play a risk in many diseases. and people that are interested in finding out about that, you can learn something about yourself that you may find useful by practicing the best individualized medicine. and therapeutically, we find that out cancer is not treated the same. and if you could find out all those in the tumor, could do a better match. and the right drug of the right dose at the right time could be possible using from the genome. and take plavix, we have learned that a portion of us, maybe as many as a third, that won't benefit in that drug because of what was inherited from our parents. and you should try a different

drug, because then plavix wouldn't help those in that subset. and for the interest and understanding of personalized medicine and the study of genome can improve the opportunity for human health. and that's what the book is about. >> have you switched to swimming because of your genetic profile? >> to tell you the truth, when i found out that i was at a higher risk of diabetes than the average person. i was surprised, because i don't have a family history. but on the other hand the people in my family were lean and i was less lean. and as a consequence of that, i got into an exercise program and hire a personal trainer and get my nutrition straightened

out and i have lot of 25 pounds. and i feel better, and i could say that this analysis helped me. and the skeptic could say, you should have done that anyway. and they would be right, but to have this information as a motivator for me was an impact. >> dr. frances collin has been our guest on "newsmakers." >> and we are back with our reporters, rebecca adams and dan vergana. rebecca, what did you learn? >> people are interested in this research and to see how far it would go. and i am sure that dan has thoughts about that as well. and the interesting news about the reg that will be coming out on conflicts of interest is also interesting. >> was that a big change? >> people had suspected that he

had said things in the past of trying to tighten the interest rules, but he's not been this specific and not given a timetable for that. >> dan. >> the next batch of cells that are disease specific where they have genes for individual diseases some rare ones and some popular diseases. and the other thing that he lost 25 pounds, i thought that was news. i have to hand it to an n.i.h. director, they usually pack on the pounds. he had good answers for the job and in the genome race he should be an interesting director. >> of the $30 billion and the

money qpvthat he controls what does n.i.h. follow with this? >> n.i.h. has the control of treatments, and one thing i didn't ask, he's got such a background in genetic-based research yet disease is not just caused by genes but other factors. and i would like to ask if there is a sliding of research of the environmental factors into disease, because of his personal-based research. >> we should say that genetic is the major research and they have gone through the boom and bust and they have kept 50,000

alive and there is a mismatch, and there is a fear that those guys will be out of work in three years. and sending them all to work on wall street is apparently not a good idea. there will be a lot of unhappy people if n.i.h. hits the wall in a few years, and it will have to be a substantial boost. >> did you see congress being favorable to that? >> they like it, everyone likes medicine. but we are in politics where they are look at deficits and that is tough when they need to throw around billions of dollars. and this is a capitol hill question and there may be break-through to ride a rocket on. >> i think there is developments on capitol hill, and of course president obama's

mother died of cancer and has that interest. but there is concern of the deficit, and it's looming large and one the reasons that voters are unhappy with democrats in congress. and we will have to watch out that turns out. >> rebecca and dan, thank you for being here on "newsmakers." >> thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> coming up on c-span, two tributes, remembering william f. buckley and life of edward kennedy, and the trends of 2010. >> in the mid-90 ae's "newsweek" names o mar wasow as

a member of science and space and tonight he talks about his current studies at harvard and what is ahead. >> on "washington journal" monday, greg stohr looks on the high court docket next year. and a look at how president obama is handling economics with dean baker and peter a.m. eastern here on c-span. >> this thursday on c-span, a day of tributes of world leaders, including the dalai

lama, ronald reagan and colin powell. and in innovation and entrepreneurship. >> up next the life and career of william f. buckley, jr. the author of two books, he passed away in 1982. this event is about an hour. >> good evening everyone, and welcome to the new york historical society. i am president and c.e.o. at the society. tonight's program, right time, right place, is part of bernard

and louise schwartz and thank them. tonight's program will about a little over an hour and you with purchase programs in the museum store. our moderator tonight has written for a variety of publications, his book, legacy: paying the price for the clinton years was a best seller. he wrote fist first cover story

in 1969 at 14 years old. and became the magazines youngest senior editor, and mr. brookhiser tells about his mentorship with william buckley, and he provides an account of the ferment that buckley lectured and lead. before we begin our program be sure your cell phones are switched off. and now help me in welcoming our guest to the stage, thank you. [applause] >> good evening everyone. it's a pleasure for me to be

invited here tonight to be part of this event. and i assure you as a very conservative guy that lives and works in this very liberal city, i am sincere about that, because it's a pleasure for me to be invited anywhere. it doesn't happen very often. judge -- and just to give you an idea of the strange perspective that a conservative has in this city, there was a place called loud records, and when the guys downstairs did their thing, our floor would shake and when the weather would get warmer and we would open our windows this unmistakable odor and i hate to provide that the national

review was written in the haze of marijuana smoke. thank you for being here tonight. rick is my friend and dear colleague. bill buckley said about his first book as a remarkable stylistic performance. anything that rick does is remarkable stylistic performance. he can knock your socks off with an e-mail. and thank you rick for being with us. tell us and start off with the narrative flow of the book, how did you discover national review and bill buckley? >> my family discovered him in the late 60's. and the first means of it was television. he hosted a tv show called "firing line" that ran for 33

years it started in 1966. through most of its life it was an hour of political talk. it was a simple format, when we sat down i thought it was like firing line, two chairs and a table. it was simplier tv, no bells or whistles and no scripts and no top-10 list, it was usually him and one or two guests. and he would give them a polite introduction and then go at it. and sometimes it got pretty rough. i think we first watched it as a sporting event, without attending to the content so much. and then we got drawn into that. as a result of seeing the tv show we subscribed to the magazine. and some time in the late 60's

my father bought a copy of his book, it was his third book called, up from liberalism. this was a re-issued paperback. i had seen him and read his magazine and book before 1969 when the idea came to me. well, it was suggested to me. it was not my original idea. i had written a letter to my brother about an interesting day in my high school. and what this was, there were vietnam war protests in 1969. it was called the moratorium against the vietnam war. this was mostly a college thing, there would be teach-in's and kids would cut classes to hear about the

lectures. and some kids in my school started to imitate this and i thought this was wrong. and my brother was six years older than i am, he was in college. and i wrote a letter each week and it was mostly high school plays and this week i wrote about moratorium day. and he said, rick, that was a funny letter. and my father said why don't you send that to national review. and i changed the letter and sent it off. and we were completely uninformed about journalism, we knew nothing about it but that we consumed this. and i sent this piece off and months passed and i assumed they didn't like it and threw it away. this is what magazines do. and then i got a letter from

chris simons, he was the editor, and he said dear mr. brookhiser, i just cleared off my desk and found your letter and i learned that's what magazines do. >> nothing has changed. >> and he said i read it and liked it and the managing director liked it and we would like to publish it. that was great. it was like a rush, who would have thought. i must have thought because i sent it off. but i didn't really think and when it happened it was like, my god. >> and when did it enter your mind that you yourself might be a journalist? >> i think i always thought to be a writer but it was friction. we read friction and the

traditional novels assigned to kids in high school, like david copperfield and condensed and read on my own. but most was fiction and i thought i would be a novelist. instead of doing that he was something else that i actually had finished. it was a completed thing. and someone said i like this. they published it and paid me for it. and then i guess maybe -- >> but not much. >> yeah, $180 is what i was paid. and you know i did sort of think to myself for many years that national review was in violation of the 13th amendment of indebtured servitude. but $180, i was 14 or 15 years old, i never got paid for

