Remarks by the President at Campaign Event -- Marshalltown, IA

B.R. Miller Middle School
Marshalltown, Iowa

4:00 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Marshalltown!  (Applause.)  Hello, Bobcats!  (Applause.)  Now, I was just told that school, at least for the teachers, starts tomorrow.  (Laughter.)  Teachers in the house?  (Applause.) 

So I want to start off by saying thank you to our teachers for the outstanding job that they do each and every day.  (Applause.)  Your principal, your superintendent, your assistant principal, they’re all doing a great job -- which means, students, you’re going to have to hit the books, all right?  (Laughter.)  Going to have to hit the books. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, they’ll have to hit the books maybe for longer than four more years.  (Laughter.)  We’ll be talking about that.

A couple of other people I want to acknowledge.  First of all, thank Kirk for the wonderful introduction.  Please give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  I want to acknowledge Mayor Pro-Tem Bethany Wirin is here.  Where’s Bethany?  There she is, right here.  (Applause.) 

And I want to offer my condolences to the family of the Mayor who just passed -- Mayor Gene Beach.  (Applause.) 

I’ve got to tell you, it’s good to be back in Iowa, and it’s good to be back in Marshalltown.  (Applause.)  I started in Council Bluffs, and we are driving to the Quads, and we are stopping off a whole bunch of different places.  Yesterday I got to the State Fair and had a pork chop and a beer.  (Applause.)  It was good.  I might have another beer today.  (Laughter.)  Just one.  Just one. 

But the reason it’s so good to be back is because this is really where our movement began -- here in Iowa.  (Applause.)  In people’s backyards, on family farms and school gyms, on people’s porches all across this state, we had a conversation about how we move our country in a direction where everybody has opportunity, where everybody has got a shot.  And we know that journey is not done yet.  We’ve still got a lot of work to do.  So we are now spending another three days driving through the state. 

And the reason it’s so important is because in some ways this election may be more consequential than the last election.  You’ve got a choice not just between two candidates or two political parties, but between two fundamentally different visions for where we should take our country. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You’re preaching to the choir.

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s true, I am.  (Laughter.)  But you’re going to have to go then preach to the folks who aren’t converted yet.  More than any other election, when you go into the voting booth in November, you’re going to be making a decision about the kind of America that we have not just for yourselves but for your children and your grandchildren for decades to come.

Four years ago, we came together -- and it wasn’t just Democrats, we had independents, we had some Republicans -- because we understood that the basic bargain that built this country was at stake.  We had gone through a decade where jobs were being shipped overseas, where incomes were going down even while the costs of health care and a college education and groceries were going up, and it all culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  And what we understood then was we had to work hard to get back to that basic bargain, that basic deal that built this country.

And it’s a very simple promise.  It’s a promise that says if you work hard in this country, you’ll get ahead.  If you are responsible, then you can meet your obligations -- to yourself, to your family, to your community.  You can find a job that pays the bills.  You can have a home that you can call your own.  You can be assured that you won’t go bankrupt if you get sick.  You can retire with some dignity and some respect.  And most importantly, you can make sure that your kids get the kind of education and opportunities so they can dream even bigger and do even better than you did.  That is what the American promise is all about.  (Applause.)  That’s what we’ve been fighting for.  That’s what we’ve been fighting for.

And we knew it wasn’t going to happen overnight.  We knew it was going to take more than one term, maybe even one President, to get this country back to the place where everybody has got a fair shot.  But we started.  And three and a half years ago, we saved ourselves from going into a Great Depression.  And 4.5 million jobs have been created, and half a million manufacturing jobs.  And the auto industry got saved.  (Applause.)  We’re now at a point where a lot of folks are still struggling.  And so we’ve got to move forward and not backwards.  We’ve got to move forward.

Now, the good news is we’ve got everything we need to succeed.  We’ve still got the best workers in the world.  (Applause.)  We’ve still got the best universities and colleges in the world.  (Applause.)  We’ve got the best researchers and scientists in the world.  We’ve got the best entrepreneurs, small businessmen and women, and large businesses that are the best in the world, making some of the best products.  We’ve got everything that we need.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Best President.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  And we’re a young nation.  We’re a young nation, in part because we’ve got this incredible diversity -- people are willing to come here from all corners of the globe because they understand there’s something special about this place. 

And so, for all the naysayers out there and the folks who try to paint things as dark as they can, especially during election time, the fact of the matter is there’s no nation on Earth that wouldn’t trade places with us.  (Applause.)  So we’ve got the tools to make sure that we are living up to this country’s promise -- a country where you can make it if you try, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what faith you are, no matter what race you are, no matter what your last name is, here in America you can make it.  That's what we have the opportunity to make sure continues for the next generation.  (Applause.) 

That's what we're fighting for.  That's the choice in this election.  That's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

     Now, there is one thing holding back, though, and that is the politics in Washington.  We've got -- the other side has decided that "compromise" is a dirty word.  And they spend a lot of time trying to beat me instead of moving the country forward. (Applause.)  But part of it is just an honest disagreement about how we move the country forward. 

Governor Romney chose a running mate this weekend, and I know Congressman Ryan.  He's a good man -- he's a good family man.  But he's got a fundamentally different view about how we move this country forward.  He's an articulate spokesperson for Governor Romney’s views.  He's the ideological leader of the Republicans in Congress.  But that vision is wrong.

Look, let me tell you, you can sum up Governor Romney's plans pretty simply.  He wants to eliminate --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Everything.  (Laughter.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  He wants to eliminate regulations on big banks and corporations, some of which we put in place in the wake of the disaster on Wall Street.  And he wants to institute even more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  The centerpiece of his plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut, a lot of it which would go to folks like me who don't need it.  And here's the kicker.  He expects all of you to pick up the tab. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, don't take my word for it.  Independent analysis shows that if his plan was instituted, the only way you could pay for it would be to have the average middle-class family with children pay an extra $2,000 in taxes.  How many people think that's a good idea?

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  How many people think that would actually grow the economy? 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  But that's his theory.  The theory is, is that if folks up here are doing really well, then all the benefits are going to trickle down.  The extra $2,000 you'd be paying wouldn't be used to pay down the deficit or the debt that we've already got.  It wouldn't be to invest in more teachers or a better school system, or making college more affordable, or rebuilding our roads and bridges, and finding new ways to create cheap energy.  No, this $2,000 would be to help finance an average $250,000 tax break for folks making $3 million a year or more. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  I got to tell you, we have heard this sales pitch from these folks before.  We've heard this trickle-down fairy dust before.  It didn’t work then; it will not work now.  (Applause.)  We don’t think it's a plan to reduce the deficit.  It's certainly not a plan to create jobs and to help families right now.

See, I believe in a different theory.  When it comes to taxes, I said in 2008 I was going to lower middle-class taxes.  And guess what -- I did.  (Applause.)  So the average family -- the typical family is paying $3,600 less in taxes than they were when I came into office.  (Applause.)  So what I believe now is I want to keep your income taxes right where they are for everybody making $250,000 or less -- which is 98 percent of Americans, 97 percent of small businesses.  And folks who are in the other 2 percent, who are fortunate enough to be in the top 2 percent, they still get a tax cut for the first $250,000.  But after that, we're asking them to pay a little bit more so we can finance things like education and reduce our deficit in a balanced, responsible way.  (Applause.)

Now, I still want to make sure that government does its part by being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.  So we've cut a trillion dollars out of federal spending -- a trillion dollars that I've already signed into law.  We've got an additional trillion that's slated.  So we're prepared to make some tough choices on things we can't afford.  But we're not going to reduce the deficit by gutting education investments, gutting investments that we make in our infrastructure, gutting our investments in basic science and research that can lead to discoveries in clean energy or lead to discoveries in curing cancer.  That's not how we're going to grow this economy and make sure that the middle class is strong. 

And, by the way, when I say asking folks like me to do a little bit more -- we've tried that before, too, under Bill Clinton.  And we created 23 million new jobs, went from a deficit to a surplus.  (Applause.)  And guess what, Marshalltown, here's the thing -- it actually was good for rich people, too.  Because what happens is, look, when a teacher or a construction worker or a receptionist or a nurse, when they've got a little more money in their pocket, what do they do?

AUDIENCE:  Spend it.

THE PRESIDENT:  They spend it on necessities.  And so, maybe you've got a 10-year-old car and you go out and buy a new one.  Or maybe you need a new appliance and you go out and you get a new appliance.  Or maybe you buy a computer for your kid as they're going off to college.  And suddenly, business has more customers, and those businesses get more profits and they hire more workers. 

We don't believe in top-down economics.  The history of this country has been a middle class-out economics, a bottom-up economics.  When everybody is doing well, when everybody has opportunity, then we all succeed and the country moves forward.  That's what's at stake in this election.  That's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States.  (Applause.)    
You see the difference in philosophies on almost every issue.  When the automakers were on the brink of collapse, a million jobs at stake, Governor Romney said let's "let Detroit go bankrupt."  I said let's bet on American workers.  And three and a half years later, the American auto industry has come roaring back.  (Applause.) 

So we know American manufacturing can succeed in this country -- high-tech manufacturing, advanced manufacturing -- but we've got to make sure we've got a tax code that encourages it.  I want to stop giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas.  Let's give tax breaks to companies that are investing here in the United States of America, hiring American workers, making American products.  (Applause.)

