Part two: Transcript of Biden and Ryan at vice presidential debate

MS. RADDATZ: Drawing down in one war —

REP. RYAN: We're cutting missile defense.

MS. RADDATZ: — and one war — (inaudible ) —

REP. RYAN: If these cuts go through, our Navy will be the small it is — it — the smallest it has been since before World War I. This invites weakness.

Look, do we believe in peace through strength? You bet we do. And that means you don't impose these devastating cuts on our military. So we're saying don't cut the military by a trillion dollars, not increase it by a trillion, don't cut it by a trillion dollars.

MS. RADDATZ: Quickly, Vice President Biden, on this, and I want to move on.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Look, we don't cut it. And I might add this so-called — I know we don't want to use the fancy word "sequester," this automatic cut — that was part of a debt deal that they asked for.

And let me tell you what my friend said at a press conference announcing his support of the deal. He said — and I'm — we've been looking for this moment for a long time. (Inaudible) —

REP. RYAN: Can I tell you what that meant?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Why —

REP. RYAN: We've been looking for bipartisanship for a long time.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And so the bipartisanship is what he voted for: the automatic cuts in defense if they didn't act. And beyond that, they asked for another — look, the military says, we need a smaller, leaner Army. We need more special forces. We need — we don't need more M1 tanks. What we need is more UADs.

MS. RADDATZ: Some of the military — I know that's — (inaudible) —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Not some of the military; that was the decision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommended to us and agreed to by the president. That's a fact.

MS. RADDATZ: Who answers to the civilian leaders.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: They made the recommendation first.

MS. RADDATZ: OK. Let's move on to Afghanistan.

REP. RYAN: Can I get into that for a second?

MS. RADDATZ: I'd like to move on to Afghanistan, please.

REP. RYAN: OK.

MS. RADDATZ: And that's one of the biggest expenditures this country has made, in dollars and, more importantly, in lives. We just passed the sad milestone of losing 2,000 U.S. troops there in this war. More than 50 of them were killed this year by the very Afghan forces we are trying to help. Now, we've reached the recruiting goal for Afghan forces. We've degraded al-Qaida. So tell me, why not leave now? What more can we really accomplish? Is it worth more American lives?

REP. RYAN: We don't want to lose the gains we've gotten. We want to make sure that the Taliban does not come back in and give al- Qaida a safe haven. We agree with the administration on their 2014 transition. Look, when I think about Afghanistan, I think about the incredible job that our troops have done. You've been there more than the two of us combined.

First time I was there in 2002, it was amazing to me what they were facing. When I went to the Arghandab Valley in Kandahar before the surge, I sat down with a young private in the 82nd from the Menominee Indian Reservation who would tell me what he did every day, and I was in awe. And to see what they had in front of them — and then to go back there in December, to go throughout Helmand with the Marines to see what they had accomplished — it's nothing short of amazing.

What we don't want to do is lose the gains we've gotten.

Now, we've disagreed from time to time on a few issues. We would have more likely taken into account the recommendations from our commanders, General Petraeus, Admiral Mullen, on troop levels throughout this year's fighting season. We've been skeptical about negotiations with the Taliban, especially while they're shooting at us. But we want to see the 2014 transition be successful. And that means we want to make sure our commanders have what they need to make sure that it is successful so that this does not once again become a launching pad for terrorists.

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha, let's keep our eye on the ball. The reason I've been in and out of Afghanistan and Iraq 20 times — I've been up in the Kunar — I've been throughout that whole country, mostly in a helicopter and sometimes in a vehicle. The fact is we went there for one reason: to get those people who killed Americans, al-Qaida. We've decimated al-Qaida central. We have eliminated Osama bin Laden. That was our purpose. And in fact, in the meantime, what we said we would do, we would help train the Afghan military. It's their responsibility to take over their own security. That's why, with 49 of our allies in Afghanistan, we've agreed on a gradual drawdown so we're out of there by the year — in the year 2014.

My friend and the governor say it's based on conditions, which means it depends. It does not depend for us. It is the responsibility of the Afghans to take care of their own security. We have trained over 315,000, mostly without incident. There have been more than two dozen cases of green on blue where Americans have been killed.

If we do — if the — if the measures the military has taken do not take hold, we will not go on joint patrols, we will not train in the field. We'll only train in the — in the Army bases that exist there.

