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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release October 4, 2012


REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
AT A CAMPAIGN EVENT

Mid America Center
Council Bluffs, Iowa


1:45 P.M. CDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello, Council Bluffs. (Applause.) It's good to be back. It's good to be back to see so many great friends and so many familiar faces. And, Bruce, thank you for that introduction, man. I tell you what, if anybody wonders whether this guy works hard, just shake his hand. (Laughter.) Just shake his hand.

I tell you what, I also am delighted to be here. One of the guys that I admire as much as anybody I've ever served with -- I call him Colonel, but this is one standup guy -- Leonard Boswell. Leonard, will you come out and hang out with me out here? (Applause.) And also a guy who has been my friend a long, long time, who I like a great deal, but I like his wife, Connie, even better -- Mike Gronstal. Mike, come on out, Mike -- our leader. (Applause.)

And I was backstage thanking the Mayor, Tom Hanafan, for the passport to come into town again. Mr. Mayor, would you come out and join me as well? I'd be delighted to -- proud to be with you. (Applause.)

Now, back East, or as I learned all my time in Iowa, out East -- (laughter) -- I learned that -- we have an expression. When one elected official shows up to hear another elected official speak, that's referred to as a busman's holiday. (Laughter.) It's like the bus driver getting on a bus and going for a ride, you know?

But, folks, thanks for being here, and please have a seat. And all you folks over there, thank you very much for taking the time and the effort to be here.

And, folks, look, I want you to know before I get started that -- reinforce what Bruce said. You have early voting in this state. It's already underway. You don't have to wait till Election Day, so elect us today. Get out there now and vote. (Applause.) Why wait? Why wait?

Folks, how many of you got to see the debate last night? (Applause.) I was just talking to the President. Matter of fact, I was joking with the guys. We were talking, and the military aide came and said, Mr. Vice President, the President is on the phone. And I turned to Leonard, I said, the President is on the phone. He said, yeah, that old excuse -- the President is on the phone. (Laughter.) Like, I got to go, the President is on the phone. But he was on the phone, and he's my buddy.

And I want to tell you something. I thought he did a great job. He put forward a clear, specific plan on how to get this country moving forward again. And let me tell you what I love about him -- and we've become, as everybody points out when they write about it, but it happens to be true: We're not only partners; we've become really close, personal friends. Our wives are friends. (Applause.) No, for real, I mean, Jill and Michelle are buddies. My granddaughters go to school with his daughters. My granddaughter -- my number-three granddaughter is the star on his basketball team, plays with his daughter, who is wonderful as well. So all you've got to do on any weekend in suburban Maryland, come out there in basketball season, a little junior high gym, and you'll see the President, the First Lady, the Vice President and the Second Lady, 800 Secret Service agents -- (laughter) -- and one intimidated referee. (Laughter.) I'm quiet. Barack's not quiet, but he takes it seriously, man. (Applause.)

But I've gotten to know the man. I've gotten to know the man, and let me tell you what I've learned about him. I learned this man never says anything he doesn't mean, and means what he says. He never, never says -- (applause) -- unlike some others, he never says one thing one day, and another thing the next day, and he never changes position because it may be politically convenient.

I thought the President did a great job last night making clear that our country faces -- (applause) -- that our country faces the starkest choice in my memory. And I've said many times, and some of you have heard it reported, ultimately, presidential races, unlike any other race, get down to character. They get down to the character of the man or woman and the character of the convictions. Do they mean what they say, and will they do what they say?

Ladies and gentlemen, and now that Governor Romney has picked Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate, Congressman Ryan has now given clear definition the vague promises and assertions that Governor Romney has been making in the last six or eight months. What I find fascinating, though, is on nearly every issue, they don't tell you what they are for anymore. And they deliberately misrepresent what they say we are for. You saw it again last night in the debate. Nowhere is that more clear than the discussion over the last three months and last night about Medicare.

Now, Governor Romney says that we cut Medicare, that we put it in danger. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any one of you who are on Medicare know that since President Obama has been elected President and changed the law, Medicare recipients have more benefits -- more benefits. (Applause.) More.

If, like my mom when she was alive, many seniors take multiple prescriptions, some hit that so-called doughnut hole where they no longer get any help and they have to pay for all the prescriptions themselves. Well, if you've hit that doughnut hole, seniors can tell you now, they're paying -- they're getting an $800-a-year additional break now because of Barack Obama. That's 5,500,000 seniors getting help right now. (Applause.)

