generation to face a future less promising than their parents did. for republicans, the first concern is for those waiting to begin or resume the climb up the ice ladder. we don't believe our nation will ever be one of hads and have nots. in our economic stagnation, and indebt indebtedness, we're only a short distance behind greece, spain, and other countries facing economic catastrophe, but ours is a fortunate land because the world uses our dollar for trade, we have a short grace period to deep with our danger, but time is running out if we're to avoid the fate of union and the once great countries in history that fell from the positions of leadership. 2012 is a year of true opportunity, maybe our last, to restore an america of help and upward mobility and greater equality. the challenges aren't matters of ideology or party preference. they're mathematical and the answers are practical. an opposition that would earn it way to leadership must not offer criticism of failures anyone can see, but a positive plan to make life better, particularly for those aspiring to make life better for themselves. republicans accept this duty gratefully. reach back to a america of promise and go back to a america that can pay its bills and protect its vulnerable start in the same place. the only way up for those suffering and the only way out from the dead end of debt is a private economy that begins to grow and create jobs, real jobs, at a much faster rate than today. contrary to the president's constant disparagement to people in business, it's one of the noblest of human disputs. the late steve jobs, what a fitting name he had, created more of them than all of the stimulus dollars the president borrowed and blew. out here in indiana whrx, when a business person asked what they can do, i said, make money, be successful. when you make a profit, you'll have more to hire someone else and donate to the causes we love. the agreement that stifles the home grown energy or cancels a perfect safe pipeline that would have employed tens of thousands, or jacks up utility bills is a pro poverty policy. it must be replaced by a passionate pro growth approach that breaks all ties and calls all close ones in favor of private sector jobs that restore opportunity for all and generate the public revenues to pay our bills. that means a dramatically simpler tax system. a pause in the mindless piling on of expensive new regulations that devour ballers that otherwise could be used to hire somebody. it means maximizing on the new domestic energy technology that are the best break our economy has gotten in years. there's a second item on the national must-do list. we must unite to save the safety net. medicare and social security have served us well, and that must continue. but after a half and three quarters of a century respectively, it's not surprising they need some repairs. we can preserve them unchanged and untouched for those now in or near retirement, but we must fashion a new, affordable safety net so feech future americans are protected, too. decades ago, for instance, we could afford to send millionaires pension checks and pay welfare bills for the wealthiest among us. now we can't, so the dollars we have should be devoted to those who need it most. the mortal enemies of social security and medicare are those who in contempt of the plain arrhyth mutic convince americans that we need to change nothing. the proud programs implode and take the american economy with them. it will mean that coming generations are denied the jobs made in their youth and the protection they deserve in their later years. it's so that everyone should contribute to the national recovery, including, of course, the most affluent among us. there are smart way said as and ways to do that. the dumb way is to raiseerates in a broken tax system, choking off growth without the revenues we need. the better source is to stop sending the wealthy benefits they don't need and providing them with so many tax cuts that distort the economy and do little but stifle growth. they and they alone have passed bills to reduce borrowing and job creation only to be shot down time and time again by the president and his great extended allies. this year t falls to republicans to level with our fellow citizens about this reality. if we fail to act to grow the private sector and save the safety net, nothing else will matter much. but the tyke such action happen, we also must work in ways we republicans have not always practiced, to bring americans together. no feature of the obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, by currying relationships with some by castigating others. we americans are all in the same boat. if we drift, quarreling and paralyzed over a niagara of death, we will all suffer, regardless of income, race, gender, or other category. if we fail to shift to a pro-jobs, pro-growth economic policy, there will never be enough public revenue to pay for our safety net, national security, or whatever sized government we decide to have. as a loyal opposition, to put patriotism and success ahead of party or ediology, we say anyone who will join us in the cause of growth and solve nlsy is our ally and our friend. we will speak the language of unity. let us rebuild our finances and the safety net and reopen the door to the stairway upward. any other disagreements we have can wait. the most troubling contention in our national life isn't about economics or policy at all. it's about us as a free people. in two alarming ways, that contention is that we americans just can't cut it anymore. in word, indeed, the president and his allies tell us we just cannot handle ourselves in this complex, perilous world without their benevolent protection. left to ourselves, we might pick the wrong health insurance, the wrong insurance, the wrong schools for our kids. if they don't stop us, we might pick the wrong light bulb. the view is we americans are no longer up to the job of self government. we can't use the safety net programs or the government we have. we'll follow for the con job that says we'll plow ahead psomeone will pick up the job. we pit ourselves one against other, blaming our neighbor for the problems we have caused. 