Hofstra Presidential Debate Transcript 2012

7/31/2019 Hofstra Presidential Debate Transcript 2012

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FINALTRANSCRIPT

PRESIDENTBARACKOBAMAANDFORMERGOV.MITTROMNEY

PARTICIPATEINACANDIDATESDEBATE,HOFSTRAUNIVERSITY,

HEMPSTEAD,NEWYORK

OCTOBER16,2012

SPEAKERS:FORMERGOV.MITTROMNEY,R-MASS.

PRESIDENTBARACKOBAMA

CANDYCROWLEY,MODERATOR

[*]

CROWLEY:GoodeveningfromHofstraUniversityinHempstead,NewYork.I'mCandyCrowleyfromCNN's"Stateofthe

Union."Wearehereforthesecondpresidentialdebate,atownhall,sponsoredbytheCommissiononPresidential

Debates.

CROWLEY:TheGalluporganizationchose82uncommittedvotersfromtheNewYorkarea.Theirquestionswilldrivethe

night.Mygoalistogivetheconversationdirectionandtoensurequestionsgetanswered.

Thequestionsareknowntomeandmyteamonly.Neitherthecommission,northecandidateshaveseenthem.Ihope

togettoasmanyquestionsaspossible.

CROWLEY:AndbecauseIamtheoptimisticsort,I'msurethecandidateswillobligebykeepingtheiranswersconciseand

onpoint.

Eachcandidatehasasmuchastwominutestorespondtoacommonquestion,andtherewillbeatwo-minutefollow-

up.Theaudiencehereinthehallhasagreedtobepoliteandattentive--nocheeringorbooingoroutburstsofanysort.

WewillsetasidethatagreementjustthisoncetowelcomePresidentBarackObamaandGovernorMittRomney.

(APPLAUSE)

Gentlemen,thankyoubothforjoiningusheretonight.Wehavealotoffolkswho'vebeenwaitingalldaytotalktoyou,

soIwanttogetrighttoit.

GovernorRomney,asyouknow,youwonthecointoss,sothefirstquestionwillgotoyou.AndIwanttoturntoafirst-

timevoter,JeremyEpstein,whohasaquestionforyou.

QUESTION:Mr.President,GovernorRomney,asa20-year-oldcollegestudent,allIhearfromprofessors,neighborsand

othersisthatwhenIgraduate,Iwillhavelittlechancetogetemployment.Whatcanyousaytoreassureme,butmore


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importantlymyparents,thatIwillbeabletosufficientlysupportmyselfafterIgraduate?

ROMNEY:Thankyou,Jeremy.Iappreciateyour--yourquestion,andthankyouforbeingherethiseveningandtoallof

thosefromNassauCountythathavecome,thankyouforyourtime.ThankyoutoHofstraUniversityandtoCandy

Crowleyfororganizingandleadingthis--thisevent.

Thankyou,Mr.President,alsoforbeingpartofthis--thisdebate.

Yourquestion--yourquestionisonethat'sbeingaskedbycollegekidsalloverthiscountry.IwasinPennsylvaniawith

someonewhohadjustgraduated--thiswasinPhiladelphia--andshesaid,"I'vegotmydegree.Ican'tfindajob.I've

gotthreepart-timejobs.They'rejustbarelyenoughtopayformyfoodandpayforanapartment.Ican'tbegintopay

backmystudentloans."

Sowhatwehavetodoistwothings.Wehavetomakesurethatwemakeiteasierforkidstoaffordcollege.

ROMNEY:Andalsomakesurethatwhentheygetoutofcollege,there'sajob.WhenIwasgovernorofMassachusetts,

togetahighschooldegree,youhadtopassanexam.Ifyougraduatedinthetopquarterofyourairlines,wegaveyoua

JohnandAbigailAdamsscholarship,fouryearstuitionfreeinthecollegeofyourchoiceinMassachusetts,it'sapublic

institution.

IwanttomakesurewekeepourPellgrantprogramgrowing.We'realsogoingtohaveourloanprogram,sothatpeople

areabletoaffordschool.Butthekeythingistomakesureyoucangetajobwhenyougetoutofschool.Andwhat's

happenedoverthelastfouryearshasbeenvery,veryhardforAmerica'syoungpeople.Iwantyoutobeabletogeta

job.

Iknowwhatittakestogetthiseconomygoing.Withhalfofcollegekidsgraduatingthisyearwithoutacollege--excuse

me,withoutajob.Andwithoutacollegeleveljob,that'sjustunacceptable.

Andlikewiseyou'vegotmoreandmoredebtonyourback.Somoredebtandlessjobs.I'mgoingtochangethat.Iknow

whatittakestocreategoodjobsagain.Iknowwhatittakestomakesurethatyouhavethekindofopportunityyou

deserve.Andkidsacrossthiscountryaregoingtorecognize,we'rebringingbackaneconomy.

It'snotgoingtobelikethelastfouryears.Themiddle-classhasbeencrushedoverthelastfouryears,andjobshave

beentooscarce.Iknowwhatittakestobringthemback,andI'mgoingtodothat,andmakesurethatwhenyou

graduate--whendoyougraduate?

QUESTION:2014.

ROMNEY:2014.Whenyoucomeoutin2014,IpresumeI'mgoingtobepresident.I'mgoingtomakesureyougetajob.

ThanksJeremy.Yeah,youbet.

CROWLEY:Mr.President?


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OBAMA:Jeremy,firstofall,yourfutureisbright.Andthefactthatyou'remakinganinvestmentinhighereducationis

critical.Notjusttoyou,buttotheentirenation.Now,themostimportantthingwecandoistomakesurethatweare

creatingjobsinthiscountry.Butnotjustjobs,goodpayingjobs.Onesthatcansupportafamily.

OBAMA:AndwhatIwanttodo,isbuildonthefivemillionjobsthatwe'vecreatedoverthelast30monthsintheprivate

sectoralone.Andthereareabunchofthingswecandotomakesureyourfutureisbright.

Numberone,Iwanttobuildmanufacturingjobsinthiscountryagain.NowwhenGovernorRomneysaidweshouldlet

Detroitgobankrupt.Isaidwe'regoingtobetonAmericanworkersandtheAmericanautoindustryandit'scomesurging

back.

Iwanttodothatinindustries,notjustinDetroit,butallacrossthecountryandthatmeanswechangeourtaxcodeso

we'regivingincentivestocompaniesthatareinvestinghereintheUnitedStatesandcreatingjobshere.

Italsomeanswe'rehelpingthemandsmallbusinessestoexportallaroundtheworldtonewmarkets.

Numbertwo,we'vegottomakesurethatwehavethebesteducationsystemintheworld.Andthefactthatyou're

goingtocollegeisgreat,butIwanteverybodytogetagreateducationandwe'veworkedhardtomakesurethat

studentloansareavailableforfolkslikeyou,butIalsowanttomakesurethatcommunitycollegesareofferingslotsfor

workerstogetretrainedforthejobsthatareoutthererightnowandthejobsofthefuture.

Numberthree,we'vegottocontrolourownenergy.Now,notonlyoilandnaturalgas,whichwe'vebeeninvestingin;

butalso,we'vegottomakesurewe'rebuildingtheenergysourceofthefuture,notjustthinkingaboutnextyear,but

tenyearsfromnow,20yearsfromnow.That'swhywe'veinvestedinsolarandwindandbiofuels,energyefficientcars.

We'vegottoreduceourdeficit,butwe'vegottodoitinabalancedway.Askingthewealthytopayalittlebitmore

alongwithcutssothatwecaninvestineducationlikeyours.

Andlet'stakethemoneythatwe'vebeenspendingonwaroverthelastdecadetorebuildAmerica,roads,bridges

schools.Wedothosethings,notonlyisyourfuturegoingtobebrightbutAmerica'sfutureisgoingtobrightaswell.

CROWLEY:LetmeaskyouformoreimmediateanswerandbeginwithMr.Romneyjustquicklywhat--whatcanyoudo?

We'relookingatasituationwhere40percentoftheunemployedhavebeenunemployedhavebeenunemployedforsix

monthsormore.Theydon'thavethetwoyearsthatJeremyhas.

Whataboutthoselongtermunemployedwhoneedajobrightnow?

ROMNEY:Wellwhatyou'reseeinginthiscountryis23millionpeoplestrugglingtofindajob.Andalotofthem,asyou

say,Candy,havebeenoutofworkforalong,long,longtime.Thepresident'spolicieshavebeenexercisedoverthelast

fouryearsandtheyhaven'tputAmericansbacktowork.


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Wehavefewerpeopleworkingtodaythanwehadwhenthepresidenttookoffice.Ifthe--theunemploymentratewas

7.8percentwhenhetookoffice,it's7.8percentnow.Butifyoucalculatedthatunemploymentrate,takingbackthe

peoplewhodroppedoutoftheworkforce,itwouldbe10.7percent.

Wehavenotmadetheprogressweneedtomaketoputpeoplebacktowork.That'swhyIputoutafive-pointplanthat

getsAmerica12millionnewjobsinfouryearsandrisingtake-homepay.It'sgoingtohelpJeremygetajobwhenhe

comesoutofschool.It'sgoingtohelppeopleacrossthecountrythatareunemployedrightnow.

Andonethingthatthepresidentsaid,whichIwanttomakesurethatweunderstand,hesaidthatIsaidweshouldtake

Detroitbankrupt.Andthat'sright.Myplanwastohavethecompanygothroughbankruptcylike7-Elevendidand

Macy'sandCondell(ph)Airlinesandcomeoutstronger.

AndIknowhekeepssaying,youwanttotakeDetroitbankrupt.Well,thepresidenttookDetroitbankrupt.Youtook

GeneralMotorsbankrupt.YoutookChryslerbankrupt.SowhenyousaythatIwantedtotaketheautoindustry

bankrupt,youactuallydid.

AndIthinkit'simportanttoknowthatthatwasaprocessthatwasnecessarytogetthosecompaniesbackontheirfeet,

sotheycouldstarthiringmorepeople.ThatwaspreciselywhatIrecommendedandultimatelywhathappened.

CROWLEY:Letmegivethepresidentachance.

Goahead.OBAMA:Candy,whatGovernorRomneysaidjustisn'ttrue.Hewantedtotakethemintobankruptcywithout

providingthemanywaytostayopen.Andwewouldhavelostamillionjobs.Andthat--don'ttakemywordforit,take

theexecutivesatGMandChrysler,someofwhomareRepublicans,mayevensupportGovernorRomney.Butthey'lltell

youhisprescriptionwasn'tgoingtowork.

AndGovernorRomney'ssayshe'sgotafive-pointplan?GovernorRomneydoesn'thaveafive-pointplan.Hehasaone-

pointplan.Andthatplanistomakesurethatfolksatthetopplaybyadifferentsetofrules.That'sbeenhisphilosophy

intheprivatesector,that'sbeenhisphilosophyasgovernor,that'sbeenhisphilosophyasapresidentialcandidate.

Youcanmakealotofmoneyandpaylowertaxratesthansomebodywhomakesalotless.Youcanshipjobsoverseas

andgettaxbreaksforit.Youcaninvestinacompany,bankruptit,layofftheworkers,stripawaytheirpensions,and

youstillmakemoney.

That'sexactlythephilosophythatwe'veseeninplaceforthelastdecade.That'swhat'sbeensqueezingmiddleclass

families.

Andwehavefoughtbackforfouryearstogetoutofthatmess.Thelastthingweneedtodoistogobacktothevery

samepoliciesthatgotusthere.

CROWLEY:Mr.President,thenextquestionisgoingtobeforyouhere.


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And,Mr.Romney--GovernorRomney--there'llbeplentyofchancesheretogoon,butIwantto...

ROMNEY:That--thatDetroit--thatDetroitanswer...

CROWLEY:Wehaveallthesefolks.

ROMNEY:...thatDetroitanswer...

CROWLEY:Iwillletyouabsolutely...

ROMNEY:...andtherestoftheanswer,wayoffthemark.

CROWLEY:OK.Will--will--youcertainlywillhavelotsoftimeherecomingup.

BecauseIwanttomoveyouontosomethingthat'ssortofconnectedtocarshere,and--andgoover.Andwewantto

getaquestionfromPhillipTricolla.

QUESTION:Yourenergysecretary,StevenChu,hasnowbeenonrecordthreetimesstatingit'snotpolicyofhis

departmenttohelplowergasprices.DoyouagreewithSecretaryChuthatthisisnotthejoboftheEnergyDepartment?

OBAMA:Themostimportantthingwecandoistomakesurewecontrolourownenergy.Sohere'swhatI'vedonesince

I'vebeenpresident.Wehaveincreasedoilproductiontothehighestlevelsin16years.

Naturalgasproductionisthehighestit'sbeenindecades.Wehaveseenincreasesincoalproductionandcoal

employment.ButwhatI'vealsosaidiswecan'tjustproducetraditionalsourceofenergy.We'vealsogottolooktothe

future.That'swhywedoubledfuelefficiencystandardsoncars.Thatmeansthatinthemiddleofthenextdecade,any

caryoubuy,you'regoingtoendupgoingtwiceasfaronagallonofgas.That'swhywedoubledclean--cleanenergy

productionlikewindandsolarandbiofuels.