Governor Romney has got a different view.  He talks about how he has been in the private sector, so he knows how to put folks back to work.  But it turns out most of his business was investing on behalf of folks like him and investing in some cases in what has been called "pioneers" of outsourcing.  We don't need pioneers of outsourcing.  We need folks who are interested in insourcing and bringing some jobs back to Marshalltown, back to Iowa, and back to the United States of America.  (Applause.)  

Let me give you another example.  Kirk was just talking about wind power.  I was just visiting a wind farm close by.  It's a working farm.  It has about five windmills on one property, 52 in this area -- 52 wind farms generating incredible amounts of energy and, by the way, helping family farmers with a little bit of extra income. 

Now, Governor Romney has decided that we should end the tax credit that we provide for wind power once and for all.  That's his idea.  He wants to get rid of it.  At a moment when homegrown energy is creating new jobs here in states like Iowa, he wants to bring an end to it.  He said -- and I'm quoting here -- he said new sources of energy like these are "imaginary."

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  His running mate, Congressman Ryan, calls them a "fad."  Then during a speech a few months ago, Governor Romney explained his energy policy this way -- "You can't drive a car with a windmill on it."  That’s what he said about wind power.  Now, I know he's tried some other things on top of a car. (Laughter and applause.)  I didn’t know he had tried windmills on top of a car.  (Applause.)  But maybe he tried it.  I would have liked to have seen that.  (Laughter.) 

But maybe he needs to come to Iowa to learn something about wind power.  He'd know if he came here that 7,000 jobs have been created here in Iowa by the wind industry -- more than any other state in America.  These jobs aren't a "fad," they're the future, and we've got to be investing in them.  (Applause.) 

If he came to Iowa, he might know that not only are we putting out these windmills, but, increasingly, they're made right here in Iowa, made here in America.  That’s not "imaginary" -- that’s real.  (Applause.) 

If he came here to Iowa, he might know that 20 percent of Iowa's electricity now comes from wind energy.  (Applause.)  Over the past 4 years, America has doubled its -- the amount of electricity that is produced from wind, and this is enough to power 13 million homes with clean and renewable energy.  Think about that.  It's the equivalent of 12 Hoover Dams' worth of electricity is being generated by wind power in this country.  (Applause.)  That’s something that’s worth investing in.  That’s something we're doing for the next generation.  And so are the 37,000 American jobs that are on the line if we let this wind tax credit expire.

So this is a difference between me and Governor Romney.  I want to stop giving $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies every single year to the oil companies that are doing just great, and let's take some of that money and continue to invest in homegrown, renewable energy right here in Iowa and all across America that can put people back to work.  (Applause.) 

I'll give you another example of a difference.  I said in 2008 I'd end the war in Iraq -- and I did.  (Applause.)  I said we'd refocus and go after al Qaeda and bin Laden -- we did.  (Applause.)  We're bringing our troops home from Afghanistan.  All this is possible because of the extraordinary service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.  (Applause.)  So we've made some historic investments in the VA.  My attitude is anybody who has fought for America, they shouldn’t have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home.  (Applause.) We've got to serve them as well as they serve us. 

But we also need to make sure that folks coming home, they're coming back to a vibrant economy.  So what I've said is let's take half of the money that we're saving after a decade of war and let's put people back to work.  Let's create a Veterans Jobs Corps that can hire police officers and firefighters in communities that need them.  (Applause.)  Let's get a whole bunch of construction workers to rebuild our roads and our bridges, our ports and our airports.  (Applause.)  Let's rebuild our schools. Let's lay broadband lines into rural communities.  Those investments are good now because they put people back to work, and that means folks have got more money in their pockets.  And what do they do when they've got more money in their pockets?

AUDIENCE:  Spend it!

THE PRESIDENT:  They spend it.  And suddenly, businesses have more customers.  But it's also good for the long run, because if we've got the best roads, the best bridges, the best airports, the fastest broadband lines, the best wireless networks, the best transmission lines -- all that makes us more productive, and it means our economy is going to grow in the future.  So why wouldn’t we start now?  That’s what we need to be investing in.

So, look -- one more difference.  When it comes to education, I believe that nothing is more important than making our kids competitive in the 21st century economy.  Our young people, they're not just competing against folks in North Carolina or New Hampshire; they're now competing against folks in India and China. 

So I want to make sure that we're helping school districts hire and retain the best teachers -- especially in math and science.  I want to make sure that we're creating 2 million more slots in community colleges so folks can get trained in the jobs that businesses are hiring for right now.  And I want to make college more affordable for young people.  We have already made progress on this front.  (Applause.)  And I'm not just talking about four-year colleges, I'm talking about two-year community colleges, getting advanced training.

But the point is that some form of higher education, it is no longer a luxury, it is an economic necessity in the 21st century.  And I want to make sure every young person in America and every young person in Marshalltown can take advantage of those opportunities.  That’s part of what this election is all about.  (Applause.) 

Governor Romney wants to repeal Obamacare. 

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  First of all, I don’t mind the term Obamacare.  I like it, because I do care.  That’s why we passed the bill. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  And because of it, 6.5 million young people can stay on their parent's plan.  (Applause.)  Because of it, we've got millions of seniors out there who are seeing more discounts on their prescription drugs, and we're closing the doughnut hole.  Because of what we're doing, more people are getting preventive care.  Because of what we're doing, insurance companies can't drop you right when you need insurance most just because of some fine print.  (Applause.)

So maybe Governor Romney wants to spend the next three years rearguing what we've been arguing about for the last three years, but the Supreme Court has spoken -- we are implementing this law. We are moving forward.  We are not going backwards.  That is a choice in this election.  That’s why I'm running for a second term as President.  (Applause.)

We're not going to undo the reforms we've put into place to make sure Wall Street doesn’t ask for another taxpayer-funded bailout.  We're not going to go back to the days when folks, to serve this country, it depended on who they loved.  If they love this country, they should be able to serve this country -- period.  (Applause.)   

We're going to make sure that young people who are brought to this country when they were very young and have grown up as Americans, that they have an opportunity to contribute here in America, the country that they love.  (Applause.)  We're not going backwards.  We're going forward.  (Applause.)

Now, I have to tell you that over the course of the next three months, though, you will see more money spent by the other side than we've ever seen in history.  And I don’t want to lie.  I mean, we're raising money -- but these folks are writing $10 million checks.  I mean, they've got some friends in -- with a lot of money.  And we are seeing all these ads -- and you notice they don’t really have a plan?  I mean, you don’t see these ads saying what they're going to do, because they know that their plan would not sell. 

So instead, what they're going to do is just repeat over and over again the same things that they've been saying for the last three and a half years, and that is, the economy is not doing as well as it should and it's Obama's fault.  I mean, that’s their  -- basically, they'll do different ads, but it's the same theme. 

And you know, I might be a little worried about it except -- what you taught me, Iowa, in 2008.  We have been outspent before; we have been counted out before.  But what I've learned is that when the American people cut through the nonsense, when they're paying attention and they're focused, and they think back to their own families and their parents and their grandparents and everything that’s made this country great, when they decide we're going to make sure that we've got a government that is not just representing the powerful and the wealthy but just looking after ordinary folks, and recognizing government can't solve every problem, and nobody expects a handout or a bailout, but we do expect to make sure that together we are doing things that help the next generation -- when the American people start focusing on those core values that have made this country great, I tell you what, you can't be stopped.  You can't be stopped.  (Applause.)  You're the most powerful force in this democracy.

So, Marshalltown, I'm going to need your help.  I'm going to need you fired up again.  I'm going to need you ready to go.  We're going to have to make sure everybody is registered.  If you're not registered, by the way, you can get forms online, going to gottaregister.com.  (Laughter.)  That’s g-o-t-t-a.  I'm sorry, teachers, but it's "gotta."  (Laughter.)  It's not "got to," it's "gotta."  Gottaregister.com.

But if you guys are ready to work, we'll get this done.  Because we've got more work to do.  We've got more schools to build.  We've got more teachers to hire.  We've got more troops to bring home.  We've got more roads to build.  We've got more opportunity to create for our young people to make college more affordable.  We've got a lot of unfinished business. 

And I tell you what, back in 2008, I used to say to folks, look, I'm not a perfect man -- you can ask Michelle.  (Laughter.) And I tell folks, I'm not -- I won't be a perfect President.  Nobody is.  But what I did say is I'll wake up every single day fighting as hard as I know how for you; that I will think about you, and I will represent you, and I will fight for you.  (Applause.)  And I have kept that promise, Iowa.  I have kept that promise.  (Applause.)

So if you're willing to stand with me and work with me and organize with me, and knock on some doors and make some phone calls with me, we will finish what we started.  We will get folks back to work.  We will revive the middle-class dream of America. And we will remind the world why this is the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you, everybody.  God bless you.  God bless America.  Thank you.

END               
4:27 P.M. CDT

Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event -- Oskaloosa, Iowa

Nelson Pioneer Farm & Museum
Oskaloosa, Iowa

11:33 A.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Iowa!  (Applause.)  It is good to be back in Oskaloosa.  (Applause.)  It is good to see all of you.  If you've got a chair, please feel free to take a seat.  I want everybody to feel relaxed out here.  It's a beautiful summer day. 

I've been talking to some kids; I guess school starts up in a couple of days, so they were looking a little depressed.  (Laughter.)  But it's okay.  School is going to be great.  I know you guys have had a great summer.