But we are leaving. We are leaving in 2014, period, and in the process, we're going to be saving over the next 10 years another $800 billion. We've been in this war for over a decade. The primary objective is almost completed. Now all we're doing is putting the Kabul government in a position to be able to maintain their own security. It's their responsibility, not America's.

MS. RADDATZ: What conditions could justify staying, Congressman Ryan?

REP. RYAN: We don't want to stay. We want — look, one of my best friends in Janesville, a reservist, is at a forward operating base in Eastern Afghanistan right now. Our wives are best friends, our daughters are best friends. I want — I want him and all of our troops to come home as soon and safely as possible.

We want to make sure that 2014 is successful. That's why we want to make sure that we give our commanders what they say they need to make it successful. We don't want to extend beyond 2014. That's the point we're making.

You know, if it was just this, I feel like we would — we would be able to call this a success, but it's not. What we are witnessing as we turn on our television screens these days, is the absolute unraveling of the Obama foreign policy. Problems are growing at home, but jobs — problems are growing abroad, but jobs aren't growing here at home.

MS. RADDATZ: Let me go back to this. He says we're absolutely leaving in 2014. You're saying that's not an absolute, but you won't talk about what conditions would justify —

REP. RYAN: Do you know why we say that? Do you know why we say that?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I'd like to know why.

REP. RYAN: Because we don't want to broadcast to our enemies, put a date on your calendar, wait us out and then come back.

We want to make sure —

MS. RADDATZ: But you agree with the timeline?

REP. RYAN: We do — we do agree with the timeline in the transition, but what we — what any administration will do in 2013 is assess the situation to see how best to complete this timeline. What we do not want to do —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: We will leave in 2014.

REP. RYAN: What we do not want to do is give our allies reason to trust us less and our enemies more — we don't want to embolden our enemies to hold and wait out for us and then take over the —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Martha, that's a bizarre statement.

REP. RYAN: That's why we want to make sure — no, that's why we want to make sure that this — that —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That's a bizarre statement, since 49 of our allies — hear me, 49 of our allies signed onto this position, 49.

REP. RYAN: And we're reading that they want to pull out early.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Forty-nine. Forty-nine of our allies said out in 2014. It's the responsibility of the Afghans. We have other responsibilities —

REP. RYAN: Which is — which is — which is what we agree with.

MS. RADDATZ: Do you — do you think that this timeline — but we have — we have soldiers and Marines —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Theirs are sufficient. ?)

MS. RADDATZ: We have Afghan forces murdering our forces over there. The Taliban is, do you think, taking advantage of this timeline?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, look, the Taliban — what we've found out — and we — you — you saw it in Iraq, Martha. Unless you set a timeline, Baghdad in the case of Iraq and — and Kabul in the case of Afghanistan will not step up. They're happy to let us continue to do the job — international security forces to do the job. The only way they step up is say, fellas, we're leaving; we've trained you; step up. Step up.

MS. RADDATZ: But let me — let me go back —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That's the only way it works.

MS. RADDATZ: Let me go back to the surge troops that we put in there. And you brought this up, Congressman Ryan. I have talked to a lot of troops. I've talked to senior officers who were concerned that the surge troops were pulled out during the fighting season, and some of them saw that as a political — as a political move. So can you tell me, Vice President Biden, what was the military reason for bringing those surge troops home before the fighting season ended?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The military reason was bringing — by the way, when the president announced the surge — you'll remember, Martha — he said, the surge will be out by the end of the summer. The military said, the surge will be out. Nothing political about this. Before the surge occurred — so you be a little straight with me here, too — before the surge occurred, we said, they'll be out by the end of the summer. That's what the military said. The reason for that is —

MS. RADDATZ: Military follows orders. They — I mean, there — trust me, there are people —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Sure —

MS. RADDATZ: — who were concerned about pulling out on the fighting season.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: But — there are people that were concerned, but not the Joint Chiefs. That was their recommendation in the Oval Office to the president of the United States of America. I sat there. I'm sure you'll find someone who disagrees with the Pentagon. I'm positive you'll find that within the military. But that's not the case here.

