what it owes to the other, it's freedom. [speaking french] >> translator: yesterday we ran monticello thomas jefferson's residents a great american statesman once ambassador to france who remains one of the most beautiful symbols of the ties that unite us. ..

[speaking french] [speaking french] >> i wish to demonstrate the fact france will never forget the spirit of sacrifice shown by

the nameless heroes to left their home to liberate by cou country and theirs. we will pay tribute to them to remember the normandy landing. i hope you will join me on the 6th of june 2014, 70 years after the landing. [speaking french] >> our two countries hold universal values. values that we write together the universal declaration of

rights. [speaking french] >> we stand together to fight terror. france and the united states stand side by side to make the values prevail. we stand with the united states to address the threats of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and chemical weapons. together to solve the crisis faced by the middle east. together to support africa's development. and another to fight global warming and climate change.

[ applause ] [speaking french]

>> today, we stand united and we have built a modal of friendship. a friendship that is the best recipe for a better world. a world such as the one that was dreamt by thomas jefferson and law fay et. it is about an alliance that will enable us to make the world a better, safer and more humane place. [speaking french]

[ applause ] >> mr. president, i am proud to stand here. you are a great man of the united states of america and you represent the united states of america. a country where everything is possible for who wants it. a country devoted to freedom and quality. long live the united states. long live france. long live the franco-american relationship. [ applause ]

>> mr. president, this concludes the ceremony. [marching band music playing]

>> one of the highest honors for a visit head of the state is a state dinner.

on this day, a crisp clear morning in which the president talked about springtime in paris and winter in washington, d.c. they are hosting their seventh dinner for a special guest like this. the dinner is taking place in a tent on the south lawn. this is continuing coverage by the french president. a chance for you to join in on the conversation as the social secretary for obama and was responsible to organizing two state dinners for the president of china and mexico. our phone lines are open. those of you in the eastern and central time zone and there is the number for those of you in the mountain and pacific time zones. state dinners have a relatively

new phenomenon. we are continuing our series on first ladies. the final program is taking place next monday on president's day. we will be releasing a new poll on now americans view america's first ladies. heather foster is a presidential historian and has written a number of books on the first ladies. i asked her about the early dinners and how they have evolved since the civil war >> we didn't have anything resembling state dinners during washington because who was coming? we had great big oceans and no heads of state were coming for dinner like now. state dinners were larger

dinners for who was in town. the congressman, the court, and a lot of diplomats and that was the extend of a state dinner. they had rental houses that were large and couldn't accommodate the people we have now. if they had 30-40 for dinner that was considered large >> what changied during and aftr the civil war? >> before the civil war, entertaining at the whitehouse started through dolly madison. she liked to entertain and was a wonderful host. they lived in the whitehouse and she put it on the map. dining at the whitehouse at big important dinners was the expense of it was born by the

president as a matter of fact. this is important to remember. there was no budget for official entertaining until the coolidge administration. the president and first lady were given a salary and they took care of those expenses themselves. >> can you give some specific examples of what first ladies brought to the fwin dinners and the diplomacy in the state house? >> the role of the first lady was an evolution. it was determined by the first lady herself what she wished to do. dolly was hands-on and warm. elizabeth monroe, her successor, was more aloof.

elizabeth said i am not going to return calls which made her very, very unpopular. and a lot of the women in washington decided they were not going to come. so a lot of the monroe administration dinners were stag affairs. when jackson and van buren were in the whitehouse they were widowers. so they had substitute first ladies who didn't do very much in the way of official entertaining. they were young girls at 22-25 years old. they didn't have that kind of experience. the one first lady who really started entertaining very nicely was another substitute first lady harriet lane who was acting

first lady during the bucannon administration. she had a bit of experience and ent ent entertained graciously. she was in charge of the guest list, seating plans and who was coming and who would be there and who would be introduce and how. mary lincoln didn't entertainment because there was a war going on and show was morning. after the civil war, entertaining got to be better >> as we moved into the 21st century, to t-- what changed in

terms of the role of the first lady? >> transportation was a big factor in what changed. it didn't take six weeks to cross the ocean. you could do it in one week now. and after president wilson was the first president to leave our shores and go abroad. i think haft went abroad briefly but it was wilson who went abroad and that is when heads of state were coming to the country. during that earlier period, the

diplomats were like quasi. they were representing their governments. they were treated royally. i think the first head of state came during the grant administration. and then during roosevelt's administration, he had the brother of wilham who put on a grand affair for him. and the mood of the whitehouse and oplence increased a lot. >> any examples of a mistake at a state dinner and how a first lady handled that? or a faux pas. >> they with well loved and kept in the protocol loop of who is to go where and everything. but the one story i love the most is the sad story, if you

want a sad story, i will tell you one. this is about nelly taft who was first lady in 1910 and about three months in she had a stroke at 48. she had aafacia. she could not read or watch and her mouth drooped and she could not be seen in public. she is a very active first lady and wanted it like crazy. she was very ambitious. a man named buck painted a beautiful picture. nelly helped prepare a state

dinner but couldn't attend. it was a big affair. there was a little room adjoining the state dining room. before the dinner, she comes down to this little room and she is dressed in her beautiful downton abby outfit with jewelry and hair down. and they had a table for one prepared. she sits outside in this little room adjacent to the state dining room and they left the room ajar is little bit so they can here what was going on. that is a beautiful story >> foster is joining us from virginia. she is the author of a number of books. thanks very much for joining us. >> you are very, very welcome. thank you for having me.