Before I start, I just want to acknowledge an outstanding member of Congress who is fighting every day on behalf of the people of his district -- Dave Loebsack is here.  Give Dave a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  There he is.  Thank you, Dave.

It has been great to be back in Iowa.  Back in 2007-2008, I was on your farms and in your backyards and on your porches.  And that's where our movement for change really began, right here in Iowa.  (Applause.)  And we spent a lot of time on bus tours like this one all across the state. 

And it was good also to be back at the Iowa State Fair, although when I was just a candidate, they let me go on the bumper cars.  (Laughter.)  And I went up on the Big Bend -- you guys ever been on that, where they just shoot you up about 500 feet in the air?  I was with Malia and I started screaming, and she looked at me, saying, come on, Dad, get it under control.  (Laughter.)  But it was terrifying.  Anyway, Secret Service does not let me do that anymore.  But I was still able to get a beer and a pork chop -- (applause) -- so I was pretty happy about that.  I was pretty happy about that.
  
Here's the thing -- I'm back because our journey is not done.  We’re spending three days driving all the way across the state, just like we did in 2007 and 2008; we're going from Council Bluffs all the way to the Quads, Quad Cities, because once again you face a critical choice in November.  In some ways, this is even more important an election than 2008, because this choice could not be bigger. 

It’s not just a choice between two candidates.  It’s not just a choice between two political parties.  It is a choice between two fundamentally different visions of how America became great and how it's going to stay great, two fundamentally different visions of the path we need to take for the future of our kids and our grandkids.  (Applause.)

And the direction that you choose when you walk into the voting booth in November, it's going to determine not our lives next year or five years from now.  It's going to determine the future for decades to come for our kids and our grandchildren. 

Four years ago when we came together -- and it wasn't just Democrats, by the way; we had independents and we had some Republicans.  We came together because a lot of us realized that the core idea, the basic bargain that made this country, was under threat.  And it's a basic bargain that says if you work hard in this country, you can get ahead; that if you take responsibility, than you can make it, and you can get into the middle class.  You can feel a sense of security.  That you can find a job that pays the bills and have a home you call your own.  That you won't go bankrupt when you get sick.  That you can retire with dignity and respect.  And most importantly, that you can give your kids a great education and they can do even better and dream even bigger than you ever imagined.  That's the American Promise.  That's the American Dream.  That's what we've been fighting for.  (Applause.)  

Now, we knew restoring that basic idea wouldn't be easy because we had just gone through a decade in which that bargain, that promise wasn't being kept.  Jobs had gotten shipped overseas.  People were working harder, but making less, while the cost of everything from health care to college was going up.  We fought two wars on a credit card, adding enormously to our debt.  And all this culminated then in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. 

And so, we knew this wasn't going to be easy.  And when the crisis hit in 2008 and 2009, millions of people all across this country -- some of our friends and neighbors and family members -- lost their jobs, lost their homes, lost their savings.  And that made the American Dream even a little bit further out of reach.

Now, I told you when I ran the first time that this was not going to be easy, restoring that bargain; that there weren’t any quick fixes to our solutions.  But what I also insisted, and what I still believe, is we’ve got everything we need to solve these challenges.  (Applause.)  We have everything we need right here in America to make the middle class strong again. 

We’ve got the best workers in the world.  (Applause.)  We’ve got the best entrepreneurs in the world.  (Applause.)  Everybody knows we’ve got the best farms in the world.  (Applause.)  We’ve got the best scientists, the best researchers.  We’ve got the best universities.  We’ve got the best colleges.  We are a young nation still, partly because we’re still a magnet for talent from all around the world.  We’ve got the greatest diversity of talent and ingenuity of any other country.

And so even though there are some people who like to talk about America in decline, or they try to paint things as dark as possible -- especially during election season -- there is no doubt in my mind that there’s not another country on Earth that wouldn’t gladly trade places with us.  We’ve got everything we need to succeed.  (Applause.)

And most of all, what we’ve got is the American character.  I’ve seen it over the last three and a half years.  I see it in folks who lose their jobs at the age of 50 or 55 and they go back to a community college, studying hard, sitting next to 20-year-olds, and retrain, and suddenly they go back and they get a job in a new industry.  Or the small business owner who could barely keep their doors open but decided, you know what, I’m not going to take a salary, I’m not going to take any pay, because I want to make sure my workers are taken care of because they’ve got families to support. 

All across America, it turns out Americans are tougher than any tough times.  We are resilient, and we work hard, and we may get knocked down but we always get back up.  That has been the character of America, and that character has not changed.  (Applause.) 

And it’s because of that character that over the last three and a half years we’ve made some progress.  We’re not all the way back to where we need to be, but we’ve created four and a half million new jobs -- half a million new jobs in manufacturing.  (Applause.)  We have seen small businesses start to open back up.  We’ve seen workers getting retrained and getting rehired.  And so we’ve made progress.

But our goal in 2007-2008 wasn’t just getting back to where we were before the crisis.  Our goal was to make sure that we built an economy that lasts; where we built an economy where middle-class folks and folks aspiring to the middle class can succeed.  That has been our goal.  That’s what we’re still fighting for.  We are not yet done, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States of America -- because we’ve got more work to do.  (Applause.) 

Now, I said we’ve got everything we need to solve our problems.  The main impediment we’ve got, the main roadblock we’ve got is politics in Washington.  (Applause.)  You’ve got another party that thinks compromise is a dirty word, and that believes the only way we can move forward is to go back to the same top-down economics that got us into this mess in the first place.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes.  You're right!

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, you may have heard that Governor Romney just chose his running mate, Congressman Ryan. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  He’s a good man, he’s a family man.  He’s the ideological leader of the Republicans in Congress, and he’s an articulate spokesperson for Governor Romney’s views.  The problem is those views are wrong.  I fundamentally disagree with their vision for America.  (Applause.)  Their basic prescription for America is to get rid of more regulations on big banks and big corporations, give more tax breaks to the very wealthiest Americans, and their belief is somehow that prosperity then will trickle down on everybody else.  That’s their view. 
 
Look, the centerpiece of Governor Romney’s entire economic plan -- the centerpiece of it, his main idea -- his one big idea is to give another $5 trillion tax cut on top of the Bush tax cuts that he’s keeping -- he wants to keep in place -- $5 trillion.  To give you some sense of perspective, our entire defense budget is about half a trillion dollars a year.  So this tax cut would be the equivalent of what we spend on the national defense every single year for the next 10 years -- $5 trillion.  Last week we found out that he expects you to pay the tab.  Governor Romney’s tax plan would actually raise taxes on middle-class families with children by an average of $2,000 to pay for this big tax break that’s going mostly to the wealthiest folks. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Understand, this is not asking you to pay more taxes to reduce our deficit or to help kids get an education or to rebuild some roads and bridges and ports around the country.  This is asking you to pay more to give an average $250,000 tax break to folks making $3 million a year or more.  That is his big idea. 

Now, they have tried to sell this kind of trickle-down fairy dust before.  (Laughter.)  And frankly, they tried it as recently as 2001, 2002, 2003.  And what did we get?  The most sluggish job growth in generations, incomes and wages going down, jobs going overseas, and a huge economic crisis -- and, by the way, the deficits kept on going up so by the time I walked into office we had a trillion-dollar deficit. 

Why would we want to try that again?  I don’t know about you, but my general rule is if I do something and it doesn’t work, and then I do it again and it doesn’t work again, I stop doing it.  (Laughter.)  I stop doing it.  I try something else.  (Applause.)

So they don’t have a plan to cut the deficit.  They don’t have a plan to create jobs.  They sure don’t have a plan to revive the middle class.  We don’t need more tax cuts for folks like me -- folks who are doing fine.  We need tax relief for working Americans.  (Applause.) 

So when I came into office, I had promised you that I would cut taxes for middle-class Americans.  And guess what?  I kept that promise.  (Applause.)  The Republicans like to call Democrats the big tax-and-spend folks, but it turns out that your tax rates are lower by about $3,600 for the typical family than they were when I came into office because I kept my promise.  (Applause.)

So now what I want to do is to keep your income tax rates exactly where they are.  I don’t want your taxes going up for the first $250,000 of income that you make -- which, by the way, covers about 98 percent of all Americans and 97 percent of all small businesses.  Your taxes -- your income taxes would not go up one single dime next year if Congress does what I’ve asked them to do.  (Applause.) 

What I have said is, for those who are fortunate enough to be in the other 2 percent, you’d still get a tax cut for the first $250,000 you make, but after that we’re asking you to pay a little bit more to help pay down the deficit, and help to invest in making college affordable for young people, and making sure that we’ve got teachers on the job, and making sure that we’re investing in science to help cure cancer and Alzheimer’s.  (Applause.)  That’s how our economy can grow.  That’s how our economy will grow. 

We’re going to make sure government does its part.  A lot of people don’t realize we’ve already cut a trillion dollars of government spending to lower our deficit -- a trillion dollars.  And we can do more.  I think government has to make sure that it’s good stewards for your taxpayer dollars, that it’s not being wasted -- and there’s still more waste that we can get out of there.  But we can’t close the deficit and invest in our future just by cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans, cutting education, cutting the things that help us grow.  And by the way, the proposal that I’m putting forward that says folks like me and Governor Romney have to pay a little bit more -- we actually have tried that, too.  We tried it under Bill Clinton, when we created 23 million new jobs, the biggest budget surplus in history.  (Applause.)