Andallthesethingshavecontributedtousloweringouroilimportstothelowestlevelsin16years.Now,Iwanttobuild

onthat.Andthatmeans,yes,westillcontinuetoopenupnewareasfordrilling.Wecontinuetomakeitapriorityforus

togoafternaturalgas.We'vegotpotentially600,000jobsand100yearsworthofenergyrightbeneathourfeetwith

naturalgas.

Andwecandoitinanenvironmentallysoundway.Butwe'vealsogottocontinuetofigureouthowwehaveefficiency

energy,becauseultimatelythat'showwe'regoingtoreducedemandandthat'swhat'sgoingtokeepgaspriceslower.

Now,GovernorRomneywillsayhe'sgotanall-of-the-aboveplan,butbasicallyhisplanistolettheoilcompanieswrite

theenergypolicies.Sohe'sgottheoilandgaspart,buthedoesn'thavethecleanenergypart.Andifweareonly

thinkingabouttomorroworthenextdayandnotthinkingabout10yearsfromnow,we'renotgoingtocontrolourown

economicfuture.BecauseChina,Germany,they'remakingtheseinvestments.AndI'mnotgoingtocedethosejobsof

thefuturetothosecountries.IexpectthosenewenergysourcestobebuiltrighthereintheUnitedStates.


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That'sgoingtohelpJeremygetajob.It'salsogoingtomakesurethatyou'renotpayingasmuchforgas.

CROWLEY:Governor,onthesubjectofgasprices?

ROMNEY:Well,let'slookatthepresident'spolicies,allright,asopposedtotherhetoric,becausewe'vehadfouryearsof

policiesbeingplayedout.Andthepresident'srightintermsoftheadditionaloilproduction,butnoneofitcameon

federalland.Asamatteroffact,oilproductionisdown14percentthisyearonfederalland,andgasproductionwas

down9percent.Why?Becausethepresidentcutinhalfthenumberoflicensesandpermitsfordrillingonfederallands,

andinfederalwaters.

Sowhere'dtheincreasecomefrom?WellalotofitcamefromtheBakkenRangeinNorthDakota.Whatwashis

participationthere?Theadministrationbroughtacriminalactionagainstthepeopledrillingupthereforoil,thismassive

newresourcewehave.Andwhatwasthecost?20or25birdswerekilledandbroughtoutamigratorybirdacttogo

afterthemonacriminalbasis.

Look,Iwanttomakesureweuseouroil,ourcoal,ourgas,ournuclear,ourrenewables.Ibelieveverymuchinour

renewablecapabilities;ethanol,wind,solarwillbeanimportantpartofourenergymix.

Butwhatwedon'tneedistohavethepresidentkeepingusfromtakingadvantageofoil,coalandgas.Thishasnotbeen

Mr.Oil,orMr.Gas,orMr.Coal.Talktothepeoplethatareworkinginthoseindustries.Iwasincoalcountry.People

grabbedmyarmsandsaid,"Pleasesavemyjob."TheheadoftheEPAsaid,"Youcan'tbuildacoalplant.You'llvirtually--

it'svirtuallyimpossiblegivenourregulations."Whenthepresidentranforoffice,hesaidifyoubuildacoalplant,you

cangoahead,butyou'llgobankrupt.That'snottherightcourseforAmerica.

Let'stakeadvantageoftheenergyresourceswehave,aswellastheenergysourcesforthefuture.Andifwedothat,if

wedowhatI'mplanningondoing,whichisgettingusenergyindependent,NorthAmericaenergyindependencewithin

eightyears,you'regoingtoseemanufacturingjobscomeback.Becauseourenergyislowcost,thatarealready

beginningtocomebackbecauseofourabundantenergy.I'llgetAmericaandNorthAmericaenergyindependent.I'lldo

itbymoredrilling,morepermitsandlicenses.

We'regoingtobringthatpipelineinfromCanada.Howintheworldthepresidentsaidnotothatpipeline?Iwillnever

know.

ThisisaboutbringinggoodjobsbackforthemiddleclassofAmerica,andthat'swhatI'mgoingtodo.CROWLEY:Mr.

President,letmejustseeifIcanmoveyoutothegistofthisquestion,whichis,arewelookingatthenewnormal?Ican

tellyouthattomorrowmorning,alotofpeopleinHempsteadwillwakeupandfillupandtheywillfindthatthepriceof

gasisover$4agallon.

Isitwithinthepurviewofthegovernmenttobringthosepricesdown,orarewelookingatthenewnormal?

OBAMA:Candy,there'snodoubtthatworlddemand'sgoneup,butourproductionisgoingup,andwe'reusingoilmore


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efficiently.AndverylittleofwhatGovernorRomneyjustsaidistrue.We'veopeneduppubliclands.We'reactually

drillingmoreonpubliclandsthaninthepreviousadministrationandmy--thepreviouspresidentwasanoilman.

Andnaturalgasisn'tjustappearingmagically.We'reencouragingitandworkingwiththeindustry.

AndwhenIhearGovernorRomneysayhe'sabigcoalguy,Imean,keepinmind,when--Governor,whenyouwere

governorofMassachusetts,youstoodinfrontofacoalplantandpointedatitandsaid,"Thisplantkills,"andtookgreat

prideinshuttingitdown.Andnowsuddenlyyou'reabigchampionofcoal.

SowhatI'vetriedtodoisbeconsistent.Withrespecttosomethinglikecoal,wemadethelargestinvestmentinclean

coaltechnology,tomakesurethatevenaswe'reproducingmorecoal,we'reproducingitcleanerandsmarter.Same

thingwithoil,samethingwithnaturalgas.

Andtheproofisouroilimportsaredowntothelowestlevelsin20years.Oilproductionisup,naturalgasproductionis

up,and,mostimportantly,we'realsostartingtobuildcarsthataremoreefficient.

Andthat'screatingjobs.Thatmeansthosecarscanbeexported,'causethat'sthedemandaroundtheworld,anditalso

meansthatit'llsavemoneyinyourpocketbook.

OBAMA:That'sthestrategyyouneed,anall-of-the-abovestrategy,andthat'swhatwe'regoingtodointhenextfour

years.

ROMNEY:Butthat'snotwhatyou'vedoneinthelastfouryears.That'stheproblem.Inthelastfouryears,youcut

permitsandlicensesonfederallandandfederalwatersinhalf.

OBAMA:Nottrue,GovernorRomney.

ROMNEY:Sohowmuchdidyoucut(inaudible)?

OBAMA:Nottrue.

ROMNEY:Howmuchdidyoucutthemby,then?

OBAMA:Governor,wehaveactuallyproducedmoreoil--

ROMNEY:No,no.Howmuchdidyoucutlicensesandpermitsonfederallandandfederalwaters?

OBAMA:GovernorRomney,here'swhatwedid.Therewereawholebunchofoilcompanies.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY:No,no,Ihadaquestionandthequestionwashowmuchdidyoucutthemby?


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OBAMA:Youwantmetoansweraquestion--

ROMNEY:Howmuchdidyoucutthemby?

OBAMA:I'mhappytoanswerthequestion.

ROMNEY:Allright.Anditis--

OBAMA:Here'swhathappened.Youhadawholebunchofoilcompanieswhohadleasesonpubliclandsthatthey

weren'tusing.Sowhatwesaidwasyoucan'tjustsitonthisfor10,20,30years,decidewhenyouwanttodrill,when

youwanttoproduce,whenit'smostprofitableforyou.Thesearepubliclands.Soifyouwanttodrillonpubliclands,

youuseitoryouloseit.

ROMNEY:OK,(inaudible)--

OBAMA:Andsowhatwedidwastakeawaythoseleases.Andwearenowrelettingthemsothatwecanactuallymakea

profit.

ROMNEY:Andproductiononprivate--ongovernmentland--

OBAMA:Productionisup.

ROMNEY:--isdown.

OBAMA:No,itisn't.

ROMNEY:Productionongovernmentlandofoilisdown14percent.

OBAMA:Governor--

ROMNEY:Andproductionongas--

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA:It'sjustnottrue.

ROMNEY:It'sabsolutelytrue.Look,there'snoquestionbutthepeoplerecognizethatwehavenotproducedmore

(inaudible)onfederallandsandinfederalwaters.Andcoal,coalproductionisnotup;coaljobsarenotup.

Iwasjustatacoalfacility,wheresome1,200peoplelosttheirjobs.TherightcourseforAmericaistohaveatrueall-of-

the-abovepolicy.Idon'tthinkanyonereallybelievesthatyou'reapersonwho'sgoingtobepushingforoilandgasand


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coal.You'llgetyourchanceinamoment.I'mstillspeaking.

OBAMA:Well--

ROMNEY:AndtheanswerisIdon'tbelievepeoplethinkthat'sthecase--

OBAMA:--(inaudible).

ROMNEY:Thatwasn'tthequestion.

OBAMA:OK.

ROMNEY:Thatwasastatement.Idon'tthinktheAmericanpeoplebelievethat.Iwillfightforoil,coalandnaturalgas.

Andtheproof,theproofofwhetherastrategyisworkingornotiswhatthepriceisthatyou'repayingatthepump.If

you'repayinglessthanyoupaidayearortwoago,why,then,thestrategyisworking.Butyou'repayingmore.Whenthe

presidenttookoffice,thepriceofgasolinehereinNassauCountywasabout$1.86agallon.Now,it's$4.00agallon.The

priceofelectricityisup.

Ifthepresident'senergypoliciesareworking,you'regoingtoseethecostofenergycomedown.Iwillfighttocreate

moreenergyinthiscountry,togetAmericaenergysecure.AndpartofthatisbringinginapipelineofoilfromCanada,

takingadvantageoftheoilandcoalwehavehere,drillingoffshoreinAlaska,drillingoffshoreinVirginiawherethe

peoplewantit.Thosethingswillgetustheenergyweneed.

CROWLEY:Mr.President,couldyouaddress,becausewedidfinallygettogaspriceshere,couldyouaddresswhatthe

governorsaid,whichisifyourenergypolicywasworking,thepriceofgasolinewouldnotbe$4agallonhere.Isthat

true?

OBAMA:Well,thinkaboutwhatthegovernor--thinkaboutwhatthegovernorjustsaid.HesaidwhenItookoffice,the

priceofgasolinewas$1.80,$1.86.Whyisthat?Becausetheeconomywasonthevergeofcollapse,becausewewere

abouttogothroughtheworstrecessionsincetheGreatDepression,asaconsequenceofsomeofthesamepoliciesthat

GovernorRomney'snowpromoting.

So,it'sconceivablethatGovernorRomneycouldbringdowngaspricesbecausewithhispolicies,wemightbebackin

thatsamemess.

WhatIwanttodoistocreateaneconomythatisstrong,andatthesametimeproduceenergy.Andwithrespecttothis

pipelinethatGovernorRomneykeepsontalkingabout,we've--we'vebuiltenoughpipelinetowraparoundtheentire

earthonce.

So,I'mallforpipelines.I'mallforoilproduction.WhatI'mnotforisusignoringtheotherhalfoftheequation.So,for

example,onwindenergy,whenGovernorRomneysays"theseareimaginaryjobs."Whenyou'vegotthousandsof

peoplerightnowinIowa,rightnowinColorado,whoareworking,creatingwindpowerwithgood-payingmanufacturing


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jobs,andtheRepublicansenatorinthat--inIowaisallforit,providingtaxbreaks(ph)tohelpthisworkandGovernor

RomneysaysI'mopposed.I'dgetridofit.

That'snotanenergystrategyforthefuture.Andweneedtowinthatfuture.AndIintendtowinitasPresidentofthe

UnitedStates.

CROWLEY:Igotto--Igottomoveyouon--

ROMNEY:Hegetsthefirst--

CROWLEY:--andthenextquestion--

ROMNEY:Heactuallygot--

CROWLEY:--foryou--

ROMNEY:Heactuallygotthefirstquestion.SoIgetthelastquestion--lastanswer--

CROWLEY:(Inaudible)inthefollowup,itdoesn'tquiteworklikethat.ButI'mgoingtogiveyouachancehere.Ipromise

you,I'mgoingto.

Andthenextquestionisforyou.Soifyouwantto,youknow,continueon--butIdon'twanttoleaveall--

ROMNEY:Candy,Candy--

CROWLEY:--sittinghere--

ROMNEY:Candy,Idon'thaveapolicyofstoppingwindjobsinIowaandthat--they'renotphantomjobs.They'rereal

jobs.

CROWLEY:OK.

ROMNEY:IappreciatewindjobsinIowaandacrossourcountry.Iappreciatethejobsincoalandoilandgas.I'mgoingto

makesure--

CROWLEY:OK.

ROMNEY:--we'retakingadvantageofourenergyresources.We'llbringbackmanufacturingtoAmerica.We'regoingto

getthroughaveryaggressiveenergypolicy,31/2millionmorejobsinthiscountry.It'scriticaltoourfuture.

