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Who is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf?; President Obama's Financial Fix Plan
Aired September 08, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let me just bring you this picture that we're looking at of the president of the United States. Barack Obama at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio.
He is in Cleveland. He will be speaking momentarily. He's going to talk about this $200 billion that we've been discussing, and his view on tax cuts for the wealthiest in society. We'll be bringing you those comments when he starts making them.
I also want to tell you about Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. He is the imam behind the controversy of the Islamic center with a mosque in it, or with a prayer room in it, near Ground Zero, not at Ground Zero.
Wow. So much has developed on this story in the last few weeks. So much real information, so much misinformation.
That's the site upon which that mosque is going to be built. It's a commercial site two blocks from Ground Zero.
Ground Zero is the big open square that you can see here on the map. You can see the proposed mosque site a couple of blocks away from it.
You can't see it from Ground Zero. You can't see Ground Zero from that site. And the existing mosque that this will be replacing has existed for some time, just two blocks north of that.
Now, there is a man at the center of all of this, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. He has been overseas throughout the entire time that we've been talking about this. He's been on a mission, in part, helping the State Department out.
But he published -- or "The New York Times" published an opinion column from him today in which he says Cordoba House, which is the name of the project -- "Cordoba House will be built on the two fundamental commandments common to Judaism, Christianity and Islam: to love the Lord our creator with all of our hearts, minds, souls and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We want to foster a culture of worship authentic to each religious tradition and also a culture of forging personal bonds across religious traditions."
You heard this referred to in a number of ways, Cordoba House, Park 51. Cordoba House, by the way, refers, as the imam clarifies in his column, "Our name Cordoba was inspired by the city in Spain where Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed in the middle ages during a period of great cultural enrichment created by Muslims."
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf will be on CNN in his first televised appearance, his first interview on television, tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." He will do that at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Soledad O'Brien will conduct that interview.
But we wanted to find out a little bit more about this man. There have been things said about him that are not true. There have been things said about him that are true.
Deborah Feyerick, who has been following the story from the beginning, has this profile.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You have never heard him speak, this is what Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has to say.
RAUF: The major theme in Islam is the oneness of God, and that we should worship one God, love and adore the one God.
FEYERICK: People who know Imam Feisal say he's a voice of moderation. The State Department --
P.J. CROWLEY, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: -- his work on tolerance and (INAUDIBLE) diversity is well known.
FEYERICK: -- the developer of the controversial Islamic center near Ground Zero --
SHARIF EL-GAMAL, CEO, SOHO PROPERTIES: He is somebody who has sacrificed his life to building bridges within communities.
FEYERICK: -- Islamic scholar and university professor John Esposito --
(on camera): How would you describe him? Is he a threat?
PROF. JOHN ESPOSITO, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Feisal is -- from my point of view, he is Mr. Mellow.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Imam Feisal is a Sufi Muslim, at the other end of the Islamic spectrum from the radical theology that feeds groups like al Qaeda.
ESPOSITO: He approaches Islam spiritually. He is a Sufi in background, which means one pursues, if you will, a more kind of spiritual, mystical path. He's somebody who would find terrorism and religious extremism as abhorrent. He's run a mosque in this area for years and years and years.
FEYERICK: That mosque, the Masjid al-Farah, is 10 blocks from Ground Zero and has co-existed peacefully in the Tribeca neighborhood for 28 years.
ESPOSITO: He has integrated himself into the community. FEYERICK: According to his biography, Feisal Abdul Rauf was born in Kuwait in 1948 into an Egyptian family steeped in religious scholarship. In 1997, he founded the nonprofit American Society for Muslim Advancement. Its mission described on its Web site as "strengthening an authentic expression of Islam based on cultural and religious harmony through interfaith collaboration, youth and women's empowerment."
Several years later, Rauf founded the Cordoba Institute to improve relations between the Muslim world and the west, writing how American Muslims can help bridge the divide. The State Department noticed sending him as a cultural ambassador on four trips to the Middle East, most recently this summer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They try to get people who reflect the best aspects of American society.
FEYERICK: Rauf is often asked to speak at meetings like the World Economic Forum in Davos. He was criticized after 9/11 for saying U.S. support of oppressive regimes was partly responsible for the attacks but maintained his remarks on "60 Minutes" had been taken out of context. Rauf supports Israel's right to exist but says as a bridge builder he can't condemn radical Palestinian group Hamas as terrorists.
