If you missed seeing this speech by civil rights leader, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) Thursday night at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, please take a moment to watch. He speaks so eloquently of the subject he knows all too well: Voter suppression. His words have even greater resonance now as we face the active role Republicans are taking in order to change the rules for voters in several states, just as Governor Rick Scott has been trying to do in Florida. Even as courts have blocked many of those restrictions, he has continued to try and find a way to block the vote; while at the same time claiming he wants to make sure everyone can vote. If that were true, there would be no need for changes in the law.
Scott and his fellow Republicans do "want to go back" by changing the rules. That's clear. It's up to us to stop them, and the best way to fight back is with our vote. (Full text of the speech below.)
I first came to this city in 1961, the year Barack Obama was born. I was one of the 13 original "Freedom Riders." We were on a bus ride from Washington to New Orleans trying to test a recent Supreme Court ruling that banned racial discrimination on buses crossing state lines and in the stations that served them. Here in Charlotte, a young African-American rider got off the bus and tried to get a shoe shine in a so-called white waiting room. He was arrested and taken to jail. On that same day, we continued on to Rock Hill, South Carolina, about 25 miles. From here, when my seatmate, Albert Bigelow, and I tried to enter a white waiting room, we were met by an angry mob that beat us and left us lying in a pool of blood. Some police officers came up and asked us whether we wanted to press charges. We said, "No, we come in peace, love and nonviolence." We said our struggle was not against individuals, but against unjust laws and customs. Our goal was true freedom for every American.
Since then, America has made a lot of progress. We are a different society than we were in 1961. And in 2008, we showed the world the true promise of America when we elected President Barack Obama. A few years ago, a man from Rock Hill, inspired by President Obama's election, decided to come forward. He came to my office in Washington and said, "I am one of the people who beat you. I want to apologize. Will you forgive me?" I said, "I accept your apology." He started crying. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back, and we both started crying. This man and I don't want to go back; we want to move forward.
Brothers and sisters, do you want to go back? Or do you want to keep America moving forward? My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union. Not too long ago, people stood in unmovable lines. They had to pass a so-called literacy test, pay a poll tax. On one occasion, a man was asked to count the number of bubbles in a bar of soap. On another occasion, one was asked to count the jelly beans in a jar—all to keep them from casting their ballots.
Today it is unbelievable that there are Republican officials still trying to stop some people from voting. They are changing the rules, cutting polling hours and imposing requirements intended to suppress the vote. The Republican leader in the Pennsylvania House even bragged that his state's new voter ID law is "gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state." That's not right. That's not fair. That's not just.
And similar efforts have been made in Texas, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina. I've seen this before. I've lived this before. Too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote. And we have come too far together to ever turn back. So we must not be silent. We must stand up, speak up and speak out. We must march to the polls like never before. We must come together and exercise our sacred right. And together, on November 6, we will re-elect the man who will lead America forward: President Barack Obama.
Gabrielle Giffords, with assistance from friend and former colleague in the U.S. House, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, leads the Pledge Of Allegiance at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
Below are President Obama’s remarks as prepared for delivery --
Michelle, I love you. The other night, I think the entire country saw just how lucky I am. Malia and Sasha, you make me so proud…but don’t get any ideas, you’re still going to class tomorrow. And Joe Biden, thank you for being the best Vice President I could ever hope for.
Madam Chairwoman, delegates, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.
The first time I addressed this convention in 2004, I was a younger man; a Senate candidate from Illinois who spoke about hope – not blind optimism or wishful thinking, but hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; that dogged faith in the future which has pushed this nation forward, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long.
Eight years later, that hope has been tested – by the cost of war; by one of the worst economic crises in history; and by political gridlock that’s left us wondering whether it’s still possible to tackle the challenges of our time.
I know that campaigns can seem small, and even silly. Trivial things become big distractions. Serious issues become sound bites. And the truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising. If you’re sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me – so am I.
But when all is said and done – when you pick up that ballot to vote – you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; war and peace – decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children’s lives for decades to come.
On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties.
It will be a choice between two different paths for America.
A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.
Ours is a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known; the values my grandfather defended as a soldier in Patton’s Army; the values that drove my grandmother to work on a bomber assembly line while he was gone.
They knew they were part of something larger – a nation that triumphed over fascism and depression; a nation where the most innovative businesses turned out the world’s best products, and everyone shared in the pride and success – from the corner office to the factory floor. My grandparents were given the chance to go to college, buy their first home, and fulfill the basic bargain at the heart of America’s story: the promise that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules – from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, DC.
I ran for President because I saw that basic bargain slipping away. I began my career helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill, at a time when too many good jobs were starting to move overseas. And by 2008, we had seen nearly a decade in which families struggled with costs that kept rising but paychecks that didn’t; racking up more and more debt just to make the mortgage or pay tuition; to put gas in the car or food on the table. And when the house of cards collapsed in the Great Recession, millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their life savings – a tragedy from which we are still fighting to recover.
Now, our friends at the Republican convention were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn’t have much to say about how they’d make it right. They want your vote, but they don’t want you to know their plan. And that’s because all they have to offer is the same prescription they’ve had for the last thirty years:
“Have a surplus? Try a tax cut.”
“Deficit too high? Try another.”
“Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!”
Now, I’ve cut taxes for those who need it – middle-class families and small businesses. But I don’t believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores, or pay down our deficit. I don’t believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of China. After all that we’ve been through, I don’t believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid-off construction worker keep his home. We’ve been there, we’ve tried that, and we’re not going back. We’re moving forward.
I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. It will require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one. And by the way – those of us who carry on his party’s legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington.
