>> of phone call from michael in denver. >> we grew up in milwaukee, wisconsin. in the 1950's, we went to henry clay elementary school. he has always been a source of fascination for me. i used to come to love will and lexington on business and i am sorry i did not realize you guys were there. i have a very simple question. this best-selling biography on him, called henry clayit is ver. would it be a good choice for me to learn about henry clay ordeal have something else to suggest? thank you very much. >> we happen to have that book here. it is one of several books available in the bookstore. they have a number of biographies. what would be the book you would pick up about henry clay? >> that is the most recent biography. it has the human side of henry

clay. it is the newest biography. if you want political emphasis, there is one about 20 years old that is about the same size. but if you want to start with something smaller, there was a book done many years ago that had a chapter on henry clay. that is a good introduction about henry clay. if you want to compare clay and webster, the great triumph for, the redbook in the 70's called "the great triumph for an -- the great triumvirate." if it's a good place to start with a there is a book from the family legacy of henry clay. it comes out next month. it takes place beyond his lifetime to the present. >> for him, definitely the

triumvirate. those bring in daniel webster and some of the other important figures of the time. for african-americans, it puts it in perspective as far as what is going on in the country and what the great debates are about. i have not read the newer version. i am waiting for jim's book that is coming out. that will be the next one i will pick up to read. >> the working title is "the great rejection, henry clay and the american presidency." the great rejection as a "that was said about play at the end of his life. i am about to finish writing it early next month. then i have to go to the publication process. it is about one year away. >> the current speaker of the house has many of the powers he

can look back to the speakership of henry clay. he spoke about henry clay recently. let's listen to speaker john boehner. >> henry clay was the first, what i call, strong speaker of the house -- the real leader of the house. when our country was founded and the congress was put together, the first speakers over the first 20 years or so came out of the english parliament system. they were more of a referee. they did not have any real power. but clay was the first real speaker of the house that had some power. there are a lot of things you can say about the role of the speaker. henry clay was clearly a very strong speaker. if you look at this time between 1820-1860, there was no one person in the united states more responsible for holding our

union together man henry clay. >> by the way, that was from an event that was organized where they invited all living speakers to talk about the role of speakers. it was held here. it is in our video library if you like to go back and watch it. quite an interesting event. to both of you, how did henry clay enhance the powers of the speaker? >> the force of his personality. no one wanted to debate him. certainly he had the force to win the argument. i think that alone had great influence in power. i do not know if any of the speaker could be compared to. >> what about the power of committee assignments? >> the committees basically understood that the speaker had the power to put the people he wanted on the committee. he was known as a fair man.

that was very important. both sides of the aisle respected him and his opinions. when he knew there is a certain issue coming up, he would put his friends to that issue if he wanted the issue to go a certain way. he also changed the rules. they gave the speaker more power. it allowed him to be a much more important, powerful figure than anyone before him. his force and is well is as important as anything else. >> the next telephone call is from raymond in michigan. hello, raymond. ramin, we are going to move on. let's take a call from chevy chase, md.. >> good evening. lincoln wasn't -- once referred to play as his ideal of a

statement. i always believed the men had never met, however, recently i came across a web page to the purported to show a book and was described by clay to lincoln. could the panel comment on this? what is the thinking now? the clay and lincoln ever meet? -- did play and lincoln ever meet? >> we do not know, basically. there is one person who left a memoir that said that person had seen the two in lexington. mary todd lincoln, who was from lexington -- her family was very closely allied with the clay's. she came to kentucky several times. he certainly heard henry clay speak.

whether they met is unknown. you have to think they tried to meet its nothing else. if lincoln had come to ashland, the two of them would sit in the parlor. they would go back and forth. but clinton never said he met clay. in think he would have said that had he met him he did say in 18601864 things to write the inaugural with. clay's a effect on abraham lincoln was important in the douglas debates. >> we are going to take a call and then we must spend some time talking about the 1844 election.

