together a crowd like you to come to an event and i can tell you knowing what this gentleman have to share tonight, you are in for an extraordinary hour to come progress everybody knows we've year the 30th anniversary as hard as it is to believe about the assassination attempt on president reagan. and i will get write to the panel to introduce them and begin with the gentleman in the middle who is a former united states secret service agent, jerry cared during his 10 years protective four vice presidents and a special agent in charge for two presidents, jimmy carter and ronald reagan. before retiring he was the assistant director and since retiring has become the ordained minister which raises the entirely another set of questions that perhaps we cannot touch it this evening.

plays well jerry party five -- 85. >> your right is professor emeritus of surgery and department at said george washington university's center and the founder and director of the trauma team at george rose to 10 medical the team that saved his life in 1981. he's been an unprecedented 42 years before retiring june of last year now spends much of his time volunteering for partners for surgery with the nonprofit group giving medical care to impoverished guatemalans please welcome the day shall be to wellcome dr. giodano. [applause] and you have already heard about our author del quentin

wilber just do share he is a reporter for the "washington post" and the author of the book that we're here tonight to talk about "rawhide down" the near assassination of ronald reagan." before erred joining the post seven years ago he reported for "the baltimore sun" from his relatively brief career he has covered men in -- ran the law enforcement and security issues and has won a number of awards including bn a finalist to the pulitzer prize. del quentin wilber. [applause] >> i need to say i was invited to moderate the discussion because like jerry parr i was there when john hinckley tried to assassinate president reagan. i was a white house correspondent at the time for nbc news and bardem the

travel pool of reporters tuesday with the president and we would take turns among print and television reporters to follow the president where every he goes. as the television network who will i wrote to the washington hilton hotel early in the afternoon and one of two vans carrying court reporters to my for jarred differs in the television camera crew prior watched the president's speech inside the hilton part of the afl-cio then rushed back outside to be in a position to watch him exit the hotel than i thought to ask him a question in before he would then climb into the limousine and before i would jump into the van then we would rush back to the white house. but i never got the question and i did not jump back into

the van and the van and the motorcade did not go back to the white house. to set the scene i will come to you won't -- , you first dr. giodano what was going on at the hospital that afternoon before this began? >> a simple day. of the o.r. was fall and a couple of cases in the morning and i went upstairs to the sixth floor to help out with a vascular procedure which i sometimes it as my specialty. nothing special. i've got a page. >> host: i will not let you go any further that you set up the trauma team to the state of the hour place? >> 1976 i was hired to go to gw and work for, the chairman said the offhanded comment by the way resuscitation andromeda is a mess. fix it. i didn't think it was that

bad but then i started to read about and things were happening. positions were returning from vietnam's seeing that concentrated approach and that was not happening in 99% of the hospital's. having read more i did the month the shock trauma and my goal was to rank as system down. >> you may changes. >> those that were later to make a difference. jerry parr how was your day going before this happened? [laughter] >> it was a nice day. [laughter] >> host: you were with the president from his only outing of the day? >> rate. we got another agent who was an assistant to me but i

wanted to go with him. even though i participated in the have barrel the ceremonies with him. i want to do a management course sigrid's service they always try to get you to take the management course. the first two or three weeks i want to give is simple trap and a bride and talk to him on the way back. things that were going on but to make sure everything between the staff is they have to be ironed out.

i go there and we arrive arrive, john hinckley is in a crowd. where we stop 4450 feet from him. i did not know that at the time. >> host: the arrival? >> yes. the vip entrance was it builds for the elevator the agents could down the stairwell the coaches who in room viggo there. >> he makes. >> host: you have talked to over 150 people about this. tell us who he was and how he happened to me there. >> he was say 12 days trouble 25 year-old who had the infamous obsession with jodie foster he had

developed in 1976 when she played a long day's show prostitute provincially shoe left hollywood to go to yale and it was interesting week -- he was enticed into the phone call and she cannot get the name right, then he feels better when della -- remains were laughing now saying his life was falling apart and obsessions read of control and the device should the president of the united states, i can impress this woman. so he stocks to record -- to make carter 1980. he goes to aid arms point* and then he tried target practice but it was a test run and he is elected funds.