OBAMA:Candy,it'snotgoingto--


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CROWLEY:We'regoingtomoveyoualong--

OBAMA:Usedtobeinginterrupted.

CROWLEY:We'regoingtomoveyoubothalongtotaxesoverhereandallthesefolksthathavebeenwaiting.

Governor,thisquestionisforyou.ItcomesfromMaryFollano--Follano,sorry.

ROMNEY:Hi,Mary.

QUESTION:GovernorRomney,youhavestatedthatifyou'reelectedpresident,youwouldplantoreducethetaxrates

forallthetaxbracketsandthatyouwouldworkwiththeCongresstoeliminatesomedeductionsinordertomakeupfor

thelossinrevenue.

Concerningthe--thesevariousdeductions,themortgagedeductions,thecharitabledeductions,thechildtaxcreditand

alsothe--oh,what'sthatothercredit?Iforgot.

OBAMA:You'redoinggreat.

QUESTION:Oh,Iremember.

Theeducationcredits,whichareimportanttome,becauseIhavechildrenincollege.Whatwouldbeyourpositionon

thosethings,whichareimportanttothemiddleclass?

ROMNEY:Thankyouverymuch.Andletmetellyou,you'reabsolutelyrightaboutpartofthat,whichisIwanttobring

theratesdown,Iwanttosimplifythetaxcode,andIwanttogetmiddle-incometaxpayerstohavelowertaxes.

AndthereasonIwantmiddle-incometaxpayerstohavelowertaxesisbecausemiddle-incometaxpayershavebeen

buriedoverthepastfouryears.You'veseen,asmiddle-incomepeopleinthiscountry,incomesgodown$4,300afamily,

evenasgasolinepriceshavegoneup$2,000.Healthinsurancepremiums,up$2,500.Foodpricesup.Utilitypricesup.

Themiddle-incomefamiliesinAmericahavebeencrushedoverthelastfouryears.SoIwanttogetsomereliefto

middle-incomefamilies.That'spart--that'spartone.

Now,howaboutdeductions?'CauseI'mgoingtobringratesdownacrosstheboardforeverybody,butI'mgoingtolimit

deductionsandexemptionsandcredits,particularlyforpeopleatthehighend,becauseIamnotgoingtohavepeopleat

thehighendpaylessthanthey'repayingnow.

Thetop5percentoftaxpayerswillcontinuetopay60percentoftheincometaxthenationcollects.Sothat'llstaythe

same.

Middle-incomepeoplearegoingtogetataxbreak.


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Andso,intermsofbringingdowndeductions,onewayofdoingthatwouldbesayeverybodygets--I'llpickanumber--

$25,000ofdeductionsandcredits,andyoucandecidewhichonestouse.Yourhomemortgageinterestdeduction,

charity,childtaxcredit,andsoforth,youcanusethoseaspartoffillingthatbucket,ifyouwill,ofdeductions.

Butyourratecomesdownandtheburdenalsocomesdownonyouforonemorereason,andthatiseverymiddle-

incometaxpayernolongerwillpayanytaxoninterest,dividendsorcapitalgains.Notaxonyoursavings.Thatmakeslife

aloteasier.

Ifyou'regettinginterestfromabank,ifyou'regettingastatementfromamutualfundoranyotherkindofinvestment

youhave,youdon'thavetoworryaboutfilingtaxesonthat,becausethere'llbenotaxesforanybodymaking

$200,000.00peryearandless,onyourinterest,dividendsandcapitalgains.WhyamIloweringtaxesonthemiddle-

class?Becauseunderthelastfouryears,they'vebeenburied.AndIwanttohelppeopleinthemiddle-class.

AndIwillnot--Iwillnotunderanycircumstances,reducethesharethat'sbeingpaidbythehighestincometaxpayers.

AndIwillnot,underanycircumstancesincreasetaxesonthemiddle-class.Thepresident'sspending,thepresident's

borrowingwillcostthisnationtohavetoraisetaxesontheAmericanpeople.Notjustatthehighend.Arecentstudy

hasshownthepeopleinthemiddle-classwillsee$4,000.00peryearinhighertaxesasaresultofthespendingand

borrowingofthisadministration.

Iwillnotletthathappen.Iwanttogetusontracktoabalancedbudget,andI'mgoingtoreducethetaxburdenon

middleincomefamilies.Andwhat'sthatgoingtodo?It'sgoingtohelpthosefamilies,andit'sgoingtocreateincentives

tostartgrowingjobsagaininthiscountry.

CROWLEY:Thanks,Governor.

OBAMA:Myphilosophyontaxeshasbeensimple.Andthatis,Iwanttogivemiddle-classfamiliesandfolkswhoare

strivingtogetintothemiddle-classsomerelief.Becausetheyhavebeenhithardoverthelastdecade.Overthelast15,

overthelast20years.

SofouryearsagoIstoodonastagejustlikethisone.Actuallyitwasatownhall,andIsaidIwouldcuttaxesformiddle-

classfamilies,andthat'swhatI'vedone,by$3,600.00.IsaidIwouldcuttaxesforsmallbusinesses,whoarethedrivers

andenginesofgrowth.Andwe'vecutthem18times.AndIwanttocontinuethosetaxcutsformiddle-classfamilies,

andforsmallbusiness.

ButwhatI'vealsosaidis,ifwe'reseriousaboutreducingthedeficit,ifthisisgenuinelyamoralobligationtothenext

generation,theninadditiontosometoughspendingcuts,we'vealsogottomakesurethatthewealthydoalittlebit

more.

SowhatI'vesaidis,yourfirst$250,000.00worthofincome,nochange.Andthatmeans98percentofAmericanfamilies,

97percentofsmallbusinesses,theywillnotseeataxincrease.I'mreadytosignthatbillrightnow.Theonlyreasonit's

nothappeningisbecauseGovernorRomney'salliesinCongresshaveheldthe98percenthostagebecausetheywanttax


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13

breaksforthetop2percent.

ButwhatI'vealsosaysisforabove$250,000,wecangobacktothetaxrateswehadwhenBillClintonwaspresident.

Wecreated23millionnewjobs.That'spartofwhattookusfromdeficitstosurplus.Itwillbegoodforoureconomyand

itwillbegoodforjobcreation.

Now,GovernorRomneyhasadifferentphilosophy.Hewason60Minutesjusttwoweeksagoandhewasasked:Isitfair

forsomebodylikeyou,making$20millionayear,topayalowertaxratethananurseorabusdriver,somebodymaking

$50,000year?Andhesaid,"Yes,Ithinkthat'sfair."Notonlythat,hesaid,"Ithinkthat'swhatgrowstheeconomy."

Well,Ifundamentallydisagreewiththat.Ithinkwhatgrowstheeconomyiswhenyougetthattaxcreditthatweputin

placeforyourkidsgoingtocollege.Ithinkthatgrowstheeconomy.Ithinkwhatgrowstheeconomyiswhenwemake

suresmallbusinessesaregettingataxcreditforhiringveteranswhofoughtforourcountry.Thatgrowsoureconomy.

Sowejusthaveadifferenttheory.AndwhenGovernorRomneystandshere,afterayearofcampaigning,whenduringa

Republicanprimaryhestoodonstageandsaid"I'mgoingtogivetaxcuts"--hedidn'tsaytaxratecuts,hesaid"taxcuts

toeverybody,"includingthetop1percent,youshouldbelievehimbecausethat'sbeenhishistory.

Andthat'sexactlythekindoftop-downeconomicsthatisnotgoingtoworkifwewantastrongmiddleclassandan

economythat'sstrivingforeverybody.

CROWLEY:GovernorRomney,I'msureyou'vegotareplythere.

(LAUGHTER)ROMNEY:You'reabsolutelyright.

YouheardwhatIsaidaboutmytaxplan.Thetop5percentwillcontinuetopay60percent,astheydotoday.I'mnot

lookingtocuttaxesforwealthypeople.Iamlookingtocuttaxesformiddle-incomepeople.

AndwhydoIwanttobringratesdown,andatthesametimelowerexemptionsanddeductions,particularlyforpeople

atthehighend?Becauseifyoubringratesdown,itmakesiteasierforsmallbusinesstokeepmoreoftheircapitaland

hirepeople.

Andforme,thisisaboutjobs.IwanttogetAmerica'seconomygoingagain.Fifty-fourpercentofAmerica'sworkers

workinbusinessesthataretaxedasindividuals.Sowhenyoubringthoseratesdown,thosesmallbusinessesareableto

keepmoremoneyandhiremorepeople.

Forme,Ilookatwhat'shappenedinthelastfouryearsandsaythishasbeenadisappointment.Wecandobetterthan

this.Wedon'thavetosettlefor,howmanymonths,43monthswithunemploymentabove8percent,23million

Americansstrugglingtofindagoodjobrightnow.

Thereare3.5millionmorewomenlivinginpovertytodaythanwhenthepresidenttookoffice.


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14

Wedon'thavetolivelikethis.Wecangetthiseconomygoingagain.Myfive-pointplandoesit.Energyindependence

forNorthAmericainfiveyears.Openingupmoretrade,particularlyinLatinAmerica.CrackingdownonChinawhen

theycheat.Gettingustoabalancedbudget.Fixingourtrainingprogramsforourworkers.Andfinally,championing

smallbusiness.

Iwanttomakesmallbusinessesgrowandthrive.Iknowhowtomakethathappen.Ispentmylifeintheprivatesector.

knowwhyjobscomeandwhytheygo.Andthey'regoingnowbecauseofthepoliciesofthisadministration.

CROWLEY:Governor,letmeaskthepresidentsomethingaboutwhatyoujustsaid.

Thegovernorsaysthatheisnotgoingtoallowthetop5percent,believeiswhathesaid,tohaveataxcut,thatitwillall

evenout,thatwhathewantstodoisgivethattaxcuttothemiddleclass.Settled?

OBAMA:No,it'snotsettled.

Look,thecostofloweringratesforeverybodyacrosstheboard,20percent.Alongwithwhathealsowantstodoin

termsofeliminatingtheestatetax,alongwhathewantstodointermsofcorporates,changesinthetaxcode,itcosts

about$5trillion.

GovernorRomneythenalsowantstospend$2trilliononadditionalmilitaryprogramseventhoughthemilitary'snot

askingforthem.That's$7trillion.

HealsowantstocontinuetheBushtaxcutsforthewealthiestAmericans.That'sanothertrilliondollars--that's$8

trillion.

Now,whathesaysishe'sgoingtomakesurethatthisdoesn'taddtothedeficitandhe'sgoingtocutmiddleclasstaxes.

Butwhenhe'sasked,howareyougoingtodoit,whichdeductions,whichloopholesareyougoingtoclose?Hecan'ttell

you.

The--thefactthatheonlyhastopay14percentonhistaxeswhenalotofyouarepayingmuchhigher.He'salready

takenthatofftheboard,capitalgainsaregoingtocontinuetobeatalowratesowe--we'renotgoingtogetmoney

thatway.

Wehaven'theardfromthegovernoranyspecificsbeyondBigBirdandeliminatingfundingforPlannedParenthoodin

termsofhowhepaysforthat.

Now,GovernorRomneywasaverysuccessfulinvestor.Ifsomebodycametoyou,Governor,withaplanthatsaid,here,I

wanttospend$7or$8trillion,andthenwe'regoingtopayforit,butwecan'ttellyouuntilmaybeaftertheelection

howwe'regoingtodoit,youwouldn'ttakesuchasketchydealandneithershouldyou,theAmericanpeople,because

themathdoesn'taddup.


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15

And--andwhat'satstakehereisoneoftwothings,eitherCandy--thisblowsupthedeficitbecausekeepinmind,this

isjusttopayfortheadditionalspendingthathe'stalkingabout,$7trillion-$8trillionbeforeweevengettothedeficit

wealreadyhave.Or,alternatively,it'sgottobepaidfor,notonlybyclosingdeductionsforwealthyindividuals,that--

thatwillpayforabout4percentreductionintaxrates.

You'regoingtobepayingforit.You'regoingtolosesomedeductions,andyoucan'tbuythesalespitch.Nobodywho's

lookedatitthat'sserious,actuallybelievesitaddsup.

CROWLEY:Mr.President,letmeget--letmegetthegovernorinonthis.AndGovernor,let's--beforewegetintoa...

ROMNEY:I--I...

CROWLEY:...vastarrayofwhosays--whatstudysayswhat,ifitshouldn'taddup.Ifsomehowwhenyougetinthere,

thereisn'tenoughtaxrevenuecomingin.Ifsomehowthenumbersdon'taddup,wouldyoubewillingtolookagainata

20percent...

ROMNEY:Wellofcoursetheyaddup.I--Iwas--Iwassomeonewhoranbusinessesfor25years,andbalancedthe

budget.IrantheOlympicsandbalancedthebudget.Iranthe--thestateofMassachusettsasagovernor,totheextent

anygovernordoes,andbalancedthebudgetallfouryears.Whenwe'retalkingaboutmaththatdoesn'taddup,how

about$4trillionofdeficitsoverthelastfouryears,$5trillion?That'smaththatdoesn'taddup.Wehave--wehavea

presidenttalkingaboutsomeone'splaninawaythat'scompletelyforeigntowhatmyrealplanis.