But know this, America: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future. I’m asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country – goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; a real, achievable plan that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. That’s what we can do in the next four years, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.
We can choose a future where we export more products and outsource fewer jobs. After a decade that was defined by what we bought and borrowed, we’re getting back to basics, and doing what America has always done best:
We’re making things again.
I’ve met workers in Detroit and Toledo who feared they’d never build another American car. Today, they can’t build them fast enough, because we reinvented a dying auto industry that’s back on top of the world.
I’ve worked with business leaders who are bringing jobs back to America – not because our workers make less pay, but because we make better products. Because we work harder and smarter than anyone else.
I’ve signed trade agreements that are helping our companies sell more goods to millions of new customers – goods that are stamped with three proud words: Made in America.
After a decade of decline, this country created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half years. And now you have a choice: we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here, in the United States of America. We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports, and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years. You can make that happen. You can choose that future.
You can choose the path where we control more of our own energy. After thirty years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. We’ve doubled our use of renewable energy, and thousands of Americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries. In the last year alone, we cut oil imports by one million barrels a day – more than any administration in recent history. And today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly two decades.
Now you have a choice – between a strategy that reverses this progress, or one that builds on it. We’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration in the last three years, and we’ll open more. But unlike my opponent, I will not let oil companies write this country’s energy plan, or endanger our coastlines, or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers.
We’re offering a better path – a future where we keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal; where farmers and scientists harness new biofuels to power our cars and trucks; where construction workers build homes and factories that waste less energy; where we develop a hundred year supply of natural gas that’s right beneath our feet. If you choose this path, we can cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support more than 600,000 new jobs in natural gas alone.
And yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet – because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They’re a threat to our children’s future. And in this election, you can do something about it.
You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle-class life.
For the first time in a generation, nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning. Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading. Millions of students are paying less for college today because we finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders.
And now you have a choice – we can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don’t have the money. No company should have to look for workers in China because they couldn’t find any with the right skills here at home.
Government has a role in this. But teachers must inspire; principals must lead; parents must instill a thirst for learning, and students, you’ve got to do the work. And together, I promise you – we can out-educate and out-compete any country on Earth. Help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers in the next ten years, and improve early childhood education. Help give two million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job. Help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten years. We can meet that goal together. You can choose that future for America.
In a world of new threats and new challenges, you can choose leadership that has been tested and proven. Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. We have. We’ve blunted the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over. A new tower rises above the New York skyline, al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama bin Laden is dead.
Tonight, we pay tribute to the Americans who still serve in harm’s way. We are forever in debt to a generation whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected. We will never forget you. And so long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known. When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you’ve served us – because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home.
Around the world, we’ve strengthened old alliances and forged new coalitions to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. We’ve reasserted our power across the Pacific and stood up to China on behalf of our workers. From Burma to Libya to South Sudan, we have advanced the rights and dignity of all human beings – men and women; Christians and Muslims and Jews.
But for all the progress we’ve made, challenges remain. Terrorist plots must be disrupted. Europe’s crisis must be contained. Our commitment to Israel’s security must not waver, and neither must our pursuit of peace. The Iranian government must face a world that stays united against its nuclear ambitions. The historic change sweeping across the Arab World must be defined not by the iron fist of a dictator or the hate of extremists, but by the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people who are reaching for the same rights that we celebrate today.
So now we face a choice. My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy, but from all that we’ve seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly.
After all, you don’t call Russia our number one enemy – and not al Qaeda – unless you’re still stuck in a Cold War time warp. You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally. My opponent said it was “tragic” to end the war in Iraq, and he won’t tell us how he’ll end the war in Afghanistan. I have, and I will. And while my opponent would spend more money on military hardware that our Joint Chiefs don’t even want, I’ll use the money we’re no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work – rebuilding roads and bridges; schools and runways. After two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it’s time to do some nation-building right here at home.
You can choose a future where we reduce our deficit without wrecking our middle class. Independent analysis shows that my plan would cut our deficits by $4 trillion. Last summer, I worked with Republicans in Congress to cut $1 trillion in spending – because those of us who believe government can be a force for good should work harder than anyone to reform it, so that it’s leaner, more efficient, and more responsive to the American people.
I want to reform the tax code so that it’s simple, fair, and asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes over $250,000 – the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was president; the same rate we had when our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, and a lot of millionaires to boot.
Now, I’m still eager to reach an agreement based on the principles of my bipartisan debt commission. No party has a monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise. But when Governor Romney and his allies in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy – well, you do the math. I refuse to go along with that. And as long as I’m President, I never will.
I refuse to ask middle class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut. I refuse to ask students to pay more for college; or kick children out of Head Start programs, or eliminate health insurance for millions of Americans who are poor, elderly, or disabled – all so those with the most can pay less.
And I will never turn Medicare into a voucher. No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. They should retire with the care and dignity they have earned. Yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the cost of health care – not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more. And we will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it – not by turning it over to Wall Street.
This is the choice we now face. This is what the election comes down to. Over and over, we have been told by our opponents that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the only way; that since government can’t do everything, it should do almost nothing. If you can’t afford health insurance, hope that you don’t get sick. If a company releases toxic pollution into the air your children breathe, well, that’s just the price of progress. If you can’t afford to start a business or go to college, take my opponent’s advice and “borrow money from your parents.”
You know what? That’s not who we are. That’s not what this country’s about. As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights – rights that no man or government can take away. We insist on personal responsibility and we celebrate individual initiative. We’re not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk-takers who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system – the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known.
But we also believe in something called citizenship – a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations.
We believe that when a CEO pays his autoworkers enough to buy the cars that they build, the whole company does better.