>> he was probably to feeder 3 feet from new but then nine in 1981 he arrived the day before from a cross country trip but one is there going to dc then too new haven where i will kill myself and killed both of us for ago he stops and now he has decided the road kill myself but i am going to go on my way to new haven in connecticut. he stays at the park central hotel budget he'd see egg

mcmuffin then picks up he doesn't need much about it than i have the psychological assessment done that has there been seniority and it this -- testing to read maybe agency also say to get. literally you to get within 15 feet. >> host: take us back to the scene. you come out the door with president reagan. >> we turn left. we walk down the sidewalk and some of down the road. we brought the car there as the sole nike did down one to give that back. then eight to 10 feet from the car the lead agent has opened the door is a rainy

day and up the last second when we were about 56 feet from the door i hear two quick shots and four more and it was over. but in that split second i grab the president left shoulder with my hand and grabbed him by a the head and started to push him down and twist him. he knows exactly what i am doing there is not a sound from him but we're very rough with him because we have to move fast that is our training to cover and evacuate. agents know exactly what cover and evacuate means. cover first. >> i can tell you i was standing about 50 air 20 feet on the other side thought i could deal a question then realize there is no point* because he was

hurried to the car. i heard the pops but did not know. you knew it was a gun that you did not want to believe it. then everything happened very quickly. you got it in a car ample away. you are headed to the white house? >> after we shut the door we did not open the door anymore because then you make it vulnerable to anybody across the street. there is much unknown stuff going on but i did see it. three bodies on the sidewalk , and as we make the turn to go south nine connecticut ave on k street, a beesly three

bodies on the sidewalk i wanted to check him over. iran my hands under his coat and up his back and our kids and head and everything and no blood on my hands. that is what they radioed back that rawhide is okay. i assume he was because i did not see blood on my hands. he did not feel too bad that to that location on connecticut avenue and dupont circle he said i think i cut the inside of my mouth and it was covered with bright red froth the blood. i looked at that and i knew that it was oxygenated it was in his lungs there was a lot of it and it was abundant and it was on him

and on my coach and mated quick decision i am taking you to the hospital. that is what i told the driver. that is why i made the decision. >> host: over the span of just a few blocks? >> very quickly. it was all done with in the half on one leg and have the standing it up in front of him. a very large car and it gave me a lot of space. he did not feel too good. >> the car headed for george washington. >> we just had to make a right turn on pennsylvania avenue. >> what is going on at the white house?

>> they are just hearing about what is going on progress this blinded on no. they go about their normal day. eventually over time they hear the president has been shot and there is a wonderful screen where the reagans had closed things and then there is a great scene where etfs is in his office and then the computerized board tracks the president's movements and this guy is modest pickup he says in that time period, in the 30 seconds our 52nd such of place from the shooting in hinckley pulls out the diane and shoots and six shots in 1.7 seconds the third shot goes i did the fourth shot hits to mccarthy takes the bullet not wearing a vest nobody knows for the sixth

shot went really no later it ricocheted off a limousine to go through the door. hick -- singly had the effective range between 20 and 30 points -- be. if it doesn't make the call to go to the hospital we later learned how dire the situation would have been. getting fat out of them took a lot of energy. [laughter] [applause] >> when it happened it was not clear it was just one shooter because it sounded like somebody got off a lot of shots and agents were looking around and i was wondering if there was more than one shooter. just confirm how much difference did it make that jerry parr turned to the

car? >> it was critical because the president insisted on walking into gw just getting past the front doors and collapsed from low but -- blood pressure. even healthy person fed is serious economic last few minutes before you have irreversible changes. although healthy he is 70 years old. think about it. pull him at of the car then realize there is a problem but that is 10 or 15 minutes. that made a huge difference and it would make a difference. >> the time was at 227 and the six shots got off then prepare how long before the hospital was doing with this? >> he came write to the

hospital, then brought him into the resuscitation area where most avert the trauma team assembles and very low time to that and they got their to put him on a gurney and start ids to examine him and a flawless resuscitation. of europe's eight but then he asked for a hand to help amount but then thinks negative but reagin hitches up his pants and says the heather a fine he is not so sure it and you could 9k carried offstage and 15 feet he collapses like a rock. there is a paramedic who lose their. he is a source of mine.

i should not have said that to allow. [laughter] not a secret one but provides information on the d.c. police be and he sees reagan fall to the ground and bob thinks that is code city. that means he will die. the others have nightmare thaws that the president will die and did not think he would make get. >> what do you think jerry parr? >> i thought he would die. maybe after the first three or four minutes because he looks so terrible because i thought she said know whether pressure and the living on and living on they kept doing the right things to him.

