two years old he learned the alphabet. at four he learned to read and he could recite long passages of tennyson and longfellow because he mother wanted him to bev that kind of kid. the mother was college educated. wanted to be a writer. she had met her husband, when he interviewed him and so this mother really -- he said when he would recite these passages she would hug him so much, she was so proud of him that he felt like he would be smothered to death. ... >> he had wine and cheese,

automatic trappings. he said more than any other woman i've known, my heart sank. then he says, you remind me of my mother. [laughter] it was pretty embarrassing given what was going on in my mind but i guess somehow i was at harold and i was an intellectual. even though he had those talents when he was young, all he wanted was to follow his father. after a while, he only wants to read books. he would say, is it real? is it someone in history? he wanted to go with his father on the campaign trail. he wants to go to the state legislature and politics became his love. the father and mother never got along very well so she's in one of the other was complicated. because he never did well in school, because he was to restless to sit. even though he had that extraordinary mind, he always felt he would never be

appreciated by harvard. his father said if you brush up against the dry stone of life, you'll have more polished than any of those harvard and yale people did. is that i always wanted to believe him but i never could. even when i was first starting to work for him and he wanted me to work full-time for him as i couldn't, i was going back to harvard to start teaching. he said all are nothing. so i thought i wasn't going to go. the last day of his presidency he said, all right, part-time. he said it's not so easy to get people to work for you when you're no longer at the height of their power. is that i won't forget what you're doing for me. is a don't let those harvard's get to you. don't let them make you hate me. always that feeling for the larger world he could have been a part. >> as a young man, that people think was father was a state legislator, not a wealthy or particularly educated, that he

would be president of the united states? is that a dream for lyndon johnson? >> yes. once he gets into politics, is an absolute natural. when he was young, he was the real new deal congressman did he wanted to do for people what would help people. he meets fdr for the first time when he was president. he is a real ãi was about to say something i can't say on television. he was a natural storyteller point he could make up things, let us say it that way. [laughter] >> he knows fdr is going fishing. he knows nothing about fishing and he starts talking to how much he loves fishing. they get along terrifically. fdr tells somebody, i just met this amazing young congressman. he's the kind of uninhabited pro- i would have been had i not gone to harvard. i think someday he may be the

first - - president of the united states. >> let's talk about the depression crises that each of these men experienced. earlier in their career and lives. abraham lincoln gets to the point where he's almost suicidal. they were so afraid he may commit suicide, they took away razor blades and so forth. what were the things that caused this enormous depression? >> what happened to lincoln as he broke his word to his constituents and mary when he asked her to enter your engagement. for him, his word meant everything. he promised his constituents that he would bring infrastructure projects into their area so they can get their goods to market. stretching the harbor, making roads. and then a huge recession hit the state and theyhad to to sto the project midway. he was blamed. he took responsibility for it and said he would leave the state legislature. at the same time, he broke his engagement with mary. not sure if he could support a

wife. but he knew what it meant to hurt to be humiliated. the fact he heard these people, that he hurt his constituents was so painful that he went into a suicidal depression. he stayed in his room for weeks. his friends came and as you say, took away all knives and scissors from his room. his best friends at lincoln, you must rally or you will die. he said i know that. i would just do some dive right now that i've not yet accomplished anything to make any human being the member that i've lived. field by that were the ambition, always from the beginning he had this double ambition. not just for himself or doing something large and that. he will finish out the legislature and then he loses twice for the senate. and yet, instead of the undoing his ambition, he says we've made a mark on its enduring problem of the age. slavery. he has this debate with stephen

douglas. and he still losing twice is willing to try for the presidency and the rest as they say is history. >> so he was engaged to her and he broke off the relationship and why did he decide to go back? you might talk about his earlier girlfriend who died. >> the hardest thing for lincoln was that death surrounded him. his mom died when he was only nine years old point his only sister died in childbirth. the hard thing was when his mother died, she didn't say we will be in another world. she simply said abraham i'm going away from you and i shall never return. that's when he began to be assessed with what happens to us after we die. when hebegan to think , if i can only accomplish something bitter maybe somebody will remember me after i die and they will still be telling the story of me. it was true i think of people who studied this more and more.

when he first met mary, i think he really did care greatly for her. she loved poetry, drama, she came from an educated, wealthy family. she was one of the few people at the time that left politics. she'd come to live with hersist in springfield and she was married to the then governor. when he first asked her to dance she said mary i want to dance with you in the worst way point after they finished the dance, she said, you certainly did. >> by coincidence, who was the other suitor to marry mary? >> stephen douglas. that's what was so amazing. it was a small circle of these politicians. >> dating someone who was six foot four and someone was four foot six. >> she'd have to stretch or go back down. >> let's talk about teddy roosevelt. he has an experience like that no one wants to go through on one day that put him into a

depression. >> he's in the state legislature and his wife alice, who he dearly loved. he fell in love with her at harvard. she was a beautiful young woman was having their first child. he got a telegram saying alice's child was born. they were all celebrating the and our leader he gets another telegram saying you must come home immediately. your mother is dying and alice is dying too. the mother had come to take care of alice. shewas only 49 years old and she got typhoid fever . goes back home immediately, his brother meet him at the door and says the curse on this house. he goes inside, his mother is dying. shedies at 3:00 a.m. . 12 hours later, alice died in childbirth. they said he walked around in a dazed, stunned state. he previously had gotten a ranch that he might go now and

then and he went for two years and became essentially a cowboy. he said as long as he could ride his horse 15 hours a day, physical activity prevented over thought i was finally able to sleep at night. later he said this was the best educational asset he could've possibly developed because he developed this love of the land. that was permanently associated with his name for conservation measures. >> the daughter who was born named alice. why would he not really mention her name ever. why did he ignore her? he had his sister raising her. >> and get a very cavalier attitude toward death. once alice died, he couldn't bear to say the name was named alice. he only called her baby. he couldn't bring her up because heshe reminded him so

much of his wife that died. he was friendly with a woman named edith who was in love with him. when he started to get healthy, he started corresponding with edith and in the end he had a marriage with her that was a lifelong marriage. a whole bunch of kids. somehow, when something hurt him in the past. unlike lincoln who talk endlessly about people in the past and who wanted to remember them, he thought if something is gone, you exercise it from your mind. >> when his wife and mother died in the same day, he wrote a letter that said the light had gone out of his life. he essentially got his life is over. the idea he would ever become president at that time certainly didn't exist in his mind. >> before this all happened to

