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All posts tagged Ohio
Full Text Political Transcripts December 1, 2016: President-elect Donald Trump Thank You Rally in Cincinnati, Ohio
TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION:
President-elect Donald Trump Thank You Rally in Cincinnati, Ohio
Source: Independent UK, 12-1-16
Or how about North Carolina? How well did we do in North Carolina? Right?
[cheers]
Remember what they said. "He cannot win North Carolina. So we had just won Ohio, Iowa. And we had just won Florida. "Breaking news! Donald Trump has won Florida" They're saying: "Woah!"
And we won it big. But then the people back there, the extremely dishonest press aid, right?
[boos]
Very dishonest people. How about, how about, I mean how dishonest? How about when a major anchor who hosted a debate started crying? When she realised we won?
Tears! "No, tell me this isn't true!" And you know what she doesn't understand? Things are gonna be much better now! She doesn't understand.
I mean think of it. We won a landslide. That was a landslide. And we didn't have the press. The press was brutal. Youb know what? Hey, in the great state of Ohio, we didn't have the upper echelon of politicians either, did we?
And was very nice. He said: "Congratulations. That was amazing." He couldn't believe how much we won Ohio by or the election by. Remember? "You cannot get to 270!" The dishonest press. "There is so road!" Folks, how many times did we hear this? "There is no path to 270. There is no path. There is no path.
"There is no path for Donald Trump", "Texas is in play". Do you remember that one? Now, as a Republican, I'm supposed to win Texas. As a Republican, I'm supposed to win Georgia. As a Republican, I'm supposed to win the great state of Utah. I love Utah. Love those states.
Remember when they said: "Donald Trump is gonna lose to – "some guy I had never even heard of. Who is that guy? "He is going to lose to this guy!"
But the people of Utah were amazing and we trounced them. We trounced. And, by the way, Hillary came in second and that guy came in third. I was still trying to figure it out. I'm still trying to figure out what was he going to prove?
Did he want to – wanted to find, what the hell was he trying to prove? I guess he wanted us to lose the Supreme Court. That's about the only thing he was going to get. But think of it. They said: I'll tell you what. This is two, three weeks before the election. And my friends were telling me just the opposite. They live in Texas and Georgia. They said: 'Georgia is in play. Texas is in play.'
That means like we're even. And then we won in a landslide, both states. I said: 'What happened?' Right? They go for weeks. 'Texas is in Play!' Then you turn on the television, like two minutes later. 'Donald Trump won Texas!' You know it's like..
These are very, very dishonest people.
Okay. I love this stuff. Should I go on with this just a little ebit longer? I love it. How about it's like 12 o'clock in the evening and Pennsylvania, I'm leading by a lot. And we couldn't just get off 98 per cent. They didn't want to call it. We're leading by so much. And it's impossible, if I lost every other vote, and they refuse to call. Then at 3 o'clock, I'll never forget, I watched a particular person.
And we won Wisconsin. And we won Michigan. And we won Pennsylvania. Right? And that person is doing the map, and that person was saying for months that there's no way Donald Trump can break the blue wall. Right?
We didn't break it. We shattered that sucker. Shattered it, man. That poor wall is busted up. So, I'll never forget it though because it felt so good. You know, more so because they kept saying there's no path and all this nonsense.
So – and I go out and I see the people, like this. And I'd say: "How are we gonna lose?" I mean how are we gonna lose? But what happened? So, they'd say – we win Wisconsin. Donald Trump, 38 years or so, Donald Trump has won Michigan.
And then they're looking at the map. They're saying: 'Oh, wow. There's no way for Hillary Clinton to become president. Donald Trump is President of the United States."
Posted in Political Speeches & Documents, Political Transcripts, President Donald Trump, Presidential Transition, Trump Administration
Tagged Cincinnati, Donald Trump, Ohio, President-Elect, Presidential Transition, Thank You Tour
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/full-text-political-transcripts-december-1-2016-president-elect-donald-trump-thank-you-rally-in-cincinnati-ohio/
Full Text Campaign Buzz 2016 August 15, 2016: GOP Nominee Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Speech Transcript
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN:
Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Speech
Source: DonaldJTrump.com, 8-15-16
Thank you. It is great to be with you this afternoon.
Today we begin a conversation about how to Make America Safe Again.
In the 20th Century, the United States defeated Fascism, Nazism, and Communism.
Now, a different threat challenges our world: Radical Islamic Terrorism.
This summer, there has been an ISIS attack launched outside the war zones of the Middle East every 84 hours.
Here, in America, we have seen one brutal attack after another.
13 were murdered, and 38 wounded, in the assault on Ft. Hood.
The Boston Marathon Bombing wounded and maimed 264 people, and ultimately left five dead – including 2 police officers.
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, five unarmed marines were shot and killed at a military recruiting center.
Last December, 14 innocent Americans were gunned down at an office party in San Bernardino, another 22 were injured.
In June, 49 Americans were executed at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, and another 53 were injured. It was the worst mass shooting in our history, and the worst attack on the LGTBQ community in our history.
In Europe, we have seen the same carnage and bloodshed inflicted upon our closest allies.
In January of 2015, a French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, was attacked for publishing cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. Twelve were killed, including two police officers, and 11 were wounded. Two days later, four were murdered in a Jewish Deli.
In November of 2015, terrorists went on a shooting rampage in Paris that slaughtered 130 people, and wounded another 368. France is suffering gravely, and the tourism industry is being massively affected in a most negative way.
In March of this year, terrorists detonated a bomb in the Brussels airport, killing 32 and injuring 340.
This July, in the South of France, an Islamic terrorist turned his truck into an instrument of mass murder, plowing down and killing 85 men, women and children – and wounding another 308. Among the dead were 2 Americans – a Texas father, and his 11-year-old son.
A few weeks ago, in Germany, a refugee armed with an axe wounded five people in a gruesome train attack.
Only days ago, an ISIS killer invaded a Christian church in Normandy France, forced an 85-year-old priest to his knees, and slit his throat before his congregation.
Overseas, ISIS has carried out one unthinkable atrocity after another. Children slaughtered, girls sold into slavery, men and women burned alive.
Crucifixions, beheadings and drownings. Ethnic minorities targeted for mass execution. Holy sites desecrated. Christians driven from their homes and hunted for extermination. ISIS rounding-up what it calls the "nation of the cross" in a campaign of genocide. We cannot let this evil continue.
Nor can we let the hateful ideology of Radical Islam – its oppression of women, gays, children, and nonbelievers – be allowed to reside or spread within our own countries.
We will defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism, just as we have defeated every threat we have faced in every age before.
But we will not defeat it with closed eyes, or silenced voices.
Anyone who cannot name our enemy, is not fit to lead this country. Anyone who cannot condemn the hatred, oppression and violence of Radical Islam lacks the moral clarity to serve as our President.
The rise of ISIS is the direct result of policy decisions made by President Obama and Secretary Clinton.
Let's look back at the Middle East at the very beginning of 2009, before the Obama-Clinton Administration took over.
Libya was stable.
Syria was under control.
Egypt was ruled by a secular President and an ally of the United States.
Iraq was experiencing a reduction in violence.
The group that would become what we now call ISIS was close to being extinguished.
Iran was being choked off by economic sanctions.
Fast-forward to today. What have the decisions of Obama-Clinton produced?
Libya is in ruins, our ambassador and three other brave Americans are dead, and ISIS has gained a new base of operations.
Syria is in the midst of a disastrous civil war. ISIS controls large portions of territory. A refugee crisis now threatens Europe and the United States.
In Egypt, terrorists have gained a foothold in the Sinai desert, near the Suez Canal, one of the most essential waterways in the world.
Iraq is in chaos, and ISIS is on the loose.
ISIS has spread across the Middle East, and into the West. In 2014, ISIS was operating in some 7 nations. Today they are fully operational in 18 countries with aspiring branches in 6 more, for a total of 24 – and many believe it is even more than that. The situation is likely worse than the public knows: a new Congressional report reveals that the Administration has downplayed the growth of ISIS, with 40% of analysts saying they had experienced efforts to manipulate their findings.
At the same time, ISIS is trying to infiltrate refugee flows into Europeand the United States.
Iran, the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism, is now flush with $150 billion in cash released by the United States – plus another $400 million in ransom. Worst of all, the Nuclear deal puts Iran, the number one state sponsor of Radical Islamic Terrorism, on a path to nuclear weapons.
In short, the Obama-Clinton foreign policy has unleashed ISIS, destabilized the Middle East, and put the nation of Iran – which chants 'Death to America' – in a dominant position of regional power and, in fact, aspiring to be a dominant world power.
It all began in 2009 with what has become known as President Obama's global 'Apology Tour.'
In a series of speeches, President Obama described America as "arrogant," "dismissive" "derisive" and a "colonial power." He informed other countries that he would be speaking up about America's "past errors." He pledged that we would no longer be a "senior partner," that "sought to dictate our terms." He lectured CIA officers of the need to acknowledge their mistakes, and described Guantanamo Bay as a "rallying cry for our enemies."
Perhaps no speech was more misguided than President Obama's speech to the Muslim World delivered in Cairo, Egypt, in 2009.
In winning the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan repeatedly touted the superiority of freedom over communism, and called the USSR the Evil Empire.
Yet, when President Obama delivered his address in Cairo, no such moral courage could be found. Instead of condemning the oppression of women and gays in many Muslim nations, and the systematic violations of human rights, or the financing of global terrorism, President Obama tried to draw an equivalency between our human rights record and theirs.
His naïve words were followed by even more naïve actions.
The failure to establish a new Status of Forces Agreement in Iraq, and the election-driven timetable for withdrawal, surrendered our gains in that country and led directly to the rise of ISIS.
The failures in Iraq were compounded by Hillary Clinton's disaster in Libya. President Obama has since said he regards Libya as his worst mistake. According to then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the invasion of Libya was nearly a split decision, but Hillary Clinton's forceful advocacy for the intervention was the deciding factor.
With one episode of bad judgment after another, Hillary Clinton's policies launched ISIS onto the world.
Yet, as she threw the Middle East into violent turmoil, things turned out well for her. The Clintons made almost $60 million in gross income while she was Secretary of State.
Incident after incident proves again and again: Hillary Clinton lacks the judgement, the temperament and the moral character to lead this nation. Importantly, she also lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS, and all the many adversaries we face – not only in terrorism, but in trade and every other challenge we must confront to turn this country around.
It is time for a new approach.
Our current strategy of nation-building and regime change is a proven failure. We have created the vacuums that allow terrorists to grow and thrive.
I was an opponent of the Iraq war from the beginning – a major difference between me and my opponent.
Though I was a private citizen, whose personal opinions on such matters was not sought, I nonetheless publicly expressed my private doubts about the invasion. Three months before the invasion I said, in an interview with Neil Cavuto, to whom I offer my best wishes for a speedy recovery, that "perhaps [we] shouldn't be doing it yet," and that "the economy is a much bigger problem."
In August of 2004, very early in the conflict, I made a detailed statement to Esquire magazine. Here is the quote in full:
"Look at the war in Iraq and the mess that we're in. I would never have handled it that way. Does anybody really believe that Iraq is going to be a wonderful democracy where people are going to run down to the voting box and gently put in their ballot and the winner is happily going to step up to lead the country? C'mon. Two minutes after we leave, there's going to be a revolution, and the meanest, toughest, smartest, most vicious guy will take over. And he'll have weapons of mass destruction, which Saddam didn't have.
"What was the purpose of this whole thing? Hundreds and hundreds of young people killed. And what about the people coming back with no arms and legs? Not to mention the other side. All those Iraqi kids who've been blown to pieces. And it turns out that all of the reasons for the war were blatantly wrong. All this for nothing."
So I have been clear for a long time that we should not have gone in. But I have been just as clear in saying what a catastrophic mistake Hillary Clinton and President Obama made with the reckless way in which they pulled out.
After we had made those hard-fought sacrifices and gains, we should never have made such a sudden withdrawal – on a timetable advertised to our enemies. Al Qaeda in Iraq had been decimated, and Obama and Clinton gave it new life and allowed it to spread across the world.
By that same token, President Obama and Hillary Clinton should never have attempted to build a Democracy in Libya, to push for immediate regime change in Syria or to support the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt.
One more point on this: I have long said that we should have kept the oil in Iraq – another area where my judgement has been proven correct. According to CNN, ISIS made as much $500 million in oil sales in 2014 alone, fueling and funding its reign of terror. If we had controlled the oil, we could have prevented the rise of ISIS in Iraq – both by cutting off a major source of funding, and through the presence of U.S. forces necessary to safeguard the oil and other vital infrastructure. I was saying this constantly and to whoever would listen: keep the oil, keep the oil, keep the oil, I said – don't let someone else get it.
If they had listened to me then, we would have had the economic benefits of the oil, which I wanted to use to help take care of the wounded soldiers and families of those who died – and thousands of lives would have been saved.
This proposal, by its very nature, would have left soldiers in place to guard our assets. In the old days, when we won a war, to the victor belonged the spoils. Instead, all we got from Iraq – and our adventures in the Middle East – was death, destruction and tremendous financial loss.
But it is time to put the mistakes of the past behind us, and chart a new course.
If I become President, the era of nation-building will be ended. Our new approach, which must be shared by both parties in America, by our allies overseas, and by our friends in the Middle East, must be to halt the spread of Radical Islam.
All actions should be oriented around this goal, and any country which shares this goal will be our ally. We cannot always choose our friends, but we can never fail to recognize our enemies.
As President, I will call for an international conference focused on this goal. We will work side-by-side with our friends in the Middle East, including our greatest ally, Israel. We will partner with King Abdullah of Jordan, and President Sisi of Egypt, and all others who recognize this ideology of death that must be extinguished.
We will also work closely with NATO on this new mission. I had previously said that NATO was obsolete because it failed to deal adequately with terrorism; since my comments they have changed their policy and now have a new division focused on terror threats.
I also believe that we could find common ground with Russia in the fight against ISIS. They too have much at stake in the outcome in Syria, and have had their own battles with Islamic terrorism.
My Administration will aggressively pursue joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS, international cooperation to cutoff their funding, expanded intelligence sharing, and cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable their propaganda and recruiting. We cannot allow the internet to be used as a recruiting tool, and for other purposes, by our enemy – we must shut down their access to this form of communication, and we must do so immediately.
Unlike Hillary Clinton, who has risked so many lives with her careless handling of sensitive information, my Administration will not telegraph exact military plans to the enemy. I have often said that General MacArthur and General Patton would be in a state of shock if they were alive today to see the way President Obama and Hillary Clinton try to recklessly announce their every move before it happens – like they did in Iraq – so that the enemy can prepare and adapt.
The fight will not be limited to ISIS. We will decimate Al Qaeda, and we will seek to starve funding for Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. We can use existing UN Security Council resolutions to apply new sanctions.
Military, cyber and financial warfare will all be essential in dismantling Islamic terrorism.
But we must use ideological warfare as well.
Just as we won the Cold War, in part, by exposing the evils of communism and the virtues of free markets, so too must we take on the ideology of Radical Islam.
While my opponent accepted millions of dollars in Foundation donations from countries where being gay is an offense punishable by prison or death, my Administration will speak out against the oppression of women, gays and people of different faith.
Our Administration will be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers in the Middle East, and will amplify their voices.
This includes speaking out against the horrible practice of honor killings, where women are murdered by their relatives for dressing, marrying or acting in a way that violates fundamentalist teachings.
Over 1,000 Pakistani girls are estimated to be the victims of honor killings by their relatives each year. Recently, a prominent Pakistani social media star was strangled to death by her brother on the charge of dishonoring the family. In his confession, the brother took pride in the murder and said: "Girls are born to stay home and follow traditions."
Shockingly, this is a practice that has reached our own shores.
One such case involves an Iraqi immigrant who was sentenced to 34 years in jail for running over his own daughter claiming she had become "too Westernized."
To defeat Islamic terrorism, we must also speak out forcefully against a hateful ideology that provides the breeding ground for violence and terrorism to grow.
A new immigration policy is needed as well.
The common thread linking the major Islamic terrorist attacks that have recently occurred on our soil – 9/11, the Ft. Hood shooting, the Boston Bombing, the San Bernardino attack, the Orlando attack – is that they have involved immigrants or the children of immigrants.
Clearly, new screening procedures are needed.
A review by the U.S. Senate Immigration Subcommittee has identified 380 foreign-born individuals charged with terrorism or terrorismrelated offenses between 9/11 and 2014, and many more since then.
We also know that ISIS recruits refugees after their entrance into the country – as we have seen with the Somali refugee population in Minnesota.
Beyond terrorism, as we have seen in France, foreign populations have brought their anti-Semitic attitudes with them.
Pew polling shows that in many of the countries from which we draw large numbers of immigrants, extreme views about religion – such as the death penalty for those who leave the faith – are commonplace.
A Trump Administration will establish a clear principle that will govern all decisions pertaining to immigration: we should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people.
In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today.
In addition to screening out all members or sympathizers of terrorist groups, we must also screen out any who have hostile attitudes towards our country or its principles – or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law.
Those who do not believe in our Constitution, or who support bigotry and hatred, will not be admitted for immigration into the country.
Only those who we expect to flourish in our country – and to embrace a tolerant American society – should be issued visas.
To put these new procedures in place, we will have to temporarily suspend immigration from some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism.
As soon as I take office, I will ask the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to identify a list of regions where adequate screening cannot take place. We will stop processing visas from those areas until such time as it is deemed safe to resume based on new circumstances or new procedures.
The size of current immigration flows are simply too large to perform adequate screening.
We admit about 100,000 permanent immigrants from the Middle East every year. Beyond that, we admit hundreds of thousands of temporary workers and visitors from the same regions. If we don't control the numbers, we can't perform adequate screening.
By contrast, my opponent wants to increase the flow of Syrian refugees by 550% percent.
The United States Senate Subcommittee on Immigration estimates that Hillary Clinton's plan would mean roughly 620,000 refugees from all current refugee-sending nations in her first term, assuming no cuts to other refugee programs. This would be additional to all other nonrefugee immigration.
The Subcommittee estimates her plan would impose a lifetime cost of roughly $400 billion when you include the costs of healthcare, welfare, housing, schooling, and all other entitlement benefits that are excluded from the State Department's placement figures.
In short, Hillary Clinton wants to be America's Angela Merkel, and you know what a disaster this massive immigration has been to Germany and the people of Germany – crime has risen to levels that no one thought would they would ever see. We have enough problems in our country, we don't need another one.
