american history tv is featuring monterey, california. our cities tour staff recently traveled there to learn about its rich history. learn more about monterey other stops on her tour at c-span.org /cities tour. you are watching american history tv, all weekend, every .eekend, on c-span three until the 2016 presidential election, american history tv brings you archival coverage of past presidential candidates. to the white house rewind" we look back to the 1988 campaign and republican donald rumsfeld discussing his presidential aspirations at a meeting of the eastern states sign council. mr. rumsfeld dropped out of the 88 presidential race about three weeks after this event. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, i'm delighted to be with you. i listened to that it reduction id it reminded me that mentioned one time i was a new grandfather. wasink the granddaughter born in august of last year, so six months or something like that. up to me afterwards and said how old is your granddaughter. i said only two or three months old. he said you are not grandfather. i said what do you mean? he said you are not a grandfather until the little girl sits on your lap, looks up at you and says i love you, grandfather. so i'm a recent one.

i listened to various things i've been involved with over the years and i remember when my daughter called me from college. reading aboute you in class and i said current events eschew mark she said history. it made me feel like an antique. washington fresh out of the navy in 1957 as an assistant to a congressman. eisenhower was president. i knocked down doors and ended up working for a congressman from ohio. it seemed like a logical thing to do at a father that serve in world war ii who traveled, lived around the country and we became interested in government. after 20 years in government, i went home and went into business. it has been a terrific experience. important, to be sure, it

provides the taxes, jobs for products and services for this country. it also provides the economic security and technological advancements of our country, and it is worthwhile and ought not be undervalued. i thought what i would do today is save some time for questions and answers. minutes in the room two before a lot of questions started coming at me. take a couple of minutes to talk about our future as a country and second, a little bit about the 1988 presidential campaign. if you think back to the post-world war ii time and those of us who lived during that time, most of our adult lives,

we enjoyed a citizenship in a country that had a substantial margin for error. we were the military power in the world, whereas today, we are one of two superpowers. we were the economy and today, we were one of three, part of an integrated, global economy. there has been a shift in our circumstance and a shift in the world, if one thinks about our world, looks at this morning's newspaper, there are 30,000 cambodians about to be pushed out of thailand back into cambodia, where their life prospects are uncertain. there are 20,000 palestinians in beirut which we were talking about earlier today, without food, being shot at. soviet troops in afghanistan, wars on four continents. it's a difficult world, a dangerous world, unlike us in

our belief in political and economic freedom. as that shift is taking place, it seems our margin for error has changed. when you have a big margin for error, you can afford to be neglectful, the marshal your efforts and go in and be right. andif you have $100 loose you lose five dollars it doesn't matter. and if you have five dollars and lose five dollars, that's everything. 1990's,ok out into the each of us is going to be living in a new era where it will require new policies and a new type of leadership at all levels. the goal of not be to get into a crisis and manage it skillfully, the goal is to make those calibrations early so they can be modest rather than late when they will inevitably be violent, wrenching, and damaging to human

beings. no one with any sense suggests the goal is to get into a nuclear war and win it. the goal is to behave in a way before the fact in a way that we can contribute to peace and stability in the world. economic area. the latest word is competitiveness. i read that every day and smile because the implication is american manufacturing is gone. this year was the all-time high and american manufacturing. we have some problems in this country, but on the other hand, we do have the weight, the capability, and the people to do in terms of our economic circumstance. let me offer a couple of suggestions about the world and our economic situation and the problem i think is related,

which is our character as a people. the goals we set for ourselves and the things we aspire to. as a people isto that they point a direction. with respect to the world, i would smit we have no choice as a nation but to engage in the world. backnnot think we can go and have those two big oceans be barriers. there's the speed of communication, the range and reach of weapons and we need to ideas in the battle of and we have the most powerful ideas. in the "new york times" a couple of weeks ago said the united states government opened up 5000 visa

spots for the whole year of 1987 and that within 10 days, there were 1,030,000 human beings from 35 countries who applied to come to the united states. think what that says about our country. we are the symbol, the standard, the haven. bill bennett, the secretary of said give it the gate test -- lift up the gate and see which way they move. let me talk about our competitive situation. why do we have a $170 billion trade deficit? why are people moving into new hampshire and out of some other states? why do i want to put a plant in ye state instead of another? as secretary of defense will like to have a military base in one city and seven other? the answer to all of those

questions is the same -- people have choices and they make choices. seek something better. money seeks a return. andknow what you measure prove and focus on that, it gets better. in fact, countries that tilt toward the freer systems, the freer economic systems in fact are attracting people. could look down from mars on this world, we would see the dictated,t are highly communist systems, socialist systems, tend not to be working for their people. those who tend toward economic freedom are.

i would add one other thing. simple, but people ask me how do the japanese and germans walk past so many important industrial sectors. they have all kinds of theories. they did it because they decided they wanted to. they decided it was important to their economic security and economic progress. behaviored their against what it would contribute to their becoming competitive. in the united states, we didn't. we did not need to worry about those things, so we were neglectful and went about our business. that is where the trade deficit came from. now people are wondering what we are to do about it. some say protectionism. i think not. we have tried that in this world and there's no question it's like when you take your youngster out.