And secondly, the reason why the military said that is you cannot wait and have a cliff. It takes, you know, months and months and months to draw down forces. (Inaudible) — cannot wait —

REP. RYAN: Let me bring some — let me try and illustrate the issue here, because I think this — it can get a little confusing. We've all met with General Allen and General Scaparotti in Afghanistan to talk about fighting seasons. Here's the way it works. The mountain passes fill in with snow. The Taliban and the terrorists and the Haqqani and the Quetta shura come over from Pakistan to fight our men and women. When it fills in with snow, they can't do it. That's what we call fighting seasons. In the warm months fighting gets really high; in the winter it goes down.

And so when Admiral Mullen and General Petraeus came to Congress and said, if you pull these people out before the fighting season is end, it puts people more at risk — that's the problem. Yes, we drew 22,000 troops down last month. But the remaining troops that are there, who still have the same mission to prosecute, counterinsurgency, are doing it with fewer people.

That makes them less safe.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Inaudible.)

REP. RYAN: We're sending fewer people out in all these hot spots to do the same job that they were supposed to do a month ago —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Because we turned it over —

REP. RYAN: — but we took 22,000 people out for them to do it.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: — we turned it over to the Afghan troops we trained. No one got pulled out that didn't get filled in by trained Afghan personnel. And he's — he's — he's conflating two issues. The fighting season that Petraeus was talking about and former — and Admiral Mullen was the fighting season this spring. That's what he was talking about. We did not — we did not pull them out.

REP. RYAN: The calendar works the same every year. (Chuckles.)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: It does work the same every year. (Inaudible) — there —

REP. RYAN: (Chuckles.) Spring, summer, fall — (chuckles) — it's warm or it's not. They're still fighting us, they're still coming over the passes, they'll — they're still coming in to Zabul or to Kunar, to all of these areas, but we are sending fewer people to the front to fight them. And that is not safe.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That's right, because that's the Afghan responsibility. We've trained them.

REP. RYAN: Not in the East.

MS. RADDATZ: Let's move — let's move to another war.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Not in the East? (Inaudible) —

REP. RYAN: (Inaudible) — East, RC-East —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: RC-East, most dangerous place in the world.

REP. RYAN: That's why — that's why we don't want to send fewer people to do the job.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That's — that's why we should send Americans in to do the job instead of the — you'd rather Americans be going in and doing the job instead of — (inaudible) —

REP. RYAN: No. We are already sending Americans to do the job —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: No —

REP. RYAN: — but fewer of them. That's the whole point.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: That — that's right. We're sending in more Afghans to do the job, Afghans to do the job.

MS. RADDATZ: Let's move to another war, the civil war in Syria, where there are estimates that — estimates that more than 25,000, 30,000 people have now been killed. In March of last year, President Obama explained the military action taken in Libya by saying it was in the national interest to go in and prevent further massacres from occurring there. So why doesn't the same logic apply in Syria? Vice President Biden.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: It's a different country. It's a different country. It is five times as large geographically. It has one-fifth the population that is Libya, one-fifth the population, five times as large geographically.

It's in a part of the world where you're not going to see whatever would come from that war. It's (seep ?) into a regional war. You're in a country that is heavily populated in the midst of the most dangerous area in the world. And in fact, if, in fact, it blows up and the wrong people gain control, it's going to have impact on the entire region, causing potentially regional wars.

We are working hand in glove with the Turks, with the Jordanians, with the Saudis and with all the people in the region attempting to identify the people who deserve the help so that when Assad goes and he will go, there will be a legitimate government that follows on, not an al-Qaida-sponsored government that follows on.

And all this loose talk of my friend, Governor Romney, and the congressman about how we're going to do, we could do so much more in there, what more would they do other than put American boots on the ground? The last thing America needs is to get into another ground war in the Middle East requiring tens of thousands if not well over a hundred thousand American forces. That — they are the facts. They are the facts.

Now, every time the governor is asked about this, he doesn't say any — he say — he goes up with a whole lot of verbiage, but when he gets pressed, he says, no, he would not do anything different then we are doing now. Are they proposing putting American troops on the ground, putting American aircraft in their airspace? Is that what they're proposing? If they do, they should speak up and say so. But that's not what they're saying.

We are doing it exactly like we need to do to identify those forces who, in fact, will provide for a stable government and not cause a regional Sunni-Shia war when Bassad (ph) — when Bashir (sic; Bashar) Assad falls.

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.

REP. RYAN: Nobody is proposing to send troops to Syria — American troops.