Finally, we will need to restore common sense to our security procedures.
Another common feature of the past attacks that have occurred on our soil is that warning signs were ignored.
The 9/11 hijackers had fraud all over their visa applications.
The Russians warned us about the Boston Bombers, here on political asylum, and the attackers were even twice interviewed by the FBI.
The female San Bernardino shooter, here on a fiancé visa from Saudi Arabia, wrote of her support for Jihad online. A neighbor saw suspicious behavior but didn't warn authorities, because said they didn't want to be accused of racially profiling – now many are dead and gravely wounded.
The shooter in Orlando reportedly celebrated in his classroom after 9/11. . He too was interviewed by the FBI. His father, a native of Afghanistan, supported the oppressive Taliban regime, and expressed anti-American views – and by the way, was just seen sitting behind Hillary Clinton with a big smile on his face all the way through her speech. He obviously liked what she had to say.
The Ft. Hood Shooter delivered a presentation to a room full of mental health experts before the attacks in which he threw out one red flag after another. He even proclaimed that "we love death more than you love life!"
These warnings signs were ignored because political correctness has replaced common sense in our society.
That is why one of my first acts as President will be to establish a Commission on Radical Islam – which will include reformist voices in the Muslim community who will hopefully work with us. We want to build bridges and erase divisions.
The goal of the commission will be to identify and explain to the American public the core convictions and beliefs of Radical Islam, to identify the warning signs of radicalization, and to expose the networks in our society that support radicalization.
This commission will be used to develop new protocols for local police officers, federal investigators, and immigration screeners.
We will also keep open Guantanamo Bay, and place a renewed emphasis on human intelligence. Drone strikes will remain part of our strategy, but we will also seek to capture high-value targets to gain needed information to dismantle their organizations. Foreign combatants will be tried in military commissions.
Finally, we will pursue aggressive criminal or immigration charges against anyone who lends material support to terrorism. Similar to the effort to take down the mafia, this will be the understood mission of every federal investigator and prosecutor in the country.
To accomplish a goal, you must state a mission: the support networks for Radical Islam in this country will be stripped out and removed one by one.
Immigration officers will also have their powers restored: those who are guests in our country that are preaching hate will be asked to return home.
To Make America Safe Again, We Must Work Together Again.
Our victory in the Cold War relied on a bipartisan and international consensus. That is what we must have to defeat Radical Islamic terrorism.
But just like we couldn't defeat communism without acknowledging that communism exists – or explaining its evils – we can't defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism unless we do the same.
This also means we have to promote the exceptional virtues of our own way of life – and expecting that newcomers to our society do the same.
Pride in our institutions, our history and our values should be taught by parents and teachers, and impressed upon all who join our society.
Assimilation is not an act of hostility, but an expression of compassion. Our system of government, and our American culture, is the best in the world and will produce the best outcomes for all who adopt it.
This approach will not only make us safer, but bring us closer together as a country.
Renewing this spirit of Americanism will help heal the divisions in our country. It will do so by emphasizing what we have in common – not what pulls us apart.
This is my pledge to the American people: as your President I will be your greatest champion. I will fight to ensure that every American is treated equally, protected equally, and honored equally. We will reject bigotry and oppression in all its forms, and seek a new future built on our common culture and values as one American people.
Only this way, will we make America Great Again and Safe Again – For Everyone.
by bonniekgoodman on August 15, 2016 • Permalink
Posted in Campaign 2016, Campaign 2016, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Donald Trump, Foreign Policy, GOP Candidates, ISIS, Terror Fight
Tagged Donald Trump, Election 2016, Foreign Policy, Ohio, Republican Party, Rudy Giuliani, Youngstown
Posted by bonniekgoodman on August 15, 2016
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2016/08/15/full-text-campaign-buzz-2016-august-15-2016-gop-nominee-donald-trumps-foreign-policy-speech-transcript/
Full Text Obama Presidency November 14, 2013: President Barack Obama's Speech on the Economy in Cleveland, Ohio
Remarks by the President on the Economy in Cleveland, OH
ArcelorMittal Cleveland Steel Factory
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Ohio! (Applause.) It is good to be back in Cleveland. The last time I was here was about a year ago, in the final days of the campaign. I know how much you miss hearing how I approve this message every night on your TV. (Laughter.) I will say it is nice to be here when the only real battle for Ohio is the Browns-Bengals game this Sunday. (Applause.) He's got the Browns shirt right here, Browns cap. (Laughter.)
I want to thank Scotty for that terrific introduction. Give him a big round of applause. (Applause.) He is a natural. I want to thank your CEO, Lakshmi Mittal, for investing in America and the Cleveland area. We appreciate him. (Applause.) And I want to thank all of you for having me here today.
Along with me, there are a couple of people I just want to acknowledge. First of all, America's Secretary of Energy, Ernie Moniz, is here. Right there. (Applause.) And Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is here. Give Marcy a big round of applause. (Applause.) Fighting for working people every day.
And earlier this afternoon I had a chance to see your mayor, Frank Jackson; your county executive, Ed FitzGerald. And even though they're not here, I want to thank them for the great work they're doing on behalf of working people throughout the region. (Applause.)
And then, finally, I want to thank Mark and Gary for showing me one of the biggest steel plants in America. And they told me that folks are proud to have been making steel right here for a century — 100 years — right here. (Applause.) And they explained that, today, the steel you make in Cleveland is some of the strongest you'll find anywhere in the world. It's one of the most productive plants in the world. Best workers in the world. (Applause.)
And what's remarkable is, when you think about it, go back to where this plant was just a few years ago. The economy was in free fall, auto industry on the brink of collapse. And that meant demand for steel had dried up. The blast furnaces went quiet. About 1,200 steelworkers punched out for what might have been the last time. And that all came at the end of a decade when the middle class was already working harder and harder just to get by, and nearly one in three American manufacturing jobs had vanished — a lot of them going overseas. And that could have devastated this community for good.
But we rolled up our sleeves, we made some tough choices. We rescued and retooled the American auto industry; it saved more than a million jobs. We bet on American ingenuity and American workers. (Applause.) And assembly lines started humming again, and automakers started to make cars again. And just a few months after this plant shut down, your plant manager got the call: Fire those furnaces back up, get those workers back on the job. And over the last four years, you've made yourselves one of the most productive steel mills not just in America, but in the world. In the world. (Applause.)
So you retooled to make the stronger steel that goes into newer, better American cars and trucks. You created new partnerships with schools and community colleges to make sure that folks who work here have the high-tech skills they need for the high-tech jobs — because I was looking around this factory, and there's a whole bunch of computer stuff going on.
One of your engineers — and I want to make sure I get Margaret's name right here — Margaret Krolikowski. Did I get that right, Margaret? (Applause.) Where's Margaret? Where is she? There is she is, back there. So I'm going to quote you — I'm going to quote you. Here's what Margaret said: "When we came back, we wanted to make sure we were in a position where we never shut down again." Never shut down again. And that means making sure that workers here are constantly upgrading their skills and investments being made in the state-of-the-art technology.
And it was interesting, when I was meeting a number of the folks who were giving me the tour — folks who have been here 30 years, 40 years — but obviously the plant has changed, and so during that period they've had to upgrade their skills. And that's what's happened. And the story of this plant is the story of America over the last five years. We haven't just been recovering from a crisis. What we've been trying to do is rebuild a new foundation for growth and prosperity to protect ourselves from future crises. And because of the grit and resilience and optimism of the American people, we're seeing comeback stories like yours all across America.
Over the last 44 months, our businesses have created 7.8 million new jobs. Last month, another 200,000 Americans went back to work. (Applause.) And a lot of those jobs are in manufacturing. So now we've got more work to do to get those engines of the economy churning even faster. But because we've been willing to do some hard things, not just kick the can down the road, factories are reopening their doors, businesses are hiring new workers, companies that were shipping jobs overseas, they're starting to talk about bringing those jobs back to America. We're starting to see that.
And let me give you an example, because we were talking about this — Mr. Mittal and others were talking about what's different now. Take a look at what we've done with American energy. For years, folks have talked about reducing our dependence on foreign oil — but we didn't really do it. And we were just importing more and more oil, sending more and more money overseas. Gas prices keep on going up and up and up. We finally decided we were going to do something about it.
So we invested in new American technologies to reverse our addiction to foreign oil, double wind power, double solar power, produce more oil, produce more natural gas, and do it all in a way that is actually bringing down some of our pollution, making our entire economy more energy-efficient. Today, we generate more renewable energy than ever. We produce more natural gas than anybody in the world. Just yesterday, we learned that for the first time since 1995, the United States of America produces more of our own oil here at home than we buy from other countries. First time since 1995. (Applause.) And that's a big deal. That's what America has done these past five years.
And that is a huge competitive advantage for us. Part of the reason companies now want to move — we were just talking about it — this plant, if it's located in Germany, energy costs are double, maybe triple; same in Japan. So this gives us a big edge. But this is also important: We reached the milestone not just because we're producing more energy, but also we're wasting less energy. And this plant is a good example of it. We set new fuel standards that double the distance our cars and trucks go on a gallon of gas by the middle of the next decade. That saves the average driver, everybody here, more than $8,000 at the pump over the life of a new car. You like that? (Applause.) We launched initiatives to put people to work upgrading our homes, and our businesses, and our factories so we're wasting less energy. All that saves businesses money on their energy bills. Your plant is one of the hundreds to answer that call. And if you're saving money on energy costs, that means you can invest in equipment, invest in workers, hire more people, produce more products.
And here's another thing: Between more clean energy, less wasted energy, the carbon pollution that's helping to warm the planet, that actually starts going down. And that's good news for anybody who cares about leaving a planet to our kids that is as beautiful as the one we got from our parents and our grandparents. (Applause.) So it's a win-win. Our economy keeps growing, creating new jobs, which means that strengthening our energy security and increasing energy efficiency doesn't have to be a choice between the environment and the economy — we can do both.
So we've tackled the way we use energy. That's making America more competitive in order to attract good jobs. We've also tackled our deficits. A lot of people have been concerned about deficits. Since I took office, we cut them in half. That makes America more attractive when it comes to business investment decisions.
And we've tackled a broken health care system. Obviously, we're not done yet. (Applause.) Obviously, we're not done yet. But over the last three years, health care costs have grown at the slowest pace on record. And this is a great place to work thanks to a great steelworkers union and cooperation between management and labor. (Applause.) But just keep in mind that if businesses' health care costs are growing at about one-third the rate that they were a decade ago, that makes America a more affordable place to do business, and it also means that the investors here, if they're putting less money into health care costs, they can put more money in terms of hiring more workers and making sure that they're getting good pay.
So that's what all these tough decisions are about: Reversing the forces that have hurt the middle class for a long, long time, and building an economy where anybody, if you work hard, you can get ahead. That's what plants like this have always been about. It's not that it's easy work. But it means if you work hard, you've got a chance to buy a home, you've got a chance to retire, you've got a chance to send your kids to school, you have a chance to maybe take a little vacation once in a while. That's what people strive for. And that's what will make the 21st century an American century, just like the last century was.
But I didn't run for President to go back to where we were. I want us to go forward. I want us to go towards the future. (Applause.) I want us to get us to where we need to be. I want to solve problems, not just put them off. I want to solve problems. And we've got to do more to create more good, middle-class jobs like the ones folks have here.
That means we've got to do everything we can to prepare our children and our workers for the competition that they're going to face. We should be doing everything we can to help put some sort of advanced education within reach for more young people. Not everybody has got to go to a four-year college, but just looking at the equipment around here, you've got to have a little bit of advanced training. It may come through a community college or it may come through a technical school, but we've got to make sure you can get that education, your kids can get that education without going broke — without going broke, without going into debt. (Applause.) So we're working on that.
Another thing we should be working on: Fixing a broken immigration system. (Applause.) When you think about this whole region, a lot of folks forget, but almost everybody who worked in that plant 100 years ago came from someplace else. And so we've got now a new generation of hopeful, striving immigrants; we've got to make sure that they come legally and that we do what we need to secure our borders, but we've also got to make sure that we're providing them opportunity just like your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents received when they arrived at this plant. And that's important. (Applause.) And, by the way, it will help our economy grow because then they're paying taxes and helping to invest and build here in America.
We should do everything we can to revitalize American manufacturing. Manufacturing is — that's the hub of our economy. When our manufacturing base is strong, the entire economy is strong. A lot of service jobs depend on servicing manufacturing jobs. And, typically, manufacturing jobs pay a little bit better. So that's been a path, a ticket to the middle class. So when we make steel and cars, make them here in America, that helps. Like I said, the work may be hard but it gives you enough money to buy a home and raise a kid, retire and send your kids to school.
And those kinds of jobs also tell us something else. It's not just how much you get in your paycheck, it's also a sense of, "I'm making something and I'm helping to build this country." It helps establish a sense of — that we're invested in this country. (Applause.) It tells us what we're worth as a community. One of your coworkers, Mike Longa — where's Mike?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Back here.
THE PRESIDENT: Is he back here? That's Mike right there. Mike grew up here. His mom and dad worked at this plant. This plant helped put Mike and four brothers and/or sisters through college. And once this plant started growing again, Mike got his chance to be a steelworker here, and provide for his own two young kids. So it's a generational thing, and I want to keep that going.
In my State of the Union address, I talked about how we created America's first manufacturing innovation institute right here in Ohio. Marcy Kaptur has been a big proponent of this, because she knows how important manufacturing is. I want to create more of them — places where businesses are working with universities and they're partnering to figure out what are the new manufacturing techniques that keep us at the cutting edge so that China or Germany don't get ahead of us in terms of the equipment that's being invested. We want to be at the cutting edge, so what we're producing is always the best steel, it's always the best cars. But that requires research and investment.
And your Senator, Sherrod Brown, helped us to create that first manufacturing hub in Youngstown. And he's now leading a bipartisan effort — (applause) — he's now leading a bipartisan effort with Senator Blunt of Missouri to move more of these manufacturing innovation hubs all across the country. And Congress should pass Sherrod's bill. We should be doing everything we can to guarantee the next revolution in manufacturing happens right here in Cuyahoga, happens right here in Ohio, happens right here in America. (Applause.)
And let me make one last point. We have to do everything we can to make sure every American has access to quality, affordable health care, period. (Applause.) You may have read we had some problems last month with websites. I'm not happy about that. And then I had a press conference today and I said, you know what, we fumbled the ball in terms of the rollout.
But we always knew this was going to be hard. There's a reason why folks had tried to do it for 100 years and hadn't done it. And it's complicated. There are a lot of players involved. The status quo is entrenched. And so, yes, there's no question the rollout on the Affordable Care Act was much tougher than we expected. But I want everybody here to understand, I am going to see this through. (Applause.) I want millions of Americans to make sure that they're not going broke when they get sick and they can go to a doctor when their kids get sick. And we're not apologizing for that. We are going to get this done. (Applause.)
So we're going to get the website working the way it's supposed to. The plans are already out there that are affordable and people can get tax credits. We're going to help folks whose old plans have been canceled by the insurers — many of them weren't very good — and we're going to make sure that they can get newer, better options.
But we're not going to go back to the old system, because the old system was broken. And every year, thousands of Americans would get dropped from coverage or denied their medical history or exposed to financial ruin. You guys are lucky that you work at a company with a strong union that gives you good health benefits. (Applause.) But you know friends and family members who don't have it, and you know what it's like when they get sick. You know how scary it is for them when they get sick. Or some of them have health insurance — they think they do — and they get sick, and suddenly the insurance company says, oh, I'm sorry, you owe $50,000. That's not covered. Or they jack up your premium so you can't afford it because you had some sort of preexisting condition. That happens every day.
So we're not going to let that happen. We're not going to let folks who pay their premiums on time get jerked around. And we're not going to walk away from the 40 million Americans without health insurance. (Applause.) We are not going to gut this law. We will fix what needs to be fixed, but we're going to make the Affordable Care Act work. And those who say they're opposed to it and can't offer a solution, we'll push back. (Applause.)
I got to give your Governor a little bit of credit. John Kasich, along with a lot of state legislators who are here today, they expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. And think about that. Just that one step means as many as 275,000 Ohioans are going to have health insurance. And it doesn't depend on a website. That's already happening because of the Affordable Care Act. (Applause.)
And I think it's fair to say that the Governor didn't do it because he just loves me so much. (Laughter.) We don't agree on much, but he saw, well, this makes sense — why wouldn't we do this? Why wouldn't we make sure that hundreds of thousands of people right here in Ohio have some security? It was the right thing to do. And, by the way, if every Republican governor did what Kasich did here rather than play politics about it, you'd have another 5.4 million Americans who could get access to health care next year, regardless of what happens with the website. That's their decision not to do it. And it's the wrong decision. They've got to go ahead and sign folks up.
So the bottom line is sometimes we just have to set aside the politics and focus on what's good for people. What's good to grow our middle class? What's going to help keep plans like this growing? What's going to make sure we're putting more people back to work? What's going to really make a difference in terms of our kids getting a great education?
And, look, we've done it before. That's the good news. The good news is that America is — look, we make mistakes. We have our differences. Our politics get screwed up sometimes. Websites don't work sometimes. (Laughter.) But we just keep going. We didn't become the greatest nation on Earth by accident. We did it because we did what it took to make sure our families could succeed, make sure our businesses could succeed, make sure our communities could succeed. And if you don't believe me, listen to one of your coworkers.
So Sherrod Brown, earlier this year, brought a special guest along with him to the State of the Union address — one of your coworkers, Cookie Hall. Where's Cookie? Is Cookie here?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: No, she's back at the hall.
THE PRESIDENT: She's back at the hall working. (Laughter.) Well, let me say something nice about her behind her back. (Laughter.) So Cookie said, one of — let me make sure I can find this. She said — that night she said, "If I get a chance to meet President Obama, I'll tell him my greatest pride is in our 2012 production record at Cleveland Works. We're the most productive steelworkers in the world." (Applause.) More than a ton of steel produced for every single one of the workers at this plant. That's pretty good. That's pretty good. (Applause.)
So all of you are an example of what we do when we put our minds to it. This plant was closed for a while. We go through hard times. And a lot of our friends are still going through hard times. But when we work at it, we know we can get to a better place, and we can restore some security to a middle class that was forged in plants just like this one, and keep giving ladders of opportunity for folks who were willing to work hard to get into the middle class. That's what I'm about. That's what this plant is about. I'm proud to be with you.