him, he looked at his life as many people do when their ambitious as a series of the best that he'd like to go up. i'm in the state legislature, then i'd like to be in the congress and then senator and then who knows after that. once this fatalistic thing happened, he decided can't plan your life that way anymore. i'm just going to take whatever job looks good at the time right can broaden my horizons. so he comes back to new york and he becomes a civil service commission are in washington. his friend say that is way below you, you have huge talent. then he becomes police commissioner of new york. they say why in the world are you doing that? it turned out to be an extraordinary experience for him. he's walking the streets at night. he made himself in the police department, he would disguise himself so he could walk on the beat between 12-4 a.m. and see

if the policeman were on the beat. they didn't recognize him. he would say finally, i am the police commissioner, why aren't you on your beat? and what those experiences, then he becomes a soldier in the spanish-american war. then governor, then vice president and president. he had the broadest experience bid and he was the youngest president. he said he learned - - he was not self-conscious anymore going into places he might never go. it's one of the things that saddened me about the last election. that political experience was considered a handicapped. in his case, it broadened him. it made him learn other ways of life that he from his background would have never known. >> for lincoln and teddy roosevelt, the problems they had in life were somewhat psychological. franklin roosevelt has a physical problem.

how did that come about?>> he's up at camp - - and he doesn't feel well one morning. he goes out and exercises all day and he comes home so tired he can't even take off his bathing suit. he goes to bed. within 48 hours, he was paralyzed from the waist down. haven't gotten polio. years of striving would follow him. it changed his life. no question. when he was in a wheelchair in the early days and they told him the only chance he really had was to strengthen his upper body. so he would asked to be taken out of the wheelchair put on the library floor so he could crawl around the floor so that his bat would get stronger. then he decided to crawl up the stairs and he would hoist himself one at a time holding onto the banister. sweat pouring down his face. eleanor said the actual everything was when he made it to the top, they would celebrate as of the mountain had climbed.

she realized when these wounds were celebrated, he began to get his joy in life back again. it had been a terrible depression when he got not only that he be paralyzed but he thought his own ambitions and politics would be undone. at that point, yet not only been in the state senate, assistant secondary of the navy and a vice presidential candidate. so he was definitely thinking he was going somewhere. the polio changes that possibility or so it seemed. amazingly, in 1924, al smith was running for the presidency. they asked franklin roosevelt who hadn't been in public since the polio would give the nominating speech. you know he would have to somehow go from there to the podium. i feel the way he could appear to be walking, he couldn't walk on his own power. was if he had braces locked in place and he could lean on someone's arm. he practiced for weeks at home. measuring the steps he could do. leaning on the - - of his arm.

when he finally got to the podium, sweat pouring down his face but he delivered this happy, warrior speech. he comes home that night and says, we made it. much more importantly, though not ready to go into public life, he still thinks he can't be a politician or president unless you learned had a walk. but he goes to - - springs because he hears that the hot water is can help you. once he gets there, something much larger happens. he develops into a rehab center. the first real rehab center. using the water to help their muscles but he wants people with polio to enjoy themselves again. he arranges dances and poker games. he learns what's it like to make other people feel better. he emerged different from that whole experience. completely warmhearted with an understanding of other people that have also been dealt an

unkind hand. >> it wasn't a secret to most people in the political world that he had polio. but most people in the united states probably didn't know it. why was it that the press was willing to go along with the idea of never photographing him in his wheelchair? >> it's an extraordinary thing. even the people understanding of polio, they didn't understand he was a paraplegic. everyone around him made a code of honor that they would never photograph him or show him with his braces on. in 1936, when he came to give the acceptance speech, he was being helped to walk down the aisle been reached over to shake the hand of somebody and he fell at his braces unlocked. he finally said to the secret service, get me together again. theyput his braces on , get him on the podium and he delivers the speech. most importantly, not a word was said in the press that he

had fallen. when i think about where we've come since then when president bush and japan, when - - we can't wait to find them in those embarrassing situations. it was a code of honor. if a new photographer came along not knowing and tried to take a picture. an old one would knock the camera out of his hand. there was a dignity to the presidency. you wish he didn't have to feel that way. but he made the decision then that that was not possible. if he said that in his political instincts are better than mine. and i salute him. there was a sense that there was a way of treating people with the gritty and the way the press handles politicians that i wish would happen today. >> the depression is something only lyndon johnson thought was comparable. he lost an election. can you describe why that would be such a big thing? >> at the last minute he lost

and it did catapult them into such a depression because for him, it was a repudiation of his deepest self. that's what he was. he was a politician. he loved his wife and children but politics had to fill this big hole that was too hard to fill without politics being there. what happened is he went into a decline. sometimes these adversities can send you backwards instead of forward. he decided he would pursue wealth instead of just working as he always had in politics. he turned his back on the new deal. he realized if he ever one another senate seat, texas was becoming increasingly conservative. so he would have to become conservative as well. when he gets into the senate, he pursues power and becomes incredibly powerful he becomes majority leader. the incredible thing is he has

a second big anniversary six months after he became majority leader. he had a nearly fatal heart attack. when he was in the hospital he began to say, he's in the proximity of death. if i died now, what would i be remembered for? all of these people are so interesting that they think about that. something larger than maybe what ordinary people think about. then he comes back to the senate and becomes the progressive person he had once been. he gets the first civil rights bill through the senate. it's the opening of doors to civil rights. and then when he gets the presidency, that becomes the thing he wants to do. to do something he will be remembered for any becomes civil rights. >> in the election, he could have won that election but he thought it was stolen from him. did he resolve never to let that happen again? >> in those days in 1941 and then in 1948, people knew there were certain counties where you could put as many votes and as

you wanted to. they could just make people go add up extra votes. so you usually would wait to say how many votes you had or how many you needed when you know how close you were to the other guy. he was so short he had one, he wanted to make it happen earlier so he announced he had x number of votes and then he was carried around. the other guy had his counties put more votes in his county. so he happens to win. so in 1948, he reversed the process. >> let's go through the leadership examples you go through in your book.you cited many. in the case of abraham lincoln. obviously a great leader but you cite principally the emancipation proclamation. why do things that is an example of great leadership? >> if i may say something first, in dealing with leaders, i realize all of them lived in turbulent times. that's the title of the book,

leadership in turbulent times. think about it, it's become more relevant now than it was when i thought about it five years ago. each one of them faced an extraordinary situation. in lincoln's case, he comes into office and the civil war is about to begin. the country is on fire. it's divided into two. he said if he's ever known the terror of what he would face, he doesn't think he would have lived through it. the big question is when the war starts, it's predominantly being fought to win the union. he always hated slavery and there were people were hoping even at the beginning of his presidency, that he would do something about liberating the slaves at the same time as preserving the union. he was stuck by the idea that the constitution protected slavery in those states. and he knew most of the union army was fighting simply to