anything. apart from mowing the lawn or selling lemonade, so $180, that was cool. and that was the beginning of thinking make this is the real thing to do. not writing novels. >> now how did you stay in touch subsequent to that. i am sure being a 14-year-old and being published in national review, nothing cooler than to be published as a teenager, take us to the next step. >> everyone at national review that i dealt with was encouraging. i got a letter from bill's sister that was managing editor. and i got a postcard from bill, it was a three by five blue postcard and had scrawled on it

something like, rick, nice job. and as you know everybody who wrote anything for national review got one of those cards. but they were just very nice to get. it was a nice courtesy. so that encouraged me. i sent other pieces when in high school and then in college. and some of them were rejected and others were published. so that's even more encouragement. there was one occasion i sent bill a letter when a freshman in college. he liked to do things by surprise, so i sent this letter describing an uproar in yale. and i got a letter from my brother and he said, rick had a n article in column, and i

thought what. he wrote a column and said, i want to share this letter i got from a young man in college, richard brookhiser. >> if you would write me a letter twice a week, it would make my job easier as a columnist. >> yes, i see the self-interest in that generosity. but still it was the surprise attack of approval. and then i learned there was a young lady at yale a couple years older that was a summer intern at national review. and said i should apply that. and i know that national review announces that every year and it was her telling me /(qthat g me engaged.

and i applied to be an intern and i was accepted, this was the summer before my senior year. and in 1977 i am graduating from college, and this is the era to go to law school. that was the default thing. i took the law board and i have no gift for law, no interest. but i was on that track. and i was corresponding with priscilla and said why don't you put law off for a bit and come to national review and that's what i did, and the year has gotten longer and longer. >> so what was national review like at that time? >> among our causes was the defense of capitalism, which i think we did very intelligently. bill was very savvy about economics. he really knew his economics

about as well as a layman can. but we were like a futile state, it was like buckley land. and the ruler was bill buckley. and that was just absolutely clear to everybody. and he was a very benign ruler. he was certainly an unchecked one. there are no checks and balances in buckley land. and he ruled it by charisma and by generosity and geniality. he made it fun to work there. he didn't rule it by paying people a lot of money. and i don't want to pour him out too much, but we were

certainly a little magazine. and so it worked on other principles. and the offices then, you remember them, they were at 150 east 35th at murray hill and the polite word to describe them as chalism. they were ratty. the building was like an apartment building, small rooms and lots of bathroom. >> it was like working in a painting with nothing making sense. >> that's right, and one short cut that bill and priscilla made use of, there was a dumb waiter that ran from priscilla's office and bill's office and they used this to send manuscripts and priscilla

had a bell shaped like a turtle and she rang it and she would send something in the dumb waiter. >> you can't make this stuff up. >> and he would send it back. there was something homey with it and exciting about it. because bill of a star, bill was a celebrity. and that's something, one thing that happens when celebrities die, we forget this. we just do. and that has to be recoveried v if it's recovered at all. but you have to have an effort to bring them back. if they exist on film, as bill does. his television shows you can

youtube them and they are reissued. and memoirs are coming out, mine is not the only one. there will probably be several shelves of buckley books in the next 10 years. but you have to remember he was just a star. and i think one sign of that is that comics imitated him. comics don't imitate people that are not stars. but robin williams had a buckley impression and comics had imitations of him. so it was -- you know you also got the kind of the aura of that just by being in his presence. because if you were walking along the street with him or getting out of the car with him. there was a presence that people were looking in our direction. and they were not looking at

me, of course, they remember looking at him. and you got the, yeah, i am walking with him sort of feeling. so it was exciting. >> now you say there weren't checks and balances on ogmñhis dictatorship, but who were the other key players? >> the two people that he relied on to make his career go were his sister, priscilla, the managing editor and his assistance francis bronson. francis was like the wrangler of his life, she made sure that everything that was to happen, happened. there were hundreds of things, the tv shows and writing assignments and speeches and appearances and parties. and she told the story many,

many times, i put it in the bobbing. -- book. there was one phone call and there was a list of things to do, and there were 13 things, and when he got to 13th thing and went back to one and said, it's not done yet. and she made that happen. priscilla, he relied i think -- well, priscilla had real-world journalist experience, she worked with the press and had covered stories and beats, and she knew nitty-gritty things that maybe bill didn't. and she also shared his views and taste. so he could safely go to europe every winter to ski and write a book and leave the magazine in her hands. and he knew she wouldn't do

something crazy, he could trust her. >> in terms of the political context of that time, how would you characterize the tenor of the things of national review, was it enbattled or what was the mood? >> the mid to late-70's was a horrible time. nixon -- >> we know the feeling, unfortunately. >> worse. it was really worse. nixon who we had never wholeheartedly supported but had supported to an extent had come to the ending that he had come to. ford we felt was weak. carter we felt was weak and bad. the soviet union seemed to be picking up, almost like

monopoly, getting park place here and other hotels and assets. cuban troops were running the portuguese empire in africa. that's so weird to say that. it's like recolonization. the cuban troops took over the portuguese empire in the mid-70's. and energy shocks and stagflation. all kinds of stuff. i think the mood was embattled. now the mood changes when reagan wins in 1980. but the first few years were grim. >> now when you are at national review in the early years and finishing the full-on bill buckley charm that you learn is a mixed blessing. talk about that a little bit. . .

so, to reinforce this, a year later he said, let's talk. i want to talk with you outside the office. and i thought we were going to lunch around the corner, but instead we go to mexico city and then to taxco. that was his ideao f getting away from it all. and there he sort of underlined the offer. but this was to be the plan of my life then at age 23. i accepted it without demure. that shows you how young i was.

and then i opened a letter from bill that said, i think you are not going to suceed. and i got ready to write this book, and i had papers and folders. and i found it. and i thought, what do i do with this man?

how do i relate to this guy? >> tell us just how you found your view of bill in light of this information that would strike most people as tremendously coral -- cruel? >> certainly, the way he did it was. he was largely, maybe even mostly right in his judgment.

my wife was a help. she is a psychoanalyst. she actually gave him a raw shark card once -- rosach card. we had him and his wife, pat, over for dinner. during a conversation, i wife mentioned the test. and they said, let's see them.

she used the right steaks. and the cards have color, also. it is oppositional temperamental behavior. we know that is all true of him. detached from your emotions. so i had to deal with the fact

he went through many gestures and maneuvers. please stay right thing, please stay around may. it was generous. he had talent. he knew that you were going to be present.

my wife and i went to india, and it was mimicking malaria, and when i got home, i found a big box. it was a casio electric piano. this is a really fine piano. he was saying do not go away.

hopefully i share the riding with him. so that's sort of inches back together. >> pick up the narrative. when did you and bill realize, ok, this is going to happen. you are going to elect our dream candidate, rich people inside --

>> i did not even know it was the game changer. i talked to priscilla. one victory in the electoral college certainly happened, this great relation. and i came up to the line of tests. [laughter] this was not a perfect world,

but reagan cut taxes and then he had to raise them up because there was a bad recession, and politically it was necessary to raise taxes. we thought it was wrong and we should not do it. so there was a meeting between james baker -- was the chief of staff and? i think so. and bill and the editors. she was built, the man i admired most in the world and was closest to, and here was baker, who was just this operator.