>> tune in monday for the final look at the first ladies influence and image. julianna smoot is here. she is a veteran of state dinners. >> i am excited to be here. >> let's get to the guest list. steven cobert. eric cantor. david stern the former nba commissioner. paul ryan. julia dryfus and 350 people invite fork invited for the dinner tonight. >> that is exciting. >> how do you get an invite? >> it is a long process. we get the dirfferent departmens

with the whitehouse together, nscs is a part of it, and it is a building wide planning section. we start meeting three months out with weekly meeting to figure out who we can invite, figure out what the day and dinner will look like >> last year the president was scheduled to have a state dinner were the president of france because of the nsa that was postponed. today that came up and the president made a point that france is our longest ally. there is a picture from the white house of the presidents yesterday in the home of thomas jefferson and he served as a

u.s. envoy to france. as we look at the history of the relations, how is it determined we will have a state dinner for the president of france and what is involved in the decision making progress? >> the country decides what country they would like to honor and what leader they would like to have. and then it goes into the process of figure out a date. it is hard to figure out a date in your family. imagine across the globe and figure out how to make a date that will work. that is figured out first. and then you go from there. >> the other story that is getting a lot of attention is the french president is here by himself because of the separation from his long-time girlfriend. who is seated next to the president since he is coming

alone? thelma goldman and steven coburt is next to the first lady. >> i think that is a good idea. it will make the president feel more comfortable and those are good dinner partners for the president and first lady >> i want to share with you a tweet and you can join in with the #cspan chat. bill king says you are a c-span junky when you are watching a state dinner over olympic coverage. they are taking a trolley attend on the south lawn. it is being called a monet spring festival. what -- but -- there is a winter

approaching soon. >> the whole building, the whole staff, really go all out to host the guess and do everything they can to make it a beautiful ev t event. we have a wonderful flourrist a the whitehouse and the chef are wonderful. >> give us a sense of what is happening right now? the guest have arrived. we know earlier when the president and first lady greeted the president they went to the blue room and that has monroe furniture. as the guest are moving from one location to the other, what is happening and taking place? >> it is a lot to move a group

of 350 people from one place to the other. there are cocktails and orders being passed around and folks are getting out to the tent where they will be seated >> i want to share what sally quinn wrote back in 1975. she said when putting together a guest list, you had to be sure to invite people that should be invited and don't invite the people that should not be invited and soothe the ones who should be but can't. >> it is building wide effort where you come up with a lot of names of folks you want to have invited to this very special occasion. so folks might be called from the list because, you know, it is a small veneue.

350-person dinner party is big. if it were inside, it would be limited to about 200-250 dinner. so you think about you and you get to bring a guest, it is really 150. >> you get a phone call from someone you know and they say i want to come to the state dinner. you put together one for the chinese head of state and mexican head of state. what do you tell them? >> if it is somebody i know we will say we would love to be able to accommodate you, let's see what we can do. when you are invited to a state dinner you should do everything you can to attend.

we can try to make accommodat n accommodations but it is hard to do. we can make a list of ongoing folks we would like to invite. >> if you get a last-minute cancelation, what do you do? >> there are folks that might drop everything to be on a plane if you want to invite them. we tend to do that. >> this is a mix of administration, members of congress, eric cantor, nancy pelosi and some famous people like steven coburt. >> and bradley cooper. >> of course. >> it is a really great group. i love we have democrats and republicans attending which i think is so wonderful.

that is such a testament to how this is a non-partisan event and it is as a great american tradition and people come together and celebrate. >> mary jay blige and the performer tonight. how does that come about? >> the performers are people that the president and first lady enjoy. and we talk to the honored guest staff to see if there is anybody they would like to hear from or listen to on their i-pod. you go from there and back to the process of availability. >> our phone lines are open for the eastern and central time zones. and for those of you in the mountain and pacific time zone it is on there. 350 people is a lot of china and

silverware. how is that determined? >> there is staff at the whitehouse that has been there for many years. they know if i say i would like to use the regan china and they will say me might not have enough. or if the decor is hot pink you probably don't want to use red. not that we use hot pink. but they will help you figure out the china, and what linens look the best. >> there is a storm expected to hit washington, d.c. on thursday. what do you do if the weather doesn't cooperate? >> that is the most stressful thing. i can imagine departments were doing a weather call on the phone. luckily it was a beautiful day

but it was cold. the decision was to go forward. we have had decisions where it rains and we have the guy standing behind with the umbrella. but the weather is a call that is made the day-of the event >> in the two state dinners you were responsible for; were the inside the whitehouse or did you have the tent? >> for mexico we were inside for dinner and then outside for a tent where beyonce performed. for china, we had three tables in three different rooms and everything was inside the whitehouse >> your work is done by the time the dinner is underway. so what is your job like on this night? >> you are running around making sure everybody is comfortable.

and also enjoys the night. >> how do the obama's repair -- prepare -- for this? >> i think the first lady spends time on what she is going to wear. she is involved with the menu planning. >> this is what the table is looking like. >> it is beautiful. >> the first lady is very involved. so is the president. they will look at the books and they go up every night a month out they are getting memos about the state dinners. where the invitations are going out, tasting test, and a week before you start the process of a sea and say these are the

people we want to sit here >> what will they dine on this evening? >> it is all food inspired by america. there is going to be stuff from the first lady's garden. but chris comeford is the chef and she is amazing. when we had guest chefs, for my first state dinner, we had rick bales who is an american chef but cooks mexican food. it is hard to fix a dinner for 300 people or even 200 and making sure it all comes out at the same time and it is hot. if you run a restaurant that is great. you can have perfect food with balance. but chris is great and billy is

the pastry chef and he is great, too. they have a delightful menu planned >> i would imagine the best is the tasting >> that is very true. and during the holidays there are cookies left over and they will show up and you have to be careful not to eat them. >> annie chicago is on the line. are you with us? go ahead, please >> hi, let us know your most favorite part of the whole experience was for you. >> well, that is a great question, annie. thank you. i loved the first state dinner. it was big and scary. i was working with a wonderful

team both mine and in the social office. it was wonderful to be into that state dinner and saying we did it and people had a great time and no body had a terrible time or got sick. >> you mention the seating plans, what kind of protocol is in involved in that? >> my other social secretary friend would say you would never seat spouses together. but the obama's feel different about that. they think spouses and friends don't spent enough time together so we seat them together. we typically split up men and women and make it boy/girl. but it varies. >> from houston, texas.

