>> i am very pleased to welcome you this evening. nearly 40 years ago today richard milhouse nixon resigned his presidency in the wake of one of the most devastating scandals and crises of our government has interpreted the repercussions of events that led to the president's resignation are with us to this day and as rick perlstein argues in his third book, "the invisible bridge" have shaped u.s. political debate or the lack thereof ever since. perlstein is the author of two previous works nixonland, the rise of the president and the fracturing of america a "new york times" bestseller and before the storm, barry goldwater and the unmaking of the american consensus which won the 2001 los angeles times book award for history. his essays and reviews have been

published in "the new yorker," "the new york times," the "washington post" and the nation among other outlets. in his cover essay on the invisible bridge for "the new york times" book review this past sunday frank rich wrote, it says much about perlstein's gift as a historian that he persuasively portrays a silky splendor interlude between the fall of nixon and the rise of reagan as his subtitle has it. not just as a true bottom of our history but also as a rosetta stone for reading america and its politics today. it says much about his talent as a writer that he makes years of lively engrossing and on occasion partly funny. perlstein knows how to sit through a culture for the telling forgotten detail. true to form, perlstein doesn't condescend to this conservative icon and seems to understand him. for now perlstein has taken the story only through the summer of

our bicentennial year but much of what has happened in the nearly four decades since and perhaps much that is yet to come can be found in the pages of his epic work. please welcome rick perlstein. [applause] >> what's wrong with years of font? i'm having a book party next weekend in chicago and we are having a funk djs so i'm thrilled to be here in the house that benjamin franklin built. i had a great day hanging out in the library. this is basically three things going on in this book of mine that covers the years from 1973 to 1976. there is a crisis of confidence that andy talked about and i will be giving examples of that throughout and there's something

else that i find quite salutary. the interviewer asked me me if i'd done anything to be nostalgic about this period and i could have said of course. i was four to seven years old so their nostalgic events for all of us but seriously what i'm nostalgic about is the high level of citizenship that the american people demonstrated during the watergate crisis in the end of the vietnam war and a willingness to take this serious unflinching reckoning with the traditional ideal of america as a providential nation that was outside the rules of history. i was very impressed with that. the third element of the book is how that kind of started melting away and how the word reaganism begins to describe that kind of failure of will, that failure of maturity the american people assigned themselves embracing.

since it's such a big sprawling book one of the fun things about making a presentation is that i can customize them to the city i'm in. i thought for tonight i would focus on a bicentennial year of 1976 and of course that was a celebration that centered around this city. without further ado i'm going to leap into a reading and here we go. at christmastime in 1897 and a girl girl from new york wrote to the newspaper. some of my little friends say there is no santa claus. please tell me the truth. is there a santa claus? >> editor responded for the ages, yes virginia, there is a santa claus. at christmastime in 19752 girls asked the same question of the columnist at the flint journal

and michigan and he wrote back, no gretchen and stacy there is no such man. america was trying to celebrate, it really was. 1976 was rung in with guy lombardo's orchestra leading a sing-along of happy birthday america in philadelphia. it was rolling in with the mid--- midnight right of the liberty bell to a large building for the nation's bicentennial year pay the next morning in pasadena california kate smith offered her famous rendition rendition of god bless america as grand marshal of the rose bowl parade. but streetside revelers who open their copies of "the los angeles times" during the low brought the offerings of columnist robert j. donovan. quote, the inescapable commentary of 1975 several predecessors are sending the

country into bicentennial 1976 in such a state of dissolution and moral confusion that no one is sure how best to celebrate the nation's 200th birthday. you guys know about back? john dean was here last week. that's him being sworn in and basically telling the nation and enormously anticipated testimony that the white house was being run by the mafia then. in cleveland plain dealer editorialized that 1975 was something of an improvement over 1974. whether 1976 may be an improvement over that was a mystery. gas shortage, new york going bankrupt. this is seen during a garbage strike with people burning the garbage that was piling up in the streets. consider that watergate the revelations about the womanizer and would-be assassin of castro, john f. kennedy. that was a year when the bloom