Now let me say it this way. How would we do things differently? We wouldn't refer Bashar Assad as a reformer when he's killing his own civilians with his Russian-provided weapons. We wouldn't be outsourcing our foreign policy to the United Nations, giving Vladimir Putin veto power over our efforts to try and deal with this issue. He's vetoed three of them. Hillary Clinton went to Russia to try and convince him not to do so; they thwarted her efforts. She said they were on the wrong side of history. She was right about that. This is just one more example of how the Russia reset's not working.

And so where are we? After international pressure mounted, then President Obama said Bashar Assad should go. It's been over a year. The man has slaughtered tens of thousands of his own people and more foreign fighters are spilling into this country. So the longer this has gone on, the more people — groups like al-Qaida are going in. We could have more easily identified the Free Syrian Army, the freedom fighters, working with our allies, the Turks, the Qataris, the Saudis, had we had a better plan in place to begin with, working through our allies. But no, we waited for Kofi Annan to try and come up with an agreement through the U.N. That bought Bashar Assad time. We gave Russia veto power over our efforts through the U.N. and meanwhile about 30,000 Syrians are dead.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: What would my friend do differently? If you notice, he never answers the question.

REP. RYAN: No, I would — I — we would not be going through the U.N. on all of these things —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Let — let — let me — you don't go through the U.N. We are in the process now and have been for months in making sure that help, humanitarian aid, as well as other aid and training, is getting to those forces that we believe, the Turks believe, the Jordanians believe, the Saudis believe are the free forces inside of Syria.

That is under way. Our allies were all on the same page, NATO as well as our Arab allies, in terms of trying to get a settlement. That was their idea. We're the ones that said, enough.

With regard to the reset not working, the fact of the matter is that Russia has a different interest in Syria than we do, and that's not in our interest.

MS. RADDATZ: What happens if Assad does not fall? Congressman Ryan, what happens to the region? What happens if he hangs on? What happens if he does?

REP. RYAN: Then Iran keeps their greatest ally in the region. He's a sponsor of terrorism. He'll probably continue slaughtering his people. We and the world community will lose our credibility on this. Look, he mentioned the reset.

MS. RADDATZ: So what would Romney-Ryan do about that credibility?

REP. RYAN: Well, we agree with the same red line, actually, they do on chemical weapons, but not putting American troops in, other than to secure those chemical weapons. They're right about that. But what we should have done earlier is work with those freedom fighters, those dissidents in Syria. We should not have called Bashar Assad a reformer, and we should not have — we should not have waited to Russia to give us the green light —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: We didn't call Assad —

MS. RADDATZ: What's your criteria for —

REP. RYAN: We should not have waited for Russia to give us the green light at the U.N. to do something about it.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Russia —

REP. RYAN: They're — they're still arming the man. Iran is flying flights over Iraq —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: And the opposition is being armed —

REP. RYAN: — to help — to help — to help Bashar Assad. And by the way, if we had the status of forces agreement that the vice president said he would bet his vice presidency on in Iraq, we probably would have been able to prevent that. But he failed to achieve that as well. Again —

MS. RADDATZ: Let me ask you quickly, what's your criteria for intervention?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I don't — yeah.

REP. RYAN: In Syria?

MS. RADDATZ: Worldwide.

REP. RYAN: What is in the national interests of the American people.

MS. RADDATZ: How about humanitarian interests?

REP. RYAN: What is in the national security of the American people — it's got to be in the strategic national interests of our country.

MS. RADDATZ: No humanitarian?

REP. RYAN: Each situation will — will come up with its own set of circumstances. But putting American troops on the ground, that's got to be within the national security interests of the American people.

MS. RADDATZ: I want to — we're almost out of time here.

REP. RYAN: That means things like embargoes and sanctions and overflights — those are things that don't put American troops on the ground. But if you're talking about putting American troops on the ground, only in our national security interests.

MS. RADDATZ: I want to move on, and I want to return home for these last few questions. This debate is indeed historic. We have two Catholic candidates, first time on a stage such as this, and I would like to ask you both to tell me what role your religion has played in your own personal views on abortion. Please talk about how you came to that decision. Talk about how your religion played a part in that. And please, this is such an emotional issue for so many —

REP. RYAN: Sure.

MS. RADDATZ: — people in this country. Please talk personally about this if you could. Congressman Ryan.

REP. RYAN: I don't see how a person can separate their public life from their private life or from their faith. Our faith informs us in everything we do. My faith informs me about how to take care of the vulnerable, about how to make sure that people have a chance in life.