2012 must be the year ye prove the doubters wrong. the year we strike out bodily to say to a new generation that america is still the world's premier land of opportunity. republicans will speak for those who believe in the dignity and capacity of the individual citizens who believe the government is meant to serve the people rather than supersize them. who trust americans enough to tell them the plain truth and to lay before them a specific credible program of change big enough to meet the emergency we're facing. we'll face the prospects with confidence. there is nothing wrong with the state of the union that the american people addressed as free-born mature citizens can't set right. republicans in 2012 welcome all of our countrymen to a program of renewal that we build the dream for all and make our city on the hill shine once again. thanks for listening. good night. >> so we have now heard two aspects of the state of the union. one from the president of the united states. one from mitch daniels, the republican senator from indiana. anderson? >> coverage is going to continue until the midnight hour. if you're just joining us on this, you have been watching the president's state of the union dress. we're joined shortly by jeff and also jim demint. president obama in his third annual message to congress laying out his economic agenda and his political road map from 2012, demanding action from congress, outlined steps he's taking that don't need congress. the state of the yunnian, he said, is getting stronger. mitch daniels giving the republican response. we'll show you how a panel of undecided voters reacted to what they heard in live protesting. candy crowley, senior political analyst, david gergen, john king, political analyst, gloekn yeah burger, paul begala, and ari fleischer. any surprises tonight? >> i think it was a solid speech. book ending it with two foreign policy achievements, the end of the war in iraq and the death of osama bin laden made it a very sort of solid speak and a reminder to voters, hey, by the way, remember, here are the two things i did. as i mentioned before, here is a president who gets tire marks for his foreign policy than dome domestic. >> were a lot of the things he was suggesting, that states require that students stay in school until 18 -- >> a nice call, but no, much of this will not happen. this was far more designed to be an agenda for his second term too, take it into the debates in november. i think it was politically deft from his standpoint. he showed democrats that he's willing to fight. that he's got some fresh ideas. he was deft in the way he shifted the emphasize away from deficits, away from jobs, onto things like energy and skills and manufacturing. he's trying to shake it up and keep the focus on fairness. i thought mitch daniels just got one of the best rebuttles i have heard. you can understand why so many leading conservatives really wanted mitch daniels in the race. a sensible voice, and principle conservative, and didn't engage in the hyperrhetoric we have been hearing in the debates. >> ari fleischer, do you agree with mitch daniels? >> i sure did. i'm neutral in the republican race, but i'm a mitch daniels and/or paul ryan guy. you would see tremendous more energy in the republican side and see the disciplined focus on what i think are the core issues of the country, fwhut economic issues, and you see it in a friendly and inclusive way as well. that's the point i was making about the fath that daniels emphasized, different than what president obama addressed tonight. one really sees staving off the debt is the biggest challenge we face. let let's-year-o yield for a second the tax cuts on the wealthy. we have $25 trillion of debt in the same period of time. for obama, he seemed to think it's the solution. we're in so much debt, taxes doesn't go far enough, of course it's a spending problem. >> you have a great segm, keeping them honest. it's heart to hear mitch daniels talk about the deficit when he was on the board for president bush when their amount turned into the deficit. i also thought it was interesting when he talked about a pro-poverty plan if you will, from the president. that was striking there, the first time you heard poverty come out tonight. what is going to be interesting going forward, what is the next step? >> i think the president should take his message to some of the core, some of the red states in the country, some of the poor states in the country and begin to say, look, show me how their plans have turn out for you. so me how they have made your life better and are you going to have health care under their plans, better education under their plans. i don't know if he wants to go there, but i think he should. >> paul begala there, wasn't much talk about reducing the deficit in the speech, which is something for a lot of republicans should be front and center. >> you're right, david gergen is right. much more eemphasis in the speech about jobs, health care, tax policy, interestingly enough. whatulse struck me is if you just looked at it parachuting in from a foreign country, you wouldn't know this is a president who is stuck at 44% going into his re-election wf a painfully, almost 9% unemploymentera rate. more if you watched governor daniels you would know his party won a landslide election a year ago. governor daniels has his admirers. for me, his speech was so pessimistic, and this is hard to do. it was like a glass of warm milk with a fly in it. boring and depressing at the same time. i didn't quite go for it, but i want an optimist, and barack obama doesn't have that much to be optimistic about, but he made the most of it tonight. >> i don't think it was that bad, paul. what i think mitch daniels was trying to do was shift the agenda away from what barack obama was talking about and talk about the deficit issues. in addition to talking about obama's policy, pro-poverty, as roland points out, he said it was extremism that stifles the development of home grown energy, and he's referring to keystone there. let me get back to the president. i think what he was trying to do, and he succeeded, was to thread the needle here. because he didn't want independent voter watching him saying, you know what, you don't like the rich, and what he's rying to to is tax the rich, or you're anti-wealth creation. what he went out of his way to say is we don't begrudge financial success in the country, we admire it,then he started to talk about having the wealthy pay their fair share. if you look at the polls, poem don't begrudge wealth. they just want taxes to be fair. and so he was speaking -- >> the argument over what is the word fair mean in this case? stick around, everyone. a lot more to talk about. up next, a tea party republican takesoon tonight jim demint. we'll talk to him in a moment. we'll also show you the emotional high point of the night. gabby giffords' first state of the union since a gunman nearly took her life and her last as a congresswoman. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. as long as i'm president, i will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum, but i intend to fight obstruction with action, and i will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place. >> president obama laying down a marker on wall street regulation and other issues outlining the action the white house could take without congressional approval. we'll deturn to dana bash insid the house, and gabby giffords' remarkable appearance a high point. >> no doubt, i have sat in many a speech from republican candidates, democrat, candidates, and you hear applause and you see it's forced because it's political. nothing forced about this. republicans and democrats happy to see gabby giffords and emotional about the fact she decides she was going to resign. tomorrow will be her last day so he is focus on her recovery from a gun shot wound in her head. i want to bring in jeff blake who is a republican, and i wanted to tell you my observation watching you from up in the gallery. you were sitting next to her, you're a republican, she's a democrat. whether the democrats stood for the president's applause lines, you helped her stand up. you were oftentimes, most times the only republican standing up. tell me about that. >> the least i could do. it was an incredible experience to be there with her. particularly after last year, having an empty chair where she should have been. so it was just an overwhelming emotional experience for i think all of us. >> we could see her, we couldn't hear her. tell us what she said to you? >> we talked about the resignation tomorrow and the fact they will be able to pass one of the pieces of legislation she worked so hard on just before she retires. and also, she mentioned that she tried. she tried and tried to come back, and we all know that she gives 100%. and whatever is in store for her, we know that she'll give 100%. >> she specifically said she tried to come back but she couldn't. >> she mentioned to a few people, i tried, i tried. it was just for all of us, we're very saddened to see her retire, but just grateful for the service she's given and the bipartisan atmosphere she brought to the chamber. the fact we all sat together last year and the tradition continued this year. i hope it continues on. >> i heard you saying you were getting tweets from your fellow republicans saying you supported that, you supported this? >> i think most people will understand, and i support my colleague and friend. >> thank you very much. and anderson, the irony, and i think you'll agree with this, is that gabby giffords, we now know, was considering running for the that, and you're running for the congress. you could have been opponents. >> we could have been. i would love nothing more than for her to be able to run and participate fully in that way, and i'm just grateful that she's recovering and continues to. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. you see there, that really was one of the most remarkable moments of the day, no question about it. he mentioned the fact that last year at this time, pretty much everybody, republican and democrat, came with everybody from the other side of the aisle and sat with them to show their solidarity and to show that there's bipartisan feeling here. i have to say, unfortunately, some members decided not to do that this year because following that things devolved into partisanship last year. >> we're going to take a quick break. we'll talk to one of the president's staunchest critics, jim demint. we'll be right back. ?ññnñnñn we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. welcome back to our continuing coverage. we're going to midnight in the post state of the union coverage. with us now, one of president obama's sharpest critics. jim demint. thanks for being with us. first of all, the moment where gabby giffords entered the chamber, you were in the room. what was that like? >> it was really touching. for her to be there with jeff blake and the cheers, obviously, our hearts and prayers continue to go out to her. it was one of those wonderful moments there on the house floor. >> in terms of what the president had to say, was there anything there that you really agreed with? is there any room you see for compromise, for getting things done this year? >> oh, anderson, he said a lot of wonderful things. and it would be wonderful if it was true. so there were things there that i certainly agreed with, but when he talked about us being more energy secure one week from killing the keystone pipeline, talking about building manufacturing jobs in the country when i talked to manufacturers and they know that obama care, dodd-frank, all of the regulations are killing manufacturing jobs, so it was hard to take him seriously. i think americans are going to have to ask themselves are they better off now than they were $4 trillion ago? this sounded like this first speech to the nation. he's trying to run from a record of broken promises and we're going to have to hold him accountable. >> you wrote an op ed in a paper. you said, quote, for the last three years, the values have only been punished. do you support him when he said that people who make more than $1 million shouldn't get a lower tax rate than other middle class americans. >> a lot of us for years have been trying to get president obama, first senator obama, to go with a low, simple flat rate and take out the subsidies and loopholes. we're all for that. then he wants to come back and offer loopholes to his choice of manufacturers. he wants to pick winners and losers. we need a simple tax rate that allows our companies to agree. we agree with the concept, but that's not what the president has been doing. he wants to punish people who earn $1 million a year, people who earn $1 million a year average doing it one or two million a year. there aren't too many people like warren buffett, so to make