fell off the rose for that great hero. the wave of bombings and kidnappings in america and around the world. this is a tavern in new york. this is the place where george washington gave his farewell address to the troops and ultraleft terrorists bombed it. in 1975 the fbi counted 89 terrorist bombings on american soil for terrorism is no new thing. "the cleveland plain dealer." as "the new yorker" arrives it seems sometimes as modern government is helpless. patty hearst kidnapped in joining the ultraleft gang. we have squeaky from trying and failing to assassinate the president trying to springer hero and mentor charles manson. this is the boston busing crisis. you can see louise day hicks in the middle saying whites have

rights boston fighting running battles with the police over busing and air pollution. the journalist elizabeth drew in her column in "the new yorker" wrote as new yorker wrote as a nation's birthday. we don't seem to know how to celebrate it. there's a vague feeling that merchandisers ride off in cajun and the orders will bore us to death. there's an uneasiness about celebrating our history began so grandly and it doesn't seem so grand anymore. there's the famous evacuation of the american embassy, america leaving south vietnam with its tail between its legs. it would literally looks like a tail. we have president ford writing onto the tarmac in salzberg vienna. salzberg austria and then we have him falling onto the tarmac in salzberg.

if bicentennial news. on june 1 in new york hundreds of glassy-eyed moniz after knocking on doors for weeks plastering the bronx with posters in which they are quote true father raised his arm in a distinctly hitlerian salute managed to half fill a stadium for a half-hour bicentennial american rally. did i pass it? yankee stadium, the middle east. outside yankee stadium a pamphlet war rage. for jesus and for judaism. feuding evangelical denominations hare krishna and national citizens engaged in reuniting families incorporated a member of the anti-colt unification church predicted our children and we want to get them back. another parent of the many disagreed and told a reporter she was glad her 26 euro joe daughter had found something quote genuine.

inside the ballpark high winds scattered red white and blue balloons and after summer school nearly break down the sun yung moon banner that hung between the upper and lower decks of fireworks and a marching band ushered reverend minton opto putting. you just bought a 41 flaura new yorker hotel across the street from madison square garden in the church's world mission center world mission center and face a lawsuit for holding a 19-year-old involuntary servitude and violating labor laws. he helped northern koreans. as the chief deputy a former colonel in the south vietnamese army cried out in simultaneous translation. i hear them in. there are critics who say why is reverend moon so involved in america's bicentennial? it's not that this business. ladies and gentlemen if there is a gnome is in your home do you not need a doctor from outside? at her home catches on fire do not need firefighters from

outside? goddess sent me to america in the role of the doctor in the role of a firefighter. some applauded in creepy unison and others booed. there is moon again. in the 1950s america seems to be the hope of the world. the symbol of america was the city of new york. today however the world has lost faith in american new york is becoming jungle of morality and depravity a city transformed under the attacks of evil. and his point was conveniently illustrated my marauding bands of teenagers putting firecrackers throwing smoke bombs and hurling refuge from the upper deck. in boston that same week someone set fire to the gift shop of the replica of the ship from the boston tea party. two days later a bomb rocked an anonymous calls from the paper and something called the defense leaks of the attacks were in

response to attorney general levy's decision not to intervene in the appeal of judge arthur garrity's segregation decision and more bombs would be forthcoming and forced busing was immediately stopped. boston had lost the competition to the seat of the nation's bicentennial to philadelphia's mayor frank rizzo based a corruption recall drive and was described by writer and the catholic magazine is a racist whose existence should be a national embarrassment. rizzo told a homecoming for the city had become quote a target for attempts at disruption and violence by a substantial coalition of leftist radicals who intend to come here in the thousands to disrupt the rights of the majority coming here to enjoy themselves with their families. he asked for 15,000 federal troops.

memories. the washington d.c. police official testified to the senate internal security subcommittee of security subcommittee of right of groups most of them basically marxist-leninist and some openly terrorist have plans to disrupt bicentennial commanded by the prairie fire organizing committee a support organization for the weather underground at west point. in tired junior class was barred from summer break as punishment in a cheating event. in phoenix on june 2, a 47-year-old investigative reporter for the arizona republic was murdered while pursuing a tip in a corporate corruption investigation when he turned the key in his car's ignition and a bomb planted the floorboard exploded to miami on june 4, $3 million in smuggled cocaine was found in colombia's 203-foot entrance in the festive tall ship race to newport rhode island. the headline was cocaine found on bicentennial should should.