>> this was a pager you were carrying? >> normally they page me for the bellboy i am surprised to hear this over the pa system. it is unusual. went downstairs to go into the emergency room and saw a lot of strange people. you your funds and i did marinara lowest going on in and there he was flying on a stretcher took a naked and how do you know, . >> i just saw him. he is the president. [laughter] you don't have to think about it. >> and never saw him naked? [laughter] >> i just looked at his face. i promise. [laughter] >> residence for they're doing an excellent job to

resuscitate him to put in the it and everything we trained to do and they all spent time in the shock trauma unit they were very experienced and when i got there he actually was improving already an first of all, he was lying down. second come of plywood was going into him and he was a lawyer with a concerned look on his face progress can how he is doing if you have short of breath and look on the other side is this just us small wall and things move very quickly and people from the outside looking at it think but those to move quickly get the job done. within a relatively short

period of time, reem new blood pressure came up because eros allied and the left was putting into the left academies. >> the first half to put a chest tube the way you treat most presentation patients you put it into the thoracic cavity it has a very low pressure system. once it greenspan saying goes but they usually stops the huge 5280% of his time. >> there was the primary by 330? pmi he was in the emergency

room about 40 minutes. four units of blood, a savings come a chest tube, you wash the blood come at of the tube but once that is out of you who it does not have been a the country gets more than they call the chief of the rest surgery to come down. and took over the care of that patient. >> of his main newhouse seriously. >> the way information was getting around is very different from today. we will show you to clips. here is what some of what

the american people were saying. this is probably what they thought about 330 and the anchor was frank reynolds and sam donaldson was with him. [inaudible] [inaudible]

[inaudible] [inaudible] >> that is a remarkable piece from network television at that point* because it was before a

cable everything up to that point* was packaged and prepared and this was live. the media did not get the right to begin with. did we? [laughter] >> you did a. [laughter] >> in that situation the liberation was coming in and in complete. >> the whole thing was incomplete. the white house did not understand and they finally said everybody to the hospital and the media was getting reports then they said he is not in surgery. to my research i knew they took into the operating room 10 minutes earlier so i don't know why he said he was not in surgery. there was a lot of

misinformation and at one point* they said he died and there is a beautiful moment where jim brady's brain surgeon is operating they said not operate on him it will ruin your career. he said i will do it anyway then they hear that jim brady had died. and known for some strong language he said i will get sued by somebody but what do we operate nine? eight corp.'s? it was amazing that intersection of reality at the hospital and i think some of this on television is what gave people the impression it was not that serious. that is what people live through and they hear about his jokes and they think it is not that serious pressure in reality you do not understand the story until

you have lived through this and see there is even a scene in the operating room where there is a 31 year-old surgical in turn who holds a reagan speaking heart in his hands. meanwhile here is jerry parr surrounding the operating room with other secret service agents. the 31 year-old never screamed holding the heart so the surgeon can try to find the bullet. they don't know that. >> playa understand what you said dr. giodano they know their part. budget this scenario or the scene had to be something that the secret service does not rehearsed? >> no. but we knew there president was in the best place to be with the condition he was

then. what we did we were posted outside the room and dale macintosh and die were in there and that was the only friend leave place -- friendly place. but at the hospital the only change i made at the posting a seven i want an agent at the foot of his bed while the is at the hospital. 14 days there was always an agent at the foot of his bed. we did not prepare for that purpose sometimes you have to do things on the fly. we did not have them ahead of time and the chest said of. >> what was clear mind well he was in surgery?