kin kingsley is on the phone. >> just a couple questions for you: first of all, what influence or input does mrs.obama have for setting the dinner of the state menu. and given the fact there could be a female president, is the whitehouse set up for a male first gentlemen. who might be coordinating the state dinners >> ms. obama is very involved with the decor and definitely the menu.

she is part of the tasting as well and decides what to serve ultimately. social office in the whitehouse is incrediblely small. i had two deputies -- incredi y incredibly -- small. and that format would probably stay the same, i would think, if there were a female president. i would presume that if the first gentlemen would want to be involved with this, they would happily take their advice. i think it would just be individual >> this is a photograph from french newspaper that haws the french president with president obama this morning. and i want to talk about changes because he didn't bring his

long-term girlfriend. what does that change mean? >> you try to account for every detail, but you cannot be so ridged, you can't be flexible. we were talking about changing the invitation, but the folks that got it received it as it was. we have cligfers down the house from the social office and they work long hours and can make any changes needed for theman -- for the menus -- >> we welcome the listeners on the radio. we are talking about state

dinners. we have our next caller from indiana. >> i wanted to know i also see politici politicians and business people and important people are only invited to the state dinner. do they occasionally let hard working, average americans come? >> that is a great question. it might look like that in the book-sellers as they are announcing the bradley coopers of the world. there are several hard-working americans that are invited to the dinner. when i was social secretary for the mexican state dinner, we had wonderful folks that were local to washington, d.c. who run non-profits here in towni.

the first lady is very adement about having hard-working people. >> you have the president of france, and i want to ask you, france is known for many things, especially their food. does that add to the challenge for the chef? >> yes, i believe so. i am glad i am not the chef >> how does the whitehouse prepare for the food and wine for somebody who is coming to the united states for a country known for its food and wine. >> any time you have the french president coming there is a little extra pressure as the french are known for their food. there is going to be a little extra emphasis in being sure the t's are cross and i's are

dotted. but the food is always taken serio seriously and there are no loose ends typically. >> how was it determined based on your experience of serving past visitors? >> it has a very french take in it. and in other respects a very american take. it is good blending of the two different styles. the first class of caviar, and quail eggs, and finger link potatoes is a french style. i am sure the executive chef at the whitehouse put her own particular american spin on it. but if i read that without the word american in it i would think this is a french course. this isn't atypical for the state dinners.

we tried to do the first dish by honoring an ingredient or plate from their county. the second course is winter garden salad. it is curious because in my recollection there is cheese on the entre so they have moved the salad to the first place and this is probably a product coming from the whitehouse garden. it looks to be, while it is called a salad, it is probably a room temperature style venl vegetable dish. and very nutritional in keeping

with the mandate of a healthy and nutritional lifestyle. the dry aged beef is the next course and that is american through and through. to have the blue cheese on it is a tip of the hat to the french style but a very american blue cheese. even the spelling is the blue american spelling here. there is a blending of these great american ingredients with a french take on it. the desert is going to be great because you cannot go wrong a chocolate chocolate and vanilla ice cream. it sounds like a light,

refreshing healthy menu. the dry-aged rib-eye steak is great. they have a french sensibility with american ingredients and take on it. >> there is a tasting before it is finalized, but what else goes into account? >> the first thing that happens is the state's department officer of protocol will forward a paper going through the dinner. from the food stamp point we talk about cultural, personal taste and health of the guest. and typically the chef meets with the social secretary or with the first lady to talk about their thoughts on what the menu should be. several menus will be generated

addressing all of the different concerns. and from that the first lady picks out a menu or number of courses she likes. there may or may not be a tasting. ms. bush liked them. ms. clinton didn't do that many. if there is a tasting, there is a follow-up and corrections or amendments to the menu. and then we would go through making and remaking and rehearsing if you will to get them the way you want them. a state dinner is like a broadway opening. once it hits the bright lights, you have to hit your mark and you cannot be experimenting at the last second. the dinner isn't the only thing happening that night so you have to find the niche within the

entire options >> what about the vegetarian options? >> there are a number of options. when the invitations are ontario out there is a line that says let us know if you have dietary concerns. rather they are vegan, vegetarian or non-gluten it will be addressed. the whitehouse is a private home so the first lady wants to be gracious and having people coming into their home and be comfortable. so in many cases we go out of the way to make sure all of the alternative menus were offered. american wines from california and washington state -- the reasoning behind that? the whitehouse is all about

highlighting american food, wine and entertaining. so even though france has a story history of wine, we are pretty good at it. i was looking at the wines. it would appear we have a couple really, really good ones. again, i think they are in the french style but by american producers. i am looking at the sparkling wine. it would appear that it is montechello in virginia which is an interesting tie between jefferson and the french. i think they are going to be excellent wines. they are not well known but they are exceptional. >> and the logistics that go into this. this isn't a large whitehouse

kitchen and 350 guest. >> it is smaller than many people's home kitchens. it is sort of a little portion that is small, high powered and all of the staff that works there are talentalented and at top of their game. you are talking about a great team of professionals and an equipped kitchen. this is like a broadway opening. people are rehearsing and rehearsing. there is no margin of error. it is like a hotel or restaurant, where if it doesn't go well you get 10% off the bill. you have to hit this. that is the real difficulty of it. the dinner is well rehearsed but the pressure is there that there could be no slip ups.