the united nation's world food council released a report predicting a world food disaster by 1985. america's incoming ambassador to lebanon francis e. meloy on his way to present his credentials to the country's president was kidnapped with one of the embassy's economic counselors by the liberation of palestine a division between beirut's christian and muslim sectors. their bullet riddled bodies were found on the beach shortly thereafter. malloy was the second u.s. ambassador to be killed by terrorists in the line of duty during gerald ford's tenure after roger paul davies. i know what you are thinking. six fully rigged vessels collided with one another to start up that tolerate ship race in bermuda and on the lighter side and editorial on abc news with distaste. he noted to have getting remarkably friend that all these presidential primaries

democratic and republican, worked great for the moral health of america. several hundred of the best reporters in the country have an following candidates around. this keeps them from other investigations so anything that is going on maybe at least he won't know about it which is nice for a change trade happy birthday america. so i'm going to take you inside the presidential races for the two parties reported reagan dropped the missouri republican party's weekend convention. delegates have been chosen by congressional districts. this is background remember so a big part of the focus is ronald reagan running for president against a sitting president of his own party and to give away the ending he almost went and almost becomes the first upset against a sitting president in his own party for the nomination since chester arthur.

19 delegates would be chosen here. most of the conventional wisdom argued would have gone to ford the handsome young governor kit bond kit bond and attorney general dan sports were supposed to -- at the podium at the shrine mosque both officials told the delegates they couldn't be reelected on a ticket headed by ronald reagan. bond pointed out that gallup poll showing ford is the better candidate against the democrats likely nominate jimmy carter. then on friday june 11 the president of the united states all but put some 1400 missouri republicans to sleep without flat midwestern drum. the same spot the next day the former governor of california electrified them. and behind the scenes to conservative movement operatives morton blackwell and don devine got to work. ford forces made a motion to

de-credential reagan delegates on technical grounds. this is a typical contested liberal convention that frequently for instance it's a democratic conclave in miami beach that nominated george mcgovern in 1972 a melodrama asking the question of whether the rule should be interpreted to allow delegates to vote in the disposition of their case. this was a political tradition. this delegate fight who gets credentialed in the republican party there was another tradition. conservatives. practice in the art of barter them -- martyrdom half poker style bluffing lighting the accused would get liberal party brandies. phyllis schlafly called in the new york kingmakers of fraud and theft. when challenged conservative delegates were not allowed to speak on their own case or when delegates were allowed to vote on their own case that was challenging.

this time the binding work. blackwell and divine read out agreements on the news conference. thou shalt not steal for the benefit of news cameras. they put together a newsletter decrying all manner of sins by all forces taping their draft to the door of the ford offices and threatening to release it to the papers the next day and must support campaign buckled which after a dramatic night of negotiations the ford campaign did. reagan emerged with an upset, 18 delegates and it would have been 19 have the governor's wife now broken out in tears at the podium begging the delegates to let her husband participate in the convention in kansas city. it was the first state convention after the primary season ended. the reagan forces had scored a coup, humiliating rebuff

according to evans and novak the columnists. the reagan forces had apparently worked those columnists over over to my bbq supporters are the fordyce of trying to quote frighten grassroot diehards into ignoring their hearts and following their pointed president. appointed, remember gerald ford was never look at the "washington post" published an estimate that 71 delegates behind with 259 delegates yet to be decided. our next president, pick one. it quoted the ford and james a. baker, iii an obscure texas attorney had got into politics to help his friend george h.w. bush and whom time called fred baker. check out this baker quote. some of you will remember 2000 laugh in florida. these reagan people don't care. they're absolutely ruthless. are people just aren't used to this uncompromising hardball stuff. and in a letter signed to his

