Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan - The Complete Vice Presidential Debate

0:03 - 0:07

MARTHA RADDATZ: Good evening, and welcome
to the first and only vice presidential debate
0:07 - 0:14

of 2012, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential
Debates. I’m Martha Raddatz of ABC News,
0:14 - 0:20

and I am honored to moderate this debate between
two men who have dedicated much of their lives
0:20 - 0:21

to public service.
0:21 - 0:26

Tonight’s debate is divided between domestic
and foreign policy issues.
0:26 - 0:30

And I’m going to move back and forth between
foreign and domestic since that is what a
0:30 - 0:33

vice president or president would have to
do.
0:33 - 0:38

We will have nine different segments. At the
beginning of each segment, I will ask both
0:38 - 0:43

candidates a question, and they will each
have two minutes to answer. Then I will encourage
0:43 - 0:49

a discussion between the candidates with follow-up
questions. By coin toss, it has been determined
0:49 - 0:53

that Vice President Biden will be first to
answer the opening question.
0:53 - 0:57

We have a wonderful audience here at Centre
College tonight. You will no doubt hear their
0:57 - 1:04

enthusiasm at the end of the debate and right
now as we welcome Vice President Biden and
1:04 - 1:07

Congressman Paul Ryan. (Applause.)
1:07 - 1:19

Very nice to see you. Very nice to see you.
1:19 - 1:27

VICE PRESIDENT JOSEPH BIDEN: How you doing?
1:27 - 1:34

MS. RADDATZ: Hey, you got your little wave
to the families in. That’s great.
1:34 - 1:39

Good evening, gentlemen. It really is an honor
to be here with both of you.
1:39 - 1:44

I would like to begin with Libya on a rather
somber note. One month ago tonight, on the
1:44 - 1:51

anniversary of 9/11, Ambassador Chris Stevens
and three other brave Americans were killed
1:51 - 1:56

in a terrorist attack in Benghazi. The State
Department has now made clear there were no
1:56 - 2:04

protesters there. It was a pre-planned assault
by heavily armed men. Wasn’t this a massive
2:04 - 2:06

intelligence failure, Vice President Biden?
2:06 - 2:11

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: What it was, it was
a tragedy, Martha. It -- Chris Stevens was
2:11 - 2:13

one of our best. We lost three other brave
Americans.
2:13 - 2:19

And I can make absolutely two commitments
to you and all of the American people tonight:
2:19 - 2:24

One, we will find and bring to justice the
men who did this.
2:24 - 2:28

And secondly, we will get to the bottom of
it, and whatever -- wherever the facts lead
2:28 - 2:33

us, wherever they lead us, w will make clear
to the American public, because whatever mistakes
2:33 - 2:35

were made will not be made again.
2:35 - 2:39

When you’re looking at a president, Martha,
it seems to me that you should take a look
2:39 - 2:44

at his most important responsibility. That’s
carrying forward the national security of
2:44 - 2:47

the country. And the best way to do that is
take a look at how he’s handled he issues
2:47 - 2:48

of the day.
2:48 - 2:54

On Iraq, the president said he would end the
war. Governor Romney said that was a tragic
2:54 - 2:58

mistake; we should have left -- that he ended
it -- Governor Romney said that was a tragic
2:58 - 3:01

mistake; we should have left 30,000 troops
there.
3:01 - 3:06

With regard to Afghanistan, he said he will
end the war in 2014. Governor Romney said
3:06 - 3:11

we should not set a date, number one, and
number two, with regard to 2014, it depends.
3:11 - 3:17

When it came to Osama bin Laden, the president,
the first day in office -- I was sitting with
3:17 - 3:21

him in the Oval Office. He called in the CIA
and signed an order saying, my highest priority
3:21 - 3:23

is to get bin Laden.
3:23 - 3:28

Prior to the election, prior to the -- him
being sworn in, Governor Romney was asked
3:28 - 3:32

a question about how he would proceed. He
said, I wouldn’t move heaven and earth to
3:32 - 3:36

get bin Laden. He didn’t understand it was
more than about taking a -- a murderer off
3:36 - 3:41

the battlefield; it was about restoring America’s
heart and letting terrorists around the world
3:41 - 3:47

know if you do harm to America, we will track
you to the gates of hell, if need be.
3:47 - 3:53

And lastly, the -- the president of the United
States has -- has led with a steady hand and
3:53 - 4:00

clear vision. Governor Romney, the opposite.
The last thing we need now is another war.
4:00 - 4:02

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
4:02 - 4:08

REP. RYAN: (Sighs.) We mourn the loss of these
four Americans who were murdered. When you
4:08 - 4:13

take a look at what has happened just in the
last few weeks, they sent the U.N. ambassador
4:13 - 4:18

out to say that this was because of a protest
and a YouTube video. It took the president
4:18 - 4:24

two weeks to acknowledge that this was a terrorist
attack. He went to the U.N., and in his speech
4:24 - 4:28

at the U.N. he said six times -- he talked
about the YouTube video.
4:28 - 4:33

Look, if we are hit by terrorists, we’re
going to call it for what it is, a terrorist
4:33 - 4:39

attack. Our ambassador in Paris has a Marine
detachment guarding him. Shouldn’t we have
4:39 - 4:45

a Marine detachment guarding our ambassador
in Benghazi, a place where we knew that there
4:45 - 4:53

was an al-Qaida cell with arms? This is becoming
more troubling by the day. They first blamed
4:53 - 4:57

the YouTube video; now they’re trying to
blame the Romney-Ryan ticket for making this
4:57 - 4:58

an issue.
4:58 - 5:04

And with respect to Iraq, we had the same
position before the withdrawal, which was
5:04 - 5:09

we agreed with the Obama administration: Let’s
have a Status of Forces Agreement to make
5:09 - 5:14

sure that we secure our gains. The vice president
was put in charge of those negotiations by
5:14 - 5:18

President Obama, and they failed to get the
agreement. We don’t have a Status of Forces
5:18 - 5:22

Agreement because they failed to get one.
That’s what we are talking about.
5:22 - 5:27

And when it comes to our veterans, we owe
them a great debt of gratitude for what they’ve
5:27 - 5:33

done for us, including your son Beau. But
we also want to make sure that we don’t
5:33 - 5:35

lose the things we fought so hard to get.
5:35 - 5:40

And with respect to Afghanistan and the 2014
deadline, we agree with a 2014 transition.
5:40 - 5:44

But what we also want to do is make sure that
we’re not projecting weakness abroad, and
5:44 - 5:50

that’s what’s happening here. This Benghazi
issue would be a tragedy in and of itself.
5:50 - 5:54

But unfortunately it’s indicative of a broader
problem, and that is what we are watching
5:54 - 5:59

on our TV screens is the unraveling of the
Obama foreign policy, which is making the
5:59 - 6:02

world more -- more chaotic and us less safe.
6:02 - 6:07

MS. RADDATZ: I just want to talk to you about
right in the middle of the crisis. Governor
6:07 - 6:11

Romney -- and you’re talking about this
again tonight -- talked about the weakness,
6:11 - 6:17

talked about apologies from the Obama administration.
Was that really appropriate right in the middle
6:17 - 6:18

of the crisis?
6:18 - 6:23

REP. RYAN: On that same day, the Obama administration
had the exact same position. Let’s recall
6:23 - 6:28

that they disavowed their own statement that
they had put out earlier in the day in Cairo.
6:28 - 6:34

So we had the same position, but we will -- it’s
never to early to speak out for our values.
6:34 - 6:37

We should have spoken out right away when
the Green Revolution was up and starting,
6:37 - 6:42

when the mullahs in Iran were attacking their
people. We should not have called Bashar Assad
6:42 - 6:48

a reformer when he was turning his Russian-provided
guns on his own people. We should always stand
6:48 - 6:54

up for peace, for democracy, for individual
rights, and we should not be imposing these
6:54 - 6:59

devastating defense cuts, because what that
does when we equivocate on our values, when
6:59 - 7:01

we show that we’re cutting our own defense
--
7:01 - 7:01

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Am I going to get to
say anything here?
7:01 - 7:05

REP. RYAN: -- it makes us more weak. It projects
weakness, and when we look weak, our adversaries
7:05 - 7:09

are much more willing to test us, they’re
more brazen in their attacks, and our allies
7:09 - 7:09

are less willing to --
7:09 - 7:12

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: With all due respect,
that’s a bunch of malarkey. In fact --
7:12 - 7:13

MS. RADDATZ: And why is that so?
7:13 - 7:16

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Because not a single
thing he said is accurate. First of all --
7:16 - 7:17

MS. RADDATZ: Be specific.
7:17 - 7:22

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I will be very specific.
Number one, the -- this lecture on embassy
7:22 - 7:30

security -- the congressman here cut embassy
security in his budget by $300 million below
7:30 - 7:34

what we asked for, number one. So much for
the embassy security piece.
7:34 - 7:39

Number two, Governor Romney, before he knew
the facts, before he even knew that our ambassador
7:39 - 7:45

was killed, he was out making a political
statement which was panned by the media around
7:45 - 7:51

the world. And this talk about this -- this
weakness, I -- I don’t understand what my
7:51 - 7:53

friend’s talking about here.
7:53 - 7:57

We -- this is a president who’s gone out
and done everything he has said he was going
7:57 - 8:00

to do. This is the guy who’s repaired our
alliances so the rest of the world follows
8:00 - 8:01

us again. This is the guy who brought the
entire world, including Russia and China,
8:01 - 8:09

to bring about the most devastating, most
devastating -- the most devastating efforts
8:09 - 8:15

on Iran to make sure that they in fact stop
with their -- look, I -- I -- I just -- I
8:15 - 8:17

mean, these guys bet against America all the
time.
8:17 - 8:18

REP. RYAN: I --
8:18 - 8:20

MS. RADDATZ: Can we talk about -- let me go
back to Libya.
8:20 - 8:20

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Yeah, sure.
8:20 - 8:27

MS. RADDATZ: What were you first told about
the attack? Why were people talking about
8:27 - 8:34

protests? When people in the consulate first
saw armed men attacking with guns, there were
8:34 - 8:36

no protesters. Why did that go on for weeks?
8:36 - 8:38

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Because that’s exactly
what we were told --
8:38 - 8:39

MS. RADDATZ: By who?
8:39 - 8:41

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- by the intelligence
community. The intelligence community told
8:41 - 8:46

us that. As they learned more facts about
exactly what happened, they changed their
8:46 - 8:51

assessment. That’s why there’s also an
investigation headed by Tom Pickering, a leading
8:51 - 8:55

diplomat in the -- from the Reagan years,
who is doing an investigation as to whether
8:55 - 8:59

or not there were any lapses, what the lapses
were, so that they will never happen again.
8:59 - 8:59

But --
8:59 - 9:01

MS. RADDATZ: And they wanted more security
there.
9:01 - 9:05

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, we weren’t told
they wanted more security again. We did not
9:05 - 9:10

know they wanted more security again. And
by the way, at the time we were told exactly
9:10 - 9:16

-- we said exactly what the intelligence community
told us that they knew. That was the assessment.
9:16 - 9:20

And as the intelligence community changed
their view, we made it clear they changed
9:20 - 9:23

their view. That’s why I said, we will get
to the bottom of this.
9:23 - 9:28

You know, usually when there’s a crisis,
we pull together. We pull together as a nation.
9:28 - 9:32

But as I said, even before we knew what happened
to the ambassador, the governor was holding
9:32 - 9:36

a press conference -- was holding a press
conference. That’s not presidential leadership.
9:36 - 9:42

MS. RADDATZ: Mr. Ryan, I want to ask you about
-- the Romney campaign talks a lot about no
9:42 - 9:47

apologies. He has a book called “No Apologies.”
Should the U.S. have apologized for Americans
9:47 - 9:54

burning Qurans in Afghanistan? Should the
U.S. apologize for U.S. Marines urinating
9:54 - 9:55

on Taliban corpses?
9:55 - 10:01

REP. RYAN: Oh, gosh, yes. Urinating on Taliban
corpses? What we should not apologize for
10:01 - 10:01

--
10:01 - 10:01

MS. RADDATZ: Burning Qurans (immediately ?)?
10:01 - 10:05

REP. RYAN: What -- what we should not be apologizing
for are standing up for our values. What we
10:05 - 10:11

should not be doing is saying to the Egyptian
people, while Mubarak is cracking down on
10:11 - 10:15

them, that he’s a good guy and then the
next week say he ought to go. What we should
10:15 - 10:21

not be doing is rejecting claims for -- calls
for more security in our barracks, in our
10:21 - 10:26

Marine -- we need Marines in Benghazi when
the commander on the ground says we need more
10:26 - 10:27

forces for security.
10:27 - 10:31

There were requests for extra security. Those
requests were not honored.
10:31 - 10:38

Look, this was the anniversary of 9/11. It
was Libya, a country we knew we had al-Qaida
10:38 - 10:43

cells there. As we know, al-Qaida and its
affiliates are on the rise in northern Africa.
10:43 - 10:49

And we did not give our ambassador in Benghazi
a Marine detachment? Of course there is an
10:49 - 10:53

investigation so we can make sure that this
never happens again. But when it comes to
10:53 - 10:56

speaking up for our values, we should not
apologize for those.
10:56 - 11:01

Here is the problem. Look at all the various
issues out there and that’s unraveling before
11:01 - 11:05

our eyes. The vice president talks about sanctions
on Iran. They got -- we’ve had four --
11:05 - 11:09

MS. RADDATZ: Let’s move to Iran. I’d actually
like to move to Iran because there is really
11:09 - 11:11

no bigger national security --
11:11 - 11:11

REP. RYAN: Absolutely.
11:11 - 11:15

MS. RADDATZ: -- this country is facing. Both
President Obama and Governor Romney have said
11:15 - 11:22

they will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear
weapon, even if that means military action.
11:22 - 11:26

Last week former Defense Secretary Bob Gates
said a strike on Iran’s facilities would
11:26 - 11:33

not work and, quote, could prove catastrophic,
haunting us for generations. Can the two of
11:33 - 11:40

you be absolutely clear and specific to the
American people how effective would a military
11:40 - 11:42

strike be? Congressman Ryan.
11:42 - 11:46

REP. RYAN: We cannot allow Iran to gain a
nuclear weapons capability.
11:46 - 11:52

Now, let’s take a look at where we’ve
gone -- come from. When Barack Obama was elected,
11:52 - 11:57

they had enough fissile material, nuclear
material, to make one bomb. Now they have
11:57 - 12:00

enough for five. They’re racing toward a
nuclear weapon. They’re four years closer
12:00 - 12:04

toward a nuclear weapons capability. We’ve
had four different sanctions at the U.N. on
12:04 - 12:09

Iran, three from the Bush administration,
one here. And the only reason we got it is
12:09 - 12:13

because Russia watered it down and prevented
the -- the sanctions from hitting the central
12:13 - 12:14

bank.
12:14 - 12:17

Mitt Romney proposed these sanctions in 2007.
In Congress, I’ve been fighting for these
12:17 - 12:22

sanctions since 2009. The administration was
blocking us every step of the way.
12:22 - 12:26

Only because we had strong bipartisan support
for these tough sanctions were we able to
12:26 - 12:31

overrule their objections and put them in
spite of the administration. Imagine what
12:31 - 12:36

would have happened if we had these sanctions
in place earlier. You think Iran’s not brazen?
12:36 - 12:40