he is slicker than an eel, he just is. and this was stroking, it just was. i am not all that savvy, but i could tell that that is what this was. but it was good to see that, that that is how things are sometimes. >> in the 1980's, once conservatives took power, you will appeared that the magazine lost some of its intellectual oomph. is there something to that? >> as people age, retire, and die, you know -- another one of

bill's right hands for many years at the magazine had a stroke in 19709, even before reagan took office, and that was a serious loss. burnham wrote a very serious column about the cold war which ran in every issue and just had level of analysis and imperviousness to fads and panics. you know how powerful those are. and he just would not feel them. they would roll off his back. he would keep his eye on the ball. losing him was a great loss. and it is always wrong to look for the replacement. there is never an exact

replacement of anybody. you just have to find other people who do very different things were somewhat different things. so there's always that kind of -- in your head, you think, oh, what with the perfect review be? it would have people from every era. perfect yankees, the babe ruth, joe dimaggio, reggie jackson. but you never had the perfect yankees. >> we have 10 minutes or 15 minutes more of tapping, then we will open up to questions. i want to get your thoughts on some political figures, and then we will end with your thoughts on the current political environment. >> she helped with date certain

kind of society. certainly the buckleys were well connected. this helps. and she was certainly a very stylish woman who was a figure in new york society. she was also -- she was also quite a lively person. i remember one of my favorite members of her is towards the end -- one of my favorite memories, bloomberg came to an editorial dinner, in full campaign mode against smoking. she did not blow a puff of smoke right into the mayor's face, but

it was pretty close. and she said, mr. mayor, may i smoke in my own house? that is a mild example. >> you have surprisingly mixed things to say about him as a writer. >> i never liked his fiction particularly. it is john rep. fiction. -- chandra -- genre fiction. bill was certainly a master of

the 750-word, and he wrote a lot about if you get the best of those -- that is just murderer'' row. there are very analytical, they can be appreciative, they can be melancholy. he had a lot of voices he could summon. he could also do longer articles. there was a column about the effective end of the latin mass in catholic church and how that pained him. and it was a moving column. i am not a catholic, i was reading from the outside, but it was a mournful column, very powerful.

he could also do longer essays. i was looking at one about truman capote in "esquire." it was like ancient social history, and it just sort of was brought back, to be poppy, fizzy, and so on. but he just sort of brings it all live. ok, here is what everyone is talking about. >> talk about bill as a new york figure, how important his run for mayor was, and how important his new yorkness was, if you will. >> it was a stunt in part.

it was to get the brand out there. but it was also because he worked in the city, and he lived a lot have his -- of his life here. and the city was in the middle of a long decline that went right up until 1993. and he said this is lousy. it is not inevitable, it is because we are doing things wrong. we ought to do these things better. so it was a stunt, but it had a very serious court. he was saying, look, my city does not have to be this way, and if we can free ourselves, but can find better ways to deal with our problems. so yes he was having fun.

what will you do if you win? demand a recount. there were all of these jokes he would make. barry goldwater, i think, said why don't we just saw it off and let it out to sea. there's a lot of that. that was an example of his openness and flexibility, that here was a problem that did not occupy conservatives very much, but he felt that it ought to preoccupy him. he was not just going to turn his nose at it or turn his gaze away.

but there was a practical side. this city stinks'. here's how to make it better. >> your thoughts on political figures, their role in conservatism? barry goldwater. >> what a handsome man. >> richard nixon. >> my wife was a liberal democrat. i would always tell our, nixon is my problem, clinton is yours.

he destroyed himself and took a lot of conservative energy down with him, to say nothing of southeast asia and millions of people. the first thing i wrote for the review was about cambodia. there was a jesuit there, and he said the khmer rouge has killed several hundred thousand people. he was low balling it. they killed millions of people. and the communists, it was there enablers on a left that enabled them, but also there was a final piece of that. reagan, the things he did, he teaches a lesson that you cannot do many things, you can do a few things as president. he stopped the economic

slump. and he said, here is my strategy for the cold war, we win, they lose. and he stuck in place the conditions for that happening. it happen on george bush's watch, but he put it on place. it was thrilling to be in jack kemp's presence. he was soaked abelian and energetic -- energetic. >> george w. bush. >> i'm going to see what i said at washington and lead just

before he left. there was a dinner with contributors and i was giving a talk, and they were asking me as a historian, not a conservative, what about this guy? a very negative group of people. and i said if president our stocks, by george w. bush. if it moves at all, it is going to go up. he did not deserve to be there. he was put there by historians like henry adams, by in completely converted racists in the deming school at columbia here in new york city, reconstruction, all southerners,

and it was "birth of a nation with footnotes." and we will see, but bush at least made it possible for insurgents to lose in his war. >> barack obama. >> i went down to the inauguration. i was doing that for the news hour, and i did that work the news hour, and there is an historic quality which never can be taken away. it is one thing, but it is a very important thing. the quality became more real because he was elected president.

then there is a question, what do we do today, mr. president? we are seeing the problems he has got himself into, and i imagine we will see many more of them. he is an interesting position after his afghan speech. his supporters will be his enemies. >> sarah palin. >> i will give you cole porter. you have that thing, that certain thing, that makes the birds for get to sing. you have that thing, that special thing. she really has something. i was amazed when she quit as governor of alaska. you know, she is running -- she

has had executive experience. but wider sheet -- why did she cut it off? why did she top it off with foreclosure? because she is seeking the top executive job in the country, arguably in the world. how do you explain that? what are you offering that can possibly compensate? and having that thing is not enough in and of itself. we are going to see a lot more because of the decision she made. >> we have seen one book already in response to conservatism.

>> i have spent time up to 1812. some call it the age of passion. and i have said that from this stage in different contexts. if you want to feel not so bad about politics and the level of discourse in the 18-teens, they were crazy, foaming at the mouth. these were the founding fathers. hamilton thought jefferson would set up guillotines. jefferson was not joking at all when he said that hamilton was a monarchist and a british agent. thomas jefferson went to his grave believing that. he is a lunatic. and i think the reason people thought that is that they did

not believe you could lose and then win. there was an incredible beating, but the world does not end, so you do the right thing and go back, keep coming back. >> thanks so much, rick. [applause] do we have a microphone? gentleman in the frontier. your last question, you mentioned hamilton and jefferson. they were also towering intellectuals.

what do you think william f. buckley would think today? about monumentally in the current -- a ignored people like sarah palin and clan back whose -- ignorant people like sarah palin who supposedly speak for conservatives? >> palin is in a different category because she is in a different position. bill buckley was never a politician. never a successful what -- 1. he ran for mayor of new york but never won an office. thomas jefferson's presidency was a mixed bag. so was james madison's. john adam's was a disaster. i would argue that woodrow wilson's was a disaster.

