for christmas. this is about 10 minutes. >> please enjoy,, michelle obama and -- ladies and gentleman, michelle >> hello. good afternoon. welcome to the white house and happy holidays. thanks to all of you for joining us today as we preview how we will mark the holidays at the white house. like many years past, we have been planning this day since this summer. our starting point was a very simple idea, that we include as many people and as many places in as many ways as we can. we decided to do something

different. we took about 800 ornaments left over from previous administrations and sent them to 60 local community groups and ask them to decorate them to pay tribute to a favorite local landmark, and send them back to us for display at the white house. today, thanks to the east wing and residence staff, and 92 volunteers who spent more than 3400 hours decorating over the last several days, we have ornaments hanging on the tree throughout the white house and ever were else that includes the statue of liberty, mount rushmore, the kennedy center space center, as well as davy crockett park in tennessee, pompeii's pillar, and the lincoln park zoo in chicago.

we also have one of our favorite traditions on display, the gingerbread masterpiece by our brilliant chef and his team. this year we included something different. in addition to the gingerbread white house we also have the white house kitchen garden on the south lawn, a shadow box that lets you look into the gingerbread white house and view the dining room. there is also a boat replica, so that is a new edition. we opened the doors last night to the first of more than 50,000 visitors who will come to the white house during this holiday season, and is safe to say everyone was really impressed. i heard you all party in last night. you had a great to time. for many people a visit to the white house is a once-in-a-

lifetime experience. is it is made more magical because of your hard work. i want to take a moment to thank our volunteers who spent so much time making this white house a special treat. we hope you had as good a time as it sounded like last night. your work has transformed the white house which is the people's house. we are grateful for everything you have done to make this a special treat for all of us. i want to take a moment to talk about why we chose this year's theme which is reflect, rejoiced, and renewed. for the obama family, christmas has always been a time to reflect on our many blessings, to rejoice in the pleasure of spending time with family and friends, and renew our commitment to one another and

the causes we believe end. i wanted to continue that during our first holiday season at the white house. this year has been filled with an infinite number of blessings for me and my family. i say this all the time but every day i am honored to be the first lady. from the day my family arrived here i wanted the american people to share in our journey, to share in the excitement that makes the white house such a special landmark in this nation. that is why we have worked so hard to invite as many people as possible to events at the white house. we have tried to showcase talents and contributions of our artists and students and masters of -- ordinary citizens of every age. the idea has been to create an

environment where every story is a welcome and the white house and for all of us to rejoice in their accomplishments and celebrate contributions. in the new year we intend to renew this effort and continue this average so that everyone feels like they have a place here at the white house. i know many people approach the holidays in the same way in their own lives. at this time of year for so many people they are looking for opportunities to give banks and give back. we are doing the same thing -- to give thanks. we are doing the same thing this year. we are supporting local food banks and the taurus -- the toys for tots program. hunter is on the rise in this country. a recent report reveals that in

2008 an estimated 1.1 million children were living in households that experience under multiple times over this year. -- that experienced hunger multiple times. no family should have to worry that they will not have food on the table, not just during the holidays but every day. to combat hunger in coordination with the u.s. department of agriculture, we are launching the united we surf feed a neighbor initiative. -- united we serve feed a neighbor program. this is a great way for you and all americans to give back not just during the holidays but

throughout the year. by going to serve.gov, this program will connect americans to delivering meals to homebound seniors, offering professional skills at a food pantry or planning a community garden. we are pleased to be supporting me toys for tots program. i have had the privilege of missing servicemen and women and -- privilege of visiting servicemen and women. each time i visit a base or meet with members of the armed forces i am struck not just by the sacrifices they and their families make to serve our country, but by all they do to help others in their own communities. the u.s. marine corps reserve

toys for tots program is a great example of how servicemen and women are doing even more than just serving our country and in uniform. for more than 62 years marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children. in 2008 the program was active in at 657 communities in all 50 states, pr -- puerto rico and the virgin islands. they destroyed it toys to 7.6 million children. i am thrilled this year that the white house staff will be supporting these efforts with the toy drive to make the holiday is brighter for children. the headquarters is located outside of marine corps base quantico and i look forward to

visiting to personally deliver it toys that we collect here at the white house. these are just two ways we will be marking the holidays here at the white house. the president and i are urging everyone to join us in these efforts or to find some way to give back some time during this season. on behalf of the obama family, i wish all of you a joyous holiday season. it is my pleasure to introduce toys for tots president, lieut. general pete osmond will provide additional information. thank you very much. so good to have you. >> thank you. the first lady really said is right when she said that service members serve our country in so many ways. not only overseas and some

hazardous areas, but also on the home front. for the last 62 years marines have been collecting and distributing toys to less fortunate children to help bring to them the joy of christmas and send a message of hope for those children. as she said, the program has been around for 62 years, started in 1947 with a single campaign in los angeles. in that year marines collected 5000 toys and distributor -- distributed them to less fortunate children in that area. this year we are conducting 691 local campaigns in cities all across the nation in all 50 states and the virgin islands and puerto rico as well.

last year we are able to distribute 16.2 million toys to over 7 million children. we could not do this without the work of the marines behind me and all across our country, our thousands of volunteers, but most importantly from the support we get from the american public. this year we all know the demand for toys will increase. we expect a huge demand and we want to meet it. we don't want to see a child wake up without something under their christmas tree, so we are appealing to the american public to make that difference that we need. mrs. obama, i want to thank you for your efforts on our behalf and the collection of toys that

will take place here. i want to thank you for the great support you are giving the entire campaign across the nation this year. i would ask all americans to join mrs. obama, the marines standing behind me and those all over the country in helping to collect toys that we need to bring the joint of christmas and -- to bring the joy of christmas to less fortunate children. thank you again, mrs. obama. it is only 23 days until christmas. [laughter] >> thank you again for being here. enjoy the house. thank you for your help. happy holidays. take care. [applause]

>> a rare glimpse into america's highest court threw unprecedented conversations with 10 supreme court justices about the court and the history of the supreme court building. five days of interviews with supreme court justices starting monday on c-span. get your own copy of our documentary on the beat the. it is part of the american icons -- a copy of our documentary on dvd. it is available at c-span.org >> now available is -- now available isc-span's book on abraham lincoln. from his early years to his life in the white house and his relevance today. abraham lincoln, at your favorite bookseller and now on

digital audio. learn more at c-span.org /lincolnbook. >> "the economist" magazine hold an event earlier this month. we will hear from a panel that includes david gregory, eric cantor and joseph lockhart. this lasts about an hour. [applause] >> please welcome daniel franklin, eric cantor, joseph lockhart, adam boulton, and david gregory. [applause]

>> pete has taken you around the world wants and we will go around the world but start with this country. let me introduce our panelists first of all. congressman eric cantor, very familiar to everyone not just in this town but this country. republican whip and a busy year ahead of him. joseph lockhart was chief spokesman for the clinton white house and is now a founding partner of the [unintelligible] which is a large and flourishing specialist in media relations, and very familiar around this town as well. adam boulton is a familiar face

on british television but knows his way around washington as well. he was here for the first 100 days of the obama administration, but he is also one of the most experienced and respected commentators on not only british politics but politics around the world. last but not least, david gregory who is the host of "meet the press." a chance to thank you for allowing us to be present at your program yesterday. thank you very much. congressman, i imagine that we are sitting here one year from now and you are looking back on 2010. apart from the her wrote republican victory in the midterms, what would be the highlights of the political year? >> if we are looking back one

year from now the story has to pay the progress -- the story has to be the progress made on the jobs front. this has been a year in 2009 about whether washington will focus on getting americans back to work. if i look at where we have been in the last 11 months, i remember the instance when i was meeting with the president in january. it was said by both parties that we would do everything we could to try to get this economy going again. what has been so baffling to me is how is it that we continue to say we are putting jobs first but we see the kinds of proposals that continue to be revealed that don't help people get back to work. today in the news very much is the issue of climate change and

cap and trade. and the promotion of that effort. now we see an effort to declare a public endangerment of carbon emissions. that has sent shock waves through industry and through the job creators. we have a situation where there is a disconnect between the proposals being pushed by this administration over the last year, and i am fearful the same thing will occur in 2010. we all want to get americans back to work. i think long-term we will look back and see what this town has done about the deficit we are facing. people understand the credit card is maxed out and there are limited options. you can borrow from the chinese

or raise taxes. neither of which help the primary concern of americans, which is getting back to work. i gave a speech last week of proposals we can take that don't cost anything to try to help this economy. if we live in that direction, maybe november will turn at tivoli. -- if we move in that direction. people in this country have a real sense of pessimism because they are scared and they don't see leadership addressing their concerns. president obama was elected because he said we needed change. what people want now this certainty. >> as an outsider coming into america i am struck by the

fundamental optimism of this country. what you are describing speaks to a grumpy mood next year. do you think that is right? will we see the optimistic upside of america on display as well? >> we saw a part of this administration that said, it has been 11 months, maybe we ought to talk about jobs and the kinds of issues people face around the kitchen table, which is worrying about college tuition or if they can retire early. if jobs is the key to that maybe we should take encouragement. what i did not hear was the recognition on the part of the white house that we ought to do something to reduce the price of risk. that is what we are counting on to create jobs need to hear.

until we see some focus on the number one issue, which is economic security, i am fearful we may see a grumpy electorate. >> are you fearful or do you want it? >> will your thanksgiving table next year be more cheerful? >> thankfully i am not running for everything so there is a lot i can disagree with. we can turn this into cable television quickly and that is not good for anybody. there are some analogous circumstances to where we were in 1993. if you have a difficult economic

situation, much worse than when president clinton took over. what you have seen this year is a lot of tough decisions made. this president did not want to save big banks, that is not why he ran for president. i don't think he wanted to run deficits, but the economy had to get going. how quickly do all of these things -- how quickly will they turn the economy? it will turn, i am optimistic about the future. i don't think we have seen our best days. if it does not turn quickly enough -- last week was a good first step but we will see steps forward and backwards. it will be tough if it does not turn quickly for our incumbents.

