he self-proclaimed to be a born-again person, and it did nothing but help him. that hasn't continued through to 2012 as we see because it's going to be difficult for the democratic candidate to have that effect in the south today. >> we went through the c-span archives and found this moment from september of 1991 as the governor of virginia announced his own entry into the democratic presidential contest. let's watch. >> as a governor, as an american, as someone who has fought for positive change, and the american dream for all of these years, can i not stand on the sidelines while the country i love stumbles further backwards. the past 12 years of pandering has insulted americans, who has been listening to their deafening cries for leadership? why have they lost vote to the degree they no longer see fit to

even vote? is this the question i ask myself and the answers i set out to find. those of us who have the opportunity to enforce the electorate must once again look deep into the recessive amount of fortitude to both the good and the difficult answers that only truth can tell. we must seek this illusion, not the headlines, as we are fortunate and given god-given opportunities to serve our neighbors. this is the moment to rise with the counselor of conviction and to serve the country, the the sit zeps of these united states with the honor and the fortitude that our forefathers granted us. after many months of deliberation and hours and many, many hours of private thought and reflection on my commitment to virginia and my obligation to

my country, i have decided to run for the presidency of the united states of 1992. >> doug wilder, that was a three-month campaign, what did you learn? >> i learned how difficult it is. i learned the difference between running at the state level and between running at a national level. it is all the difference in the world. and yet i would take absolutely nothing for that experience, steve, because the media attention is different. there's no such thing as being off the record. there's no such thing as not being covered. there is a need for real understanding of the issues, both national and international. and there's a real need to have had the experience to know that you can get the job done. having said that, i had no

question in my mind than a non-washingtonian could win the election. by that i mean, not in terms of geographic location, but people who were not necessarily in the beltway, all difference to you, but people who knew something about what was going on in the meadowlands. that's why when bill clinton announced he was running, i knew that of the people running, that he would have an excellent chance. and if i had stayed in and had an opportunity, when i dropped out i was leading in the polls in several states, and super tuesday hadn't come about, so i would have done well. could i have won? i don't know, but i learned a lot. i wouldn't take anything for the experience. >> we have a lot of questions from our students. governor wilder, who is joining us from richmond, virginia, he is now the head of the wilder school at virginia commonwealth university. britney felder is a student at the university of pittsburgh. britney, go ahead, please. >> hello, governor wilder.

>> how are you? >> i'm good, thank you. my question is concerning, you were talking herbal earlier how in order to vote, you would have to recite portions of the declaration of independence, of the constitution and polling taxes. and i know there's a new proposal for the voting id law, which a lot of people think could be racially motivated. the purpose is to decrease voting fraud, but a lot of people think it could be to exclude minorities. what's your opinion on it? >> my opinion hasn't really changed, britney, but i do believe that we need to make voting more excessable, to make it easier for people to vote. i got behind chuck rob running for governor of virginia. i said, i want to make certain that you stand for what we call postcard registration. registering by mail and people were opposed to that. we do so many things to make it

easy for people to do -- we make it easy for people to buy guns but make it difficult for them to vote. doesn't make any sense. we should be encouraging people. we should be doing this at the earliest possible stage. we aught to teach voting in the schools, not the candidates, but teach our kids that if you don't vote you're not participating as a citizen. and every opportunity for that kid should be made available, just as it was in me as a child that the declaration of independence meant me, we can tell our kids at the earliest possible time that you can make a decision as to how this country is run, how the state is run, how your locality is run by voting. and voting means an awareness of the situation, education to the issues, awareness of who these people are who say they represent you, make certain they do and hold them accountable. let's make it easier rather than

more difficult. now, i'm not suggesting that you shouldn't curtail fraud or you shouldn't stop people from infringing upon the process, but that's usually not in the observance that many people see it viewed with a breach, so punish those who need to be punished, but don't punish the masses when we are supposedly that beacon light that shines for the rest of the world as a democracy. let's continue to be that light. >> i want to go back to the 1992 campaign and share with you and the students one moment in little rock, arkansas, when then governor bill clinton announced his running mate from the neighboring state of tennessee, senator al gore. let's watch this and then i'll have a question afterwards. >> for in the end al gore and i understand what this election is really all about, the end of years of drift and division and denial, the beginning of an