And guess what -- folks at the top, they did good, too.  And the reason is, when you give a family farmer, or you give a construction worker, or you give a receptionist, or you give a nurse or a teacher a little bit more money in their pockets, what do they do? 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Spend it.

THE PRESIDENT:  They spend it.  Maybe they can finally trade in that 10-year-old car and get a new car.  Maybe they get a new appliance because the dishwasher or the washing machine is broken.  Maybe they buy a new computer for their kids who are about to go to college.  Maybe they go to a restaurant or, heaven forbid, take a vacation once in a while.

And what that means is then businesses have more customers, and businesses hire more workers, and everybody does better.  You get what’s called a virtuous cycle of everybody feeling more confident about the economy because everybody has got a stake in the economy. 

See, I don’t believe in an economy from the top down; I believe that the economy grows from the middle class out and from the bottom up.  (Applause.)  And when everybody is doing well and everybody has got a fair shot, everybody ends up doing better.  That’s how we grow this economy.  And that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States of America.  (Applause.) 

So there are differences in this election on almost every issue.  When the automakers were on the brink of collapse, Governor Romney said “let Detroit go bankrupt.”  I said, let's bet on American workers.  (Applause.)  And three and a half years later, the auto industry has come roaring back. 

So now, I want to make sure that American manufacturing, advanced hi-tech manufacturing, is taking root right here in America -- not in China, not in Germany -- right here in Iowa, right here in Oskaloosa, right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Oscaloosa!

THE PRESIDENT:  You know, Governor Romney, he likes to brag about his private sector experience.  His main private sector experience -- he did make a lot of money -- was investing in companies, some of which were called “pioneers” of outsourcing.  I don't want a pioneer of outsourcing.  I want somebody who is fighting for insourcing.  I want to bring business back to America.  (Applause.) 

I want to stop giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas.  Let's give them to companies that are investing right here in Iowa and right here in the United States of America, hiring American workers, making American products that we're selling around the world stamped with three proud words:  Made in America.  That's what I believe in.  That's why I'm running.  (Applause.)  

Let me give you another example.  We're at a moment right now when homegrown energy, like wind energy, is creating new jobs all across Iowa and all across the country.  And guess what, Governor Romney said let's end the tax credits for wind energy production.  Let's get rid of them. 

He said that new sources of energy like wind are "imaginary".  His running mate calls them a “fad.”  During a speech a few months ago, Governor Romney even explained his energy policy this way -- I'm quoting here -- “You can’t drive a car with a windmill on it.”  (Laughter.)  That's what he said about wind power.  “You can't drive a car with a windmill on it.”  Now, I don't know if he has actually tried that.  I know he has had other things on his car.  (Laughter and applause.)

But if he wants to learn something about wind, all he has got to do is pay attention to what you've been doing here in Iowa.  (Applause.)  If he saw what you’ve been doing, he’d see that there are places like Newton, where a few years ago the Maytag plant closed down, jobs dried up.  Folks are now back to work manufacturing these enormous new towers and blades for some of the most sophisticated, high-tech wind turbines on the planet.  The wind industry now supports 7,000 jobs here in Iowa -- 75,000 jobs across the country.  (Applause.)  These jobs aren't a "fad".  These are good jobs, and they're a source of pride that we need to fight for. 

And if Governor Romney understood what you've been doing, he'd know that we used to have to import most of the parts were used for wind turbines -- they're now being made here in America, by American workers in American factories.  That’s not “imaginary” -- that’s real.  (Applause.)  That’s part of what we’re fighting for in this election.

If he knew what you’ve been doing, he’d know that 20 percent of Iowa’s electricity now comes from wind, powering our homes and our factories and our businesses in a way that is clean and renewable.  In fact, over the past 4 years, we’ve doubled the amount of electricity America generates for wind.  Across America, we’ve built the equivalent of 12 new Hoover Dams’ worth of wind energy.  Think about that.  Think about that.  (Applause.) 

So Governor Romney may have figured out that you can’t drive a car with a windmill on it, but he doesn't seem to know that America now has enough wind turbines installed to generate enough electricity from wind to power nearly 13 million homes with clean energy.  That’s how we leave something better for the next generation.  That’s worth fighting for.  That's what’s at stake right now.  (Applause.)  

So I want to stop giving $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies that are going to oil companies that are making huge profits and have been subsidized for a hundred years, and let's keep on investing in the new homegrown energy that's creating jobs right here in Iowa.  That's a difference in this election.  That's why I'm running for President of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

We've got a whole lot of differences between me and Governor Romney. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You're better!  You are better!  You are better!

THE PRESIDENT:  You know, I've got to say I agree with that.  (Laughter.)  My ideas are, at least.

Look, in 2008, I said we'd end the war in Iraq -- we did.  (Applause.)  We said that we'd go after al Qaeda and bin Laden -- we did.  (Applause.)  We are now bringing troops home from Afghanistan.  (Applause.)  America is safer and more secure than when I came into office, because of the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform.  (Applause.) 

That's why we've invested so much in making sure that the VA is doing its job, making sure that our veterans get the benefits that they have earned.  Because they shouldn't have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads after they've fought for us.  We've got to serve them as well as they've served us.  (Applause.)  

But as they're now coming home, I want to take about half the money that we're saving after a decade of war and let's help put veterans and Americans back to work rebuilding America, doing some nation-building here at home.  (Applause.)  Let's rebuild our ports and our roads and our bridges and our airports.  We can put folks back to work right now.  It's good for the economy now.  It will be good for the economy 10 years from now and 20 years from now.   

I want to set up a Veterans Jobs Corps that helps local communities hire veterans for firefighters and cops in communities that need them most.  (Applause.)  Those are smart investments in the future.  Governor Romney may have a different idea.  I want to put folks back to work rebuilding America.  And now is the time to do it. 

His other idea is, let's get rid of Obamacare; he says, I'm going to "kill it.”  Well, let me tell you something, it's true I do care.  So I don't mind folks calling it Obamacare.  (Applause.)  And what I've said is that in a country as rich as ours, we should not see anybody going bankrupt when they get sick.  (Applause.)  

The Supreme Court has now spoken.  We are moving forward with this law.  Six and a half million young people can now stay on their parent's plan.  (Applause.)  Insurance companies can't deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition.  (Applause.)  Insurance companies can't drop your coverage when you need it the most.  (Applause.)  For a lot of rural communities, a lot of farmers, it's hard buying health insurance on your own -- you're now going to be able to pool with other folks so you can get discounted rates just like people who work for big companies.  That will help a lot of communities all across Iowa.  (Applause.)

So we're not going to go backwards and refight the same fights we had over the last three years.  We're going forward.  We're not going backwards.  We don't need to have those same arguments in Washington.  What we need to do is go ahead and implement this law, and make sure it works.  And if anybody has got good ideas to help further lower health care costs, I'm happy to work with them.  But we're not going backwards.  We're going forwards.  That's what America needs right now.  (Applause.)

I’m running to make sure that we've got the best education system in the world.  I want to help local communities hire the best teachers -- especially in math and science -- give 2 million more slots available in community colleges so people can get trained for the jobs that businesses are hiring for right now.  And I want to make college more affordable for every single young person in America.  (Applause.)  We've already done a lot of work making sure that they're getting help, but I'm also going to work with the colleges and universities to lower tuition once and for all.  Because a higher education is not a luxury in this economy, it is an economic necessity and I want to make sure opportunities are open for everybody, not just for the few.  (Applause.)

All these issues -- bringing manufacturing back, helping young people go to school, giving you more health care security -- all these issues tie together.  It goes back to what made this country great.  And when I think about my own life, when I think about Michelle's life -- we didn't come from wealth.  We didn't come from fame.  But we were lucky enough to be born in a country where here, everybody gets a fair shot, everybody does their fair share, everybody plays by the same set of rules -- no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, you can make it here if you try.  That's the story of America.  That's your story.

Your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents -- they went through struggles.  They went through hardship.  Nothing was given to them.  But they did live in a country where you had a shot.  And we now have an obligation to pass that on to the next generation.  That's what we have to fight for.

And over the next three months, you're going to see more TV advertising than you've ever seen in your life.  And these folks are spending more money -- they've got people writing $10 million checks.  And almost all the ads are the same; they basically say, the economy is not where it needs to be and it's Obama's fault.  They just kind of repeat that over and over and over again.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  And it's not!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know what, let me tell you something.  That may be a plan to win an election, but it's not a plan to create jobs.  It's not a plan to make our future better.  It's not a plan to revive the middle class.  They don't have that plan.  I do have that plan.  (Applause.)

But I'm going to need your help.  I'm going to need everybody here registering to vote.  I'm going to need you to get your friends and neighbors to register to vote.  You can get forms online.  You can go to gottaregister.com -- that's gotta, g-o-t-t-a.  (Laughter.)  

But what I learned from you here in Iowa in 2008 is other folks may outspend me, folks may write me off, but when you've got ordinary folks pulling together, cutting through the nonsense and focuses on what's important -- when you guys get involved -- you can't be stopped.  Nothing can stop you.  (Applause.) 