>> one of the issues for the democrats is motivating the base at a time when things might be rough and you don't have the excitement of any presidency. how do you see that? >> midterm elections are difficult for the incumbent party. this is a country that is grumpy and looking for a solution to difficult problems. if there was an instant solution i assume president bush would have done it before he left. we were talking about -- democrats in 2008 made significant advances on how to motivate people through technology. whether that can be built upon

for 2010, if it can that is a big advantage. i am certain republicans have their own plans. we tend to leapfrog each other. >> do you feel the democrats [unintelligible] >> i worked for john kerry for a couple of months in 2004. i was surprised by how much smarter the republican campaign once. in 2008 republicans were surprised by what's -- by what democrats were able to do. i think democrats on paper have an advantage. a couple of years in the wilderness is a motivator. if we don't have that advantage, that points to a tough year.

>> you are familiar with america but coming with an outsider perspective. he spent a lot of time here at the beginning of the obama administration. what do you see the dynamics next year? >> i am not sure the midterm elections will matter that much. i think the rest of the world already perceives the president is having a great deal of trouble with congress with trying to get through what he wants to get through. i suspect just as president obama gets the nobel prize, the assumption could be the wrong one, is that he looks like a two-term president. they tend to go for two terms.

i think there is still in europe a tremendous amount of goodwill and feeling that the economic crisis has been handled well. the government's in britain and america have behaved in a similar way which makes it paradoxical i would agree with congress, -- agreed that gordon brown will lose the election. that is partly because of the fact they are tired with the incumbent government. its effect of time for change. gordon brown is on charismatic. -- gordon brown is unchar

ismatic. there is another factor which we have not mentioned it sufficiently, which is bad britain has turned dramatically against the post-9/11 conflict. there are 100 casualties in afghanistan for britain this year. that is the highest number, and that has poisoned politics for the incumbent governor. tony blair is a viciously unpopular in britain. there is no section of society where you mention his name and people don't -- people almost spit at the mention of his name. it is not surprising he spent so much time abroad. >> there are other reasons for that. >> what most people want for

christmas is they would love the -- they would love tony blair to be convicted. it is expressing itself in [inaudible] >> in this blessed world we live and you are describing a situation where it is probably news that tony blair is so unpopular in britain. [unintelligible] >> obama was certainly more popular abroad. >> president obama is still much more popular abroad and his popularity has not rubbed off abroad to the extent it has in this country. the reputations don't travel as quickly as you might think others travel.

cracks it is because of democracy. if you have rival party is going -- international politics, there is a bunch of leaders in office. it does not matter where they come from ideologically. the other factor is that we are at the end of an era where people make political assumptions that the market was good and it could sort out a lot of the problems that the world faced. now there is realization what we call a state, has a bigger role at a time when the government

can find the money to occupy that bigger role and has to rely on individual responsibility. that is the question we have been talking about, that balance between private enterprise and the role of the central state. >> how do you think it has been in the past? what has been the dynamic of discourse in washington? what momentum will be approaching in 2010 as the political temperature heats up? >> new president's understand it

is a tough place to change coltrane late. there is limits to what presidents can do with their own coalition even within their party. then they run at the ambition of the other party. i think congressman cantor does well. there are what republicans will take into battle in the midterm year, which is a look at the status quo. they are not a party of ideas because they don't want to be. i think they will move into a time where they will get more aggressive in presenting contrast, but now they are happy to say look at the unemployment and the deficit. they will do this to say look at the status quo.

i think the discourse got off to a bad start. the white house underestimated how difficult health care would be as a matter of public debate. they could have taken a closer look at how quickly the debate can be sidetracked during the clinton administration and how the opposition chose to go about it. the president was irritated at the response in his press conference when he held forth and explained the remedies of the health-care system. the question came up about professor gates. the president was irritated that was the take away. he didn't realize he was not breaking through, which is difficult to understand.

i think the this course will continue -- i think the discourse will continue. there is a reason why congress is never popular, they are involved in the ugliest process. presidents are evaluated by achievement. when the president -- when he gets health care passed, you will see that become more popular, but he needs some achievement. >> let's suppose health care does happen. what does the agenda of move on to? there is still climate change. >> they will talk about that. it is about jobs.

last week was an interesting juxtaposition. i think jobs are more likely to define him. if you look at the recession in the early 1980's, it dropped within seven months to single digits. that was perfect in time for the election. the democrats -- they need this under their leadership. in 2004 karl rove said to president bush, if the question is terrorism the answer is george bush. that worked. it termed a viet nam war veteran into someone tough

enough to take on the terrorists. the democrats have to find a way to turn this in a better direction by the midterm point. >> could i come back to you on something joe said, that somehow in this constantly changing battle the democrats moved ahead in terms of their use of technology. what can we expect from the republican party in the midterm? >> i think the best place to look is in virginia new jersey in the gubernatorial elections. i know in virginia wheat out surpassed -- we outsurpassed the vote -- it is coupled with a

very disciplined campaign led by bob mcdonnell. cho is correct, the motivation of those out of party -- joe is correct. on also think that it has to do with real challenges. people have problems at home. when you look at unemployment and it is at a 10%. they say the unofficial rate, is working part-time jobs or giving up is probably closer to 20%. that is extraordinary. everybody who is not out of a job knows someone who is. when you see a candidate like bob mcdonnell put forth a vision to say i will be the jobs

governor and translate that vision. i will take an issue with david his says we don't talk about issues. we don't think it is a sexy of a story to cover our ideas now. the president [inaudible] it is their agenda which is now -- >> what is the big idea ? >> the big idea is to produce an environment where we can have job creation. that is where the obama administration policy agenda disadvantages democrats in the upcoming election and advantages us. the same was true in virginia. >> they're all are to nevitt

ideas -- there are alternative ideas. there is discussion about a need for a second contract with america. maybe they wait until 2012, but right now the republican party wants to say, did the prosecution prove its case? away from the substance is the sheer politics. what is it that republicans want to be? i don't think they have worked that out. is it bob mcdonnell and virginia? or is it sarah palin and 2012? there is a process where republicans have to decide what is the way back? >> i know for myself i very much believe is in the role of bob

mcdonnell. i don't think it is so clear-cut we could do one or the other. if you look at what he stood for, he was very conservative on all issues. he focused his principles of free market and limited government on the kitchen table issues plaguing virginia voters and began to represent a leader that could deliver some results. >> there is a broader problem that is a trend with a disgruntled oppositionist right -- we have the uk independence party opposed to europe.

australia has had the opposition conservative party just allis its leader for supporting climate change. we have one in italy and here we have glenn beck and rush limbaugh. it seems like there is a clear and turmoil on the right -- there is a clear turmoil. >> there are a lot of voices in both parties and there is a different motive in terms of those in the media than those of us who owe it to our constituents to live up to promises made. i think you are right in that people are castoff in this country -- people are pissed off in this country. as people are out of work they become more enraged with

government. >> if you want to talk employment -- if you want to talk about unemployment you do not want to talk about obama being a racist. >> people are looking for leadership and they don't care about that issue. >> when you have that put on the agenda that is a problem. >> i want to make this a less partisan and talk about history. my history does not kopach. law but i remember the 1990 costs where we made a budget deficit and made a surplus. we gave that to the republicans and lost the surplus. the unemployment rate did not start at 0 in january of this year. this was the financial mismanagement that went on for a decade. the president is doing his best

to turn that around. that is my partisan speech. elections are not about history, they are about the moment. one of the reasons obama was collected was people thought, he seems to be promising, he is different than the bum we want to throw out. the same with clinton and jimmy carter. it is a tough year for the incumbents. just to pick up on what did it was saying, one positive sign for democrats this election is not to let. [laughter] because i don't think the president is responsible for these problems but he ownes them. it goes to work democrats and republicans are as far as what their leadership is. democrats have an advantage that

they do have the presidency. it is what is interesting looking at democrats is the reaction to the afghanistan speech. half of the party in congress did not support that speech, but they are going to move forward and they will be with the president. if you look at the midterm elections, there is more of a struggle. it is the scariest thing in the world to me that these people will use common sense and take a candidate and emphasize his strengths. and you also have new york 23 where republicans won the election and overplayed their hand because there is part of the party that believes being practical does not make sense,

you have to be on the far right. that struggle will play out over the next year. your group may when but they may lasik -- but they may lose, too. >> i want to escape from the american perspective. we have had the most extraordinary recession, if you could think there would be trends you could observe in response to that. that would be anti-incumbency or would swing to the right. it is hard to detect global trends. some incumbents have got back and. if anything, brokers have tended to swing to the conservative in the british traditional sense of the word, not towards the right.

