a state- by- state basis. I think each state should be able to make its own decision about what they embrace.''
''Now, if I can take just a minute — since you've asked me a lot of process questions, can I talk about what I believe...''
'' ... for just a moment, if you don't mind?''
''Here's what I believe: I believe it is the responsibility of the president of the United States to move this country forward on this important issue.''
'' No, the Defense of Marriage — first of all, I wasn't in the Congress, I don't claim to be an expert on this. But as I understand the Defense of Marriage Act, it would take away the power of some states to choose whether they would recognize or not recognize gay marriages. That's my understanding of it.''
''A third of our seniors and disabled people have prescription benefits. We didn't wait until George Bush got his bill passed, which gave $200 billion of our money to the drug companies and the insurance companies.''
''And if we start going back to states' rights, we're going back to pre- Civil War days, and I think that that, in its nature, is wrong.''
''Finally, I'd challenge this president on values any day. When a president of the United States uses the word "quota," which is a race- coded word designed to appeal to people's fears they're going to lose their job to a member of a minority community, that president has played the race card, and that president deserves a one-way bus ticket back to Crawford, Texas.''
'' I look forward to that fight, and I particularly want to have that debate with this president.''
''I am a veteran. I fought in a war. I've been a prosecutor. I've sent people to jail for the rest of their life. I have, as a lieutenant governor, helped to fight to create a national plan on acid rain to protect our rivers and lakes and streams for the future.''
''As a senator, I've stood up for years and fought for fairness. I've also voted for welfare reform. I am a gun owner and a hunter since I was a young man. I think that my education reform — the other significant efforts to try to make the workplace fair in America are as vital to people in the South and the Southwest and the West and the Midwest of this country as anywhere else.''
''I look forward to standing up and holding George Bush accountable for pushing seniors off of Medicare into HMOs, for prohibiting Medicare from even negotiating a bulk purchase price, from turning an energy bill into a bonanza for his friends in the oil industry to the tune of $50 billion.''
''The workplace of America, Peter, has never been as unfair for the average American as it is today. And there are more ways to describe that than I have in 60 seconds. But over the course of the next months, Americans will come to understand there's a way to make America fundamentally fair and live up to our promise to all of our citizens.''
'' Peter, let me put it this way: This is a time to be affirmative. I'd say, "Nice try." But this is a time...''
''I'm going to talk about myself. I'm going to stand up and fight for values. I said earlier one of the reasons the Republicans don't want to run against me is because they can't say I'm soft on values. They can't say I don't respect people of faith. They can't say I don't want to support faith-based organizations when they help make this a better, more decent country.''
'' Well, I'm very concerned about the Patriot Act. It was passed in haste. It's very long. It's got dozens and dozens and dozens of changes.''
''And then we're going to put together the right kind of authorities for law enforcement to keep us safe.''
''But, Tom, we cannot win the war on terror by giving up the very freedoms we're fighting to protect.''
'' Of course it is. Of course it is. I mean, I took the position of organizing 126 Democrats who voted against the Iraq war resolution, and I happen to think it was the right position.''
''Today we're faced with over 500 casualties, a cost of over $200 billion. And it could rise — the casualties could go into thousands and the cost could go over half a trillion — if we stay there for years, as a number of people on this stage intend to see happen.''
''Now, with respect to what happened in Iowa, let me state this: that if I was looking for someone to pair up with under the Iowa caucus system based on who I agreed with, I wouldn't have had anyone to agree with...''
''... because the fact of the matter is, I've had a really great difference of opinion, having been the only one on this stage who voted against the war and the Patriot Act.''
'' What I believe is that — and by the way, I would point out to you at the outset of this question: Remember, I didn't get to the Senate by accident. I actually defeated an incumbent Republican senator who was part of the Jesse Helm's political machine in North Carolina, the result of which is I'm now the senior senator from North Carolina instead of Jesse Helms, which is a very good thing for this country. And that didn't happen by accident.''
''I grew up in the rural South. I know deep inside what people care about. From the time I was growing up, everyone around me hunted, everyone had guns. I respect and believe in people's Second Amendment rights.''
''That does not, however, mean that somebody needs an AK-47 to hunt. It does not mean that somebody who's been convicted of a violent crime should be able to walk out of prison, walk across the street and buy a gun. It does not mean that we shouldn't take every step that we can take to keep guns safe and keep guns out of the hands of kids.''
''I think it does make sense to have trigger locks for the purpose of keeping guns safe so that we don't have 6-year-old children accidentally killing other 6-year-old children.''
''So I think there are reasonable things we can do. But I start from the place that we have to begin — we have to protect people's Second Amendment rights. I have lived with this my entire life. And as I said earlier, I believe I understand what people are concerned about.''
'' Well, first of all, let me say something, I want to address a question Peter asked.''
''I don't agree that we need to start backing away, become more Republican to beat the Republicans. I think the problem is we need to start going forward and stop letting them establish the premise of the debate. That's what's wrong with the party.''
''And I want you to give me the same courtesy you gave John in Iowa.''
''I think, though, that I wanted to come. I came. I will continue to come even afterward, because I think it's important you campaign everywhere. I wish everyone had campaigned in Washington D.C., where I did...''
'' It needs to be banned, taken out. And the companies that have put it in need to be held responsible for it.''
''But the pricing is unfair. And it is particularly unfair that Canada slaps price controls on, other developed rich nations in Europe do the same, and Uncle Sam and our citizens have to pay the full cost of research, marketing, administration of the drug companies.''
'' I'd say one other thing. In the so-called drug benefit bill, Medicare, which I voted against, there was actually a restrictive clause put in by the special interests to stop this from happening; and even more outrageous, a prohibition on Medicare negotiating the lowest possible prices with drug companies for prescription drugs for the elderly.''
''As president of the United States I would lead this country on a new energy initiative. In the same way that President John F. Kennedy decided to bring the academic and spiritual resource of this country to have the United States reach the moon someday, I intend to have a very infinitely interesting journey to planet Earth.''
''By the year 2010, I'll call upon Americans to assist in creating a program, not only of conservation, but of moving to renewable energy, away from oil, nuclear and coal, and towards wind and solar and geothermal, green hydrogen and biomass.''
'' I do. We were presented with a series of facts. I came to a different conclusion than the senators did on those facts. My conclusion was that there was no Al Qaida in Iraq, as the president intimated. My conclusion was that Iraq was not about to acquire nuclear weapons, as the president intimated, and as the British intelligence reports reported the opposite of. My conclusion was that we'd successfully contained Saddam Hussein.''
''People have questioned my foreign policy experience, and the retort that I make is, that with patience and judgment, I was able to sort out, in fact, the idea that the president was not being candid with the American people when he asked that the resolution be improved.''
'' Someone earlier made a remark about losing 500 soldiers and 2,200 wounded. Those soldiers were sent there by the vote of Senator Lieberman and Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards. That is a fact. And I think that's a very serious matter. And it is a matter upon which we differ.''
'' Might I have the opportunity to rebut?''
''I didn't need George Bush to convince me that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the United States of America. John McCain and I wrote the law that made it national policy to change the regime in Baghdad.''
''I repeat: We are safer with Saddam Hussein in prison than in power.''
''But I was insistence that we do so with a firm grip on the privacy issues. Had I still been on that board when all this was going through, I would have insisted that ACLU and others be brought in to pre-approve CAPPS II. Whether that was done or not, I have no idea.''
''And what I would do is ban their contributions. I would shine a bright light on their activities so we, in fact, know what they're doing.''
'' ... and, second, making sure we know what they're doing.''
''But I do not, in any way, shape or form, support a military intervention. I would try as best I could as president to use the power of diplomacy, the power of our trade and business with Iran, and our ability to communicate with all sides. And I would support the U.N. to try to bring about some kind of stabilized order there and some kind of dialogue.''
'' Well, as a senator for years I have fought for small businesses. I've actually been chairman of the Small Business Committee. And I think one of the reasons, to go back to Peter's question, that the Republicans are going to begin advertising tomorrow to try to attack me and sort of label me is because they know my record. They know I present the strongest challenge to George W. Bush.''
''Today I was endorsed by Fritz Hollings in South Carolina. I have the endorsement of General Steve Cheney, the former commandant of the Marine Corps, in South Carolina, the former statewide candidate for attorney general, the minority leader of the House, the minority leader of the Senate, Senator Max Cleland in Georgia, because I'm talking common sense to Americans.''
''And common sense is that you need to help small business across this country.''
'' That's why they're frightened. And that's why I'm going to win.''
''And what's more important, I know who I am. I've stood up to special interests. I've put the people first. I'm independent-minded, as the people of New Hampshire are. That's why I'm confident about what's going to happen next Tuesday.''
''The Democratic National Committee did something very good with the presidential selection process. They protected the so-called window for Iowa and New Hampshire historically, but then opened up this process to seven other states, from South Carolina to New Mexico, Arizona, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Delaware and Missouri.''
''And that's going to let a lot of people around America have a say early about who the Democratic nominee will be.''
'' Well, actually, actually, Brit, actually, I did vote for Al Gore in 2000 and for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996.''
''But when I was in the military, I was not a member of any party. I was an independent, and that's the way it is done in the state of Arkansas.''
''And when I'm president, I hope that Republicans will praise me when I do things right. But...''
''But I made it clear in the article — and I think you've got it there. If you read it on down, you'll see that I say this doesn't mean — they've got to focus now on the peacekeeping, the occupation, the provision of order.''
''And we need — we, the Democratic presidential candidates, we have a responsibility, I believe, a moral responsibility, to do something about 35 million Americans living in poverty.''
'' Thirty five million Americans living in poverty is also an important issue.''
'' Well, excuse me, Peter, on radio I was showing it to Howard Dean, and I'm glad that Howard had a chance to see it.''
'' And this information comes from a briefing paper from the Economic Policy Institute. It was given to me by a group of New Hampshire - - by the people of New Hampshire, who are working under the fair trade for New Hampshire. And I'm supporting their efforts.''
'' We've got to talk about jobs in order to do that. You know what a red state that's very vulnerable and eligible for us is? South Carolina. They've lost enormous numbers of steel jobs and textile jobs, exactly the kind of thing that Dennis was talking about, because of WTO and NAFTA.''
''Now, I'm not going to get rid of WTO and NAFTA. We've globalized multinational rights for corporations. We have not globalized labor and environmental rights, and we need to do that if trade's ever going to work fairly.''
''So we're going to have opportunities in places like Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Ohio, West Virginia and even in the South.''
''And you know why? Because they're going to do what you just did to John Edwards. You're going to keep asking him about gay marriage, and John Edwards is absolutely right. This isn't about gay marriage; this is about jobs. This isn't about race; this is about education because everybody needs a good education no matter what color you are.''
''This is not about the things that divide us. If we're going to ever win another election again in some of these states, we have to talk about education, health care and jobs. We cannot fight the Republicans on their ground; we're going to fight them on our grounds.''
''And I do not think because it has been proven wrong that we have the right to take lives if we can't give lives, and we can't give them.''
'' One, I agree with John Edwards about increasing help for businesses. I've called for a two-year deferment of small businesses so we can get more businesses on.''
''No, good values helps not only keep a family, but feed a family, employ a family, give education to a family.''
'' My voice is just barely recovering now. Please don't.''
'' Well, I'm sure there's a lot of people who are alarmed because they've been alarmed by all kinds of folks who've criticized some of the things I've said.''
'' Well, I stood up to the people of Massachusetts and the country. Those are the people I answer to. And I answered by saying that there was a right way to hold Saddam Hussein accountable and there was a wrong way.''
''And you got to be able to look in the eyes of a family and say you exhausted every possibility and you only sent their son or daughter to die because you had no other choice.''
'' Yes, no, I know. At the end, what was your...''
''But I repeat again: This was a just war.''
''But I did it because I put my hand on a Bible and took an oath to protect the security of the United States. And I believed that Saddam Hussein was a clear and present danger and threat to the security of the United States, the people of Iraq and the stability of the world.''
''Now we have an extraordinary opportunity in the war against terrorism to build an Iraq, a democratizing, modernizing country in the middle of the Arab and Islamic worlds, which will send a message to the majority in the Islamic world that there is a better way than the hatred and death that Al Qaida presents to them.''
''It is, if you'll forgive me, the American — the democratic way. That's what we have an opportunity to do now.''
'' I told you it wasn't popular in all sections of the Democratic Party.''
''But you got to do what you think is right for your country.''
'' I reconcile it with my own beliefs. And I do believe in the right of conscience. And I support a woman's right to choose protected by law.''
'' I understand what the Catholic doctrine is. But I have freedom of conscience. And I believe what I believe. I believe that the right to choose is a right that should be protected by law.''
'' I believe in the established law, Roe v. Wade and Casey.''
'' Well, we have to keep in mind that the education cuts that have occurred because of the Bush administration in New Hampshire include $800,000 cut for Pell Grants, $1.1 million for educating children in rural schools, $400,000 for teacher quality training grants, $233,000 for safe and drug-free school grants.''
'' And as many people have learned across this country, with respect to the No Child Left Behind Act, that we spoke of earlier, the administration in the last budget provided for — they provided $21 billion dollars when there were $32 billion in needs. And what they're doing is putting pressures on school districts all over the country.''
''When you create a program, you should fully fund it. And what I will do as president is to make education one of the top national priorities by a fully funded pre-kindergarten program for all children ages 3, 4 and 5, by a fully funded Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and by a fully funded program for tuition free at all public colleges and universities.''
'' Can I include in my answer also what we should be doing here at home?''
''Abroad, the most critical element that's missing from this administration, if you — I'm on the Senate Intelligence Committee — if you look at the map of where these terrorist organizations are, where they operate, the most critical thing that's missing from this administration is a working relationship with many of the countries in which these groups operate.''
''Without the cooperation of those countries — this is a place where working with our allies is not abstract. It has a direct impact on our ability to protect the American people.''
''There are also lots of things that should be done here at home that aren't being done. Better job of protecting our ports, a critical issue here in the state of New Hampshire. Better job of protecting our nuclear facilities and our chemical plants.''
'' If you ask most people in New Hampshire, "What would you do differently today than you would have done on September 11th if a terrorist attack occurs," they have no idea.''
'And I think that what I would concentrate on — I agree that we need to have better security at nuclear plants, that we need to have better security at ports. We also need to rebuild ports and create jobs, because the ports are almost in disrepair.''
'' Well, first of all, Bret, I'm not painting a bleak portrait. I'm painting the portrait of the challenge to Americans. And there's no question in my mind that when challenged, Americans rise to the challenge.''
''While profits went up 46 percent for companies, wages for workers went up three pennies. This is a Wall Street Republican recovery, it's not an American worker recovery.''
''And we deserve a president who understands what's really happening to people all across the country. The outsourcing of jobs: One-fifth of the manufacturing jobs in New Hampshire have been lost. Countless numbers of people can't get insurance.''
''I hope we have a great economy next year because there's plenty to talk about: about the environment, about children, about education, higher education, about our role in the world.''
''This country is being led in a radically wrong direction by this president. And as we mount this campaign, Americans will join up and vote for change.''
I never said Democrats made a mistake. I never said that all.
People in the South care about their jobs. They care about health care. They care about safety. They care about cops in the street. They care about their children.
: This is a place where I believe I can and should win.
We can't do that, because historically we've never elected a Democrat president without winning at least five southern states.
More importantly, it's wrong because we as Democrats are about expanding the party, bringing people into the party. I mean we don't -- we reach out to everybody, everybody of different race, different gender, different background. And that also goes for those people who live in different regions of the country.
So it's enormously important for us to be successful, electorally, and to have a president that people in the South and all across the country believe represents them, represents their values, for us to continue that expansion and reach out and embrace the South.
Well, first of all, I didn't fire anybody this week. We did bring in Roy Neel, and I think he is going to do a great job, former President Clinton's deputy chief of staff, Al Gore's chief of staff.
I stood up against No Child Left Behind. I stood up against No Child Left Behind when nobody else would.
So the question is: When you go to elect a president, you want somebody who's going to stand up for you. How do you know anybody else is going to stand up for you if they wouldn't do it when it really counted and when it wasn't popular?
Well, I think we are going to win some of these states. We're very strong across this country. We're running a national campaign.
It is. One thing you're finding in our answers, Tom: Candidates who run for president are very optimistic people.
I congratulate John Kerry on his victory, there.
We all want to do it, right? Defeat George W. Bush and give America a fresh start.
They ought to want all of us to stay in and bring our constituency to the table rather than try to eliminate.
Well, I don't think anybody knows for sure. And that's why I support the idea of an idea of an independent commission.
In that case, why are we in Iraq? And why are so many people from South Carolina there right now, when they should be home concentrating on homeland security and when they should be going after Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida?
He said he would build a legitimate global coalition. He said he would respect the United Nations inspection process and work through it. And he said to the American people he would go to war only as a last resort.
The statements that this administration made before the war, the questions we now have about the intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, the failure of the Bush administration to be prepared for what to do after we overthrew Saddam have all unfortunately given a bad name to a just war. So I will never waiver in my conclusion that the world and America are safer with Saddam Hussein in prison and not in power, and thanks to the American military for bringing that result about.
Tom, you've mischaracterized my position.
When the U.N. agrees with that, at that point, we ask U.N. peacekeepers to come in and rotate our troops out.
On an interim basis, until the Iraqi people can be self-governing.
And that was common knowledge in Washington. There should never have been a congressional authorization for the president to have a blank check to take this country to war, because everybody knew that's what he intended to do. And they knew what the timetable was. It was a politically motivated timetable to go in the 30th of March, just like this 30th of June date.
I think that we cannot go quickly past the president giving the wrong premise to the American public to get support. Had he said, "We're going to war because Saddam Hussein is a bad guy," the public would not have rallied around that.
I think it's somewhere in between. I think that there has been an exaggeration and there has been a refocusing...
Aerial vehicles to be able to deliver materials of mass destruction, number two.
And I think this administration's arrogant and ideological policy is taking America down a more dangerous path. I will make America safer than they are.
In '98, when Osama bin Laden issued a fatwa against the United States, there should have been, at that point, measures to go and get Osama bin Laden. I'm told that there were such measures that were attempted to be undertaken. Why they didn't work, what they are, and so forth, I don't know.
But we had worked really hard with Vladimir Putin to do something about national missile defense and get out of the ABM Treaty, and a lot of other things had been done.
I wouldn't say it wasn't on the agenda. I would say that the Clinton administration handled its approach in a way that I think tried to create international cooperation.
Tom, where I think the problem is today is that the administration's approach, their doctrine is wrong. The doctrine of preemption led us into Iraq. The doctrine of unilateralism essentially led us into Iraq. The doctrine of first strike puts us at risk of expanding war.
But he went on to make clear what he meant, and he was right: "I know that as commander in chief, you will not commit America's sons and daughters to war unless there is no other alternative.
"Three, if you still feel it is in the security interests of the United States, of course, as commander of chief, you will reserve the right to act alone to protect the security and freedom of the American people.
But, in many ways, I think that we can't allow the distortion, because Mr. Bush and some of his crowd have said they represent a Christian view against the Islamic. And I don't think Christ could join most of their churches.
But many of their supporters talk about how they represent Christianity. I don't think they represent Christianity any more than some of these murderers, and mass murderers, represent Islam. So let's not blame the religion. Let's blame those that use religion to do some ruthless, deadly, wicked acts.
Having said that, I think we should build relationships with those nations around the world, and I have visited them. And how do you build relationships? Work with them on things of self-interest. Many of them need clean water supplies, clean sanitation, trade. They would become our partners if we engaged in partnership. But I don't that the way we do that is attacking people's religion, trying to act like our religion is better.
: I think the answer is no, we don't get enough help in a lot of areas.
Can I just go back a moment ago -- to a question you asked just a moment ago? You asked, I believe, Senator Kerry earlier whether there's an exaggeration of the threat of the war on terrorism.
It's just hard for me to see how you can say there's an exaggeration when thousands of people lost their lives on September the 11th.
We can't do that, Tom. We can't -- I think none of us mind being searched and have our shaving kits rummaged through in the airlines and all that. But if we start giving up our fundamental liberties as Americans because terrorists attacked us, then we have a big problem.
We have a right to protection of our liberties. A lot of people died for that in the Revolutionary War. And I am not going to let the right wing of the Republican Party take those liberties away from us.
It also reduces illegal immigration, because now you don't have to come to the United States to make a living, you can make one in your country. People don't leave their countries because they hate their country; they leave their countries because they can't make a living. And now we can do that.
But, you know, I have said that I would give the same answer everywhere. It's not right to make a scapegoat of trade. We have to fight for fairer trade. We have to support manufacturing.
But let me say this, Tom, if some of my friends up here carried out their protectionist policies and we got in a trade war, you can't create jobs by building a wall around America.
So we got to figure out how to keep the jobs who are here, stop the bleeding and work together with business and workers to create a whole new generation of jobs. I've got a plan to create 10 million in four years.
What I intend to do as president of the United States is to challenge this global trading structure where corporations are actually controlling nations with their trade rules.
But here's what I can say to them: I will be a president who's on the side of workers in this country to provide the American worker with a fair playing field, to provide the American worker with a fair shot to be able to compete. Because that's not what they have today.
They have a president who's selling their jobs out to large corporations, whether it's the drug companies or the oil industry, who's not fighting for real people and the lives they lead on a daily basis.
I was at Midlands Community College today. Fritz Hollings helped create as governor a network of community colleges that are technical, that help train people.
This administration is backing off that kind of technical training. They turned around and gave $120 million of technical training, when they cut a billion dollars over the course of the last few years. That's like kicking down the barn door and saying, "Here are some twigs. Rebuild it."
I'm going to go to the tax code that's gone from 14 pages to 17,000 pages, and we're going to take out any benefit, any reward, any incentive, for any Benedict Arnold company or CEO to take American jobs overseas and stick the American people with the bill. And that's what we need to do.
: No, it's not the truth. We can have a real impact on the loss of jobs. We can do something to bring jobs back to replace the jobs that we've lost.
I've seen mills close, I've seen what it does to communities, I've seen what it does to families.
And all this talk among politicians in Washington about, "We're going to get you job retraining program, we're going to make sure that we give you the transportation to get to a new job," say that to a 50- or 55-year-old man who's been supporting his family his entire life working in a mill.
Just to get into this. What we've got is a runaway deficit in the United States of America right now. And what we need to do is take back to the federal government the resources we need.
This president has increased the deficit, has not increased jobs and is embracing the rich at the expense of working class and poor people.
Well, Tom, you don't cut the benefits to people that you've promised. You can do things to guarantee that you keep Medicare solvent, as we've done. We did that in the United States Congress. And we did it with respect to Social Security.
In addition to that, we did mental health parity. We did child care -- 5 million children have health insurance in this country. Some of them in Vermont were helped.
I actually introduced the bill to create that.
No. Because what Senator Clinton was proposing was really more HMOs, and the competition in the insurance industry caused so many people in the insurance industry to be afraid of it.
Let me tell you what the real issue is here.
America spends $1.6 trillion on health care. But all that money doesn't go for the care of people. About $400 billion goes for the activities of the for-profit system. There are people who are stuck, who have insurance, who have higher premiums, co-pays and deductibles regularly. They're asking, "Who's going to take care of me?"