dear friend lorraine wagner the former president of his fan club when he was a movie star reagan wrote about how the ford people had shamelessly railroaded delegates at the convention. then came missouri and we were ready. it's a battle now for each single delegates so we'll go after and decided or shaky ground many predict he know any, let us know. the uncommitted delegates in the republican party each became celebrities. there were "new york times" profiles of some like auto shop owner in rochester or something like that. that's how close it was. time was impressed by the smooth running reagan machine. for months reagan's men burrowed into the bedrock taking control of local parties at the warren precinct level. i read a lot about this stuff in my book about barry goldwater how conservatives have mastered the technicalities of taking over the party from the ground up. wherefore doth his organization

from a top-down reagan built his from the bottom-up. the magazine quoted betty ford sniping at her husband staff. they just sit back complacently thinking the president will be nominated and that is some sort of shoe-in. her husband was pardoned himself in an interview interview with times as they did in the first to admit i'm not an accomplished speaker. elizabeth drew "the new yorker" can't afford friendly congressman who said ford is so inept that we would have been better off that nixon burn the tapes on the back lawn. reagan speeches at the state convention stressed his electability. before he was this crazy guy who couldn't be elected and that was ford's argument. look at a record in california where i was elected in the state where democrats outnumber republicans. almost two to one. he stole a line from the presence of argument that ford was merely regional candidate in minority taste of the northeast and reagan was a national candidate. the national headlines were crazy as usual.

on june 21, 20 for the front page of the "washington post" included the following stories. the senate intelligence committee said yesterday senior officials of the fbi and cs -- cia covered up president kennedy's assassination. this is really the heyday of jfk conspiracy theorists -- there is some. a 19-year-old wheaton illinois woman charged with murder of the beating death of her of the sun told psychiatrists and investigators she was trying to rid the baby of the demon that had possessed him. the united states vetoed the application for u.n. membership because the continuing influences of cuban troops into the west african nation. that same day dr. maurice stade's person of jewish national fund of america was

about to present study forward with the gift to the ceremonial bible when he collapsed bible when it collapsed of a heart attack. the secret service agents sought to revive him the first lady cool and calm. i love betty ford, took the podium to lead the crowd in a silent prayer. reporters began noticing the button showing up on the lapels of republican liberals at state conventions. elex betty's husband. [laughter] by the way you missed the joke. republican liberals. evangelicals and christianity responded cruelly. if they had recently read an interview with reagan reaffirming his bona fides. this is reagan. there has been a wave of humanism and hedonism in the land however i'm optimistic because i sense a great revolution against this but i think there's a hunger in this land for spiritual revival for a return to a belief in moral absolutes, the same morals upon which the nation was founded. when you go across the country meet the people you can't help

but pray and be reminded, and reminded that the god of second chronicles 7:party because the people of this country are not beyond redemption. they are good people and leave the nation has a destiny yet unfilled. he also said there's a widespread but false interpretation in many areas the separation of church and state means separation from god. i don't think he ever should've been expelled from the classro classroom. of pornography you said you can make immorality legal but you cannot make it moral. at the bible he affirmed i've never had any doubt of it being up defined origin. maybe you guys can fool around with that. how can you write off the prophecies in the old testament is the hundreds of before the birth of christ predicted every facet of his life his death and that he was the messiah.

concerning abortion, that it comes down to one simple answer you cannot interrupt the pregnancy without taking a human life. some of you might know as governors and the most liberal abortion law in the country. and he asserted i've experienc experienced -- had an experience that can be described as born again. they captioned up article promising candidate. the same editors did not feel so generous towards ford whose son was an evangelical seminary in. after the first lady was call to prayer. to preserve the doctor saved his life he was pronounced dead in a nearby hospital a short time later. on the weekend of june 26 reagan took only 10 of 42 delegates in minnesota's repugnant party which had post-watergate fit of embarrassment changed its name to the independent republican party but reagan slept all but one of the available delegates in new mexico.