what do you see? >> there are some other trends cannot taxes have gone up in both britain and the u.s. -- there are some trends, taxes have gone up. a lot of the european countries are not that far behind. my feeling is this is a certain realization of the limits of what government can do in those countries where the government assumed a bigger role. i was at a meeting with a member of kamron's team and summitt said that was fantastic -- and member of cameron's team.

what we are not hearing in the general election but will happen afterwards is [unintelligible] it will be real cuts in spending. i think we will see it that across the spectrum. >> i spoke to a prominent person in american finance who said the real question are around the world is, what is, on in america? in asia that has been the case for awhile. china has had a sense of growing american weakness. they feel they have more leverage over the u.s. and the less inclined to be supportive on other political areas like iran and north korea. lots of south america and latin america. europe is having a hard time,

but they questioned this person said is, what happened to capitalism? this talk of regulation, the bailouts, there is a fear about where america is headed. you see that reflected in our major companies who don't like uncertainty about health-care reform and energy policy. i have spoken to ceo's who say where is the impetus for economic growth? this is a point of tension as the administration is trying to jump-start the private sector to create jobs. i think one of the trends on the policy side is there is a question about the role of government with regard to the economy worldwide. a lot of that is looking at the u.s. and wondering what is

happening. >> the outside world always looks to america, particularly at this time. we heard from peter about elections in iraq and brazil. you will be taking up with your own campaigns. are there any lessons you can pick up from other campaigns that have just been fought and around the world? >> if you look at south america, maybe there is a lesson there. take a look at what happened in your client last week -- what happened in uraguay last week. he committed to the voters that he saw himself in the fashion of governing like brazil, not like hugo chavez in venezuela.

contrary to some of the trends in europe and elsewhere where we may see a backlash, and in the u.s. going towards a conservative end of the spectrum, i think that election points to the fact that people will alleged leaders that can produce results for them. if you are good for people and is more in tune with market- based policies from an economic standpoint that will recognize human rights, i think those are themes that can produce a somewhat different way, very much grounded in what we call the common-sense conservative outlook that started back with the founders in the 18th- century. i think you may see a trend again, deliverable spawned by a hearing to market-based principles -- spawned by

adhering to market-based principles. >> i think for next year there will be this growing trend that is boring but very significant, which is the fact that teh g-20 is the -- the g-20 will be the global economic regulator. it is a major shift in what was the [unintelligible] >> two g-20 summits are next year. can i ask one final question and we will go to the floor? europe, not something that people spend too much time worrying about, but there was a famous kissinger question,

europeans have agonized for eight years over -- it was no longer called a constitutional treaty which has given them a so-called president and high representative. they have chosen people in these roles which are described as people and nobody has ever heard of. does anybody care about europe as an entity? has anybody answered the kissinger question for america? >> i think it is an evil thing question. >> can you name the president of europe? >> [inaudible] i know who wants to be the president. >> he did not get it. >> i know.

i think it is not a pressing question because europe is a trusted place in this country. we did not agonize very long about going into a military conflict in europe in the last decade because it was europe. while there were exponentially more devastating genocide committed in africa. i am not taking a position, it is a way of highlighting the deep connections. little think we worry much about europe. as europe -- i don't think we worry much about europe. as they become more powerful i think we made. i don't think the average american thinks in -- thinks of europe in the way europeans want them to. >> the obama administration in europe is that he has taken his

allies for granted in focusing on reaching out to some parts of the world where relations have been more complicated. there could be a reaction by europeans. he will need allies in afghanistan. >> that goes to the previous question. one of the reasons there is not a trend right al is that the u.s. around the world is not as polarizing as it has been in the past, with both republicans and democrats. issues reject elections are decided by issues on the ground and not cold war issues. you could go through europe and look at elections that turn on whether you work anti-american enough. -- whether you were anti- american enough. no one ever thinks they get enough time from the american

president, and is positive and some ways troubling because the world needs leadership. we are very internally focused on putting our own house in order. that is potentially dangerous situation. cracks there is a huge divide between europe and the u.s. with regard to strategic issues. there has been a change in orientation about the war on terrorism which this administration does not use. there is something provocative about obama compartmentalizing the war on terror, but we covered our respective presidents at the same time, and the british public was not there at all, certainly not on iraq or afghanistan. you are saying that.

the-and at the nato alliance and maybe it will pledge 7000 troops. it is nice to have a coalition of the willing, but this is america's war. the british have been there and said, no thanks. i am not saying there have -- they have not been in afghanistan, but we just don't want to have a sustained commitment there. >> i think americans don't see the british as european. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> let's go to questions. who would like to ask? wait for the microphone to come. >> there are people here. [laughter] >> cedro you are first.

cracks -- >> he raised the point about the ceo and american capitalism. i am surprised [unintelligible] i am surprised she is not part of the conference. there are some ideas about the forces of globalization have unleashed problems that drove economics to go road. i am surprised -- trout economics to go rogue. i am surprised we have not addressed that. >> i think that was more of a statement. can we go to the back? >> i am with the foundation for job creation. is america's problem of not

being able to create jobs -- where do lobbyists that and? are they interfering with innovation and job creation? >> where did the lobbyists fit into job creation? do they interfere with the process of job creation? perhaps they help it. >> that is a tough question. in the broadest sense, even the best ideas get altered and not for the better because there are a powerful lobbying interests in this town. the lobbyists do well and their job is not to advocate for the public good, but for the narrow. despite the president running on a platform of let's take the

special interests out of politics, it is still very prevalent. most broadly, i agree with republicans when they talk about the private sector will create the bulk of new jobs. we don't want to create 10 million new government jobs. what the federal government can do is create conditions where jobs will flourish. we have had periods in the 1990's where conditions were good. we have not seen that in awhile, and that is what we need to do. >> i am not sure how to answer the question of whether lobbyists as a whole are helpful or harmful to job creation. there are a lot of lobbyists in this town sum representing big

corporations and some small. i think the job for the party in power and the minority is to try to work together to produce an environment that can foster some job creation in the private sector, because deep down americans understand what has made this country prosperous. that is the entrepreneurialism risc-based investment characterized by the american dream. -- risk-based investment. what big businesses say is too much uncertainty. we have to do something. we cannot have the uncertainty of cap and trade, the uncertainty of health care, the uncertainty of tax hikes that businesses don't know how that will play out. if you talk to maine street

concerns, small businesses are saying we don't have access to capital. we need credit. we cannot grow without credit. all of this will play out over the year, how lobbyists the environment has been unforgivable to the job creation. >> lots of questions. >> hello. the economists predicted pet middle might lose in afghanistan in 2010. representative cantor did not mention that in his speech. and will there be a prediction other will be a success in the military campaign?

>> i support the president and the decision he made. i know there has been air lot of concern voiced about the decision and the discussion of an off ramp in 18 months. i will take the president at his word that this will be a conditions-based decision and i think most americans believe we should support our troops, give them what they need. if the mission is successful, will be adding to the security of the united states. we know that the mission is to make sure that region of the world canelo become a safe haven for terrorist operations -- can no longer become a safe haven for terrorist operations. >> we focused on afghanistan. >> i think there's every reason to be skeptical. history dictates we should be.

i question everything. every statement, every notes upon optimism about this war. i think all americans should. the notion that somehow the karzai government will produce and stand up a military security force that creates enough to break the momentum of the taliban. american forces are capable of giving up. they were brought to bear him a reasonable, time frame. the other big issue is whether pakistan becomes a different country. the real bad guys are in pakistan. that is the problem. osama bin laden and down . what is pakistan prepared to do? i think the challenge for this president, and republicans should be happy with this plan.

particulates the strategy mt timeline. i think the secretary of defense and state were pretty clear yesterday in saying there is a time horizon, went up but the first of the year that will go on for as much as five years. that is the goal of the complete handoff to karzai in five years, assuming everything works. we will see what the conditions are for a president down the line to say we are not winning, but it is time to come home. >> it may seem like a sideshow in the city, but it is a live issue for british politics as well prepared gear have been disturbing link large numbers. how has this decision by pres

ident obama been? >> gordon brown is talking about a modest increase of british troops, 500 up suit and 10,000. he will get down to it next year, an election year and we see a certain amount of calculation. i think the reality of the situation both, is important but all the mainstream political parties in britain. maxtor will be an intense period. the main driver for reform is going to become if you do not establish yourself as a potential government, we will withdraw and there will be chaos.