As for the proposed Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero, he says that, too, is about bridges.
RAUF: This is also our expression of the 99.999 percent of Muslims all over the world, including in America, who have condemned and continue to condemn terrorism. This is about our stand as the Muslim community, which has been part of this community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: And Deborah, you've been following this since the beginning. What do we think happens next?
I mean, I know when we read that column, the op-ed in "The New York Times" today, my first thought when I first started reading it is, is he going to say something in here that suggests backing down from the position of putting that mosque there? Absolutely not. He put forward a strong argument, an impassioned argument, but there was no talk of bending to compromise or listening to those who say, hey, listen, why don't we cool this down by pulling it back?
FEYERICK: Right, exactly. Somebody has made the point, you know, how far is far enough? If they do decide to step down or pull away, then where do you put this particular mosque? And what kind of message does that send?
But, you know, I've been speaking to a lot of people today about sort of where things are now, especially the fact that Imam Feisal is back in the country. And one thing that I'm hearing is that, really, he never consulted with national Muslim organizations or even regional Muslim organizations who perhaps could have helped, who could perhaps have given not only the imam, but the developer, kind of the pulse of what's going on across the nation.
So even though this Islamic center had great support down in the Tribeca area near Ground Zero, what it didn't have was that larger overall nationwide sort of sense of how this was going to be perceived. That is what they're fighting against now. I'm told that they're spending a lot of time on conference calls really trying to make this right and try to get this back on track, or at least away from this firestorm.
VELSHI: Well, it will be interesting to look back at this and see what developed out of it. Some people are saying it has brought out remarkable animosity and hatred. Others are saying it's really brought out people who have had to stake out their positions on this and say either I'm in favor of this or I'm not, and that some of these religions perhaps have more in common than they don't.
I don't know. It will be interesting to watch as you, of course, will be part of our watching it all along.
Deborah, thanks so much for your great reporting on this.
FEYERICK: Of course.
VELSHI: Deborah Feyerick, our correspondent in New York.
Let's go to the president in Cleveland, Ohio, at Cuyahoga Community College.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- Sherrod Brown is here.
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OBAMA: And three of the hardest-working and finest member of the House of Representatives, Dennis Kucinich --
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OBAMA: -- Marcia Fudge --
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OBAMA: -- and John Boccieri.
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OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody. It is -- it is good to be back in Ohio.
You know, in the fall of 2008, one of the last rallies of my presidential campaign was right here in the Cleveland area.
(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: It was a hopeful time, just two days before the election. And we knew that if we pulled it off, we'd finally have the chance to tackle some big and difficult challenges that had been facing this country for a very long time.
We also hoped for a chance to get beyond some of the old political divides -- between Democrats and Republicans, red states and blue states -- that had prevented us from making progress. Because although we are proud to be Democrats, we are prouder to be Americans. And we believe --
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OBAMA: And we believed then and we believe now that no single party has a monopoly on wisdom.
Now, that's not to say that the election didn't expose deep differences between the parties. I ran for president because for much of the last decade, a very specific governing philosophy had reigned about how America should work: cut taxes, especially for millionaires and billionaires; cut regulations for special interests; cut trade deals even if they didn't benefit our workers; cut back on investments in our people and in our future -- in education, in clean energy, in research and technology.
The idea was that if we just had blind faith in the market, if we let corporations play by their own rules, if we left everyone else to fend for themselves, then America would grow and America would prosper.
And, for a time, this idea gave us the illusion of prosperity. We saw financial firms and CEOs take in record profits and record bonuses. We saw a housing boom that led to new homeowners and new jobs in construction. Consumers bought more condos and bigger cars and better TVs.
But while all this was happening, the broader economy was becoming weaker. Nobody understands that more than the people of Ohio. Job growth --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Job growth between 2000 and 2008 was slower than it had been in any economic expansion since World War II -- slower than it's been over the past year.
The wages and incomes of middle-class families kept falling, while the cost of everything from tuition to health care kept on going up.
Folks were forced to put more debt on their credit cards and borrow against homes that many couldn't afford to buy in the first place.
