don ritchi on his book. then the former director general of the intelligence service. after that, the discussion on the latest in political news. >> this week on "q&a." senate historian don ritchie talks about the progress in its history. he talks about "advise and consent" and "mr. smith goes to washington." it is all part of his new book "the u.s. congress -- a very short introduction." >> u.s. senate historian donald ritchie, why did you decide to write a small book called "the u.s. congress." >> i was asked to write the book by oxford university press. they have a series called "a

very short introduction." it is for educated people, but not in their field critical for science -- the college science for the lost verse and philosophy for scientists. they asked me to write a book about congress for people that did not study congress but are interested. the series has a very tight format -- 35,000 words. that was as much as i was able to write. my first draft was 75,000 words. even that did not include everything there is to know about the congress. my job was to try to take this very complicated institution, which is really two separate institutions, and explain how it developed over time to an audience of people who are curious, including people outside of the united states who live in parliamentary government and wonder why we do not have a parliament. >> i count about 175 of these books put out by oxford university press. it sells for about $11.95. in the first congress, senators wanted president washington to

come to the chamber when making nominations and requesting that treaties be ratified, to seek their advice as well as their consent. washington demurred, reasoning that the abundance of nominations would make this impractical. he would send nominations to the senate, but agreed to the protocol of carrying treaties to the chamber in person. why put back here? >> one reason is because we wonder why the president does not come to the senate chamber when they have big issues like treaties. the fact of the matter is that it did not work for george washington. when he arrived, the senators did not want to debate in front of washington. he was quite an imposing figure. it was summertime. the windows were open. it was hard to hear. they suggested referring the questions to a committee. washington jumped up and said, that defeats the purpose of being here, and stormed out of the senate chamber.

he came back a few days later to get their response. he decided he did not want to go in person after that. ever since then, there has been a big question. the constitution says the senate's role is to advise and consent. we know what the consent is -- the 2/3 vote necessary for treaty. what is the advisory role of the legislative branch? that has been a difficult issue ever since 1789. i was trying to talk about the historical origins. but if george washington were to come back today and he saw this picture -- >> if toward washington were to come back today and he saw this picture taken outside of the house and it shows these bollards -- there are hundreds of them around the capital. there is another picture where the have these contraptions -- when they do not want to drive somewhere -- you will see the picture with big, huge, red

letters saying, "stop." what would he think? >> i would like to think his first site would be the dawn of the capitol building. he would wonder why it did not look like the building he chose in the composition in the 1790's. the capitol building has evolved into a complex of buildings. for security purposes, they have instituted a series of retaining walls and bollards and other things to prevent someone from driving a vehicle into the building. they have closed off certain roads. that kind of security would probably surprise anyone from that time. and yet, they would find that the u.s. capitol building is the most open public the building of any building in the federal government.

get into any cabinet office you have to get into any cabinet office, you have to get through much more security. every citizen is a potential voter. members of congress want their proceedings to be open to constituents. they have always tried to balance the security of the building, the protection of the people visiting, and their desire for openness, to sit in the galleries and hear the senate while they're in session, go to committee meetings, wander in the halls past members of congress who are conducting business. >> you came, i think, in 1976. became historian last year? >> i have been restored -- associate historian since 1976. the historian who hired me retired last year. i became the chief historian. >> we have done many programs together -- lots of talk over the years about the history of the senate. going back to those pictures of

those bollards. they have only been here a short time. a couple of years, at most. it took a long time after 9/11 to do that. what are the big changes that you have seen in the senate? >> security was very different in the 1970's. i could park on the plaza. i could walk into the building. the only metal detectors were those going into the chambers themselves. it was -- any citizen could sort of wander at will. over time, part of the building have been closed off. you need to have a badge to go into those. you need to show you are there on official business. you must be escorted through some of those. the major historical ruins are still open for public tourism. the chamber's themselves are open. many other changes have happened over time. one big change was television. c-span going into the house in 1979 and the senate in 1986. whenever i do oral history interviews with long-time senate staff members, asked them

what changed the most. inevitably, they say television, both in terms of the campaigns and the type of people who get elected, and the way in which people communicate with their constituents. also, how where so many citizens are of what goes on in congress because they get to watch the proceedings. also, how antechambers are. even the press gallery is empty. they are watching on c-span2, not necessarily sitting in the gallery. they do not need to be hovering near the chamber to know what is going on. if something happens and catches their attention, they could quickly go into the chamber. technology changed enormously. when i first came to work in the senate, reporters in the press gallery were typing their stories on typewriters. whipping them out and yelling, "western." the guy who worked for western union would take their copy and run it back to the telegraph operator.

