market. for politicians when i look at the world of rick santorum's advertising to this week versus four weeks ago, my god, the ad campaign would have been cut, you know, four different time in this the four weeks based on who we think he is that moment, who we think he's going to be going forward to win an election. >> you didn't really have to explain how the process works because we've all watched "mad men." we know how it works. don draper calls a couple of people into his office, there's an ad the next morning. >> have you seen a surge in applications for people wanting to work in your firms because of "mad men," the glamorous life that you all lead? i'm kidding. no, not just the drinking. seems like a lot of fun. in the back in the blue shirt. >> mark brodsky, retired physici physicist. there seems to be one analog in the commercial world of rapid response and that's the super

bowl ads. the minute of super bowl is over, there's a lot of the press response to those ads. how's that changing commercial advertising and are the super bowl ads getting better or worse as a result? >> i won't say better or worse but the thing i would tell you is super bowl advertising now starts three weeks before the super bowl. not the minute the super bowl ends. literally, you know, vw a year a, go we released the fourth spot about ten days before and it had 10 million hits, viewers on youtube, before the super bowl had ever started. a good percentage of the country had seen it and decided they liked it. the "usa today" polled it's one of the big ones that decides super bowl success, was in many ways influenced by that social media vote of what was good before. so i do think that there's -- the super bowl's an unusual moment of scrutiny for advertising. we don't care, we don't ask about advertising for the most part. we try -- tell ourselves it doesn't affect us and we don't pay attention. the super bowl is the moment where we tune in and watch the

ads. so there's become a great game to see whose ads will be effective. so it does change that way. in terms of preparation, just the sheer spans involved in a super bowl spot drives a long cycle of what is the right piece of creative we should put out there. there's also not that many momented on network television anymore where you can get an audience of 1 billion people. there's only one or two the whole year. it's a moment to break new news, to break a new campaign, to haunch a new product. so it does in general requires way more preparation than a normal spot. >> in the front here. >> hi, i just wanted to thank the foundation. this is fantastic for all of us political advertising junkies. the one thing i was trying to think about, when you were talking about rock 'em, sock 'em robots with products, is boeing and lockheed and some of the contracts that were happening here in town recently. you're right, there's very few where they're willing to go head

to head because of the damage or the blowback that will come from something like that. what i was curious about was if you apply this to a different industry, i'm in higher education. one of the things that we're facing is for-profits. which is getting a lot of headway because of the advertising that they're able to spent. and because it sort of overwhelms, probably not unlike what state farm and awlstate thought about geico. just the amount of money being thrown out to advertise. does that change perception and how do you avoid getting blowback as a sector? i think that's where some of the brands try to play is, okay, we can't do it head to head. if i can do it as a sector, if i can do it ate as trade group or advocacy group as a coalition. i was wonder if you could talk about that. >> i have a wife who's a teacher so i have to be very careful

talking about education. i think that there is enough money in the education field, whether it's on the union side, supporting public workers or stuff, that there's the ability to land a perception. if the discussion was, can we do advertising, can we change perception of the business. i certainly think that's something that's possible. i also think that we're talking about advertising. we're in the business of marketing and tra transcends advertising and the key messages we put out there, through social media, through paid media. there's many ways to land your message and i think there's an opportunity for education to get out in front and tell their story a little bit. i think what's happened is educators, and i'm a big fan of teachers, lost control of the narrative. when you lose control of the narrative and you're forced to answer somebody else's narrative, whatever the yield is, you're in trouble. why are you getting paid so much? instead of, here's how successful we are, how can we improve it? part of it is grabbing control of that narrative and

advertising's only one of the ways to do that. >> i appreciate the reference of the boeing, lockheed martin. that is a peculiar type of campaign that sort of bridges the commercial space and the political space. we have these fights for government contracts that do have this feeling of a zero sum, winner take all, they can get quite nasty, people riding the metro in washington, subjected to ads on the metro for things they have no clue what is being referred to unless they happen to be a capitol hill stalker. it's this very strange washington phenomenon of advertising. >> if you're in nebraska and turn on tv at 5:00 a.m. you'll see a farm show where the farm chemicals are saying, this is the one that gets nem achatodes our competitor doesn't, and they're competitive and take each other on, because they're