And, meanwhile, a failure to pay for two wars and two tax cuts for the wealthy helped turn a record surplus into a record deficit.
I ran for president because I believed that this kind of economy was unsustainable, for the middle class and for the future of our nation.
I ran because I had a different idea about how America was built.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: It was an idea --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: It was an idea rooted in my own family story.
You see, Michelle and I are where we are today because, even though our families didn't have much, they worked tirelessly without complaint so that we might have a better life.
My grandfather marched off to Europe in World War II while my grandmother worked in factories on the home front. I had a single mom who put herself through school and would wake before dawn to make sure I got a decent education.
Michelle can still remember her father heading out to his job as a city worker long after multiple sclerosis had made it impossible for him to walk without crutches. He always got to work; he just had to get up a little earlier.
Yes, our families believed in the American values of self- reliance and individual responsibility, and they instilled those values in their children. But they also believed in a country that rewards responsibility, a country that rewards hard work, a country built on the promise of opportunity and upward mobility.
They believed in an America that gave my grandfather the chance to go to college because of the G.I. Bill, an America that gave my grandparents the chance to buy a home because of the Federal Housing authority, an America that gave their children and grandchildren the chance to fulfill our dreams thanks to college loans and college scholarships.
It was an America where you didn't buy things you couldn't afford, where we didn't just think about today, we thought about tomorrow; an America that took price in the goods that we made, not just the things we consumed; an America where a rising tide literally did lift all boats, from the company CEO to the guy on the assembly line.
That's the America I believe in. That's the America I believe in.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's what led me to work in the shadow of the shuttered steel plant on the South Side of Chicago when I was a community organizer. It's what led me to fight for factory workers at manufacturing plants that were closing across Illinois when I was senator. It's what led me to run for president. Because I don't believe we can have a strong and growing economy without a strong and growing middle class.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, much has happened since that election. The flawed policies and economic weaknesses of the previous decade culminated in a financial crisis and the worst recession of our lifetimes. And my hope was that the crisis would cause everybody -- Democrats and Republicans -- to pull together and tackle our problems in a practical way.
But, as we all know, things didn't work out that way.
Some Republican leaders figured it was smart politics to sit on the sidelines and let Democrats solve the mess. Others believed on principle that government shouldn't meddle in the markets, even when the markets are broken.
But with the nation losing nearly 800,000 jobs the month that I was sworn into office, my most urgent task was to stop a financial meltdown and prevent this recession from becoming a second depression.
(APPLAUSE)
And, Ohio, we have done that. The economy is growing again. The financial markets have stabilized. The private sector has created jobs for the last eight months in a row.
(APPLAUSE)
And -- and there are roughly 3 million Americans who are working today because of the economic plan we put into place.
But the truth is, progress has been painfully slow. Millions of jobs were lost before our policies even had a chance to take effect. We lost 4 million jobs in the six months before I took office.
It was a hole so deep that even though we've added jobs again, millions of Americans remain unemployed. Hundreds of thousands of families have lost their homes. Millions more can barely pay the bills or make the mortgage. The middle class is still treading water. And those aspiring to reach the middle class are doing everything they can to keep from drowning.
And, meanwhile, some of the very steps that were necessary to save the economy -- like temporarily supporting the banks and the auto industry -- fed the perception that Washington is still ignoring the middle class in favor of special interests. And so people are frustrated and they're angry, and they're anxious about the future. I understand that. I also understand that in a political campaign, the easiest thing for the other side to do is to ride this fear and anger all the way to Election Day. And that's what's happening right now.
A few weeks ago, the Republican leader of the House came here to Cleveland and offered his party's answer to our economic challenges.
Now, it would be one thing if he had admitted his party's mistakes during the eight years that they were in power; if they had gone off for a while and meditated and come back and offered a credible new approach to solving our country's problems.
But that's not what happened. There were no new policies from Mr. Boehner. There were no new ideas. There was just the same philosophy that we had already tried during the decade that they were in power, the same philosophy that led to this mess in the first place: cut more taxes for millionaires and cut more rules for corporations.
Instead of coming together like past generations did to build a better country for our children and grandchildren, their argument is that we should let insurance companies go back to denying care for folks who are sick or let credit card companies go back to raising rates without any reason.