there are to give you a different skill sets. so we would not expect our politicians to perform at level of discourse. the media always changes. daily newspapers, i remember life in the magazine. time magazine was a magazine with content, which it really does not anymore. time, newsweek, and the economist. time and newsweek are completely

and recognizable. i think they're going down. i am sad to say. the world of media changes, and you do not have to change with it, you do not have to track every mutation, but the answer to the political question is to do the right thing. do the right thing yourself. build it, they will come. >> i have two questions. do you agree with george will when he says there would not have been a ronald reagan if there was not a barry goldwater? there would not have been a barry goldwater without a national review. and there would not have been a national review without a

william f. buckley? >> yes. >> my second question is, what do you think about christopher buckley's book? >> chris has been a friend of mine for a long time and an editor of mine. i notice that he ran forbes fyi, he was the first editor for a number of years. he also sent out three by five cards every time i wrote a piece. and i thought that is very nice to see that being carried out. chris is writing about his parents' death, and i was writing about billy's life. so it was two different tasks, two different books. >> another question, going towards the back gentleman

there. >> up from liberalism, i think 07 team. early '60s. in the course of my life, i watched conservative reached a pinnacle with the election of ronald reagan. would you agree that it has changed, and do you think that is a good or a bad thing? >> i think there was a very depressing consequence of republicans taking over the house in 1994 and running it through 2006, and the consequence was corruption. it was just getting to used to

being there, the case three -- the k street connections. who was the congressman from pennsylvania who strangled his mistress? >> there are so many of them. [laughter] >> one of my colleagues said, don't strangle your mistress. that should be rules of civility number one. don't strangle your mistress. and, you know, you can say, well, we should have known that this might have happened because humans are humans and men are men and we are also men and women, but it is good to have those -- you have to take them as lessons. you have to make lessons of them just to remind yourself, ok, these are the temptations. do not do it next time.

knowing that many will fail. i think a big change, which we're still trying to adjust to, was the fall in soviet communism. you cannot overestimate what an organizing principle that was for so much. and when it did fall, i never imagined i would see that. and i describe in the book how i looked in cairo at the international tribune, and the headline was communism's collapse. it was like some joke issue of national review. it was inconceivable. and adjusting to that, what is our role in the world, how should we take saddam hussein,

how much of a threat is the summer street -- these became big questions. and my reaction to 9/11 was that this is the rest of my life. this is the 30 years' war. i will not see the end of it. we could argue about that, but that is what i believe, and we're trying to figure out what are the implications of that. one thing bed jim did in the columns over and over was not just to say it in the columns, but what is our strategy for fighting it. the soviet union never killed three dozen new yorkers. they never did. it is different. just how you wrap your mind

around that. what do you do? i'm not one to give you the answer now, and no one will get it this week. this is a process of grappling with this. >> we have time for another question or two. i would add to what risk -- rick said. if reagan had run the goldwater campaign, he would have lost. if george bush had rerun the reagan campaign, he would have lost. political movement does not have the capacity to change with circumstance. so yes, it has changed, and that is healthy, to a large extent. >> which you discuss how mr. buckley got to the position we should legalize marijuana? >> he thought about drugs for a long time, at least as early as

his run for mayor of new york in 1965, and he was very impressed by a book by claude brown called "man child and the promised land," about heroin use in harlem. and he came out with anti-drug statements and proposals running for mayor. and he got a postcard from milton friedman. it explained in post card length why this was wrong. so it was something that bill thought about and wrestled with, and then he added to it an issue of the magazine in 1996 or 1997 called "the drug war is lost." it was a symposium of articles. he was passing judgment on a whole thing.

i think his judgment was that marijuana has that effect that are bad, not probably worse than alcohol, and we waste a lot of resources and generate a lot of hypocrisy and capricious law enforcement by pursuing offenders. this came into my life in 1992, when i had cancer and had to go through chemotherapy. chemotherapy almost always creates knowledge of -- nausea, and i found myself using marijuana to deal with that. i think bill's wrestling with this issue helped me indirectly. it prepared the intellectual grounds for it. i had no problem writing about this working for "national

review." the only time it affected my work was you remembered that dan quayle was the elder bush's vice-president, and he had gotten off to a bad start. he never shook the reputation that he was not smart. so when the 1992 race came, people were panicking, and decreasing -- a crazy idea ran around that bush could dump him from the ticket and get someone else, and that would revive bush's fortune. i thought this was a crazy idea, if for nothing else than at seeming desperate is worse than desperation. for that reason alone. are remembered the editorial conference in which we discussed this. i was still in my marijuana haze from a hospital and in a state of mind when the stoner observes

the world. because i was high, i did not intervene in the discussion. maybe i could have put in a good word for dan quayle. [laughter] >> he brought us full circle. a strict schedule, so i cannot get to any more questions, but gale will add more words. >> just a brief announcement before we close and have you join rick for the book signing. he will be out there and you can purchase the book in our store. before we close to ninenight -- tonight, i want to point out an opportunity to be part of the historical society family. everyone wants to be remembered, and what better way than within the walls of one of the premier historical institutions in the united states of america, the new york historical society.

all you are here tonight because you love history and know how important and crucial it is to understand. in november 2011, we are scheduled to open with the newly renovated building, including a state of they are auditorium to better present our programs. it will be filled with new seats, and each one of those seats could have your name on it for everyone to think about and remember. in naming a seat, your contribution of $1,000 will enshrine the name of your family or a loved one, perhaps a parent or someone who has been so special to you in your life. so please stop off after this program to inquire about this or our membership offers at the membership table, or look for the receipt and history page in public programs. now we want to thank you for

joining us and thank you, richard lowry, for coming on to this program. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> coming up, a look back at the life of career of ted kennedy with friends and colleagues. after that, house minority whip eric kantor and a joke la carte. then come up william eggers shares his thoughts. -- then, author william eggers shares his thoughts. >> in the 1990's, newsweek named

him one of the 50 most influential people to watch in cyberspace. since then, he has created a social network black planet.com, founded a charter school in brooklyn, and explained new technologies on oprah. tonight, he talks about his current studies at harvard and what is ahead. >> now available, c-span's book, abraham lincoln, great american historians on our 16th president, a great read for any history buff. it is a contemporary perspective on lincoln from 56 scholars, journalists, and writers. from his early years to his life in the white house and relevance today. in hard cover at your favorite bookseller, and in digital audio were ever done most are sold. require average download -- wherever downloads are sold.

>> historians and journalists were joined by edward kennedy's widow. this is just over an hour. clock>> i think you for coming o this very special forum, and i think those watching on c-span or listening on wbur. for me, this hall will forever be a sacred site, chosen by senator kennedy himself and duly

consecrated by tens of thousands who came to pay their last respects to him while he was lying in reposed in the center of this room. it will be an honor for all of us to work with the senator's legendary staff, many of whom are here with us tonight, and to be part of those days in august when people asked me how we did it. i gave my credit to ease the senator's wife, vicki. york strength, and the indefatigable graciousness you extended to all of us and the grieving nations. we thank you. [applause] my role this evening is to explain how the forum and book signing will unfold and briefly introduced panelists. let me begin by acknowledging the generous underwriters at

the library form, bank of america, represented here tonight by their chief marketing officer. the low will institute, and the boston foundation. our media sponsors are the "boston globe," and radio. our focus is senator kennedy's life and legacy, especially his best selling memoir, "true comfort," on sale at our bookstore. a line will form in the facility pavilion for a signing of the book. perhapwith such an outstanding y of speakers, i will be brief in my introductions. additional information is in your program.