preserve the union and not to emancipate the slaves. as the war went on and as the north was doing so badly in the peninsula campaign and the summer of 1862, he went to visit soldiers which he always did in the middle of any battle. to visit the wounded in the hospital and to get a sense of the situation while he was there, he began to realize more and more, that the slaves were helping the confederates and an enormous way. serving as teamsters, cooks, tending the plantations so that the soldiers can be liberated to come to the battlefield he realized he had powers as the commander-in-chief that is something were a military necessity, he could use those powers. he went to the soldiers home and he was able to think this through. he came to his cabinet that i'm going to issue an emancipation proclamation as commander-in-chief because the south is benefiting from the

slaves. if we take that benefit away, it will help the north. some in his cabinet didn't agree and thought it would make the midterm elections lose. but somehow he has so created a sense of trust in him that they didn't make their disagreements public. then he had to convince the army when first were upset about the idea. but so trusting had the army become in him because he get visitvisited them so many times that they went along with it. in january - - makes the emancipation proclamation real. there was a lot of outcry even at that point. when he went to sign the emancipation proclamation, his hand was shaking. that morning had been a huge new year's reception and handshake and 1000 hands. when he went to sign the proclamation, his own hand was numb and shaking. he put the pen down. he said if ever my soul was in

an act, it's in this act. but if i sign with a shaking hand, - - said i hesitated. so he waited until he could have is that he hand a steady hand. - - when he said i would die now but i haven't done anything to make a human being the member that i've lived. he said to joshua, i hope in this emancipation proclamation that my final hope will be realized. >> - - you wrote about 500 pages or so in the book.it's only 3-4 pages, the movie is a separate story. but it's about the 13th amendment. why did we need the 13th of them and after we had the emancipation proclamation? >> what was so wonderful about the movie is even though they

chose a smaller subject, the 13th amendment. it still gave everything i cared about, most importantly that lincoln would have cared about about his character. his humor. his melancholy. his storytelling ability point his moral convictions. his political genius. that was the important thing to show. spielberg wanted daniel day-lewis to play lincoln from the beginning that he had not said yes to the small horizontal script. when he finally said yes, he knew he had gotten his man. the reason why it was so important was that lincoln worried once the war came to an end that the military necessity would no longer be a valuable - - a viable way to have undone the constitution. so he wanted a permanent constitutional amendment that would end to slavery forever. >> let's talk about teddy roosevelt. there are many examples of

leadership he gave you. what was it about the coal strike? >> i try to choose moments that were pivotal in each one of their presidencies. partly because i knew i didn't want the book to be as sad as some of these other books are. when a woman read the - - she said she was reading at home at night and she fell asleep and it broke her nose. [laughter] >> i said i'm going to try to make this book on leadership not as fat. so i chose these pivotal moments. in teddy's case, there was a six-month strike between the miners in the coal barons. in new england, cole was the only way you got fuel. as winter and fall were coming, hospitals were closing down, schools were closing. it could have been a national emergency. the problem for teddy roosevelt was the president had no precedent to inconvenientinterv.

he had to begin to see the idea that there were three parties to this strike that labor, management and the public. he represented the public. so he started to go around on a train to talk to people and create public sentiment to tell people perhaps the president did have power to get involved because the public was involved. beloved to go sometimes six weeks in the spring and the fall and he would stop at little stations along the way. he would continue to go and wave to people who would just be standing on the track in these small there's a great story that he's waving frantically at a group of people and they're not responding, rather coldly. until because of his nearsightedness, he was waving

frantically at a herd of cows. the president has a stewardship role and decides finally to invite both sides to the white house. never had labor-management come to the white house before. as was so different than what we imagine now. they have this really unproductive meeting because the coal barons won't even talk to the minors. they say were not talking to these guys, they are outlaws. we can't have a conversation with them. but he had a stenographer take notes.the minor guys happened to be very open. they actually suggested arbitration. they said if you put into arbitration whatever you decide, we will go with you. the coal barons that were not even listening to these guys. so he publishes the whole meeting and it sounds terrible on the part of the coal barons. so they decide they will go to arbitration. so teddy it's j.p. morgan to

suggest it. they get together, they settle it. on both sides. it really was a simple of a square deal which was a program that really symbolizes his entire presidency. the rich and the poor, the capitalist and the wage worker and that's how he made his mark. >> fdr may be associated with the leadership of helping us win world war ii. but you focus in your book on something that happened when he just took office. we were in a depression. hoover had not been able to solve the depression but what does fdr do that sets a good example of leadership? >> the real thing he has to face when it comes into the office is it's a terrible banking crisis.in the weeks before he was inaugurated, banks were collapsing because people were going to banks that were collapsing so they started

to go to their own banks to take money out. long lines and the banks didn't have deposits on hand to give money back. so it was becoming violent. so he decides the very first day he will call what he calls a bank holiday. close the banks for a week until he can get congress into session and get them to shore up the weaker bank with currency that needed the money. almost like a bailout of the banks. they do it, they know which banks are strong and which ones aren't. but then he has to persuade the public that what he's done will make it safe to bring their money back again. he decides to give the first of the fireside chats on the radio which becomes a symbol of his entire presidency. in very simple terms he explained how banks work. he said you put your money in the bank, they don't put in a vault. they invested. in mortgages, businesses, to keep the economy going.

what's happened in the situation is some of those banks invested in the stock market. the stock market fell so they didn't have the cash on hand. so were going to help those banks and we will figure out which is strong but if you bring your money back to the bank the next monday, it's safer than keeping it under your mattress. there are long lines all across the country and they worried but they're bringing their money back. they bring satchels in because of his word. they trusted his word. and then those fireside chats become the most important way he communicates to the people. that first one was followed by 29 more. his voice was so reassuring. people felthe was coming into the living room . - - has this memory of being in chicago on a hot summer night. is walking down the street and he looks inside and everyone sitting with their radio on and there watching the radio and

there listening to his voice. his voice came out the window and he said you could walk down the street and not miss a word of what he said. there's a story of a construction worker going home one night and his friend said, where are you going? is it my president is coming into my living room, it's only right that i greet him when he arrives. - - [indiscernible]. [applause] >> - - had an ambitious legislative program but many didn't get so far. when lyndon johnson becomes president, he decides i'm going to push kennedy's agenda. one thing is the civil rights legislation. why was it so important to him and how could he being from a

southern state that wasn't really interested in integration and his best friends in the senate were not integrationists, how did he manage to pull that off? >> knew he had to do something to show and grabbed the reins of power. there was a real vacuum when john kennedy was killed. many people had no idea who lyndon johnson was. he decided he would make his first priority passing the civil rights bill that had installed. somebody was writing, the republic was not going to live if congress couldn't figure out how to get something done together. his friends warned him, if you do this, a southern filibuster will inevitably materialize. you will get any other bill through. you'll be expending all of your power of the presidency on this one thing. he said to that person, what the hell is the presidency for

then? is that unlike a poker player. i will put all my chips on one thing. i think he believed if he could get this out to desegregate, it would be better for the south. even though they may not believe it at the time. he believes the civil rights movement was at a stage or something had to be done or violence or problems would arise. he took that risk. it was one of the great moments of his presidency. despite the fact he did so much more in the next 18 months. medicare, medicaid. npr. pbs. immigration reform. and voting rights. and fair housing. when i knew him and those last days at the ranch, there was such a sadness as he talked about these 18 months and how extraordinary it was that he got congress to do things. that bill would have never have passed in my judgment.