in montana where party officials try to make a truce between the warring factions by dividing the delegation delegation equally by the ford supporter told the "washington post" that the rating -- reagan team quote insisted on a political bloodbath. this is a theme that appears throughout the book. the republican establishment is shocked at the war of the conservative movement. they see politics as this all or nothing struggle between the forces of darkness and light. on june 27, sounds familiar right-click on sounds familiar right quick centered toys of the popular liberation to palestine hijacked an air france plane bound to paris from tel aviv forcing a landing at the airport in uganda where the hijackers divided the passengers into jewish and non-jewish groups splitting the non-jewish go free like not seems -- nazis filling a box were for auschwitz. his a spirit of 70 sixer new jersey and attempt to become the first man to photo the planet. he abandoned the deflating craft

broke three ribs and was retrieved by a soviet ship. reagan's advisers announce a series of television broadcast or reposition issues washington reported. maybe the star reporters the fellow whose book i signed earlier, to make it easier for voters identify with his conservative ideology where he spoke of the free enterprise system. he will now stress jobs. there'll be an effort to moderate his image john sears told a reporter. we are starting to reposition for the fall. on july 1 joseph kraft reported a leak that ford change his mind was considering reagan for his running mate. james rustin to "new york times" columnist approved partially. in fact the vice presidency of award for the possibility of a leading to the presidency is almost perfect for ronald reagan. decorative, theatrical and not too much work. reagan did not approve of the idea himself.

he said only the lead horse gets a change of view. he was adamant. the notion of an ideological balance ticket was that political abomination. that's a bit of foreshadowing. he chose his running mate at the convention your own senator richard schweiker to his very liberal. on the front page of the "washington post" on july 2 woodward and bernstein turn turn their investigatory attention to the republican miasma confronting a senator from wyoming quit hanson with evidence he had promised seven delegates in exchange for measures to enhance the state oil and gas revenue. he denied it. the investigative reporters cross examinations he cracked. well, maybe i did, okay i did. dan you. on july 3 rawness and dissolve the story. he's the white house press secretary. asking reporters why the trading delegates signed an energy bill that kept him from winning in

texas. then, on july 4, the president embarked on a busy day of travel to culminate an appearance on the deck of the carrier uss nashville to watch the sale into new york harbor accompanied by seven special guests all uncommitted delegates. okay, the 4th of july. if you awoke and tuesday and opened the sunday funnies and empty the member of the suspicious circles doonesbury provided a comforting dose of cynicism. a plantation slave hears the bills of an operation as hey is that freedom i hear ringing, the freedom bell i hear ringing? his master returned something for the morning newspaper that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. the slave asks, does that mean what i think it means? the master answers, probably not

sammy. the slave concludes you mean jefferson sold us out? there is that 70's attitude of skepticism towards the pieties bedbound americans together in the past. the previous evening in philadelphia frank rizzo had hissed out a warning could i hope nothing happens but a lot of people are coming to this town that are bent on violence. amtrak closed luggage lockers and stations along the northeast corridor precaution against those who might use them to hide bombs. the people's bicentennial commission promised a hundred thousand marchers on washington to declare independence from big business. there was plenty then for skeptics to feast upon when america celebrated its 200th birthday party but the skeptics turned out to be lonely. everyone else forgot their fears and had fun. john adams of the declaration of independence was signed in 1976 to be solemnized with pomp and parade shows games bonfires and

illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward and for evermore. and so it was beginning for light first reached the north american continent high atop atop marseilles mountain in maine when nbc and cbs began 16 hours of live coverage with the raising of the bicentennial flag to the accompaniment of a 15 gun salute. came next parades and picnics. kids in their crate paper draped bikes clinging firetrucks clambake sack races barbecues, nostalgia. a grateful nation drank in so much ice cold lemonade. america the beautiful land of the free home of the brave my country 'tis of thee this land is your land and it all felt very good. suspicious circles pre. dan. the president began his long weekend dedicating the air and space museum on the national

mall in washington d.c.. he led a ceremony that unveiled the continuous 76 or display the nations copies of the decoration of independence and the constitution minuet by hollywood to pennsylvania where 2000 covered wagons from all 50 states camped out in anticipation anticipation. there he signed a bill establishing this sacred site where general washington's continental army camped out over the frigid winter of 1777 and 78 the scroll of 22 million names of americans pledging to rededicate themselves to the principles of the declaration of independence. our bicentennial is the happy birthday up all 50 states he said clamoring with boyish glee up to the seat of a covered wagon representing his home state of michigan. he was buried next to philadelphia. a little tribute to philadelphia. [laughter] i mentioned that. one of the things that was a