And part of what that means is that I have the capacity not only to unite Democrats, but to get independents and disgruntled Republicans to come together so I can actually get elected and defeat George Bush.
But beyond that, it means that I have the capacity -- and my record over my career shows it -- to bring together people across party lines to get things done.
I'm sick and tired of the partisan reflex politics in Washington. The president's State of the Union, half the people stand up in Congress, half sit down. That's not good for America.
Promises when you're born a child in America, you get a membership card in MediKids, covers your insurance.
George Bush thinks all you've got to do is use your military power and it doesn't matter how much disrespect you show to the rest of the world. That's not the path to ultimate security.
What we should do is put a system in place -- and this is a new idea -- to keep cases that don't belong in the system out of the system.
I also think that the plans of my colleagues here -- some are more complex than others -- they're a step in the direction, but I don't think it gets us there. What gets us there is to have a single- payer plan.
I have more experience than anyone on this stage with fighting for corporate accountability. That's what we did for decades in the civil rights movement.
They want answers. They don't want our best shot at each other.
And my plan is a three-part plan. First of all, we're going to insure all children. That will be mandated, and we'll help the parents if they can't afford it.
And third, we're going to really do cost containment -- not only the provision that John  is talking about, but other provisions. We're going to have a health standards commission that's going to look at the evidence that comes in from the results of medical procedures.
So what we want to do is take the existing system, make it better, pull people under it. And then we'll see where that goes. But build on what we have. Don't try to replace it with something else.
: Because there are a whole group of issues, Tom, on which we can move the country forward, the president can move the country forward. For example, the recognition of partnership benefits, changing our immigration and adoption laws, so that they provide equality to gay and lesbian couples, a re-examination of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy with our military leadership.
There are fundamental things that we still haven't done, like passing of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would forever bar discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation. The same thing's true about hate crimes legislation that would make gays and lesbians a protected class.
There are enormous strides -- I see your hand sticking out, I'll stop -- but there are enormous strides, enormous strides that can be made in America, and as president, I will move us forward dramatically on these issues.
But I want to take a run at Senator Kerry and give him another rebuttal opportunity here, because he gave what I consider to be a real Washington answer to the last question about mental health. He claimed credit for the mental health parity bill and for helping children get health care.
Well, in South Carolina there is 102,000 kids with no health care. Do you have mental health parity? Because if you were in my state, you would. And I don't think what Senator Kerry was talking about has been very much help for the people of South Carolina or anyplace else.
With me, you'll get results, because I'm a governor and I've done it. And with Washington, no matter what they say, it never seems to trickle down to the people in South Carolina.
Fritz Hollings and I worked together to try to pass three different textile bills. We passed them to help the textile workers of South Carolina. They were vetoed by Republican presidents.
I have a message for them: We're coming. They're going. And don't let the door hit them on the way out.
And my presidency will be to take these hands and to put them on the country to help heal America. Because all these divisions that have arisen in this country, when you play on them, it just exacerbates it.
It is a shame that you will take young men and young women from South Carolina, send them abroad, they die under one American flag, they have to come home and live under two flags.
We get back to it with optimism. The same situation that I faced in New York City; when I became mayor of New York City, 65, 70 percent thought New York City was going on the wrong track. And what I did was, I set policies and programs of growth, of moving people toward prosperity, security, safety.
And what we can borrow from Ronald Reagan, since we are in his library, is that great sense of optimism that he had. He led by building on the strengths of America, not running America down.
We're a country that has the greatest health care system in the world. It's flawed, it needs to be fixed, but we should fix it from our strengths. We shouldn't turn it into socialized medicine.
I would need the support of the American people. I would need to be able to show them some success in Iraq, both on the battlefield as well as with the Maliki government. We have a new general; we have a new strategy. That strategy can succeed.
The young men and women who are serving are the best of America. I believe that if we bring about stability in the neighborhoods in Iraq and have the Maliki government govern, you are going to succeed.
My friends, when the majority leader of the United States Senate says we've lost the war, the men and women that are serving in Iraq reject that notion.
We must win in Iraq. If we withdraw, there will be chaos; there will be genocide; and they will follow us home.
Now I think it's on the right track. The war was terribly mismanaged. The war was terribly mismanaged and we now have to fix a lot of the mistakes that were made. Books have been written.
First, you have to support the troops. There's an undying bond in America that, any time an American soldier is in harm's way, we have to protect him.
And if you do so, the Shiites will elect Shiites. Sunnis will elect Sunnis. Kurds will elect Kurds. And you won't have this internecine civil war.
Yeah, very briefly, Chris, the key to winning in Iraq is standing up the Iraqi military. There are 129 battalions in the Iraqi army. We need to make sure that every one of those battalions moves into an operational setting, gets a three- or four-month military operation in a contentious zone.
With regards to Iraq, there are a lot of people that say, let's just get out. I want to get our troops home as soon as I possibly can. But, at the same time, I recognize we don't want to bring them out in such a precipitous way that we cause a circumstance that would require us to come back.
And that's something I think we need to convey into the Muslim world as well, that these are groups -- the Al Qaida group, the militant Islamic fascists -- they're trying to unseat moderate Muslim regimes.
And I think we need to engage those regimes -- regimes in Pakistan, regimes in Egypt -- as long as we also confront those regimes, like in Iran, that are the lead -- Iran is the lead sponsor of terrorism around the world. And we've got to be very confrontational and very aggressive there.
So it's to engage those that'll work with us, contain and confront those that won't, and convey that to the Muslim world.
So I would suggest that we should look at foreign policy. I'm suggesting very strongly that we should have a foreign policy of non- intervention, the traditional American foreign policy and the Republican foreign policy.
Throughout the 20th century, the Republican Party benefited from a non-interventionist foreign policy. Think of how Eisenhower came in to stop the Korean War. Think of how Nixon was elected to stop the mess in Vietnam.
Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. We all know that. Iran continues their efforts to build nuclear weapons. Iran is now exporting lethal IEDs and jihadists and suicide bombers into Iraq, killing American soldiers.
I believe the Iranians have got -- we have got to bring greater pressures, diplomatic, economic, political, join with our European allies who still fear greatly the effort of the cutoff of oil from -- into Europe.
The trip wire is that if they acquire these weapons -- and our intelligence tells us that this is a real threat to the state of Israel, to other states in the region.
That is the, ultimately, final option. And I don't think we can exercise it at this time.
During the Cold War -- and I served as...
On the subject of Osama bin Laden, he's responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Americans. He's now orchestrating other attacks on the United States of America. We will do whatever is necessary. We will track him down. We will capture him. We will bring him to justice, and I will follow him to the gates of hell.
Never given that a lot of thought, but with Arnold sitting there, I'll give it some thought, but probably not.
No, I don't intend to want to amend this Constitution in a variety of different ways, and this would be not a good start to do it that way.
When he called me up to endorse him, he got me on the phone, he said, "Will you endorse me?", and I was too afraid to say no.
Intimidating as he might be, I'm saying no.
And the American people are the greatest people in the world. What makes America the greatest nation in the world is the heart of the American people: hardworking, innovative, risk-taking, God- loving, family-oriented American people.
It's that optimism we thank Ronald Reagan for. Thank you, Mrs. Reagan, for opening up this place in his memory for us. It is that optimism about this great people that makes this the greatest nation on earth.
I believe that even our responsibility to God means that we have to be good stewards of this Earth, be good caretakers of the natural resources that don't belong to us, we just get to use them. We have no right to abuse them.
Well, I don't believe that the government of the United -- that the president of the United States should be putting forth a plan to do such a thing.
The reality is that technology and the advancement of technology in a variety of areas is going at a pace where I believe we can look forward to cures -- we can look forward to a variety of things that will allow us to cure diseases that today we do not have cures for.
It would be OK to repeal. It would be also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as precedent and I think a judge has to make that decision.
So I think the record is there. But my views -- my views are strongly and fundamentally believed and been held that way.
Well, I've always been personally pro-life, but for me, it was a great question about whether or not government should intrude in that decision. And when I ran for office, I said I'd protect the law as it was, which is effectively a pro-choice position.
You know, I told you that I'd studied at great length this issue. When I ran, I -- for the very first time, I told you that I was personally pro-life but that I would protect a woman's right to choose as the law existed.
And that stayed the same until two years ago, as I indicated.
I could, because I believe in the Ronald Reagan principle, that somebody that's with you 80 percent of the time is not your enemy, that's your friend and that's your ally. And this is a big coalition party. And it's a coalition party that's governed for a number of years in this country.
I know that I can. I want to be president of the United States to defeat our enemies and to work with our allies. I want to lead this nation.
I know how the world works. I know the good and evil in it. I've seen it. I know how the military works. I know what the military should do, and what it shouldn't do. And I know what it can do.
I know how to make Congress work, work for you and not for their re-election.
I want to be president of a proud, powerful...
So a strong national defense, the trademark of Ronald Reagan is what I would pursue.
I think it's important to remember that what Ronald Reagan did was to give us a vision for this country, a morning in America, a city on a hill. We were reminded that we are a great nation not because government is great; we're a great nation because people are great.
Chris, I want to go back, though, to say why we're a great nation. We are a culture of life. We celebrate, we elevate life. And let me just say, when hikers on Mt. Hood get lost, we move heaven and Earth to go find them. When coal miners in West Virginia are trapped in a mine, we go after them because we celebrate life.
I don't say anything to Roman Catholic bishops. They can do whatever the heck they want.
This is a nation which also comes together -- we unite over faith and over the right of people to worship as they choose.
I said, in general -- and I would say this tonight to any of us -- when a person says, "My faith doesn't affect my decision- making," I would say that the person is saying their faith is not significant to impact their decision process.
I tell people up front, "My faith does affect my decision process." It explains me. No apology for that. My faith says, "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you..."
I didn't hear it on George Stephanopoulos. But I can tell you this: Of course everyone who's a person of faith has values that are deeply held in their heart, and they include the value of the relationship they have with their spouse and their children, the value that they place with their country and with their community.
And we're a nation of faith. As my colleague, Senator Lieberman, a Jew, says, America is a faith-based experiment as a country. We should celebrate and invite faith.
You know, it's a way to win, but we need to win the right way. And about 100 miles south of here, in my town of San Diego, we build the border fence. When we built that fence, we had a border out of control, and we built that fence. And it's a double fence. It's not that little scraggly fence you see on CNN with everybody getting over it.
One way to bring down crime in the state of California and every state in the union is to have an enforceable border.
What's important to this nation and to this party is the acquisition of the philosophy and values that we are as Republicans.
I'm a consistent conservative that keeps his word and does what he says that he's going to do.
Neither party has a monopoly on virtue or vice. That's just a fallacy that we sometimes fall into. If we're going to win, and we're going to govern after we win, we have to reach out, bring in Democrats, bring in independents.
And I had 45 Democrats and I think six Republicans.
And I'm the one that started welfare reform, reduced the welfare caseload in the United States and the state of Wisconsin by 93 percent.
And I believe that kind of a record will attract Democrats and independents, if you stand up and start talking on principles and ideas.
I mean, what I would hope to do is to lead by example, lead ethically, lead in rebuilding the family and in renewing the culture.
Look, we're standing in a place dedicated to a man who we would not call a centrist, who was able to win this state. He was also able to win the presidency, twice. Why? Because he believed in principles, he articulated them, and he put them into effect. He had heart. We know it. We saw it. The American people saw it, and they respected that.
In return, they were supposed to give a spectrum that was going to be reserved for the first responders.
And by the way, I received an e-mail recently from a guy who said, "As a former drunken sailor, I resent being compared to members of Congress."
I'm sorry. The first pork-barrel bill that crosses my desk, I'm going to veto it and make the authors of those pork-barrel items famous all over America. We're going to stop it.
Line-item veto is the best tool. President Reagan sought it, and we need it very badly.
And so you can fight, for instance, to make sure that partial-birth abortion is made illegal. You can fight to have information given to women who are thinking about having an abortion. You can fight to make sure that there's opportunities for people to express their views on this topic openly and near abortion clinics.
That kind of stuff has got to be taken away from the political debate, as far as I'm concerned, so people can understand exactly who is where on this incredibly important issue.
Well, I'm happy to say that we've been working very hard for a couple of months with Democrats and Republicans, led by the president and his Cabinet, to come up with a comprehensive solution and resolution of this terrible problem.
I think we can do that. We need to take taxes down to zero for the alternative energy sources. We need to make sure that all the licensing from our laboratories that goes to the private sector goes to the American manufacturing sector for these energy systems.
My major decision, political decision, which was a constitutional decision, was to urge for (inaudible) years that this country not go to war in Iraq.
And that means that we have to let the courts and the juries make decisions based upon all of those matters. When I was prosecutor -- I was an elected prosecutor -- I had to address these issues all the time. And the fact is, that we just simply have to have the law apply in an appropriate way.
Altered nuclear transfer creates embryo-like cells that can be used for stem cell research. In my view, that's the most promising source. I have a deep concern about curing disease.
I have a wife that has a serious disease that could be affected by stem cell research and others. But I will not -- I will not create new embryos through cloning or through embryo farming, because that will be creating life for the purpose of destroying it.
I'm happy to allow that to -- or I shouldn't say happy. It's fine for that to be allowed, to be legal. I won't use our government funds for that. Instead, I want our governments to be used on Dr. Hurlbut's method, which is altered nuclear transfer.
It will not, with all due respect to Mrs. Reagan and her desires here. I've studied this matter a great deal. We are curing and healing people with adult stem cells.
We can't create people in order to experiment with people.
I want to thank Mrs. Reagan for the many kindnesses extended to me many -- and my fellow prisoners of war many years ago when we came home to this wonderful state.
Programs like this are not authorized under the Constitution.
So I would support it with those limitations, like Senator Coleman's bill in Congress.
Now, I know there's some people that don't like it, but when it came time to vote, you know, we won 198-2. The Heritage Foundation worked on it with us. We had people on both sides of the aisle.
We didn't expand government programs. We didn't raise taxes. There was no government takeover. The market can work to solve our health care needs, and that's the great, exciting news. And 27 other states are working on health care reform right now. It's a great program, a great opportunity for the entire country.
Because in the proposal that I had, there were significant tax cuts. And the thing that bothered me was that there was no provision to start addressing Social Security or a contingency.
And as I started to say before, the first pork barrel earmark bill that crosses my desk as president of the United States, I'm going to veto it and I'm going to make the authors of it famous.
I like middle-income Americans to be able to save their money and not have to pay any tax at all on interests, dividends or capital gains. And by the way, we're all talking about...
A zero rate on capital gains for middle-income Americans. And by the way, we're all talking about how anxious we are to veto overspending. I was a governor. I've done it hundreds of times. I can't wait to get my hands on Washington's budget.
You know, Chris, I've been a governor of Virginia. I ran on a tax cut proposal, and I ran on eliminating the car tax in Virginia. I received terrific opposition to doing that. I kept my word, kept my promise, and we eliminated that car tax. Now, the question is, who is actually going to do what they say they're going to do? Where have you been is where you're going to go, and I have actually lived up to my word.
And the answer is, the alternative minimum tax, which is continuing to drive people in the middle class into higher and higher tax brackets (ph).
Well, I cut taxes 94 times as governor, but I realize tinkering with it doesn't work.
I'd overhaul it. I would work for the fair tax, which meets the four criteria: flatter, fairer, finite, family friendly. We'd get rid of the IRS. We're get rid of all capital gains, income, corporate. And we'd have a consumption tax.
I think the biggest problem we've got in America is the alternative minimum tax that's bringing more middle-income people in. Let's put it in -- let's have the people have a flat tax and have the option of paying whichever is least.
The alternative minimum tax is obviously eating Americans alive, and it's got to be repealed.
And a simpler, flatter, fair tax so that Americans don't have to spend $140 billion, as they just did last April, to prepare their tax returns.
In my second week, I would get rid of the inflation tax. It's a tax that nobody talks about.
We have to adjust the AMT. That has to be reduced. We have to get rid of the death tax, which is going to go to zero in 2010, which is going to create an incentive -- I can't imagine what kind of an incentive it's going to create.
And I would look to try to regularize the rates and look for some marginal reduction, even beyond what we're doing right now.
And all this talk about vetoing spending bills and how that's going to solve our problem -- let me tell you, my friends, you can veto all the spending bills you want. You will not touch the deficit until you actually deal with the structural problem in mandatory spending.
That's where all the money is. You can veto every one of the bills that come to you as discretionary funding, including the military, if you want.
And I'll tell you what, I'd go to corporate America, I'd go to Silicon Valley and I'd say to John Chambers, who's a billionaire, "You've made your money. Now come. Come and serve. Come and serve this country."
Yes. Really well: Precision munitions on Mr. Zarqawi's safe house.
I think that's the heart of the Republican Party: the American family. The American family is seeing an explosion in out-of-wedlock births. We've got great single moms doing their very best. But we have to encourage moms and dads, because the best work, the most critical work for the future of America is the work that goes on within the four walls of the American home. We've got to help the American family and get more marriages before babies.
No, I have not tried to say I'm the only real conservative in the race, but I have tried to say that I am a consistent conservative and someone that you can count on, something that isn't going to say one thing one year and another thing another year and flip and flop and change around.
I governed as a conservative. I was a alternate delegate for Ronald Reagan to the Kansas City convention back in 1976. So I have been consistent all throughout. And I'm someone that people can count on as a conservative.
But I trust the Internet a lot more, and I trust the freedom of expression. And that's why we should never interfere with the Internet. That's why I've never voted to regulate the Internet. Even when there's the temptation to put bad things on the Internet, regulation of bad and good on the Internet should be done differently.
And that is taken in and that's taken forward. I've served on the International Relations Committee. I have worked on these issues. I've carried bills concerning Sudan. I've carried bills concerning Congo. I've carried bills concerning North Korea and Iran and Iraq.
The only way I could turn around a city like New York, that was considered the crime capital of America and turn it into the safest large city in America, is to kind of inculcate some of that Ronald Reagan optimism and look to try to create results that people thought were impossible, and we did.
And we win as a party when we run on ideas, big ideas and principles. And you're seeing these articulated here, and that's why we're going to win in 2008. It's going to be on principles and ideas and big ideas, how we lead.
That's criminal. It's wrong. And if Republicans don't stop it, we don't deserve to win in 2008.
The reproductive choice part of that, if I heard you correctly, is a reference to abortion. The right to kill another person is not a right that I would agree with and support.
There's been over 3,000 that have been lost and several thousand that have been injured. And the truth of the matter is, is that we have to do everything we possibly can to give our troops the necessary dollars, the resources, the weaponry and the armed forces, in order to be able to protect themselves.
It's a bond that every American has with our armed forces. Any time an American soldier's in harm's way, we have to do everything, as our country, to protect them.
I think that's critical to having immigration security. Every single person in this country who comes in from a foreign country should be identified, should be in a database. It should be a tamper-proof card.
So the very, very best way to sensibly create security is to have a tamper-proof card, a database, and then kind of back up from that -- well, how do we get there? That would allow for a fence, a technological fence, border patrol, having people come forward. People who are paying taxes or who want to pay taxes...
The purpose of government is to protect the secrecy and the privacy of all individuals, not the secrecy of government. We don't need a national ID card.
That is absolutely what I'm saying. It's got to be verifiable, absolutely.
I don't think somebody who is running for president, let alone someone who is president, should make that decision until the judicial process is complete. I can tell you that I think it was outrageous for the prosecutor, knowing that Scooter Libby was not the source of the leak, to go ahead and begin interviewing him, gathering information, setting up a case against him.
And by the way, the national ID card -- that's for aliens, not for citizens.
Let the legal process move forward, and I'd leave that up to President Bush. And I think he could go either way on that.
At this point in time, I would leave that up to the president, if at the end of the term, he decides to let him out.
Not yet. Like others, I think that we have to deal with these papers, with respect to illegal immigrants, not with respect to all Americans. We should not have a national ID card. We should have that more diffused across the states.
I'd say pardon him. But right after or before you pardon him, Ramos and Compean -- two people who are presently serving prison time for actually doing their job on the border...
I think we should generally make the family make a decision of this nature.
I think the Congress's job is to make sure that laws are respecting the sanctity of life. But to actually adjudicate a case like this, better done at the state level by the governor...
And her life is sacred. Even if it's in that difficult moment that she's in at that point in time, that life is sacred, and we should stand for life in all its circumstances.
It was a very difficult issue. All of us were deeply moved by the pictures and the depiction of this terrible, tragic case. In retrospect, we should have taken some more time, looked at it more carefully, and probably we acted too hastily.
So I have to be honest with you, I think it'd be an awful thing for a lot of reasons.
No one on this stage probably knows Hillary Clinton better than I do...
And we certainly should not elect any Democrat to the White House. One of us here should be the next president.
Most importantly, it would mean that the appointment of Supreme Court justices and other judges would be -- take a very sharp turn to the left.
One of our greatest problems in America today is justices that legislate from the bench, activist judges.
I know that he is presently measuring the drapes over in the Oval Office...
I think we're each our own person. We have our own values.
And finally, strengthen the American family. That's what we've got to do.
You know, Chris, this campaign is about the national security of the United States. And there are at least four things that need to be done.
We need to be vigorous on the war on terror, and we need to draw other people across the world to us as we address it.
You know, we won World War II, World War I and the Cold War with a major industrial base. We're losing our industrial base through bad trade policy right now. China is cheating on trade.
I think we've got to push a political solution, along with the military, to get to a stable situation in Iraq, which is our key political issue of the day.
We haven't been. I believe we had a president who made the right decision at the right time on September 20th, 2001, to put us on offense against terrorists. I think history will remember him for that. And I think we as Republicans should remind people of that.
I would work very hard to protect the privacy of American citizens, being very, very cautious about warrantless searches. And I would guarantee that I would never abuse habeas corpus.
Well, Brian, at the outset, let me say that the American people have spoken. The Congress has voted, as of today, to end this war. And now we can only hope that the president will listen.
And I think that is exactly what the American people want. This is not America's war to win or lose. We have given the Iraqi people the chance to have freedom, to have their own country. It is up to them to decide whether or not they're going to take that chance.
And it is past time for them to demonstrate that they are willing to make the sacrifice, the compromise that is necessary to put together a unified government and provide security and stability without our young men and women in the middle of their sectarian civil war.
Well, Brian, I am proud that I opposed this war from the start, because I thought that it would lead to the disastrous conditions that we've seen on the ground in Iraq.
But the American people have said, Republicans and Democrats, that it's time to end this war.
I was in New Hampshire, talking to a woman at a townhall meeting. She started crying, standing up, saying, "I can't breathe. My nephew's been sent to Iraq."
And, when I listen to mothers and father all across the country, they are telling me it's time for us to come home.
I'm proud of the fact that I put forward a plan in January that mirrors what Congress ultimately adopted.
And it says there's no military solution to this. We've got to have a political solution, begin a phased withdrawal, and make certain that we've got benchmarks in place so that the Iraqi people can make a determination about how they want to move forward.