And as long as I have the honor of being your President, I'm going to be waking up every single day thinking about how I can keep on helping folks like the ones who work in this plant. (Applause.)
God bless you. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
by bonniekgoodman on November 14, 2013 • Permalink
Posted in Economy, Energy Policy, Health Care, Obama Administration, Obamacare, Political Speeches & Documents, President Barack Obama
Tagged ArcelorMittal Cleveland Steel Factory, Barack Obama, Cleveland, Economy, Energy Production, Ohio
Posted by bonniekgoodman on November 14, 2013
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/full-text-obama-presidency-november-14-2013-president-barack-obamas-speech-on-the-economy-in-cleveland-ohio/
Election 2012 November 6, 2012: Election Day: Mitt Romney Still Campaigning, Barack Obama to Play Basketball
Election Day: Romney Still Campaigning, Obama to Play Basketball
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
The costliest election in United States history is also one of the closest, as polls open Tuesday and the country finally picks its president after a long and divisive campaign.
After spending nearly $1 billion apiece, President Obama and Mitt Romney are today in much the same place they were months ago at the campaign's outset — the president leads his Republican challenger by so small a margin it is statistically insignificant in most places.
The tightness of the race was expressed at midnight, when the first town to open and close its polls — the tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, N.H. — evenly split its vote five to five.
On Tuesday, Romney will campaign up to the last minute, holding rallies in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and doing interviews with radio stations in Ohio and Virginia.
Obama, meanwhile, will remain in his home state of Illinois on Tuesday, doing some satellite television interviews and playing a game of basketball — an Election Day ritual….READ MORE
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Headlines, Campaign Trail, Election 2012, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Chicago, Cleveland, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Presidential Campaign, Presidential Election, Virginia
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/election-2012-november-6-2012-election-day-mitt-romney-still-campaigning-barack-obama-to-play-basketball/
Campaign Headlines November 5, 2012: Mitt Romney Adds Election Day Campaign Events
Mitt Romney Adds Election Day Campaign Events
Mitt Romney has been chanting "one more day" all day Monday on the stump, but as it turns out, he will campaign for yet another day: Tuesday, Election Day.
A campaign official said Monday that after Romney votes in his hometown of Belmont, Mass., Tuesday morning he will head to two swing states, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The stops will be in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. It was not immediately clear how many events would be held in each state or what kind of events they will be….READ MORE
Posted in Campaign 2012, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Election Day, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Pennsylvania, US Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/campaign-headlines-november-5-2012-mitt-romney-adds-election-day-campaign-events/
Full Text Campaign Buzz November 2, 2012: President Barack Obama's Speeches at Campaign Event in Springfield & Hilliard, Ohio
Remarks by the President in Springfield, OH
Remarks by the President to Overflow Crowd — Springfield, OH
Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event — Hilliard, OH
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Hilliard, Ohio, Springfield, US Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/full-text-campaign-buzz-november-2-2012-president-barack-obamas-speeches-at-campaign-event-in-springfield-hilliard-ohio/
Campaign Headlines October 29, 2012: Mitt Romney Urges Supporters to Persuade Democrats at Ohio Campaign Rally
In Ohio, Romney Urges Supporters to Persuade Democrats
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan wrapped up a three-stop bus tour of the Northwestern part of Ohio on Sunday, striking a bipartisan tone with the top of the ticket urging the crowd to talk to their friends who may have cast a ballot for a Democrat in the past.
"Your friends may have voted last time, perhaps in the Democratic primary, they may have voted for who knows? They may have voted for Hillary Clinton or they may have voted for Barack Obama, they may have voted for then-candidate Obama in the final election," Romney, standing next to his running mate, told the crowd of about 5,000.
"But I need you to convince them to vote for Paul Ryan and me and that's not always easy but you can ask them this question: you can say, 'Do you think everything's going just fine?,'" he asked, before telling the audience how to pitch his ticket to their friends….READ MORE
by bonniekgoodman on October 29, 2012 • Permalink
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Headlines, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Marion, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Paul Ryan, US Presidential Campaign
Posted by bonniekgoodman on October 29, 2012
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/campaign-headlines-october-29-2012-mitt-romney-urges-supporters-to-persuade-democrats-at-ohio-campaign-rally/
Full Text Campaign Buzz October 25, 2012: Mitt Romney's Speech at a Campaign Event in Worthington, Ohio — It's Time For A Big Change
Romney Offers a 'Big Change' in November
Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call
Kicking off a full day of campaigning across the crucial Buckeye State, Mitt Romney promised "big change" if voters push him to victory in November.
"This is a critical time for our country, and the choice of paths we choose will have an enormous impact," Romney began. "We have huge challenges: the debts I mentioned, the fact that our schools are underperforming, the fact that college kids getting out of school this year can't find jobs in half the cases, or jobs that are at college level. The fact that they have thousands and thousands of dollars in debt that's on their back they're going to have to be paying for."
"These challenges are big challenges," he said. "This election is therefore a big choice, and America wants to see big changes, and we're going to bring big changes to get America strong again!"…READ MORE
Mitt Romney: "It's Time For A Big Change"
Source: Mitt Romney Press, 10-25-12
"The President's campaign is slipping because he can't find an agenda. He's been looking for it. There are only 12 days left. He hasn't had a chance to defend or to describe it to the American people in our debates. And so the American people now have to recognize that given the big challenges we have and the big election we have, it's time for a big change. And Paul Ryan and I represent a big change for America." – Mitt Romney
Click Here To Watch Mitt Romney
MITT ROMNEY: "The President's campaign is slipping because he can't find an agenda. He's been looking for it. There are only 12 days left. He hasn't had a chance to defend or to describe it to the American people in our debates. And so the American people now have to recognize that given the big challenges we have and the big election we have, it's time for a big change. And Paul Ryan and I represent a big change for America. We're going to finally tackle the problems politicians have spoken about for years but haven't been willing to deal with. We're going to finally get America strong again with an economy to compete with anyone in the world. We're going to help America get good jobs and rising take-home pay."
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Change, Mitt Romney, Ohio, US Presidential Campaign, Worthington
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/full-text-campaign-buzz-october-25-2012-mitt-romneys-speech-at-a-campaign-event-in-worthington-ohio-its-time-for-a-big-change/
Full Text Campaign Buzz October 25, 2012: Mitt Romney's Speech at a Campaign Event in Cincinnati, Ohio — President Obama Can't Define What He Will Do To Make America Strong
Mitt Romney: President Obama Can't Define What He Will Do To Make America Strong
"For the last year, and four debates, three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, the President's been looking for a plan. He's been looking for some way to help the gentleman I spoke about, some way to help the 23 million people that are out of work. He hasn't been able to find a plan. He hasn't been able to define what he's going to do to make America strong going forward. I have." – Mitt Romney
MITT ROMNEY: "Now, for those of you in your 40s and 50s, who have always anticipated that these would be the high earning years, the most productive years, the years that you'd be able to put a little away for retirement or perhaps help your kids with college, and yet you're finding that's harder and harder to do because incomes have been going down at the same time prices have been going up for things like gasoline and health care and food. I was speaking with a gentleman just the other day, and he said that he used to have a job at $25 an hour plus benefits, and now he's only able to get a job at $9 an hour, and he wonders what's going to become of him, what's going to happen to his future. The President's campaign slogan is 'Forward.' To this gentleman, things don't feel like they're going forward; it feels more like backward. To 23 million Americans, it feels like backward, those that can't find good work. And so for the last — for the last year, and four debates, three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, the President's been looking for a plan. He's been looking for some way to help the gentleman I spoke about, some way to help the 23 million people that are out of work. He hasn't been able to find a plan. He hasn't been able to define what he's going to do to make America strong going forward. I have. I have a plan that will create 12 million jobs and rising take-home pay, and I'm going to help that man who needs that good job."
Tagged Battleground States, Cincinnati, Mitt Romney, Ohio, US Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/full-text-campaign-buzz-october-25-2012-mitt-romneys-speech-at-a-campaign-event-in-cincinnati-ohio-president-obama-cant-define-what-he-will-do-to-make-america-strong/
Full Text Campaign Buzz October 23, 2012: President Barack Obama & Joe Biden's Speeches at a Campaign Event in Triangle Park, Dayton, Ohio — Unite as Auto Champions in Ohio
Obama, Biden Unite as Auto Champions in Ohio
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
With debate season in the rearview mirror, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden united Tuesday in western Ohio, casting themselves as the only true champions of the state's resurgent auto industry in an effort to bolster their working-class vote.
The Democratic ticket triumphantly asserted that voters there understand better than any what the Obama-backed 2009 auto bailout meant for Ohio jobs. And they argued that no matter what Republican nominee Mitt Romney now says, his past opposition to the bailout is widely known.
"I hope I made clear that there's a big difference between me and Mitt Romney. And it's not just that he's got better hair," Obama joked about Monday night's final presidential debate….READ MORE
Remarks by the President and Vice President in Dayton, OH
Triangle Park
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello, Ohio! (Applause.) Hello, everybody back in the next county over there! What a great crowd! (Applause.)
Before I begin, I want you all to look at those two words: Vote Early. Do it now. (Applause.)
Wasn't the President great last night?
AUDIENCE: Yes!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Last night, we saw a Commander-in-Chief who is in command of the issues. You guys got to see what I see every day for the last four years, a President who clearly understands America's interest around the world and has the courage to pursue and protect those interests.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a man who's not only earned my respect and all those who work with him and all of you, but he's earned the respect of all the world leaders. (Applause.) Ladies and gentlemen, the Commander-in-Chief not only knows how to lead America, but this Commander-in-Chief is leading the world. (Applause.)
As my dad would say, this is a man with a steady hand and a clear vision; a man who leads not only by the example of our power, but by the power of America's example. This is a President who says what he means, means what he says, and does what he says. (Applause.)
This is a man the world relies on, and we rely on. And, boy, was the contrast clear last night. (Applause.) Whoa! Whoa! It wasn't even close, was it?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: No. (Laughter.) As the President pointed out last night, these debates have exposed that Governor Romney and Paul Ryan have a foreign policy right out of the '80s, a social policy out of the '50s, and an economic policy right out of the '20s. (Applause.) The differences in our policies and, I would submit to you, in our values, are profound, and the American people, after four debates, know it.
Ladies and gentlemen, that's why last night you saw Governor Romney rushing to agree with the President on Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria. He disavowed the foreign policy he's been running on for the past two years just like that. Even this one — this one amazed me. (Laughter.) This one amazed me. He even tried to rewrite the history of his position on rescuing the automobile industry. Whoa! (Laughter.) If I only knew he was ready to help back then. (Laughter.) If I only knew.
Look, half the time, I didn't know whether Governor Romney was there to debate Barack Obama or endorse Barack Obama. (Applause.) I mean, it's hard to tell.
But I have a message for the good governor. Governor, you can't run from the truth. You can't run from your record. You can't run from your policies.
Look at his policies — opposition to nuclear arms control agreements; wanting to keep 30,000 troops in Iraq; shredding regulations, which he commits to do, letting Wall Street gamble with our money again and letting banks write their own rules again; proposing over $2 trillion in new tax cuts for the wealthy while raising taxes on the middle class.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Folks, folks, we have seen this movie before and we know how it ends. It ends in a catastrophe for the middle class. It ends in the Great Recession of 2008. And the American people are not prepared to go back — and we're not either. (Applause.)
Folks, this President is leveling the playing field, getting the middle class back in the game. He knows how to build America, from the middle out. That's how you build America. (Applause.) And thanks to his leadership and the grit of the American people, America is coming back.
There is no quit in America. There never has been any quit in America. (Applause.) The American people know only one way forward — only one way — and that is forward. And together — together, ladies and gentlemen, all of us — even the 47 percent of us that Romney doesn't think matter — (applause) — we're moving forward. (Applause.) Regardless.
I've never met two guys who are more down on America. Every time they turn around, America is in decline; American people won't take responsibility. I don't know where they live. But it's not where we live. It's not who we are. (Applause.)
And, ladies and gentlemen, regardless of what our opponents say, what they try to paint, America is not in decline. Americans are not dependent people. We are strong. We're independent. We take responsibility. And I've got news for Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan — it's never, never, ever been a good bet to bet against the American people. Never. (Applause.)
So, ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming my friend, our President, Barack Obama. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Ohio! (Applause.) Are you fired up? (Applause.) Are you ready to go? (Applause.) I just want to make sure. Are you fired up?
THE PRESIDENT: Are you ready to go?
THE PRESIDENT: Before we get started, I want everybody to give a big round of applause to Joe Biden! (Applause.)
Now, first of all, you need to know Joe Biden is a man who is literally in love with a teacher. He doesn't just say, I love teachers — he's married to a teacher. (Applause.) But more importantly — I want everybody to understand this — I could not ask for a better partner than my Vice President, Joe Biden. (Applause.) There's nobody who knows more about foreign policy than my Vice President. There's nobody who gives me better advice than my Vice President. (Applause.) There's nobody who you'd rather have in a foxhole with you when it matters most than my Vice President. (Applause.) There's nobody who cares more about the middle class and fights harder for America than my Vice President. (Applause.)
I could not do what I do without him having my back every single day. So I want you to give him another big round of applause. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!
THE PRESIDENT: Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!
THE PRESIDENT: We've also got a great candidate for Congress — Sharon Neuhardt is here. Give her a big round of applause. (Applause.)
Now, two weeks, Ohio. Two weeks. Two weeks from today, Americans all across the country will step into the voting booth. But here in Ohio, you can vote early. (Applause.) Here in Ohio, you can vote right after this event. (Applause.) If you want to know where to vote, you go to Vote.BarackObama.com.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Is Biden going to be there?
THE PRESIDENT: He already voted — and he's proud of it. (Applause.) Anybody who is here who has not yet voted, I want you to go vote. Because you've got a very big choice to make. Not just a choice between two candidates or two parties — but two different visions for this country that we love.
Now, last night, we had our third debate. (Applause.) And I hope I made clear that there's a big difference between me and Mitt Romney. (Applause.) And it's not just that he's got better hair. (Laughter.) Because the greatest responsibility I have as President is to keep the American people safe. That's why I ended the war in Iraq, so we could go after the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. (Applause.) That's why, working with Joe Biden and our national security team, we've been able to decimate al Qaeda. That's why we were able to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. (Applause.) That's why we're now ending the war in Iraq — because after a decade of war, it's time to do some nation-building right here in Ohio, do some nation-building here in the United States of America. (Applause.)
In a world of new threats and challenges, America needs leadership that is strong and steady. Unfortunately, Governor Romney's foreign policy has been wrong and reckless. You heard him last night — he was all over the map.
During the debate, he said he didn't want more troops in Iraq. But he was caught on a video just a few months ago saying it was "unthinkable" not to leave 20,000 troops in Iraq. Those troops would still be there today instead of back home.
Last night, he claimed to support my plan to end the war in Afghanistan, but he opposed a timeline that would actually bring the rest of our troops home. Last night, he said taking out bin Laden was the right thing to do. Back in 2007, he said it wasn't worth "moving heaven and Earth" to catch one man.
Now, I recognize that — we must have some doctors in the house, because I've already heard people identify this condition. It's called Romnesia. (Laughter and applause.) And we had a severe case breaking out last night. (Laughter.) So I want to go over the symptoms with you because, Dayton, I sure don't want anybody to catch it here in Ohio. (Laughter.)
If you talk about how much you love teachers during a debate, but just a few weeks ago you said we shouldn't hire any more because it won't grow our economy — you might have Romnesia. (Applause.)
If you say you won't give a big tax cut to the wealthy, but you're on a video promising your tax cut would include the top 1 percent -– that sounds like a classic case of Romnesia. (Applause.)
If you say that you love American cars during a debate, you're a car guy, but you wrote an article titled, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" — you definitely have a case of Romnesia. (Applause.)
Last night, Governor Romney looked you right in the eye — looked me in the eye — and tried to pretend that he never said "let Detroit go bankrupt." Tried to pretend he meant the same thing I did when we intervened and worked to make sure that management and workers got together to save the U.S. auto industry — pretended like somehow I had taken his advice. (Laughter.)
The people don't forget. The people of Dayton don't forget.
THE PRESIDENT: The people of Ohio don't forget.
THE PRESIDENT: If Mitt Romney had been President when the auto industry was on the verge of collapse, we might not have an American auto industry today. We'd be buying cars from China instead of selling cars to China.
THE PRESIDENT: And you know how important that is to Ohio. The auto industry supports one in eight Ohio jobs. It's a source of pride to this state. It is a source of pride to our country. It's a source of pride to generations of workers. I refused to walk away from those workers. I bet on those workers. I refused to walk away from those jobs. I understood that Americans can compete. I wasn't about to let Detroit go bankrupt — or Toledo go bankrupt, or Lordstown go bankrupt. I bet on American workers. I bet on American manufacturing. I would do it again because that bet has paid off for Ohio and for America in a big way. (Applause.)
So here's the good news, Ohio. If you've come down with a case of Romnesia — (laughter) — if you can't seem to remember the positions that you've taken not just four years ago but four days ago, if you don't remember the positions that are on your website, if you don't remember the promises you've been making during the six years you've been running for President, you don't have to worry, because Obamacare covers preexisting conditions. (Applause.) We can fix you up! There's a cure! There's a cure! (Applause.) There's a cure, but you've got to vote to make sure that the medicine is there for Romnesia.
Now, we joke about Governor Romney being all over the map, but it speaks to something important — it speaks of trust. There's no more serious issue in a presidential campaign than trust. Trust matters. You want to know that the person who's applying to be your President and Commander-in-Chief is trustworthy, that he means what he says, that he's not just making stuff up depending on whether it's convenient or not.
So smart people who — they don't have a dog in this fight, they've crunched the numbers, and we know that Governor Romney's jobs plan doesn't really create jobs. We know his deficit plan doesn't really reduce the deficit. His foreign policy is from the 1980s, before the Cold War was over. His social policy is from the 1950s, and his economic policies are from the 1920s.
He knows he can't sell that even though those are his positions, so in the closing weeks of the campaign, he's doing everything he can to hide his true positions and tell us what he thinks you want to hear, and then spend most of his time telling you what he thinks is wrong with America. Joe Biden just talked about that, talking about America is in decline. He is terrific at making presentations about stuff he thinks is wrong with America. But he sure can't give you an answer about what will make it right. And that's not leadership that you can trust.