feature of the 70s culture was nostalgia in this whole idea of having his world war ii depression era when kate smith sang the national anthem at this working-class shrine. you know on broad street was very much a piece of that. he was next. to philadelphia where where precisely at 2:00 p.m. he told the centennial bell 13 times the liberty bell was too fragile. one of thousands of bills nationwide from church towers and town halls in front yards of the decoration was set to announce. he then gave his first of six speeches that day. the world may or may not follow that they will leave because our whole history says we must. queen elizabeth ii stood by his ip she caused a stir by touching the liberty bell. visiting boys choir from paris the italian neighborhoods delighted children. a 49,000-pound cake was displayed to an even bigger cake and baltimore celebrate the cake

at fort mchenry that is by the star spangled banner, to be delirious fun. for america's sacred days no displays of military weaponry like in those other less idealistic nations. a super bowl of superlatives that columnist in columbus ohio called it the biggest the loud as the best and brightest a blurb extravaganza months in anticipation to the 60-foot squared cherry pie on display in the town of george washington. the world record-setting pole setter to sending from his perch in his years in san jose. a goofball arrived in the city of brooklyn -- brotherly love after pushing a watermelon all the way from georgia. in hawaii the telescope observatory focused 200 light-years away onto a sensor that triggered a switch to transmit the current that real at the lantern of the old church

in boston as the uss constitution boomed its guns for the first time in a century and a 21-gun salute. a woman in peoria shouted to her reporter of a passing parade, it makes you want to delete in the country. the presidential helicopter alighted atop the uss nashville in new york harbor. millions en masse on both sides of the hudson. 200,000 people in weehawken new jersey alone. they witnessed the magical parade of 224 tall ships and thousands of small boats in the city where the democrats would hold their nominating convention in a few weeks, in a week. in the present was up to washington d.c. to review an 18-foot pageant of freedom depicting the nations history culminating with the 1969 moon shot. suddenly the nation's capital

was not a seed of wickedness and dissolution. it was lawns honeycombed with happy families, and museums bursting and after darkness fell the damnedest fireworks the world had ever seen in the words of the chairman of the convening group. happy birthday usa. and the president saw it was good. he bade his countrymen good night from the office. the nation has not been able to right every wrong to correct every injustice were to reach every worthy goal but for 200 years we have tried and we will continue to strive to make the lives of individual men and women of this country and on this earth better lives more hopeful and happy more prosperous and peaceful, more fulfilling and free. before his own head hit the pillow he would recollect he declared a personal victory. well jerry he told himself i guess we field america -- healed

america. i guess he said he healed america when he was sworn in on august 9, 1974 but us americans are losing and regaining our innocence. the day after was almost hard to remember the keynote to the preparations had been the ambivalence and embarrassment. the ambivalence of the nation were made months earlier 68% of citizens told gallup pollsters of the government consistently lying. indeed when oberlin ohio was chosen as a staff on the wagon train the local newspaper editors confessed nothing but apprehension. they reported the bicentennial has really not caught on across the nation. in a special bicentennial edition of the paper in april that it reflected the celebration had been conceived more out of obligation and desire. for the choice of red white and blue decorations the dominant tone seems to be blue. and of course that and of course the end of course that they are bribed and the same editors change their minds.

our apprehensions were unfounded they wrote. america truly does have a heritage to celebrate this year in the wagon train made part of that heritage come to life for us. a lot of people agreed. the best part of that was that his supreme characteristics were goodwill good humor and after long night of paralyzing self-doubt good feelings about the u.s.. and "newsweek" it's nice for promoting a country for change rather than pulling it down and of course the president. after two centuries there still something wonderful about being an american he said while turning immigrants and citizens at monticello. we cannot express what it is. you know what it is or you would not be here. an ap special correspondent and a piece headlined nations hunger to feel good erupts and of patriotism exulted now that they turned out to be a big warm surprise party. the grim clichés of more than a decade of american allies the

