notion most of us in this country are socially accepting and we're fiscally responsible. that is a broad rusher. a broad brush stroke is wearing a lapel pin that says i am pro-choice regarding everything. well, pro-choice regarding everything means that actually if your choices involve putting other people in harms way for choices and that defrauding or harming another human being, that is when the government -- that's what the government does have a role, to protect us against individuals, groups, corporations that do us harm. >> host: as governor, did you shrink the size of the state government? you use your veto would've it, but we were able to shrink the size?

>> guest: wunderkinder dollars, i was able to cut the rate of growth in half and that was the historical rate of growth. i was pointed at state government employees over an eight-year period. there were 1200 fewer state employees starting with 12,000, ending with 12,800. a 10% reduction in state government employees, which i always pointed out unquestionably said we were doing things more efficiently because we were doing things with fewer state employees and they were doing more things. i would like to point out that really the driver of state budgets state to state is on medicaid and that of course is a federal entitlement and its open-ended. and that is what has this in the predicament we have are the entitlements, medicaid, medicare, social security to a lesser degree, but we have to address entitlements. >> host: what is the

libertarian position on not? >> guest: i am promising to submit a balanced budget to congress in the year 2013. that is not promising a balanced budget. that is to submit a budget to congress in the year 2013 believing if we don't reduce government expenditures by $1.4 trillion that will find ourselves in the midst of a monetary collapse and the monetary collapse very simply is when the dollars we have our import any pain. and that is going to be the consequence of us continuing to borrow and print money to the tune of 43 cents out of every dollar. >> host: governor gary johnson is the author of this book, "seven principles of good government." also the libertarian candidate for president. whatever issues you write about ms? >> guest: despina background on my history, i've been an entrepreneur my entire life.

i started a one-man handyman business in albuquerque in 1974 and grew the business to employ over 1000 people using those same principles, showing up on time, just doing what you say you'll do for people. it's amazing how far that will go. i have been completely outside of politics my entire life. the only two other political offices have run for, governor of new mexico in reelection as governor in mexico and i may have made a name for myself. i did make a name for myself, arguably vetoing the legislation and the other 49 governors in the country combined. a veto 750 bills. i took line-item veto to a new art form to thousands of line-item veto is. i said no to billions of dollars worth of government spending and

i said no to legislation that i think would've just added me and money for us to have to comply with those laws, but it wasn't going to make us any safer, wasn't going to improve our lives in any way there's going to add money we have to spend on an time to have to be a little comply with. >> host: you also funded your campaigns essentially, didn't you? >> guest: my first campaign i funded out of $550,000 primary. 500-ton of that was mine and 30 of the remaining actually came with just a few days to go the primary because it appeared as though it might actually win. i would like to point out that new mexico is a state that is two to one democrat. so getting elected, vowing to be a penny pinch her, spending my first time proving i was a penny pinscher beyond reproach and then getting reelected by a bigger margin in the second time than the first time i think -- i

think that speaks to people is good stewardship of tax dollars. >> host: the libertarian policy is associated with the blood loss and you've advocated. changing the drug laws. >> guest: 1999 advocated deglazing marijuana, control it, regulate ataxia. we are at the tipping point with regard to marijuana and legalizing it. i think colorado is going to do that. it's on the ballot in colorado this november, regulate marijuana like alcohol. i think it's going to pass. when it passes and if it doesn't pass in colorado, is going to pass. 50% of americans are now supporting the notion. it's a growing number because people are talking about the issue more than they ever have before, recognizing 90% of the

drug problem is prohibition related, not use related. that is not to discount problems with use and abuse, but that should be the focus. when we legalize marijuana, were going to take giant steps forward regarding all of their shrug and not starting with looking at the drug issue first as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue. let's get the police on the streets enforcing real crime. let's forget the coors and emptied the prisons of the 2.3 million people we have in them come to maggiore category of those drug related. of course were not going to release anybody from jail that has committed other crimes and those drug card, but those in jail for victimless, drug crime needs to be commutation of the sentence is and needs to be

pardons for 30 million americans but for drug laws that have served sentences tougher drug laws that would otherwise be taxpaying, law-abiding citizens. >> host: word you see the intersection between republican policies and libertarian policies? >> guest: on the right would he talk about a balanced budget and we need to balance the budget immediately. we need to cut federal spending. strong u.s. dollar, monetary policy. that's the intersection. if i can jump ahead, the intersection with democrats is several liberty. let's repeal the peachtree that. i never would've signed the national defense accolade for you and i to be arrested and detained without being charged by the u.s. government. whispering about marriage equality. those get out of afghanistan tomorrow, bring the troops home. look, these are democrat issues,

historically democrat issues that aren't going anywhere on today. just like republicans historically issues have been about dollars and cents. either one of the parties to in the areas they are supposed to do file. they are horrible in the areas they don't do well in common meaning romney is horrible and civil liberties and obama and dollars and cents. >> host: as libertarian now, is a little tougher to get media attention away from the two-party system, especially as the campaign goes on this long? >> guest: for myself personally, there's been a 30% pickup and attention given, making the switch, so no, i think just the opposite, that it has picked up and i am believing when people come to recognize there are going to be three candidates on the ballot in all 50 states, me being one of those

three, that's going to go a long way toward garnering just a little bit of who has that person along with ron paul's campaign coming to an end and by his own admission, he says it's coming to an end, i think ron paul supporters would not be compromising their votes with a vote for the libertarian ticket, myself and judge jim gray. >> host: gary johnson 2012 is the website and here is the cover of governor johnson's new book. "seven principles of good government" out in august 2012. >> what are you reading this summer?

