you've got to do the program, so that's what we did, and then at the end, bob merrill said that he wanted to do an encore, "it ain't necessarily so." >> that calls to mind the famous incident in 1976, time of the bicentennial when the fords were entertaining queen elizabeth ii and someone had not checked the music program for the marine band. so the time came when the president invited her majesty to take the dance floor, and as they did so, the band broke into a lusty rendition of "the lady is a tramp." they did check after that. both of you had the privilege of entertaining her majesty. is there anything unique about

preparing for the british royal family? >> we had a little incident on the south lawn, which started off the visit, and at the arrival ceremony, the president makes remarks first and greets the dignitary, in this case, queen elizabeth, and they are all standing out there, and then the queen stepped up to the microphone to make responding remarks. well, the chief of protocol, who's standing there with them was meant to pull out the step behind the microphone to raise her to the right height, and she had a lovely purple hat on that day with sort of a brim and stripes around it, and she's -- but he did not pull out the step. she went ahead and made her remarks, and, of course, in the

paper the next day, it was the talking hat, but she had a great sense of humor and addressed the joint session of congress that morning, and as i wasn't there, but i was told that she opened by saying, i hope everyone can see me. and then we had one other cute story that no other visiting dignitary ever did while i was there, and that was, at the end of her visit, she called over the people -- she asked that the chief of protocol bring over the blair house the top people, staff, who had planned and orchestrated her stay there, and i was lucky enough to be one of those people, and we went in and had a little private audience, each of us, by ourselves, and

she presented us with a gift, and we spoke to her maybe three or four minutes and then went in one door and out the next, and it was very special, so she is an extraordinary, lovely woman, i think. >> i didn't have the opportunity to host the queen when i was at the white house, but i went to london with george and laura bush in, i guess, it was 2003, when they hosted a return dinner at the american ambassador's residence, winfield house, which is a stunning, stunning home, and this is when the bushes were, the night before, hosted at buckingham palace, a white-tie dinner, which i don't think occurred for an american president in many, many years, almost back to coolidge or wilson, so that was a big occasion, and so we -- ambassador and mrs. farish were

the american ambassador and they were hosted there. he had his own chef, and it was an elegant menu, beautiful centerpieces of gorgeous fall apples, this was november, and bright red cloths, and a lot of gold, and when i was there early in the afternoon working and sorting out the seating, i did fully, immediately was aware of this tiny little dog, their dog, who really had free reign of this beautiful home, and i thought, okay, that's all right, the farishes live here all the time, they entertain all the time, this won't be a problem. the guests arrive, we had cocktails and the receiving line, and at the end of the line, welcomed in four officials, and everyone was seated and they had poured wine for president bush to make a toast for the queen, seated on his right and prince philip was

seated on mrs. bush's right and at her table, i must throw in, michael cain, the wonderful actor, so that was our star for the evening, and president bush began the toast, and out of the corner of my eye, i see this tiny white dog and four legs going right towards his mistress, and i held my breath, and thought i know i'd seen them put him in the kitchen earlier, i hear this bark, woof, and the president looks around and smiles and mrs. farish didn't move, so the president went on, and 30 seconds later, another louder bark, that's when i got this look from the president, and i thought, you know, i've got to do something, i ran over, captured the dog, and put him in the kitchen. that was my moment of royalty. >> we'll have to add that to the job description. >> right, right, getting the dog. >> just summing up, and, gosh, i

wish we had more time, but, clearly, things have changed, some things haven't changed. people still occasionally try to change place cards to get closer to the president. people go to outlandish lengths to try to get into dinners, including claiming fatal illnesses, when none exist, and they smoke less and they drink a lot less, which brings us to joan crawford. >> i bet the same is true for you all, but every time when i was seating a white house dinner, there would be one table that i would think, gosh, if i were a guest at the dinner tonight, that's where i would like to sit, and this dinner, i thought, gosh, i would like to

be at this table with joan crawford and don hewitt and joe califano and cathy douglas, who was the brand-new, young bride of a supreme court justice bill douglas, and did i say joan crawford? >> yep. >> well, joan crawford had arrived with her own flask of vodka. i mean, we did pass a lot of drink, but she didn't think there was going to be enough, so she had her own flask. anyway, the dinner was served, and then the -- in joan crawford's defense, i would say, we weren't smart enough to know we also invited her ex-husband, douglas -- >> fairbanks? >> no, some other one. >> well, i think there was more

than one. >> yeah, and they were passing notes back and forth during the dinner, but then the dessert plates came, and cathy douglas is now a very grown-up, very sophisticated lady, but she was very new on the scene then, and so joan crawford, who was seated across the table from mrs. douglas, and joan crawford knew that you're supposed to put the fork and the spoon here and take the finger bowl and the doily and put it here so you can serve your dessert on the clean plate. well, cathy didn't know that. she would have figured it out, but ms. crawford wasn't going to wait for that, so she stood up, this is what you're supposed to do, and so she moved her bowl and silverware and said, you'll learn how to do that.