Any of you whose parents who are on Medicare, you know that those routine wellness tests and exams that they need to stay healthy, routine tests for cholesterol, colonoscopies, mammograms, all of which cost money, they no longer have to pay any co-pay because of President Barack Obama. (Applause.)

And what a lot of people don't know is something the President pointed out last night. Our actions, we have actually extended the solvency of the trust fund for Medicare out to the year 2024. (Applause.) But nonetheless, Governor Romney just stood there and said, boldfaced, that we cut benefits and endangered Medicare.

Folks, who do you think the American people are going to trust? Governor Romney?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or the AMA, which endorsed what we did? The American Cancer Society, which endorsed what we did? The American Heart Association, which endorsed what we did? The American Hospital Association, which -- (applause) -- and AARP, that endorsed what we said? (Applause.)

The Governor has to assume that the public is going to have collective amnesia -- (laughter) -- to take his word over those of us who have spent our entire careers protecting and fighting for Medicare.

What Governor Romney didn't tell you -- he didn't tell you much about his plan. He didn't say much about what his plan does. And a lot of it just doesn't add up. I'll tell you what his plan didn't -- what his plan does he didn't tell you. Forty-eight million Americans now on Medicare will lose the opportunity to qualify for that $800 to help them on prescription drugs. They will also no longer be able to take advantage of those visits that can save their lives without having to pay a co-pay. They will pay again. And you know a lot of seniors are like my mom was, and my dad -- too proud, if they don't have the co-pay, to come to their son or their daughter and say, honey, can you help me? They don't get that about our parents. They don't get that about how proud they are. And they don't get how much it matters.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you take a look at what they're proposing, it will actually have the trust fund for Medicare run out of money in 2016. So much for their great concern about Medicare. There are the facts.

And one other thing. The Governor finally was straight about one thing. He said he's for vouchers, for Vouchercare. But he said, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, not going to affect anybody who is not 55 years old. (Laughter.) But guess what? As they say in southern Delaware, y'all are 55 years old. Hang on. (Laughter.) Hang on, baby.

Look, what he didn't tell you was how much it's going to cost a 55-year-old and everybody after that time once they qualify for Medicare. The first plan that my counterpart, Congressman Ryan, introduced pushed through the House of Representatives and got passed -- the author of the plan -- the so-called Congressional Budget Office said that plan would cost the average senior $6,400 a year more for their Medicare. That's a fact.

Now, Governor Romney, although he probably has forgotten it -- (laughter) -- Governor Romney said at the time the House passed this bill, knowing the cost to seniors in the future, said, we're I president, I would sign that legislation. Now, granted, that's not their plan anymore. (Laughter.) But the reason I mention it is it goes to who you believe. Can you imagine Barack Obama or Joe Biden signing and being for a plan that would raise by $6,400 a year the cost of Medicare for anyone?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Now they've got a new plan. They've got a lot of new plans. (Laughter.) Matter of fact, it's hard to keep up. It really is hard to keep up. I think it's even hard for them to keep up. (Laughter.) But their new plan is a different voucher system. And you all know how that voucher is going to work. And thank God all of you on that end of the room, and I love you, you're not going to have to worry about it, pray God. But here's where the new plan is.

Their new plan says that you're going to give your mom, when she gets to be 65, if she's now 55, you're going to give her a voucher, a chit worth X amount of dollars. And you're going to say, Mom, good luck. (Laughter.) You can go out there and compete -- I'm serious, this is the plan -- you can go out there and compete to get the best insurance policy you can buy with that limited dollar we're giving you, which will not meet the increase in the cost of health care. And by the way, everybody is out of Medicare. You're out. Now, you can go with that voucher and try to buy back into Medicare, but if it costs more to get back in you've got to pay the difference.

So you know what the new studies show? The new studies show that if you are 55, if their plan goes into effect, were they to be elected and it's passed and February of next year it goes into effect, anybody 55 years old or younger will end up paying -- 55 years old will end up paying $60,000 over the life of Medicare more than they would have to pay now. If you're in your 40s, it's $125,000 more, if my memory serves me. I know it's $60,000 if you're 55.

Ladies and gentlemen, that's not saving Medicare. That's shifting all the burden to people, and you've all paid for this your whole life. You've paid for this. (Applause.)

