<p><b>--TEASE--</b></p>\n<p><b>MONEY-oil-prices-gas-goldman-sachs-spr-saudi-arabia-aramco-1</b></p>\n<p>Approved - </p>\n<p>alexandra peers</p>\n<p><b>America's emergency oil reserve is at a 40-year low — and that could inflate oil prices, Goldman Sachs says</b></p>\n<p><b>By Matt Egan</b></p>\n<p><b>CNN Business</b></p>\n<p> NEW YORK (CNN Business) -- America's emergency oil stockpile has plunged to 40-year lows. The shrinking Strategic Petroleum Reserve is limiting Washington's ability to shield consumers from the fallout of Saudi Arabia's aggressive supply cuts, according to Goldman Sachs.</p>\n<p> "At this point, US energy policy has fewer bullets left. It has less levers left in its policy toolkit," Daan Struyven, head of oil research at Goldman Sachs, told CNN in a phone interview.</p>\n<p> That's one reason Goldman Sachs expects oil prices to stay high, averaging $100 a barrel this time next year. Triple-digit oil would boost already-high prices at the pump, worsening inflation and potentially influencing the 2024 race for the White House.</p>\n<p> To cushion the blow from the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration has released vast amounts of oil from the SPR, the underground series of storage tanks along the Gulf Coast that contains emergency oil. </p>\n<p> Industry veterans say that strategy helped mitigate the hit to consumers as gasoline prices plunged after hitting $5.02 a gallon in June 2022. </p>\n<p> But the SPR, which acts as a rainy-day fund that presidents can tap during times of war or natural disaster, is down by about 270 million barrels over the past two years to the lowest level since August 1983.</p>\n<p> That point is not lost on Wall Street investors, let alone OPEC. </p>\n<p> "Because the level of the SPR is quite low, you would need a larger shock to energy prices or to supply to start releasing barrels again," Struyven. "The hurdle to exercise the insurance policy is bigger when you have less insurance left."</p>\n<p> The Energy Department has already been forced to scrap plans to buy oil to refill the SPR due to high prices. </p>\n<p> Struyven now expects the SPR to get refilled by just a "super slow" pace of 1.5 million barrels per month. </p>\n<p> US officials have previously stressed that even after the sizable emergency releases, the SPR is still the largest emergency reserve of oil on the planet. </p>\n<p> "We have, by far, enough to be able to deal with any emergencies over the next couple of years," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN in July. </p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>      Saudi Arabia's 'very assertive' strategy</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p> Rather than an outright emergency, the recent jump in energy prices has been driven in large part by OPEC.</p>\n<p> Oil prices hit 10-month highs this month after Saudi Arabia and Russia vowed to extend their supply cuts. That in turn sent gasoline prices surging to nearly $4 a gallon nationally. Gas prices have since cooled a bit, with the national average for gasoline dipping to $3.83 a gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA. </p>\n<p> "The Saudis have been very assertive in exercising their pricing power," Struyven said. </p>\n<p> The Goldman Sachs executive described the Saudi strategy as "unique" because its "quite large" drop in production is happening in an environment where demand is strong and supply is not excessive. Saudi output has plunged by 2 million barrels per day over the past year, equaling about 18% of their total production. </p>\n<p> Saudi Arabia has an incentive to keep oil prices high in order to balance their budget. Struyven notes the kingdom has plenty of expensive projects to fund.</p>\n<p> Moreover, Saudi Aramco, the country's national oil company, is considering raising money through a share sale. The higher oil prices go, the greater the appetite for shares of Aramco. </p>\n<p> "The Saudis benefit a lot from higher prices," Struyven said.</p>\n<p> As does Russia, which has similarly holding back supply as it seeks to boost revenue to fund its war machine. </p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>      Oil CEO warns of $150 oil</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p> World oil stockpiles are expected to tumble by 70 million barrels over the next three months due to the supply cuts, according to Bank of America.</p>\n<p> That's why Bank of America on Wednesday ramped up its Brent oil price forecast to an average of $91 a barrel in the second half of this year, up from $81 a barrel previously. </p>\n<p> "Russia and Saudi Arabia have shown a strong alignment in providing support to the oil market between $80 and $100," Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America, wrote in a note to clients.</p>\n<p> Some in the oil industry are warning prices could spike even higher.</p>\n<p> Doug Lawler, CEO of oil driller Continental Resources, cautioned that oil could spike to $120 to $150 a barrel unless the US government does more to encourage production. </p>\n<p> "That's going to send a shock through the system," Lawler told Bloomberg on Monday. </p>\n<p> A spike to $150 would drive up gasoline and diesel levels that could threaten to spark a recession and seriously worsen inflation.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>      'Extremely high prices' not likely</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p> Yet Wall Street analysts are skeptical that Saudi Arabia would let things get to that level because it would risk killing the golden goose. </p>\n<p> "The political calculus could start to change above $100/barrel," BofA's Blanch wrote. "With a US presidential election approaching, internal OPEC+ dynamics could make a big difference to the oil price outcome next year." </p>\n<p> Blanch said another spike in energy prices "risks reigniting inflation fears around the world, higher interest rates and eventually financial turmoil."</p>\n<p> Goldman's Struyven directly pushed back on the warning of $150 oil.</p>\n<p> "That's definitely not our base case. We think there are several mechanisms in the market that should prevent prices from rising to extremely high levels," he said. </p>\n<p> For instance, US frackers would respond to higher prices by aggressively pumping more oil. That would limit prices from getting too high. </p>\n<p> "US shale is not dead. There is still flexibility in the system," Struyven said. </p>\n<p> Perhaps the biggest reason: Saudi Arabia self-interest. The kingdom knows that if prices get too high, people will be forced to drive and fly less. Plus, $150 oil would fuel investments in clean energy, accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels. </p>\n<p> "Extremely high prices destroy long-term demand for Saudi barrels," Struyven said. </p>\n<p> CNN reached out to the Energy Department on this story, which declined to comment.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--SUPERS</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--VIDEO SHOWS</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--LEAD IN</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--VO SCRIPT</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--SOT</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--TAG</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--KEYWORD TAGS--</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--MUSIC INFO---</b></p>\n<p></p>

FTG FOR GINGER ZEE CS VO PKG ON EXTREME DROUGHT Clip: RS 5105 DROUGHT FARMERS Interviews and broll with farmers affected by nationwide drought SOT John Kiefner, a corn and soy bean farmer in Manhattan, Illinois. SOT Jan Huber, pig farmer in Creston, Illinois Clip: PATHFIRE DROUGHT MO OK IA Dope sheets: wsDroughtGreenTurfMO LOCATION/STORY: 16:9/ St Joseph, MO: Despite the record crop, softball fields are kept very green due to a natural irrigation system. William Seay reports with an ABC News sigout. KQTV ADVISORIES/RESTRICTIONS/EMBARGOES: NONE FORMAT: PKG SUPERS: ST JOSEPH. MISSOURI WIILLIAM SEAY | REPORTING JEFF ATKINS | SUPERINTENDENT OF PARKS VIDEO PROVIDED BY: KQTV - ABC / ST JOSEPH LENGTH: 1:18 OUT CUE: for ABC News, William Seay, St Joseph, Missouri SCRIPT: GRASSY FIELDS EVERYWHERE ARE STARTING TO LOOK A LITTLE LIKE THIS GOLDEN, BROWN, OR YELLOW BLADES STRUGGLING TO STAY ALIVE IN THE DROUGHT AND HEAT. "Even last year I don't think as many lawns were as brown as they are this year. I think people are going to lose a lot of grass." "But the grass on the softball fields in St. Joseph is doing just fine. It's nice and green. And the irrigation system is green as well." ((NATS)) THE SPRINKLERS ON THIS SOFTBALL FIELD ARE THE KEY TO KEEPING THE SOD VIBRANT "It's absolutely crucial. If you don't put water on it, it's not going to survive. It'll be like playing on asphalt." BUT THE ST. JOSEPH PARKS DEPT. DOESN'T HAVE A HUGE WATER BILL THE WATER COMES FROM A NATURAL AQUIFER, SUPPLIED BY THE MISSOURI RIVER, EIGHTY FEET BELOW THE SURFACE. "We could run our four-inch pump twenty four hours a day from here until forever. As long as that Missouri River is flowing, we'll have water for our ball fields." YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE - THEY CAN'T IRRIGATE THE COMMON AREAS, AND GROWING NEW GRASS HAS BEEN NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. BUT PLAYING SURFACES ARE VIBRANT, ALMOST LIKE THERE'S NO DROUGHT AT ALL "Without our irrigation system, it wouldn't have survived. Under normal conditions we'd have to irrigate it to keep it wet, to keep it healthy and thriving with the ball that's played on them." BUT IT'S EVEN MORE CRUCIAL NOW, WITH VERY LITTLE HELP FROM MOTHER NATURE. FOR ABC NEWS, WILLIAM SEAY, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT SAYS IT COULD TAKE UNTIL NEXT YEAR FOR THE COMMON AREAS TO BE COVERED IN GRASS. **************************************************************************** wsDroughtParksOK LOCATION/STORY: Tulsa, OK: How is water rationing affecting businesses that depend on it (KOTV-CBS) Embargo to KTUL ADVISORIES/RESTRICTIONS/EMBARGOES: Embargo to KTUL FORMAT: VOSOT SUPERS: Tulsa, TX Brian Carroll, Tulsa Drillers Public Relations Dewey Bartlett, Tulsa Mayor VIDEO PROVIDED BY: KOTV-CBS LENGTH: 1:41 SCRIPT INFO: The Tulsa Drillers' home at ONEOK Field needs a lot of water each week to stay alive. Brian Carroll, Tulsa Drillers Public Relations "Water is very important. Obviously as you look behind me, we've got a beautiful green playing surface, so we have to have water to keep it going." Most of the heavy watering is done overnight, starting at midnight. During homestands, the grounds crew is limited on when they can water because of the quick turnaround between games. Brian Carroll, Tulsa Drillers Public Relations "It's a hybrid Bermuda grass, so it doesn't require as much water as say your average lawn or a rye grass or a fescue lawn." Parks with expensive landscaping, like Woodward Park, are trying to balance water usage while not letting the plants die. The city-owned Page Belcher golf course uses treated water for outdoor watering. The city is now evaluating the cost of switching to well or pond water instead. That will happen eventually, but not before summer is over. Dewey Bartlett, Tulsa Mayor " We will be making those changes as we go along, but if we do have to enter into a mandatory rationing stage, we'll have very specific statements regarding that." In the meantime, the maintenance crew waters overnight and tends to the greens early so they beat the heat. Back at ONEOK Field, the staff is being respectful of the city's wishes. Brian Carroll, Tulsa Drillers Public Relations "We are aware of the water situation and we water as a necessity and don't overdo it and hopefully we'll get some rain and we're not talking about this in a week." And hoping for a 7th inning stretch from this extreme drought. TAG We also spoke with the University of Tulsa. Bob Shipley with T-U tells us they are monitoring the usage and already taking some precautions, but they can't totally stop outdoor watering when it comes to landscaping and athletic practice fields. **************************************************************************** WsCropInsurancePkg LOCATION/STORY: Sioux City, IA/Farmers Cutting Their Crops & Collecting Insurance ADVISORIES/RESTRICTIONS/EMBARGOES: None FORMAT: AARON ADELSON PKG (WIDESCREEN FORMAT) SUPERS: --Chuck Kellen, Mark Crop Insurance Agent VIDEO PROVIDED BY: KCAU LENGTH: 1:38 SUGGESTED INTRO SCRIPT NAT WITH ALL THIS DEAD CORN... NAT A LOT OF FAMERS ARE CUTTING THEIR CROPS AT LEAST A MONTH EARLY, AND TAKING THE LOSSES, WHICH HAS INSURANCE AGENTS VERY BUSY NAT CHUCK KELLEN WITH MARK CROP INSURANCE HAS BEEN AN INSURANCE AGENT FOR 27 YEARS... AND HE SAYS THIS YEAR... HE EXPECTS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS CLIENTS TO FILE CLAIMS. "In 1988, the same thing might have been true, pretty close to that number, but the gravity of the amount of loss is by far superior than 1988. They're just not even in the same class. It's the Katrina of crop insurance, I call it. It's a natural disaster, the likes that we've never seen." WITH SO MANY CLAIMS, INSURANCE COMPANIES COULD PAY OUT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, "There's been concerns out there, is there enough money to pay this from a government standpoint? Crop insurance is backed by the government, yes, but the reinsurance companies that are out there also reinsure. They insure what they've insured for the farmers. They've placed insurance on the insurance they've given farmers." WITH SO MUCH AT STAKE, KELLEN HAS ADVICE FOR FARMERS. "They have to contact their agent, because there are differences out there. They're audits out there. It's important they do things within the realm of the policy, otherwise some of the coverage could be negated." TAG SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE TOM VILSACK ESTIMATES 85 PERCENT OF FARMERS HAVE CROP INSURANCE THIS YEAR, COMPARED TO JUST 25 PERCENT IN 1988. I'M AARON ADELSON, CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS TIME/INITIAL: 13:52:28 cag

Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Hearing with Kenneth Feinberg on the BP Gulf Oil Spill Claims Process. 15:30:02 THIS LAW HAS BEEN SIGNED TO GO INTO EFFECT THAT YOU BE DILIGENT 15:30:08 AND THERE'S A TENSION HERE BETWEEN BEING DILIGENT AND 15:30:11 TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE PROTECT THE FUND FROM WHICH THESE MONIES 15:30:15 ARE GOING TO BE PAID AND AT THE SAME TIME TRYING TO BE FAIR. 15:30:17 YOU SPOKE TO THIS ONCE BEFORE. COULD YOU JUST RESPOND TO IT 15:30:21 AGAIN? MR. CHAIRMAN, NOTHING WILL 15:30:24 UNDERCUT THE CREDIBILITY OF THIS FUND THAT I'M ADMINISTERING MORE 15:30:27 THAN FRAUD. NOTHING. 15:30:28 IF IT GETS AROUND THAT $20 BILLION IS BEING WASTED, THERE 15:30:33 ARE FRAUDULENT PAYMENTS, IT WILL DESTROY THE CREDIBILITY OF THE 15:30:37 PROGRAM IN THE EYES OF THE PUBLIC AND FRANKLY IN THE EYES 15:30:40 OF THE CLAIMANT. SO I AM DETERMINED AS I WAS WITH 15:30:43 THE 9/11 VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND TO MAKE SURE THAT FRAUD IS 15:30:49 ADDRESSED PROMPTLY, QUICKLY, EFFICIENTLY, THAT WE WILL DETERL 15:30:53 ANY FRAUDULENT PAYMENTS. I'VE GOT THE COOPERATION OF THE 15:30:57 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. CRIMINAL DIVISION, NO BETTER 15:31:00 THAN THEM. AND ALSO, WE WILL HAVE 15:31:03 INTERNALLY IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT I'M DESIGNING, WE WILL HAVE 15:31:08 ANTI-FRAUD MECHANISMS TO DEAL EXACTLY WITH THE PROBLEM YOU ARE 15:31:12 RAISING. GOOD, THANKS. 15:31:13 ETERNAL VIGILANCE, CONTINUE TO BE VIGILANTE. 15:31:16 THANK YOU. MR. HACKETT, YOU SAID PUBLICLY 15:31:19 THAT YOU BELIEVE BP MAY HAVE ACTED WITH WILLFUL MISCONDUCT 15:31:22 AND WITH GROSS OR WITH GROSS NEGLIGENCE AS THE OPERATOR OF 15:31:25 THE DEEP WATER HORIZON RIG. THIS HAS BEEN ANADARKO'S PRIMARY 15:31:31 ARGUMENT FOR WITHHOLDING PAYMENTS I BELIEVE TO BP. 15:31:34 PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND TELL US WHAT EVIDENCE OR INFORMATION 15:31:37 THAT YOU HAVE THAT HAS LED AND DARK COLE TO THAT CONCLUSION. 15:31:41 YES, SENATOR. THE INFORMATION WE HAVE GATHERED 15:31:43 HAS BEEN THROUGH TESTIMONY AND INVESTIGATION AND THROUGH PUBLIC 15:31:48 DISCLOSURES BECAUSE WE'VE NOT RECEIVED ANY ROOT CAUSES 15:31:51 DIRECTLY FROM THE OPERATOR. THE MAJORITY OF THE THINGS THAT 15:31:56 WE MAKE THAT LIKELY GROSS NEGLIGENCE STATEMENT SURROUNDING 15:32:02 WERE COVERED IN THE CONGRESSMAN WAXMAN/STUP PACK LETTER TO BP 15:32:09 PRIOR TO TONITY HAYWARD'S TESTIMONY. 15:32:13 ALL RIGHT. A QUESTION AGAIN, IF I COULD FOR 15:32:16 YOU AND ALSO FOR MR. ISHII, PLEASE. 15:32:19 I UNDERSTAND, LET ME JUST ASK, THE JOINT OPERATING AGREEMENT 15:32:23 BETWEEN YOUR COMPANIES AND BP SPELLS OUT I BELIEVE CERTAIN 15:32:27 DATA, CERTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THE WELL'S OPERATION THAT 15:32:30 ANADARKO AND MOEX WERE TO BE GIVEN ACCESS TO ON A REGULAR 15:32:35 BASIS, IN FACT, SOME INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED I'M TOLD ON A 15:32:39 REALTIME BASIS. IN ADDITION, THIS INFORMATION 15:32:41 THAT YOUR COMPANY'S SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED YOU ALSO HAD TO APPROVE 15:32:45 I BELIEVE CERTAIN EXPENDITURES FOR WORK ON THE WELL. 15:32:49 IT WOULD SEEM IF BP HAD BEEN DOING SOMETHING WRONG, YOU WOULD 15:32:52 HAVE KNOWN ABOUT IT. AM I CORRECT IN THAT ASSUMPTION? 15:32:56 WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ANSWER? PLEASE. 15:32:59 THE STANDARD INDUSTRY PRACTICES THAT YOU DO GET A 15:33:02 BUDGET DESCRIPTION OF A MODEL OR TEMPLATE WELL DESIGN, THAT IS 15:33:09 THEN ALTERED DEPENDING ON WHAT THE DRILLING RESULTS ARE. 15:33:14 YOU ALSO GET REALTIME DATA ON THE GEOLOGICAL PROGNOSIS SO THAT 15:33:19 ONCE YOU HAVE TD A WELL WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 9th OF APRIL IN 15:33:24 THIS CASE, YOU THEN HAVE LOGGING RUNS WHICH OCCUR I THINK UP TO 15:33:29 THE MIDDLE OF APRIL OR AROUND THE 13th. 15:33:31 AT THAT POINT, THE REALTIME DATA IS NOT -- WE DON'T GO TO THE 15:33:37 REALTIME DATA BECAUSE THE GEOLOGICAL PROGNOSIS IS DONE AND 15:33:40 IT SHOULD BE A FAIRLY ROUTINE PROCESS AT THAT POINT THEN TO 15:33:43 FINISH THE WELL. UNTIL THEY NO LONGER GIVE YOU 15:33:49 REPORTS AS A DAILY DRILLING REPORT WHICH IS GENERALLY VERY 15:33:54 BROAD, VERY HIGH LEVEL ABOUT ACTUAL EVENTS AS OPPOSED TO THE 15:33:58 PROCEDURES USED OR DESIGNS THAT WERE USED. 15:34:01 THE LAST ONE OF THOSE WE RECEIVED WAS ON THE MORNING OF 15:34:05 THE 20th FOR THE ACTIVITIES ON THE 19th. 15:34:08 MR. ISHII. MR. CHAIRMAN. 15:35:36 MISS SATO? WOULD YOU MAKE SURE YOUR MIKE IS 15:35:43 ON, PLEASE. EXCUSE ME. 15:35:46 Translator: MR. CHAIRMAN, WE RECEIVE DAILY REPORTS FROM BP, 15:35:49 AND THESE REPORTS ARE RECEIVED WITH A ONE-DAY DELAY. 15:35:52 AND IN ADDITION, WE HAVE THE RIGHTS TO ACCESS SOME OF THE 15:35:58 TECHNICAL OR DETAIL DATA. HOWEVER, OUR POSITION IS THAT AS 15:36:02 WE HAVE BEEN SAYING, OF COURSE, WE ARE COMMITTED TO COMPLYING 15:36:06 WITH ALL OF OUR LEGAL OBLIGATIONS. 15:36:11 HOWEVER, WHEN WE MADE THE DECISION TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS 15:36:15 WELL, THE DRILLING HAD ALREADY STARTED AT THAT TIME. 15:36:18 AND THAT DRILLING WAS STARTED BASED ON THE GOVERNMENT 15:36:24 APPROVING THE DRILLING PLAN. AND THEREFORE, AS THE OPERATOR, 15:36:28 WE FELT THAT BP WOULD PROPERLY OPERATE THE WELL AND THEREFORE, 15:36:38 BASED ON THAT INFORMATION, WE DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS 15:36:43 PROJECT. AND THEREFORE, WE FEEL THE SAME 15:36:46 AS ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUFFERED IN THIS GREAT TRAGEDY 15:36:51 IN THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DETERMINE WHY THIS ACCIDENT 15:36:59 OCCURRED AND WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT PROPERLY CLARIFIED. 15:37:03 UNTIL THAT IS INVESTIGATED AND DETERMINED, WE FEEL THAT IT IS 15:37:06 TOO EARLY TO DISCUSS ANYTHING FURTHER. 15:37:11 ALL RIGHT. MR. ISHII, IN AMERICA WE LIKE TO 15:37:16 PLAY BASEBALL. AS IT TURNS OUT IN YOUR COUNTRY, 15:37:18 YOUR PEOPLE LIKE TO PLAY BASEBALL, TOO. 15:37:21 SOME OF YOUR BEST PLAYERS ACTUALLY END UP PLAYING HERE IN 15:37:24 THIS COUNTRY AS YOU KNOW. WE HAVE A TERM IN BASEBALL THAT 15:37:29 WE USE OUTSIDE OF BASEBALL. IT'S CALLED A PITCH THAT IS WELL 15:37:35 T TELEGRAPHED. 15:37:37 AND THE IDEA OF THE CONCEPT BEHIND A PITCH WELL TELEGRAPHED 15:37:41 KNOW WHAT TO PITCH, FASTBALL, CURVEBALL, SPLIT FINGER, 15:37:45 CHANGE-UP YOU KNOW WHAT THE PITCHERS ARE GOING TO PITCH 15:37:47 BECAUSE IT'S TELEGRAPHED IN THE PAST. 15:37:50 I WANT TO KIND OF DRILL DOWN, IF I CAN, ON THE COMMUNICATIONS 15:37:56 BETWEEN BP AND WITH ANADARKO AND WITH MOEX, IN THE DAYS LEADING 15:38:03 UP TO APRIL 20th. AND WERE YOU TAKEN BY SURPRISE 15:38:10 ON APRIL 20th WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED? 15:38:13 WAS THIS A PITCH WELL TELEGRAPHED? 15:38:16 HAD YOU BEEN RECEIVING UPDATES FROM THE PRIMARY OPERATOR OF THE 15:38:21 WELL THAT THERE WERE PROBLEMS? WE HAVE RECEIVED, AS YOU MAY 15:38:26 KNOW, COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN BP AND I BELIEVE IN THIS CASE 15:38:34 ANADARKO THAT INDICATE APRIL 9th THAT WE'RE AGGRESSIVELY FIGHTING 15:38:39 LOSSES AS THE DRILLING HAS GONE FORWARD AND ANOTHER I'LL TRY TO 15:38:45 POST SHORTLY. WE'RE TROUBLE SHOOTING SOME 15:38:47 ISSUES THIS MORNING. HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME GETTING 15:38:52 GOOD SEAL BORE AROUND THE WALL. IT LOOKS LIKE LCM. 15:38:56 WHAT IS LCM. LOSS CIRCULATION OF MATERIAL. 15:39:00 MAYBE THE CULPRIT. THAT WAS EIGHT DAYS BEFORE THE 15:39:04 BLOWOUT. JUST CHARACTERIZE FOR US, 15:39:05 PLEASE, THE KIND OF COMMUNICATIONS FLOWING BACK FROM 15:39:09 BP THE PRIMARY OPERATOR OF THE WELL TO YOUR COMPANIES AS TO HOW 15:39:13 THINGS WERE GOING IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE INCIDENT. 15:39:17 MR. HACKETT, DO YOU WANT TO GO FIRST? 15:39:20 CERTAINLY. AS YOU STATE IN THE DATES ON THE 15:39:24 DOCUMENTS, THAT'S THAT PERIOD DURING WHEN WE ARE TALKING 15:39:28 REALTIME ABOUT THE WELL. NONE OF THOSE PRESSURE ISSUES 15:39:31 ARE UNIQUE TO THIS PARTICULAR PART OF THE GULF OF MEXICO. 15:39:35 AGAIN, THIS WAS NOT AN EXTRAORDINARY WELL EITHER IN 15:39:37 TERMS OF DEPTH OR COMPLEXITY. WHAT THEN HAPPENS IS THE MOST 15:39:42 CRITICAL. YOU'RE SAYING A WELL AT 5,000 15:39:44 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE WATER WITH THIS GREAT DISTANCE 15:39:48 UNDER THE SUB SURFACE IS NOT UNIQUE OR UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE? 15:39:53 I APOLOGIZE IF I'M UNDERESTIMATING THAT IN AMERICAN 15:39:57 PEOPLE'S MINDS BECAUSE IT APPEARS AS ONE PERSON SAID LIKE 15:40:00 NASA SCIENCE TO MANY PEOPLE. BUT ANADARKO ITSELF IS ONE OF 15:40:03 THE MOST ACTIVE DEEP WATER DRILLERS IN THE WORLD. 15:40:07 WE'VE DRILLED TWICE THIS DEEP, WELLS NEARLY TWICE AS DEEP IN 15:40:11 TERMS OF TOTAL DEPTH. THIS AGAIN IS NOT AN 15:40:14 EXTRAORDINARY WELL TORT INDUSTRY. 15:40:18 THE ACTIVITIES THAT OCCURRED AFTER THE PERIOD IN WHICH YOU 15:40:22 SPOKE TO ARE REALLY THE ONES THAT ARE VERY CRITICAL. 15:40:25 THAT IS WHEN YOU ACTUALLY GO TO FINISH THE WELL. 15:40:27 AGAIN, PRESSURE RESPONSES IS NOT AN ISSUE WITH REGARD TO OUR 15:40:31 BUSINESS. IT'S SOMETHING YOU CONTROL. 15:40:33 AND TAKE CARE OF WHEN YOU GO TO FINISH THAT WELL. 15:40:36 MR. ISHII, PLEASE. MR. CHAIRMAN. 15:41:20 [ SPEAKING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE ] MISS SATO? 15:42:08 IF YOU GOT ALL THAT, YOU'RE PRETTY GOOD. 15:42:11 THANK YOU. Translator: MR. CHAIRMAN, 15:42:13 WHEN WE DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT, BP HAD ALREADY 15:42:21 OBTAINED GOVERNMENT APPROVAL FOR THE DRILLING PLAN AND THE 15:42:23 DRILLING HAD ALREADY STARTED, BASED ON THIS APPROVED PLAN. 15:42:27 THAT IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY FIRST OF ALL. 15:42:29 THEN NEXT, ABOUT ONE WEEK BEFORE APRIL 20th, BP SENT AN E-MAIL, 15:42:36 AND IN THAT E-MAIL, BP SENT THAT SAID THAT BASED ON SOME SAFETY 15:42:41 CONCERNS, THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO CONTINUE FURTHER 15:42:44 DRILLING IN THIS WELL. SO THEY WERE GOING TO STOP THE 15:42:47 DRILLING. NOW, THIS DEEP WATER HORIZON 15:42:52 PROJECT WAS THE FIRST GULF OF MEXICO PROJECT THAT WE WERE 15:42:57 INVOLVED IN. WHEREAS BP IS THE LARGEST 15:43:00 OPERATOR IN THAT AREA AND THE LARGEST PRODUCER. 15:43:03 SO THE THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE AND TRACK RECORD IN 15:43:07 THAT AREA. AND THEREFORE, SINCE BP STARTED 15:43:10 THE DRILLING, BASED ON GOVERNMENT APPROVED PLAN, WE 15:43:14 PLACED TRUST IN THAT AND IN THEM WHEN WE PARTICIPATED. 15:43:18 AND THEN WE RECEIVED THAT NOTICE ABOUT ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE 15:43:24 ACCIDENT. AND SINCE WE ARE A AN 10% 15:43:29 MINORITY INTEREST INVESTOR, WE WERE NOT INVOLVED IN ANY DIRECT 15:43:34 DECISION MAKING WITH BP. SO WE RELIED ON BP'S EXPERIENCE 15:43:39 AND WE TRUSTED THAT THEY HAD BEEN OPERATING PROPERLY. 15:43:45 ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. 15:43:46 SENATOR McCAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. 15:43:49 THANK YOU, MR. HACKETT, HAVE YOU PROVIDE PERSONNEL TO HELP 15:43:54 CLEAN UP THE SHORES? WE HAVE OFFERED TO DO SO, 15:43:59 SENATOR. WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED TECHNICAL 15:44:02 EXPERTISE TO THE WELL CONTROL EFFORTS. 15:44:04 WE'VE PROVIDED SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT FROM OTHER FIELDS FOR 15:44:08 THE CONTROL EFFORTS OF THE WELL, AS WELL. 15:44:11 YOU HAVE THOSE ASSETS HAVE BEEN COMMITTED OR OFFERED? 15:44:15 THEY HAVE BEEN OFFERED AND IN SOME CASES COMMITTED. 15:44:18 HAVE YOU SENT BOATS OR SKIMMERS TO THE AFFECTED WATERS? 15:44:23 WE HAVE NOT BEEN ASKED TO DO SO. 15:44:26 THOSE WOULD BE PROVIDED BY OTHER PEOPLE. 15:44:29 THEY'RE USUALLY CONTRACTED FOR. YOU'VE NOT BEEN ASKED TO SEND 15:44:34 BOATS OR SKIMMERS? NO, SIR. 15:44:38 MR. FEINBERG, YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAD 1500 LAWYERS 15:44:43 VOLUNTEER THEIR SERVICES IN THE COMPENSATION ISSUE ASSOCIATED 15:44:49 WITH 9/11. AND HOW MUCH MONEY WAS THAT? 15:44:53 IN 9/11, WE EXPENDED TAXPAYER MONEY A LITTLE OVER $7 BILLION. 15:45:00 AND HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CONSIDERABLY MORE? 15:45:03 YES. HAVE YOU SENT OUT THE CALL 15:45:06 YET FOR VOLUNTEERS TO COME AND ASSIST YOU IN THIS PROJECT? 