Now, you want to ask basically why I'm pro-life? It's not simply because of my Catholic faith. That's a factor, of course, but it's also because of reason and science. You know, I think about 10 1/2 years ago, my wife Janna and I went to Mercy Hospital in Janesville where I was born for our seven-week ultrasound for our firstborn child, and we saw that heartbeat. Our little baby was in the shape of a bean, and to this day, we have nicknamed our firstborn child, Liza, "Bean." (Chuckles.)

Now, I believe that life begins at conception.

That's why — those are the reasons why I'm pro-life.

Now, I understand this is a difficult issue. And I respect people who don't agree with me on this. But the policy of a Romney administration will be to oppose abortion with the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

What troubles me more is how this administration has handled all of these issues. Look at what they're doing through "Obamacare" with respect to assaulting the religious liberties of this country. They're infringing upon our first freedom, the freedom of religion, by infringing on Catholic charities, Catholic churches, Catholic hospitals. Our church should not have to sue our federal government to maintain their religious — religious liberties.

And with respect to abortion, the Democratic Party used to say they want it to be safe, legal and rare. Now they support it without restriction and with taxpayer funding, taxpayer funding in "Obamacare," taxpayer funding with foreign aid. The vice president himself went to China and said that he sympathized or wouldn't second- guess their one-child policy of forced abortions and sterilizations. That, to me, is pretty extreme.

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President Biden.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: My religion defines who I am. And I've been a practicing Catholic my whole life. And it has particularly informed my social doctrine. Catholic social doctrine talks about taking care of those who — who can't take care of themselves, people who need help.

With regard to — with regard to abortion, I accept my church's position on abortion as a — what we call de fide (doctrine ?). Life begins at conception. That's the church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life.

But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews and — I just refuse to impose that on others, unlike my friend here, the congressman.

I — I do not believe that — that we have a right to tell other people that women, they — they can't control their body. It's a decision between them and their doctor, in my view. And the Supreme Court — I'm not going to interfere with that.

With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution, Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic Social Services, Georgetown Hospital, Mercy — any hospital — none has to either refer contraception. None has to pay for contraception. None has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.

Now, with regard to the way in which the — we differ, my friend says that he — well, I guess he accepts Governor Romney's position now, because in the past he has argued that there was — there's rape and forcible rape. He's argued that, in the case of rape or incest, it was still — it would be a crime to engage in having an abortion. I just fundamentally disagree with my friend.

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.

REP. RYAN: All I'm saying is if you believe that life begins at conception, that therefore doesn't change the definition of life. That's a principle. The policy of a Romney administration is to oppose abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. Now, I've got to take issue with the Catholic Church and religious liberty.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: You have, on the issue of Catholic social doctrine, taken issue.

REP. RYAN: If they — if they agree with you, then why would they keep — why would they keep suing you? It's a distinction without a difference.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Chuckles.)

MS. RADDATZ: I want to go back to the abortion question here. If the Romney-Ryan ticket is elected, should those who believe that abortion should remain legal be worried?

REP. RYAN: We don't think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people, through their elected representatives and reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process, should make this determination.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The court — the next president will get one or two Supreme Court nominees. That's how close Roe v. Wade is.

Just ask yourself: With Robert Bork being the chief adviser on the court for — for Mr. Romney, who do you think he's likely to appoint? Do you think he's likely to appoint someone like Scalia or someone else on the court, far right, that would outlaw Planned — excuse me — outlaw abortion? I suspect that would happen.

I guarantee you that will not happen. We picked two people. We picked people who are open-minded. They've been good justices. So keep an eye on the Supreme Court —

REP. RYAN: Was there a litmus test on them?

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: There was no litmus test. We picked people who had an open mind, did not come with an agenda.

MS. RADDATZ: I'm going to move on to this closing question because we are running out of time.

It's certainly known — you've said it here tonight — that the two of you respect our troops enormously. Your son has served, and perhaps someday your children will serve as well.

I recently spoke to a highly decorated soldier who said that this presidential campaign has left him dismayed. He told me, quote, "The ads are so negative and they are all tearing down each other, rather than building up the country."

What would you say to that American hero about this campaign? And at the end of the day, are you ever embarrassed by the tone?