We believe that when a family can no longer be tricked into signing a mortgage they can’t afford, that family is protected, but so is the value of other people’s homes, and so is the entire economy.
We believe that a little girl who’s offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the founder of the next Google, or the scientist who cures cancer, or the President of the United States – and it’s in our power to give her that chance.
We know that churches and charities can often make more of a difference than a poverty program alone. We don’t want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we don’t want bailouts for banks that break the rules. We don’t think government can solve all our problems. But we don’t think that government is the source of all our problems – any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we’re told to blame for our troubles.
Because we understand that this democracy is ours.
We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.
As citizens, we understand that America is not about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government.
So you see, the election four years ago wasn’t about me. It was about you. My fellow citizens – you were the change.
You’re the reason there’s a little girl with a heart disorder in Phoenix who’ll get the surgery she needs because an insurance company can’t limit her coverage. You did that.
You’re the reason a young man in Colorado who never thought he’d be able to afford his dream of earning a medical degree is about to get that chance. You made that possible.
You’re the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she’s ever called home; why selfless soldiers won’t be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love; why thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who served us so bravely: “Welcome home.”
If you turn away now – if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible…well, change will not happen. If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election and those who are making it harder for you to vote; Washington politicians who want to decide who you can marry, or control health care choices that women should make for themselves.
Only you can make sure that doesn’t happen. Only you have the power to move us forward.
I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention. The times have changed – and so have I.
I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the President. I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn’t return. I’ve shared the pain of families who’ve lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs. If the critics are right that I’ve made all my decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them. And while I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, “I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.”
But as I stand here tonight, I have never been more hopeful about America. Not because I think I have all the answers. Not because I’m naïve about the magnitude of our challenges.
I’m hopeful because of you.
The young woman I met at a science fair who won national recognition for her biology research while living with her family at a homeless shelter – she gives me hope.
The auto worker who won the lottery after his plant almost closed, but kept coming to work every day, and bought flags for his whole town and one of the cars that he built to surprise his wife – he gives me hope.
The family business in Warroad, Minnesota that didn’t lay off a single one of their four thousand employees during this recession, even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants, even when it meant the owners gave up some perks and pay – because they understood their biggest asset was the community and the workers who helped build that business – they give me hope.
And I think about the young sailor I met at Walter Reed hospital, still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause him to have his leg amputated above the knee. Six months ago, I would watch him walk into a White House dinner honoring those who served in Iraq, tall and twenty pounds heavier, dashing in his uniform, with a big grin on his face; sturdy on his new leg. And I remember how a few months after that I would watch him on a bicycle, racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a sparkling spring day, inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had traveled.
He gives me hope.
I don’t know what party these men and women belong to. I don’t know if they’ll vote for me. But I know that their spirit defines us. They remind me, in the words of Scripture, that ours is a “future filled with hope.”
And if you share that faith with me – if you share that hope with me – I ask you tonight for your vote.
If you reject the notion that this nation’s promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election.
If you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this election.
If you believe that new plants and factories can dot our landscape; that new energy can power our future; that new schools can provide ladders of opportunity to this nation of dreamers; if you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, then I need you to vote this November.
America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won’t promise that now. Yes, our path is harder – but it leads to a better place. Yes our road is longer – but we travel it together. We don’t turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. We draw strength from our victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless these United States.
Below are the full remarks of Vice President Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery:
My fellow Democrats, and my favorite Democrat. Jilly, I want you to know that Beau, Hunt, Ashley, and I are so proud of you. We admire the way you treat every single student who walks into your classroom. You not only teach them. You give them confidence. And the passion you bring to easing the burden on the families of our warriors. They know you understand what they're going through. It makes a difference. And I'm grateful. So grateful that you said Yes on that fifth try. And Beau, thank you for placing my name in nomination to be Vice President of the United States. I accept. My fellow Americans, four years ago, a battered nation turned away from the failed policies of the past—and turned to a leader—who they knew, could lift our nation out of crisis. Our journey isn’t finished. We still have more to do. But today, I say to you, my fellow citizens: In the face of the deepest economic crisis in our lifetimes-- this nation proved itself. We're as worthy as any generation that has gone before us. The same grit, the same determination, the same courage, that has always defined what it’s meant to be an American—is in you. We're on a mission to move this nation forward—from doubt and downturn, to promise and prosperity. A mission we will continue and a mission we will complete. Folks, tonight, I want to tell you about Barack Obama. The Barack Obama I’ve come to know. I want to show you the character of a leader—who had what it took, when the American people stood at the brink of a new Depression. A leader who has what it takes to lead us over the next four years--to a future as great as our people. I want to take you inside the White House to see the President, as I see him every day. Because I don’t see him in sound bites. I walk down the hall, 30 steps to the Oval Office, and I see him in action. Four years ago, middle class incomes were already falling. Then the bottom fell out. The financial crisis hit. You remember the headlines: “Markets Plummet Worldwide”, “Highest Job Losses in 60 Years”, and “Economy on the Brink” From the moment President