But, folks, my mom used to say, a lot gets lost between the cup and the lip. (Laughter.) Well, let me tell you a lot gets lost in their cup. (Laughter.) They talk about the things they care so deeply about. Mike -- I had the great honor of Mike and Connie sitting in my box with me at the convention. And I remember us looking at each other when we got talking the Republican Convention. Remember at the convention they talked about the debt, the national debt, it's crushing? And they had that clock in the back, and it was ringing up the numbers there and all the rest. And we got an urgent call to do something about it. They told you they were concerned. But what they didn't tell you is -- what they didn't tell you is the last time their party was in charge of the White House, undergoing the same policies they want to put back in the White House, they doubled our national debt in eight years -- doubled it. (Applause.)

And number two, they presented the President on the -- I remember I think it was within the first week, Larry Summers, our chief economist coming in and saying, Mr. President, this year's deficit -- the fiscal year starts in October -- this year's deficit is going to be a trillion dollars no matter what you do. So they left us a trillion dollar bill the first year. And one other thing, their policies produced the slowest rate -- the slowest growth in private-sector jobs since World War II. The slowest, and it resulted in what? The Great Recession of 2008.

And look, the neighborhoods I come from, where I expect every one of you come from, the middle class was decimated -- absolutely decimated as a consequence of the recession that had already been -- they already had been hurt up to that point and losing ground, but they were decimated. That financial crisis cost middle-class people $16 trillion -- hear me now -- $16 trillion not misplaced, lost.

And you know it. You saw in the value of your homes. You thought you had that nest egg out there, the equity in your home. You paid your bills. You never missed a mortgage payment, and because of some wacky mortgage they thought up on Wall Street, two guys up the street went bankrupt; and all of a sudden, you find your home is worth 20 percent less -- 25 percent less than it was the day before. You did nothing -- nothing -- wrong. And that equity -- what these guys don't get -- where I come from, that equity in your home is probably the single largest -- or your farm, the single largest asset you have. You count on it if you're in your 40s and 50s to borrow against to send your kids to college. You count on it to be able to retire and not have to rely upon your children. You count on it.

And you also saw the value of your pension funds evaporate -- evaporate before your eyes. Your 401(k)s -- the middle class was killed.

Their policies put the middle class in an incredibly deep hole, which we've been helping them climb out of for the last four years. And there's another thing they didn't tell you about the national debt. They talk about how they want to do something. They are totally unprepared to do anything about it.

Now, that sounds like an exaggeration, but let me be specific with you, Governor Romney spoke out against our $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan. The President already has cut a trillion dollars from the long-term debt over the next 10 years. He has a plan that would cut another $3 trillion, and it's balanced. It says we'll cut government spending by $2.50 for every $1 we raise in revenue from the wealthy. The Simpson-Bowles Commission -- I'm going to sound like a Washington type here -- but you know that thing that the Governor talks about, and that Congressman Ryan talks about, Simpson-Bowles, why didn't the President do this? Well, that said, look, you cut about $4 for every $1 that you go out there and raise. What they don't tell you is Congressman Ryan, as they refer to, and I'm not being facetious, as the intellectual center of the new right in the budget -- et cetera. (Laughter.) Oh, no, he is. He's a smart guy. I just fundamentally disagree with everything he has to say about it. (Laughter.) But he's a smart guy. (Applause.)

But what they don't tell you is Congressman Ryan sat on that commission and had he and his two House buddies voted for what the rest of them voted for, that plan to reduce the debt by $4 trillion would have been submitted to the United States Congress and everyone would have had to vote for or against it. That was the way it was written. He wouldn't even let it get to the Congress.

And Mitt Romney, doubled, tripled, quadrupled down on his previous position last night. Remember when asked in order to reduce the debt would you include any revenue, any revenue and he said no. No reasonable person out there, none of the economists out there who are taken seriously think you can get a hold of this national debt unless you do two things -- make serious cuts in spending and throttle the hemorrhaging of tax cuts for the super wealthy. You've got to do both. (Applause.)

But these guys will not support one single idea to reduce the debt if it raises one single dollar on people making a million dollars or more. That's a fact. And he reasserted it last night -- so much for their concern, so much for this urgency.

Ladies and gentlemen, the amazing thing if you listen to their convention and listen to Governor Romney last night, they discovered the middle class. (Laughter.) It's like, my God, there it is. It's out there. There is a middle class. We are concerned about it. We share your value. Whoa. God, I didn't see you there. I don't know how I could have overlooked you these last eight years. You were right there in front of me.