No, I think that's a question for the conscience of anybody who voted for this war. I mean, Senator Clinton and anyone else who voted for this war has to search themselves and decide whether they believe they've voted the right way. If so, they can support their vote.
If they believe they didn't, I think it's important to be straightforward and honest, because I think one of the things we desperately need in our next president is someone who can restore the trust bond between the American people and the president of the United States. Because I think that trust has been devastated over the last six years.
Well, Brian, I take responsibility for my vote. Obviously, I did as good a job I could at the time. It was a sincere vote based on the information available to me.
And I've said many times that, if I knew then what I now know, I would not have voted that way.
They were under no obligation to give George Bush any money at all. The money's in the pipeline to bring the troops home. And that's exactly what ought to be done, at this moment.
I have a plan, H.R. 1234, a plan to end the war in Iraq, which calls on the international community to provide peacekeepers and security forces that will move in as our troops leave. But we can't do that until we determine we're going to end the occupation. And we will do that when we stop the funding.
One, a political framework led by the United States where the three religious entities in Iraq have a coalition government, divide oil revenues and possible set up three separate entities.
They're going to be tough, and we should be tough with them. But we have to have an international peacekeeping effort.
I don't think the stakes have ever been higher for us as a country. We're more vulnerable today. We're far less secure. We're more isolated in the world as a result of this policy. This is a failed policy.
Our troops have been heroic. And certainly we'd all make sure that whatever they needed they would get.
We need to find another way. I really would like to sit down with Pelosi and with Reid, and I would hope the other senators would focus on, how do you get out? You pass the law, not a resolution, a law making it a felony to stay there. And I'll give you the text of it.
Now, if the president is not going to sign the bill that has been sent to him, then what we have to do is gather up 16 votes in order to override his veto.
Well, I think that what Barack said is right. I mean, part of our challenge is to put together the political support throughout the country, particularly within the Republican Party to join with us to bring an end to this war. You know, it sounds simple to say it, but it is more difficult to achieve it.
And the problem is that the president seems determined not to change course, despite the fact that we are not gaining ground.
But I have a track record of bringing people around this new kind of politics, since I was in the state legislature.
A lot of us do. But it's not where I come from. And I've not forgotten where I come from.
Many people in the audience and the viewing audience know that my dad worked in textile mills all his life, and I can remember vividly -- my dad is here tonight. I was born here in South Carolina. I can remember vividly my dad after church once Sunday, when I was about 10 years old, taking us -- it's our whole family -- into a restaurant. I was dressed up.
I was very proud to be there, and we sat, got our menus, looked at the menus, and the waitress came over and my father said, "I'm sorry, we have to leave." I didn't understand. "Why? Why do we have to leave?" And I was embarrassed. I found out when we got outside the reason we had to leave is he couldn't pay the prices that were on the menu.
The reason I'm running for president of the United States is so that everybody in this country can have the same kind of chances I've had.
And I think those people in New York who work in financial markets understand -- in some ways, at least -- what can be done and can play a significant role in trying to lift people up who are struggling.
I am proud of what I've been doing for the last few years. You know, I've been all over the country, organizing workers into unions and raising the minimum wage, and also working at a poverty center at the University of North Carolina.
Well, I think that America is a great place because we have an entrepreneurial economy. We have people who are willing to make stakes and new enterprises and invest their money.
Obviously, for me, it's exciting to represent both New York City, the global capital market leader, and yet I also represent a big state where there are a lot of poor people and people who have no access to health care. They don't have access to affordable college. They're worried about their futures.
Now, what I said, too, Brian, was that I wanted to await Alberto Gonzales's testimony before the U.S. Senate, before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
I think the American people want candor. They don't want blow- dried candidates with perfection. That was the reason I held back. I did call for his resignation.
Well, first of all, I am very proud to come from a family that served in public service. My father was a prosecutor in Nuremberg; was active in helping start the civil rights division at the Justice Department; tried cases, in fact, in South Carolina in the '40s.
Public service is something we take great pride in my family. And certainly, I am proud of my experience, having served in the House and the Senate for the past 26 years.
We have already talked a bit about campaign finance reform. I've been a long advocate of public financing of campaigns. I believe this is one of the great threats to our country; that not enough people are qualified and want to seek public office.
Certainly, until the law changes, you have to do what you can to raise the resources.
I think tonight's debate is going to help change that, Brian, because I think when people understand not only that I opposed the war from the start, but I opposed the idea of using war as a matter of policy. I don't think it reflects America's greatness, and I also think that this process -- this isn't "American Idol" here.
Apologies aren't enough, because we've had 3,333 Americans die. Perhaps as many as over 650,000 innocent Iraqis die. People are looking for a president who has the wisdom to make the right choices about America's security and who also has the integrity to be able to take a stand that may be unpopular.
Then, about six months later, you say, "How the hell did the rest of them get here?"
And I got to tell you, after standing up with them, some of these people frighten me -- they frighten me. When you have mainline candidates that turn around and say that there's nothing off the table with respect to Iran, that's code for using nukes, nuclear devices.
I got to tell you, I'm president of the United States, there will be no preemptive wars with nuclear devices. To my mind, it's immoral, and it's been immoral for the last 50 years as part of American foreign policy.
Well, I would say the top tier ones. The top tier ones. They've made statements.
Oh, Joe, I'll include you, too. You have a certain arrogance. You want to -- you want to tell the Iraqis how to run their country.
I got to tell you, we should just plain get out -- just plain get out.
It's their country. They're asking us to leave. And we insist on staying there.
And you know what's worse than a soldier dying in vain? It's more soldiers dying in vain. That's what's worse.
But, from my perspective, it may have something to do with the fact that I have stood up for what I've believed in.
You know, I think that most Americans recognize that this is a profoundly difficult issue for the women and families who make these decisions. They don't make them casually.
And I trust women to make these decisions in conjunction with their doctors and their families and their clergy.
Now, when you describe a specific procedure that accounts for less than 1 percent of the abortions that take place, then naturally, people get concerned, and I think legitimately so.
Number two, that's why I was so outspoken and have been criticized for being outspoken and leading the effort to try to defeat Roberts and Alito. That's why I opposed, the other, Thomas on the court.
But, what this court did is it took that decision, and it said -- put a Trojan horse in -- through dishonest reasoning, laid the groundwork for undoing Roe v. Wade.
That's the danger of this decision. Not the specific procedure, but the rationale offered to justify, I think, the next step they're going to try to take.
Any of my appointments to the high court would necessarily reflect my thinking. I don't know how it could be otherwise. I intend to be a president who's a healer, who understands that this country has been put in a debate that has torn it apart.
No. I'm disappointed terribly by the decision that he reached the other day, because he did something he said he wouldn't do. He said during his confirmation hearings that he would uphold precedent. That was a very important answer he gave to me. I did not have the same degree of satisfaction when Justice Alito made a similar statement.
And what he did, of course, is walk away from the woman's health. For 34 years, the woman's health has been a major consideration on this issue since Roe versus Wade was first decided.
And to deviate from that, to me, was a major, major setback here. I happen to believe a woman has a right to choose. I've voted that way and done that, supported that for the 26 years I've been in the United States Senate.
Well, I would mention Justice Brennan, but you've excluded him...
And I would agree with the choice made by -- Justice Ginsburg. I think she was eloquent in her dissent in this opinion, and certainly someone that I would -- I would respect.
You know, I remember very well when I accompanied Bill to Columbine after that massacre and met with the family members of those who had been killed and talked with the students, and feeling that we had to do more to try to keep guns out of the hands of the criminal and of the mentally unstable.
And during the Clinton administration, that was a goal -- not to, in any way, violate people's Second Amendment rights, but to try to limit access to people who should not have guns.
You're right, Brian. I'm a Westerner. I'm a governor of New Mexico. The Second Amendment is precious in the West. But I want to just state for the record, a vast, vast majority of gun owners are law-abiding.
This is an issue that deals with two fundamental problems in our system right now.
The first is mental illness. We should ensure that all federal and state initiatives deal with making sure those with mental illnesses cannot get a gun.
I've worked with law enforcement for the past 30 years, deal with getting around with armor-piercing bullets, waiting periods, et cetera.
I would get rid of George Bush's tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 a year. But I want to say, this is an example -- we've had a lot of discussion tonight -- not a great deal of discussion so far about the substance of the very specific ideas that each of us have on big issues.
I'm proud of the fact that I have a very specific universal health care plan which I think is different than some others on the stage who are running for president.
And we can provide subsidies for those who can't afford the group rates that are available.
The second thing I think that we're going to have to do is make sure that we control costs. We spend $2 trillion on health care in this country every year, 50 percent more than other industrialized nations. And yet, we don't have, necessarily, better outcomes.
Well, let me start by saying that all of the ideas that you're going to hear about in this campaign are very important to get out to the public so that people can actually think about them, examine how they would affect their lives because I do have the experience of having put forth a plan, with many of the features that John and Barack just mentioned.
Well, I'm ready to try again, and there's three things we've got to do. We've got to control and decrease costs for everyone. This is not just about the uninsured.
Yes, we have nearly 47 million, but we've got many millions more who have an insurance policy that they can barely afford and that they can't get the treatments they need under it. We have to cover everybody but we've got to improve quality.
We can save money within the existing system. I am not ready to put new money into a system that doesn't work until we've tried to figure out how to get the best outcomes from the money we already have.
If we had a health information system where doctors and nurses could share information about health care, we would save billions of dollars.
But my plan, I believe, would focus on prevention. We need to focus more on deterring these diseases, like...
I've just grown up. I'm the senior statesman on here, and I was beginning to feel like a potted plant standing over here.
Well, my wife, who is here, may have a longer list..
Overestimating the competence of this administration and underestimating the arrogance. I really thought, working with the secretary of state and with other Republicans, I could impact on George Bush's thinking.
And that was absolutely not within my capacity.
One instance: In New Mexico, I desperately wanted a year ago to increase the minimum wage to $7.50. And instead of pursuing diplomacy, for which I'm known for, instead of consultation, I tried to ram it through my legislature.
After 9/11, we've got to know who's in this country. And then giving them a chance to pay a fine, pay back taxes, learn English and stand in line to be eligible for a legal status in this country.
In those very nations named, a teacher makes as much as an engineer. If we want the best students in the world, we need the best teachers in the world.
Well, not necessarily. I think the country gets uneasy about going around and testing us all the time. We're over-tested, in some cases, already as it is.
The problem with our health care system -- premiums, co-pays and deductibles which, for profit insurance companies, run through the roof. I'm the cosponsor of the Conyers-Kucinich bill, H.R. 676, provides for universal, not-for-profit health care, takes that $2.2 trillion and puts it all into health care for people. We are already paying for a universal system of health care.
I'd ask the American people to sacrifice in so doing.
We also have to look east, because increasingly, the center of gravity in this world is shifting to Asia. Japan has been an outstanding ally of ours for many years.
But, obviously, China is rising and it's not going away.
Israel has been one of our most important allies around the world. It's the only established democracy in the Middle East. It's the linchpin of much of our efforts in the Middle East.
But the United States has to get engaged in this region. And that's something that this president has not done. That's something that I intend to do.
The biggest threat to the United States is, right now, North Korea.
That's the logic of this administration. That's why we've lost respect all over the world.
We have no important enemies. What we need to do is to begin to deal with the rest of the world as equals. And we don't do that.
Who are you afraid of, Brian? I'm not. And Iraq has never been a threat to us. We invaded them. I mean, it is unbelievable. The military industrial complex not only controls our government, lock, stock and barrel, but they control our culture.
I think for that to occur, the world has to see America as a force for good again, which is why I talked about making -- leading an effort to make primary school education available to 100 million children in the world who don't have it, in the Muslim world, in Africa, in Latin America.
Number one, I want them to control some of the loose nuclear weapons in their domain.
Number three, I'd want them to be a stable source of energy for this country.
Why is it that America does not care about Africa, about genocide, about issues relating to enormous amount of deaths that are brought forth by international poverty?
Well, Brian, I think that, as a senator from New York, it is something that I have worked on very hard ever since 9/11 -- to try to convince the administration to do those things that would make us safer. And I think there's a big disconnect between the rhetoric and the reality.
And I think that this administration has consistently tried to hype the fear without delivering on the promise of making America safer.
So I hope that we can put that myth to rest. It is certainly something I will try to do during the campaign.
Well, that's a great question, Brian, because it's a myth in the sense when you consider what this administration has done over six years, given the attacks we faced on 9/11.
Here our first responders are not getting the support they deserve, the administration has been resistant in supporting them; the war in Iraq, rather than dealing with the Taliban in Afghanistan where our efforts should have been over the last number of years; not building the kind of international support -- stateless terrorism is a multinational problem. It's a tactic.
I'd open up relations with Syria and Iran, and all those nations that need the United States to say we want to talk. And I'd also put right on the front of the agenda peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, because I can -- I can play an even-handed role in moving -- in reaching out to bring those peoples together.
The second thing is to make sure that we've got good intelligence, a., to find out that we don't have other threats and attacks potentially out there, and b., to find out, do we have any intelligence on who might have carried it out so that we can take potentially some action to dismantle that network.
But what we can't do is then alienate the world community based on faulty intelligence, based on bluster and bombast. Instead, the next thing we would have to do, in addition to talking to the American people, is making sure that we are talking to the international community.
Because as already been stated, we're not going to defeat terrorists on our own. We've got to strengthen our intelligence relationships with them, and they've got to feel a stake in our security by recognizing that we have mutual security interests at stake.
I believe -- and this goes to the question you asked earlier, just a few minutes ago -- global war on terror. I think there are dangerous people and dangerous leaders in the world that America must deal with and deal with strongly.
But we have more tools available to us than bombs.
Well, again, having been a senator during 9/11, I understand very well the extraordinary horror of that kind of an attack and the impact that it has, far beyond those that are directly affected.
If we are attacked, and we can determine who is behind that attack, and if there are nations that supported or gave material aid to those who attacked us, I believe we should quickly respond.
We've spent a lot of time talking about Iraq here tonight and America's role in the world. This country was taken into war based on lies. This country was taken into war based on lies about weapons of mass destruction and Al Qaida's role with respect to Iraq, which there wasn't one at the time we went in.
And this vice president violated this Constitution.
So I think that while my friends on this stage may not be ready to take this stand, the American people should know that there's at least one person running for president who wants to reconnect America with its goodness, with its greatness, with its highest principles, which currently are not being reflected by those who are in the White House.
Well, I always begin this question, Brian, by asking people to consider what they would do in the case of their own children. I have two very young daughters who one day may have a different sexual orientation than their parents.
How would I like them treated as adults? What kind of housing, what kind of homes, what kind of jobs, what kind of retirement would they be allowed to have?
We also have legislation in requiring we invest $100 million a year for the next couple of years while this president is president in order to be able to find lithium battery technology to be able to power our cars.
But you have to be willing to make multi-billion dollar investments over the next 10 years and set hard goals in order to be able to get to the point where we are no longer dependent.
I have to answer a fundamental question that requires a presidential answer, and that is -- I think you said if two of our cities were attacked, what would I do?
But the reality is that we should be planning for a post-Castro Cuba, and that means re-evaluating the embargo. That means also finding ways that we ensure that Cuba becomes democratic, with trade unionism, with free elections.
The Republicans, who are charging Democrats about not going for the defense of this country, my God, this invasion brought about more terrorists. Osama bin Laden must have been rolling in his blankets...
My good friend, Senator Obama, that's a very provocative statement. You previously said that all options are on the table with respect to Iran.
I think it's important that we move away from global warming and global warring. And the connection is oil. We're in Iraq for oil. We're looking at attacking Iran for oil.
... we will continue to repeat this sorry cycle.
I understand that, but they're in the process of developing it. And I don't think that's disputed by any expert.
There is no contradiction between us taking seriously the need, as you do, to want to strengthen our alliances around the world -- but I think it is important for us to also recognize that if we have nuclear proliferators around the world that potentially can place a nuclear weapon into the hands of terrorists, that is a profound security threat for America and one that we have to take seriously.
And you know something? Who is the greatest violator of the non- proliferation treaty? The United States of America. We signed a pledge that we would begin to disarm, and we're not doing it. We're expanding our nukes.
My Lord is important to me. I go to Him in prayer every day and ask for both forgiveness and counsel.
My wife, who I think is the finest human being I have ever known, is a source of great conscience for me.
My father, who raised me to believe that every human being on the planet, no matter who they are or where they live or what the color of their skin or what family they were born into, has exactly the same value.
I think that those are the people who have had the most influence on my view of morality and my responsibility, no matter what's happened to me, to stand up for those who have no one to speak for them.
You know, this is all part, though, of how this administration and corporate America today don't see middle class and working Americans. They are invisible. They don't understand that if you're a family that can't get health care, you are really hurting.
Well, if you're voting for George Bush, you'd be very interested in knowing the answer to that. If you're voting for
Mitt Romney, you'd like to know are you better off in Massachusetts after four years of my term in office, and the answer would be decidedly yes.
Nevertheless, this president did pull us out of a deep recession. He put in place two tax cuts, which did get the -- your country out of a recession and helped rebuild the country.
And as a result, we get people that feel there needs to be a change in Washington, and that's something I represent.
But let's have some straight talk. Things are tough right now. Americans are uncertain of -- of this housing crisis. Americans are uncertain about the economy as we see the stock market bounce up and down. But more importantly, the economy, particularly in some parts of the country, the state of Michigan, where Governor Romney and I campaigned -- not to my success, I might add -- and other parts of the country are probably better off.
But look, I think what we're trying to do to fix this economy is important. We've got to address the housing subprime -- housing problem. We need to obviously have this package go through the Congress as quickly as possible. We need to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which I voted for twice to do so. I think we need to eliminate the alternate minimum tax that sits out there and challenges 25 million American families.
And the real issue though -- let's not blame President Bush for all of this. We've got a Congress who's sat around on their hands and done nothing but spend a lot of money, and their spending, leaving us $9 trillion in debt, that we're passing on to our grandchildren. I don't blame the president solely for that.
And I think what Americans are looking for is somebody who's just honest with them and straight with them, and tell them that, no, it's not better and it's not going to get better unless we have some serious leadership in Washington that says that we're going to have to start having policies that touch the people not just at the top, but the people at the bottom, and they feel like they're invisible to a lot of people in government today.
And the standard of living is going down today. But it's going down, and the middle class is hurting because of the monetary policy. When you destroy a currency, the middle class gets wiped out. Poor countries don't even have middle classes. We used to have one, and they're on the ropes right now. But it has to do with a fiscal policy, monetary policy and foreign policy of way too much spending. But it took a lot of years for us to get here. The people in this country have been begging for a change in direction, and they haven't had it.
So, for instance, he's opposed to drilling in ANWR, I believe.
It basically says Americans are going to pay for the cost of global warming, not the Chinese and Indians and so forth.
Let me note that I was endorsed by your two hometown newspapers, who know you best.
Including the very conservative Boston Herald, who know --
But the point is that I'm proud of the people that have surrounded me and are supporting people, and whether they come from one part of the spectrum or the other, strong conservatives are ones who are supporting me. And I'm proud of their support, and I'll rely on people to judge me by the company that I keep.
Okay. (Chuckles.) I got a little work to do here. Let me -- let me help you with the facts here, Senator.
With regards to fees, we raised fees $240 million, not $730 million. Facts are stubborn things. We audited our fee increase, because, of course, we cared.
These were not broad-based fees for things getting your driver's license or your license plate for your car, but instead something like the cost of a sign on the interstate and how much it was going to cost to publish a McDonald's or Burger King sign on the -- on the interstate. We went from like $200 a sign to $2,000 a sign, to raise money for our state in a way that was consistent with what the market had done over the ensuing years.
And let's see. Oh, with regards to my health care plan, you know, a lot of people talk about health care. I'm the only one that got the job done. I got health insurance for all our citizens. We had 460,000 people without insurance. We got 300 of them -- 300,000 of them signed up for insurance now. I'm proud of what we accomplished.
And I want to make sure everybody understands, this isn't a two- man race. There's another guy, I would like to say, down here on the far right of the stage. You want to talk conservative credentials?
I created the first-ever broad-based tax cuts in the 160-year history of my state, when I became governor, with a 90 percent Democrat legislature. I also balanced a budget every one of the 10- and-a-half years. The only person that's sitting here today that has consistently supported a human life amendment, that's been part of our Republican platform since 1980, and also supports a marriage amendment to our Constitution -- two conservative hallmarks.
I believe in less government. I believe in lower taxes, not higher.
I think it's important to streamline the federal government, like we streamlined some services in Arkansas. Simple things like getting a driver's car tag, because it used to take a couple of days and about seven pieces of paper. We streamlined it so it could be done on the Internet in 4-1/2 minutes. We consolidated state agencies. We cut 11 percent out of the budget.
One of the things that Rush Limbaugh once praised me for was creating what I call the no -- the Tax Me More fund. The way that worked was that we had a lot of people in our legislature wanted us to raise taxes, and I said we don't need to raise taxes, we need to cut our spending. And so I created a fund called the Tax Me More fund.
I said, there's nothing in the law that says that you can't just pay more if you want to. And I had envelopes printed. And I said, anybody who wants to pay more taxes, just fill it up with whatever will make you feel better, and send it right in.
Well, let's talk about each. I mentioned fees, and I think it's appropriate if the state is providing a service to someone -- that's not a requirement to have a car or a driver's license, but instead, let's say, we're going to be taking out a oil tank from your backyard because it's leaking into the ground and the state's going to provide that service, that to charge a fee sufficient to do so makes a lot of sense. And so the fees ought to be adjusted from time to time to compose the amount of what the cost of providing that service, and if there hasn't been a fee raise in a couple of decades, you probably have some inflation in there you ought to adjust for.
Well, and with some physical danger, I have to agree -- (laughter) -- with -- with the governor.
I applaud the governor's efforts, and that of other states in this region, and other states across America, to try to eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change.
But suppose we do nothing. Suppose we do nothing and we don't eliminate this $400 billion dependence we have on foreign oil. Some of that money goes to terrorist organizations and also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Then what kind of a world have we given our children?
We are -- we are feeling here in California pollution from China. It is a global issue and we have to address it globally. And I would not agree to any global agreement without India and China being part of it.
But I want to assure you that we have an obligation to try to stem this greenhouse gas emissions, and one of the ways is through use of nuclear power. The French generate 80 percent of their electricity with nuclear power. I think that -- by the way, we now have a pro- American president of France, which shows if you live long enough, anything is possible in this world. (Laughter.)
People all over this country care. And we have to address this issue. We can do it. The greatness and strength of America is in our innovative capability and our abiity to develop these green technologies. General Electric, the world's largest corporation, is committed to green technologies. We can do it.
Well, I said with states to be able to make their own regulations with regards to emissions within their own states.
It's the genius of our founding fathers, when they had the idea of federalism. Thomas Jefferson was right, and Alexander Hamilton was wrong. That debate, we thought, was settled. But we've got a federal government that wants to give us unfunded mandates at the state level and doesn't want us to experiment with ideas in good government that might solve a lot of the problems that our country faces.
But one thing that hasn't been emphasized here that should be emphasized when we're dealing with the environment and -- and gashouse -- you know, greenhouse gases is property rights. We -- we neglected during the Industrial Revolution property rights, and governments and big corporations got together and colluded. And that's what has to be reversed. You have to emphasize the property rights.