they were telegraphing the news to the newspapers until 1990. now, everybody uses laptops to send stories as they write in the wireless committee rooms. even the telephone booths where they used to jump out and called their story in -- they do not need them anymore. everyone has cell phones. they kept six of the booths so you could have privacy while you talk on the cell phones. the need for the telephone booths is gone, along with a lot of the other technological changes. every step -- staff member is working on a computer, using e- mail. there is all sorts of teleconferencing going on. that was not happening in the 1970's. >> in this small, 140-page book, you sent us on a mission. we will mention movies. "mr. smith goes to washington,"

1939, jimmy stewart. when did you first see it? >> i probably saw it on a late movie show in the 1960's for the first time. i have now seen that movie many times. i have watched it under different circumstances. i have taught classes on the senate. i have given lectures about the senate using "mr. smith." all sorts of visitors to the capital know "mr. smith goes to washington," even non-american visitors who have seen the movie. they think that's the way the senate operates.

they think that's, particularly, the way filibusters operate. we always have to explain that it is a movie and while some filibusters might resemble that, most do not. most are not quite so dramatic. it is a wonderful film. they created a set in hollywood that looks just like the senate chamber at that time. they created the atmosphere, i think. they used the superintendent of the press gallery as a technical adviser. i think he helped to capture that. it is not totally accurate in the way the senate does business. senator robert c. byrd once gave a speech about films in the senate. he had never seen "mr. smith." we got him a videotape of it and several other movies. he watched them over the weekend. he came back on monday with a parliamentary procedures critique, saying that is not the way the senate does business. he took it very literally in that sense. he also appreciated that it was a movie and that hollywood takes license. >> the main character was jimmy stewart playing jefferson smith, a brand-new senator walking into the chamber for the first time. he is accompanied by clarissa saunders, who was the assistant to the previous senator that he replaced. he was appointed by the governor of -- i do not remember of what state.

do you remember? >> some midwestern state. >> it was against the advice of all the heavy hitters. >> the political pros. >> let's watch and we can pick up on things they talk about. >> this is it, senator. >> the united states senate. >> uh-huh. >> this is senator smith. >> how do you do, senator? >> how do you do, senator? >> glad to see you. show senator smith to his seat. >> right this way, sir. >> well, goodbye. >> wish me luck. >> [unintelligible]

>> so that's the boy wonder, eh? >> i do not know what the senate is coming to. >> hiya. >> hi. >> see you've got daniel bowman already. >> daniel in the lion's den. >> nice job you and the ambulance chasers did in the papers this morning. >> did you like it? >> great. >> here you are, senator. not a bad desk, either. daniel webster used to use it. >> daniel webster sat here? >> give you something to shoot at, senator, if you figure on doing any talking. >> i'm just going to sit and listen. >> that is the way to get reelected. this is the calendar for the day. you'll find the senate manual in here. anything else you want, just snap for a page. >> where is the majority leader? >> majority leader? right over there, senator agnew. and that is senator barnes, the minority leader.

>> where is the press gallery? >> right over there, above the vice president's chair. the fellows in the front row represent the big news services. >> what is that up there? >> that corner is for the guides and sightseers who come in five minutes at a time to rest their feet. that section over there is reserved for the senators' friends. the front row, the empty one, is for the president and white house guests. >> oh, i see. >> that there is the diplomatic section. they and the page boys are the only real class we have in the place. >> how much of that is true? >> surprisingly, a lot of that is accurate. the page was pointing out where the galleries are. there is still the press gallery. the members' gallery. we still have a diplomatic gallery. we have a lot of other set- aside galleries for the general public and other things. we still depend on pages on the floor, although they are older now. they have to be high school juniors, so they're considerably older than the boy in the picture. the chamber looks the way it did

in 1939. it had the glass ceiling and the decorations that existed in 1939. interestingly, the senate curator has just purchased the desk that jefferson smith was sitting at, which the page tells him was daniel webster's desk. that desk is made of plywood and painted orange. that was the way that hollywood could get something to look like mahogany in a black-and- white movie. they made this wonderful set. it is about 1/3 smaller than the senate chamber. it gives you the absolute feel of the senate. what is different today as mr. smith walked into the chamber -- everybody would not be seating in their seat. the galleries would not be packed, unless there was something really significant about to happen. the chamber is usually fairly empty. only the people who are engaged in the particular debate will be there at any given time. >> here is another clip. clarissa saunders was played by jean arthur. she explains to the senator