It was amazing. It was amazing. I'm serious, it amazed me. I heard the phrase middle class more in the Republican Convention than I heard the Republican congressmen use the previous four years. (Laughter.) I may be exaggerating a little bit, but not a whole lot, Leonard.

And, folks, they went on to tell you what they value, what they value. They value education. They value health care. They value -- and the list went on. Well, my dad used to have an expression. My dad was a pretty smart guy, a high-school-educated guy, a really smart guy, a decent man. Some of you had a chance to meet my dad, because I had him out here campaigning when I was out here 840 years ago trying to get the nomination. (Laughter.)

My dad used to have a great expression. He'd have some of his friends -- we all have friends who occasionally pontificate a little bit. (Laughter.) Well, maybe not out here. But out East, there's a few times that happens. (Laughter.)

Anyway, people used to say -- I swear to God this a true story. My dad -- someone said to my dad -- his name was Joe -- Joe, let me tell you what I value. And my father always used to say, whoa, Charlie, don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I will tell you what you value. (Laughter.) Show me your budget and I will tell you what you value. (Applause.)

So I would think even Governor Romney's guys would say it's fair to look at their budget, right, see what they value. So let's take a look. They say they value children and the elderly. But their budget -- the Ryan budget that passed that the Governor said he endorsed -- would knock 19 million people off of Medicaid.

Now, the Governor talks about that -- when he talks about Medicaid, he says he talks about poor folk. (Laughter.) Okay, well, let me tell you those 19 million include millions of kids, including children from middle-class families who have children with disabilities like Down syndrome and autism who count on it for the desperate help they need to take care of their children. (Applause.)

It includes -- in that 19 million, there are 1 million seniors. Ask some of our senior friends, the so-called dual eligible, meaning they get Medicaid and Medicare. What happens? In a lot of states, for you to get into a nursing -- and not every state -- but if you get into a nursing home, you got to use up all your assets. So if you're left a farm when your husband died, you got to sell the farm and spend all that money down. If you're left a house, you got to sell that down. And then, you qualify for Medicaid.

Roughly 70 percent of all the people in nursing homes are women whose husbands are gone. Where are they going to go? Seriously, not a joke, I'm being deadly earnest. What is going to happen to all those people in nursing homes who are there only because they have access to Medicaid, people who worked hard their whole life, paid into the system, their whole life, come from decent, middle-class backgrounds? Let alone the totally vulnerable, what are they going to do?

Ladies and gentlemen, they say they value education. As a matter of fact I was stunned last night, and I think -- I think maybe a lot of the press watching may have been surprised too. I don't know that, but I think they may have been when Governor Romney said, I have no cuts in education. (Laughter.) Yo. (Laughter.) That came as a real surprise to your Republican colleagues in the House, man. Because guess what, they already passed a budget -- the Ryan budget, which Romney endorsed, that cuts 19 percent across the board in every program -- every spending program. That's over 420 -- I think $4.9 billion in a year, cut to elementary and secondary education and special education. This guy is amazing. I have no cuts -- no cuts in education. (Laughter.) Trust me. (Laughter.)

They say they value access to college, not just for middle-class folks but for everybody. They talked about -- the President and I always talk about it's not just what's fair to give kids an opportunity -- no matter what neighborhood you come from if your qualified -- but it's in the overwhelming national interest of the United States that we're the best educated nation in the world. Yet, they eliminate the $2,500 tax credit that middle-class families now get to help keep their kids in college. They cut $1,000 from kids on Pell grants in school. God knows how many are going to have to drop out. A thousand dollars is a bridge too far for a lot of kids in my old neighborhood in Claymont, man.

Ladies and gentlemen, you know how we paid for that? We increased the number of qualified kids from working-class families in college from 6 million to 9 million by doing one thing -- up to this time, and this was with the help of Leonard, by the way -- we went out there, and we were paying -- and the banks weren't doing anything bad -- we were paying the banks $60 billion over 10 years to finance -- not to finance, to process student loans when those student loans were guaranteed by the federal government and the banks were taking no risk. So we said, hey, what are we doing that for? Why don't we take that $60 billion and put it into the student loans or grants -- for Pell grants? (Applause.)

And so what happened? Just since we've been in office, there are 9 million qualified young people from working-class families in college instead of 6 [million]. (Applause.)

Now, Governor Romney -- Governor Romney, ever the banker, said, whoa, what we should do is go back and put it back in the hands -- put it back in the hands of the banks. As if the banks need another $60 billion from us.