Vice President Biden.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I would say to him the same thing I say to my son, who did serve year in Iraq: that we only have one truly sacred obligation as a government. That's to equip those we send into harm's way and care for those who come home.

That's the only sacred obligation we have. Everything else falls behind that.

I would also tell him that the fact that he, this decorated soldier you talked about, fought for his country — that that should be honored. He should not be thrown into a category of the 47 percent who don't pay their taxes while he was out there fighting and not having to pay taxes and somehow not taking responsibility.

I would also tell him that there are things that have occurred in this campaign and occur in every campaign that I'm sure both of us regret anyone having said, particularly in these special new groups that can go out there, raise all the money they want, not have to identify themselves and say the most scurrilous things about the other candidate. It's — it's — it's an abomination.

But the bottom line here is I'd ask that hero you reference to take a look at whether or not Governor Romney or President Obama has the conviction to help lift up the middle class, restore them to where they were before this Great Recession hit and they got wiped out or whether or not he's going to continue to focus on taking care of only the very wealthy, not asking them to make — pay any part of the deal to bring the — bring back the middle class, the economy of this country.

I would ask him to take a look at whether the president of the United States has acted wisely in the use of force and whether or not the slipshod comments being made by my — my friend or by Governor Romney serve — serve our interests very well. But there are things that have been said in campaigns that I — I find not very appealing.

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.

REP. RYAN: First of all, I'd thank him to his service to our country.

Second of all, I'd say, we are not going to impose these devastating cuts on our military which compromises their mission and their safety.

And then I would say, you have a president who ran for president four years ago promising hope and change who has now turned his campaign into attack, blame and defame. You see, if you don't have a good record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone to run from. That was what President Obama said in 2008. It's what he's doing right now.

Look at all the string of broken promises. If you like your health care plan you can keep it — try telling that to the 20 million people who are projected to lose their health insurance if "Obamacare" goes through or the seven point million — 7.4 million seniors who are going to lose it.

Or remember when he said this: I guarantee if you make less than $250,000, your taxes won't go up. Of the 21 tax increases in "Obamacare," 12 of them hit the middle class.

Or remember when he said, health insurance premiums will go down, and $2,500 per family per year? They've gone up 3,000 (dollars), and they're expected to go up another 2,400 (dollars).

Or remember when he said, I promise by the end of my first term, I'll cut the deficit in half in four years? We've had four budgets, four trillion-dollar deficits. A debt crisis is coming. We can't keep spending and borrowing like this. We can't just keep spending money we don't have.

Leaders run to problems to fix problems. President Obama has not even put a credible plan on the table in any — any of his four years to deal with this debt crisis. I passed two budgets to deal with this. Mitt Romney's put ideas on the table. We've got to tackle this debt crisis before it tackles us.

The president likes to say he has a plan. He gave a speech. We asked his budget office, can we see the plan? They sent us to this press secretary. He gave us a copy of the speech. We asked the Congressional Budget Office, tell us what President Obama's plan is to prevent a debt crisis. They said, it's a speech; we can't estimate speeches. You see? That's what we get in this administration: speeches. But we're not getting leadership.

Mitt Romney is uniquely qualified to fix these problems. His lifetime of experience, his proven track record of bipartisanship — and what do we have from the president? He broke his big promise to bring people together to solve the country's biggest problems. And what I would tell him is we don't have to settle for this.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: (Inaudible.)

MS. RADDATZ: I — I —

REP. RYAN: We can do better than this.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I hope I'll get equal time.

MS. RADDATZ: I — you will get just a few minutes here, a few seconds, really.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: The two budgets the congressman introduced have eviscerated all the things that the middle class cares about. It has knocked 19 — it will knock 19 million people off of Medicare. It will kick 200,000 children off of early education. It will eliminate the tax credit people have to be able to send their children to college. It cuts education by $450 billion. It — it — it does — it does virtually nothing, except continue to increase the tax cuts for the very wealthy.

And, you know, we've had enough of this. My — the idea that these — so concerned about these deficits, I pointed out, he voted to put two wars on a credit card. He did —

MS. RADDATZ: We're — we're going to —

REP. RYAN: He voted —

MS. RADDATZ: We're going to the closing statements in a minute.

REP. RYAN: But let me — just a second —

MS. RADDATZ: I — you're going to have your closing —

REP. RYAN: Not raising taxes is not cutting taxes. And by the way, our budget —

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: We have not raised —

REP. RYAN: — we increased spending by 3 percent a year instead of 4 1/2 percent like they proposed.