all real product differences. we really have to work hard to find the meaningful product differences. >> right behind you. >> hi, astrid dormer. somebody earlier said president obama is in a difficult, tricky situation right now, known for mostly positive campaigns. but yourself, you said negative ads do work. i was wondering do you have any advice for his campaign? how should he react going forward? >> i was asked in 2008 by hillary clinton and barack obama and chris dodd's campaigns to work for those campaigns. so i thought about this a lot. i didn't do it. but i have thought about this a lot. and i think, if obama is in a

good enough position that he can do some things that lift up america the way morning in america did for reagan, i think that could help him be more effective once he -- if he wins. if he knows he's going to win. reagan was in a position where it became pretty cheer he was going to win again. that kind of confidence is rare. if you're not as confident about that, then you're going to have to spend your money on the negative because you need to win. and so the long-term branding of having some uplifting commercials would be fabulous for the whole country. body sides. >> does halftime in america work? >> it gets at it, doesn't it? it really does. >> i think think about the benefits of incumbency when you're president obama, i think we talked about a bunch about the special interest groups and

the different unaffiliated groups that will get to speak this cycle. fy was advising president obama i would keep him totally positive. i think he is the president of the united states, a country coming out of recession, jobs are getting better, things are getting better, i would have him tell that story and only that story and leave it for others to do the drawdown. i don't think there's any reason for him to get his hands dirty with that kind of debate. i think that's some of the difficulty we heard discussed talking about the politics is he may well do that. he may be able to stay positive and that has nothing to do with what the democratic machine will be choosing to say. i think from a branding perspective i would do the same thing. to me he's started to run and will run morning america times two. he's a second-term presidency who dealt with a tough first term, tough situations, analogous to what reagan faced. now as the economy looks like it's turning around it may be a replay of that campaign. i think he's got a strong brand with the hope and change that he

ran on to pick back up and focus in on. it will be interesting to see what he does as the race tightens. very much like we talked about before. he may have to go negative. i think that does have an impact on your competitor. the reason we don't do it in commercial advertising is it has an impact on you. that blowback is unavoidable. >> the thing working in his favor now is that as someone said earlier, it's that sliver of vote hoarse don't already know what they're going to do. they can be influenced by positive advertising too. preaching to the choir and the choir is pissed off at that other side so you want to go after that other side. there's that strong internal feeling of that. but if you're only going after that sliver of voters who will make the difference, it's possible that you could go a long way with positive advertising, i think. >> some food pro bono advice. it's interesting the extent to

which candidates are going to be able, i think going forward, to retain this arm's length relationship with their unaffiliated supporters. increasingly we're -- we've seen this already in this cycle. newt gingrich will demand of mitt romney, tell your people to stop it. to the point where mitt romney said, well, if there's anything in there that's inaccurate, yes, i will. but i'm not so sure and i haven't seep the ads. then he went on to say it was in the ads. but this sort of narrative that's not a legal fiction but this narrative fiction, i can't control -- we've seen it in past election cycles too. it would be nice, as you suggested, if the candidate can pretend that there's no blow-back from any of the independent expenditures. it will be an interesting to see going forward if that actually proves to be the case. >> it feels to me like it hurts overall candidates' authenticity.

we asked these guys to be real and honest within us and we asked them to pretend their biggest donor their whole careers, by the time they get to be running for the presidency, these guys have backed him in 10 cycles, 20 years, to have no idea what that person is doing and they would never stoop to talking to them. i think we've been trained in really weird behavior we asked for our most senior candidates, then they are left to play the part. legally he cannot turn and say, turn that ad off. that would violate the law. it's a weird structure for their brands versus what the law asks them to do. >> let's take one more question. here in the front. >> chuck schroeder, former copy writer. one of the things that i was really kind of glad to hear you guys say, and meaning no offense if mike the research guy is still here. well, whatever. he made a point that advertising

wouldn't really affect the outcome of an election. and to frame that from perspective, where we come, from the research guys who are all these people who came into a meeting with ream fts information, always very smart guys, and a creative person would take one page out of that massive stack of information and say, i like this. it would infuriate them, demean them, and make them feel as though all that tremendous work they put in was to naught. so you've just said, and i want to make sure that we underscore the point, that good advertising persuades. and this sliver you're talking about, ken, is persuadable. and if you could elaborate slightly on that, where you think that might have worked? >> i think the challenge for obama specifically will be getting the people out to vote who voted last time.

