paved street. i was three blocks from my elementary school. i was six blocks from my middle school and as bill said i graduated from the academy what we called in those days a boarding school. my dormitory with 20 cents for my academic hall. so i never knew what it was to walk to school for miles and walk back home. and so when i expressed some disenchantment with the court decision in swan v. cao limburg which was the case to integrate the schools in north carolina and i said so publicly. emily sat me down that evening

and explain to me and vernacular what it was not to be able to ride the school bus and explain that i should not ever be a -- so i said when you are running for office it seems to me you would do well to understand that the people you are asking to vote for you. [applause] i think a lot of people get carried away with running for office and see it as tv commercials and that kind of stuff. that is not what being a public server servant is all about to me. it is about respecting people's backgrounds, reconciling differences and doing what you

can to move an agenda that everybody can buy into. so a lot of times it may require that you suppress your own feelings in order to really get an agenda done. i would say to everybody running for office, as i say in the epilogue to this book, the epilogue to this book is a letter to my children, my grandchildren and all other children similarly challenged. and it says to him how i feel they need to conduct themselves if you are going to have a business, get to know your customers. if you want to run for office, get to know the people that you are asking to vote for you. i think that's much more important than for them to get to know you.

[applause] >> congressman. >> yes maam. >> my favorite story in the book ends up anything drop the book and it is the story your father told you and your brothers when you are wrestling and competing with each other about the strength of the cord bound together but as i read your book it seems to me that is a parable or a metaphor for how we should work together and our communities and how we should work together in the nation. could you speak to that parable please? >> thank you very much dr. jordan. this is interesting and in fact i never told that story. it happened when i was maybe 12 or 13 years old. my two brothers and i had gone with my dad to have our 1937

chevrolet work done. that 1937 chevrolet i always say was a good car. you could run into a telephone pole and there wouldn't be a dent in it but it seemed to know every time saturday came. it would just stop working. so on this particular saturday the three of us went to with dad to mr. singleton's automobile repair place with the china bare tree in his yard. just as mr. singleton up the pulley up to the front end of that car and started to raise the front and said he could get under it to get it running for another week, my brothers and i started playing in the other c car. dad said to us look boys, i don't know how strong this chain

is. may pop, the car may drop on one of you. go across the field and play. so we went out across this field. we weren't gone long before we got into a little physical discussion. now for those of you who would observe that you might call it a fight but it was a physical discussion. we didn't know it but my dad was watching us and after he thought it had gone on long enough he called the three of us over to him and he lined us up in front of him. he had in his hands a piece of cord strain. he was sitting on one of those old wooden drink crates. he handed it first to charles and charles and i went to the -- he could not pop it. he took it back and gave it to

cheonan said john you are two years older and stronger. you pop the string. john struggled and they could not pop it. he said james you are the oldest and you are the strongest. you pop the string. i struggled and i could not pop it. he put that string in the palms of his hands and began to rub his hands together. of course the more he rubbed the more friction heat created and of course the more friction he created the more unraveled the cord strain became. in very short order the cord string was in three pieces. he gave one to charles, one to cheonan and one to me. it i said nagl sons, pop the string.

with little effort all three of the path the string. he said boys i want this to be a lesson for you as long as you live. don't you let the little disagreement that prop up, and you caused so much friction until they separate you because if you do the world will pop you apart and you may never know why. i never shared that story publicly and tell my dad's funeral. and that was the first time. they made a remarkable impact on me. still hasn't every time i see a disagreement cropping up among the three of us, that may threaten our future relationships, i stop.

my brother john one time as we were arguing and i said stop the nervous energy. i said haight, stop. you are not going to change my mind and i'm not going to change your mind. let's talk about something else. so that is the way we get along. that turned out to be one of the favorite stories of most of the people around the country. >> one of the things that i noticed in the book is where he spoke about -- following in your father's footsteps and you are second-guessing that decision. i remember couple of years ago when the edgefield community have a community choir that formed a new came down and you were the guest speaker is john

thurmond high school. i remember the speech and the address being so dynamic and tell when you've finished i whisper to the lady sitting next to me i move that we accept congressman -- and we nominate him. [laughter] ..

>> that wasn't working. [laughter] but i decided i would go off in a different direction so i went off to tell my dad. i thought he would be disappointed and was but did not show which. he said to me on that day the world would much rather see a servant and here one. that is the last time we discussed it. so that gave me license so

throughout my entire professional career i've looked back to that. i just realized that i wrote the preface pretty much after i finish the book. and i realized while writing this book and not second-guessing as to whether or not i had done the right thing but i did not feel and it is hard to make this commitment to not live my servants. i did not think i was ready

to live. with the fundamentals i would be preaching. so then as we were about to get married and we got even. [laughter] [applause] i do a lot more drinking in the evenings and taking communion. >> so now it is extremely exciting to me to do your book signing here. so there are people in the audience i wish to talk about the value of education that kids don't seem to value as much as they should. >> garett issa part in this

book that deals with how people react to failure. when i first ran for office 1970 i lost. iran in 1978 and i lost. iran 1986 and i lost. event at the end of that campaign a friend of mine said what are you going to do now? you have just lost for a third time and you know, what they say? three strikes you are out. i said that is the baseball rule. nobody should live their lives by baseball rules.