>> i could see the monitor and his blood pressure and his heartbeat provide but it was better than mine to tell you the truth. [laughter] i thought he was in excellent condition. i don't know about surgery but the other part. i saw that to the blood is going to make it. >> dr. giodano how difficult was the surgery? >> a standard thoracotomy but when the president of the emergency room after having no blood pressure it was 160 systolic which is above normal. that means blood volume was store mall and rushed to the emergency room there we had to make sure there was no bleeding and then the doctor

did the thoracotomy. pretty standard to open the chest and a point* of bleeding in the long and he fell to double it close to the heart only 1 inch away. he felt in the long itself. usually we do not removable lets it is not near vital organ. but he decides to remove it. that was a good decision because it was a devastating of bullet that has a charge that did not go off faithfully in this particular case. cannot imagine what would happen and, or maybe i can if it was left in and he was recovering than we find out it is devastated then why do we do? a tough decision and how they fully we do not have to make that decision. >> babble it hit a door, the reenforce store before it hit him? to make it actually hit the

back quarter panel of the car and slipped through a gap about that big. right there. if jerry parr is one split second slower and with it trajectory of the bullet it would hit him in the head it came down to a matter of inches and split-second said that he lived. >> meanwhile i want to remind everybody there were three other people who were wounded. jamboree the severely wounded, hit in the head think the devastated of bullet in his case did explode and a secret service agent and the d.c. police man. were they getting care of their own? how was that working? >> the resuscitation area

had to raise. brady was in the second day and was care for very rapidly buy another team. tim had a gunshot wound to the abdomen which that went through his liver as we found out and he was pretty stable whole time and another team working on that. three is the maximum we could handle without straining resources for bell the other lead to the hospital center and was taken care of their. it all went pretty well. brady was in the operating room right across from reagan. >> very quickly meanwhile john hinckley had been taken where? >> to the d.c. police headquarters where he was immediately questioned by a grizzled homicide detective named eddie myers. he had seen everything on

the streets but not like john hinckley. he is a boyish thatch of hair and piercing blue eyes of one point* he was not talking in once a lawyer then types his report like you can imagine with two fingers and turns to dennis and says how do spell the word assassinate? [laughter] and increase spell it correctly. [laughter] and that is where he was and eventually the secret service agents question hinkley. another surprising thing about this story is the guy is investigating the case were not convinced he was a loner, a deranged loner until 7730 that night but then the veteran fbi agent

question and are there other assassins in the city and called hinkley aside and said were you acting alone? he just looks up and says yes. in the meantime the secret service very experienced are called all the time to talk about the third cousin had taken the social security check he had experience with people who have mental illness and he eventually realizes the wall it and of phone-number written down on a piece of paper like he got the number of able men at the bar. >> you may make a girlfriend or a friend? >> and hinkley says yadda.

there is a woman jodie foster the actress. you'll discover the tapes i made and it is a one-sided relationship. that is why he realized is that this was over a movie star. think of that the president of united states 1 inch of his life for a movie star? >> there is so much going on in different places and the book captures it so well. this is a report i think the president was still.

[inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible]

[inaudible] aho [inaudible] >> [applause] jerry parr of course, the question was how does that happen a add to already have to be thinking about that

during the day and how much did everything changed after that to? >> a good question. it probably happened for a combination of reasons. one of the things is that that was the 110th time we have taken a president to a period of nine years. president nixon, ford, carter. so we have a permanent arrangement for the hotel with a number of agents posting inside and we thought it was at equip. what i failed to note to was the problem was building up over the times may have gone there to come back over the

years was said to have it. carter could not be seen behind a car but he would stand up and waved to the crowd. it got used to the fact the president was going to do that. we got used to letting him do it. we also did not have, and now back there we have an armored building. in washington, whenever you get a change, a major change like that to build a building, there is a dramatic incident to occur and that was it. clearly the preparation for

the rival site could have been better. should have been better and i said that was my call to make and bill grain did it just like he was supposed to hit it was reported in detail and did everything he was supposed to do. but just have a safe arrival and departure. but gm with a reactive posture euro is proactive. going almost immediately like a crystallize thing that happens and then things change rapidly after that. i think it paid off because we didn't have anything

happens. >> knock on wood. >> there is so much to talk about. more what was born on up the white house and the hospital by one to let those of you and ask the questions. we do have microphones here and here. come forward if you have a question. i have plenty more of my own but i want to give you a chance as well. while we're waiting for someone from the audience, what about the white house situation? it has gotten so much attention through secretary of state? >> that was the tip of the iceberg. i was national security advisor and the situation

