rights, affirmative action, abortion, and@@@@@@ >> twice it was reported favorably out of committee but neither time reached the united states senate. i intend to reintroduce it and you pursue it. a number of justices have commented about television. justice stevens said he favors televising the supreme court. he thinks, as he put it, it's worth a try. just ruth bader ginsburg said she would support television and the cameras as long as it was

gavel to gavel. justice alito noted that when he was on the third circuit, he voted in favor of tell televising the proceedings. >> if confirmed, he would want to consult with his colleagues about it. >> chief justice roberts left the question open. strenuously objects and such an objection has been launched by justice souter. can i tell you the day that you see a camera come into our courtroom, it is going to -- it is going to roll over my dead body. close quote. quite a dramatic statement.

well, justice souter has announced his retirement. and perhaps in the absence of that kind of strenuous objection, it would be a good time for the court to reconsider the issue. i intend to ask judge sotomayor in her confirmation hearing whether she agrees with justice souter, justice stevens in televise -- that televising the supreme court is worth a try. whether she agrees with justice breyer, that televising the proceedings is a valuable teaching advice. whether she agrees with justice kennedy, that televising the court is inevitable. and she can shed some light on the issue because her courtroom was part of a pilot program where it was televised. there was a program from 1991 through 1994 where the judicial

conference evaluated a pilot program conducted in six federal district courts an two federal circuits -- and two federal circuits and they found -- quote -- "overall attitudes of judges toward election, media coverage of civil procedures were neutral and became more favorable. the judicial centers conclusion also stated judges and attorneys who had experience with electronic media coverage under the program generally reported observing small or no effects of the presence of -- of camera presence when the participants in the proceedings courtroom to courtroom. i think those findings are a very solid step forward from some of the justices who have expressed concern of the dynamics of the court would be changed. with the ability to put a camera in a concealed position, the

findings of the judicial center, that is a solid argument in favor of proceeding, and, to repeat, i intend to continue to press the issue and the confirmation proceedings of judge sotomayor will be a good opportunity to ask her about her experience when she presided over a trial under the pilot program and to further develop the issue and perhaps to the issue and perhaps to changes follow last week's leadership resignation by senator john enson after he admitted to an extra marital affair. >> senator murkowski will

replace john thiewn as vice chairman. from earlier today, it's just under ten minutes. good afternoon. i want to introduce you to senator john thune and senator mckowski taking over the chair. we are pleased to welcome them to the chair. senator thune was previously chair. we have made the changes and we are happy to call on them for

comment and we'll take questions if there are any. john, why don't you lead off? >> thank you. i want to thank my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to continue as party chair. i think they have given us a lot of opportunity to work with, whether proposing the largest tax increase in american history, spending it at unprecedenced levels, adding an energy tax, nationalizing america with the healthcare system, calling for more

unionization. there are so many things out there that i think create opportunity for us to point out the distinctions between our vision of the future and ours. i look forward to not just challenging democrats on the things we think they are doing wrong, but also advocating a positive agenda for america's future to help address the problems and challenges the american people are facing. i'm looking forward to working with the team. i want to congratulate senator murkowski for joining this leadership team as well. i think we'll have a fun time. we have great chemistry with all of our colleagues right now in terms of what we are trying to accomplish here in the united states senate. thank you to my colleagues for

this opportunity to serve in a capacity of leadership. i have been sitting at the leadership table during this congress, but there is a difference between being there and offering your input, insight, and that of representing other members of the conference while sitting at the leadership table. as senator thune has mentioned, there is so much before us in terms of opportunities, healthcare, immigration, the issues are complicated and complex. part of what we need to do as a republican conference, we build out the agenda, most certainly, but it's also important how we explain what it is that we are offering to the american public. it's not just an issue of pushing back, for instance, on a

healthcare plan that doesn't deliver what the president is seeking in terms of reducing costs or increasing access or making sure there is continued choice in your provider. we need to, as republicans, be able to voice and express what our solutions, our plans, our proposals are and how they fit in with the agenda, whether it is from alaska to maine or parts in between. being part of the leadership team, being able to help in that capacity as we build our coalitions and advance a message that i think resonates with americans, this will be a challenge and i look forward to the opportunity of serving with my colleagues. >> what are your feelings and reactions when you hear people witness the events regarding senator enson, governor sanford

and predict more electoral gloom for the party going forward? >> we are elected to address "the people's business." we are addressing important issues here -- healthcare, climate change, what to do about guantanamo. i think the unanimous view of my colleagues is that we are here to do "the people's business." >> is this getting in the way of healthcare? >> what we are working on is what i just said. we were sent here to do "the people's business." we don't intend to be distracted by other issues out there. the most important issuer dealing with is what to do about the finest healthcare system in the world, which we already

have, which definitely needs some fixing. i think i can safely speak for all republicans that we don't believe the status quo is adequate, but we do intend to oppose things like a government-run plan. things like most of my members not in favor of the pay or play proposal. we are going to grapple with healthcare, and hopefully, at the end of the day, have a better healthcare system for america. >> do you expect disagreement on homeland security? >> i think we'll reach a agreement on branch appropriations. the majority, as indicated will go to homeland next and try to get appropriations behind us during the next recess .. thank you, everybody.