>> what advice would you give the staff tonight? what have you given them in the past? >> the chef there now is exceedingly talents culinary and great eye and palate for design. she will have no problemxcuti problemxcuting -- problem executing -- i don't have words of wisdom because she is doing a super, super job. the only important thing is that everyone pulls together and realizes while it is a state dinner, the true stars there are not the chef or the service or the floral. it is the president and the first lady. >> walter was the former executive chef and the author of the book "whitehouse chef". now living in new mexico.

thanks for being with us. >> my pleasure >> you can join in on the conversation at facebook and share your thoughts about the state dinner for the french president. we will get more of your calls in just minute. we are told now that the guest of honor, the first lady and president on the south lawn, with tent setup with a monet-style them. we will see what it looks like inside the tent and the toast by the president and french president. but in the area known as the cross hall, the president, first lady and the french president in a receding line before they met

with the 150 guest in attendance. [music playing]

>> as they move from the private quarters to the state florida and went to the blue room, that is a standard protocol for the dinners? >> yes, they were coming from the private residence. what the social secretary does is stay to the gentlemen, well they are standing up there ready as they are all of the time, and they say are you ready to accept the colors. and they come down and do a dignified move and come down the stairs followed by the head of state and the first lady. >> they go to the blue line and they have a receiving line with 350 guest and that is a lot to

shake hands with. >> it is. but the social aids that you see in the photographs around the whitehouse are just wonderful. and they are so polite and nice at moving the guest through if someone wants to spend a little bit more time with the president chatting >> i know you have one story about being prepared for the unexpected and we will get to that. but first we will go to sarah from south carolina. good evening. go ahead, sarah. >> i wanted to ask how you talked about the staff earlier and how well they are trained and ready for anything. i would like to ask her as far as the number is concerned, how many aids does it take to make everything run smoothly from the start to the very end and be able to have everything cleared away? how many is there? >> gosh, i am from north

carolina so i love your accent. it varies on the set up the dinner. the flow is beautiful to see. you bring in wait staff that is trained very well and knows how to place the plates down all at the same time. i don't know how many. i think we have had as many as 50-60 waiters that move. it is like a butterfly show the way they move in and out. it is cleaned up by the time the next course is coming out. they are very well trained. but the numbers vary based on the table and how easy it is to move. you have 200 so you have to think about moving the extra

staff around. >> tim is on the phone from alexander, virginia. >> thanks for taking my call. i think you did a great job as social secretary. put i would like to know how did you make sure you got all of the etiquette and protocol issues just right? >> that is a good question. the preview social secretary are a great group. and now we have the first male social secretary. and we have been supportive of him. but they are a wonderful group that will help with anything. you can call and say what do you do in this situation. i worked with marsha who is the chief of protocol when i took over. so i could pick up the phone and is ask her anything.

she was so nice and lovely working with it: it isn't partisan. we were there to help each other. >> the formality of the event as you look at the wait staff and everyone in their finest. can this be stressful for guest? >> it can be. you wear clothes that are not comfortable. and they are walking on marble. but you sit down and have a nice dinner and the foods and wines are wonderful and you get to be entertained with wonderful ene ener -- entertainment --

>> we have our next caller >> how did you become social secretary? >> i was on the president's first campaign and wanted to serve in the administration so i was chief of staff for our trade representatives ron kirk. when the previous secretary, rogers went back to chicago, the president asked if i would do the job. it was a big ask but i am glad i did it was it was fulfilling. >> during the first state dinner, guest got in that were not supposed and things changed to make sure that didn't happen again. can you explain? >> i think after that happened people stepped back and said this shouldn't have happened and let's make sure every i is dotted and everything t is

crossed. we were more diligent and i went to bed with the guest list under my pillow and made sure every guest came through. >> the invitation is something you cannot miss in the mail because it is thick on heavy bonded paper and there is a lot to it. >> you can feel the print on it, too. it is wonderful. it is as a nice thing. it is the way things should be. >> there is a menu at the table? >> a menu people can take home as a keepsake. it has the menu and wine. >> i think we have the videos and we will show you as we hear from michael in west virginia. >> yes, thank you have taking my call. -- for -- >> i just wondering if michele

obama's mother take part in the planning and does she attend the dinners? >> she is a lovely women and took part in the dinners i did and took part in the tasting. she has great experience with that and can say what needs to be added and what would go better with this dish or side. she is a great asset to the tasting. >> can you put a price tag on what this cost the whitehouse? >> i think it varies. you know, there are -- it takes a lot to put them on. it can be a little pricier than your average dinner party >> the president is going to be travelling to france for the 70th anniversary for the d-day invasion.

let's go to georgia. good evening. >> good evening, caller. >> i am impressed by the protocol of you. i was a lucky person -- i am a united states citizen from pakist pakistan region. and i welcomed president in 1979. if there is a muslim guest, how do you serve them? >> if the head of state has dietary restrictions we know that way ahead of time. we work with their staff and find out if they have dairy sensitiveties or don't like b s

brusle sprouts or something. >> is there an exchange of gifts and how is that determined? >> there is an exchange of gifts. the protocol office at the state department does of the work. they are amazing and spend months on doing their homework. what does steve like? what are his hobbies? what are his favorite foods? they dig around and find out stories that would make a good gift >> what is the proper etiquette for, in this case, the president of france to send a thank you to the first lady and president? do they send a note? >> i don't think if i have seen a note if a note has come. it is hard to get mail into the

whitehouse. but i would imagine a note would be good. ... we use people from the state dining room into the eastern. so there were able to have some coffee and move on into the east room. it varies, you know, a dinner by dinner. >> host: final question to you have to be prepared for everything, including a wardrobe

malfunction. >> guest: yes to my wardrobe malfunction. as you launch a saw, the private quarters, that usually takes three minutes. and while they are lined up waiting, the president is binding his jacket, the button pops off. >> host: the president of china. >> host: to 5 feet you know, president obama. and that took about ten minutes. so the guests were wondering ball was going on. we have of wardrobe malfunction and everything went smoothly after that. >> host: julianna smoot, thank you for being with us speech to take you so much. >> host: we want to share with you more from the winehouse. arriving shortly after 7:00

eastern time to be greeted by the president and first lady. this is what it lovelock.