smith, an appointed senator. how many are appointed right now? >> 6 or 7. >> how does that fit in history for the number of appointed? >> it is not the maximum, but it is a large number. >> she is talking about how a bill gets through the senate. let's watch. >> your bill is ready. you take it over there and introduce it. >> how? >> you get to your feet in the senate, take a long breath and start spouting, but not too loud, because a couple of the senators might want to sleep. then a curly-headed page takes it up to the desk where a long- faced clerk reads it, refers it to the right committee. >> committee, huh? >> committee. >> why? >> look, committees are small groups of senators who have to sift a bill down, look into it, study it, and report to the whole senate. you cannot take a bill nobody ever heard about and discuss it among 96 men. where would you get? >> yeah. i see that. >> good. now where are we? >> some committee has got it. >> yeah. now, days are going by, senator. days, weeks. finally, they think it is quite

a bill. it goes to the house of representatives for debate and a vote, but it has to wait its turn on the calendar. >> calendar, huh? >> yeah. that is the order of business. your bill has to stand way back in line unless the steering committee thinks it is important. >> what's that? >> what? >> the steering committee? >> do you really think we're getting anywhere? >> yes, miss saunders. what is the steering committee? >> they are the majority party leaders. they decide when a bill is important enough to be moved up the hill. >> oh, this is. >> pardon me. this is. where are we now? >> we are in the house. >> oh, yeah, house. more amendments, more changes, and the bill goes back to the senate. the senate does not like what the house did to the bill. they make more changes. the house does not like those changes. stymied. >> so? >> so they appoint men from each house to go into a huddle called a conference and they battle it out. finally, if your bill is still alive after all this vivisection, it comes to a vote. yes, sir, the big day finally arrives.

then congress adjourns. catching on, senator? >> have you ever seen a senator asleep in the chamber? >> yes, i have. the very first time i went into the senate chamber was in 1968. i was a graduate student. i was working in the library of congress. in those days, before the tv cameras were there, the chamber was much dimmer. senator everett dirksen, the minority leader, had put his head down on his arms and never raised his head the entire time i was sitting in the chamber. i assumed that he was taking a few winks. it was probably a lot more prevalent in those days when things were quieter and calmer in the afternoon. members, in those days, did have to be on the floor more. one reason -- i have talked to old-timers who say the only way to know if your bill was up was to be on the floor or in the cloakroom.

even the people in the cloakroom did not always know. they would have to call the chief telephone page, which was usually a senior page who kept tabs on what was happening. lobbyists, staff, others that are hovering around. that meant you had to be there when other things were happening that you were not particularly interested in. i suspect, during the periods when you were waiting for the bills you were going to engage in, a number of people probably closed their eyes from time to time. in these days, with the bright lights and tv cameras, i have not seen anybody sleeping in the chamber. >> let me show you a picture of the three senate office buildings. you write about them. there are three individuals they are named after. it is very interesting to ask anybody today, can you tell me who richard russell, everett dirksen, and philip hart were? one of them shows the russell senate office building.

who was he and why was the building named after him? >> originally, the building was known as the senate office building. it was known by its acronym, the s.o.b. it was built in 1909. it was the only office building till 1958 when the new s.o.b. was built across the street. in 1971, the senate decided it was time to name it for an individual. richard russell was chosen as the person to name the first building. everett dirksen, the second. philip hart, the third. >> that is the hart building on the right, and the dirksen building beyond that. >> these buildings are along constitution avenue. each one is a different style. the russell building is the classical style. sort of a neoclassical style on the dirksen building. a very modern style on the hart building. they're all connected by tunnels and corridors. they provide offices for

senators and space for committees to meet. richard russell was a senator from georgia from 1933 until he died in 1971. he was known as a senator's senator. even if you disagreed with him, you respected him. he had a great dignity and a bearing that senators admired. in fact, he was a leader of the southern caucus. he often led the filibusters against civil rights legislation. i suggest that the senate named the building in spite of this politics. they named it for him because of his character. >> let me stop you there. if you read about him -- people will say that he was a white separatist. where is the morality of all of that in naming a building after somebody who clearly thought the white and blacks ought to be separate? >> unfortunately, it was a reflection of representative democracy. senator russell believed he was reflecting the views of his constituents. in those days, it was almost

