We just got back. We were in ames earlier today enduring the family leaders event. It went well. Big crowd. You were there . [inaudible] well, its my opportunity to talk to you today. The county chair puts me here. He asked me to stand in for him. Welcome. Im going to call on hester kim crummer from the Monroe United Methodist Church for an opening prayer. Pastor. I asked god if i could write my hartnell in this piece of paper so i can pray for all those who live in this great nation. So let us pray. Mighty god we thank you for your presence here today. We thank you for your wisdom and love that god is great nation. We thank you for those observed in our military to shore our liberty and freedom that allows us to meet this day for the good of our country. Our hearts are heavy this day for the unnecessary deaths of our marines within our borders. We reach out to the families of these brave men who selflessly served our country, and ask that you hold them with your love. Sometimes we forget how fortunate we are to live in a country where we have the freedom to openly congregate and share our thoughts and and opinions. Lord astor many of us feel our nation may be headed down a path of danger and immorality where our constitution is not being adhered to in a way that is always guided this great nation in the right direction. With the threats of terrorism and violence and tyranny and unrest within our borders, we need you even more. God, help us to follow your laws come and give us the assurance that youre you are always in control. We gather here today with governor huckabee as he makes a bid to become our next president of United States of america. May just be a time where we express and share our th and it was just inch by inch little by little we kept building a group of people that are willing to support me and when we won the Iowa Caucuses in 2008, we ended up having the largest number of caucus voters for me than had ever voted for a president ial candidate on the republican ticket in in the history of the Iowa Caucuses. The good news is, thats a wonderful milestone, but it does not mean that i think for one minute that i can just show up a time or two in iowa and sight well, you voted for me before, i expect you to do it again. I am grateful for the people who voted for me before. What i have no expectation theres obligation people do it again. I feel ive got to earn it just like i did the last time. I hope i can do that. Because i really believe that i have the right skills to lead this country. If i didnt think that, believe me, i would not have left the wonderfully pleasant job that ive had for the past six and half years. Over the past quarter of a century i have been a candidate for office and i can say to you thats pretty hard work. Well, we get music. Thats actually coming from another room. Its not even in here. Is that what your trying to do . Between the speakers next door. So let me pick back up here. Running for office is really hard work. Then i got elected. First Lieutenant Governor, then governor. Thats even harder work. Its a challenge. Especially when you govern in a state like arkansas where it was the most partisan state in the country. And i know that may be a surprise to you that arkansas was more partisan. We had a more lopsided political structure then massachusetts did, vermont, maine, oregon, california come in the state. Most in the country. Been serving as Lieutenant Governor for three years governor for 10 and a half years, i could tell you that was hard work last six and a half years ive hosted a talk show on television. Iodine radio talk both commentary and every talk show. I travel around making speeches. Ill be honest with you. Talking about the people who are candidates and officeholders thats the easiest job ive ever had in my life. And get a better money than anything ive ever done. I got and used when some reporters wrote that huckabee as a serious about running for president. Is just trying to build profiles we can get a tv show, sell some books and make some speeches. And im thinking what idiot wrote that . I had a television show. Ive written 12 books but it more speeches than i could accept. If thats what i want away from and left to come back and run for president , the only reason i would do that is because i truly believe our country is in real trouble. Something i have i did not eight years ago five grandkids. By the way, all five of them are for and under. One of them is less than four weeks old. The fifth one, a little boy, george. And the oldest one just turned four on the second of this month. So imagine how bad things are when they all get together. One of the reasons im running for president , because my grandkids. Either a money because i really want to say this nation for them, or im running because that way i dont have to hear how loud they can be when they are altogether. I think all of you know the reason that anybody would do this has to be for something other than ego. Ive been in politics too long to let the to be the reason for which i would run a campaign because quite frankly the glory of being a political candidate that disappears in about 15 minutes. And then it just is hard work. Nothing is better for ones ego than just to be on tv. Nobody hate you. People love you. You run for office and people hate you. Thats your own family, not to even think of the other people out there. Now let me say very honestly im very blessed. My wife was a little upset with me for not running for years ago. Nobody is a stronger supporter and a more committed participant in this process then she is. And, frankly, i wouldnt be doing it if i did not have her wholehearted support, and that of my family. This is hard to do when your family is with you. I find it impossible to do if your family is not with you. And, frankly, they divided them something that none of us can afford to have. But we have a divided country. Is a very divided country. We are seeing the effects of the. Were seeing the effects of economically. Im in a town where once many people go to work everyday to make that plant in new and ill. People knew that was here in newton iowa. I