[inaudible conversations] ♪

♪ >> that was about two hours ago as the president and first lady welcome to the french president. now at this hour the french president and the american president toasting each other taking place in a tent that has been described by writers as a monet masterpiece. coming up shortly you will have a chance to see what it looks like inside. we cannot bring it to you live because of -- because of the logistics'. he will be a will to appeal it out and show it to you

momentarily. while the president of france was arriving, on the lower level guests were arriving. 350 guests invited for tonight state dinner and we will watch the scene as it unfolded late tonight. [inaudible conversations] >> ambassador charles rifkin. the our role cleveland, mrs. linda d. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] mrs. rachael robinson. mr. norman siegel. ms. laura hold gate. >> mr. and mrs. ryan mr. charles adams jr.

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] mr. and mrs. kenneth ehrlich. [inaudible conversations]

>> ms. constance's millstream. [inaudible conversations] mr. and mrs. peter s. eliot. [inaudible conversations] >> mr. and mrs. richard plethora

. [inaudible conversations] mr. kevin smith. [inaudible conversations] correcting, mr. keith smith. mr. burton smith. ms. julie e. milliken. ms. roberta catherine and mist late -- missed rachael lagard.

[inaudible conversations] ms. liz simon. [inaudible conversations] mr. and mrs. john goldman.

>> the honor roll and mrs. harold rogers. [inaudible conversations] mr. and mrs. jack smith.

patrick. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> the hon. and mrs. mike donovan. [inaudible conversations] mr. and mrs. joe been some. [inaudible conversations] the governor of kentucky and mrs. bashir.

>> misters steve it plans -- it steve clemens. it. [laughter] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> mr. anderson this is steve

holland. it jeff zucker and steve holland , longtime white house correspondent for writers. again, you're looking at the arrival of the guests that began around 6:30 p.m. this evening in an area known as the bookseller. they then moved upstairs for a reception and then took a trolly a short distance on the south side of the white house for the actual debtor itself. the state dining room and east room not able to handle the 350 guests to honor the french president. so this is what the scene looks like inside the south lawn to and to to replicate a money money-inspired setting in much have that transportation of a spring-like the man and a test by the president of the united states in honor of the president of france. [applause]

[applause] >> a good evening, everybody. please have a seat. [laughter] michele and i are so honored to welcome you to the white house as we host the president and his delegation for this historic state visit between our nation, the first in nearly 20 years. and our press conference today i quoted the son of france in 1831

set out across our young country and a chronicle of our american democracy as those are always amazed this nation of ours and captured its. as well as anyone ever has. tonight i would like to share some of his lesser-known observations about american dining, the absence of wind in our meals which first struck him as very disagreeable and still cannot understand a multitude of things that americans succeed in introducing into their stomachs. some things did not change. when francois came here years ago to study i suspect he said the same time. about the white house, but the traveling companion wrote the president of the united states

occupies a palace that in paris would be called a fine private residence. and he wrote -- and i very much can relate to this, the power of the king of france would be know if there were modeled after the power of the president. [laughter] and he did not have to do with the filibuster. one young american lawyer went to paris and was deeply moved to see white and black students studying together. and that was charles summer who became one of our greatest abolitionists and helped to end slavery in is one of the reasons that all of us can be here this evening as full citizens free in the cool. it is true that we americans have grown to love all things french, film, food, wine,

especially the wind. but most of all we love our french friends because we stood together for freedom for more than 200 years. tonight i want to pay tribute for the principle of and principal careers that he has shown on the world stage. i thank you, francois. we started this busy yesterday at monticello, and i would like to and where we began. thomas jefferson wrote trope -- so as the troweled inhabitants of any nation on what country on earth would you rather live. certainly in my home when my friends to our relations in the earliest and sweetest affections and recollections of my life. but jefferson added, which would be your second choice. france, of course. and so i propose a toast.

to our friend and partner who all of our friends from france or here today. god bless america and long live the alliance between our great nations. >> here here. >> cheers. [silence] >> i think it is right here. [inaudible question] [applause] [applause] >> mr. president, members of the congress and french parliament, ladies and gentlemen, i hope a

translation exists. [laughter] i would like to thank you, mr. president to muffle the warm welcome they you have extended to me and my delegation. france and the united states of america are tied by history, french citizens such as lafayette who fought alongside the heroes of independence to when your freedom, freedom to preserve. the glorious history of the americans who came to fight during the first world war and then in june, 1944, to lead the european continent from oppression. this have to and it was a great

moment in the great honor to applaud your unknown soldier with the french vision of honor and a word veterans of the civil war. i promise, we shall never forget that. [applause] more, after september 11th 2001 terrorist attack on that for a full day bureau all americans. this is the very reason why we have come together. now, i will speak french.

[speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [laughter] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue]

[speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue]

[speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue]

[speaking in native tongue] [speaking in french] [speaking in french] [speaking in french] >> i raise my glass in honor of america, the president, barack obama, the united states. [speaking in french] [applause]

[speaking in french] >> we have feelings for one another. we love the americans, and you love the french. [laughter] we share the same universal values, freedom, democracy. we have been defending these values together. the french armed forces are able to rely on the support provided by the u.s. soldiers and equipment in the central african republic. your support as accompanied our operations aiming at restoring security in this country torn by a violence between religion. see whether we have removed the unacceptable threat of an

iranian nuclear weapon. we have succeeded in reaching an internal agreement in syria. we together removed the threat of force, the threat of a worsening situation and managers to force the regime of assad with the stockpiles of chemical weapons and together we are looking resolutely for a political outcome so desperately needed. to get a french and americans also want to work for growth and introduce a new rules that will prevented financial crisis and enable us to fight more efficiently against. [inaudible] the strength and robustness of

the american economy is a source of hope for all countries provided that we'll -- open our markets. we will succeed. together we will also rise to the challenge of climate change. hosting their conference in 2015. it is up to us to convince our major partners to take the necessary steps before it is too late, and i know i can count on your commitment. mr. president, the relations between our two countries have reached an exceptional level of closeness. there is one simple reason for that. we share the same vision of the world and share a mutual respect the united states of america and france are two great nations. what is expected of them is to keep the promise, the promise of freedom and the promise of progress and also to keep the

dream alive, that same dream that made by jefferson, washington, lafayette commanded french revolutionaries, the dream to change the world by uniting our forces, united -- uniting our talents, we will be able to keep the flame of hope alive. i raise my glass to the president of the united states of america and to michele obama. long live the united states. along with france. [applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] ♪ >> i think every first lady brings a unique perspective to this job. if you did not you could not

live through it. i think to the extent that it feels natural to me and any level than i would never have thought that living in the white house and being first lady would feel natural, it is because i try to make it me. i try to bring a little bit of michele obama and to this, but at the same time i try to respect and value the tradition that is america. >> watch our program on first lady michele obama and our website c-span.org / first lady or see it saturday on c-span at 7:00 a.m. eastern. monday we conclude our series with a special program looking at all of first ladies from martha washington to michele obama. >> the new c-span.org website gives you access to an incredible library of political events with more added each day through c-span nonstop coverage of national politics from hoesch

-- history and nonfiction books. find daily coverage of official washington or access more than 200,000 hours of archived c-span video, everything since 1987. our video is searchable ended viewable on your desktop computer, tablet, were smart phone. look for the search bar at the top of each page. the inuit c-span.org makes it easy to watch what is happening today in washington and find people and events from the past 25 years. the most comprehensive video library in politics. >> a senate hearing on national security, the devout -- director of national intelligence said the biggest threat was to national security.

>> good morning. the committee meets to hear testimony on current and future threats to u.s. national security. we welcome the director of the national intelligence association and attorney general michael flynn. tillman, thank you for coming today. your testimony is especially important at a time of diverse and complex national security threats in an era of fiscal pressure. the department of defense faces difficult choices about how to allocate scarce resources in this environment of reduced budgets.

although the recently enacted agreement provides some relief, it is partial and temporary. today's testimony welcome my hope, eliminate the dangers our nation faces and underscored the continuing urgency of reaching an agreement to bully in permanently deal with the threat of sequestration to our nation's interest. perhaps foremost among the challenges we face is no effort to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by iran. we look forward to up to information on the status of the iranian nuclear program and the impact of the interim agreement leave last year. in afghanistan we face an insurgency whose terror tactics continue to be deadly. i believe the situation in afghanistan has been fundamentally improved by efforts to build of the afghan national army and police. those forces met or exceeded

expectations as they took over lead on almost all military operations during the 2013 fighting season, and they retain control over areas with the vast majority of the afghan population lives. the afghan army and increasingly the afghan police have the support of the people who overwhelmingly oppose the return to afghan greuel. without the conclusion of a bilateral security agreement our military will not be able to continue to support the afghan security forces after the end of this year. president karzai has refused to sign the bsa that he himself agreed to. he has made a series of statements so inflammatory that they are undermining public support in the united states for continuing efforts in afghanistan. whoever the next afghan

president is, he is likely to be more reliable than president karzai. his signature is likely to instill more confidence than karzai is. with two months to go in the presidential campaign i hope our witnesses will tell us if they agreed that the united states and a coalition of which we are a part would be better off waiting for the successor of karzai to sign the agreement that the afghan people favor as reflected by the consensus of the 3,000 member. in. ♪ the seizure of militants reflects in part the failure of an increasingly sectarian influenced government to reach out to disenfranchised groups. we would appreciate hearing your assessment of the current situation in iraq and how best

we can support the iraqi people without in powering the government to further the narrow agenda that has too often pursued. in syria with the world witnessed the core of the assad regime using chemical weapons against its own people killing hundreds of civilians. in response to the u.s. threat of using limited force against the kimmitt -- chemical capability of assad the international community reached an agreement to eliminate the chemical program. since then the syrian chemical mixing capability has been eliminated in the first shipments have been transported to a port for removal from syria syria has missed two important deadlines to remove the rest of the chemicals, and we want to

know the prospects for completing the elimination of the syrian chemical weapons this year and the impact of this effort on the assad regime. in light of the continuing horrific assaults against their own people and help our witnesses will give us their assessment of additional steps we could take to be effectively train and equip members of the vetted opposition in syria. we face a different but no less complex series of challenges in the asia-pacific region. north korea has continued its cycle of provocations heightening tensions on the korean peninsula. last year the north korean regime conducted a nuclear weapon test and engaged in cyber attacks against south korea. there is instability in the