he needed the republicans to break the democratic filibuster. so he had drinks with them every night. what do you want in illinois? do you want an ambassadorship? anything you want. i'm going to give you all the credit. i will give the republicans the credit. so he said, you know everett, if you come with me on this bill, and you bring your republicans to break the filibuster we get this passed, 200 years from now. our children will only know two names, abraham lincoln and - -. [laughter] >> let's suppose you see i admire your books but i don't have time to read this book. could you give me the essence of leadership? [laughter] what would you say these four individuals had in

common and what other leaders of our country learned from these four people? >> i did feel after exploring this that there were certain family resemblances. there's no key to leadership. but they do share certain qualities. they shared eventually and empathy towards other kinds of people so that they could bring them together and unite the country rather than dividing the country. they had humility that allow them to acknowledge their errors and to learn from their mistakes. they had an ability to communicate to the public in their own technology at the time. lincoln, as i said, because he was such a good writer. his speeches would be written and people would read them aloud. teddy had the perfect country language. he even gave maxwell house the slogan, good to the very last drop.

fdr had the perfect was for radio. when you think about jfk and ronald reagan, they had the perfect ability to talk on television and time of the three television networks. and then obama is a master of the internet world and mr. trump masters social media at the time he's running a campaign. but there's a problem in a difference in campaigning. when lincoln was president, he could have debated with anybody but he was the best debater. when people would go after him, someone said you are two-faced. he immediately responded, if i had two faces, do you think i'd be wearing this phase? as president, he never spoke extemporaneously. he always wanted to be prepared. he that words matter. that they have consequences. [applause]

>> that was one skill they shared. the other skill i think is often unheralded, they all knew how to relax and replenish their energy to find time to think. something in our 27 world think we can never do. they were pretty busy but they somehow figured out. lincoln went to the theater about 100 times during the civil war. he could forget the war that was raging. he said people may find my theatergoing peculiar, if i didn't do it with this terrible anxiety would kill me. he also had a sense of humor. when things were tough, he would come up with one of his funny stories and they would

entertain the cabinet. when he couldn't sleep at night, he would wakeup his two aides and read them comic passages from shakespeare. he says so then he could go to bed thinking about comic passages instead of the war. which meant , then he could survive.teddy roosevelt was able to exercise two hours every afternoon in the white house. with it we don't have time to go to the gym for 30 minutes. he would have a boxing match, wrestling match or his favorite exercise was to walk in a wooded cliff of a park where he had a very simple rule. that you have to go .2 point then you couldn't go around any obstacle if you came to rock you had to climb it. so these companions on these ridiculous walks are falling by the wayside all along the way. but the best story was told by the ambassador - - he was from france. he was so excited for his first walk with the president. he had a silk outfit on. he found himself in the woods, he was dying. he couldn't wait until it was over.

finally come to a big stream. he said to my horror, so the president unbuttoned his clothes. he said it's an obstacle that we can't go around so we might as well take our close off.he said i too for the honor of france, also took off my clothes. [indiscernible] [laughter] >> the most interesting person is fdr. he had a cocktail party every night during world war ii where the rule was you couldn't talk about the war. you could talk about books you've read, movies you've seen, gossip. after a while, the cocktail parties were so important that he wanted the people that went to the cocktail parties to live in the white house to be ready for the cocktail parties. - - [indiscernible].

when i was working on the book, i became obsessed with the thought of all these people and their bathrobes at night and when amazing conversation they must have had. wishing i was up on that second floor when i was 24 years old. i started asking, where did churchill sleep. where was eleanor. of course they weren't thinking in those terms then. it happened that hillary clinton in the white house was listening. she invited me to sleep overnight in the white house. to figure out where everyone slept 50 years earlier. two weeks later she followed up with an invitation to a state dinner. afterwords between 12-2, we went through every room and figured out chelsea clinton is sleeping where harry hopkins slept.

in the room they gave us was winston churchill's bedroom. there was no way i could sleep. i was staring at the corner where he was drinking his brandy and smoking a cigar. when he came there after pearl harbor, him and roosevelt signed the document that put the soviet nationassociated nat against the axis powers. so he woke up the next morning and came up with the united nations. he was so excited to tell roosevelt that he went to his bedroom and had nothing on. and the presence of mind to say, please day. the prime minister has nothing to hide. [laughter]

>> you mentioned your husband and unfortunately he passed away recently. in his honor, you're working on another book.>> my husband had cancer this last year of his life but he had started five years earlier about that meant a lot to him. it was really a biography of his mind in a way. public service for something he valued so much in his life. despite graduating first in his class at harvard law school. he never really cared about making money and turning money around. he wanted to do something in public. so he went to do the investigation of - - then with jfk and lbj. that incredible, we shall overcome speech. the howard university speech. bobby kennedy's ripples of hope, al gore's concession speech. he devoted his life to public

service. he was 86 years old when he died and he was watching he said what was going on right now. he realized that his long life, he had seen the turns and was in american history. like me, he said the end of america has moved many times before.america is not as fragile as we think. so he wanted to write a book that showed people politics and public service can be an honorable vocation. want to make young people believe once again that they could enter public life and have a fulfilling time. he hadn't quite finished the book. the book kept going. it was so incredible to watch that he wanted to live not just for the book but because he was happy. there was nothing i could care about more that this man that i've been married to for 49 years. he went through surgery and they thought they got the cancer. he went to radiation, they told him they got it and we had champagne with the doctors. then he came home and two

months before he died in may, it came back again but he finally got pneumonia and came home to hospitals. i've never seen death the way i saw it with him and my parents died when i was young from heart attacks. i don't know he knew he was trying but he would wake up from his pain medicine. it was like an irish wake. all of our friends came in day after day. he would talk to them and say something to them. he had this light in his eyes. the last thing he said to me is, you are a wonder. something i will never forget. [laughter] >> thank you for that wonderful story. [applause] [cheering and applause]

[inaudible conversations] >> that was - - [indiscernible]. as is the "washington post". - - is joining us at the book festival. one of the reasons we wanted to talk to you are about some of the books coming out this fall. i wanted to ask you about one of your colleagues books. another book by bob woodward. >> this will be woodward's 19th

book. it is called - - the title comes from an interview that woodward did with trump during the 2016 race and he suggested the real essence of power was fear. that's the origin story of the title. it will have themes of contentious meetings and documents. i have not had a chance to see this book yet. i'm looking forward to it. but the president has been tweeting lately about fake news that appears in books. some people are wondering if there are some initial jitters in the white house about what woodward may come up with. >> all of bob woodward's books are usually highly anticipated. now, would you have reviewed this book?