the problem is it is going to be born quite likely in the troops on the ground. is a very -- is very much in the moment. it shows how stable is a rock iraq is. >> next question. >> my name is kevin. i am a contributing writer. my question is to the panel at large. given the opening set the copenhagen summit, what is the panel's view on president obama 's strategy of going to copenhagen where the emissions target has not been part of the rapid-fire administration? i would be interesting to hear what the republican review of the u.s. responsibility if there is a definitive agreement and

copenhagen when the president comes back. corpse we spent 15 minutes about -- >> we spent 50 minutes talking about politics. >> in the larger sense, the question of climate change comes down to if a has been and the constant is human history, it has been, climate change. the severity and the involvement of human policies in all that is the big question. from a larger sense. how we approach airport with a notion that all of us, want to make sure we leave this planet a cleaner place. how we strike cut balance, given the party of getting this economy back on track, police central to any republican response. but there is much reticence to embrace the cap and trade plan

because most are convinced on our side of the aisle have that this is an ill-conceived plan that will kill jobs and something is a huge detriment to the number one priority which is getting americans back to work. >> a quick comment. >> it is hard to believe. it was predicted last year the scientific daughters will still have a strong -- the scientific daughteoubters will still have a strong voice. if we abdicates paro our role, then it will be a step back for our country. we have been out of this debate for too long. i do not hear from the party officers any good idea how to solve this. i think cap and trade came from

industry. it is supported by lots of american corporations. there are losers and they do not support it. more important, this is a global issue. if we want to continue our slight away from world leadership influence, this would be a good way to do with. >> we have time for one more question. then we will ask for a final prediction. lady here. >> hello. i just had a question. you talked about jobs. we have seen the unemployment rate drop. you talked about your thanksgiving table. i was wondering if it is representative of the whole country. i feel like maybe you are now, it is not giving thanks again

and maybe the republican party, will we be able to see the republican party come together with the democratic party come together in 2010 and come together on those issues? >> any chance of bipartisanship in 2010? >> first of all, all of us want this economy to get back on track. there's no question about that. we continue pulling back to the stimulus discussion and talk about alternatives. q has been a one-way street. you see the discussion surrounding the health care bill. it is taking place behind closed doors. a mutual corporation. it is in the minorities interest to work with the majority, especially when they're holding power in the house and senate and the white house. it is in our interest to want to work together to get this

resolved. it is about jobs. it really is. there has been a constant drumbeat away from and you want to say, we want to provide small businesses with access to credit. we want to promote investment again. it is the private sector that will be that which brings the economy back. >> i agree it will be the private sector. but can you imagine -- no one can predict how much worse it will be if the government did not take the strong actions it did, if banks were not bailed out. in the great depression, unemployment was at 25%. 10% is way too high. people who have jobs are afraid of losing them.

bold steps were taken. a lot of people want to ignore that. they want to score points. that is what politics is about. some of those real steps or taken by a republican president. >> the follow-up to that is that the steps we're taking -- that were taken in 2008 and many of us supported that effort, tarp, pechora to arrest was by all sectors believe to be a potential collapse in our capital markets. the was expected to be a temporary emergency step. now the discussion is " what you do what does tarp funds and better being paid back. question is, are we going to live up to that initial promise, saying it was temporary, we need to pay a back, or are you going to allow that to be some kind of permanent slush fund to go were

the political will is. we need to go ahead and deliver on the promise that there was a temporary emergency steps. >>, i think we have to break. we must go to our final prediction. give a particular predictions for 2010. david. >> a think we faced a real question about the overall direction of the economy, whether recovery is more stagnant, and there is always the potential double dipping -- is a jobless recovery, which has hardened the anti-incumbency view, that is out there. that will be the big trend in politics, next year. the question will be to see if

it is a zero sum gain. will this just be more of the kind of referendum on the direction of this administration? >> according i think it will be a watershed year. we will be heading in a different direction then we are now. there is a continuation. cameron " win the general collections. israel back to the future for americans. will have leaders in the general election. >> a i think 2010 school be the year that the politics of the middle " be devoured. and if not, if the extremists tossed tell me what that means. >> that means moderate republicans and conservative democrats having a stronger

voice, which authorities saw in the 1990's. i think the seats of a third party will be sound and and we can see that as early as the next election. >> on the elections in 2010, it will bring about the fact that democrats will lose their majority in the house. it will happen because americans like a check and balance in unfettered power. the agenda is far outside the mainstream of poor people see this country. >>, we will be back here in a year's time to check out how they all came about. in the meantime, please do thank all of our panelists. [applause]

>> next on c-span, our look inside blair house. president obama and former president george bush talk about volunteer is a at the george bush presidential library. later, astronauts discuss the legacy of the apollo 11 moon mission. on tomorrow's "washington journal," we will speak with clark kent ervin, henry farrell, and a look at the president vacationing in hawaii with ken walsh.

>> a rare clips into america's highest court threw unprecedented conversation with 10 supreme court justices about the accord, their work. five days of interviews with supreme court justices starting on monday on c-span. get your own copy of the supreme court on dvd as part of c-span's american icon program. one of the many items available as c-span do.org/store. >> the center section. it is the primary entrance.

it is where presidents arrive and depart from. blair house is on the inside block. 1 we 109 room, 70,000 square feet. to put into perspective, we have 5000 square feet larger in the white house is. >> the primary mission is to be a guest home for world leaders to come here. it is used for that purpose. it has never failed. >> since 1942, just about any world leader you can think of has a walk through this door. this is the same marble floor the have walked across. -- they have walked across. >> it is easy to look at it and

say this is a wonderful home or beautiful museum. but it is much more than that. blair house is a tool of diplomacy for the united states. this is a way the nation's opens its doors to guests that we want to honor any particular way to say this is our home. you are here as our guests. >> when it was acquired in 1837, his reputation was built in the city of washington. it became " bla blair's house, d then simply blair house. the house his offer to an incoming president just before their inauguration. they would stay here for an evening before the inauguration.

" this is the story of a house on pennsylvania avenue, usually eclipsed by its famous neighbor, polite housebreaker guesthouse for foreign leaders, home to presidential advisors, respite for presidents, temporary quarters for president elects. all these describe blair house. >> now you of entered the old as part of this facility. if you have been there in 1850, you have been among the wedding party of the couple who was married here. " it's amazing is that everything is still here.

the decorations may have changed, the colors may have been different. bucks they are the same walls and floors the engine jackson and lincoln and everybody in between walt on. -- walked on. in the 19th century, the blair's or politically active. mostly behind the scene. almost all of our political figures. and daniel webster. henry clay was entertained here in this house. >> the blair family and so close to the white house. this was one of the main venues

for social entertainment between president jackson and lincoln. sterling in them duricertainly'i me. >> i am sure it lincoln felt he could come across the street any time for a chat. i think dennis l. blair house function. it could be an escape, and a place for privacy where things were not overcome. the president could relax in front of a warm fire with an ice and brandy and talk over difficult issues and get good, sound advice as well as a sympathetic shoulder. he was just a boy and remembers abraham lincoln sitting in his

father's study of the blair front entrance, deep in conversation with their feet propped up on the fireplace mantel. confidences were still share. there was a closeness. and certainly the night robert e. lee was invited by makori blair and his father to dinner at blair house -- over dinner at the blair and dining room table and continuing into the study with cigars and wine. they offered the command of the union army to robert e. lee in blair house. fedders testimony to the blair family influence in power. >> there are large engravings of president lincoln and his

cabinet. the oldest blair's son served in lincoln's capital. mccormick is standing on the far right in that image. it was a full cabinet post at the time. under that is a rare mathew brady photograph of general sherman and his senior advisors. another blair is in that photograph. he was a senior adviser. this was civil war photography. mathew brady is in the image. frank blair was not present the day it was taken. a foreign dignitary only gets to stay here at the invitation of the president.

not every leader that comes here stays here. it is usually by individuals to represent countries that have a very good relations, and that we want to of good relations with. or we're trying to establish better relations with. they are guests of the united states just as the would-be at the president crossed home. is really the guest house -- as they would be at the president's home. it really is the guest house prepar. [music plays] >> this house has a key role in

diplomacy. this is one of vacant benefits as a leader comes to visit with our president, to be able to stay in this house. >> it is a place where leaders who stay give off a sign of great respect and great hospitality on airport. >> an important responsibility of the protocol office is in blair house. if a leader will be staying here, there will be an assistant chief of protocol who will actually take care of the party that will be staying here. we have to make sure all of our guests comfortable, not just for staying overnight or two nights a or three nights, but they have

to work here as well. this is a base of operations for them. we want to make sure the feel comfortable while they are here. >> most of the world leaders and that me with the president want to stay here. there is a set formula on how the invitation is at issue. >> you do not invite everyone into your home. but those you do invite into your home of those you want to send a message to have picked a good solid relationships or you want to built a better relationship. -- or if you want to build a better relationship. ♪

>> this is one of the only rooms you'll see occasionally in the media. for protocol terms, the lower- ranking person goes here for meetings. that means the vice president and all of the cabinet secretaries come to blair house to meet prime ministers, presidents, and monarchs who will be staying here. the wallpaper in the room is the most striking part of the room.

>> 18th-century hand-printed chinese wallpaper. it is rice paper completely restored. it was acquired by kennedy's secretary and his wife near westminster, but england. it is 8 feet high when they arrived from their home in england. here they are 11 feet high. the upper and lower portions were painted in. " from 1948 until 1952, blair house became a president's home. harry truman and his family moved there because the white house was under renovation.

in his biography, david wrote about'the presidents temporary quarters. "the house itself was not only nothing very grand but a bit dowdy. but not everybody felt that sway. margaret truman remembers it this way in her biography. "i fell in love with a place at the moment i walked into a. every room, was held little masterpieces of architecture and

decoration. almost every piece of furniture was a rare antique from 18th- century america or from france. crystal chandeliers and rugs. magnificent mirrors bedoubled the beauty of the drawing rooms. it was a charming." >> this house has an unbelievable history of great moments in history, moments of queerer wars were discussed and committed to and peace movements were committed to. >> 1950, this of blair house dining room. president truman and his divisors but critical decisions about u.s. involvement in korea. david mccullough wrote about it.