You know, Ohio, you know me. (Applause.) You know I mean what I say. (Applause.) You know that I do what I say I'm going to do. (Applause.) You know that I'll make the tough decisions even when they're not popular. Folks don't remember what we did with the auto industry — it wasn't popular when we did it. It wasn't even popular in Michigan and Ohio. But it was necessary. And because I had folks like Joe Biden with me who can support me when I make tough decisions, we went in and did what we thought was right. And I know people may not agree with every decision we make, but you know that I'm doing it because I am fighting for the American people. I'm doing what I believe. (Applause.)
That's what you need from a President. Yes, we've been through tough times, but there's no quit in America. Our businesses have added more than 5 million new jobs over the past two and a half years. Manufacturing is growing faster than any time since the 1990s. Our unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since I took office. Home values are rising. The stock market has rebounded. Our assembly lines are humming again. Our heroes are coming home. (Applause.) We are moving forward.
Four years ago I promised to cut taxes for middle-class families, and I kept that promise. I promised to cut taxes for small businesses. We have, 18 times. We got back every dime we used to rescue the banks, with interest. (Applause.) And then we passed a law to end taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts for good. We repealed "don't ask, don't tell," because anybody who wants to serve in our military — (applause) — if they're a great soldier or Marine or airman or Coast Guardsman, then they should be able to serve regardless of who they love. (Applause.)
We saved an American auto industry. It's engines are roaring at full throttle with nearly 250,000 new jobs. That's not just something that the Midwest can be proud of, that's something America can be proud of.
Now, we know we're not where we need to be — not here, not anywhere — but we've made real progress. We've got to build on that progress. We can't go back to what got us into this mess. We need to move forward with what's getting us out of this mess, and that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Now, last night and throughout this campaign I've laid out a plan for jobs and middle class security. Unlike, Mitt Romney, I'm proud to talk about what's in my plan — because, first of all, the math actually adds up. My plan will actually move America forward. It's not just a sales job. It's not a sketchy deal. It's not the okeydoke. (Laughter.) If you want to take a look, check it out at BarackObama.com/plans. Share it with your friends. Share it with your neighbors. Share it with your coworkers.
There are still some people out there trying to make up their minds. Some of you here may still be trying to make up your mind.
THE PRESIDENT: I'm just saying somebody might have just been taking a nice walk on a beautiful day — (laughter) — and suddenly found themselves in the middle of an Obama rally. And if that's what happened to you, I want you to look at our plan. Compare it to Governor Romney's plan. See which plan you think is better for you and for America's future.
Well, he says he's got a plan. He's got a one-point plan.
But I want to talk about what's in my plan just so everybody knows exactly what I intend to do over the next four years — because I do what I say I'm going to do. First, my plan builds on our manufacturing base by extending — by making sure that we're ending tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to give those tax breaks to small business and manufacturers that create jobs right here in Dayton, right here in the United States of America. That's what I want to do. (Applause.)
Number two, my plan cuts our oil imports in half by 2020, so we control more of our own energy. You may have heard me say this — today we're less dependent on foreign oil than any time in the last two decades. And one of the reasons is because we've increased fuel standards on cars and trucks, so you go twice as far on a gallon of gas. And I want to build on that progress. I don't want fuel-efficient cars and long-lasting batteries and wind turbines all made in China. I want them manufactured right here in the United States of America. And we can do that. (Applause.)
Number three, my plan is going to make it a national mission to educate our kids and train our workers so that we can compete with anybody in the world. I want to recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next decade; train 2 million workers at community colleges with the skills that businesses are looking for right now. There are jobs to be had right now, but the workers have to be able to get the training for them. I want to make sure colleges and universities keep tuition low so our young people can get a college education without being loaded up with debt. We can do that. (Applause.)
Number four, my plan will cut our deficit by $4 trillion — it actually adds up. We can do the math on the website. And the plan, we'll do it in a balanced way over the next 10 years. I'll cut spending we don't need, but we're also going to have to ask the wealthiest among us to do a little bit more. Because that will allow us to invest in research and technology to keep new jobs coming, to keep new businesses coming here to America. (Applause.)
And I'll never balance the deficit by turning Medicare into a voucher. (Applause.) No American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of an insurance company.
And finally, my plan says let's take the savings from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and let's put some people back to work right here at home, doing some nation-building — repairing roads, fixing bridges, remodeling schools, laying down broadband lines, making our economy more competitive.
And when our veterans come home, let's put them back to work in some of these jobs. Let's make sure we're serving them as well as they've served us. Governor Romney did not even mention our veterans last night.
THE PRESIDENT: Not a word. Not a word. He may have already written off half the country behind closed doors, but the men and women and their families who have served our country so bravely, that Joe and I talk to almost every day and we see the sacrifices they're making, they deserve better from somebody who's applying to be Commander-in-Chief. We're fighting for them every single day. (Applause.)
So Ohio, that's the plan we need. That's what will create jobs. That's how you build a strong, sustainable economy that good, middle-class jobs have to offer. That's how you encourage businesses to start here in America. That's how you increase take-home pay, not just by talking about it. That's how you build an economy where everybody who works hard has a chance to get ahead. We don't build the economy from the top down. We build it from the middle up.
And now it's up to you — right here, right now. You've got to decide which path we're going to take. You can choose the top-down policies that got us into this mess, or you can choose the policies that we are promoting that will get us out of this mess. (Applause.) You can choose a foreign policy that's reckless and wrong — or you can choose the foreign policy that Joe and I have been applying that's steady and strong.
You can choose to turn back the clock 50 years for women, and immigrants, and gays, or you can say, in this election, we believe that everybody has got a place in America. We want to make sure everybody has got opportunity. No matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, no matter who you love, here in America, you can make it if you try. (Applause.)
So I'm asking for your vote. I'm asking you to help me finish the job. I believe in you, and I need you to keep believing in me. And if you stand with me, and knock on some doors with me, make some phone calls for me, we'll win Montgomery County again. We'll win Ohio again. (Applause.) We'll win this election again. We'll finish what we started. We'll remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.)
God bless you, Ohio. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
Tagged Barack Obama, Dayton, Industry, Joe Biden, Ohio, Triangle Park, US Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/full-text-campaign-buzz-october-23-2012-president-barack-obama-joe-bidens-speeches-at-a-campaign-event-in-triangle-park-dayton-ohio-unite-as-auto-champions-in-ohio/
Campaign Headlines October 18, 2012: Bruce Springsteen Joins Bill Clinton, Rallies Ohio Voters for President Barack Obama
Bruce Springsteen Joins Bill Clinton, Rallies Ohio Voters for Obama
Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage
Bruce Springsteen stepped out of the shadows on the edge of the campaign to join former president Bill Clinton at a rally for President Obama Thursday in Ohio, telling supporters America needs a leader "who has a vision that includes all our citizens, not just some."
"The forces of our opposition have been tireless," Springsteen said, before thanking Obama for health care reform, "a more regulated Wall Street," and the fact that "GM is still making cars."
"Without them, what would I write about?" he asked with a smile. "I'd have no job."…READ MORE
Posted in Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Campaign 2012, Campaign Headlines, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Bruce Springsteen, Cleveland, Ohio, Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/campaign-headlines-october-18-2012-bruce-springsteen-joins-bill-clinton-rallies-ohio-voters-for-president-barack-obama/
Campaign Headlines October 17, 2012: Condoleezza Rice Joins Paul Ryan on the Campaign Trail at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio
Condoleezza Rice Joins Paul Ryan on the Campaign Trail
STAN HONDA/AFP/GettyImages
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined Paul Ryan on the campaign trail Wednesday, marking the first time she's hit the trail for the Romney ticket since she fired up the crowd with a speech at the Republican National Convention in August.
"It doesn't matter where you came from, it matters where you are going" was her message in this battleground state of Ohio, inferring that the president, whom she never mentioned by name, is not someone who's offering the right direction for the country.
"As important as it is for us to pay our bills and not take on debt that we can't afford, as important as it is to get people back to work, as important as it is to give people a sense of hope again, I want to make another argument to you," Rice said, speaking to a crowd of over 1,000 at Baldwin Wallace University….READ MORE
Posted in Bush Presidency, Campaign 2012, Campaign Headlines, Campaign Trail, Foreign Policy, General Election 2012, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Baldwin Wallace University, Battleground State, Condoleezza Rice, Former Secretary of State, Ohio, Paul Ryan
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/campaign-headlines-october-17-2012-condoleezza-rice-joins-paul-ryan-on-the-campaign-trail-at-baldwin-wallace-university-in-ohio/
Full Text Campaign Buzz October 17, 2012: Paul Ryan's Speech at a Campaign Event in Berea, Ohio — We Need Proactive, Pro-Growth Solutions To Get Our Economy Turned Around
Paul Ryan: We Need Proactive, Pro-Growth Solutions To Get Our Economy Turned Around
"Twenty-six million women are trapped in poverty today. That's the highest rate in 17 years. We need to get people back to work. We need to get this economy turned around." – Paul Ryan
Click Here To Watch Paul Ryan
PAUL RYAN: "And look at where we are right now: 23 million Americans struggling to find work.
You know, we had a discussion about how women are faring in this economy last night. Five-and-a-half million women are still struggling for work in this economy. A half-million women more are unemployed today than when President Obama was sworn in. Twenty-six million women are trapped in poverty today. That's the highest rate in 17 years. We need to get people back to work. We need to get this economy turned around. The American idea is there. It hasn't gone away. But we have the wrong people and the wrong policies in place, and if we clear the way and go forward with the proactive, pro-growth solutions in the agenda that Mitt Romney is talking about, we will get people back to work. We will get people out of poverty, back in the middle class, we'll get back onto reaching their vision of the American dream."
Posted in Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Berea, Economy, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/full-text-campaign-buzz-october-17-2012-paul-ryans-speech-at-a-campaign-event-in-berea-ohio-we-need-proactive-pro-growth-solutions-to-get-our-economy-turned-around/
Campaign Headlines October 17, 2012: Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Campaign in Swing States After Second Presidential Debate
Obama and Romney Hit Swing States After Debate
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
President Obama, Mitt Romney, and their surrogates are back on the road Wednesday, fanning out across battleground states, following Tuesday night's debate in New York.
Obama is in Iowa for an afternoon rally before flying into the Buckeye state to speak with supporters at Ohio University in Athens.
Romney will spend the day in Virginia, making stops in Chesapeake and Leesburg….READ MORE
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Headlines, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaigns & Elections
Tagged Barack Obama, Iowa, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Swing States, US Presidential Campaign, Virginia
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/campaign-headlines-october-17-2012-barack-obama-and-mitt-romney-campaign-in-swing-states-after-second-presidential-debate/
Legal Buzz October 16, 2012: Supreme Court Rules in Obama Campaign's Favor Ohio Early Voting Case
LEGAL BUZZ
COURT AND LEGAL NEWS:
Obama Campaign Scores in Ohio Early Voting Case
The Obama campaign scored a legal victory Tuesday when the Supreme Court declined to step in and allow Ohio's early in-person voting limitation to take effect.
After two lower federal courts ruled in favor of the Obama campaign and enjoined the law, Ohio's Republican leaders had appealed their case to the Supreme Court.
But in a one-sentence order Tuesday, the Court declined Ohio's appeal. There were no noted dissents….READ MORE
Posted in Campaign 2012, Campaign Headlines, Elections, General Election 2012, Legal & Court News, Legal Buzz, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, Supreme Court of the United States, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Early Voting, Ohio, Republicans, Supreme Court of the United States
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/legal-buzz-october-16-2012-supreme-court-rules-in-obama-campaigns-favor-ohio-early-voting-case/
Campaign Headlines October 15, 2012: Paul Ryan Tells Ohio Voters They Have a 'Responsibility' to Talk to '08 Obama Voters
Ryan Tells Ohio Voters They Have a 'Responsibility' to Talk to '08 Obama Voters
J.D. Pooley/Getty Image
Paul Ryan made a quick stop Monday in the crucial state of Ohio to remind supporters of their "responsibility" to talk to friends who voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but now "just aren't as impressed," and get them to turn out for Mitt Romney.
"You know, you have a big say-so," Ryan told the crowd of several hundred at a Cincinnati air field. "You know, you're the battleground state of battleground states. You understand your responsibility, right? You understand your opportunity, right? That means you have within your control, your ability to go find those people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 … who heard the hope and the change and loved the promises, all these great speeches, but see that this is nothing but a failed agenda of broken promises, of hollow rhetoric."…READ MORE
Posted in Campaign 2012, Campaign Headlines, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Mitt Romey, Ohio, Paul Ryan
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/campaign-headlines-october-15-2012-paul-ryan-tells-ohio-voters-they-have-a-responsibility-to-talk-to-08-obama-voters/
Full Text Campaign Buzz October 13, 2012: Mitt Romney's Speech at a Campaign Event in Portsmouth, Ohio — The President Has Failed to Stop China From Cheating
Mitt Romney: The President Has Failed to Stop China From Cheating
"Over the past several years the President has failed to call China a currency manipulator. He had the occasion on Friday to come out with that official designation. You know what they said? 'We're not going to make any determination until after the election.' Let me tell you, on day one of my administration I will label China a currency manipulator." – Mitt Romney
MITT ROMNEY: "We want to make sure that when people cheat, when they don't follow the rules in trade, we finally hold them accountable. It's time for us to stand up to China for their cheating. It's got to stop. The President had an opportunity, was required, as of last Friday to officially designate whether China is a currency manipulator. Let me tell you what that means, by the way. When a country artificially holds down the value of their currency, it means that the products that they sell to us are artificially cheap. And that means that American companies that are making these similar products, they go out of business if their Chinese products are so much cheaper than the real costs behind them. And yet over the past several years the President has failed to call China a currency manipulator. He had the occasion on Friday to come out with that official designation. You know what they said? 'We're not going to make any determination until after the election.' Let me tell you, on day one of my administration I will label China a currency manipulator."
Posted in Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, Foreign Policy, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged China, Currency, Economy, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Portsmouth, US Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/full-text-campaign-buzz-october-13-2012-mitt-romneys-speech-at-a-campaign-event-in-portsmouth-ohio-the-president-has-failed-to-stop-china-from-cheating/
Full Text Campaign Buzz October 9, 2012: President Barack Obama's Speech at a Campaign Event at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio — Urges College Kids to Register to Vote
Obama Urges College Kids to Register to Vote
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GettyImages
President Obama made an urgent push to get out the vote in the key battleground state of Ohio Tuesday, urging 15,000 supporters to register before time ran out.
"Today is the last day you can register. Now, I know it's easy to procrastinate in college. I procrastinated a lot," the president jokingly told students at the Ohio State University. "You've got until 9 p.m. tonight. No extensions. No excuses. I know you guys are up at 9 p.m. As you get older, you start thinking about sleeping around 9 p.m., but you guys are just getting started."…READ MORE
Remarks by the President at Campaign Event at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Source: WH, 10-9-12
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Buckeyes! (Applause.) O-H!
AUDIENCE: I-O!
THE PRESIDENT: O-H!
AUDIENCE: I-Q!
THE PRESIDENT: Well, can everybody please give Sonia a big round of applause for that great introduction? (Applause.) And it is good to see my friend and one of the finest United States senators we've got today — your Senator, Sherrod Brown, is in the house. (Applause.) Your Mayor, Michael Coleman, is here. (Applause.) Your next congresswoman, Joyce Beatty, is here. (Applause.)
will.i.am is in the house. (Applause.) A man who sometimes looks like he's been to outer space. (Laughter.) I am so grateful — he has been such a great friend for a long time. And we also have a man who has actually been to outer space — John Glenn in the house! (Applause.)
Now, before I begin, Buckeyes, I've got a question for you — are you registered to vote?
THE PRESIDENT: Because if you're not, today is the last day you can register. Now, I know it's easy to procrastinate in college. I procrastinated a lot. But we've made it easy. You go to Vote.BarackObama.com to register yourself. And you've got until 9:00 p.m. tonight. No extensions. No excuses. I know you guys are up at 9:00 p.m. (Laughter.) As you get older you start thinking about sleeping around 9:00 p.m., but you guys are just getting started.
If you are registered, you can vote right now, today. Just go to Vote.BarackObama.com to find out where. All right? (Applause.) All right?
AUDIENCE: All right!
THE PRESIDENT: All right. Now, even better, grab your friends, grab everybody in your dorm, grab your fraternity or sorority — (applause) — join will.i.am right after this event because he's heading to an early vote location where you can register and vote in the same place right now. (Applause.) There are buses around the corner that can get you there and back. So don't wait. Do not delay. Go vote today. What do you think? (Applause.)
All right, Buckeyes, we need you. (Applause.) We need you fired up —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back, but I need you voting. (Applause.) I need you fired up. I need you ready to go to vote. Because we've got some work to do. We've got an election to win. Everything that we fought for in 2008 is on the line in 2012. And I need your help to finish what we started.
Four years ago, I told you I'd end the war in Iraq — and we did. (Applause.) I said I'd end the war in Afghanistan — and we are. (Applause.) I said we'd refocus on the people who actually attacked us on 9/11 — and today, Osama bin Laden is dead. (Applause.)
Four years ago, I promised to cut taxes for middle class families — and we have, by $3,600. (Applause.) I promised to cut taxes for small business owners — and we have, 18 times. We got back every dime we used to rescue the banks, and we also passed a law to end taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts permanently. (Applause.)
We passed health care reform — also known as Obamacare, because I do care — (applause) — I don't want insurance company jerking you around anymore. (Applause.) I don't want somebody without health care when they've got a preexisting condition.
We repealed "don't ask, don't tell" as I promised we would. (Applause.) Today no outstanding soldier or Marine or Coast Guardsman, sailor, airman — none of them can be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love. (Applause.)
And when you think about, Ohio, when Governor Romney said that we should just let the auto industry go bankrupt, we said no, we're not going to take your advice.
THE PRESIDENT: Don't boo — vote. (Applause.)
And we reinvented a dying auto industry that supports 1 in 8 Ohio jobs and has come roaring back to the top of the world. (Applause.)
Four years after the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, our businesses have created more than 5 million new jobs. This past Friday, we found out that the unemployment rate had fallen from a high of 10 percent down to 7.8 percent — the lowest level since I took office. (Applause.) Manufacturing is coming back to America. Home values are back on the rise.
Now, we're not there yet. We've still got too many Americans who are looking for work and too many families who can't pay the bills. There are too many homes that are still underwater and there are too many young people who are burdened by too much debt after they graduate.