Instead of setting our sights higher, they're asking us to settle for a status quo of stagnant growth and eroding competitiveness and a shrinking middle class.
Now, Cleveland, that is not the America I know. That is not the America we believe in.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: A lot has changed since I came here in those final days of the last election, but what hasn't changed is the choice facing this country. It's still fear versus hope, the past versus the future. It's still a choice between sliding backward and moving forward. That's what this election's about. That's the choice that you will face in November.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And we have a different vision for the future.
See, I've never believed that government has all the answers to our problems. I've never believed that government's role is to create jobs or prosperity.
I believe it's the drive and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs, our small businesses, the skill and dedication of our workers that's made us the wealthiest nation on Earth.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I believe it's the private sector that must be the main engine for our recovery.
I believe government should be lean, government should be efficient. I believe government should leave people free to make the choices they think are best for themselves and their families, so long as those choices don't hurt others.
But --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: But in the words of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, I also believe that government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves.
(APPLAUSE)
And that means making the long-term investments in this country's future that individuals and corporations can't make on their own: investments in education and clean energy; in basic research and technology and infrastructure.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That means making sure corporations live up to their responsibilities to treat consumers fairly and play by the same rules as everybody else --
(APPLAUSE)
-- their responsibilities to look out for their workers, as well as their shareholders, and create jobs here at home.
And that means providing a hand-up for middle-class families, so that if they work hard and meet their responsibilities, they can afford to raise their children and send them to college, see a doctor when they get sick, retire with dignity and respect.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's what we Democrats believe in: a vibrant free market, but one that works for everybody.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's our vision. That's our vision for a stronger economy and a growing middle class. And that's the difference between what we and Republicans in Congress are offering the American people right now.
Now, let me give you a few specific examples of our different approaches.
This week, I proposed some additional steps to grow the economy and help businesses spur hiring. One of the keys to job creation is to encourage companies to invest more in the United States. But for years, our tax code has actually given billions of dollars in tax breaks that encourage companies to create jobs and profits in other countries.
I want to change that.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I want to change that.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Instead of tax loopholes that incentivize investment in overseas jobs, I'm proposing a more generous permanent extension of the tax credit that goes to companies for all the research and innovation they do right here in Ohio, right here in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
And I'm proposing that all American businesses should be allowed to write off all the investment they do in 2011, and this will help small businesses upgrade their plants and equipment and will encourage large corporations to get off the sidelines and start putting their profits to work in places like Cleveland and Toledo and Dayton.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, to most of you, I'll bet this just seems like common sense.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: But not to Mr. Boehner and his allies.
For years, Republicans have fought to keep these corporate loopholes open. In fact, when Mr. Boehner was here in Cleveland, he attacked us for closing a few of these loopholes and using the money to help states like Ohio keep hundreds of thousands of teachers and cops and firefighters on the job.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Mr. Boehner dismissed these jobs we saved -- teaching our kids, patrolling our streets, rushing into burning buildings -- as, quote, "government jobs"; jobs I guess he thought just weren't worth saving.
And I couldn't disagree more. I think teachers and police officers and firefighters are part of what keeps America strong.
(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: And, Ohio, I think if we're going to give tax breaks to companies, they should go to companies that create jobs here in America, not that create jobs overseas.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's one difference between the Republican vision and the Democratic vision. That's what this election is all about.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, let me give you another example. We want to put more Americans back to work rebuilding America: our roads, our railways, our runways.
When the housing sector collapsed and the recession hit, one in every four jobs lost were in the construction industry. That's partly why our economic plan has invested in badly-needed infrastructure projects over the last 19 months; not just roads and bridges but high- speed railroads and expanded broadband access.
All together, these projects have led to thousands of good, private-sector jobs, especially for those in the trades.
Mr. Boehner and the Republicans in Congress said no to these projects, fought them tooth and nail, though I should say it didn't stop a lot of them from showing up at the ribbon-cuttings, trying to take credit.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: That's always a sight to see.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Now, there are still thousands of miles of railroads and railways and runways left to repair and improve. And engineers, economists, governors, mayors of every political stripe believe that, if we want to compete in this global economy, we need to rebuild this vital infrastructure. There is no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains or the most modern airports. We want to put America to work building them right here in America.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: So this week, I've proposed a six-year infrastructure plan that would start putting Americans to work right away.