Look at what they’re doing. They’re stepping
up their terrorist attacks. They tried a terrorist
12:40 - 12:44

attack in the United States last year when
they tried to blow up the Saudi ambassador
12:44 - 12:46

at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
12:46 - 12:51

And talk about credibility. When this administration
says that all options are on the table, they
12:51 - 12:56

send out senior administration officials that
send all these mixed signals.
12:56 - 13:01

And so in order solve this peacefully, which
is everybody’s goal, you have to have the
13:01 - 13:05

ayatollahs change their minds. Look at where
they are. They’re moving faster toward a
13:05 - 13:10

nuclear weapon. It’s because this administration
has no credibility on this issue. It’s because
13:10 - 13:15

this administration watered down sanctions,
delayed sanctions, tried to stop us from putting
13:15 - 13:19

the tough sanctions in place. Now we have
them in place because of Congress. They say
13:19 - 13:22

the military option’s on the table but it’s
not being viewed as credible, and the key
13:22 - 13:28

is to do this peacefully, is to make sure
that we have credibility. Under a Romney administration,
13:28 - 13:30

we will have credibility on this issue.
13:30 - 13:31

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.
13:31 - 13:34

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Incredible. (Chuckles.)
13:34 - 13:40

Look, imagine had we let the Republican Congress
work out the sanctions. You think there’s
13:40 - 13:46

any possibility the entire world would have
joined us, Russia and China, all of our allies?
13:46 - 13:53

These are the most crippling sanctions in
the history of sanctions, period, period.
13:53 - 13:57

When Governor Romney’s asked about it, he
said, we got to keep these sanctions. When
13:57 - 14:00

they said, well, you’re talking about doing
more, what are you -- are you -- you’re
14:00 - 14:01

going to go to war? Is that you want to do
now?
14:01 - 14:02

REP. RYAN: We want to prevent war!
14:02 - 14:04

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Inaudible) -- and I
-- the interesting thing is, how they’re
14:04 - 14:07

going to prevent war. How are they going to
prevent war if they say that there’s nothing
14:07 - 14:12

more that we -- that they say we should do
than what we’ve already done, number one?
14:12 - 14:18

And number two, with regard to the ability
of the United States to take action militarily,
14:18 - 14:22

it is -- it is not in my purview to talk about
classified information.
14:22 - 14:29

But we feel quite confident we could deal
a serious blow to the Iranians. But number
14:29 - 14:35

two, the Iranians are -- the Israelis and
the United States -- our military and intelligence
14:35 - 14:40

communities are absolutely the same exact
place in terms of how close -- how close the
14:40 - 14:47

Iranians are to getting a nuclear weapon.
They are a good way away. There is no difference
14:47 - 14:49

between our view and theirs.
14:49 - 14:54

When my friend talks about fissile material,
they have to take this highly enriched uranium,
14:54 - 15:00

get it from 20 percent up. Then they have
to be able to have something to put it in.
15:00 - 15:06

There is no weapon that the Iranians have
at this point. Both the Israelis and we know
15:06 - 15:12

we’ll know if they start the process of
building a weapon. So all this bluster I keep
15:12 - 15:17

hearing, all this loose talk -- what are they
talking about? Are you talking about to be
15:17 - 15:21

more credible? What -- what more can the president
do? Stand before the United Nations, tell
15:21 - 15:27

the whole world, directly communicate to the
ayatollah: We will not let them acquire a
15:27 - 15:31

nuclear weapon, period, unless he’s talking
about going to war.
15:31 - 15:32

REP. RYAN: Martha, let’s just --
15:32 - 15:33

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
15:33 - 15:38

REP. RYAN: -- let’s look at this from the
view of the ayatollahs. What do they see?
15:38 - 15:43

They see this administration trying to water
down sanctions in Congress for over two years.
15:43 - 15:48

They’re moving faster toward a nuclear weapon;
they’re spinning the centrifuges faster.
15:48 - 15:52

They see us saying, when we come into the
administration, when they’re sworn in, we
15:52 - 15:58

need more space with our ally Israel. They
see President Obama in New York City the same
15:58 - 16:02

day Bibi Netanyahu is, and he’s -- instead
of meeting with him goes on a -- on a daily
16:02 - 16:09

talk show. They see -- when we say that these
options are on the table, the secretary of
16:09 - 16:15

defense walked them back. They are not changing
their mind. That’s what we have to do, is
16:15 - 16:17

change their mind so they stop pursuing nuclear
weapons, and they’re going faster.
16:17 - 16:23

MS. RADDATZ: How will you do it so quickly?
Look, you both saw Benjamin Netanyahu hold
16:23 - 16:29

up that picture of a bomb with the red line
and talking about the red line being in spring.
16:29 - 16:36

So can you solve this -- if the Romney-Ryan
ticket is elected, can you solve this in two
16:36 - 16:38

months before spring and avoid nuclear --
16:38 - 16:41

REP. RYAN: We -- we can debate a timeline.
16:41 - 16:41

MS. RADDATZ: (Inaudible.)
16:41 - 16:45

REP. RYAN: We can debate the timeline, whether
there’s -- it’s that short a time or longer.
16:45 - 16:49

I -- I agree that it’s probably longer.
Number two, it’s all about credibility.
16:49 - 16:51

MS. RADDATZ: You don’t agree with that bomb
and what the Israelis --
16:51 - 16:51

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No, look -- (inaudible)
--
16:51 - 16:52

REP. RYAN: (Inaudible) -- look, we -- we both
-- (inaudible) --
16:52 - 16:53

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.
16:53 - 16:58

REP. RYAN: I don’t want to go into classified
stuff, but we both agree that to do this peacefully,
16:58 - 17:02

you’ve got to get them to change their minds.
They’re not changing their minds, and look
17:02 - 17:02

at what this administration does --
17:02 - 17:03

MS. RADDATZ: But what do you do -- (inaudible)
--
17:03 - 17:05

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Let me tell you what
the ayatollah sees.
17:05 - 17:05

REP. RYAN: You have to have credibility.
17:05 - 17:10

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The ayatollah sees his
economy being crippled. The ayatollah sees
17:10 - 17:17

that there are 50 percent fewer exports of
oil. He sees the currency going into the tank.
17:17 - 17:22

He sees the economy going into free fall,
and he sees the world for the first time totally
17:22 - 17:25

united in opposition to him getting a nuclear
weapon.
17:25 - 17:30

Now, with regard to Bibi, he’s been my friend
for 39 years. The president has met with Bibi
17:30 - 17:35

a dozen times. He’s spoken to Bibi Netanyahu
as much as he’s spoken to anybody. The idea
17:35 - 17:40

that we’re not -- I was in a -- just before
he went to the U.N., I was in a conference
17:40 - 17:45

call with the -- with the president, with
him talking to Bibi, for well over an hour
17:45 - 17:50

in -- in -- in -- in -- in stark relief and
detail about what was going on. This is a
17:50 - 17:52

bunch of stuff. Look, here’s the deal --
17:52 - 17:53

MS. RADDATZ: What does that mean, “a bunch
of stuff”?
17:53 - 17:55

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, it means it’s
simply inaccurate.
17:55 - 17:56

REP. RYAN: It’s Irish. (Chuckles.)
17:56 - 17:59

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: It is. (Laughter.) We
Irish call it malarkey.
17:59 - 18:00

MS. RADDATZ: Thanks for the translation. OK.
18:00 - 18:03

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No, we Irish call it
malarkey. (Laughter.) But last thing: the
18:03 - 18:08

secretary of defense has made it absolutely
clear. He didn’t walk anything back. We
18:08 - 18:15

will not allow the Iranians to get a nuclear
weapon. What Bibi held up there was when they
18:15 - 18:21

get to the point where they can enrich uranium
enough to put into a weapon, they don’t
18:21 - 18:23

have a weapon to put it into.
18:23 - 18:29

Let’s all calm down a little bit here. Iran
is more isolated today than when we took office.
18:29 - 18:33

It was on the ascendancy when we took office.
It is totally isolated.
18:33 - 18:33

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan --
18:33 - 18:35

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I don’t know what
world you guys are in.
18:35 - 18:35

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan --
18:35 - 18:39

REP. RYAN: Thank -- thank heavens we have
these sanctions in place. It’s in spite
18:39 - 18:39

of their opposition.
18:39 - 18:40

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.) Oh, God.
18:40 - 18:45

REP. RYAN: They have given 20 waivers to this
sanction. And all I have to point to are the
18:45 - 18:49

results. They’re four years closer toward
a nuclear weapon. I think that case speaks
18:49 - 18:50

for itself.
18:50 - 18:51

MS. RADDATZ: Can you tell the American people
what’s worse --
18:51 - 18:51

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: By the way, they’re
-- no, no, they are not four years closer
18:51 - 18:52

to a nuclear weapon.
18:52 - 18:54

MS. RADDATZ: -- another war in the Middle
East or --
18:54 - 18:58

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: They’re -- they’re
closer to being able to get enough fissile
18:58 - 19:01

material to put in a weapon if they had a
weapon. But --
19:01 - 19:03

MS. RADDATZ: You’re acting a little bit
like they don’t want one, though.
19:03 - 19:06

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Oh, I didn’t say -- no,
I’m not saying -- (look ?), facts matter,
19:06 - 19:12

Martha. You’re a foreign policy expert.
Facts matter. All this loose talk about them
19:12 - 19:16

-- all they have to do is get to -- enrich
uranium in a certain amount and they have
19:16 - 19:23

a weapon -- not true. Not true. They are more
-- and if we ever have to take action, unlike
19:23 - 19:29

where we took office, we will have the world
behind us, and that matters. That matters.
19:29 - 19:35

MS. RADDATZ: What about Bob Gates’ statement?
Let me read that again: “Could prove catastrophic,
19:35 - 19:37

haunting us for generations.”
19:37 - 19:40

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: He is right. It could
prove catastrophic if we do -- we do it with
19:40 - 19:41

-- (inaudible) --
19:41 - 19:41

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan?
19:41 - 19:46

REP. RYAN: And what it does is it -- and it
undermines our credibility by backing up the
19:46 - 19:51

point when we make it that all options are
on the table. That’s the point. The ayatollahs
19:51 - 19:56

see these kinds of statements, and they think,
I’m going to get a nuclear weapon. When
19:56 - 20:02

-- when we see the kind of equivocation that
took place because this administration wanted
20:02 - 20:06

a precondition policy -- so when the Green
Revolution started up, they were silent for
20:06 - 20:13

nine days. When they see us putting -- when
they see us putting daylight between ourselves
20:13 - 20:18

and our allies in Israel, that gives them
encouragement. When they see Russia watering
20:18 - 20:23

down any further sanctions -- and the only
reason we got a U.N. sanction is because Russia
20:23 - 20:26

watered it down and prevented these -- (there
?) from being sanctions in the first place.
20:26 - 20:31

So when they see this kind of activity, they
are encouraged to continue, and that’s the
20:31 - 20:31

problem.
20:31 - 20:32

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha, let me tell
you what Russia’s -- (inaudible) --
20:32 - 20:36

MS. RADDATZ: What -- let me ask you what’s
worse: war in the Middle East, another war
20:36 - 20:37

in the Middle East, or a nuclear-armed Iran?
20:37 - 20:39

REP. RYAN: I’ll tell you what’s worse.
I’ll tell you what’s worse.
20:39 - 20:40

MS. RADDATZ: Quickly.
20:40 - 20:44

REP. RYAN: A nuclear-armed Iran, which triggers
a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. This
20:44 - 20:47

is the world’s largest sponsor of -- of
terrorism. They’ve dedicated themselves
20:47 - 20:47

--
20:47 - 20:48

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s the only thing
my --
20:48 - 20:52

REP. RYAN: -- to wiping an entire country
off the map. They call us the Great Satan.
20:52 - 20:56

And if they get nuclear weapons, other people
in the neighborhood will pursue their nuclear
20:56 - 20:57

weapons as well.
20:57 - 20:57

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.
20:57 - 20:58

REP. RYAN: We can’t live with that.
20:58 - 21:05

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: War should always be
the absolute last resort. That’s why these
21:05 - 21:11

crippling sanctions, what Bibi Netanyahu says
we should continue -- which, if I’m not
21:11 - 21:16

mistaken, Governor Romney says we -- we should
continue. If I -- I may be mistaken; he changes
21:16 - 21:21

his mind so often, I could be wrong. But the
fact of the matter is, he says they’re working.
21:21 - 21:28

And the fact is that they are being crippled
by them. And we’ve made it clear, big nations
21:28 - 21:30

can’t bluff. This president doesn’t bluff.
21:30 - 21:34

MS. RADDATZ: Gentlemen, I want to bring the
conversation to a different kind of national
21:34 - 21:41

security issue, the state of our economy.
The number one issue here at home is jobs.
21:41 - 21:48

The percentage of unemployed just fell below
8 percent for the first time in 43 months.
21:48 - 21:53

The Obama administration had projected that
it would fall below 6 percent now after the
21:53 - 21:58

addition of close to a trillion dollars in
stimulus money. So will both of you level
21:58 - 22:04

with the American people? Can you get unemployment
to under 6 percent, and how long will it take?
22:04 - 22:06

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I don’t know how long
it will take.
22:06 - 22:06

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.
22:06 - 22:08

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: We can and we will get
it under 6 percent.
22:08 - 22:12

Let’s look at the -- let’s take a look
at the facts. Let’s look at where we were
22:12 - 22:18

when we came to office. The economy was in
free fall. We had -- the Great Recession hit.
22:18 - 22:27

Nine million people lost their job, 1.7 -- $1.6
trillion in wealth lost in equity in your
22:27 - 22:30

homes, in retirement accounts from the middle
class.
22:30 - 22:33

We knew we had to act for the middle class.
We immediately went out and rescued General
22:33 - 22:39

Motors. We went ahead and made sure that we
cut taxes for the middle class. And in addition
22:39 - 22:44

to that, when that -- and when that occurred,
what did Romney do? Romney said, no, let Detroit
22:44 - 22:48

go bankrupt. We moved in and helped people
refinance their homes. Governor Romney said,
22:48 - 22:50

no, let foreclosures hit the bottom.
22:50 - 22:55

But it shouldn’t be surprising for a guy
who says 47 percent of the American people
22:55 - 23:00

are unwilling to take responsibility for their
own lives. My friend recently, in a speech
23:00 - 23:05

in Washington, said 30% of the American people
are takers. These people are my mom and dad,
23:05 - 23:10

the people I grew up with, my neighbors. They
pay more effective tax than Governor Romney
23:10 - 23:14

pays in his federal income tax. They are elderly
people who in fact are living off of Social
23:14 - 23:19

Security. They are veterans and people fighting
in Afghanistan right now who are, quote, not
23:19 - 23:20

paying any taxes.
23:20 - 23:25

I’ve had it up to here with this notion
that 47 percent -- it’s about time they
23:25 - 23:30

take some responsibility here. And instead
of signing pledges to Grover Norquist not
23:30 - 23:35

to ask the wealthiest among us to contribute
to bring back the middle class, they should
23:35 - 23:39

be signing a pledge saying to the middle class,
we’re going to level the playing field.
23:39 - 23:44

We’re going to give you a fair shot again.
We are going to not repeat the mistakes we
23:44 - 23:49

made in the past by having a different set
of rules for Wall Street and Main Street,
23:49 - 23:53

making sure that we continue to hemorrhage
these tax cuts for the superwealthy.
23:53 - 24:00

They’re pushing the continuation of a tax
cut that will give an additional $500 billion
24:00 - 24:07

in tax cuts to 120,000 families. And they’re
holding hostage the middle-class tax cut because
24:07 - 24:12

they say, we won’t pass -- we won’t continue
the middle-class tax cut unless you give the
24:12 - 24:15

tax cut for the superwealthy. It’s about
time they take some responsibility.
24:15 - 24:17