>> next, british television host david frost. he talks about the release of the nixon tapes, the middle east and british politics. from today's "washington journal," it's 20 minutes. >> we want to welcome sir david frost here at c-span and his program frost over the world. good morning, thanks for being with us. >> great to be here, steve. >> let me begin by asking you about the nixon tapes. any reaction from what you have heard from richard nixon and your own dealings with him in

the 1970's? major revelation in the last 30 years contradicting what has been in the nixon interviews. but there is this interesting stuff coming out. i missed some of it on the plane yesterday, but it is amazing that it is still coming out, and it is an indication, and i guess the movie was even more of an indication in the abiding fascination with richard nixon because he was such an enigma, so difficult to read and understand. he was the most fascinating press that we have had, really, for all of reasons.

ully clear, mr. president. >> what were they talking about there? host: that was >> what were they talking about there? >> they both wanted to grab the credit as far as they could for themselves, for the good things,

and they couldn't knock their opponents because in the judgment of history, they would have an umbilical cord. what happened is, nixon, making his bid for maximum credit, would say things like, henry kissinger was brilliant. he is unreliable at times and doesn't follow through. he would say he was intellectual in order to say he needed a father figure to run things when he was weak or changed his mind. mind. new law, henry's line was "president nixon is one of the greatest presidents we ever had. above all, he was a great delegator, and he delegated all the important things to me.

so they had this claiming the credit, but they could not knock each other directly because they were being judged by history. host: from the interviews you conducted in 1927, also from the movie "frost nixon," here is part of the exchange that gets a lot of interest. >> there are three things, to ask me. i would like to hear you say, and i think the american people would like to hear you say. one is that there is probably more than mistakes. there was wrongdoing. secondly, i did -- and i am saying this without -- i did abuse the power that i had as

president. and thirdly, i put the american people through two years of the this agony, and i apologize for that. and i know how difficult it is for anyone in most of all you, but i think that people need to hear it, and i think unless you say it, you are going to be hunted for the rest of your life. host: david frost? guest: that was one of the most dramatic moments of my life. i had said to him wench you go for the mistakes -- that once you go further than mistakes, he was more vulnerable athat point than in any time he would ever be again. when he said, "what word would you express',?" i was trying to get three points clearly on the table. before i did that, in order to

indicate to him that this was not a sort of prepared thing, this was absolutely a candid moment, i checked the clipboard on the floor to indicate that this is a special between us. the amazing thing was coming the next 20 minutes, he responded to all of those three questions, ending up by saying, when i let down the american people, i let down the whole system of government, i have to live with this for the rest of my life, this burden, etc.. the three points there, he answered them all over the next 20 minutes. host: did you ever talk to him after the interviews were concluded? guest: apart from our paths cross and at a restaurant, after the interviews were done, we added to them the -- we edited them. i went to take my leave of him, and as we were leaving california, that was an

extraordinary experience. you never hear of the thought that richard nixon was carefree. that was never the word. but that day, for 20 minutes, all those screens that he had around him to block out the rest of the world and intimacy with people were up for 20 minutes, and that was an extraordinary experience. he called me david, and he had not said david in a whole month. he said to my girlfriend, come on, i will show you around the house. "that was where brezhnev's slept." for 20 minutes, when did see a difference. just at the end, but still very affable, the walls closed in around him again. for 20 minutes of carefreeness, it was extraordinary. but other than that, no further contact. host: debbie is on the phone from west palm beach. good morning.