impossible for an african- american to vote in the state of georgia. his constituents were whites. he felt that he was preserving the segregation system that his constituents wanted. he saw this in terms of states' rights. senator russell was a very complicated individual. there is a very good biography of him by gilbert fite. he was a bachelor. he fell in love with a woman who was catholic and he felt he could not marry her because his constituents would not accept that. he was trapped by his need to represent what he thought was the viewpoint of his state. i interviewed howard schuman, who talked about the days when richard russell was filibustering against civil rights legislation. schuman was an aide to paul douglas, who was fighting for civil rights. he remembered one day when he was waiting for the elevator outside the senate chamber. he was talking to senator

russell. russell said, it's a heck of a way to make a living. he got the sense of russell feeling the weight of that representation -- a losing cause that even he realized was doomed to fail. >> the philip hart building -- i think that was 1983 when it was opened. you say that he was the conscience of the senate. he was there 17 years. who named him the conscience of the senate? he was a democrat from michigan. >> he was elected in 1958 -- the big class of 1958. he was the kind of person, in terms of representative democracy, who actually stood against what his constituents were interested in. there is an issue as to whether or not you are there as a delegate or as a trustee. are you there just to reflect what they have in mind, or are you there to reflect what you think is right and convince them of that? he was a senator from michigan who stood up against the auto industry and against the gun

lobby. there were a number of cases where a lesser politician would have gone with the prevailing sentiment, regardless of his personal belief. i think everybody respected philip hart on both sides. interestly, he was the only one to object to the naming of the russell and the dirksen buildings. he felt they should wait longer to determine whether or not those individuals merited that kind of historical recognition. in 1976, he was dying. his term was ending. his colleagues respected him so much that they named the building for him. he is the only senator to know that one of the buildings was going to be named for him. >> i counted 49 senators in that office building. 37 in russell. but only 13 -- and i am missing one. >> dirksen was built as a committee building. it was built in the 1950's when

television had come into its own. they wanted to set the committee rooms so that tv cameras could be brought in fairly easily. the idea was that most of the committees would be in the dirksen building and the chairman of the committees would have the adjacent offices. that happened at first, but the chairmen who were veterans liked the russell building more. it is a classy building. mahogany doors, marble fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, and gorgeous views of the capital. the dirksen building was much more functional. a lot of veteran senators moved back into the russell building. the idea of having the chairman right next to the committee went by the wayside. the largest number of committees still meet in the dirksen building, which is why there are fewer senators there. >> let's go back to "mr. smith goes to washington." 1939, frank capra, lived till he was 93 or 94 years old. here is jefferson smith.

these movie folks like the name jefferson. you see it several times. he rises to introduce his bill to set aside a portion of willet creek in his home state to be used for a boys' camp. why did the boy scouts of america not let their names be used in this movie? >> i'm not sure of all the reasons at the time. people are shy about being presented in the hollywood version. there is a sense that you are going to be misrepresented. so they became -- they are not the boy scouts. >> boy rangers. >> the boy rangers are the heroes of the movie. they are the ones who, ultimately, rise to senator smith's defense. it is similar for the military at times, which is uneasy about what hollywood will do when

they make a presentation, especially if they do not have control over that depiction. >> senator paine is played by claude rains. he was born in britain but became an american citizen. >> excuse me. >> what did you get me out of bed for? >> the show is about to commence. >> mind telling me what is going on? >> there is the principal actor in our little play. don quixote smith, man with a bill. over here, one of the supporting characters. >> who? >> that gorilla in man's clothing, mcgann. >> you mean puss in boots. >> yeah. mostly puss. another prominent character in our little play -- the silver knight. soul of honor on a tight rope. >> you wouldn't be a little bit goofy, would you? >> this don quixote with bill will get to his feet and speak two important words -- willet creek. when that happens, the silver

knight will fall off his tightrope and puss will jump out of his boots. >> it is so ordered. [gavel] introduction of a new bill and joint resolutions. >> mr. president! >> the chair recognizes the rather strong-lunged junior senator, mr. smith. >> i am very sorry, sir. i have a bill. >> you may speak a little louder, senator, but not too loud. [laughter] >> i have a bill to propose, sir. [laughter] [gavel] >> order, gentlemen. our junior senator is about to make a speech. [laughter] you may proceed, senator.