You will decide the future of this country.  And I'm asking for your help.  Because we've got more schools to build, we’ve got more teachers to hire.  We've got more troops who have got to come home.  We've got more manufacturing plants that we've got to build.  We've got more Americans we need to put back to work, and we've got more doors of opportunity that we have to open for all Americans.

And if you're willing to stand with me and work with me and make phone calls with me and knock on some doors with me, then we can finish what we started in 2008.  (Applause.)  We can make this middle class strong again.  We can make sure that the future is bright for our kids again.  And we can remind the world just why it is the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth 

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
12:04 P.M. CDT

Remarks by the First Lady at a Campaign Event

Private Residence
Los Angeles, California

1:36 P.M. PDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you all.  That’s so sweet.  You’re so sweet!  (Applause.)  But rest yourselves, because we’re going to work you hard.  (Laughter.)  So I don’t want you to get tired or anything.  But thank you.  I am delighted to be here in this beautiful home, in this beautiful neighborhood.

I want to start by thanking John for that very kind introduction, and also the entire Clark family -- Melanie, Mariah, Imani, and Amara -- I didn’t forget you.  (Laughter.)  Thank you for letting us invade and opening up your home to us. 

I also want to thank Representative Howard Berman, who is here as well.  (Applause.)  There you are.  And the other co-chairs of the events -- my dear, dear friends, people who have been with us through thick and thin, always, always -- Clarence, Candace, Steve, Danielle, Carol.  You guys, thank you.  Well done, once again.  This has been a fabulous trip for me here; very productive coming here and you guys have played just, as usual, a tremendous role.  So let’s give them a round of applause.  (Applause.)

And of course, I want to thank everybody here for taking the time.  I do that because I’m always impressed and amazed when people take time out -- it is Monday, right?  (Laughter.)  Right, I get confused.  It’s a Monday afternoon -- it’s afternoon, right?  (Laughter.)  Just, it takes a little while -- you’ve been on the road, you forget what day it is, what time it is.  But the fact that you all have taken time out of your busy lives and away from your jobs and your classes and your families to be here, it means a great deal, so much.  You can’t imagine.  People always tell me how much I inspire them, but let me tell you, you all keep me and Barack standing straight and tall and steady, so don’t underestimate the power of the love and support and prayers you all are sending our way.

But I know that there’s a reason that you all do what you do, a reason why you’re here today.  And it’s not just because you support me and Barack, our phenomenal, outstanding, very cute President of the United States.  Yes.  (Applause.)  He’s still cute, gray hair and all.  (Laughter.)  And you’re not just here because you want to win an election -- which we all do, and we absolutely are going to win this election.  Absolutely.  (Applause.) 

What I try to remind people, one of the jobs that I think I have in this is to remind all of us about why we’re really here.  And it’s really because of our values.  And it’s important to stay focused.  We’re here because of our values.  We’re here because of the vision for this country that we all share.  It’s about values and vision.  We’re here because we believe that everyone in this country should have a fait shot.  What does that mean?  For example, it means that all kids in this country -- all of them, not some of them -- all of them should have good schools to go to.  They should be able to go to college without a mountain of debt -- all of our kids.  A fair shot -- we believe that everyone in this country should do their fair share, which means that firefighters and teachers shouldn’t pay higher tax rates than millionaires and billionaires in the richest country on Earth.  (Applause.)  We believe that if you work hard, you shouldn’t go bankrupt because someone gets sick.  You shouldn’t lose your home because someone loses a job.  Not in America.  And after a lifetime of hard work, the folks that we love -- our grandparents and great-grandparents -- should be able to retire with some dignity and security. 

And what I want everyone to remember as we have these discussions is that these are basic American values.  This isn’t anything new.  These are the values upon which this country was built.  They were the values that so many of us were raised with, including myself.  The other thing I do is I share my story, because it’s a story -- my story is the story of so many people in this country.  My father was a pump operator at the city water plant.  We didn’t come from means.  This was the only job I knew my father to have his whole life.  And neither of my parents had the chance to get a college degree.  But what I remind young people -- because many young people can see this in their lives -- what my parents did do for us is that they saved and sacrificed and poured every drop of anything they had into me and my brother so that we could get the kind of education and opportunities they only dreamed of.

And education was everything in our family.  Quite frankly, it was our ticket to the middle class -- education.  It was our pathway to the American Dream.  So when my brother and I finally made it to college, pretty much all of our tuition came from student loans and grants.  And I know people can relate to that story.  That’s how most young people go to college -- on loans.  But my dad still had to pay a small portion of that tuition himself. 

And let me tell you, every semester my father did everything in his power to make sure that his portion of that bill was paid on time.  Because he was so proud to be playing a small part in being able to get his kids through Princeton that he made sure that we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late.  Like so many people in this country, my father took great pride in being able to earn that simple living that allowed him to handle his responsibilities to his family.  That’s all he wanted.  That’s all he wanted.  He didn’t need money or riches or stuff; he just wanted to be able to pay his bills, and pay them on time.  That’s all he wanted.

And my father’s life is a testament to that basic American promise that no matter who you are in this country, no matter how you started out, if you work hard you can build a decent life for yourself and, yes, an even better life for your kids.  And one thing I try to share with people in this country is to remember that your President understands that promise because that’s his story as well.  And as quiet as it’s kept, that’s why I married him -- because of who he was and where he came from. 

He’s the son of a single mother who struggled to pay the bills, put herself through school.  He’s the grandson of a woman who woke up before dawn every day to catch a bus to her job at a bank.  And even though Barack’s grandmother worked hard to support his family, she was good at her job, like so many women she hit that glass ceiling, watched women -- men no more qualified than she was -- some she had actually trained -- be promoted up the ladder ahead of her.  But the thing that Barack saw, that I saw -- he saw a woman who never complained.  Never complained -- like my father, never complained.  They just kept getting up every day, just kept giving their best every single day to support their families.

So Barack knows what it means when a family struggles.  This is not a hypothetical for him.  He knows what it means to want something better for your kids and your grandkids.  And like me, and like so many people in this country, Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it.  And the one thing I know he understands is that when you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you.  Not in America.  You reach back and you help other people achieve those same successes.  That’s what we do in America.

And more than anything else, that’s what’s at stake in this election.  And hopefully that’s why we’re here.  We’re working on that dream, that fundamental American promise.  And what I want to focus you all on is that from now until November -- we’re down to, like, 80-something days -- we need all of you to be out there passionately and actively, telling everyone you know about your President.  Tell them about his values.  Tell them about our vision.  But most importantly, remind them about the choices that we face in this election, because this is an election about choices -- choices.

This is an election that’s a choice about our economy.  It’s about whether we build a strong and growing middle class.  So I want you to remind people that your President has cut taxes for working families by $3,600.  He’s cut taxes for small businesses in this country 18 times as President.  Because he understands that rebuilding our economy, it starts with the restaurants and the stores and the startups that create two-thirds of all new jobs in this economy.

And I also want you to remind people that, back when Barack first took office, he inherited an economy that was losing an average of 750,000 jobs a month, okay?  That’s what welcomed him after that freezing inauguration -- (laughter) -- 750,000 jobs a month.  But also remind them that for the past 29 straight months, we’ve actually been gaining private sector jobs -- a total of 4.5 million jobs under this President.  Absolutely.  (Applause.) 

So, yes, we still have more work to do.  We have a long way to go to rebuild our economy, but today millions of people are collecting a paycheck again; millions of people like my dad are able to pay their bills again.

But this election is also a choice about the health of our families.  Now, the fact is that over the past century -- all right, 100 years -- there have been so many Presidents who have tried and failed to meet the challenge of health care reform.  But fortunately your President was determined.  Fortunately he was driven by the stories of people he’d met.  We all know these stories -- the grandparents who couldn’t afford their medications; the families going broke because a child got sick; the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company wouldn’t cover her care.  And let me tell you something, that’s what kept Barack going day after day.  That’s why he fought so hard for this historic reform. 

And today, because of that reform, things are different for so many Americans.  Our parents and grandparents are paying hundreds less for their prescription drugs.  Our kids can stay on our insurance until they’re 26 years old.  You know what that means for our young people?  That when they graduate from college, and they’re out there looking for a job, trying to get themselves settled, they don’t have to go without health care.  Because of this reform, insurance companies have to cover basic preventative things like contraception, cancer screenings, prenatal care, with no extra cost.  Because of this reform, insurance companies can’t discriminate you because you have an illness that they call a preexisting condition.  And if you get really sick, a real serious illness -- something like breast cancer -- and you need expensive treatment, you really need your insurance to work for you, no longer can your insurance company tell you, sorry, you’ve hit your lifetime limit and we’re not paying a penny more.  Today, because of health care reform, that is now illegal.  (Applause.)

But make no mistake about it, this November we’re going to get to decide:  Do we want these reforms to be repealed?  Because there are those who do.  Or do we want the people we love to have the care they need?  That’s the choice we face.

This election is a choice about whether our kids can attend college without a mountain of debt.  And what I share with a lot of young people -- because in the rallies that I attend, thousands of people, there are always young people struggling to get through school -- I remind them that when Barack and I first started out, we were building our lives together -- so in love, but so broke -- (laughter) -- our combined student loan debt, that bill we got each month was actually higher than our mortgage.  And that is not unusual.  There are so many young people who are burdened with their educational debt, so many adults who are dealing with it for the rest of their lives.  So what I tell people is that when it comes to student debt, Barack and I, we’ve been there. 