ROMNEY:Andthenwehavehisownrecord,whichiswehavefourconsecutiveyearswherehesaidwhenhewas

runningforoffice,hewouldcutthedeficitinhalf.Insteadhe'sdoubledit.We'vegonefrom$10trillionofnationaldebt,

to$16trillionofnationaldebt.Ifthepresidentwerereelected,we'dgotoalmost$20trillionofnationaldebt.Thisputs

usonaroadtoGreece.Iknowwhatittakestobalancebudgets.I'vedoneitmyentirelife.Soforinstancewhenhesays,

"Yoursisa$5trillioncut."Well,noit'snot.BecauseI'moffsettingsomeofthereductionswithholdingdownsomeof

thedeductions.

And...

CROWLEY:Governor,I'vegotta--gotta--actually,Ineedtohaveyouboth(inaudible).

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:Iunderstandthestakeshere.Iunderstandbothofyou.ButI--IwillgetrunoutoftownifIdon't...

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY:AndIjustdescribed--Ijustdescribedtoyou,Mr.President--IjustdescribedtoyoupreciselyhowI'ddoit

whichiswithasinglenumberthatpeoplecanput--andtheycanputthey're--they'redeductionsandcredits...


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(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:Mr.President,we'rekeepingtrack,Ipromiseyou.AndMr.President,thenextquestionisforyou,sostay

standing.

OBAMA:Great.Lookingforwardtoit.

Andit'sKatherineFenton,whohasaquestionforyou.

QUESTION:Inwhatnewwaystoyouintendtorectifytheinequalitiesintheworkplace,specificallyregardingfemales

makingonly72percentofwhattheirmalecounterpartsearn?

OBAMA:Well,Katherine,that'sagreatquestion.And,youknow,Iwasraisedbyasinglemomwhohadtoputherself

throughschoolwhilelookingaftertwokids.Andsheworkedhardeverydayandmadealotofsacrificestomakesure

wegoteverythingweneeded.Mygrandmother,shestartedoffasasecretaryinabank.Shenevergotacollege

education,eventhoughshewassmartasawhip.Andsheworkedherwayuptobecomeavicepresidentofalocalbank

butshehittheglassceiling.Shetrainedpeoplewhowouldendupbecomingherbossesduringthecourseofhercareer.

Shedidn'tcomplain.That'snotwhatyoudidinthatgeneration.Andthisisoneofthereasonswhyoneofthefirst--the

firstbillIsignedwassomethingcalledtheLilyLedbetterbill.Andit'snamedafterthisamazingwomanwhohadbeen

doingthesamejobasamanforyears,foundoutthatshewasgettingpaidless,andtheSupremeCourtsaidthatshe

couldn'tbringsuitbecausesheshouldhavefoundaboutitearlier,whereasshehadnowayoffindingoutaboutit.Sowe

fixedthat.Andthat'sanexampleofthekindofadvocacythatweneed,becausewomenareincreasinglythe

breadwinnersinthefamily.Thisisnotjustawomen'sissue,thisisafamilyissue,thisisamiddle-classissue,andthat's

whywe'vegottofightforit.

Italsomeansthatwe'vegottomakesurethatyoungpeoplelikeyourselfareabletoaffordacollegeeducation.Earlier,

GovernorRomneytalkedabouthewantstomakePellGrantsandothereducationaccessibleforyoungpeople.

Well,thetruthofthematteris,isthatthat'sexactlywhatwe'vedone.We'veexpandedPellGrantsformillionsof

people,includingmillionsofyoungwomen,allacrossthecountry.

Wediditbytaking$60billionthatwasgoingtobanksandlendersasmiddlemenforthestudentloanprogram,andwe

said,let'sjustcutoutthemiddleman.Let'sgivethemoneydirectlytostudents.

Andasaconsequence,we'veseenmillionsofyoungpeoplebeabletoaffordcollege,andthat'sgoingtomakesurethat

youngwomenaregoingtobeabletocompeteinthatmarketplace.

Butwe'vegottoenforcethelaws,whichiswhatwearedoing,andwe'vealsogottomakesurethatineverywalkoflife

wedonottoleratediscrimination.

That'sbeenoneofthehallmarksofmyadministration.I'mgoingtocontinuetopushonthisissueforthenextfour


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years.

CROWLEY:GovernorRomney,payequityforwomen?

ROMNEY:Thankyou.Andimportanttopic,andonewhichIlearnedagreatdealabout,particularlyasIwasservingas

governorofmystate,becauseIhadthechancetopulltogetheracabinetandalltheapplicantsseemedtobemen.

AndI--andIwenttomystaff,andIsaid,"Howcomeallthepeopleforthesejobsare--areallmen."Theysaid,"Well,

thesearethepeoplethathavethequalifications."AndIsaid,"Well,gosh,can'twe--can'twefindsome--somewomen

thatarealsoqualified?"

ROMNEY:And--andsowe--wetookaconcertedefforttogooutandfindwomenwhohadbackgroundsthatcouldbe

qualifiedtobecomemembersofourcabinet.

Iwenttoanumberofwomen'sgroupsandsaid,"Canyouhelpusfindfolks,"andtheybroughtuswholebindersfullof

women.

IwasproudofthefactthatafterIstaffedmyCabinetandmyseniorstaff,thattheUniversityofNewYorkinAlbanydid

asurveyofall50states,andconcludedthatminehadmorewomeninseniorleadershippositionsthananyotherstate

inAmerica.

NowoneofthereasonsIwasabletogetsomanygoodwomentobepartofthatteamwasbecauseofourrecruiting

effort.Butnumbertwo,becauseIrecognizedthatifyou'regoingtohavewomenintheworkforcethatsometimesyou

needtobemoreflexible.Mychiefofstaff,forinstance,hadtwokidsthatwerestillinschool.

Shesaid,Ican'tbehereuntil7or8o'clockatnight.Ineedtobeabletogethomeat5o'clocksoIcanbetherefor

makingdinnerformykidsandbeingwiththemwhentheygethomefromschool.Sowesaidfine.Let'shaveaflexible

schedulesoyoucanhavehoursthatworkforyou.

We'regoingtohavetohaveemployersintheneweconomy,intheeconomyI'mgoingtobringtoplay,thataregoingto

besoanxioustogetgoodworkersthey'regoingtobeanxioustohirewomen.Inthe--inthelastwomenhavelost

580,000jobs.That'sthenetofwhat'shappenedinthelastfouryears.We'restilldown580,000jobs.Imentioned31/2

millionwomen,morenowinpovertythanfouryearsago.

Whatwecandotohelpyoungwomenandwomenofallagesistohaveastrongeconomy,sostrongthatemployers

thatarelookingtofindgoodemployeesandbringingthemintotheirworkforceandadaptingtoaflexibleworkschedule

thatgiveswomenopportunitiesthattheywouldotherwisenotbeabletoafford.

ThisiswhatIhavedone.It'swhatIlookforwardtodoingandIknowwhatittakestomakeaneconomywork,andI

knowwhataworkingeconomylookslike.Andaneconomywith7.8percentunemploymentisnotarealstrong

economy.Aneconomythathas23millionpeoplelookingforworkisnotastrongeconomy.


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Aneconomywith50percentofkidsgraduatingfromcollegethatcan'tfindsajob,oracollegeleveljob,that'snotwhat

wehavetohave.CROWLEY:Governor?

ROMNEY:I'mgoingtohelpwomeninAmericagetgoodworkbygettingastrongereconomyandbysupportingwomen

intheworkforce.

CROWLEY:Mr.Presidentwhydon'tyougetinonthisquickly,please?

OBAMA:Katherine,IjustwanttopointoutthatwhenGovernorRomney'scampaignwasaskedabouttheLillyLedbetter

bill,whetherhesupportedit?Hesaid,"I'llgetbacktoyou."Andthat'snotthekindofadvocacythatwomenneedinany

economy.Now,therearesomeotherissuesthathaveabearingonhowwomensucceedintheworkplace.Forexample,

theirhealthcare.YouknowamajordifferenceinthiscampaignisthatGovernorRomneyfeelscomfortablehaving

politiciansinWashingtondecidethehealthcarechoicesthatwomenaremaking.

Ithinkthat'samistake.Inmyhealthcarebill,Isaidinsurancecompaniesneedtoprovidecontraceptivecoverageto

everybodywhoisinsured.Becausethisisnotjusta--ahealthissue,it'saneconomicissueforwomen.Itmakesa

difference.Thisismoneyoutofthatfamily'spocket.GovernorRomneynotonlyopposedit,hesuggestedthatinfact

employersshouldbeabletomakethedecisionastowhetherornotawomangetscontraceptionthroughherinsurance

coverage.

That'snotthekindofadvocacythatwomenneed.WhenGovernorRomneysaysthatweshouldeliminatefundingfor

PlannedParenthood,therearemillionsofwomenallacrossthecountry,whorelyonPlannedParenthoodfor,notjust

contraceptivecare,theyrelyonitformammograms,forcervicalcancerscreenings.That'sapocketbookissuefor

womenandfamiliesallacrossthecountry.Anditmakesadifferenceintermsofhowwellandeffectivelywomenare

abletowork.Whenwetalkaboutchildcare,andthecreditsthatwe'reproviding.Thatmakesadifferenceinwhether

theycangooutthereand--andearnalivingfortheirfamily.

Thesearenotjustwomen'sissues.Thesearefamilyissues.Theseareeconomicissues.

Andoneofthethingsthatmakesusgrowasaneconomyiswheneverybodyparticipatesandwomenaregettingthe

samefairdealasmenare.

CROWLEY:Mr.President...

OBAMA:AndI'vegottwodaughtersandIwanttomakesurethattheyhavethesameopportunitiesthatanybody'ssons

have.That'spartofwhatI'mfightingforaspresidentoftheUnitedStates.

CROWLEY:IwanttomoveusalongheretoSusanKatz,whohasaquestion.

And,Governor,it'sforyou.QUESTION:GovernorRomney,Iamanundecidedvoter,becauseI'mdisappointedwiththe

lackofprogressI'veseeninthelastfouryears.However,IdoattributemuchofAmerica'seconomicandinternational

problemstothefailingsandmisstepsoftheBushadministration.


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SincebothyouandPresidentBushareRepublicans,Ifearareturntothepoliciesofthoseyearsshouldyouwinthis

election.WhatisthebiggestdifferencebetweenyouandGeorgeW.Bush,andhowdoyoudifferentiateyourselffrom

GeorgeW.Bush?

ROMNEY:Thankyou.AndIappreciatethatquestion.

Ijustwanttomakesurethat,IthinkIwassupposedtogetthatlastanswer,butIwanttopointoutthatthatIdon't

believe...

OBAMA:Idon'tthinkso,Candy.

ROMNEY:...Idon'tbelieve...

OBAMA:Iwanttomakesureourtimekeepersareworkinghere.

ROMNEY:Thetime--thetime...

CROWLEY:OK.Thetimekeepersareallworking.Andletmetellyouthatthelastpart,it'sforthetwoofyoutotalkto

oneanother,anditisn'tquiteas(inaudible)youthink.

Butgoaheadandusethistwominutesanywayyou'dliketo,thequestionisonthefloor.

ROMNEY:I'djustnotethatIdon'tbelievethatbureaucratsinWashingtonshouldtellsomeonewhethertheycanuse

contraceptivesornot.AndIdon'tbelieveemployersshouldtellsomeonewhethertheycouldhavecontraceptivecareof

not.EverywomaninAmericashouldhaveaccesstocontraceptives.And--andthe--andthepresident'sstatementof

mypolicyiscompletelyandtotallywrong.

OBAMA:Governor...

ROMNEY:Letmecomebackand--andansweryourquestion.

PresidentBushandIare--aredifferentpeopleandthesearedifferenttimesandthat'swhymyfivepointplanisso

differentthanwhathewouldhavedone.

Imeanforinstance,wecannow,byvirtueofnewtechnologyactuallygetalltheenergyweneedinNorthAmerica

withouthavingtogotothe--theArabsortheVenezuelansoranyoneelse.Thatwasn'ttrueinhistime,that'swhymy

policystartswithaveryrobustpolicytogetallthatenergyinNorthAmerica--becomeenergysecure.

Numbertwo,trade--I'llcrackdownonChina,PresidentBushdidn't.I'malsogoingtodramaticallyexpandtradeinLatin

America.It'sbeengrowingabout12percentperyearoveralongperiodoftime.Iwanttoaddmorefreetrade

agreementssowe'llhavemoretrade.


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Numberthree,I'mgoingtogetustoabalancedbudget.PresidentBushdidn't.PresidentObamawasright,hesaidthat

thatwasoutrageoustohavedeficitsashighashalfatrilliondollarsundertheBushyears.Hewasright,butthenheput

inplacedeficitstwicethatsizeforeveryoneofhisfouryears.Andhisforecastforthenextfouryearsismoredeficits,

almostthatlarge.Sothat'sthenextareaI'mdifferentthanPresidentBush.