But if there's one thing I know, Ohio, it's this — we have come too far to turn back now. The American people have worked too hard. And the last thing we can afford to do right now is to go back to the very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. I cannot allow that to happen. I will not allow it to happen. That's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Over the last four years, I've seen a lot of folks hurting. I've seen a lot of struggle. And I am not going to make — I'm not going to have us go back to another round of top-down economics. But that's what my opponent is offering. The centerpiece of Governor Romney's economic plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut that favors the wealthiest Americans. He has been pitching that plan for an entire year, stood up onstage in one of his primary debates, proudly promised that his tax cuts would include the "top 1 percent."
But most of the economists who've actually crunched the numbers said that paying for Governor Romney's tax plan either means blowing up the deficit or raising taxes on middle-class families — one or the other, pick your poison.
Then, last week, Mitt Romney actually said, "There's no economist who can say Mitt Romney's tax plan adds $5 trillion if I say I will not add to the deficit with my tax plan." So he said if he says it's not true, then it's not true. (Laughter.) Okay.
So if it's true that it's not going to add to the deficit, that leaves only one option — and that's asking middle-class families to foot the bill by getting rid of the deductions they rely on for owning a home or raising their kids or sending them to college.
And as it turns out, most folks don't like that idea, either. So just last week when we were onstage together, Governor Romney decided that instead of changing his plan, he'd just pretend it didn't exist. (Laughter.) What $5 trillion tax cut? I don't know anything about a $5 trillion tax cut. Pay no attention to that tax cut under the carpet, behind the curtain. (Laughter.)
When he's asked how he'll cut the deficit, he says he can make the math work by eliminating local public funding for PBS.
THE PRESIDENT: Now, by the way, this is not new. This is what he's been saying every time he's asked the question — well, we can cut out PBS. So for all you moms and kids out there, don't worry — somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. (Laughter.) Who knew that he was driving our deficit? (Laughter.) So we're going — he's decided we're going after Big Bird and Elmo is making a run for the border and Oscar is hiding out in a trash can. (Laughter.) And Governor Romney wants to let Wall Street run wild again, but he's going to bring down the hammer on Sesame Street. (Laughter.)
Look, that is not leadership — that's salesmanship. We can't afford it. We can't afford to double down on top-down economics. We can't afford another round of tax cuts for the wealthy. We can't afford to roll back regulations on Wall Street banks or on insurance companies. We can't afford to gut our investments in education or clean energy or research or technology. (Applause.) That is not a jobs plan. That is not a plan to grow the economy. That is not change. That is a relapse.
We have been there. We have tried that. We are not going back. We are moving forward. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Look, we've got a different view about how you create jobs and prosperity in America. A strong economy doesn't trickle down from the top. It grows from a thriving middle class and folks who are working hard to get into the middle class.
I believe it's time our tax code stopped rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas. Let's reward small businesses and manufacturers who are making products right here in Ohio, products stamped with three proud words: "Made In America." That's the choice in this election. (Applause.)
I believe we can create more jobs by controlling more of our own energy. And after 30 years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, your cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. (Applause.) And today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in two decades.
So now it's time to move forward. My plan would cut our oil imports in half, and invest in the clean energy that's creating thousands of jobs all across Ohio and America right now — not just oil and natural gas, but solar and wind and clean coal technology and fuel-efficient batteries and fuel-efficient cars. (Applause.)
And I'm not going to let oil companies continue to collect another $4 billion in taxpayer-funded corporate welfare every single year. I'm not going to let China win the race for clean energy technology. I want to see that technology developed by students and scientists here in Columbus, by workers and farmers all across Ohio, by patriots here in the United States of America. (Applause.)
And my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet, because climate change is not a hoax. More draught and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They're a threat to your future. And we've got to make sure that we meet the moment. That's why I'm running.
I believe that we should have the best education system in the world, bar none. (Applause.) I would not be here if it were not for the education I was able to receive. I didn't come from wealth or fame, but I got a great education because that's what this country does. It was the gateway of opportunity for Michelle. It's the gateway of opportunity for so many of you.
And now you've got a choice. We can gut education to pay for Governor Romney's tax cuts — that's exactly what his running mate, Paul Ryan, proposes.
THE PRESIDENT: Don't boo — vote. (Laughter.)
Or we can do what I've proposed — recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers. (Applause.) Focus on early childhood education. Provide job training for 2 million workers at our community colleges. Cut the growth of tuition costs in half so that you guys are not loaded up with debt when you graduate. That is something we can do. (Applause.)
And by the way, I don't just talk the talk on this; I walk the walk. We took $60 billion that was going to banks and lenders under the student loan program, and we said let's cut out the middleman, let's give the money directly to students. And as a consequence, millions of young people all across the country are getting better deals on Pell grants. We're able to keep our student loan rates low. We have focused on this, and you need to focus on this in this next election because this is part of the choice that you're going to face. (Applause.)
And we can meet these goals together. You can choose a better future for America. I want to use the money we're saving from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I want to use that to pay down our deficit, but also to put people back to work rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our schools all across America. (Applause.)
And Governor Romney said it was "tragic" to end the war in Iraq. I disagree. I think bringing our troops home to their families was the right thing to do. (Applause.) If he'd gotten his way, those troops would still be there. In a speech yesterday, he doubled down on that belief. He said ending that war was a mistake. After nine years of war, more than $1 trillion in spending, extraordinary sacrifices by our men and women in uniform and their families, he said we should still have troops on the ground in Iraq.
Ohio, you can't turn a page on the failed policies of the past if you're promising to repeat them. We cannot afford to go back to a foreign policy that gets us into wars with no plan to end them. We're moving forward, not going back. (Applause.)
And every brave American who wears the uniform of this country should know as long as I'm your Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known. (Applause.) And when our troops take off the uniform, we will serve them as well as they've served us because nobody who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home. (Applause.)
And finally, I'll cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years. I've already worked with the Republicans and Democrats to cut a trillion dollars in spending, and I'm ready to do more. But we can't just cut our way to prosperity. We're not going to get this done unless we also ask the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on their incomes over $250,000. And that rate is the one that was in place when Bill Clinton was President — our economy created 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, a whole lot of millionaires to boot.
Governor Romney said it's fair that he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or autoworker who makes $50,000. He is wrong. 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. (Applause.)
I refuse to pay for that tax cut by asking you, students, to pay more for college, or kicking kids out of Head Start programs, or eliminating health care for millions of Americans who are poor or disabled or elderly. And that's the choice that we face in this election. That's what the election comes down to.
Over and over, we've been told by Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan and their allies in Congress that since government can't do everything, it should do almost nothing. If you can't afford health insurance, hope you don't get sick. If a company releases pollution into the air that your kids breathe, that's just the price of progress. If you can't afford to start a business or go to college, just borrow money from your parents.
You know what, that's not who we are. That's not what this country is about. Here in America, we believe that we're all in this together. We understand that America is not about what can be done for us — it's about what can be done by us, together, as one nation and as one people. (Applause.)
And that's what we understood in 2008. That was an amazing experience for me, obviously, that election. But I said then and I still believe now that wasn't about me; it was about you.
You're the reason a mother in Cincinnati doesn't have to worry about an insurance company denying her son coverage just because he got sick. You made that happen. You're the reason a factory worker who lost his job in Toledo or Lordstown is back on the assembly line building the best cars in the world. You did that. (Applause.)
You're the reason a young man in Columbus whose mother worked three jobs to raise him can afford to go to The Ohio State University. That happened because of you. (Applause.)
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 –(applause) — why soldiers won't be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love. (Applause.) Why thousands of families have finally been able to say to loved ones who served us so bravely: "Welcome home." (Applause.)
You did that. And so if you buy into the cynicism that says change isn't possible, that the best we can do is more tax cuts for folks at the top and the rest of folks have to figure it out, if you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices fill the void — the lobbyists and the special interests, the people who write the $10 million checks to try to buy this election, or those who are trying to make it harder for people to vote, the Washington politicians who want to tell women what they're doing when it comes to health care choices when women are perfectly capable of making those choices themselves. (Applause.)
That's what's at stake. And only you can make sure that we move forward. Only you have that power to move us forward. We've always said that change — real change — takes time, more than one year, more than one term, even more than one President. It takes more than one party.
It can't happen if you're somebody who writes off half the nation before you even took office. (Applause.) And in — you know, it's interesting, in 2008, 47 percent of the country didn't vote for me. But on the night of the election, I said to those Americans, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices. I need your help. I'll be your President, too.
And, Columbus, I don't know how many folks will be around voting for me this time, but I can tell you I will be there no matter what. (Applause.) I'll be fighting for you no matter what — because I'm not fighting to create Democratic jobs or Republican jobs, I'm fighting to create American jobs. (Applause.) I'm not fighting to improve schools in red states or blue state, I'm fighting to improve schools it the United States. (Applause.)
The values that we are fighting for don't belong to one party or one group. They're not black or white, or Hispanic or Asian or Native America, or gay or straight, or disabled and not disabled — they are American values. They belong to all of us. (Applause.)
And I am absolutely positive that we are not as divided as our politics suggest. I still believe we've got more in common than our pundits tell us. I still believe in you. And I'm asking you to keep believing in me. (Applause.)
Ohio, I'm asking you for your vote. And if you're willing to stand with me and work with me, knock on some doors and make some phone calls for me, we'll win Franklin County again. We'll win Ohio again. We'll win this election again. We'll finish what we started, and we'll remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.)
Thank you, Ohio. Let's go vote. Let's go win this election! (Applause.)
by bonniekgoodman on October 9, 2012 • Permalink
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Columbus, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Ohio State University, US Presidential Campaign
Posted by bonniekgoodman on October 9, 2012
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/full-text-campaign-buzz-october-9-2012-president-barack-obamas-speech-at-a-campaign-event-at-the-ohio-state-university-columbus-ohio-urges-college-kids-to-register-to-vote/
Full Text Campaign Buzz September 26, 2012: President Barack Obama's Speech at a Campaign Event in Bowling Green, Ohio — Takes On Mitt Romney Over China and Jobs
In Ohio, Obama Takes On Romney Over China and Jobs
President Obama trumpeted his recently opened unfair-trade case against China in a bid to shore up support in Ohio before Election Day….READ MORE
Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event — Bowling Green, OH
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Falcons! (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. (Applause.) Now, let me begin by asking everybody to give Seth a big round of applause for that great introduction. (Applause.) I was backstage and I had trouble hearing — did he explain what was going on with his arm? So Seth was playing, I think — ultimate Frisbee, that's what it was. (Laughter.) He was playing ultimate Frisbee. He went up — he was going to make this amazing touchdown, and he had the Frisbee and somebody cut him under his legs, cut out from under him. It is clear replacement refs were in the game. (Laughter and applause.) He broke his wrist. He was supposed to get it set yesterday but he didn't want to miss this. (Applause.) So when he came up here, his wrist was not yet set, and he's going to have to go to the hospital afterwards to get his wrist set.
Now, I just want to make the point that if Seth can come up here with a broken wrist, then there is not a student here who cannot get registered and make sure they go to vote. (Applause.) No excuses. No excuses. You got to play through injuries, Falcons. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. I'm glad to be here. (Applause.)
Now, it's great to be here with your next Congresswoman, Angela Zimmann. (Applause.) I'm thrilled to be with all of you. And unless you live under a rock, or your cable is bust, you may have noticed that there's an election going on here in Ohio. By the way, those of you guys who have seats, feel free to sit down. I'm going to be talking for a while here. (Laughter.) And those of you who don't, make sure to bend your knees, because sometimes people faint, fall out — not because I'm so exciting, but just because you've been standing a long time. (Laughter.)
So there's an election going on here in Ohio, and in case you're wondering what kind of impact that's having, I was talking to my campaign manager; he was meeting with this couple who had this adorable four-year-old son named Sammy. And they were very proud that Sammy knew what was going on, and there was a picture of me up on the wall, and the parents said, "Who's that, Sammy?" And Sammy said, "That's Barack Obama." And then the parents asked, "And what does Barack Obama do?" And Sammy thinks for a second and he says, "He approves this message." (Laughter and applause.) True story. True story.
That's what I do. I approve this message. (Laughter.) And, Ohio, that's because, starting on October 2nd, which is just six days from now, you get to start voting. You get to have your say. (Applause.) You can register to vote all the way up until October 9th, but if you're already registered you can start voting in six days. And this is important, because you've got a big choice to make. And it's not just a choice between two parties or two candidates. It is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for America, two fundamentally different choices for our future.
My opponent and his running mate are big believers in top-down economics. They basically think that if we just spend another $5 trillion on tax cuts that favor the very wealthiest, then —
THE PRESIDENT: Don't boo, vote. Vote. (Applause.) Vote. Vote. (Applause.)
But their theory is, these tax cuts for the folks at the top, then prosperity and jobs will rain down on everybody else. The deficit will magically go away, and we will live happily ever after.
There's only one problem. We just tried this during the last decade, during the previous presidency. It didn't work. Top-down economics never works. The country doesn't succeed when only the rich get richer. We succeed when the middle class gets bigger — (applause) — when more people have a chance to get ahead, more people have a chance to live up to their God-given potential.
Look, I don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. (Applause.) And I've got to tell you, as I travel around Ohio and as I look out on this crowd, I don't see a lot of victims. I see hardworking Ohioans. That's what I see. (Applause.) We've got students who are trying to work their way through college. (Applause.) We've got single moms who are putting in overtime to raise their kids.
By the way, your outstanding president of this institution, Bowling Green — charming woman, really smart — (applause) — and there she is right there. We were talking because we both were raised by single moms, and she was telling the story about how her mom worked at a resort in West Virginia, but she was doing the hard work and ended up raising one college president and one federal judge.
That's what we believe about the economy — when you give folks a chance. I see in this audience senior citizens who have been saving for retirement their entire lives; veterans who served this country so bravely. (Applause.) Soldiers who are today defending our freedom. (Applause.)
Look, so let's just get something straight in case anybody is confused. We don't believe that anybody is entitled to success in this country. We don't believe government should be helping people who refuse to help themselves. But we do believe in something called opportunity. (Applause.) We do believe that hard work should pay off. We do believe in an America where everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody is playing by the same set of rules. (Applause.) We do believe in an America where no matter who you are, or what you look like, or what you're your last name is, or who you love, you can make it if you try. (Applause.)
That's the country I believe in. That's what I've been fighting for, for four years. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Now, I've got to say this. This country has gone through a very tough time, and we've still got a lot of folks who are hurting out there. And I'm not somebody who is coming here offering some easy, quick solutions. The truth is it's going to take more than a few years to solve the challenges that were building up over decades — jobs being shipped overseas; paychecks flat, even as costs of everything from college to health care were going up.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: — in Ohio.
THE PRESIDENT: That, too. (Applause.)
But here is what I want everybody to be confident about: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. We've still got the best workers in the world. We've got the best businesses in the world. We've got the best scientists in the world and researchers. We definitely have the best colleges and universities in the world. (Applause.)
So especially for the young people out here, I want you to understand, there is not a country on Earth that wouldn't gladly trade places with the United States of America. (Applause.)
But we've got work to do. We've got work to do. And the path I'm offering may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I'm putting forward a practical, five-point plan to create jobs and to grow the middle class, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation.
So just in case you guys missed the convention and — (laughter) — I know you didn't miss Michelle. (Applause.) Let me reprise what this plan consists of.
First, I want to export more products and outsource fewer jobs. (Applause.) When my opponent said we should just "let Detroit go bankrupt" —
THE PRESIDENT: Don't boo.
AUDIENCE: Vote!
THE PRESIDENT: Vote.
That would have meant walking away from an industry that supports one in eight Ohio jobs. It supports businesses in 82 of 88 Ohio counties. So when he said that, I said, no, I'm going to bet on America; I'm betting on American workers. I'm betting on American industry. (Applause.) And today, the American auto industry has come roaring back with nearly 250,000 new jobs. (Applause.)
And now you've got a choice. We can give more tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers, and create new jobs right here in the United States. (Applause.)
Now, I understand my opponent has been spending some time here in Ohio lately, and he's been talking tough on China. Have you been hearing this?
AUDIENCE: Yeah!
THE PRESIDENT: He's been talking tough on China. He says he's going to take the fight to them; he's going to go after these cheaters. And I've got to admit, that message is the better — is better than what he's actually done about this thing. (Laughter.) It sounds better than talking about all the years he spent profiting from companies that sent our jobs to China.
So when you hear this newfound outrage, when you see these ads he's running promising to get tough on China, it feels a lot like that fox saying, "You know, we need more secure chicken coops." (Laughter.) I mean, it's just not credible.
Now, Ohio, I'll tell you what I've done, because I'm not just talking the talk. I have woken up every single day doing everything I can to give American workers a fair shot in this global economy. (Applause.) So we've brought more trade cases against China in one term than the previous administration did in two — and, by the way, we've been winning those cases. We've stood up for autoworkers against unfair trade practices. When Governor Romney said stopping an unfair surge in Chinese tires would be bad for America, bad for our workers — we politely declined his advice. We went after China on that, and we got over 1,000 American workers back to work producing American tires. (Applause.)
So when you want — if you want to know who is going to actually fight for workers and fight for American jobs when it comes to trade, you can look at the records. You can look at who said what before election time. And right now, I am asking you to choose a better path than the one that my opponent is offering — one that helps big factories and small businesses double their exports; that sells more goods stamped with "Made in America" to the rest of the world. We can create one million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years with the right policies. That's what I'm fighting for. That's why I'm running for a second term as President. (Applause.) That's what's going to be important to Ohio.
Second part of the plan — I want us to control more of our own energy. After 30 years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, your cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. (Applause.) We've doubled the amount of renewable clean energy we generate from sources like wind and solar. (Applause.) There are thousands of Americans — including here in Ohio — who have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries. Today, America is less dependent on foreign oil than any time in nearly 20 years. (Applause.)
So now you've got a choice between a plan that builds on this progress, or a plan that reverses it like my opponent is suggesting. And this is a clear plan, because — a clear difference, because I will not let oil companies write this country's energies plan. (Applause.) And I want to stop oil companies collecting another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers. (Applause.)
We have a better plan. Let's take that money we're giving to companies that are already hugely profitable — every time you go to the pump, they're making money; they don't need a tax break. Let's use that money and invest in wind and solar and clean coal technology. (Applause.) Let's help farmers and scientists harness new biofuels to power our cars and our trucks. Let's put construction workers to work retrofitting homes and factories so they waste less energy. Let's develop 100-year supply of natural gas that's right beneath our feet. And if we do all these things, we can cut our oil imports even more — cut them in half by 2020, and support hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the process. That's why I'm running. That's what's going to be good for Ohio. (Applause.)