And that’s why Barack was so clear about the need to double funding for Pell Grants.  That’s why he fought so hard to stop student loan interest rates from rising this year, because he knows that all of our young people -- all of them have to get the education they need for the jobs and the opportunities of the future.  It can’t be just a select few whose families can afford education.  It’s got to be all of our kids.

He wants all of our kids to fulfill their promise -- all of them.  And that’s why he’s been fighting so hard for the DREAM Act.  We can’t forget these kids.  He’s fighting for responsible young people who came to this country as children, through no fault of their own, were raised as Americans; they know no other country but this one.  And Barack believes that, yes, these young people also deserve the chance to go to college, to contribute to our economy, to serve the country they know and love.  That’s what the DREAM Act is about; that’s what that fight is about.

But this election is also a choice about keeping our country safe.  So please remind people that after 10 long years of war -- 10 years we’ve been in war, with thousands of young men and women in uniform serving and sacrificing; so many of them gave their lives -- today Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to this country.  And people need to remember that fight -- that accomplishment.  (Applause.)

Remind people that Barack kept his promise and brought our troops home from Iraq, and he’s working hard to make sure they get the support and benefits that they’ve earned. 

And, yes, today our troops do not have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love because Barack finally ended “don’t ask, don’t tell.”  (Applause.)

And, ladies, this election is a choice about supporting women and families in this country.  So be sure to tell people that Barack is a President who believes that women should be able to make our own choices about our health care.  (Applause.)  It’s now easier for us to get equal pay for equal work because of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the very first bill he signed into law. 

And we now know the importance of those two brilliant Supreme Court appointments that he made -- Justice Elena Kagan; Justice Sonia Sotomayor -- and for the first time in history, because of those appointments, our sons and daughters watched three women take their seat on our nation’s highest court.  The first time in history.  (Applause.)

So when you’re out there working for your President, helping people understand what’s at stake, getting people focused, and somebody asks you, well, what has this President done for our country?  Here’s what I want you to tell them:  Tell them how many jobs he’s created.  Tell them how much money he’s put back in the pockets of American families.  Tell them that more of our kids can afford college, and more of our seniors can afford their medicine.  Remind folks how Barack ended the war in Iraq, passed historic health reform, and stood up for our most fundamental rights again and again and again.  That’s what I want you to tell them.

But I also want you to remind them that all of that -- all of that and so much more -- all of it’s at stake, can all be gone.  The choice that we face:  Are we going to continue the change we’ve begun and the progress we’ve made?  Or are we going to just sit back and watch everything we’ve worked so hard for just slip away?  What are we going to do?  Who are we?  Look, we can’t turn back now.  We will not turn back now.  We need to keep moving this country forward.  That’s what we do in America -- we keep moving forward. 

And more than anything else, that’s what we’re working for.  That’s why we’re here -- for the chance to finish what we started; the chance to keep fighting for the values we believe in and the vision that we all share.  And that’s what my husband has been doing every single day as President.

And I remind people that as First Lady, over the last three and a half years I’ve had the chance to see up close and personal what being President really looks like, you know what I’m saying?  I’ve seen some things; I’ve learned some things -- some really valuable things, I believe.  Because I have seen how the issues that come across a President’s desk are always the hard ones -- always; the problems with no easy solutions, no matter what people think at home on their couch -- well, you should do this -- no easy solutions; the judgment calls where the stakes are so high, and there is no margin for error.  I’ve also seen that as President, you’re going to get all kinds of advice and opinions from all kinds of people, all of the time, but at the end of the day, when it comes time to actually make that decision, the truth is as President all you have to guide you are your life experiences.  Truly, all you have to lead you in the right direction are you values.  The only thing that keeps you focused and not wavering from left to right is the vision that you have for this country.

Because in the end, it all boils down to who you are as President.  Who are you, and what do you stand for?  That matters.  And I know that we all know who my husband is, don’t we?  We all know what he stands for.  (Applause.)  And we’ve seen again and again just how hard he’s willing to fight for us. 

Remember when folks in Washington were telling Barack to let the auto industry go under?  Remember that?  With more than a million jobs on the line, folks were like, let it go.  But fortunately Barack had the backs of American workers.  He put his faith in the American people, and thankfully he did because the auto industry is back on its feet again, and folks are back to work collecting a job [paycheck].

And then there were folks telling Barack not to take on health care.  I don’t know if you remember that; I do.  (Laughter.)  There were a lot of folks who were telling him, this isn’t good for you; leave it for another day, another President.  Just keep kicking that can down the road -- and we wonder why it’s taken 100 years.  But fortunately for us, Barack had the backs of American families, and as a result today millions -- millions of people in this country can finally see a doctor when they’re sick, can finally get the care they need to stay well.  Thank goodness for our President.  (Applause.) 

So when it comes time to stand up for the middle class -- we’ve got to ask ourselves, when it’s time to make sure our kids can go to college and our families can make a decent living and save for retirement, you know what your President is going to do.  You know what this President is going to do, right?  When we need a President to protect our most basic rights, no matter who we are or where we’re from or what we look like or who we love, you know you can count on my husband because that’s what he’s been doing every single day as President of the United States -- three and a half years’ worth of consistency.

But I have said this before and I will say it again:  He can’t do it alone.  This isn’t about Barack just holding it down.  (Laughter.)  He needs your help.  We need you all.  Because as Barack said, the only guarantee this time around is this election will be closer than the last one.  That is the only thing you can count on. 

And in the end, this election, like so many, could come down to those last few thousand votes, because we’ve seen that before -- just a couple of thousand votes.  And I just try to help people just understand what a few thousand votes means when it’s spread across an entire state, across hundreds of cities and thousands of precincts.  That means the power of your individual activity becomes even more important.  So that one new voter you register in your precinct, understand that one neighbor that you get to the polls on November the 6th, that could be the one that makes the difference when you’re talking about that small of a number.  That one conversation that you have, that one person in your life who doesn’t understand what veterans benefits means, and what’s going to happen with certain changes, that one conversation could be the one that puts this election over the top.  That could be the difference between waking up on November the 7th and thinking, “Lord, could I have done more?”, or feeling the promise of four more years -- that margin.

And that’s one of the reasons why we started this new effort that we’re calling It Takes One.  Just to bring it home for people -- it just takes one.  It’s simple:  Every time you take an action on behalf of this campaign, think about multiplying yourself.  Ask someone you know, inspire them to step up and do the same as well.  That one more person -- because we all have that one person.

So if you’re making phone calls or knocking on doors, bring a friend.  And hopefully you are knocking on doors and making phone calls.  Bring somebody with you.  If you're coming to an event, bring that neighbor that’s never been involved, doesn’t understand this candidate and what he’s done.  Bring them.  When you’re voting early or on Election Day, get that one person you know that might not make it to the polls, might not actually get it done.  Bring them with you.  Find one friend, one colleague, one person in your life -- just one.  We all have one.  They don’t even have to come out of their house -- send them to barackobama.com/one.  We’ve made it really easy for people to find ways to get involved and get the information they need. 

Because it's like Barack has always said:  It just takes one voice to change a room.  And if a voice can change a room, it can change a city.  And if it can change a city, it can change a state.  And if it can change a state, it can change a nation.  And that is what our democracy is about.  That is the power of one person stepping forward to keep this country moving forward. 

And I’m not going to kid you, it’s going to be hard.  I say this everywhere I go -- expect hard; expect long; expect drama; twists and turns along the way; nail-biting moments; moments you’ll want to just throw the TV over the cliff.  Expect that. 

But also understand that that’s how change always happens in this country.  Real change is hard.  Real change requires patience and tenacity.  But what I remind everyone is that if we keep showing up and fighting the good fight, we eventually get there.  Because we always have in this country; we have never gone backwards.  Never.  But maybe not in our lifetimes.  What I remind everyone:  Why we’re here is we’re doing this because it might happen in our children’s lifetimes, our grandchildren’s lifetimes.  Because in the end, that's why we’re here.  We’re not here for us; we’re here for our children.  Because there have been thousands of people who gave so much so that we are standing here.  It is not our turn to lay that foundation for them. 

And in the end, that’s what elections are always about.  Don't let anybody tell you anything differently.  Elections are always about hope.  They're about our hopes for our children.  They’re about the world that we want to leave behind for them, the next generation.  And that’s what I think about every night before I have to leave my kids and come on the road, and I wonder, what am I doing now?  I think about that.  I think about how I want to do for them what my father and mother did for me, what Barack’s grandmother and mother did for him.  That’s the least I can do.

I want to give my daughters and all our sons and daughters a foundation for their dream, opportunities that are worthy of their promise.  I want to give all of our kids that sense of limitless possibility, the belief that in a country as great as ours there’s always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it.

So what I tell myself when I get a little tired and frustrated is that we can’t turn back now.  Not now.  We have come so far, but we have so much more to do.  And we’re going to need your help to do it.  So are you with us?  (Applause.)  Can you get it done?  Are you in?  (Applause.)  We need you to be passionately in and actively in, that it-takes-one kind of in, rolling up your sleeves, really moving this country forward.  Because if we do that, we will win and we will have four more years to get it done. 

Thank you all.  God bless.  Thank you.

