running for reelection. the republican party coalesced around dan coats, and there is a lot of tension around whether this is a washington establish candidate and not the kind of candidate voters are looking for now and some of the others are more anti-a establishment and more in line with the tea party sentiments, so it will be interesting to see. if he does not win the primary, i think that will be a definite indicator. >> the last question. the governor said, ask me in a year. you have heard a lot of governors speak. does he speak just like a governor or like a potential presidential candidate? >> he was absolutely speaking like a potential presidential candidate. he left the door open. he said, i do not expect to be running, which is not an know. no one wants to be ahead of the midterm cycle.

no one wants to be seen as focusing on themselves when the whole party is running a tough race across the country. they really do not like to be seen as presidential candidates until after the midterm cycle. it is an enormous amount of time and energy they need to raise the money, so the pressure is on to come out of the gates early. >> be on the practical common to do your reading be on the practical, did you hear him speaking region beyond the practical, did you hear him speaking nationally? >> he is seen -- his mother is you have got to get out and try things, and some -- his motto is you have to get out and try some things, and some have worked and some have not. what the party has focused on is coming up with ideas, and he is trying to do that in india and

at the state level, but i do think it will be difficult if he is emphasizing the complete restructuring of medicare. that is a much harder thing for a presidential candidate to do. >> to the republican candidates as a whole have a voice? >> absolutely, and 2012 is going to be a governors cycle. there is so much rhetoric that it is up to the governors to take the leadership. >> thank you both of you for being here this week. have a good weekend. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> let's meet another winner from our c-span studentcam video competition. we asked students to shoot a short video about one of our country's greatest strengths or

a challenge the country is facing. we speak to laura. congratulations. >> thank you. >> what made you take this topic reagan >> i think the topic of taxing while driving is an important issue -- what made you pick this topic? >> i think the topic of testing while driving is an important issue for people my age but also adults. there are a lot more people out there doing it, and it is pretty dangerous. >> what can you do to stop it? >> my friends and i have this thing they call designated successor, and when you're in the car with someone of and you are driving and someone and not tax you, usually the one in the passenger seat will text deck for euan -- text back for you. >> what was your reaction to those

who say they still text while driving? >> i was shocked by a lot of the people that say even if they got in the accident, they do not think they would stop, and there were several adults that admitted to taxing and driving as well, so i was shocked by that. -- texting and driving as well, so i was shocked by that. >> do you think the government is doing enough to stop it? >> no, but i do not think it is at the top of their lives. there are 13 or 14 states that have not read it enacted a law, but i do not think florida is one of them -- there are 14 states that have enacted a law, but i do not think florida is one of them. >> do you think they are accomplishing anything? >> there are people i think it would stop or at least reduce the amount. >> what do you think the hardest part about making this video

was? >> this is the fourth video i made, so it has definitely gotten easier now that i am learning the software. the most difficult part would be choosing parts of the video i wanted to include. making an eight-minute video is a lot more difficult than it sounds, and i had at least an hour and a half to two hours of footage, and i had two wives the flooded several times to find out what part wanted -- i had to watch it several times to find out what parts i wanted to use. >> this is your fourth time entering the competition. what draws you to enter the competition? >> the first time, i think it was i love photography, and i was interested in in trying something new, and i found out after i completed the first one i was interested in the political aspect, and i enjoyed making the documentary, and it

can get stressful, but i found i thrive under that, and i enjoy doing it. >> congratulations once again, laura. >> thank you. >> let's watched portions of laura [pause] video. >> on the way to work i was sending text messages, and then veered across the center line, and i hit another car. in this car, there were two men who were both killed on impact, two men who were fathers or husbands, and because of my choice to text and drive, i took their lives. i changed my life forever. >> you can see the documentary and all of the videos any time.

just go to studentcam.org. >> tomorrow a preview of president obama signing a treaty with obama. live coverage begins at 10:30 a.m. eastern here on c-span. >> richard baker, a longtime senate historian, speaks about the institution he served for nearly 30 years. he is the first historian in the senate and retired last year. he discusses some of history, procedures, and personality for about an hour -- discusses senate history, procedures, and personality for about an hour and 10 minutes. >> good evening, and welcome. my name is martin davis. i am a senior archivist, and it is my great pleasure to

introduce you to our inaugural visiting fellow, mr. richard baker. mr. baker served as the first historian of the u.s. senate, beginning with the establishment of the u.s. historical office in 1975 and continuing until 2009. during his career, mr. baker served under nine senate majority leaders, five democrats, for republicans, one of which was senator bob dole. mr. baker and senator dole share a history together that began in 1987 when they partner on a project celebrating the bicentennial of the united states senate. beginning on the first day of the 100th congress, senator dole delivered a short historical vignettes written by mr. baker and his staff highlighting the significant people, unusual customs, and memorable events associated with the senate over the first two centuries.