because now that he is attacked a lot by every part of the spectrum, from liberal to conservative, i think he has to inspire people that written spired last time to go out and vote for this different-looking, different-sounding kind of candidate. and he's no longer as unusual in the position. and the people on the left have taken some of the luster off of him. so he needs to restore that kind of luster, that kind of thing -- nothing will work better for him than if he gets some joy in people's hearts. if he can go back to the inauguration speech or the speech he gave in chicago the night he won the election. that's the kind of spirit that will drive people out again. >> i also think that a lot of the positive stuff he ran got him to win the presidency.

i think he did an awesome job of rebutting republican attempts to make him the other and make him seem something outside or something strange or something foreign, and he ran positive ads but positive ads that reinforced his family, reinforced his americanism. i think that he has a way of bringing people into your home and creating familiarity. and i think his advertising helped create that familiarity with him, to let his message land. i think advertising is hugely powerful. i think advertising at its best pushes you the way you're leaning. it reinforces a perception that you want to see or that you think to be somewhat true. that was why swift boat veterans for truth was deadly for kerry. you felt there was something a little wishy-washy, you didn't know, he had stood before congress, should we treat hip as a war hero, was there something suspect? they pushed on that point. but it was already in the public personae. that's where advertising both for brands and politicians is awesome. it can help cement a perception that lingers in people's minds. the hardest thing to do in any

advertising is if you've got to create a brand new perper session or behavior. that kind of lean is ready-made for television advertising. >> thank you. unfortunately, we do need to wrap up now. i'd like to -- [ applause ] i wanted to -- i'd like to encourage everybody to come next tuesday, february 28th, 5:00. it will be followed by cocktails. it's on the political facts of life. it's new america's releasing research papers on fact-check checking in the media. it will be a good time. thank you both, michael and jamie, for broad ] ing the conversation today. thanks a lot, thank you for coming.

education secretary arne duncan on racial disparities and how schools punish misbehaving students. followed by transportation security administrator john pistole taking questions at the national press club. then from the national governors association, a look at efforts to promote entrepreneurship and job creation.

>> this is also the time to turn away from excessive preoccupation overseas, to the rebuilding of our own nation. america must be restored to her proper role in the world. but we can do that only through the recovery of confidence in ourselves. >> c-span.org/thecontenders. i hope that as we move forward in this world, there are a number of problems that we have to resolve. problems with genocide in darfur. problems with a growing people's republic of china. a growing problem with iran. we have a lot of problems to deal with. i think diplomatic solutions are going to have to be the answer in the future as we start to

deal with the problems coming. >> congressman donald paine, who passed away this week, was the first african-american to serve the house from new jersey. elected in 1988, he was a former head of the congressional black caucus and served on house committees on education and foreign affairs. watch his speeches from the house floor and other c-span appearances all archived and searchable online at the c-span video library. the military's northern and southern commands oversee u.s. military operations in the western hemisphere. that hearing will be live here on c-span3. a report from the education department found that black and hispanic students face harsher punishments in schools and are more likely to be suspended and

expelled than their white counterparts. arne duncan spoke about the subject last week along with educators from howard. >> -- we'd like to welcome all our friends and visitors with us here today. congressional representatives, members of the department of education, the secretary and assistant secretary. and all other people who believe in the mission of higher education and its relationship with k-12. i also have an opportunity to acknowledge one of my colleagues, president pat mcguire. pat, we're so glad you can be here. this work and teacher preparation and the valuable service they contribute to our entire community. it's my pleasure to welcome

secretary duncan and assistant secretary western ali. all of you know them by reputation and by their achievements. i'm excited that the secretary is here today and the assistant secretary and they've come for a very important occasion, a very important kind of announcement. in his confirmation address, i was doing a little back-groundwork, secretary duncan called education, and i quote, the most pressing issue facing america. adding that preparing young people for success in life is not just a moral obligation to society but also an economic imperative. he further stated that education is the civil rights issue of our generation and it is the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve more equal and a more just society. in february 2009, shortly after his confirmation to his new position, secretary duncan came to howard to discuss the role

hbc historically black colleges and universities must play to prepare teachers for the world in which they will live and work. he came back howard again last year to encourage students to choose teaching careers. as part of our academic renewal process here at howard university, we have reviewed all 171 academic programs in attempt to ensure excellence and quality. as a result of that process, the school of education has determined to develop a teacher preparation program for urban education, something that we're very, very proud of. the secretary has partnered with us on several occasions. we are glad he's here today for this very special occasion. and we welcome both he and the assistant secretary here. now i'd like to present to you for some brief comments the dean of our school of education, dean leslie fenwick.