END
2:05 P.M. PDT

Remarks by the President at Campaign Event -- Council Bluffs, IA

Bayliss Park
Council Bluffs, IA

11:32 A.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Iowa!  (Applause.)  It's good to be back!  (Applause.)  Well, it is good to be back in Iowa!  (Applause.)  I miss you guys.

AUDIENCE:  Obama!  Obama!  Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you! 

First of all, can everybody please give Patricia a big round of applause for the great introduction?  (Applause.)  A couple other people I want to acknowledge -- your outstanding former governor, now I think the best Secretary of Agriculture we've ever had -- Tom Vilsack.  (Applause.)  Congressman Leonard Boswell.  (Applause.)  And Mayor Tom Hanafan.  (Applause.)

See, the sun is coming out -- (applause.)  I love being back in Iowa.  Now, we're starting here in Council Bluffs, but we're going to be heading east and I think I'm going to end at the State Fair.  (Applause.)  Michelle has told me I cannot have a fried Twinkie.  (Laughter.)  But I will be checking out the butter cow and I understand this year there's a chocolate moose.  (Laughter.)  So I'm going to have to take a look at that if I can.

The last time I went to the State Fair, Secret Service let me do the bumper cars, but they said this year -- I wasn’t President yet, so I could do that.  (Laughter.)  But not this time. 

Now, before I get started, I just want to say a few words about the drought, because it's had such an impact on this state and all across the country.  Right now folks here in Iowa and across the heartland, we're suffering from one of the worst droughts in 50 years.  Farmers, ranchers depend on a good crop season to pay the bills and put a roof over their heads.  And I know things are tough right now.

The best way to help these states is for the folks in Congress to pass a farm bill that not only helps farmers and ranchers respond to natural disasters, but also makes some necessary reforms and gives farmers and ranchers some long-term certainty. 

Unfortunately, right now, too many members of Congress are blocking the farm bill from becoming law. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  I am told that Governor Romney's new running mate, Paul Ryan, might be around Iowa the next few days -- he is one of the leaders of Congress standing in the way. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  So if you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities.  We've got to put politics aside when it comes to doing the right thing for rural America and for Iowa.  (Applause.) 

Now, it's always a problem waiting for Congress.  So in the meantime, I've made sure my administration, led by Tom Vilsack, is doing everything we can to provide relief to those who need it.  So last week, we announced $30 million to help ranchers and farmers get more water to livestock and rehabilitate land affected by drought.
And today, we’re announcing that the federal government will help livestock producers by purchasing over $150 million worth of meat and fish right now, while prices are low -- we'll freeze it for later, but -- we've got a lot of freezers.  (Laughter.)  And that way, that will help ranchers who are going through tough times right now, and also, over the long term, obviously that food is going to be spent by folks at the Pentagon and other places.
America depends on farmers and ranchers to put food on the table; depends on farmers and ranchers to feed our families.  So we've got to be there for them -- not just today, but tomorrow, and every day until this drought passes -- because we are Americans, that’s what we do.  We take care of each other.  And when tough times strike our neighbors, we give them a hand.  (Applause.)
Now, that speaks to the larger idea of why I'm here, the notion that I'm my brother’s keeper, I'm my sister’s keeper, the idea that we're in this together, that was at the heart of the journey that began here in Iowa five years ago.  (Applause.)  We spent a lot of time on bus tours like this one -- at school gyms and family farms and small businesses across this state – although, I have to say the bus we had wasn’t as nice as this one.  (Laughter.)  We used to get some buses.  (Laughter.)
And that campaign back in 2007-2008, it had plenty of ups and downs, but no matter what, you, the people of Iowa, had my back.  (Applause.)  You had my back.  When the pundits had written us off, when we were down in the polls, you believed in me, and I believed in you.  And it was on your front porches and in your backyards where the movement for change in this country began. 

But our journey is not finished.  Not yet.  I’m going to spend the next three days driving all across this state just like I did in 2007 -- from Council Bluffs to the Quad Cities -- because once more, you face a choice in November.  And that choice could not be bigger.  It is not just a choice between two candidates or two political parties.  More than any other election in recent memory, this is a choice between two fundamentally different visions of this country and the path that we have to take. 

And the direction that you choose when you walk into that voting booth in November is going to have an impact not just on your lives but on your children's lives, your grandchildren's lives for decades to come.  This one counts.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Think about this, Council Bluffs.  Four years ago, we came together -- and it wasn’t just Democrats, it was independents and some Republicans -- because we understood that we needed to restore the basic bargain that made this country great, the basic deal that created the greatest middle class and the most prosperous economy the world has ever known.
 
And it’s a simple bargain.  It says if you work hard, your work should be rewarded.  If you act responsibly, and you put in enough effort, you should be able to find a job that pays the bills, have a home you can call your own, count on health care when you get sick -- (applause) -- put away enough to retire with dignity and respect -- (applause) -- and most of all, give your kids an education that allows them to dream even bigger than you did, and do even better than you did.  That's the American promise.  (Applause.)  That's the American Dream. 

And the reason we came together was because we had seen a decade in which that dream was being betrayed.  We had gone through a decade where jobs were being shipped overseas, where you were working harder but making less while the cost of everything from health care to a college education kept on going up.  And it all culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

And so we knew that restoring the basic bargain that made this country was not going to be easy.  We knew it would take more than one year, or one term, or even one President.  And that was before the crisis hit and we saw friends and neighbors lose their job, or lose their home, lose their savings, pushing the American Dream even further out of reach for too many working people.

But over the last three and a half years, we've seen America's grit.  You folks are tougher than any tough time.  (Applause.)  When we get knocked down we stand back up.  (Applause.)  Some workers lost their jobs -- they went back to community college, got retrained and now have got a new job.  Small businesses kept their doors open by hook or by crook.  And so, slowly, we've seen 4.5 million new jobs created, half a million new manufacturing jobs -- the most since the great -- most since the 1990s.

And what we realized was that no matter how bad the crisis was, one thing did not change, and that is the character of the American people and the resilience of the American people.  (Applause.)  And what hasn’t changed is our determination to do what we came together in 2008 to do -- and that is to make sure that in America hard work pays off -- so that no matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, you can make it here in America if you try.  (Applause.) 

That’s what this campaign is about, Iowa.  And that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

I told you -- four years ago I said there aren’t going to be quick fixes, there won't be easy solutions.  The challenges we face had been building up for decades.  And that’s still true today.  But I want everybody to know that we have the capacity to meet every challenge.  We've got the best workers in the world.  We've got the best entrepreneurs in the world.  We've got the best colleges, the best universities, the best researchers in the world, the best scientists in the world.  We're still a young nation.  We've got the greatest diversity of talent and ingenuity -- people come here from every corner of the globe.  They want to be here.  So whatever the naysayers may say, or folks who try to make things look dark, listen, there is not another country on Earth that wouldn’t trade places with the United States of America.  (Applause.)  

What’s holding us back right now is Washington politics.

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  You’ve got folks on the other side who think "compromise" is a dirty word, and whose main idea is to go back to the same old top-down economics that got us into this mess in the first place. 
  
This weekend, my opponent, Mr. Romney, chose as his running mate the ideological leader of the Republicans in Congress.  And I've got to tell you, I know Congressman Ryan.  He's a good man, he's a family man.  He is an articulate spokesman for Governor Romney’s vision.  But the problem is that vision is one that I fundamentally disagree with. (Applause.)

Governor Romney and his allies in Congress, they think that if we just get rid of more regulations on big corporations and give more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, if we end Medicare as we know it, make it a voucher system, then somehow this is all going to lead to jobs and prosperity for everybody. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  The centerpiece of Mr. Romney’s entire economic plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut, a lot of it going to the very wealthiest Americans.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Last week, an independent study -- not by me, but by independent economists -- said that Governor Romney's plan would actually raise taxes on middle-class families with children by an average of $2,000 apiece.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, this wouldn't be done -- not to reduce the deficit.  It's not going to be done to create jobs or put folks back to work rebuilding our roads or bridges or schools.  This is you guys paying an extra $2,000 to give another $250,000 tax cut to folks who are making more than $3 million a year.

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  Does this sound familiar to you?  They have tried to sell us this trickle-down theory before.  And guess what -- every time it's been tried it has not worked.  It did not work then; it won’t work now.  It won't create jobs.  It won't lower our deficit.  It is not a plan to move our economy forward.  We do not need more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans -- we need tax relief for working families.  (Applause.)

You need tax relief -- folks who are trying to raise kids and keep them healthy and put a roof over their heads and send them to college.  And that’s the choice in this election.  That’s the reason I’m running again.

Four years ago, I promised to cut middle-class taxes -- and by the way, that’s exactly what I’ve done.  (Applause.)  The average working family here in Iowa and across the country has seen their tax rates go down about $3,600.  So when you see -- when you hear the other side talking about Democrats raising your taxes -- your taxes are lower since I've been President.  (Applause.)  That's the truth.

Now, I want to keep your taxes right where they are for the first $250,000 of everybody’s income.  So if your family makes under $250,000 -- which, by the way, is 98 percent of Americans -- you won’t see your income taxes go up by a single dime next year.  (Applause.)  Ninety-seven percent of small businesses will not see their taxes go up.  (Applause.)

But here's the thing, Council Bluffs.  This is important. If --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  And Omaha!

THE PRESIDENT:  And Omaha.  We love you.  (Applause.)  Didn’t want to leave our Nebraska folks left out here. (Applause.)