"i do not want to go to war. everything i've done in the past five years has been to try to avoid making decisions such as i had to make tonight's." >> this is the temporary cabinet room. meetings were here even though

the west's reco wing was not af. this became a convenient cabinet room for him because it was 20 feet away from where he was sleeping. hispatorically, this firm is incredibly significant because in this room at this table, but the first draft of the marshall plant were created. but this is also where the truman doctrine originated. we know that this is where the president signed documents committed american troops to the korean war. it's also where he made the final decision to fire mccarthy. it was the scene of many famous midnight poker games.

there was a time president truman and this was the primary and dining room. this is where they had dinner with princess elizabeth and stritch tolchurchill and countl. >> sometimes, i would have dinner alone. i walked into the dining room. necktie. would pull out my chair encourage bring me a fruit cup. takes away the empty cup. they bring me a plate.

they bring me a tenderloin. margaret brings me carrots and beets. i have to eat alone in a candle lit room. >> this is another special room. this is trimming's officuman's . the portrait of chairman we have is by the painter who painted the official portrait of the president. she copy of the original work

for blair house car during the reagan and renovation of the 1980's. ♪ the mantle in this room that was installed in the white house during the 1901 renovation and then the treatment renovation was brought to blair house sutra member have a visual reminder of the white house and during the years he did not get to live there.

♪ his favorite color was green. the walls or green. the carpet was green. there was a desk in the middle of the floor. you're only feet off of the avenue and there were trolley cars out there. this is an open passage way. this would happen president truman pasqua bedroom. -- president truman's bedroom. there were gunshots l outside.

one of the attackers was killed. >> this was a dedicated to. eisenhower. this is the president's p rayer in the oval office. and these are oil paintings done by president eisenhower.

>> it was an incident in this from the resultant in the closing of blair house for 86 to ensure renovation project. a telephone call came to roosevelt from president reagan 's deputy chief of staff. >> my call. one day and said, mrs. reagan feels, and i feel that we must shut blair house down. mike was a disturbed as was mrs. reagan when she heard that a chandelier had fallen on a bed. the tunisian president was in residence. the boiler had blown uppe. and that was enough.

it was not looking very good. before the restoration, the money had to be approved by the government every year. i was summoned to congress because they did not want to flaunt it. senator and abnebner said to med not understand why you have to spend all the money just to do over a new house. he said, why don't you just tear it down and build a new house? i said, over my dead body. finely worked around this. i was grateful to the senator who was able to really get it through. there was an interesting stipulation of the bill. the money was to be used for bricks and mortar but not 1 cent

could be allocated. what could that mean? we had to raise it. >> in 1988, blair house reopen. congress had appropriated $8.6 billion for the infrastructure improvement. $7 million was raised for decorating body private blair house restoration fund. several plaques and acknowledged large gifts to the fund.

>> the staff call this the principal sweet. this is a proper quarters for president and the prime minister or the king and the kinks staying with us. there two bedrooms, 2 1/2 bedrooms. this makes up their personal living space. this was bilking to look -- this was built to look like the rest of the house. but this was a fairly new.

♪

>> it is our tradition, we add another page of history to the blair guest book.

we're honored to have you for a second time and in the future. thank you. >> the guest book is one of the great historical pieces in our collection. blair house. as every president that has been here, u.s. president, and also every foreign leader that has stayed here. is it fantastic, a fantastic collection of comments from significant world leaders that have changed the world through their actions. >> in 1942, there were a series of disputes.

the king of greece, and believe. young king peter of yugoslavia. foreign minister of russia stayed here. winston churchill was there. harry truman and his family. their signatures are there for when they stayed. but was in 1945 at fdr's funeral. blair house is an important asset in foreign affairs. we want to put our best foot forward. we want to make people feel welcome to. with a house like that, police, it really has a psychological effect -- believe me, it really has a psychological effect. >> sometimes endure as many as 25, 26, 30 visits a year. some of them: for three or four

days. it is quite a task. making sure every single needed they have is meant. diplomacy does not happen until two people engaged. our staff is involved in diplomacy. just by nature of what to do, caring about someone who is arriving. it is not even on a political level. it is what we hope it's a our gracious hospitality to a world leader. it is very personal and meaningful to them. the honor is steeped and intense, especially in times when we are hosting the president-elect before inauguration or whether we are hosting the window and the family of a deceased president for a state funeral.

" president reagan once permit a latwrote me a letter. represent former. to give the visitor a warm welcome -- we represent form. it is not overbearing, where he or she can be comfortable is our aim. and then maybe things will go loyal smoother and that is what we aim to do, to set a nice tone for the visit, no matter who it is, even if it is something we do not have a good relationship with. maybe that can improve. because hospitality is very importance.

>> next on c-span, president obama and former president george bush talk about volunteerism at the george bush presidential library. nasa astronauts discussed a legacy of the apollo 11 moon mission. then the annual christmas message from queen elizabeth. >> in the mid 1990's, " newsweek's"named omar wasow one

of the top people to watch in cyberspace. he founded a charter school in brooklyn. sunday night, he talks about his current study in harvard and what is ahead. now president obama participates in a form on community service with george bush at his presidential library. this marks the 20th anniversary of the points of light service movement. from texas a&m university, this is about half an hour. >> it is a great honor and privilege to have millibarelody barnes. she had been at the center for american progress. she is part of the greatest alumni society ever.

one of whom is on the supreme court. we note the will happen to you someday. melete barneody barnes. the u.s. special trade representative. you all know him. he needs and no introduction. and the mayor of dallas. everybody knows him. he is a wonderful friend of mine -- she is a wonderful friend of mine went to work that america online. she is now the ceo of the chase, foundation. thank you for being with us. and then a man who needs no introduction, sam nunn. chief executive officer and a former senator.

chairman of the senate arms committee. a man of many distinctions and the father of michele nunn. thank you so much for being here. we will start with melody and i'll start with saying, " but you focused on service? " thank you so much for the question of thank you for in fighting me here. it is such a pleasure. there is a tradition, is a sign of friendship and respect. i should say howdy. thank you. i love that question because it allows me to think back to the fact that our household had a culture of service. my father was a president of the pta and my mother was the president of the band boosters. we talked a lot about service.

the earliest instances of service i can remember or both baking cup cakes for political campaigns when i was an also tutoring. there were a number of people moving to richmond through churches and other houses of worship from vietnam in the middle-incom to late 197's. i remember that experience of helping someone acclimate to being in a different country and to living in richmond, virginia. so very different from the home she had lived in. acclimating to that and also learning a language. beckham starting to think about the importance of service i was learning something very important. that has stayed with me. this led me to go on to law school. you fast forward to my first job at a big firm in new york city.

i learned so much from that experience. but i have a feeling this is in quite where i should be. i need to go back to my roots and to a place where i can have impact, where i can be of service on a daily basis. that money to go to washington and to work in government for the house judiciary committee. this is something that will stay with me all of my life. you get to work. i worked on the big pieces of legislation. i have learnt a lot from that. one instance i will always remember. a woman called me. she was in fear of her life and never son's life. she was trying to figure out how to get through the system in boston. i talked to her and helped her get an advocate in court.

she later wrote me in sending a card to thank me because she was able to get out of those circumstances. she made a donation in my name to a shelter. this was a woman who was just struggling to try to get by. it touched me so deeply that i was able just threw that job i had a commitment to public service by an opportunity that have been given to me to actually try and save someone's life and to improve their circumstances. those are the kinds of events to live through that have shaped my vision. tester reasonably public service is so very important. it not only is a think you can do it day-by-day, but it's a way of life. you are and battered by a as you can improve others. >> the new generation social

networking, totally good feel for technology, how does that make it easier to put people together for the notion of service? >> technology is an exciting period of change. we're here on the anniversary of president bush's call. whether you are in civic engagement, it is a time of great transformation. as we look across alaska's landscape in civic engagement, we see a terrific sign ahead including much more activity in all sector levels. in gauging the public sector because of the leadership and geared up to a different structure to help carry the movement forward. i'm glad you talk about millennial site and that we have a lot of them in the audience today. we have a lot of money lost because in the last 20 years, we

have seen a doubling of volunteers. when we talk about millennial, which typically talk about young people between the ages of 15 and 30. they are printing all kinds of renovation to this movement. in the area of social media, we're seeing self organization and all kinds of innovation. they see the same old problems (new solutions to the problems. we're very excited about technology, but not just social media. a lot of the technology -- they are thinking about them by their products. i spent my career and technology. when ibm was first developing computer, nobody was thinking, how can this be used to drive civic engagement and drive of

volunteerism? it is sort of in the dna to may. a we have someone from the white house office. she came from google because these young companies and our own company or social conditions and about bringing people together and making a difference in a way the will improve everything. >> you are and ambassador these days. once you are a mirror, you're always a mayor. talk to us about civic in engagement. >> even though i'm a proud graduate of the university of texas law school, it is great to be here today. i'm great to be with my friends. one of vehicllessons any americn learned is to come to grips

with what you need and you find that they can pay for half of this. you have to have a partnership with business and churches and philanthropic groups to approve a lives of the people you work with. it strikes me as i travel around the world and as i have trained representatives that the flaphilanthropy, you did not fid this anywhere else in the world. one of the messages i deliver all the time is we can build bridges, we can build libraries, but you cannot give it a child a hug. you cannot help the mother sometimes when they say, i need a safe haven. the partnership can really work in powerful ways to make a difference in children's lives. mayors have a habit of not

operating in the paradigm that our president does such a great job of thinking before he speaks. one case where we were in a fight, as mayors often are, with our local cable company. i kind of popped off and said, this isn't a necessity. you do not have to watch tv. so i said, turning the tv off. .