Obama sat behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, he knew he had to restore the confidence not only of the nation-- but the whole world. He knew, that one false move could bring a run on the banks, or a credit collapse, that could throw millions out of work. America and the world needed a strong president with a steady hand, with the judgment and vision to see us through. Day after day, night after night, I sat beside him, as he made one gutsy decision after another--to stop the slide and reverse it. I watched him stand up to intense pressure and stare down choices of enormous consequence. Most of all, I saw what drove him: His profound concern for the American people. He knew, that no matter how tough the decisions he had to make in the Oval Office were, families all over America had to make decisions every bit as tough for them—as they sat around their kitchen tables. Barack and I have been through a lot together. And we’ve learned a lot about each other. I learned of the enormity of his heart. And he learned of the depth of my loyalty. And there was another thing that bound us. We both had a pretty good idea what these families were going through--in part because our own families had gone through similar struggles. Barack had to sit at the end of his mom's hospital bed and watch her fight cancer and fight her insurance companies at the same time. I was a kid, but I can remember the day that my dad sat at the end of my bed, and said, things are going to be tough for a while. I have to go to Delaware to get a new job. But it's going to be better for us. The rest of my life, my dad never failed to remind me--that a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about being able to look your children in the eye—and say honey, it’s going to be okay, and believe it was going to be okay. When Barack and I were growing up, there was an implicit understanding. If you took responsibility, you’d get a fair shot at a better deal. The values behind that deal--were the values that shaped us both. And today, they are Barack’s guiding star. Folks, I’ve watched him. He never wavers. He steps up. He asks the same thing over and over again: How is this going to work for ordinary families? Will it help them? And because of the decisions he’s made, and the strength the American people have demonstrated every day, America has turned the corner. After the worst job loss since the Great Depression, we’ve created 4.5 million private sector jobs in the past 29 months. President Obama and Governor Romney are both loving husbands and devoted fathers. But they bring vastly different values and visions to the job. Tonight I’d like to focus on two crises--that show the character of the leadership each man will bring to the job. The first is the rescue of the automobile industry. Let me tell you about how Barack saved more than 1 million American jobs. In our first days in office, General Motors and Chrysler were on the verge of liquidation. If the President didn’t act immediately, there wouldn’t be an industry left to save. We listened to Senators, Congressmen, outside advisors, even some of our own advisors say--we shouldn’t step in, the risks were too high, the outcome too uncertain. The President patiently listened. But he didn’t see it their way. He understood something they didn’t. He understood that this wasn’t just about cars. It was about the Americans who built those cars and the America they built. In those meetings, I often thought about my dad. My dad was an automobile man. He would have been one of those guys—all the way down the line—not in the factory—not along the supply chain—but one of those guys selling American cars to the American people. I thought about what this crisis would have meant for the mechanics, the secretaries, the sales people who he managed. And I know for certain, that if my dad were here today, he would be fighting for this President, who fought to save all those jobs, his job, and the jobs of all the people he cared about. He would respect Barack Obama for having the guts to stand up for the automobile industry, when others walked away. When I look back now on the President’s decision, I also think of another son of an automobile man--Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney grew up in Detroit. His father ran American Motors. Yet he was willing to let Detroit go bankrupt. It’s not that he’s a bad guy. I’m sure he grew up loving cars as much as I did. I just don’t think he understood—I just don’t think he understood what saving the automobile industry meant-to all of America. I think he saw it the Bain way. Balance sheets. Write-offs. Folks, the Bain way may bring your firm the highest profit. But it’s not the way to lead your country from its highest office. When things hung in the balance, the President understood it was about a lot more than the automobile industry. It was about restoring America’s pride. He knew what it would mean to leave 1 million people without hope or work if we didn’t act. He knew the message it would have sent to the rest of the world if the United States of America gave up on the industry that helped put America on the map. Conviction. Resolve. Barack Obama. This President has shown that same resolve, that same steady hand, in his role as Commander in Chief. Which brings me to the second crisis. In 2008, Barack Obama made a promise to the American people. He said, “If we have Osama bin Laden in our sights, we will take him out. That has to be our biggest national security priority.” Barack understood that the search for bin Laden was about a lot more than taking a monstrous leader off the battlefield. It was about righting an unspeakable wrong, healing a nearly unbearable wound in America’s heart. He also knew the message we had to send to terrorists around the world—if you attack innocent Americans, we will follow you to the ends of the earth. Most of all, the President had faith in our special forces--the finest warriors the world has ever known. We sat for days in the Situation Room. He listened to the risks and reservations about the raid. And he asked the tough questions. But when Admiral McRaven looked him in the eye and said-- “Sir, we can get this done,” I knew at that moment Barack had made his decision. His response was decisive. He said do it. And justice was done. But Governor Romney didn’t see things that way. When he was asked about bin Laden in 2007, he said, and I quote, “it’s not worth moving heaven and earth, and spending billions of dollars, just trying to catch one person.” He was wrong. If you understood that America’s heart had to be healed, you would have done exactly what the President did. And you too would have moved heaven and earth--to hunt down bin Laden, and bring him to justice. Four years ago, when my mom was still with us, sitting in the stadium in Denver, I quoted one of her favorite expressions. She used to say, Joey, bravery resides in every heart, and the time will come, when it must be summoned. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m here to tell you, bravery resides in the heart of Barack Obama. And time and time again, I witnessed him summon it. This man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and steel in his spine. And because of all the actions he took, because of the calls he made--and because of the grit and determination of American workers--and the unparalled bravery of our special forces--we can now proudly say— Osama Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive. Folks, we know we have more work to do. We know we’re not there yet. But not a day has gone by, in the last four years when I haven’t been grateful that Barack Obama is our President. Because he has always had the courage to make the tough calls.