>> i cannot review books by "washington post" colleagues because of the inherent conflict of interest. this is a case where i wish that will didn't apply because i would have loved to have reviewed it. it's interesting and how it fits in the art of woodward who is covered president since nixon. >> lots of political books coming out. is the trump administration publishing - - at this point? >> is this good for publishers? >> i think it's a remarkable irony of the trumpet era that a president that admits he doesn't read books and doesn't have time to read books. even though he watches hours on end of cable news has generated an absolute boom in publishing. there are trump -related books

coming out all the time. many of which are critical of thesupportive of the president will promote those. others are critical. and then of course a lot of journalistic accounts of the trump white house. even though it's still so early in the administration. >> some of the books coming out, a longtime white house correspondcorrespondent. anthony scaramucci. - - will has a book coming out. - - has a new book coming out as well. >> is political season. it's nice that some of these books are not actually a trump book. - - is her expense covering the

trump white house and what has become a contentious relationship . - - book looks back on the shooting that he was a victim of and the heroism of the capital police officers and so many others and averted a much larger tragedy. it's remarkable that it's been nearly 14 months since that event. and is recovering and it's been part of writing this book. >> out of the books we just named, did you review any of those? >> i might. it takes a while to figure out what makes the most sense for me to review. my reviews are small part of the overall output of what the

post does. even nonfiction we have a lot of freelancers. i suspect we will cover them in some form.whether i end up being the ones to review them. >> what do you look for in a new book? what excites you? >> and insight i haven't seen develop in some other way. right now, when america is debating a lot of those principles. it's interesting to look at books that explore the history and ideas, animating our national conversation as it were.in ways that are different. >> one of the books coming out this month is eli - - [indiscernible] >> this is another "washington post" colleagues. is one of the most gifted

writers. - - basically grew up in the white nationalist movement. his godfather was david duke. his father was the creator of storm front, the white nationalist - -. and he went to college and in college he met people. he was exposed to different ideas. he met people that didn't dismiss or condemn him flat out but engage with him. he turned away from the white nationalist movement. i read eli's story back then and now he's telling a much fuller tale. this is one, i can't review it because it's a colleague that i'm absolutely going to read i . >> - - [indiscernible]

>> this is a new generation of young civil rights activists. and the black lives matter movement. he is also a popular - - and cofounder of - -. this book is an activist guidebook, part memoir, part manifesto. it's interesting to see this young generation of civil rights activists were writing books and are thinking through their story. how is activism different today than the civil rights movement. >>. [indiscernible] >> i'm sure the book itself will cost $28 or something at

the bookstore. but the feel was monumental. michelle obama and the fellow she married. her husband, they did joint book deal for reportedly around - - dollars. her book is coming out in november and his will, early next year i believe. hers is not just a white house memo but a story of her life. growing up in chicago. her experience of the working world before she reaches the white house. >> - - conservative philosopher, is that a fair description? >> i don't know. i think he was associated with the movement for a while but then disowned it in the book he wrote, maybe some 15 years ago. [indiscernible] a book that's

coming out in a couple weeks is about identity politics. and he is very empathetic to the idea of identity politics, as an individual dignity. but he's more concerned and worried about identity politic , in his view it as subdividing us into different groups. making it difficult to form the cooperation that is necessary to maintain a democracy. beyond just gender or race but he thinks nationalism and white nationalism in particular and - - as well. you can see at the end of history how his earlier books feed into this work.

the great thing is his books are part of this long-running conversation with himself, with america, with other thinkers. >> how does one become a nonfiction book critic? >> over the course of a decade before getting that job.i was a news editor. and then our longtime and much beloved - - retired. it was a moment when i realized i was ready to try something new. so i thought, now that would be interesting and fun and a job i could dig into it for my own imprint on that i basically begged to the editors to let me try. >> jonathan wesley was married

to - - was part of the book tour and doing the interview. >> he is a longtime "washington post" editor as well. >> what's currently on your bedside table that you are reading? >> i usually don't admit. i'm reading - - book. i'm very interested in that book. i am interested in a new book by ben fountain. he wrote a book called - - a novel about an iraq war veteran returning to the united states for a few days. of a heroism tour. and how he was struck by the

commercialism of the war effort in the veterans. it was a very touching and effective novel. now he's writing a book called beautiful country - - a nonfiction book looking at america during 2016 in particular. he feels were in the midst of a third existential crisis. a civil war and the great depression. i'm reading - - right now so i'm really curious to see - - [indiscernible]. >> i've not had a chance but people why respect who have had a chance to see the book praise it very highly. given how compelling his novel is, i look for to explore him in the nonfiction realm. >> - - just arrived on my desk.

one volume. the history of the united states - - >> but she's the one to do it. as a new yorker. it's the perfect title for this book because she looked at the declaration of independence. we hold these truths. their political equality, natural right and sovereignty. she explores how the united states throughout history has failed to live up to or affirm these truths over time. these big idea books that tell you about american history through the prism of a few ideas. i think about - - books which i recently read. as being that kind of book.

and so, it is a door stopper. i just received it a few weeks ago at the post. the moment i saw it, i knew that's the book i want to read. >> and a review? >> we will see. >> two more books i will ask you about. ...

>> which is so individualistic for the worldview. and it has interwoven itself into our political life. so thinking how the trump presidency is making us do things or affirm those principles. so to look at america's self perception is very valuable right now. >> thank you for having me.