>> that could not have happened without the support and fly and the -- and of lavatory -- and of philanthropy of a lot of good people. young people cannot lose the fact of your power to change the world. because we are so great that corporate philanthropy and big boy after becoming we tend to think you have to be steve case or bill gates before you can make a difference. i grew up in a small family church in boston. we had to go to church three times a week. it was a country church that had all the bible phrases plastic in the wall. this was in austin.

one of my cousins whispered in my yeaear. he said that god did not have a committee. [laughter] young people, you have as much people. volunteer, be a big brother or big sister and teach for america and volunteering can help you transform somebody's life but help inform you in a good way for the rest of your life. >> he helped up bring up wendy copp so that is why he get that plug in. thank you. [laughter] what is the role of government in sparring civic involvement or service? >> we have a volunteer military. the government is in the business of encouraging people to volunteer to serve the nation.

we create incentives for that. i think it has to take into consideration the first priority of any government and that is to protect our nation. as i look at the opportunity for national service, i joined a number of people in the late 1980's in sponsoring one of the first national service act, the heart of it was how we conduct military recruit and why we engage broadly in civic service. this is so the concept of the first project we did in washington on a national service, we did 5 states, came out of the act we created, the point of light. it had a five-state demonstration. i have felt for a long time that government had a role. one of the principal ways we can deliver services in the country

but also create a tremendous opportunity for those who serve and create teamwork for those who are working together. it is no coincidence that the military i think is the best institution in terms of overcoming racial prejudice because you have people working together on real tasks. as i do national service, it is not just the people served or the committee search, that is important but it is also the tumor that goes into doing real things together. when you look at the challenges we face on the military side, and i dumping national service is here to just for the military, but one thing that should make us all to stop is the military today says that 70% of the american young people between the ages of 18 and 24, men and women, are not eligible for military service. that is either because of physical, mental, or moral reasons. that is a serious problem for the nation. that is a very serious problem for the nation. >> does that include being gay,

too? >> that is not a disqualification now. nevertheless, the big opportunity for national service in my view is for the national service effort to help build human capital in this country. that means physically, mentally, and morally. young people participating in these programs that are doing so much good around the country are also building physical and mental and moral character. the first time i saw a national service program in operation was in boston i got up at 5:30 in the morning and they were doing pt in the town square. they were during the physical side before they did the service side. i think it is a tremendous opportunity looking at a broadly. >> you remind us that military service was the first and still for most forms of national

service to our country. it is important to keep that in mind. what do we learn from the fact that it used to be your expected to do national service for your country in the military. now, it is not expected. some people do service and some don't, not just in the military but across the board. how do we reinstalled that notion that it is something you are supposed to do? >> i think this crowd is doing it. there are many people in this audience to do it every day. i watched our daughter, michelle, and the people who are with our in hands on atlanta and now points of light. i think it is being done now. on the military side, here is one example -- i was told this week in afghanistan that one of the things that is astounding is we have 68,000 troops in afghanistan that is a very tough set of problems.

for every military person, we have one contractor. there are 68,000 contractors. the debate is whether we have for -- we add 40,000 more troops and you will have to multiply that by two because of the way the military structure. we have very serious challenges in the manpower and womanpower area of the military. >> the first lady has said that national service should be part of what america is all about. how will you do that? it is on your shoulders and maybe two or three others? >> what you were describing and what senatorny nunn is talking about, that is out here. we see it all over the nation. you think about 20 years ago when president bush was first talking about points of light, we have gone to an additional 23 million people participated in national service.

this past year alone, there was a 200% increase in the number of americorps applications. half of americans believe that they can create change in their community. that is a sense of empowerment that brings people to the national service table. we also believe that building on that legacy has to provide a new way of doing business. as for citizens and the government working together with philanthropic and private sectors. for citizens, it is not just about hours of service. it is not just about that one day of service may be in one year. that is a wonderful place to start. it is also about impact. we have huge challenges in this country together, we can work to address those challenges grid people have to start to ship their thinking about why engaging in service over a sustained period of time. at the same time, the government

has to think about a new way of doing business, as well. that means that we recognize that we have a responsibility but we also cannot do everything. some of the best ideas for confronting these big challenges are not being bought up in washington. i know this is a shock. they are being driven from the grassroots, from communities all over the country. one of the things that we did this past year, an idea that has been bubbling over time, in the serve america act is to include a social innovation fund. the idea was that the government can join with the private sector in the philanthropic sector to provide capital to help those organizations that have proven that they can be effective and they need to scale. the need to either provide additional services or to move across the state or around the country. we were talking about teach for

america. but about that many years ago before it started to move all over the country. by doing that, we have social entrepreneurs were coming up with ideas and their communities and getting us the support they need from the private sector and from the government to scale up because we know that the solutions they bring to the table are effected. i said yesterday and this is the last leg i will say, yesterday, we were in new orleans and went to a place called cafe reconcile and that is where you have dropped training, life skills being taught, we are talking about individuals who have some of the toughest stories will ever hear but they see a new way "-- wait for themselves. they are working with faith- based organizations. they are being hired out of the training program they are in to work in the hospitality sector which is coming back and starting to try again in new orleans. those are the kind of programs we see all across the nation

that with more help, they can provide some of the solutions to our biggest challenges. >> you talk about the kennedy service act which was a great first bill passed in the obama administration. that provides a great opportunity for new types of service corps. do you see that as something the administration wants to pursue as new corps that people can go in and join? if you want to be a doctor for america or the engineer, you can go in these service corps. >> the service america act provides the bone structure to skeleton that way. we have several board members from the corporation for national service here. we have niki gorin who is the

ceo and also the nominee to be the new ceo for the corporation and together, we will work for -- we will work with them to try and move to scale up, to go from 75,000 to over 200,000. that is a way we can harness all this energy for national service and also to move into the areas you describe whether we are working with veterans or in the area of health care or in the area of education, energy, and so on. we need to address these big challenges facing our nation. >>jean, how can the government help? >> she is describing a megaphone and a spotlight. we have had 20 years of learning so how do we look out across the landscape and find out who has been smart and who has been affected and where is the impact. i think we need to move from

service being a nice, important thing to do to being a strategic weapon to address the challenges here and across the globe. the government can play a critical role not only in the major spotlight but in helping to play leveraging role and an infrastructure role. as i look at service today and look at it in the future, i am really optimistic. i see more demand than we actually have capacity for in the field. when you talk to nonprofit organizations and many leaders here have been in the field, they will tell you the same time. what we really need are smart tools, smart learning, infrastructure wrapped around it so we can take these boots on the ground with those who are serving and the many americans who want to serve and find smart ways to match what we call the supply and demand. we have talent across the nation in terms of those who want to serve. i think we need to do a better job of fighting mechanisms and

pointing the way for words of the talent and what they bring, the resources they bring can be used in a place where there is that demand. i think government05= has a reay important role in infrastructure and in americorps, for instance, is believed that a leveraged 1.2 million volunteers. every time you hear about them, you hear that they spawned an unbelievable number of citizens in action behind them. there's a leveraging. and infrastructure point and a megaphone and a spotlight. that is an important role but i do not want to say that these are roles that certain people should apply. it is all of the above. this has to be cross sector, all citizens in this together. if we are going to achieve the vision we share for the future. >>jean made a good point, mr. tietmeyer, there is an enormous pent-up demand to be of service

and go into service. , mr mayor. there are 40,000 applicants but we can only take 4000 of them buried in new orleans, when the storm hit, people were calling me and saying they wanted to come down and the church wants to come down but we could not channel capacity. how can the mayor or the federal government say that our role is to help channel that capacity of people who want to be of service? >>melody has spoken clearly and eloquently about what the federal government is doing. when i was mayor, i do not try to -- i did not try to recreate the will. we had a volunteer center and we wanted to channel people and one-stop shop.