Well, if we end up with the rebates, we're going to borrow the $150 billion from China. And when we turn it into rebates, most people are going to go out and buy some consumables, like a pair of shoes that they probably don't even need, but they're going to buy them, and they're most likely an import from China. My point is, whose economy are we stimulating when we do that?
The Heritage Foundation did a pretty interesting study on past rebates and found that it does not really stimulate the economy in the way that we hope that it will.
And I don't think there's a governor in a state that wouldn't tell you that you'll create more jobs and you'll build it with American workers, American concrete and American steel. That's stimulus.
Building a road project, you have to get designs, eminent domain, you get the engineers to approve; it takes years and years and years to get a road project. So it's a wonderful idea, but it's not related to short-term economic stimulus.
So, yes, this money should be spent back here at home.
We have to cut some spending. That's what nobody here talks about. Where do you cut spending if you want to spend some money? We need lower taxes, less regulations and we need to free up the market.
Yeah, and it's tough and it's tough here in California. It's tough in Arizona. It's tough particularly all over but it's very tough particularly in the high-growth states. And I think the efforts that have been made so far are laudable. We may have to go further.
We need to fix the rating systems, which -- which clearly were erroneous in their -- in their ratings, which led people to believe that there were these institutions which were stable, which clearly are not.
Actually, I think lower- and middle-income Americans need more help. Obviously I think that's the case today; that's one reason why we're giving them rebates. I was part of the Reagan revolution. I was there with Jack Kemp and Phil Graham and Warren Rudman and all these other first that wanted to change a terrible economic situation in America with 10 percent unemployment and 20 percent interest rates.
I appreciate his response and appreciate the fact he was part of the Reagan Revolution. I think that the Bush revolution and the downturn that we faced when he came into office suggested that we needed a tax cut. There's no question in my mind that Ronald Reagan would have said "sign it and vote for it," and Senator McCain was one of two that did not. And again, the justification at the time was because it represents a tax cut for the rich. I believe in getting rates down. I think that builds our economy.
There's not enough in the 20 percent to go after if we don't go after the entitlement problem.
The real issue is, that doesn't fix the problem.
What we've got to do is to have a secure border fence, something I propose that we do within 18 months of taking office. If we don't have a secure fence, and have just this open door that people can come in and out at will, we're never going to deal with this issue effectively and responsibly.
And it's not to be cruel. I want to make sure you understand.
It's to make -- that everybody who's living in our boundaries has their head up and lives in the light, not the darkness, and doesn't run and hide every time they see a police car. We owe it not just to the people who have waited in line a long time; we owe it to the people who do want to live here and work here, but create a system that is legal, that makes sense and that actually protects our borders, but protects the dignity and worth of every person.
I think you may be confusing me with somebody else, but perhaps not. Let me tell you what my plan is.
In my view, let us have this fixed period of time, 90 days for some, depending on their circumstances, others longer, to the end of the school year, even longer, potentially, do it in a humane and compassionate way; but say to those that have come here illegally, you must return home, you must get in line with everybody else that wants to come here. There are millions throughout the world who want to come to this country legally. It's a wonderful privilege. But those that have come here illegally should not be given a better deal.
It won't. It won't. That's why we went through the debate.
We will secure the borders first when I am president of the United States. I know how to do that. I come from a border state, where we know about building walls and vehicle barriers and sensors and all of the things necessary. I will have the border state governors certify the borders are secured, and then we will move on to the other aspects of this issue.
History will have to determine that. And I'm not going to come to the Reagan Library and say anything about Ronald Reagan's decisions. I'm not that stupid. (Laughter.) If I was, I'd have no business being president. (Laughter.)
I don't think we'd say it's better off than it was eight years ago, to be truthful.
He was hit by something which completely took his agenda off course, and that was the Iraq conflict and the attack of 9/11 and Afghanistan. All these things came together. He did something for our party that was important to do, which is to show that when someone attacks America, there will be consequences. And he kept us safe these last six years. (Applause.)
Absolutely unequivocably (sic) -- (chuckles) -- if I can get that word out -- unequivocably (sic), absolutely no. I have never ever supported a specific timetable for exit from Iraq, and it's offensive to me that someone would suggest that I have. And I have noted that everyone from Time Magazine to Bill Bennett over there, to -- to actually, CNN's own analyst. He said it was a lie, and it's absolutely wrong.
We've had -- we've -- and Senator McCain pointed to an interview I had back in April with ABC, when I said that our president and their prime minister should have timetables and milestones. We have timetables and milestones for progress that we're making together.
And by the way, raising it a few days before the -- the Florida primary, when there was very little time for me to correct the record, when the question I was most frequently asked is, "Oh, you're for a specific date of withdrawal," sort of falls in the kind of dirty tricks that I think Ronald Reagan would have found to be reprehensible.
Well, of course, he said he wanted a timetable before that. We have to understand that we lost the 2006 election and the Democrats thought that they had a mandate. They thought they had a mandate to get us out of Iraq. And I was prepared to sacrifice whatever was necessary in order to stand up for what I believe in.
Now, in December of 2006, after the election, Governor Romney was asked what he thought about the surge. He said at that time: I won't weigh in; I'm a governor. At the time he didn't want to weigh in because he was a governor, I was out there on the front lines with my friends saying, we not only can't withdraw, but we got to have an additional -- additional troops over there in order for us to have a chance to succeed.
Timetables was the buzzword for withdrawal.
Why don't you use the whole quote, Senator?
Why do you insist on not using the actual quote?
What does that mean? What does that mean, we don't want them --
It means a timetable for until we leave.
That's a separate point. That's a separate point.
(Inaudible) -- (cheers, applause) -- until the enemy waits in the weeds until we leave. That means that we were leaving.
If you have a question on this, you can ask it.
That we have a series of timetables and milestones for working on the progress that they're making, the progress we're making, the rule of law, what their soldiers are doing, what our soldiers are doing --
Look, as a governor of a state, there are a lot of issues of a federal nature that I didn't take a position on. I was running a state. My responsibility was for running a state. When I became a governor I took a whole series of positions on national issues. That's normal and natural.
With regards to the surge, the briefing that I received -- I received an early briefing from Fred Kagan on the size of our military. After I received that, I said I support increasing our military by at least 100,000. And then just prior to the president's announcement of the surge, I spoke again with Fred Kagan and he laid out the philosophy of the surge, his vision for it. As you know, many consider him one of the authors of the surge idea. And when he gave me that report, I met with my staff and announced that day that I supported a surge. The president announced later that day the entire program. So I supported it as a candidate for president, number one.
You can spend it all. But the fact is that --
Now we're doing the same thing, and nobody even seems to care. The dollar's crashing, and you're talking about these technicalities, about who said what, when? (Cheers, applause.)
I think it's time to debate foreign policy and why we don't follow the Constitution and only go to war with a declaration of war. (Cheers, applause.)
Well, first of all, I didn't come here to umpire a ball game between these two. (Laughter.) I came here to get a chance to swing at a few myself. So I'd appreciate maybe a question that we could talk about that would involve some of us down here at the end who have been left out of the discussion for the last few minutes.
Thank you. It's a false argument. It's a false argument. We are going to be there for some period of time, but it's American casualties, not American presence.
It's not a matter of presence. It's a matter of casualties. We are succeeding.
And I'm the only one that said that Rumsfeld had to go, and the Petraeus strategy is the one that can succeed. That's because I have the experience, the knowledge and the judgment, and I believe that Americans will come home with honor. And the fact is, and the fact is that it's not American presence, because America, as the world's superpower, is going to have to be a lot of places in the world. It's how they come home and as president, I will follow in this tradition of sticking to my principles no matter what, and bring our troops home with honor. (Applause.)
Well, good, I'd like to be here tonight. Thank you.
Then there's China, which is saying, "We're going to use communism plus sort of a Wild West form of -- of free enterprise. We're going to give nuclear weapons to -- or nuclear technology to the Iranians. We're going to buy oil from the Sudanese." You've got China.
And then finally, there's us, the only major power in the world that says, "We believe in free enterprise and freedom for the individual."
I had the great honor of serving this country in uniform for 22 years. I had the great honor of being inspired while I was in the prison camps of North Vietnam by the news of a governor and his wife who cared very much about those of us who were in captivity.
And when I came home I was inspired by him, and I voted for him and I supported him. And I was proud to be a leader in the Reagan revolution -- I mean, a foot soldier in the Reagan revolution as we fought these wars together with unshakable courage and principle. And I'm prepared to follow in his tradition and in his foot steps.
No. He's a fine man and a man I respect, and I particularly respect his service in the military and his integrity and courage for our nation.
I'm proud of my experience as a leader and I will use that leadership skill, which has honed by sense of judgment, temperament, wisdom, decision-making capacity and ability to deliberate on tough issues, to make sure you get them right, to make sure that we have the right kind of leadership in the White House.
You know, I'm sure that there are those who'd say, you know, to be the commander in chief, you have to have served in the military. And one of the two great regrets I have in life is I didn't serve in the military. I'd love to have but I don't believe that you have to have served in the military to be a great commander in chief or to be a great foreign policy expert.
I think you're going to see in our foreign policy and in the military, we're going to face challenges not like the challenges of old, where I'd liken it to playing checkers with the red side and the black side.
You see, my objective is to keep America the strongest nation on Earth, economically, militarily, and, if you will, from the spirit of our people. I believe I can do that by virtue of a lifetime of experience leading, making decisions.
The president is not supposed to manage and run the economy. The people are supposed to do this. The government is supposed to give them sound money, low taxes, less regulation. The people are supposed to run it.
But here, we're assuming that the president is supposed to run the economy. We're not supposed to manage. We're not supposed to manage the people's...
There's something a lot of people don't think about. When you're a governor, you actually manage a microcosm of the federal government. Every agency that you have at the federal level, you have at the state level. You are familiar with the whole game board. You understand what those agencies do, because you interrelate with them as a governor every single day.
You can't have a president who sees a whole bunch of America as invisible. If you make a decision at the top and you don't understand how it affects the person all the way at the bottom, then you're not ready to lead. Leadership is about seeing the whole field.
And that's what I'm talking about. And that's why -- listen, our Republican Party is going to be in trouble if we creating policies and acting like we don't understand what those folks are feeling out there waiting the tables, handling bags, driving the trucks, and moving the freight around.
Ronald Reagan would have said absolutely no way to McCain- Feingold.
I would be with Ronald Reagan. And this party, it has a choice, what the heart and soul of this party is going to be, and it's going to have to be in the house that Ronald Reagan built.
Ronald Reagan would not approve of someone who changes their positions depending on what the year is.
I'm not sure exactly what he would do right now, but I do know that he was very sympathetic to the gold standard, and he told me personally that no great nation that went off the gold standard ever remained great. And he was very, very serious about that.
I think it would be incredibly presumptuous and even arrogant for me to try to suggest what Ronald Reagan would do, that he would endorse any of us against the others.
Well, we meet tonight here in Philadelphia where our founders determined that the promise of America would be available for future generations if we were willing and able to make it happen.
I am running for president because I know we can meet the challenges of today, that we can continue to fulfill that promise that was offered to successive generations of Americans starting here so long ago.
And I offer those on my website, hillaryclinton.com, for more detail. Because I believe with all my heart that we the people can have the kind of future that our children and grandchildren so richly deserve.
So I'm confident that both Senator Clinton's supporters and Senator Obama's supporters will be supporting the Democratic nominee when we start engaging in that general election.
Obviously we are still contesting to determine who will be the nominee. But once that is resolved, I think it is absolutely imperative that our entire party close ranks, that we become unified.
I will do everything to make sure that the people who supported me support our nominee.
I will go anywhere in the country to make the case. And I know that Barack feels the same way, because both of us have spent 15 months traveling our country. I have seen the damage of the Bush years. I've seen the extraordinary pain that people have suffered from because of the failed policies; you know, those who have held my hands who have lost sons or daughters in Iraq, and those who have lost sons or daughters because they didn't have health insurance.
So we will certainly do whatever is necessary to make sure that a Democrat is in the White House next January.
Well, I think there's no doubt that I can see how people were offended. It's not the first time that I've made, you know, a statement that was mangled up. It's not going to be the last.
But let me be very clear about what I meant, because it's something that I've said in public, it's something that I've said in television, which is that people are going through very difficult times right now and we are seeing it all across the country. And that was true even before the current economic hardships that are stemming from the housing crisis. This is the first economic expansion that we just completed in which ordinary people's incomes actually went down, when adjusted for inflation, at the same time as their costs of everything from health care to gas at the pump have skyrocketed.
They end up feeling "This is a place where I can find some refugee. This is something that I can count on." They end up being much more concerned about votes around things like guns, where traditions have been passed on from generation to generation. And those are incredibly important to them.
And yes, what is also true is that wedge issues, hot-button issues, end up taking prominence in our -- in our politics. And part of the problem is that when those issues are exploited, we never get to solve the issues that people really have to get some relief on, whether it's health care or education or jobs.
He was also very active in the Court Street Methodist Church. And he raised three sons and was very proud that he sent all of them to college.
I don't believe that my grandfather or my father, or the many people whom I have had the privilege of knowing and meeting across Pennsylvania over many years, cling to religion when Washington is not listening to them. I think that is a fundamental, sort of, misunderstanding of the role of religion and faith in times that are good and times that are bad.
Now, that doesn't mean that people are not frustrated with the government. We have every reason to be frustrated, particularly with this administration.
But I also know, having now gone through 16 years of being on the receiving end of what the Republican Party dishes out, how important it is that we try to go after every single vote everywhere we possibly can to get to those electoral votes that we're going to need to have the next president elected.
Now, I think that I can do a better job. (Laughter.) I mean, obviously, that's why I'm here. I think I am better able and better prepared in large measure because of what I've been through and the work that I've done and the results that I've produced for people and the coalition that I have put together in this campaign, that Charlie referred to earlier.
Obviously, I believe I would be the best president, or I would not still be here, standing on this stage, and I believe I'm the better and stronger candidate against Senator McCain, to go toe to toe with him on national security and on how we turn the economy around.
Let me just pick up on a couple of things that Senator Clinton said, though, because during the course of the last few days, you know, she's said I'm elitist, out of touch, condescending. Let me be absolutely clear. It would be pretty hard for me to be condescending towards people of faith, since I'm a person of faith and have done more than most other campaigns in reaching out specifically to people of faith, and have written about how Democrats make an error when they don't show up and speak directly to people's faith, because I think we can get those votes, and I have in the past.
That's politics, and I expect to have to go through this -- this process.
And Senator Clinton's right. She has gone through this. You know, I recall when back in 1992, when she made a statement about how, what do you expect, should I be at home baking cookies?
But what's important here is what we each stand for and what our records are and what we have done over the course of our lives to try to improve the circumstances of those who deserve to live up to their own potential, to make the decisions that are right for them and their families. And I think year after year for now 35 years, I have a proven record of results.
What I also said was, the church and the body of Reverend Wright's work, over the course of 30 years, were not represented in those snippets that were shown on television, and that the church has done outstanding work in ministries on HIV/AIDS, prison ministries, providing people with the kind of comfort that we expect in our churches.
The reason we've attracted new people into the process, the reason we've generated so much excitement, the reason that we have been so successful in so many states across the country, bridging racial lines, bridging some of the old divisions, is because people recognize that unless we do, then we're not going to be able to deliver on the promises that people hear every 4 years, every 8 years, every 12 years.
The third point I guess I would make is once again that unless we can bridge some of these divides we're not going to solve problems in this country. And what my entire body of work over the last 20 years has been devoted to is getting blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, young, old to work together, starting when I was a community organizer. And my own life embodies that diversity. That's what America's about and that's what this campaign has been about.
And, you know, the notion that somehow that the American people are going to be distracted once again by comments not made by me but by somebody who is associated with me, that I have disowned, I think doesn't give the American people enough credit.
The comments, comments that I've disowned. Then that is not something that I think --
And so this is a legitimate area, as everything is when we run for office, for people to be exploring and trying to find answers.
Well, Tom, I can tell you that I may be a lot of things, but I'm not dumb. And I wrote about going to Bosnia in my book in 2004. I laid it all out there. And you're right. On a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And, you know, I'm embarrassed by it. I have apologized for it. I've said it was a mistake. And it is, I hope, something that you can look over, because clearly I am proud that I went to Bosnia. It was a war zone.
But you know, I'm very sorry that I said it. And I have said that, you know, it just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth.
Well, look, I think that Senator Clinton has a strong record to run on. She wouldn't be here if she didn't. And you know, I haven't commented on the issue of Bosnia. You know, I --
In those circumstances, for us to be obsessed with this -- these kinds of errors I think is a mistake. And that's not what our campaign has been about.
And I've said this -- again, there's no other country in which my story is even possible; somebody who was born to a teenage mom, raised by a single mother and grandparents from small towns in Kansas, you know, who was able to get an education and rise to the point where I can run for the highest office in the land. I could not help but love this country for all that it's given me.
And so what I've tried to do is to show my patriotism by how I treat veterans when I'm working in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee; by making sure that I'm speaking forcefully about how we need to bring this war in Iraq to a close, because I think it is not serving our national security well and it's not serving our military families and our troops well; talking about how we need to restore a sense of economic fairness to this country because that's what this country has always been about, is providing upward mobility and ladders to opportunity for all Americans. That's what I love about this country. And so I will continue to fight for those issues.
George, but this is an example of what I'm talking about.
So this kind of game, in which anybody who I know, regardless of how flimsy the relationship is, is somehow -- somehow their ideas could be attributed to me -- I think the American people are smarter than that. They're not going to suggest somehow that that is reflective of my views, because it obviously isn't.
I am looking forward to having a debate with John McCain, and I think every poll indicates that I am doing just as well, if not better, in pulling together the coalition that will defeat John McCain.
Yes, I am, Charlie. And here's why: You know, thankfully we have a system in our country of civilian control of the military. And our professional military are the best in the world. They give their best advice and then they execute the policies of the president. I have watched this president as he has continued to change the rationale and move the goalposts when it comes to Iraq.
I will also make it clear to the Iraqis that they no longer have a blank check from the president of the United States, because I believe that it will be only through our commitment to withdraw that the Iraqis will begin to do what they have failed to do for all of these years.
No, what I'm saying, Charlie, is that no one can predict what will happen. There are many different scenarios. But one thing I am sure of is that our staying in Iraq, our continuing to lose our men and women in uniform, having many injured, the Iraqi casualties that we are seeing as well, is -- is no way for us to maintain a strong position in the world.
It's not only about Iraq. It is about ending the war in Iraq, so that we can begin paying attention to all of the other problems we have. There isn't any doubt that Afghanistan has been neglected. It has not gotten the resources that it needs. We hear that from our military commanders responsible for that region of the world. And there are other problems that we have failed to address.
So the bottom line for me is, we don't know what will happen as we withdraw. We do know what will happen if we stay mired in Iraq. The Iraqi government will not accept responsibility for its own future.
Now, I will always listen to our commanders on the ground with respect to tactics. Once I've given them a new mission, that we are going to proceed deliberately in an orderly fashion out of Iraq and we are going to have our combat troops out, we will not have permanent bases there, once I've provided that mission, if they come to me and want to adjust tactics, then I will certainly take their recommendations into consideration; but ultimately the buck stops with me as the commander in chief.
And what I have to look at is not just the situation in Iraq, but the fact that we continue to see al Qaeda getting stronger in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, we continue to see anti-American sentiment fanned all cross the Middle East, we are overstretched in a way -- we do not have a strategic reserve at this point. If there was another crisis that was taking place, we would not have a brigade that we could send to deal with that crisis that isn't already scheduled to be deployed in Iraq. That is not sustainable. That's not smart national security policy, and it's going to change when I'm president.
Well, our first step should be to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of the Iranians, and that has to be one of our top priorities. And I will make it one of our top priorities when I'm president of the United States.
You know, we are at a very dangerous point with Iran. The Bush policy has failed. Iran has not been deterred. They continue to try to not only obtain the fissile material for nuclear weapons but they are intent upon and using their efforts to intimidate the region and to have their way when it comes to the support of terrorism in Lebanon and elsewhere.
Number one, we've got to begin diplomatic engagement with Iran, and we want the region and the world to understand how serious we are about it. And I would begin those discussions at a low level. I certainly would not meet with Ahmadinejad, because even again today he made light of 9/11 and said he's not even sure it happened and that people actually died. He's not someone who would have an opportunity to meet with me in the White House. But I would have a diplomatic process that would engage him.
Well, George, I have made a commitment that I will let the taxes on people making more than $250,000 a year go back to the rates that they were paying in the 1990s.
Yes. And here's why: Number one, I do not believe that it will detrimentally affect the economy by doing that. As I recall, you know, we used that tool during the 1990s to very good effect and I think we can do so again.
Well, if you look at how we'd have to sequence that, we might not be able to do all of that at once. But if you go to my website, HillaryClinton.com, it is laid out there how I will pay for everything, because everything I have proposed, I have put in how I would pay for it.
No, that's right. That is my commitment.
And one of the centerpieces of my economic plan would be to say that we are going to offset the payroll tax, the most regressive of our taxes, so that families who are earning -- who are middle-income individuals making $75,000 a year or less, that they would get a tax break so that families would see up to a thousand dollars worth of relief.
So the rules in Washington -- the tax code has been written on behalf of the well connected. Our trade laws have -- same thing has happened. And part of how we're going to be able to deliver on middle-class tax relief is to change how business is done in Washington. And that's been a central focus of our campaign.
And what I want is not oppressive taxation. I want businesses to thrive and I want people to be rewarded for their success. But what I also want to make sure is that our tax system is fair and that we are able to finance health care for Americans who currently don't have it and that we're able to invest in our infrastructure and invest in our schools.
And if we can stabilize that market and we can get credit flowing again, then I think we'll see stocks do well, and once again I think we can generate the revenue that we need to run this government and hopefully to pay down some of this debt.
And we have lost that. You know, now the typical family has lost at least $1,000. And the fact is that, you know, I don't want to take one more penny of tax money from anybody. But what I want to do is make some smart investments. And I was the first to come out with a strategic energy fund, where we need to be investing in clean renewable energy. And I think we could put 5 million Americans to work.
I think we have to invest in our infrastructure. That also will get the economy moving again, and I believe we could put about 3 million people to work in good union jobs where people get a good wage with a good set of benefits that can support a middle-class family with a rising standard of living.
Governor Rendell has done a great job in Pennsylvania. He saw this coming. And unlike our current president, who either didn't know it or didn't care about it, he has really held the line, and Pennsylvania has been much less affected by home foreclosures. But the president hasn't done that, and what I have proposed would do that.
So you've got to look at the entire economy. And from my perspective, yes, taxes is a piece of it. But you've got to figure out what is it we would invest in that would make us richer and safer and stronger tomorrow, which would (be ?) helping everybody.
I don't want to raise taxes on anybody. I'm certainly against one of Senator Obama's ideas, which is to lift the cap on the payroll tax, because that would impose additional taxes on people who are, you know, educators here in the Philadelphia area or in the suburbs, police officers, firefighters and the like.