[laughter] >> be it enacted by the senate and the house of representatives that there be appropriated as a loan a sum sufficient to create a national boys' camp to be paid back to the united states treasury by contributions from boys of america. this camp is to be situated on the land at and adjacent to the headwaters of the stream known as willet creek in terry canyon, for the purpose of bringing together boys of all walks of life from various parts of the country -- boys of all creeds, kinds, and positions -- to educate them in american ideals and to promote mutual understandings, and to bring about a healthful life to the growing youth of this great and beautiful land. [cheers]

>> they were walking out. today, they would probably get kicked out. what did you see there to comment on? >> the vice president in this movie, i think is loosely based on john nance garner, cactus jack garner, the former speaker of the house. he had a very folksy approach. the vice president is a folksy character. he becomes a sympathetic person towards mr. smith in this movie. senator paine is a much more distinguished and senatorial person. he is being controlled by the political bosses, one of whom is seen in the galleries up there. it is interesting. harry truman, in 1939, when he saw this movie, hated this movie. he despised it. he was seen as a senator from the pendergast machine in kansas city.

i always wonder if he did not think that, at that point, the movie was looking at him and his relationship with the political machine back home, trying to depict that. that maybe one reason why he disliked it. only thing he liked about the movie is that he said it showed the press gallery in its true, drunken state. the reporters are seen at the bar at the national press club at a later scene. the fact that the reporters are keeping an eye on thomas mitchell is the reporter that mr. smith's aide keeps advising what is going on. she seems to be his only staff person. the senator has one room and his staff has one room. that was the way it was then. most senators had only two rooms at that time. they had very few staff because there was no place to put them. today, the staffs are much larger and the offices are much larger.

the amount of mail that they get is much more than it was in those days, so you need a larger staff to advise you and handle the correspondence. this is a look at the senate at that moment in time, but the senate has evolved a lot since then. >> totally out of the blue -- although you mentioned him in the book, senator robert a. taft, ninth majority leader of the u.s. senate. on the capital campus is this huge monument to this man who, other than being majority leader for one term, that was it. the son of william howard taft. you'll see a photograph of him on the screen. how did this get there? >> senator taft was a dominant figure. he was a senator from 1939 to 1953. his father had been president of the united states and chief justice of the united states. when i did my research on my

doctoral dissertation, i was reading the papers of william howard taft. i came across a letter from robert taft to his father written on a piece of yellow legal paper that he had used to scratch out a message. chief justice taft wrote back a nicely-typed letter saying, son, someday historians will be reading our mail. you must use better stationery than this. here i was in the library of congress reading their mail. robert taft was mr. republican, leader of the conservative force in the republican party. he was a man of great integrity. even people who disagreed with him admired him. john f. kennedy, who did not vote the way he did, chose him for his book "profiles in courage." kennedy chaired the committee and they chose taft as one of the five most important senators. robert taft reflects the problem that a lot of senior senators have who want to be president of the united states. all the things that made them successful in the senate make them less successful as

presidential candidates. senators have to vote on all sorts of controversial issues. you have to go on record. you cannot dodge a controversial issue. the longer you serve, the more difficult votes you cast. you reduce your political base rather than expand it. it is not surprising that the three presidents of the united states who have gone directly from the senate to the white house have actually not been the front-row senators. they have been, in many ways, the back-row senators with less of a track record. warren g. harding in 1920, john f. kennedy in 1960, and barack obama in 2008. the famous senators, over time, from henry clay to robert taft and hubert humphrey -- in many ways, they made themselves too controversial as senators to be elected to president of united states. when taft died, he had only been leader for six months. he had tried for the presidency several times. he had a lot of supporters.

he had been running things in the senate long before he became the majority leader. he only formally took over when president eisenhower took office. he had such a large body of support in the senate and the country that they felt that some special memorial was needed. the constructed the taft carillon. it rings out every hour with music in the background and has the statute of senator taft in front of it. >> it cost $1 million in 1955. you mention the 1962 movie "advise and consent," written by allen drury, formally with the united press, the new york times, and the reader's digest. let's watch a little bit of this. we will see henry fonda, who was nominated for secretary of state. do you remember this? >> i have seen this movie many