15:45:11 YES, WE'RE WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH THE ABA, WITH THE ALLIANCE 15:45:16 OF TRIAL LAWYERS, WITH LOCAL BAR ASSOCIATIONS AND LAW SCHOOLS IN 15:45:22 THE REGION IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S PLENTY OF PRO BONO 15:45:29 ASSISTANCE. AND THEIR RESPONSE HAS BEEN? 15:45:30 POSITIVE, WE'RE SETTING IT UP NOW. 15:45:32 SO YOU ARE CONFIDENT THAT YOU WILL HAVE SUFFICIENT LEGAL 15:45:36 ASSISTANCE TO -- BECAUSE AS YOU MENTIONED, FRAUD IS ALWAYS A 15:45:42 VERY SIGNIFICANT ISSUE. BUT NOT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT 15:45:45 ISSUE. SO WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD 15:45:47 WORK. IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THE 15:45:49 OPPORTUNITY TO SEE YOU AGAIN. I'M SORRY WE TOOK YOU AWAY FROM 15:45:53 YOUR VERY BUSY SCHEDULE AND WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT, 15:45:57 MR. FEINBERG, WITH THIS ISSUE UNDER YOUR STEWARDSHIP AND I 15:46:02 THINK I SPEAK FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHEN I SAY THAT. 15:46:05 THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 15:46:07 THANK YOU, SENATOR McCAIN. MR. HACKETT, AS I UNDERSTOOD ONE 15:46:14 OF YOUR EARLIER COMMENTS, ANADARKO IN THIS CASE IS A 15:46:20 PARTNER WITH MOEX AND ALSO WITH BP. 15:46:24 IN THIS CASE, THE PRIMARY OPERATOR IS BP. 15:46:29 AND THERE ARE OTHER INSTANCES WHERE ANADARKO IS PRESUMABLY THE 15:46:35 PRIMARY PARTNER. IN SOME CASES I PRESUME YOU 15:46:38 DRILL THESE WELLS AND YOU'RE THE ONLY PARTICIPANT. 15:46:40 IN OTHER CASES -- DID YOU EVER PARTNER WITH OTHERS, OTHER 15:46:44 COMPANIES? WE DO THAT AS A NORMAL COURSE 15:46:47 OF BUSINESS, SENATOR. IT'S ACTUALLY VERY ATYPICAL TO 15:46:51 DRILL A WELL 100% IN OUR BUSINESS. 15:46:53 IT'S A WAY OF MANAGING TECHNICAL AND MANAGERIAL RISK. 15:46:57 MOST OF THE DEEP WATER, THERE ARE PARTNERS AND THERE IS A VERY 15:47:00 DISTINCT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OPERATOR BEING THE DECISION 15:47:03 MAKER. UH-HUH. 15:47:04 AND ARE THERE OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE IN THESE DEEP WELLS THAT 15:47:09 ANADARKO HAS DRILLED WHERE YOU MAY HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER 15:47:12 PARTNERS? YES, SIR. 15:47:14 AND IN MOST OF THOSE SITUATIONS, WOULD ANADARKO BE 15:47:18 THE MAJORITY PARTNER AND YOU PLAY HAVE A COUPLE OTHERS SUCH 15:47:21 AS WE HAVE HERE WITH 25 AND 10% PARTICIPANT? 15:47:25 YES, IN FACT, WE MIGHT HAVE LESS INTEREST THAN BP HAD IN 15:47:28 THIS WELL. IN FACT, AS OPERATORS. 15:47:32 DO YOU HAVE ANY MANY SITUATIONS WHERE YOU'RE THE LEAD 15:47:34 BUT YOU DO SO NOT AS A MAJORITY BUT IF YOU WILL, IN OUR TERMS 15:47:38 HERE, A PLURALITY? YOU MAY HAVE A 45% STAKE OR 40% 15:47:43 STAKE RATHER THAN A 50 OR 51%. YES, WE DO HAVE SITUATIONS 15:47:48 LIKE THAT BUT THAT 40 OR 45% IS USUALLY DETERMINED AS BEING THE 15:47:52 PRIMARY INTEREST. IN A SITUATION, LET'S PUT THE 15:47:55 SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT FOR A MOMENT. 15:47:58 AND LET'S SAY IN THIS CASE ANADARKO WAS THE LEAD. 15:48:01 AND THAT YOU WERE THE PRIMARY PARTY, PRIMARY RESPONSIBLE PARTY 15:48:05 AND WE'LL JUST SAY YOU WERE AT 65% OF THE A PARTICIPANT. 15:48:11 AND IF A SITUATION WHERE YOU RAN INTO TROUBLE AND HAD THIS KIND 15:48:15 OF BLOWOUT AND ACCIDENT, AND YOU WERE CALLED UPON TO HELP SET UP 15:48:25 A FUND, $20 BILLION FUND IN THIS CASE, TO MEET THE DEMANDS BY THE 15:48:31 GOVERNMENT FOR REIMBURSEMENT BY INDIVIDUALS, BY FAMILIES, BY 15:48:36 BUSINESSES? AND YOU WERE BEING BILLED BY THE 15:48:42 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND SO WERE YOUR PARTNERS AND YOU WERE 15:48:45 PONYING UP AND THEY WEREN'T. SORT OF PUTTING THE SHOE ON THE 15:48:49 OTHER FOOT AND KEEPING IN MIND THE GOLDEN RULE, I KNOW YOU'RE A 15:48:52 PERSON OF FAITH BUT TREATING OTHER PEOPLE THE WAY WE WOULD 15:48:55 WANT TO BE TREATED. HUGH DOES THAT MESH WITH 15:48:57 TREATING OTHER PEOPLE THE WAY WE WANTED TO BE TREATED? 15:49:00 I THINK IT'S VERY CONSISTENT. I DON'T THINK MY BELIEFS ARE ALL 15:49:04 COMPROMISED IN THIS INSTANCE. WE WERE NOT CONSULTED ON THE 15:49:07 ESCROW AGREEMENT THAT WAS SET UP. 15:49:08 IT WAS VERY PARTICULAR TO BP'S CIRCUMSTANCES. 15:49:11 I SUSPECT BOTH CORPORATELY AND ON THIS WELL. 15:49:15 WE STAND READY TO HONOR OUR OBLIGATIONS. 15:49:18 IF BP FAILS, WE ARE A RESPONSIBLE PARTY UNDER THE OIL 15:49:21 POLLUTION ACT. WE DO NOT WANT THE TAXPAYERS TO 15:49:23 BE ON THE HOOK FOR THIS AND WE STAY COMMITTED TO THAT, SIR. 15:49:28 ALL RIGHT. I DON'T PRETEND TO UNDERSTAND 15:49:30 WELL THE FINANCIAL CONDITION OR STRENGTH OF BOTH OF YOUR 15:49:34 COMPANIES. I BELIEVE YOU HAVE SUCCESSFUL 15:49:35 AND PROFITABLE COMPANIES. ARE YOU BOTH PUBLICLY TRADED 15:49:39 COMPANIES? WE ARE A PUBLICLY TRADED 15:49:41 COMPANY, YES, SIR. MR. ISHII? 15:49:47 Translator: MOEX IS NOT A PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY. 15:49:48 I SEE. SINCE YOU'RE A PUBLICLY TRADED 15:49:54 COMPANY, MR. HACKETT, COULD A I JUST FOLLOW UP WITH THIS 15:49:57 QUESTION. BP LOOKING AT THE PROSPECT OF, 15:50:01 IF THE FULL $20 BILLION WERE DRAWN DOWN UPON, MAYBE THE 15:50:07 REASON TO PAY THE WHOLE BILL FOR ALL $20 BILLION. 15:50:10 IF THIS APPORTIONMENT WOULD OCCUR, 25% TO ANADARKO AND 10% 15:50:15 TO MOEX, THEIR OBLIGATION WOULD BE 13 BILLION. 15:50:20 THEIR THINKING WOULD SAY ANADARKO SHOULD HANDLE 5 BILLION 15:50:27 AND MOEX WOULD HANDLE $2 BILLION. 15:50:31 I THINK THAT'S THE WAY IT WOULD WORK OUT. 15:50:33 CAN YOU JUST TALK US TO THE ABILITY OF YOUR COMPANY TO MEET 15:50:36 THAT KIND OF DEMAND FOR PAYMENT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME? 15:50:40 YES, SIR. UNDERSTANDING THAT THOSE 15:50:43 PAYMENTS WOULD BE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, WE GENERATE AS A 15:50:47 COMPANY SOMEWHERE NORTH OF $5 BILLION A YEAR. 15:50:52 IS THAT GROSS REVENUE? NO. 15:50:56 THAT'S CASH FLOW, SIR, THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR SPENDING AND WE 15:50:59 PUT THAT RIGHT BACK INTO DRILLING FOR MORE RESOURCES FOR 15:51:02 AMERICA. THAT IS TYPICAL OF THE 15:51:06 I INDEPENDENCE IN THIS COUNTRY. 15:51:11 THE CASH ON THE BALANCE SHEET IN THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER WAS 15:51:15 OVER $3 BILLION AND WE HAD AN UNDRAWN CREDIT FACILITY OF OVER 15:51:19 $1 BILLION. WE ALSO HAVE NET BOOK EQUITY OF 15:51:23 $20 BILLION. THANK YOU. 15:51:25 COULD YOU RESPOND AS WELL TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO 15:51:29 GIVEN THE FACT THAT YOU'RE NOT A PUBLICLY-TRADED COMPANY? 15:51:41 [ SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE FREN FREN ] 15:51:50 [ SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ] MISS, SATTO? 15:52:04 MR. CHAIRMAN, FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT WE WILL 15:52:08 HONOR ALL OF OUR LEGAL OBLIGATIONS. 15:52:13 HOWEVER, BEFORE WE DISCUSS THAT ANY FURTHER, IT IS IMPORTANT 15:52:17 THAT WE PROPERLY INVESTIGATE AND FIND OUT WHY THIS ACCIDENT 15:52:23 OCCURRED AND THEREFORE ANY DISCUSSION AFTER THAT IS, I 15:52:27 THINK, A BIT TOO EARLY NOW. ALL RIGHT. 15:52:33 CAN YOU JUST SHARE WITH US TO WHAT ROLE DOES INSURANCE PLAY 15:52:37 AND TO WHAT EXTENT CAN YOUR COMPANY AND OTHER COMPANIES IN A 15:52:41 SIMILAR SITUATION COVER THESE EXPENSES THROUGH INSURANCE OR 15:52:44 RE-INSURANCE. THINK IT'S A CRITICAL ISSUE 15:52:47 TO WHERE WE CRAFT LEGISLATION GOING FORWARD, SENATORS, IF IN 15:52:52 FACT, WE HAVE PILOT ERROR OCCUR LIKE THIS AGAIN, WE HAVE TO MAKE 15:52:55 CERTAIN THAT FOR THE AMERICAN PUBLIC AND PROBABLY FOR A GLOBAL 15:52:59 SOCIETY THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO ANSWER THIS IN A BETTER WAY THAN 15:53:03 WE WERE THIS TIME. I THINK A NUMBER OF US HAVE 15:53:06 LEARNED LESSONS IN THAT REGARD. THE INSURANCE MARKET 15:53:10 HISTORICALLY HAVE NOT BEEN TERRIBLY DEEP. 15:53:11 YOU AND I HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT NOT TOO LONG AGO. 15:53:16 WE HAD PROBABLY PER REVENUE UNIT FOR OUR COMPANY AS MUCH AS 15:53:20 ANYBODY IN OUR INDUSTRY AND WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET 15:53:23 ANOTHER -- MORE THAN THAT AS IT TURNS OUT AND MAYBE DOUBLE THAT, 15:53:27 BUT AS WE'VE PUBLICLY STATED, THAT AMOUNTS TO ABOUT 17 MILLION 15:53:33 PER INCIDENT ON A 25% WORKING INTEREST WITH $176 MILLION 15:53:39 GROSS, AND WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO DO THEN IS MAKE CERTAIN THAT PEOPLE 15:53:42 HAVE BALANCE SHEETS TO BACK IT UP BEYOND THAT, WHICH WE DO. 15:53:46 I THINK WE'VE GOT TO BE CRAFTING THE OIL SPILL LEGISLATION 15:53:50 PROPERLY WHERE WE BOTH HAVE LIABILITY LIMITS, PROPERLY 15:53:54 DETERMINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FUND AND ALSO AN ABILITY TO GET 15:53:57 AN INSURANCE EXCHANGE WORKING THAT MAKES THIS VERY IMPORTANT 15:54:02 RESOURCE FOR DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AVAILABLE TO ALL OF US LONG 15:54:06 TERM. I'M GOING TO COME BACK ON 15:54:07 THAT POINT IN JUST A MOMENT, IF I COULD. 15:54:11 MR. FEINBERG, WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE SENATE TO 15:54:16 PICK UP PERHAPS NEXT WEEK ENERGY LEGISLATION THAT WILL ATTEMPT TO 15:54:26 CONSERVE ENERGY. WILL ATTEMPT TO REDUCE SOMEWHAT 15:54:29 OUR DEPENDENCE ON PETROLEUM AND FOSSIL FUELS ESPECIALLY ON 15:54:33 FOREIGN OIL AND WE'LL ATTEMPT TO DO SOMETHING WITH RESPECT TO 15:54:40 ADDRESSING THE CAP FOR THE OIL SPILL LIABILITIES. 15:54:46 LET ME JUST ASK YOU YOUR RECOMMENDATION, AND AS WE TAKE 15:54:50 UP LOOKING AT THE CURRENT LAW ON THE OIL SPILL LIABILITY CAP AND 15:54:56 THE PORTION IS RATHER MODEST LIABILITY THAT EXISTS UNDER THE 15:55:01 CURRENT LAW AND THEN A LARGER FUND CONTRIBUTED TO BY COMPANIES 15:55:06 LIKE ANADARKO AND LIKE MOEX WHICH I THINK IS $1.5 BILLION 15:55:14 AND THEN BEYOND THAT I THINK IT'S ON THE TAXPAYER. 15:55:17 BP, TO THEIR CREDIT, HAS STEPPED FORWARD AND SAID NO. 15:55:21 WE'RE GOOD FOR AT LEAST 20 BILLION AND WE CERTAINLY WANT TO 15:55:24 HAVE THEIR PARTNERS TO SHARE IN THAT. 15:55:27 AS WE TRY TO CRAFT NEXT WEEK OR TWO, THE LEGISLATION, 15:55:33 REVISITING OIL SPILL LIABILITY, WHAT SHOULD WE KEEP IN MIND. 15:55:36 I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE LEGISLATION. 15:55:38 I'M NOT AWARE OF IT AND SO I DON'T KNOW THE LANGUAGE. 15:55:42 I DON'T KNOW THE PUBLIC POLICY. IF YOU WILL, JUST KEEP IN 15:55:45 MIND WHAT THE CURRENT LAW CALLS FOR AND IN TRYING TO SAY WHAT'S 15:55:49 GOOD OR BAD ABOUT THAT AND WHAT MIGHT WE THINK ABOUT IN CHANGING 15:55:53 IT BECAUSE IT IS PRETTY CLEAR WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE IT. 15:55:56 ALL I CAN SAY AND IT PROBABLY IS NOT VERY HELPFUL, SENATOR, IS 15:56:01 THAT AT LEAST IN THIS CASE, THE CAP IS SORT OF IRRELEVANT 15:56:05 BECAUSE BP ON ITS OWN HAS STEPPED UP TO MAKE THE CAP SORT 15:56:10 OF AN IRRELEVANT CONSIDERATION. WHETHER THE CAP OUGHT TO BE 15:56:15 RAISED. I REMEMBER I WAS ON A COMMISSION 15:56:18 WITH PRICE ANDERSON INVOLVED IN NUCLEAR POWER YEARS AGO. 15:56:22 THAT'S FOR OTHERS TO THINK ABOUT, BUT I THINK AT LEAST IN 15:56:26 THIS CASE, FORTUNATELY, THE CAP HAS NOT BEEN A BARRIER TO 15:56:31 COMPENSATION. ANY ADVICE FOR US AS WE VISIT 15:56:35 THIS ISSUE IN LEGISLATIVELY? AGAIN, I JUST RESTATE IN 15:56:39 REFERENCE TO THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY AND PERHAPS THE MARINE 15:56:43 INDUSTRY IS RELEVANT THAT WE HAVE TO FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT 15:56:46 AMERICAN SOURCE OF ENERGY COME UP WITH A WORKABLE PLAN THAT 15:56:49 ALLOWS US TO HAVE LIABILITY CAPS THAT WORK FOR THE PUBLIC, THAT 15:56:55 HAVE INSURANCE CAPABILITY THAT WORKS FOR THE PUBLIC AND THE OIL 15:56:59 SPILL RESPONSE CAPABILITY THAT WORKS WITH THE PUBLIC AND 15:57:03 THERE'S DETAIL AROUND THAT AND NONE OF IT SHOULD BE DEALT WITH 15:57:05 IN ISOLATION IN MY VIEW. ALL RIGHT. 15:57:09 WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESPOND BRIEFLY TO MY QUESTION, PLEASE? 15:57:27 [ SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ] Translator: MR. CHAIRMAN, I'M 15:57:34 SORRY VERY, BUT COULD I HAVE YOU REPEAT YOUR QUESTION? 15:57:39 YES. A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO 15:57:41 LEGISLATION WAS ENACTED THAT ESTABLISHED AN OIL SPILL 15:57:44 LIABILITY FUND CALLED FOR OIL COMPANIES TO PAY INTO THAT FUND 15:57:51 AND SET A CAP, A LIMIT OUT OF WHICH MONIES COULD BE PAID FROM 15:57:55 THAT FUND, BUT SAID IF THERE'S -- IF A PARTY'S 15:57:59 PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE THE FIRST 15:58:01 RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY, AND I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT THE 15:58:04 AMOUNT WAS, BUT 70 -- $75 MILLION. 15:58:10 IN A CASE LIKE THIS, $75 MILLION DOESN'T GO VERY FAR AND FRANKLY, 15:58:16 NEITHER DOES $1.5 BILLION. WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THAT LAW 15:58:19 AND WE'LL START WORKING ON IT VERY SERIOUSLY PROBABLY ON THE 15:58:22 SENATE FLOOR NEXT WEEK, AND I WAS ASKING MR. HACKETT IF THEY 15:58:25 HAD ANY ADVICE AND I ASSUME THAT THE LEGISLATORS HAVE 15:58:30 RESPONSIBILITY. IF YOU HAVE A THOUGHT ON THAT, 15:58:32 WE WELCOME HEARING IT, AND YOU MAY NOT. 15:58:34 THAT'S OKAY.