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: But I'm serious. Think about this. I mean I know it's almost -- some of it is almost unbelievable, but think about it, what it says about how they view the country. In spite of the fact that Governor Romney has said publicly -- two weeks ago he said, it's true, President Obama has not raised taxes on the middle class. Turn on the campaign ads. They're saying we raised taxes on the middle class, and we're going to raise more taxes on the middle class -- none of which is true.

We cut taxes to the middle class -- a total of $3,600 a year. We are pushing, with Leonard, for the extension of the middle-class tax cut to make it permanent because it's not extended. If you're making 50 grand, your taxes are going to go up 2,000 bucks. If you're a family making 90 grand, it's going to be like 4,000 bucks if you don't do it. We already passed it in the Senate. These guys say no. No. Why? Why? Why do they do all of this?

They do it in the service of massive tax cuts for the wealthy -- tax cuts the wealthy doesn't need. They're not even asking for it.

Look, guys, I come from a state that has the first or second -- depending on the year -- highest per-capita income in America, little state of Delaware. I got elected seven times to the United States Senate as a progressive Democrat in that state. I learned a couple things. One, wealthy people are just as patriotic as poor people -- just as patriotic. (Applause.)

But guess what. They're not asking for this tax cut. They know they don't need it. It will not change their standard of living. It's bad enough that Governor Romney won't release the details of his tax returns. (Applause.) Now, he won't even release the details of what he plans on doing about your taxes. Seriously. (Applause.)

Last night the Governor, walked away from the centerpiece of his economic plan. You guys just sit down if you have seats. (Laughter.) Thank you. I didn't realize you didn't -- you had seats. I apologize. (Laughter.) My mother would kill me if a woman was standing for me this long. (Laughter.) I apologize.

But, folks, look, the centerpiece of the Republican economic plan, you saw all those debates they had, right? I don't know how many they had -- 10, 15, 20, whatever the number were. The centerpiece of their economic plan was giving what they call the job creators a bigger tax break, right? And they had a plan that cost $5 trillion in tax cuts. And last night -- last night, Romney said, no, I don't have such a plan. (Laughter.) No, really, I mean you heard it.

AUDIENCE: Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I don't have a plan to cut $5 trillion. He says the plan won't cost $5 trillion. Well, let's take a look at the facts. First of all, here's what he says he wants to do. These are the essence of his plan. He's going to lower everyone's tax rate by 20 percent. Well, just go to any Democrat, Republican, independent economist and they will tell you to do that means you'll collect $3 trillion less in taxes than you otherwise would have collected. So that's $3 trillion there. I'm not even talking about the merit of it -- just the cost.

Secondly, he says he's going to get rid of what we call alternative minimum tax. That will pull another $670 billion out of the revenue stream. Then he says he wants to totally eliminate estate tax -- no tax on anything, under any circumstances. That's $150 billion less revenue. And on top of that he says he wants a corporate tax rate cut that costs $1 trillion. Now, folks, I went to a school -- a high school that demanded an awful lot of -- you had to take math every year -- I took -- I'm not a bad mathematician, but I can still add and subtract. (Laughter.) Folks, that adds up to -- what I just said to you -- over $5 trillion right there. And that doesn't even count their insistence on continuing the Bush tax cut for the very wealthy, which is due to expire on January 1st of this year, which costs $1 trillion. So now you're over $6 trillion. Folks, is he serious?

And by the way, who benefits from all this? Let's just take a look at one piece because I don't want to keep you too much longer. Just one piece. Merely extending the Bush tax cut -- now this is serious. The press is here, so I'm not making these numbers up. They're going to check them, and they have. I've been saying this for the last eight months. Just extending the tax cut for the top 2 percent, instead of letting it expire as it's supposed to -- it's supposed to be temporary, that means that of that, $800 billion in tax cuts will continue to go to people who have a minimum income of $1 million. Hear me now? $800 billion. Of that -- better way to look at it is -- $500 billion -- a half a trillion dollars is going to go to 120,000 families -- 120,000 families. How can that be right? How can that be right while we're eviscerating everything from Medicaid to health care, to the FBI, across the board. How can that be justified?

And on top of that, the new tax plan I laid out for you, what they want to eliminate all those other, the experts point out that the effect will be -- those 120,000 families will get another $250,000-a-year tax break.