Speaking of tough calls, last week at their convention, our opponents pledged that they too had the courage to make tough calls. But in case you didn’t notice, they didn’t have the courage to tell you what calls they would make. They talked about how much they cared about Medicare. How much they wanted to preserve it. That’s what they told you. But what they didn’t tell you, is that their plan would immediately cut benefits to more than 30 million seniors already on Medicare. What they didn’t tell you is what they’re proposing would cause Medicare to go bankrupt by 2016. And what they really didn’t tell you is, they’re not for preserving Medicare. They’re for a whole new plan. They’re for Vouchercare. That’s not courage. That’s not even truthful. In Tampa, they talked with great urgency about the national debt. The need to act, to act now. But not once, not once, did they tell you they’ve rejected every plan put forward by us--by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission—by other respected outside groups—to reduce our national debt if it contained even one dollar—one cent—in new taxes for millionaires. That’s not courage. And that’s not fair. Let’s just say it straight: The two men seeking to lead this country over the next four years have fundamentally different visions, and a completely different value set. Governor Romney believes that in the global economy, it doesn’t much matter where American companies put their money or where they create jobs. As a matter of fact, he has a new tax proposal -- the territorial tax -- that experts say will create 800,000 jobs, all of them overseas. I found it fascinating last week--when Governor Romney said, that as President, he’d take a jobs tour. Well with all his support for outsourcing, it’s going to have to be a foreign trip. Look, President Obama knows that creating jobs in America--keeping jobs in America--and bringing jobs back to America--is what being President is all about. That’s the President's job. Governor Romney believes that it’s okay to raise taxes on the middle class by $2,000 in order to pay for over a trillion dollars in tax cuts for the very wealthy. President Obama knows that there is nothing decent or fair about asking more of those with less--and less--of those with more. Governor Romney believes that kids-the kids we call DREAMers—those immigrant children who were brought to America at a very young age, through no fault of their own—he thinks they’re a drag on America. President Obama believes that even though these DREAMERs—these kids—didn’t choose to come to America-they’ve chosen to do right by America and we should do right by them. Governor Romney looks at the notion of equal pay for equal work in terms of a company’s bottom line. President Obama knows--that making sure our daughters are paid the same as our sons for the same job must be every father’s bottom line. But I must tell you--one thing that perplexed me the most at their convention was this idea of a culture of dependency. They seem to think you create a culture of dependency when you provide a bright, qualified child from a working family a loan to get to college, or when you provide job training in a new industry, for a dad who lost his job, because it was outsourced. Folks, that’s not how we look at it. Americans have never looked at it that way. These men and women aren’t looking for a handout. They’re just looking for a chance to acquire the tools and the skills to provide for their families—so they can hold their heads high and lead independent lives with dignity. I told you the choice is stark. Two different visions. Two different value sets. And at its core, the difference is, we have incredible faith in the decency, and the hard work of the American people. And we know what has made this country great--its people. As I mentioned at the outset folks--four years ago, Americans we were hit hard. You saw your retirement accounts drained, the equity in your homes vanish, and your jobs lost or on the line. But you did what Americans have always done. You didn’t lose faith. You fought back. You didn’t give up. You got up. You’re the ones bringing America back. You’re the reason why we’re still better positioned-- than any country in the world--to lead the 21st century. You never quit on America. And you deserve a President who will never quit on you. And one more thing that our opponents are dead wrong about: America is NOT in decline. I’ve got news for Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan, it has never, never, ever, been a good bet to bet against the American people. My fellow Americans, America is coming back and we’re not going back! And we have no intention of downsizing the American Dream. In a moment you’re going to hear from a man, whose whole life is a testament to the power of that dream. And whose Presidency is the best hope to secure that dream, for our children. We see a future where everyone rich or poor does their part and has a part. A future where we depend more on clean energy from home and less on oil from abroad. A future where we’re #1 in the world again in college graduation. A future where we promote the private sector, not the privileged sector. And a future where women control their own choices, health, and destiny. A future where no one—no one—is forced to live in the shadows of intolerance.
We see a future where America leads not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. Where we bring our troops home from Afghanistan, just as we brought them home from Iraq. And a future where we fulfill the only truly, sacred obligation we have as a nation--to equip those we send to war and care for them when they come home from war. Where we acknowledge the incredible debt we owe to the families of the 6,473 fallen angels and the 49,746 wounded. Thousands, critically wounded. We must never forget their sacrifice and always keep them in our care and our prayers. My fellow Americans, we now find ourselves at the hinge of history. And the direction we turn is in your hands. It has been an honor to serve you, and to serve with a President who has always stood up for you. As I’ve said, I’ve seen him tested. I know his strength, his command, his faith. I also know, the incredible confidence he has in all of you. I know this man. Yes, the work of recovery is not yet complete, but we are on our way. The journey of hope is not yet finished, but we are on our way. The cause of change is not fully accomplished, but we are on our way. So I say to you tonight, with absolute confidence, America’s best days are ahead of us, and, yes, we are on our way. In the light of that horizon, for the values that define us, for the ideas that inspire us, there is only one choice. The choice is to move forward, boldly forward. Finish the job we started and re-elect President Barack Obama. God bless you and may God protect our troops.
Excerpts of President Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, September 6, as prepared for delivery:
“But when all is said and done – when you pick up that ballot to vote – you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; war and peace – decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children’s lives for decades to come."
“On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties."
“It will be a choice between two different paths for America."
“A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future."
“I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. It will require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one. And by the way – those of us who carry on his party’s legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington."
“But know this, America: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future. I’m asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country – goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; a real, achievable plan that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. That’s what we can do in the next four years, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.”
President Obama’s Goals for America
Tonight President Obama will ask the country to rally around a set of goals on manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit – a real, achievable plan that will create jobs, expand opportunity, and ensure an economy built to last.
Manufacturing · Create one million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016 · Double exports by the end of 2014
Energy · Cut net oil imports in half by 2020 · Support 600,000 natural gas jobs by the end of the decade
Education · Cut the growth of college tuition in half over the next 10 years · Recruit 100,000 math and science teachers over the next 10 years · Train two million workers for real jobs at community colleges
National Security · Invest in the economy with the money we’re no longer spending on war
Deficit · Reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion over the next decade
What do you do if you want to win an election, but you have a Presidential candidate you really didn't want, a VP candidate who turned out to be worse than your last "Game Changer" pick, and have no plan beyond destroying the rest of the country just so your Presidential candidate and others like him can enrich themselves further and pay less taxes, assuming they pays any as it is?