But here's the thing.  If you’re lucky enough and fortunate enough and been blessed enough to be in the other 2 percent, the top 2 percent, you still get a tax cut for your first $250,000 of income.  All we’re saying is, after that, maybe you can do a little bit more to help pay down this deficit and invest in things like education that help our economy grow.  (Applause.)  

And listen, government is going to do its part.  We've already cut a trillion dollars of savings -- of spending.  We're going to cut more.  We've got to streamline government and make it work efficiently and effectively.  But what we also can do is just ask folks like me to do a little bit more.  And all we're asking is for folks like me to go back to the rates that we paid under Bill Clinton -- and by the way, that was a time when we created nearly 23 million new jobs, and we created the biggest budget surplus in history.  (Applause.)  And here's the kicker  -- folks at the top actually did well because, guess what, when a factory worker or a construction worker or a receptionist or a teacher or a firefighter or a cop -- when they've got a little more money in their pockets, what do they do?

AUDIENCE:  Spend it!

THE PRESIDENT:  Maybe they go out and buy a new car, after having been driving that old beater around for the last 15 years.  Maybe they finally get the new dishwasher because the old one has been broke for a long time.  Maybe they go buy a computer for their kid for the new school year, or they go to a restaurant, or heaven forbid, they take a vacation.  And that means businesses suddenly have more customers.  And then businesses start hiring more workers because they're making more profit.  And everybody does better.  That's how we grow the economy -- not from the top down, but from the middle out, and from the bottom out.  (Applause.)

That's the choice in this election.  And that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.  (Applause.)  

You know, across the board, there is a sharp contrast between me and Mr. Romney.  When the auto industry was on the brink of collapse, more than a million jobs at stake, Governor Romney said, “let Detroit go bankrupt.”  I bet on American workers.  I bet on American manufacturing.  And three years later, the American auto industry has come roaring back.  (Applause.)  So now I want to make sure that high-tech manufacturing jobs are taking root here, not in China.  I want them to take root here in Council Bluffs.

Governor Romney, he likes to brag about his private sector experience.  A bunch of that private sector experience was investing in companies that have been called “pioneers” of outsourcing.  Let me tell you something -- I want insourcing, not outsourcing.  (Applause.)  I want to stop giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas.  Let’s give tax breaks to companies that are investing here in the United States of America -- (applause) -- hiring American workers to make American products to sell around the world, stamped with those words:  Made in America.  That’s what I believe in.  (Applause.)

Here’s another difference.  Right now, homegrown energy, things like wind energy -- creating new jobs all across the states like Iowa -- and Governor Romney wants to end tax credits for wind energy producers.  America now produces twice as much electricity from wind as we did before I took office.  (Applause.)  We’ve doubled the amount of electricity we’re producing with wind.  The wind industry supports about 7,000 jobs in Iowa.  Without these wind energy tax credits, a whole lot of these jobs would be at risk -- 37,000 jobs across this country would be at risk. 

So I think we should stop spending billions on taxpayer subsidies for an oil industry that is making all kinds of profit, and let’s keep investing in the clean energy that's never been more promising.  (Applause.)  That’s a disagreement I’ve got with Governor Romney.  That’s a choice in this election. 

Back in 2008, I said it was time to end the war in Iraq -- we ended it.  (Applause.)  I said it was time for us to go after bin Laden and al Qaeda -- and we did.  (Applause.)  We’ve set a timeline to start bringing our troops out of Afghanistan, and so after a decade of war, I think it’s time to do some nation-building here at home.  (Applause.) 

Now, we could not have accomplished any of this without the extraordinary service of our men and women in uniform.  (Applause.)  And I promise you this -- as long as I am Commander-in-Chief, this country will care for our veterans and serve our veterans as well as they’ve served us.  (Applause.)  Nobody who has fought for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home.  That’s why we’ve invested so heavily in making sure that the VA is working the way it’s supposed to.  That’s why we’ve put more money into treatment of PTSD and traumatic brain injury; ending homelessness* among veterans.  But those are investments that we’ve got to make. 

And my plan says let’s take half the money that we’re no longer spending on war and let’s also use it to put people back to work building our roads and our runways and our ports and our wireless networks -- (applause) -- and creating a Veterans Job Corps so local communities can hire our veterans to be firefighters and police officers in communities that need it. That’s the America that we want to build.  That’s the choice in this election.  That’s why I’m running for a second term.  (Applause.)  

I want to make sure that America once again leads the world in educating our kids and training our workers.  I want to help our schools hire and reward the best teachers, especially in math and science.  I want to give two million more Americans the chance to go to community college and learn the skills that businesses are hiring for right now.  (Applause.)  And I want to get colleges and universities to bring down the cost of tuition once and for all -- (applause) -- because higher education is not a luxury; it’s an economic necessity in the 21st century.  Everybody should be able to afford it.  (Applause.)

I’ve got a plan to help homeowners refinance their homes at historically low rates -- save an average of $3,000.  My opponent’s solution is to let the market bottom out.  That’s what he said.  That’s not a solution -- that’s part of the problem.  That’s the difference in this election. 

My opponent says one of the first things he’d do is repeal Obamacare.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --
   
THE PRESIDENT:  I think that part of being middle class in America is making sure you don’t go bankrupt when you get sick.  (Applause.)  That’s why, because of this law, if you’ve got a preexisting condition, you’ll be able to get health insurance.  (Applause.)  That’s why 6.5 million young people can now stay on their parent’s plan.  That’s why seniors are now getting discounts on their prescription drugs.  That’s why insurance companies can’t drop your coverage or impose lifetime limits when you need it most.  (Applause.)

It’s true -- Obama does care.  That’s why we passed this bill.  (Applause.)  The Supreme Court has spoken.  We’re not going backward, we are going forward.  (Applause.)

All these things, whether it’s bringing back manufacturing, creating more construction jobs, protecting people’s health care, making sure your kids get the best education, making sure our veterans have the same kind of opportunity my grandfather had when he came back from World War II and was able to go to college on the GI Bill.  All these things are part of what makes up a middle-class life.  And they’re all bound together in that idea that made this country great -- that basic promise that if you work hard, you can get ahead. 

It’s not always going to be smooth.  There are going to be times where times are tough.  But the basic idea that if you work hard and look after your family, that work is going to be rewarded.  That’s the promise that our parents and grandparents passed down to us.  And now it’s the promise we’ve got to pass on to our kids and our grandkids.  That’s what’s at stake in this election. 

And so, over the next three months, you are going to see the other side spend more money on negative ads than we’ve ever seen in history; and these folks, they’ve got some really rich people writing $10 million checks.  And basically, they’re going to say the same thing over and over again.  They know their economic theories aren’t going to sell, because folks remember when we tried them.  So all they’re going to say is the economy is not as good as it should and it’s Obama’s fault.  And they expect you to have amnesia and not remember who it is that got us into this mess.  (Applause.)  But they figure, if we run these ads often enough, maybe folks will start kind of thinking about it.  That is true.  (Laughter.)  

So they may have a plan to win the election, but they can’t hide the fact that they don’t have a plan to create jobs or revive the middle class or grow the economy.  And I do have that plan.  (Applause.)  I’ve got a plan that puts you first.  (Applause.)  I’ve got a plan that puts middle-class families and folks striving to get into the middle class first.  (Applause.)

But I’m going to need your help.  I’m going to need your help.  I’ve got to make sure you’re registered.  I’ve got to make sure your friends are registered to vote.  In Iowa, you can get registered online.  All you have to do is go GottaRegister.com.  That’s g-o-t-t-a -- gotta.  (Laughter.)  GottaRegister.com.  

The thing is, we’ve been outspent before and we’ve been counted out before.  But what you taught me in 2007, 2008 was that when the American people cut through all the nonsense, when you focus your attention and you remember the story of your own families and all the struggles your parents and grandparents went through, and how maybe because you got a student loan somewhere, or maybe because your dad was able to get that job at the factory, you guys were able to build a good life together -- just like Michelle and I were able to get opportunities that our parents could have never imagined.  When you focus on that thing that is best in America, the way we pull together and give everybody a fair shot, and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody is playing by the same set of rules, and everybody is taking responsibility -- when you come together and reaffirm those core values that make this the greatest country on Earth, you can’t be stopped.  All the money those folks are spending doesn’t matter.  You are our democracy.  You make decisions about the direction of this country. 

And, Iowa, I’ve got to tell you, we’ve come too far to go back now.  (Applause.)  We’ve got too many good jobs we still have to create.  We’ve got too many teachers we’ve still got to hire.  We’ve got too many schools we still have to rebuild.  We’ve got too many students who still need help getting an affordable education.  We’ve got more homegrown energy we’ve got to generate.  We’ve got more troops we’ve got to bring home.  Most of all, we’ve got more doors of opportunity that we’ve got to open for everybody who’s willing to work hard enough to walk through those doors.

That is what is at stake in this election.  That is why I am running for President of the United States.  (Applause.)  That is why I’m asking for your vote -- not just for me, but for this country that we believe in.  (Applause.)  And if you’re willing to work with me and stand with me, and knock on doors with me, and make phone calls with me -- if you vote for me in November, we will win Iowa, we will win this election.  We’ll finish what we started in 2008.  And we’ll remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth.  (Applause.)  

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

END
12:04 P.M. CDT