for me, as a lover of personal memoirs, the image of childhood is enlivened by books and baseball to which i am drawn in bleak october days when the red sox falls short, recalling losses she endured as a young fan of the brooklyn dodgers. as the title suggests, her writing and historical commentary are confused by her own boundless optimism, and whether it is baseball or national politics, she says with hope that one needs only to wait until next year for another chance at a winning season or the advancement of all political ideal. we will now introduce a forum to discuss michael's most recent

book on presidential courage. he related a story by the editor of newsweek. every time he writes a new book on presidential history, they will not see michael for six months because they invariably find he knows more about the subject and they do. he retorted after not missing a beat, now you see what i am so much fun to be with. he has served this institution as a member of our awards committee. he was here last month to moderate a fascinating form on justice, and shared an anecdote of meeting of then governor bill weld and informing him, "i am a single issue of voter, and fortunately you are on the right side of that issue. you reappointed my mother to the

board of the bristol community college." perhaps in the same manner in which tim russert's charlton infused his career, d.j.'s work and commentary is informed by his past and present connections to fall river, its commonwealth, and its people. when ken burns produced this documentary on world war two, we turned to mike to facilitate a conversation with him. not surprisingly, to many of us who have listened to his analysis, mike not only brought up the best in his discussion, but his own comments captured the ethos of the sacrifice that define the era and is perhaps lacking in our own. we knew he was the perfect choice to serve as moderator. i speak on behalf of everyone at the library, the institute, and extended kennedy family and

expressing how honored we are to have these people here with us. at the conclusion of the discussion, we will hear closing words from the board chairman, kenneth feinberg. he is the special master of the victim compensation fund for september 11 and also the popularly known as president obama's pay czar. this commonwealth's junior senator serving in an interim appointment at a seat followed by his friend and mentor, senator kirk must attend to important votes precluding his being with us. the discussion will begin immediately following remarks made by mrs. kennedy, and here to introduce her is the ceo of the kennedy institute, a member of the board of directors, a dear friend, colleague, and soon

to be next door neighbor. [applause] >> thank you very much. for those who know, and it is mentioned in the book -- by the way, did tom mentioned the book is on sale at the bookstore? senator kennedy wrote about his mother having him up the street at street margaret's hospital. you can almost see the hill here. it is street mary's center for children here, an important institution. the bedlam health centers here, they were the first in the country, and senator kennedy was a major force in creating it and the other health centers. but we will be beside the john f. kennedy library, where

senator kennedy wanted to be. an important part of the university of massachusetts at boston. senator kennedy said if you want to see the future of massachusetts, you go to umass boston, that is where the future is. we are proud to be part of the library. there are three things that the senator brought to the table. he was the best prepared in the room. he did his homework. he had respect for other people's ideas and knew how to reach across the aisle. he knew how to get the deal done. if we can in part to young people today as they study the senate bring with you in whatever your task, we will have succeeded in senator kennedy's dream of explaining, teaching young people the importance of

understanding how democracy works and how you get it done, which is what the senator did all the time. he was blessed. he had a partner who have the same zeal about the important issues of justice and health care, justice and education, justice and labor issues. people talk about senator kennedy as the health center, but the labor people say he was the labor sector, education people say he is the educational person. he was an extraordinary performer. he had a partner who understood how important the work was. a best friend, a partner. vicki kennedy. [applause]

>> thank you so much. thank you for those wonderful, warm words. thank you for your friendship. he was so delighted with the leadership you are going to be giving to the institute, as am i. thank you so much. it is such a pleasure to be here at the kennedy library. ted love this place, and he agreed this was the perfect place to discuss his memoir, especially given the role of the library over the decades in fostering debate on critical issues and informing the american people about what ted love to call our march of progress. i am delighted the library is coasting the form tonight with the edward kennedy institute for the united states senate, which will be built just a stone's throw from here.

i thank can define burke, chair of the kennedy library foundation -- i thank kenneth feinberg. and i would like to say a special thanks to tom, director of the jfk library. everyone here at the library of foundation who were helpful to me and our family last august. on very short notice, they did the impossible. helping us to prepare the way for the people of the commonwealth to come here to pay their respects to ted. 50,000 people came through the library last august, and that would not have been possible without their tireless efforts. thank you so much. [applause]

i also would like to say a brief word about the kennedy institute for the united states senate. ted loved the senate. he called it one of our forefathers most brilliant democratic conventions. about seven years ago, we started talking about the idea of a living institution to educate and inform generations of americans about the critical role of the senate in our democracy. he had a clear vision of a place for young people could visit and see first hand of role the senate plays in our system of government. and where americans come and participate in the debates of the day.

in his last 15 months, he had three goals. watching the institute, finishing his book, and passing national health reform. with the institute on its way next spring and his book on the best-seller list, he accomplished two goals, and we're closer than ever before to accomplishing the most ambitious health reform since the creation of medicare. [applause] he would be thrilled that this progress. but we are here to talk about "true compass," his memoir. he did not have the chance to see it in final book form, but he knew every word. we had read the entire book

aloud to each other. for as long as i knew him, i knew he wanted to tell his own store for history. historic debates, conversations with leaders, and many impressions route his life -- throughout his life. he was an active participant, and he preserved his memory. five years ago, he started an oral history project with the university of virginia, and his notes wanted to come alive.

we were in the process of hours and hours of interviews when he started to reflect on his life in a different, a deeper, more open way. it was during that time that his concept of what is more would be really shifted to something much more personal. so "true compass" was born. he was ill, but determined to continue. so many others have written their version of the story, and he wanted to tell it as only he could. it is a candid, personal look at his life as he lived it. as he said many times, he wanted to get it right for history.

i hope you agree after reading it that he did. i want to thank mike for moderating our discussion tonight. i want to thank our participants. they have been participants in and students of this country's historic march to progress, and i look forward to their thoughts on true comfort and ted's efforts to get it right for history. thank you very much. [applause] >> this is quite an amazing

biography. there have been others, and one of the best was written by ulysses s. grant. he finished his memoir while dying of cancer. one thing that struck me about this book was that everyone here in this room, everyone in the world, knows great amounts about ted kennedy's legacy otherwise, his afterlife. but he had an inner life that is ravaging, and it is all here. all of the promise, all of the hopes, all of the dreams. and i would like to begin by talking about what it might mean that you might not be able to go to communion in rhode island --

[laughter] about senator kennedy's faith. for those of you who have not read the book, he was a man of deep faith. atonement is a process that never ends. let's start with you. ted kennedy. catholic. what evidence were you aware of of his deep faith?

>> i have to report my favorite line in the book, which is when ted kennedy was quoting vicki kennedy, worried about a poll that said his approval rating was down to 48%, and vicki kennedy said that is fortunate, because i'd never go out with a guy whose approval is below 47%. [laughter] that is part of the real deal. it was a connection to his fate and church that came from his mother, and it was intimately connected and that. you also saw his engagement in the dialogue, a great story in the book where he does a mailing

from liberty college, jerry falwell's university, making him a member of liberty college. it said, join us to fight ultraliberal like ted kennedy. he thought, i can do something with this. a new item appears and they make light of it. and he says, you should come down and visit with us. they had him come down. and he talks about how his religious faith led him to the conclusions he had. it would be for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a kennedy to go at a

university. at the end of it, there was his catholic faith and how he approached public life. there was a sunday in 1994, we went to the same church for a while, and there was a wonderful priest there. we were at a bass with tons of kids, and there he was with vicki. my mom was visiting us, and her last vote was for ted kennedy. so she goes up, and he turns to her, she looks at him, and he says, this woman has been very good for you. to be very good for her.