>> aren't you glad you didn't have the job in the 24/7 news cycle period? ladies and gentlemen, would you please join me in thanking bess abell, laurie firestone, and cathy fenton? >> thank you all. thank you all. richard, thank you, very much. each weekend on american history tv on c-span 3 learn more about the presidents, their policies and legacies through historic speeches and discussion with leading historians. this sunday at 8:30 a.m. eastern and again at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m., a look at the presidency and civil rights during the fdr, truman and eisenhower administrations. and for more about other programming, schedules and online video, visit

c-span.org/history. all this week on c-span 3 it's american history tv. coming up, a look at the role and influence of america's first ladies. fi next, three photographers whose images chronicle the lives and work of betty ford, barbara bush, and laura bush. then barbara and laura bush talk with a biography and later we'lk hear from several women who the served as the right hands are for the first ladies from lady bird johnson to laura bush. oute four years ago i was a washington outsider. four years later, i'm at this dinner.ater four years ago i looked like this. today i look like this. and four years from now i will look like this.

that's not even funny. that's not even funny. >> mr. president, do you remember when the y country try rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? that was hilarious. that was your best one yet. but, honestly, it's a thrill for me to be here with the president, a man who has, i think, done his best to guide us through some very difficult times and paid a heavy price for it. you know, there's a term for guys like president obama, probably not two terms but -- >> miss any part of the white house correspondents dinner, yor can watch anytime tonline at th c-span video library, behind the scenes, the red carpet, and alld the entertainment at c-spa

c-span.org/videolibrary. i've seemed to have earned a certain place where people will listen to me, and i've always cared about the country. and the greatest generation right in that book gave me a kind of a platform that wases completely unanticipated. so i thought i ought not to squander that so i ought to step up as not just as a citizen and asjo a journalist but a father, husband and a grandfather and if i see these things i ought to write about them and try to wr start this dialogue which i'm trying to do with this book about where we need to get to next. in hisne latest, "the time e our lives," tom brokaw urges w americans to redefine the american dream. sunday live in-depth, your questions for the former anchor and managing editor of "nbc nightly news." in his half dozen books he's e m written about the greatest generation, the 19 0s and today. in-depth sunday at noon eastern on book tv.

three white house photographers recently sat downu to talkse about their experienc in work chronicling first ladiea betty ford, barbara bush and laura bush. this one-hour discussion was part of an all-day conference on america's first ladieshra hoste the george w. bush presidential library in dallas, texas. i'm swroedy steck and we're at the george w. bush presidential library. if i make a mistake, my boss is in the front row. not to mention my former bosses. anyway. i have been a photojournalist probably longer than many of you have been on this earth, and the one sure thing i know is that anybody can pick up a digital cameras, but it takes a very special person to capture the moment. the three people i'm about to introduce do just that.

carol powers, when you look at her images, see her images on the screens, you're going to n feel the moment when th mrs. barbara bush is sitting onm the chair with millie watching a her husband play tennis.rb you're going to feel that moment. you're going to feel the momentl and feel the emotion when she hugs her arms around an aids child.ner, you susan sterner, you're going to feel the tension in the air wheh mrs. laura bush arrives in afghanistan for the first time.i you're going to feel the emotion, the compassion that yoe mrs. bush has when she is in a classroom with kids, and the kids are up around her legs giving her, just wrapping their arms around her.gi david kennerly, david hume ar kennerly, we know him in the key business as kennerly, he has been around -- i think he photographed martha washington, i'm not quite sure, and if he didn't photograph martha 'll te