mr. baker's devotion to history is evident in his building of the office, as the first to made great strides in protecting and maintaining records, recording oral histories, cataloging and reserving photographs that document now activities. not content to merely preserve history, mr. baker worked to make the history more acceptable -- accessible to the american public, through rich content, exhibits at the congressional office buildings, for appearances on c-span, and most importantly, a pair this devotion to answering questions from senators -- a tireless devotion to answering questions from senators, students, and even tourists visiting commerce for the first time. what many people do not realize is the research, memos, and other files that record how and

why legislation comes into being are not subject to any overarching legislation regarding their disposition. a senator is free to keep, dispose of, or make publicly available those record of his or her discretion. we are lucky senator dole chose early in his career to reserve is -- preserve his archive and make those available here. it is one of the largest congressional archives in the country and when i encourage you to visit. a strong belief and the importance of preserving and making history accessible is something our guest shares. tonight we will hear first hand from richard, some of his great stories from the senate and his career as he is interviewed, and i am excited to see what they have to say. please welcome them. [applause] >> richard, let's start talking

a little bit about you. give us a little bit of your history, how you became the first historian of the senate and what you actually did in that job. >> a lot of luck is involved in getting a job like this, but it was because i was the first in the job -- very few people knew there was a senate historical office. there was not much competition for the position, but i was hired by the senate. i did apply for the job, and a number of other people applied, and they said senator mike mansfield, the majority leader and scott basically said, do what it is historians do. keep in mind in 1975 when the senate really was feeling a sense of institutional patriotism, the end of watergate, the watergate committee and some help from the house science and basically brought the president -- house

side basically brought the president down, and the senate reasserted some of its constitutional investigative powers. it passed the war powers resolution and also the congressional budget and in town meant control act, -- congressional budget and control act, and mike mansfield said, we do not know enough about our history. we ought to have an historical program, and scott, who also has a graduate degree in history -- they were the ideal majority and minority leader to bring something like this into being. i had previously worked for the senate for a short time in the late 1960's as acting curator, and my job was to help set up a curator's office, and then i worked as a research director, and five years later, i got a call from the hill.

i got the job, and we started out with no real information common and reporter started ---r started calling. what i did was put together a staff. i had to add none of this would have been possible without a terrific staff. my associate was one of the backbones of the operation, and we basically went out and introduce ourselves to other historians. the state department and other agencies, so we went out to find

out what it is historians were supposed to do, and we quickly learned our responsibility was not so much to keep up on the history of environmental legislation in the senate, but that is what the congressional research staff those. they are there to provide that assistance to congress. our focus was on the institution of the senate. has the senate always been white is today? what has been the career path of senators -- as the senate always been like it is today? what has been the career path? the information was all scattered, so we went to work and began to compile a database, and the one i am proudest of and the one most demanding was a very simple one -- namely, the

biographical information of all the people in the senate and house of representatives. for years, the congress published the biographical directory of the congress, and it fell to our office to update the senate information there, but that it you a little ways down the road in terms of finding information. -- that took you a little way down the road in terms of finding information. how many books have been written? what is the location of the personal files? all that was very difficult for researchers, so we set to work over about 10 or 12 years, going over the card catalog, and writing down the titles of books by individual senators, and we

have put that into a large database that anyone with internet access can find out now, and its save enormous amounts of time. if you're doing a book on the new deal, and you have 10 or 12 sources you want to look at with great detail, there it is. it saves you a lot of time or trouble. you still have to visit the repositories, but you are up and running. >> we are going to talk about a couple days and really focus on the institution. what are some of your favorite memories of senator dole and? >> one involved a lunch he invited me to in 1989, and it is related to the historical act of the senate, and it is true we

drafted a lot of the text, but we also got a lot of feedback about what he wanted to do a little differently. he put his imprint on that in a direct way, so at the end of the project government -- end of the product, he said, i am so grateful for your help. if i can ever find you in office space redefined you any office space -- that was the currency -- if i can ever find you any office space -- that was the currency of the time, but the other thing was to invite us to lunch. it was a very special lunch at the capitol, and there was nothing russia about it. we have plenty of time to chat with him -- there was nothing rushed about fitten -- it. we have plenty of time to chat with him, and that was -- one of

my favorite moment was in 1996 when he gave his farewell address, and i was fortunate enough to be sitting right behind mrs. dole, and i think the applause probably went on for a good 10 or 12 minutes. it was so filled with quotable observations about the senate from his experience going back to 1965, so you have the sense but -- the sense we were back in the senate of classical days. when you hear a speech from the heart like that, that is terrific. >> he resigned in an 1996. he has been out of the senate for 14 years. what did you think his legacy will be? >> certainly, his legacy as a leader of the senate was one of civility.