>> one of the elements of his faith that you can see quite often in politics, almost daily visits back here to this stage, the element of compassion, of forgiveness, of the deep belief in redemption. can you speak to that? can everyone here? >> i think it had more to do with faith. the first hint i had was a letter he wrote to the pope that explained his career within the context of his catholic faith. i thought that was so moving. and there are other things to pick out about a politician, what is religious views are like. usually political figures

pretend to be more religious than they really are. harry truman once said that his grandfather always said if you hear a politician prang, go home and wash out. but catholicism was not even basic to him with compassion, but much more connected. very few people realize they note ted kennedy's deep devotion to his family, his parents, his brothers and sisters. it began quite early in his life.

he is a constant in my life during the difficult years of boarding school. he requested me more precious than any fortune. love life, and believe in it. and he did. >> we used to go to the hotel in palm beach, and he would sit in the couch is there, waiting for anybody from massachusetts to come in so he could talk to them. but what is so interesting about the memoir is that it really is a family story underneath it all. no one else was able to write the story because bobby died, rose kennedy could write it, but no one could write it the

way that kennedy did. it is the story of a family that has captivated us for a century. he was more open than he could have been before. most characters in memoirs are thinking about future. lbj wanted to say something about bobby kennedy in his memoir, that they had a typical relationship. if they had some way to balance these things, say something good about jackie kennedy. it was important that it would actually pass on the floor. he was so concerned about saving face. but what happened to him was that he lost it.

he was upset with his father, running away from home. it is not the you have to come home yet, but is the station, the movies. what jack meant to bobby, what bob meant to him, and more importantly, what they want to do. somehow, the institution became part of his faith. across party lines, there could be friendships forged that could make a difference for the fate

and the family, fed up -- set up with doing things for the country. the last thing i would like to say is that jack kennedy in the 1950's created a committee where they were going to have statues for the best senators. daniel webster, the best committee chairman, who was the best constituent service person , someone who could bring things above party lines. they were every single one of those things, which means his legacy is larger than anyone think. any of us who were here during the time he was here saw people coming one after another talking about what he had done for them. they would say i knew him before i knew him, something like that.

what a committee chairman, what a great legislator. most importantly, he could not have done without vicki's openness. she made me understand me, which is what love is all about. >> the other thing about the book is that we have all read parts of the memoirs. they allow these books -- they are interesting, but the ones that are really great are universal, were you do not have to be a political junkie. and beginning to end, there are so many things, early on, and

vicki knows this, when ted kennedy was talking, he said one model i have is the book "personal history," because catherine gramm was so candid. i was in chicago and ran into a woman who was 22 years old. a 22-year-old person is not the core audience for hard-cover history. she asked me if i knew catherine gramm, and looked at me as if she was seeing a cross. the point is that that book is able to speak to someone of a totally different experience, who was not a billionaire who had inherited a newspaper.

. . there are other siblings. he writes about what an enormous influence that had on him. that is the kind of feeling you get from reading this book. many of you probably think this book is all about politics. is much more about ted kennedy as a human being than it is about politics. he mentions his family, father, and his brothers. all of us as witnesses to his

life are sometimes staggered by how one would cope with the sense of loss and the reality of that that ted kennedy and his family endured over the years. there was a moment in denver, colorado, prior to his speech at the democratic national convention when he was troubled with gallstones in fighting cancer. he sucked it up, man up as they would say today and told himself that he could handle it. he handled that well as he handled almost everything extraordinarily well. there is a passage in the book i would like for you to reflect on. it has to do with dealing with loss. it has to do with the events of the summer of 1968. in has to do with his love of

the ocean and his love of sailing. when he would be out on the ocean, especially at night, he will look for the north star to steer him. here is the passage. "and that is the truly magical time of sailing. the north star, the guiding star for all semen through time, it guides you through the evening. -- the guiding star for all semen. -- seamen. there's this fellow shifting water. the fog comes in and you must go by the compass. you are always waiting to see that north star again because it is the guide it to home port, the guide to home. the voyage becomes all- inclusive. you are enveloped in the totality of it, part of the beginning, the end, the ship, and a part of the sea. i gaze at the night sky often during these voyages and try to find it.

and " period >> i find that affecting partly for what he did not say. -- end quote. some people are old enough to remember that bobby kennedy did not want to get into that race. he fought it to be seen as a personal fight with lbj, not about the vietnam war. he describes the process of bobby kennedy thinking about getting into that race. as 1967 goes on, more and more at the kennedy insiders and friends want him to run. in the end, he is one of the only holdouts who, until the very last moment, does not really want him to run. in the book he talks about how

politically it would make more sense for him to run in 1972. the party would turn to him. there is a sense of foreboding. he describes this very straightforwardly that he senses that some tragedy could happen. you feel that sense of tragedy and many moments in the book, but never more poignantly as he is discussing coming up to that campaign. >> coming back to " by ernest hemingway, that afterwards people are stronger after the broken places in life seems to be a scene. there are many times when it teddy and the family are broken by life but are strong in those broken places. he describes his responsibility to tell joe kennedy sr. that jack has been assassinated.

he was lying there and even though the father had a stroke, he understood what was going on. the father's eyes were closed and he decided to let him have a little more peace before having to hear the news. when bobby dies, he is the one has to tell bobbies children. to think about him still retaining the optimism and joy is buoyancy, not long before he died -- joyous buoyancy, my husband and i were in the car and something came on the radio. teddy answered the phone. there was the booming voice once again just singing these ridiculous songs. it shows that losses connected to life. if you have a sense, as he does, of nature, the seasons of being renewed overtime, a religious

debates -- a religious base every new will. -- base of the renewabll. >> you want to connect to other human beings. nixon once said, i think in 1972, i had to go out campaigning and shaking hands with these people. i really felt like kicking them. [laughter] kennedy did the exact opposite. that had a lot with him having to be so buoyant and it affected his career. he was a senator for a half century and never compromised in terms of his liberalism. he was happy to be a maverick on an issue after issue. he had great friendships across

the aisle and that is if the spirit of the founding fathers who always hoped members of the senate and all americans would do get out during the day. at the end of the day have a glass together and say we are all americans and this is not personal. it is a quality not present in the senate now. >> i do not think there it is a republican in the senate he did not work on something at some point. >> even though they are fairly odious people. >> you ask the question, what is it about this guy who was stretched -- who is such a principle the liberal? it is a paradox of politics because it is precisely because he knew where he wanted to go.

he knew what he wanted and where the country should move. only someone with that clarity can enter into compromises. in the end, i want to get here. if i can get help from orrin hatch, i am going to go with them. the times were different. it was not because he was on principle or completely flexible, it was actually because he had a set of principals. >> he knew you could not do it all at once. >> also i think this can next to what we were saying earlier. why did he become a more liberal as time went on? that was not necessarily true of jfk or rfk. i think it had to do with the adversity he suffered and his identifying with people who were

suffering in a locked out almost in the way that the roosevelt's polio did. >> i have always felt his empathy was natural. like so many among us, he knew what it was like to be hurt, to be damaged and he had tremendous identification and a desire to improve the lives of those who have been damaged. do you agree? >> absolutely. there is history made in this book. he tells a really interesting stories about lbj and the fact that he had offered, or bobby, had offered to go and negotiate the vietnamese situation for lgbt -- situation for lbj. he would have been so caught up in the peacemaking that he would not have run for the primary and

not have been killed possibly. on the other hand, he gives lbj much more credit than one would imagine. closest to sdr is lbj, he says. -- closest to fdr. teddy understood. [laughter] the one thing that is fine though, even though he has nice things to say let lbj and reagan, despite having all the wrong goals could be charming, clinton had magnets is in, carter does not escape him. it shows you have to have a little anchor as a politician. it not mean this, but putting him in his right place. "carter baffled me. in 1976 he won without help from me or many democrats.

the trouble was he liked to claim he was a great listener but all it -- but only give the appearance of listening. he served no liquor. he would hold seminars in which he would show off how much he knew. the one thing that really got to him was carter refused to support archibald cox. that kind of grudge is a ridiculous thing for anyone to have. teddy did not hold grudges. carter deserved it. >> when carter -- woodcarver have named archie cox would he have rerun? just on your point, one of the things he talks about our has faults.

there is one moment -- are his faults. some of the stars or embellishments of the truth and some of them were so amazing i could not believe anyone believe i would do that, even me. i think that is also a piece of him. it creates an unusual type of humility in a public figure. when you talk about empathy for the suffering, which he had, but there's also a sense of human frailty. having a sense of human frailty is a very useful thing in confronting the world and being honest about yourself. he was not flawed and then judged everyone else by some other standard.