always do what you love first. if you love kids, go help with kids. if you love housing, help with housing. you are talking about a great partnership. it is helpful to give you practical examples. lízit is a wonderful testament t more people may think of jimmy carter as the man who helped found habitat for humanity then think of jimmy carter is a president. you want to talk about a community, like changing tool, it is the incredible partnership of mayors all around the country apart during with different organizations to go in and transform neighborhoods. government can do common-sense things. one of the smartest things i did as mayor, maybe the only smart thing, i put a moratorium on immoral laws. if you pull americans and as "our top problems are, never

will it be that we don't have enough regulations. i asked people what we are doing that drives them crazy. what are we doing that stands in the way of helping people? sometimes, government and some of our rules and regulations can stand in the way to people helping one another. we want to take inventory. my father used to say if you're not going to use your shovel, get out of the way. one of the things that jean said and it is a powerful organizing tool and it is easier to put people together with information. combining those are things and being more rigorous in our outrage and not being afraid to listen to our customers. we have the resources but so often, you have a passion, you are on the ground, you know first hand what the challenges

are, if we can be humble enough to allow our resources to help you with your mission, we can do great things. >> between the innovation fund and when she was at kugel.org, -- google.org, there was so much talk about the new social networking tools and if we had had those in new orleans and we could have scale that up, it would have been perfect. to do to bring technology to bear? >> we see that as an enormous toll to be used to drive this entire generation for it. -- agenda forward. we have seen tremendous results. people all over the country are focusing on health care and community renewal and education. that is going back to the big

challenges. we use technology to drive that movement and to help drive that work. if you think about facebook and you think about myspace and you'd think about twitter and all the different tools that people have, we were able to bring that to bear, to bring the private sector along with us and support us so that people would be able to connect and think about the kind of service and ways they wanted to engage. it was not only to come together because there were different entities posting different service projects that were available but for people who think about [unintelligible] this is something i see my neighborhood. here is a way to connect and go forward. those tools are providing -- they are feeling -- >> did you appreciate the campaign's use of those tools? >> absolutely, studying the campaign and even if you step

back from the politics, if you study the campaign and the youth of special -- use of special not working tools, it goes back to something earlier, people were feeling empowered. this is a way for us to connect and about how we want to engage. that has been enormously helpful to us and something we have got to the white house -- we have brought to the white house. >> senator, you talked a moment ago and it ties into this, with the military having some of the contractors and other things that have to be part, over the years, people have thought about how they can serve in a post- conflict situation and be part of a sort of peace corps but more a reconstruction corps. if we had had engineers and electricians to go into iraq -- could we do such a thing?

>> i think it is one of the biggest problems we have. whether it is 80 or of denniston or iraq, we do not have the capability outside the military to help in restoring a nation or restoring a country. that is why the military is under such a strain today. that is because they are having to do everything. we need teams of lawyers. we need teams of people skilled in farming. we need teams of people skilled in health. we need teams of people who really can go in and help build villages and help teach people basic principles of voting and government. >> that is a really good call for service. all of us in this room should appreciate it. if we stay here any longer, we will block the president of the united states and others.

i want to thank is wonderful panel for being here. [applause] there are many other people who have donated national service, thank you very much. [applause] >> coming up on c-span, nasa astronauts discuss the legacy of the apollo 11 moon mission queen elizabeth delivers her annual christmas message. we will talk to the director of moonbeam, a documentary about apollo 11 and our interview about u.s. military deployments around the world.

on "washington journal" tomorrow, we will talk with a political science professor and have a look at the obama family christmas vacation in hawaii. "washington journal" begins at 7:00 a.m., eastern every day on c-span. >> there is less than one month left to enter the 2010 studentscam contest. $50,000 in prizes for middle and high school students. create a five-eight minute video on one of our country's greatest strengths or talent is. it must incorporate the cspan program and showed varying points of view. enter before midnight, january 23 winning entries will be shown on c-span. go to studentcar reformation. >> commemorating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, a group of apollo astronauts gathered to share their thoughts

about the historic day. they also discussed the legacy of the nasa apollo program and the future of space exploration among the astronauts is buzz aldrin, the member of the first 1969 lunar landing mission and a second man to walk on the bavarian this is one hour and 10 minutes. -- the second man to walk on the moon. this is one hour and 10 minutes. >> this is commemorating reported anniversary of when man first step on the madrid we take a look back at the extraordinary mission. today's discussion will include questions from young people who will call into the broadcast from science centers and museums across the country. [unintelligible] i encourage you to stop by and take a look at the extraordinary

film at the conclusion of this program. there is a long history apart during special invest. -- special interviews. putting this program together, we work with many members of the nasa staff. the nasa dedicated staff are here today. it is my pleasure to introduce our monitor, dick clooney. -- nick clooney.

[music] please welcome a in welcoming nick clooney. [applause] >> what a great day. what an exciting time the museum is excited to partner with nasa to present a panel discussion today commemorating the 40th anniversary of the apollo 11 mission and exploring the future of space exploration. i am pleased to be joined by science centers across the country. we will have questions from them, some of them as young as eight years old. they will be tough questions, you can count on it. buwell as those in our studio

audience to prepare questions and be part of the program as well. we will show you this brief film. i think it is only two minutes longer permit it shows the centerpiece of the of that which is the reason we are here celebrating today. take a look. [music] 4t>> i believe that this nationo should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the mon and returning him safely to the earth. >> t -15 seconds, guidons is internal, 12, 11, 10, 9 -- ignition sequence started, six --

[rocket sounds] >> how far out are we now? >> stand by, i will give you the exact figure. you are now 177,000 miles out. >> the eagle has landed. >> roger, tranquility, we copy you on the ground. you have a got -- you about a bunch of guys about to turn

blue. thanks a lot. >> we are getting a picture of the tv. there is a great deal of contrast and currently is upside down. we can make at a fair amount of detail. we can see you coming down the ladder now. it is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. [music] [music] [applause]

>> ok -- let's take a look at our panelists. let me introduce to you buzz aldrin. [applause] charles m. duke, jr.. [applause] lori levinnnon,m deputy directof the products they center. [applause] and a mission specialist on atlantis. he was the lead space walker recently during the hubble space telescope repair mission [applause] i wanted to let you know that these youngsters will be talking to us.

they will be talking from science centers all over the country from boston, new york, california, chicago, and the denver museum of nature and science and the st. louis science center. let's talk to our panelists. we will begin with you, bus. zz. you might have to leave us before the end of the program. is it a late lunch? [laughter] >> it 1600 pennsylvania ave. [applause] >> he would leave us? a couple of months ago, you said you thought we would need to inspire through more than we do are doing now. you thought the way to do that with -- is with the mission to mars.

you used the term "to homestead maersk." >> it will not happen within a decade. it will not require breaking the bank right now. we can maybe save some money by realigning what we are doing and make a gradual course. we have lot of experience on the moon and and we had been planning on going to amrs. we can take that experience and communicated, helped work with the international nations. will they come together? i don't know. we have an umbrella organization that is over the international space station. we need to start there and in china, india, south korea, the other space nations into the

space stations. based on that, we have an international lunar economic development authority corp., what ever it is. the u.s. says we will help you people all you want because your nation's enter international groups want to land on the moon. we do, too, but we will ride with you in your rockets and spacecraft because we will take our resources that we put into the international space station to the tune of $100 billion. we'll take our resources and establish a pathway that may take a little more than two decades. it is a pathway that will achieve more things than dedicating a return to the moon right away. >> that's a pretty aggressive plan? >> yes, it is, but there is no reason why at the international space station we cannot put a

test model of the long duration and life-support equipment that we have been developing all this time. at the same time, we can develop an exploration module that will accompany o'brien on short missions. -- a companyorion -- a company orion -- accompnay orion on short missions. you have to have the equipment that will support these people with a redundancy that does not require you credit altogether 41 launch. you can model this sort of thing after a mars habitat. we are looking at those vehicles and looking at those soon to begin to be able to plan outward movement. >> thursday night, -- friday night in dayton, ohio, you told

us something we did not know before. this was on the moon, you and neil armstrong were the first ones to step on to the moon, and you told us there were other firsts. can you tell us what you told them? [laughter] >> i felt my first assignment on the moon. it was to get down to the bottom and jumped back up again. i had done a great job space walking on jim and i 12. -- gemini 12. i jumped back up and missed. we did the next time. we used a clothesline to send a camera down.

this is so we could take pictures. that is not what you're talking about, is it? we had great confidence on the inside the space suit plumbing. we had great confidence in the backpack. we had a mini-spacecraft on our back to give us water and air. we had emergency oxygen -- >> that is not what i am talking about [laughter] >> we have great confidence in the interior plumbing very we had indeed it all out so we could throw it out on the service later on. there was plenty of capacity in the ucd, urine collection device. i knew when i got to the bottom of the lattedder that would be y

to walk around the moon. maybe we were nervous but what i'd do is talk about things that are human. i talk about how people are worried about what they're trying to do. they are now worried that they are alert as to what they're trying to do. the magnificent of humanity, mankind coming down from the trees or wherever we came from and then doing all the things necessary to get steam -- >> he will not tell you what he

said. >> rockets, spacecraft, and exploring the surface of the month. >> i will tell you what he said. >> i peed in my pants. [laughter] 1 allen sheppard saddam that rocket, he did not have a ucd. he was floating on water for a while before his 50 minutes of the plight. >> that is great. he said that neil was the first one to walk on the month but -- [laughter] >> he disputed that fact for it he had 20 minutes to set another level. [laughter] >> charles, apollo 16 -- there were problems, bring us up-to- date. remind us what went on.