you teach them how to ride a bike and feel a little silly and hold on the handlebars and then let go and you know if you let go, they may fall and skin their knee, but you also know if you don't let go of the sea, you will have a 35-year-old who can't write a bike. [laughter] you look at across this world that protected industries, they are weak, uncompetitive and in decline. by the same token, we need to ensure fair access to other markets. ande are nontariff barriers unfair trade practices. we need to organize the government and show we are serious. it doesn't look like we are serious and as a result, other go about go across -- their business and the playing field is not level.

some suggest we had to have a national industrial policy. the japanese have one and they have been wrong as often as they have been right. i worry about government health. what you need is less regulation rather than government help. government help is like eating with thetting them but hippopotamus. it feels warm and good for 15 minutes and it rolls over and crushes you. [laughter] thing on ourne economic circumstance. there are a lot of people i would call doomsayers. they are saying things are really terrible. is thingsf the matter are not really terrible in this country. we've got some problems, no question. a few countries in the world have demonstrated a greater willingness to focus on their ability to compete than we have.

we have something like 70% of the computers in the world, a country of 240 million people. we have the ability to compete. all we have to do is decide to do it. the tax bill was tested against three things as revenue neutrality, simplicity, and freed us. what should it have been tested against? what is it going to do to improve the competitive position of the united states of america in the world? and ourested that bill other behavior public and private, but that we as a country can compete. i have a great deal of confidence in this system of ours. there's an assumption on one of the prognosticators that there would be a static response since

things in place would stay in place. is aistory shows there dynamic response, a cumulative response. the third thing is related and that is our hopes and aspirations for our country. enthusiasm,f everyone believes in free speech, so everyone was speaking freely and we began behaving as though every idea were as good as every other idea. every idea isn't as good as every other idea. of economiche head opportunity in the next and administration. people would say i have ideas, bold, innovative and blue that -- and new. i sought more ideas that were

bold, innovative, new and stupid that you can imagine. we need more people who read the minutes of the last meeting. we need schools that produce people who are capable of doing the things that are necessary in our society. your, fulfilling responsibility. and avoid this cycle of dependency. third, open up a lifetime of learning. world where change is inevitable and we need to continue learning as we go through life. i would say in conclusion there's no need for america to be safe or two confused to be competitive. about a navytory

man that reminded me about the story of a man in the navy worked his way up and became a stripes, skipfull over battleship, the biggest thing in the ocean. the man at the helm said there's a ship out ahead. captain said tell the ship to bear starboard. back comes the signal, bear starboard it yourself. not like that. use the biggest thing in the ocean. he said signal a ship to bear starboard immediately. back comes the signal, bear starboard immediately yourself. -- bearridiculous starboard immediately, i'm a battleship. signal, bearis starboard immediately yourself, i am a lighthouse. [laughter] unitedhthouse for the

states of america is political and economic freedom. need to understand it, value it come preserve it and expand it. in our country and in our world, ist a word on 1988 -- when went home after 20 years in the government and started in the i stopped reading the washington post cold turkey and lived. i'm a different person having been in business for 10 years. you deal with different problems .ith different people i thought about running for the presidency in 1977 and made a judgment to go home. to inof friends i turned again atess, i looked them in 1985 and it looked like

it would be wide open in 1988. after spending a good time traveling in the country and meeting with an awful lot of people, i concluded it is wide open and there is a generational change taking place and they people who have tended to -- it is verycene difficult for a vice president to run for president. we have not elected a vice president president in 150 years in our country. second, front runners tend to not do well, and third, it is more of a marathon than a sprint. most candidates seem to defeat themselves rather than be defeated by someone else. i know the other candidates and they are good men. they have strengths and weaknesses as i have strengths

and weaknesses. i suspect the test will be what in theircan people insides feel about our country, our countries circumstance in the world, and out of various candidates backgrounds, hopes and aspirations for our country fit with those needs. my sense is that it is important to know how the economy in our country works as well as how washington works. my sense is it's important to know how the executive branch of the federal government works and there's a between executive and legislative leadership. is almoste leadership by definition to take the inbox and and up with the lowest common denominator. executive leadership requires planning standard out ahead -- a direction to point, hire good people and arranging them.

ining that they work well harness together. unless you are a mozart or einstein, most of what all of all of us dof what in our lives, we do it by working together. the current difficulties in -- is mr. suggest fritz newman here? you have a phone call. thank you. last, it seems to me the current problems in washington suggest it's important to know how the world works. a background in foreign policy and defense policy, it does make a difference to sitting across the table from gorbachev and it makes it difference is making the judgments that will affect , our children and our

grandchildren. last week, i formed an exploratory committee for the presidency and i'm anticipating announcing for the presidency in late april or early march. currently jimmy the greek has me at 51. [laughter] some of you are going out to las vegas, so you can talk about that. on the other hand, i like that decision, given the history of presidential races. from time to time, the voters of new hampshire have taken joy in proving the political experts and automakers wrong. i was asked wide you want to run for president? like -- ianswer is i come alike each of you, want to build a better country for our children and grandchildren.

thank you very much. >> road to the white house rewind continues with former defense secretary dick cheney at a des moines register editorial meeting in march, 1994. esther cheney talks about his exploring iran in the 1996 election as well as topics like the gulf war. he ultimately announced nine months after this taping that he would not join the presidential race. kansas senator bob dole one to 96 republican nomination but lost to president clinton in the general election. >> we are grateful to see you. what you doing here? mr. cheney: i'm here today to speak to the realtors, which i did this morning at 11:00. this evening, i will do a fundraiser for the iowa state republican