let's listen to a question from charles i in california. >> hello. my question is this -- i am at a ian.uck a i understand from the panel that henry clay is considered the favorite son of kentucky. although he and lincoln were members of the whig party, i do not understand how he could be the favorite son and not abraham lincoln who, when he met harriet beecher stowe, he said "you are the little lady who started this great war." neither are mentioned as being great in their time. yet all the times in which they live and even today, their

influence is greatly felt, especially by many african- americans who are historically informed. >> abraham lincoln -- kentucky -- he may have started off being a friend of kentucky, but with the immense a positive proclamation was issued the decay -- when the emancipation proclamation was issued he became a hated figure in kentucky. henry clay considered himself a westerner, but many southerners would choose him over a remington, who was certainly considered a traitor -- over lincoln, who is certainly a traitor to the kentucky cause. harriet beecher stowe is a popular kentucky figure. lincoln and that relationship, he is more popular in the north and new england than he ever becomes a in the south, particularly at the end of the

civil war. >> lincoln in the 1860's -- in 1860 received five votes in his home county. even his in-laws did not vote for him. to vote for holtz-eakin in 1860 in kentucky would be like voting for -- to vote for clinton in the 1860's in kentucky would be like voting for -- many kentucky and is turned against the administration. lincoln and his party are on the outs in kentucky for a long time. it is not until the 20th century that kentucky starts to reclaim abraham lincoln. they built a memorial to his birthplace. kentucky has reclaimed lincoln

belatedly, but he was on the wrong side after the war. >> how far from where we are physically it is the birth place? >> probably an hour and 15 minute drive on the interstate. >> in that time period, how long would it have taken? >> it took longer to take -- it took longer to go from lexington to franklin. >> we had a brief picture of an artifact you have here in the collection, which has an inscription to abraham lincoln. >> this book is actually called "the life and speeches of henry clay." there is an inscription that says "to abraham lincoln with costa regards to french ship, ashland h -- "to abraham lincoln with constant regards to

friendship, ashland h. clay. >> we do not know the's were delivered personally. >> we do not. we do not know if they ever met. there is no documentation to say that they ever had. we do know that henry clay did know abraham lincoln. the must've been some kind of relationship based on this artifact. >> we have a little less than 20 minutes left. henry clay is the first of our 14 contenders at our look in american -- at our look at american history. let us take a call from robin. >> i have three questions. i will try to go really fast. claes contradictions were mentioned. i am curious to know whether he changed his mind or, was it

merely political posturing? >> the second question, another caller mentioned the two cassius clay's. i am curious whether henry clay or any of this household members or immediate family members had any known slave descendants like jefferson. politicians also -- have -- politicians often have a political lineage. is it known if any other prominent politicians share henry clay's minutes. >> before you go, have you been here? we lost her. abolitionists -- a position change or posturing? >> i think it would be wrong to call henry clay and abolitionist. he was definitely not an abolitionist. he was for the idea of emancipation. he never changed his position on

that. as we discussed earlier, especially in the election of 1840, it hurt him. he tries to straddle the fence, but he never backs away from his idea of emancipation. >> play spoke out for the first time publicly against slavery in a letter to the local papers. 50 years later he does the same thing again when they're trying to get slavery abolished. they took basically the same stance. he was pretty consistent over a 50 year period. over those 50 years the world change around him, but his views were still the same. >> i know of no -- a question of whether or not there were african-american -- i am not aware of that.

>> did he have any descendants who were african-american? >> if there is one story that appeared 40 years after henry clay's death. a woman said she had been a mistress of henry clay. i have found nothing to substantiate that story. there are several henry clay's in this area. she could have been mixed up with somebody else. a list and has been compiled and i did not see her and name their anywhere. i do not think that happen. cassius clay, probably not. and offspring showed up at his door one day at the kansas play home in kentucky. the shock of that caused the white to divorce ed henry cassius clay. if anybody had the same

connection to play as far as being related to play, i am not sure if i know of anybody else. >> there is no family dynasty then? >> i do not think so. >> the 1844 election against james paul, this time clay was successful in obtaining the whig nomination. everyone says it was one of the dirtiest campaigns conducted. what were the issues or was it real personal politics? >> clay went in as a favorite on this for a change. james capel was the first dark horse candidate -- james k. polk was the first dark horse candidate for presidency. clay had been organizing his campaign for two years. the rashid music with clay's picture. -- there was sheet music with clay's picture. there were buttons and metals. the democrats had to attack.