MS. RADDATZ: Mr. Ryan.
24:17 - 24:20

REP. RYAN: Joe and I are from similar towns.
24:20 - 24:24

He’s from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I’m
from Janesville, Wisconsin. You know what
24:24 - 24:26

the unemployment rate in Scranton is today?
24:26 - 24:27

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I sure do.
24:27 - 24:27

REP. RYAN: It’s 10 percent.
24:27 - 24:28

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Yeah.
24:28 - 24:30

REP. RYAN: You know what it was the day you
guys came in?
24:30 - 24:30

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No.
24:30 - 24:31

REP. RYAN: Eight-point-five percent.
24:31 - 24:32

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Yeah.
24:32 - 24:34

REP. RYAN: That’s how it’s going all around
America.
24:34 - 24:34

Look --
24:34 - 24:37

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: You don’t read the
statistics. That’s not “how it’s going.”
24:37 - 24:37

It’s going down.
24:37 - 24:38

MS. RADDATZ: (Inaudible) -- two-minute answer,
please.
24:38 - 24:44

REP. RYAN: Look -- (chuckles) -- did they
come in and inherit a tough situation? Absolutely.
24:44 - 24:45

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)
24:45 - 24:50

REP. RYAN: But we’re going in the wrong
direction! Look at where we are. The economy
24:50 - 24:54

is barely limping along. It’s growing at
1.3 percent. That’s slower than it grew
24:54 - 24:59

last year, and last year was slower than the
year before. Job growth in September was slower
24:59 - 25:03

than it was in August, and August was slower
than it was in July. We’re heading in the
25:03 - 25:04

wrong direction.
25:04 - 25:11

Twenty-three million Americans are struggling
for work today. Fifteen percent of Americans
25:11 - 25:17

are living in poverty today. This is not what
a real recovery looks like. We need real reforms
25:17 - 25:21

for a real recovery, and that’s exactly
what Mitt Romney and I are proposing. It’s
25:21 - 25:26

five-point plan. Get America energy-independent
in North America by the end of the decade.
25:26 - 25:30

Help people who are hurting get the skills
they need to get the jobs they want. Get this
25:30 - 25:34

deficit and debt under control to prevent
a debt crisis. Make trade work for America
25:34 - 25:38

so we can make more things in America and
sell them overseas and champion small businesses.
25:38 - 25:42

Don’t raise taxes on small businesses, because
they’re our job creators.
25:42 - 25:47

He talks about Detroit. Mitt Romney’s a
car guy. They keep misquoting him, but let
25:47 - 25:53

me tell you about the Mitt Romney I know.
This is a guy who -- I was talking to a family
25:53 - 25:58

in Northborough, Massachusetts the other day,
Cheryl and Mark Nixon (sp). Their kids were
25:58 - 26:04

hit in a car crash, four of them -- two of
them, Rob (sp) and Reid (sp), were paralyzed.
26:04 - 26:07

The Romneys didn’t know them. They went
to the same church. They never met before.
26:07 - 26:13

Mitt asked if he could come over on Christmas.
He brought his boys, his wife and gifts. Later
26:13 - 26:18

on he said, I know you’re struggling, Mark
(sp). Don’t worry about their college; I’ll
26:18 - 26:19

pay for it.
26:19 - 26:22

When Mark (sp) told me this story -- because
you know what, Mitt Romney doesn’t tell
26:22 - 26:23

these stories.
26:23 - 26:27

The Nixons told this story. When he told me
this story, he said it wasn’t the help -- the
26:27 - 26:32

cash help; it’s that he gave his time, and
he has consistently. This is a man who gave
26:32 - 26:36

30 percent of his income to charity, more
than the two of us combined. Mitt Romney’s
26:36 - 26:41

a good man. He cares about a hundred percent
of Americans in this country.
26:41 - 26:46

And with respect to that quote, I think the
vice president very well knows that sometimes
26:46 - 26:48

the words don’t come out of your mouth the
right way. (Laughter.)
26:48 - 26:53

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: But I always say what
I mean.
26:53 - 26:54

MS. RADDATZ: You --
26:54 - 26:55

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And so does Romney.
26:55 - 27:00

REP. RYAN: We want everybody to succeed. We
want to get people out of poverty, in the
27:00 - 27:04

middle class, on to lives of self-sufficiency.
We believe in opportunity and upward mobility.
27:04 - 27:06

That’s what we’re going to push for in
a Romney administration.
27:06 - 27:06

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President?
27:06 - 27:07

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Look --
27:07 - 27:10

MS. RADDATZ: I have a feeling you have a few
things to say here. (Laughter.)
27:10 - 27:15

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.) The idea,
if you heard that -- that little soliloquy
27:15 - 27:22

on 47 percent, and you think he just made
a mistake, then I think you’re -- I -- I
27:22 - 27:26

-- I -- I -- I got a bridge to sell you.
27:26 - 27:30

Look, I don’t doubt his personal generosity,
and I understand what it’s like. When I
27:30 - 27:36

was a little younger than the congressman,
my wife was in an accident, killed my daughter
27:36 - 27:43

and my wife, and my two sons survived. I have
sat in the homes of many people who’ve gone
27:43 - 27:47

through what I get through because the one
thing you can give people solace is to know
27:47 - 27:54

they know you’ve been through it, that they
can make it. So I don’t doubt his personal
27:54 - 27:55

commitment to individuals.
27:55 - 28:00

But you know what, I know he had no commitment
to the automobile industry. He just let -- he
28:00 - 28:06

said, let it go bankrupt, period, let it drop
out. All this talk -- we saved a million jobs.
28:06 - 28:11

Two hundred thousand people are working today.
And I have never met two guys who are more
28:11 - 28:16

down on America across the board. We’re
told everything is going bad. We have 5.2
28:16 - 28:21

million new jobs, private sector jobs. We
need more, but 5.2 million -- if they’d
28:21 - 28:25

get out of the way, if they get out of the
way and let us pass the tax cut for the middle
28:25 - 28:30

class, make it permanent, if they get out
of the way and pass the -- pass the jobs bill,
28:30 - 28:34

if they get out of the way and let us allow
14 million people who are struggling to stay
28:34 - 28:38

in their homes because their mortgages are
upside-down, but they never missed a mortgage
28:38 - 28:40

payment -- just get out of the way.
28:40 - 28:46

Stop talking about how you care about people.
Show me something. Show me a policy. Show
28:46 - 28:49

me a policy where you take responsibility.
28:49 - 28:53

And by the way, they talk about this Great
Recession if it fell out of the sky, like,
28:53 - 28:59

oh my goodness, where did it come from? It
came from this man voting to put two wars
28:59 - 29:04

in a credit card, to at the same time put
a prescription drug benefit on the credit
29:04 - 29:09

card, a trillion- dollar tax cut for a -- very
wealthy. I was there. I voted against him.
29:09 - 29:15

I said, no, we can’t afford that. And now
all of a sudden these guys are so seized with
29:15 - 29:17

a concern about the debt that they created
--
29:17 - 29:19

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
29:19 - 29:25

REP. RYAN: Let’s not forget that they came
in with one-party control. When Barack Obama
29:25 - 29:29

was elected, his party controlled everything.
They had the ability to do everything of their
29:29 - 29:34

choosing, and look at where we are right now.
They passed a stimulus, the idea that we could
29:34 - 29:39

borrow $831 billion, spend it on all these
special interest groups and that it would
29:39 - 29:43

work out just fine, that unemployment would
never get to 8 percent. It went up above 8
29:43 - 29:47

percent for 43 months. They said that right
now, if we just pass this stimulus, the economy
29:47 - 29:50

would grow at 4 percent. It’s growing at
1.3 (percent).
29:50 - 29:52

MS. RADDATZ: When could you get it below 6
percent?
29:52 - 29:56

REP. RYAN: That’s what our entire premise
of our pro-growth plan for a stronger middle
29:56 - 30:01

class is all about: getting the economy growing
at 4 percent, creating 12 million jobs over
30:01 - 30:05

the next four years. Look at just the $90
billion in stimulus, and -- and the vice president
30:05 - 30:11

was in charge of overseeing this, $90 billion
in green pork to campaign contributors and
30:11 - 30:16

special interest groups. There are just at
the Department of Energy over 100 criminal
30:16 - 30:18

investigations that have been launched into
just how --
30:18 - 30:19

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha --
30:19 - 30:20

REP. RYAN: -- stimulus -- (inaudible) -- are
being spent --
30:20 - 30:20

MS. RADDATZ: Go ahead.
30:20 - 30:21

Go ahead, Vice --
30:21 - 30:24

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha, look. His colleague
runs an investigative committee --
30:24 - 30:24

REP. RYAN: Crony capitalism -- (inaudible).
30:24 - 30:27

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- spent months and
months and months going into this --
30:27 - 30:28

REP. RYAN: This is the -- this is the inspector
general.
30:28 - 30:32

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- months and months.
They found no evidence of cronyism. And I
30:32 - 30:37

love my friend here. I -- I’m not allowed
to show letters, but go on our website: He
30:37 - 30:43

sent me two letters saying, by the way, can
you send me some stimulus money for companies
30:43 - 30:48

here in the state of Wisconsin? We sent millions
of dollars. You know why he said he needed
30:48 - 30:48

--
30:48 - 30:49

MS. RADDATZ: You did ask for stimulus money,
correct?
30:49 - 30:50

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Sure he did. By the
way -- (inaudible) --
30:50 - 30:54

REP. RYAN: On two occasions, we -- we -- we
advocated for constituents who were applying
30:54 - 30:54

for grants.
30:54 - 30:54

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)
30:54 - 30:57

REP. RYAN: That’s what we do. We do that
for all constituents who are -- (inaudible)
30:57 - 30:57

-- for grants.
30:57 - 31:01

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I love that. I love
that. This is such a bad program, and he writes
31:01 - 31:05

me a letter saying -- writes the Department
of Energy a letter saying, the reason we need
31:05 - 31:11

this stimulus -- it will create growth and
jobs. He -- his words. And now he’s sitting
31:11 - 31:15

here looking at me -- and by the way, that
program -- again, investigated -- what the
31:15 - 31:22

Congress said was, it was a model: less than
four-tenths of 1 percent waste or fraud in
31:22 - 31:27

the program. And all this talk about cronyism
-- they investigated, investigated; did not
31:27 - 31:32

find one single piece of evidence. I wish
he would just tell -- be a little more candid.
31:32 - 31:38

REP. RYAN: Was it a good idea to spend taxpayer
dollars on electric cars in Finland or on
31:38 - 31:39

windmills in China?
31:39 - 31:40

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Look --
31:40 - 31:43

REP. RYAN: Was it a good idea to borrow all
this money from countries like China --
31:43 - 31:44

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)
31:44 - 31:46

REP. RYAN: -- and spend it on all these various
different interest groups?
31:46 - 31:49

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Let me tell you it was
a good idea. It was a good idea -- Moody’s
31:49 - 31:52

and others said that this was exactly what
we needed that stopped us from going off the
31:52 - 31:57

cliff. It set the conditions to be able to
grow again. We have -- in fact, 4 percent
31:57 - 32:02

of those green jobs didn’t go under -- or
went -- went -- went under -- didn’t work.
32:02 - 32:05

It’s a better batting average than investment
bankers have. They have about a 40 percent
32:05 - 32:06

-- (inaudible) -- loss.
32:06 - 32:08

REP. RYAN: Where are the 5 million green jobs
that were being promised --
32:08 - 32:12

MS. RADDATZ: I want to move on here to Medicare
and entitlements. I think we’ve gone over
32:12 - 32:13

this quite enough. And both --
32:13 - 32:16

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And by the way, any
letter you send me I’ll entertain.
32:16 - 32:18

REP. RYAN: I appreciate that, Joe. (Laughter.)
32:18 - 32:22

MS. RADDATZ: Let’s talk about Medicare and
entitlements.
32:22 - 32:26

Both Medicare and Social Security are going
broke and taking a larger share of the budget
32:26 - 32:32

in the process. Will benefits for Americans
under these programs have to change for the
32:32 - 32:35

programs to survive, Mr. Ryan?
32:35 - 32:38

REP. RYAN: Absolutely. Medicare and Social
Security are going bankrupt. These are indisputable
32:38 - 32:39

facts.
32:39 - 32:44

Look, when I look at these programs, we’ve
all had tragedies in our lives. I think about
32:44 - 32:49

what they’ve done for my own family. My
mom and I had my grandmother move in with
32:49 - 32:52

us who was facing Alzheimer’s. Medicare
was there for her, just like it’s there
32:52 - 32:57

for my mom right now who’s a Florida senior.
After my dad died, my mom and I got Social
32:57 - 33:01

Security survivors benefits. Helped me pay
for college. It helped her go back to college
33:01 - 33:06

in her 50s, where she started a small business
because of the new skills she got. She paid
33:06 - 33:11

all of her taxes on the promise that these
programs would be there for her. We will honor
33:11 - 33:12

this promise.
33:12 - 33:17

And the best way to do it is reform it for
my generation. You see, if you reform these
33:17 - 33:22

programs for my generation, people 54 and
below, you can guarantee they don’t change
33:22 - 33:27

for people in or near retirement, which is
precisely what Mitt Romney and I are proposing.
33:27 - 33:32

Look at what -- look what “Obamacare”
does. “Obamacare” takes $716 billion from
33:32 - 33:38

Medicare to spend on “Obamacare.” Even
their own chief actuary at Medicare backs
33:38 - 33:41

this up. He says you can’t spend the same
dollar twice. You can’t claim that this
33:41 - 33:44

money goes to Medicare and “Obamacare.”
33:44 - 33:48

And then they put this new “Obamacare”
board in charge of cutting Medicare each and
33:48 - 33:53

every year in ways that will lead to denied
care for current seniors. This board, by the
33:53 - 33:57

way, it’s 15 people. The president’s supposed
to appoint them next year. And not one of
33:57 - 33:59

them even has to have medical training.
33:59 - 34:04

And Social Security, if we don’t shore up
Social Security, when we run out of the IOUs,
34:04 - 34:09

when the program goes bankrupt, a 25 percent
across-the-board benefit cut kicks in on current
34:09 - 34:13

seniors in the middle of their retirement.
We’re going to stop that from happening.
34:13 - 34:18

They haven’t put a credible solution on
the table. He’ll tell you about vouchers.
34:18 - 34:21

He’ll say all these things to try and scare
people.
34:21 - 34:25

Here’s what we’re saying: Give younger
people, when they become Medicare-eligible,
34:25 - 34:31

guaranteed coverage options that you can’t
be denied, including traditional Medicare.
34:31 - 34:35

Choose your plan, and then Medicare subsidizes
your premiums, not as much for the wealthy
34:35 - 34:40

people, more coverage for middle-income people
and total out-of-pocket coverage for the poor
34:40 - 34:45

and the sick. Choice and competition -- we
would rather have 50 million future seniors
34:45 - 34:48

determine how their Medicare is delivered
to them instead of 15 bureaucrats deciding
34:48 - 34:50

what -- if, where, when they get it.
34:50 - 34:51

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden, two minutes.
34:51 - 34:54

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: You know, I heard that
death panel argument from Sarah Palin. It
34:54 - 34:58

seems that every vice presidential debate,
I hear this kind of stuff about panels. But
34:58 - 35:01

let’s talk about Medicare.
35:01 - 35:08

What we did is we saved $716 billion and put
it back -- applied it to Medicare. We cut
35:08 - 35:14

the cost of Medicare. We stopped overpaying
insurance companies when doctors and hospitals
35:14 - 35:20