>> welcome to howard university, secretary duncan and assistant secretary ali. we stand on this ground once visited by president of the united states lyndon johnson. president johnson, once facilitators of much of the nation's education and civil rights legislation, was once a teacher. he referenced his first job out of college as a sixth and seventh grade history teacher in texas in a small school serving mexican-american students. and he said of that experience, and i quote him, i often walked home late in the afternoon after classes were finished, but all i knew was to teach them the little i knew, hoping that it might help them against the hardships that lay ahead. somehow, you never forget what poverty and hatred can -- [ no audio ]

it never occurred to me in my fondest dreams that i might have the chance to help some of the sons and daughters of those students, to help people like them all over this country. but now i have that chance and i'll let you in on a secret, said president johnson, i mean to use it. and use it he did, to sign into law the elementary and secondary education act, now known as no child left behind. original intention was to use education as a lever to lift children out of poverty. we have before us the same opportunity that president johnson spoke of nearly a century ago. i pray we remain steadfast in our commitment to engage the two most successful strategies for attaining equal educational opportunity, first to equalize state funding, formula, and second to provide children broader access to certify

teachers. we have the power and i hope we intend to use it in deep and lasting ways so the next generation of black, brown and poor children will not have their-chances circumscribed by lack of access to quality schooling. secretary duncan, assistant secretary ali, other special guests, howard university is responding to the charge of educational equity through our ready to teach program which in four years has already produced, secretary, four teachers of the year, one of which for chicago public schools. through dr. kim freeman's national science foundation grant, studying hbcu models for math and science teacher production. we welcome this report, assistant secretary ali, and about education equity from the department, and i am pleased now to introduce representative jacques fatah.

>> while we could not have found a more appropriate place, because it was here at howard where much of the work was done by legal scholars like thurgood marshall, doing the groundwork for brown versus board of education. for secretary duncan to come today and assistant secretary ali, tolease this report, reminds us we still have work to do to create a more perfect union. because we can calculate the damage that is done when only 29% of the high schools where children of color attend have call cluls available to them in our country today. we can calculate the costs to our nation that happens when we have such a dearth in terms of a rigorous curriculum afforded to young people who have all of the god-given ability but need the opportunity to bring forth their

excellence in terms of academic preparation. so we know now based on this report what some have speculated and many have surmyselfed for a long time, which is when we look at everything that's important in terms of a child learning, children who come from very challenging circumstances get the least of everything that we know that they need. in terms of teachers and who have content knowledge, in terms of rigorous curriculum, in terms of really the gateway to college. that is, high-level math, given at the time and in the sequence they are needed, in order to bring forth their ability to calculate, communicate, and critically think. this report should deeply disturb the conscience of the nation, but moreover, it should cause us to act. because the only question as the dean said, when referencing

lyndon johnson, is when you have the power, the question is what do you do with it? so now we are challenged to really take action to give these young people an opportunity so that one day, they can attend a great university like howard. one day they can be teacher of the year. one day they can serve as secretary of education and even more. thank you very much. the chair of the congressional black caucus education task force on brain trusts, danny davis from a great state, not pennsylvania, but illinois. >> thank you. thank you very much, chaka. and to the president and members of the faculty and staff here at howard, it's always a pleasure to be on this campus that has

meant so much to education in america and has charted the way for so many individuals to obtain the enlightenment that they needed to help make america what it is. i come especially to applaud president obama, secretary duncan, assistant secretary ali, and the office of civil rights at the department of education, for developing a national day or two for examining education and equitable opportunities. we've actively champions the civil rights data collection as a tool to understand compliance with federal civil rights laws and to assure that all students receive high-quality educational

experiences. the research released today clearly demonstrates that severe inequities in education remain. the dramatic numbers confirm that the opportunity gaps are very real for students of color, students who are low-income, students with disabilities, and students who are learning english, especially for the first time. i am especially grateful to the office of civil rights for examining the experience of discipline, including the interaction of race and gender in discipline. i have fought for such analysis for years, given my personal and professional observation of the overt discipline of african-american