Number three — I want to give more Americans the chance to get the skills that they need to compete.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Apprenticeships!
THE PRESIDENT: That's a good idea. Education — it was my gateway to opportunity. That's the only reason I'm standing here. (Applause.) It was Michelle's path to opportunity. It's the path more than ever to a middle-class life. Today, millions of students are paying less for college because we took on a system that was wasting billions of dollars using banks and lenders and middlemen on the student loan process. We said let's give that money directly to students. And as a consequence, millions of students are getting more grants, and we kept interest rates on student loans low. All right? That's what we fought for. That's what we fought for. We already got that done. (Applause.)
So now you've got a choice, because my opponent, he would gut education to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy. That's one choice. That's door number one. Door number two — we can decide that the United States of America should never have a child's dreams deferred just because she's in an overcrowded classroom or a crumbling school or has outdated textbooks. No family should have to set aside an acceptance letter to a college like Bowling Green because they don't have the money. (Applause.)
No company should have to look for workers in China because they can't find workers with the right skills here in the United States. That's not the future that we want. (Applause.)
So, Ohio, I need your help because I want to recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers, and I want to improve early childhood education. (Applause.) I want to give 2 million more workers the chance to learn skills that they need at community colleges that will directly lead to a job. (Applause.)
And I want to work with college presidents to keep tuition costs down. We can cut in half the growth of tuition if we're focused on this. (Applause.) We can meet this goal. You can choose that future. That's why I'm running, because I want to make sure that the folks coming behind me have the same opportunities I had. That's what America is about. (Applause.)
Number four — I want to reduce the deficit without sticking it to the middle class. (Applause.) Now, I've already worked with Republicans in Congress to cut a trillion dollars in spending, and I'm willing to do more. I put forward a very specific plan — $4 trillion in deficit reduction. I want to simplify the tax code so that it's fair. But I also want to ask the wealthiest households to pay a higher rate on incomes over $250,000 — (applause) — the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was President, and our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, we had the biggest surplus in history and, by the way, a whole lot of millionaires did really well, too — because that's how you grow an economy. I want to keep taxes low for middle-class families and working families. But if we're going to close the deficit, we've got to ask folks like me to do a little bit more.
And understand what happens. When you get a tax break, what do you do? You spend it, because you've got — times are already tough. So maybe you trade in finally that 10-year-old car, or maybe you a buy a computer for your kid who's about to go off to college. And that mean business now has more customers, and they make more profits, which means they hire more workers, and the whole economy does better. That's how you grow an economy — from the middle out, not from the top down. (Applause.)
And that's also how we'll reduce our deficit. Now, in fairness, my opponent has a plan, too. The problem is it's missing what President Clinton called arithmetic. (Laughter.)
So just understand my opponent and his allies in Congress tell us somehow we can lower the deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy. No matter how many times they promise to "reboot" their campaign, no matter how many times they start saying they're going to explain the specifics of this thing — they can't, they won't. They can't say how they'd pay for $5 trillion in tax cuts without raising taxes on middle-class families. They can't explain how they're going to pay for $2 trillion in new military spending that our military has said won't make us safer. They can't explain it because the math doesn't add up.
Now, my opponent may think it's fair that somebody who makes $20 million a year, like he does, pays a lower rate than a teacher or an autoworker who makes $50,000 a year. But I disagree. I don't think that's fair. I don't think it helps grow our economy. (Applause.) I refuse to ask middle-class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or looking after their kids just to pay for another millionaire's tax cut. We're not going to do that. We're not going to do that. (Applause.)
I'm not going to ask the students here to pay more for college, or kick some kids off of Head Start, or eliminate health insurance for millions of Americans who are poor, or elderly, or disabled — just to give myself a tax cut. We can't afford it. (Applause.)
And I want you guys to know, I will never turn Medicare into a voucher. (Applause.) No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. They should retire with dignity and the respect that they've earned. We'll reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we'll do it by reducing the actual cost of care — not by dumping those costs onto seniors. And we're going to keep the promise of Social Security. We'll strengthen it, but we're not going to turn it over to Wall Street. (Applause.) We're not going to do that.
Now, obviously, Governor Romney and I have a lot of differences when it comes to domestic policy, but our prosperity here at home is linked to what happens abroad. Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. (Applause.) I said we would responsibly wind down the war in Afghanistan, and we are. You've got a new tower that's rising over the New York skyline, and meanwhile, al Qaeda is on the path to defeat and Osama bin Laden is dead. (Applause.) We made that commitment. (Applause.)
But as we saw just a few days ago, we still face some serious threats in the world. And that's why, as long as I'm Commander-in-Chief, we're going to maintain the strongest military the world has ever known. (Applause.) And when our troops come home and they take off their uniform, we're going to serve them as well as they've served us, because nobody who fights for America should have to fight for a job when they come home. I believe that. (Applause.)
My opponent has got a different view. He said the way we ended the war in Iraq was "tragic." He still hasn't explained what his policy in Afghanistan will be. But I have, and I will. And one more thing, I will use the money we're no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and to put more people back to work rebuilding roads and bridges and schools and runways — (applause) — because after a decade of war, it's time to do some nation-building right here in Ohio, right here at home. (Applause.)
So this is the choice that you face; it's what this election comes down to. And over the next 41 days, you will be seeing more money than has ever been spent, and a whole bunch of it on the other side from folks who are writing $10 million checks to these super PACs. And they'll tell you that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the only way to go. Their basic argument is since government can't do everything, it should do almost nothing. Their basic theory is you're on your own. If you can't afford health insurance, hope you don't get sick. (Laughter.) If a company is releasing toxic pollution that your kids are breathing, well, that's the price of progress. If you can't afford to start a business or go to college, just borrow more money from your parents. (Laughter.)
Let me tell you something — that's not who we are. That's not what this country is about. We don't think government can solve all our problems. But we don't think it's the source of all our problems, either — (applause) — just like we don't think that folks who are having a tough time are our problem, or welfare recipients are our problem, or corporations are our problem, or unions are our problem, or immigrants or gays, or all the other groups that we're told to blame for our troubles.
Because here in America, we believe we're in this thing together. We believe that all of us have responsibilities. (Applause.) We believe we've got responsibilities to look after ourselves and work hard and show individual initiative. But we also believe we have responsibilities to each other and to this country and to future generations, to make sure that America continues to be the place where there's more opportunity and possibility than any other nation on Earth. That's what we believe. That's what we're fighting for. (Applause.)
We understand that America is not about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us, together, as one nation and as one people. (Applause.) And that's what I've always said. That's why I ran for this office, because I have faith in you.
Four years ago, I told you this wasn't about me. It was about you, the American people. You were the change. You are the reason a mother in Cleveland right now doesn't have to worry about her son being denied medical coverage because of some preexisting condition. You made that happen. (Applause.)
You're the reason a factory worker who lost his job in Toledo or Lordstown is back on the line building some of the best cars in the world. You did that. (Applause.)
You're the reason a student in Akron or Columbus or Bowling Green has some help paying for a college education. (Applause.) You're the reason a veteran can go to school on the new GI Bill.
You're the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to the flag is not in danger of being deported from the only country she's ever known. (Applause.)
You're the reason some outstanding soldier won't be kicked out of our military because of who they are or who they love. (Applause.) You're the reason why thousands of families have finally been able to welcome home their loved ones who served us so bravely, to say, "Welcome home."
And the interesting thing is my opponent maybe doesn't understand this concept about how change happens, because I made this point down in Florida. I said one of the things we learned is we can't change Washington just from the inside. You got to change it from the outside. You change it with the help of ordinary Americans who are willing to make their voices heard.
And my opponent got really excited. He heard me say this. He changed his speech. (Laughter.) He said, I'm going to get the job done from the inside. That's what he said — I'm going to get the job done from the inside. And I'm thinking to myself, well, what kind of inside job is he talking about? (Laughter and applause.)
Is he talking about the inside job to rubber-stamp the agenda of this Republican Congress? Because if he is, we don't want it. If he's talking about the inside job of letting oil companies write the energy policies, and insurance companies writing health care policies, and outsourcers rewriting our tax code — we don't need that. If he's talking about the inside job where politicians in Washington are controlling the health care choices that women are perfectly capable of making for themselves, we'll take a pass. (Applause.) We don't need an inside job. We want to change Washington.
I've always said change is hard; it takes more than one term or even one President. And the way our democracy works, we're never going to get everything that each of us individually want. But if we're working together, you can make things happen. Now, you can't make it happen if you write off half the nation before you take office. (Applause.)
It's interesting, in 2008, 47 percent of the country did not vote for me. They voted for John McCain. But on election night, in Grant Park in Chicago, I said to all those Americans who didn't vote for me, I said, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, and I need your help. And I will be your President, too. That's what I said. (Applause.)
So I don't know how many votes I'll get in Ohio this time, but no matter who you are, no matter what party you belong to –and I want everybody who's listening on television to understand — I will be fighting for you because I'm not fighting to create Democratic jobs or Republican jobs. I'm fighting to create American jobs. (Applause.)
I'm not fighting to improve blue state schools or red state schools, I'm fighting to improve schools in the United States of America. (Applause.)
The values of hard work and personal responsibility, those values that we believe in don't just belong to workers or businesses, or the rich or the poor, the 53 percent or the 47 percent, the 1 percent or the 99 percent. Those are American values. They belong to all of us.
So I want you guys to understand we are not as divided as our politics suggests. I still believe, no matter how many times I'm called naïve about this, I still believe that we have more in common than divides us. (Applause.) I still believe in that. I still believe in one nation and one people.
I still believe in you. And I'm asking you to keep believing in me. (Applause.) And if you do, I need you to register to vote. (Applause.) I need you to start voting six days from now on October 2nd. And if you're with me and if you work with me, we'll win Wood County again. We'll win Ohio again. (Applause.) We'll finish what we started. We'll remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth.
God bless you, everybody. God bless America. (Applause.)
by bonniekgoodman on September 26, 2012 • Permalink
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, Economy, Foreign Policy, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Bowling Green, China, Economy, Foreign Policy, Jobs, Mitt Romney, Ohio, US Presidential Campaign
Posted by bonniekgoodman on September 26, 2012
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/full-text-campaign-buzz-september-26-2012-president-barack-obamas-speech-at-a-campaign-event-in-bowling-green-ohio-takes-on-mitt-romney-over-china-and-jobs/
Full Text Campaign Buzz September 26, 2012: Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan's Speeches at a Campaign Event in Vandalia, Ohio — We Must Stand Up To China
Mitt Romney: We Must Stand Up To China
Source: Mitt Romney Press, 9-25-12
"I also understand that when people cheat, that kills jobs. China has cheated. I will not allow that to continue." – Mitt Romney
Vandalia, Ohio
MITT ROMNEY: "But I also understand that when people cheat, that kills jobs. China has cheated. I will not allow that to continue. And it's not over. I mean, how does a nation cheat? How do you pull that off? Let me tell you how you pull it off. One way is to artificially hold down the value of your currency, to make sure it doesn't trade openly around the world. And what does that do? Well, let me tell you what it does. It makes your products artificially less expensive. The estimates are that China has held down the value of its currency anywhere between 15 and 30 percent, and so their products will be 15 to 30 percent cheaper. Guess what that does to the American companies that are competing in those industries. They lose sales, and so they have to lay off people. And ultimately they go out of business, and that's been happening. They've been manipulating, holding down the value of their currency. What else do they do? They steal intellectual property. What do I mean by that? Patents, designs, know-how, even counterfeit our goods. I was with a company in the Midwest that said that they had some products that were coming back, valves. These are industrial valves, great big heavy industrial valves — said they were getting warranty claims on these valves of theirs that were breaking. And they were their product. They had their packaging on it. They had their serial numbers on it. And then they realized they're counterfeit; these aren't actually our product; they've been sold as our product, under our brand name, with our bar codes, everything else associated with them. And these products are coming into this country, being counterfeited overseas. That kills jobs. That's what they've been doing. There's an Apple Store in China. Have you read about that one? They got a store, Apple Store, selling Apple, you know, iPads and iPhones, except it's not an Apple Store. It's all counterfeit. Look, this kind of practice has to stop. They even have hacked into our computers. Our government, with the F-35 they looked at designs for the F-35 — they've looked at computers of our corporations. This cannot be allowed. We cannot compete with people who don't play fair, and I won't let that go on. I will stop it in its tracks."
PAUL RYAN: "And just the other day on TV he said that he can't change Washington from the inside. Why do we send presidents to Washington in the first place? I mean, isn't that what we're supposed to do? Don't we send them to fix the mess in Washington? Look, if he can't change Washington, then we need to change presidents. And we need to elect this man, Mitt Romney, the next President of the United States. The choice before us is very clear. We are offering real reforms for a real recovery."
Posted in Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, Economy, Foreign Policy, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, China, Economy, Foreign Policy, Jobs, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaign, Vandalia
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/full-text-campaign-buzz-september-26-2012-mitt-romney-paul-ryans-speeches-at-a-campaign-event-in-vandalia-ohio-we-must-stand-up-to-china/
Full Text Campaign Buzz September 25, 2012: Paul Ryan's Speech at a Campaign Event in Cincinnati, Ohio — If You Can't It Right, It's Time To Get Out
Paul Ryan: If You Can't It Right, It's Time To Get Out
"Did you guys watch that Packer game last night? I mean — give me a break. It is time to get the real refs. And do you know what, it reminds me of President Obama and the economy. If you can't get it right, it's time to get out." – Paul Ryan
Click Here To Watch Paul Ryan:
PAUL RYAN: "Did you guys watch that Packer game last night? I mean — give me a break. It is time to get the real refs. And do you know what, it reminds me of President Obama and the economy. If you can't get it right, it's time to get out. I half think that these refs work part-time for the Obama Administration in the budget office. They see the national debt clock staring them in the face. They see a debt crisis, and they just ignore and pretend it didn't even happen. They're trying to pick the winners and losers, and they don't even do that very well."
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, Deficit Reduction, Economy, General Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Cincinnati, Economy, Mitt Romney, National Debt, Ohio, Paul Ryan, US Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/full-text-campaign-buzz-september-25-2012-paul-ryans-speech-at-a-campaign-event-in-cincinnati-ohio-if-you-cant-it-right-its-time-to-get-out/
Full Text Campaign Buzz August 21, 2012: President Barack Obama's Speech at a Campaign Event at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio — Shifts Aim to Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan Education Plan
President Obama Shifts Aim to Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan Education Plan
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages
President Obama kicked off a two-day campaign swing through Ohio and Nevada Tuesday by shifting the focus of his attacks from Medicare and taxes to education, slamming the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan plan to cut student aid.
"Whether it's a four-year college [or] a two-year program, higher education is not a luxury, it is an economic necessity that every family in America should be able to afford. And that's what's at stake in this election," the president told supporters.
Obama's education pitch, which he is outlining in visits to two colleges and a high school in critical battleground states, is part of a broader effort to show how the Romney-Ryan budget cuts would negatively impact Americans….READ MORE
Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event — Columbus, OH
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Ohio! (Applause.) Hello, Crusaders! (Applause.) Oh, it is good to be back in Columbus! (Applause.) The sun came out for us. (Applause.) It's a good sign.
It is fun to be back in Ohio, and it is great to be here. I just want to acknowledge a few people. First of all, give Steven a big round of applause. (Applause.) He was explaining to me what it's like being a BMX driver — rider. And he said that — he said, well — I asked him, because I'd seen those guys in the Olympics, and I said, it seems like you guys fall a lot. (Laughter.) And he says, "No, no, I learned how to fall on my shoulder." I said, well, is that good? He said, "Well, I broke my shoulder four times." (Laughter.) But he looks okay to me. He's doing great.
A couple other people I want to acknowledge — your outstanding Mayor, Michael Coleman is in the house. (Applause.) There he is. And we've got congressional candidate — Joyce Beatty is here. (Applause.) And all of you are here. (Applause.)
How many students do we have here? (Applause.) You guys are excited about school starting up? (Applause.) Everybody was saying yes except this one guy over here. (Laughter.) He was shaking his head. Come on, man, it's going to be great. (Applause.)
Well, I am glad we've got some students here because I came to Columbus today to talk about what most of the students here are doing every day. Your education is the single most important investment that you can make in your future. And I'm proud of all the students who are here doing what it takes to make that investment — the long hours in the library — except for this guy. (Laughter.) Working in the lab, being in the classroom — even when your classes start a little earlier than you had planned — because your education has never been more important.
The degree that you earn from this university is the surest path that you will have to a good job and to higher earnings. It's the best tool you'll have to achieve what is the core promise of this country — the idea that if you work hard, your work will be rewarded. The basic bargain that says if you're willing to put in the effort, you can do well enough to raise a family and have a home that you call your own, have some security, put a little away for retirement, and most importantly, make sure that your children, your grandchildren can do even better and dream even bigger than you did. (Applause.) That's the hope that your parents had for you. That's the hope I have for Malia and Sasha. That's the hope that you'll someday have for your own kids.
But here's the thing. This is about more than just your own success. Now, more than ever, your success is America's success, because when we invest in your future we're investing in America's future. The fact is that countries that out-educate us today, they'll be able to out-compete us tomorrow. Businesses are mobile in the 21st century economy; they can locate anywhere. So they're going to create jobs and they're going to hire wherever they find the best educated, most highly skilled workers. And I don't want them to have to look any further than right here in Columbus, right here in Ohio, right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)
And because the economy has changed, over the coming decade more than half of new jobs will require some form of higher education. It may not be a four-year college degree, but you're going to need to have gone to a community college or a technical school to get the skills you need to get hired — and this is not breaking news to any of you. What's also not breaking news is the fact that higher education has gotten a lot harder to afford; it's gotten more expensive. Over the past two years — excuse me, over the past two decades, tuition and fees at America's colleges have more than doubled.
The average student who borrows to pay for college now graduates with about $26,000 worth of student loan debt. (Laughter.) What, that sounds low to you? (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: I just said the average. (Laughter.) For a lot of young people it's a lot higher, and that kind of debt means pretty tough choices when you're first starting out. It might mean putting off starting a family or buying a home, or putting off chasing that great idea that you've got for a small business. When a big chunk of each paycheck goes towards paying off your loan debt, that's not just tough for middle-class families that are trying to make it and young people who are trying to get started; it's also painful for the entire economy because that means that money you might be spending on buying a new home or doing something else with it, it's going to that check that you're writing every single month. It's not going to the local business.