honest attempt to rebuild and reunite and to renew this great nation, not just for ourselves but for our children and for our children's children. in this election al gore and i won't just be sharing the spot on the democratic ticket, we'll be sharing the values we learned in hope, arkansas, and carthage, tennessee, individual tell i hard work, faith and family, and the idea of people working hard and playing by the rules should be rewarded with the american dream. [ applause ] >> we want to fight against all the odds to create jobs and raise incomes in this country again. to value our families by strengthening them and their efforts to work and to raise their children, to make government work for people again. we share a common philosophy

that it's time to move beyond the old ideas of something for nothing on the one hand and every person for himself on the other. and most of all, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work to move things forward in this nation. [ applause ] >> 12 years is long enough for a nation to have no economic strategy, no unifying vision, no common purpose. our people are hurting and our country is slipping behind. we can't afford four more years of an administration without a plan to turn the country around with a president and vice president not strong enough and determined enough to make it happen. we have the best plan, and now we have the best ticket. [ applause ] >> governor wilder, first, you were among those who bill

clinton considered as a potential runningmate, and what was significant about his selection of senator al gore is that you had two southerners on the ticket, something that leading up to the summer of '92, most people didn't predict. they thought you balanced the ticket from a northerner, but in this case bill clinton took a different approach in 1992. >> well, they called me from the campaign, and announced that it was going to be al gore. i wasn't surprised at all because as i said earlier, i knew that it was time for a breakthrough from what i call people in the south. i thought a governor would have an excellent chance of winning. by picking gore, he picked someone experienced in terms of getting things done in the white house because gore has been in the senate for several years. and i wasn't surprised at all.

i think this, to bill clinton's credit, when he got elected, he did practice inclusion. he did practice elevating winning. he did practice the inclusion of minorities. if you looked at the people that he put in his cabinet, and it goes from the secretary of energy to the secretary of labor, secretary of commerce, secretary of veterans affairs, the people that he had advising him, the head of the budget office, and i left out one, secretary of health and human -- >> secretary of state. >> secretary of state, right. it was amazing. and this is one of the things that a lot of people are saying today, with this president, the template has been set. so it is not a matter of breaking the eggs or breaking

shells. clinton saw the need for that involvement. he ran on it, and i think it had a great deal to his re-election, because people said he not only talked the talk but he walked the walk. al gore's selection was a success for him. many people still question why gore didn't run on the kennedy or the clinton record rather than to distance himself from it. he may have won, some think he did, but i think legit macy would have been a test to his candidacy. >> let's go to west field state, university, part of the washington center program here in washington, d.c. anna? >> regarding politics today, what do you think are the big differences between southern politics versus the north? or do you feel that the issues are pretty universal throughout the country? >> i think you're absolutely right, the issues are universal throughout the country. everybody wants a better job.

everybody wants better education, first. better opportunities for education. better opportunities for employment. clean air. opportunities for advancement and moving forward, security. so you have degrees of differences that take place. one of the things that i've always thought, particularly in terms of running for office here, even though you have different parts of the state being designated certain ways, the south is different. there are so many people that have retired in the south who live in the north, for years, who now live in the south. virginia's population base in terms of people who were original southerners has been shrunk by two-thirds. and you'll find that in other places, like the carolinas and

florida, in particular. so you can't judge people by the way they talk and the way they dress, the way they envoy themselves recreationally. they all have certain individual core values, and many of them are the very same. that's why i say to people, rather than to address areas, address people. rather than to make an appeal to the north or the midwest or the south, address people. rather than to say, what does this gender say or what does this group say? address people. stay with people and they'll never let you down. the biggest problem that we have confronting the political situation in america today is money. because it is awesome the amount of money that is being required to run, even for the smallest of offices. if that continues, it's got a

lot to do for so many people, for capable people from having an opportunity to be represented and to give the views that would be so vital and needed and necessary to continue the viability of america. >> i have to ask you this one question, what's a better job, being governor of the commonwealth or mayor of richmond? >> being governor of the commonwealth. because when you're the mayor, the people, you're closer to the people, but they are also closer to you. it is a totally different job. but if you enjoy people, if you love people, being mayor you are never a away from them and they let you know that. >> let me turn to bob lichter in fairfax, virginia. bob? >> thank you, steve. i have a couple related questions from ray foster. >> how are you doing, governor wilder? thank you for your input today. i was wondering, as an