they attacked played pretty heavily on all of the issues. the 1844 election with the perfect storm. he wrote to many letters and said to many things on texas annexation, which was a big issue at the time. all of the issues of preventing gambling and carousing came back ever used against clay. i think it is for a combination of things. poult said we needed to annex texas. no. abolitionist opposed to that. clay opposed annexation unlisted to place on a peaceful basis. he went against manifest destiny and the national mood. he wins some votes because of his stand on that as well as loses some votes. there are a whole slew of

issues. issues of fraud, bad luck, and things like that. >> you hear a lot about this being an early example of politics of personal destruction. was this from both sides? was henry clay a practitioner of those kinds of politics? >> he certainly trusted the wrong people in the 1844 campaign. he does not listen to advisers. this is still a problem for him in 1844. he believes his own press that he is the favorite. the does not see the challenge as serious. he is not really campaigning. he shoots himself in the foot a couple of tons. >> his son went to fight in the war against mexico. what happened? >> he was killed in the war. he was very depressed. it was almost like he was trying

to go off to fight. he is wounded and tells his men to retreat. they do and he is killed. it hits henry clay very hard. he makes an anti-war speech. he basically says, i support the troops, but i oppose the war. it is a speech that many people considered a very courageous speech at the time. it went against the national mood in the south. >> less take another call this is from new jersey. >> hello. i was wondering if your panelists could talk a little bit about the relationship between john quincy adams and henry clay. >> thank you. >> clay and adams were a very

mismatched couple. adams had a new england, puritan background. he was critical of everybody, including himself. he is critical. he is a man of great talent. he speaks many foreign languages. he is well versed on the presidency. he was the son of a president. adams is getting up at 4:00 in the morning and clay is getting back from a night of card playing. he said it was wrong. you could turn it around henry clay was a very different type of person. they constantly tweet each other and talk to each other. they did not like each other in a lot of ways, but they

respected each other. when clay makes john quincy adams the president of the united states in 1825, he was a very loyal secretary of state. they had never been friends, but they're respectful of each other for the rest of their lives. >> we are reaching back into the earlier part of henry clay's career. this is a good time to look at one of ashland's most prized possessions. it is the washington goblet. quite this is the washington goblet. this was the item of greatest patriotic speculation in henry clay's at home. it is chipped and broken. this is out in the clay received it. it had belonged to george washington through most of the revolutionary war. here is the second artefact and at his house. he used it to connect to early

nationhood and as an object to venerate george washington. he felt washington, as many throughout the country did, was a great inspiration to our country and hope to inspire patriotism to people who visited aslan. >> we are quickly running out of time. let me ask you about henry clay and his wife. he had such a long political career. he was in washington so frequently. did the family moved to washington, or did they remain behind? >> his family did go with him to washington early on. the 1830's was the last time lucretia would go with henry clay to washington. she had plenty on the farm to a deeper busy. she had children and get a children to -- children and grandchildren to occupy her time. she was not heavy into fashion and attention.

she enjoyed the solace and aslan provided. in the later part of henry clay's life, he was gone as much as he was at home some have surmised that henry clay was addicted to travel, which is one thing we would all probably like to do more of. he had gone quite recently to campaign. on ships and to see his daughter in new orleans. christ our next call is from kentucky. this is gerald. >> really enjoy the program. henry clay was my seventh cousin. his grandmother, sarah watkins, was sister to my and grandfather. i am real proud of in reply and that connection. my question is -- the three times he won the nomination, it seems like the timing was really not good for his candidacy. do you believe there was a

presidential election during his time of prominence that would have been better timing, that he could have won the presidency? >> he could have won in 1840 pretty reasonably. in 1848, zachary taylor was the e.ig nomine taylor had done nothing in his background. clay very reluctantly try to get the nomination in 1848 and failed. had clay gotten that nomination, i think he would have won. the democrats were divided that year. clay was quoted by someone as saying that the nearest he could get the nomination, his friends were basically deserting him. clay felt it was a betrayal of