-- the AMA supported what we did. AARP endorsed
what we did. And it extends the life of Medicare
35:20 - 35:27

to 2024. They want to wipe this all out. It
also gave more benefits. Any senior out there,
35:27 - 35:32

ask yourself: Do you have more benefits today?
You do. If you’re near the doughnut hole,
35:32 - 35:37

you have $600 more to help your prescription
drug costs. You get wellness visits without
35:37 - 35:43

copays. They wipe all of this out, and Medicare
goes -- becomes insolvent in 2016, number
35:43 - 35:44

one.
35:44 - 35:48

Number two, guaranteed benefit -- it’s a
voucher. When they first proposed -- when
35:48 - 35:57

the congressman had his first voucher program,
the CBO said it would cost $6,400 a year,
35:57 - 36:03

Martha, more for every senior 55 and below
when they got there. He knew that, yet he
36:03 - 36:08

got it -- all the guys in Congress, and women
in the Republican party to vote for it. Governor
36:08 - 36:15

Romney, knowing that, said, I -- I -- I would
sign it were I there. Who you believe, the
36:15 - 36:20

AMA? Me? A guy who’s fought his whole life
for this? Or somebody who had actually put
36:20 - 36:28

in motion a plan that knowingly cut -- added
$6,400 a year more to the cost of Medicare?
36:28 - 36:33

Now they got a new plan. Trust me, it’s
not going to cost you any more. Folks, follow
36:33 - 36:35

your instincts on this one.
36:35 - 36:40

And with regard to Social Security, we will
not -- we will not privatize it. If we had
36:40 - 36:46

listened to Romney, to Governor Romney and
the congressman during the Bush years, imagine
36:46 - 36:51

where all those seniors would be now if their
money had been in the market. Their ideas
36:51 - 36:56

are old, and their ideas are bad, and they
eliminate the guarantee of Medicare.
36:56 - 37:01

REP. RYAN: Here’s the problem. They got
caught with their hands in the cookie jar
37:01 - 37:06

turning Medicare into a piggy bank for “Obamacare”.
Their own actuary from the administration
37:06 - 37:11

came to Congress and said one out of six hospitals
and nursing homes are going to go out of business
37:11 - 37:12

as a result of this.
37:12 - 37:13

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s not what they
said.
37:13 - 37:17

REP. RYAN: Seven point four million seniors
are projected to lose the current Medicare
37:17 - 37:20

Advantage coverage they have. That’s a $3,200
benefit cut.
37:20 - 37:21

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That didn’t happen.
37:21 - 37:21

REP. RYAN: What we’re saying --
37:21 - 37:22

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: More people signed up.
37:22 - 37:23

REP. RYAN: These are from your own actuaries.
37:23 - 37:26

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: More -- more -- more
people signed up for Medicare Advantage after
37:26 - 37:27

the change.
37:27 - 37:27

REP. RYAN: What -- what they’re --
37:27 - 37:29

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No -- nobody is getting
shut down.
37:29 - 37:29

REP. RYAN: Mr. Vice President, I know --
37:29 - 37:30

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No -- no -- (inaudible)
--
37:30 - 37:34

REP. RYAN: Mr. Vice President, I know you’re
under a lot of duress -- (laughter) -- to
37:34 - 37:37

make up for lost ground -- (laughter) -- but
I think people would be better served if we
37:37 - 37:39

don’t keep interrupting each other.
37:39 - 37:40

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, don’t take all
the four minutes, then.
37:40 - 37:43

REP. RYAN: Now let me just -- let me say this.
We are not -- we are saying, don’t change
37:43 - 37:47

benefits for people 55 and above. They already
organized their retirement around these promises.
37:47 - 37:47

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: They already are --
37:47 - 37:48

REP. RYAN: But you want to -- (inaudible)
-- these programs for those of us --
37:48 - 37:54

MS. RADDATZ: Let me ask you this: what is
your specific plan for seniors who really
37:54 - 37:59

can’t afford to make up the difference in
the value of what you call a premium support
37:59 - 38:00

plan and others call a voucher?
38:00 - 38:01

REP. RYAN: A hundred percent coverage for
them.
38:01 - 38:01

MS. RADDATZ: And what --
38:01 - 38:03

REP. RYAN: That’s what we’re saying.
38:03 - 38:03

MS. RADDATZ: -- what cost --
38:03 - 38:05

REP. RYAN: So we’re saying income-adjust
--
38:05 - 38:06

MS. RADDATZ: How do you make that up?
38:06 - 38:10

REP. RYAN: -- these premium support payments
by taking down the subsidies for wealthy people.
38:10 - 38:15

Look, this is a plan -- by the way, that $6,400
number, it was misleading then. It’s totally
38:15 - 38:20

inaccurate now. This is a plan that’s bipartisan.
It’s a plan I put together with a prominent
38:20 - 38:21

Democrat senator from Oregon.
38:21 - 38:23

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: There’s not one Democrat
who endorsed his --
38:23 - 38:24

REP. RYAN: It’s a plan --
38:24 - 38:25

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- not one Democrat
who signed his plan.
38:25 - 38:27

REP. RYAN: Our partner is a Democrat from
Oregon.
38:27 - 38:30

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And he said he does
no longer support (you for that ?).
38:30 - 38:32

REP. RYAN: We -- we put it -- we put it together
with the former Clinton budget director.
38:32 - 38:32

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Who disavows it. (Chuckles.)
38:32 - 38:38

REP. RYAN: This idea -- this idea came from
the Clinton commission to save Medicare, chaired
38:38 - 38:40

by Senator John Breaux. Here’s the point,
Martha.
38:40 - 38:42

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Which was rejected.
38:42 - 38:45

REP. RYAN: If we don’t -- if we don’t
fix this problem pretty soon, then current
38:45 - 38:50

seniors get cut! Here’s the problem. Ten
thousand people are retiring every single
38:50 - 38:53

day in America today, and they will for 20
years. That’s not a political thing. That’s
38:53 - 38:54

a math thing.
38:54 - 38:58

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha, if we just did
one thing, if we just -- if they allow Medicare
38:58 - 39:05

to bargain for the cost of drugs like Medicaid
can, that would save $156 billion right off
39:05 - 39:05

the bat.
39:05 - 39:06

REP. RYAN: And it would deny seniors choices.
39:06 - 39:07

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: All -- all -- all --
39:07 - 39:09

REP. RYAN: It -- it has restricted (formula
?) --
39:09 - 39:10

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Seniors are not denied.
39:10 - 39:10

REP. RYAN: Absolutely.
39:10 - 39:12

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Sorry, they are not
denied.
39:12 - 39:18

Look, folks, and all you seniors out there,
have you been denied choices? Have you lost
39:18 - 39:19

Medicare Advantage or, if you have signed
up --
39:19 - 39:19

REP. RYAN: Because it’s working well right
now.
39:19 - 39:20

VICE RESIDENT BIDEN: Because we changed the
law!
39:20 - 39:25

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden, let me
ask you, if it could help solve the problem,
39:25 - 39:31

why not very slowly raise the Medicare eligibility
age by two years, as Congressman Ryan suggests?
39:31 - 39:36

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Look, I was there when
we did that with Social Security, in 1983.
39:36 - 39:41

I was one of eight people sitting in the room
that included Tip O’Neill negotiating with
39:41 - 39:45

President Reagan. We all got together, and
everybody said, as long as everybody’s in
39:45 - 39:51

the deal, everybody’s in the deal, and everybody
is making some sacrifice, we can find a way.
39:51 - 39:55

We made the system solvent to 2033.
39:55 - 40:02

We will not, though, be part of any voucher
plan eliminating -- the voucher says, Mom,
40:02 - 40:06

when you’re -- when you’re 65, go out
there, shop for the best insurance you can
40:06 - 40:10

get; you’re out of Medicare. You can buy
back in, if you want, with this voucher, which
40:10 - 40:15

will not keep pace -- will not keep pace with
health care costs, because if it did keep
40:15 - 40:20

pace with health care costs, there would be
no savings. That’s why they go the voucher
40:20 - 40:27

-- they -- we will be no part of a voucher
program or the privatization of Social Security.
40:27 - 40:31

REP. RYAN: A voucher is you go to your mailbox,
get a check and buy something. Nobody’s
40:31 - 40:36

proposing that. Barack Obama, four years ago,
running for president, said if you don’t
40:36 - 40:42

have any fresh ideas, use stale tactics to
scare voters. If you don’t have a good record
40:42 - 40:46

to run on, paint your opponent as someone
people should run from. Make a big election
40:46 - 40:47

about small ideas.
40:47 - 40:51

MS. RADDATZ: You were one of the few lawmakers
to stand with President Bush when he was seeking
40:51 - 40:53

to partially privatize Social Security.
40:53 - 40:57

REP. RYAN: For younger people. What we said
then and what I’ve always agreed is let
40:57 - 41:02

younger Americans have a voluntary choice
of making their money work faster for them
41:02 - 41:04

within the Social Security system.
41:04 - 41:05

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: You saw how well that
worked.
41:05 - 41:08

REP. RYAN: That’s not what Mitt Romney’s
proposing. What we’re saying is no changes
41:08 - 41:09

for anybody 55 and above.
41:09 - 41:11

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: What Mitt Romney is
proposing --
41:11 - 41:13

REP. RYAN: And then the kinds of the changes
we’re talking about for younger people like
41:13 - 41:18

myself is don’t increase the benefits for
wealthy people as fast as everybody else --
41:18 - 41:18

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha --
41:18 - 41:20

REP. RYAN: -- slowly raise the retirement
age over time.
41:20 - 41:21

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha --
41:21 - 41:25

REP. RYAN: It wouldn’t get to the age of
70 until the year 2103, according to the actuaries.
41:25 - 41:26

Now, here’s the issue.
41:26 - 41:27

MS. RADDATZ: Quickly, Vice President.
41:27 - 41:30

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Quickly, the bottom
line here is that all the studies show that
41:30 - 41:35

if we went with Social Security proposal made
by Mitt Romney, if you’re 40 -- in your
41:35 - 41:41

40s now, you will pay $2,600 a year -- you
get $2,600 a year less in Social Security.
41:41 - 41:47

If you’re in your 20s now, you get $4,700
a year less. The idea of changing -- and change
41:47 - 41:52

being, in this case, to cut the benefits for
people without taking other action you could
41:52 - 41:55

do to make it work -- is absolutely the wrong
way.
41:55 - 42:00

These -- look, these guys haven’t been big
on Medicare from the beginning. Their party’s
42:00 - 42:04

not been big on Medicare from the beginning.
And they’ve always been about Social Security
42:04 - 42:10

as little as you can do. Look, folks, use
your common sense. Who do you trust on this?
42:10 - 42:18

A man who introduced a bill that would raise
it $6,400 a year, knowing it and passing it,
42:18 - 42:20

and Romney saying he’d sign it? Or me and
the president?
42:20 - 42:24

REP. RYAN: That statistic was completely misleading.
But more importantly --
42:24 - 42:25

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s -- there are
the facts, right?
42:25 - 42:27

REP. RYAN: -- this is -- this is what politicians
do when they don’t have a record to run
42:27 - 42:33

on: try to scare people from voting for you.
If you don’t get ahead of this problem,
42:33 - 42:34

it’s going to -- (inaudible) --
42:34 - 42:36

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Medicare beneficiaries
have more benefits now -- (inaudible) --
42:36 - 42:37

REP. RYAN: We are not going to run away -- we
are not going to run away --
42:37 - 42:39

MS. RADDATZ: OK. We’re going to -- we’re
going to move on to a very simple question
42:39 - 42:39

to you both.
42:39 - 42:43

REP. RYAN: Medicare and Social Security did
so much for my own family. We are not going
42:43 - 42:46

to jeopardize this program, but we have to
save it for the next generation so it doesn’t
42:46 - 42:46

go bankrupt.
42:46 - 42:49

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: You are jeopardizing
the program. You’re changing the program
42:49 - 42:54

from a guaranteed benefit to a premium support.
Whatever you call it, the bottom line is people
42:54 - 42:55

are going to have to pay more money out of
their pocket.
42:55 - 42:56

REP. RYAN: The wealthy would.
42:56 - 42:59

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And the families I know
and the families I come from -- they don’t
42:59 - 43:01

have the money to pay more out of -- (inaudible).
43:01 - 43:01

MS. RADDATZ: Gentlemen, gentlemen --
43:01 - 43:04

REP. RYAN: That’s why we’re saying more
for lower-income people and less for higher-income
43:04 - 43:04

people.
43:04 - 43:07

MS. RADDATZ: I would like to move on to a
very simple question for both of you. And
43:07 - 43:08

something tells me --
43:08 - 43:09

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)
43:09 - 43:12

MS. RADDATZ: -- I won’t get a very simple
answer. But let me ask you this.
43:12 - 43:15

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I gave you a simple
answer: He’s raising the cost of Medicare.
43:15 - 43:21

MS. RADDATZ: OK, on to taxes. If your ticket
is elected, who will pay more in taxes? Who
43:21 - 43:24

will pay less? And we’re starting with Vice
President Biden for two minutes.
43:24 - 43:27

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The middle class will
pay less, and people making a million dollars
43:27 - 43:32

or more will begin to contribute slightly
more. Let me give you one concrete example:
43:32 - 43:36

the continuation of the Bush tax cuts. We’re
arguing that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy
43:36 - 43:42

should be allowed to expire. Of the Bush tax
cuts for the wealthy, 800 million -- billion
43:42 - 43:48

dollars of that goes to people making a minimum
of a million dollars. We see no justification
43:48 - 43:52

in these economic times for those -- and they’re
patriotic Americans. They’re -- they’re
43:52 - 43:57

not asking for this continued tax cut; they’re
not suggesting it; but my friends are insisting
43:57 - 44:04

on it. A hundred and twenty thousand families,
by continuing that tax cut, will get an additional
44:04 - 44:10

$500 billion in tax relief in the next 10
years, and their income is an average of $8
44:10 - 44:11

million.
44:11 - 44:17

We want to extend permanently the middle-class
tax cut for -- permanently from the Bush middle-class
44:17 - 44:20

tax cut. These guys won’t allow us to.
44:20 - 44:23

You what we’re saying? We say let’s have
a vote. Let’s have a vote on the middle-class
44:23 - 44:28

tax cut, and let’s have a vote on the upper
tax cut. Let’s go ahead and vote on it.
44:28 - 44:34

They’re saying no. They’re holding hostage
the middle-class tax cut to the super wealthy.
44:34 - 44:39

And on top of that, they got another tax cut
coming that’s $5 trillion that all of the
44:39 - 44:46

studies point out will, in fact, give another
$250 million dollar -- yeah, $250,000 a year
44:46 - 44:53

to those 120,000 families and raise taxes
for people who are middle-income with a child
44:53 - 44:59

by $2,000 a year. This is unconscionable.
There is no need for this. The middle class
44:59 - 45:05

got knocked on their heels. The Great Recession
crushed them. They need some help now. The
45:05 - 45:13

last people who need help are 120,000 families
for another -- another $500 billion tax cut
45:13 - 45:15

over the next 10 years.
45:15 - 45:17

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman.
45:17 - 45:23

REP. RYAN: Our entire premise of these tax
reform plans is to grow the economy and create
45:23 - 45:26

jobs. It’s a plan that’s estimated to
create 7 million jobs.
45:26 - 45:33

Now, we think that government taking 28 percent
of a family and business’ income is enough.
45:33 - 45:39