caller: mr. frost, obviously you are renowned for your interview with nixon, and that was absolutely fantastic and thank you for that. but my questions today are on a two. . the first being, what are your thoughts about the wiretapping under the bush administration and the cell phone companies having immunity? the second point is, you're famous interview with benazir bhutto. for those listening, she was the former pakistan prime minister, and she was working to return to pakistan. you interviewed her in november of 2007. and in that famous interview, she mentioned that osama bin laden had been killed. in retrospect are hindsight, do you regret not picking that point up? host: thank you, debbie. guest: well, my view of that

particular moment was that it was just a slip of the time. in the context of what she was saying at that point, it really made no sense at all, and so i took that to be a slip of the tongue, and she did not mean osama bin laden. but she meant somebody else's name. i knew that that day, and today it is slightly faded. that is why i did not. you are quite right, i did that interview in november with benazir bhutto after the attended assassination on october 18. she announced on the program, on al jazeera english, across the world. then we get an interview tragically, and sadly, on december 27, which was the last interview she ever gave, when she was just planning to return. december 27, i should say, was the day of the assassination. the interview was early in december. but it was one of the last thing

she ever did. she was talking in dubai about her family wanting to go back to fight for democracy and freedom in the country. her children were urging her on, wanting her to go on, even though they all knew the risk to is taking. there were times in her life of a controversial -- she was a very brave, idealistic young woman, and she knew the risks she was taking when she went back. unfortunately, that came to pass on december 27, 2007. host: where in england are you from? guest: all over because my father was a methodist minister. he used to get posters outside the church trying to get people into his room on sunday. he put up one sign that said come to church on sunday and avoid the christmas rush. we lived about 50 miles from london in all sorts of directions, north, east, south. so my accent is 50 miles out of

london in all directions. that is my accent. host: betty, on the phone from waukegan, illinois. caller: i heard from another tv station that nixon said he would agree to abortion if the child was conceived by an interracial couple. do you know anything about that? host: that from the recording released by the national archives. guest: i was staggered by that. there were two nixon's of course, the good nixon and the bad nixon. the bad nixon won out. he did use controversial words for italians and other people in the tapes come off the record, things we had. the only thing that surprises me, and obviously i am sure it

is true, and that was a side of nixon. but in fact, his record, oddly enough, on race, was actually better than several presidents after him, which is rarely realized. if you go back on the progress he made, i think he had a fairly primitive, primitive view of races. the main view of nixon that really brought him down with his paranoia. it had nothing to do with race, but his paranoia. host: more from the interview, february, 1973. a conversation with the then chairman of the republican party, george herbert walker bush. >> george. >> mr. president and the >>. >> i noticed a very -- a couple of very attractive women and republicans in the legislature. i spoke to harry dent about it

when he came in to see me the other day. i said, you know, i was rather surprised that they were there. i do not want to go through -- i want you to be sure to emphasize to our people, let's look for some because i think a woman might win in some places that a man might not. >> i will keep it in mind, sir. >> these are to the bureau in the state legislature. they are good-looking and bright, and they are said to be two of the best members in the house. >> that is terrific. host: that is george herbert walker bush. guest: what was the date on that?

host: february of 1973. guest: it is there a plan to release that to the nixon library? host: there are another 1400 hours to be released over the next couple of years. guest: there is an abiding fascination because this enigma of richard nixon went from one extreme to the other. there will always be fascination until another in the wreck comes along. other presidents are straightforward compared to the complexity of nixon. nixon was a man who never had any small talk. he was a great pro politician. five minutes of small talk before the meeting actually began. i went down to a session to negotiate the terms. you would not see the editorial programs. there was five minutes of small talk, in which we would admit that the president does not have any.

there was a picture of brezhnev in the paper, so i mention this. his response, "i would not want to be a russian leader. they never know when they are being taped." he had no sense of dramatic irony. host: a twitter, "was the movie actor about your life and your interviews? guest: i agree. i think that is one of the reasons the reviews are so terrific because people know it was an independent film. those 10 minutes of fiction, there are one or two bits of the throughout. but basically i thought they did a fantastic job. i basically thought it was a really good film, and i am honored to have been featured. host: if we have time we were short excerpt, but let's go to

maggie on the phone. caller: thank you for c-span to the reason i am falling mr. frost is basically i've been trying to call this morning regarding governor sanford in his relation, the situation he is in and how he is being disgraced, and how nixon was disgraced. i am very concerned for governor sanford. it seems that he has lost everything, and he obviously loves that woman. i wish the papers and the people would leave him alone for a little while. guest: interesting, yes. there is a perpetual debate, and we come on it from time to time about what is the public's business and what is not. for instance, the doings of governance and so on, those obviously valid. but then, i mean, obviously with the stories of children about 15 or something, they are not

running for office. a politician has not cashed in on them. there is no reason why that intrusion should take place, i think. i think it is a question of where you draw the line. there is a case of an mp in england, he had not cashed in on his marriage when it was already over. he had never done that. you look back to the three years in the marriage ended had not been in existence properly, and he had never used a photograph of his wife or his children. he had never falsely done that. in the press therefore treated him very leniently because he had not tried to cash in on his private life. whereas when someone has run for office very much with "darling" and stuff, and later it turned out that was a fraud, then in that case the person