that young people should live by the state's motto. the state's motto we have to is the one that while i believe, i hope. so every commencement address i give it would be high school or college or law school. i gave them the same message while i breathe i hope. so you should never give up on your dreams and aspirations.

as my mother said to me stay in school study hard. with not a bet -- i would get kicked out of high school for violating a rule. and she said sun, let me tell you something. the silent treatment is nothing i would be living in hell for three months of i space would get out. [laughter] if you can get the problems of the first time try and try again. their parents and grandparents there is is

known caracol limits on how many times you try. and then to give thomas edison credit of one someone to tell me how many times he failed. and nobody goes around to talk about how the times they failed. they still talk to run his success. education is the great equalizer in our society. you don't have to put the value of -- to have to put the value on education and if you fail bin try again.2@yl i fail physics but not

because i could not do it i guess i could but it is hard. is hard when you stand up but so i neglected going to class and failing means you have something to overcome. so if i had quit after losing the third time i never would have become into the house of representatives. [applause]

>> if you probably don't remember maybeck going back to high-school i just want to say one thing it is because of people like you. of for one and one for all. don't let anything keep you from being the best you can be. god bless. i just feel so lucky. [applause] >> there is the scene in the book where president clinton win it gives you a call by how difficult was that? how much did that ketch you off guard and had you

repaired that relationships since? ltd. did catch me off guard. all little after 2:00 in the morning. nothing unusual for me to stay up late like that on election night to. i am looking at this trend across the country so why go from c-span2 msnbc to see what has happened but the phone rang and emily had already gone to bet there was a conversation with another person before the president came on the line and he was pretty upset because his wife had just been defeated pretty decisively in the primary.

and of course, he thought i put my from on the scale save little bit with president obama. so as i say in the book there was no way for me with my daughter angela who is my young guest 45:00 every day down at the obama headquarters almost every night. and jennifer who is older although not actively involved in the campaign back then two grandchildren -- grandchildren so he thought i did not keep the promise i had made.

because south carolina was given the opportunity to be the first day to end the south to have a primary and i was asked if i could stayed neutral they would not aboard to the state. eyeopener and the part of the book in that particular chapter how did you learn that primary? she did not know. until she would ask the question and quite frankly she asks the morning after the primary. not how he will vote but how did you vote? the first time she asked me that.

so i kept my promise but i can understand and i have headmen the conversations since this one an end to sit next together at a funeral. and we chatted that day and many times since and then chatting with her what she was secretary of state so i don't think there was animosity but certainly it was the tough time and i can understand. spouses are that way about spouses. [laughter] >> good afternoon.

and to your family and to ruin the reverend two's leadership i follow here in south carolina. i am a washingtonian here on the cusp of the county line i was on my way to a leadership position when you were in the black caucus. i attended that. and to my amazement i thought you were a congressman of all people i want to congratulate you on the achievements that you have brought battle the to our nation but internationally. being from washington, you have brought together so many people of all races and we thank you. god bless you and your

family. [applause] >> congressman they q for being here today it is truly an honor to witness history in the making and i thank you and your family for coming here today. i ask you a question for your bride? i don't know if she will. [laughter] the reason why i want to say is an addition to my relationship with christ the next most important is my marriage. on earth one of the greatest accomplishments i have.

i know that you mention in your relationship in your book that you have been married 53 years now people are ready to give up on the job of the time. how could you hold them all together it and it's the of him doing things he does and you maintain your identity to me that support? that right there is a message in itself. [applause] >> it has been a challenge. [laughter] i have tried to be realistic about marriage and holding a family together. you have to share and give up a lot. in any case i am giving up

more than he is giving up and in some cases it is the refers. but we tend to do battle politically. [laughter] but when it comes to family we are together. we tried to raise our children to not pitt's mother and fought there against each other so we are pretty calm about that. we just tried to respect each other's believes it is too much trouble to pack up and go someplace. [laughter] [applause]

seven night before the book signing we have fun number of people give me about 60 seconds people that i want to recognize it took a lot to pull this together because this is under construction the first person i want to acknowledge is joanne. our sponsors. so courtney said jason prize our sponsors in addition

there is always a porch. the electress cent -- said attritions pulling the electrical wiring and the board. and the architecture of this building. so meet us outside. bill and beverly sam, the baptist church family, and the of us cater.9 you'll hear great things later on.

and also todd with the camera crew volunteered. the first baptist church allowed us to use their parking space. and those invitations that went out even the safety department. even the boys and girls club and also of c-span2 thank you for beingq]úp here and for what you do to publicize that we feel that we share as well.