President Obama thinks that the government
ought to be able to take as much as 44.8 percent
45:39 - 45:41

of a small business’ income.
45:41 - 45:48

Look, if you taxed every person in successful
small business making over $250,000 at a hundred
45:48 - 45:54

percent, it’d only run the government for
98 days. If everybody who paid income taxes
45:54 - 45:58

last year, including successful small businesses,
doubled their income taxes this year, we’d
45:58 - 46:00

still have a $300 billion deficit.
46:00 - 46:06

You see, there aren’t enough rich people
and small businesses to tax to pay for all
46:06 - 46:11

their spending. And so the next time you hear
them say, don’t worry about it, we’ll
46:11 - 46:15

get a few wealthy people to pay their fair
share, watch out, middle class. The tax bill
46:15 - 46:17

is coming to you.
46:17 - 46:20

That’s why we’re saying we need fundamental
tax reform.
46:20 - 46:25

Let’s take a look at it this way: 8-out-of-10
businesses, they file their taxes as individuals,
46:25 - 46:30

not as corporations. And where I come from,
overseas, which is Lake Superior -- (chuckles)
46:30 - 46:36

-- the Canadians -- they drop their tax rates
to 15 percent. The average tax rate on businesses
46:36 - 46:40

in the industrialized world is 25 percent,
and the president wants the top effective
46:40 - 46:46

tax rate on successful small businesses to
go above 40 percent. Two-thirds of our jobs
46:46 - 46:53

come from small businesses. This one tax would
actually tax about 53 percent of small-business
46:53 - 46:58

income. It’s expected that’d cost us 710,000
jobs. And you know what? It doesn’t even
46:58 - 47:03

pay for 10 percent of their proposed deficit
spending increases.
47:03 - 47:07

What we are saying is lower tax rates across
the board and close loopholes, primarily to
47:07 - 47:13

the higher-income people. We have three bottom
lines: Don’t raise the deficit, don’t
47:13 - 47:17

raise taxes on the middle class and don’t
lower the share of income that is borne by
47:17 - 47:21

the high-income earners. He -- he’ll keep
saying this $5 trillion plan, I suppose --
47:21 - 47:21

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)
47:21 - 47:26

REP. RYAN: -- it’s been discredited by six
other studies, and even their own deputy campaign
47:26 - 47:28

manager acknowledged that it wasn’t correct.
47:28 - 47:30

MS. RADDATZ: Well, let’s talk about this
20 percent.
47:30 - 47:31

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well -- (chuckles) --
47:31 - 47:37

MS. RADDATZ: You have refused yet again to
offer specifics on how you pay for that 20
47:37 - 47:43

percent across-the-board tax cut. Do you actually
have the specifics, or are you still working
47:43 - 47:46

on it, and that’s why you won’t tell voters?
47:46 - 47:50

REP. RYAN: Different than this administration,
we actually want to have big bipartisan agreements.
47:50 - 47:52

You see, I understand the --
47:52 - 47:53

MS. RADDATZ: Do you have the specifics? Do
you have the math? Do you know exactly what
47:53 - 47:53

you’re doing?
47:53 - 47:55

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’ll be -- that’d
be a first for the Republican Congress.
47:55 - 48:00

REP. RYAN: Look -- look at what Mitt -- look
at what Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill did.
48:00 - 48:04

They worked together out of a framework to
lower tax rates and broaden the base, and
48:04 - 48:09

they worked together to fix that. What we’re
saying is here’s our framework: Lower tax
48:09 - 48:16

rates 20 percent -- we raise about $1.2 trillion
through income taxes. We forgo about 1.1 trillion
48:16 - 48:20

(dollars) in loopholes and deductions. And
so what we’re saying is deny those loopholes
48:20 - 48:25

and deductions to higher- income taxpayers
so that more of their income is taxed, which
48:25 - 48:27

has a broader base of taxation --
48:27 - 48:27

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Can I translate?
48:27 - 48:29

REP. RYAN: -- so we can lower tax rates across
the board.
48:29 - 48:33

Now, here’s why I’m saying this. What
we’re saying is here’s a framework --
48:33 - 48:33

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I hope I’m going to
get time to respond to this.
48:33 - 48:34

REP. RYAN: We want to work with Congress --
48:34 - 48:34

MS. RADDATZ: I -- you’ll get time.
48:34 - 48:39

REP. RYAN: We want to work with Congress on
how best to achieve this. That means successful
48:39 - 48:39

-- look --
48:39 - 48:40

MS. RADDATZ: No specifics, yeah.
48:40 - 48:44

REP. RYAN: Mitt -- what we’re saying is
-- (laughter) -- lower tax rates 20 percent,
48:44 - 48:46

start with the wealthy, work with Congress
to do it --
48:46 - 48:48

MS. RADDATZ: And you guarantee this math will
add up.
48:48 - 48:52

REP. RYAN: Absolutely. Six studies have guaranteed
-- six studies have verified that this math
48:52 - 48:52

adds up, but here’s the other point --
48:52 - 48:53

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden --
48:53 - 48:53

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Look --
48:53 - 48:53

REP. RYAN: (Inaudible) -- one point -- (inaudible)
--
48:53 - 48:54

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.
48:54 - 48:56

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Let me translate. Let
me have a chance to translate.
48:56 - 48:58

REP. RYAN: I’ll come back in a second then,
right?
48:58 - 49:00

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: First of all, I was
there when Ronald Reagan tax breaks -- I mean,
49:00 - 49:05

he gave specifics of what he was going to
cut, no -- number one, in terms of tax expenditures.
49:05 - 49:13

Number two, 97 percent of the small businesses
of America pay less -- make less than $250,000.
49:13 - 49:17

Let me tell you who some of those other small
businesses are: hedge funds that make 6(00
49:17 - 49:21

million dollars), $800 million a year. That
-- that’s what they count as small business
49:21 - 49:22

because they’re passthrough.
49:22 - 49:27

Let’s look at how sincere they are. Ronald
-- I mean, excuse me, Governor Romney, on
49:27 - 49:32

“60 Minutes,” I guess it’s about 10
days ago, was asked, Governor, you pay 14
49:32 - 49:38

percent on $20 million. Someone making $50,000
pays more than that. Do you think that’s
49:38 - 49:41

fair? He said, oh, yes, that’s fair; that’s
fair.
49:41 - 49:43

This is -- and they’re going to talk -- I
mean, you think these guys are going to go
49:43 - 49:47

out there and cut those loopholes? The loophole
-- the biggest loophole they take advantage
49:47 - 49:52

of is the carried interest loophole and -- and
capital gains loophole. They exempt that.
49:52 - 49:57

Now, there’s not enough -- the reason why
the AEI study, the American Enterprise Institute
49:57 - 50:02

study, the Tax Policy Center study, the reason
they all say it’s going to -- taxes will
50:02 - 50:09

go up on the middle class, the only way you
can find $5 trillion in loopholes is cut the
50:09 - 50:13

mortgage deduction for middle-class people,
cut the health care deduction for middle-class
50:13 - 50:18

people, take away their ability to get a tax
break to send their kids to college. That’s
50:18 - 50:19

why they -- (inaudible) --
50:19 - 50:20

MS. RADDATZ: Is he wrong about that?
50:20 - 50:22

REP. RYAN: He is wrong about that. There are
-- you can --
50:22 - 50:22

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: How’s that?
50:22 - 50:26

REP. RYAN: You can cut tax rates by 20 percent
and still preserve these important preferences
50:26 - 50:28

for middle-class taxpayers --
50:28 - 50:29

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Not mathematically possible.
50:29 - 50:32

REP. RYAN: It is mathematically possible.
It’s been done before. It’s precisely
50:32 - 50:33

what we’re proposing.
50:33 - 50:35

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.) It has never
been done before.
50:35 - 50:36

REP. RYAN: It’s been done a couple of times,
actually.
50:36 - 50:37

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: It has never been done
before.
50:37 - 50:40

REP. RYAN: Jack Kennedy lowered tax rates,
increased growth. Ronald Reagan --
50:40 - 50:40

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Oh, now you’re Jack
Kennedy.
50:40 - 50:46

REP. RYAN: Ronald Reagan -- (laughter) -- (chuckles)
-- Republicans and Democrats --
50:46 - 50:47

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: This is amazing.
50:47 - 50:48

REP. RYAN: Republicans and Democrats have
worked together on this.
50:48 - 50:49

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s right.
50:49 - 50:51

REP. RYAN: I understand aren’t used to doing
bipartisan deals.
50:51 - 50:52

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: But we told each other
what we were going to do. When we did with
50:52 - 50:53

Reagan, he said --
50:53 - 50:53

REP. RYAN: Republicans and Democrats --
50:53 - 50:55

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- here -- here are
the things we’re going to cut. This is what
50:55 - 50:55

he said.
50:55 - 50:57

REP. RYAN: We can agree on a framework; let’s
work together to fill in the details. That’s
50:57 - 50:57

exactly --
50:57 - 50:58

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Fill in the details.
50:58 - 51:00

REP. RYAN: That’s how you get things done.
You work with Congress --
51:00 - 51:00

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Seriously ?).
51:00 - 51:03

REP. RYAN: Look, let me say it this way. Mitt
Romney was governor --
51:03 - 51:05

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s coming from
the Republican Congress working bipartisanly?
51:05 - 51:06

REP. RYAN: Mitt -- Mitt Romney --
51:06 - 51:07

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Seven percent rating?
Come on.
51:07 - 51:12

REP. RYAN: Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts,
where 87 percent of the legislators he served
51:12 - 51:16

with were Democrats. He didn’t demonize
them. He didn’t demagogue them. He met with
51:16 - 51:18

those party leaders every week.
51:18 - 51:18

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)
51:18 - 51:21

REP. RYAN: He reached across the aisle. He
didn’t compromise principles.
51:21 - 51:22

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And you (saw what happened
?).
51:22 - 51:24

REP. RYAN: He found common ground, and he
balanced the budget.
51:24 - 51:28

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (You saw what ?) -- if
he did such a great job -- if he did such
51:28 - 51:29

a great job in Massachusetts --
51:29 - 51:29

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President, what --
51:29 - 51:29

REP. RYAN: He balanced the budget four times.
He balanced the budget four times without
51:29 - 51:29

raising taxes.
51:29 - 51:31

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- why isn’t he even
contesting Massachusetts?
51:31 - 51:32

REP. RYAN: (Inaudible.)
51:32 - 51:35

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President, what would you
suggest -- what would you suggest beyond raising
51:35 - 51:37

taxes on the wealthy that would substantially
reduce the long-term deficit?
51:37 - 51:41

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Not -- just let the
taxes expire like they’re supposed to on
51:41 - 51:48

those millionaires. We don’t -- we can’t
afford $800 billion going to people making
51:48 - 51:55

a minimum a million dollars. They do not need
it, Martha. Those 120,000 families make $8
51:55 - 52:01

million a year. Middle-class people need the
help. Why does my friend cut out the tuition
52:01 - 52:03

tax credit for them? Why does he go out after
the child -- (inaudible)?
52:03 - 52:04

MS. RADDATZ: Can you declare anything off-limits
--
52:04 - 52:05

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Why do they do that?
52:05 - 52:07

MS. RADDATZ: Can you declare anything off
limits? Home mortgages deductions --
52:07 - 52:10

REP. RYAN: Yeah. We’re saying close loopholes
on high-interest people--
52:10 - 52:10

MS. RADDATZ: Home mortgage deductions --
52:10 - 52:12

REP. RYAN: -- for higher-income people. Here
--
52:12 - 52:14

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Can you guarantee that
no one --
52:14 - 52:14

REP. RYAN: This taxes --
52:14 - 52:16

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- making less than
$100,000 will have a mortgage --
52:16 - 52:17

REP. RYAN: This --
52:17 - 52:19

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- their mortgage deduction
impacted? Guarantee?
52:19 - 52:21

REP. RYAN: This taxes a million small businesses.
52:21 - 52:25

He keeps trying to make you think that it’s
just some movie star or hedge fund guy or
52:25 - 52:25

an actor--
52:25 - 52:29

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Ninety-seven percent
of the small businesses make less than $250,000
52:29 - 52:30

a year --
52:30 - 52:31

REP. RYAN: Joe --
52:31 - 52:33

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- would not be affected.
52:33 - 52:36

REP. RYAN: -- you know, it hits a million
-- this taxes a million people, a million
52:36 - 52:37

small businesses --
52:37 - 52:39

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Doesn’t tax 97 percent
of the American businesses -- small businesses
52:39 - 52:39

--
52:39 - 52:42

REP. RYAN: It -- it taxes a million small
businesses, who are our great job creators.
52:42 - 52:43

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I wish I’d get it
-- the greatest job creators are the hedge
52:43 - 52:44

fund guys.
52:44 - 52:44

REP. RYAN: (Let’s end ?) --
52:44 - 52:46

MS. RADDATZ: And you’re going -- and you’re
going to increase the defense budget.
52:46 - 52:46

REP. RYAN: Think about it this way.
52:46 - 52:49

MS. RADDATZ: And you’re going to increase
the defense budget.
52:49 - 52:51

REP. RYAN: No, we’re just not going to cut
the defense budget like they’re -- they’re
52:51 - 52:51

proposing --
52:51 - 52:52

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: They’re going to increase
it $2 billion -- $2 trillion.
52:52 - 52:54

REP. RYAN: That’s not accurate. We’re
talking about preventing --
52:54 - 52:56

MS. RADDATZ: More than that. No -- so no massive
defense increase?
52:56 - 52:59

REP. RYAN: No, we’re saying is, don’t
-- OK, you want to get into defense now?
52:59 - 53:00

MS. RADDATZ: Let -- yes, I do. I do --
53:00 - 53:00

REP. RYAN: All right. So --
53:00 - 53:02

MS. RADDATZ: -- because that’s another math
question.
53:02 - 53:02

REP. RYAN: Right. OK.
53:02 - 53:03

MS. RADDATZ: How do you do that?
53:03 - 53:09

REP. RYAN: So they proposed a $478 (sic) billion
cut to defense to begin with. Now we have
53:09 - 53:15

another $500 billion cut to defense that’s
lurking on the horizon. They insisted upon
53:15 - 53:17

that cut being involved in the debt negotiations
--
53:17 - 53:18

MS. RADDATZ: Let --
53:18 - 53:19

REP. RYAN: -- and now we have a $1 trillion
cut --
53:19 - 53:21

MS. RADDATZ: Let’s put the automatic defense
cuts aside. OK?
53:21 - 53:21

REP. RYAN: Right. OK.
53:21 - 53:23

MS. RADDATZ: Let’s put those aside. No one
wants that.
53:23 - 53:24

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I’d like to go back
to that.
53:24 - 53:24

REP. RYAN: OK.
53:24 - 53:27

MS. RADDATZ: But I want to know how you do
the math and have this increase in defense
53:27 - 53:28

spending?
53:28 - 53:29

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Two trillion dollars.
53:29 - 53:32

REP. RYAN: You don’t cut defense by a trillion
dollars. That’s what we’re talking about.
53:32 - 53:33

The additional trillion --
53:33 - 53:36

MS. RADDATZ: And what national security issues
justify an increase?
53:36 - 53:39

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Who’s cutting it by
a trillion?
53:39 - 53:44

