partnership of lady bird and lyndon johnson. >> lady bird johnson is an important -- a perfect example of the inclusion, those women saw something in those men, the toition, the opportunity really climb and make a mark in the world and they married in spite of objective -- objection. she is a good example of that. that is why i decided i had to find out more about her. >> each week until the 2016 presidential election, american history tv brings you archival coverage. next, on "road 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]

>> dig, thank you for that muchck, i thank you very delightful introduction. ladies and gentlemen, i'm delighted to be with you. i listened to that it reduction and it reminded me that i mentioned one time i was a new grandfather. i think the granddaughter was born in august of last year, so six months or something like that. the men came up to me afterwards and said how old is your granddaughter. i said only two or three months old. he said you are not a 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. she said we are reading about you in class and i said current events eschew mark she said history. it made me feel like an antique. i went to 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. it is 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. i wasn't in the room two minutes before a lot of questions started coming at me. let 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. 150,000 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. but if you have $100 loose and you lose five dollars it doesn't matter. and if you have five dollars and lose five dollars, that's everything. as we look out into the 1990's, 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. so, too, in the 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 what we want 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. what we aspire to as a people is 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. we cannot think we can go back and have those two big oceans be barriers. there's the speed of communication, the range and reach of weapons and we need to engage in the battle of ideas and we have the most powerful ideas. an article in the "new york

times" a couple of weeks ago -- a couple months ago, no more than two inches long, 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 education says, if you really want to know about the world, 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

one state instead of another? why as secretary of defense will like to have a military base in one city and seven other? -- would i like to have a military base in one study -- in one city instead of another city question mark -- in another city? the answer to all of those questions is the same -- people have choices and they make choices. they seek something better. money seeks a return. each of you know that in business. you know what you measure improves. focus on that, it gets better. in fact, countries that tilt toward the freer systems, the freer economic systems in fact are attracting people. if we could look down from mars on this world, we would see the system that are highly dictated, communist systems, socialist systems, tend not to be working for their people. those who tend toward economic

freedom are providing more for their people. i would add one other thing. it sounds simple, but people ask me how do the japanese and germans walk past so many important industrial sectors. they have all kinds of theories. it seems to me it is simple. they did it because they decided they wanted to. they decided it was important to their economic security and economic progress. they tested their behavior against what it would contribute to their becoming competitive. in the united states, we didn't. we had the economy on the face of the earth. 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 coming up with a lot of conclusions as to what we should 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 to teach them how to ride a bike. and you feel a little silly and hold on the handlebars and then let go and you know if you let go of the seat, they may fall and skin their knee, but you also know if you don't let go of the seat, you will have a 35-year-old who cannot ride a bike. [laughter] you look across this world at protected industries. they are weak, uncompetitive and in decline. by the same token, we need to ensure fair access to other markets. there are nontariff barriers and unfair trade practices. we need to organize the government of the united states to do that, too show we are serious.

it doesn't look like we are serious about it. and as a result other countries go about their business and the playing field is not level. some suggest we had to have a national industrial policy. i think not. the japanese have one and they have been wrong as often as they have been right. i worry about government help. what you need is less regulation rather than government help. government help is like getting in bed with a hippopotamus. the thing rolls over on your crushes you. [laughter] i would add one thing. on our economic circumstance. a lot of people are doomsayers. they are saying that things are really terrible. things are not really terrible in this country. we have got some problems.

few countries in this world have developed a greater ability to focus on the problems that we have. we have about 70% of the computers in the world. we have the ability to compete. all we have to do is decide to do it. the tax bill had revenue neutrality, simplicity and fairness. you heard those over and over again. it should have been tested against, what is it going to do for risk-taking and investment? how will it improve the competitive position of this country. if we tested that bill against that goal, there is no question but that we as a country can compete. there is an assumption that there will be a static response. things that are in place will remain in place.

it is actually a dynamic response. a cumulative response. the american people come together and begin to focus on the problems. our hopes and aspirations for our country. the character of our country. in the 1960's, everyone was speaking freely. we began behaving as if every idea was as good as every other idea. that's not true. when i was head of the office of economic opportunity, people

would say i have a bold innovative idea. i would lean forward and want to hear about it. i saw more ideas that were bold, innovative, new and stupid. we need people in the country who have 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. fulfilling their citizenship responsibilities. avoiding the cycle of dependency and has to increased in our country. opening up a lifetime of learning. a world where change is inevitable. we all need to continue learning. in conclusion, there is no need for america to be new -- too weak to be safe. there is a wonderful story that a navy man.

we were telling old war stories. the man who worked his way up and became a full captain, for stripes. skipper of a battleship. he was steaming around the atlantic. the captain said tell the ship to bear starboard. the captain knew he was in the biggest thing in the ocean. he said signal that ship to bear starboard immediately. the other ship said bear starboard yourself. the captain said i am a battleship. the other side said bear starboard yourself, i am a lighthouse. [laughter]

the lighthouse for america is political and economic freedom. we need to expand it. in our country and in our world. just a word on 1988, i went home after 20 years in the government. i stopped reading the washington post cold turkey. i am a different person for having been in business for 10 years. you get a different perspective. i thought about running for the presidency in 1976. i decided to be away from

government for. . bush and dole and anderson and connolly all ran. it looked like he would be wide open in 1988. after spending a lot of time traveling around the country, i have concluded that is wide open. a generational changes taking place in both parties. the people who dominated the scene will be off the same. is very difficult for vice president to run for president. we have not elected a vice president as president in 150 years. front runners don't do that well. it is more of a marathon that a sprint. most candidates seem to defeat themselves. i know the other candidates and they are good men.

they have strengths and weaknesses as i do. the test will be what the american people feel about our country's circumstances in the world. how the various candidates backgrounds and aspirations mesh with those needs. my sense is, is important to know how the economy works. you need to know how the executive branch of the federal government works. there is difference between executive and legislative leadership. the legislature takes the inbox and averages it and winds with the lowest common denominator. executive leadership requires planning, a direction to point.

hiring good people. unless you are a mozart or einstein, most of what we do in our lives we do with other people. the current difficulties in washington suggest, mr. fritz newman you have a phone call. the current problems in washington suggest is also important to know how the world works. a background in foreign policy and defense policy is important. it makes a difference if you are sitting across the table from gorbachev. making the judgments that will

affect us and our children and our grandchildren. last week i formed an exploratory committee for the presidency. i am anticipating announcing in late april or early march. jimmy the greek has me at 50 to one odds. some of you are going out to las vegas even talk to him about that. i like that position. from time to time, the voters of new hampshire have taken joy in proving the political experts wrong.

i was asked why do you want to run for president. the short answer is i like each of you want to try to help build a better country for our children and our 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. mr. cheney talks about his exploring a run in the 1996 presidential election as well as topics such as the gulf war. he ultimately announced about nine months after this taping that he would not join the presidential race. kansas senator bob dole won the 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. is