And I have to say, this is something Michelle and I know firsthand about. I'm not speculating on this, because we've been in your shoes. Neither of us came from wealthy families. Both of us graduated from college and law school with a mountain of debt. When we married, we got poor together. (Laughter.) We combined our liabilities into one big liability. (Laughter.) We paid more for our student loans than we paid on our mortgage each month, and that went on for years. And then, once we had Malia and Sasha, we needed to start saving for their college educations but we were still paying off our college educations.
Now, keep in mind we were lucky enough to land good jobs, we had steady incomes, but we did not finish paying off our student loans until about eight years ago. Think about that. I'm not —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You got an education.
THE PRESIDENT: I got an education and it worked out pretty good. (Laughter and applause.) But the point I'm making is, I'm only standing before you because of the chance that my education gave me. So I can tell you, with some experience, that making higher education more affordable for our young people — it's something I've got a personal stake in; it's something that Michelle has a personal stake in. We believe in it because we've been there and we know that unless you provide those rungs on the ladder of opportunity, young people who are more talented than we are may not get a shot. That's why I've made it a top priority of my presidency. And, Ohio, that is something that is at stake in this election. That's part of the reason why November is so important. (Applause.)
And I say this because putting a college education within reach for working families just doesn't seem to be a big priority for my opponent. A few months ago, just up the road, in Westerville, Governor Romney said, if you want to be successful, if you want to go to college or start a business, you can just — and I'm quoting here — "borrow money if you have to from your parents."
THE PRESIDENT: When a high school student in Youngstown asked him what he would do to make college more affordable for families like his, Governor Romney didn't say anything about grants or loan programs that are critical to millions of students to get a college education. He said nothing about work-study programs or rising college tuition. He didn't say a word about community colleges or how important higher education is to America's future. He said, the best thing you can do is shop around.
THE PRESIDENT: The best thing I can do for you is to tell you to shop around.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's it!
THE PRESIDENT: That's it. That's his plan. That's his answer to young people who are trying to figure out how to go to college and make sure that they don't have a mountain of debt — shop around and borrow more money from your parents.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: What are we going to do? (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Now, I've just got to — I want to make sure everybody understands. Not everybody has parents who have the money to lend. (Applause.) That may be news to some folks, but it's the truth. (Laughter.)
So what Governor Romney is offering is not an answer. There's nothing a parent wants more than to give opportunities to their kids that they never had. And it's pretty painful for a lot of parents if they can't do that. But as we're fighting back from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, you've got a lot of parents who are out there struggling just to make ends meet. And I don't accept the notion that we should deny any child the opportunity to get a higher education. If they've been working hard, if they've got the grades, if they've got the determination to get a better future for themselves, I don't want them to be prevented just because their families were hit hard by a recession. (Applause.)
That's not who we are. That's not what America is about. We give everybody a fair shot. Think about all the discoveries, all the businesses, all the breakthroughs that we would not have made if we told every young person who has got the drive and the will and the grades to go to college, "tough luck, too bad, you're on your own." We've always made a commitment to put a good education within the reach of everybody who is willing to work for it. That's part of what makes us special. That's what keeps us at the forefront of business and science and technology and medicine.
And this dates back for decades. Some of you know my grandfather fought in World War II. When he came back, he had a chance to go to college because this country decided every returning veteran of World War II should be able to afford it. (Applause.) My mother was able to raise me and my sister because she was able to get grants and work her way through school. Michelle and I would not be here today without the help of scholarships and student loans. And I know Steve wouldn't be here either and neither would a lot of you. (Applause.)
So in a 21st century economy, a college education should be available for everybody — not just the wealthy few. Whether it's a four-year college, a two-year program, higher education is not a luxury, it is an economic necessity that every family in America should be able to afford. And that's what's at stake in this election. It's one of the reasons I'm running for President of the United States for a second term. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: And I want you to know that I have not just talked the talk; we have walked the walk. (Applause.) Since I took office, we have helped more than 3 million additional students afford a college education with grants that go farther than they did before. The economic plan my opponent has would cut our investment in education by nearly 20 percent.
THE PRESIDENT: It would cut those grants so deeply that 1 million of those students who we have helped would no longer get a scholarship at all. It would cut financial aid for nearly 10 million students a year.
And keep in mind they're not making these cuts to create jobs. They're not proposing these cuts to pay down the deficit. Governor Romney is proposing these cuts to pay for a new $5 trillion tax cut that's weighted towards the wealthiest Americans.
THE PRESIDENT: Does that sound like a better plan for America? Does that sound like a better plan for you?
THE PRESIDENT: A plan that says that we can't afford to help the next generation earn an education, but we can afford massive new tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires? A plan that says we can't afford our young people — to offer our young people student loans because we've got to protect corporate loopholes? It's a vision that says we can't help young people who are trying to make it because we've got to protect the folks who already have made it.
Michelle and I are going to be able to send Malia and Sasha to college. We don't need an extra tax break. You do. (Applause.) Their vision is wrong for moving America forward. It's not a vision you've got to accept. That's why November is important, and that's why I'm running for a second term as President. (Applause.)
Governor Romney makes his time as an investor in the private sector the basis of his candidacy. That's how he says he's going to fix the economy – "I was in the private sector." And his economic plan makes one thing clear: He does not think investing in your future is worth it. He doesn't think that's a good investment. I do. That's what's at stake in this election. That's the choice in November. That's why we fought to make sure the interest rate on federal student loans didn't go up over the summer. We won that fight. (Applause.)
Some of these Republican members of Congress would have allowed those rates to double, costing more than 7 million students an extra thousand dollars a year. I've said I want to extend the college tax credit that my administration created so more families can save up to $10,000 on their tuition over four years. (Applause.) They want to end that tax credit. That's the choice in this election.
In 2008, I promised we would reform a student loan system that was giving tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to big banks and lobbyists instead of students. There are plenty of folks in Washington who fought tooth and nail to keep that system as it was. We kept at it, we won that fight, we used it to double grant aid for students. (Applause.)
My opponent now wants to go back to the way things were. He wants to go backwards to the policies that got us into this mess in the first place. We're moving forward. That's the choice in this election. That's why I'm running for a second term. (Applause.)
And, by the way, part of our job is also to make sure you don't need a Ph.D. to apply for financial aid in the first place. So we've put in place this new consumer protection watchdog, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, put in place — and it's working with the Department of Education to develop a simple new factsheet on student loans and financial aid, so you can have all the information you need to make your own best choices about how to pay for college. We call it "Know Before You Owe." Know before you owe. (Applause.) That's a good idea. But my opponent wants to get rid of this new consumer protection agency, and let for-profit colleges keep preying on veterans and working families. That's one of the choices in this election.
I'm want to make sure that America once again leads the world in educating our kids, training our workers. I want to make sure more of our students are prepared for college by helping our secondary and elementary schools hire and reward the best teachers, especially in math and science. (Applause.) I want to give 2 million more Americans the chance to go to community college and learn the skills that local businesses are looking for right now.
I've put colleges and universities on notice — if they can't stop tuition from going up, the funding they get from taxpayers will go down. We want to give them some incentive to start lowering tuition. (Applause.) That's the choice in this election. That's what we're fighting for. That's what you're going to be having to think about when you go to that voting booth in November.
Four years ago, I promised that we would end the war in Iraq. (Applause.) Thanks to the service and the sacrifice of our incredible men and women in uniform, that's what we've done. (Applause.) Today, all our troops are out of Iraq. We are beginning to bring our troops homes from Afghanistan. But the key is making sure that they are getting the same good deal that my grandfather got when he came home from the war. So we've made sure to keep the Post-9/11 GI Bill strong so that everybody who has served our country has the chance to earn a degree.
As long as I am Commander-in-Chief, I promise you we will care for our veterans and serve them as well as they've served us. (Applause.) If you fought for this country, you shouldn't have to fight for a college education or for a job or for a roof over your heads when you come home. (Applause.) So that's what we're fighting for, Columbus. That's just one example, in the education arena, of what's at stake.
Now, over the next two and a half months, the other side will spend more money than we have ever seen — ever. I mean, they got folks writing $10 million checks, $20 million checks. They should be contributing that to a scholarship fund to send kids to college. (Applause.) But instead, they are going to spend more money than we've ever seen on ads. And the ads all say the same thing, which is, the economy is not where it needs to be and it's all Obama's fault.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: No!
THE PRESIDENT: See, look — no, no, listen, they know their economic plan isn't popular. They know that gutting investments in education and science and infrastructure, and voucherizing Medicare, they know that doesn't really sell well. They know that it especially doesn't sell well when you're doing all those things not to reduce the deficit but to pay for massive new tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. They know that's not going to poll well. So they're betting on the fact that you get so discouraged that you decide your vote doesn't matter.
They're betting every single $10 million check from a wealthy donor drowns out millions of voices at the ballot box. They're counting on young people sitting this one out. They say well, you know what — Obama, he's grayer now, he's not as new and as fresh as he was in 2008, so young people aren't going to turn out the same way. They're counting on you sitting on the sidelines and letting others make the choice for you. See, they don't have a plan to create jobs or strengthen the middle class, but this is their plan to win the election.
But I'm counting on something different. I'm counting on you. (Applause.) I'm counting on the fact that when the American people focus and push aside all the noise and all the nonsense, and they remember the fact that all of us, whatever success we've achieved, we've achieved because we worked together, because we made sure everybody has a fair shot, and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody is playing by the same set of rules. I'm counting on the fact that when the American people focus on what's at stake, you can't be stopped. And all the money the other side is spending doesn't matter.
So I'm going to need your help — young people especially — I'm going to need your help. (Applause.) I need to make sure you're registered to vote at your current address. We've got staff and volunteers who are here who can help you do that before you leave today. And when you leave, I'm asking you to grab 10 friends — make sure they're registered, too. And if you need more information, you can go visit the website GottaRegister.com. That's not Got-To, it's Gotta. (Laughter.) G-o-t-t-a-register.com.
Let's prove the cynics wrong. Let's show them your votes count. Let's show them your voice makes a difference. Let's show them America better start listening to the voice of the next generation of Americans. (Applause.)
I need your help to keep this American Dream alive, this incredible experiment we have in democracy; this idea that no matter where you're born, or who your parents are, or how much money you got, or no matter what you look like or what you believe in, you can go as far as your talents take you. (Applause.) That dream that we can still, together, achieve great things; that you can pursue the happiness that you hope for and your parents hope for; that here in America you can make it if you try.
Ohio, we've come too far to turn back now. (Applause.) We've got more students who dream to afford college. We've got more good teachers to hire. We've got more schools to rebuild. We've got more good jobs to create. We've got more homegrown energy to generate. We've got more troops we've got to come home. We've got more doors of opportunity to open for everybody who is willing to walk through them. That's why I'm asking for a second term as President.
And if you're willing to stand with me, and vote for me, and organize with me, and knock on doors and make phone calls with me, we will finish what we started. We will win Ohio. We will win this election. And we will remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.)
God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, Economy, Education, General Election 2012, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Capital University, College, Columbus, Economic Plan, Economy, Education, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Paul Ryan, Student Loans, University
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/full-text-campaign-buzz-august-21-2012-president-barack-obamas-speech-at-a-campaign-event-at-capital-university-in-columbus-ohio/
Full Text Campaign Buzz August 16, 2012: Paul Ryan Goes on Offense on Medicare in Speech at his Alma Mater Miami University in Ohio
Returning to His Alma Mater, Paul Ryan Goes on Offense on Medicare
Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Paul Ryan had a second homecoming Wednesday, returning to his alma mater, Miami University, where he took on the issue of Medicare. The subject is one which Democrats are using to frighten senior voters in hopes to derail Mitt Romney's campaign now that Ryan, the House budget chairman, has joined the ticket.
But Ryan is playing offense. Mentioning Medicare for the first time on the stump, he repeated a line of attack introduced earlier in the week by the Romney campaign.
"We want this debate, we need this debate and we will win this debate," Ryan told a crowd of thousands on campus. "What I don't think he'll be telling people is that the president took $716 billion from the Medicare program."…READ MORE
PAUL RYAN: CUTTING MEDICARE TO PAY FOR OBAMACARE IS NOT AN "ACHIEVEMENT"
"The President was talking about Medicare yesterday … What he probably did not mention yesterday is that when passed his signature healthcare achievement, Obamacare, he raided $716 billion from Medicare paid for Obamacare. This will lead to fewer services for seniors. President Obama's campaign calls this an achievement. You think raiding Medicare to pay for Obamacare is an achievement? Neither do I." –Paul Ryan
PAUL RYAN: "And so, President Obama has run out of ideas. That's why his campaign is based on frustration and anger. That's why he's not coming with new ideas. He's giving us more of the same and he's going to resort to distortion. He's going to resort to fear and smear. The President was talking about Medicare yesterday. I'm excited about this. This is a debate we want to have. This is a debate we need to have. And this is a debate we we're going to win. What he probably did not mention yesterday is that when passed his signature healthcare achievement, Obamacare, he raided $716 billion from Medicare paid for Obamacare. This will lead to fewer services for seniors. President Obama's campaign calls this an achievement. You think raiding Medicare to pay for Obamacare is an achievement? Neither do I. Next time you get your pay stub, take a look at the line that says payroll taxes, FICA. Those payroll taxes that come out of our paychecks are designed for two programs and two programs alone: Medicare and Social Security. But now, because of Obamacare, it's funding Obamacare as well. It's wrong. The president knows this. He can't defend this. And that's the problem. He can't defend his record. He didn't change his tune, he didn't compromise, he didn't reach across the aisle, and that's why he's running this kind of campaign of frustration and anger. This election presents so many clear contrasts. One of those contrasts is this: Mitt Romney and I will protect and strengthen Medicare, leave it intact for our current seniors, and save it for the next generation."
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, General Election 2012, Medicare, Mitt Romney, Obamacare, Paul Ryan, Presidential Campaigns & Elections, US Campaign & Elections News
Tagged Barack Obama, Medicare, Miami University, Ohio, Oxford, Paul Ryan
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/full-text-campaign-buzz-august-16-2012-paul-ryan-goes-on-offense-on-medicare-in-speech-at-his-alma-mater-miami-university-in-ohio/
Full Text Campaign Buzz August 14, 2012: Mitt Romney's Speech at Close of Battleground Bus Tour Slams 'Angry and Desperate' Barack Obama in Chillicothe, Ohio
At Close of Battleground Bus Tour, Romney Slams 'Angry and Desperate' Obama
Saul Loeb/AFP/J.D. Pooley/GettyImages
Closing out his four-day bus tour, Mitt Romney stood on the steps of the courthouse in Chillicothe, Ohio and ripped apart President Obama's campaign strategy as one of the "diversions" that have taken the nation's highest office to a "new low" that appears "angry and desperate."
"You don't hear any answers coming from President Obama's re-election campaign," said Romney, speaking at his third and final event in Ohio, the last stop on his bus tour that weaved in and out of four battleground states, dramatically opening with the announcement of his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan.
"That's because he's intellectually exhausted, out of ideas, and out of energy," said Romney of Obama in what was one of his most strongly worded speeches to date. "And so his campaign has resorted to diversions and distractions, to demagoguing and defaming others. It's an old game in politics; what's different this year is that the president is taking things to a new low."…READ MORE
Romney unleashes on Obama, accuses rival of running campaign of 'anger and hate'
Source: Fox News, 8-15-12
Mitt Romney, capping off a five-state bus tour in Ohio Tuesday night, delivered the most aggressive and fiery speech of his bid for the presidency — accusing President Obama of running a "campaign of division and anger and hate."….READ MORE
Mitt Romney Delivers Remarks In Chillicothe, Ohio
Mitt Romney today delivered remarks in Chillicothe, Ohio. The following remarks were prepared for delivery:
Thank you, Ohio. It's good to be back in the Buckeye State. And it's a privilege to be here with two good friends – your great governor, John Kasich and your outstanding senator, Rob Portman. Governor Kasich is doing a great job despite the head winds from Washington. As President, I can't wait to work with Senator Portman to turn those Obama headwinds into pro-job policies that will help working families all across Ohio.
Tonight, we're wrapping up our five-state bus tour to towns big and small. That trip reconfirmed to me just how important this election is – and why we need to change the direction of the country by changing the current occupant of the Oval Office.
We started out on the decks of a battleship in Norfolk, Virginia, where arbitrary and reckless defense cuts threaten our national security and 150,000 jobs. From there it was on to North Carolina, through towns that have lost thousands and thousands of manufacturing jobs. And yesterday we were in Florida, where families are still struggling with the Obama Economy.
The people I met on this tour – and the thousands of Americans I've visited in break rooms and lunch rooms, in school gymnasiums and on factory floors – are worried about their children, their jobs, their mortgages, and their future. And they are right to be worried.
All across the country, I've met people who are hurting. Some have lost their jobs; others work two jobs just to get by. Some have fallen out of the middle class and now they're struggling to get back to where they started. The cost of living keeps going up, and they're living paycheck to paycheck.
They are tired of being tired.
And tonight, I'd like to say to each of them: You have not been forgotten. We will not leave you behind. This is America. We are Americans. It doesn't have to be this way!
Unemployment has been above 8 percent for 42 straight months. We will put Americans back to work!
Half of recent college graduates can't find work or a job that matches their skills. We'll get good jobs for our kids.
Nearly one out of six Americans are in poverty today. This is a disgrace we will end.
And President Obama has amassed five trillion dollars of debt – nearly as much debt held by the public as all other Presidents combined. We will end this moral failure.
After four years, it's clear that President Obama's policies aren't fixing these problems, they're making them worse. That is why Ohio will lead the way by electing a new President on November 6th.
For the first time, most Americans believe that our best days are behind us. This is an election in which we should be talking about the path ahead, but you don't hear any answers coming from President Obama's re-election campaign. That's because he's intellectually exhausted, out of ideas, and out of energy. And so his campaign has resorted to diversions and distractions, to demagoguing and defaming others. This is an old game in politics; what's different this year is that the president is taking things to a new low.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
In 2008, Candidate Obama said, "if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters." He said, "if you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from." And that, he told us, is how, "You make a big election about small things."
That was Candidate Obama describing the strategy that is the now the heart of his campaign.
His campaign and his surrogates have made wild and reckless accusations that disgrace the office of the Presidency. Another outrageous charge came a few hours ago in Virginia. And the White House sinks a little bit lower.