REP. RYAN: We’re going to cut 80,000 soldiers,
20,000 Marines, 120 cargo planes. We’re
53:44 - 53:46

going to push the Joint Strike Fighter out.
53:46 - 53:47

MS. RADDATZ: Drawing down in one war --
53:47 - 53:48

REP. RYAN: We’re cutting missile defense.
53:48 - 53:49

MS. RADDATZ: -- and one war -- (inaudible
) --
53:49 - 53:53

REP. RYAN: If these cuts go through, our Navy
will be the small it is -- it -- the smallest
53:53 - 53:58

it has been since before World War I. This
invites weakness.
53:58 - 54:02

Look, do we believe in peace through strength?
You bet we do. And that means you don’t
54:02 - 54:06

impose these devastating cuts on our military.
So we’re saying don’t cut the military
54:06 - 54:11

by a trillion dollars, not increase it by
a trillion, don’t cut it by a trillion dollars.
54:11 - 54:13

MS. RADDATZ: Quickly, Vice President Biden,
on this, and I want to move on.
54:13 - 54:16

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Look, we don’t cut
it. And I might add this so-called -- I know
54:16 - 54:20

we don’t want to use the fancy word “sequester,”
this automatic cut -- that was part of a debt
54:20 - 54:22

deal that they asked for.
54:22 - 54:26

And let me tell you what my friend said at
a press conference announcing his support
54:26 - 54:30

of the deal. He said -- and I’m -- we’ve
been looking for this moment for a long time.
54:30 - 54:31

(Inaudible) --
54:31 - 54:32

REP. RYAN: Can I tell you what that meant?
54:32 - 54:33

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Why --
54:33 - 54:35

REP. RYAN: We’ve been looking for bipartisanship
for a long time.
54:35 - 54:39

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And so the bipartisanship
is what he voted for: the automatic cuts in
54:39 - 54:44

defense if they didn’t act. And beyond that,
they asked for another -- look, the military
54:44 - 54:50

says, we need a smaller, leaner Army. We need
more special forces. We need -- we don’t
54:50 - 54:53

need more M1 tanks. What we need is more UADs.
54:53 - 54:54

MS. RADDATZ: Some of the military -- I know
that’s -- (inaudible) --
54:54 - 54:58

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Not some of the military;
that was the decision of the Joint Chiefs
54:58 - 55:03

of Staff, recommended to us and agreed to
by the president. That’s a fact.
55:03 - 55:04

MS. RADDATZ: Who answers to the civilian leaders.
55:04 - 55:07

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: They made the recommendation
first.
55:07 - 55:08

MS. RADDATZ: OK. Let’s move on to Afghanistan.
55:08 - 55:10

REP. RYAN: Can I get into that for a second?
55:10 - 55:11

MS. RADDATZ: I’d like to move on to Afghanistan,
please.
55:11 - 55:12

REP. RYAN: OK.
55:12 - 55:16

MS. RADDATZ: And that’s one of the biggest
expenditures this country has made, in dollars
55:16 - 55:23

and, more importantly, in lives. We just passed
the sad milestone of losing 2,000 U.S. troops
55:23 - 55:28

there in this war. More than 50 of them were
killed this year by the very Afghan forces
55:28 - 55:35

we are trying to help. Now, we’ve reached
the recruiting goal for Afghan forces. We’ve
55:35 - 55:41

degraded al-Qaida. So tell me, why not leave
now? What more can we really accomplish? Is
55:41 - 55:43

it worth more American lives?
55:43 - 55:47

REP. RYAN: We don’t want to lose the gains
we’ve gotten. We want to make sure that
55:47 - 55:53

the Taliban does not come back in and give
al- Qaida a safe haven. We agree with the
55:53 - 55:58

administration on their 2014 transition. Look,
when I think about Afghanistan, I think about
55:58 - 56:02

the incredible job that our troops have done.
You’ve been there more than the two of us
56:02 - 56:04

combined.
56:04 - 56:09

First time I was there in 2002, it was amazing
to me what they were facing. When I went to
56:09 - 56:14

the Arghandab Valley in Kandahar before the
surge, I sat down with a young private in
56:14 - 56:18

the 82nd from the Menominee Indian Reservation
who would tell me what he did every day, and
56:18 - 56:22

I was in awe. And to see what they had in
front of them -- and then to go back there
56:22 - 56:25

in December, to go throughout Helmand with
the Marines to see what they had accomplished
56:25 - 56:28

-- it’s nothing short of amazing.
56:28 - 56:32

What we don’t want to do is lose the gains
we’ve gotten.
56:32 - 56:37

Now, we’ve disagreed from time to time on
a few issues. We would have more likely taken
56:37 - 56:42

into account the recommendations from our
commanders, General Petraeus, Admiral Mullen,
56:42 - 56:47

on troop levels throughout this year’s fighting
season. We’ve been skeptical about negotiations
56:47 - 56:52

with the Taliban, especially while they’re
shooting at us. But we want to see the 2014
56:52 - 56:57

transition be successful. And that means we
want to make sure our commanders have what
56:57 - 57:02

they need to make sure that it is successful
so that this does not once again become a
57:02 - 57:04

launching pad for terrorists.
57:04 - 57:05

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.
57:05 - 57:08

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha, let’s keep
our eye on the ball. The reason I’ve been
57:08 - 57:14

in and out of Afghanistan and Iraq 20 times
-- I’ve been up in the Kunar -- I’ve been
57:14 - 57:20

throughout that whole country, mostly in a
helicopter and sometimes in a vehicle. The
57:20 - 57:26

fact is we went there for one reason: to get
those people who killed Americans, al-Qaida.
57:26 - 57:34

We’ve decimated al-Qaida central. We have
eliminated Osama bin Laden. That was our purpose.
57:34 - 57:39

And in fact, in the meantime, what we said
we would do, we would help train the Afghan
57:39 - 57:47

military. It’s their responsibility to take
over their own security. That’s why, with
57:47 - 57:54

49 of our allies in Afghanistan, we’ve agreed
on a gradual drawdown so we’re out of there
57:54 - 57:59

by the year -- in the year 2014.
57:59 - 58:04

My friend and the governor say it’s based
on conditions, which means it depends. It
58:04 - 58:12

does not depend for us. It is the responsibility
of the Afghans to take care of their own security.
58:12 - 58:19

We have trained over 315,000, mostly without
incident. There have been more than two dozen
58:19 - 58:22

cases of green on blue where Americans have
been killed.
58:22 - 58:27

If we do -- if the -- if the measures the
military has taken do not take hold, we will
58:27 - 58:35

not go on joint patrols, we will not train
in the field. We’ll only train in the -- in
58:35 - 58:37

the Army bases that exist there.
58:37 - 58:44

But we are leaving. We are leaving in 2014,
period, and in the process, we’re going
58:44 - 58:50

to be saving over the next 10 years another
$800 billion. We’ve been in this war for
58:50 - 58:57

over a decade. The primary objective is almost
completed. Now all we’re doing is putting
58:57 - 59:03

the Kabul government in a position to be able
to maintain their own security. It’s their
59:03 - 59:06

responsibility, not America’s.
59:06 - 59:10

MS. RADDATZ: What conditions could justify
staying, Congressman Ryan?
59:10 - 59:15

REP. RYAN: We don’t want to stay. We want
-- look, one of my best friends in Janesville,
59:15 - 59:20

a reservist, is at a forward operating base
in Eastern Afghanistan right now. Our wives
59:20 - 59:25

are best friends, our daughters are best friends.
I want -- I want him and all of our troops
59:25 - 59:29

to come home as soon and safely as possible.
59:29 - 59:33

We want to make sure that 2014 is successful.
That’s why we want to make sure that we
59:33 - 59:37

give our commanders what they say they need
to make it successful. We don’t want to
59:37 - 59:40

extend beyond 2014. That’s the point we’re
making.
59:40 - 59:46

You know, if it was just this, I feel like
we would -- we would be able to call this
59:46 - 59:52

a success, but it’s not. What we are witnessing
as we turn on our television screens these
59:52 - 59:59

days, is the absolute unraveling of the Obama
foreign policy. Problems are growing at home,
59:59 - 60:03

but jobs -- problems are growing abroad, but
jobs aren’t growing here at home.
60:03 - 60:09

MS. RADDATZ: Let me go back to this. He says
we’re absolutely leaving in 2014. You’re
60:09 - 60:14

saying that’s not an absolute, but you won’t
talk about what conditions would justify --
60:14 - 60:15

REP. RYAN: Do you know why we say that? Do
you know why we say that?
60:15 - 60:15

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I’d like to know why.
60:15 - 60:20

REP. RYAN: Because we don’t want to broadcast
to our enemies, put a date on your calendar,
60:20 - 60:21

wait us out and then come back.
60:21 - 60:21

We want to make sure --
60:21 - 60:22

MS. RADDATZ: But you agree with the timeline?
60:22 - 60:28

REP. RYAN: We do -- we do agree with the timeline
in the transition, but what we -- what any
60:28 - 60:34

administration will do in 2013 is assess the
situation to see how best to complete this
60:34 - 60:36

timeline. What we do not want to do --
60:36 - 60:37

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: We will leave in 2014.
60:37 - 60:44

REP. RYAN: What we do not want to do is give
our allies reason to trust us less and our
60:44 - 60:49

enemies more -- we don’t want to embolden
our enemies to hold and wait out for us and
60:49 - 60:50

then take over the --
60:50 - 60:51

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha, that’s a bizarre
statement.
60:51 - 60:53

REP. RYAN: That’s why we want to make sure
-- no, that’s why we want to make sure that
60:53 - 60:54

this -- that --
60:54 - 60:57

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s a bizarre statement,
since 49 of our allies -- hear me, 49 of our
60:57 - 61:01

allies signed onto this position, 49.
61:01 - 61:03

REP. RYAN: And we’re reading that they want
to pull out early.
61:03 - 61:08

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Forty-nine. Forty-nine
of our allies said out in 2014. It’s the
61:08 - 61:12

responsibility of the Afghans. We have other
responsibilities --
61:12 - 61:12

REP. RYAN: Which is -- which is -- which is
what we agree with.
61:12 - 61:16

MS. RADDATZ: Do you -- do you think that this
timeline -- but we have -- we have soldiers
61:16 - 61:16

and Marines --
61:16 - 61:16

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Theirs are sufficient.
?)
61:16 - 61:23

MS. RADDATZ: We have Afghan forces murdering
our forces over there. The Taliban is, do
61:23 - 61:25

you think, taking advantage of this timeline?
61:25 - 61:30

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, look, the Taliban
-- what we’ve found out -- and we -- you
61:30 - 61:37

-- you saw it in Iraq, Martha. Unless you
set a timeline, Baghdad in the case of Iraq
61:37 - 61:42

and -- and Kabul in the case of Afghanistan
will not step up. They’re happy to let us
61:42 - 61:48

continue to do the job -- international security
forces to do the job. The only way they step
61:48 - 61:54

up is say, fellas, we’re leaving; we’ve
trained you; step up. Step up.
61:54 - 61:55

MS. RADDATZ: But let me -- let me go back
--
61:55 - 61:57

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s the only way
it works.
61:57 - 62:02

MS. RADDATZ: Let me go back to the surge troops
that we put in there. And you brought this
62:02 - 62:07

up, Congressman Ryan. I have talked to a lot
of troops. I’ve talked to senior officers
62:07 - 62:13

who were concerned that the surge troops were
pulled out during the fighting season, and
62:13 - 62:17

some of them saw that as a political -- as
a political move. So can you tell me, Vice
62:17 - 62:23

President Biden, what was the military reason
for bringing those surge troops home before
62:23 - 62:24

the fighting season ended?
62:24 - 62:26

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The military reason
was bringing -- by the way, when the president
62:26 - 62:31

announced the surge -- you’ll remember,
Martha -- he said, the surge will be out by
62:31 - 62:37

the end of the summer. The military said,
the surge will be out. Nothing political about
62:37 - 62:43

this. Before the surge occurred -- so you
be a little straight with me here, too -- before
62:43 - 62:47

the surge occurred, we said, they’ll be
out by the end of the summer. That’s what
62:47 - 62:50

the military said. The reason for that is
--
62:50 - 62:54

MS. RADDATZ: Military follows orders. They
-- I mean, there -- trust me, there are people
62:54 - 62:54

--
62:54 - 62:54

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Sure --
62:54 - 62:56

MS. RADDATZ: -- who were concerned about pulling
out on the fighting season.
62:56 - 62:59

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: But -- there are people
that were concerned, but not the Joint Chiefs.
62:59 - 63:04

That was their recommendation in the Oval
Office to the president of the United States
63:04 - 63:09

of America. I sat there. I’m sure you’ll
find someone who disagrees with the Pentagon.
63:09 - 63:14

I’m positive you’ll find that within the
military. But that’s not the case here.
63:14 - 63:21

And secondly, the reason why the military
said that is you cannot wait and have a cliff.
63:21 - 63:27

It takes, you know, months and months and
months to draw down forces. (Inaudible) -- cannot
63:27 - 63:27

wait --
63:27 - 63:30

REP. RYAN: Let me bring some -- let me try
and illustrate the issue here, because I think
63:30 - 63:35

this -- it can get a little confusing. We’ve
all met with General Allen and General Scaparotti
63:35 - 63:39

in Afghanistan to talk about fighting seasons.
Here’s the way it works. The mountain passes
63:39 - 63:45

fill in with snow. The Taliban and the terrorists
and the Haqqani and the Quetta shura come
63:45 - 63:50

over from Pakistan to fight our men and women.
When it fills in with snow, they can’t do
63:50 - 63:54

it. That’s what we call fighting seasons.
In the warm months fighting gets really high;
63:54 - 63:56

in the winter it goes down.
63:56 - 64:03

And so when Admiral Mullen and General Petraeus
came to Congress and said, if you pull these
64:03 - 64:08

people out before the fighting season is end,
it puts people more at risk -- that’s the
64:08 - 64:14

problem. Yes, we drew 22,000 troops down last
month. But the remaining troops that are there,
64:14 - 64:19

who still have the same mission to prosecute,
counterinsurgency, are doing it with fewer
64:19 - 64:20

people.
64:20 - 64:21

That makes them less safe.
64:21 - 64:22

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Inaudible.)
64:22 - 64:27

REP. RYAN: We’re sending fewer people out
in all these hot spots to do the same job
64:27 - 64:29

that they were supposed to do a month ago
--
64:29 - 64:29

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Because we turned it
over --
64:29 - 64:32

REP. RYAN: -- but we took 22,000 people out
for them to do it.
64:32 - 64:36

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: -- we turned it over
to the Afghan troops we trained. No one got
64:36 - 64:43

pulled out that didn’t get filled in by
trained Afghan personnel. And he’s -- he’s
64:43 - 64:49

-- he’s conflating two issues. The fighting
season that Petraeus was talking about and
64:49 - 64:55

former -- and Admiral Mullen was the fighting
season this spring. That’s what he was talking
64:55 - 64:58

about. We did not -- we did not pull them
out.
64:58 - 64:59

REP. RYAN: The calendar works the same every
year. (Chuckles.)
64:59 - 65:02

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: It does work the same
every year. (Inaudible) -- there --
65:02 - 65:07

REP. RYAN: (Chuckles.) Spring, summer, fall
-- (chuckles) -- it’s warm or it’s not.
65:07 - 65:10

They’re still fighting us, they’re still
coming over the passes, they’ll -- they’re
65:10 - 65:16

still coming in to Zabul or to Kunar, to all
of these areas, but we are sending fewer people
65:16 - 65:18

to the front to fight them. And that is not
safe.
65:18 - 65:21

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s right, because
that’s the Afghan responsibility. We’ve
65:21 - 65:22

trained them.
65:22 - 65:23

REP. RYAN: Not in the East.
65:23 - 65:25

MS. RADDATZ: Let’s move -- let’s move
to another war.
65:25 - 65:26

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Not in the East? (Inaudible)
--
65:26 - 65:27