>> the national book festival continues. of next you will hear from pulitzer prize winner from the latest book after that another pulitzer prize winner. with continued coverage on c-span2. >> good afternoon. i had the nonfiction book critic at the new york times we are proud to have partnered with the library of congress

and would like to thank everyone for coming out on this labor day weekend that is not only a celebration that also an opportunity to think of the role of books in our culture. at the time when the new cycle has gotten faster and faster with an endless supply of hot takes a can in not only our life but the lives of others as well as the world in which we live. to that end it is my great pleasure to introduce john meacham. >> many of you know him already from his presidential biographies writing books about george h to be bush, thomas jefferson as well as fdr and his special relationship with churchill.

and with a pulitzer prize-winning biography of andrew jackson a complicated figure who considered himself an embodiment of the people he helped although his view was exclusionary. so that doesn't flinch from the full record it showcases his background as a journalist. as a longtime staffer at newsweek eventually becoming its editor. in fact the trajectory of his career shows that the fast-paced journalism and gradual history is not as connected as it may seem. it is not only a theme in the past but also has startling

relevance to lay the foundation for how we got to the are now. to reflect undoubtedly has a gift for accessibility and even though i would say his books are short, he clearly makes point to to keep his storytelling shark. more recently as a contributing writer. and often finds those angles that are surprising for instance one year ago after heller me clinton published her best-selling book what happened he examined other books by other present candidates that were not triumphant stories about winning elections but instead more candid reflections about

losing. his newest book the soul of america in the sense that it is not a biography that closely follows the life and times of a particular president make sense that to chronicle their achievements word now take online country. the soul of america is hope in these times and hope is not the same as complacency but don't take it from me. please join me to welcome john meacham. [applause]

>> thank you. and i was reminded writing about the various dead men i have written about it when i was finishing jefferson bisexual that the time say how is the book about george jefferson going? [laughter] i said sherman helmsley is an important figure blood pressure we need a full biography. and i had the honor speaking at mrs. bush's funeral a few months ago because this is the scene of this is what she had in mind with humility.

and she said it's you and that is hard to argue with. and then to use existentialism as a macro. way to go. [laughter] and then i said yes ma'am this is the way the world are supposed to work. they are supposed to admire you. and then to bring back john grisham's latest. [laughter]

so i signed it. and that there is a forged copy of the runaway jury but so that was a saturday like today so i left the book festival.on the plane and whitey my biography at the time and flew to maine. and for some reason that was almost unheard of because that view of life was one long reunion mixer. when he would be more interested in the oak ridge boys other than the pope. mrs. bush looked across the table i am expecting motherly reassurance. she said how do you think poor john grisham would feel?

he is a very handsome man. [laughter] it was not a good weekend for me. but i am thrilled to be here which i am one more time. thank you for being here and if the last three years have taught us anything it is a lot to teach the american republic. so thank you. so i am asked all the time has it ever been like this? one of the quick answers? let's see if we can do the whole game. busy like jackson? i knew injured jackson.

[laughter] in 2017 in nashville tennessee where i live with the 250th birthday we had a paintball dual so i'm thinking i should do something because whenever presidents talk about their predecessors and it is interesting to keep track because they see as they wish to be seen. when jack kennedy said this is a greatest gathering of talent so what he was really saying is isn't very jeff sodium and of to invite all of you here?

with those democrats or the tyrant of wall street. that is key in the story i promise. he comes down so i write an open letter to the president. so if you're going to embrace jackson don't embrace just the crazy parts and there are plenty. he said his only regret in public life he did not hang henry clay and jott will just shot john c calhoun his own vice president. that the next person who thought that way about their running mate was john mccain.

so i cleared that with mccain years ago i've been telling that for years. don't worry. so to embrace for all of his sin he did believe that we were one great family to fight under the same roof but to remain a continental nation he was also a great go sheeter. and as a more formidable figure he was a lawyer or a prosecutor or a judge twice a senator and general to win the popular vote and respected the rule of law and establish constitutional order. it had no effect whatsoever and the next day i walking to lunch and is george h to view bush he spent a lot of time in the hospital that winter so

his staff was giving him stuff to read. he said how are you doing? they key to doing him as dana carvey said mr. rogers trying to be john wayne. i'm fine. [laughter] i read your letter to jackson. he is 93. he's at the hospital. i said thank you sir. actually is a letter to trump about jackson he said but yeah jackson will pay more attention. [laughter] so he is fine. mark him off your worry list. but i want to talk today in

two parts. one is how i do things to represent a manifestation and in some ways extreme of perennial american forces. the path is not cultural zoloft or a bedtime story. but and in perspective of proportion. and to know that as it happened to the people living challenges of their time. we do two things. if we do a disservice to the nation we want to protect to act as if progress was inevitable tell that to john

lewis or rosa parks or elizabeth cady stanton or frederick douglass or harriet tubman or surgeon or truth. tell them that this will work out. we need to remember history to honor those who gave the ultimate price to have something worth defending. so if we act as if history is a myth if everything works out in a land far far away to foreclose the possibility of learning from it. but they are just like us. i write history and biography not because it was more reassuring but imperfect yet they got through it and made

progress and with all of their imperfections with her appetite and ambition and racism and sexism that he created a more perfect union and surely all of us driven by those same forces. and then to simplify this it is sometimes sometimes it is absolutely clear but that is the exception not the rule and the nation is defined i think in the august terms that the nation is a multitude of rational beings ignited by the common objects of their love.

again. a multitude of rational beings ignited by the common objects of their love. so what do we love in common? see any here on the anniversary of hitler's invasion in poland and we bury a great american hero on a day when just over one third of the country approves with united states is doing the postwar achievement the building of social mobility and middle class. but this day we don't love enough. and when dwight eisenhower was president he had an approval rating with democrats 49%

guess what obama was with republicans? 14%. this is a divided and tribal time. what i will talk about is not in lieu of but a clear utilitarian hope that if we understand the moments of the past were difficult and required enormous effort and courage and sacrifice to overcome and create a sustainable vision and reality then we can do it too. not by relaxing as jennifer said my messages not we have come through before so relax but let's figure out how the hell we didn't and do it

again. and it requires resistance and witness and protest. and affirmative steps into the arena to engage with justice holmes called the passion and action of our times. the first duty of an american citizen is to engage in the arena and no other time to let people fight your battles. so now a few moments we will talk at the end the characteristics that are necessary because let's remember a republic is only as good as the sum of its parts. the moral dispositions have a discernible and definitive effect of the life of the country. and with aristotle to

machiavellian. in the end the americans get the government they deserve. remember that. and then to point fingers at groups instead of pointing ahead. at the same time so we have to examine ourselves. and force that kind of character and into the arena it is never easy or never forever but the way american history has been built.

so my own sense on the battlefield with 17 years old i went to the university of south maybe the error are one or two who don't know that. so to frame that culturally it is downton abbey meets deliverance. [laughter] i am very much with falconer the past is never dead it is actually the only thing he ever said that i understand. [laughter] thank you. people say love him but no you don't. [laughter] you thank you are supposed to say that over your latte.