So the $250,000 mark is where I am sure we're going. But beyond that, we're going to have to look and see where we are.
But understand the alternative is that because we're going to have fewer workers to more retirees, if we don't do anything on Social Security, then those benefits will effectively be cut, because we'll be running out of money.
But when it comes to Social Security, fiscal responsibility is the first and most important step. You've got to begin to reign in the budget, pay as you go, to try to replenish our Social Security Trust Fund.
That commission raised the retirement age, Charlie, and also raised the payroll tax. And so Senator Clinton, if she -- she can't have it both ways. You can't come at me for proposing a solution that will save Social Security without burdening middle- income Americans, and then suggest that somehow she's got a magic solution.
And what I said then is what I have been saying, that I will be a good partner, for cities like Philadelphia, as president. Because I will bring back the COPS program, the so-called COPS program, where we had 100,000 police on the street, which really helped drive down the crime rate and also helped create better community relations.
I will also work to reinstate the assault weapons ban. We had it during the 1990s. It really was an aid to our police officers, who are now once again, because it has lapsed -- the Republicans will not reinstate it -- are being outgunned on our streets by these military- style weapons.
I will also work to make sure that police departments in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, across America get access to the federal information that will enable them to track illegal guns, because the numbers are astounding. Probably 80 percent of the guns used in gun crimes are in the hands of that criminal, that gang member -- unfortunately, people who are sometimes, you know, mentally challenged -- because it got there illegally. And under the Republicans, that information was kept from local law enforcement.
Well, Charlie, I confess I obviously haven't listened to the briefs and looked at all the evidence.
As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right, and, you know, in the same way that we have a right to private property but local governments can establish zoning ordinances that determine how you can use it.
There's the reality of gun ownership and the tradition of gun ownership that's passed on from generation to generation. You know, when you listen to people who have hunted, and they talk about the fact that they went hunting with their fathers or their mothers, then that is something that is deeply important to them and, culturally, they care about deeply.
But you also have the reality of what's happening here in Philadelphia and what's happening in Chicago.
Look, in my hometown of Chicago, on the south side of Chicago, we've had 34 gun deaths last year of Chicago public school children.
And I think that most law-abiding gun owners all across America would recognize that it is perfectly appropriate for local communities and states and the federal government to try to figure out, how do we stop that kind of killing?
And Vice President Cheney who, you know, is a fourth special branch of government all unto himself -- (laughter) -- has actually filed a brief saying, oh, no, we have to, you know, we have to prevent D.C. from doing this.
Well, I think a total ban, with no exceptions under any circumstances, might be found by the court not to be. But I don't know the facts.
So, as president, how specifically would you recommend changing affirmative action policies so that affluent African Americans are not given advantages, and poor, less affluent whites are?
I think our job should be to try to create the conditions that enable people to live up to their God-given potential. And that means health care for everyone -- no exceptions, nobody left out. And it means taking a hard look at what we need to do to compete and win in the global economy.
So that's how I prefer to think about it. You know, let's affirmatively invest in our young people and make it possible for them to have a good middle-class life in today's much more competitive economy.
And thirdly, if there is any kind of gas tax moratorium, as some people are now proposing --
I think that long term, we're going to have to raise fuel efficiency standards on cars, because the only way that we're going to be able to reduce gas prices is if we reduce demand. You've still got a billion people in China, and maybe 700 million in India, who still want cars. And so the long-term trajectory is that we're going to have to get serious about increasing our fuel efficiency standards and investing in new technologies.
Well, you know, I think that having the advice and counsel of all former presidents is important. I'm probably more likely to advice of the current president's father than president himself because I think that when you look back at George H.W. Bush's foreign policy, it was a wise foreign policy.
And how we executed the Gulf War, how we managed the transition out of the Cold War, I think, is an example of how we can get bipartisan agreement. I don't think the Democrats have a monopoly on good ideas. I think that there are a lot of thoughtful Republicans out there.
Now, obviously, I can't do this alone. I can only do it if I get people who believe in me and support me and who look at my track record and know that, you know, I've spent a lifetime trying to empower people, trying to fight for them.
And I think it's going to be challenging, but it is absolutely what we must do in order to keep faith with our country and to give our children the future that they deserve.
And the bet I was making was a bet on the American people; that they were tired of a politics that was about tearing about each other down, but wanted a politics that was about lifting the country up; that they didn't want spin and PR out of their elected officials, they wanted an honest conversation.
And so my point to the super delegates would be that if we're going to deliver on health care for every American, improve our schools, deliver on jobs, then it's going to be absolutely vital we form a new political coalition in this country. That's what we've been doing in this campaign, and that's what I'm going to do when I'm president of the United States of America.
Hello, New Hampshire. I'm Rick Santorum. I served 12 years representing Pennsylvania in the United States Senate, but I also have substantial executive experience making the tough decisions and balancing budgets and cutting spending. Karen and I are the parents of seven children.
Hi, my name is Michelle Bachmann. I'm a former federal tax litigation attorney. I'm a businesswoman. We started our own successful company. I'm also a member of the United States Congress. I'm a wife of 33 years. I've had five children, and we are the proud foster parents of 23 great children. And it's a thrill to be here tonight in the "Live Free or Die" state. Thank you.
Good evening, I'm Tim Pawlenty. I'm a husband. My wife, Mary, and I have been married for 23 years. I'm the father of two beautiful daughters, Anna and Mara. I'm a neighbor. And I'm running for president of the United States because I love America, but like you, I'm concerned about its future. I've got the experience and the leadership and the results to lead it to a better place.
Hello, I'm Herman Cain. I am not a politician. I am a problem-solver with over 40 years of business and executive experience, father of two, grandfather of three, and I'm here tonight because it's not about us. It's about those grandkids. Happy to be here in New Hampshire.
Yeah, I think we need a president who's optimistic, who has a pro-growth agenda. I'm not going to comment on 5 percent or 4 percent. What we need is a -- is an economy that's unshackled.
And what's happened in this administration is that they have passed oppressive policy and oppressive regulation after -- Obamacare being first and foremost. The oppressiveness of that bill on businesses -- anybody that wants to invest to get any kind of return, when you see the regulations that are going to be put on business, when you see the taxation.
Look, Tim has the right instincts, which is he recognizes that what this president has done has slowed the economy. He didn't create the recession, but he made it worse and longer. And now we have more chronic long-term employment than this country has ever seen before, 20 million people out of work, stopped looking for work, or in part-time jobs that need full-time jobs. We've got housing prices continuing to decline, and we have foreclosures at record levels.
Well, the question is, would it, in fact, increase jobs or kill jobs? The Reagan recovery, which I participated in passing, in seven years created for this current economy the equivalent of 25 million new jobs, raised federal revenue by $800 billion a year in terms of the current economy, and clearly it worked. It's a historic fact.
Thank you, John. Sylvia, thank you for that great question. I was the very first member of Congress to introduce the full-scale repeal of Obamacare. And I want to make a promise to everyone watching tonight: As president of the United States, I will not rest until I repeal Obamacare. It's a promise. Take it to the bank, cash the check. I'll make sure that that happens.
This is the symbol and the signature issue of President Obama during his entire tenure. And this is a job-killer, Sylvia. The CBO, the Congressional Budget Office has said that Obamacare will kill 800,000 jobs. What could the president be thinking by passing a bill like this, knowing full well it will kill 800,000 jobs?
Senior citizens get this more than any other segment of our population, because they know in Obamacare, the president of the United States took away $500 billion, a half-trillion dollars out of Medicare, shifted it to Obamacare to pay for younger people, and it's senior citizens who have the most to lose in Obamacare.
You know, let me say a couple things. First, if I'm elected president, I will repeal Obamacare, just as Michelle indicated. And also, on my first day in office, if I'm lucky enough to have that office, I will grant a waiver to all 50 states from Obamacare.
It's a huge power grab by the federal government. It's going to be massively expensive, raising taxes, cutting Medicare. It's wrong for America. And that's why there's an outpouring across the nation to say no to Obamacare. And I'm delighted to be able to debate him on that.
But I want to answer Sylvia at a different level. This campaign cannot be only about the presidency. We need to pick up at least 12 seats in the U.S. Senate and 30 or 40 more seats in the House, because if you are serious about repealing Obamacare, you have to be serious about building a big enough majority in the legislative branch that you could actually in the first 90 days pass the legislation.
It was considered this extreme measure. Well, that extreme measure we ended up winning an election and getting those seats. And that was now the starting point. And I managed that bill in the United States Senate because I cared about the dignity of every person.
We did it. We set the template, and I led and got bipartisan support to do it.
People who are libertarians, Republicans. It's a wide swath of America coming together. I think that's why the left fears it so much. Because they're people who simply want to take the country back. They want the country to work again.
You have to invite capital. The way you get capital into a country, you have to have a strong currency, not a weak currency. Today it's a deliberate job of the Federal Reserve to weaken the currency. We should invite capital back.
First thing is, we have trillions of dollars, at least over a trillion dollars of U.S. money made overseas, but it stays over there because if you bring it home, they get taxed. If you want to, we need to get the Fed to quit printing the money and if you want capital, you have to entice those individuals to repatriate their money and take the taxes office, set up a financial system, deregulate and de-tax to invite people to go back to work again.
I'm for a fair and open trade but I'm not for being stupid and I'm not for being a chump. And we have individuals and organizations and countries around this world who are not following the rules when it comes to fair trade. We need a stronger president and somebody who's going to take on those issues.
Well, the United States federal government and the states have done numerous job training programs over the year with mixed results. This is what we need to do to turn job creation around and bring manufacturing back to the United States.
What we need to do is today the United States has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. I'm a former federal tax lawyer. I've seen the devastation. We've got to bring that tax rate down substantially so that we're among the lowest in the industrialized world.
Here's the other thing. Every time the liberals get into office, they pass an omnibus bill of big spending projects. What we need to do is pass the mother of all repeal bills, but it's the repeal bill that will get a job killing regulations. And I would begin with the EPA, because there is no other agency like the EPA. It should really be renamed the job-killing organization of America.
I always am from Pennsylvania. We still make things there, and I represented the Steel Valley of Pittsburgh when I was in the Congress. And what I learned from growing up in Butler, Pennsylvania, steel town is that the broad middle of America was a broad middle of America when we had lots of manufacturing here because that's how the wealth from those who create the jobs get down.
And we've been outsourcing those jobs. So what we need to do is a lot of what was said here. I would add another thing that I'm specifically proposing. We need to cut the capital gains tax in half which others have proposed but for manufacturers we need to give a five-year window where we cut it to zero.
We want to encourage people to set up jobs here in America. Take that R&D credit, make it permanent, take that innovation and then invest that money here to create that broad middle of America and have that wealth really trickle down.
We live in the United States of America and people shouldn't be forced to belong or be a member in any organization. And the government has no business telling you what group to be a member of or not. I support strongly right-to-work legislation.
My family were Reagan-Democrats, now most of them listen to Rush Limbaugh actually. But the point is, I understand these issues, but we don't have a government tell us what organizations or associations we should be in. We tell the government what to do.
Well, that's a totally different question. The question that's asked was right to work. And one of the things the Congress should do immediately is defund the National Labor Relations Board which has gone into South Carolina to punish Boeing, which wants to put 8,000 American jobs in South Carolina by fundamentally eliminating right-to-work at the National Labor Relations Board.
Why you want to be at California's unemployment level when you can be Texas's employment level? Or North Dakota's?
And I think, Kevin [ph], that if you believe in the 10th Amendment, we ought to -- let the states learn from each other. And the right-to-work states are creating a lot more jobs today that they heavily unionized states. The public employee union question is a totally different issue.
There shouldn't be any government assistance to private enterprise. It's not morally correct, it's legal, it's bad economics. It's not part of the constitution. If you allow an economy to thrive, they'll decide how R&D works or where they invest their monies.
But when the politicians get in and direct things, you get the malinvestment. They do the dumb things. They might build too many houses. And they might not direct their research to the right places. So no, it's a fallacy to think that government and politicians and bureaucrats are smart enough to manage the economy, so it shouldn't happen.
When the CEOs of the auto companies went to Washington asking for money from Washington, I wrote an op-ed, and I said, look, the right process for these companies is not a bailout, not a big check from Washington, but instead letting these enterprises go through bankruptcy, re-emerge, getting rid of the unnecessary costs that they had, the excessive debt, re-emerge, and that would be the preferred way for them to be able to get on their feet again.
But the big difference was $17 billion was wasted. And then President Obama, given that money, was able to put his hands on the scales of justice and give the company to the UAW.
No, absolutely not. We should -- we should not have had a TARP. We should not have had the auto bailout. Governor Romney's right. They could have gone through a structured bankruptcy without the federal government.
John, I was in the middle of this debate. I was behind closed doors with Secretary Paulson when he came and made the extraordinary, never-before-made request to Congress: Give us a $700 billion blank check with no strings attached.
And I fought behind closed doors against my own party on TARP. It was a wrong vote then. It's continued to be a wrong vote since then. Sometimes that's what you have to do. You have to take principle over your party.
Well, sadly -- and I say this, sadly, because I'm a big fan of going into space and I actually worked to get the shuttle program to survive at one point -- NASA has become an absolute case study in why bureaucracy can't innovate.
I think it's a tragedy, because younger Americans ought to have the excitement of thinking that they, too, could be part of reaching out to a new frontier.
You know, you'd asked earlier, John, about this idea of limits because we're a developed country. We're not a developed country. The scientific future is going to open up, and we're at the beginning of a whole new cycle of extraordinary opportunities. And, unfortunately, NASA is standing in the way of it, when NASA ought to be getting out of the way and encouraging the private sector.
In the context of our budget challenges, it can be refocused and reprioritized, but I don't think we should be eliminating the space program. We can partner with private providers to get more economies of scale and scale it back, but I don't think we should eliminate the space program.
John, you mischaracterized me. I didn't say end the space program. We built the transcontinental railroads without a national department of railroads. I said you could get into space faster, better, more effectively, more creatively if you decentralized it, got it out of Washington, and cut out the bureaucracy. It's not about getting rid of the space program; it's about getting to a real space program that works.
Well, the first thing we need to do is get the government out of crony capitalism. We have this alliance between big government, big unions, and certain big bailout businesses. And as Congressman Paul said a few minutes ago, we had politicians in Congress trying to micromanage the housing market, and they created a bubble and they created the mess. And now we have all these innocent bystanders, the good people of the United States of America, many middle-income and modest-income people, who've been devastated by this.
We're doing what we did in the depression. We're doing what the Japanese have done. You need to get the prices of houses down to clear the market, but they're trying to keep the prices up. They actually have programs in Washington which stimulating housing. You need to clear the -- clear the market and then we can all go back to work. But what we're doing now is absolutely wrong.
The federal government should be doing food safety, yes. But I want to go back to this point about what we need to do to help the housing market.
We don't just have one problem; we have a crisis of the three E's. We've got the economy, entitlement spending, and energy. We've got to simultaneously work on all of those so we can put 13 million to 14 million people back to work. That's what we've got to do. So it's not just a single issue. It is the multiplicity and the compounding effect of those three critical problems.
Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better.
Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut -- we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we're doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we're doing that we don't have to do? And those things we've got to stop doing, because we're borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we're taking in. We cannot...
We cannot -- we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we'll all be dead and gone before it's paid off. It makes no sense at all.
We're playing a little bit of an exercise called "This or That" to learn more about our candidates. It was Conan or Leno. It was Elvis or Johnny Cash.
Well, under these conditions, it's not solvent and won't be solvent. You know, if you're -- if you're an average couple and you paid your entire amount into -- into Medicare, you would have put $140,000 into it. And in your lifetime, you will take out more than three times that much.
Well, first of all, it was a very narrow question, which said, should Republicans impose an unpopular bill on the American people? Now, I supported the Ryan budget as a general proposal. I actually wrote a newsletter supporting the Ryan budget. And those words were taken totally out of context.
Remember, we all got mad at Obama because he ran over us when we said don't do it. Well, the Republicans ought to follow the same ground rule. If you can't convince the American people it's a good idea, maybe it's not a good idea. So let me start there.
Second, there are certain things I would do different than Paul Ryan on Medicare. I agree strongly with him on Medicaid, and I think it could be done. But let me just say two quick things.
They have a program right now which seniors like. It is a program that's called a premium support program. We give seniors -- depending on income -- a certain amount of money so they can go out and they can purchase health care that they want that helps them -- and this is the key, John -- we need to include seniors in controlling costs.
What Paul Ryan and Rick Santorum want to do, which is not radical, which is take a program, Medicare prescription drugs, that is 41 percent under budget, because seniors are involved in controlling costs, and apply it all to Medicare. It is the right approach for Medicare.
We don't need to slow down. I hate to tell you -- I hate to be the one to give you the bad news, Doctor. You're not going to get most of the money you put into Medicare if we don't restructure it.
Let's fix the problem and that is to restructure Social Security. I support a personal retirement account option in order to phase out the current system. We know that this works. It worked in the small country of Chile when they did it 30 years.
Here's -- let me give you one another example where this approach has worked. The city of Galveston, they opted out of the Social Security system way back in the '70s. And now, they retire with a whole lot more money. Why? For a real simple reason -- they have an account with their money on it.
What I'm simply saying is we've got to restructure the program using a personal retirement account option in order to eventually make it solvent.
I believe we will not raise the debt ceiling unless the president finally, finally is willing to be a leader on issues that the American people care about. And the number one issue that relates to that debt ceiling is whether the government is going to keep on spending money they don't have.
And the American people and Congress and every person elected in Washington has to understand we want to see a president finally lay out plans for reining in the excesses of government.
Well, what happens if we continue to spend time and time again, year and year again more money than we take in?
And so, you're going to see Republicans stand up and say, "Mr. President, lay down plans to balance this budget." If he does so, if we gets Democrats to come at that time table and honestly deal with the challenges we have, with the entitlement challenges, with the spending and discretionary accounts, with our jobs issues, and finally say you know what? We really can't afford another trillion dollars of Obamacare.
Clearly, President Obama has failed in leadership. Under his watch, in two and a half years, we've increased the federal debt 35 percent just in that amount of time.
Well, the protections between the separation of church and state were designed to protect people of faith from government, not government from people of faith. This is a country that in our founding documents says we're a nation that's founded under God, and the privileges and blessings at that we have are from our creator. They're not from our member of Congress. They're not from our county commissioner.
I think the key to the success of this country, how we all live together, because we are a very diverse country -- Madison called it the perfect remedy -- which was to allow everybody, people of faith and no faith, to come in and make their claims in the public square, to be heard, have those arguments, and not to say because you're not a person of faith, you need to stay out, because you have strong faith convictions, your opinion is invalid. Just the opposite -- we get along because we know that we -- all of our ideas are allowed in and tolerated. That's what makes America work.
First, the statement was would I be comfortable with a Muslim in my administration, not that I wouldn't appoint one. That's the exact transcript.
And I would not be comfortable because you have peaceful Muslims and then you have militant Muslims, those that are trying to kill us.
And so, when I said I wouldn't be comfortable, I was thinking about the ones that are trying to kill us, number one.
Secondly, yes, I do not believe in Sharia law in American courts. I believe in American laws in American courts, period. There have been instances -
Sorry. No, you are restating something I did not say, OK? If I may, OK?
Well, first of all, of course, we're not going to have Sharia law applied in U.S. courts. That's never going to happen. We have a Constitution and we follow the law.
I just want to comment for a second. The Pakistani who emigrated to the U.S. became a citizen, built a car bomb which luckily failed to go off in Times Square was asked by the federal judge, how could he have done that when he signed -- when he swore an oath to the United States. And he looked at the judge and said, "You're my enemy. I lied."
Well, I do believe in the 10th Amendment and I do believe in self-determination for the states.
Now, I didn't come from a perfect background. My parents were divorced. And I was raised by a single mother. There's a lot of single families and families with troubled situations. That's why my husband and I have broken hearts for at-risk kids and it's why we took 23 foster children into our home.
I'm running for the presidency of the United States. And I don't see that it's the role of a president to go into states and interfere with their state laws.
I support a constitutional amendment to define marriage between a man and woman. I was the co-author of the state -- a law in Minnesota to define it and now we have courts jumping over this.
John, we're a nation in two wars. I think we need to pay deference to our military commanders, particularly our combatant commanders, and in this case, I would take my cues from them as to how this affects the military going forward. I know they expressed concerns -- many of the combatant commanders did -- when this was originally repealed by the Obama administration.
Well, one, we ought to be talking about the economy and jobs. But given the fact you're insistent, the -- the answer is, I believe that "don't ask/don't tell" should have been kept in place until conflict was over.
The job of the United States military is to protect and defend the people of this country. It is not for social experimentation. It should be repealed. And the commanders should have a system of discipline in place, as Ron Paul said, that punishes -- that punishes bad behavior.
I think -- I think an issue should be -- in looking at any candidate is looking at the authenticity of that candidate and looking at their -- at their record over time and what they fought for. And I think that's -- that a factor that -- that should be determined.
Well, this is a great example where we can look at our records. The National Review Online, which is a conservative publication, said based on results -- not just based on words -- I was probably the most pro-life candidate in this race.
I'm solidly pro-life. The main pro-life organization in Minnesota gives me very, very high marks. And I haven't just talked about these things; I've done it.
But we cannot continue to provide -- the federal government should not require states to provide government services. And I have consistently voted against that and believe that we are, unfortunately -- my grandfather came to this country -- I announced in Somerset County. He didn't come here because he was guaranteed a government benefit. He came here because he wanted freedom.
And I think most people who come to this country -- certainly all people who come here legally -- want it because they wanted the opportunities of this country. And that's what we should be offering. We should not be offering to people -- particularly those who broke the law to come here or overstayed their visa -- we should not be offering government benefits.
If we believed in our free society -- as a matter of fact, this whole immigration problem is related to the economy. People aren't coming over as much now because it's weak. When we had a healthy economy, some of our people didn't work [ph] and people flowed over here getting jobs. So there is an economic issue here, as well.
But, no, if you have an understanding and -- and you want to believe in freedom, freedom has solved these kind of problems before. You don't have to say, oh, you're not going to have care or there won't be any care and everybody is going to starve to death and -- and die on the streets without medical care. That's the implication of the question. That's just not true, and you shouldn't accept it.
That's nonsense. There's not -- we're never going to pass a comprehensive bill. Obama proved that in the last two years. He couldn't get a comprehensive bill through with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and he didn't even try, because he knew he couldn't do it.
But if you don't want to use the National Guard, I'm...
Now, the right answer for us to have energy independence is to start developing our own energy in this country, and we're not doing that. We -- we have a huge find with natural gas; 100 years of new natural gas has been found. More drilling for oil, natural gas, clean coal. We have coal in great abundance, nuclear power ultimately, and all the renewables. But it's time for us to have a president who really cares about finally getting America on track for energy security.
One of the issues for the ethanol industry is distribution networks. So I would take half of that credit every year, 4.5 cents, and use it to help expand distribution for E-85 in other areas of the country. And that all would be shut down in five years.
I want to say, first of all, thank you to you for the sacrifice of your family and your sons in defending the liberty that we have and our friends around the world. Thank you for what you've done.