CAMPAIGN 2012 / INT BROLL PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA CAMPAIGN SPEECH AT CINCINNATI MUSIC HALL / CUTS Monday, July 16, 2012 TRANSCRIPT: President Obama campaign remarks in Cincinnati, OH 14:00:43 Obama walk out 14:01:01 PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Hello, Cincinnati! (Cheers, applause.) Well, it is good to be back. Everybody please have a seat if you've got a seat. I think most people have a seat here. It is great to see all of you. I want to acknowledge -- first of all, I want to make sure that I acknowledge your outstanding mayor. Mark Mallory is in the house. (Cheers, applause.) He's around here someone (sic). There he is right there. Good to see you. Now, I know that some of you think that I came to this music hall to sing. (Laughter, cheers, applause.) 14:01:54 But -- but I have to tell you, there's no concert tonight -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Aww! (Laughter.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Or at least not -- not this afternoon. There may be a concert tonight. I -- Michelle has told me I should not be singing in public all the time. (Laughter.) AUDIENCE MEMBER: It's my birthday! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it's happy birthday. I -- the -- should we -- what's your name? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Adam. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Adam. How old are you, Adam? AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mic.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Let's sing "Happy Birthday" to Adam, then. We can -- (cheers) -- (Sings "Happy Birthday" with audience.) Yay! (Cheers, applause.) So there was a concert after all. (Laughter.) Now -- AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm 101 years old! 101 years old! PRESIDENT OBAMA: There you go. Let's give a round of -- what's your name, sir? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Dr. H.L. Harvey (ph). PRESIDENT OBAMA: OK. Dr. Harvey (ph) -- it's not your birthday, but just congratulations on being 101. (Cheers, applause.) Dr. Harvey (ph) looks good. I've got to follow him around and see what he eats -- (laughter) -- because I'm going to eat what he eats. AUDIENCE MEMBER: 105! PRESIDENT OBAMA: And -- OK, you guys -- 105 right here! (Inaudible) -- (cheers) -- 105! (Chuckles.) 14:03:36 What -- what's that sweet lady's name? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Margaret Harris (ph). PRESIDENT OBAMA: Margaret Harris (ph) is 105 years old. (Cheers, applause.) God bless you. 106 next month. (Laughter.) She's beautiful. Well, it's so nice to -- you know, I -- I guess folks do pretty good down here in Cincinnati. (Cheers, applause.) (Chuckles.) You've got a 105, 101 -- OK. (Laughter.) God bless you. We love you, too. (Chuckles.) Anybody else over a hundred? (Laughter.) You're not over a hundred. (Chuckles.) All right, no more birthdays. That's it. (Laughter.) Now, today -- AUDIENCE MEMBER: Are you going to sing? PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, I'm not going to sing. (Laughter.) No Al Green. 14:04:34 Today -- today we are turning this beautiful music hall into a town hall. (Cheers.) So -- so I'm not going to -- I'm not going to take too much time up front. I want to spend as much time as possible answering some of your questions and getting your comments. But -- but I do want to just say a few things about what's at stake here. You know, four years ago we came together, Democrats, but also independents and Republicans, who were interested in restoring the basic bargain that made America the greatest nation on earth. You know, we -- we've got so much to be thankful for: incredible land, an incredible military, our men in women and uniform; they do so much for us all the time; and, you know, there's obviously great wealth in this nation. 14:05:46 But what really sets us apart has always been that we've got the greatest middle class and -- (cheers, applause) -- and a -- and a -- and a basic idea that's at the heart of this country that says, if you work hard, then you can get ahead. If you're responsible, then you can live out your dreams. You're not confined to the circumstances of your birth -- a basic belief that if you're doing what you need to do -- because we're not a country that believes in handouts; we believe in working for what we get -- that you're able to find a job that supports a family, get a home that you can call your own, that you're able to send your kids to get a good education and hopefully allow them to go to college and they can achieve and succeed in ways you might not have even imagined, that you won't go bankrupt when you get sick, that you'll be able to retire with dignity and respect. (Cheers, applause.) That's the idea that built this country. That's the idea that turned us into an economic powerhouse. And what we saw for about a decade before I took office was the sense that that dream was slipping away from too many people, because people were working harder but they were getting less. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: That's right! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Incomes and wages were flatlining while the cost of everything from college to health care to groceries to gas were all going up. So our goal was to turn this around, and we knew it wouldn't be easy. We knew that it might take more than one term, maybe more than one president. But we knew that we had to get started to reclaim this dream. 14:07:29 And then what we discovered was that because of irresponsibility, because of economic policies that had failed and a lack of oversight when it came to regulations, we inherited the worst financial crisis the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! (Applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: And millions of people -- millions of people were hurt, lost their jobs, lost their homes, lost their savings. And a lot of folks are still struggling. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: But here's the thing. Americans are always tougher than tough times. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Oh, yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: And this crisis has not changed our character. It hasn't changed what we believe in. It hasn't changed that basic notion that everybody should get a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share and everybody should play by the same set of rules. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! (Applause.) 14:08:33 PRESIDENT OBAMA: And so even though over the last 3 1/2 years our central focus has been how do we recover from this crisis and get people back to work and make sure that small businesses are doing well again, that they're getting financing -- despite all those things, our goal has not just been to get back to where we were before the crisis struck, but rather to build an economy that lasts, to build an economy that says, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, you can make it if you try here in America. (Cheers, applause.) Everything I've done since I've been president has been focused on this central issue. That's the reason I'm running for a second term as president of the United States. (Cheers, applause.) 14:09:51 And you know what? Part of the reason -- part of the reason I'm here today -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Part -- part of the reason that I'm here today is that I want to remind everybody that the challenges we face are solvable. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yes they are! PRESIDENT OBAMA: The problem is not a lack of big ideas. It's -- it's not a lack of -- of technical solutions to our policy issues. The problem is we've got a stalemate right now in Washington -- (cheers) -- between two fundamentally different ideas about how we move the country forward. This election is about more than just two candidates or two political parties. It's about two different visions about how do we build a strong economy. (Cheers, applause.) You know, and -- and the good news is you're the tie-breaker. (Cheers, applause.) The choice is up to you. (Cheers, applause.) The choice is up to you. Governor Romney and his allies in Congress, they -- they believe in an economic theory that says if folks at the very top are doing really well, then that spreads to everybody else. It's what we call top-down economics. So right now their main prescription for growing the economy faster is an additional $5 trillion in tax cuts, most of which will go to the wealthiest Americans, even if to pay for it, you'd have to gut education programs or turn Medicare into a voucher program -- (boos) -- or eliminate our investments in basic research and science. That's their vision about how you grow an economy. They've actually got a two-part vision. One is tax cuts for the wealthy. And then the second is eliminate regulations that we've put in place to make sure, for example, that Wall Street doesn't engage in the same reckless behavior that got us into this mess in the first place. (Cheers, applause.) 14:11:58 Now -- now, I've got to tell you, it'd be one thing if they had this theory and we hadn't tried it before. But the truth is -- the truth is, we tried it for almost a decade and it didn't work. The track record of their vision resulted in turning surpluses into deficits. We ran two wars on a credit card. Job growth was the most sluggish it had been in decades. The average wages and income of working families actually went down during this period. And it culminated in this massive crisis. So, you know, I don't know about you, but in my life, what I've found -- you know, sometimes I do boneheaded things; I make mistakes -- what I find is when I -- when I don't -- when I try something that doesn't work, then I don't try it again. (Cheers, applause.) Right? I don't -- (cheers, applause) -- you don't -- you don't go back to doing something that didn't work. 14:13:22 Now, I've got -- I've got a different idea. So, for example, Governor Romney said he would extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans indefinitely. (Boos.) He says that -- until he puts a tax plan in place. But his tax plan is not just to keep all the Bush tax cuts. As I said, he wants to put another $5 trillion -- it's estimated that it's almost impossible for you to bring down the deficit and deal with the debt with that kind of tax plan. Nearly 40 percent of these new taxes would go to the top 1 percent of all households. We have not found any serious economic study that says Governor Romney's economic plan would actually create jobs until today. I've got to -- I've got to be honest. Today we found out there's a new study out by nonpartisan economists that says Governor Romney's economic plan would in fact create 800,000 jobs. There's only one problem: The jobs wouldn't be in America. (Laughter, boos, cheers, applause.) They would not be in America. (Chuckles.) 14:14:33 They'd be in other countries. By eliminating taxes on corporations' foreign income, Governor Romney's plan would actually encourage companies to shift more of their operations to foreign tax havens, creating 800,000 jobs in those other countries. Now, this shouldn't be a surprise, because Governor Romney's experience has been investing in what were called pioneers of the business of outsourcing. Now he wants to give more tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. So I want everybody to understand, Ohio, I've got a different theory. We don't need a president who plans to ship more jobs overseas or wants to give more tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in Ohio -- (cheers, applause) -- that are investing in Cincinnati, that are investing in Hamilton County. 14:15:38 I want to give incentives to companies that are investing in you, the American people, to create American jobs making American goods that we're selling around the world -- (cheers, applause) -- stamped with three proud words: "Made in America." That's why I'm running for president of the United States. (Cheers, applause.) Now, the difference extends not just to -- to the difference in corporate taxes; it's also individual taxes. We don't need a president who's going to give himself a big tax break. AUDIENCE MEMBER: No! AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's right. PRESIDENT OBAMA: We need a president who's going to cut your taxes. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Now, four years ago I promised to cut taxes for the middle class. And I kept that promise. (Cheers, applause.) The typical -- the typical family's tax burden is $3,600 lower than it was when I came into office. (Cheers, applause.) 14:16:41 I want all the press to notice that because -- (cheers, applause) -- because sometimes -- because sometimes, you know, you'll hear all these -- you'll hear all these crazy accusations. Oh, Obama's raising taxes, burdening -- no. Here are the facts. Typical middle-class family -- your taxes have gone down $3,600 since I've been in office. (Cheers, applause.) Couple weeks ago, I called on Congress to immediately extend these tax cuts to 98 percent of the American people. Folks making $250,000 a year or less would not see their taxes go up one single dime -- (cheers, applause) -- their income taxes go up one single dime. 14:17:34 Now, I should point out, by the way, that 97 percent of small businesses also would not see their taxes go up, because -- (cheers, applause) -- typically they don't earn more than $250,000. Now, if -- if -- if -- if you -- if you're fortunate enough to be the other 2 percent -- and I am. I didn't -- Michelle and I didn't used to be; now we are. We've been blessed. That's great. (Cheers, applause.) What -- what -- what we are -- what we're saying is for those folks, we can afford to pay little bit more in taxes by going back to the rates that were paid under Bill Clinton. That will help us reduce our deficit by about a trillion dollars. (Applause.) And everybody says the deficit and the debt are important, and I agree. And I just want to point out the last time we did that, when Bill Clinton was president, we had surpluses, not deficits, created 23 million new jobs, and by the way, we created a lot of millionaires and billionaires to boot. Because when an economy is growing from the middle out and from the bottom up, everybody does well, including people at the very top. That's how you grow an economy. (Applause.) 14:18:58 When teachers and firefighters, police officers, construction workers -- when -- when folks who are putting in a hard day's work, when they do well, then everybody does well. That's how America has always succeeded. We believe in individual initiative and self- reliance, but there's some things we do together -- and grow an economy is one of them. My grandfather, you know, he went to college on the GI Bill. That generation helped to expand the middle class, and everybody did better. When we invested in the Hoover Dam or the Golden Gate Bridge, the Internet, sending a man to the moon -- all those things benefited everybody. So that's the vision that I want to carry forward. That's why when the auto industry was on the brink of collapse and Governor Romney said, let's let Detroit go bankrupt, I said: No, one out of eight jobs in Ohio depend on the auto industry. (Cheers, applause.) A million jobs across the Midwest are at stake. 14:20:04 I'm going to bet on American workers and American ingenuity. And now GM is back on top, and Chrysler and Ford are on the move and the American auto industry has come roaring back. (Cheers, applause.) So -- so -- so let me just close by saying this, and then we can get to some -- some questions. My vision says we're going to invest in education -- (cheers, applause) -- and we're going to hire new teachers, especially in math and science, open up 2 million more slots for -- for folks to go to community colleges to get trained in the jobs that businesses are hiring for right now. (Cheers, applause.) We already helped to make sure that students -- student loan rates didn't double, but now we've got to work more to lower tuition costs so young people aren't burdened with debt. (Cheers, applause.) So we're going to invest in education. We're going to invest in American energy. Yes, we want to continue to expand our production of oil and natural gas, but I also want to make sure that we are the leaders in solar and wind and biodiesel -- (applause) -- the energy of the future that can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. 14:21:44 American manufacturing; change our tax code; provide incentives for companies to invest here; invest in basic research and science so that we are the cutting edge, because whoever has got the best technology will ultimately have the best economy. (Cheers, applause.) We've got to make those investments. Rebuilding our infrastructure. I know you've got bridges around here that need repairs. (Cheers, applause.) You got some roads in need of repair. Let's put construction workers back to work. I ended the war in Iraq, as I promised. We're winding down the war in Afghanistan. (Applause.) We've decimated al-Qaida. Let's now take half the money we were spending on war and do some nation- building right here at home. (Cheers, applause.) AUDIENCE MEMBERS: (Chanting.) Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! 14:23:04 PRESIDENT OBAMA: And -- and -- and finally -- finally, let's reduce our deficit, reduce our debt. Let's do it in a responsible way that allows us to continue to make these investments we need to grow and makes sure that everybody is doing a little bit to help not just themselves, but help the country. So -- so that's my vision. And -- and it contrasts with the other -- the other side. And you are going to be the tiebreaker. This is going to be your choice. You know, that's how our democracy works. And -- and you know, some of you noticed there's going to be a lot of paid advertising and a lot of money. We're seeing folks write $10 million checks to try to get me out of office. But it's not you, I know. (Laughter.) 14:24:07 But -- but even though my hair is a little grayer -- (laughter) -- even though I'm a little older, let me tell you, I -- I still have as much confidence as I ever have in the American people -- (cheers, applause) -- because one of the great privileges of being president is you get a chance to travel all over the country. You meet people from every walk of life. And wherever I go, what I'm always struck by is the core decency and goodness and hard work and responsibility and faith that the American people have. So I'll always bet on the American people, and I'm confident that if we work hard, we get our message out, we have an honest debate about what needs to happen in this country and what future is best for our children and our grandchildren, then we're going to finish what we started in 2008. (Cheers, applause.) And we'll remind the world why the United States is the greatest nation on earth. 14:25:00 Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) All right. OK. So everybody take a seat so I can see who wants to ask a question. And there are no -- there are only a couple of rules here. Rule number one is, you got to raise your hand if you have a question. I'm going to call girl, boy, girl, boy -- (laughter) -- just to make sure that it's fair. If -- you have a chance to stand up and introduce yourself, and there are folks in the audience with microphones, so wait until we've got a microphone so everybody can hear your question. And my only other request, because I want to try to get in, you know, as many questions as I can -- at least, you know, six or seven -- so if people can keep their questions short, I'll try to keep my answers short. (Laughter.) But now, if you ask me, you know, how do you bring about world peace, that's a big question. (Laughter.) So -- so try to -- try to keep the question one that we can be succinct about. All right? Now, I'm going to start with this young lady right here in the -- sort of the pink-white blouse. Yeah, right there. All right. And -- and wait till the microphone comes up; introduce yourself. Q: Can he stand with me? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Oh -- is that the birthday boy? Q: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: OK; I didn't -- he's getting a lot of attention today. (Laughter.) All right, go ahead. 14:26:40 Q: OK. My name is Anna (sp,) and my son is openly gay. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Mmm hmm. Q: And he is grass roots, and he speaks for a lot of LGBT community. And we'd like to know, since you are for the LGBT, what's your next steps? What are you going to do for us? 14:26:59 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, look -- the -- let me say this -- (applause) -- first of all -- first of all, I think what -- you know, what I think the American people have seen and made such progress on is recognizing the idea of -- of equal rights, equal dignity, equal respect for everybody. (Cheers, applause.) That applies to everybody. That -- that's -- that's a -- that is a bedrock principle of America. And that's when I came into office -- everything from making sure that same-sex couples could have visitation in hospitals, just like everybody else. Making sure that we ended "don't ask, don't tell," because fighting for the country you love should not depend on who you love -- (applause) -- you know, being clear that the -- that DOMA is something that we should repeal. Across the board, I've tried to constantly align myself with what is best in our tradition, and that is you treat everybody fairly. 14:28:11 Americans are about fairness. And that doesn't mean, you know, that -- that folks have to agree with everybody on everything. we don't, you know? But we want to treat everybody fairly. Now, I think it's important to recognize, though, that our -- our -- our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters are still subject to discrimination. That's why we passed hate crime legislation -- and we've still got to fight for that. I think it is important for us to respect decisions that states make with respect to expanding treatment of same-sex couples and marriage. But also what I want to say is that, you know, gay and lesbian families are like everybody else. What they're really also worried about right now is making sure they can pay the bills. (Applause.) So, you know -- so my strong belief is that it is important for us to focus on individual issues of fairness, but also recognize that we all have common interests as well. Your son is 18; I'm assuming he's going to get some more education, and I'm assuming you guys are worrying right now about making sure he doesn't come out with a whole bunch of debt and how -- Q: Miami. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Miami? Q: Miami. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Miami of Ohio? Q: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Outstanding. Congratulations. (Cheers, applause.) We've got some folks from the alma matter here. So -- so we want to treat everybody fairly and we also want to make sure that the economy treats everybody fairly. And I'm going to be fighting for that as long as I'm the president of the United States. (Applause.) All right. This -- this gentleman right here. Does anybody have a mic over there? OK, right behind you. Very -- very good. I'm impressed. There you go. I'm impressed. There you go. 14:30:01 Q: Mr. President, I'm Jim O'Reilly (sp). Ten years as an elected city official has shown me a real change in what the Republican Party has been doing to us. They've taken away our power to protect our natural resources, water and air, from the strength of the oil and gas drillers that are doing fracking here in Ohio. I support what Lisa Jackson and the EPA are doing. Is there more the administration can do to protect us from the adverse effects of drilling for natural gas? 14:30:31 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good. Well, this is a great question, and it's an important question. (Applause.) Couple things I just want everybody to know. First of all, if you hear anybody say that somehow we are impeding the development of our energy resources here in this nation, I want you to know these facts. Oil production, higher than it's been in eight years. Natural gas production, higher than it's been probably in our lifetimes. Oil imports, actually lower than they've been in 16 years. In fact, our oil imports are -- are less than 50 percent now for the first time in a very long time. And so we're moving in the right direction -- (applause) -- in terms of energy independence. Now, part of that is this boom in natural gas. And this is something we should welcome, because not only are we blessed with incredible natural gas resources that are now accessible because of new technologies, but natural gas actually burns cleaner than some other fossil fuels, and is an ideal fuel -- energy source that we potentially can use for the next hundred years. So I want to encourage natural gas production. The -- the key is to make sure that we do it safely and in a way that is environmentally sound. 