If you're the Republican Party, you obstruct, lie about it, blame it on the other guy, and then pull stunts that today's juveniles would probably rate about a 20 on the lame scale of 1-10.
After a disastrous convention in Tampa last week, the grand finale was Clint Eastwood yelling at an empty chair which stole Mitt Romney's thunder (and I use the term "thunder" ever so loosely,) the 12 year olds running the party, believe it or not, have doubled down on the same tactics.
They came up with quite possibly the worst campaign ad ever made in the history of badly made campaign ads (yes, perhaps even worse than the infamous "Demon Sheep of 2010.")
They brought back the chair. Really.
But this time the chair is occupied. With a cardboard Obama:
Yup. Check your IQ at the door.
Worse, they think it's a great ad! Seriously:
That's this morning's Twitter feed for Sean Spicer, the Communications Director at the Republican National Committee, along with a special appearance by so-called "Bush's Brain" Karl Rove, who also thinks it's a winner.
The ad features an "unhappy former supporter" of President Obama, who is breaking up with him now because he didn't give her a pony. Or something.
Much like the cardboard Obama who has replaced the former invisible Obama which only Clint Eastwood could see, the supporter (SPOILER ALERT!) wasn't a real supporter at all. Nope. In fact, she's actually a former Republican spokeswoman for Florida Governor Rick Scott, which in the "brilliance" department, explains a lot.
And speaking of empty chairs, the empty suit currently holding the job of Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, also thinks this is just the gem they need to turn this clown car around before it goes over the cliff:
Yes. This really is just about all they've got, topped off with a couple more "zingers" to throw at the Democrats out there while Priebus is at it:
Alluding to the speech by President Obama tonight at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, which has been moved inside due to the threat of thunderstorms, Priebus would apparently like you to forget that his party cancelled an entire day of their own convention due to the threat of Hurricane Isaac.
And finally, in one stunningly hypocritical Tweet, Priebus "doth project too much." The man who thought it was a great idea to have an aging actor scream at a chair, occupied with a man only he could see, Priebus speaks of a convention only he can see by saying the DNC "has become a spectacle of pretexts, attacks, distortion, and internal discord."
Well, you might want to take a look in the mirror there, Reince.
Excerpts from Bill Clinton's DNC speech tonight, as prepared: (Updated, Full transcript below.)
“In Tampa the Republican argument against the President's re-election was pretty simple: We left him a total mess, he hasn't finished cleaning it up yet, so fire him and put us back in."
“I like the argument for President Obama's re-election a lot better. He inherited a deeply damaged economy, put a floor under the crash, began the long hard road to recovery, and laid the foundation for a more modern, more well-balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs, vibrant new businesses, and lots of new wealth for the innovators."
“The most important question is, what kind of country do you want to live in? If you want a you're-on-your-own, winner-take-all society, you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility -- a we're-all-in-this-together society -- you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”
UPDATED:
Full transcript of President Bill Clinton's speech from the 2012 Democratic National Convention, as prepared:
We're here to nominate a President, and I've got one in mind.
I want to nominate a man whose own life has known its fair share of
adversity and uncertainty. A man who ran for President to change the
course of an already weak economy and then just six weeks before the
election, saw it suffer the biggest collapse since the Great Depression.
A man who stopped the slide into depression and put us on the long road
to recovery, knowing all the while that no matter how many jobs were
created and saved, there were still millions more waiting, trying to
feed their children and keep their hopes alive.
I want to nominate a man cool on the outside but burning for America on
the inside. A man who believes we can build a new American Dream
economy driven by innovation and creativity, education and cooperation. A
man who had the good sense to marry Michelle Obama.
I want Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States and I
proudly nominate him as the standard bearer of the Democratic Party.
In Tampa, we heard a lot of talk about how the President and the
Democrats don't believe in free enterprise and individual initiative,
how we want everyone to be dependent on the government, how bad we are
for the economy.
The Republican narrative is that all of us who amount to anything are
completely self-made. One of our greatest Democratic Chairmen, Bob
Strauss, used to say that every politician wants you to believe he was
born in a log cabin he built himself, but it ain't so.
We Democrats think the country works better with a strong middle class,
real opportunities for poor people to work their way into it and a
relentless focus on the future, with business and government working
together to promote growth and broadly shared prosperity. We think
"we're all in this together" is a better philosophy than "you're on your
own."
Who's right? Well since 1961, the Republicans have held the White House
28 years, the Democrats 24. In those 52 years, our economy produced 66
million private sector jobs. What's the jobs score? Republicans 24
million, Democrats 42 million!
It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment
is both morally right and good economics, because discrimination,
poverty and ignorance restrict growth, while investments in education,
infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase it,
creating more good jobs and new wealth for all of us.
Though I often disagree with Republicans, I never learned to hate them
the way the far right that now controls their party seems to hate
President Obama and the Democrats. After all, President Eisenhower sent
federal troops to my home state to integrate Little Rock Central High
and built the interstate highway system. And as governor, I worked with
President Reagan on welfare reform and with President George H.W. Bush
on national education goals. I am grateful to President George W. Bush
for PEPFAR, which is saving the lives of millions of people in poor
countries and to both Presidents Bush for the work we've done together
after the South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian
earthquake.
Through my foundation, in America and around the world, I work with
Democrats, Republicans and Independents who are focused on solving
problems and seizing opportunities, not fighting each other.