This is what an angry and desperate Presidency looks like.
President Obama knows better, promised better and America deserves better.
Over the last four years, this President has pushed Republicans and Democrats as far apart as they can go. And now he and his allies are pushing us all even further apart by dividing us into groups. He demonizes some. He panders to others. His campaign strategy is to smash America apart and then cobble together 51 percent of the pieces.
If an American president wins that way, we all lose.
But he won't win that way. America is one Nation under God. American history has been a story of the many becoming one – uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness. Everywhere I go in America there are monuments that list those who have given their lives. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag fighting for a single purpose. They pledged allegiance to the United States of America. So, Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting America.
This election is about restoring the promise of America. It's a choice between two visions for our nation's future. It's about the challenges America faces. It is about a better tomorrow and a better future.
We don't need more excuses. We don't need more blame. We don't need more small-minded attacks.
What we really need is a new president.
Voters deserve an honest debate. And that's what Paul Ryan and I will give them.
Paul and I have a positive agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity that will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. Our Plan For A Stronger Middle Class will get America back to work and get our country back on track.
We are offering solutions that are bold, specific, and achievable. We're committed to helping create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take-home pay to middle class families.
My plan focuses on five things.
First, energy independence. We will achieve North America energy independence by 2020, by taking full advantage of our oil, our gas, our coal, our renewables and our nuclear power. Abundant, inexpensive, domestic energy will not only create energy jobs, it will bring back manufacturing jobs.
Second, we must give our workers and our children the skills they need to succeed. Our nation cannot continue to fail in public education. For too long, we have let the agenda of union bosses steer the agenda of our schools. It is time to put our kids and their parents and their teachers first, and the union bosses behind.
Third, trade must work for America. We are one of the world's most productive nations. Trade creates jobs and raises take-home pay for American workers. We must open more doors for trade in Latin America, where there is a growing middle class. But when any nation cheats, as China has cheated, we must make sure that there are clear and compelling consequences.
Fourth, we will do what politicians in both parties have been promising for years, but have failed to do. We will cut spending, shrink deficits, and put America on track to a balanced budget.
Fifth, we will champion small business. Unlike President Obama, I won't raise taxes on small business. I'll make sure regulators protect the public, but that they stop killing our jobs. I will remove the crippling uncertainty that is preventing businesses from hiring.
That begins by repealing Obamacare. It's bad for jobs and it's bad for seniors. If the President is re-elected, he will succeed in raiding $716 billion from Medicare — from the trust fund you have paid into all your lives – to pay for Obamacare. He is taking your money to finance his risky and unproven takeover of the health-care system. He is putting Medicare at greater risk. He is putting health care at greater risk. He is putting your jobs at greater risk. We must not let Obamacare happen.
If we focus on these five areas – energy, education, trade, deficits, and championing small business – America's economy will come roaring back to life. And we will finally see a comeback for America's middle class.
My plan is based on proven principles that will produce real results. I spent 25 years in business, and I know what it takes for the private sector to create jobs. I know why jobs go away, what it takes to bring them back, and what we must do to make America the best place in the world for entrepreneurs and innovators and job creators. My five-point plan will bring more jobs and more take-home pay for middle-class Americans.
People ask me why I think the President's policies have been such a disappointment. I just don't think President Obama understands what it is that drives our economy.
America runs on freedom. Free men and women, pursuing their dreams, working hard to build a better future for their families. This is what propels our economy. When an American succeeds, when she wins a promotion, when he creates a business, it is that individual, that American that has earned it, that has built it. Government does not build our businesses, the American people do.
The American people also build the government. We pay for it with our taxes. We choose who will lead us with our votes.
Do you want a president who believes that your rights come from God, not from government?
Do you want a president who honors your right to pursue happiness, not as government commands, but as you choose?
Do you want a president who will work every day to bring us together, not tear us apart?
Do you want a president who will celebrate success, not attack it?
Do you want a president who will never, ever apologize for the greatest nation on earth?
With your support, I will be that President.
We are 84 days away from the start of the better future we deserve.
We need new leadership, and new ideas, and a new approach – because four years of failure is enough.
Paul Ryan and I believe in America – and in this election, we're offering Americans a clear and honest choice. Every single day we're going to do our part. And we need you to do yours.
I commit to you that I will be the President that this moment demands. I will work to strengthen our families, to rebuild our economy and to keep our military second to none in the world.
I ask you to commit like never before over the next 84 days. This election can come down to just one more vote. I ask you find that vote. Ask one more person to join our campaign. Ask one more person to join us who supported President Obama four years ago and didn't get the change they deserved. One more vote can make the difference in Ohio. And Ohio will make the difference for America.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Tagged Barack Obama, Battleground States, Chillicothe, Mitt Romney, Ohio, US Presidential Campaign
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/full-text-campaign-buzz-august-14-2012-mitt-romneys-speech-at-close-of-battleground-bus-tour-slams-angry-and-desperate-barack-obama-in-chillicothe-ohio/
Full Text Campaign Buzz August 1, 2012: President Barack Obama's Speech at a Campaign Event in Akron, Ohio on Mitt Romney & Middle Class Taxes
Obama: Romney Wants to Raise Middle Class Taxes to Help 'People Like Him'
JIM WATSON/AFP/GettyImages
President Obama today pounced on a new report that found Mitt Romney's economic plan would raise taxes on the majority of Americans and give tax breaks to the super wealthy, telling supporters in the battleground state of Ohio that his opponent wants them to pay more so that "people like him" can get a tax cut…..READ MORE
Remarks by the President at Campaign Event
Source: WH, 8-1-12
John S. Knight Center
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Akron! (Applause.) Oh, it is good to be in Akron, Ohio again! (Applause.)
A couple people I want to acknowledge — first of all, please give Jenna a big round of applause for that great introduction. (Applause.) I was telling Jenna before we came out I just love nurses, and for her to be looking after people every single day, that's what it's all about. So I am so impressed with her.
A couple other people I want to acknowledge — Russ Pry, Summit County Executive, is here. (Applause.) Now, your Mayor, Don Plusquellic — (applause.) I very much appreciate the fact that he had a little bit of surgery on his leg, just got out of the hospital, got wheeled in here — (laughter) — he's not going to be able to stay, but I'm grateful for him taking the time to come.
And I want to say thank you to all the neighborhood leaders who are here. (Applause.) Thank you. You guys are what this campaign is all about.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.
I also want to make sure we give it up for all our outstanding U.S. of A. athletes who are competing in London right now. (Applause.) There are a whole bunch of Ohioans representing our country over there. When wrestling gets underway next week, we'll be rooting for Army Specialist Justin Lester, right here from Akron. (Applause.) He may be wearing a different uniform, but he is still fighting for the United States of America. (Applause.)
On the way over here, I had a chance to speak to Michael Phelps, who's won more medals than anybody. (Applause.) And then I spoke to the women's gymnastic team. (Applause.) Now, let me just say, I know how to run — although I don't run as fast as these guys. I know how to swim — although I don't swim as fast. These gymnasts, I don't understand what they're doing. (Laughter.) I cannot even walk on a balance beam. They're doing back flips and — little, itty-bitty young ladies. Unbelievable. So we could not be prouder of them. (Applause.)
Now, let me just say, unless you have been hiding your TV set — (laughter) — or your cable is broke, you may be aware that there is a fairly intense political campaign going on right now. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: Now, the reason this campaign is so intense is because the choice that we're going to be facing in November could not be bigger. This is not just a choice between two candidates. It's not just a choice between two parties. It is a choice about two fundamentally different visions for where we go in the future, two fundamentally different paths for our country. The direction that we choose -– the direction you choose when you walk into that voting booth –- it will not just have an impact on your lives; it will have an impact on your children's lives and your grandchildren's lives. (Applause.) It will impact America for decades to come.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's why we vote for you! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Now, four years ago, we all came together -– Democrats, but we also had independents, we had some Republicans -– to restore the basic bargain that built this country, that made us into an economic powerhouse. It was a bargain, it was a deal that says if you work hard here in America, you should be rewarded for that work. (Applause.) It's a deal that says if you put in enough effort, if you act responsibly, then you should be able to find a job that pays the bills. (Applause.) You should be able to afford a home that you call your own. You should be able to count on health care when you get sick. You should be able to put away enough to retire with dignity and respect. And most of all, you should be able to give your children the kind of education that allows them to dream even bigger and do more than you could ever imagine. (Applause.)
It's a simple promise. It's a promise that I've lived out in my life and Michelle has lived out in hers. It is —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love Michelle!
THE PRESIDENT: I know you all love Michelle. (Applause.)
It is the promise that's at the heart of this country — this idea that here in America, you can make it if you try. And it had been slipping away for almost a decade. We had seen sluggish job growth and jobs getting shipped overseas; your incomes were flat or going down; costs of everything from health care to college were going up. And it culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Now, we knew that restoring that American Dream would not be easy. We knew it was going to take more than one year or one term or maybe even one President. And that was before the middle class got hammered by this recession, and we saw millions of our friends and neighbors get hurt, lose homes, lose jobs.
But over the last three and a half years, we've worked to make progress — 4.5 million new jobs created; half a million new manufacturing jobs. They'd counted the auto industry out, and now it is coming back stronger than ever, right here in Ohio and all across the country. (Applause.)
We passed health care so you could have security if you get sick. (Applause.) We passed reforms to make sure that Wall Street could not act in the same reckless manner that almost brought the economy to its knees. (Applause.) We ended the war in Iraq. (Applause.) And we're taking care of our veterans — because if you fought for this country, you should not have to fight for a job or a roof over your head when you come home. (Applause.)
Now, we still have a long way to go. But there's one thing that this crisis has not changed. It hasn't changed who we are. It hasn't changed our character. It hasn't changed what makes us great. It hasn't changed what brought us together in 2008. We just feel a greater sense of urgency about it.
Our first order of business has been to recover the jobs and wealth that was lost in this crisis. But we're not going to stop there. We're going to reclaim the financial security that's been slipping away for more than a decade. Our job isn't just to put people back to work. We want an economy where that work pays off, so that no matter who you are or what you look like or where you come from, here in America, you can make it if you try. (Applause.)
That's what this campaign is about — fighting for the middle class and growing our middle class. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Now, there are no quick fixes or easy solutions to the challenges we face. But there is no doubt in my mind we've got the capacity to meet them. We've got the best workers in the world. (Applause.) We've got the best entrepreneurs in the world. We've got the best scientists and researchers, the best colleges, and the best universities. (Applause.) We are still a young nation; we've got the greatest diversity of talent and ingenuity — people want to come here from every corner of the globe. So no matter how tough things get, this is not a country that quits. There isn't a country on Earth that wouldn't gladly change places with us.
What's standing in our way right now is not the lack of good ideas. What's standing in our way is our politics. We've got a stalemate in Washington. We've got Republicans in Congress who have clung to the view — the uncompromising view — that the only way to move ahead is to go back to the same, tired solutions that got us into this mess in the first place.
THE PRESIDENT: They've got a basic theory — I call it top-down economics. And the basic idea is, is that if you give more tax breaks to the very wealthy, and you get rid of regulations on banks and polluters and health insurance companies, then somehow everybody is going to prosper.
Ohio, you know better. We tried that. It did not work. America is not built from the top down. America is built from the middle out. America is built from the bottom up. (Applause.) America is built by farmers and factory workers, and small businesses and companies that send American products overseas, not jobs overseas. (Applause.)
That's the country we're fighting for. That's the economy that we need to build together. And we are not going to get there doing the same kind of stuff that these folks are talking about now. (Applause.) We're not going to get there if we spend more money on tax cuts for folks like me who don't need them and were not even asking for them. (Applause.)
And yet, the centerpiece of my opponent's entire economic plan is not only to extend the Bush tax cuts, but then to add a new $5 trillion tax cut on top of it.
THE PRESIDENT: The bulk of this would go to the wealthiest Americans. A lot of it would go to the top 1 percent. Pay attention here — folks making more than $3 million a year — the top one-tenth of 1 percent — they would get a tax cut under Mr. Romney's plan that is worth almost a quarter of a million dollars — $250,000 they would save under his plan.
THE PRESIDENT: Hold on, it gets worse. My opponent says he's going to pay for this $ 5 trillion plan, but under this plan guess who gets the bill for these $250,000 tax cuts?
THE PRESIDENT: You do. And you don't have to take my word for it. Just today, an independent, non-partisan organization, they crunched all the numbers. They looked at his plan. This wasn't me, it wasn't my team. This was an independent group. One of the guys who did the analysis used to work for Bush. (Laughter.) So they found that if Governor Romney wants to keep his word and pay for his plan, this $5 trillion tax cut, the only way to do it is to cut tax breaks that you, middle-class families, depend on —
THE PRESIDENT: The home mortgage deduction you use to pay for your home. The health care deduction that your employers use to provide you health care. Some of the tax credits we've put in place to send your kids to college. What this means is the average middle-class family with children would be hit with a tax increase of more than $2,000.
THE PRESIDENT: Now, I think a lot of people are willing to sacrifice to bring down the deficit, to defend our country. But he's not asking you to contribute more to pay down the deficit. He's not asking you to do it to invest — I'm sure they're okay. Sometimes folks faint because they've been standing too long. So we just need a paramedic right here in the front. They'll be okay, just give them room. That's all. This happens to me all the time. (Laughter.) It means I've been talking too long.
THE PRESIDENT: They'll be okay, just give them space.
Now, let me make sure people understand this. They're asking you to pay an extra $2,000 not to pay down the deficit, not to invest in our kids' education — Mr. Romney is asking you to pay more so that people like him get a tax cut.
THE PRESIDENT: In order to afford — we can break it down further. In order to afford just a tax cut for somebody like Mr. Romney, 125 families like yours would have to pay another $2,000 in taxes each year — and every year. Not just one year, every year.
Now, does that sound like a plan you can afford?
THE PRESIDENT: How many people like that plan?
AUDIENCE: None!
THE PRESIDENT: Does that sound like the kind of future that our country can afford?
THE PRESIDENT: Ohio, we do not need more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. We need tax cuts for working Americans. (Applause.) We need tax cuts for families who are trying to raise their kids, and trying to keep them healthy, and trying to send them to college, and trying to put a roof over their heads. (Applause.) We don't need tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas — we need tax breaks for companies that are investing here in Akron, Ohio. (Applause.)
That's the choice in this election. And that's why I'm running for President of the United States. (Applause.)
So I've got a different plan. I've got a different plan. Four years ago, I promised middle-class tax cuts — I kept that promise. (Applause.) The typical family is paying about $3,600 less in taxes than they were when I came into office. (Applause.)
So what I've said is let's keep taxes exactly where they are on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. So if your family makes under $250,000 — like 98 percent of American do — you won't see your income taxes increase by one single dime. (Applause.)
Now, if you've been lucky or you've been successful, so that you're in the other 2 percent of Americans, like I am, all we're asking is that we pay a little bit more so that we can pay down our deficit and so we can invest in things like education that will help us grow. (Applause.)
And, listen, Akron, I don't believe government can solve every problem. Not every government program works. Government can't help somebody who doesn't want to help themselves. So we're cutting things that don't work. I've already cut a trillion dollars' worth of spending. But we've got to balance that. And I'm not going to pay for massive new tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires by gutting the investments that we need to keep the middle class strong. (Applause.)
I want to make sure we're investing in hiring new teachers, especially in math and science. (Applause.) I want to make sure that we're putting folks back to work rebuilding our roads and our bridges, our airports. (Applause.) I want to make sure that we're investing in our community colleges so they can train people for the jobs that businesses are hiring for right now. (Applause.) I want to make sure we're investing in basic science and research to keep our technological edge. (Applause.)
And if we're going to bring down our deficit and do those things, and make sure that Medicare is there for our seniors, and make sure Social Security is there for our seniors — (applause) — then we've got to make choices. And all I'm asking is the folks like me and Mr. Romney go back to the rates that we paid under Bill Clinton. (Applause.) And if you remember, that was when the economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest budget surplus in history, and — here's the kicker — it was good for folks at the top, too.
Because here's what happens. When middle-class folks and folks who are working to get into the middle class, when they're getting a decent wage, when their tax bill isn't too high, they've got a little more money in their pockets, and then they go to the store and they buy a new appliance, or they finally get rid of that old beater and buy a new car, and maybe a student buys a new computer. And so, suddenly, businesses have customers. And that's how we make the economy grow. (Applause.)
So, Ohio, look, this is a choice. If you believe that Mr. Romney's plan will make you better off —
THE PRESIDENT: — if you believe it's okay to just set our sights lower — we can't afford to help young people go to college, we can't afford to rebuild our roads, we can't afford basic research — if you believe that, then go ahead and send these folks to Washington for the next few years.
THE PRESIDENT: But let me ask you, wouldn't we be better off if we kept fighting for the things that have always made us strong?
THE PRESIDENT: If we fight to make sure our young people get the education they need? (Applause.) Are we going to be better off if we developing new energy sources here in America?
THE PRESIDENT: Wouldn't we be better off if we're investing in manufacturing so we're selling goods stamped around the world, "Made in Akron, Ohio," — (applause) — "Made in the United States of America"? (Applause.) Will we be better off five years from now, or 10 years from now, or 20 years from now if we've got the courage to keep working, to keep striving, to keep fighting for what's true and right and best about America?
THE PRESIDENT: That's what I believe. That's why I'm running for President. (Applause.)
I want you to know, Akron, my hair may be grayer — (laughter) — but my determination is stronger than ever. (Applause.) My faith in the American people, my faith in you is stronger than ever. (Applause.) And if you still believe in me like I believe in you — if you're willing to stand with me, and organize with me, and march with me, and vote with me, knock on some doors with me, and make some phone calls with me, and recruiting your friends and neighbors with me — (applause) — I promise you we will win the state of Ohio — (applause) — we will win this election. We will finish what we started and we will remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.)
God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
by bonniekgoodman on August 1, 2012 • Permalink
Posted in Barack Obama, Campaign 2012, Campaign Speeches & Statements, Campaign Trail, Economy, General Election 2012, Income Taxes, Mitt Romney
Tagged Akron, Barack Obama, Middle Class, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Taxes, US Presidential Campaign
Posted by bonniekgoodman on August 1, 2012
https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/full-text-campaign-buzz-august-1-2012-president-barack-obamas-speech-at-a-campaign-event-in-akron-ohio-on-mitt-romney-middle-class-taxes/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl