CANDY CROWLEY, MODERATOR: Good evening from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. I\u2019m Candy Crowley from CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d We are here for the second presidential debate, a town hall, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: The Gallup organization chose 82 uncommitted voters from the New York area. Their questions will drive the night. My goal is to give the conversation direction and to ensure questions get answered.<\/p>\n
The questions are known to me and my team only. Neither the commission, nor the candidates have seen them. I hope to get to as many questions as possible.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: And because I am the optimistic sort, I\u2019m sure the candidates will oblige by keeping their answers concise and on point.<\/p>\n
Each candidate has as much as two minutes to respond to a common question, and there will be a two-minute follow-up. The audience here in the hall has agreed to be polite and attentive \u2014 no cheering or booing or outbursts of any sort.<\/p>\n
We will set aside that agreement just this once to welcome President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.<\/p>\n
(APPLAUSE)<\/p>\n
Gentlemen, thank you both for joining us here tonight. We have a lot of folks who\u2019ve been waiting all day to talk to you, so I want to get right to it.<\/p>\n
Governor Romney, as you know, you won the coin toss, so the first question will go to you. And I want to turn to a first-time voter, Jeremy Epstein, who has a question for you.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Mr. President, Governor Romney, as a 20-year-old college student, all I hear from professors, neighbors and others is that when I graduate, I will have little chance to get employment. What can you say to reassure me, but more importantly my parents, that I will be able to sufficiently support myself after I graduate?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Thank you, Jeremy. I appreciate your \u2014 your question, and thank you for being here this evening and to all of those from Nassau County that have come, thank you for your time. Thank you to Hofstra University and to Candy Crowley for organizing and leading this \u2014 this event.<\/p>\n
Thank you, Mr. President, also for being part of this \u2014 this debate.<\/p>\n
Your question \u2014 your question is one that\u2019s being asked by college kids all over this country. I was in Pennsylvania with someone who had just graduated \u2014 this was in Philadelphia \u2014 and she said, \u201cI\u2019ve got my degree. I can\u2019t find a job. I\u2019ve got three part- time jobs. They\u2019re just barely enough to pay for my food and pay for an apartment. I can\u2019t begin to pay back my student loans.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what we have to do is two things. We have to make sure that we make it easier for kids to afford college.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And also make sure that when they get out of college, there\u2019s a job. When I was governor of Massachusetts, to get a high school degree, you had to pass an exam. If you graduated in the top quarter of your airlines, we gave you a John and Abigail Adams scholarship, four years tuition free in the college of your choice in Massachusetts, it\u2019s a public institution.<\/p>\n
I want to make sure we keep our Pell grant program growing. We\u2019re also going to have our loan program, so that people are able to afford school. But the key thing is to make sure you can get a job when you get out of school. And what\u2019s happened over the last four years has been very, very hard for America\u2019s young people. I want you to be able to get a job.<\/p>\n
I know what it takes to get this economy going. With half of college kids graduating this year without a college \u2014 excuse me, without a job. And without a college level job, that\u2019s just unacceptable.<\/p>\n
And likewise you\u2019ve got more and more debt on your back. So more debt and less jobs. I\u2019m going to change that. I know what it takes to create good jobs again. I know what it takes to make sure that you have the kind of opportunity you deserve. And kids across this country are going to recognize, we\u2019re bringing back an economy.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not going to be like the last four years. The middle-class has been crushed over the last four years, and jobs have been too scarce. I know what it takes to bring them back, and I\u2019m going to do that, and make sure that when you graduate \u2014 when do you graduate?<\/p>\n
QUESTION: 2014.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: 2014. When you come out in 2014, I presume I\u2019m going to be president. I\u2019m going to make sure you get a job. Thanks Jeremy. Yeah, you bet.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Jeremy, first of all, your future is bright. And the fact that you\u2019re making an investment in higher education is critical. Not just to you, but to the entire nation. Now, the most important thing we can do is to make sure that we are creating jobs in this country. But not just jobs, good paying jobs. Ones that can support a family.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: And what I want to do, is build on the five million jobs that we\u2019ve created over the last 30 months in the private sector alone. And there are a bunch of things we can do to make sure your future is bright.<\/p>\n
Number one, I want to build manufacturing jobs in this country again. Now when Governor Romney said we should let Detroit go bankrupt. I said we\u2019re going to bet on American workers and the American auto industry and it\u2019s come surging back.<\/p>\n
I want to do that in industries, not just in Detroit, but all across the country and that means we change our tax code so we\u2019re giving incentives to companies that are investing here in the United States and creating jobs here.<\/p>\n
It also means we\u2019re helping them and small businesses to export all around the world to new markets.<\/p>\n
Number two, we\u2019ve got to make sure that we have the best education system in the world. And the fact that you\u2019re going to college is great, but I want everybody to get a great education and we\u2019ve worked hard to make sure that student loans are available for folks like you, but I also want to make sure that community colleges are offering slots for workers to get retrained for the jobs that are out there right now and the jobs of the future.<\/p>\n
Number three, we\u2019ve got to control our own energy. Now, not only oil and natural gas, which we\u2019ve been investing in; but also, we\u2019ve got to make sure we\u2019re building the energy source of the future, not just thinking about next year, but ten years from now, 20 years from now. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve invested in solar and wind and biofuels, energy efficient cars.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got to reduce our deficit, but we\u2019ve got to do it in a balanced way. Asking the wealthy to pay a little bit more along with cuts so that we can invest in education like yours.<\/p>\n
And let\u2019s take the money that we\u2019ve been spending on war over the last decade to rebuild America, roads, bridges schools. We do those things, not only is your future going to be bright but America\u2019s future is going to bright as well.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Let me ask you for more immediate answer and begin with Mr. Romney just quickly what \u2014 what can you do? We\u2019re looking at a situation where 40 percent of the unemployed have been unemployed have been unemployed for six months or more. They don\u2019t have the two years that Jeremy has.<\/p>\n
What about those long term unemployed who need a job right now?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Well what you\u2019re seeing in this country is 23 million people struggling to find a job. And a lot of them, as you say, Candy, have been out of work for a long, long, long time. The president\u2019s policies have been exercised over the last four years and they haven\u2019t put Americans back to work.<\/p>\n
We have fewer people working today than we had when the president took office. If the \u2014 the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent when he took office, it\u2019s 7.8 percent now. But if you calculated that unemployment rate, taking back the people who dropped out of the workforce, it would be 10.7 percent.<\/p>\n
We have not made the progress we need to make to put people back to work. That\u2019s why I put out a five-point plan that gets America 12 million new jobs in four years and rising take-home pay. It\u2019s going to help Jeremy get a job when he comes out of school. It\u2019s going to help people across the country that are unemployed right now.<\/p>\n
And one thing that the president said, which I want to make sure that we understand, he said that I said we should take Detroit bankrupt. And that\u2019s right. My plan was to have the company go through bankruptcy like 7-Eleven did and Macy\u2019s and Condell (ph) Airlines and come out stronger.<\/p>\n
And I know he keeps saying, you want to take Detroit bankrupt. Well, the president took Detroit bankrupt. You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did.<\/p>\n
And I think it\u2019s important to know that that was a process that was necessary to get those companies back on their feet, so they could start hiring more people. That was precisely what I recommended and ultimately what happened.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Let me give the president a chance.<\/p>\n
Go ahead. OBAMA: Candy, what Governor Romney said just isn\u2019t true. He wanted to take them into bankruptcy without providing them any way to stay open. And we would have lost a million jobs. And that \u2014 don\u2019t take my word for it, take the executives at GM and Chrysler, some of whom are Republicans, may even support Governor Romney. But they\u2019ll tell you his prescription wasn\u2019t going to work.<\/p>\n
And Governor Romney\u2019s says he\u2019s got a five-point plan? Governor Romney doesn\u2019t have a five-point plan. He has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules. That\u2019s been his philosophy in the private sector, that\u2019s been his philosophy as governor, that\u2019s been his philosophy as a presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
You can make a lot of money and pay lower tax rates than somebody who makes a lot less. You can ship jobs overseas and get tax breaks for it. You can invest in a company, bankrupt it, lay off the workers, strip away their pensions, and you still make money.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly the philosophy that we\u2019ve seen in place for the last decade. That\u2019s what\u2019s been squeezing middle class families.<\/p>\n
And we have fought back for four years to get out of that mess. The last thing we need to do is to go back to the very same policies that got us there.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, the next question is going to be for you here.<\/p>\n
And, Mr. Romney \u2014 Governor Romney \u2014 there\u2019ll be plenty of chances here to go on, but I want to\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: That \u2014 that Detroit \u2014 that Detroit answer\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: We have all these folks.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2026 that Detroit answer\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: I will let you absolutely\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2026 and the rest of the answer, way off the mark.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: OK. Will \u2014 will \u2014 you certainly will have lots of time here coming up.<\/p>\n
Because I want to move you on to something that\u2019s sort of connected to cars here, and \u2014 and go over. And we want to get a question from Phillip Tricolla.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Your energy secretary, Steven Chu, has now been on record three times stating it\u2019s not policy of his department to help lower gas prices. Do you agree with Secretary Chu that this is not the job of the Energy Department?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: The most important thing we can do is to make sure we control our own energy. So here\u2019s what I\u2019ve done since I\u2019ve been president. We have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years.<\/p>\n
Natural gas production is the highest it\u2019s been in decades. We have seen increases in coal production and coal employment. But what I\u2019ve also said is we can\u2019t just produce traditional source of energy. We\u2019ve also got to look to the future. That\u2019s why we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. That means that in the middle of the next decade, any car you buy, you\u2019re going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas. That\u2019s why we doubled clean \u2014 clean energy production like wind and solar and biofuels.<\/p>\n
And all these things have contributed to us lowering our oil imports to the lowest levels in 16 years. Now, I want to build on that. And that means, yes, we still continue to open up new areas for drilling. We continue to make it a priority for us to go after natural gas. We\u2019ve got potentially 600,000 jobs and 100 years worth of energy right beneath our feet with natural gas.<\/p>\n
And we can do it in an environmentally sound way. But we\u2019ve also got to continue to figure out how we have efficiency energy, because ultimately that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to reduce demand and that\u2019s what\u2019s going to keep gas prices lower.<\/p>\n
Now, Governor Romney will say he\u2019s got an all-of-the-above plan, but basically his plan is to let the oil companies write the energy policies. So he\u2019s got the oil and gas part, but he doesn\u2019t have the clean energy part. And if we are only thinking about tomorrow or the next day and not thinking about 10 years from now, we\u2019re not going to control our own economic future. Because China, Germany, they\u2019re making these investments. And I\u2019m not going to cede those jobs of the future to those countries. I expect those new energy sources to be built right here in the United States.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s going to help Jeremy get a job. It\u2019s also going to make sure that you\u2019re not paying as much for gas.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor, on the subject of gas prices?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Well, let\u2019s look at the president\u2019s policies, all right, as opposed to the rhetoric, because we\u2019ve had four years of policies being played out. And the president\u2019s right in terms of the additional oil production, but none of it came on federal land. As a matter of fact, oil production is down 14 percent this year on federal land, and gas production was down 9 percent. Why? Because the president cut in half the number of licenses and permits for drilling on federal lands, and in federal waters.<\/p>\n
So where\u2019d the increase come from? Well a lot of it came from the Bakken Range in North Dakota. What was his participation there? The administration brought a criminal action against the people drilling up there for oil, this massive new resource we have. And what was the cost? 20 or 25 birds were killed and brought out a migratory bird act to go after them on a criminal basis.<\/p>\n
Look, I want to make sure we use our oil, our coal, our gas, our nuclear, our renewables. I believe very much in our renewable capabilities; ethanol, wind, solar will be an important part of our energy mix.<\/p>\n
But what we don\u2019t need is to have the president keeping us from taking advantage of oil, coal and gas. This has not been Mr. Oil, or Mr. Gas, or Mr. Coal. Talk to the people that are working in those industries. I was in coal country. People grabbed my arms and said, \u201cPlease save my job.\u201d The head of the EPA said, \u201cYou can\u2019t build a coal plant. You\u2019ll virtually \u2014 it\u2019s virtually impossible given our regulations.\u201d When the president ran for office, he said if you build a coal plant, you can go ahead, but you\u2019ll go bankrupt. That\u2019s not the right course for America.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take advantage of the energy resources we have, as well as the energy sources for the future. And if we do that, if we do what I\u2019m planning on doing, which is getting us energy independent, North America energy independence within eight years, you\u2019re going to see manufacturing jobs come back. Because our energy is low cost, that are already beginning to come back because of our abundant energy. I\u2019ll get America and North America energy independent. I\u2019ll do it by more drilling, more permits and licenses.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to bring that pipeline in from Canada. How in the world the president said no to that pipeline? I will never know.<\/p>\n
This is about bringing good jobs back for the middle class of America, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do. CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me just see if I can move you to the gist of this question, which is, are we looking at the new normal? I can tell you that tomorrow morning, a lot of people in Hempstead will wake up and fill up and they will find that the price of gas is over $4 a gallon.<\/p>\n
Is it within the purview of the government to bring those prices down, or are we looking at the new normal?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Candy, there\u2019s no doubt that world demand\u2019s gone up, but our production is going up, and we\u2019re using oil more efficiently. And very little of what Governor Romney just said is true. We\u2019ve opened up public lands. We\u2019re actually drilling more on public lands than in the previous administration and my \u2014 the previous president was an oil man.<\/p>\n
And natural gas isn\u2019t just appearing magically. We\u2019re encouraging it and working with the industry.<\/p>\n
And when I hear Governor Romney say he\u2019s a big coal guy, I mean, keep in mind, when \u2014 Governor, when you were governor of Massachusetts, you stood in front of a coal plant and pointed at it and said, \u201cThis plant kills,\u201d and took great pride in shutting it down. And now suddenly you\u2019re a big champion of coal.<\/p>\n
So what I\u2019ve tried to do is be consistent. With respect to something like coal, we made the largest investment in clean coal technology, to make sure that even as we\u2019re producing more coal, we\u2019re producing it cleaner and smarter. Same thing with oil, same thing with natural gas.<\/p>\n
And the proof is our oil imports are down to the lowest levels in 20 years. Oil production is up, natural gas production is up, and, most importantly, we\u2019re also starting to build cars that are more efficient.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s creating jobs. That means those cars can be exported, \u2018cause that\u2019s the demand around the world, and it also means that it\u2019ll save money in your pocketbook.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: That\u2019s the strategy you need, an all-of-the-above strategy, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do in the next four years.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: But that\u2019s not what you\u2019ve done in the last four years. That\u2019s the problem. In the last four years, you cut permits and licenses on federal land and federal waters in half.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Not true, Governor Romney.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: So how much did you cut (inaudible)?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Not true.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: How much did you cut them by, then?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Governor, we have actually produced more oil \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: No, no. How much did you cut licenses and permits on federal land and federal waters?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Governor Romney, here\u2019s what we did. There were a whole bunch of oil companies.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: No, no, I had a question and the question was how much did you cut them by?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: You want me to answer a question \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: How much did you cut them by?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I\u2019m happy to answer the question.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: All right. And it is \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Here\u2019s what happened. You had a whole bunch of oil companies who had leases on public lands that they weren\u2019t using. So what we said was you can\u2019t just sit on this for 10, 20, 30 years, decide when you want to drill, when you want to produce, when it\u2019s most profitable for you. These are public lands. So if you want to drill on public lands, you use it or you lose it.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: OK, (inaudible) \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: And so what we did was take away those leases. And we are now reletting them so that we can actually make a profit.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And production on private \u2014 on government land \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Production is up.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2014 is down.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: No, it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Production on government land of oil is down 14 percent.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Governor \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And production on gas \u2014<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
OBAMA: It\u2019s just not true.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: It\u2019s absolutely true. Look, there\u2019s no question but the people recognize that we have not produced more (inaudible) on federal lands and in federal waters. And coal, coal production is not up; coal jobs are not up.<\/p>\n
I was just at a coal facility, where some 1,200 people lost their jobs. The right course for America is to have a true all-of-the-above policy. I don\u2019t think anyone really believes that you\u2019re a person who\u2019s going to be pushing for oil and gas and coal. You\u2019ll get your chance in a moment. I\u2019m still speaking.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Well \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And the answer is I don\u2019t believe people think that\u2019s the case \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2014 (inaudible).<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: That wasn\u2019t the question.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: OK.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: That was a statement. I don\u2019t think the American people believe that. I will fight for oil, coal and natural gas. And the proof, the proof of whether a strategy is working or not is what the price is that you\u2019re paying at the pump. If you\u2019re paying less than you paid a year or two ago, why, then, the strategy is working. But you\u2019re paying more. When the president took office, the price of gasoline here in Nassau County was about $1.86 a gallon. Now, it\u2019s $4.00 a gallon. The price of electricity is up.<\/p>\n
If the president\u2019s energy policies are working, you\u2019re going to see the cost of energy come down. I will fight to create more energy in this country, to get America energy secure. And part of that is bringing in a pipeline of oil from Canada, taking advantage of the oil and coal we have here, drilling offshore in Alaska, drilling offshore in Virginia where the people want it. Those things will get us the energy we need.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, could you address, because we did finally get to gas prices here, could you address what the governor said, which is if your energy policy was working, the price of gasoline would not be $4 a gallon here. Is that true?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Well, think about what the governor \u2014 think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney\u2019s now promoting.<\/p>\n
So, it\u2019s conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess.<\/p>\n
What I want to do is to create an economy that is strong, and at the same time produce energy. And with respect to this pipeline that Governor Romney keeps on talking about, we\u2019ve \u2014 we\u2019ve built enough pipeline to wrap around the entire earth once.<\/p>\n
So, I\u2019m all for pipelines. I\u2019m all for oil production. What I\u2019m not for is us ignoring the other half of the equation. So, for example, on wind energy, when Governor Romney says \u201cthese are imaginary jobs.\u201d When you\u2019ve got thousands of people right now in Iowa, right now in Colorado, who are working, creating wind power with good-paying manufacturing jobs, and the Republican senator in that \u2014 in Iowa is all for it, providing tax breaks (ph) to help this work and Governor Romney says I\u2019m opposed. I\u2019d get rid of it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not an energy strategy for the future. And we need to win that future. And I intend to win it as President of the United States.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: I got to \u2014 I got to move you on \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: He gets the first \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2014 and the next question \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: He actually got \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2014 for you \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: He actually got the first question. So I get the last question \u2014 last answer \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: (Inaudible) in the follow up, it doesn\u2019t quite work like that. But I\u2019m going to give you a chance here. I promise you, I\u2019m going to.<\/p>\n
And the next question is for you. So if you want to, you know, continue on \u2014 but I don\u2019t want to leave all \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Candy, Candy \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2014 sitting here \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Candy, I don\u2019t have a policy of stopping wind jobs in Iowa and that \u2014 they\u2019re not phantom jobs. They\u2019re real jobs.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: OK.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I appreciate wind jobs in Iowa and across our country. I appreciate the jobs in coal and oil and gas. I\u2019m going to make sure \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: OK.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2014 we\u2019re taking advantage of our energy resources. We\u2019ll bring back manufacturing to America. We\u2019re going to get through a very aggressive energy policy, 31\/2 million more jobs in this country. It\u2019s critical to our future.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Candy, it\u2019s not going to \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: We\u2019re going to move you along \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Used to being interrupted.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: We\u2019re going to move you both along to taxes over here and all these folks that have been waiting.<\/p>\n
Governor, this question is for you. It comes from Mary Follano \u2014 Follano, sorry.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Hi, Mary.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Governor Romney, you have stated that if you\u2019re elected president, you would plan to reduce the tax rates for all the tax brackets and that you would work with the Congress to eliminate some deductions in order to make up for the loss in revenue.<\/p>\n
Concerning the \u2014 these various deductions, the mortgage deductions, the charitable deductions, the child tax credit and also the \u2014 oh, what\u2019s that other credit? I forgot.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: You\u2019re doing great.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Oh, I remember.<\/p>\n
The education credits, which are important to me, because I have children in college. What would be your position on those things, which are important to the middle class?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Thank you very much. And let me tell you, you\u2019re absolutely right about part of that, which is I want to bring the rates down, I want to simplify the tax code, and I want to get middle- income taxpayers to have lower taxes.<\/p>\n
And the reason I want middle-income taxpayers to have lower taxes is because middle-income taxpayers have been buried over the past four years. You\u2019ve seen, as middle-income people in this country, incomes go down $4,300 a family, even as gasoline prices have gone up $2,000. Health insurance premiums, up $2,500. Food prices up. Utility prices up.<\/p>\n
The middle-income families in America have been crushed over the last four years. So I want to get some relief to middle-income families. That\u2019s part \u2014 that\u2019s part one.<\/p>\n
Now, how about deductions? \u2018Cause I\u2019m going to bring rates down across the board for everybody, but I\u2019m going to limit deductions and exemptions and credits, particularly for people at the high end, because I am not going to have people at the high end pay less than they\u2019re paying now.<\/p>\n
The top 5 percent of taxpayers will continue to pay 60 percent of the income tax the nation collects. So that\u2019ll stay the same.<\/p>\n
Middle-income people are going to get a tax break.<\/p>\n
And so, in terms of bringing down deductions, one way of doing that would be say everybody gets \u2014 I\u2019ll pick a number \u2014 $25,000 of deductions and credits, and you can decide which ones to use. Your home mortgage interest deduction, charity, child tax credit, and so forth, you can use those as part of filling that bucket, if you will, of deductions.<\/p>\n
But your rate comes down and the burden also comes down on you for one more reason, and that is every middle-income taxpayer no longer will pay any tax on interest, dividends or capital gains. No tax on your savings. That makes life a lot easier.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re getting interest from a bank, if you\u2019re getting a statement from a mutual fund or any other kind of investment you have, you don\u2019t have to worry about filing taxes on that, because there\u2019ll be no taxes for anybody making $200,000.00 per year and less, on your interest, dividends and capital gains. Why am I lowering taxes on the middle-class? Because under the last four years, they\u2019ve been buried. And I want to help people in the middle-class.<\/p>\n
And I will not \u2014 I will not under any circumstances, reduce the share that\u2019s being paid by the highest income taxpayers. And I will not, under any circumstances increase taxes on the middle-class. The president\u2019s spending, the president\u2019s borrowing will cost this nation to have to raise taxes on the American people. Not just at the high end. A recent study has shown the people in the middle-class will see $4,000.00 per year in higher taxes as a result of the spending and borrowing of this administration.<\/p>\n
I will not let that happen. I want to get us on track to a balanced budget, and I\u2019m going to reduce the tax burden on middle income families. And what\u2019s that going to do? It\u2019s going to help those families, and it\u2019s going to create incentives to start growing jobs again in this country.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Thanks, Governor.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: My philosophy on taxes has been simple. And that is, I want to give middle-class families and folks who are striving to get into the middle-class some relief. Because they have been hit hard over the last decade. Over the last 15, over the last 20 years.<\/p>\n
So four years ago I stood on a stage just like this one. Actually it was a town hall, and I said I would cut taxes for middle- class families, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve done, by $3,600.00. I said I would cut taxes for small businesses, who are the drivers and engines of growth. And we\u2019ve cut them 18 times. And I want to continue those tax cuts for middle-class families, and for small business.<\/p>\n
But what I\u2019ve also said is, if we\u2019re serious about reducing the deficit, if this is genuinely a moral obligation to the next generation, then in addition to some tough spending cuts, we\u2019ve also got to make sure that the wealthy do a little bit more.<\/p>\n
So what I\u2019ve said is, your first $250,000.00 worth of income, no change. And that means 98 percent of American families, 97 percent of small businesses, they will not see a tax increase. I\u2019m ready to sign that bill right now. The only reason it\u2019s not happening is because Governor Romney\u2019s allies in Congress have held the 98 percent hostage because they want tax breaks for the top 2 percent.<\/p>\n
But what I\u2019ve also says is for above $250,000, we can go back to the tax rates we had when Bill Clinton was president. We created 23 million new jobs. That\u2019s part of what took us from deficits to surplus. It will be good for our economy and it will be good for job creation.<\/p>\n
Now, Governor Romney has a different philosophy. He was on 60 Minutes just two weeks ago and he was asked: Is it fair for somebody like you, making $20 million a year, to pay a lower tax rate than a nurse or a bus driver, somebody making $50,000 year? And he said, \u201cYes, I think that\u2019s fair.\u201d Not only that, he said, \u201cI think that\u2019s what grows the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, I fundamentally disagree with that. I think what grows the economy is when you get that tax credit that we put in place for your kids going to college. I think that grows the economy. I think what grows the economy is when we make sure small businesses are getting a tax credit for hiring veterans who fought for our country. That grows our economy.<\/p>\n
So we just have a different theory. And when Governor Romney stands here, after a year of campaigning, when during a Republican primary he stood on stage and said \u201cI\u2019m going to give tax cuts\u201d \u2014 he didn\u2019t say tax rate cuts, he said \u201ctax cuts to everybody,\u201d including the top 1 percent, you should believe him because that\u2019s been his history.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s exactly the kind of top-down economics that is not going to work if we want a strong middle class and an economy that\u2019s striving for everybody.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor Romney, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve got a reply there.<\/p>\n
(LAUGHTER) ROMNEY: You\u2019re absolutely right.<\/p>\n
You heard what I said about my tax plan. The top 5 percent will continue to pay 60 percent, as they do today. I\u2019m not looking to cut taxes for wealthy people. I am looking to cut taxes for middle-income people.<\/p>\n
And why do I want to bring rates down, and at the same time lower exemptions and deductions, particularly for people at the high end? Because if you bring rates down, it makes it easier for small business to keep more of their capital and hire people.<\/p>\n
And for me, this is about jobs. I want to get America\u2019s economy going again. Fifty-four percent of America\u2019s workers work in businesses that are taxed as individuals. So when you bring those rates down, those small businesses are able to keep more money and hire more people.<\/p>\n
For me, I look at what\u2019s happened in the last four years and say this has been a disappointment. We can do better than this. We don\u2019t have to settle for, how many months, 43 months with unemployment above 8 percent, 23 million Americans struggling to find a good job right now.<\/p>\n
There are 3.5 million more women living in poverty today than when the president took office.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t have to live like this. We can get this economy going again. My five-point plan does it. Energy independence for North America in five years. Opening up more trade, particularly in Latin America. Cracking down on China when they cheat. Getting us to a balanced budget. Fixing our training programs for our workers. And finally, championing small business.<\/p>\n
I want to make small businesses grow and thrive. I know how to make that happen. I spent my life in the private sector. I know why jobs come and why they go. And they\u2019re going now because of the policies of this administration.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor, let me ask the president something about what you just said.<\/p>\n
The governor says that he is not going to allow the top 5 percent, believe is what he said, to have a tax cut, that it will all even out, that what he wants to do is give that tax cut to the middle class. Settled?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: No, it\u2019s not settled.<\/p>\n
Look, the cost of lowering rates for everybody across the board, 20 percent. Along with what he also wants to do in terms of eliminating the estate tax, along what he wants to do in terms of corporates, changes in the tax code, it costs about $5 trillion.<\/p>\n
Governor Romney then also wants to spend $2 trillion on additional military programs even though the military\u2019s not asking for them. That\u2019s $7 trillion.<\/p>\n
He also wants to continue the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. That\u2019s another trillion dollars \u2014 that\u2019s $8 trillion.<\/p>\n
Now, what he says is he\u2019s going to make sure that this doesn\u2019t add to the deficit and he\u2019s going to cut middleclass taxes.<\/p>\n
But when he\u2019s asked, how are you going to do it, which deductions, which loopholes are you going to close? He can\u2019t tell you.<\/p>\n
The \u2014 the fact that he only has to pay 14 percent on his taxes when a lot of you are paying much higher. He\u2019s already taken that off the board, capital gains are going to continue to be at a low rate so we \u2014 we\u2019re not going to get money that way.<\/p>\n
We haven\u2019t heard from the governor any specifics beyond Big Bird and eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood in terms of how he pays for that.<\/p>\n
Now, Governor Romney was a very successful investor. If somebody came to you, Governor, with a plan that said, here, I want to spend $7 or $8 trillion, and then we\u2019re going to pay for it, but we can\u2019t tell you until maybe after the election how we\u2019re going to do it, you wouldn\u2019t take such a sketchy deal and neither should you, the American people, because the math doesn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n
And \u2014 and what\u2019s at stake here is one of two things, either Candy \u2014 this blows up the deficit because keep in mind, this is just to pay for the additional spending that he\u2019s talking about, $7 trillion \u2013 $8 trillion before we even get to the deficit we already have. Or, alternatively, it\u2019s got to be paid for, not only by closing deductions for wealthy individuals, that \u2014 that will pay for about 4 percent reduction in tax rates.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re going to be paying for it. You\u2019re going to lose some deductions, and you can\u2019t buy the sales pitch. Nobody who\u2019s looked at it that\u2019s serious, actually believes it adds up.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me get \u2014 let me get the governor in on this. And Governor, let\u2019s \u2014 before we get into a\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I \u2014 I\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2026vast array of who says \u2014 what study says what, if it shouldn\u2019t add up. If somehow when you get in there, there isn\u2019t enough tax revenue coming in. If somehow the numbers don\u2019t add up, would you be willing to look again at a 20 percent\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Well of course they add up. I \u2014 I was \u2014 I was someone who ran businesses for 25 years, and balanced the budget. I ran the Olympics and balanced the budget. I ran the \u2014 the state of Massachusetts as a governor, to the extent any governor does, and balanced the budget all four years. When we\u2019re talking about math that doesn\u2019t add up, how about $4 trillion of deficits over the last four years, $5 trillion? That\u2019s math that doesn\u2019t add up. We have \u2014 we have a president talking about someone\u2019s plan in a way that\u2019s completely foreign to what my real plan is.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And then we have his own record, which is we have four consecutive years where he said when he was running for office, he would cut the deficit in half. Instead he\u2019s doubled it. We\u2019ve gone from $10 trillion of national debt, to $16 trillion of national debt. If the president were reelected, we\u2019d go to almost $20 trillion of national debt. This puts us on a road to Greece. I know what it takes to balance budgets. I\u2019ve done it my entire life. So for instance when he says, \u201cYours is a $5 trillion cut.\u201d Well, no it\u2019s not. Because I\u2019m offsetting some of the reductions with holding down some of the deductions.<\/p>\n
And\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor, I\u2019ve gotta \u2014 gotta \u2014 actually, I need to have you both (inaudible).<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: I understand the stakes here. I understand both of you. But I \u2014 I will get run out of town if I don\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And I just described \u2014 I just described to you, Mr. President \u2014 I just described to you precisely how I\u2019d do it which is with a single number that people can put \u2014 and they can put they\u2019re \u2014 they\u2019re deductions and credits\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, we\u2019re keeping track, I promise you. And Mr. President, the next question is for you, so stay standing.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Great. Looking forward to it.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s Katherine Fenton, who has a question for you.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: In what new ways to you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace, specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Well, Katherine, that\u2019s a great question. And, you know, I was raised by a single mom who had to put herself through school while looking after two kids. And she worked hard every day and made a lot of sacrifices to make sure we got everything we needed. My grandmother, she started off as a secretary in a bank. She never got a college education, even though she was smart as a whip. And she worked her way up to become a vice president of a local bank, but she hit the glass ceiling. She trained people who would end up becoming her bosses during the course of her career.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t complain. That\u2019s not what you did in that generation. And this is one of the reasons why one of the first \u2014 the first bill I signed was something called the Lily Ledbetter bill. And it\u2019s named after this amazing woman who had been doing the same job as a man for years, found out that she was getting paid less, and the Supreme Court said that she couldn\u2019t bring suit because she should have found about it earlier, whereas she had no way of finding out about it. So we fixed that. And that\u2019s an example of the kind of advocacy that we need, because women are increasingly the breadwinners in the family. This is not just a women\u2019s issue, this is a family issue, this is a middle-class issue, and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve got to fight for it.<\/p>\n
It also means that we\u2019ve got to make sure that young people like yourself are able to afford a college education. Earlier, Governor Romney talked about he wants to make Pell Grants and other education accessible for young people.<\/p>\n
Well, the truth of the matter is, is that that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019ve done. We\u2019ve expanded Pell Grants for millions of people, including millions of young women, all across the country.<\/p>\n
We did it by taking $60 billion that was going to banks and lenders as middlemen for the student loan program, and we said, let\u2019s just cut out the middleman. Let\u2019s give the money directly to students.<\/p>\n
And as a consequence, we\u2019ve seen millions of young people be able to afford college, and that\u2019s going to make sure that young women are going to be able to compete in that marketplace.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019ve got to enforce the laws, which is what we are doing, and we\u2019ve also got to make sure that in every walk of life we do not tolerate discrimination.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s been one of the hallmarks of my administration. I\u2019m going to continue to push on this issue for the next four years.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor Romney, pay equity for women?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Thank you. And important topic, and one which I learned a great deal about, particularly as I was serving as governor of my state, because I had the chance to pull together a cabinet and all the applicants seemed to be men.<\/p>\n
And I \u2014 and I went to my staff, and I said, \u201cHow come all the people for these jobs are \u2014 are all men.\u201d They said, \u201cWell, these are the people that have the qualifications.\u201d And I said, \u201cWell, gosh, can\u2019t we \u2014 can\u2019t we find some \u2014 some women that are also qualified?\u201d<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And \u2014 and so we \u2014 we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet.<\/p>\n
I went to a number of women\u2019s groups and said, \u201cCan you help us find folks,\u201d and they brought us whole binders full of women.<\/p>\n
I was proud of the fact that after I staffed my Cabinet and my senior staff, that the University of New York in Albany did a survey of all 50 states, and concluded that mine had more women in senior leadership positions than any other state in America.<\/p>\n
Now one of the reasons I was able to get so many good women to be part of that team was because of our recruiting effort. But number two, because I recognized that if you\u2019re going to have women in the workforce that sometimes you need to be more flexible. My chief of staff, for instance, had two kids that were still in school.<\/p>\n
She said, I can\u2019t be here until 7 or 8 o\u2019clock at night. I need to be able to get home at 5 o\u2019clock so I can be there for making dinner for my kids and being with them when they get home from school. So we said fine. Let\u2019s have a flexible schedule so you can have hours that work for you.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to have to have employers in the new economy, in the economy I\u2019m going to bring to play, that are going to be so anxious to get good workers they\u2019re going to be anxious to hire women. In the \u2014 in the last women have lost 580,000 jobs. That\u2019s the net of what\u2019s happened in the last four years. We\u2019re still down 580,000 jobs. I mentioned 31\/2 million women, more now in poverty than four years ago.<\/p>\n
What we can do to help young women and women of all ages is to have a strong economy, so strong that employers that are looking to find good employees and bringing them into their workforce and adapting to a flexible work schedule that gives women opportunities that they would otherwise not be able to afford.<\/p>\n
This is what I have done. It\u2019s what I look forward to doing and I know what it takes to make an economy work, and I know what a working economy looks like. And an economy with 7.8 percent unemployment is not a real strong economy. An economy that has 23 million people looking for work is not a strong economy.<\/p>\n
An economy with 50 percent of kids graduating from college that can\u2019t finds a job, or a college level job, that\u2019s not what we have to have. CROWLEY: Governor?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I\u2019m going to help women in America get good work by getting a stronger economy and by supporting women in the workforce.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President why don\u2019t you get in on this quickly, please?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Katherine, I just want to point out that when Governor Romney\u2019s campaign was asked about the Lilly Ledbetter bill, whether he supported it? He said, \u201cI\u2019ll get back to you.\u201d And that\u2019s not the kind of advocacy that women need in any economy. Now, there are some other issues that have a bearing on how women succeed in the workplace. For example, their healthcare. You know a major difference in this campaign is that Governor Romney feels comfortable having politicians in Washington decide the health care choices that women are making.<\/p>\n
I think that\u2019s a mistake. In my health care bill, I said insurance companies need to provide contraceptive coverage to everybody who is insured. Because this is not just a \u2014 a health issue, it\u2019s an economic issue for women. It makes a difference. This is money out of that family\u2019s pocket. Governor Romney not only opposed it, he suggested that in fact employers should be able to make the decision as to whether or not a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not the kind of advocacy that women need. When Governor Romney says that we should eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, there are millions of women all across the country, who rely on Planned Parenthood for, not just contraceptive care, they rely on it for mammograms, for cervical cancer screenings. That\u2019s a pocketbook issue for women and families all across the country. And it makes a difference in terms of how well and effectively women are able to work. When we talk about child care, and the credits that we\u2019re providing. That makes a difference in whether they can go out there and \u2014 and earn a living for their family.<\/p>\n
These are not just women\u2019s issues. These are family issues. These are economic issues.<\/p>\n
And one of the things that makes us grow as an economy is when everybody participates and women are getting the same fair deal as men are.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: And I\u2019ve got two daughters and I want to make sure that they have the same opportunities that anybody\u2019s sons have. That\u2019s part of what I\u2019m fighting for as president of the United States.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: I want to move us along here to Susan Katz, who has a question.<\/p>\n
And, Governor, it\u2019s for you. QUESTION: Governor Romney, I am an undecided voter, because I\u2019m disappointed with the lack of progress I\u2019ve seen in the last four years. However, I do attribute much of America\u2019s economic and international problems to the failings and missteps of the Bush administration.<\/p>\n
Since both you and President Bush are Republicans, I fear a return to the policies of those years should you win this election. What is the biggest difference between you and George W. Bush, and how do you differentiate yourself from George W. Bush?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Thank you. And I appreciate that question.<\/p>\n
I just want to make sure that, I think I was supposed to get that last answer, but I want to point out that that I don\u2019t believe\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I don\u2019t think so, Candy.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2026 I don\u2019t believe\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I want to make sure our timekeepers are working here.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: The time \u2014 the time\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: OK. The timekeepers are all working. And let me tell you that the last part, it\u2019s for the two of you to talk to one another, and it isn\u2019t quite as (inaudible) you think.<\/p>\n
But go ahead and use this two minutes any way you\u2019d like to, the question is on the floor.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I\u2019d just note that I don\u2019t believe that bureaucrats in Washington should tell someone whether they can use contraceptives or not. And I don\u2019t believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care of not. Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives. And \u2014 and the \u2014 and the president\u2019s statement of my policy is completely and totally wrong.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Governor\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Let me come back and \u2014 and answer your question.<\/p>\n
President Bush and I are \u2014 are different people and these are different times and that\u2019s why my five point plan is so different than what he would have done.<\/p>\n
I mean for instance, we can now, by virtue of new technology actually get all the energy we need in North America without having to go to the \u2014 the Arabs or the Venezuelans or anyone else. That wasn\u2019t true in his time, that\u2019s why my policy starts with a very robust policy to get all that energy in North America \u2014 become energy secure.<\/p>\n
Number two, trade \u2014 I\u2019ll crack down on China, President Bush didn\u2019t. I\u2019m also going to dramatically expand trade in Latin America. It\u2019s been growing about 12 percent per year over a long period of time. I want to add more free trade agreements so we\u2019ll have more trade.<\/p>\n
Number three, I\u2019m going to get us to a balanced budget. President Bush didn\u2019t. President Obama was right, he said that that was outrageous to have deficits as high as half a trillion dollars under the Bush years. He was right, but then he put in place deficits twice that size for every one of his four years. And his forecast for the next four years is more deficits, almost that large. So that\u2019s the next area I\u2019m different than President Bush.<\/p>\n
And then let\u2019s take the last one, championing small business. Our party has been focused too long. I came through small business. I understand how hard it is to start a small business. That\u2019s why everything I\u2019ll do is designed to help small businesses grow and add jobs. I want to keep their taxes down on small business. I want regulators to see their job as encouraging small enterprise, not crushing it.<\/p>\n
And the thing I find the most troubling about Obama Care, well it\u2019s a long list, but one of the things I find most troubling is that when you go out and talk to small businesses and ask them what they think about it, they tell you it keeps them from hiring more people.<\/p>\n
My priority is jobs. I know how to make that happen. And President Bush has a very different path for a very different time. My path is designed in getting small businesses to grow and hire people.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Thanks, Governor.<\/p>\n
Mr. President?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Well, first of all, I think it\u2019s important to tell you that we did come in during some tough times. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month when I started. But we had been digging our way out of policies that were misplaced and focused on the top doing very well and middle class folks not doing well.<\/p>\n
Now, we\u2019ve seen 30 consecutive \u2014 31 consecutive months of job growth; 5.2 million new jobs created. And the plans that I talked about will create even more. But when Governor Romney says that he has a very different economic plan, the centerpiece of his economic plan are tax cuts. That\u2019s what took us from surplus to deficit. When he talks about getting tough on China, keep in mind that Governor Romney invested in companies that were pioneers of outsourcing to China, and is currently investing in countries \u2014 in companies that are building surveillance equipment for China to spy on its own folks.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s \u2014 Governor, you\u2019re the last person who\u2019s going to get tough on China. And what we\u2019ve done when it comes to trade is not only sign three trade deals to open up new markets, but we\u2019ve also set up a task force for trade that goes after anybody who is taking advantage of American workers or businesses and not creating a level playing field. We\u2019ve brought twice as many cases against unfair trading practices than the previous administration and we\u2019ve won every single one that\u2019s been decided.<\/p>\n
When I said that we had to make sure that China was not flooding our domestic market with cheap tires, Governor Romney said I was being protectionist; that it wouldn\u2019t be helpful to American workers. Well, in fact we saved 1,000 jobs. And that\u2019s the kind of tough trade actions that are required.<\/p>\n
But the last point I want to make is this. You know, there are some things where Governor Romney is different from George Bush. George Bush didn\u2019t propose turning Medicare into a voucher. George Bush embraced comprehensive immigration reform. He didn\u2019t call for self-deportation.<\/p>\n
George Bush never suggested that we eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, so there are differences between Governor Romney and George Bush, but they\u2019re not on economic policy. In some ways, he\u2019s gone to a more extreme place when it comes to social policy. And I think that\u2019s a mistake. That\u2019s not how we\u2019re going to move our economy forward.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: I want to move you both along to the next question, because it\u2019s in the same wheelhouse, so you will be able to respond. But the president does get this question. I want to call on Michael Jones.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Mr. President, I voted for you in 2008. What have you done or accomplished to earn my vote in 2012? I\u2019m not that optimistic as I was in 2012. Most things I need for everyday living are very expensive.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Well, we\u2019ve gone through a tough four years. There\u2019s no doubt about it. But four years ago, I told the American people and I told you I would cut taxes for middle class families. And I did. I told you I\u2019d cut taxes for small businesses, and I have.<\/p>\n
I said that I\u2019d end the war in Iraq, and I did. I said we\u2019d refocus attention on those who actually attacked us on 9\/11, and we have gone after Al Qaeda\u2019s leadership like never before and Osama bin Laden is dead.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I said that we would put in place health care reform to make sure that insurance companies can\u2019t jerk you around and if you don\u2019t have health insurance, that you\u2019d have a chance to get affordable insurance, and I have.<\/p>\n
I committed that I would rein in the excesses of Wall Street, and we passed the toughest Wall Street reforms since the 1930s. We\u2019ve created five million jobs, and gone from 800 jobs a month being lost, and we are making progress. We saved an auto industry that was on the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n
Now, does that mean you\u2019re not struggling? Absolutely not. A lot of us are. And that\u2019s why the plan that I\u2019ve put forward for manufacturing and education, and reducing our deficit in a sensible way, using the savings from ending wars, to rebuild America and putting people back to work. Making sure that we are controlling our own energy, but not only the energy of today, but also the energy of the future. All of those things will make a difference, so the point is the commitments I\u2019ve made, I\u2019ve kept.<\/p>\n
And those that I haven\u2019t been able to keep, it\u2019s not for lack of trying and we\u2019re going to get it done in a second term. But, you should pay attention to this campaign, because Governor Romney has made some commitments as well. And I suspect he\u2019ll keep those too. You know when members of the Republican Congress say, \u201cWe\u2019re going to sign a no tax pledge, so that we don\u2019t ask a dime for millionaires and billionaires to reduce our deficit so we can still invest in education, and helping kids go to college. He said, \u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n
When they said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to cut Planned Parenthood funding.\u201d He said, \u201cMe too.\u201d When he said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to repeal Obamacare. First thing I\u2019m going to do,\u201d despite the fact that it\u2019s the same health care plan that he passed in Massachusetts and is working well. He said, \u201cMe too.\u201d That is not the kind of leadership that you need, but you should expect that those are promises he\u2019s going to keep.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me let\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2026the choice in this election is going to be whose promises are going to be more likely to help you in your life? Make sure your kids can go to college. Make sure that you are getting a good paying job, making sure that Medicare and Social Security\u2026 (CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President. Thank you.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2026will be there for you.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Thank you. Governor?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I think you know better. I think you know that these last four years haven\u2019t been so good as the president just described and that you don\u2019t feel like your confident that the next four years are going to be much better either.<\/p>\n
I can tell you that if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you\u2019re going to get. You\u2019re going to get a repeat of the last four years. We just can\u2019t afford four more years like the last four years.<\/p>\n
He said that by now we\u2019d have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work.<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t the one that said 5.4 percent. This was the president\u2019s plan. Didn\u2019t get there.<\/p>\n
He said he would have by now put forward a plan to reform Medicare and Social Security, because he pointed out they\u2019re on the road to bankruptcy. He would reform them. He\u2019d get that done. He hasn\u2019t even made a proposal on either one.<\/p>\n
He said in his first year he\u2019d put out an immigration plan that would deal with our immigration challenges. Didn\u2019t even file it.<\/p>\n
This is a president who has not been able to do what he said he\u2019d do. He said that he\u2019d cut in half the deficit. He hasn\u2019t done that either. In fact, he doubled it. He said that by now middle-income families would have a reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. It\u2019s gone up by $2,500 a year. And if Obamacare is passed, or implemented \u2014 it\u2019s already been passed \u2014 if it\u2019s implemented fully, it\u2019ll be another $2,500 on top.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, \u201cLook, I\u2019ve created 5 million jobs.\u201d That\u2019s after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country. The unemployment, the number of people who are still looking for work, is still 23 million Americans.<\/p>\n
There are more people in poverty, one out of six people in poverty.<\/p>\n
How about food stamps? When he took office, 32 million people were on food stamps. Today, 47 million people are on food stamps. How about the growth of the economy? It\u2019s growing more slowly this year than last year, and more slowly last year than the year before.<\/p>\n
The president wants to do well. I understand. But the policies he\u2019s put in place from Obamacare to Dodd-Frank to his tax policies to his regulatory policies, these policies combined have not let this economy take off and grow like it could have.<\/p>\n
You might say, \u201cWell, you got an example of one that worked better?\u201d Yeah, in the Reagan recession where unemployment hit 10.8 percent, between that period \u2014 the end of that recession and the equivalent of time to today, Ronald Reagan\u2019s recovery created twice as many jobs as this president\u2019s recovery. Five million jobs doesn\u2019t even keep up with our population growth. And the only reason the unemployment rate seems a little lower today is because of all the people that have dropped out of the workforce.<\/p>\n
The president has tried, but his policies haven\u2019t worked. He\u2019s great as a \u2014 as a \u2014 as a speaker and describing his plans and his vision. That\u2019s wonderful, except we have a record to look at. And that record shows he just hasn\u2019t been able to cut the deficit, to put in place reforms for Medicare and Social Security to preserve them, to get us the rising incomes we need. Median income is down $4,300 a family and 23 million Americans out of work. That\u2019s what this election is about. It\u2019s about who can get the middle class in this country a bright and prosperous future and assure our kids the kind of hope and optimism they deserve.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor, I want to move you along. Don\u2019t \u2014 don\u2019t go away, and we\u2019ll have plenty of time to respond. We are quite aware of the clock for both of you. But I want to bring in a different subject here.<\/p>\n
Mr. President, I\u2019ll be right back with you.<\/p>\n
Lorraine Osorio has a question for you about a topic we have not\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: This is for Governor Romney?<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: It\u2019s for Governor Romney, and we\u2019ll be right with you, Mr. President. Thanks.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Is it Loraina?<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Lorraine.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Lorraine?<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Yes, Lorraine.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Lorraine.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: How you doing?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Good, thanks.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Mr. Romney, what do you plan on doing with immigrants without their green cards that are currently living here as productive members of society?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Thank you. Lorraine? Did I get that right? Good. Thank you for your question. And let me step back and tell you what I would like to do with our immigration policy broadly and include an answer to your question.<\/p>\n
But first of all, this is a nation of immigrants. We welcome people coming to this country as immigrants. My dad was born in Mexico of American parents; Ann\u2019s dad was born in Wales and is a first-generation American. We welcome legal immigrants into this country.<\/p>\n
I want our legal system to work better. I want it to be streamlined. I want it to be clearer. I don\u2019t think you have to \u2014 shouldn\u2019t have to hire a lawyer to figure out how to get into this country legally. I also think that we should give visas to people \u2014 green cards, rather, to people who graduate with skills that we need. People around the world with accredited degrees in science and math get a green card stapled to their diploma, come to the U.S. of A. We should make sure our legal system works.<\/p>\n
Number two, we\u2019re going to have to stop illegal immigration. There are 4 million people who are waiting in line to get here legally. Those who\u2019ve come here illegally take their place. So I will not grant amnesty to those who have come here illegally.<\/p>\n
What I will do is I\u2019ll put in place an employment verification system and make sure that employers that hire people who have come here illegally are sanctioned for doing so. I won\u2019t put in place magnets for people coming here illegally. So for instance, I would not give driver\u2019s licenses to those that have come here illegally as the president would.<\/p>\n
The kids of those that came here illegally, those kids, I think, should have a pathway to become a permanent resident of the United States and military service, for instance, is one way they would have that kind of pathway to become a permanent resident.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Now when the president ran for office, he said that he\u2019d put in place, in his first year, a piece of legislation \u2014 he\u2019d file a bill in his first year that would reform our \u2014 our immigration system, protect legal immigration, stop illegal immigration. He didn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n
He had a Democrat House, a Democrat Senate, super majority in both Houses. Why did he fail to even promote legislation that would have provided an answer for those that want to come legally and for those that are here illegally today? What\u2019s a question I think the \u2014 the president will have a chance to answer right now.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Good, I look forward to it.<\/p>\n
Was \u2014 Lorranna \u2014 Lorraine \u2014 we are a nation of immigrants. I mean we\u2019re just a few miles away from Ellis Island. We all understand what this country has become because talent from all around the world wants to come here. People are willing to take risks. People who want to build on their dreams and make sure their kids have an even bigger dreams than they have.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019re also a nation of laws. So what I\u2019ve said is we need to fix a broken immigration system and I\u2019ve done everything that I can on my own and sought cooperation from Congress to make sure that we fix the system.<\/p>\n
The first thing we did was to streamline the legal immigration system, to reduce the backlog, make it easier, simpler and cheaper for people who are waiting in line, obeying the law to make sure that they can come here and contribute to our country and that\u2019s good for our economic growth.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll start new businesses. They\u2019ll make things happen to create jobs here in the United States.<\/p>\n
Number two, we do have to deal with our border so we put more border patrol on the \u2014 any time in history and the flow of undocumented works across the border is actually lower than it\u2019s been in 40 years.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019ve also said is if we\u2019re going to go after folks who are here illegally, we should do it smartly and go after folks who are criminals, gang bangers, people who are hurting the community, not after students, not after folks who are here just because they\u2019re trying to figure out how to feed their families. And that\u2019s what we\u2019ve done. And what I\u2019ve also said is for young people who come here, brought here often times by their parents. Had gone to school here, pledged allegiance to the flag. Think of this as their country. Understand themselves as Americans in every way except having papers. And we should make sure that we give them a pathway to citizenship.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s what I\u2019ve done administratively. Now, Governor Romney just said, you know he wants to help those young people too, but during the Republican primary, he said, \u201cI will veto the DREAM Act\u201d, that would allow these young people to have access.\u201d His main strategy during the Republican primary was to say, \u201cWe\u2019re going to encourage self-deportation.\u201d Making life so miserable on folks that they\u2019ll leave. He called the Arizona law a model for the nation. Part of the Arizona law said that law enforcement officers could stop folks because they suspected maybe they looked like they might be undocumented workers and check their papers.<\/p>\n
You know what? If my daughter or yours looks to somebody like they\u2019re not a citizen, I don\u2019t want \u2014 I don\u2019t want to empower somebody like that. So, we can fix this system in a comprehensive way. And when Governor Romney says, the challenge is, \u201cWell Obama didn\u2019t try.\u201d That\u2019s not true. I have sat down with Democrats and Republicans at the beginning of my term. And I said, let\u2019s fix this system. Including Senators previously who had supported it on the Republican side. But it\u2019s very hard for Republican\u2019s in Congress to support comprehensive immigration reform, if their standard bearer has said that, this is not something I\u2019m interested in supporting.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Let me get the governor in here, Mr. President. Let\u2019s speak to, if you could\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Yes.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2026the idea of self-deportation?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: No, let \u2014 let \u2014 let me go back and speak to the points that the president made and \u2014 and \u2014 and let\u2019s get them correct.<\/p>\n
I did not say that the Arizona law was a model for the nation in that aspect. I said that the E-Verify portion of the Arizona law, which is \u2014 which is the portion of the law which says that employers could be able to determine whether someone is here illegally or not illegally, that that was a model for the nation. That\u2019s number one.<\/p>\n
Number two, I asked the president a question I think Hispanics and immigrants all over the nation have asked. He was asked this on Univision the other day. Why, when you said you\u2019d filed legislation in your first year didn\u2019t you do it? And he didn\u2019t answer. He \u2014 he doesn\u2019t answer that question. He said the standard bearer wasn\u2019t for it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m glad you thought I was a standard bearer four years ago, but I wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Four years ago you said in your first year you would file legislation.<\/p>\n
In his first year, I was just getting \u2014 licking my wounds from having been beaten by John McCain, all right. I was not the standard bearer.<\/p>\n
My \u2014 my view is that this president should have honored his promise to do as he said.<\/p>\n
Now, let me mention one other thing, and that is self-deportation says let people make their own choice. What I was saying is, we\u2019re not going to round up 12 million people, undocumented illegals, and take them out of the nation. Instead let people make their own choice. And if they \u2014 if they find that \u2014 that they can\u2019t get the benefits here that they want and they can\u2019t \u2014 and they can\u2019t find the job they want, then they\u2019ll make a decision to go a place where \u2014 where they have better opportunities.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m not in favor of rounding up people and \u2014 and \u2014 and taking them out of this country. I am in favor, as the president has said, and I agree with him, which is that if people have committed crimes we got to get them out of this country.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Let me mention something else the president said. It was a moment ago and I didn\u2019t get a chance to, when he was describing Chinese investments and so forth.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Candy?<\/p>\n
Hold on a second. The\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Mr. President, I\u2019m still speaking.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Mr. President, let me finish.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I\u2019ve gotta continue.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor Romney, you can make it short. See all these people? They\u2019ve been waiting for you. (inaudible) make it short (inaudible).<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Just going to make a point. Any investments I have over the last eight years have been managed by a blind trust. And I understand they do include investments outside the United States, including in \u2014 in Chinese companies.<\/p>\n
Mr. President, have you looked at your pension? Have you looked at your pension?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I\u2019ve got to say\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Mr. President, have you looked at your pension?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: You know, I \u2014 I don\u2019t look at my pension. It\u2019s not as big as yours so it doesn\u2019t take as long.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Well, let me give you some advice.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I don\u2019t check it that often.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Let me give you some advice. Look at your pension. You also have investments in Chinese companies. You also have investments outside the United States. You also have investments through a Cayman\u2019s trust.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: We\u2019re way off topic here, Governor Romney.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I thought we were talking about immigration.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I do want to make sure that\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: If I could have you sit down, Governor Romney. Thank you.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I do want to make sure that \u2014 I do want to make sure that we just understand something. Governor Romney says he wasn\u2019t referring to Arizona as a model for the nation. His top adviser on immigration is the guy who designed the Arizona law, the entirety of it; not E-Verify, the whole thing. That\u2019s his policy. And it\u2019s a bad policy. And it won\u2019t help us grow.<\/p>\n
Look, when we think about immigration, we have to understand there are folks all around the world who still see America as the land of promise. And they provide us energy and they provide us innovation and they start companies like Intel and Google. And we want to encourage that.<\/p>\n
Now, we\u2019ve got to make sure that we do it in a smart way and a comprehensive way, and we make the legal system better. But when we make this into a divisive political issue, and when we don\u2019t have bipartisan support \u2014 I can deliver, Governor, a whole bunch of Democrats to get comprehensive immigration reform done, and we can\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I\u2019ll get it done. I\u2019ll get it done. First year\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2026 we can\u2019t \u2014 we have not seen Republicans serious about this issue at all. And it\u2019s time for them to get serious on it.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me move you on here please. Mr. President, (inaudible).<\/p>\n
OBAMA: This used to be a bipartisan issue.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Don\u2019t go away, though \u2014 right. Don\u2019t go away because I \u2014 I want you to talk to Kerry Ladka who wants to switch the topic for us.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: OK.<\/p>\n
Hi, Kerry.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Good evening, Mr. President.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I\u2019m sorry. What\u2019s your name?<\/p>\n
QUESTION: It\u2019s Kerry, Kerry Ladka.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Great to see you.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: This question actually comes from a brain trust of my friends at Global Telecom Supply (ph) in Minneola yesterday.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Ah.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: We were sitting around, talking about Libya, and we were reading and became aware of reports that the State Department refused extra security for our embassy in Benghazi, Libya, prior to the attacks that killed four Americans.<\/p>\n
Who was it that denied enhanced security and why?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Well, let me first of all talk about our diplomats, because they serve all around the world and do an incredible job in a very dangerous situation. And these aren\u2019t just representatives of the United States, they are my representatives. I send them there, oftentimes into harm\u2019s way. I know these folks and I know their families. So nobody is more concerned about their safety and security than I am.<\/p>\n
So as soon as we found out that the Benghazi consulate was being overrun, I was on the phone with my national security team and I gave them three instructions.<\/p>\n
Number one, beef up our security and procedures, not just in Libya, but at every embassy and consulate in the region.<\/p>\n
Number two, investigate exactly what happened, regardless of where the facts lead us, to make sure folks are held accountable and it doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
And number three, we are going to find out who did this and we\u2019re going to hunt them down, because one of the things that I\u2019ve said throughout my presidency is when folks mess with Americans, we go after them.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Now Governor Romney had a very different response. While we were still dealing with our diplomats being threatened, Governor Romney put out a press release, trying to make political points, and that\u2019s not how a commander in chief operates. You don\u2019t turn national security into a political issue. Certainly not right when it\u2019s happening. And people \u2014 not everybody agrees with some of the decisions I\u2019ve made. But when it comes to our national security, I mean what I say. I said I\u2019d end the war in Libya \u2014 in \u2014 in Iraq, and I did.<\/p>\n
I said that we\u2019d go after al-Qaeda and bin Laden, we have. I said we\u2019d transition out of Afghanistan, and start making sure that Afghans are responsible for their own security, that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing. And when it comes to this issue, when I say that we are going to find out exactly what happened, everybody will be held accountable. And I am ultimately responsible for what\u2019s taking place there because these are my folks, and I\u2019m the one who has to greet those coffins when they come home. You know that I mean what I say.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, I\u2019m going to move us along. Governor?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Thank you Kerry for your question, it\u2019s an important one. And \u2014 and I \u2014 I think the president just said correctly that the buck does stop at his desk and \u2014 and he takes responsibility for \u2014 for that \u2014 for the failure in providing those security resources, and \u2014 and those terrible things may well happen from time to time. I \u2014 I\u2019m \u2014 I feel very deeply sympathetic for the families of those who lost loved ones. And today there\u2019s a memorial service for one of those that was lost in this tragedy. We \u2014 we think of their families and care for them deeply. There were other issues associated with this \u2014 with this tragedy. There were many days that passed before we knew whether this was a spontaneous demonstration, or actually whether it was a terrorist attack.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: And there was no demonstration involved. It was a terrorist attack and it took a long time for that to be told to the American people. Whether there was some misleading, or instead whether we just didn\u2019t know what happened, you have to ask yourself why didn\u2019t we know five days later when the ambassador to the United Nations went on TV to say that this was a demonstration. How could we have not known?<\/p>\n
But I find more troubling than this, that on \u2014 on the day following the assassination of the United States ambassador, the first time that\u2019s happened since 1979, when \u2014 when we have four Americans killed there, when apparently we didn\u2019t know what happened, that the president, the day after that happened, flies to Las Vegas for a political fund-raiser, then the next day to Colorado for another event, other political event.<\/p>\n
I think these \u2014 these actions taken by a president and a leader have symbolic significance and perhaps even material significance in that you\u2019d hope that during that time we could call in the people who were actually eyewitnesses. We\u2019ve read their accounts now about what happened. It was very clear this was not a demonstration. This was an attack by terrorists.<\/p>\n
And this calls into question the president\u2019s whole policy in the Middle East. Look what\u2019s happening in Syria, in Egypt, now in Libya. Consider the distance between ourselves and \u2014 and Israel, the president said that \u2014 that he was going to put daylight between us and Israel.<\/p>\n
We have Iran four years closer to a nuclear bomb. Syria \u2014 Syria\u2019s not just a tragedy of 30,000 civilians being killed by a military, but also a strategic \u2014 strategically significant player for America.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s policies throughout the Middle East began with an apology tour and \u2014 and \u2014 and pursue a strategy of leading from behind, and this strategy is unraveling before our very eyes.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Because we\u2019re \u2014 we\u2019re closing in, I want to still get a lot of people in. I want to ask you something, Mr. President, and then have the governor just quickly.<\/p>\n
Your secretary of state, as I\u2019m sure you know, has said that she takes full responsibility for the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi. Does the buck stop with your secretary of state as far as what went on here?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Secretary Clinton has done an extraordinary job. But she works for me. I\u2019m the president and I\u2019m always responsible, and that\u2019s why nobody\u2019s more interested in finding out exactly what happened than I do.<\/p>\n
The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people in the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we\u2019re going to hunt down those who committed this crime.<\/p>\n
And then a few days later, I was there greeting the caskets coming into Andrews Air Force Base and grieving with the families.<\/p>\n
And the suggestion that anybody in my team, whether the Secretary of State, our U.N. Ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we\u2019ve lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. That\u2019s not what we do. That\u2019s not what I do as president, that\u2019s not what I do as Commander in Chief.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor, if you want to\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Yes, I \u2014 I\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2026 quickly to this please.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I \u2014 I think interesting the president just said something which \u2014 which is that on the day after the attack he went into the Rose Garden and said that this was an act of terror.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: That\u2019s what I said.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack, it was an act of terror.<\/p>\n