all the things sea, could have done. kraits us move ahead to 1850. henry clay's last big effort on public policy. what was the compromise all about? set the stage for us. >> 1850, the decision about the expansion of slavery, house lay states come in as free or slave holding, the idea of strengthening the fugitive slave law becomes a one of the breaking points. the idea of california. the idea was california could make their own decision about whether or not sleighs to be held in the states. misery comes in -- missouri comes in. new mexico and arizona. now we are truly into the manifest destiny or the united

states reaches from coast to coast. for african-americans, the fugitive slave law becomes a major issue in american politics leading up to the civil war. >> on the compromise of 1850, henry clay was not successful. he was -- how did it all turned out? >> in 1849, and because back to the senate. they had been at home. he has nothing to gain. he comes out of retirement and hopes to save the country, in his mind, one more time. 1850 was the compromise. in missouri, he broke all the roles. -- all the rules. clay goes off to rhode island and the bill does pass the smell

under stephen douglas. clay thought this would bring peace in his lifetime. he died two years later. within a decade of that, the civil war began. >> henry clay died in 1862. the is buried where? >> in lexington at the cemetery. >> right nearby. we as a video of his grave site. his funeral was quite the event. >> his trusted servant car -- his trusted servant, charles, is by his side to the very end with the funeral pyre. people came from all over. the trains are coming in. thousands of people in lexington came for the funeral. it is national news. >> at the thing about that monument, i think he has more

images in the nation's capital than any other individual. life magazine said he was one of the most influential americans at -- of all time. the fact that henry clay pulled a divided nation together, the nation is still one nation, at is still one democracy, and is still trying very hard. >> a very quick call from bowling green, ky. >> why do you suppose henry clay was not interested in a 1's perspective on slavery? the reason i ask the question, a european-victorian woman had traveled to america to kentucky in 1835. >> i have to interrupt you. we have very little time. >> she was sent by britain. that was a note to play not to

like her. he had principles about a woman was replaced. >> had women been able to vote, at henry clay would have been president. at the outset, women in america like henry clay. everybody uniformly said that women like henry clay and would have voted for him. she came to-land. she did not like the children, but she liked henry clay. >> views on why a uniquely was important to the country? >> the polarized and made america make a decision on slavery. the 1850 compromise, african- americans fled to canada.

it increased public awareness of slavery in america. that was his major contribution, i think. >> we adjusted the surface of a 49-year political career of henry clay. our first of 14 contenders. men who did not achieve their quest for the brevity, a chain of american history. thank you to our guests. i have a couple of other quick to thank yous. the memorial foundation for preserving ashland. ensuring it with us tonight. the director and curator, outstanding help from our crew for putting this together and the volunteers and staff at ashland. a personal thank-you to c-span's former board chairman to -- who traveled all the way to kentucky

to be with us. thank you for being with us as we learned more tonight about the life of henry clay. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> "the contenders" and features profiles of key figures who ran for president f. lost. you can see today's program again at 11:00 eastern on c- span. and our live look continues next

friday when we travel to augusta, maine. in will talk with historians about james g. blaine. the series airs live friday night's on c-span. for more information on the series, go to our web site. you will find a schedule of this series, biographies of all of the candidates, historians appraisals, and for -- and portions of their speeches, when available. >> and next, president obama in richmond va.. after that, congressional reaction to the president's jobs proposal. then, another chance to see "the contenders." tonight, the life of henry clay.