MS. RADDATZ: Let me — let me calm down things here —

REP. RYAN: So not spending more money as much as they say is not a spending cut.

MS. RADDATZ: — just for a minute. And I want to talk to you very briefly before we go to closing statements about your own personal character. If you are elected, what could you both give to this country as a man, as a human being that no one else could?

REP. RYAN: Honesty. No one else could? There are plenty of fine people who could lead this country. But what you need are people who, when they say they're going to do something, they go do it. What you need are when people see problems, they offer solutions to fix those problems. We're not getting that.

Look, we can grow this economy faster. That's what our five-point plan for a stronger middle class is all about. It's about getting 12 million jobs, higher take-home pay; getting people out of poverty, into the middle class. That means going with proven pro-growth policies that we know work to get people back to work, putting ideas on the table, working with Democrats — that actually works sometimes — and then getting things done.

MS. RADDATZ: Vice President, could we get to that — to that issue of what you could bring as a man, a human being? And I really am going to keep you to about 15 seconds here.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, he gets 40, I get 15, but that's OK. That's all right.

MS. RADDATZ: He didn't have 40. He didn't have 40.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Now, let me tell you, I — my — my record stands for itself. I never say anything I don't mean. Everybody knows whatever I say, I do. And my whole life has been devoted to leveling the playing field for middle-class people, giving them an even break, treating Main Street and Wall Street the same, holding the same responsibility. Look at my record. It's been all about the middle class. They're the people who grow this country. We think you grow this country from the middle out, not from the top down.

MS. RADDATZ: OK. We now turn to the candidates for their closing statements. Thank you, gentlemen. And that coin toss, again, has Vice President Biden starting with a closing statement.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, let — let — let me say at the outset that I want to thank you, Martha, for doing this, and Centre College. The fact is that we're in a situation where we inherited a god-awful circumstance. People are in real trouble. We acted to move to bring relief to the people who need the most help now.

And — and in the process, we — in case you haven't noticed, we have strong disagreements. But I — you probably detected my frustration with their attitude about the — the American people. My friend says that 30 percent of the American people are takers. They — Romney points out, 47 percent of the people won't take responsibility. He's talking about my mother and father. And he's talking about the places I grew up in, my neighbors in Scranton and Claymont.

He's talking about — he's talking about the people that have built this country. All they're looking for, Martha — all they're looking for is an even shot. When they've been given the shot, they've done it. They've done it. Whenever you level the playing field, they've been able to move.

And they want a little bit of peace of mind. And the president and I are not going to rest until that playing field is leveled, they in fact have a clear shot and they have peace of mind, until they can turn to their kid and say with a degree of confidence, honey, it's going to be OK. It's going to be OK. That's what this is all about.

MS. RADDATZ: Congressman Ryan.

REP. RYAN: I want to thank you as well, Martha, Danville, Kentucky, Centre College.

And I want to thank you, Joe. It's been an honor to engage in this critical debate.

We face a very big choice. What kind of country are we going to be? What kind of country are we going to give our kids? President Obama — he had his chance. He made his choices. His economic agenda, more spending, more borrowing, higher taxes, a government takeover of health care — it's not working. It's failed to create the jobs we need. Twenty-three million Americans are struggling for work today. Fifteen percent of Americans are in poverty.

This is not what a real recovery looks like. You deserve better. Mitt Romney and I want to earn your support. We're offering real reforms for a real recovery for every American. Mitt Romney, his experience, his ideas, his solutions, is uniquely qualified to get this job done. At a time when we have a jobs crisis in America, wouldn't it be nice to have a job creator in the White House?

The choice is clear: a stagnant economy that promotes more government dependency, or a dynamic, growing economy that promotes opportunity and jobs. Mitt Romney and I will not duck the tough issues.

We will take responsibility. And we will not try to replace our founding principles; we will reapply our founding principles. The choice is clear, and the choice rests with you, and we ask you for your vote. Thank you.

MS. RADDATZ: And thank you both again. Thank you very much.

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you.

MS. RADDATZ: This concludes the vice presidential debate. Please tune in next Tuesday for the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York.

I'm Martha Raddatz of ABC News. I do hope all of you go to the polls. Have a good evening. (Applause.)

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