It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you\u2019re saying?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Please proceed governor.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Get the transcript.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: It \u2014 it \u2014 it \u2014 he did in fact, sir. So let me \u2014 let me call it an act of terror\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Can you say that a little louder, Candy?<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: He \u2014 he did call it an act of terror. It did as well take \u2014 it did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea there being a riot out there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: This \u2014 the administration \u2014 the administration indicated this was a reaction to a video and was a spontaneous reaction.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: It did.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: It took them a long time to say this was a terrorist act by a terrorist group. And to suggest \u2014 am I incorrect in that regard, on Sunday, the \u2014 your secretary \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Candy?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Excuse me. The ambassador of the United Nations went on the Sunday television shows and spoke about how \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Candy, I\u2019m \u2014<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2014 this was a spontaneous \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I\u2019m happy to have a longer conversation \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: I know you \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2014 about foreign policy.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Absolutely. But I want to \u2014 I want to move you on and also \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: OK. I\u2019m happy to do that, too.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2014 the transcripts and \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I just want to make sure that \u2014<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: \u2014 figure out what we \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2014 all of these wonderful folks are going to have a chance to get some of their questions answered.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Because what I \u2014 what I want to do, Mr. President, stand there a second, because I want to introduce you to Nina Gonzalez, who brought up a question that we hear a lot, both over the Internet and from this crowd.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: President Obama, during the Democratic National Convention in 2008, you stated you wanted to keep AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. What has your administration done or planned to do to limit the availability of assault weapons?<\/p>\n
OBAMA: We\u2019re a nation that believes in the Second Amendment, and I believe in the Second Amendment. We\u2019ve got a long tradition of hunting and sportsmen and people who want to make sure they can protect themselves.<\/p>\n
But there have been too many instances during the course of my presidency, where I\u2019ve had to comfort families who have lost somebody. Most recently out in Aurora. You know, just a couple of weeks ago, actually, probably about a month, I saw a mother, who I had met at the bedside of her son, who had been shot in that theater.<\/p>\n
And her son had been shot through the head. And we spent some time, and we said a prayer and, remarkably, about two months later, this young man and his mom showed up, and he looked unbelievable, good as new.<\/p>\n
But there were a lot of families who didn\u2019t have that good fortune and whose sons or daughters or husbands didn\u2019t survive.<\/p>\n
So my belief is that, (A), we have to enforce the laws we\u2019ve already got, make sure that we\u2019re keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally ill. We\u2019ve done a much better job in terms of background checks, but we\u2019ve got more to do when it comes to enforcement.<\/p>\n
But I also share your belief that weapons that were designed for soldiers in war theaters don\u2019t belong on our streets. And so what I\u2019m trying to do is to get a broader conversation about how do we reduce the violence generally. Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced. But part of it is also looking at other sources of the violence. Because frankly, in my home town of Chicago, there\u2019s an awful lot of violence and they\u2019re not using AK-47s. They\u2019re using cheap hand guns.<\/p>\n
And so what can we do to intervene, to make sure that young people have opportunity; that our schools are working; that if there\u2019s violence on the streets, that working with faith groups and law enforcement, we can catch it before it gets out of control.<\/p>\n
And so what I want is a \u2014 is a comprehensive strategy. Part of it is seeing if we can get automatic weapons that kill folks in amazing numbers out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. But part of it is also going deeper and seeing if we can get into these communities and making sure we catch violent impulses before they occur.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor Romney, the question is about assault weapons, AK-47s.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Yeah, I\u2019m not in favor of new pieces of legislation on \u2014 on guns and taking guns away or making certain guns illegal. We, of course, don\u2019t want to have automatic weapons, and that\u2019s already illegal in this country to have automatic weapons. What I believe is we have to do, as the president mentioned towards the end of his remarks there, which is to make enormous efforts to enforce the gun laws that we have, and to change the culture of violence that we have.<\/p>\n
And you ask how \u2014 how are we going to do that? And there are a number of things. He mentioned good schools. I totally agree. We were able to drive our schools to be number one in the nation in my state. And I believe if we do a better job in education, we\u2019ll \u2014 we\u2019ll give people the \u2014 the hope and opportunity they deserve and perhaps less violence from that. But let me mention another thing. And that is parents. We need moms and dads, helping to raise kids. Wherever possible the \u2014 the benefit of having two parents in the home, and that\u2019s not always possible. A lot of great single moms, single dads. But gosh to tell our kids that before they have babies, they ought to think about getting married to someone, that\u2019s a great idea.<\/p>\n
Because if there\u2019s a two parent family, the prospect of living in poverty goes down dramatically. The opportunities that the child will \u2014 will be able to achieve increase dramatically. So we can make changes in the way our culture works to help bring people away from violence and give them opportunity, and bring them in the American system. The \u2014 the greatest failure we\u2019ve had with regards to \u2014 to gun violence in some respects is what \u2014 what is known as Fast and Furious. Which was a program under this administration, and how it worked exactly I think we don\u2019t know precisely, where thousands of automatic, and AK-47 type weapons were \u2014 were given to people that ultimately gave them to \u2014 to drug lords.<\/p>\n
They used those weapons against \u2014 against their own citizens and killed Americans with them. And this was a \u2014 this was a program of the government. For what purpose it was put in place, I can\u2019t imagine. But it\u2019s one of the great tragedies related to violence in our society which has occurred during this administration. Which I think the American people would like to understand fully, it\u2019s been investigated to a degree, but \u2014 but the administration has carried out executive privilege to prevent all of the information from coming out.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to understand who it was that did this, what the idea was behind it, why it led to the violence, thousands of guns going to Mexican drug lords. OBAMA: Candy?<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor, Governor, if I could, the question was about these assault weapons that once were once banned and are no longer banned.<\/p>\n
I know that you signed an assault weapons ban when you were in Massachusetts, obviously, with this question, you no longer do support that. Why is that, given the kind of violence that we see sometimes with these mass killings? Why is it that you have changed your mind?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Well, Candy, actually, in my state, the pro-gun folks and the anti-gun folks came together and put together a piece of legislation. And it\u2019s referred to as an assault weapon ban, but it had, at the signing of the bill, both the pro-gun and the anti-gun people came together, because it provided opportunities for both that both wanted.<\/p>\n
There were hunting opportunities, for instance, that haven\u2019t previously been available and so forth, so it was a mutually agreed- upon piece of legislation. That\u2019s what we need more of, Candy. What we have right now in Washington is a place that\u2019s gridlocked.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: So I could \u2014 if you could get people to agree to it, you would be for it?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: We have \u2014<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Candy?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2014 we haven\u2019t had the leadership in Washington to work on a bipartisan basis. I was able to do that in my state and bring these two together.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Quickly, Mr. President.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: The \u2014 first of all, I think Governor Romney was for an assault weapons ban before he was against it. And he said that the reason he changed his mind was, in part, because he was seeking the endorsement of the National Rifle Association. So that\u2019s on the record.<\/p>\n
But I think that one area we agree on is the important of parents and the importance of schools, because I do believe that if our young people have opportunity, then they are less likely to engage in these kinds of violent acts. We\u2019re not going to eliminate everybody who is mentally disturbed and we have got to make sure they don\u2019t get weapons.<\/p>\n
(AUDIO GAP)<\/p>\n
OBAMA: because I do believe that if our young people have opportunity, then they\u2019re less likely to engage in these kind of violent acts.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not going to eliminate everybody who is mentally disturbed, and we\u2019ve got to make sure they don\u2019t get weapons. But we can make a difference in terms ensuring that every young person in America, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, have a chance to succeed.<\/p>\n
And, Candy, we haven\u2019t had a chance to talk about education much, but I think it is very important to understand that the reforms we\u2019ve put in place, working with 46 governors around the country, are seeing schools that are some of the ones that are the toughest for kids starting to succeed. We\u2019re starting to see gains in math and science.<\/p>\n
When it comes to community colleges, we are setting up programs, including with Nassau Community College, to retrain workers, including young people who may have dropped out of school but now are getting another chance, training them for the jobs that exist right now.<\/p>\n
And in fact, employers are looking for skilled workers. And so we\u2019re matching them up. Giving them access to higher education. As I said, we have made sure that millions of young people are able to get an education that they weren\u2019t able to get before.<\/p>\n
Now\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, I have to \u2014 I have to move you along here. You said you wanted to\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: We need to do it here.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: But \u2014 but it\u2019ll \u2014 it\u2019ll \u2014 it\u2019ll be\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2026 just one second.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: One\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Because \u2014 because this is important. This is part of the choice in this election.<\/p>\n
When Governor Romney was asked whether teachers, hiring more teachers was important to growing our economy, Governor Romney said that doesn\u2019t grow our economy.<\/p>\n
When \u2014 when he was asked would class size\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: The question, Mr. President, was guns here, so I need to move us along.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: I understand.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: You know, the question was guns. So let me \u2014 let me bring in another\u2026<\/p>\n
OBAMA: But this will make a difference in terms of whether or not we can move this economy forward for these young people\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: I understand.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: \u2026 and reduce our violence.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: OK. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n
I want to ask Carol Goldberg to stand up, because she gets to a question that both these men have been passionate about. It\u2019s for Governor Romney.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: The outsourcing of American jobs overseas has taken a toll on our economy. What plans do you have to put back and keep jobs here in the United States?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Boy, great question and important question, because you\u2019re absolutely right. The place where we\u2019ve seen manufacturing go has been China. China is now the largest manufacturer in the world. It used to be the United States of America. A lot of good people have lost jobs. A half a million manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last four years. That\u2019s total over the last four years.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons for that is that people think it\u2019s more attractive in some cases to go offshore than to stay here. We have made it less attractive for enterprises to stay here than to go offshore from time to time. What I will do as president is make sure it\u2019s more attractive to come to America again.<\/p>\n
This is the way we\u2019re going to create jobs in this country. It\u2019s not by trickle-down government, saying we\u2019re going to take more money from people and hire more government workers, raise more taxes, put in place more regulations. Trickle-down government has never worked here, has never worked anywhere.<\/p>\n
I want to make America the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs, for small business, for big business, to invest and grow in America.<\/p>\n
Now, we\u2019re going to have to make sure that as we trade with other nations that they play by the rules. And China hasn\u2019t. One of the reasons \u2014 or one of the ways they don\u2019t play by the rules is artificially holding down the value of their currency. Because if they put their currency down low, that means their prices on their goods are low. And that makes them advantageous in the marketplace.<\/p>\n
We lose sales. And manufacturers here in the U.S. making the same products can\u2019t compete. China has been a currency manipulator for years and years and years. And the president has a regular opportunity to label them as a currency manipulator, but refuses to do so.<\/p>\n
On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator, which will allow me as president to be able to put in place, if necessary, tariffs where I believe that they are taking unfair advantage of our manufacturers.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re going to make sure that people we trade with around the world play by the rules. But let me \u2014 let me not just stop there. Don\u2019t forget, what\u2019s key to bringing back jobs here is not just finding someone else to punish, and I\u2019m going to be strict with people who we trade with to make sure they \u2014 they follow the law and play by the rules, but it\u2019s also to make America the most attractive place in the world for businesses of all kinds.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I want to down the tax rates on small employers, big employers, so they want to be here. Canada\u2019s tax rate on companies is now 15 percent. Ours is 35 percent. So if you\u2019re starting a business, where would you rather start it? We have to be competitive if we\u2019re going to create more jobs here.<\/p>\n
Regulations have quadrupled. The rate of regulations quadrupled under this president. I talk to small businesses across the country. They say, \u201cWe feel like we\u2019re under attack from our own government.\u201d I want to make sure that regulators see their job as encouraging small business, not crushing it. And there\u2019s no question but that Obamacare has been an extraordinary deterrent to enterprises of all kinds hiring people.<\/p>\n
My priority is making sure that we get more people hired. If we have more people hired, if we get back manufacturing jobs, if we get back all kinds of jobs into this country, then you\u2019re going to see rising incomes again. The reason incomes are down is because unemployment is so high. I know what it takes to get this to happen, and my plan will do that, and one part of it is to make sure that we keep China playing by the rules.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, two minutes here, because we are then going to go to our last question.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: OK. We need to create jobs here. And both Governor Romney and I agree actually that we should lower our corporate tax rate. It\u2019s too high. But there\u2019s a difference in terms of how we would do it. I want to close loopholes that allow companies to deduct expenses when they move to China; that allow them to profit offshore and not have to get taxed, so they have tax advantages offshore.<\/p>\n
All those changes in our tax code would make a difference.<\/p>\n
Now, Governor Romney actually wants to expand those tax breaks. One of his big ideas when it comes to corporate tax reform would be to say, if you invest overseas, you make profits overseas, you don\u2019t have to pay U.S. taxes.<\/p>\n
But, of course, if you\u2019re a small business or a mom-and-pop business or a big business starting up here, you\u2019ve got to pay even the reduced rate that Governor Romney\u2019s talking about.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s estimated that that will create 800,000 new jobs. The problem is they\u2019ll be in china. Or India. Or Germany.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not the way we\u2019re going to create jobs here. The way we\u2019re going to create jobs here is not just to change our tax code, but also to double our exports. And we are on pace to double our exports, one of the commitments I made when I was president. That\u2019s creating tens of thousands of jobs all across the country. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve kept on pushing trade deals, but trade deals that make sure that American workers and American businesses are getting a good deal.<\/p>\n
Now, Governor Romney talked about China, as I already indicated. In the private sector, Governor Romney\u2019s company invested in what were called pioneers of outsourcing. That\u2019s not my phrase. That\u2019s what reporters called it.<\/p>\n
And as far as currency manipulation, the currency has actually gone up 11 percent since I\u2019ve been president because we have pushed them hard. And we\u2019ve put unprecedented trade pressure on China. That\u2019s why exports have significantly increased under my presidency. That\u2019s going to help to create jobs here.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, we have a really short time for a quick discussion here.<\/p>\n
iPad, the Macs, the iPhones, they are all manufactured in China. One of the major reasons is labor is so much cheaper here. How do you convince a great American company to bring that manufacturing back here?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: The answer is very straightforward. We can compete with anyone in the world as long as the playing field is level. China\u2019s been cheating over the years. One by holding down the value of their currency. Number two, by stealing our intellectual property; our designs, our patents, our technology. There\u2019s even an Apple store in China that\u2019s a counterfeit Apple store, selling counterfeit goods. They hack into our computers. We will have to have people play on a fair basis, that\u2019s number one.<\/p>\n
Number two, we have to make America the most attractive place for entrepreneurs, for people who want to expand their business. That\u2019s what brings jobs in. The president\u2019s characterization of my tax plan\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2026is completely\u2026is completely\u2026<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: \u2026is completely false. Let me tell you\u2026<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Let me to go the president here because we really are running out of time. And the question is can we ever get \u2014 we can\u2019t get wages like that. It can\u2019t be sustained.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Candy, there are some jobs that are not going to come back. Because they are low wage, low skill jobs. I want high wage, high skill jobs. That\u2019s why we have to emphasize manufacturing. That\u2019s why we have to invest in advanced manufacturing. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve got to make sure that we\u2019ve got the best science and research in the world. And when we talk about deficits, if we\u2019re adding to our deficit for tax cuts for folks who don\u2019t need them, and we\u2019re cutting investments in research and science that will create the next Apple, create the next new innovation that will sell products around the world, we will lose that race.<\/p>\n
If we\u2019re not training engineers to make sure that they are equipped here in this country. Then companies won\u2019t come here. Those investments are what\u2019s going to help to make sure that we continue to lead this world economy, not just next year, but 10 years from now, 50 years from now, 100 years from now.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Thanks Mr. President.<\/p>\n
(CROSSTALK)<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor Romney?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Government does not create jobs. Government does not create jobs.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor Romney, I want to introduce you to Barry Green, because he\u2019s going to have the last question to you first?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Barry? Where is Barry?<\/p>\n
QUESTION: Hi, Governor. I think this is a tough question. To each of you. What do you believe is the biggest misperception that the American people have about you as a man and a candidate? Using specific examples, can you take this opportunity to debunk that misperception and set us straight?<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: Thank you, and that\u2019s an opportunity for me, and I appreciate it.<\/p>\n
In the nature of a campaign, it seems that some campaigns are focused on attacking a person rather than prescribing their own future and the things they\u2019d like to do. In the course of that, I think the president\u2019s campaign has tried to characterize me as \u2014 as someone who\u2019s very different than who I am.<\/p>\n
I care about 100 percent of the American people. I want 100 percent of the American people to have a bright and prosperous future. I care about our kids. I understand what it takes to make a bright and prosperous future for America again. I spent my life in the private sector, not in government. I\u2019m a guy who wants to help with the experience I have, the American people.<\/p>\n
My \u2014 my passion probably flows from the fact that I believe in God. And I believe we\u2019re all children of the same God. I believe we have a responsibility to care for one another. I \u2014 I served as a missionary for my church. I served as a pastor in my congregation for about 10 years. I\u2019ve sat across the table from people who were out of work and worked with them to try and find new work or to help them through tough times.<\/p>\n
I went to the Olympics when they were in trouble to try and get them on track. And as governor of my state, I was able to get 100 percent of my people insured, all my kids, about 98 percent of the adults. I was able also to get our schools ranked number one in the nation, so 100 percent of our kids would have a bright opportunity for a future.<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I understand that I can get this country on track again. We don\u2019t have to settle for what we\u2019re going through. We don\u2019t have to settle for gasoline at four bucks. We don\u2019t have to settle for unemployment at a chronically high level. We don\u2019t have to settle for 47 million people on food stamps. We don\u2019t have to settle for 50 percent of kids coming out of college not able to get work. We don\u2019t have to settle for 23 million people struggling to find a good job.<\/p>\n
If I become president, I\u2019ll get America working again. I will get us on track to a balanced budget. The president hasn\u2019t. I will. I\u2019ll make sure we can reform Medicare and Social Security to preserve them for coming \u2014 coming generations. The president said he would. He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Governor\u2026<\/p>\n
ROMNEY: I\u2019ll get our incomes up. And by the way, I\u2019ve done these things. I served as governor and showed I could get them done.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: Mr. President, last two minutes belong to you.<\/p>\n
OBAMA: Barry, I think a lot of this campaign, maybe over the last four years, has been devoted to this nation that I think government creates jobs, that that somehow is the answer.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not what I believe. I believe that the free enterprise system is the greatest engine of prosperity the world\u2019s ever known.<\/p>\n
I believe in self-reliance and individual initiative and risk takers being rewarded. But I also believe that everybody should have a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share and everybody should play by the same rules, because that\u2019s how our economy\u2019s grown. That\u2019s how we built the world\u2019s greatest middle class.<\/p>\n
And \u2014 and that is part of what\u2019s at stake in this election. There\u2019s a fundamentally different vision about how we move our country forward.<\/p>\n
I believe Governor Romney is a good man. Loves his family, cares about his faith. But I also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47 percent of the country considered themselves victims who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking about.<\/p>\n
Folks on Social Security who\u2019ve worked all their lives. Veterans who\u2019ve sacrificed for this country. Students who are out there trying to hopefully advance their own dreams, but also this country\u2019s dreams. Soldiers who are overseas fighting for us right now. People who are working hard every day, paying payroll tax, gas taxes, but don\u2019t make enough income.<\/p>\n
And I want to fight for them. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing for the last four years. Because if they succeed, I believe the country succeeds.<\/p>\n
When my grandfather fought in World War II and he came back and he got a G.I. Bill and that allowed him to go to college, that wasn\u2019t a handout. That was something that advanced the entire country. And I want to make sure that the next generation has those same opportunities. That\u2019s why I\u2019m asking for your vote and that\u2019s why I\u2019m asking for another four years.<\/p>\n
CROWLEY: President Obama, Governor Romney, thank you for being here tonight.<\/p>\n
On that note we have come to an end of this town hall debate. Our thanks to the participants for their time and to the people of Hofstra University for their hospitality.<\/p>\n
The next and final debate takes place Monday night at Lynn (ph) University in Boca Raton, Florida. Don\u2019t forget to watch. Election Day is three weeks from today. Don\u2019t forget to vote.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CANDY CROWLEY, MODERATOR: Good evening from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. I\u2019m Candy Crowley from CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d We are here for the second presidential debate, a town hall, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. CROWLEY: The Gallup organization chose 82 uncommitted voters from the New York area. Their questions will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[23,116,117],"class_list":["post-974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2012-election","tag-2nd-presidential-debate","tag-hofstra"],"yoast_head":"\n