14:32:04 Now, you always hear these arguments that somehow, there's a huge contradiction between the environment and economic development or the environment and energy production. And the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of folks right now who are engaging in hydraulic fracking who are doing it safely. The problem is is that we haven't established clear guidelines for how to do it safely and informed the public so that neighbors know what's going on and, you know, your family -- you can make sure that any industry that's operating in your area, that they're being responsible. So what we've said is, look, we are going to work with industry to establish best practices; we are going to invest in the basic research and science to make sure this is done safely and in a way that protects the public health. And for responsible companies, they should be able to operate and make a profit, and we can all benefit and put people back to work, but if you're an irresponsible company that's not doing the right thing, we're going to hold you into account. And that's how we should develop this incredible resource, which, by the way, if we do it properly, could end up changing the -- the economics and politics globally of energy in a way that's actually very good for us because we'll be less dependent on what happens in the Middle East and our economy will be less subject to the kinds of spikes that we saw earlier in the spring in terms of gas prices. All right? Thank you for the question. (Applause.) All right, it's a woman's turn. That young lady in the white -- white T-shirt right there. Hold on. Hold on. Wait for the mic. Q: My name is Delisha White (sp), and I and my husband were small-business owners. And he actually has a question that he needs to answer, so I -- 14:34:08 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, wait, wait. No, no, you can't do that now. (Laughter.) I called -- I called on the young lady, and that's what's called a bait-and-switch. (Laughter.) That is what's called a bait-and-switch. Q: Go ahead. PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, the -- the -- the rule is that I'm going to make sure that women get equal time with men. (Cheers, applause.) Ah, see that? (Cheers, applause.) Right. Q: (Off mic.) Q: (Chuckles.) I'm not asking that. Q: Well, we would like -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, no, no, no. no. (Laughter.) Q: No -- hey -- 14:34:42 Q: OK, his question was, he's a small-business owner, and he wanted to know what can you do -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Chuckles.) (Laughter.) Q: -- for the -- for the self-employed -- for self-employed businesses with less than 10 employees working with him. PRESIDENT OBAMA: OK. All right, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to let him go ahead and ask his question -- (laughter) -- and then I'm going to call on two women in a row -- Q: OK. PRESIDENT OBAMA: -- because this is -- (cheers, applause) -- because this is a -- we got -- we got -- (chuckles) -- we got cheated here. Q: (Laughs.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Go ahead. Q: (Laughs.) 14:35:20 Q: OK. I'm Tony White (sp) -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: Next time you stand up. Don't send your wife out first. (Laughter, applause.) Q: (Laughs.) OK. I'm Tony White (sp). And hello, Mr. President. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good to see you, Tony (sp). Q: OK. PRESIDENT OBAMA: What kind -- what kind of business do you have? Q: A barber shop and beauty salon. PRESIDENT OBAMA: There you go. Q: I've been in business for over 10 years now. PRESIDENT OBAMA: That's great. Q: And what I'm trying to find out is what will you be doing or if there's anything you will be doing for the self-employed and businesses under -- with employees -- with less than 10 employees. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Absolutely. Q: And also, when can I cut your hair? (Laughter, cheers, applause.) 14:36:03 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, let -- let me answer the second question first. You know that you -- Q: I know. PRESIDENT OBAMA: -- you would not want a president who was disloyal to his barber. (Laughter, applause.) Right? (Cheers, applause.) I mean, a man and his barber, that's a -- that's a strong connection. Q: I know, I know. (Laughter.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: So -- so I -- I am not going to let you cut my hair, because my barber would be hurt. (Laughter.) Q: Just one time. Just once. PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Chuckles.) Maybe I'll let you (get ?) me (aligned ?) a little bit. Yeah, all right. Q: Yeah. Yeah, we could do that. (Cheers, applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: All right. In terms of small business, look, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They account for most of the new job growth. We've got obviously great big businesses. You know, in this area Procter Gamble's (sic) an example of an outstanding large business. But a lot of the job growth happens with small businesses who then become medium-sized businesses and then maybe at some point become large businesses. So ever since I came into office, one of my biggest priorities was how do we support small businesses, which is why we've actually provided 18 different tax breaks just targeted at small business since I've been in office. It's the reason why we have pushed the Small Business Administration, especially when the recession had just hit, to extend additional financing and to waive fees for small businesses, because one of the biggest challenges for small businesses is getting credit lines. Q: Yes, it is. PRESIDENT OBAMA: And we've actually been pushing the banks to say, look, taxpayers pulled your backside out of the fire. (Cheers, applause.) It's now important for you to step up and make sure that small businesses aren't finding they're credit restricted, especially if they've been in -- in -- in business for a while. 14:38:05 The other thing we've done is to say, you know, what are -- what are the -- the critical needs of small business? A lot of times one of the biggest challenges is to make sure that you as a sole proprietor -- that you can get health insurance for you and your family. Q: Correct. PRESIDENT OBAMA: So when -- when you hear about the Affordable Care Act, "Obamacare" -- (cheers, applause) -- and I -- and I don't mind the name, because I really do care. (Cheers, applause.) That's why we passed it. You should know that you -- once we have fully implemented, you're going to be able to buy insurance through a pool so that you can get the same good rates as a group that, if you're an employee at a big company, you can get right now, which means your premiums will go down. (Cheers, applause.) We will also give you additional tax credits for -- if you are providing health insurance for your employees, we'll give you tax credits for that. Right now one of the things we're pushing Congress to do is to give you a tax credit if you hire additional workers or you give folks who are working for you a raise. We want to give you incentive to do that. (Cheers, applause.) 14:39:41 So -- but -- but -- but this is an example of where there's a contrast between myself and my opponent. As I said before, his basic tax plan is to give folks at the top a -- a tax break. Now, we can have that debate. But what I've said is, in the meantime, let's give 98 percent of individuals and 97 percent of small businesses some certainty right now by going ahead and passing a law that says your taxes won't go up -- because if Congress doesn't act, by the way, by January 1st, everybody's taxes here are going to go up by an average of about $1,600 if Congress doesn't do anything. And so what I said is, if you really want to help small business right now, give 97 percent of them the certainty -- (applause) -- that their costs will not go up. (Applause.) And then -- and then we can have a debate about the other 2 (percent), 3 percent. 14:40:54 Now, one -- one last point I'm going to make on this small business and -- and taxes argument. You'll hear Republicans say, you know what, if you tax, let's say, somebody with a million dollars income, you're going to be crushing the small business jobs creators. Now, first of all, I just explained 97 percent of small businesses make less than 250(,000 dollars) a year. But setting aside that, they way they describe -- (chuckles) -- small businesses, half of the Fortune 400 richest Americans in the country would qualify as a quote, unquote, "small business." Hedge fund managers would qualify as small business, even if they were pulling in a billion dollars a year. And my -- this is an example of -- of what I mean when I say we just want everybody to be treated fairly. You know, Michelle and I were -- Michelle and I were talking the other day. And Michelle's dad worked as a -- as a blue-collar worker. He was a -- at a water filtration plant in Chicago, worked there all his life -- all his adult life. And he had MS, but -- so by the time I met him, he could barely walk. But he never missed a day of work. He had to use two canes, he had to wake up an hour earlier than everybody else just to get dressed, but he never missed a day of work. 14:42:07 And he took pride in -- in being at the job even if he didn't feel well. And he used to tease folks who were lazy. He'd say -- you know, he'd say, these folks are so lazy, you know, they won't even go to work to pick up their paycheck. (Laughter.) You know, they want it mailed to them. And -- and Michelle's mom, she stayed at home when the kids were young, and then she went to work as a secretary. And she worked as a secretary most of her adult life. So the point is, they didn't have a lot. But Michelle and I were talking about how they didn't envy people who had a lot more. There was no sense that somehow, well, you know, our lives are less because we're not millionaires, you know, we're not making huge amounts of money. 14:43:12 God bless folks who are doing successful -- who were successful in doing well. The only thing that Michelle's parents, my mom, my grandparents -- the only thing they didn't like is when you felt like folks at the top were taking advantage of their position and not following the same rules as everybody else -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: -- and keeping other folks down. (Applause.) And we don't want an economy in which some are being treated differently than others. AUDIENCE MEMBER: No! PRESIDENT OBAMA: That's all. And that's especially true when it comes for our small-business folks. I want them to have some of the same advantages, because you probably can't afford the same number of lawyers and, you know, accountants and all that stuff that are working all these loopholes. You know? And I want to make sure that you're getting the same good deal as everybody else. All right? (Applause.) OK. I'm going to call on this young lady right here. She seems like she has an urgent question. Hold on -- wait for your mic. Wait for your microphone. We're getting the next generation involved in this. (Cheers, applause.) Right here; right there, yeah. 14:44:13 Q: What's your favorite Girl Scout cookie? (Cheers, applause.) 14:44:25 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Aha. I -- I've got to say, this is a -- this is one of the toughest questions. (Laughter.) What's your name? Q: Julie (sp). PRESIDENT OBAMA: And you're -- you're a member of a Girl Scout troop? Are you? How long have you been a Girl Scout? Q: I think for only -- I think only this year. PRESIDENT OBAMA: This year? Have you been having -- AUDIENCE MEMBER: Two years. Q: Two years; two years. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Two years. Have you been having fun? Yeah. Q: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know, I've got to say that I'm pretty -- I'm pretty partial to those mint -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Thin Mints! Yeah! (Applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: I'm just saying -- that's just me. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Boo! PRESIDENT OBAMA: I didn't -- I didn't mean to create controversy here. There was somebody -- (laughter) -- did you hear, there was somebody booing? (Laughter.) What do you -- how do you -- how do you -- how do you -- what -- what's your -- what was YOUR choice? Who was booing up there? (Laughter.) (Chuckles) -- you had a different opinion, one of you. Oatmeal, or -- (laughter). Huh? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Peanut Butter -- (off mic). PRESIDENT OBAMA: Peanut butter is quite good, too. But I'm going with the mint. I'm going with the mint. All right, thank you for the question. Thank you. (Applause.) All right, the -- remember I told -- I said I was going to go two ladies right now. So here, right here. Right here. Here we go, here we go. Go ahead. Whoops; don't fall, now. Go ahead. Q: My name is Susan (sp). Welcome to Cincinnati. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Q: Given how divided the country is, if elected, how do you plan to try to unite everyone? 14:46:04 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you -- you know, I'll be honest, sometimes people ask me what -- what are -- what's my disappointment since I've come into office. And obviously, you know, we're always trying to grow the economy faster, put people back to work faster. But one of the disappointments I've had is that we have not changed the tone in Washington the way I wanted to. Now -- (applause) -- part of this just has to do with the fact that the other side had a basic economic -- or a basic political theory after I got elected. And this is not my opinion; I mean, this has been said by the leader of the -- the Senate minority in -- in -- in Washington. And the basic theory was: You know what, we kind of screwed things up. Obama's really popular right now. If we cooperate with him, then he'll get credit. So we're better off just saying no. And if we do that, then over time folks will forget the mess he inherited and we can go after him, and hopefully, that'll help our politics. Again, this -- this was -- this is not my theory. This was -- this is explicitly their strategy. What's true is also we've got, as I said, two different visions about how to move the country forward. But my hope is that this election allows us to once and for all resolve some of the bigger questions about how we move the country forward, because right now, we've got as stark a choice as you can imagine. You know, I believe in investing in education and -- and transportation and science and research and bringing down our deficits in a balanced way and changing our tax code to make sure the companies that are investing here are doing better. Mr. Romney has the opposite view on almost all those positions. You know, on things like "don't ask, don't tell," Mr. Romney wants to reverse my position. On issues like immigration, I believe in comprehensive immigration reform; he does not. On issues related to women, I believe that Planned Parenthood does a lot of good and that women's health -- (cheers, applause) -- women should be able to control their own health care decisions. You know, he does not. On Iraq, he said me ending the war was tragic. I said I think it was the right thing to do. (Applause.) On Afghanistan, I imposed a deadline, a timetable for when we're going to bring our troops home. He wants to extend their stay indefinitely. So on all these issues, we've got just profound differences. Now, you guys ultimately are the arbiters of this disagreement. And in this election, if the American people decide, you know what, we want to try what Mr. Romney is offering -- (boos) -- well, no, I mean, that's the great thing about democracy is -- is -- is people can vote and make -- make up their minds. And so if that's the case, then you can count on Mr. Romney implementing the plan that he and the Republicans in Congress have put forward. 14:49:27 So $5 trillion in tax cuts, massive cuts in a lot of the programs that are so important, from my perspective, to growing the economy -- those will be eliminated. Medicare will be voucherized. You know, he -- they will implement what they say they're going to implement. But if I'm elected, not only do I think that we'll be able to continue the progress that we've made over the last three and a half years, I actually think that a lot of Republicans -- since this will be my last election, they will not be as interested in just beating me, and maybe they'll be more interested in moving the country forward. (Cheers, applause.) That's my hope. And -- and I -- and -- and I have to say, you know, the truth is, on most of these issues there shouldn't be so much partisan rancor, because most of the positions I've taken are positions that used to be supported by Republicans. (Cheers, applause.) And if you want just one good example, health care. (Cheers, applause.) The -- the bill I passed is in all respects similar to what Mr. Romney passed in Massachusetts. It's working really well there. He should be proud of it instead of running away from it. And the original idea of using the private sector to make sure that everybody had health care -- that originated as a Republican idea. And I said, fine, I'm -- I'm willing to work with your ideas to make progress. So I actually think that there are a number of Republican members of Congress who right now feel as if they've got to toe the party line. But if the objective is no longer just beating me, my hope is is that they'll be more open to finding common-sense solutions to the problems that our country faces. And I know that is absolutely a goal of mine, because in the end, we are not Democrats or Republicans first. We are Americans first. (Cheers, applause.) That's what I believe. All right. (Cheers, applause.) All right -- all right, I've got time -- I've got time for two more questions. This gentleman in the -- this gentleman in the blue shirt right there. All right, and over here. (Chuckles.) Go ahead. 14:52:24 Q: Mr. President, my name's Jeff Weisal (sp), and I've been teaching for 21 years. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Congratulations. (Cheers, applause.) Q: Thank you. Thank you. I teach at a vocational school, a career tech school. And my question to you is we've been talking about jobs, we've been talking about kids, we're talk about -- you -- I know you want every kid to go to college, but not every kid is going to go to college. We need people to work. We need people to be plumbers and build bridges and those kind of things. (Applause.) And what I want to -- I believe it, I really do. (Chuckles.) We do miracles at our school. We take kids who have had really rough lives, and we make them productive. But the problem is, is that they are not getting enough chances to get to go to work right away. We had advisory boards, but these advisory boards are free. And they're not -- these people are not getting paid. What we need -- and I was hoping that you could tell us if this is something in your agenda -- can we have people come in, you know, give tax breaks to these companies to come and help schools, to teach the schools what they really need for these kids? (Cheers, applause.) And that's what I'm -- that's what we're looking for. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all -- first of all -- first of all, thank you for teaching. Most important job there is. (Cheers, applause.) We appreciate that. 14:53:51 Second of all, I want to -- I want to be very clear. When I see everybody needs a higher education, I don't mean everybody has got to take a four-year college education. The point is that these days if you want to be a plumber, if you want to be an electrician, if you want to be working in a factory, you are generally going to need a little bit more training than high school provides, which is why our community college system is so important. But you -- you are absolutely right that one of the, I believe, mistakes we made 20, 30 years ago was to start de-emphasizing vocational education -- (cheers, applause) -- because -- because not everybody wants to sit in a classroom with a book. Lot of folks want to do stuff. And right now we've got shortages of folks in fields that need technical training but don't necessarily require a four-year college degree. And so part of what I'm talking to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about is how do we work with high schools so that young people who've got an aptitude, whether it's in graphic design or in electronics or you name it -- that they can start getting on a pathway so that they are being trained for the jobs that actually exist now, they're being matched up with companies that are hiring now. They maybe start apprenticing junior, senior year in high school. Maybe it extends to another year or two in community college, and by the time they're 21, 22, 23, they are expert in fields where we know there's hiring taking place right now. So it's very important. We're going to be working with states, local governments, school districts and community colleges to try to figure out how we can expand what is already a proven idea in -- in a lot of places around the country. And -- and so you and I were right there. We're thinking the same way. (Applause.) And -- and I'm looking forward to seeing if we can make progress on this. All right. Last question -- last question I promised -- I promised -- I promised that -- no, I -- I'm going to call on this -- this young lady right here. All right, this is the last question and we -- we've got to get a mic to her. But it's nice to see you, young man. That's a good-looking young man, isn't he? That's a handsome young guy. All right, go ahead. 14:56:46 Q: Hi. My father, he's an unemployed construction worker, and he's on unemployment. So as your job as president, will he have a job before his unemployment runs out? (Laughter, applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, no, this is a -- this an important question. What -- what's your name? Q: Taylor (sp). PRESIDENT OBAMA: Taylor. How old are you, Taylor (sp)? Q: I will be 15 in two months. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it's so nice to meet you and -- and I -- I'm glad you're thinking about your dad, because I know he wants to work. My -- my hope -- my hope is is that we can put him to work. 14:57:23 Housing took the biggest hit in our economy because you had this big housing bubble that collapsed. So the construction industry, the -- the industry where you dad works, was the hardest hit of any industry. And it's the one that's been the slowest to come back, which is why since September of last year, I have urged Congress to expand our efforts to rebuild roads, bridges, schools, laying broadband lines going into rural communities, making sure that all these folks like your father who want to work -- these aren't folks who are looking for a handout; they want to be on the job -- so that they have an opportunity to do work that we're going to have to do anyway. And this is important. How many folks here have a house, and you know that you've got a leaky roof? Do you -- you can put off patching up that leaky roof, but sooner or later you're going to have patch it up -- sooner or later. And if you don't, what happens? It falls in. And then what happens? It's more expensive. Same -- same is true if -- if you got a busted boiler. So we all have what's called deferred maintenance. We can't always do it right away, but a lot of times, if we have an opportunity to do it, we should go ahead and do it, especially if it's cheap. It is cheaper now to do it than it will be later. Interest rates are low. Construction workers are out of work. Contractors are begging for work. They'll come in on time under budget. And so we could knock out a whole bunch of work that needs to get done for this country anyway and put people back to work, which would grow the economy right now. 14:59:30 Now, so far I have not gotten a positive response from members of Congress on the other side of the aisle. They did just pass -- and this was a sign of some modest cooperation, so it makes me feel a little bit encouraged -- they did just pass a transportation bill that at least wouldn't lay off more construction workers. But the first thing I want to do is put your dad back on the job rebuilding America. Now, if -- (scattered applause) -- if your father still doesn't get a job, though, part of what I'm also looking for is making sure that unemployment insurance is there for folks who want to work but are having trouble finding work. (Applause.) And I want to -- I want folks to be clear. Unemployment insurance, unemployment benefits -- they're paid for. Your employer paid for them. Directly and indirectly, you paid for them. The idea is to have that safety net because everybody once in a while can have some bad luck. Now, we tried to extend unemployment insurance beyond normal right after the recession hit. We were able to extend it again in 2010. It's been harder now to get Congress to extend it further, and I don't know exactly what category your father falls in. But my bottom line is -- my general view is that as long as the economy is weak, and somebody is willing and able to work and looking for work actively -- which is what's required if you want to get unemployment insurance -- then we should be there for them to make sure that they can pay the rent and look after their families. And so we'll continue to negotiate with Congress to make sure that unemployment is there. But the most important thing I want to do is make sure your dad can get a job, all right? (Cheers, applause.) 15:01:34 All right. Let me just say, everybody, I am -- I'm going to be back in Cincinnati. I'm going to be back in Ohio. I want to -- I want to thank you for your attention. And I want to explicitly ask you for your support. (Cheers, applause.) The -- this -- this is going to be a close election. This is going to be a close election, and it is going to be an important debate. And I want everybody to understand that what I've tried to do over the last 3 1/2 years is to -- to -- to keep my promises. So I promised I'd end the war in Iraq; I ended it. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! PRESIDENT OBAMA: I promised that we -- we would keep taxes low for middle-class families; I did that. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yeah! (Applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: But the most important promise I made -- some of you remember me saying this in 2008. I said, you know, I'm not a perfect man. I said I wasn't going to be a perfect president; no president is. But what I promised you was that I would always tell you what I thought, I'd always tell you what I believed, and I would wake up every single day fighting as hard as I knew how for you. (Cheers, applause.) 15:03:12 And you know what? You know what? I have kept that promise. Because when I look around this room, if I see an elderly couple, I think about my grandparents and everything they did for me. And when I see this young lady asking about her dad, I think about my daughters. I see myself in you. And my most important job is fighting for you and that basic American idea that if you work hard in this country, you can succeed. You can get ahead. (Applause.) And I'm going to do everything I can, as long as I have the honor of being president, to fight for you and working families and middle- class families all across this country. (Cheers, applause.) So I hope you'll stand with me. I hope you'll work with me. 15:04:05 Let's finish what we started and remind the world why the United States is the great nation that it is. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.) 15:04:31 Obama gladhanding with crowd 15:09:09 Obama holding baby 15:10:42 Obama waves goodbye and exits