Andthenlet'stakethelastone,championingsmallbusiness.Ourpartyhasbeenfocusedtoolong.Icamethroughsmall

business.Iunderstandhowharditistostartasmallbusiness.That'swhyeverythingI'lldoisdesignedtohelpsmall

businessesgrowandaddjobs.Iwanttokeeptheirtaxesdownonsmallbusiness.Iwantregulatorstoseetheirjobas

encouragingsmallenterprise,notcrushingit.

AndthethingIfindthemosttroublingaboutObamaCare,wellit'salonglist,butoneofthethingsIfindmosttroubling

isthatwhenyougooutandtalktosmallbusinessesandaskthemwhattheythinkaboutit,theytellyouitkeepsthem

fromhiringmorepeople.

Mypriorityisjobs.Iknowhowtomakethathappen.AndPresidentBushhasaverydifferentpathforaverydifferent

time.Mypathisdesignedingettingsmallbusinessestogrowandhirepeople.

CROWLEY:Thanks,Governor.

Mr.President?

OBAMA:Well,firstofall,Ithinkit'simportanttotellyouthatwedidcomeinduringsometoughtimes.Wewerelosing

800,000jobsamonthwhenIstarted.Butwehadbeendiggingourwayoutofpoliciesthatweremisplacedandfocused

onthetopdoingverywellandmiddleclassfolksnotdoingwell.

Now,we'veseen30consecutive--31consecutivemonthsofjobgrowth;5.2millionnewjobscreated.Andtheplans

thatItalkedaboutwillcreateevenmore.ButwhenGovernorRomneysaysthathehasaverydifferenteconomicplan,

thecenterpieceofhiseconomicplanaretaxcuts.That'swhattookusfromsurplustodeficit.Whenhetalksabout

gettingtoughonChina,keepinmindthatGovernorRomneyinvestedincompaniesthatwerepioneersofoutsourcingto

China,andiscurrentlyinvestingincountries--incompaniesthatarebuildingsurveillanceequipmentforChinatospyon

itsownfolks.

That's--Governor,you'rethelastpersonwho'sgoingtogettoughonChina.Andwhatwe'vedonewhenitcomesto

tradeisnotonlysignthreetradedealstoopenupnewmarkets,butwe'vealsosetupataskforcefortradethatgoes

afteranybodywhoistakingadvantageofAmericanworkersorbusinessesandnotcreatingalevelplayingfield.We've

broughttwiceasmanycasesagainstunfairtradingpracticesthanthepreviousadministrationandwe'vewonevery

singleonethat'sbeendecided.

WhenIsaidthatwehadtomakesurethatChinawasnotfloodingourdomesticmarketwithcheaptires,Governor

RomneysaidIwasbeingprotectionist;thatitwouldn'tbehelpfultoAmericanworkers.Well,infactwesaved1,000

jobs.Andthat'sthekindoftoughtradeactionsthatarerequired.


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ButthelastpointIwanttomakeisthis.Youknow,therearesomethingswhereGovernorRomneyisdifferentfrom

GeorgeBush.GeorgeBushdidn'tproposeturningMedicareintoavoucher.GeorgeBushembracedcomprehensive

immigrationreform.Hedidn'tcallforself-deportation.

GeorgeBushneversuggestedthatweeliminatefundingforPlannedParenthood,sotherearedifferencesbetween

GovernorRomneyandGeorgeBush,butthey'renotoneconomicpolicy.Insomeways,he'sgonetoamoreextreme

placewhenitcomestosocialpolicy.AndIthinkthat'samistake.That'snothowwe'regoingtomoveoureconomy

forward.

CROWLEY:Iwanttomoveyoubothalongtothenextquestion,becauseit'sinthesamewheelhouse,soyouwillbeable

torespond.Butthepresidentdoesgetthisquestion.IwanttocallonMichaelJones.

QUESTION:Mr.President,Ivotedforyouin2008.Whathaveyoudoneoraccomplishedtoearnmyvotein2012?I'm

notthatoptimisticasIwasin2012.MostthingsIneedforeverydaylivingareveryexpensive.

OBAMA:Well,we'vegonethroughatoughfouryears.There'snodoubtaboutit.Butfouryearsago,ItoldtheAmerican

peopleandItoldyouIwouldcuttaxesformiddleclassfamilies.AndIdid.ItoldyouI'dcuttaxesforsmallbusinesses,

andIhave.

IsaidthatI'dendthewarinIraq,andIdid.Isaidwe'drefocusattentiononthosewhoactuallyattackeduson9/11,and

wehavegoneafterAlQaeda'sleadershiplikeneverbeforeandOsamabinLadenisdead.

OBAMA:Isaidthatwewouldputinplacehealthcarereformtomakesurethatinsurancecompaniescan'tjerkyou

aroundandifyoudon'thavehealthinsurance,thatyou'dhaveachancetogetaffordableinsurance,andIhave.

IcommittedthatIwouldreinintheexcessesofWallStreet,andwepassedthetoughestWallStreetreformssincethe

1930s.We'vecreatedfivemillionjobs,andgonefrom800jobsamonthbeinglost,andwearemakingprogress.We

savedanautoindustrythatwasonthebrinkofcollapse.

Now,doesthatmeanyou'renotstruggling?Absolutelynot.Alotofusare.Andthat'swhytheplanthatI'veputforward

formanufacturingandeducation,andreducingourdeficitinasensibleway,usingthesavingsfromendingwars,to

rebuildAmericaandputtingpeoplebacktowork.Makingsurethatwearecontrollingourownenergy,butnotonlythe

energyoftoday,butalsotheenergyofthefuture.Allofthosethingswillmakeadifference,sothepointisthe

commitmentsI'vemade,I'vekept.

AndthosethatIhaven'tbeenabletokeep,it'snotforlackoftryingandwe'regoingtogetitdoneinasecondterm.But,

youshouldpayattentiontothiscampaign,becauseGovernorRomneyhasmadesomecommitmentsaswell.AndI

suspecthe'llkeepthosetoo.YouknowwhenmembersoftheRepublicanCongresssay,"We'regoingtosignanotax

pledge,sothatwedon'taskadimeformillionairesandbillionairestoreduceourdeficitsowecanstillinvestin

education,andhelpingkidsgotocollege.Hesaid,"Metoo."


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Whentheysaid,"We'regoingtocutPlannedParenthoodfunding."Hesaid,"Metoo."Whenhesaid,"We'regoingto

repealObamacare.FirstthingI'mgoingtodo,"despitethefactthatit'sthesamehealthcareplanthathepassedin

Massachusettsandisworkingwell.Hesaid,"Metoo."Thatisnotthekindofleadershipthatyouneed,butyoushould

expectthatthosearepromiseshe'sgoingtokeep.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:Mr.President,letmelet...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA:...thechoiceinthiselectionisgoingtobewhosepromisesaregoingtobemorelikelytohelpyouinyourlife?

Makesureyourkidscangotocollege.Makesurethatyouaregettingagoodpayingjob,makingsurethatMedicareand

SocialSecurity...(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:Mr.President.Thankyou.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA:...willbethereforyou.

CROWLEY:Thankyou.Governor?

ROMNEY:Ithinkyouknowbetter.Ithinkyouknowthattheselastfouryearshaven'tbeensogoodasthepresidentjust

describedandthatyoudon'tfeellikeyourconfidentthatthenextfouryearsaregoingtobemuchbettereither.

IcantellyouthatifyouweretoelectPresidentObama,youknowwhatyou'regoingtoget.You'regoingtogetarepeat

ofthelastfouryears.Wejustcan'taffordfourmoreyearslikethelastfouryears.

Hesaidthatbynowwe'dhaveunemploymentat5.4percent.Thedifferencebetweenwhereitisand5.4percentis9

millionAmericanswithoutwork.

Iwasn'ttheonethatsaid5.4percent.Thiswasthepresident'splan.Didn'tgetthere.

HesaidhewouldhavebynowputforwardaplantoreformMedicareandSocialSecurity,becausehepointedout

they'reontheroadtobankruptcy.Hewouldreformthem.He'dgetthatdone.Hehasn'tevenmadeaproposaloneither

one.

Hesaidinhisfirstyearhe'dputoutanimmigrationplanthatwoulddealwithourimmigrationchallenges.Didn'teven

fileit.

Thisisapresidentwhohasnotbeenabletodowhathesaidhe'ddo.Hesaidthathe'dcutinhalfthedeficit.Hehasn't


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donethateither.Infact,hedoubledit.Hesaidthatbynowmiddle-incomefamilieswouldhaveareductionintheir

healthinsurancepremiumsby$2,500ayear.It'sgoneupby$2,500ayear.AndifObamacareispassed,orimplemented

--it'salreadybeenpassed--ifit'simplementedfully,it'llbeanother$2,500ontop.

ROMNEY:Themiddleclassisgettingcrushedunderthepoliciesofapresidentwhohasnotunderstoodwhatittakesto

gettheeconomyworkingagain.Hekeepssaying,"Look,I'vecreated5millionjobs."That'safterlosing5millionjobs.

Theentirerecordissuchthattheunemploymenthasnotbeenreducedinthiscountry.Theunemployment,thenumber

ofpeoplewhoarestilllookingforwork,isstill23millionAmericans.

Therearemorepeopleinpoverty,oneoutofsixpeopleinpoverty.

Howaboutfoodstamps?Whenhetookoffice,32millionpeoplewereonfoodstamps.Today,47millionpeopleareon

foodstamps.Howaboutthegrowthoftheeconomy?It'sgrowingmoreslowlythisyearthanlastyear,andmoreslowly

lastyearthantheyearbefore.

Thepresidentwantstodowell.Iunderstand.Butthepolicieshe'sputinplacefromObamacaretoDodd-Franktohistax

policiestohisregulatorypolicies,thesepoliciescombinedhavenotletthiseconomytakeoffandgrowlikeitcouldhave

Youmightsay,"Well,yougotanexampleofonethatworkedbetter?"Yeah,intheReaganrecessionwhere

unemploymenthit10.8percent,betweenthatperiod--theendofthatrecessionandtheequivalentoftimetotoday,

RonaldReagan'srecoverycreatedtwiceasmanyjobsasthispresident'srecovery.Fivemillionjobsdoesn'tevenkeepup

withourpopulationgrowth.Andtheonlyreasontheunemploymentrateseemsalittlelowertodayisbecauseofallthe

peoplethathavedroppedoutoftheworkforce.

Thepresidenthastried,buthispolicieshaven'tworked.He'sgreatasa--asa--asaspeakeranddescribinghisplans

andhisvision.That'swonderful,exceptwehavearecordtolookat.Andthatrecordshowshejusthasn'tbeenableto

cutthedeficit,toputinplacereformsforMedicareandSocialSecuritytopreservethem,togetustherisingincomeswe

need.Medianincomeisdown$4,300afamilyand23millionAmericansoutofwork.That'swhatthiselectionisabout.

It'saboutwhocangetthemiddleclassinthiscountryabrightandprosperousfutureandassureourkidsthekindof

hopeandoptimismtheydeserve.

CROWLEY:Governor,Iwanttomoveyoualong.Don't--don'tgoaway,andwe'llhaveplentyoftimetorespond.Weare

quiteawareoftheclockforbothofyou.ButIwanttobringinadifferentsubjecthere.

Mr.President,I'llberightbackwithyou.

LorraineOsoriohasaquestionforyouaboutatopicwehavenot...

OBAMA:ThisisforGovernorRomney?

CROWLEY:It'sforGovernorRomney,andwe'llberightwithyou,Mr.President.Thanks.


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ROMNEY:IsitLoraina?

QUESTION:Lorraine.

ROMNEY:Lorraine?

QUESTION:Yes,Lorraine.

ROMNEY:Lorraine.

QUESTION:Howyoudoing?

ROMNEY:Good,thanks.

QUESTION:Mr.Romney,whatdoyouplanondoingwithimmigrantswithouttheirgreencardsthatarecurrentlyliving

hereasproductivemembersofsociety?

ROMNEY:Thankyou.Lorraine?DidIgetthatright?Good.Thankyouforyourquestion.Andletmestepbackandtell

youwhatIwouldliketodowithourimmigrationpolicybroadlyandincludeananswertoyourquestion.

Butfirstofall,thisisanationofimmigrants.Wewelcomepeoplecomingtothiscountryasimmigrants.Mydadwas

borninMexicoofAmericanparents;Ann'sdadwasborninWalesandisafirst-generationAmerican.Wewelcomelegal

immigrantsintothiscountry.

Iwantourlegalsystemtoworkbetter.Iwantittobestreamlined.Iwantittobeclearer.Idon'tthinkyouhaveto--

shouldn'thavetohirealawyertofigureouthowtogetintothiscountrylegally.Ialsothinkthatweshouldgivevisasto

people--greencards,rather,topeoplewhograduatewithskillsthatweneed.Peoplearoundtheworldwithaccredited

degreesinscienceandmathgetagreencardstapledtotheirdiploma,cometotheU.S.ofA.Weshouldmakesureour

legalsystemworks.