REP. RYAN: (Inaudible) -- East, RC-East --
65:27 - 65:29

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: RC-East, most dangerous
place in the world.
65:29 - 65:31

REP. RYAN: That’s why -- that’s why we
don’t want to send fewer people to do the
65:31 - 65:31

job.
65:31 - 65:33

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That’s -- that’s
why we should send Americans in to do the
65:33 - 65:36

job instead of the -- you’d rather Americans
be going in and doing the job instead of -- (inaudible)
65:36 - 65:36

--
65:36 - 65:38

REP. RYAN: No. We are already sending Americans
to do the job --
65:38 - 65:38

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No --
65:38 - 65:39

REP. RYAN: -- but fewer of them. That’s
the whole point.
65:39 - 65:42

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That -- that’s right.
We’re sending in more Afghans to do the
65:42 - 65:45

job, Afghans to do the job.
65:45 - 65:51

MS. RADDATZ: Let’s move to another war,
the civil war in Syria, where there are estimates
65:51 - 65:57

that -- estimates that more than 25,000, 30,000
people have now been killed. In March of last
65:57 - 66:02

year, President Obama explained the military
action taken in Libya by saying it was in
66:02 - 66:08

the national interest to go in and prevent
further massacres from occurring there. So
66:08 - 66:13

why doesn’t the same logic apply in Syria?
Vice President Biden.
66:13 - 66:16

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: It’s a different country.
It’s a different country. It is five times
66:16 - 66:23

as large geographically. It has one-fifth
the population that is Libya, one-fifth the
66:23 - 66:25

population, five times as large geographically.
66:25 - 66:29

It’s in a part of the world where you’re
not going to see whatever would come from
66:29 - 66:35

that war. It’s (seep ?) into a regional
war. You’re in a country that is heavily
66:35 - 66:41

populated in the midst of the most dangerous
area in the world. And in fact, if, in fact,
66:41 - 66:47

it blows up and the wrong people gain control,
it’s going to have impact on the entire
66:47 - 66:50

region, causing potentially regional wars.
66:50 - 66:56

We are working hand in glove with the Turks,
with the Jordanians, with the Saudis and with
66:56 - 67:01

all the people in the region attempting to
identify the people who deserve the help so
67:01 - 67:07

that when Assad goes and he will go, there
will be a legitimate government that follows
67:07 - 67:11

on, not an al-Qaida-sponsored government that
follows on.
67:11 - 67:17

And all this loose talk of my friend, Governor
Romney, and the congressman about how we’re
67:17 - 67:22

going to do, we could do so much more in there,
what more would they do other than put American
67:22 - 67:28

boots on the ground? The last thing America
needs is to get into another ground war in
67:28 - 67:34

the Middle East requiring tens of thousands
if not well over a hundred thousand American
67:34 - 67:39

forces. That -- they are the facts. They are
the facts.
67:39 - 67:45

Now, every time the governor is asked about
this, he doesn’t say any -- he say -- he
67:45 - 67:50

goes up with a whole lot of verbiage, but
when he gets pressed, he says, no, he would
67:50 - 67:55

not do anything different then we are doing
now. Are they proposing putting American troops
67:55 - 67:59

on the ground, putting American aircraft in
their airspace? Is that what they’re proposing?
67:59 - 68:05

If they do, they should speak up and say so.
But that’s not what they’re saying.
68:05 - 68:13

We are doing it exactly like we need to do
to identify those forces who, in fact, will
68:13 - 68:19

provide for a stable government and not cause
a regional Sunni-Shia war when Bassad (ph)
68:19 - 68:21

-- when Bashir (sic; Bashar) Assad falls.
68:21 - 68:22

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
68:22 - 68:27

REP. RYAN: Nobody is proposing to send troops
to Syria -- American troops.
68:27 - 68:33

Now let me say it this way. How would we do
things differently? We wouldn’t refer Bashar
68:33 - 68:40

Assad as a reformer when he’s killing his
own civilians with his Russian-provided weapons.
68:40 - 68:45

We wouldn’t be outsourcing our foreign policy
to the United Nations, giving Vladimir Putin
68:45 - 68:51

veto power over our efforts to try and deal
with this issue. He’s vetoed three of them.
68:51 - 68:55

Hillary Clinton went to Russia to try and
convince him not to do so; they thwarted her
68:55 - 68:59

efforts. She said they were on the wrong side
of history. She was right about that. This
68:59 - 69:02

is just one more example of how the Russia
reset’s not working.
69:02 - 69:07

And so where are we? After international pressure
mounted, then President Obama said Bashar
69:07 - 69:12

Assad should go. It’s been over a year.
The man has slaughtered tens of thousands
69:12 - 69:18

of his own people and more foreign fighters
are spilling into this country. So the longer
69:18 - 69:25

this has gone on, the more people -- groups
like al-Qaida are going in. We could have
69:25 - 69:30

more easily identified the Free Syrian Army,
the freedom fighters, working with our allies,
69:30 - 69:36

the Turks, the Qataris, the Saudis, had we
had a better plan in place to begin with,
69:36 - 69:42

working through our allies. But no, we waited
for Kofi Annan to try and come up with an
69:42 - 69:48

agreement through the U.N. That bought Bashar
Assad time. We gave Russia veto power over
69:48 - 69:52

our efforts through the U.N. and meanwhile
about 30,000 Syrians are dead.
69:52 - 69:58

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: What would my friend
do differently? If you notice, he never answers
69:58 - 69:59

the question.
69:59 - 70:02

REP. RYAN: No, I would -- I -- we would not
be going through the U.N. on all of these
70:02 - 70:02

things --
70:02 - 70:05

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Let -- let -- let me
-- you don’t go through the U.N. We are
70:05 - 70:12

in the process now and have been for months
in making sure that help, humanitarian aid,
70:12 - 70:18

as well as other aid and training, is getting
to those forces that we believe, the Turks
70:18 - 70:25

believe, the Jordanians believe, the Saudis
believe are the free forces inside of Syria.
70:25 - 70:33

That is under way. Our allies were all on
the same page, NATO as well as our Arab allies,
70:33 - 70:39

in terms of trying to get a settlement. That
was their idea. We’re the ones that said,
70:39 - 70:39

enough.
70:39 - 70:45

With regard to the reset not working, the
fact of the matter is that Russia has a different
70:45 - 70:48

interest in Syria than we do, and that’s
not in our interest.
70:48 - 70:53

MS. RADDATZ: What happens if Assad does not
fall? Congressman Ryan, what happens to the
70:53 - 70:56

region? What happens if he hangs on? What
happens if he does?
70:56 - 71:02

REP. RYAN: Then Iran keeps their greatest
ally in the region. He’s a sponsor of terrorism.
71:02 - 71:06

He’ll probably continue slaughtering his
people. We and the world community will lose
71:06 - 71:09

our credibility on this. Look, he mentioned
the reset.
71:09 - 71:11

MS. RADDATZ: So what would Romney-Ryan do
about that credibility?
71:11 - 71:16

REP. RYAN: Well, we agree with the same red
line, actually, they do on chemical weapons,
71:16 - 71:20

but not putting American troops in, other
than to secure those chemical weapons. They’re
71:20 - 71:26

right about that. But what we should have
done earlier is work with those freedom fighters,
71:26 - 71:32

those dissidents in Syria. We should not have
called Bashar Assad a reformer, and we should
71:32 - 71:34

not have -- we should not have waited to Russia
to give us the green light --
71:34 - 71:34

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: We didn’t call Assad
--
71:34 - 71:35

MS. RADDATZ: What’s your criteria for --
71:35 - 71:40

REP. RYAN: We should not have waited for Russia
to give us the green light at the U.N. to
71:40 - 71:40

do something about it.
71:40 - 71:41

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Russia --
71:41 - 71:46

REP. RYAN: They’re -- they’re still arming
the man. Iran is flying flights over Iraq
71:46 - 71:46

--
71:46 - 71:48

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And the opposition is
being armed --
71:48 - 71:52

REP. RYAN: -- to help -- to help -- to help
Bashar Assad. And by the way, if we had the
71:52 - 71:55

status of forces agreement that the vice president
said he would bet his vice presidency on in
71:55 - 71:59

Iraq, we probably would have been able to
prevent that. But he failed to achieve that
71:59 - 72:00

as well. Again --
72:00 - 72:03

MS. RADDATZ: Let me ask you quickly, what’s
your criteria for intervention?
72:03 - 72:04

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I don’t -- yeah.
72:04 - 72:05

REP. RYAN: In Syria?
72:05 - 72:06

MS. RADDATZ: Worldwide.
72:06 - 72:08

REP. RYAN: What is in the national interests
of the American people.
72:08 - 72:09

MS. RADDATZ: How about humanitarian interests?
72:09 - 72:12

REP. RYAN: What is in the national security
of the American people -- it’s got to be
72:12 - 72:14

in the strategic national interests of our
country.
72:14 - 72:16

MS. RADDATZ: No humanitarian?
72:16 - 72:22

REP. RYAN: Each situation will -- will come
up with its own set of circumstances. But
72:22 - 72:27

putting American troops on the ground, that’s
got to be within the national security interests
72:27 - 72:27

of the American people.
72:27 - 72:30

MS. RADDATZ: I want to -- we’re almost out
of time here.
72:30 - 72:33

REP. RYAN: That means things like embargoes
and sanctions and overflights -- those are
72:33 - 72:36

things that don’t put American troops on
the ground. But if you’re talking about
72:36 - 72:41

putting American troops on the ground, only
in our national security interests.
72:41 - 72:46

MS. RADDATZ: I want to move on, and I want
to return home for these last few questions.
72:46 - 72:53

This debate is indeed historic. We have two
Catholic candidates, first time on a stage
72:53 - 72:59

such as this, and I would like to ask you
both to tell me what role your religion has
72:59 - 73:08

played in your own personal views on abortion.
Please talk about how you came to that decision.
73:08 - 73:13

Talk about how your religion played a part
in that. And please, this is such an emotional
73:13 - 73:14

issue for so many --
73:14 - 73:15

REP. RYAN: Sure.
73:15 - 73:21

MS. RADDATZ: -- people in this country. Please
talk personally about this if you could. Congressman
73:21 - 73:22

Ryan.
73:22 - 73:27

REP. RYAN: I don’t see how a person can
separate their public life from their private
73:27 - 73:34

life or from their faith. Our faith informs
us in everything we do. My faith informs me
73:34 - 73:38

about how to take care of the vulnerable,
about how to make sure that people have a
73:38 - 73:40

chance in life.
73:40 - 73:47

Now, you want to ask basically why I’m pro-life?
It’s not simply because of my Catholic faith.
73:47 - 73:54

That’s a factor, of course, but it’s also
because of reason and science. You know, I
73:54 - 74:01

think about 10 1/2 years ago, my wife Janna
and I went to Mercy Hospital in Janesville
74:01 - 74:09

where I was born for our seven-week ultrasound
for our firstborn child, and we saw that heartbeat.
74:09 - 74:16

Our little baby was in the shape of a bean,
and to this day, we have nicknamed our firstborn
74:16 - 74:19

child, Liza, “Bean.” (Chuckles.)
74:19 - 74:22

Now, I believe that life begins at conception.
74:22 - 74:26

That’s why -- those are the reasons why
I’m pro-life.
74:26 - 74:31

Now, I understand this is a difficult issue.
And I respect people who don’t agree with
74:31 - 74:38

me on this. But the policy of a Romney administration
will be to oppose abortion with the exceptions
74:38 - 74:41

for rape, incest and life of the mother.
74:41 - 74:48

What troubles me more is how this administration
has handled all of these issues. Look at what
74:48 - 74:52

they’re doing through “Obamacare” with
respect to assaulting the religious liberties
74:52 - 75:00

of this country. They’re infringing upon
our first freedom, the freedom of religion,
75:00 - 75:05

by infringing on Catholic charities, Catholic
churches, Catholic hospitals. Our church should
75:05 - 75:09

not have to sue our federal government to
maintain their religious -- religious liberties.
75:09 - 75:13

And with respect to abortion, the Democratic
Party used to say they want it to be safe,
75:13 - 75:19

legal and rare. Now they support it without
restriction and with taxpayer funding, taxpayer
75:19 - 75:23

funding in “Obamacare,” taxpayer funding
with foreign aid. The vice president himself
75:23 - 75:29

went to China and said that he sympathized
or wouldn’t second- guess their one-child
75:29 - 75:34

policy of forced abortions and sterilizations.
That, to me, is pretty extreme.
75:34 - 75:36

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.
75:36 - 75:45

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: My religion defines
who I am. And I’ve been a practicing Catholic
75:45 - 75:52

my whole life. And it has particularly informed
my social doctrine. Catholic social doctrine
75:52 - 75:58

talks about taking care of those who -- who
can’t take care of themselves, people who
75:58 - 76:01

need help.
76:01 - 76:09

With regard to -- with regard to abortion,
I accept my church’s position on abortion
76:09 - 76:14

as a -- what we call de fide (doctrine ?). Life
begins at conception. That’s the church’s
76:14 - 76:16

judgment. I accept it in my personal life.
76:16 - 76:23

But I refuse to impose it on equally devout
Christians and Muslims and Jews and -- I just
76:23 - 76:29

refuse to impose that on others, unlike my
friend here, the congressman.
76:29 - 76:37

I -- I do not believe that -- that we have
a right to tell other people that women, they
76:37 - 76:41

-- they can’t control their body. It’s
a decision between them and their doctor,
76:41 - 76:46

in my view. And the Supreme Court -- I’m
not going to interfere with that.
76:46 - 76:52

With regard to the assault on the Catholic
Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No
76:52 - 76:57

religious institution, Catholic or otherwise,
including Catholic Social Services, Georgetown
76:57 - 77:05

Hospital, Mercy -- any hospital -- none has
to either refer contraception. None has to
77:05 - 77:11

pay for contraception. None has to be a vehicle
to get contraception in any insurance policy
77:11 - 77:16

they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.
77:16 - 77:26

Now, with regard to the way in which the -- we
differ, my friend says that he -- well, I
77:26 - 77:32

guess he accepts Governor Romney’s position
now, because in the past he has argued that
77:32 - 77:37

there was -- there’s rape and forcible rape.
He’s argued that, in the case of rape or
77:37 - 77:43

incest, it was still -- it would be a crime
to engage in having an abortion. I just fundamentally
77:43 - 77:45

disagree with my friend.
77:45 - 77:46

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
77:46 - 77:51

REP. RYAN: All I’m saying is if you believe
that life begins at conception, that therefore
77:51 - 77:57

doesn’t change the definition of life. That’s
a principle. The policy of a Romney administration
77:57 - 78:04

is to oppose abortion with exceptions for
rape, incest and life of the mother. Now,
78:04 - 78:07

I’ve got to take issue with the Catholic
Church and religious liberty.
78:07 - 78:08

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: You have, on the issue
of Catholic social doctrine, taken issue.
78:08 - 78:11

REP. RYAN: If they -- if they agree with you,
then why would they keep -- why would they
78:11 - 78:14

keep suing you? It’s a distinction without
a difference.
78:14 - 78:14

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)
78:14 - 78:20

MS. RADDATZ: I want to go back to the abortion
question here. If the Romney-Ryan ticket is
78:20 - 78:25

elected, should those who believe that abortion
should remain legal be worried?
78:25 - 78:32