times. every time i taught, i showed this movie. >> it is about one minute, 15 seconds. [ringing] >> leffingwell residence. >> senator munson calling mr. leffingwell. >> senator munson? oh, wait a minute. dad, it's senator munson on the phone. >> what? >> the phone. senator munson. >> tell him i've gone out. >> why? >> because he'll want me to do things that might obligate me. >> why do you want me to lie? if you are in, you're in. if you're out, you're out. >> son, this is a washington, d.c., kind of lie. that's when the other person knows you are lying and also knows you know he knows. follow? >> no. >> the senator will understand. >> ok, if you say so. he is not here. he went out. >> do you know where i might

reach him? >> no, ma'am. he did not leave a forwarding address. >> oh, i see. well, thank you. ♪ >> the hart building was not there. >> that is the national women's party building on the corner next to the hart building. >> "a washington, d.c., kind of lie." >> there are times when people would go on record as saying something that is essentially the opposite of what is happening because it is the safer response. it is the same thing as memorandum that are written to not let you know what actually happened at a particular meeting. in this case, henry fonda is playing a character who has been nominated as secretary of state. it turns out he has a secret in

his closet that the senate is investigating to see whether or not they should consent to his nomination. this story is based loosely on real events and real people. there was a reporter during the 1940's who was in the senate. he kept a journal of this observations of the senators and events. one of the events that he observed was a clash between an old southern senator and the head of the tba. the probability is that was the clash that they were looking at. they looked at the mccarthy hearings, the alger hiss case, a lot of other things. drury has always maintained that his characters were composites, even though they were clearly based on individuals. much of the movie was filmed in the russell building. other than the major characters

like henry fonda and the major senators in the movie, all of the other personnel that you see -- the committee staff, reporters, photographers -- they were all real people on capitol hill, doing their regular jobs. they were recruited on the movie to do on-screen what they did every day. the movie was filmed in 1961 and released in 1962. >> here, in part of washington, they filmed the pulitzer prize- winning novel "advise and consent." it's the story of the men and women who live and work in washington, their private fueds and public conflicts thatwould this affect the lives of everyone everywhere. to tell the story, the cameras move in where no motion picture cameras have ever been permitted. it is the very room of the crime investigations and mccarthy hearings.

he stages another controversial inquiry. a word of warning -- these people are all fictional. do not try to guess who they are. >> we want to know what you intend to give away to the communists. >> i do not intend to give anything away. >> what do you know about him? >> he is a communist. >> walter pidgeon stars in the most important role of his career. >> you call that a deal? >> i call it extortion. >> they recreate their annual dinner for the president of united states. >> you contend that the president has not changed his mind about his nominee one fraction of an inch. he will fight for the confirmation no matter what. [applause] >> the blond young man is george grizzard from the broadway stage, starting a new career in film. >> what do you politicians think the world is like? do you want to get us bombed out of existence for some

lousy, two-bit country that cannot even feed itself? >> he will pursue a policy of appeasement. he will weaken the moral fiber. >> the future of the world is being decided in two cities -- one of them is washington, d.c. ♪ >> i came in 1976 and i knew many of the people that you see in the movie. they were all really pleased with their roles. that movie was so disruptive. so many people went down to

watch it being filmed, particularly the united states senators, that the senate rules committee said, no more films inside the russell building. >> what about the chamber scenes? >> they are done in the reconstructed model that was built for "mr. smith goes to washington." the actual senate chamber had been remodeled. they had to remodel the hollywood set to make it look like the chambers that existed in 1961. >> i read an interview. you had no idea i was going to ask you about all of this. how do you remember this? what techniques do you use? >> i have sort of lived this for the last 30 years. we deal with this all the time. we write things for the senate. we do a lot of material on the senate website. some of it deals with "advice and consent."

for 10 years, i taught at cornell and i showed these movies to my students at that time. we answer questions every day from senators, staff, reporters, the general public. after awhile, you absorb that kind of information. >> we're going to start talking about your book. do you have to go on the internet to buy this? >> they are in bookstores. >> they are called the "very short introduction" or the "v.s.i." series. >> i promise it lives up to its title. it is very short. >> here is another scene. gene tierney is the actress in the middle of these three women sitting in the balcony, looking down on the senate. this is just a short thing we will watch. >> good morning.