washington, he'll tell you that he did, so be very careful. his name is synonymous with nono excellence. he has photographed more first . ladies i think than there really are. and it's -- and it's a pleasure to welcome them. i have -- i have one rule that i always say to my staff when i'm hiring photographers. i want a photographer who thinks with their hearts, with their heart, not with their heads, so before i introduce these photographers who are very special hearts, i also want to say hello to mr. mark updegrove who is going to be the moderator.k don he's the director of the lyndon baines johnson presidential library and museum, and he himself is a journalist and an acclaimed author, and i hope he asks these guys the toughest s o questions, so without any

further adieu, please welcome mr. mark updegrove, miss susan sterner, miss carol powers and mr. david hume kennerly. >> well, thank you. it's a great honor to be here. the great ancel adams nce sa photographer once said a photograph is usually looked at but rarely looked into. today we have the opportunity to look into the photographs of th three great photographers and what they say about three extraordinary first ladies, two of whom are in the first row. betty ford, barbara bush and laura bush, and i have the , an easiest job of anybody today because i get to run this panel like tom sawyer painted his fence. i get my friends to do it, and they are going to share some of their work with you and talk f

about the extraordinary images t that they have taken, and the na first one up at this podium will be david kennerly, and i'll tell you a quick story about david kennerly which happens to be tr true. it involves henry kissinger with whom david worked at the ford white house, and i was hosting a lunch for dr. kissinger some time back, and i mentioned in david's name. and dr. kissinger said in that sort of inimitable voice, davida kennerly is the greatest test photojournalist of the 20th century.high pra i said, wow, that's high praise he said i know this because david kennerly told me that david kennerly is the -- [ laughter ] so in the words of david kennerly and henry kissinger, let me welcome to the podium the greatest photojournalist of the 20th century, david kennerly.

>> that's good. i don't know how to top that one. pictu i'm going to show some picturesr i was president ford's photographer. it's great to be here with the bush women, barbara and laura, who i've photographed many times. i have -- i'm not taking away from my colleagues, but i did ut include one each of you in this presentation. i was -- i actually have a firsi lady picture i just took on a friday, not in this country, and she's not an american, and if i press this, is this going to start? wow, magic. this is sophia bartelli, the first lady of haiti. i was just in haiti all week. i know president bush has been down there, and it's a place that needs help certainly and will for a while, but i thought i would include her in.in. i was down for a -- there's a

group called vital voices. it was started by hillary ton, w clinton, women from america, om particularly entrepreneurs teaching women in the third world how to start businesses and all that. i was down for that.d all th skipping back in time, jacqueline onassis, jacqueline e kennedy onassis, taken in new york in 1970. i was a young boy when -- when kennedy was -- when president kennedy was assassinated, but ia worked with her son on "george"r magazine, john jr., who became a good friend of mine, and the first first lady i really photographed though was pat nixon. this was in 1970 in washington, d.c. going to a -- it was a nixo

school in washington, and i got never really got to know her no did i really get to know her i husband that well, but this is e picture of the two of them leaving some event, and i like the light.ce to she was always very nice to the photographer. the world is divided into two w kinds of people for me, the ndsf photographers and then those ogr trying to keep them from taking pictures, and so pat nixon was very good with the photographers. good her husband, not quite so much, but my first first lady was really a true friend was betty ford. mrs. ford and i became really close friends. i was treated like one of the family there during their whitet house, and, of course, we were e talking about how lady bird ingu johnson came to the white house. it's not quite as horrible a situation but betty ford becamea

first lady really overnight almost, and they hired me as their white house photographer when i was 27 years old, and i was a little bit older.. now, these are the kinds of w, e pictures that i'm sure the -- se the -- most first ladies don't e want to be photographed like that nor does anybody, but at nd mrs. ford and president ford had such an incredible sense of humor and a lack of vanity about themselves. this was, by the way, taken in the -- in the kitchen of their home in alexandria, virginia, s which is a very modest two leve split-level place, and they lived there for almost two weeks after they became -- after he me became president, and this is s lady bird johnson and mrs. ford and the two johnson girls. they are being shown the white house living room -- white housa

bedroom, and when i did an edit for this book i did on the ford presidency, i looked back, and i wonder, i forgot that suitcasesu in the picture, this is right before mrs. ford went out to bethesda naval hospital where tr she ultimately had a mastectomy, and she never told mrs. johnson that she was going there that day, and this is in the hospital with bob hope.t. bob hope's name comes up quite h bit. in fact, he was the one who sai president ford made golf a contact sport, and -- and mrs. ford recovered nicely from this operation.ation. probably i know she's best known for the betty ford center, people with alcohol and drug ndy dependency, but i -- i can't , v imagine how many women's lives . she saved. happy rockefeller was one of them who got a test because of her. g she brought that whole problem out into the open.