But I also think we've learned that our troops shouldn't go off and try and fight a war of independence for another nation. Only the Afghanis can win Afghanistan's independence from the Taliban. Thank you.
Not quite. I served five years in the military. I've had a little experience. I've spent a little time over in the Pakistan/Afghanistan area, as well as Iran. But I wouldn't wait for my generals. I'm the commander in chief.
I make the decisions. I tell the generals what to do. I'd bring them home as quickly as possible. And I would get them out of Iraq as well. And I wouldn't start a war in Libya. I'd quit bombing Yemen. And I'd quit bombing Pakistan.
Let me first say to John, thank you for your family's commitment to our nation, to your service, to the sacrifices that you made and to the burdens that you bear. I know I speak for everyone in this room and all across this country when we say we're grateful to you. We wouldn't have the country without people lie you and your sons. Thank you very much.
No, I don't believe so it is. That isn't just my opinion. That was the opinion of our defense secretary, Gates, when he came before the United States Congress. He could not identify a vital national American interest in Libya.
But I think what Congresswoman Bachmann just said ought to really sober everybody about how much trouble we're in. Ten years after 9/11, our intelligence is so inadequate that we have no idea what percent of the Libyan rebels are, in fact, al Qaeda. Libya was the second largest producer of people who wanted to kill Americans in Iraq.
I think that we need to think fundamentally about reassessing our entire strategy in the region. I think that we should say to the generals we would like to figure out to get out as rapid as possible with the safety of the troops involved. And we had better find new and very different strategies because this is too big a problem for us to deal with the American ground forces in direct combat.
Our enemies no longer respect us. Our friends no longer trust us. And we have a foreign policy that unfortunately now we're probably going to need more of a presence, because we've created such a vacuum. Thus, all the contingency operations you're seeing here as a result of America's fecklessness in dealing with the threats that confront us.
Yes. I happen to believe that the polls do represent a barometer, because it's way too early. Secondly, probably a lot of the people don't know us yet, because it's still real early in the process.
So as people get to know us more and more, I think they're going to find that this really is a good field of candidates, at least in my opinion. But the people that know the most about everybody up here, they don't see this as a weak field, and neither do I.
If Vice President Biden would have had his way, we would have had a partitioned Iraq and probably more mayhem in the Middle East. I think Governor Palin is a remarkable leader. I think she's qualified to be president of the United States.
We've had presidents in the past that had bad foreign policies. This is the first time we've had a president that doesn't have a foreign policy. And this hit or miss approach has meant a couple of successes, like getting Osama bin Laden -- congratulations -- but a lot of misses, like throwing our friends under the bus. And that's why any of these people who gets better known by the American people will serve as president with distinction over the future.
I think what Hermann said. We have a great field of candidates. I was very impressed by what I heard. I hope everybody else was. These are folks that answered the questions that were asked of them.
And New Hampshire is proving that the issue people care most about is getting this economy growing again, so that we can have rising housing prices again. People can have the kind of incomes they deserve. They don't have to wonder whether the future is brighter than the past. People in New Hampshire love the future.
I've learned with the group here that disagrees on some issues, we can talk about it and be civil to each other.
And we have a lot of troubles around the world, as you see, the Middle East in flames, and what's going on in this country with gas prices and the economy. And I'm here to talk about a positive solutions that confront this country that include everybody from the bottom up. [applause]
And here's where I differentiate myself from everybody else, including, obviously, the president. I actually have experience on tackling the toughest problems that we have in this country, and that's the growth of entitlement spending.
And that's a couple trillion dollars in spending over the next 10 years. But there's bigger issues.
Some people have suggested that defense spending is the problem. When I was born, defense spending was 60 percent of the budget. It's now 17 percent. If you think defense spending is the problem, then you need a remedial math class to go back to.
Defense spending will not be cut under my administration, but we will go after all of the means-tested entitlement programs — Medicaid, food stamps, all of those programs — and do what we did with welfare.
And unlike the Paul Ryan plan — I see I'm out of time, but unlike the Paul Ryan plan, we also will deal with Medicare and Social Security, not 10 years from now. But we need to start dealing with it now because our country is facing fiscal bankruptcy.
And that is as you — as you look at this country, I'm a guy who has lived in the world of business. If you don't balance your budget in business, you go out of business. So I've lived balancing budgets. I also served in the Olympics, balanced a budget there. And — and served in the states. And all four years I was governor, we balanced the budget. Here's what I'd do at the federal level, I would divide all of the programs into three major places for opportunity to reduce costs.
So government as a size of the economy went down when I was in the United States Senate. Sure I had some votes. Look, I think we've all had votes that I look back on I — I wish I wouldn't have voted — No Child Left Behind, you're right, it lead to education spending. That's why I've said that we need to cut and eliminate No Child Left Behind and — and education funding from the federal government, move it back to the local level where it belongs where parents and local communities can deal with that.
Well when I was speaker, as I'm sure he remembers, we balanced the budget for four consecutive years, the only time in his lifetime. So I think that's a good place to start with Gilbert's question. We're meeting tonight on the 280th anniversary of George Washington's birth. You go back and look at the founding fathers, they'd have had very clear messages. Hamilton would have said you have to have jobs and economic growth to get back to a balanced budget. You're never going to balance the budget on the back of a highly unemployed country. And so I would be committed, first of all, to a program of jobs and economic growth.
Second, the energy issue is enormous. The leading developer of North Dakota oil estimated recently that, if we would open up federal land and open up offshore, you would have $16 trillion to $18 trillion — not billion — trillion dollars in royalties to the federal government in the next generation, an enormous flow which would drive down prices to $2.50 a gallon, would help us balance the budget and would create millions of jobs.
So this idea of being fiscally conservative now that we're running for office and we're going to repeal something that we did before, I mean, this — it loses credibility is what our problem is. So... [applause] And — and the one thing that I think should annoy all Americans is the voting for foreign aid? I mean, just think there are foreign aid packages that are huge, and when the member votes for it, they don't say, well, this money is going to A, B, C, because I love that country, but it's the principle of the way the government works. You vote for foreign aid because, for some weird reason, it's supposed to be good for America, but then it goes and helps all our enemies. That's what I disapprove of. [applause]
Ron, The Weekly Standard just did a review, looking at the National Taxpayers Union, I think, Citizens Against Government Waste, and they measured me up against the other 50 senators who were serving when I did and they said that I was the most fiscally conservative senator in the Congress in the — in the 12 years that I was there.
My — my ratings with the National Taxpayers Union were As or Bs. They were very high from the Citizens Against Government Waste. I got a hero award.
By the way, Ron, you ranked 145th in the bottom half of Republicans this year in a conservative voting record from that same organization.
But this whole thing about comparison of conservative votes, I think you make a very important point. I don't rate what, at the top. If it's spending or on taxes I'm at the very top because I vote for the least amount of spending and the least amount of taxes, which means that some of the conservative ratings — you have to realize sometimes conservatives want to spend money, too.
Well, severe, strict. I was, without question, a conservative governor in my state. We balanced the budget all four years I was in office. We cut taxes 19 times.
I enabled our state police to enforce illegal immigration laws so that people could be taken out of our state that were illegally. We drove our schools to have —[applause]— campaigned for and fought for English immersion in our school, and had that successfully implemented. My policies in Massachusetts were to — were conservative, and in a state, as Rick indicated, a state that was a relatively liberal state, I stood up and said I would stand on the side of life when the legislature passed a bill saying that life would not be defined not at conception but later.
Then look back into the business. You can't be, I don't believe, anything but a fiscal conservative and run a business, because if you don't balance your budget, you go out of business.
And the fact is, if we're serious — and, in a funny kind of way, Ron and I are closer on the scale of change. We'd approach it slightly different, but I think you've got to start and say what would a modern system be like?
So let me just take that one example. Let's assume you could, tomorrow morning, have a president who wanted to work with your governor, that instead of suing Arizona, helped Arizona, who actually worked with Arizona. Now —[applause]— what's the fiscal reality three years from now in your emergency rooms, in your schools, in your prisons, of controlling the border? It's a lot less expensive. You just took a major step towards a less expensive future. So I think it is possible to modernize the federal government and cut taxes and develop energy simultaneously. And the three lead you to Gilbert's concern. Let's get back to a balanced budget. [applause]
I didn't suggest it was a bad earmark. I voted for it and about half the money — a little over half the money that went to the Salt Lake games.
We wouldn't have the V-22 Osprey, which was the most essential air platform for our Marines in particular in the war against the radical Islamists. We wouldn't have it if it wasn't for an earmark. That program would have been killed under George Bush 41. Dick Cheney, the Defense Department, wanted to kill that program, and many of us, including myself, stood up and made sure that was there.
Congress has a role to play when it comes to appropriating money, and sometimes the president and the administration doesn't get it right. What happened was an abuse of the process.
When that abuse occurred, I stepped forward, as Jim DeMint did, who, by the way, was an earmarker, as almost everybody else in Congress was. Why? Because Congress has a role of allocating resources when they think the administration has it wrong.
I defended that at the time. I'm proud I defended it at the time, because I think they did make mistakes. I do believe there was abuse, and I said we should stop it, and as president I would oppose earmarks.
I'm sorry. The 6,000 earmarks that were put in place under the Speaker's term, for instance, were oftentimes tagged on to other bills —[booing]
That was the process. There were thousands — I mean, we've had thousands and thousands of earmarks. They are typically tagged on to — bundled on to other bills.
Wait a second. You're entitled to your opinions, Mitt. You're not entitled to —
As part of the bill. Congressman Paul...
The whole bill, but he can't veto the earmark?
Well, we tried to do that, by the way. I supported a line-item veto.
Mitt, I agree with you. I support — I support the line-item veto. I voted for a line-item veto so we could do just that. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court struck it down. I would like to go back, as president, again, and give the president the authority to line-item veto.
And I'm not — I'm not criticizing; I'm just saying that's a fact, that...[laughter]... that he — he...[applause] [booing]
I think you need a chance to say a word. [crosstalk] [laughter]
Now, when I was speaker, for example...[applause]... and we had a liberal Democrat in the White House — I actually want to reinforce what the governor said. I helped the Atlanta Olympics get the support they needed from the U.S. government to be successful. I thought it was totally appropriate to help the Atlanta Olympics. And I actually went to — to your former governor and sat down with the people originally planning the Winter Olympics and said, look, this is what we did; this is what you need to do.
Even if I'm president, I don't want more power over that — over that funding. That should be with the people and — and with the Congress. But earmarking — the reason we get into trouble is — is the irresponsibility of Congress.
But if you say you're against — against the earmarking and fuss and fume over, the answer is vote against the bill. That is what I do. I argue for the case of the responsibility being on the Congress, but it's the responsibility of us who believe in fiscal conservatism to vote against the bill. We need to vote against the spending is what we need to do. [applause]
I would just say to them that I in principle oppose government coming in and bailing out a sector of the economy or an industry with government dollars and — and with government manipulation of that market, which is exactly what happened twice, in 2008 and 2009.
The first time it happened was the Wall Street bailout. On principle, I opposed the Wall Street bailout, even though I understand people — reasonable people could disagree. I felt that having the government come in in such a major way and have a huge influence over the direction of that industry, that that would be damaging to what I believe is the best way to resolve these types of problems, which lets the market work, constructive capitalism, as Governor Romney was talking about in his days at Bain Capital, and destructive capitalism.
These companies need to go through a managed bankruptcy, just like airlines have, just like other industries have. Go through a managed bankruptcy...[applause]...and — and if they go through that managed bankruptcy and shed the excessive cost that's been put on them by the UAW and by their own mismanagement, then if they need help coming out of bankruptcy, the government can provided guarantees and get them back on their feet. No way would we allow the auto industry in America to totally implode and disappear. That was my view. Go through bankruptcy. When that happens, then the market can help lift them out. With regards to — to TARP it's very simple, or — or the Wall Street. Look, I don't want to save any Wall Street Banks.
Those monies they put in beforehand were — it was wasted money. And number two, because they put that money in, the president gave the companies to the UAW, they were part of the reason the companies were in trouble. Giving these companies to the UAW was wrong. [applause] [crosstalk]
It's not tough. First of all, there's a huge amount of the American auto industry that was just fine. BMW in South Carolina was terrific. Mercedes in Alabama was doing just fine. Honda in Ohio was just fine. So the — Toyota was just fine. What we have is the United Auto Workers and a management system that had grown very, I think incapable of tough decisions because they were used to selling out to the United Auto Workers. And so they came in and said, oh we can't change. And this president on behalf of the United Auto Workers said, you're exactly right.
Now, the fact is, Chrysler is now Fiat. So when we talk about saving the American auto industry, let's be clear what they were doing. I think that they would have been much better off to have gone through a managed bankruptcy, I agree with Governor Romney. I think it would have happened. I think what would have happened is the UAW would have lost all of their advantages and the result was, what you had I thought was an unprecedented violation of 200 years of bankruptcy law by Barack Obama to pay off the UAW at the expense of every bondholder. [applause]
First, I don't like the idea that you have good bailouts and bad bailouts. If bailouts are bad, they're bad, and we shouldn't be doing it.
In the housing bubble, we undermined contracts. And this is what we're doing here. So you want to respect the contracts.
A lot of people will accuse me of advocating a free market, that there's no regulations. Actually, the regulations are tougher, because you have to go through bankruptcy and you have to face up to this.
But I just want to point out, you did not once in the 2008 campaign, not once did anybody in the elite media ask why Barack Obama voted in favor of legalizing infanticide. OK? So let's be clear here. [applause]
And he retried to retreat from that but he retreated in a way that was not appropriate, because these insurance companies now have to provide these same things and obviously the Catholic Church will end up paying for them.
The left gets all upset. "Oh, look at him talking about these things." You know, here's the difference between me and the left, and they don't get this. Just because I'm talking about it doesn't mean I want a government program to fix it.
The problem is the government is getting involved in things they shouldn't be involved in, especially at the federal level. [applause]
But sort of along the line of the pills creating immorality, I don't see it that way. I think the immorality creates the problem of wanting to use the pills. So you don't blame the pills.
Likewise, in Massachusetts health care bill, there's a provision in Massachusetts general laws that says people don't have to have coverage for contraceptives or other type of medical devices which are contrary to their religious teachings. Churches also don't have to provide that to entities which are either the church themselves or entities they control. So we have provisions that make sure that something of that nature does not occur.
That's why when I worked closely with the leaders of the Catholic Church, I met with the cardinal a number of times, and with his emissaries. We talked about the issues we were concerned about.
You know, we talk about the morning-after pill. Actually, the morning-after pill is nothing more than a birth control pill, so if birth control pills are on the market, the morning-after pill — so if you're going to legalize birth control pills, you really — you can't separate the two. They're all basically the same, hormonally.
As Congressman Paul knows, I opposed Title X funding. I've always opposed Title X funding, but it's included in a large appropriation bill that includes a whole host of other things, including...[booing]... the funding for the National Institutes of Health, the funding for Health and Human Services and a whole bunch of other departments. It's a multi-billion-dollar bill.
So while, yes, I — I admit I voted for large appropriation bills and there were things in there I didn't like, things in there I did, but when it came to this issue, I proactively stepped forward and said that we need to do something at least to counterbalance it, A; B, I would say that I've always been very public that, as president of the United States, I will defund Planned Parenthood; I will not sign any appropriation bill that funds Planned Parenthood. [applause] [crosstalk]
John, this demonstrates the problem that I'm talking about. There's always an excuse to do this. Now...[applause]... Title XX — I don't know whether you inferred that I would support Title XX for abstinence. No, it would cost money as a program. It's not a program of the federal government to get involved in our lives this way. If you want laws like that, maybe the state, but...[applause]... the federal government shouldn't even be having — spending money on abstinence. That's way too much more. I don't see that in the Constitution any... [crosstalk]
I think it's — I think I was making it clear that, while I have a personal more objection to it; even though I don't support it, that I voted for bills that included it. And I made it very clear in subsequent interviews that I don't — I don't support that...[booing]... I've never supported it, and — and have — and on an individual basis have voted against it. That's why I proposed Title XX to counterbalance it.
That's what Governor Romney did in Massachusetts. It would be a very — very, let say it would be a difficult task for someone who had the model for Obama Care, which is the biggest issue in this race of government in control of your lives, to be the nominee of our party. It would take that issue completely off... [crosstalk]
The bottom line is, what you did was you used federal dollars to fund the government takeover of health care in Massachusetts, used it as — and — and Barack Obama...[crosstalk]
Well, I'll get to that in a minute. [applause] But — and then Barack Obama used it as a model for taking over this health care system in America. Why I supported Arlen Specter, number one because — because Arlen Specter was a — a Senator who was going to be the chairman of the Judiciary Committee at a time when the most important issue that was coming up in the next session of Congress was two to three Supreme Court nominees that were going to be available. And one, and maybe two of them, or maybe all three were going to be out of the conservative block. And Arlen Specter as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, we had a conversation.
And then that invites the illegal. We have to deal — we can't endorse the illegal, but the program today endorses the illegal problems. And a weak economy is always detrimental, too, because of the welfare state. We have welfare at home and some jobs go begging, we have jobs going begging in this country in the midst of the recession, has to do with the economy.
You can't ignore the economy. But also the welfare state, allowing immigrants to come over and then get the benefits — if you subsidize something, you get more of. So there's a lot we can do and should do and certainly this president is not doing a very good job. [applause]
Look, the fact is I helped Duncan Hunter pass the first fence bill in San Diego when I was Speaker of the House. San Diego and Tijuana are the most densely populated border. It turned out it worked. It worked dramatically. Duncan and I would be glad to testify. He's former chairman of the national — of the Defense Committee — how much it worked.
And as a result of e-verify being put in place, the number of people in Arizona that are here illegally has dropped by some 14 percent, where the national average has only gone down 7 percent. So going back to the question that was asked, the right course for America is to drop these lawsuits against Arizona and other states that are trying to do the job Barack Obama isn't doing. [applause]
You do that, and just as Arizona is finding out, you can stop illegal immigration. It's time we finally did it. [applause]
The great failure here — I voted in 1986 for the bill which was supposed to solve all this, which Ronald Reagan solved — signed. And in Reagan's diary, he says, I signed this bill because we have to get control of the border and we have to have an employer-sanctioned program with a guest worker program.
I would look to the people who are serving in the military to give the best assessment of where women can serve. We've had over 100 women lose their lives in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I do think that the key decisions that are being made by this administration, by President Obama, however, related to our military are seriously awry. This is a president who is shrinking our Navy, shrinking our Air Force, wants to shrink our active-duty personnel by 50,000 to 100,000, is cutting our military budget by roughly a trillion dollars.
The world is more dangerous. It is not safer.
I think this is a very sober period, and I believe this is the most dangerous president on national security grounds in American history. [applause]
I actually agree with the comments made by the two gentlemen to my left, that there are different roles of women in combat. They are on the front line right now. Their combat zone is, as Newt said, everywhere, unfortunately, in that environment.
My concern that I expressed, I didn't say it was wrong. I said I had concerns about certain roles with respect to — and particularly in infantry.
Look, the — the price of gasoline pales in comparison to the idea of Ahmadinejad with nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad having fissile material that he can give to Hezbollah and Hamas and that they can bring into Latin America and potentially bring across the border into the United States to let off dirty bombs here. I mean — or — or more sophisticated bombs here, this — we simply cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weaponry. And — and — and this president has a lot of failures. It's hard — it's hard to think of — economically his failures, his — his policies in a whole host of areas have been troubling.
But nothing in my view is as serious a failure as his failure to deal with Iran appropriately. This president — this president should have put in place crippling sanctions against Iran, he did not. He decided to give Russia — he decided to give Russia their number one foreign policy objective, removal of our missile defense sites from Eastern Europe and got nothing in return. He could have gotten crippling sanctions against Iran. He did not. When dissident voices took to the street in Iran to protest a stolen election there, instead of standing with them, he bowed to the election. This is a president...[applause]...who has made it clear through his administration in almost every communication we've had so far, that he does not want Israel to take action. That he opposes military action. This is a president who should have instead communicated to Iran that we are prepared, that we are considering military options. They're not just on the table. They are in our hand. We must now allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. If they do, the world changes. America will be at risk. And some day, nuclear weaponry will be used. If I am president, that will not happen. If we reelect Barack Obama, it will happen. [applause]
I was the author of a bill back in 2008 that talked about sanctions on a nuclear program that our intelligence community said didn't exist and had the President of the United States, president bush oppose me for two years.
I disagree because we don't know if they have a weapon. As a matter of fact, there's no evidence that they have it. There is no evidence.
Israel claims they do not have it and our government doesn't. I don't want them to get a weapon. But I think what we're doing is encouraging them to have a weapon because they feel threatened. If you look at a map of — if you look at a map of Iran, we have 45 bases around their country, plus our submarines.
The Iranians can't possibly attack anybody. And we're worrying about the possibility of one nuclear weapon. Now, just think about the Cold War. The Soviets had 30,000 of them. And we talked to them. The Soviets killed 100 million people and the Chinese, and we worked our way out of it.
And if you want to worry about nuclear weapons, worry about the nuclear weapons that were left over from the Soviet Union. They're still floating around. They don't have them all detailed. So we're ready to go to war. I say going to war rapidly like this is risky and it's reckless.
So what we're doing is literally enhancing their power. Think of the sanctions we dealt with Castro. Fifty years and Castro is still there. It doesn't work. So I would say a different approach. We need to at least — we talked — we talked to the Soviets during the Cuban crisis. We at least can talk to somebody who does not — we do not have proof that he has a weapon. Why go to war so carelessly?
Syria is a puppet state of Iran. They are a threat not just to Israel, but they have been a complete destabilizing force within Lebanon, which is another problem for Israel and Hezbollah. They are a country that we can do no worse than the leadership in Syria today, which is not the case, and some of the other countries that we readily got ourselves involved in.
So it's sort of remarkable to me we would have — here again, it's — I think it's the timidness of this president in dealing with the Iranian threat, because Syria and Iran is an axis. And the president — while he couldn't reach out deliberately to Iran but did reach out immediately to Syria and established an embassy there. And the only reason he removed that embassy was because it was threatened of being — of being overtaken, not because he was objecting to what was going on in Syria.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a president who isn't going to stop them. He isn't going to stop them from getting a nuclear weapon. We need a new president or we are going to have a cataclysmic situation with a — a power that is the most prolific proliferator of terror in the world that will be able to do so with impunity because they will have a nuclear weapon to protect — protect them for whatever they do. It has to be stopped, and this president is not in a position to do that.
And I agree with — with Senator Santorum's point. This is an administration which, as long as you're America's enemy, you're safe.
I agree with both these gentlemen. It's very interesting that you're seeing, on the Republican platform, a very strong commitment to say we're going to say no to Iran. It's unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
And — and Rick is absolutely right. Syria is their key ally. It's their only ally in the Arab world. It is also their route to the sea. Syria provides a — a shadow over Lebanon. Syria is providing the armament of Hezbollah in Lebanon that, of course, threatens Israel, our friend and ally.