>> everything all right? >> that hearing might be set for tomorrow. >> that's rushing things, isn't it? >> not in view of the fact that we need a secretary of state. >> wouldn't you say that is rather sudden? >> the party will be strongly divided on leffingwell. we will have to push it through before that division ruptures. >> i wonder if the minority leader is qualified to speak for the majority party. >> on the right of that aisle is the majority and on the left is the majority. >> does america have so many leftists? >> no, darling. it is purely geographical. no communists or anything of that sort. they do have liberal types, but they do not necessarily sit on the left. >> [inaudible] >> who is that? >> harley hudson, the vice

president of united states. >> he is very attractive. he is from one of those odd little states. >> he was governor of delaware, if that's what you mean. he is the president of the senate. >> but you said he was the vice president? >> it's all very confusing. >> his job as vice president is to preside over the senate. >> he is also a senator? >> no. he cannot even vote. >> he can vote in the case of a tie. >> the senate will come to order. the chaplain will now offer prayer. >> has there ever been a catholic priest chaplain? >> very briefly. most senate chaplains have been protestant, but i think there was one catholic. >> both of these directors were republicans -- you see that

threat of anti-communism running through there. >> he was writing this in the 1940's. the vice president that you saw is very much based on harry truman. the president in the book is based on franklin roosevelt. the minority leader is based on the democratic leader and robert taft. reporters were able to come down and interview the minority and majority leaders just before the senate went into session. that is no longer done. now they do it outside of the chamber, not on the floor. during 1954, he was at the new york times, trying to write this novel. a united states senator committed suicide in his office.

it was a very dramatic and shocking moment. he grafted that story on to this novel about the 1940's that he had been writing. that gave him this dramatic centerpiece for his novel. when it was published in 1959, that novel became a phenomenal best-seller. it was 102 weeks on the new york times best-seller list. it won the pulitzer prize, then became a stage play, then a motion picture. none of his other books lived up to that. i once corresponded with him about it. he always said that he wished he kept his journals longer than he did, because he would have been able to cannibalize it for more stories. he clearly depended very much on that journal. it was published in a book called "the senate journal," a very good account of the senate in the 1940's and 1950's. you can see the shadows of the characters he created in his novel. >> that was walter pidgeon with the mustache.

a couple of things you might not have heard of. this is from your book. "blue sheets" -- what are they? >> if you go down to the archives, you can take out a folder. stapled on one side will be a blue piece of paper with two signatures from the senators from that state. unless you see those two names, you can be sure that person was not confirmed. if the senator has a personal objection for someone from that state being confirmed, the other senators would not vote that person in. that was senatorial courtesy. the idea was, if they would

have an objection, the other senators would honor that. it existed that way for a very long time. in the last decade or so, as things became more politically divided, some chairmen began to move away from that automatic system and only requested one signature. they did not want anyone to have automatic veto. you can still see the blue sheets, but it is not as systematic as it once was. it was a way of showing that senators have a lot influence over who got nominated. the president makes the nominations, but presidents consult with senators about the nominees. there was a senator from florida. i asked him what the best thing was about being at the united states senator. he said getting to name so many people -- judges, u.s. marshals. of course the president names

them. but the president asks who he should name. he recommended to the president and the president then nominated people that were recommended. that was the big difference between being in the house of representatives. he never had that authority in the house. when he became a senator, the presidents began turning to him for that very reason. >> i feel the next clip from "advise and consent" should be in "where's waldo?" >> he married patricia kennedy. >> jack kennedy's sister. this woman is still alive. she's 88, maybe 89. she has been in the news a lot lately. she is playing a woman senator in 1962. let's watch and see if you recognize her. >> it is not enough that the subcommittee has permitted a great man to be smeared.

now the chairman of that committee is deliberately blocking the committee vote. it is one more thing to add the most unfair hearing in the history of the senate. >> mr. president, will the senator yield for a question? >> i will yield to the senator from kansas. >> mr. president, i am not a supporter of mr. leffingwell, but i watched the hearing on television and it seemed eminently fair to me. >> i am sorry the senator from kansas was not perceptive enough to grasp what was obvious. i am telling the senate exactly what happened. >> as much as i appreciate hearing about the senator's particular view, i am constrained to say i will need more substantial proof than his personal description. >> is she calling me a liar? >> the record will stand as it is. how he interprets that is his own problem, not mine. [laughter] >> i am sure the senator from kansas is welcome to take advantage of her sex. >> oh, fred, come off it. >> you think it's funny? you think the world thinks it's

funny that the senator is trying to smear a man who believes in peace? >> "oh, fred, come off it." chances that would be said in the senate? >> no, in fact, the senators do not address each other by personal names in the senate. that rule is based on joe mccarthy. again, he has flipped it. this is joe mccarthy in favor of peace at any price. she is played by betty white in this movie. everyone would have seen that as margaret smith -- the only woman senator at that time. in 1950, she was one of the few senators to have the nerve to stand up and confront senator joseph mccarthy. she issued her declaration of conscience, which was an attack on smears as a political process. few of the men in the senate in