this is -- we had a very close relationship. is in t this is in the white house solarium. mrs. ford is trying to strangle me yet again for -- she had to put up with a lot from me, and c the queen of england, the queen is a recurring theme here among the first ladies and the social secretaries. a very quick story. this is on the second floor of the white house.is is on as queen elizabeth and the prince were going up in the elevator with the fords before t the state dinner, the elevator door opened on the family quarters, and jack ford was orda standing there without a shirt on.was look one of the sons, he was looking for cufflinks in his dad's drawer and it was very embarrassing. president ford said to the queen, see, really apologized for that. she said don't worry, we have one at home just like him.

and mrs. ford was really the eeg cheerleader of the family, as all the first ladies are.ally te i mean, the guys go out and create all this trouble and win and lose elections, and the first ladies are there to make the kids feel better certainly, but this is right after ladies president ford resigned or loste the election to jimmy carter, was in the oval office. they would go outside. mrs. ford would actually read the announcement conceding the election. and mrs. ford always felt like -- she liked this picture because she felt it showed her like kind of a bird in a cage on one hand kind of looking out at the world, and in this case down towards the west wing. both the fords gave me total access to their life, so i

really spent a lot of time upstairs and downstairs, was able to get all that. my favorite picture of mrs. ford after she died ran extensively was the day before they left the white house on january 20th, 19 -- january 19th, 1977. we were walking around in the west wing. she was saying good-bye to people. we walked by the cabinet room, and there's this empty cabinet room table and portraits of, you know, long gone presidents on eo the wall and a real male domaine and she said, you know, i've always wanted to dance on the cabinet room table, and somebody said did you ask her to do that? i said it never crossed my mind. not only did i not ask her, and so she took off her shoes and she -- she -- i'm guessing that the two of you don't have anything like this, right? i'll ask eric draper about it. this could be one in a lifetime, but she was a former martha graham dancer, great sense of humor and all that, and this wao really my favorite moment, and a

it shows who she was. you know, i'll go through very quickly through some others. this is mrs. carter the next day.e next mrs. ford did not tell her that she danced on the cabinet room table.d the carters in '76 right before the election process. ronald reagan i covered with esn president and mrs. reagan for "time" magazine. this is in the solarium, the art same room that mrs. ford tried to kill me in. and their relationship was very good. this picture never was publisheu because the editors of "time" thought it was too schmaltzy, and i said they are schmaltzy people. you have to understand they really do this kind of stuff. nobody was making it up, so -- and this is my favorite mrs. bush photo.

now, to barbara bush's credit, she has this hanging in their wa house in kennebunkport.rt. i know that because i've seen it up there, and -- but this was at the president ford library rededication, and i don't even know if you remember what you ea said to your husband, the t lorl colorfully attired one in the striped vest. she said, george, won't you ever grow up? thankfully he has not. this is hillary rodham clinton. i'll do a close-up. hilary rodham in 1974. let's go forward, and this is 2o years later as first lady. the first picture was taken in the house judiciary committee room where she was a lawyer, and this is the night before the inauguration in 1993, and the ui

couple in '96 on the campaign train. the next photo, any first lady is going to identify with, an h i've never shown it. this is the first time, and if secretary clinton sees it she t, will summarily execute me, but this is her listening to her husband. [ laughter ] so let me guess. you've heard this one before, right? but hillary clinton is a great person, and i -- i think she's terrific and has a fabulous sense of humor, and this picture i took of her i asked her to too sign if she was still talking to me after she saw it, and she signed on it dear david, i just wanted you to know that i was m thinking about you. and this was really the most d s dramatic moment. w

certainly before the presidency in the bushes' life. this is election night in the mansion, and mrs. bush and bushd governor bush and jeb, whose veb life is passing before his eyes in the florida vote count and president bush on the phone in w the background, but this was about ten minutes before al gore took back his concession which i just wish i would have heard that phone call but i didn't, so we've read about it, and the obamas. this is inaugural night.amas. i did the official -- produced the official inaugural book forh the committee. i also did the two bush books and two clinton books with my team of photographers, and -- and some photos of michelle obama. this is after eight presidential balls. this is also the first ladies will appreciate this. two more balls to go, back evatr stage, and in the elevator.