region and we look forward to hearing whether though recent willingness of north korea to facilitate family visits signals any significant change in their policy. attorneys activities in south and east tennessee's have also raised concerns, especially among our friends in southeast asia. the chinese recent declaration of an air defense zone overlaps with the south korean zone and encroaches airspace. failing to follow international norms and increases probability of miscalculations which could destabilize the region. i look forward to the testimony of our witnesses as to how we can appropriately respond. the chinese sustained in a growing campaign for military purposes and to to steal intellectual property for commercial purposes also poses a

threat to our security and our relationship. this i regret is not unique to china. russia also possesses a formidable cyber capabilities. and the iran and north korea have also demonstrated a willingness to initiate an aggressive actions in cyberspace against the united states and our allies. china poses a unique threat because of the combination of sophisticated cyber capability and a lack of restraint in respect for the limits on the theft of american technology, including protection of counterfeit products. a large number of colleagues have said that china's massive cyber has been rushed campaign is an intolerable threat to our long-term national economic prosperity and security. we look forward to the views of our witnesses on these and many other issues and no call upon

center in off. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i agree with the comments you made. i want to address that, but i am concerned as everyone is about our national security. two weeks your returned from a trip to africa, afghanistan sought south asia, europe. it is clear from talking to troops, diplomats that the global security environment is complex and growing more dangerous every day. it stating last year before congress, in almost a 50 years and intelligence i do not remember when we have had a more diverse array of threats in crisis situations to deal with. based on the we have seen since a think you're exactly right. the reality is our national security is worse than ten years ago. around the world we're seeing

trips to our security rice from the middle east to africa, east asia. allies to not trust us, and enemies of fierce. in iran the agreement has done nothing to stop the regime in richmond activities. in fact, i am willing to submit for the record the reuters -- date successfully test fired missiles. the defense minister stated. one of them was a long-range ballistic missile with a great error updating capabilities and goes on and on to talk but what they're doing, so they are not hiding and and all. we remind our colleagues and intelligence reports continue to say that iran will continue to

have this capability as early as 2015, less than one year away. the present administration continues its head in the sand approach to terrorism by pushing the false narrative that al qaeda is on the ropes and the run. but facts on the ground to not tell the story. the reality is that al qaeda now operates in more countries and territories than ever before and poses a greater threat to american interest in the asia-pacific, our strategic balance is being undermined by massive budget cuts at a time when our interest in the region has never been more pronounced. the chinese military buildup continues to dominate the region , has our chairman has stated. north korea has continued erratic behavior threatening instability on the arabian

peninsula and the broader region this last week we learned that north korea has enrichment activity in its facilities and is pushing forward with the development of the missile system. of course they admit this. in the face of all of this we're forcing our military, the backbone of our nation's security to endure a drop in readiness. drastic budget cuts, $847 billion over the last five years, have resulted in our naval fleet dropping to a low level of ships, the air force being the smallest in history, and potentially shrinking the army to force not seen since the beginning of the 20th-century. commanders now use the term hollow to define there forces.

in recent guidance issued to the services the secretary of defense acknowledged this dark reality and set near term hollowness is acceptable but the force must be balanced in state, and this is deeply concerning to me as an admission given the threats that we face are not likely to wake and tell our forces rebuild at some time in the future. so without meaningful sequestration, sequester relief to reverse these reckless national security our military will accept a greater risk. you're talking about loss of lives. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator inhofe, director clapper. >> distinguished members of the committee, we are here to present the intelligence community worldwide threat assessment as we do every year.

i will cover about five top picks in approximately 11 half or 12 minutes. this is my fourth appearance before this committee to discuss threats that we face. and as the senator noted i made this next assertion previously but it is more relevant today. looking back over my now more than half a century in intelligence i have not experience a time that we have been beset by more crises and threats. my list is long. it includes the storage and diversification of terrorism loosely connected and globally disbursed to include here at home exemplified by the boston marathon bombing and by the sectarian war in syria, attraction as a growing center of radical extremism and the potential threat that disposes of homeland. let me briefly explain on this point. the strength of the insurgency

is estimated between 75 and 80,000 on the low end and 100,000 on high-end while organizing more than 1500 groups of widely varying political leanings. three of the most effective, the islamic state of iraq. the number stole more than 20,000. complicating further of the 7500 plus four and fighters from some 50 countries who have crafted to have gravitated to syria. a small group of al qaeda veterans who have aspirations for an external attack in europe if not, and. there are many other crises in threat several ago to include a spillover of the serious conflict into neighboring lebanon and iraq. the refugees, now almost two and

a half million, a symptom of one of the largest humanitarian disasters in over a decade. the implications of the drawdown in afghanistan. this year a crossroads with the drawdown and the bilateral security agreement, a key to sustaining the fragile gains we have made and sustaining external financial support, the deteriorating internal security posture in iraq and the violence at very high levels more than 5,000 civilians were killed in. ♪ in 2013 which has made that year the deadliest since 2007. the growth of foreign cyber capabilities, nation states as well as non nation states, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, aggressive nation state intelligence efforts against us, and assertive

russia, competitive china, dangerous and unpredictable north korea, challenging iran in were economic sanctions have had a profound impact on the economy and have contributed to the joint plan of action. lingering ethnic divisions in the balkans and extremism in africa, nigeria, central africa, and south sudan for non-violent political struggles in the ukraine, burma, thailand, and bangladesh. the specter of mass atrocities, increasing stress of burgeoning populations, but urgent demands for energy, water, and food, increasing sophistication of transnational crime, tragedy and magnitude of human trafficing, insidious what of synthetic dry docks, potential for a pandemic disease occasioned by the growth of drug-resistant bacteria.