REP. RYAN: We don’t think that unelected
judges should make this decision; that people,
78:32 - 78:36

through their elected representatives and
reaching a consensus in society through the
78:36 - 78:38

democratic process, should make this determination.
78:38 - 78:44

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The court -- the next
president will get one or two Supreme Court
78:44 - 78:50

nominees. That’s how close Roe v. Wade is.
78:50 - 78:56

Just ask yourself: With Robert Bork being
the chief adviser on the court for -- for
78:56 - 79:01

Mr. Romney, who do you think he’s likely
to appoint? Do you think he’s likely to
79:01 - 79:08

appoint someone like Scalia or someone else
on the court, far right, that would outlaw
79:08 - 79:12

Planned -- excuse me -- outlaw abortion? I
suspect that would happen.
79:12 - 79:18

I guarantee you that will not happen. We picked
two people. We picked people who are open-minded.
79:18 - 79:21

They’ve been good justices. So keep an eye
on the Supreme Court --
79:21 - 79:22

REP. RYAN: Was there a litmus test on them?
79:22 - 79:26

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: There was no litmus
test. We picked people who had an open mind,
79:26 - 79:28

did not come with an agenda.
79:28 - 79:32

MS. RADDATZ: I’m going to move on to this
closing question because we are running out
79:32 - 79:33

of time.
79:33 - 79:37

It’s certainly known -- you’ve said it
here tonight -- that the two of you respect
79:37 - 79:43

our troops enormously. Your son has served,
and perhaps someday your children will serve
79:43 - 79:44

as well.
79:44 - 79:50

I recently spoke to a highly decorated soldier
who said that this presidential campaign has
79:50 - 79:56

left him dismayed. He told me, quote, “The
ads are so negative and they are all tearing
79:56 - 79:59

down each other, rather than building up the
country.”
79:59 - 80:04

What would you say to that American hero about
this campaign? And at the end of the day,
80:04 - 80:09

are you ever embarrassed by the tone?
80:09 - 80:10

Vice President Biden.
80:10 - 80:15

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I would say to him the
same thing I say to my son, who did serve
80:15 - 80:23

year in Iraq: that we only have one truly
sacred obligation as a government. That’s
80:23 - 80:28

to equip those we send into harm’s way and
care for those who come home.
80:28 - 80:34

That’s the only sacred obligation we have.
Everything else falls behind that.
80:34 - 80:44

I would also tell him that the fact that he,
this decorated soldier you talked about, fought
80:44 - 80:49

for his country -- that that should be honored.
He should not be thrown into a category of
80:49 - 80:55

the 47 percent who don’t pay their taxes
while he was out there fighting and not having
80:55 - 80:58

to pay taxes and somehow not taking responsibility.
80:58 - 81:03

I would also tell him that there are things
that have occurred in this campaign and occur
81:03 - 81:08

in every campaign that I’m sure both of
us regret anyone having said, particularly
81:08 - 81:14

in these special new groups that can go out
there, raise all the money they want, not
81:14 - 81:20

have to identify themselves and say the most
scurrilous things about the other candidate.
81:20 - 81:22

It’s -- it’s -- it’s an abomination.
81:22 - 81:28

But the bottom line here is I’d ask that
hero you reference to take a look at whether
81:28 - 81:36

or not Governor Romney or President Obama
has the conviction to help lift up the middle
81:36 - 81:41

class, restore them to where they were before
this Great Recession hit and they got wiped
81:41 - 81:47

out or whether or not he’s going to continue
to focus on taking care of only the very wealthy,
81:47 - 81:51

not asking them to make -- pay any part of
the deal to bring the -- bring back the middle
81:51 - 81:53

class, the economy of this country.
81:53 - 81:58

I would ask him to take a look at whether
the president of the United States has acted
81:58 - 82:03

wisely in the use of force and whether or
not the slipshod comments being made by my
82:03 - 82:11

-- my friend or by Governor Romney serve -- serve
our interests very well. But there are things
82:11 - 82:16

that have been said in campaigns that I -- I
find not very appealing.
82:16 - 82:17

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
82:17 - 82:21

REP. RYAN: First of all, I’d thank him to
his service to our country.
82:21 - 82:25

Second of all, I’d say, we are not going
to impose these devastating cuts on our military
82:25 - 82:28

which compromises their mission and their
safety.
82:28 - 82:33

And then I would say, you have a president
who ran for president four years ago promising
82:33 - 82:41

hope and change who has now turned his campaign
into attack, blame and defame. You see, if
82:41 - 82:46

you don’t have a good record to run on,
then you paint your opponent as someone to
82:46 - 82:52

run from. That was what President Obama said
in 2008. It’s what he’s doing right now.
82:52 - 82:56

Look at all the string of broken promises.
If you like your health care plan you can
82:56 - 83:01

keep it -- try telling that to the 20 million
people who are projected to lose their health
83:01 - 83:04

insurance if “Obamacare” goes through
or the seven point million -- 7.4 million
83:04 - 83:06

seniors who are going to lose it.
83:06 - 83:11

Or remember when he said this: I guarantee
if you make less than $250,000, your taxes
83:11 - 83:15

won’t go up. Of the 21 tax increases in
“Obamacare,” 12 of them hit the middle
83:15 - 83:17

class.
83:17 - 83:21

Or remember when he said, health insurance
premiums will go down, and $2,500 per family
83:21 - 83:25

per year? They’ve gone up 3,000 (dollars),
and they’re expected to go up another 2,400
83:25 - 83:25

(dollars).
83:25 - 83:29

Or remember when he said, I promise by the
end of my first term, I’ll cut the deficit
83:29 - 83:37

in half in four years? We’ve had four budgets,
four trillion-dollar deficits. A debt crisis
83:37 - 83:42

is coming. We can’t keep spending and borrowing
like this. We can’t just keep spending money
83:42 - 83:45

we don’t have.
83:45 - 83:51

Leaders run to problems to fix problems. President
Obama has not even put a credible plan on
83:51 - 83:55

the table in any -- any of his four years
to deal with this debt crisis. I passed two
83:55 - 84:00

budgets to deal with this. Mitt Romney’s
put ideas on the table. We’ve got to tackle
84:00 - 84:02

this debt crisis before it tackles us.
84:02 - 84:06

The president likes to say he has a plan.
He gave a speech. We asked his budget office,
84:06 - 84:10

can we see the plan? They sent us to this
press secretary. He gave us a copy of the
84:10 - 84:13

speech. We asked the Congressional Budget
Office, tell us what President Obama’s plan
84:13 - 84:18

is to prevent a debt crisis. They said, it’s
a speech; we can’t estimate speeches. You
84:18 - 84:24

see? That’s what we get in this administration:
speeches. But we’re not getting leadership.
84:24 - 84:30

Mitt Romney is uniquely qualified to fix these
problems. His lifetime of experience, his
84:30 - 84:34

proven track record of bipartisanship -- and
what do we have from the president? He broke
84:34 - 84:38

his big promise to bring people together to
solve the country’s biggest problems. And
84:38 - 84:41

what I would tell him is we don’t have to
settle for this.
84:41 - 84:41

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Inaudible.)
84:41 - 84:41

MS. RADDATZ: I -- I --
84:41 - 84:42

REP. RYAN: We can do better than this.
84:42 - 84:44

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I hope I’ll get equal
time.
84:44 - 84:48

MS. RADDATZ: I -- you will get just a few
minutes here, a few seconds, really.
84:48 - 84:54

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The two budgets the
congressman introduced have eviscerated all
84:54 - 84:59

the things that the middle class cares about.
It has knocked 19 -- it will knock 19 million
84:59 - 85:05

people off of Medicare. It will kick 200,000
children off of early education. It will eliminate
85:05 - 85:10

the tax credit people have to be able to send
their children to college. It cuts education
85:10 - 85:19

by $450 billion. It -- it -- it does -- it
does virtually nothing, except continue to
85:19 - 85:21

increase the tax cuts for the very wealthy.
85:21 - 85:26

And, you know, we’ve had enough of this.
My -- the idea that these -- so concerned
85:26 - 85:31

about these deficits, I pointed out, he voted
to put two wars on a credit card. He did --
85:31 - 85:32

MS. RADDATZ: We’re -- we’re going to --
85:32 - 85:32

REP. RYAN: He voted --
85:32 - 85:34

MS. RADDATZ: We’re going to the closing
statements in a minute.
85:34 - 85:34

REP. RYAN: But let me -- just a second --
85:34 - 85:35

MS. RADDATZ: I -- you’re going to have your
closing --
85:35 - 85:39

REP. RYAN: Not raising taxes is not cutting
taxes. And by the way, our budget --
85:39 - 85:40

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: We have not raised --
85:40 - 85:43

REP. RYAN: -- we increased spending by 3 percent
a year instead of 4 1/2 percent like they
85:43 - 85:44

proposed.
85:44 - 85:45

MS. RADDATZ: Let me -- let me calm down things
here --
85:45 - 85:47

REP. RYAN: So not spending more money as much
as they say is not a spending cut.
85:47 - 85:50

MS. RADDATZ: -- just for a minute. And I want
to talk to you very briefly before we go to
85:50 - 85:56

closing statements about your own personal
character. If you are elected, what could
85:56 - 86:02

you both give to this country as a man, as
a human being that no one else could?
86:02 - 86:07

REP. RYAN: Honesty. No one else could? There
are plenty of fine people who could lead this
86:07 - 86:12

country. But what you need are people who,
when they say they’re going to do something,
86:12 - 86:18

they go do it. What you need are when people
see problems, they offer solutions to fix
86:18 - 86:20

those problems. We’re not getting that.
86:20 - 86:24

Look, we can grow this economy faster. That’s
what our five-point plan for a stronger middle
86:24 - 86:27

class is all about. It’s about getting 12
million jobs, higher take-home pay; getting
86:27 - 86:33

people out of poverty, into the middle class.
That means going with proven pro-growth policies
86:33 - 86:38

that we know work to get people back to work,
putting ideas on the table, working with Democrats
86:38 - 86:41

-- that actually works sometimes -- and then
getting things done.
86:41 - 86:43

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President, could we get
to that -- to that issue of what you could
86:43 - 86:48

bring as a man, a human being? And I really
am going to keep you to about 15 seconds here.
86:48 - 86:50

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, he gets 40, I
get 15, but that’s OK. That’s all right.
86:50 - 86:51

MS. RADDATZ: He didn’t have 40. He didn’t
have 40.
86:51 - 86:56

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Now, let me tell you,
I -- my -- my record stands for itself. I
86:56 - 87:03

never say anything I don’t mean. Everybody
knows whatever I say, I do. And my whole life
87:03 - 87:08

has been devoted to leveling the playing field
for middle-class people, giving them an even
87:08 - 87:12

break, treating Main Street and Wall Street
the same, holding the same responsibility.
87:12 - 87:17

Look at my record. It’s been all about the
middle class. They’re the people who grow
87:17 - 87:21

this country. We think you grow this country
from the middle out, not from the top down.
87:21 - 87:26

MS. RADDATZ: OK. We now turn to the candidates
for their closing statements. Thank you, gentlemen.
87:26 - 87:30

And that coin toss, again, has Vice President
Biden starting with a closing statement.
87:30 - 87:34

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, let -- let -- let
me say at the outset that I want to thank
87:34 - 87:42

you, Martha, for doing this, and Centre College.
The fact is that we’re in a situation where
87:42 - 87:50

we inherited a god-awful circumstance. People
are in real trouble. We acted to move to bring
87:50 - 87:54

relief to the people who need the most help
now.
87:54 - 87:59

And -- and in the process, we -- in case you
haven’t noticed, we have strong disagreements.
87:59 - 88:06

But I -- you probably detected my frustration
with their attitude about the -- the American
88:06 - 88:12

people. My friend says that 30 percent of
the American people are takers. They -- Romney
88:12 - 88:16

points out, 47 percent of the people won’t
take responsibility. He’s talking about
88:16 - 88:20

my mother and father. And he’s talking about
the places I grew up in, my neighbors in Scranton
88:20 - 88:21

and Claymont.
88:21 - 88:26

He’s talking about -- he’s talking about
the people that have built this country. All
88:26 - 88:29

they’re looking for, Martha -- all they’re
looking for is an even shot. When they’ve
88:29 - 88:34

been given the shot, they’ve done it. They’ve
done it. Whenever you level the playing field,
88:34 - 88:35

they’ve been able to move.
88:35 - 88:40

And they want a little bit of peace of mind.
And the president and I are not going to rest
88:40 - 88:45

until that playing field is leveled, they
in fact have a clear shot and they have peace
88:45 - 88:50

of mind, until they can turn to their kid
and say with a degree of confidence, honey,
88:50 - 88:55

it’s going to be OK. It’s going to be
OK. That’s what this is all about.
88:55 - 88:57

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.
88:57 - 89:02

REP. RYAN: I want to thank you as well, Martha,
Danville, Kentucky, Centre College.
89:02 - 89:08

And I want to thank you, Joe. It’s been
an honor to engage in this critical debate.
89:08 - 89:15

We face a very big choice. What kind of country
are we going to be? What kind of country are
89:15 - 89:22

we going to give our kids? President Obama
-- he had his chance. He made his choices.
89:22 - 89:27

His economic agenda, more spending, more borrowing,
higher taxes, a government takeover of health
89:27 - 89:33

care -- it’s not working. It’s failed
to create the jobs we need. Twenty-three million
89:33 - 89:39

Americans are struggling for work today. Fifteen
percent of Americans are in poverty.
89:39 - 89:46

This is not what a real recovery looks like.
You deserve better. Mitt Romney and I want
89:46 - 89:53

to earn your support. We’re offering real
reforms for a real recovery for every American.
89:53 - 90:01

Mitt Romney, his experience, his ideas, his
solutions, is uniquely qualified to get this
90:01 - 90:05

job done. At a time when we have a jobs crisis
in America, wouldn’t it be nice to have
90:05 - 90:08

a job creator in the White House?
90:08 - 90:15

The choice is clear: a stagnant economy that
promotes more government dependency, or a
90:15 - 90:21

dynamic, growing economy that promotes opportunity
and jobs. Mitt Romney and I will not duck
90:21 - 90:23

the tough issues.
90:23 - 90:32

We will take responsibility. And we will not
try to replace our founding principles; we
90:32 - 90:38

will reapply our founding principles. The
choice is clear, and the choice rests with
90:38 - 90:42

you, and we ask you for your vote. Thank you.
90:42 - 90:45

MS. RADDATZ: And thank you both again. Thank
you very much.
90:45 - 90:45

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you.
90:45 - 90:50

MS. RADDATZ: This concludes the vice presidential
debate. Please tune in next Tuesday for the
90:50 - 90:54

second presidential debate at Hofstra University
in New York.
90:54 - 90:59

I’m Martha Raddatz of ABC News. I do hope
all of you go to the polls. Have a good evening.
90:59 - 90:59

(Applause.)
90:59 -

END

Title:: Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan - The Complete Vice Presidential Debate
Description:: The one and only debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan. The debate is in HD and has been transcribed for your viewing pleasure.

Join the conversation on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thedailyconversation
Add TDC to your circles on Google+
https://plus.google.com/100134925804523235350/posts
Follow The Daily Conversation on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/thedailyconvo

Keywords:
TDC TheDailyConversation The Daily Conversation

more » « less
Video Language:: Chinese, Simplified
Team:: Captions Requested
Duration:: 01:32:08

	Amara Bot edited English subtitles for Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan - The Complete Vice Presidential Debate
	Amara Bot added a translation

English subtitles

Revisions

Revision 1

Amara Bot

Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan - The Complete Vice Presidential Debate

Revisions

Our website uses cookies

Operating cookies (Required)