show of hands and on this group. who enjoys that? so the civil war it is the great cauldron or crucible of who we are. the story of the war in many ways for our purposes to say the story of the confederacy begins with its immortality not win for something or was fired upon but when lee handed his sword to grant. and that continues to shape us to the day. it was coined in 1866 barely nine or ten months after the journalist from richmond and

tell me if this sounds familiar. he argued that because the war itself is lost in the war over slavery was lost that the south should not reengage in the force of arms with that is centered in washington. i have seen this uncertain cable news channels. it was a narrative for those that had a piece believe and white supremacy to give them the hope to continue to fight. and that is on the historical record.

but if we don't call them as we see them not living up the promise and the possibilities so if you always try to see a little bit of truth on both sides you probably are not seeing the truth. this is my own view of this. so andrew johnson is a disaster i say that as a tennessean. he is impeached the right thing to do the wrong cause stay tuned. [laughter] coming soon. and basically he argued it was

the historian calls the most racist statement ever written by an american president that black americans were congenitally genetically incapable of self-government. to do everything to stop the forces of reconstruction to veto the reconstruction bill and oppose the 14th and 15th amendment to the constitution. doing everything he could to carry on the battle. the clan is founded to terrorize the south and president grant is the right thing early on to break the first but then the curtain descends 1877 with rutherford b hayes that we never talk about the election of 1876 it

is important in american history because as a part of the price of that victory the republican rather bared --dash brother ford b hayes ended reconstruction to secure the presidency of course that was decided in florida. i don't know what it is down there maybe it's the humidity. take so people say it's never been worse keep an eye out.

it could never be any worse. not a lot of african-americans say that. sometimes when women say that to me they have not voted in this country it's been 98 marriage equality has only been possible for three years. things do change. they change slowly but perspective and proportion and to some extent and to some degree and i think the soul of the country is an amalgam and in hebrew and in greek i dislike it when people say if there is a party that i disagree with to capture the soul of the country. that's not quite right it has

proven itself capable of accommodating the kkk and martin luther king. and every era is defined by the degree to which they win out over the worst instincts. we are the sum of our parts and i don't know about you all but if i listen to my bitter angels that is one hell of a good day. something is not often achieved. but we can't let that be the enemy so the soul is tested. two. or age to age emancipation is

gratified slavery was abolished that reaction immediately sets in segregation prevails with those racial injustices to grow out that unimaginable. we stand on land that belonged more properly to the cherokee nation. native american removal and african-american slaves. >> so the goal has to be to make it right and how do we do that? it seems to me that to expand more generously as best we can the implications of what

thomas jefferson meant that all men were created equal the generations that we honor or to emulate that strong the definition but those who expanded. then nation was fixated on the funeral of a man whose political life was largely about hope and opening our arms not folding them across our chest. the most important sentence ever written in this language is that we are all created equal. i am very careful when i say that because when i mentioned the english language like that about the school board candidate in texas against teaching spanish and on the campaign trail he said if

english is good enough for our lord jesus christ it is good enough for texas. [laughter] we always say thank god for texas. [laughter] >> that was a total parenthetical. i have a list of two stupid things i have said to sitting governors. one when george w. bush was running for president i went to austin as a journalistic delegation and said do you know governor, if not for my people you would still be part of spain. he said that's funny asshole. [laughter] the other talking about thomas jefferson six years ago i got a call from chris christie

before he became patty hearst. [laughter] and he is good company. so i went out to lunch he said i am more of a hamiltonian which normally means you are the investment banker. at least my guy did get shot in jersey. [laughter] and the damnedest thing happened i cannot get back into the city. all the bridges. [laughter] so now back to "the soul of america" how do we expand that definition? that is progress in terms of the american soul. the civil war? yes. reconstruction? no. birth of a nation is released in 1815 the sunday after

thanksgiving stone mountain georgia the second kkk is founded to recover the great white empire of the south but not just the south it became a national phenomenon. why did the kkk get between three and 5 million members 1915 through 1926? how was that there were six governors or 17 senators or 75 congressman who remembers the kkk? how was that there were 103 ballots at the dnc driven by the fact 347 delegates who would not vote for al smith and irish catholic? how is it the 50000 klansmen marched down avenue?

anxiety about crime? anxiety about a shifting economy from a largely agrarian and understandably industrial one to a more complicated one? the introduction of a national culture with the spread of radio 1921 think about it. if you were in a red state you totally control the media's information the experiences that your family had until about 1922. and then to have the world come into your home and to programming things in new york and hollywood. it was disorienting and a reaction to that disorientation was fear.

and fear is what drives fear like our own that it is the anxiety produced by the law of what we love and what happened from 1915 through through 1925 is largely what is happening today. a fear among an extraordinary number of people that look a lot like me and come from states like mine that the demography of the country is changing. the economy of the country is being left behind and they don't want to live in barack obama's america they want to live in donald trump's. let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. twenty years from now we will be living in barack obama's america not donald trump's. [applause]

>> it is okay for people like me to say that. and i feel that is my job and i am in the arena but it will require a heck of a lot more than that. it requires the institutions of democracy so how does that fever break? between three and 5 million members or supreme court justices? governors of oregon and indiana colorado texas the governor of georgia lost the election joins the clan and runs and wins gives a speech he wants to build a wall of steel as high as heaven to keep out immigrants. twain said history may not

repeat itself but it rhymes. the press did its job the newspapers in new york plan expose after expose than his defense you don't hear much but harding and coolidge did the right thing. the lawyer said i have of that with my husband i can make you say three words and he said you lose. they spoke out subtly but to take a stand against the clan the supreme court into critical decisions ruled against the clan one was an oregon case with the dominated legislature that every child of school age had to go to a public school not a private school. what do you think that was about? the nuns. they were going to break the catholic church because it was

seen as a foreign entity. the supreme court threw it out. the case out of new york because there is so much violence the new york legislature passed a law that they countersued to say it was like the kiwanis club they should not have to do that. then you have got to publish the names. and thank god for those reasons but it takes us to the next moment which is 1932, 33. and roosevelt said the two most dangerous man in america where he belong and and douglas macarthur to lead a revolt from the left and douglas macarthur from the right. march 4, 1933, when he gave

his inaugural address, the line that we all remember is that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. the line that got the biggest applause and a bloodthirsty cheer according to eleanor roosevelt when fdr said the circumstances of the present crisis are such that i may require more time like executive powers. and they roared and it chilled her they said -- she said because they realize that they were ready as the europeans had proven themselves for a strongman or dictator and it terrified her. that night fdr had a drink before bed and one of the brain trust comes to them and says mr. president if you succeed to save capitalism you will go down as the greatest president but if you fail you

will go down as our worst. fdr look to him and said if i fail i will go down as our last. so don't tell me we have not been here before. the 30s were decade were we did not know if democracy would succeed against dictatorship. churchill saw it and thought roosevelt as a hero he said fdr represented a bright light between the soviet and the lurid flames only winston churchill could write the flames the nordic flames of self assertion. he was the hope he had a country that responded to it. he cannot do it by himself he

understood we were stronger together and that america required an elevation and that if in fact we live to fight another day in democracy it would require the division and an understanding that the country was bigger than any single. not to lionize that imagine to be 39 years old to wake up in 1921 with one with the most famous name of american politics with a bright future ahead and be able to walk?