>> let's talk about that. the want to write down your thoughts? [laughter] >> i am not that old. [laughter] >> let's talk about that and in terms of his biography. 99% of people who write political biographies about themselves alive. -- lie. this book is amazingly sell for revelatory. i think you'd be surprised at the number of truth he saw -- number of truth as he saw. -- this book is amazingly self revelatory. "i am an engineer. i enjoy being in the senate, my children, my close friends, books, music, well-prepared

food. i have enjoyed the company of a woman, a stiff drink or two or three, and i relish the smith case of a good wine. at times i have enjoyed these pleasures too much." >> early on, and we all look at the kennedy family from the outside in, but he did as the youngest member of that family said he was in a constant state of catching up and always felt he was behind in wasn't as talented, handsome, or intelligent as his brothers. he said being sent to 10 different boarding schools when you are young and overweight and you have to make friends over and over again how hard that is. the family became his lone star, but it also hurt him. they only had those so nothing

15 normal school schedules. right from the start he felt honest about how difficult it was. you feel for him. the reader has to pull for the person. because he is honest and you see the pain he is feeling from the time he was a little kid that he then becomes this overwhelmingly friendly person in order to make his way. you pull for him from the beginning to the end. >> and one other thing, it works on that level. the other level as political history. this is a guy who knew the people around winston churchill and a new barack obama. that is a pretty good slice of world history. if you could find one figure to cover the gamut, ted kennedy is just about the only one.

it is not just the interesting story about a life and an inspiring story, it is a history of that time. nevada >> what is also interesting, i can remember one time him telling me he was very excited that on his 18th birthday he received a set of luggage. his initials were embossed upon the luggage. it was placed on the second floor. they had dinner. he came back up the stairs and eunice had taken the luggage because those were her initials. [laughter] >> in terms of the tribulation, he is on an army base in europe

trying to fit in. he doesn't want to be thought of as the young millionaire. his mother makes him go out to a very fancy dinner and he comes back. his mother comes running out of the limousine yelling within earshot of his friends at the army base, "teddy, dear, you left your dancing shoes." [laughter] for the rest of his time people kept referring to him as "teddy dear." >> history is replete with stories of both kennedys, specifically the ambassador joseph kennedy, and you read stories and anecdotes about him , but teddy had an enormous and lasting love for his parents. here is a story about teddy and

his mother, the aforementioned rose kennedy. they are in mclean, va., and he lost the caucus. he was on the phone about losing the iowa caucus. "that's all right, teddy dear, i am sure you will work hard. teddy, do you know that nice blue sweater i give you a christmas time? >have you warn it? -- worn it? if you have not morning, can you send it back because i have one here that is just as nice and not nearly as expensive." his parents. >> i think the most interesting parts about his parents are about his father.

everyone for a long period of time put rose kennedy on a rightful pedestal. in a certain extent, his dad is the one he truly loved, as well. everyone but told him to talk about his parents isolationism. he said he was too young to understand his father's isolationism. "in some region of my mind, he remains eternally and solely my dad." he counters the idea that his father pushed him into this or that. he kissed him when he came home for school, made his games at harvard. when he was running for the senate, i felt the full measure of my father's respect for me as a man. you can imagine what it was like for him to knowing he was the caboose of the family, as he often said, and he became the engine.

when jack guys, bobby is there. when bobby goes it is teddy. he has to become the father. he's an decamps -- became and that is a big part. he was with his own children who suffered difficulties and became the father he loved in his own father. in a certain sense, he wrote this book to put him in a different light because most people do not see him that way. >> another element of this is how many here are the youngest child of the family you're born into? present company excluded copper -- excluded, a lot of children i know talk about the fact that they have to work really hard to be noticed and taken seriously.

even when they were on the scene to even be accepted. he talks about around 1961 he talked about moving way beyond massachusetts, maybe the southwest and starting to work out there. he wanted him to run in massachusetts in 1962. this is someone who is ambivalent about the legacy but finally takes it on and finish it -- finishes its with flying colors. >> he describes his father and talks about his politics saying he might have a lot of questions about his politics. he then says in some region of my mind, joseph p. kennedy reminds my dad -- remains my dad

just as i remain the ninth and youngest child of all of the kennedys. he is also quite candid. he says this guy who was a pretty stern taskmaster. you can live an interesting life or not. his dad was an early riser. "you can come riding if you are downstairs in five minutes." he meant exactly that. if i was late he would be gone. i was seldom late. >> the interesting thing is on paper, we were told there was a father who is that intense and demanded so much from his children, you would think out of nine children at least one of them would rebel. you have to assume that because they combined it with that kind of love and commitment, that is

why it succeeded. that is a huge part of the book. >> the core of ted kennedy and his love for his wife, his family, his complete joy in recollecting all sorts of things about his brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces. he was filled with stories. it was mystifying to me, in a sense, that a man like this had never once seated dinner dress or resentment over a fence -- ceded to bitterness or resentment. those stories are all here. one of the best is not in the book. it gets into the joy of his family and memories of his brother. he told me once that in early october 1963, president kennedy's last appearance here

in massachusetts was when he came to attend a fund-raiser. he was arriving as president of the united states. the three statewide officeholders as well as local minions and politicians were invited to meet and greet the president. they had two choices attending the dinner, they could either meet him at the airport, shake hands and take their picture, or meet him at the armory at a black-tie events where they would meet, shake hands, and take their picture there. they could not do both. lieutenant governor, ann mclaughlin, the attorney general, frank bloody -- belotti, and kevin white.

they come in to logan airport. kevin white and frank had chosen to greet him at the airport. just as the plane is taxiing down the runway, the lieutenant governor, eddie, shows up in black tie. frank and kevin immediately hate him because he is clearly going to do both. as kevin explains it, as teddy explains it? he looks like game sun king and is so handsome and charismatic. the lieutenant governor being the top constitutional officer is first in line in black tie. president kennedy reaches out, takes his hand, grabs it, looks at him, touches his lapel,

"taking the job kind of seriously, are you?" [laughter] they went to the dinner and that is where jfk said he was talking to teddy and teddy told him he was tired of always running of the family name so he was going to change his name from teddy kennedy to teddy roosevelt. >> because he was born on february 22nd, jack his older brother wanted to call him george washington kennedy. >> before we close out, we have some questions from the audience. let's bring this to today. you first met barack obama in 1997 as a young cent -- young senator from illinois, the only member of the legislature not indicted.