When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the
real world, cooperation works better. After all, nobody's right all the
time, and a broken clock is right twice a day. All of us are destined
to live our lives between those two extremes. Unfortunately, the
faction that now dominates the Republican Party doesn't see it that
way. They think government is the enemy, and compromise is weakness.
One of the main reasons America should re-elect President Obama is that
he is still committed to cooperation. He appointed Republican
Secretaries of Defense, the Army and Transportation. He appointed a
Vice President who ran against him in 2008, and trusted him to oversee
the successful end of the war in Iraq and the implementation of the
recovery act. And Joe Biden did a great job with both. He appointed
Cabinet members who supported Hillary in the primaries. Heck, he even
appointed Hillary! I'm so proud of her and grateful to our entire
national security team for all they've done to make us safer and
stronger and to build a world with more partners and fewer enemies. I'm
also grateful to the young men and women who serve our country in the
military and to Michelle Obama and Jill Biden for supporting military
families when their loved ones are overseas and for helping our
veterans, when they come home bearing the wounds of war, or needing help
with education, housing, and jobs.
President Obama's record on national security is a tribute to his
strength, and judgment, and to his preference for inclusion and
partnership over partisanship.
He also tried to work with Congressional Republicans on Health Care,
debt reduction, and jobs, but that didn't work out so well. Probably
because, as the Senate Republican leader, in a remarkable moment of
candor, said two years before the election, their number one priority
was not to put America back to work, but to put President Obama out of
work.
Senator, I hate to break it to you, but we're going to keep President Obama on the job!
In Tampa, the Republican argument against the President's re-election
was pretty simple: we left him a total mess, he hasn't cleaned it up
fast enough, so fire him and put us back in.
In order to look like an acceptable alternative to President Obama, they
couldn't say much about the ideas they have offered over the last two
years. You see they want to go back to the same old policies that got
us into trouble in the first place: to cut taxes for high income
Americans even more than President Bush did; to get rid of those pesky
financial regulations designed to prevent another crash and prohibit
future bailouts; to increase defense spending two trillion dollars more
than the Pentagon has requested without saying what they'll spend the
money on; to make enormous cuts in the rest of the budget, especially
programs that help the middle class and poor kids. As another President
once said – there they go again.
I like the argument for President Obama's re-election a lot better. He
inherited a deeply damaged economy, put a floor under the crash, began
the long hard road to recovery, and laid the foundation for a modern,
more well-balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs,
vibrant new businesses, and lots of new wealth for the innovators.
Are we where we want to be? No. Is the President satisfied? No. Are we
better off than we were when he took office, with an economy in free
fall, losing 750,000 jobs a month. The answer is YES.
I understand the challenge we face. I know many Americans are still
angry and frustrated with the economy. Though employment is growing,
banks are beginning to lend and even housing prices are picking up a
bit, too many people don't feel it.
I experienced the same thing in 1994 and early 1995. Our policies were
working and the economy was growing but most people didn't feel it yet.
By 1996, the economy was roaring, halfway through the longest peacetime
expansion in American history.
President Obama started with a much weaker economy than I did. No
President – not me or any of my predecessors could have repaired all the
damage in just four years. But conditions are improving and if you'll
renew the President's contract you will feel it.
I believe that with all my heart.
President Obama's approach embodies the values, the ideas, and the
direction America must take to build a 21st century version of the
American Dream in a nation of shared opportunities, shared prosperity
and shared responsibilities.
So back to the story. In 2010, as the President's recovery program
kicked in, the job losses stopped and things began to turn around.
The Recovery Act saved and created millions of jobs and cut taxes for
95% of the American people. In the last 29 months the economy has
produced about 4.5 million private sector jobs. But last year, the
Republicans blocked the President's jobs plan costing the economy more
than a million new jobs. So here's another jobs score: President Obama
plus 4.5 million, Congressional Republicans zero.
Over that same period, more than more than 500,000 manufacturing jobs
have been created under President Obama – the first time manufacturing
jobs have increased since the 1990s.
The auto industry restructuring worked. It saved more than a million
jobs, not just at GM, Chrysler and their dealerships, but in auto parts
manufacturing all over the country. That's why even auto-makers that
weren't part of the deal supported it. They needed to save the
suppliers too. Like I said, we're all in this together.
Now there are 250,000 more people working in the auto industry than the
day the companies were restructured. Governor Romney opposed the plan
to save GM and Chrysler. So here's another jobs score: Obama two hundred
and fifty thousand, Romney, zero.
The agreement the administration made with management, labor and
environmental groups to double car mileage over the next few years is
another good deal: it will cut your gas bill in half, make us more
energy independent, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and add another
500,000 good jobs.
President Obama's "all of the above" energy plan is helping too – the
boom in oil and gas production combined with greater energy efficiency
has driven oil imports to a near 20 year low and natural gas production
to an all time high. Renewable energy production has also doubled.
We do need more new jobs, lots of them, but there are already more than
three million jobs open and unfilled in America today, mostly because
the applicants don't have the required skills. We have to prepare more
Americans for the new jobs that are being created in a world fueled by
new technology. That's why investments in our people are more important
than ever. The President has supported community colleges and employers
in working together to train people for open jobs in their communities.
And, after a decade in which exploding college costs have increased the
drop-out rate so much that we've fallen to 16th in the world in the
percentage of our young adults with college degrees, his student loan
reform lowers the cost of federal student loans and even more important,
gives students the right to repay the loans as a fixed percentage of
their incomes for up to 20 years. That means no one will have to
drop-out of college for fear they can't repay their debt, and no one
will have to turn down a job, as a teacher, a police officer or a small
town doctor because it doesn't pay enough to make the debt payments.
This will change the future for young Americans.
I know we're better off because President Obama made these decisions.
That brings me to health care.