it is the balanced budget amendment of 1995. he spent a great deal of time rounding up republican votes, and he joked at one. some people go to sleep by counting sheep. he goes to sleep counting senators. does he have 51? does he have 64 closure -- 60 for closure? the republican from oregon said, i am going to have to vote against the party's position, and senator dole was very upset about that. he said, i am going to vote my conscience, but then i will resign from the senate, and if i resign from the senate, you have just the right number to pass it, and senator dole said no

carrier -- said no. that is very extreme, and he had great respect for the integrity behind his position, although politically it was the worst thing that could have happened, there was a sense of great respect for a fellow center -- senator, and i understand as you go where you have to go, but that was it. >> outdid -- going to the institution, how did the founders structure the role? 5 leading into the framing of the constitution, we have articles -- >> leading into the framing of the constitution, we have articles of confederation, and they had one chamber. it had very littleton power and did not get much done. -- very little power and did not get much done, so they said, we

have to have to chambers to check on the other. -- two chambers to check on the other. the story of the teacup -- we do not know if this is a true story, but it ought to be if it is not. he came back and at george washington, why did you create two chambers, when we were getting along fine with one? washington just said, you just answered the question, because you just pour dirty from the saucer to cool it, and that is why we created -- poured york t -- your tea from the saucer to cool it, and that is why we created it. it is a place for reflection, and it was modeled pretty much after two state senators -- the states of maryland and massachusetts, and the regional

senators were elected not by the people but by the state legislature, so they were in effect the lack of the elect, but then they go to the capital city of -- doesn'the elect of te elect, but then they go to the capital city and they were reading behind closed doors. the video was that the house of representatives would hold its own -- the big idea was that the house of representatives would hold its meetings in public, but those that elected the senator said, how do we know what you are saying in their? we told you to vote against the treaty in 1794, and you voted for it. what is going on here? the senator would say, i got up, talk to my colleagues, learn more about the subject, and changed my mind.

this was a classic dilemma of any elected official. do you vote your constituency or your conscience 7? some said, we think of you as an ambassador, that we gave your instructions. if you cannot follow the instructors, you should do what any decent ambassador would do and resign, and some did, but others said, we have a six-year term. there is no provision in the constitution to recall us, so we will stay. a certain amount of independence developed quickly, and the senate with a lot of pressure from the public eventually opened its doors in 1795. there was a big rush into the galleries. they could not open the doors until they fill the gallery. it is the nine months to do it. people wanted to see what was going on in this chamber. -- it took nine months to do it.

people wanted to see what was going on in this chamber. after a while, they thought, what a boring thing. we are going down to where the action is, one floor below, where you have over 100 house members rapid-fire tongs and chasing each other around the room. it was a lot more x but reaching more exciting. >> there has been some -- it was a lot more exciting. >> there has been some is directly b-- some historical bad behavior. i no one was in lawrence, kansas. >> may 22, 1856, the day after the so-called set of lawrence, where a southerner -- southern people invaded lawrence and burned the building and one person died as a result. they burned several buildings.

it came at a time when kansas was the focal point of the question of how we decide whether kansas is going to enter the union as a slave states or free state. the missouri compromise of 1820 had it were adopted states would come in, and slave states and free states pared. stephen douglass came up with the idea of popular sovereignty in 1854, so we now let the people of the area decide, so the result is leading kansas. he gave a very long speech in which he attacked stephen douglas for supporting popular sovereignty and made tough

remarks about other senators. that triggered an assault some days later by a house member who was related to one of the senators who had been verbally attacked. preston brooks came into the senate chamber, did not want to offend the dignity of the senate, so he waited until he adjourned, and then he marched down the aisle and walked up to charles sumner, who was turned over his us signing his signature -- his desk signing his signature so he could mail the seeds from a few days earlier. as sumner was signing that, for its hurricane with a solid gold hammer, -- had a cane with a solid gold handle, brought it down on his head. others were shot, and sumner fell to the floor, bleeding

profusely -- others were shocked, and sumner fell to the floor, bleeding profusely. he stayed away for a three years. his and the death became a tourist attraction. the senate region is empty desk -- his empty desk became a tourist attraction. the seven decided, we should not have to write this down. people do sought -- people should know this is not proper behavior. there was another incident in the senate chamber where two south carolina senators got into a verbal tussle, and it resulted in 21 punching the other in the mouth in this -- in one punching the other in the mouth and the senate chamber. the senate reprimanded both

members, censured them, got them to apologize, but they apologize in such a sarcastic manner that the senate said, we are going to suspend you as a senator for a few days, and we're going to pass this rule known as rule 19, and rule 19 -- what they thought about passing at the time of the summer caning of 1856, they finally passed in 1902, and we hear about rule 19 all the time in the modern senate, and what it says is a senator shall not speak ill of a fellow senator, and if he or she does, they will be required to sit down, because they will be considered out of order until a ruling can be made, so that was a huge step forward in helping redefine the norms of civility in the senate chamber. >> following that, what are some

of the foundations and supports of civility in the united states senator? >> one of the major foundations was it is a small body, and you quickly get to know your fellow senators. over the years until the invention of the transcontinental jet airplanes, senators and use to spend a great deal of time playing cards on the weekend -- senators used to spend a great deal of time playing cards on the weekend. they would be in washington for maybe three blocks of time per year, and then they would go home for the holidays, a long train ride across the country, and they would be gone for a month and then come back. they live with each other in many cases. they really get to know each other, so that was a basic problem for stability. there was not any real sense of, i am awaiting