booktv one to now. >> this summer i want to read do not ask what good review by robert draper, an inside look about the managing of tea party freshman. there's some great lines i've heard and read an article is about the book that show just how crazy it can get in there but the freshman put in by the tea party who arguably are controlling the white house is running, even though their freshman. there's one line right here. apparently in a meeting boehner told people, get your asinine. i think this congress has been so polarizing and sell unprotected it looks like there could be great to back and

figure out where the dramas are actually going on behind the scenes as you watch nothing happened. another book i'd like to read is called love is a mix tape. it's a story written by "rolling stone," but about how he fell in love with someone am also fell in love with him. they were a very unlikely pair and from what i understand, she died and he's devastated, but then he makes a come which is something i did for years and years, what should now he sends tapes to her in her honor because he loved her and she's gone. the book it sounds like was his final mix tape for her and i can't wait to read that one. that's what i'm hoping to read

this summer. >> for more information on this another summer reading list, visit booktv.org. >> you are watching booktv on c-span 2 and we are on location in new york city, daniel book book publishing industry convention held at the javits center in midtown manhattan. we want to introduce you to a new author whose book is coming out in september and his name is kevin powers and has written a novel called "the yellow birds." first of all, give us just a little bit of your background. >> sure, i grew up in virginia. >> before my senior year in high school i ended up owing to iraq in 2004 and 2005, got back. i've always been a huge reader and a writer, too.

when i got back from overseas every last i had a story to tell about the war and started writing a book. about a year or two after i got back. post or how long were you in the army? >> guest: eight years total. >> host: did you feel fulfilled being in the armed forces? >> guest: there is a lot i like about it. a lot of good people. i appreciated the discipline. i learned a lot about myself. post goes to you are in iraq in 2003, 2004? >> guest: 2004, 2005. >> host: when you got back and let the army unless the armed forces, what was your life like linux >> guest: one of the things that was difficult coming back is kind of the lack of order and direction. with life as difficult as it can be in the military and especially overseas, it's incredibly simple.

you know what is expected of you, as hard as your job is, it's right there in front of you and you just have to go do it appeared when you get home, there's so much free time. you get bombarded with options and possibilities, stimuli, especially back from the desert, color, everything is overwhelming. the readjustment. it's really challenging. >> host: what did you find most challenging? >> guest: not knowing what i was supposed to do next. that was passed. i knew was going to get out of the military after i got back from a tour and i didn't know what the next step is going to be. so figuring that out. >> host: so you started writing "the yellow birds," the novel. how did you submit it? how did you get into somebody who would publish it. this is published by little

brown. >> guest: well, i started working as an undergraduate at virginia, my university and i took creative writing classes. i actually was mean migrating poetry. i ended up at university of texas and showed it to professors and they were really encouraging. a good friend of mine, the author also a graduate breaded and loved it and offered to send it to his agent on my behalf. that's how i got it to an agent. >> host: is this based on your experience in iraq? >> guest: well, i think it's a work of the imagination that would've happened without the experiences i've had. the circumstances that occur in the book are not what happened to me while i was overseas, but i think the sort of emotional uproar of the book is something that i wanted to get out there and communicate people who may be didn't understand that

experience. one of the most frequent questions i got asked was what was awake over there? it's hard to know how to answer that question. so that's really what i was trying to do when i started to write the book. hadaway contend with that question? foes alike? >> guest: you talked about the emotions. but were the emotions? >> guest: i think confusion. you understand your job. you may not understand all three the way will affect it online, the way it affects people around you in the way to fix your at home. for instance, that there has the hardships she and her and i don't really understood that until i had some time to mature, get a little older and have conversations with her about what that year was like for her. that was the story wanted to tell, not just when you're

overseas, but the effect of the families back home. >> host: word of the title "the yellow birds" comes from? >> guest: it comes from the traditional marching army keaton. the yellow bird with the yellow bill on my windowsill, which anyone in the army has heard that one a million times. >> host: why did you decide to make this a novel rather than a fact-based book? >> guest: well, i think a lot of people have really capably talked about the big picture view of what's happened in iraq than what's going on over there, but i felt like there is an opportunity to tell an individual story, just give the picture into one person's consciousness, the emotional life during that tour, what was so late coming home. i thought there was an

opportunity for the story to be told on a smaller scale. >> host: kevin towers, was ptsd an issue for you? >> guest: i don't know. i was never diagnosed or anything like that. it was tough coming back or i'll tell you that. it is a bigger challenge than i thought it would be. i expected things to be different, but she do have sort of noises that alarm you and that is certainly something i experienced, but i do know people about it much worse than i did. both my experience overseas and coming back. people out here are really struggling with that. maybe this book can raise awareness about what people are going when they come home. that would be something incredibly great. >> host: you're still a student at university of texas. >> guest: i just graduated in may. thank you very much.

my mfa in poetry. >> host: as a first-time author, what's your experience getting published in the whole hoopla surrounding? >> guest: yeah, it's exciting. it's not something i can say i expected. i certainly hoped for, but i got a great agent and it's been fantastic to work with. i have sort of a support system in place, but it's a privilege that people might read something i've written. so i'm really excited about it. >> host: are you planning on doing another book? a book of poetry? >> guest: i have a book of poetry more or less finished. and then this fall i will start on my second novel. it's in its very early stages now. >> host: is it based also on your military experience? >> guest: no, it's not. >> host: we have been talking to kevin powers about hs