>> apollo 16, like all the other apollo flights had problems. we had six landings there but it thought it was a piece of cake. it was really difficult. not only are you coming into an area where no one has ever led the but you have never seen it in detail before. the photographs we had were 15- meter resolution. there are many big craters second put you in trouble at 30 feet across or 10 feet across. we were coming in and seeing all these craters. we had to pick a landing spot. before that, we were on the backside of the moon with mattingly and he had to changes or but in the command module and that was a major ignition change. as he tested this out before the

ignition, it was rattling the spacecraft to pieces and he said he cannot burn. if your heart can sink in zero gravity to the bottom of your boots, hours sank. that is an abort. you come to hundred 50,000 miles and train two years and 8 miles down and you're under lending soared and they are about to tell you to stop. you can imagine how disappointed we were pretty teamwork that we exhibited to get them to land and apollo 13 back safely and all the other problems came into focus and up to speed and six hours later they said we were go for landing. down we went and from then on it was fantastic our hearts went from here to hear when we heard

that they were going to give us the next time around >> your there for a long time? >> we were there for 71 hours and 14 minutes. nasa put us in for a vote records day. -- portis in for the record stay. another mission stayed about 75 hours. they did it for spite. we want a just two hours more base told us to get back in. >> what do you see as the future of man in space? >> i would like to see a sense -- back into deep space. we have a big investment in the international space station and we need to use that. there is a lot of waste and we can get a return on that investment. going back into deep space builds the human spirit of exploration.

buzz aldrin and i disagree about whether we should go to the moon and i agree it should be international. a return to the moon would be an opportunity to develop some of these systems that we will have for a mars stay. he wants to do it with iss which is not a bad idea. whichever way we do it, it would be a stepping stone out into the distance. i hope that i am around to see those first of prince -- goes first footprints on mars. i hope we will develop that as a capital expenditure from our country and i think we will have a great return on our investment. >> thank you. i hope i am around to see it, too. before we get you, laurie, we

have a question for buzz aldrin. he might be getting out of your centre this is from the museum of science in boston. this is coming from an 8-year- old from kohl has it, massachusetts. >> my name is markets. i am 8 years old. i would like to be on mars one day as an engineer or scientist. what hobbies are good for astronauts? >> when why -- when i was an mit, i did not live far from you. you need patience. you need to communicate with other people. you need to have, i think, something that separates you from others.

you will have an evaluation of considerable wedding out of other people who are trying to do the same thing. you say you want to go to mars? >> yes. >> how long do think you'll stay when you get there? >> i don't know. maybe a few days parade >> how long? that is a normal answer. there was someone at an event that said that his son was -- want to go to mars. he said he would stay a couple of days. i said it may take the better part of a year to get there so why would you want to say a couple of days? why would we want to invest all the money to send you there and bring you back? you will not get all of much

science or return. nobody will build a 50-person spacecraft to send the first people to the service of mars. there are critical number of people who need to be there to do the things to make a sustaining group. it is bigger than 6 per it is maybe 50 or 60. you know how long it takes to accumulate 60 people? every 26 months, you can send another mission to mars, it takes at least 23 years to accumulate enough people. we need to rethink a good beit - are we really ready to venture out that far and what does it really take? i think we are ready to think about that but we have a pathway that can branch off to asteroid. if somebody discovers something really important on the moon, it

might justify the investment and habitation for people of a nation that by that time will have stayed on the moon 50 years ago. from kittyhawk to tranquillity base is 66 years. let's go 66 years into the future. that is 2035. we don't want to kick up dust back on a moon. i think we'll be doing some real man to man talking about how long you might want to stay. you might want to spend the rest of your life on mars or until we come up with warp drive so we can bring you back in a couple of days. >> thank you and we appreciate the question. i want to talk to laurel for a moment.

this proposed manned mission going back to the moon. is this back to the future? our wheat using the kabbalah technology? >> it looks similar to apollo er. we will be sending at least four people back to the moon. they will be writing separately from the capitol and will rendezvous in orbit and go to the madrid with an unmatched or better that is in orbit around the mon, we are taking pictures of perspective landing sites. they only have very poor resolution images when they went there with apollo. we'll make an incredible amount omaopp of the moon. there might be things we can do -- used to live off the land and get there. >> we have much better maps of the mars then we do of the moon.

>> that's true. we will change that. our maps of the moon will be as good or better. >> this is from the american museum of natural history in new york. this is for charles -- >> having spent over 20 hours out of the lunar module, what do you think is the possibility that people can live on the moon? >> i missed that. >> what do you think is the possibility of living on the moon? what kind of support would be needed to do that for extended periods of time. ? >> oh hopefully, we will establish a base. we would want to establish a base like we have been an article. -- like we have in antarctica. i think we can develop technologies that we can use to

extract oxygen, hydrogen from the rocks and utilize the resources there eventually to help us to inhabit this area of the moment for a considerable time. . i think that is what science wants to do. there is a lot to learn about the lunar surface. maybe it is not such a bad idea to look for that. >> bank you so much -- bank you so much -- thank you so much. i want to talk to john gunsfled who gave us part of petitions many years ago. you practice for all eventualities and try to repair the hubble telescope.

no matter what you rehearse for, what surprises did you find that scared to as much as it scared us? >> our team on sts 125 atlantis train for 2.5 years and the training was the nuts and bolts of putting things in and out of the hubble but the training was about when things don't go well. we trained in hundreds of different scenarios. we had 116 tools that we developed it just for this mission. we got out the door with the first space walk and went to the first major task which was to replace the wide field camera and to remove the old camera we only have one big ball to turn and it did not turn. we put all the force we could on. it.

there was a good risk that the bolt could break and that would be the end of the camera. a little extra elbow grease and another tool and we got it. this was the highest priority science mission and the first thing we did and the first bolt did not turn and my heart was in my boots. even though we were weightless. [laughter] before we do this game-ending event, let's think about every alternative. we did and we found a way to get around it. >> this question is coming from the museum of science and industry in chicago. do we have a moderator? >> yes, we do. >> this is for john. >> my name is sasha blakely and i am 13 years old. what do you think is the next technological breakthrough that is essential for extensive space

travel to the moon or mars? >> i think there are so many challenges that we have to overcome to be able to develop a colony to live on the moon. using resources that you find. every time explore is go out exploring the earth, they have had to utilize resources they find when they get there. utilizing those resources on the moon to generate oxygen and to breed and going to mars to be able to develop rocket fuel that will allow us to come back, those are some big examples. being able to build live support in a contained environment such as a module you would live in and be able to recycle everything and keep it clean so that you are breathing clean air. those technologies we have not refined yet but we can do it for short periods of time and space shuttle.

we are learning how to do it for longer periods of time on the international space station. as we enter this conversation, we talked about the urine collection device. we take joran on the international space station and purifying it. i have an example here. [laughter] the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station drink that water made from urine. we can i go to mars and a parade of days until we have a new form of propulsion. if we want to explore out there in the cosmos, we will need a pigeon-powered drive. we have technology that a successful but it needs investment and time and creative young engineers and scientists.

>> thank you very much for the question. i want to get back to the question of water in the solar system. is there empirical evidence that there is water in the solar system? >> yes, and i am dragging some of it right here. i spent most of my science career hitting up samples from planets like mars. we know there is water on mars. the moon is a big mystery. water is a critical if you want to think about life on other worlds. places like mars where it could be liquid or the moon and jupiter where below an icy crust

there could be water, we want to explore that with robots and maybe humans to answer the fundamental question -- are we alone? >> welbeck way to come from denver? this is from the denver museum of nature and science and we are standing by for the question. >> we have a question from chile at the denver museum. >> i have heard the idea that the moon was formed by something hitting the earth early in the formation of the solar system. did material brought back from the apollo missions prove that hypothesis? >> excellent questions. you have heard of the big bang theory. we called the big whack. [laughter] that is the leading theory for the origin of the amount which is called the giant impact hypothesis. an object about the size of mars which is half the size of earth

it the earth early in its history and the material that was thrown off and that impact actually forms together to form the moment but it sounds crazy, i know. it is the leading theory for the formation of the madrimoon. there were three leading theories about the formation of the mon and the apollo mission was to sort those out. they brought back over 800 pounds of rock and we analyze them and found out that none of those three theories were actually correct. from the information we measured with the apollo samples and other missions to the moon, the giant impact. has emerged as the most credible theory. does not perfect. we still have things we need to tweak and understand. going back to the moon and getting more and different rocks and measuring the interior structure of the moon will help

us nail this down. >> thank you very much for that question. i have a clear question about the material on the moon. >> what is there about the signs on the moan that we cannot do with robots? and what about international people who may be there to help fix the robots? why is it that the united states has to make that major investment? i talked to charlie before and we can certainly look at this long duration of systems that we are working on very we can look at those at the space station beginning in 2015, 2016, and prolonged the life of the space station which many people would like. that is far simpler -- >> oddly enough, that was my

question. >> it is much easier. we could put a human on earth among l1 easier than putting someone on the service of the mode and he could control the robot on the surface. that is what we want to do on the moon and mars. that is more efficient and sending people to mars with one set of instructions that are conservative so that if the robot runs into any trouble chris, stop. we will get back to in one day and tell you what to do. spirit and opportunity have nicely lived for five years instead of 90 days. if we had a human being probus, or but every seven hours, what could that person do? he controlled that robot in real time. the moon is automation. mars requires being there.

>> is this a debate? >> from a size perspective, i can tell you that we need to unravel these mysteries. we need a network of places around the mooon to measure seismic measurements. you could do that robotic we and employe with people. you all explored incredible places. we have all the export a small part of the moon. you could do that robotic with. ally. >> all you have to do is learn chinese and ask them to help. [laughter] >> i agree with you on mars. >> you