those days were brave enough to side with her. senator mccarthy had a reputation of destroying other people's political careers. in a few years when he was censured. for awhile, he was a power unto himself. i think people would read into that. in the movie, peter lawson plays the playboy senator, who was always dating very attractive women. was always a question as to who that was. the director insisted that was a composite figure. there were certainly men in the senate who were really lady- killers. >> born where? >> new york city. queens. >> school? >> new town high school. then the city college of new

york. then the university of maryland for my ph.d. >> what was your dissertation on? >> james landis, the man who really created the securities and exchange commission, the second chairman of that commission after joseph kennedy. he had a lot to do with financial regulatory law. >> you have a figure in your book that 42% of the members of the congress -- the house and senate -- between 1988 and 2004 -- they lobbied for a living. >> people who left the senate. a large number of people who retire stay in washington, and they use the talents developed while they were in office to promote issues, to represent concerns, giving advice to

people on how to get bills through congress. there is a large lobbying contingent in washington, d.c. members used to have a great advantage because the doors were always open to them. their colleagues would invite them in. they could go on to the floor of the house and senate. they could use the dining rooms. that gave them an advantage over other lobbyists. ethics rules have gotten much tighter. a former member does lobby, a lot of the privileges are very much restraint or taken away. that includes going on to the floor. no one is to lobby on the floor of the congress. >> this movie was made in 1992. you do not talk about this in your book. it is called "the distinguished gentleman." it is written by a speech writer for walter mondale. eddie murphy is the main character. he ran for congress after the previous congressman died having sex with his secretary.

we will not show that part of it. his name was jefferson smith. eddie murphy's name is thomas jefferson smith, calls himself jeff johnson. he does not show up in the campaign. he is a black man. he has been elected. let's watch what happens in this clip. >> welcome. >> how are you? nice to meet you. very good to meet you. >> american tobacco council. >> you all know her from my office. >> as soon as i saw how you got elected, i knew you were a real comer. >> who's anderson? >> won't tell him you asked. chairman of gulf coast power. can i host a welcome to

washington fund-raiser for you? >> absolutely. >> at $500 per head, we could pick up $20,000 or $25,000 to get you started. >> how much are you going to get? >> i will bill you at $500 per hour whenever i take you to lunch. >> you and i are going to be so close. [laughter] >> i want to welcome the new members to washington. [applause] we have not had a freshman class this big in a long time. congress needs your new blood. you are going to need new friends. that is why, tonight, we unite the two great pillars of our system -- political and financial. you know congress has taken many hits of late.

congressmen, look around you. the people you see here tonight are the ones that have stood behind us. they are the ones that will be invaluable to you in your next campaign, which i might remind you is less than two years away. this is our system of checks and balances at its very finest. >> going to run for speaker. raised more money than any other member. he is on the right committee, which makes all the difference. >> gap, of course. >> but i am not telling you anything you do not know. >> he is on the right committee. >> he is not just on the committee. he is chairman of it. the big boys have to line up to take numbers to throw money his way. >> the chairman is named dick dodge. he wrote this and he knew this town. their representation? >> it is about a con man who

gets elected to congress. it was written by people who knew about things. it is a great spoof and great exaggeration. there are lots of flawed touches in the movie. he says that finance and politics are coming together. lobbyists represent all sorts of interests, not just the financial industry. one thing they do is run fund- raisers for members. it costs a lot of money to run for congress. will rogers says it costs a lot of money to lose a race for congress. they are constantly seeking ways to raise funds. lobbyists will run fund-raisers for them. there is always a question of quid pro quo. ethics laws are much tighter

now. campaign finance has become a very difficult issue. congress has tried to pass a number of laws. the supreme court has not cleared those laws. congress is still trying to address and deal with campaign finance. they want to avoid the perception that there is anything that is giving them an unfair advantage. >> i know you are the senate historian. we did not talk much about that. we talked about the office buildings. joe cannon, nicholas longworth, sam rayburn. of those three men, if you had the chance to sit down for a cup of coffee, who would you pick? >> rayburn was a major player from the 1930's through the 1960's. it would be hard to turn down an invitation to meet with him. uncle joe cannon was an