Numbertwo,we'regoingtohavetostopillegalimmigration.Thereare4millionpeoplewhoarewaitinginlinetoget

herelegally.Thosewho'vecomehereillegallytaketheirplace.SoIwillnotgrantamnestytothosewhohavecomehere

illegally.

WhatIwilldoisI'llputinplaceanemploymentverificationsystemandmakesurethatemployersthathirepeoplewho

havecomehereillegallyaresanctionedfordoingso.Iwon'tputinplacemagnetsforpeoplecominghereillegally.Sofor

instance,Iwouldnotgivedriver'slicensestothosethathavecomehereillegallyasthepresidentwould.

Thekidsofthosethatcamehereillegally,thosekids,Ithink,shouldhaveapathwaytobecomeapermanentresidentof

theUnitedStatesandmilitaryservice,forinstance,isonewaytheywouldhavethatkindofpathwaytobecomea

permanentresident.


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ROMNEY:Nowwhenthepresidentranforoffice,hesaidthathe'dputinplace,inhisfirstyear,apieceoflegislation--

he'dfileabillinhisfirstyearthatwouldreformour--ourimmigrationsystem,protectlegalimmigration,stopillegal

immigration.Hedidn'tdoit.

HehadaDemocratHouse,aDemocratSenate,supermajorityinbothHouses.Whydidhefailtoevenpromote

legislationthatwouldhaveprovidedananswerforthosethatwanttocomelegallyandforthosethatarehereillegally

today?What'saquestionIthinkthe--thepresidentwillhaveachancetoanswerrightnow.

OBAMA:Good,Ilookforwardtoit.

Was--Lorranna--Lorraine--weareanationofimmigrants.Imeanwe'rejustafewmilesawayfromEllisIsland.Weall

understandwhatthiscountryhasbecomebecausetalentfromallaroundtheworldwantstocomehere.Peopleare

willingtotakerisks.Peoplewhowanttobuildontheirdreamsandmakesuretheirkidshaveanevenbiggerdreams

thantheyhave.

Butwe'realsoanationoflaws.SowhatI'vesaidisweneedtofixabrokenimmigrationsystemandI'vedoneeverything

thatIcanonmyownandsoughtcooperationfromCongresstomakesurethatwefixthesystem.

Thefirstthingwedidwastostreamlinethelegalimmigrationsystem,toreducethebacklog,makeiteasier,simplerand

cheaperforpeoplewhoarewaitinginline,obeyingthelawtomakesurethattheycancomehereandcontributetoour

countryandthat'sgoodforoureconomicgrowth.

They'llstartnewbusinesses.They'llmakethingshappentocreatejobshereintheUnitedStates.

Numbertwo,wedohavetodealwithourbordersoweputmoreborderpatrolonthe--anytimeinhistoryandtheflow

ofundocumentedworksacrosstheborderisactuallylowerthanit'sbeenin40years.

WhatI'vealsosaidisifwe'regoingtogoafterfolkswhoarehereillegally,weshoulddoitsmartlyandgoafterfolkswho

arecriminals,gangbangers,peoplewhoarehurtingthecommunity,notafterstudents,notafterfolkswhoareherejust

becausethey'retryingtofigureouthowtofeedtheirfamilies.Andthat'swhatwe'vedone.AndwhatI'vealsosaidisfor

youngpeoplewhocomehere,broughthereoftentimesbytheirparents.Hadgonetoschoolhere,pledgedallegianceto

theflag.Thinkofthisastheircountry.UnderstandthemselvesasAmericansineverywayexcepthavingpapers.Andwe

shouldmakesurethatwegivethemapathwaytocitizenship.

Andthat'swhatI'vedoneadministratively.Now,GovernorRomneyjustsaid,youknowhewantstohelpthoseyoung

peopletoo,butduringtheRepublicanprimary,hesaid,"IwillvetotheDREAMAct",thatwouldallowtheseyoung

peopletohaveaccess."HismainstrategyduringtheRepublicanprimarywastosay,"We'regoingtoencourageself-

deportation."Makinglifesomiserableonfolksthatthey'llleave.HecalledtheArizonalawamodelforthenation.Part

oftheArizonalawsaidthatlawenforcementofficerscouldstopfolksbecausetheysuspectedmaybetheylookedlike

theymightbeundocumentedworkersandchecktheirpapers.

Youknowwhat?Ifmydaughteroryourslookstosomebodylikethey'renotacitizen,Idon'twant--Idon'twantto


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empowersomebodylikethat.So,wecanfixthissysteminacomprehensiveway.AndwhenGovernorRomneysays,the

challengeis,"WellObamadidn'ttry."That'snottrue.IhavesatdownwithDemocratsandRepublicansatthebeginning

ofmyterm.AndIsaid,let'sfixthissystem.IncludingSenatorspreviouslywhohadsupporteditontheRepublicanside.

Butit'sveryhardforRepublican'sinCongresstosupportcomprehensiveimmigrationreform,iftheirstandardbearer

hassaidthat,thisisnotsomethingI'minterestedinsupporting.

CROWLEY:Letmegetthegovernorinhere,Mr.President.Let'sspeakto,ifyoucould...

ROMNEY:Yes.

CROWLEY:...theideaofself-deportation?

ROMNEY:No,let--let--letmegobackandspeaktothepointsthatthepresidentmadeand--and--andlet'sgetthem

correct.

IdidnotsaythattheArizonalawwasamodelforthenationinthataspect.IsaidthattheE-VerifyportionoftheArizona

law,whichis--whichistheportionofthelawwhichsaysthatemployerscouldbeabletodeterminewhethersomeone

ishereillegallyornotillegally,thatthatwasamodelforthenation.That'snumberone.

Numbertwo,IaskedthepresidentaquestionIthinkHispanicsandimmigrantsalloverthenationhaveasked.Hewas

askedthisonUnivisiontheotherday.Why,whenyousaidyou'dfiledlegislationinyourfirstyeardidn'tyoudoit?And

hedidn'tanswer.He--hedoesn'tanswerthatquestion.Hesaidthestandardbearerwasn'tforit.

I'mgladyouthoughtIwasastandardbearerfouryearsago,butIwasn't.

Fouryearsagoyousaidinyourfirstyearyouwouldfilelegislation.

Inhisfirstyear,Iwasjustgetting--lickingmywoundsfromhavingbeenbeatenbyJohnMcCain,allright.Iwasnotthe

standardbearer.

My--myviewisthatthispresidentshouldhavehonoredhispromisetodoashesaid.

Now,letmementiononeotherthing,andthatisself-deportationsaysletpeoplemaketheirownchoice.WhatIwas

sayingis,we'renotgoingtoroundup12millionpeople,undocumentedillegals,andtakethemoutofthenation.

Insteadletpeoplemaketheirownchoice.Andifthey--iftheyfindthat--thattheycan'tgetthebenefitsherethatthey

wantandtheycan't--andtheycan'tfindthejobtheywant,thenthey'llmakeadecisiontogoaplacewhere--where

theyhavebetteropportunities.

ButI'mnotinfavorofroundinguppeopleand--and--andtakingthemoutofthiscountry.Iaminfavor,asthe

presidenthassaid,andIagreewithhim,whichisthatifpeoplehavecommittedcrimeswegottogetthemoutofthis

country.


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ROMNEY:Letmementionsomethingelsethepresidentsaid.ItwasamomentagoandIdidn'tgetachanceto,whenhe

wasdescribingChineseinvestmentsandsoforth.

OBAMA:Candy?

Holdonasecond.The...

ROMNEY:Mr.President,I'mstillspeaking.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY:Mr.President,letmefinish.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY:I'vegottacontinue.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:GovernorRomney,youcanmakeitshort.Seeallthesepeople?They'vebeenwaitingforyou.(inaudible)

makeitshort(inaudible).

ROMNEY:Justgoingtomakeapoint.AnyinvestmentsIhaveoverthelasteightyearshavebeenmanagedbyablind

trust.AndIunderstandtheydoincludeinvestmentsoutsidetheUnitedStates,includingin--inChinesecompanies.

Mr.President,haveyoulookedatyourpension?Haveyoulookedatyourpension?

OBAMA:I'vegottosay...

ROMNEY:Mr.President,haveyoulookedatyourpension?

OBAMA:Youknow,I--Idon'tlookatmypension.It'snotasbigasyourssoitdoesn'ttakeaslong.

ROMNEY:Well,letmegiveyousomeadvice.

OBAMA:Idon'tcheckitthatoften.

ROMNEY:Letmegiveyousomeadvice.Lookatyourpension.YoualsohaveinvestmentsinChinesecompanies.Youalso

haveinvestmentsoutsidetheUnitedStates.YoualsohaveinvestmentsthroughaCayman'strust.

(CROSSTALK)


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CROWLEY:We'rewayofftopichere,GovernorRomney.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA:Ithoughtweweretalkingaboutimmigration.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA:Idowanttomakesurethat...

CROWLEY:IfIcouldhaveyousitdown,GovernorRomney.Thankyou.

OBAMA:Idowanttomakesurethat--Idowanttomakesurethatwejustunderstandsomething.GovernorRomney

sayshewasn'treferringtoArizonaasamodelforthenation.Histopadviseronimmigrationistheguywhodesignedthe

Arizonalaw,theentiretyofit;notE-Verify,thewholething.That'shispolicy.Andit'sabadpolicy.Anditwon'thelpus

grow.

Look,whenwethinkaboutimmigration,wehavetounderstandtherearefolksallaroundtheworldwhostillsee

Americaasthelandofpromise.Andtheyprovideusenergyandtheyprovideusinnovationandtheystartcompanies

likeIntelandGoogle.Andwewanttoencouragethat.

Now,we'vegottomakesurethatwedoitinasmartwayandacomprehensiveway,andwemakethelegalsystem

better.Butwhenwemakethisintoadivisivepoliticalissue,andwhenwedon'thavebipartisansupport--Icandeliver,

Governor,awholebunchofDemocratstogetcomprehensiveimmigrationreformdone,andwecan't...

ROMNEY:I'llgetitdone.I'llgetitdone.Firstyear...

OBAMA:...wecan't--wehavenotseenRepublicansseriousaboutthisissueatall.Andit'stimeforthemtogetserious

onit.

CROWLEY:Mr.President,letmemoveyouonhereplease.Mr.President,(inaudible).

OBAMA:Thisusedtobeabipartisanissue.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:Don'tgoaway,though--right.Don'tgoawaybecauseI--IwantyoutotalktoKerryLadkawhowantsto

switchthetopicforus.

OBAMA:OK.

Hi,Kerry.


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QUESTION:Goodevening,Mr.President.

OBAMA:I'msorry.What'syourname?

QUESTION:It'sKerry,KerryLadka.

OBAMA:Greattoseeyou.

QUESTION:ThisquestionactuallycomesfromabraintrustofmyfriendsatGlobalTelecomSupply(ph)inMinneola

yesterday.

OBAMA:Ah.

QUESTION:Weweresittingaround,talkingaboutLibya,andwewerereadingandbecameawareofreportsthatthe

StateDepartmentrefusedextrasecurityforourembassyinBenghazi,Libya,priortotheattacksthatkilledfour

Americans.

Whowasitthatdeniedenhancedsecurityandwhy?

OBAMA:Well,letmefirstofalltalkaboutourdiplomats,becausetheyserveallaroundtheworldanddoanincredible

jobinaverydangeroussituation.Andthesearen'tjustrepresentativesoftheUnitedStates,theyaremy

representatives.Isendthemthere,oftentimesintoharm'sway.IknowthesefolksandIknowtheirfamilies.Sonobody

ismoreconcernedabouttheirsafetyandsecuritythanIam.

SoassoonaswefoundoutthattheBenghaziconsulatewasbeingoverrun,Iwasonthephonewithmynationalsecurity

teamandIgavethemthreeinstructions.

Numberone,beefupoursecurityandprocedures,notjustinLibya,butateveryembassyandconsulateintheregion.

Numbertwo,investigateexactlywhathappened,regardlessofwherethefactsleadus,tomakesurefolksareheld

accountableanditdoesn'thappenagain.

Andnumberthree,wearegoingtofindoutwhodidthisandwe'regoingtohuntthemdown,becauseoneofthethings

thatI'vesaidthroughoutmypresidencyiswhenfolksmesswithAmericans,wegoafterthem.

OBAMA:NowGovernorRomneyhadaverydifferentresponse.Whilewewerestilldealingwithourdiplomatsbeing

threatened,GovernorRomneyputoutapressrelease,tryingtomakepoliticalpoints,andthat'snothowacommander

inchiefoperates.Youdon'tturnnationalsecurityintoapoliticalissue.Certainlynotrightwhenit'shappening.And

people--noteverybodyagreeswithsomeofthedecisionsI'vemade.Butwhenitcomestoournationalsecurity,Imean

whatIsay.IsaidI'dendthewarinLibya--in--inIraq,andIdid.