>> following his speech to congress on thursday evening, president obama talk more about job creation during a visit to richmond, virginia. speaking to students at the university of richmond, he discusses $443 billion job package. >> hello everyone. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you, richmond. it is good to be in richmond, virginia. [applause] thank you for the outstanding

introduction. given nigel and outstanding round of applause and. [applause] everybody is a special guest, but there are a few people i want to acknowledge. first of all, the outstanding president of the university of e richmonduniversityd ayers. -- ed ayers. clyde jones is in the house. former governor of virginia and one of my greatest friends, the first person to endorse me outside of illinois, my home state, right here in richmond, va., tim cain. [applause]

and his lovely wife, who also love. another history maker and outstanding former governor, doug wilder is in the house. [applause] you guys can sit down if you want. but you do not have seats, so you guys don't have to. [applause] it is good to be in virginia, because the sun is out. i have not seen the sun and about five days. it was nice to remember what that was like.

it is always nice to get out of washington once in awhile. to be with the american people. i have great memories of richmond and i have wonderful feelings about the commonwealth of virginia. the people here -- [applause] the people here, i think, have an innate optimism and a can-do spirit that is typical of this country. >> i love you! >> i love you, too. it is good to get some fresh air and a fresh perspective. i am grateful to spend some time with you. obviously, we are going through a difficult time in this country. i know you folks are as frustrated as i am about the economy.

i know you are frustrated, not just about our economic conditions, but what is happening in washington. [applause] tim, i got an amen, there. you have every right to be frustrated. here in virginia and in richmond, people do not have time for political concerns. you have real life concerns. you may be looking for a job or you know somebody who is looking for a job. >> i love you! >> i love you back. you make sacrifices to make ends meet. you expect the people you sent to washington to do the same thing, to meet their responsibilities. [applause]

we need to stop the political surface and -- the political circus and do something to help people, help the economy, restore some security and opportunity. restore the american dream. restore those things that made america the envy of the world. in other words, you expect action and you deserve it right now. [applause] that is why, after a few scheduling issues, i went to congress last night. [applause] to suggest new ways that we can grow the economy, help businesses, and put more of our fellow americans back to work. it is called the american jobs

act. [applause] next week, i will send it to congress. they should pass it right away. [applause] everything in the american jobs act, everything in there, is the kind of proposal that has been supported in the past by both democrats and republicans. i have not been radical in this bill. everything in it will put more people back to work and more money back in the pockets of those who are working. everything in it will be paid for. [applause] the reason i am here, in richmond, is because, to make it

happen, every one of your voices can make a difference. every one of your voices will have an impact. i am going to talk about politics in a second, but let me just talk about what is in the american jobs act. it will create more jobs for construction workers, for teachers, for veterans, for young people. [applause] more jobs for the long-term unemployed. it will provide a tax break to companies if they hire new workers. it will cut parallaxes in half for every small-business owner and every working american. it will jump-start an economy that has stalled. it will give companies the confidence that if they hire new workers and investing in these

businesses, there will be customers who can afford to buy the things they are selling. passing this jobs bill will put people to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges. it will also help us rebuild our schools. in the back, i was taking photos with folks who helped organize this of bed. there was a young lady who was a teacher. she said she had heard my speeches last night and really appreciated it. she said she teaches eighth grade in less -- she said she taught eighth grade english in a trailer. we should not have kids learning in trailers. they should have classrooms with internet and science labs. [applause] you have got aging bridges on i- 95.

you need to replace them. you have schools that need to be upgraded. there are millions of unemployed construction workers across america ready to put on their tool belts and get dirty. i do not know about you, but i do not want the newest airport, the fastest railroads, to be built in china. i want them to build -- i want them to be built right here, in the united states of america. [applause] >> usa! usa! usa! >> i do not want any of our kids to study in subpar schools. i want them to study in great schools. there is work to be done and there are workers ready to do it. let's pass this jobs bill right away. [applause]

passing this jobs bill will put thousands of teachers in virginia and across america back to work. when we need them most. this is a new age. everybody here knows that. if you want a good job, a good career, if we want america to succeed, we have got to have the best trained, most highly skilled workers in the world. you have places like south korea that are adding teachers to prepare their kids for a global economy. we are laying off our teachers in droves. it is unfair to our kids, it undermines their future, our future, it has to stop. let's pass this bill and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong. [applause]

passing this bill gives companies new tax credits to hire america's veterans. a lot of veterans here in richmond and all across virginia. we asked these men and women to leave their careers or interrupt their careers, leave their families, risk their lives to fight for us. they come home and they cannot find a job? the last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home. pass this bill now and put these folks to work. [applause] pass this jobs bill and we will give small business owners in richmond and the rest of virginia a small tax cut for hiring new workers and raising their workers' wages. cut their payroll taxes in half.