african-american with such great accomplishments, how do you feel about the political clinlt of animosity towards president obama? >> well, he is doing it as he should. you take it in stride. you can't -- i always said this, i never want race to be a badge nor a barrier. i never wanted anyone to vote for me because of race but don't vote against me because of race. and if you notice, and i know steve has, you will never hear me reference race nor appeal to any particular group, just as the young lady spoke about the difference between the north and the south in terms of the issues, the same thing with people of different races. the fact that you are black or white doesn't mean that you don't want the same kinds of things, you want better schools, you want better housing, you want better living conditions,

you want better opportunities for work. speak to the issues. and don't allow the slings and arrows to slow you down. people could say the nastiest, meanest things in the world to you. pay no attention to them. i had another expression to describe this a bit more aptly. i said that when people would say all the nice, kind, glorious things about me, i didn't let it go to my head. i expressed it this way. i don't succumb to flattery, because if i did, then criticism would crush me. so i don't allow criticism to crush me. so when you say the good things, it doesn't bother me. when you say the bad things, that doesn't bother me either. i don't think it bothers president obama. >> let me stay with george mason. bob lichter? >> actually, you had a second question, ray. >> yeah, i do.

okay. sorry about that. as a southern black, how would you characterize racial tensions sufferinged suffered during your time in office? >> well, what i tried to do is open doors for any number of people to become involved in the process to make certain that people were selected based on choice. based on the opportunity. i didn't measure whether people were of color or of gender, but i wanted to make sure they were included. in terms of racial tension, let me give an illustration of that. i campaigned in two statewide elections in virginia as steve pointed out in 1985. i went to every city, every independent in every county and would not stay in hotels. i never stayed, i didn't campaign on the interstates, i always did the back roads and i always would stay in the homes

of the people. that i either had met or had known something about. and as i would go out to stores or country stores or go into these areas and shake hands and ask people to vote for me, i never once had a single person refuse to shake my hand or to grant me and audience and listen to me, whether they voted for me or not. i think it was a tremendous testament to the people of virginia. not only when i was elected, but to show that the tolerance that we speak of could be exhibited. and they did show that. i would think that was shown throughout the tenure i had in terms of office. and i think most people would say that same thing. legit americans are good people, basically good people. do you have some rotten apples? yes, in every barrel, but don't let those people be descriptive of what the nation is, we are a great nation. >> anna hall is next from

shriner university. anna? >> thank you. governor, in your recent op-ed you mentioned the narrows and losses for the democratic party in virginia and new jersey and massachusetts indicated several sentiments of the american people. one of those being that they are not happy with the direction the country is headed. and another one of those being that they still really like president obama. so moving forward considering, especially the first point, how do you think this likability will help him in the election, especially now that he has to run on a record that a lot of americans are disappointed in and don't approve of? >> likability, you say? >> yes, sir. >> the likability? well, i think it's going to afford him well. i think one of the things that i think the president is aware of is that there are a number of things that he may have wanted to do but didn't do. and he would like to be able to

say, look, a second shot around, a second opportunity around i can do them. i can commit to them. one of the things i was trying to to point out is that when a president comes in office, there are a number of demands made on him from all kinds of places and all numbers of people. one of the greatest speeches i heard that he made was down in miami to the u.s. conference of mayors in which he spoke of revitalizing our cities and our metropolitan areas, making certain that we rebuilt the bridges and the roads, improving transportation and rail, making certain that our schools were retooled and refitted. and then obviously speaking about the need for new jobs or green jobs, et cetera. but once the money came out and once the support came for some of the things, it got

sidetracked. and i think if the president had to do it again, he would make certain that some of those things that he said he wanted to do, he could do. the biggest thing that can be done in any election, whether it's at a national level or a local level, is to show people that you mean what you say. that you give evidences of the results. that you can say to them, as a result of your voting for me, this is what we were able to do. and i think that the president would be well-served to have people vote for me because of the following things. not against that guy because he's not this, he's not that and the other. these are the things that i tried to, do inthese are the things that i want to do, these are the things that i would do even better if i get the second chance. >> if you can call on one of your students on this question that i'm also going to ask the students that the washington center then we'll get the

comment and react from governor wilder. let me ask aerial giordano first. has the dream of dr. martin luther king from the march on washington and what he represented in the 1960s, has that dream been realized either with the election of barack obama or with other issues facing african-americans and the issue of race relations 50 years after that speech? aerial, let's begin with you. >> i would say in some aspects the dream has been reached. we have an african-american president for the first time in history. but sadly, there will always be some sort of racism between people. and it's obviously a bad thing. but the problem is you can't necessarily always get over people's bigotry i guess would be a better choice of words. so i guess in martin luther king jr.'s eyes it would be to an extent but not completely. >> kate foster, what about you? has the dream been realized from your vantage point?