room is where they all went to make plans for the situation room is about the most secure room in the entire country. or one of the most. the national security advisor goes into the room and brings a tape recorder puts it on the table and hits record. he let me listen to the four and a half hours of running tape from that day and you hear he does want to be in control and tells the guys in the room constitutionally i am in charge and completely confused by this. but he was nixon's chief of staff and went through watergate and something happened and he was so intent on controlling the situation and wanting to control the situation and what amazed me most between him and the defense secretary at one point russian submarines are close

year the days closer to lob a nuclear warhead closer than normal and they pub bombers on alert the soviets are under direction and he tries to control them to see the television screen. it is not like he speaks. that is good. and leslie stahl was growing hamburger you did not want to be on the other side. and she goes after him and the questions are getting more pointed to was running the government? he was deflecting the answers. he just did not know. what is worse? the government did not know what was happening? or he was trying to deflect the answers? on tv he said whiffs the presidential succession but then to say he looks really bad and huffing and and dick

allen says in his mind come if the climbs this dubai carry him off lowered to russia for him aside and continue? [laughter] that is the national security adviser for the united states of america thinking this. it is a crisis. the worst since kennedy. >> question. i have worked for the old washington star 20 years. do you know, how things but the story now that i hear is president reagan the the the hell and you stop there for lunch? is there any truth to that? >> no. >> that is how things grow.

[laughter] >> i never heard that. thank you for an amazing discussion tonight. i have a question and wonder either from a research perspective or the other members can you share it anything about but did not only that day with the ensuing dates? >> i will let del and all gentlemen. i interviewed mrs. reagan last year extensively for a documentary about her. she was in the white house and had come back from somewhere and was going about her business. . .

the situation and he is read a lot she's not easy to control so here's this agent thinking he's going up the ramp going i've got to break this news to hurt how we do it in a race she doesn't run to the hospital? she basically is looking towards the stairs and he's trying to catch her. you have to get the car and walking. so they are in the car and leave for the hospital and they are on the road only six blocks. they get stuck in traffic in the washington circle and mrs. reagan joins the office holder in starts shaking him and says george, i'm getting out of the car and walking now.

i'm going to go now. with all the people who knew ronald reagan there's this enigma to so many people and the one person who knew him was nancy reagan and there's a moment she's walking into the hospital and mike is there, the top aide, and she says they have to let me see him, they don't know about us. >> we can talk about this in a moment but this would go on to change his presidency because she would never feel safe when he was not in her sight and whenever he left the building and she had a completely different attitude going forward and affected the presidency and the scheduling. what was your encounter with mrs. reagan? >> i saw her twice in the resuscitation and surgery. we were ready to take the president of the emergency room and bring him to the operating room. we brought her in and she was concerned about a very composed and very strong and that's when he looked up and said i forgot

to duck and then we wheeled him back into the -- >> still amazing to me. >> and she went to the second floor in the administrative area and in the middle of the case i went to the second floor to talk to her and give a rundown on what was going on and was positive. again, she was concerned but very strong and very composed and i could see how she was in that we after. >> can i follow the? >> you mentioned honey i forgot to duck and one of the things i hope the readers and people watching takeaways this shooting as judy will tell you recalibrating the entire presidency and the fact people start hearing one of the aids is in there and he has a hospital record lagat to see from the hoover institution and he's jotting down the famous one-liners and honey i forgot to dhaka, he sees who's minding the store? and this is as the chest tube is in sight.

another moment he is in the operating room and he gets up on an elbow and takes off and says i hope you're all republicans to which he says we are all republicans. now two things, quickly. when the american people heard this, you know, they ronald reagan almost immediately. researching the book and didn't realize that he had the lowest approval rating of any president at that time in his first term. it was in fact the to influential columnists have written a column that day that said the honeymoon is over. after the american people hear this remember we had a long string of unsuccessful presidents. we had a jfk was killed, lyndon johnson didn't seek a second term because to get mom, richard nixon resigned under watergate, carter, we turn to the former actor that the inauguration to lead the country and here he is shot on the 70 a day in office,

the last four shot have died and here he is cracking jokes in the face of death, and with that it did was it allowed him and the country to separate the man from his politics and a form of this bond his approval ratings would did in the course like every president he had his troubles, but i do think it allowed them and allowed him to sustain a lot of problems later and kind of also made him a mythical figure. the late political columnist for "the washington post" told me in the interview a few months before he died that this is the day that made ronald reagan a mythical figure. and i think that's important especially with these one-liners >> and was important that the white house put those out. linen who was a media adviser to the president and longtime political strategist when he was back in california knew it was important to get that kind of detail out not only to reassure the public but i think frankly to humanize the situation.