But despite the fact that this has traditionally been an issue with bipartisan support, Mr. Boehner has so far said no to infrastructure. That's bad for America. And that, too, is what this election is all about.
I'll give you one final example of the differences between us and the Republicans, and that's on the issue of tax cuts.
Under the tax plan passed by the last administration, taxes are scheduled to go up substantially next year, for everybody.
By the way, this was by design. When they passed these tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, they didn't want everybody to know what it would do to our deficit, so they pretended like they were going to end, even though now, they say they don't.
Now, I believe we ought to make the tax cuts for the middle class permanent.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: For the middle class permanent.
These families are the ones who saw their wages and incomes flatline over the last decade.
You deserve a break.
(APPLAUSE)
You deserve some help.
And because folks in the middle class are more likely to spend their tax cut on basic necessities, that strengthens the economy as a whole.
But the Republican leader of the House doesn't want to stop there. Make no mistake: He and his party believe we should also give a permanent tax cut to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.
With -- with all the other budgetary pressures we have, with all the Republicans' talk about wanting to shrink the deficit, they would have us borrow $700 billion over the next 10 years to give a tax cut of about $100,000 each to folks who are already millionaires.
And keep in mind, wealthy Americans are just about the only folks who saw their incomes rise when Republicans were in charge. And these are the folks who are less likely to spend the money, which is why economists don't think tax breaks for the wealthy would do much to boost the economy.
So let me be clear to Mr. Boehner and everybody else: We should not hold middle class tax cuts hostage any longer.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We are ready, this week, if they want, to give tax cuts to every American making $250,000 or less.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's 98 percent, 97 percent of Americans.
Now, for any income over this amount, the tax rates would just go back to what they were under President Clinton.
This isn't to punish folks who are better off. God bless them. It's because we can't afford the $700 billion price tag.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And for those who claim that our approach would somehow be bad for growth and bad for small businesses, let me remind you that with those tax rates in place under President Clinton, this country created 22 million jobs and raised incomes and had the largest surplus in our history.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: In fact, if the Republican leadership in Congress really wants to help small businesses, they'll stop using legislative maneuvers to block and up-or-down vote on a small-business jobs bill that's before the Senate right now -- right now.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: This is a bill that would do two things. It would cut taxes for small businesses and make loans more available for small businesses.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: It is fully paid for, won't add to the deficit, and it was written by Democrats and Republicans.
And yet the other party continues to block this jobs bill, a delay that small-business owners have said is actually leading them to put off hiring.
Look, I recognize that most of the Republicans in Congress have said no to just about every policy I've proposed since taking office. I realize in some cases that there are genuine philosophical differences. But on issues like this one, a tax cut for small business supported by the Chamber of Commerce, the only reason they're holding this up is politics, pure and simple.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: They're making the same calculation they made just before my inauguration: If I fail, they win.
Well, they might think that this will get them to where they want to go in November, but it won't get our country going where it needs to go in the long run.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: It won't get us there.
(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: It won't get us there.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: It won't get us there.
(APPLAUSE)
So -- so that's the choice, Ohio: Do we return to the same failed policies that ran our economy into a ditch, or do we keep moving forward with policies that are slowly pulling us out?
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Do we settle for a slow decline, or do we reach for an America with a growing economy and a thriving middle class?
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's the America that I see.
We may not be there yet, but we know where this country needs to go.
We see a future where we invest in American innovation and American ingenuity; where we export more goods so we create more jobs here at home; where we make it easier to start a business or patent an invention; where we build a homegrown clean energy industry, because I don't want to see new solar panels or electric cars or advanced batteries manufactured in Europe or in Asia. I want to see them made right here in the U.S. of A., by American workers.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We see an America where every citizen has the skills and training to compete with any worker in the world.
That's why we've set a goal to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why we're revitalizing community colleges like this one.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why we're reforming our education system based on what works for our children, not what perpetuates the status quo.
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OBAMA: We see an America where a growing middle class is the beating heart of a growing economy. And that's why I kept my campaign promise and gave a middle class tax cut to 95 percent of working Americans.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why we passed health insurance reform that stops insurance companies from jacking up your premiums at will or denying coverage because you get sick.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why we passed financial reform that will end taxpayer- funded bailouts; reform that'll stop credit card companies and mortgage lenders from taking advantage of taxpayers and consumers.
That's why we're trying to make it easier for workers to save for retirement, and fighting the efforts of some in the other party to privatize Social Security. Because as long as I'm president, no one is going to take the retirement savings of a generation of Americans and hand it over to Wall Street. Not on my watch.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why we're fighting to extend the child tax credit, and make permanent our new college tax credit. Because if we do, it will mean $10,000 in tuition relief for each child going to four years of college.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And I don't want any parent not to be sending their kids, in good time or bad, to college because they can't afford it.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And, finally, we see an America where we refuse to pass on the debt we inherited to the next generation.
Now, let me spend a minute on this issue, because we've heard a lot of moralizing on the other side about this: government spending and debt. Along with the tax cuts for the wealthy, the other party's main economic proposal is that they'll stop government spending.
Now, it's right to be concerned about the long-term deficit. If we don't get a handle on it soon, it can endanger our future. And at a time when folks are tightening their belts at home, I understand why a lot of Americans feel it's time for government to show some discipline too.
But let's look at the facts.
When these same Republicans -- including Mr. Boehner -- were in charge, the number of earmarks and pet projects went up, not down. These same Republicans turned a record surplus into a record deficit.
When I walked in, wrapped in a nice bow was a $1.3 trillion deficit; sitting right there on my doorstep.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: A welcoming present.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Just this year, these same Republicans voted against a bipartisan fiscal commission that they themselves had proposed.
Once I decided I was for it, they were against it.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: And when you ask them, what programs they'd actually cut, they don't have an answer.
That's not fiscal responsibility. That's not a serious plan to govern.
Now, I'll be honest. I refuse to cut back on those investments that will grow our economy in the future --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- investments in areas like education and clean energy and technology. I don't want to cut those things.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And that's because economic growth is the single best way to bring down the deficit, and we need these investments to grow.
But I am absolutely committed to fiscal responsibility, which is why I've already proposed freezing all discretionary spending unrelated to national security for the next three years.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And once -- once the bipartisan fiscal commission finishes its work, I'll spend the next year making the tough choices necessary to further reduce our deficit and lower our debt, whether I get help from the other side or not.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Of course, reducing the deficit won't be easy.
Making up for the 8 million lost jobs caused by this recession won't happen overnight. Not everything we've done over the last two years has worked as quickly as we had hoped, and I am keenly aware that not all our policies have been popular.
So, no, our job is not easy.
But you didn't elect me to do what was easy.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: You didn't elect me to just read the polls and figure how to keep myself in office. You didn't elect me to avoid big problems. You elected me to do what was right. And as long as I'm president, that's exactly what I intend to do.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: This country is emerging from an incredibly difficult period in its history, an era of irresponsibility that stretched from Wall Street to Washington and had a devastating effect on a lot of people.
We have started turning the corner on that era. But part of moving forward is returning to the time-honored values that built this country: hard work and self-reliance; responsibility for ourselves, but also responsibility for one another.
It's about moving from an attitude that said, "What's in it for me?" to one that asks, "What's best for America? What's best for all our workers? What's best for all of our businesses? What's best for all of our children?"
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: These values are not Democratic or Republican. They are not conservative or liberal values. They are American values.
As Democrats, we take pride in what our party has accomplished over the last century: Social Security and the minimum wage, the G.I. Bill and Medicare, civil rights and worker's rights and women's rights.
But --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: But we also recognize that throughout our history there has been a noble Republican vision as well of what this country can be. It was the vision of Abraham Lincoln, who set up the first land grant colleges and launched the transcontinental railroad; the vision of Teddy Roosevelt, who used the power of government to break up monopolies; the vision of Dwight Eisenhower, who helped build the Interstate Highway System; and, yes, the vision of Ronald Reagan, who, despite his aversion to government, was willing to help save Social Security for future generations, working with Democrats.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: These were serious leaders for serious times. They were great politicians, but they didn't spend all their time playing games or scoring points. They didn't always prey on people's fears and anxieties. They made mistakes, but they did what they thought was in the best interests of their country and its people.