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Isaidthatwe'dgoafteral-QaedaandbinLaden,wehave.Isaidwe'dtransitionoutofAfghanistan,andstartmaking

surethatAfghansareresponsiblefortheirownsecurity,that'swhatI'mdoing.Andwhenitcomestothisissue,whenI

saythatwearegoingtofindoutexactlywhathappened,everybodywillbeheldaccountable.AndIamultimately

responsibleforwhat'stakingplacetherebecausethesearemyfolks,andI'mtheonewhohastogreetthosecoffins

whentheycomehome.YouknowthatImeanwhatIsay.

CROWLEY:Mr.President,I'mgoingtomoveusalong.Governor?

ROMNEY:ThankyouKerryforyourquestion,it'sanimportantone.And--andI--Ithinkthepresidentjustsaidcorrectly

thatthebuckdoesstopathisdeskand--andhetakesresponsibilityfor--forthat--forthefailureinprovidingthose

securityresources,and--andthoseterriblethingsmaywellhappenfromtimetotime.I--I'm--Ifeelverydeeply

sympatheticforthefamiliesofthosewholostlovedones.Andtodaythere'samemorialserviceforoneofthosethat

waslostinthistragedy.We--wethinkoftheirfamiliesandcareforthemdeeply.Therewereotherissuesassociated

withthis--withthistragedy.Thereweremanydaysthatpassedbeforeweknewwhetherthiswasaspontaneous

demonstration,oractuallywhetheritwasaterroristattack.

ROMNEY:Andtherewasnodemonstrationinvolved.Itwasaterroristattackandittookalongtimeforthattobetold

totheAmericanpeople.Whethertherewassomemisleading,orinsteadwhetherwejustdidn'tknowwhathappened,

youhavetoaskyourselfwhydidn'tweknowfivedayslaterwhentheambassadortotheUnitedNationswentonTVto

saythatthiswasademonstration.Howcouldwehavenotknown?

ButIfindmoretroublingthanthis,thaton--onthedayfollowingtheassassinationoftheUnitedStatesambassador,

thefirsttimethat'shappenedsince1979,when--whenwehavefourAmericanskilledthere,whenapparentlywedidn't

knowwhathappened,thatthepresident,thedayafterthathappened,fliestoLasVegasforapoliticalfund-raiser,then

thenextdaytoColoradoforanotherevent,otherpoliticalevent.

Ithinkthese--theseactionstakenbyapresidentandaleaderhavesymbolicsignificanceandperhapsevenmaterial

significanceinthatyou'dhopethatduringthattimewecouldcallinthepeoplewhowereactuallyeyewitnesses.We've

readtheiraccountsnowaboutwhathappened.Itwasveryclearthiswasnotademonstration.Thiswasanattackby

terrorists.

Andthiscallsintoquestionthepresident'swholepolicyintheMiddleEast.Lookwhat'shappeninginSyria,inEgypt,

nowinLibya.Considerthedistancebetweenourselvesand--andIsrael,thepresidentsaidthat--thathewasgoingto

putdaylightbetweenusandIsrael.

WehaveIranfouryearsclosertoanuclearbomb.Syria--Syria'snotjustatragedyof30,000civiliansbeingkilledbya

military,butalsoastrategic--strategicallysignificantplayerforAmerica.

Thepresident'spoliciesthroughouttheMiddleEastbeganwithanapologytourand--and--andpursueastrategyof

leadingfrombehind,andthisstrategyisunravelingbeforeourveryeyes.

CROWLEY:Becausewe're--we'reclosingin,Iwanttostillgetalotofpeoplein.Iwanttoaskyousomething,Mr.


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President,andthenhavethegovernorjustquickly.

Yoursecretaryofstate,asI'msureyouknow,hassaidthatshetakesfullresponsibilityfortheattackonthediplomatic

missioninBenghazi.Doesthebuckstopwithyoursecretaryofstateasfaraswhatwentonhere?

OBAMA:SecretaryClintonhasdoneanextraordinaryjob.Butsheworksforme.I'mthepresidentandI'malways

responsible,andthat'swhynobody'smoreinterestedinfindingoutexactlywhathappenedthanIdo.

Thedayaftertheattack,governor,IstoodintheRoseGardenandItoldtheAmericanpeopleintheworldthatweare

goingtofindoutexactlywhathappened.ThatthiswasanactofterrorandIalsosaidthatwe'regoingtohuntdown

thosewhocommittedthiscrime.

Andthenafewdayslater,IwastheregreetingthecasketscomingintoAndrewsAirForceBaseandgrievingwiththe

families.

Andthesuggestionthatanybodyinmyteam,whethertheSecretaryofState,ourU.N.Ambassador,anybodyonmy

teamwouldplaypoliticsormisleadwhenwe'velostfourofourown,governor,isoffensive.That'snotwhatwedo.

That'snotwhatIdoaspresident,that'snotwhatIdoasCommanderinChief.

CROWLEY:Governor,ifyouwantto...

ROMNEY:Yes,I--I...

CROWLEY:...quicklytothisplease.

ROMNEY:I--Ithinkinterestingthepresidentjustsaidsomethingwhich--whichisthatonthedayaftertheattackhe

wentintotheRoseGardenandsaidthatthiswasanactofterror.

OBAMA:That'swhatIsaid.

ROMNEY:YousaidintheRoseGardenthedayaftertheattack,itwasanactofterror.

Itwasnotaspontaneousdemonstration,isthatwhatyou'resaying?

OBAMA:Pleaseproceedgovernor.

ROMNEY:Iwanttomakesurewegetthatfortherecordbecauseittookthepresident14daysbeforehecalledthe

attackinBenghazianactofterror.

OBAMA:Getthetranscript.

CROWLEY:It--it--it--hedidinfact,sir.Soletme--letmecallitanactofterror...


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OBAMA:Canyousaythatalittlelouder,Candy?

CROWLEY:He--hedidcallitanactofterror.Itdidaswelltake--itdidaswelltaketwoweeksorsoforthewholeidea

therebeingariotoutthereaboutthistapetocomeout.Youarecorrectaboutthat.

ROMNEY:This--theadministration--theadministrationindicatedthiswasareactiontoavideoandwasaspontaneous

reaction.

CROWLEY:Itdid.

ROMNEY:Ittookthemalongtimetosaythiswasaterroristactbyaterroristgroup.Andtosuggest--amIincorrectin

thatregard,onSunday,the--yoursecretary--

OBAMA:Candy?

ROMNEY:Excuseme.TheambassadoroftheUnitedNationswentontheSundaytelevisionshowsandspokeabouthow

--

OBAMA:Candy,I'm--

ROMNEY:--thiswasaspontaneous--

CROWLEY:Mr.President,letme--

OBAMA:I'mhappytohavealongerconversation--

CROWLEY:Iknowyou--

OBAMA:--aboutforeignpolicy.

CROWLEY:Absolutely.ButIwantto--Iwanttomoveyouonandalso--

OBAMA:OK.I'mhappytodothat,too.

CROWLEY:--thetranscriptsand--

OBAMA:Ijustwanttomakesurethat--

CROWLEY:--figureoutwhatwe--

OBAMA:--allofthesewonderfulfolksaregoingtohaveachancetogetsomeoftheirquestionsanswered.


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CROWLEY:BecausewhatI--whatIwanttodo,Mr.President,standthereasecond,becauseIwanttointroduceyouto

NinaGonzalez,whobroughtupaquestionthatwehearalot,bothovertheInternetandfromthiscrowd.

QUESTION:PresidentObama,duringtheDemocraticNationalConventionin2008,youstatedyouwantedtokeepAK-

47soutofthehandsofcriminals.Whathasyouradministrationdoneorplannedtodotolimittheavailabilityofassault

weapons?

OBAMA:We'reanationthatbelievesintheSecondAmendment,andIbelieveintheSecondAmendment.We'vegota

longtraditionofhuntingandsportsmenandpeoplewhowanttomakesuretheycanprotectthemselves.

Buttherehavebeentoomanyinstancesduringthecourseofmypresidency,whereI'vehadtocomfortfamilieswho

havelostsomebody.MostrecentlyoutinAurora.Youknow,justacoupleofweeksago,actually,probablyabouta

month,Isawamother,whoIhadmetatthebedsideofherson,whohadbeenshotinthattheater.

Andhersonhadbeenshotthroughthehead.Andwespentsometime,andwesaidaprayerand,remarkably,about

twomonthslater,thisyoungmanandhismomshowedup,andhelookedunbelievable,goodasnew.

Buttherewerealotoffamilieswhodidn'thavethatgoodfortuneandwhosesonsordaughtersorhusbandsdidn't

survive.

Somybeliefisthat,(A),wehavetoenforcethelawswe'vealreadygot,makesurethatwe'rekeepinggunsoutofthe

handsofcriminals,thosewhoarementallyill.We'vedoneamuchbetterjobintermsofbackgroundchecks,butwe've

gotmoretodowhenitcomestoenforcement.

ButIalsoshareyourbeliefthatweaponsthatweredesignedforsoldiersinwartheatersdon'tbelongonourstreets.

AndsowhatI'mtryingtodoistogetabroaderconversationabouthowdowereducetheviolencegenerally.Partofitis

seeingifwecangetanassaultweaponsbanreintroduced.Butpartofitisalsolookingatothersourcesoftheviolence.

Becausefrankly,inmyhometownofChicago,there'sanawfullotofviolenceandthey'renotusingAK-47s.They're

usingcheaphandguns.

Andsowhatcanwedotointervene,tomakesurethatyoungpeoplehaveopportunity;thatourschoolsareworking;

thatifthere'sviolenceonthestreets,thatworkingwithfaithgroupsandlawenforcement,wecancatchitbeforeitgets

outofcontrol.

AndsowhatIwantisa--isacomprehensivestrategy.Partofitisseeingifwecangetautomaticweaponsthatkillfolks

inamazingnumbersoutofthehandsofcriminalsandthementallyill.Butpartofitisalsogoingdeeperandseeingifwe

cangetintothesecommunitiesandmakingsurewecatchviolentimpulsesbeforetheyoccur.

CROWLEY:GovernorRomney,thequestionisaboutassaultweapons,AK-47s.

ROMNEY:Yeah,I'mnotinfavorofnewpiecesoflegislationon--ongunsandtakinggunsawayormakingcertainguns


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illegal.We,ofcourse,don'twanttohaveautomaticweapons,andthat'salreadyillegalinthiscountrytohaveautomatic

weapons.WhatIbelieveiswehavetodo,asthepresidentmentionedtowardstheendofhisremarksthere,whichisto

makeenormouseffortstoenforcethegunlawsthatwehave,andtochangethecultureofviolencethatwehave.

Andyouaskhow--howarewegoingtodothat?Andthereareanumberofthings.Hementionedgoodschools.Itotally

agree.Wewereabletodriveourschoolstobenumberoneinthenationinmystate.AndIbelieveifwedoabetterjob

ineducation,we'll--we'llgivepeoplethe--thehopeandopportunitytheydeserveandperhapslessviolencefromthat.

Butletmementionanotherthing.Andthatisparents.Weneedmomsanddads,helpingtoraisekids.Wherever

possiblethe--thebenefitofhavingtwoparentsinthehome,andthat'snotalwayspossible.Alotofgreatsinglemoms,

singledads.Butgoshtotellourkidsthatbeforetheyhavebabies,theyoughttothinkaboutgettingmarriedto

someone,that'sagreatidea.

Becauseifthere'satwoparentfamily,theprospectoflivinginpovertygoesdowndramatically.Theopportunitiesthat

thechildwill--willbeabletoachieveincreasedramatically.Sowecanmakechangesinthewayourcultureworksto

helpbringpeopleawayfromviolenceandgivethemopportunity,andbringthemintheAmericansystem.The--the

greatestfailurewe'vehadwithregardsto--togunviolenceinsomerespectsiswhat--whatisknownasFastand

Furious.Whichwasaprogramunderthisadministration,andhowitworkedexactlyIthinkwedon'tknowprecisely,

wherethousandsofautomatic,andAK-47typeweaponswere--weregiventopeoplethatultimatelygavethemto--to

druglords.

Theyusedthoseweaponsagainst--againsttheirowncitizensandkilledAmericanswiththem.Andthiswasa--thiswas

aprogramofthegovernment.Forwhatpurposeitwasputinplace,Ican'timagine.Butit'soneofthegreattragedies

relatedtoviolenceinoursocietywhichhasoccurredduringthisadministration.WhichIthinktheAmericanpeople

wouldliketounderstandfully,it'sbeeninvestigatedtoadegree,but--buttheadministrationhascarriedoutexecutive

privilegetopreventalloftheinformationfromcomingout.

I'dliketounderstandwhoitwasthatdidthis,whattheideawasbehindit,whyitledtotheviolence,thousandsofguns

goingtoMexicandruglords.OBAMA:Candy?

CROWLEY:Governor,Governor,ifIcould,thequestionwasabouttheseassaultweaponsthatoncewereoncebanned

andarenolongerbanned.

IknowthatyousignedanassaultweaponsbanwhenyouwereinMassachusetts,obviously,withthisquestion,youno

longerdosupportthat.Whyisthat,giventhekindofviolencethatweseesometimeswiththesemasskillings?Whyisit

thatyouhavechangedyourmind?