did live there. I lived in arkansas and i knew you had a maytag plant i remember when willful but maytag because there was a big whirlpool plant in my state of arkansas. I remember when this plant close to i remember when the fort smith whirlpool plant close. I remember when the arkansas maytag plant close. We lost all those jobs. Every one of them. All went away to mexico. A lot of people but you know, perhaps some of you for all i know, may have once worked there and lost jobs. Im tired of seeing america lose jobs. Im tired of seeing americans work year after year after year really hard at something only to find one day they walk in and they are told the job is gone. The president has been telling everybody economy is in recovery. I dont talk to a lot of people in places like this where people say yes, the economy is just doing swimmingly well. People to me quite the opposite the economy is not recovering for many working americans. If anything it struggles because when people have a good job a few years ago that the benefits and even a pension and today a working two and three parttime jobs, no pension, no benefits at all. A couple of weeks ago i was in aiken, ma south carolina. Were spending a day there and we were staying at the fairfield inn in aiken south carolina. Nice little hotel, budget place Free Internet and free breakfast. We are cheap. We have to be. I got down to when it opened up for breakfast at six and i was really went down there except that i work at the fairfield inn, taking care of the tables for people coming down to have breakfast. Because i was bill went down that we struck up a conversation, after visiting. His name is mark, hes in his 50s, maybe just a few years younger than me and his low 80s 82 83. [laughter] just seeing if youre listening. We got to talking and until three years ago he was one of 300 people that worked in manufacturing plant in aiken south carolina. One day they closed the whole plant, all 300 lost their job. He was a College Educated as an account for the company. But the manufacturing facility closed down so his accounting job went away with it. This man who had a good degree good job worked there for 20 something years, now found he had no job and he was working three parttime jobs, one of which was to get up at 5 a. M. And go down to the fairfield inn and serve breakfast to people like me were staying at the hotel. He finished that inyo county to more jobs. Entity that because his house is almost and he did it because his house is almost paid off him he cant afford to move anywhere. Cant find another job anywhere. That is the america i see happening all around us. Its the america we need to fix. We also need to fix an america where people are in danger not just the to go to the movies but they are also in danger to stand outside and army reserve recruiting station or a marine recruiting station or a marine and naval wrestler reserve unit. That happened in my home state of arkansas. A young man by the name of antilong standing out in front of the Army Recruiting station june 1, 2009. He was assigned there after having gone through his attorney, having been in combat. Ease standing outside as the recruiter at a young radicalized Islamic Jihadists from memphis who grew up a baptist in a nice neighborhood by the name of what was Carlos Bledsoe became Abdul Hakim Mohammed went to yemen, got radicalized them came back. His father called in the fbi is that i think my son is into something very bad. The fbi didnt take it seriously enough. And hit several attempts to do some horrible things. He was pretty bad at being a care. His attempts failed. What of the things he wanted he was blow up times square. That didnt work. He never got caught in these earlier against the one day he drove over from memphis about a two and half hour drive to little rock took a long rifle, held outside his car and fired shots that killed transix and very severely wounded another u. S. Army soldier. Stand in front of the Army Recruiting station in a strip Shopping Center in little rock, arkansas. When this happened the other day, this year, went on this rent it and shut up the front of the recruiting station in a strip Shopping Center, my first reaction was my gosh, i seen this movie before. And it doesnt end well. And one of the things that was most distressing was that these are the most trained capable people we have to handle weapons but when they of duty like that we make them put their weapons aside, and they were sitting ducks for the terrorist. Day one when im president , decided a defense will be notified that military members will be free to carry the weapons for which they are trained. We are not going to disarm our soldiers it is a marine airmen and coast guardsmen, and have them Walking Around vulnerable sitting ducks so that savages in the name of Islamic Jihad will murder them in cold blood on the streets of america. That must stop and it must stop now. People ask me sometimes what do i think is the most important thing weve got to fix in america, is it the economy . Or is it National Security . I tell people thats like asking which went on the airplane is the most important, the one on the left or the one on the right . When i thought i want both wings to be attached to the fuchsia lodge. A plane flies better but this one of the things the plane needs other than just those two wings. Backplane needs a steering mechanism. It needs to have flaps and we dont have a string mechanism and this country still crashes. Im running for president because i believe with all my heart that its not just about saying we must get the economy back in shape. Yes, we do and its why i support that the fair tax which would in all the attacks on our work in savings and investment. We pay tax to the point of consumption and we have seen jobs come back to this country and capital comeback and people able to manufacture and make things again. But its also about protecting america, protecting americans americans with half of the season protections in your on our own soil so the women working in Oklahoma City dont have their heads cut off by terrorist at work, for heavens sake. That is