sick society were scarcely heard in the land, praise god. he said less were approachable and indians were less militant and paused in their march to equality. it's a good thing and that the young were less critical. the birmingham news. america turned a corner on a self-induced illness of the spirit and stretched its psyche and a burst of national joy and celebration. self-induced. throw a big party and the illness was gone. card-carrying charter members of the suspicious circles tried on the sort of simple patriotism associated with the followers of reagan, some for the first time and they discovered that they liked it. thank you. [applause]

we have 20 minutes for questions. and they stream for the exits like at yankee stadium. >> so what exactly is your argument about this shift to patriotism and how substantial is that and how much was that just a cathartic irruption, distraction from the skepticism? >> let me back up a little bit on the politics. she is asking me kind of how big of a deal was this politically this kind of retreat from skepticism. let me describe the skepticism a bit.

so in 1973 nixon declares the end of vietnam war and the kinds of things you begin to see in the median of popular cultural art quite extraordinary. mainstream newspapers start talking about the crimes using that word that america committed in vietnam. a shouting match breaks out on the florida state senate in albany new york when a representative proposes and americans support our fighting men and vietnam days and another another liberal representative says well why should we be celebrating? what they were doing was disastrous for this country. you had sa showed the first energy crisis. this memorial day of 1973. people were saying we shouldn't have the indianapolis 500 because it ways to because it ways to much gas and maybe we

should us just extinguish the eternal flame at john f. kennedy's great because it wasted much gas. it was kind of silly that people were beginning to think critically about what it might mean for america to achieve energy independence and what it might mean for energy to be a scarce commodity and thinking very seriously about doing things like nationalizing the energy companies which were reaping windfall profits at the same time americans weren't able to afford their home heating oil. but then there was the other side. ronald reagan said well it's not really a problem. people should turn off the lights in their house when they are on their way from room to room to watch tv. he literally said that. we had in 1975 after this extraordinary process, this extraordinary movement of civic engagement and which the ratings

for these day after day watergate hearings were just astronomical through the roof, people sitting and watching for hours and hours as the most abstruse and basic questions of constitutional governance were being debated by senators in an extremely serious way. people really beginning to reckon with the fact that our leaders might have feet of clay and that they were leading us astray and the next year in 1974 this extraordinary act of bipartisan political will that lead to the impeachment of richard nixon there really wouldn't have happened unless people were really willing to look hairy stringently at things that they were willing to look the other way at previously. the next year you have this extraordinary investigation of the cia and fbi and nsa by the church committee. it's discovered that the nsa is for example collecting the

telegrams that americans sent overseas overnight and from the telegram companies. it's discovered that the fbi has in the 60s had tried to get martin luther king to commit suicide after he was nominated for the nobel prize. discovered that the cia was running assassination squads. all this stuff that really to my mind spoke to a nation really kind of maturing, really sort of growing up and emanuel kant said that defined enlightenment is mankind coming into its own majority. ..

>> >> he added the word shining and that it basically you don't have to worry. with america did was write just by virtue of being america. i tell us story in the book christophe's being the

governor of california he had a radio show. with the liturgy of absolution. when all the refugees came from of vietnam's in 1975 it is like now with those from honduras. but when it was discovered that is what was in the air. reagan gave the speech with his radio address but the press was covering up uss midway rescuing children and widows and orphans. it was almost a gospel

according to reader's digest like it was cured in sailors were giving children there ba thin he quoted by is the 12th with his famous'' of the world can always look to america with as a world begin into a listing from the radio address that the whole purpose of the uss midway was to wrestle with that. and look from 1976 people felt such a relief in that is why it is so important.