ROMNEY:Well,Candy,actually,inmystate,thepro-gunfolksandtheanti-gunfolkscametogetherandputtogethera

pieceoflegislation.Andit'sreferredtoasanassaultweaponban,butithad,atthesigningofthebill,boththepro-gun

andtheanti-gunpeoplecametogether,becauseitprovidedopportunitiesforboththatbothwanted.

Therewerehuntingopportunities,forinstance,thathaven'tpreviouslybeenavailableandsoforth,soitwasamutually

agreed-uponpieceoflegislation.That'swhatweneedmoreof,Candy.WhatwehaverightnowinWashingtonisa


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placethat'sgridlocked.

CROWLEY:SoIcould--ifyoucouldgetpeopletoagreetoit,youwouldbeforit?

ROMNEY:Wehave--

OBAMA:Candy?

ROMNEY:--wehaven'thadtheleadershipinWashingtontoworkonabipartisanbasis.Iwasabletodothatinmystate

andbringthesetwotogether.

CROWLEY:Quickly,Mr.President.

OBAMA:The--firstofall,IthinkGovernorRomneywasforanassaultweaponsbanbeforehewasagainstit.Andhesaid

thatthereasonhechangedhismindwas,inpart,becausehewasseekingtheendorsementoftheNationalRifle

Association.Sothat'sontherecord.

ButIthinkthatoneareaweagreeonistheimportantofparentsandtheimportanceofschools,becauseIdobelieve

thatifouryoungpeoplehaveopportunity,thentheyarelesslikelytoengageinthesekindsofviolentacts.We'renot

goingtoeliminateeverybodywhoismentallydisturbedandwehavegottomakesuretheydon'tgetweapons.

(AUDIOGAP)

OBAMA:becauseIdobelievethatifouryoungpeoplehaveopportunity,thenthey'relesslikelytoengageinthesekind

ofviolentacts.

We'renotgoingtoeliminateeverybodywhoismentallydisturbed,andwe'vegottomakesuretheydon'tgetweapons.

ButwecanmakeadifferenceintermsensuringthateveryyoungpersoninAmerica,regardlessofwheretheycome

from,whattheylooklike,haveachancetosucceed.

And,Candy,wehaven'thadachancetotalkabouteducationmuch,butIthinkitisveryimportanttounderstandthat

thereformswe'veputinplace,workingwith46governorsaroundthecountry,areseeingschoolsthataresomeofthe

onesthatarethetoughestforkidsstartingtosucceed.We'restartingtoseegainsinmathandscience.

Whenitcomestocommunitycolleges,wearesettingupprograms,includingwithNassauCommunityCollege,toretrain

workers,includingyoungpeoplewhomayhavedroppedoutofschoolbutnowaregettinganotherchance,training

themforthejobsthatexistrightnow.

Andinfact,employersarelookingforskilledworkers.Andsowe'rematchingthemup.Givingthemaccesstohigher

education.AsIsaid,wehavemadesurethatmillionsofyoungpeopleareabletogetaneducationthattheyweren't


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abletogetbefore.

Now...

CROWLEY:Mr.President,Ihaveto--Ihavetomoveyoualonghere.Yousaidyouwantedto...

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:Weneedtodoithere.

OBAMA:But--butit'll--it'll--it'llbe...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA:...justonesecond.

CROWLEY:One...

OBAMA:Because--becausethisisimportant.Thisispartofthechoiceinthiselection.

WhenGovernorRomneywasaskedwhetherteachers,hiringmoreteacherswasimportanttogrowingoureconomy,

GovernorRomneysaidthatdoesn'tgrowoureconomy.

When--whenhewasaskedwouldclasssize...

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:Thequestion,Mr.President,wasgunshere,soIneedtomoveusalong.

OBAMA:Iunderstand.

CROWLEY:Youknow,thequestionwasguns.Soletme--letmebringinanother...

OBAMA:Butthiswillmakeadifferenceintermsofwhetherornotwecanmovethiseconomyforwardfortheseyoung

people...

CROWLEY:Iunderstand.

OBAMA:...andreduceourviolence.

CROWLEY:OK.Thankyousomuch.


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IwanttoaskCarolGoldbergtostandup,becauseshegetstoaquestionthatboththesemenhavebeenpassionate

about.It'sforGovernorRomney.

QUESTION:TheoutsourcingofAmericanjobsoverseashastakenatollonoureconomy.Whatplansdoyouhavetoput

backandkeepjobshereintheUnitedStates?

ROMNEY:Boy,greatquestionandimportantquestion,becauseyou'reabsolutelyright.Theplacewherewe'veseen

manufacturinggohasbeenChina.Chinaisnowthelargestmanufacturerintheworld.ItusedtobetheUnitedStatesof

America.Alotofgoodpeoplehavelostjobs.Ahalfamillionmanufacturingjobshavebeenlostinthelastfouryears.

That'stotaloverthelastfouryears.

Oneofthereasonsforthatisthatpeoplethinkit'smoreattractiveinsomecasestogooffshorethantostayhere.We

havemadeitlessattractiveforenterprisestostayherethantogooffshorefromtimetotime.WhatIwilldoas

presidentismakesureit'smoreattractivetocometoAmericaagain.

Thisisthewaywe'regoingtocreatejobsinthiscountry.It'snotbytrickle-downgovernment,sayingwe'regoingtotake

moremoneyfrompeopleandhiremoregovernmentworkers,raisemoretaxes,putinplacemoreregulations.Trickle-

downgovernmenthasneverworkedhere,hasneverworkedanywhere.

IwanttomakeAmericathemostattractiveplaceintheworldforentrepreneurs,forsmallbusiness,forbigbusiness,to

investandgrowinAmerica.

Now,we'regoingtohavetomakesurethataswetradewithothernationsthattheyplaybytherules.AndChinahasn't.

Oneofthereasons--oroneofthewaystheydon'tplaybytherulesisartificiallyholdingdownthevalueoftheir

currency.Becauseiftheyputtheircurrencydownlow,thatmeanstheirpricesontheirgoodsarelow.Andthatmakes

themadvantageousinthemarketplace.

Welosesales.AndmanufacturershereintheU.S.makingthesameproductscan'tcompete.Chinahasbeenacurrency

manipulatorforyearsandyearsandyears.Andthepresidenthasaregularopportunitytolabelthemasacurrency

manipulator,butrefusestodoso.

Ondayone,IwilllabelChinaacurrencymanipulator,whichwillallowmeaspresidenttobeabletoputinplace,if

necessary,tariffswhereIbelievethattheyaretakingunfairadvantageofourmanufacturers.

Sowe'regoingtomakesurethatpeoplewetradewitharoundtheworldplaybytherules.Butletme--letmenotjust

stopthere.Don'tforget,what'skeytobringingbackjobshereisnotjustfindingsomeoneelsetopunish,andI'mgoing

tobestrictwithpeoplewhowetradewithtomakesurethey--theyfollowthelawandplaybytherules,butit'salsoto

makeAmericathemostattractiveplaceintheworldforbusinessesofallkinds.

That'swhyIwanttodownthetaxratesonsmallemployers,bigemployers,sotheywanttobehere.Canada'staxrate

oncompaniesisnow15percent.Oursis35percent.Soifyou'restartingabusiness,wherewouldyouratherstartit?We

havetobecompetitiveifwe'regoingtocreatemorejobshere.


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Regulationshavequadrupled.Therateofregulationsquadrupledunderthispresident.Italktosmallbusinessesacross

thecountry.Theysay,"Wefeellikewe'reunderattackfromourowngovernment."Iwanttomakesurethatregulators

seetheirjobasencouragingsmallbusiness,notcrushingit.Andthere'snoquestionbutthatObamacarehasbeenan

extraordinarydeterrenttoenterprisesofallkindshiringpeople.

Mypriorityismakingsurethatwegetmorepeoplehired.Ifwehavemorepeoplehired,ifwegetbackmanufacturing

jobs,ifwegetbackallkindsofjobsintothiscountry,thenyou'regoingtoseerisingincomesagain.Thereasonincomes

aredownisbecauseunemploymentissohigh.Iknowwhatittakestogetthistohappen,andmyplanwilldothat,and

onepartofitistomakesurethatwekeepChinaplayingbytherules.

CROWLEY:Mr.President,twominuteshere,becausewearethengoingtogotoourlastquestion.

OBAMA:OK.Weneedtocreatejobshere.AndbothGovernorRomneyandIagreeactuallythatweshouldlowerour

corporatetaxrate.It'stoohigh.Butthere'sadifferenceintermsofhowwewoulddoit.Iwanttocloseloopholesthat

allowcompaniestodeductexpenseswhentheymovetoChina;thatallowthemtoprofitoffshoreandnothavetoget

taxed,sotheyhavetaxadvantagesoffshore.

Allthosechangesinourtaxcodewouldmakeadifference.

Now,GovernorRomneyactuallywantstoexpandthosetaxbreaks.Oneofhisbigideaswhenitcomestocorporatetax

reformwouldbetosay,ifyouinvestoverseas,youmakeprofitsoverseas,youdon'thavetopayU.S.taxes.

But,ofcourse,ifyou'reasmallbusinessoramom-and-popbusinessorabigbusinessstartinguphere,you'vegottopay

eventhereducedratethatGovernorRomney'stalkingabout.

Andit'sestimatedthatthatwillcreate800,000newjobs.Theproblemisthey'llbeinchina.OrIndia.OrGermany.

That'snotthewaywe'regoingtocreatejobshere.Thewaywe'regoingtocreatejobshereisnotjusttochangeourtax

code,butalsotodoubleourexports.Andweareonpacetodoubleourexports,oneofthecommitmentsImadewhenI

waspresident.That'screatingtensofthousandsofjobsallacrossthecountry.That'swhywe'vekeptonpushingtrade

deals,buttradedealsthatmakesurethatAmericanworkersandAmericanbusinessesaregettingagooddeal.

Now,GovernorRomneytalkedaboutChina,asIalreadyindicated.Intheprivatesector,GovernorRomney'scompany

investedinwhatwerecalledpioneersofoutsourcing.That'snotmyphrase.That'swhatreporterscalledit.

Andasfarascurrencymanipulation,thecurrencyhasactuallygoneup11percentsinceI'vebeenpresidentbecausewe

havepushedthemhard.Andwe'veputunprecedentedtradepressureonChina.That'swhyexportshavesignificantly

increasedundermypresidency.That'sgoingtohelptocreatejobshere.

CROWLEY:Mr.President,wehaveareallyshorttimeforaquickdiscussionhere.


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iPad,theMacs,theiPhones,theyareallmanufacturedinChina.Oneofthemajorreasonsislaborissomuchcheaper

here.HowdoyouconvinceagreatAmericancompanytobringthatmanufacturingbackhere?

ROMNEY:Theanswerisverystraightforward.Wecancompetewithanyoneintheworldaslongastheplayingfieldis

level.China'sbeencheatingovertheyears.Onebyholdingdownthevalueoftheircurrency.Numbertwo,bystealing

ourintellectualproperty;ourdesigns,ourpatents,ourtechnology.There'sevenanApplestoreinChinathat'sa

counterfeitApplestore,sellingcounterfeitgoods.Theyhackintoourcomputers.Wewillhavetohavepeopleplayona

fairbasis,that'snumberone.

Numbertwo,wehavetomakeAmericathemostattractiveplaceforentrepreneurs,forpeoplewhowanttoexpand

theirbusiness.That'swhatbringsjobsin.Thepresident'scharacterizationofmytaxplan...

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY:...iscompletely...iscompletely...

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY:...iscompletelyfalse.Letmetellyou...

CROWLEY:Letmetogothepresidentherebecausewereallyarerunningoutoftime.Andthequestioniscanweever

get--wecan'tgetwageslikethat.Itcan'tbesustained.

OBAMA:Candy,therearesomejobsthatarenotgoingtocomeback.Becausetheyarelowwage,lowskilljobs.Iwant

highwage,highskilljobs.That'swhywehavetoemphasizemanufacturing.That'swhywehavetoinvestinadvanced

manufacturing.That'swhywe'vegottomakesurethatwe'vegotthebestscienceandresearchintheworld.Andwhen

wetalkaboutdeficits,ifwe'readdingtoourdeficitfortaxcutsforfolkswhodon'tneedthem,andwe'recutting

investmentsinresearchandsciencethatwillcreatethenextApple,createthenextnewinnovationthatwillsell

productsaroundtheworld,wewilllosethatrace.

Ifwe'renottrainingengineerstomakesurethattheyareequippedhereinthiscountry.Thencompanieswon'tcome

here.Thoseinvestmentsarewhat'sgoingtohelptomakesurethatwecontinuetoleadthisworldeconomy,notjust

nextyear,but10yearsfromnow,50yearsfromnow,100yearsfromnow.

CROWLEY:ThanksMr.President.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY:GovernorRomney?

ROMNEY:Governmentdoesnotcreatejobs.Governmentdoesnotcreatejobs.


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Hofstra Presidential Debate Transcript 2012

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Transcript of Hofstra Presidential Debate Transcript 2012