i could go on but this litany, but suffice to say we live in a complex and dangerous world. the classified version provides a comprehensive review of these and other daunting challenges. the intelligence community, congress, and the public square. and speaking about potentially the most massive and damaging theft of intelligence information and are a series by edward snowden and the ensuing avalanched revelations. i will not dwell about his legal standing work of the supreme irony about the begin of free expression to which she fled and from which he fled. what i do want to speak to is

the nation's senior intelligence officer is the profound damage that he continues to cause. as a consequence the nation is less safe and people less secure. it what he has exposed has gone way beyond his professed concerned for so-called domestic surveillance. as a result we lost critical intelligence collection sources including some shared by value partners. terrorists and other emissaries are going to school on u.s. intelligence sources, mountains, and tradecraft. insights are making our job and the intelligence community much harder. this includes putting the lives of members or assets of the intelligence community at risk as well as those of our own forces, diplomats and citizens. we're beginning to see changes in the communication of adversaries, a disturbing trend

which i anticipate will continue. for his part snowden claims that his mission is accomplished. if that is so i call on he and his accomplices to facilitate the return of they're remaining stolen documents that have not been exposed to prevent more damage to u.s. security. as the third point i want to comment on the ensuing fallout. pays me that the national security agency and its magnificent work force. i started in the intelligence profession over 50 years ago in signals intelligence. members of my family, father, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and wife and i have all worked at the nsa. this is deeply personal. the facts are as the president noted that the men and women, both military and civilian have done their utmost to protect this country and do so in a lawful manner.

as we have said several times, the job of the nsa is not to target u.s. citizens. the agency so as -- collects foreign intelligence. moreover the effects of the unauthorized disclosures hurt the entire intelligence community. critical abilities on which billions of dollars have been invested will likely be curtailed or eliminated because of compromise or conscious decision. moreover the impact of the losses caused by the disclosures will be amplified by the substantial budget reductions we are encouraged. the stark consequences of this perfect storm are pretty evident . the intelligence community will have less capacity to protect our nation and its allies. this connection will also compel

the negative moral impact this has had on the work force which is compounded by sequestration furloughs the shutdown and salary freezes. this is my fourth board. this committee, the congress at large, executive branch and all of us in the intelligence community with the inescapable imperative to accept more risk. it is a plain hard fact and circumstance that the community must manage to deal with those who we support in the executive branch. dealing with reduced capabilities is need to ensure the faith and confidence of the american people, we in the intelligence community will work as hard as we can't to meet the expectations before us which brings me to my fifth and final point. the major take away for us and certainly for me personally for the past several months as we must clean in the direction of

transparency. with greater transparency about these programs the american people may be more likely to exception. his landmark presidential policy directive, a major hallmark of which is transparency. i have specific testing in conjunction with the attorney general to conduct further declassification is developing additional protections under section 702 of the act governing non u.s. presence overseas to modify how we conduct will collection of telephone matted data and to ensure more oversight. clearly we will need your support. we must and will sustain our professional trade craft and integrity. we must continue to protect our crown jewels so that we can accomplish will we have been chartered to do to protect the

lives of american citizens here and abroad, threats i described the beginning of a statement. with that i will conclude my statement. >> general. >> good morning, chairman, ranking member, distinguished members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to testify and for your continued to support for the dedicated intelligence professionals and the entire defense enterprise, many have come remain for were deployed directly supporting u.s. and allied military forces in afghanistan and around the world. today's global security environment presents a growing list of increasingly complex challenges, conventional adversaries and numerous asymmetric threats. i completely agree with the threat assessment and most notably the challenge of unprecedented upheaval and the evolving complexity of the cyber

demean. above like to highlight three areas of particular concern. number one, the threat of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of non state actors and the proliferation of these weapons to other state actors. number two, the mars is a foreign militaries the capabilities approaching those of the united states and our allies. number three, increasing tensions in the pacific. first, as they have publicly and repeatedly insisted, al qaeda and other terrorist organizations aspire to acquire weapons of mass destruction to further their agenda. the current instability in syria presents a perfect opportunity for al qaeda and associated groups to acquire weapons for their components. of the syrian stockpiles are currently under the control of the regime, the movement of these weapons from current locations for disposal or other reasons drastically increases the risk of weapons or components falling into the

wrong hands. there is also the very real possibility that extremists in the syrian opposition could overrun and exploit chemical and biological weapons storage facilities before these materials on note. outside of syria the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and associated technologies remains an ongoing challenge. state and not state actors engaging in these activities often sidestep or outpace international detection procedures. these actors supplying weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile related materials to countries of concern are regularly changing the names of front companies operating in countries with permissive environment or lack of enforcement and avoiding international financial institutions. techniques grow more sophisticated with the. shifting to more traditional military force concerns the armed forces of china and russia

are modernizing and fielding new weapons systems that can challenge the conventional superiority of the united states the same time both countries are restructuring military and improving command-and-control to allow themselves to better operate in an inspiration- dominated in berman. these efforts hartmarx departure for china and russia and a will take time to integrate new capabilities into their military we cannot afford to ignore developments. along those lines of want to raise the issue of increasing tensions in the pacific. the regime in north korea remains highly unpredictable and is the most destabilizing force in the entire region. that being said, the disputed areas in the east and south china sea's remain important flashpoints. the announcement in a member of the chinese are establishing an error identification zone over

portions of the east china sea rays regional tensions particularly with japan and increase their risk of incidents that could undermine peace and security in this vital region. although all sides wished to avoid serious complex these tensions raised the prospect for further incidents that could lead to escalations involving military force. as you know we have the broadest customer base in the intelligence community. customers run the gamut from the president of the yen's states and congress to war fighting combatant commanders. the most important customers reserve where soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines who stand in harm's way around the world how. with that in mind let me turn to the budget environment. ..

i have no doubt that he's placed men and women of our armedded services at risk and will cost harm to lives on future bat 8 fields. i hope he recalls all material not already disclosed for the safety and security of all americans. i close