Transcript: Second 2012 presidential debate, part 1

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY PARTICIPATE IN A CANDIDATES DEBATE, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK

OCTOBER 16, 2012

SPEAKERS: FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

CANDY CROWLEY, MODERATOR

CROWLEY: Good evening from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. I'm Candy Crowley from CNN's "State of the Union." We are here for the second presidential debate, a town hall, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

CROWLEY: The Gallup organization chose 82 uncommitted voters from the New York area. Their questions will drive the night. My goal is to give the conversation direction and to ensure questions get answered.

The questions are known to me and my team only. Neither the commission, nor the candidates have seen them.

I hope to get to as many questions as possible. And because I am the optimistic sort, I'm sure the candidates will oblige by keeping their answers concise and on point.

Each candidate has as much as two minutes to respond to a common question, and there will be a two-minute follow-up. The audience here in the hall has agreed to be polite and attentive -- no cheering or booing or outbursts of any sort.

We will set aside that agreement just this once to welcome President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

(APPLAUSE)

Gentlemen, thank you both for joining us here tonight. We have a lot of folks who've been waiting all day to talk to you, so I want to get right to it.

Governor Romney, as you know, you won the coin toss, so the first question will go to you. And I want to turn to a first-time voter, Jeremy Epstein, who has a question for you.

QUESTION: Mr. President, Governor Romney, as a 20-year-old college student, all I hear from professors, neighbors and others is that when I graduate, I will have little chance to get employment. What can you say to reassure me, but more importantly my parents, that I will be able to sufficiently support myself after I graduate?

ROMNEY: Thank you, Jeremy. I appreciate your -- your question, and thank you for being here this evening and to all of those from Nassau County that have come, thank you for your time. Thank you to Hofstra University and to Candy Crowley for organizing and leading this -- this event.

Thank you, Mr. President, also for being part of this -- this debate.

Your question -- your question is one that's being asked by college kids all over this country. I was in Pennsylvania with someone who had just graduated -- this was in Philadelphia -- and she said, "I've got my degree. I can't find a job. I've got three part- time jobs. They're just barely enough to pay for my food and pay for an apartment. I can't begin to pay back my student loans."

So what we have to do is two things. We have to make sure that we make it easier for kids to afford college And also make sure that when they get out of college, there's a job. When I was governor of Massachusetts, to get a high school degree, you had to pass an exam. If you graduated in the top quarter of your airlines, we gave you a John and Abigail Adams scholarship, four years tuition free in the college of your choice in Massachusetts, it's a public institution.

I want to make sure we keep our Pell grant program growing. We're also going to have our loan program, so that people are able to afford school. But the key thing is to make sure you can get a job when you get out of school. And what's happened over the last four years has been very, very hard for America's young people. I want you to be able to get a job.

I know what it takes to get this economy going. With half of college kids graduating this year without a college -- excuse me, without a job. And without a college level job, that's just unacceptable.

And likewise you've got more and more debt on your back. So more debt and less jobs. I'm going to change that. I know what it takes to create good jobs again. I know what it takes to make sure that you have the kind of opportunity you deserve. And kids across this country are going to recognize, we're bringing back an economy.

It's not going to be like the last four years. The middle-class has been crushed over the last four years, and jobs have been too scarce. I know what it takes to bring them back, and I'm going to do that, and make sure that when you graduate -- when do you graduate?

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[NoKoolAid4MeThanks]

Totally upset that Crowley and Obama seemingly CONSPIRED TO AMBUSH Romney in front of 65 million people.

Crowley, in her opening remarks, says that neither candidate has seen the questions. But when Romney questions Obama about the Rose Garden "acts of terror" statement, Obama says to Crowley, "get the transcript." When Crowley confirms that he said "acts of terror", the crowd breaks into applause, led by Michelle Obama (captured on video). This is patently WRONG.

Also, Obama says, "...and the suggestion that anybody in my team, whether the Secretary of State, our U.N. Ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we've lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. That's not what we do. That's not what I do as president, that's not what I do as Commander in Chief."