[laughter] do you think that any part of senator kennedy's endorsement of barack obama for president was rooted in the possibility that he heard his brother's voice in barack obama? >> that is an interesting question. i am from massachusetts and we have had our problem in this sphere. thank god for louisiana. for the sake of us all. a wonderful state. there were many people i knew as kids or young adults who had worked for bobby kennedy's campaign who ended up supporting barack obama and heard this kind of the a sense of jfk in a

cerebral part of him and some of the rfk in the more passionate part of him. it different people who were out of the kennedy tradition saw him so rigid sophomore as jfk and some saw him as rfk. -- they saw him some more as the jfk. in these journals there are a lot of great gossip and very shrewd political observations. in 1963 so ted kennedy's first year after getting elected. it is not about ted kennedy. this goes to your question, i promise. schlesinger was and the white house and talking about the

problem that new frontier people see me to come from a different tradition. the new dealers, the heart was a sworn much more on the sleeve. the frontier has it mistrust of the sentimentalities and cliches of the 1930's. i sympathize with both sides and can see all too clearly why each is baffled by the other. all the more baffled because of the substantial agreement on policy. though the new dealers are much more audacious and less impressed by business with them. the difference in rhetoric does signify a deeper difference in commitment, a change in a way from evangelists who want to do something because is just and right to technocrats who want to do something because it is a

rational and necessary. he closes, i wish i could figure out the terms in which the idealism and imagination of the new deal could be confused into the anti sentimental, anti rhetorical, understated mood of the new frontier. it occurred to me when i read that that in some ways ted kennedy was working out those two streams of liberal thought. he was very much out of the new frontier but also represented in so many ways the more audacious part of the new deal. i have a hunch he might have seen that very tension. >> you know what is intriguing? that you take your glasses off a 4 reading when i put mine on. [laughter] >> i refuse to get bifocals is was that says. >> we have a couple of questions we will get to. the first question is what do

you think or what did mrs. kennedy think would be senator kennedy's position on president obama's announcement of the trip surge in afghanistan? >> we are in bad territory here. it is like when abraham lincoln's granddaughter announced in 1952 that if grandfather were alive that he would be a republican. >> do you want to take a stab at that? >> unclogging no. [laughter] -- >> i no. >> i think there are three democratic camps. the hawks who were for committing the troops. there are very staunch those who are against it. i ran into several different

democrats and his reaction was, god i hope he is right who are very uneasy about his choice but think he may have had no better choice. i think kennedy might be suspended somewhere between the "dove" and the "i hope he's right." >> i think he would ever ask the president, do you really think that afghanistan is going to look for any different three or five years from now that it does right now? [applause] we have one last question that i do not think any of us can answer. senator kennedy's dogs,/and sunny, -- splash and sunny, we miss them. how are they doing?

>> we have three dogs. a little over a year ago, [inaudible] they are -- right now. [laughter] [applause] of>> thank you to the panel. [applause] it is now my distinct pleasure to introduce to you the pride of boston, mass., and the scourge of corporate america, america's favorite pay czar, kenneth feinberg. >> i think you all very much.

before we conclude. i want to thank all of you for being here. i want to thank my friend, lee, here this evening representing the senate kennedy institute and i want to a knowledge the absence but his shadow is all over this place. the man i replaced, the junior senator paul kirk here's the shoes i could never fill. i will do the best that i can. i also want to express what an honor it is for me to serve as the chairman of the foundation and to have as my first public appearance being here today at this forum discussing my former boss, my friend, my mentor, senator kennedy. it is an extreme honor for me as

chairman to spend my first official visit to the library as chairman at a public event honoring this great, great man. i also want to remind all of you, as if you needed reminding, that this forum today is very, very memorable. i do not know when we will be able to get this group of panelists back together on the same stage. it may be that you will tell your family and your grandchildren that you were here this evening to hear from this extraordinary court said that has been up here this evening. -- extraordinary quartet that has been up here. [applause] of just two final points.

inevitably in the decades ahead, years from now, there will be books written, histories written about senator kennedy. it will not be political science or current events. it will beat real history. people will look back decades from now about his extraordinary impact and i guarantee that when those books are written, 10, 20, 30 years from now there will be a huge chapter not yet written about the impact of his personal and public life, the critical impact of the kennedy. i think we all ought to the knowledge that. -- the critical impact of vicki kennedy. [applause]

finally, i hope you'll take advantage at the conclusion of this forum to go downstairs, buy a book, see vicki. that me tell you about this book. the library's supply of this book is virtually inexhaustible. do not worry. thank you all for coming. [applause] >> coming out, house minority whip eric cantor and former press secretary preview the political landscape in 2010. then author william egger shares is his thoughts on the government. after that, a senate hearing on

the children's television act of 1990. >> on washington journal monday, greg stohr looks at the possibility of another vacancy on the high court. then, a look at how obama is handling the economy d dean baker and professor peter morici. today's news and your phone calls starting line at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. -- starting life. >> this thursday, a day of tributes to u.s. and world leaders including the dali lama, ted kennedy, reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrd. new year's day, and look at what

is ahead. the russian prime minister discusses his of future from his annual call in program. the creator of the segue and founder of "guitar hero" plus the art of political cartooning. >> he recently co-wrote a book titled "if we can put a man on the moon, getting big things done in government." this is just over one hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome daniel franklin, congressman eric cantor, adam bolton, and david greggory. [applause] >> we will go around the world

but starting in this country. let me introduce our panelists. ca. ntor -- congressman eric cantor familiar to everyone in this country. he is the republican whip and has a busy year ahead of him. joe lockhart was the chief spokesman for the clinton white house and is now a founding partner of a group that is a large and flourishing specialist ejido in media relations -- a specialist in media relations and a specialist in this town as well. adam bolton is familiar on british television and knows his

way around washington. he was here for the first hundred days of the obama administration. he is also one of the most experienced and respected commentators of not only british politics but politics around the world for sky news. last but not least, david gregory, the host of"meet the press -- the host of "meet the press." thank you for allowing us to be on your show yesterday. congressman, i would like to start with you. imagine we are sitting here one year from now and you were looking back on 2010. apart presumably from the heroic republican victory in midterms, what else would be your highlight of the political year? >> when year from now looking back, i think the story obviously has to be on the

progress or lack thereof made on the jobs front. clearly this has been a year in 2009 and will be again about whether washington will focus on getting americans back to work. if i go back and look at where we have been, i remember the instance when i was at a meeting with the president in january. it was said amongst both parties at the time that we were going to do everything we could working together to try to get this economy going again. what has been so baffling to me personally is, how is it we continue to say we are putting jobs first but we see the kind of proposals that continue to be revealed that do not help people get back to work? this week and today in the news is the issue of climate change and in particular the bill on cap and trade.

there is a continued promotion of those efforts. we see an administrative efforts to try and declare a public endangerment of carbon emissions. that has said, i am sure, shock waves through industry and to the job creators in this country. we have a situation where there is clearly a disconnect between the proposal being pushed by this administration and the majority in congress over the last year. i am fearful that the same thing will happen in 2010. i also think that long term, and certainly in 2010, we will look back and see what this town has done regarding the deficit we are facing in this country. people in america understand that credit cards are maxed out and there are limited options. you can borrow from the chinese or raise taxes. neither of which he held the primary concern of americans

right now which is getting back to work. i give a speech last week at the heritage foundation rolling out some proposals that we could take now together that do not cost anything to try and help this economy along. if we hopefully move in that direction, it may be november 2010 it will turn out differently. i am thinking that the outlook -- the outcome in 2010 will -- it will reflect what i heard at the dinner table last week. people in this country have a real sense of pessimism right now because they are scared. they are scared and do not see leadership in washington addressing their concerns. obama was elected because he said we needed change. i think what people want is some certainty. >> one of the things as an outsider coming in to america, i am always struck by the fundamental optimism