CAMPAIGN 2012 / INT BROLL PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA CAMPAIGN SPEECH AT CINCINNATI MUSIC HALL / HEAD ON Monday, July 16, 2012 TRANSCRIPT: President Obama campaign remarks in Cincinnati, OH SLUG: 1340 WH OH PATH1 RS33 83 AR: 16X9 DISC#020 NYRS: 5114 14:00:43 Obama walk out 14:01:01 PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Hello, Cincinnati! (Cheers, applause.) Well, it is good to be back. Everybody please have a seat if you've got a seat. I think most people have a seat here. It is great to see all of you. I want to acknowledge -- first of all, I want to make sure that I acknowledge your outstanding mayor. Mark Mallory is in the house. (Cheers, applause.) He's around here someone (sic). There he is right there. Good to see you. Now, I know that some of you think that I came to this music hall to sing. (Laughter, cheers, applause.) 14:01:54 But -- but I have to tell you, there's no concert tonight -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Aww! (Laughter.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Or at least not -- not this afternoon. There may be a concert tonight. I -- Michelle has told me I should not be singing in public all the time. (Laughter.) AUDIENCE MEMBER: It's my birthday! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it's happy birthday. I -- the -- should we -- what's your name? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Adam. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Adam. How old are you, Adam? AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mic.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Let's sing "Happy Birthday" to Adam, then. We can -- (cheers) -- (Sings "Happy Birthday" with audience.) Yay! (Cheers, applause.) So there was a concert after all. (Laughter.) Now -- AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm 101 years old! 101 years old! PRESIDENT OBAMA: There you go. Let's give a round of -- what's your name, sir? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Dr. H.L. Harvey (ph). PRESIDENT OBAMA: OK. Dr. Harvey (ph) -- it's not your birthday, but just congratulations on being 101. (Cheers, applause.) Dr. Harvey (ph) looks good. I've got to follow him around and see what he eats -- (laughter) -- because I'm going to eat what he eats. AUDIENCE MEMBER: 105! PRESIDENT OBAMA: And -- OK, you guys -- 105 right here! (Inaudible) -- (cheers) -- 105! (Chuckles.) 14:03:36 What -- what's that sweet lady's name? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Margaret Harris (ph). PRESIDENT OBAMA: Margaret Harris (ph) is 105 years old. (Cheers, applause.) God bless you. 106 next month. (Laughter.) She's beautiful. Well, it's so nice to -- you know, I -- I guess folks do pretty good down here in Cincinnati. (Cheers, applause.) (Chuckles.) You've got a 105, 101 -- OK. (Laughter.) God bless you. We love you, too. (Chuckles.) Anybody else over a hundred? (Laughter.) You're not over a hundred. (Chuckles.) All right, no more birthdays. That's it. (Laughter.) Now, today -- AUDIENCE MEMBER: Are you going to sing? PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, I'm not going to sing. (Laughter.) No Al Green. 14:04:34 Today -- today we are turning this beautiful music hall into a town hall. (Cheers.) So -- so I'm not going to -- I'm not going to take too much time up front. I want to spend as much time as possible answering some of your questions and getting your comments. But -- but I do want to just say a few things about what's at stake here. You know, four years ago we came together, Democrats, but also independents and Republicans, who were interested in restoring the basic bargain that made America the greatest nation on earth. You know, we -- we've got so much to be thankful for: incredible land, an incredible military, our men in women and uniform; they do so much for us all the time; and, you know, there's obviously great wealth in this nation. 14:05:46 But what really sets us apart has always been that we've got the greatest middle class and -- (cheers, applause) -- and a -- and a -- and a basic idea that's at the heart of this country that says, if you work hard, then you can get ahead. If you're responsible, then you can live out your dreams. You're not confined to the circumstances of your birth -- a basic belief that if you're doing what you need to do -- because we're not a country that believes in handouts; we believe in working for what we get -- that you're able to find a job that supports a family, get a home that you can call your own, that you're able to send your kids to get a good education and hopefully allow them to go to college and they can achieve and succeed in ways you might not have even imagined, that you won't go bankrupt when you get sick, that you'll be able to retire with dignity and respect. (Cheers, applause.) That's the idea that built this country. That's the idea that turned us into an economic powerhouse. And what we saw for about a decade before I took office was the sense that that dream was slipping away from too many people, because people were working harder but they were getting less. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: That's right! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Incomes and wages were flatlining while the cost of everything from college to health care to groceries to gas were all going up. So our goal was to turn this around, and we knew it wouldn't be easy. We knew that it might take more than one term, maybe more than one president. But we knew that we had to get started to reclaim this dream. 14:07:29 And then what we discovered was that because of irresponsibility, because of economic policies that had failed and a lack of oversight when it came to regulations, we inherited the worst financial crisis the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! (Applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: And millions of people -- millions of people were hurt, lost their jobs, lost their homes, lost their savings. And a lot of folks are still struggling. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: But here's the thing. Americans are always tougher than tough times. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Oh, yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: And this crisis has not changed our character. It hasn't changed what we believe in. It hasn't changed that basic notion that everybody should get a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share and everybody should play by the same set of rules. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! (Applause.) 14:08:33 PRESIDENT OBAMA: And so even though over the last 3 1/2 years our central focus has been how do we recover from this crisis and get people back to work and make sure that small businesses are doing well again, that they're getting financing -- despite all those things, our goal has not just been to get back to where we were before the crisis struck, but rather to build an economy that lasts, to build an economy that says, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, you can make it if you try here in America. (Cheers, applause.) Everything I've done since I've been president has been focused on this central issue. That's the reason I'm running for a second term as president of the United States. (Cheers, applause.) 14:09:51 And you know what? Part of the reason -- part of the reason I'm here today -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Part -- part of the reason that I'm here today is that I want to remind everybody that the challenges we face are solvable. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yes they are! PRESIDENT OBAMA: The problem is not a lack of big ideas. It's -- it's not a lack of -- of technical solutions to our policy issues. The problem is we've got a stalemate right now in Washington -- (cheers) -- between two fundamentally different ideas about how we move the country forward. This election is about more than just two candidates or two political parties. It's about two different visions about how do we build a strong economy. (Cheers, applause.) You know, and -- and the good news is you're the tie-breaker. (Cheers, applause.) The choice is up to you. (Cheers, applause.) The choice is up to you. Governor Romney and his allies in Congress, they -- they believe in an economic theory that says if folks at the very top are doing really well, then that spreads to everybody else. It's what we call top-down economics. So right now their main prescription for growing the economy faster is an additional $5 trillion in tax cuts, most of which will go to the wealthiest Americans, even if to pay for it, you'd have to gut education programs or turn Medicare into a voucher program -- (boos) -- or eliminate our investments in basic research and science. That's their vision about how you grow an economy. They've actually got a two-part vision. One is tax cuts for the wealthy. And then the second is eliminate regulations that we've put in place to make sure, for example, that Wall Street doesn't engage in the same reckless behavior that got us into this mess in the first place. (Cheers, applause.) 14:11:58 Now -- now, I've got to tell you, it'd be one thing if they had this theory and we hadn't tried it before. But the truth is -- the truth is, we tried it for almost a decade and it didn't work. The track record of their vision resulted in turning surpluses into deficits. We ran two wars on a credit card. Job growth was the most sluggish it had been in decades. The average wages and income of working families actually went down during this period. And it culminated in this massive crisis. So, you know, I don't know about you, but in my life, what I've found -- you know, sometimes I do boneheaded things; I make mistakes -- what I find is when I -- when I don't -- when I try something that doesn't work, then I don't try it again. (Cheers, applause.) Right? I don't -- (cheers, applause) -- you don't -- you don't go back to doing something that didn't work. 14:13:22 Now, I've got -- I've got a different idea. So, for example, Governor Romney said he would extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans indefinitely. (Boos.) He says that -- until he puts a tax plan in place. But his tax plan is not just to keep all the Bush tax cuts. As I said, he wants to put another $5 trillion -- it's estimated that it's almost impossible for you to bring down the deficit and deal with the debt with that kind of tax plan. Nearly 40 percent of these new taxes would go to the top 1 percent of all households. We have not found any serious economic study that says Governor Romney's economic plan would actually create jobs until today. I've got to -- I've got to be honest. Today we found out there's a new study out by nonpartisan economists that says Governor Romney's economic plan would in fact create 800,000 jobs. There's only one problem: The jobs wouldn't be in America. (Laughter, boos, cheers, applause.) They would not be in America. (Chuckles.) 14:14:33 They'd be in other countries. By eliminating taxes on corporations' foreign income, Governor Romney's plan would actually encourage companies to shift more of their operations to foreign tax havens, creating 800,000 jobs in those other countries. Now, this shouldn't be a surprise, because Governor Romney's experience has been investing in what were called pioneers of the business of outsourcing. Now he wants to give more tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. So I want everybody to understand, Ohio, I've got a different theory. We don't need a president who plans to ship more jobs overseas or wants to give more tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in Ohio -- (cheers, applause) -- that are investing in Cincinnati, that are investing in Hamilton County. 14:15:38 I want to give incentives to companies that are investing in you, the American people, to create American jobs making American goods that we're selling around the world -- (cheers, applause) -- stamped with three proud words: "Made in America." That's why I'm running for president of the United States. (Cheers, applause.) Now, the difference extends not just to -- to the difference in corporate taxes; it's also individual taxes. We don't need a president who's going to give himself a big tax break. AUDIENCE MEMBER: No! AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's right. PRESIDENT OBAMA: We need a president who's going to cut your taxes. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! PRESIDENT OBAMA: Now, four years ago I promised to cut taxes for the middle class. And I kept that promise. (Cheers, applause.) The typical -- the typical family's tax burden is $3,600 lower than it was when I came into office. (Cheers, applause.) 14:16:41 I want all the press to notice that because -- (cheers, applause) -- because sometimes -- because sometimes, you know, you'll hear all these -- you'll hear all these crazy accusations. Oh, Obama's raising taxes, burdening -- no. Here are the facts. Typical middle-class family -- your taxes have gone down $3,600 since I've been in office. (Cheers, applause.) Couple weeks ago, I called on Congress to immediately extend these tax cuts to 98 percent of the American people. Folks making $250,000 a year or less would not see their taxes go up one single dime -- (cheers, applause) -- their income taxes go up one single dime. 14:17:34 Now, I should point out, by the way, that 97 percent of small businesses also would not see their taxes go up, because -- (cheers, applause) -- typically they don't earn more than $250,000. Now, if -- if -- if -- if you -- if you're fortunate enough to be the other 2 percent -- and I am. I didn't -- Michelle and I didn't used to be; now we are. We've been blessed. That's great. (Cheers, applause.) What -- what -- what we are -- what we're saying is for those folks, we can afford to pay little bit more in taxes by going back to the rates that were paid under Bill Clinton. That will help us reduce our deficit by about a trillion dollars. (Applause.) And everybody says the deficit and the debt are important, and I agree. And I just want to point out the last time we did that, when Bill Clinton was president, we had surpluses, not deficits, created 23 million new jobs, and by the way, we created a lot of millionaires and billionaires to boot. Because when an economy is growing from the middle out and from the bottom up, everybody does well, including people at the very top. That's how you grow an economy. (Applause.) 14:18:58 When teachers and firefighters, police officers, construction workers -- when -- when folks who are putting in a hard day's work, when they do well, then everybody does well. That's how America has always succeeded. We believe in individual initiative and self- reliance, but there's some things we do together -- and grow an economy is one of them. My grandfather, you know, he went to college on the GI Bill. That generation helped to expand the middle class, and everybody did better. When we invested in the Hoover Dam or the Golden Gate Bridge, the Internet, sending a man to the moon -- all those things benefited everybody. So that's the vision that I want to carry forward. That's why when the auto industry was on the brink of collapse and Governor Romney said, let's let Detroit go bankrupt, I said: No, one out of eight jobs in Ohio depend on the auto industry. (Cheers, applause.) A million jobs across the Midwest are at stake. 14:20:04 I'm going to bet on American workers and American ingenuity. And now GM is back on top, and Chrysler and Ford are on the move and the American auto industry has come roaring back. (Cheers, applause.) So -- so -- so let me just close by saying this, and then we can get to some -- some questions. My vision says we're going to invest in education -- (cheers, applause) -- and we're going to hire new teachers, especially in math and science, open up 2 million more slots for -- for folks to go to community colleges to get trained in the jobs that businesses are hiring for right now. (Cheers, applause.) We already helped to make sure that students -- student loan rates didn't double, but now we've got to work more to lower tuition costs so young people aren't burdened with debt. (Cheers, applause.) So we're going to invest in education. We're going to invest in American energy. Yes, we want to continue to expand our production of oil and natural gas, but I also want to make sure that we are the leaders in solar and wind and biodiesel -- (applause) -- the energy of the future that can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. 14:21:44 American manufacturing; change our tax code; provide incentives for companies to invest here; invest in basic research and science so that we are the cutting edge, because whoever has got the best technology will ultimately have the best economy. (Cheers, applause.) We've got to make those investments. Rebuilding our infrastructure. I know you've got bridges around here that need repairs. (Cheers, applause.) You got some roads in need of repair. Let's put construction workers back to work. I ended the war in Iraq, as I promised. We're winding down the war in Afghanistan. (Applause.) We've decimated al-Qaida. Let's now take half the money we were spending on war and do some nation- building right here at home. (Cheers, applause.) AUDIENCE MEMBERS: (Chanting.) Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! 14:23:04 PRESIDENT OBAMA: And -- and -- and finally -- finally, let's reduce our deficit, reduce our debt. Let's do it in a responsible way that allows us to continue to make these investments we need to grow and makes sure that everybody is doing a little bit to help not just themselves, but help the country. So -- so that's my vision. And -- and it contrasts with the other -- the other side. And you are going to be the tiebreaker. This is going to be your choice. You know, that's how our democracy works. And -- and you know, some of you noticed there's going to be a lot of paid advertising and a lot of money. We're seeing folks write $10 million checks to try to get me out of office. But it's not you, I know. (Laughter.) 14:24:07 But -- but even though my hair is a little grayer -- (laughter) -- even though I'm a little older, let me tell you, I -- I still have as much confidence as I ever have in the American people -- (cheers, applause) -- because one of the great privileges of being president is you get a chance to travel all over the country. You meet people from every walk of life. And wherever I go, what I'm always struck by is the core decency and goodness and hard work and responsibility and faith that the American people have. So I'll always bet on the American people, and I'm confident that if we work hard, we get our message out, we have an honest debate about what needs to happen in this country and what future is best for our children and our grandchildren, then we're going to finish what we started in 2008. (Cheers, applause.) And we'll remind the world why the United States is the greatest nation on earth. 14:25:00 Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) All right. OK. So everybody take a seat so I can see who wants to ask a question. And there are no -- there are only a couple of rules here. Rule number one is, you got to raise your hand if you have a question. I'm going to call girl, boy, girl, boy -- (laughter) -- just to make sure that it's fair. If -- you have a chance to stand up and introduce yourself, and there are folks in the audience with microphones, so wait until we've got a microphone so everybody can hear your question. And my only other request, because I want to try to get in, you know, as many questions as I can -- at least, you know, six or seven -- so if people can keep their questions short, I'll try to keep my answers short. (Laughter.) But now, if you ask me, you know, how do you bring about world peace, that's a big question. (Laughter.) So -- so try to -- try to keep the question one that we can be succinct about. All right? Now, I'm going to start with this young lady right here in the -- sort of the pink-white blouse. Yeah, right there. All right. And -- and wait till the microphone comes up; introduce yourself. Q: Can he stand with me? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Oh -- is that the birthday boy? Q: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: OK; I didn't -- he's getting a lot of attention today. (Laughter.) All right, go ahead. 14:26:40 Q: OK. My name is Anna (sp,) and my son is openly gay. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Mmm hmm. Q: And he is grass roots, and he speaks for a lot of LGBT community. And we'd like to know, since you are for the LGBT, what's your next steps? What are you going to do for us? 14:26:59 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, look -- the -- let me say this -- (applause) -- first of all -- first of all, I think what -- you know, what I think the American people have seen and made such progress on is recognizing the idea of -- of equal rights, equal dignity, equal respect for everybody. (Cheers, applause.) That applies to everybody. That -- that's -- that's a -- that is a bedrock principle of America. And that's when I came into office -- everything from making sure that same-sex couples could have visitation in hospitals, just like everybody else. Making sure that we ended "don't ask, don't tell," because fighting for the country you love should not depend on who you love -- (applause) -- you know, being clear that the -- that DOMA is something that we should repeal. Across the board, I've tried to constantly align myself with what is best in our tradition, and that is you treat everybody fairly. 14:28:11 Americans are about fairness. And that doesn't mean, you know, that -- that folks have to agree with everybody on everything. we don't, you know? But we want to treat everybody fairly. Now, I think it's important to recognize, though, that our -- our -- our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters are still subject to discrimination. That's why we passed hate crime legislation -- and we've still got to fight for that. I think it is important for us to respect decisions that states make with respect to expanding treatment of same-sex couples and marriage. But also what I want to say is that, you know, gay and lesbian families are like everybody else. What they're really also worried about right now is making sure they can pay the bills. (Applause.) So, you know -- so my strong belief is that it is important for us to focus on individual issues of fairness, but also recognize that we all have common interests as well. Your son is 18; I'm assuming he's going to get some more education, and I'm assuming you guys are worrying right now about making sure he doesn't come out with a whole bunch of debt and how -- Q: Miami. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Miami? Q: Miami. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Miami of Ohio? Q: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Outstanding. Congratulations. (Cheers, applause.) We've got some folks from the alma matter here. So -- so we want to treat everybody fairly and we also want to make sure that the economy treats everybody fairly. And I'm going to be fighting for that as long as I'm the president of the United States. (Applause.) All right. This -- this gentleman right here. Does anybody have a mic over there? OK, right behind you. Very -- very good. I'm impressed. There you go. I'm impressed. There you go. 14:30:01 Q: Mr. President, I'm Jim O'Reilly (sp). Ten years as an elected city official has shown me a real change in what the Republican Party has been doing to us. They've taken away our power to protect our natural resources, water and air, from the strength of the oil and gas drillers that are doing fracking here in Ohio. I support what Lisa Jackson and the EPA are doing. Is there more the administration can do to protect us from the adverse effects of drilling for natural gas? 14:30:31 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good. Well, this is a great question, and it's an important question. (Applause.) Couple things I just want everybody to know. First of all, if you hear anybody say that somehow we are impeding the development of our energy resources here in this nation, I want you to know these facts. Oil production, higher than it's been in eight years. Natural gas production, higher than it's been probably in our lifetimes. Oil imports, actually lower than they've been in 16 years. In fact, our oil imports are -- are less than 50 percent now for the first time in a very long time. And so we're moving in the right direction -- (applause) -- in terms of energy independence. Now, part of that is this boom in natural gas. And this is something we should welcome, because not only are we blessed with incredible natural gas resources that are now accessible because of new technologies, but natural gas actually burns cleaner than some other fossil fuels, and is an ideal fuel -- energy source that we potentially can use for the next hundred years. So I want to encourage natural gas production. The -- the key is to make sure that we do it safely and in a way that is environmentally sound. 