It's OFFENSIVE??!! He's offended??!! What about the families of the dead Americans working in the service of their country, or the American people who have been mislead, lied to, & generally treated like idiots as if we can't see through their prevaricating & deception.

I'm so tired of this President & his administration's blatant incompetency & constant use of attack & dishonesty to lead people to believe that it isn't true. On November 6, they're going to find out that they underestimated us and we are just not that stupid.

[Coraltina]

In Mitt Romney's answer to the first question from the audience, the online transcript reads: "If you graduated in the top quarter of your airlines, we gave you a John and Abigail Adams scholarship," but it should be "top quarter of your class," instead. Just a little observation.

[Timsulli]

The Democrats are pushing several issues. First they claim that Conservative policies have a history of not working. As proof they demonize President Bush and blame his policies for the 2008 meltdown. Can someone please point to specific Bush policies that did that? Personally I believe it was Federal Reserve policy tanked the credit markets in 2008. Specifically the policy, prior to the meltdown, of raising Federal Funds Rate, in an effort to get to a target rate of 4.75%. This was done in the face of the prior Chairman and the Current Chairman's testimony before Congress about the housing bubble and the concern about the CMBS marketplace. In short Bernake was worried about inflation and wanted to slow down the market. Well he did! They also point to the success of Bill Clinton having essentially full employment with balanced budgets. Can someone please explain to me what the policies Bill Clinton championed that accomplished that? I think not but I can show you the brilliant tax reform act of 1986 championed by Ronald Reagan that cut the marginal rates and unleashed a huge economic boom, a boom that lasted for many years. In any event these are diversionary tactics, avoiding Obama's record and distracting the discussion away from the real issues.

In my opinion the most important issues in this election are the economy and the National Debt. When our economy is in decline, the taxes paid to our government go down. How can we begin to revive our economy and reduce our debt with Obama's strategy of Big Government? We are in debt to the tune of 16 trillion dollars and growing rapidly. Governmental payments for mandates like federal employee retirement plans, medicare, welfare and social security are growing beyond our means to pay for them. On top of that, we have a new Federal mandate to support health insurance through Obamacare, that is beginning to be phased in. It is nice to have social programs but if we can't pay for them, without printing or borrowing money, we are just going to get deeper and deeper in debt.

The Democrats think we can tax our way out of a bad economy. I believe the only way, we will have any chance to maintain some kind of decent social benefits and reduce our debt, is to grow the economy. Raise your hand if you think we can grow the size of Government, reduce our debt and grow the economy at the same time.... Those that have their hand up are usually recipients' of governmental payments of some kind. The mentality seems to be, if my economy comes from government, then big government is good. When the Democrats say we are for you they mean those that benefit from big government. This is the fundamental issue that stands out to me in the debates. Obama's job's bill is primarily jobs from bigger government or labor unions not jobs from economic growth or expanded small business growth. The stark difference is Romney wants to grow private sector jobs!! I don't think the voters have heard that message clearly enough or at all in many cases. It needs to be made crystal clear.

The country is hiring an administrator to manage the largest economy in the world. When I look carefully at the qualifications and platforms of the candidates, I see one candidate that has no business training or experience and is growing government at an unprecedented rate and I see another candidate that has substantial business training and experience. He wants to grow private sector jobs by means other than the explosion of the public sector and wants to make an effort to get the government under control.

To me the choice is clear and te irony is that those of us that think bigger government will help us out of this mess may be voting for policies that doom the very programs they think they are voting to keep.

[verymetal089]

Your wrong.

[xxldave]

Spot On!

[mikesfilms]

Obama kicked arse but, First, he forgot to ask Romney about his refusal to show tax reports and offshore accounts. What is he hiding? The companies and jobs he's transferred to China? Second, he didn't go far enough on the 47% comment. The real Romney showed up behind closed doors. He actually said he didn't expect half of the nation to vote for him because they lived off the govt and didn't pay taxes (no doubt if in the WH, he plans to get even and shaft them).