There's things that are — we're having a hard time getting our hands around, like, what's happening in Egypt. But in Syria, with Assad in trouble, we need to communicate to the Alawites, his friends, his ethnic group, to say, look, you have a future if you'll abandon that guy Assad.
We need to work with — with Saudi Arabia and with Turkey to say, you guys provide the kind of weaponry that's needed to help the rebels inside Syria. This is a critical time for us.
So I don't believe I'm going to get the conversion on the moral and the constitutional arguments in the near future. But I'll tell you what, I'm going to win this argument for economic reasons. Just remember, when the Soviets left, they left not because we had to fight them. They left because they bankrupted this country and we better wake up, because that is what we're doing here. We're destroying our currency and we have a financial crisis on our hands. [applause]
Well, you know what? I supported No Child Left Behind. I supported it. It was the principal priority of President Bush to try to take on a failing education system and try to impose some sort of testing regime that would be able to quantify how well we're doing with respect to education. I have to admit, I voted for that. It was against the principles I believed in, but, you know, when you're part of the team, sometimes you take one for the team, for the leader, and I made a mistake. [booing]
What was a bad idea was all the money that was put out there, and that, in fact, was a huge problem. I admit the mistake and I will not make that mistake again. You have someone who is committed.
I know the importance of local control of education. And having gone through that experience of the federal government involvement, not only do I believe the federal government should get out of the education business, I think the state government should start to get out of the education business and put it back to the state — to the local and into the community. [applause]
And with regards to No Child Left Behind, the right answer there — President Bush stood up and said, you know what? The teachers unions don't want school choice, I want school choice to see who's succeeding and failing.
There are two things wrong with the president's approach. And the reason I would, frankly, dramatically shrink the Federal Department of Education down to doing nothing but research, return all the power under the Tenth Amendment back to the states.
And if you look at L.A. Unified, it is almost criminal what we do to the poorest children in America, entrapping them into places. No Nation Left Behind said if a foreign power did this to our children, we'd declare it an act of war because they're doing so much damage. The second thing we bought into was the — the whole school of education theory that you don't have to learn, you have to learn about how you would learn.
Newt — Newt's going in the right direction, but not far enough. [laughter]
The Constitution is very, very clear. There is no authority for the federal government to be involved in education. [applause]
There's no — no prohibition in the Constitution for the states to be involved in education. That's not a bad position and we can sort things out. But once — once again the Senators for — was for No Child Left Behind, but now he's running for president, now he's running to repeal No Child Left Behind once again. But — and he calls it a team sport. He has to go along to get along and that's the way the team plays. But that's what the problem is with Washington. That's what's been going on for so long. [applause]
So, I don't accept that form of government. I understand it. That is the way it works. You were with the majority. You were the Whip and you organized and got these votes all passed. But I think the obligation of all of us should be the oath of office. We should take — and it shouldn't be the oath to the party. I'm sorry about that, but it isn't the oath to the party, it's the oath to our office. [applause]
To obey the law and the law is the Constitution. [applause]
And the total ignoring some statistics that show it to be the opposite. Just recently, there was a poll in Iowa, and it matched all the four of us up against Obama. And guess what? I did the very best. [applause]
I think that the fact is that the American public are really desperate to find somebody who can solve real problems. I think that's why it's been going up and down and why you have got all sorts of different folks as front-runners.
That's what we need in Washington, not just after the election, but we're going to need to have that before the election, and I'm the best person, from a state which is a key swing state, from a region of the country which is going to decide this election, right across the Rust Belt of America. We've got the programs; we've got the plan, and we can win and defeat Barack Obama and govern this country conservatively. [applause]
I mean, this is what's wrong. He buys and sells politicians of all stripes, he's already...
I will not make the pledge at this time.
So, you know, experience comes from a large number of different arenas, and America became a great nation early on not because it was flooded with politicians, but because it was flooded with people who understood the value of personal responsibility, hard work, creativity, innovation, and that's what will get us on the right track now, as well.
Here's what this election better be about: This election better be about the future, not the past. It better be about the issues our nation and the world is facing today, not simply the issues we once faced.
If I'm our nominee, how is Hillary Clinton gonna lecture me about living paycheck to paycheck? I was raised paycheck to paycheck. How is she -- how is she gonna lecture me -- how is she gonna lecture me about student loans? I owed over $100,000 just four years ago.
If I'm our nominee, we will be the party of the future. [applause]
I'm gonna have to earn this. Maybe the barrier -- the bar's even higher for me. That's fine.
I cut taxes every year, totaling $19 billion. We were -- we had -- we balanced every budget. We went from $1 billion of reserves to $9 billion of reserves.
I am my own man. I governed as a conservative, and I govern effectively. And the net effect was, during my eight years, 1.3 million jobs were created. We left the state better off because I applied conservative principles in a purple state the right way, and people rose up. [applause]
I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. [applause]
And frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it's fun, it's kidding. We have a good time. What I say is what I say. And honestly Megyn, if you don't like it, I'm sorry. I've been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be, based on the way you have treated me. But I wouldn't do that. [applause]
There is a reason... [applause] .... that we have $18 trillion in debt. Because as conservatives, as Republicans, we keep winning elections. We got a Republican House, we've got a Republican Senate, and we don't have leaders who honor their commitments. I will always tell the truth and do what I said I would do. [applause]
So, what did we do? We came in, we balanced an $11 billion deficit on a $29 billion budget by cutting over 800 programs in the state budget. We brought the budget into balance with no tax increases. In fact, we vetoed five income tax increases during my time as governor. We cut business taxes $2.3 billion, and we cut regulation by one-third of what my predecessor put in place.
Well, I'm pro-life, I've always been pro-life, and I've got a position that I think is consistent with many Americans out there in that... [applause] ...in that I believe that that is an unborn child that's in need of protection out there, and I've said many a time that that unborn child can be protected, and there are many other alternatives that can also protect the life of that mother. That's been consistently proven.
Chris, I disagree with the idea that the real issue is a constitutional amendment. That's a long and difficult process. I've actually taken the position that's bolder than that.
A lot of people are talking about defunding planned parenthood, as if that's a huge game changer. I think it's time to do something even more bold. I think the next president ought to invoke the Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the constitution now that we clearly know that that baby inside the mother's womb is a person at the moment of conception.
It's time that we recognize the Supreme Court is not the Supreme Being, and we change the policy to be pro-life and protect children instead of rip up their body parts and sell them like they're parts to a Buick. [applause]
To treat the mentally ill. Ten thousand of them sit in our prisons. It costs $22,500 a year... [applause] ...to keep them in prison. I'd rather get them their medication so they could lead a decent life.
Secondly, we are rehabbing the drug-addicted. Eighty percent of the people in our prisons have addictions or problems. We now treat them in the prisons, release them in the community and the recidivism rate is 10 percent and everybody across this country knows that the tsunami of drugs is -- is threatening their very families.
Everybody has a right to their God-given purpose.
And finally, our Medicaid is growing at one of the lowest rates in the country. And, finally, we went from $8 billion in the hole to $2 billion in the black. We've cut $5 billion in taxes... [timer sounds] ...and we've grown 350,000 jobs. [applause]
I do. I believe that the great majority of people coming here illegally have no other option. They want to provide for their family.
But we need to control our border. It's not -- it's our responsibility to pick and choose who comes in. So I -- I've written a book about this and yet this week, I did come up with a comprehensive strategy that -- that really mirrored what we said in the book, which is that we need to deal with E-Verify, we need to deal with people that come with a legal visa and overstay.
We need to be much more strategic on how we deal with border enforcement, border security. We need to eliminate the sanctuary cities in this country. It is ridiculous and tragic...[applause]...that people are dying because of the fact that -- that local governments are not following the federal law. There's much to do. And I think rather than talking about this as a wedge issue, which Barack Obama has done now for six long years, the next president -- and I hope to be that president -- will fix this once and for all so that we can turn this into a driver for high sustained economic growth.
And the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning. And they send the bad ones over because they don't want to pay for them. They don't want to take care of them.
Chris, first of all, I was just saying to Chris Christie, they say we're outspoken, we need to take lessons from Donald Trump if we're really going to learn it. Here is the thing about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is hitting a nerve in this country. He is. He's hitting a nerve. People are frustrated. They're fed up. They don't think the government is working for them. And for people who want to just tune him out, they're making a mistake.
Now, he's got his solutions. Some of us have other solutions. You know, look, I balanced the federal budget as one of the chief architects when I was in Washington. Hasn't been done since. I was a military reformer. I took the state of Ohio from an $8 billion hole and a 350,000 job loss to a $2 billion surplus and a gain of 350,000 jobs.
And so these are important issues, and we should address it. It's a serious problem that needs to be addressed, and otherwise we're going to keep talking about this for the next 30 years, like we have for the last 30 years.
I talked to border state governors and other elected officials. I look at how this president, particularly through last November, messed up the immigration system in this country. Most importantly, I listened to the people of America.
President Obama has talked about fundamentally transforming this country. There's 7 billion people across the face of the globe, many of whom want to come to this country. If they come legally, great. But if they come illegally and they get amnesty, that is how we fundamentally change this country, and it really is striking.
And I will make no apologies, ever, for protecting the lives and the safety of the American people. We have to give more tools to our folks to be able to do that, not fewer, and then trust those people and oversee them to do it the right way. As president, that is exactly what I'll do.
I want to collect more records from terrorists, but less records from innocent Americans. The Fourth Amendment was what we fought the Revolution over! John Adams said it was the spark that led to our war for independence, and I'm proud of standing for the Bill of Rights, and I will continue to stand for the Bill of Rights. [applause]
Listen, senator, you know, when you're sitting in a subcommittee, just blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that. [applause]
...indiscriminately, of all Americans' records, and that's what I fought to end.
...and while still putting our country at risk.
When I asked General Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs, what would be required militarily to destroy ISIS, he said there is no military solution. We need to change the conditions on the ground so that young men are not in poverty and susceptible to radicalization. That, with all due respect, is nonsense.
It's the same answer the State Department gave that we need to give them jobs. What we need is a commander in chief who makes -- clear, if you join ISIS, if you wage jihad on America, then you are signing your death warrant.
To honor the people that died, we need to -- we need to --- stop the -- Iran agreement, for sure, because the Iranian mullahs have their blood on their hands, and we need to take out ISIS with every tool at our disposal. [applause]
I don't know about additional ones. We need to focus on the ones we have. You look at Egypt, probably the best relationship we've had in Israel, at least in my lifetime, incredibly important.
Alright. You know, what we do in order to get the information that we need is our business, and I wouldn't necessarily be broadcasting what we're going to do. [applause]
We. . .uh. . .we've gotten into this -- this mindset of fighting politically correct wars. There is no such thing as a politically correct war. [applause]
And, the left, of course, will say Carson doesn't believe in the Geneva Convention. Carson doesn't believe in fighting stupid wars. And -- and what we have to remember is we want to utilize the tremendous intellect that we have in the military to win wars.
And the Middle East became totally destabilized. So I just want to say.
But they have total control of the politicians. They're making a fortune.
I'm not -- I'm not are -- I don't think you heard me. You're having a hard time tonight.
Not me. [laughter] But you're welcome to give me a check, Donald if you'd like.
Actually, to be clear...[crosstalk]...he supported Charlie Crist.
Sounds good. Sounds good to me, Governor.
She didn't have a choice because I gave. I gave to a foundation that, frankly, that foundation is supposed to do good. I didn't know her money would be used on private jets going all over the world. It was.
We -- we spent a lot of time talking about Hillary Clinton and ---and pitting us back and forth.
Let's be clear, we should be talking about Hillary Clinton on that last subject, because everywhere in the world that Hillary Clinton touched is more messed up today than before she and the president [inaudible].
I'm for higher standards... [applause] ...measured in an intellectually honest way, with abundant school choice, ending social promotion. And I know how to do this because as governor of the state of Florida I created the first statewide voucher program in the country, the second statewide voucher program, in the country and the third statewide voucher program in the country.
And we had rising student achievement across the board, because high standards, robust accountability, ending social promotion in third grade, real school choice across the board, challenging the teachers union and beating them is the way to go.
And Florida's low income kids had the greatest gains inside the country. Our graduation rate improved by 50 percent. That's what I'm for.
Because today in America, a third of our kids, after we spend more per student than any country in the world other than a couple rounding errors, to be honest with you, 30 percent are college- and/or career-ready.
If we are going to compete in this world we're in today, there is no possible way we can do it with lowering expectations and dumbing down everything. Children are going to suffer and families' hearts are going to be broken that their kids won't be able to get a job in the 21st Century. [applause]
If Hillary is the candidate, which I doubt, that would be a dream come true. [laughter]
The new normal of two percent that the left is saying you can't do anything about is so dangerous for our country. There's 6 million people living in poverty today, more than when Barack Obama got elected. 6.5 million people are working part-time, most of whom want to work full-time. We've created rules and taxes on top of every aspiration of people, and the net result is we're not growing fast, income's not growing. A four percent growth strategy means you fix a convoluted tax code. You get in and you change every aspect of regulations that are job killers. You get rid of Obamacare and replace it with something that doesn't suppress wages and kill jobs. [applause]
Before I came in, the unemployment rate was over eight percent. It's now down to 4.6 percent. We've more than made up for the jobs that were lost during the recession. And the rate in which people are working is almost five points higher than it is nationally.
I mean, so, there's a difference -- I'm the only guy on this stage who's put out a detailed, 12 point plan on entitlement reform and here's why -- because 71% of federal spending right now is on entitlements, and debt service, 71%. And we have spent the last hour and five minutes talking about the other 29%, and no time on the 71%, and that makes no sense.
The government took it out of their check whether they wanted them to or not. And, if person goes to 65, they're going to spend 51 years with the government reaching into their pocket at every paycheck.
It's always that the government figures that they can do this off the backs of people, many of whom are poor, and depend on that money, and I just think it's fundamentally lying to the people and stealing from them, and we shouldn't be doing it. [applause]
That's why it ought to be a transformed system. [applause]
Because I have used the laws of this country just like the greatest people that you read about every day in business have used the laws of this country, the chapter laws, to do a great job for my company, for myself, for my employees, for my family, et cetera.
Excuse me, what am I saying? Out of hundreds of deals that I've done, hundreds, on four occasions I've taken advantage of the laws of this country, like other people. I'm not going to name their names because I'm not going to embarrass, but virtually every person that you read about on the front page of the business sections, they've used the law.
We need to have a regulatory budget in America that limits the amount of regulations on our economy. We need to repeal and replace Obamacare and we need to improve higher education so that people can have access to the skills they need for 21st century jobs.
And last but not least, we need to repeal Dodd-Frank. It is eviscerating small businesses and small banks. [applause] 20 — over 40 percent of small and mid-size banks that loan money to small businesses have been wiped out over the — since Dodd-Frank has passed. We need to repeal and replace Dodd-Frank. We need to make America fair again for all businesses, but especially those being run by small business owners.
Well, first off, let's remember. I still remember, as a kid, tying a yellow ribbon around a tree in front of my house during the 444 days that Iran held 52 Americans hostage. Iran is not a place we should be doing business with.
To me, you terminate the deal on day one, you reinstate the sanctions authorized by Congress, you go to Congress and put in place even more crippling sanctions in place, and then you convince our allies to do the same.
If there's going to be a negotiation, you're going to have to believe somehow that the Iranians are going to comply. And I asked this question to John Kerry, I said "do you believe they're trustworthy?" and he said "No."
Ronald Reagan said "trust, but verify." President Obama is "trust, but vilify." He trusts our enemies and vilifies everyone who disagrees with him.
We didn't even get four hostages out. We got nothing, and Iran gets everything they want.
We said we would have anywhere, anytime negotiations and inspections, we gave that up. We said that we would make sure that they didn't have any nuclear capacity, we gave that up.
And what happened is friends of mine years ago were going to have a child, and it was going to be aborted. And it wasn't aborted. And that child today is a total superstar, a great, great child. And I saw that. And I saw other instances.
As far as being a Republican is concerned, I come from a place, New York City, which is virtually, I mean, it is almost exclusively Democrat. And I have really started to see some of the negatives -- as an example, and I have a lot of liking for this man, but the last number of months of [timer sounds] his brother's administration were a catastrophe. And unfortunately, those few months gave us President Obama. And you can't be happy about that. [applause]
We're not going on win by doing what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton do each and every day. Dividing the country. Saying, creating a grievance kind of environment. We're going to win when we unite people with a hopeful, optimistic message. I have that message because I was a governor of a state that saw people lifted up, because we had high sustained economic growth. Our economy grew at double the rate of the nation. We created 1.3 million jobs. We led the nation seven out of those eight years. We were only one of two states that went to AAA bond rating. I cut taxes, $19 billion. If you do that and apply conservative principles the right way, you create an environment where everybody rises up. That's how we're going to win. Campaigning in places to give people hope that their life is better because too many people are suffering today in America.
First of all, Jeb, I am very happy that you denied that, and I appreciate that very much. He is a true gentleman. He really is.
Wait, Megyn, the court has ruled, and I said we'll accept it. And guess what, I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay. Because somebody doesn't think the way I do, doesn't mean that I can't care about them or can't love them. So if one of my daughters happened to be that, of course I would love them and I would accept them. Because you know what? [applause]
That's what we're taught when we have strong faith. [applause]
Well, I think the most important thing we can do when it comes to policing -- it's something you've had a guest on who's a friend of mine Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark, who's talked to me about this many times in the past -- it's about training. It's about making sure that law enforcement professionals, not only in the way in to their positions but all the way through their time, have the proper training, particularly when it comes to the use of force. And that we protect and stand up and support those men and women who are doing their jobs in law enforcement. And for the very few that don't, that there are consequences to show that we treat everyone the same here in America.
I would be so different from what you have right now. Like, the polar opposite. We have a president who doesn't have a clue. I would say he's incompetent, but I don't want to do that because that's not nice. [laughter]
It is worth emphasizing that Iran released our hostages in 1981 the day Ronald Reagan was sworn into office. [applause]
You know, we turned our back on Israel, our ally. You know, in a situation like that, of course Obama's not going to be able to do anything. I would shore up our military first, because if you don't get the military right, nothing else is going to work. [applause]
Well first off, for the cyber attack with Russia the other day, it's sad to think right now, but probably the Russian and Chinese government know more about Hillary Clinton's e-mail server than do the members of the United States Congress. [laughter and applause]
We've reduced the military by 25 percent... [applause] ... under President Obama. The disaster is that we've forgotten why we have a military. The purpose of it is to make sure that we protect every American, wherever that American is, and if an American is calling out for help, whether it's in Benghazi or at the border, then we ought to be able to answer it.
Well, let's be clear, I'm the only one on the stage who actually has a five-year budget that balances. I've put pencil to paper...
We shouldn't borrow money from China to send it anywhere, but why don't we start with eliminating aid to our enemies.
I still say exactly what my original opinion is. Do you borrow money from China to send it to anyone? Out of your surplus, you can help your allies, and Israel is a great ally. And this is no particular animus of Israel, but what I will say, and I will say over and over again, we cannot give away money we don't have.
I agree with what Dr. Carson said earlier. The first thing we need to do to make America stronger is to strengthen our military, and I put out a really specific plan: no less than 500,000 active duty soldiers in the Army. No less than 185,000 active duty marines in the Marine Corps. Bring us to a 350 ship Navy again, and modernize the Ohio class of submarines, and bring our Air Force back to 2,600 aircraft that are ready to go.
Brett, can I -- Brett, can I jump in on this one?
Well, I am blessed to receive a word from God every day in receiving the scriptures and reading the scriptures. And God speaks through the Bible. [applause]
And someone invited him to Clay Road Baptist Church. And he gave his heart to Jesus and it turned him around. And he got on a plane and he flew back to my mother and me. [applause]
I would also note that the scripture tells us, "you shall know them by their fruit." We see lots of "campaign conservatives." But if we're going to win in 2016, we need a consistent conservative, someone who has been a fiscal conservative, a social conservative, a national security conservative.
There are real differences among the candidates on issues like amnesty, like Obamacare, like religious liberty, like life and marriage. And I have been proud to fight and stand for religious liberty, to stand against Planned Parenthood, to defend life for my entire career.
And I will be proud to continue to do so as president of the United States.
And we've got to listen to other people's voices, respect them, but keep in mind, and I believe in terms of the things that I've read in my lifetime, the Lord'is not picking us. But because of how we respect human rights, because that we are a good force in the world, he wants America to be strong.
He wants America to succeed. And he wants America to lead. And nothing is more important to me than my family, my faith, and my friends. [cheering and applause]
I'm certainly an imperfect man. And it's only by the blood of Jesus Christ that I've been redeemed from my sins. So I know that God doesn't call me to do a specific thing, God hasn't given me a list, a Ten Commandments, if you will, of things to act on the first day.
And I believe God has blessed our country. This country has been extraordinarily blessed. And we have honored that blessing. And that's why God has continued to bless us.
And he has blessed us with young men and women willing to risk their lives and sometimes die in uniform for the safety and security of our people.
I was appointed United States attorney on September 10, 2001. And I spent the next seven years of my career fighting terrorism and putting terrorists in jail.
This president has had weak leadership, which has led to bad choices. We have got to stop worrying about being loved and start worrying about being respected. And that's exactly how I'll lead our country. [applause]
Thank you. You know, both of my parents were born into poor families on the island of Cuba. They came to America because it was the only place where people like them could have a chance. Here in this country, they never made it big, but the very purpose of their life was to give us the chance to do all the things they never could.
The next thing I intend to do is instruct the Department of Justice and the IRS to start (sic) persecuting religious liberty, and then intend to cancel the Iran deal, and finally move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. [applause]
But I -- but I'm very hopeful that I'm not the only one who's willing to pick up the baton of freedom, because freedom is not free, and we must fight for it every day. Every one of us must fight for it, because we're fighting for our children and the next generation. [applause]
A person who has been filled with scandals, and who could not lead, and, of course, I'm talking about Hillary Clinton. [laughter]
...is in trouble, but it's not beyond repair. But it's going to take leadership who sees the greatness of this country, and who believes that once again we can be one nation, under God.
It wasn't too late for Wisconsin, and it's not too late for America. That's why I ask for your vote.
We're not protecting and preserving our entitlement system or reforming for the next generation. All these things languish while we have politicians in Washington using these as wedge issues.
Our country is in serious trouble. We don't win anymore.
We don't beat China in trade. We don't beat Japan, with their millions and millions of cars coming into this country, in trade. We can't beat Mexico, at the border or in trade.
We can't do anything right. Our military has to be strengthened. Our vets have to be taken care of. We have to end Obamacare, and we have to make our country great again, and I will do that.
I'm the only one running for president that has been a mayor, a United States senator, and a governor. As mayor, I brought labor peace to my city and kept taxes down. I was reelected three times. As a senator, I earned a reputation for courageous votes against the Bush-Cheney tax cuts the favored the wealthy, against the tragedy of the Iraq war, for environmental stewardship, for protection of our civil liberties. I served on the Foreign Relations Committee and I chaired the Middle East Subcommittee for four years.
As we look to the future, I want to address the income inequality, close the gap between the haves and the have-nots. I want to address climate change, a real threat to our planet. And I believe in prosperity through peace. I want to end these wars.