not one man and the thousand could've ever left his house again. not one man in the million could run for office and not one in 10 million could have risen to the pinnacle of the great republic. i am convinced the greeks were right and that democratic capitalism and socialism or communism is a mix of the two of anti-semitism i'm convinced that franklin roosevelt wanted because he knew what it was like to be knocked out and had to come back the new york times wrote on the day that he died that men will think god on their knees when years from

now that franklin roosevelt was in the white house when the crisis came. but he always knew he was an instrument of all of us. and he also knew he should not be in our faces all the time affect i must say much of that current moment does disprove i stole that line from henry adams but write that down. writing the letter in 1935 get on tv you need to talk more

there is something in the psyche that will not withstand the scale into set that into 140 characters tweet that out for me. he understood how to lead in a democracy and it was incredibly frustrating. with mrs. roosevelt one of the greatest women represented better angels in every sphere of life. so whenever i visit domestic trouble which is often i will say at least fdr did not tell mrs. roosevelt that winston churchill thank you for coming to stay in the white house for a weekend stay for christmas until christmas eve

afternoon. it is amazing she did not just kill him. also fdr drank odd martinis that were three quarters removed and one quarter gin it is amazing that we want. [laughter] churchill hated them he would pour them out and kill the plant during one summit. and if he would pour out a drink it was bad. he wasn't perfect because what is the greatest american moment? people say world war ii. absolutely right but remember the soul and the clan so here we are protecting power to defeat tyranny around the world and what is the reality

at home? a segregated america? military? franklin roosevelt signing an executive order 9066 to join the japanese-american simply because he thought they may be a security threat. but pushing on. that last example is joe mccarthy. i don't know if this will resonate. so it's kind of funny.

and not an interesting senator looking for a national issue in 1950. harry truman got rid of most of the home. then to buy anti-communism the the way they might buy a car. lincoln's first day in virginia. the reign of terror of four years. lincoln's birthday february. late 54 parenthetically as well. to august 9, 1974.

this isn't the way the history unfolds. but for almost 48 months joe mccarthy terrorized the united states of america. through the manipulation of the media at a time of transition and he did it promising to make america on peak again. those press conferences seeking a communist in des moines. headlines all over the country senator seeks read des moines. he did not have time to check. and in the morning papers closed at midnight to say the red in des moines is eluding me i am redoubling my efforts. lashes across america i redoubling my efforts and

radio helped him. there was 3.1 televisions and one censored there were 30.6 admits the seachange and if you believe the truth and leaders who are not appealing to traffic in fear is exposure. people watched long enough to think this is not who we want to be. let me tell you you definitely have want to have been. you want to be margaret chase met the republican senator from maine who within one month gave a speech of the declaration of conscience i

urge you to go beat it. in 1954 when this happened. and sheila got six senators to sign that. but here we are in 2018 talking about her not the senators who wanted to wait to see the next poll. and then the one that is what we need more of to actually have powers of one of the things i try to say is what you want us to think when we look at your oil portrait?

and where we are not gazing adoringly. it is passive-aggressive. and i was thinking all morning and what will they think people are saying about them? with a 26% approval rating? [applause] >> we don't have to agree all the time. from a loyalist to a patriot to interventionist to protectionist the country was

built to fight and have guardrails but here are a couple of three characteristics. that i think we need and public officials need to win that battle within the soul. and those that are intellectually curious he can write that sentence not because he was a politician of virginia but in a broad conversation with the enlightenment that protestant reformation with the reorientation of the world to be run by kings and popes

either by an accident of birth and give them power over all of us with a vertical understanding. that we were all born with the capacity to determine our own destiny. jefferson was able to set that in motion because he was graciously curious what was going on in the rest of the world and i think the baseline is citizenship always but particularly today, is realizing the american revolution was the political manifestation of the idea that reason has to have a chance in the arena against passion.

we have been given a brain and the capacity away different argument and if we don't reflect and use reason and fall prey then we are not true to the reality of the revolution. partisanship is fine and is a price of free government but we have to make it reflective we have to figure how to admit mistakes we would not be here jack kennedy could not minute minute mistake from the bay of cranks to the one -- bay of pigs to the cuban missile crisis to say to do good in a parliamentary system the last man on earth the one to appear

in tutelage asking to come to camp david he said everybody has to be in the room to weigh the pros and cons and october 62 casually estimate of a hemispheric exchange of nuclear weapons between 70 and 100 million americans many of the people in this room would not have been here if kennedy had not had the humility one of the many tragedies of dallas jack kennedy is one of the few presidents that was self-evidently learning as they hold that office. it's so hard to learn at that level but to do that and we are better off in the last is

a busy if i don't care about you but democracy doesn't work. to not have that sense of sociability. and neighborliness. to understand we are in this together or mutual destiny. that requires empathy. i don't have to love you to death or spend time talking, but that most empathetic man was george herbert walker bush. to show another planet

basically. this is the kind of person years ago this is a letter that president bush wrote in the late 50s after the list of the bushes daughter robin in leukemia of 1953. the last child to be born in 59 this is the voice of a son writing his mother at the loss of his own daughter. i share this with you it is unique in the literature of the presidency but i often think if i could be 5%% of the man who wrote this letter so this is the voice of george hw bush.

there is about our house a need the running full cd restlessness of the boys we need some starch to go with our toward knees and blue jeans and helmets and soft blonde hair to offset the crewcut or the dollhouse to stand firm against the baseball cards. we need a legitimate christmas angel one who doesn't have cuts beneath address or someone who was afraid and someone who will cry when i get mad and not argue. we need a little wind on -- one. we need a girl. she would fight and cry and play and make her way just like all the rest. we had one once. but she was patient. she would stand beside our bed

until i filter there silently and comfortable to put those precious box blocks against my chest and fall asleep. my daddy had a caress of certain ownership that i love even more than high dad. we cannot touch her we have her but we cannot feel her. . . . .