and jimmy carter and ronald reagan takes them off. and ronald reagan says there is nothing wrong that cannot be fixed. that is a story i am telling how we go from this astringent recognizing what is wrong with america that in order to be successful politicians make that invocation to live in the best of all worlds that ameritech is exceptional. when barack obama nominated cement the power that academic to be an ambassador she had published an article 10 years earlier saying

america is responsible around the world. but senator rubio the republican of florida looked her in the eye and asked her to elaborate what does america have to apologize for? she responded america is the greatest country in the world we have nothing to apologize for. [laughter] if you're interested in how that happened, look in the book. >> and from washington. but why is it is the turmoil of the post watergate years that the democrats open the way for ronald reagan? >> edits a big question when

jimmy carter we always talk about the pundits the wood is always in the ascendancy. that establishment is taking over and eric cantor is knocked out. we saw when clinton was elected we saw the pundit reporting on the primary elections in california. in his seen his last days and as he leaves the congress but jimmy carter was pretty conservative in

with other contemns for congress the first thing he did and canceled the dam projects because you that they were wasteful. and he said in the white house if you want jimmy carter to do something and he managed the presidency very poorly and had some really bad luck. and also he nominated paul volcker. but what he did he had a mandate to to induce a recession to bring the terrible inflation and

interest rates. and it worked in jimmy carter also suspected he would not be reelected. and by the way the republicans did terrible and they said reaganomics was dead but by 1984 the economy did turnaround. reagin renominated paul volcker. but then in the form of walter mondale the way to answer this question is with the iran hostage crisis. and maybe jimmy carter was asking some hard questions making hard demands on the

population with that bligh reef optimism with those supporters it was a nation preferred. >> steadying decades of the incredible growth and movement in america with that progressive movement what are the biggest things they're not doing that they should from the past? >> republicans are very frustrated that democrats winning elections. >> the idea that government should be used to strengthen the economic prospects of

the middle-class of economic populism associated with franklin roosevelt who had no problem calling up business executives that is anything short of evil and fireside chats. the democrats slowly began to abandon that. not so much from the '90s but even beginning in the '70s i tell the story of the democrats coming after watergate called though watergate babies men who have not even held office before and their leader was a young charismatic guy in his name was gary hart and his slogan was we're not just a bunch of little hubert humphrey's that meant

we are not new deal politicians. and he would have his liberals as the democrats and was praised from commentary magazine without rising coalition there was the abandoning of that lunchpail populism. with senator from wisconsin love to talk about how the government spent too much money on these social -- social programs now they are wasteful with that unilateral surrender the campaign finance then they see people like ronald reagan in winning and if you

would get the agenda of the democratic party after world war ii a big part of it was we need to make the control of corporations more democratic that will change to control the workplace it is like something from another planet and robert wagner who was national labor relations act said unless we have stronger rules controlling what bosses can do to workers they can violate the 13th amendment they suffer involuntary servitude. is it any wonder that white working-class voters could hear the racist backlash of

it is their fault? all that stuff said democrats want to get there mojo back with they want to have a divided government in the dominant force them look to other people like elizabeth warren then money just blows into the coffers but the democratic establishment is terrified one more question. >> nixon in his own word if i am not mistaken said i

don't know what to do with myself. that is the stories news. and reagan as well laypeople should be doing his job? >> if i understand of question correctly what are the roles of the world war ii generation to forge his generation of politicians? is that it? >> but the thing about nixon

is he just tried to tell the truth to the people before he died that i was just working for somebody but i would think that's that i am quoting him i am sure i'll quoting him right but i was looking for a job. and then in that euphoria he did not have a plan to go into politics. >> a think the mistake you are making is trusting any

thing richard nixon ever said. [laughter] he funded his first congressional campaign with $10,000 that he won from poker. so that was his game with this modest guy who was put upon with us well and i talk about how he started a social club in college in basically it was his constituency called the silent majority in the '60s. i think even antonin scalia said the supreme court vision if there were questions a mentally retarded person should be

victims of capital punishment to fit was cruel and unusual. but a threshold with the margin of error and literally scalia said all the scientists want to tell the people who does and does not deserve to be executed? these scientists think they know more than you this is that civil populism puts itself into the appeal that it is the ideology of the elites and pat nixon does not have a mink coat but the patterns reverse themselves over again with the midwestern upbringing and we

all are in a log cabin here in america that is our time. i cannot wait to sign books. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

>> i will quote tolstoy the all happy families are like in each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. are you maria? which i think that means if you're going to write the book that one was an interesting challenge to go with it and both of these authors to they have written fabulous books very different books about their families when i was thinking about this i teach at university of texas in a make students make films and they show them about people's families