You know, people are disgusted with the way that money has corrupted our political process, intimidating incumbents and empowering Wall Street every day, the turnstile government that we see, and also the power of the financial sector in both parties.
You may be sure that in a Webb administration, the highest priority will be the working people who every day go out and make this country stronger at home, and who give us the right reputation and security overseas under a common sense foreign policy. [cheering and applause]
My wife Katie and I have four great kids, Grace, and Tara, and William and Jack. And, like you, there is nothing we wouldn't do to give them healthier and better lives. There are some things that I have learned to do better in life than others. And, after 15 years of executive experience, I have learned how to be an effective leader.
Whether it was raising the minimum wage, making our public schools the best in America, passing marriage equality, the DREAM Act, and comprehensive gun safety legislation, I have learned how to get things done because I am very clear about my principals.
Our economy isn't money, it's people. It's all of our people, and so we must invest in our country, and the potential of our kids to make college a debt free option for all of our families, instead of settling our kids with a lifetime of crushing debt.
Today in America, we have more people in jail than any other country on Earth. African-American youth unemployment is 51 percent. Hispanic youth unemployment is 36 percent. It seems to me that instead of building more jails and providing more incarceration, maybe — just maybe — we should be putting money into education and jobs for our kids. [applause]
Well, thank you, and thanks to everyone for hosting this first of the Democratic debates.
I'm Hillary Clinton. I have been proud and privileged to serve as first lady, as a senator from New York, and as secretary of state. I'm the granddaughter of a factory worker and the grandmother of a wonderful one-year-old child. And every day, I think about what we need to do to make sure that opportunity is available not just for her, but for all of our children. I have spent a very long time — my entire adult life — looking for ways to even the odds to help people have a chance to get ahead, and, in particular, to find the ways for each child to live up to his or her God-given potential.
I've traveled across our country over the last months listening and learning, and I've put forward specific plans about how we're going to create more good-paying jobs: by investing in infrastructure and clean energy, by making it possible once again to invest in science and research, and taking the opportunity posed by climate change to grow our economy.
No. I think that, like most people that I know, I have a range of views, but they are rooted in my values and my experience. And I don't take a back seat to anyone when it comes to progressive experience and progressive commitment.
You know, when I left law school, my first job was with the Children's Defense Fund, and for all the years since, I have been focused on how we're going to un-stack the deck, and how we're gonna make it possible for more people to have the experience I had.
...reforming foster care and adoption to the Children's Health Insurance Program, which insures...
That when you look around the world, you see every other major country providing health care to all people as a right, except the United States. You see every other major country saying to moms that, when you have a baby, we're not gonna separate you from your newborn baby, because we are going to have — we are gonna have medical and family paid leave, like every other country on Earth.
Sixty-three percent of the American people didn't vote, Anderson. Eighty percent of young people didn't vote. We are bringing out huge turnouts, and creating excitement all over this country.
I believe in a society where all people do well. Not just a handful of billionaires. [applause]
Well, let me just follow-up on that, Anderson, because when I think about capitalism, I think about all the small businesses that were started because we have the opportunity and the freedom in our country for people to do that and to make a good living for themselves and their families.
But we are not Denmark. I love Denmark. We are the United States of America. And it's our job to rein in the excesses of capitalism so that it doesn't run amok and doesn't cause the kind of inequities we're seeing in our economic system.
But you can have all of the growth that you want and it doesn't mean anything if all of the new income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent. So what we need to do is support small and medium-sized businesses, the backbone of our economy, but we have to make sure that every family in this country gets a fair shake...
Time and time again, I have never changed. You're looking at a block of granite when it comes to the issues. So I have not changed.
But, Anderson, when I ran for mayor of Baltimore in 1999...
We've saved over a thousand lives in Baltimore in the last 15 years of people working together. And the vast majority of them were young and poor and black. It wasn't easy on any day. But we saved lives and we gave our city a better future, improving police and community relations every single day that I was in office.
Look, none of this is easy. None of us has all the answers. But together as a city, we saved a lot of lives. It was about leadership. It was about principle. And it was about bringing people together.
Also I believe, and I've fought for, to understand that there are thousands of people in this country today who are suicidal, who are homicidal, but can't get the healthcare that they need, the mental healthcare, because they don't have insurance or they're too poor. I believe that everybody in this country who has a mental crisis has got to get mental health counseling immediately.
Of course not. This was a large and complicated bill. There were provisions in it that I think made sense. For example, do I think that a gun shop in the state of Vermont that sells legally a gun to somebody, and that somebody goes out and does something crazy, that that gun shop owner should be held responsible? I don't.
On the other hand, where you have manufacturers and where you have gun shops knowingly giving guns to criminals or aiding and abetting that, of course we should take action.
Now, to try to transform their grief, they went to court, where sometimes progress does happen when you file in court, but in this case, you want to talk about a — a rigged game, Senator? The game was rigged. A man had sold 4,000 rounds of military ammunition to this — this person that killed their daughter, riddled her body with five bullets, and he didn't even ask where it was going.
And not only did their case get thrown out of court, they were slapped with $200,000 in court fees because of the way that the NRA gets its way in our Congress and we take a backseat. It's time to stand up and pass comprehensive gun safety legislation as a nation. [applause]
I think the governor gave a very good example about the weaknesses in that law and I think we have to take another look at it. But here is the point, Governor. We can raise our voices, but I come from a rural state, and the views on gun control in rural states are different than in urban states, whether we like it or not.
Our job is to bring people together around strong, commonsense gun legislation. I think there is a vast majority in this country who want to do the right thing, and I intend to lead the country in bringing our people together.
Have you ever been to the Eastern Shore? Have you ever been to Western Maryland? We were able to pass this and still respect the hunting traditions of people who live in our rural areas.
I don't think I am pandering. But you have not been in the United States Congress.
And when you want to, check it out. And if you think — if you think that we can simply go forward and pass something tomorrow without bringing people together, you are sorely mistaken.
Look, there are two fundamental issues that are involved in this discussion. We need to pay respect to both of them. The first is the issue of who should be kept from having guns and using firearms. And we have done not a good job on that.
A lot of them are criminals. And a lot of the people are getting killed are members of gangs inside our urban areas. And a lot of them are mentally incapacitated. And the shooting in Virginia Tech in '07, this individual had received medical care for mental illness from three different professionals who were not allowed to share the information.
...Because we built a public consensus...
Well, first of all, we got a lot of business done with the Russians when Medvedev was the president, and not Putin. We got a nuclear arms deal, we got the Iranian sanctions, we got an ability to bring important material and equipment to our soldiers in Afghanistan.
...Well, nobody does. Nobody does, Senator Sanders.
Well, we just heard Senator Sanders say that it's the worst decision in American history. That's very significant, the worst decision in American history, I just heard from Senator Sanders.
So, as we look ahead, if you're going to make those poor judgment calls, a critical time in our history, we just finished with the Vietnam era, getting back into another quagmire — if you're looking ahead, and you're looking at someone who made that poor decision in 2002 to go into Iraq when there was no real evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — I know because I did my homework, and, so, that's an indication of how someone will perform in the future. And that's what's important. [applause]
Well, I recall very well being on a debate stage, I think, about 25 times with then Senator Obama, debating this very issue. After the election, he asked me to become Secretary of State.
You know, I — I agree completely. We don't want American troops on the ground in Syria. I never said that. What I said was we had to put together a coalition — in fact, something that I worked on before I left the State Department — to do, and yes, that it should include Arabs, people in the region.
Because what I worry about is what will happen with ISIS gaining more territory, having more reach, and, frankly, posing a threat to our friends and neighbors in the region and far beyond.
Let me just respond to something the secretary said. First of all, she is talking about, as I understand it, a no-fly zone in Syria, which I think is a very dangerous situation. Could lead to real problems.
I think the president is trying very hard to thread a tough needle here, and that is to support those people who are against Assad, against ISIS, without getting us on the ground there, and that's the direction I believe we should have (inaudible).
What disturbed people so much about — and I would agree with Senator Sanders on this — leading us into Iraq under false pretenses and telling us, as a people, that there were weapons of mass destruction there was — was one of the worst blunders in modern American history.
But the reason why people remain angry about it is because people feel like a lot of our legislators got railroaded in a war fever and by polls. And I remember being at a dinner shortly before that invasion. People were talking at — and saying, "it'll take us just a couple years to rebuild democracy," and I thought, "has this world gone mad?"
I believe that, as president, I would not be so quick to pull for a military tool. I believe that a no-fly zone in Syria, at this time, actually, Secretary, would be a mistake.
Anderson, can I come into this discussion at some point?
It's just — it's gone back and forth over there.
And I would say this. I've been waiting for 10 minutes. I will say this.
... to the unelected, authoritarian government of China: You do not own the South China Sea. You do not have the right to conduct cyber warfare against tens of millions of American citizens. And in a Webb administration, we will do something about that.
Well, I think Mr. Putin is going to regret what he is doing. I think that when he gets into that...
Well, I think he's already regretting what he did in Crimea and what he is doing in the Ukraine. I think he is really regretting the decline of his economy. And I think what he is trying to do now is save some face. But I think when Russians get killed in Syria and when he gets bogged down, I think the Russian people are going to give him a message that maybe they should come home, maybe they should start working with the United States to rectify the situation now.
But unless you believe the United States should not send diplomats to any place that is dangerous, which I do not, then when we send them forth, there is always the potential for danger and risk.
Anderson, I think there's lessons to be learned from Benghazi. And those lessons are that we need to do a much better job as a nation of having human intelligence on the ground so that we know who the emerging next generation leaders are that are coming up to replace a dictator when his time on this planet ends.
When I was a young man — I'm not a young man today. When I was a young man, I strongly opposed the war in Vietnam. Not the brave men like Jim who fought in that war, but the policy which got us involved in that war. That was my view then. [cheering and applause]
I believe that the signal that we sent to the region when the Iran nuclear deal was concluded was that we are accepting Iran's greater position on this very important balance of power, among our greatest ally Israel, and the Sunnis represented by the Saudi regime, and Iran. It was a position of weakness and I think it encouraged the acts that we've seen in the past several weeks.
It's certainly the chaos in the Middle East. There's no doubt about it.
And it all started with the Iraq invasion.
Our greatest long-term strategic challenge is our relation with China. Our greatest day-to-day threat is cyber warfare against this country. Our greatest military-operational threat is resolving the situations in the Middle East.
I am still standing. I am happy to be part of this debate. [applause]
And I intend to keep talking about the issues that matter to the American people. You know, I believe strongly that we need to be talking about what people talk to me about, like how are we going to make college affordable? How are we going to pay down student debt?
But I think it would be really unfair not to look at the entire picture. This committee has spent $4.5 million of taxpayer money, and they said that they were trying to figure out what we could do better to protect our diplomats so that something like Benghazi wouldn't happen again. There were already seven committee reports about what to do. So I think it's pretty clear what their obvious goal is.
You know? The middle class — Anderson, and let me say something about the media, as well. I go around the country, talk to a whole lot of people. Middle class in this country is collapsing. We have 27 million people living in poverty. We have massive wealth and income inequality. Our trade policies have cost us millions of decent jobs. The American people want to know whether we're going to have a democracy or an oligarchy as a result of Citizens Union. Enough of the e-mails. Let's talk about the real issues facing America. [applause]
Absolutely. We have to repair American credibility after we told the world that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which he didn't. So there's an issue of American credibility out there. So any time someone is running to be our leader, and a world leader, which the American president is, credibility is an issue out there with the world. And we have repair work to be done. I think we need someone that has the best in ethical standards as our next president. That's how I feel.
I hope I can get that kind of time here. As a President of the United States, every life in this country matters. At the same time, I believe I can say to you, I have had a long history of working with the situation of African Americans.
We're talking about criminal justice reform, I risked my political life raising the issue of criminal justice reform when I ran for the Senate in Virginia in 2006. I had democratic party political consultants telling me I was committing political suicide.
I also represented a so-called war criminal, an African American Marine who was wounded — who was convicted of murder in Vietnam, for six years. He took his life three years into this. I cleared his name after — after three years.
And I put the African American soldier on the Mall. I made that recommendation and fought for it. So, if you want someone who is — can stand up in front of you right now and say I have done the hard job, I have taken the risks, I am your person.
I have a five point economic plan, because this inequality challenge we face, we have faced it at other points. It's absolutely right. It hasn't been this bad since the 1920s. But if you look at the Republicans versus the Democrats when it comes to economic policy, there is no comparison. The economy does better when you have a Democrat in the White House and that's why we need to have a Democrat in the White House in January 2017.
Yes. Anderson, I want to associate myself with many of the items that the senator from Vermont mentioned, and I actually did them in our state. We raised the minimum wage, passed the living wage, invested more in infrastructure, went four years in a row without a penny's increase in college tuition.
Check the record. In the 1990s — and all due respect — in the 1990s, when I had the Republican leadership and Wall Street spending billions of dollars in lobbying, when the Clinton administration, when Alan Greenspan said, "what a great idea it would be to allow these huge banks to merge," Bernie Sanders fought them, and helped lead the opposition to deregulation. [applause]
Today, it is my view that when you have the three...
...largest banks in America — are much bigger than they were when we bailed them out for being too big to fail, we have got to break them up. [applause]
And my plan would have the potential of actually sending the executives to jail. Nobody went to jail after $100 billion in fines were paid... [applause]
...and would give regulators the authority to go after the big banks.
But I'm telling you — I will say it tonight. If only you look at the big banks, you may be missing the forest for the trees.
In my view, Secretary Clinton, you do not — Congress does not regulate Wall Street. Wall Street regulates Congress. [applause]
...that — I think Dodd-Frank was a very...
Anderson, look, this is — the big banks — I mean, once we repealed Glass-Steagall back in the late 1999s (ph), the big banks, the six of them, went from controlling, what, the equivalent of 15 percent of our GDP to now 65 percent of our GDP.
Well, you know, everybody on this stage has changed a position or two. We've been around a cumulative quite some period of time. [laughter]
You know, we know that if you are learning, you're gonna change your position. I never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone.
Well, I remember that meeting very well. I remember it like it was yesterday. Hank Paulson, Bernanke came in, and they say, "guys, the economy is going to collapse because Wall Street is going under. It's gonna take the economy with them."
And you know what I said to Hank Paulson? I said, "Hank, your guys — you come from Goldman Sachs. Your millionaire and billionaire friends caused this problem. How about your millionaire and billionaire friends paying for the bailout, not working families in this country?"
That means the Wall Street money managers are not risking themselves as the same way the American people are when they're going to get their compensation. They're managing money from all over the world.
The Glass-Steagall was my very first vote, I'd just arrived, my dad had died in office, I was appointed to the office, it was my very first vote.
I think you're being a little rough. I'd just arrived at the United States Senate. I'd been mayor of my city. My dad had died. I'd been appointed by the governor. It was the first vote and it was 90-5, because it was a conference report.
So there's still a lot more money to be had from this top echelon. I'm saying let's have another tier and put that back into the tax bracket. And that will generate $42 billion.
But in terms of education, this is what I think. This is the year 2015. A college degree today, Dana, is the equivalent of what a high school degree was 50 years ago.
And what we said 50 years ago and a hundred years ago is that every kid in this country should be able to get a high school education regardless of the income of their family. I think we have to say that is true for everybody going to college.
I pay for my program, by the way, through a tax on Wall Street speculation, which will not only make public colleges and universities tuition-free, it will substantially lower interest rates on college debt, a major crisis in this country. [applause]
And I will focus — I will focus on helping those people who need it the most. And of course I'm going to defend Social Security. I'm going to look for ways to try to make sure it's solvent into the future. And we also need to talk about health care at some time, because we agree on the goals, we just disagree on the means.
I mean, we are a nation of immigrants, we are made stronger by immigrants. Do you think for a second that simply because somebody's standing in a broken que on naturalization they're not going to go to the hospital, and that care isn't going to fall on to our insurance rates? I am for a generous, compassionate America that says we're all in this together. We need comprehensive
I want to follow up because I think underneath Juan Carlos' important questions, there is such a difference between everything you're hearing here on this stage, and what we hear from the Republicans. [applause]
...than even the executive orders that President Obama has signed when I'm president.
If their states agree, then we want more states to do the same thing.
Anderson, we actually did this in my state of Maryland. We passed... [applause]
Tried to mischaracterize it as free tuition for illegal immigrants. But, we took our case to the people when it was petitioned to referendum, and we won with 58 percent of the vote. The more our children learn, the more they will earn, and that's true of children who have yet to be naturalized...
No, that was another 99 to one vote for the Patriot Act, and it was seen as at the time modernizing our ability to do what we've always done to tap phones which always required a warrant. And I voted for that.
No, I don't. I think that it was necessary to make sure that we were able after 9/11 to put in place the security that we needed. And it is true that it did require that there be a process. What happened, however, is that the Bush administration began to chip away at that process. And I began to speak out about their use of warrantless surveillance and the other behavior that they engaged in.
We always have to keep the balance of civil liberties, privacy and security. It's not easy in a democracy, but we have to keep it in mind.
Well, I would shut down — make — I'd shut down what exists right now is that virtually every telephone call in this country ends up in a file at the NSA. That is unacceptable to me. But it's not just government surveillance. I think the government is involved in our e-mails; is involved in our websites. Corporate America is doing it as well.
If we are a free country, we have the right to be free. Yes, we have to defend ourselves against terrorism, but there are ways to do that without impinging on our constitutional rights and our privacy rights.
He broke the laws of the United States. He could have been a whistleblower. He could have gotten all of the protections of being a whistleblower. He could have raised all the issues that he has raised. And I think there would have been a positive response to that.
Certainly, ending the wars. We've got to stop these wars. You have to have a new dynamic, a new paradigm. We just spent a half-billion dollars arming and training soldiers, the rebel soldiers in Syria. They quickly join the other side. We bombed the...
I would follow through on the promise that the American people thought we made as Democratic Party, to protect the Main Street economy from recklessness on Wall Street. I would push to separate out these too-big-to-jail, too-big-to-fail banks, and put in place Glass-Steagall, a modern Glass-Steagall that creates a firewall so that this wreckage of our economy can never happen again.
Well, I think that's pretty obvious. I think being the first woman president would be quite a change from the presidents we've had up until this point, including President Obama.
What I mean is that we need to have one of the larger voter turnouts in the world, not one of the lowest. We need to raise public consciousness. We need the American people to know what's going on in Washington in a way that today they do not know. [applause]
Anderson, I actually have talked about a revolution. What we need is a green energy revolution. We need to move America to a 100 percent clean electric grid by 2050 and create 5 million jobs along the way.
You know, it does take me a little longer. That's all I can say.
I'm running because I have a lifetime of experience in getting results and fighting for people, fighting for kids, for women, for families, fighting to even the odds. And I know what it takes to get things done. I know how to find common ground and I know how to stand my ground. And I think we're going to need both of those in Washington to get anything that we're talking about up here accomplished.
So I'm very happy that I have both the commitment of a lifetime and the experience of a lifetime to bring together to offer the American people.
Well, I would not ask anyone to vote for me based on my last name. I would ask them to listen to what I'm proposing, look at what I've accomplished in the Senate, as secretary of of state, and then draw your own conclusion.
I think — I think that there is profound frustration all over this country with establishment politics. I am the only candidate running for president who is not a billionaire, who has raised substantial sums of money, and I do not have a super PAC. [applause]
So I put forward the plan that would extend the investor tax credits for solar and for wind. If you go across Iowa, you see that 30 percent of their energy now comes from wind. We're here in Las Vegas, one of the most sustainable cities in America, doing important things in terms of green building, architecture and design.
Well, I will tell you this. I believe — and Pope Francis made this point. This is a moral issue. The scientists are telling us that we need to move extremely boldly.
I am proud that, along with Senator Barbara Boxer, a few years ago, we introduced the first piece of climate change legislation which called for a tax on carbon.
The planet — the future of the planet is at stake.
They told us they'd left for the airport; we found out they were having a secret meeting. We marched up, we broke in, we said, "We've been looking all over for you. Let's sit down and talk about what we need to do." And we did come up with the first international agreement that China has signed.
You know, we can do these things. [applause]
Yeah, Dana, here's the point: Every other major country on Earth, every one, including some small countries, say that when a mother has a baby, she should stay home with that baby. We are the only major country. That is an international embarrassment that we do not provide family — paid family and medical leave. [applause]
So, I think we're just at the beginning, but I agree completely with the idea that we have got to stop imprisoning people who use marijuana. Therefore, we need more states, cities, and the federal government to begin to address this so that we don't have this terrible result that Senator Sanders was talking about where we have a huge population in our prisons for nonviolent, low-level offenses that are primarily due to marijuana.
The Republican party, since I've been in the Senate, and since President Obama has been in office, has played a terrible, terrible role of being total obstructionists. Every effort that he has made, that some of us have made, they have said no, no, no.
Now, in my view, the only way we can take on the right wing republicans who are, by the way, I hope will not continue to control the Senate and the House when one of us elected President... [applause] ...But the only way we can get things done is by having millions of people coming together. If we want free tuition at public colleges and universities, millions of young people are going to have to demand it, and give the Republicans an offer they can't refuse.
I guess the coal lobby. I've worked hard for climate change and I want to work with the coal lobby. But in my time in the Senate, tried to bring them to the table so that we could address carbon dioxide. I'm proud to be at odds with the coal lobby.
The National Rifle Association. [applause]
As someone who has taken on probably every special interest that there is in Washington, I would lump Wall Street and the pharmaceutical industry at the top of my life of people who do not like me. [applause]
Thank you, Anderson. Thank you, CNN. And thank you, Facebook, for sponsoring this debate.
So that kind of judgment is what we want in a president going forward. And I'm running for president to end the wars. I want to be the peacemaker. I am a proven peacemaker. Please go to Chafee 2016 to learn more about me. Thank you. [applause]
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a pleasure to be with you tonight. You've heard a lot of promises up here; you've heard a lot of rhetoric. They all seem to happen during campaigns, and then once the election's over, people start from scratch again and try to get things done.
One of the things I can promise you, if you look at my record, in and out of government, is that I've always been willing to take on a complicated, something unpopular issues, and work them through, the complex issues, and work them through in order to have the solution.
That tells me we are moving to a more connected, generous, and compassionate place, and we need to speak to the goodness within our country. [applause]
Thank you very much, Anderson. And thanks to all the viewers who tuned in tonight.
What you have to ask yourself is: Who amongst us has the vision for actually making the changes that are going to improve the lives of the American people? Who has the tenacity and the ability and the proven track record of getting that done?
Now, I revere my late mother, and she gave me a lot of good advice. But one of the best pieces of advice she gave me was, you know, the issue is not whether or not you get knocked down. It's whether you get back up.
America's been knocked down. That Great Recession, 9 million people lost their jobs, 5 million lost their homes, $13 trillion in wealth disappeared. And although we've made progress, we're standing but not running the way America needs to.
My mission as president will be to raise incomes for hard-working middle-class families and to make sure that we get back to the basic bargain I was raised with: If you work hard and you do your part, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead.
Please join me in this campaign. Please come and make it clear that America's best days are still ahead. Thank you very much. [applause]