14:32:04 Now, you always hear these arguments that somehow, there's a huge contradiction between the environment and economic development or the environment and energy production. And the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of folks right now who are engaging in hydraulic fracking who are doing it safely. The problem is is that we haven't established clear guidelines for how to do it safely and informed the public so that neighbors know what's going on and, you know, your family -- you can make sure that any industry that's operating in your area, that they're being responsible. So what we've said is, look, we are going to work with industry to establish best practices; we are going to invest in the basic research and science to make sure this is done safely and in a way that protects the public health. And for responsible companies, they should be able to operate and make a profit, and we can all benefit and put people back to work, but if you're an irresponsible company that's not doing the right thing, we're going to hold you into account. And that's how we should develop this incredible resource, which, by the way, if we do it properly, could end up changing the -- the economics and politics globally of energy in a way that's actually very good for us because we'll be less dependent on what happens in the Middle East and our economy will be less subject to the kinds of spikes that we saw earlier in the spring in terms of gas prices. All right? Thank you for the question. (Applause.) All right, it's a woman's turn. That young lady in the white -- white T-shirt right there. Hold on. Hold on. Wait for the mic. Q: My name is Delisha White (sp), and I and my husband were small-business owners. And he actually has a question that he needs to answer, so I -- 14:34:08 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, wait, wait. No, no, you can't do that now. (Laughter.) I called -- I called on the young lady, and that's what's called a bait-and-switch. (Laughter.) That is what's called a bait-and-switch. Q: Go ahead. PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, the -- the -- the rule is that I'm going to make sure that women get equal time with men. (Cheers, applause.) Ah, see that? (Cheers, applause.) Right. Q: (Off mic.) Q: (Chuckles.) I'm not asking that. Q: Well, we would like -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, no, no, no. no. (Laughter.) Q: No -- hey -- 14:34:42 Q: OK, his question was, he's a small-business owner, and he wanted to know what can you do -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Chuckles.) (Laughter.) Q: -- for the -- for the self-employed -- for self-employed businesses with less than 10 employees working with him. PRESIDENT OBAMA: OK. All right, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to let him go ahead and ask his question -- (laughter) -- and then I'm going to call on two women in a row -- Q: OK. PRESIDENT OBAMA: -- because this is -- (cheers, applause) -- because this is a -- we got -- we got -- (chuckles) -- we got cheated here. Q: (Laughs.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Go ahead. Q: (Laughs.) 14:35:20 Q: OK. I'm Tony White (sp) -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: Next time you stand up. Don't send your wife out first. (Laughter, applause.) Q: (Laughs.) OK. I'm Tony White (sp). And hello, Mr. President. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good to see you, Tony (sp). Q: OK. PRESIDENT OBAMA: What kind -- what kind of business do you have? Q: A barber shop and beauty salon. PRESIDENT OBAMA: There you go. Q: I've been in business for over 10 years now. PRESIDENT OBAMA: That's great. Q: And what I'm trying to find out is what will you be doing or if there's anything you will be doing for the self-employed and businesses under -- with employees -- with less than 10 employees. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Absolutely. Q: And also, when can I cut your hair? (Laughter, cheers, applause.) 14:36:03 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, let -- let me answer the second question first. You know that you -- Q: I know. PRESIDENT OBAMA: -- you would not want a president who was disloyal to his barber. (Laughter, applause.) Right? (Cheers, applause.) I mean, a man and his barber, that's a -- that's a strong connection. Q: I know, I know. (Laughter.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: So -- so I -- I am not going to let you cut my hair, because my barber would be hurt. (Laughter.) Q: Just one time. Just once. PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Chuckles.) Maybe I'll let you (get ?) me (aligned ?) a little bit. Yeah, all right. Q: Yeah. Yeah, we could do that. (Cheers, applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: All right. In terms of small business, look, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They account for most of the new job growth. We've got obviously great big businesses. You know, in this area Procter Gamble's (sic) an example of an outstanding large business. But a lot of the job growth happens with small businesses who then become medium-sized businesses and then maybe at some point become large businesses. So ever since I came into office, one of my biggest priorities was how do we support small businesses, which is why we've actually provided 18 different tax breaks just targeted at small business since I've been in office. It's the reason why we have pushed the Small Business Administration, especially when the recession had just hit, to extend additional financing and to waive fees for small businesses, because one of the biggest challenges for small businesses is getting credit lines. Q: Yes, it is. PRESIDENT OBAMA: And we've actually been pushing the banks to say, look, taxpayers pulled your backside out of the fire. (Cheers, applause.) It's now important for you to step up and make sure that small businesses aren't finding they're credit restricted, especially if they've been in -- in -- in business for a while. 14:38:05 The other thing we've done is to say, you know, what are -- what are the -- the critical needs of small business? A lot of times one of the biggest challenges is to make sure that you as a sole proprietor -- that you can get health insurance for you and your family. Q: Correct. PRESIDENT OBAMA: So when -- when you hear about the Affordable Care Act, "Obamacare" -- (cheers, applause) -- and I -- and I don't mind the name, because I really do care. (Cheers, applause.) That's why we passed it. You should know that you -- once we have fully implemented, you're going to be able to buy insurance through a pool so that you can get the same good rates as a group that, if you're an employee at a big company, you can get right now, which means your premiums will go down. (Cheers, applause.) We will also give you additional tax credits for -- if you are providing health insurance for your employees, we'll give you tax credits for that. Right now one of the things we're pushing Congress to do is to give you a tax credit if you hire additional workers or you give folks who are working for you a raise. We want to give you incentive to do that. (Cheers, applause.) 14:39:41 So -- but -- but -- but this is an example of where there's a contrast between myself and my opponent. As I said before, his basic tax plan is to give folks at the top a -- a tax break. Now, we can have that debate. But what I've said is, in the meantime, let's give 98 percent of individuals and 97 percent of small businesses some certainty right now by going ahead and passing a law that says your taxes won't go up -- because if Congress doesn't act, by the way, by January 1st, everybody's taxes here are going to go up by an average of about $1,600 if Congress doesn't do anything. And so what I said is, if you really want to help small business right now, give 97 percent of them the certainty -- (applause) -- that their costs will not go up. (Applause.) And then -- and then we can have a debate about the other 2 (percent), 3 percent. 14:40:54 Now, one -- one last point I'm going to make on this small business and -- and taxes argument. You'll hear Republicans say, you know what, if you tax, let's say, somebody with a million dollars income, you're going to be crushing the small business jobs creators. Now, first of all, I just explained 97 percent of small businesses make less than 250(,000 dollars) a year. But setting aside that, they way they describe -- (chuckles) -- small businesses, half of the Fortune 400 richest Americans in the country would qualify as a quote, unquote, "small business." Hedge fund managers would qualify as small business, even if they were pulling in a billion dollars a year. And my -- this is an example of -- of what I mean when I say we just want everybody to be treated fairly. You know, Michelle and I were -- Michelle and I were talking the other day. And Michelle's dad worked as a -- as a blue-collar worker. He was a -- at a water filtration plant in Chicago, worked there all his life -- all his adult life. And he had MS, but -- so by the time I met him, he could barely walk. But he never missed a day of work. He had to use two canes, he had to wake up an hour earlier than everybody else just to get dressed, but he never missed a day of work. 14:42:07 And he took pride in -- in being at the job even if he didn't feel well. And he used to tease folks who were lazy. He'd say -- you know, he'd say, these folks are so lazy, you know, they won't even go to work to pick up their paycheck. (Laughter.) You know, they want it mailed to them. And -- and Michelle's mom, she stayed at home when the kids were young, and then she went to work as a secretary. And she worked as a secretary most of her adult life. So the point is, they didn't have a lot. But Michelle and I were talking about how they didn't envy people who had a lot more. There was no sense that somehow, well, you know, our lives are less because we're not millionaires, you know, we're not making huge amounts of money. 14:43:12 God bless folks who are doing successful -- who were successful in doing well. The only thing that Michelle's parents, my mom, my grandparents -- the only thing they didn't like is when you felt like folks at the top were taking advantage of their position and not following the same rules as everybody else -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: -- and keeping other folks down. (Applause.) And we don't want an economy in which some are being treated differently than others. AUDIENCE MEMBER: No! PRESIDENT OBAMA: That's all. And that's especially true when it comes for our small-business folks. I want them to have some of the same advantages, because you probably can't afford the same number of lawyers and, you know, accountants and all that stuff that are working all these loopholes. You know? And I want to make sure that you're getting the same good deal as everybody else. All right? (Applause.) OK. I'm going to call on this young lady right here. She seems like she has an urgent question. Hold on -- wait for your mic. Wait for your microphone. We're getting the next generation involved in this. (Cheers, applause.) Right here; right there, yeah. 14:44:13 Q: What's your favorite Girl Scout cookie? (Cheers, applause.) 14:44:25 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Aha. I -- I've got to say, this is a -- this is one of the toughest questions. (Laughter.) What's your name? Q: Julie (sp). PRESIDENT OBAMA: And you're -- you're a member of a Girl Scout troop? Are you? How long have you been a Girl Scout? Q: I think for only -- I think only this year. PRESIDENT OBAMA: This year? Have you been having -- AUDIENCE MEMBER: Two years. Q: Two years; two years. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Two years. Have you been having fun? Yeah. Q: Yeah. PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know, I've got to say that I'm pretty -- I'm pretty partial to those mint -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Thin Mints! Yeah! (Applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: I'm just saying -- that's just me. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Boo! PRESIDENT OBAMA: I didn't -- I didn't mean to create controversy here. There was somebody -- (laughter) -- did you hear, there was somebody booing? (Laughter.) What do you -- how do you -- how do you -- how do you -- what -- what's your -- what was YOUR choice? Who was booing up there? (Laughter.) (Chuckles) -- you had a different opinion, one of you. Oatmeal, or -- (laughter). Huh? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Peanut Butter -- (off mic). PRESIDENT OBAMA: Peanut butter is quite good, too. But I'm going with the mint. I'm going with the mint. All right, thank you for the question. Thank you. (Applause.) All right, the -- remember I told -- I said I was going to go two ladies right now. So here, right here. Right here. Here we go, here we go. Go ahead. Whoops; don't fall, now. Go ahead. Q: My name is Susan (sp). Welcome to Cincinnati. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Q: Given how divided the country is, if elected, how do you plan to try to unite everyone? 14:46:04 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you -- you know, I'll be honest, sometimes people ask me what -- what are -- what's my disappointment since I've come into office. And obviously, you know, we're always trying to grow the economy faster, put people back to work faster. But one of the disappointments I've had is that we have not changed the tone in Washington the way I wanted to. Now -- (applause) -- part of this just has to do with the fact that the other side had a basic economic -- or a basic political theory after I got elected. And this is not my opinion; I mean, this has been said by the leader of the -- the Senate minority in -- in -- in Washington. And the basic theory was: You know what, we kind of screwed things up. Obama's really popular right now. If we cooperate with him, then he'll get credit. So we're better off just saying no. And if we do that, then over time folks will forget the mess he inherited and we can go after him, and hopefully, that'll help our politics. Again, this -- this was -- this is not my theory. This was -- this is explicitly their strategy. What's true is also we've got, as I said, two different visions about how to move the country forward. But my hope is that this election allows us to once and for all resolve some of the bigger questions about how we move the country forward, because right now, we've got as stark a choice as you can imagine. You know, I believe in investing in education and -- and transportation and science and research and bringing down our deficits in a balanced way and changing our tax code to make sure the companies that are investing here are doing better. Mr. Romney has the opposite view on almost all those positions. You know, on things like "don't ask, don't tell," Mr. Romney wants to reverse my position. On issues like immigration, I believe in comprehensive immigration reform; he does not. On issues related to women, I believe that Planned Parenthood does a lot of good and that women's health -- (cheers, applause) -- women should be able to control their own health care decisions. You know, he does not. On Iraq, he said me ending the war was tragic. I said I think it was the right thing to do. (Applause.) On Afghanistan, I imposed a deadline, a timetable for when we're going to bring our troops home. He wants to extend their stay indefinitely. So on all these issues, we've got just profound differences. Now, you guys ultimately are the arbiters of this disagreement. And in this election, if the American people decide, you know what, we want to try what Mr. Romney is offering -- (boos) -- well, no, I mean, that's the great thing about democracy is -- is -- is people can vote and make -- make up their minds. And so if that's the case, then you can count on Mr. Romney implementing the plan that he and the Republicans in Congress have put forward. 14:49:27 So $5 trillion in tax cuts, massive cuts in a lot of the programs that are so important, from my perspective, to growing the economy -- those will be eliminated. Medicare will be voucherized. You know, he -- they will implement what they say they're going to implement. But if I'm elected, not only do I think that we'll be able to continue the progress that we've made over the last three and a half years, I actually think that a lot of Republicans -- since this will be my last election, they will not be as interested in just beating me, and maybe they'll be more interested in moving the country forward. (Cheers, applause.) That's my hope. And -- and I -- and -- and I have to say, you know, the truth is, on most of these issues there shouldn't be so much partisan rancor, because most of the positions I've taken are positions that used to be supported by Republicans. (Cheers, applause.) And if you want just one good example, health care. (Cheers, applause.) The -- the bill I passed is in all respects similar to what Mr. Romney passed in Massachusetts. It's working really well there. He should be proud of it instead of running away from it. And the original idea of using the private sector to make sure that everybody had health care -- that originated as a Republican idea. And I said, fine, I'm -- I'm willing to work with your ideas to make progress. So I actually think that there are a number of Republican members of Congress who right now feel as if they've got to toe the party line. But if the objective is no longer just beating me, my hope is is that they'll be more open to finding common-sense solutions to the problems that our country faces. And I know that is absolutely a goal of mine, because in the end, we are not Democrats or Republicans first. We are Americans first. (Cheers, applause.) That's what I believe. All right. (Cheers, applause.) All right -- all right, I've got time -- I've got time for two more questions. This gentleman in the -- this gentleman in the blue shirt right there. All right, and over here. (Chuckles.) Go ahead. 14:52:24 Q: Mr. President, my name's Jeff Weisal (sp), and I've been teaching for 21 years. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Congratulations. (Cheers, applause.) Q: Thank you. Thank you. I teach at a vocational school, a career tech school. And my question to you is we've been talking about jobs, we've been talking about kids, we're talk about -- you -- I know you want every kid to go to college, but not every kid is going to go to college. We need people to work. We need people to be plumbers and build bridges and those kind of things. (Applause.) And what I want to -- I believe it, I really do. (Chuckles.) We do miracles at our school. We take kids who have had really rough lives, and we make them productive. But the problem is, is that they are not getting enough chances to get to go to work right away. We had advisory boards, but these advisory boards are free. And they're not -- these people are not getting paid. What we need -- and I was hoping that you could tell us if this is something in your agenda -- can we have people come in, you know, give tax breaks to these companies to come and help schools, to teach the schools what they really need for these kids? (Cheers, applause.) And that's what I'm -- that's what we're looking for. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all -- first of all -- first of all, thank you for teaching. Most important job there is. (Cheers, applause.) We appreciate that. 14:53:51 Second of all, I want to -- I want to be very clear. When I see everybody needs a higher education, I don't mean everybody has got to take a four-year college education. The point is that these days if you want to be a plumber, if you want to be an electrician, if you want to be working in a factory, you are generally going to need a little bit more training than high school provides, which is why our community college system is so important. But you -- you are absolutely right that one of the, I believe, mistakes we made 20, 30 years ago was to start de-emphasizing vocational education -- (cheers, applause) -- because -- because not everybody wants to sit in a classroom with a book. Lot of folks want to do stuff. And right now we've got shortages of folks in fields that need technical training but don't necessarily require a four-year college degree. And so part of what I'm talking to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about is how do we work with high schools so that young people who've got an aptitude, whether it's in graphic design or in electronics or you name it -- that they can start getting on a pathway so that they are being trained for the jobs that actually exist now, they're being matched up with companies that are hiring now. They maybe start apprenticing junior, senior year in high school. Maybe it extends to another year or two in community college, and by the time they're 21, 22, 23, they are expert in fields where we know there's hiring taking place right now. So it's very important. We're going to be working with states, local governments, school districts and community colleges to try to figure out how we can expand what is already a proven idea in -- in a lot of places around the country. And -- and so you and I were right there. We're thinking the same way. (Applause.) And -- and I'm looking forward to seeing if we can make progress on this. All right. Last question -- last question I promised -- I promised -- I promised that -- no, I -- I'm going to call on this -- this young lady right here. All right, this is the last question and we -- we've got to get a mic to her. But it's nice to see you, young man. That's a good-looking young man, isn't he? That's a handsome young guy. All right, go ahead. 14:56:46 Q: Hi. My father, he's an unemployed construction worker, and he's on unemployment. So as your job as president, will he have a job before his unemployment runs out? (Laughter, applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, no, this is a -- this an important question. What -- what's your name? Q: Taylor (sp). PRESIDENT OBAMA: Taylor. How old are you, Taylor (sp)? Q: I will be 15 in two months. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it's so nice to meet you and -- and I -- I'm glad you're thinking about your dad, because I know he wants to work. My -- my hope -- my hope is is that we can put him to work. 14:57:23 Housing took the biggest hit in our economy because you had this big housing bubble that collapsed. So the construction industry, the -- the industry where you dad works, was the hardest hit of any industry. And it's the one that's been the slowest to come back, which is why since September of last year, I have urged Congress to expand our efforts to rebuild roads, bridges, schools, laying broadband lines going into rural communities, making sure that all these folks like your father who want to work -- these aren't folks who are looking for a handout; they want to be on the job -- so that they have an opportunity to do work that we're going to have to do anyway. And this is important. How many folks here have a house, and you know that you've got a leaky roof? Do you -- you can put off patching up that leaky roof, but sooner or later you're going to have patch it up -- sooner or later. And if you don't, what happens? It falls in. And then what happens? It's more expensive. Same -- same is true if -- if you got a busted boiler. So we all have what's called deferred maintenance. We can't always do it right away, but a lot of times, if we have an opportunity to do it, we should go ahead and do it, especially if it's cheap. It is cheaper now to do it than it will be later. Interest rates are low. Construction workers are out of work. Contractors are begging for work. They'll come in on time under budget. And so we could knock out a whole bunch of work that needs to get done for this country anyway and put people back to work, which would grow the economy right now. 14:59:30 Now, so far I have not gotten a positive response from members of Congress on the other side of the aisle. They did just pass -- and this was a sign of some modest cooperation, so it makes me feel a little bit encouraged -- they did just pass a transportation bill that at least wouldn't lay off more construction workers. But the first thing I want to do is put your dad back on the job rebuilding America. Now, if -- (scattered applause) -- if your father still doesn't get a job, though, part of what I'm also looking for is making sure that unemployment insurance is there for folks who want to work but are having trouble finding work. (Applause.) And I want to -- I want folks to be clear. Unemployment insurance, unemployment benefits -- they're paid for. Your employer paid for them. Directly and indirectly, you paid for them. The idea is to have that safety net because everybody once in a while can have some bad luck. Now, we tried to extend unemployment insurance beyond normal right after the recession hit. We were able to extend it again in 2010. It's been harder now to get Congress to extend it further, and I don't know exactly what category your father falls in. But my bottom line is -- my general view is that as long as the economy is weak, and somebody is willing and able to work and looking for work actively -- which is what's required if you want to get unemployment insurance -- then we should be there for them to make sure that they can pay the rent and look after their families. And so we'll continue to negotiate with Congress to make sure that unemployment is there. But the most important thing I want to do is make sure your dad can get a job, all right? (Cheers, applause.) 15:01:34 All right. Let me just say, everybody, I am -- I'm going to be back in Cincinnati. I'm going to be back in Ohio. I want to -- I want to thank you for your attention. And I want to explicitly ask you for your support. (Cheers, applause.) The -- this -- this is going to be a close election. This is going to be a close election, and it is going to be an important debate. And I want everybody to understand that what I've tried to do over the last 3 1/2 years is to -- to -- to keep my promises. So I promised I'd end the war in Iraq; I ended it. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Yeah! PRESIDENT OBAMA: I promised that we -- we would keep taxes low for middle-class families; I did that. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yeah! (Applause.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: But the most important promise I made -- some of you remember me saying this in 2008. I said, you know, I'm not a perfect man. I said I wasn't going to be a perfect president; no president is. But what I promised you was that I would always tell you what I thought, I'd always tell you what I believed, and I would wake up every single day fighting as hard as I knew how for you. (Cheers, applause.) 15:03:12 And you know what? You know what? I have kept that promise. Because when I look around this room, if I see an elderly couple, I think about my grandparents and everything they did for me. And when I see this young lady asking about her dad, I think about my daughters. I see myself in you. And my most important job is fighting for you and that basic American idea that if you work hard in this country, you can succeed. You can get ahead. (Applause.) And I'm going to do everything I can, as long as I have the honor of being president, to fight for you and working families and middle- class families all across this country. (Cheers, applause.) So I hope you'll stand with me. I hope you'll work with me. 15:04:05 Let's finish what we started and remind the world why the United States is the great nation that it is. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.) 15:04:31 Obama gladhanding with crowd 15:09:09 Obama holding baby 15:10:42 Obama waves goodbye and exits