>> i would like to ask if he had any memories of that day himself. >> i don't think you were born. [laughter] >> 5-years-old -- i was 6-years-old living in massachusetts and i have no recollection. my parents were here somewhere and kept me away from the television that day and i did get the idea for the but because i was like i've got a look into this more, i'm curious, then talked to the sky about 15 minutes over a roast beef sandwich, what did we have, roast beef sandwiches like that we get joe talking and you're like the history of this day is just full of surprises. >> thank you all for coming. i wondered if you could talk about the secret service code name rawhide and the presidential limousine been referred to as a stagecoach and also -- >> what's the question, you want to know how he got the name? >> how he got the name and if

the secret service code names are agreed upon with the protective, do they have a say in their name? [laughter] >> jerry can clear this up. >> ronald reagan got the name rawhide in 1976 and i tracked down the military master sergeant who comes up with the list, the communications committee basically came up with a list of ten names. rawhide was among them and he remembered even an actor in westerns, actually reagan didn't get to act to in as many westerns as you would like and jack warner was always putting him in a suit, not a cowboy hat with a -- he was disappointed by that but he did have this mentality that would and he picked rawhide and the secret service chose the name and he liked so much he made him keep for the 1980 campaign and when he was president. >> jerry, how much say to the individuals have over with the secret service name is? >> well, as far as i know in the years i was over there we never

had any arguments about what we -- we chose president carter begin, this biblical thing and i think we had lanswer for president kennedy, and we try to the corporate names, and as far as i know no one argued on it. >> and the car -- >> stagecoach i don't know how that got started. >> that makes sense, cowboy stagecoach. >> how was the president what it determined? to the hospital have on file or did the secret service inform you? >> yes, dan was the hospital physician and he was there and knew the blood type. >> they always had that by the way, the hospital has -- they know the president could go to the hospital they are notified about that. >> yes, go ahead. >> to questions, the first is

for del, were you to a successful winter feeding jodie foster and also did you get a sense of -- i remember i was a freshman in college and was only three months after john lennon was killed and there was such a nod again feeling right away. >> jodie foster, i did not try, she's a kind of tangential figure to the book begins in terms of john lennon, john hinckley was a massive john lennon fan and he was actually stocking rawhide at the blair house that day when he learned john lennon died and it almost destroyed him learning that his great hero of rock star died. >> we talked of -- and sorry, there was a second -- the was it? i was going to say we talked

about the mistakes made and the media certainly made mistakes, mistakes made by others but there were he rose the day and we talked about a few. who were the others? i want to -- don't want to leave the audience with these thoughts. >> i always say jerry was -- i always talk about them. there's such a thing as the vip syndrome. wealthy people, prominent people who are affected with some kind of medical problem sort of want to get out of the system, the local system and get some experts and so forth to come in and take care of them and usually that is not the best way to do it and during the resuscitation, i looked at and i saw this very distinguished gentleman. i knew he wasn't a secret service agent because he was older and he didn't have an earpiece and he kept looking at me and i kept looking at him and before you know what he came over to see and he said i am the president's physician. i'm here to provide any

information you need about the president but i want you to know he's your patient and you take care of him like he would take care of any other and that is the vip syndrome and i always say that dan was one of those unsung heroes who did the right thing at the right time. >> for me it was tim mccarthy, if he's not standing there with his big body facing down john hinckley i did it or the president gets hit. he blocks one of those shots that would have gotten me or the president, so i marvel that and saying he got hit one shot that knocked him off his feet but he did stand there and he took it and he did with a free agent is trained to do when no one knows what they are really doing but he did. the driver then drove and marion gordon who ran the road ahead of

time are all he rose in my book. they got him there fast. >> and we want to remember jim brady and the officer, too. >> and brady is still a alive, i don't remember in that sense. >> marion gordon is a great one, a female secret service agent, the first female agent ever to drive the president of the united states, she drove jimmy carter, it must have been a tough job to be female secret service agent back then and she was in the lead car, there's the shooting, she runs back, the limousine goes and she jumps into the spare limousine which is the white house physician. she hurdles over the front seat sh and they're having done and finally catch it and remember we've all been in washington and see the motorcade held up in traffic for how long, for ever. there's just been a shooting. right now for that 30 or 40 seconds the president is alone on connecticut avenue.