>> i'd have to agree with her. in some ways it has, in some ways it hasn't. there's always going to be room for improvement, there's always to be disenfranchised people. i think we're doing a good job, i think we're improving decade after decade in getting everybody involved in the great american race. >> jessica larkins, your point? has it been realized? >> i think that martin luther king might say yes, because as aerial mentioned, we have the first african-american president in history. and that's tremendous. >> okay. and britney felder, what about you? >> i agree. i think to an extent it has been realized. i remember i saw a recent poll in i think "times" where 64% of african-americans think racism exists. you can see there's still a great divide. i think we've come a long way from where we were.

>> george mason university, then back to governor wilder in richmond. bob lichter? >> i think racism does still exist in the south. having lived in north carolina i've seen the ugly side of it. i think you can point to the amount of -- the racial makeup of the u.s. senate. i think that's part proof. but the president -- the election of president obama has certainly -- i think it's opened some people's eyes to the possibility that there is no ceiling for anybody in this country. but i have seen the ugly side of things. i worked in a grocery store and on my first day i heard the "n" word used. i've seen it both ways. >> all good and valid ways. governor wilder, your thoughts? >> well, i think the dream of king sometimes is misinterpreted. the dream of king wasn't that all of a sudden everything's going to be fine.

king's dream as i interpreted it was that -- and i think the students hit it. i think they all said pretty much the same thing. to some extent it has. they were very polite. but the dream is the opportunity. and that's what you've got to work for. you've got to work for the door to stay open, to keep that door that was left ajar, that was opened by the march on washington, opened by king's involvements, opened by the civil rights act and the voting rights act, opened further by the election of barack obama. i ask this question quite frequently and i ask it now. let's assume barack obama is re-elected. it's clear that he will not be the president five years from now. that being the case, where is that dream? what do you do from that point on?

are we developed into a personality cult or are we developed into a nation where our community is involved, where youngsters stop killing youngsters for nothing? with people believing that you need to work to better yourself, as bill clinton pointed out in his speech? when people understand that there's no free ticket, and when people understand that dumb people run absolutely nothing, education is key. when you get to the point you understand you're going to be a participatory member of society, you've got to give, you've got to take, you've got to be involved in the struggle. and that it never ends. you never reach success. success is something you work for for the entirety of your life. and you never have the opportunity to rest and say, well, i've got it made. you never have it made in life. that is what i thought king meant. give me the opportunity to show that i can make it, and i will.

>> let me get a couple more student voices on this first. steven kenny from st. peter's college, part of the washington center program. >> good afternoon, governor are. with the upcoming retirement of senator jim webb, what kind of person do you see replacing him? somebody conservative or democratic? >> it's a close race right here, steve. i think jim webb's a good man, a good friend. when i gave up the job of being mayor again, he said some people have told me this rumor that you're leaving service. he said, i think what you're really doing is leaving your chain of command post. i think between tim kaine, former governor, and george allen, former senator, that race is going on. that's a pretty close race. it's going to also track a bit the race between mitt romney and

obama. the president. i thi i think polls would show you that kaine might be a little bit ahead. i wouldn't pay that much attention to it, it's going to be a tough race. and i think there will be an overabundance of money for both of them. there will be no shortage of money. and so it's going to result in turnout. who is going to be struck with the desire to get up and go and vote? that's the thing that the president has got to be concerned with. is that excitement going to be there in 2012 that was there in 2008? will that translate in terms of tim kaine's vote? will tim kaine be carried in with the president to the extent the president will be riding on the kaine vote, and kaine riding on the president's vote? how strong will romney be in virginia? will the anti-obama sentiment that many of the students have

spoken to, is it big in virginia? i can tell you this, it's real. and it's something that has to be overcome. and i don't know that it's all based on race. nor is it all raced on party. it might be just there is something that has not come through that has to be addressed, and i think the obama candidates -- the campaign people know that their candidate has to address it. i don't think there would be any question if jim webb was running again if he'd be re-elected. but as you know, he's got a new child and a new wife enjoying a good life, son returned from the military, so i wish him well. >> let me pick up on that point, governor wilder. and i'll ask this question both ways so i want to get your perspective, both positively and negatively. so let's first take the aspect of the president winning re-election in 2012. if he wins, why does he win? >> he wins -- if