And that's what the American people expect of us today, Democrats, independents and Republicans. That's the debate they deserve. That's the leadership we owe them.
I know folks are worried about the future. I know there's still a lot of hurt out there. And when times are tough, I know it can be tempting to give in to cynicism and fear and doubt and division, and just settle our sights a little bit lower, settle for something a little bit less.
But that's not who we are, Ohio. Those are not the values that built this country.
We are here today because in the worst of times, the people who came before us brought out the best in America; because our parents and our grandparents and our great-grandparents were willing to work and sacrifice for us. They were willing to take great risks and face great hardship and reach for a future that would give us the chance at a better life.
They knew that this country is greater than the sum of its parts, that America's not about the ambitions of any one individual, but the aspirations of an entire people, an entire nation.
That's who we are.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That is our legacy.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And I am convinced that if we're willing to summon those values today and if we're willing to choose hope over fear and choose the future over the past, and come together once more around the great project of national renewal, then we will restore our economy and rebuild our middle class, and reclaim the American dream for the next generation.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you.
VELSHI: All right, President Obama is speaking in Parma, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio at Cuyahoga Community College. He's talking about taxes a lot, talking about John Boehner quite a bit.
This is the second time this week that he has taken John Boehner's name so many times, attacking the Republican plan with respect to tax. We're going to talk a little bit more about this on the other side. I'll be right back.
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VELSHI: CNN Equals Politics. Time now for a political ticker update. CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley is at the cnnpolitics.com desk in Washington.
Candy, we'll talk about the speech the president just wrapped out in a minute, but while we've been watching that what's going on the political ticker?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Haley Barbour, probably one of the sharpest political minds around. He is the governor of Mississippi, also head of the Republican Governors' Association.
He has been talking to reporters and saying, listen, what Republicans need to do between now and voting day in November is keep their foot on the accelerator. He has always been the most cautious of Republicans when it comes to things like predicting ahead.
He says there's a lot of time between now and then to ensure there is win at the back of the Republicans, but he's warning that Republicans really have to keep their foot on the accelerator and their focus on what matters and he says what matters is the economy.
Also Rahm Emanuel, as you know, what we've heard is that Chicago Mayor Daley is going to step down from his job. There will be an election next February in 2011. Will Rahm Emanuel, a native of Chicago, now the chief of staff, go back and run for mayor?
Certainly there's a lot of speculation about that and about who would replace him at the White House, almost as important as who's going to run for Chicago mayor because that chief of staff position that Rahm Emanuel has is key to what's going to be the second half of President Obama's administration.
So everybody's looking not just at Chicago, but inside the White House to see who might replace Rahm Emanuel. And finally, we heard President Obama talk a lot about John Boehner, the Republican leader, in that speech just now, Ali.
Well, why do they do that? Because it really does give a face to the opposition and who have Republicans been talking about all these many months to give a face to the Democratic opposition?
Not just President Obama, but Nancy Pelosi. There are certain signs in our new poll that perhaps some of these are working. If you look at Nancy Pelosi, now speaker of the House, a Democrat from California, look at her unfavorable ratings now, over 50 percent.
Fifty one percent of Americans have an unfavorable rating of Pelosi that is up from 30 percent in 2007. So it probably does work when you are a target, does drive up those unfavorable.
I should add though that in the San Francisco area where Nancy Pelosi hails from, she's quite popular. She wouldn't worry too much about her seat at the House of Representatives. It's the speaker seat that everybody has their eyes on, Ali.
VELSHI: Candy, thanks so much for that and for keeping an eye an owl of this for us. Candy Crowley at the political desk in Washington.
Be sure to stay with CNN for complete coverage of the key races and issues heading into the critical midterm elections. Your next "CNN Equals Politics" update is just an hour away.
We want to announce that Piers Morgan will be taking over Larry King's primetime hour starting in January. You might know Piers, he's a judge on NBC's Americas Got Talent. He's the most - most recently he hosted Piers Morgan Life Stories in the United Kingdom.
Piers has an extensive newspaper background. He's coming to us with a candid, in-depth interview show. We are pleased to welcome him to the CNN family.
We're going to send you over to Rick Sanchez that happens right after the break.
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