MS expo booth roofs with Golden Driller Statue in bkgd / VS replica Drake Well / Quick Pans down Drake Well tower replica / Truck parked in front of Drake Well with "Loveless MFG. Co." on it, truck in front of that truck has warning signs on it: "Explosives" / MS man rides through parking lot on golf cart / Pan parking lot full of cars, expo building in bkgd and Golden Driller Statue to right / Pan parking lot and more buildings, Fairbanks-Morse sign, P&H sign /Note: Exact year not known

taking samples from a gold bar

MS man walks up stairs between pumpjacks and American flags / Pan exterior exhibit hall with "Oklahoma" and bunting on it as man walks in / people wandering expo grounds, Golden Driller statue in bkgd / MS man and boy with balloons walk past replica of the Drake Well / CU sign: "Replica of the Drake Well, Well to be Drilled for Oil in the United States August 27, 1859, Titusville, Pennsylvania, Oil Struck at Depth of 69 Feet" / Note: exact year not known

Encyclopaedia Britannica Films: What is Electric Current? Educational film about electricity. Mostly consists of simple experiments with batteries, wires and ampere meters.

Close up on a man's hands as he cradles a drill, loading the drill bit into the chuck.

UltraHD (4K) : Milling Machine

Hand drill on a workbench in DIY workshop. Metal workbench. Copy space on right.

Slow-motion shots of a drill bit boring into a piece of metal. (Core number: FKAG244P. ABSA856K)

Super slow motion shot of a shirtless muscular male road worker using a jackhammer while repairing the street.

Woman in workshop with drilling drill

Construction worker with hammer drill doing apartment repair.