jerry parr alone on connecticut avenue. they're flying. marion gordon catches up and they get a mix of motorcades. the cops don't know because the police cars caught in front. marion gordon had the president to order the limousine in front of the presidential limousine to act as a battering ram to hit anything on the way to the hospital and made him do that so she was one. member to the nurses at the hospital, and i think that in my research for the book they were the first ones who treated ronald reagan, the first ones there and they were the ones that held his hand all night and there's a wonderful story unfolding denise sullivan who ten years later she is the nurse in the recovery room and ronald reagan skirled these notes he's a constant entertainer and can't help himself. [laughter] all and all i'd rather be in philadelphia, send me back for a concede there i am reading. samore to questions, some are

not. you know, a famous nurse held his hand for many hours that might and ten years later if i may there's the gw ceremony and renaming the emergency room and ronald reagan's honor and she's there and the brush past and they don't get to talk very much and denise sullivan was does nancy know about us? [laughter] because a former movie star, you know, and cash to make a joke about this at the ceremony and sure you were at and a note arrives in manila from the former president of the united states and says she many years ago that is what he was. faugh that meant more to me during anything of my entire staff and so think those nurses deserve a hand and some are here. [applause]

without >> nurse is never get the press they deserve. >> there's so much more we can talk about what we've come to the end of our our i just want to think this extraordinary panel, dr. giordano, jerry parr and del quentin. i've been pleased to be part of this discussion. thank you. [applause]

u.s. used to be at or near the top and now we are 31 countries or something like that, we are down about 20. but we spend per person more than any country i think other than switzerland so it's not a question of resources, we are just not a looking resources very intelligently. what is wrong with our education system? >> this is exactly the point about -- it's not about the quantity of money it is about the quality of education that is being delivered and i have to say having spent time reading about the american education system and listening to experts who focus on the system and remind me a lot of the aid

industry to africa and two things in particular one people are being rewarded for poor performance. it's quite clear the education funds are going down and you have these first out types of policies getting rid of teachers regardless of performance because they came in last. to me there seems to be some dislocation. the everything is we are as a society is essentially being held hostage by the vested interest. the trade unions, teachers unions specifically a think it is rather problematic that we are sacrificing our children's education and the performance and their ability to compete internationally and therefore the ability for america to compete in the interest of the teachers' unions. there's nothing inherently wrong with that but i think there's something particularly sort of wrong with the idea we as a society can see the education is going down but we are not penalizing people for the lack

of delivery. >> is the problem structural though? will talk about how the u.s. has a higher corporate tax rates in europe which surprises people but also in europe to find for school choice in sweden the school choice system nationwide, the netherlands has substantial school choice even germany has school choice. we men have a few tiny programs in a few cities and states. is the solution? do we need a competitive model that puts parents in charge over teachers? >> i think we need parents more involved and the question becomes what can we do to meet the government, to get parents more involved in ensuring that this doesn't happen. i'm not too sure about whether it really boils down to this idea of more choice or less trace because if you look at the education performance across europe, the too are seeing a backslide certainly on these zero ec standards with the rest of the world's if it really were about twice that we wouldn't have expected them to be with the united states sliding down. i think one of the things i do

talk about in my work that possibly could be something we're thinking about is the conditional transfer. very simply put, very popular in mexico and brazil and the world as a pilot program by meurlin board of new york is the idea of paying people to the right thing so your child goes to school 98% of the time, good attendance record you get $100, your child gets immunized you get $100 so there's a discussion now in your of about whether or not people should start getting paid for their children to go to mathematics or science, things that the united states and european countries need for to continue to remain competitive. i mean, obviously, this is not what we expect of the society. we need to start paying people to do the right thing? but given where the societies are everything to me seems to be on the table it is a fascinating idea of the transfers as a