dependent upon a president who understands how to lead with moral clarity. And understand that we cant be a great nation. Its just not possible if we try to separate ourselves from being a good country, a country that is on its knees before an almighty providential god without whose help we would not be a country. I believe with all my heart this country has no way of existing apart from the explanation that gods providence was, in fact involved in how we got here. I dont think this country is done. If i did i would just gather my grandchildren together huddle up, go to disney held at the best lives we could for the next two years until it all fell apart. I think its worth the fight. America has been really, really good to me. Probably like it has too many of you. I grew up dirt poor in south arkansas, the son of a man who never finished high school his dad never finished high school and his dad never finish high school before him. And the first male in my entire family lineage to ever graduate from high school much less go to college. My family has a long history of just poverty. My dad used to tell me son dont look very far up the family tree. Theres some stuff up there you dont need to see. Of course, that made me curious and looked up and realized the old man is why theres some stuff up there nobody ought to be seeing. But im blessed because i was born in the United States of america i didnt have to stop where i started. And the opportunities that were afforded to me because i lived in this country meant that i wanted to become the 44th governor of my state even though my dad at age eight wouldve never believed that he told me when i was an eight year old kid, son governor of the Stable Company and dedicate a late. Hes going to make a talk. Im going to take you down there to the governor make this talk because you may live your whole life and you may never need a governor in person. My dad could not conceive that i would ever have the chance to meet the governor again, much less become one. Why would he think that . Except that we live in america where thats possible. I want that kind of opportunity for my grandkids but i want for your grandkids too and for your kids. And if we continue on the path we are on thats not going to be the case. Thats why im convinced weve got to get our shoulder to the wheel, weve got to get this country back on track and we need to make us of our kids and grandkids love kind of america that we grew up taking for granted. Thats what im running for president. I need your support in in the caucasus and it will provide you something, youve been to the caucasus before im pretty sure here in iowa and im asking you to do something thats not easy. Im going to ask you to get out of their comfortable homes on a cold wintry february evening with snow all over the ground chances are it will be snowing that night as did get a new car and drive across newton to get to your location where you would caucusing incentive for two or three hours in front of your neighbors and coworkers invokes the go to church with and stand up and say Mike Huckabee for president. And persuade your neighbors to vote for me when youre there. And if you were willing to help do that gosh, we need you. And we need you to multiply with your friends relatives the people you work with and your neighbors. If for some reason, and i cannot imagine why that if for some reason you think you might vote for someone else in the caucasus, then i tell you its going to be cold that night. [laughter] you need to stay home where its warm, put your feet up, pop some popcorn, watching on tv and say boy, i should have gone down there. But for heavens sake, if youre going to vote for somebody else dont show up at night. [laughter] i want to take your questions. Who has one . What is your stance on immigration and sanctuary cities speak as we should have sanctuary cities because thats basically one form of government aiding and abetting in the breaking of law in front of another area of government. And weve seen the disastrous impact of that in san francisco. We have seen elsewhere but this was so vivid to see that young precious 32 Year Old Girl gunned down in cold blood in front of her father. It hit me hard because my own daughter, the one who just delivered my fifth grandchild and her third, shes 32. And i tell you that got close to home. And we cant fix the immigration problem without having control of our borders. I pledge will control our border and we will secure it within the first year of my presence. If that sounds a little bold, although operations, we built a 70 can70, welcome we built a 1700mile road, 73 years ago between redish colombia and alaska. Keep in mind thats pretty tough weather conditions in which to do any construction work and we did it with the technology and internet skills that we had 73 years ago but we did it in less than a year. I hear people say theres just a way to secure the border. Yes, there is. If you have a president who decides its a priority to get it done. And if we can build 1700 miles of road 73 years ago in winter in British Columbia and alaska we can secure the border. And we will. But we cant fix anything wrong with immigration until then. Thats first and foremost job one. [inaudible] what are you willing to do to protect israel from the inevitable . Iran wants to blow them off the map and here we are you know helping iran out. I have read all pages on the uranium deal. I was really, really disgusted when i heard it was a deal and i thought maybe if i read this i will find some comfort. I didnt. I found more outrage. This was a colossal disaster of epic proportions. You mentioned israel. I first went there in 1973 42 years ago this month july 1973 my first triggered ive been there dozens of times. Three times last you. Ive been there once this year. Im going back next month. I know the people of visual very well. I know the country. In 42 years ive watched this nation and heres what ive seen. Ive seen the prophecy of ezekiel, true. The dry bones have come to life. Ive seen the desert bloom with my own eyes. Ive watched the sleepy tiny little struggling economy of the coun