Look, folks, I know we all don't have access to Governor Romney's accountant. (Laughter.) I thought last night when he said, I'd like to introduce my accountant to that, I'd love to have his accountant. (Laughter.)

But look, we may not have his accountant, but we understand someone ends up paying for all this. Someone ends up paying for all this. And the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center -- that's a group of experts who are in the former Bush administration, the Clinton administration, et cetera -- bipartisan -- they came along and they looked at Romney's plan and said, even if Romney does everything he says he's going to do, eliminating all the tax breaks and all that, the end result is if you are a middle-class family with a child, you're going to pay $2,000 a year more in taxes.

Folks, look, we've seen this movie before. Massive tax cuts for the very wealthy; letting Wall Street and the big banks write their own rules again -- we know how it ended. It ended in a catastrophe for the middle class and the Great Recession of 2008.

Folks, we cannot go back. The President and I have a different way forward. And let me lay out for you quickly our plan. First, we're going to create 2 million more manufacturing jobs and help business double their exports -- the reason we've already created 500,000 manufacturing jobs. (Applause.)

There's already 200,000 autoworkers back to work. We're going to give tax breaks to companies that invest in America, not invest overseas. (Applause.) We're going to cut our oil imports by half, producing America-made energy, oil, clean coal, natural gas, new resources like wind and solar, biofuel -- all of which -- and in the meantime double the fuel efficiency for automobiles, which they were against. Just that one thing alone will save $1.7 trillion at the pump and 12 billion barrels of oil. (Applause.)

We're going to ensure that we maintain the best workforce in the world. Studies show that American workers are three times as productive as Chinese workers, but we got to stay ahead of the curve. That's why we need 100,000 additional math and science teachers. We've got to train 2 million Americans with the skills they need for the jobs in the next three years through our community colleges. (Applause.)

There are 600,000 advanced manufacturing jobs out there now for which there was no skill. That's why we've married up the community colleges with these businesses, so you have a conveyor belt from college to a job, a good-paying job. We're going to cut the growth of tuition by half, expand student loans so people can afford it. (Applause.)

And, fourth, a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. And on top of that, on top of the trillion dollars in spending we've already cut, we're going to ask -- yes, we're going to ask the wealthy to pay more. My heart breaks. Come on, man. (Applause.)

You know the phrase they always use -- Obama and Biden want to raise taxes by a trillion dollars. Guess what, yes we do in one regard -- we want to let that trillion-dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn't have to bear the burden of all that money going to the super wealthy. (Applause.) That's not a tax raiser. That's called fairness where I come from. (Applause.)

And, folks, just like we did in Iraq, we're going to end the war in Afghanistan. (Applause.) That will save over $800 billion over the next 10 years. We're going to take half of that to pay down the debt and the other half to rebuild America, here in America, right here at home. (Applause.)

Look, a lot of you have been through some really -- an awful lot of tough times the past few years. But you did what Americans have always done, you didn't lose faith. You fought back. You didn't give up. You got up.

Ladies and gentlemen, these guys don't get it. There is no quit in America. There is no quit in America. (Applause.) And that's why I'm sure I'm not the only one who was so offended when Governor Romney described 47 percent of our fellow citizens -- no, for real --

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- but for real, think about it, describing almost half the population as not being willing to take personal responsibility, half the population saying we see ourselves as victims, saying it's not my job to worry about half the population.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is really -- when I hear that talk not just from the Governor and Congressman Ryan, but from the new Republican Party this thing about the culture of dependency, about America being in decline, honest to God, I don't recognize the country they're talking about, for real. I don't recognize it. For I know personally, like you do, hundreds of people who get up every day facing the most daunting challenges. They put one foot in front of the other. They keep going.

My dad used to say, Joey, I don't expect the government to solve my problems, but I expect them to at least understand my problem, just understand it. (Applause.) And, folks, these guys don't understand, in my view, this country. The American people are so much better -- so much stronger -- take so much more responsibility than these guys give them credit for.

I really am stunned how they could have such a profound misunderstanding about the people of this country, such a profound misunderstanding. Folks, I've got news for Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan. America is neither dependent nor is it in decline. (Applause.) Gentlemen -- I say to them directly: Gentlemen, it's never, never, never, never been a good bet to bet against the American people -- never, never. (Applause.)

So, folks, I'm betting on you. We need you. And together, we'll win Iowa. And when we win Iowa, we will win the presidency. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you so much. (Applause.)

END 2:26 P.M. PM CDT