possible solution to what we are seeing now. >> could some of the problem with your education or these other areas simply the fact that once countries become rich they get lazy? >> well, i hope not, and i don't subscribe to that at all. singapore last year was the fastest-growing economy on the planet. it had about 15% of growth in gdp growth and that is really mind-boggling for a country that is really close to western standards in fact about the western standards on the part capita income basis we shouldn't expect to see those levels of economic growth or the great economic growth if we believe what you just said so i don't think it's that at all. the reason i wrote my book is because i really believe that perhaps a lot of americans don't really understand what the problems are in the economy. you see a lot of them on television and the press about the deficits and massive debt but i don't think it is a practical initiative people understand that this is a fight for the soul of america and not only for america but for the world.

there will be 9 billion people on the planet into thousand 50. we absolutely need to get the right and we need america to help solve some of the big problems are not resources and the lack of water and land and issues are not energy the united states is great at solving these problems and we are not going to be able to rely on the u.s. if we don't have education. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org.

well after 27 years of operations, the well-known washington, d.c. independent bookstore politics and prose has been sold and we are taking this opportunity on book tv to talk with the new boehner, co-owner is bradley graham, formerly of the washington post. mr. gramm, congratulations to you. what made you by an independent bookstore in 2011? >> thanks very much. listen, i'm very excited about taking over at politics and prose. as journalists and authors and

former senior government staff member we are very -- we've been very involved in country and in various ways to the washington community, and we see this move to politics and prose as part of the same sort of thing. it's another way for us to contribute to the community. beyond that, we really believe in what the mission has been. it's much more than a bookstore. it is a community institution, it is a form for debate and discussion and i believe in the need for such forums. >> of course mr. gramm is reverting to his wife who also is the new co-owner of politics and prose. what changes do you think they need to make in order to stay

competitive? >> there's a lot about politics and prose that is very strong and the sales are strong, they have a very loyal customer base and a time when the industry has been facing threats from the books and the leadership generally the sales have continued to rise, so first and foremost, i want to preserve everything that is made. politics and prose a success. that said, in order for the story to remain relevant and influential and technologically up-to-date, there are going to have to be some changes. carless and barbara have recognized that over the years. the store has evolved under their leadership. but just what additional directions we hope to move and

we are still formulating and we are only now beginning to process talking to the staff and some of their ideas. we would like to serve the opinion among politics and prose the customers, so this will be and evil and processed for us in terms of deciding what directions and initiatives to undertake. >> mr. graham, when you were researching whether or not to purchase this i read that you visited a lot of independent bookstores around the country. did you find any similarities on those independent bookstores? >> i did. you know, for all the disappearance of a number of stores in the industry in the recent years, what is impressive about the business is that a number of bookstores have survived and remain strong and i was interested in seeing why

that is, so i visited a number of around the country and found some common threads. i found that those that are continuing to succeed have very strong community roots, they have a very dedicated owner operators who been trying and abroad different initiatives. i did not find that anybody anywhere has hit on a kind of homeruns solution to keeping their store successful. it's more a matter to borrow a baseball analogy of hitting singles and doubles and getting on base, and in looking at politics and prose, i came away reassured that this store has many of the attributes for success that other stores around

the country had particularly that very loyal customer base, a large number of avid readers and a great reputation that still has a lot of unrealized value. >> barbara meter and the late carl cohen were well known for working the floor at politics and prose. if the booktv viewers who have come because they have seen it so often on our channel have come to visit politics and prose if they are in washington, will they be able to meet you and muscatine? will they be on the floor? >> sure. i intend to be at the store full-time, but you know, one of the other great strengths of politics and prose is its staff. we are inheriting a tremendously talented, very deep dillinger of experts about books of all kinds

, and they have participated in introducing a number of the authors and are the reason that so many customers come to the store seeking their advice. they remain to carry on. >> do you see the need for politics and prose perhaps to move into the selling of digital books or an enhancement of the website? >> we are looking at enhancing the website. i think that will be important. we realize the threat from the books but it's not a threat we are going to run away from. we are hoping to provide opportunities for self publishing and we are looking at a print on demand machine like a number of other stores have required around the country.