The Republicans call it Obamacare and say it's a government takeover of
health care that they'll repeal. Are they right? Let's look at what's
happened so far. Individuals and businesses have secured more than a
billion dollars in refunds from their insurance premiums because the new
law requires 80% to 85% of your premiums to be spent on health care,
not profits or promotion. Other insurance companies have lowered their
rates to meet the requirement. More than 3 million young people between
19 and 25 are insured for the first time because their parents can now
carry them on family policies. Millions of seniors are receiving
preventive care including breast cancer screenings and tests for heart
problems. Soon the insurance companies, not the government, will have
millions of new customers many of them middle class people with
pre-existing conditions. And for the last two years, health care
spending has grown under 4%, for the first time in 50 years.
So are we all better off because President Obama fought for it and passed it? You bet we are.
There were two other attacks on the President in Tampa that deserve an
answer. Both Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan attacked the President
for allegedly robbing Medicare of 716 billion dollars. Here's what
really happened. There were no cuts to benefits. None. What the
President did was save money by cutting unwarranted subsidies to
providers and insurance companies that weren't making people any
healthier. He used the saving to close the donut hole in the Medicare
drug program, and to add eight years to the life of the Medicare Trust
Fund. It's now solvent until 2024. So President Obama and the Democrats
didn't weaken Medicare, they strengthened it.
When Congressman Ryan looked into the TV camera and attacked President
Obama's "biggest coldest power play" in raiding Medicare, I didn't know
whether to laugh or cry. You see, that 716 billion dollars is exactly
the same amount of Medicare savings Congressman Ryan had in his own
budget.
At least on this one, Governor Romney's been consistent. He wants to
repeal the savings and give the money back to the insurance companies,
re-open the donut hole and force seniors to pay more for drugs, and
reduce the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by eight years. So now if
he's elected and does what he promised Medicare will go broke by 2016.
If that happens, you won't have to wait until their voucher program to
begins in 2023 to see the end Medicare as we know it.
But it gets worse. They also want to block grant Medicaid and cut it by
a third over the coming decade. Of course, that will hurt poor kids,
but that's not all. Almost two-thirds of Medicaid is spent on nursing
home care for seniors and on people with disabilities, including kids
from middle class families, with special needs like, Downs syndrome or
Autism. I don't know how those families are going to deal with it. We
can't let it happen
Now let's look at the Republican charge that President Obama wants to
weaken the work requirements in the welfare reform bill I signed that
moved millions of people from welfare to work.
Here's what happened. When some Republican governors asked to try new
ways to put people on welfare back to work, the Obama Administration
said they would only do it if they had a credible plan to increase
employment by 20%. You hear that? More work. So the claim that
President Obama weakened welfare reform's work requirement is just not
true. But they keep running ads on it. As their campaign pollster said
"we're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers." Now
that is true. I couldn't have said it better myself – I just hope you
remember that every time you see the ad.
Let's talk about the debt. We have to deal with it or it will deal with
us. President Obama has offered a plan with 4 trillion dollars in debt
reduction over a decade, with two and a half dollars of spending
reductions for every one dollar of revenue increases, and tight controls
on future spending. It's the kind of balanced approach proposed by the
bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission.
I think the President's plan is better than the Romney plan, because the
Romney plan fails the first test of fiscal responsibility: The numbers
don't add up.
It's supposed to be a debt reduction plan but it begins with five
trillion dollars in tax cuts over a ten-year period. That makes the debt
hole bigger before they even start to dig out. They say they'll make
it up by eliminating loopholes in the tax code. When you ask "which
loopholes and how much?," they say "See me after the election on that."
People ask me all the time how we delivered four surplus budgets. What
new ideas did we bring? I always give a one-word answer: arithmetic. If
they stay with a 5 trillion dollar tax cut in a debt reduction plan –
the – arithmetic tells us that one of three things will happen: 1)
they'll have to eliminate so many deductions like the ones for home
mortgages and charitable giving that middle class families will see
their tax bill go up two thousand dollars year while people making over 3
million dollars a year get will still get a 250,000 dollar tax cut; or
2) they'll have to cut so much spending that they'll obliterate the
budget for our national parks, for ensuring clean air, clean water, safe
food, safe air travel; or they'll cut way back on Pell Grants, college
loans, early childhood education and other programs that help middle
class families and poor children, not to mention cutting investments in
roads, bridges, science, technology and medical research; or 3) they'll
do what they've been doing for thirty plus years now – cut taxes more
than they cut spending, explode the debt, and weaken the economy.
Remember, Republican economic policies quadrupled the debt before I took
office and doubled it after I left. We simply can't afford to
double-down on trickle-down.
President Obama's plan cuts the debt, honors our values, and brightens the future for our children, our families and our nation.
My fellow Americans, you have to decide what kind of country you want to
live in. If you want a you're on your own, winner take all society you
should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared
opportunities and shared responsibilities – a "we're all in it together"
society, you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. If you want
every American to vote and you think its wrong to change voting
procedures just to reduce the turnout of younger, poorer, minority and
disabled voters, you should support Barack Obama. If you think the
President was right to open the doors of American opportunity to young
immigrants brought here as children who want to go to college or serve
in the military, you should vote for Barack Obama. If you want a future
of shared prosperity, where the middle class is growing and poverty is
declining, where the American Dream is alive and well, and where the
United States remains the leading force for peace and prosperity in a
highly competitive world, you should vote for Barack Obama.
I love our country – and I know we're coming back. For more than 200
years, through every crisis, we've always come out stronger than we went
in. And we will again as long as we do it together. We champion the
cause for which our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, their
sacred honor – to form a more perfect union.
If that's what you believe, if that's what you want, we have to re-elect President Barack Obama.