that will give small businesses more money they can use to hire more workers. if you pass this bill, we will get hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged youth the hope and dignity of a summer job next year. [applause] and that instills in them good habits that will last a lifetime. it will make it easier for them to find a job in the future and to continue their education. passing this bill will give companies a tax credit for hiring anybody that has spent more than six months looking for work. there are a lot of folks like that. this has been a terrible recession. i get letters from folks and they write to me about what it is like a month after month. writing letters, sending out resin is, knocking on doors. people get discouraged. and when they get discouraged, at some point, they drop out of the labor force. it is hard for them to get

reattached. you have some people, who are out of work, even if people are looking for hot -- even if people are looking for work, places will not want to hire them because they have been out of work for so long. it is not fair. it is not right. this will help people on unemployment insurance to build temporary work while looking for a full-time job. we should extend unemployment insurance for another year. not only is it the right thing to do, but if we cut off unemployment insurance right now, that is money that millions of unemployed faults cannot spend on their basic needs. that money comes out of the economy. businesses have fewer customers and the economy, for everybody, including those who have worked, will shrink. an unnecessary blow to this economy. passing this law will give a

typical working family 8 $1,500 tax cut next year. -- a $1,500 tax cut next year. that boosts the tax cuts democrats have already passed this year. i said to folks yesterday, especially my republican friends, i said, "you guys have made pledges never to raise taxes on everybody any -- on anybody ever again. you cannot make exceptions for the middle class people." [applause] this is the american jobs act. it will lead to new jobs for construction workers, teachers, veterans, young people, the long-term unemployed. provide tax credits to citizens

and workers. it will not add to the deficit. it will be paid for. [applause] we spent a whole summer fussing about the deficit. it is legitimate for us to get a government that is living within its means, just like families do. democrats and republicans have already agreed to cut spending by about $1 trillion over the next decade. they have i -- they have agreed to identify another $1.50 trillion by the end of the year. what i said is, let's go first. let's be a little more ambitious. i believe we need to do more to make sure we can boost jobs and growth in the short term and still bring down our debt in the long run. 10 days from now, i will release a more ambitious deficit reduction plan and it will follow the balanced approach that i have been talking about

for months. yes, we need to cut wasteful spending. we are going to need to strengthen our retirement programs. yes, we have got to ask the wealthiest americans and the biggest corporations to pay their fair share. [applause] virginia, i want to make it very clear -- i understand nobody likes paying taxes. i pay a lot of taxes. [laughter] you can look, it is public the amount of taxes i pay. it is serious. [laughter] i am not taking advantage of a bunch of loopholes. i understand that. we have always lived based on the principle that everybody has

got to do their fair share. we have got to make some choices. we have got to decide what are our priorities? what is best not only for me, but best for us? what is the best way to create jobs? should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? [applause] we cannot afford to do both. should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires or should we put teachers back to work until kids are ready to graduate from college and get good jobs? [applause] we cannot afford to do both.

we have got to make real choices about the kind of country that we want to be. that is not class warfare, i am not attacking anybody. it is simple math. we cannot afford, the folks who are the most fortunate, to do the least and put the largest burden on folks who are struggling in the most. that does not make sense. [applause] now, i put forward this plan, the american jobs act, but we cannot stop there. we cannot stop there. when i ran for this office, we have got to look beyond the immediate crisis and start building an economy that lasts. an economy that is not built on housing baubles -- bubbles, easy

credit, wall street's shenanigans. an economist at -- an economy that creates jobs and provides a sense of security. let me tell you what this means. we live in a world where technology has made it possible for businesses to take their business anywhere. if we want them to start here, stay here, higher here, we have to be able to out-build, out- innovate every other country out there. that is what we have got to fight for. that means everybody has got to up their game. all of the college students here, i know you are having fun in college. [applause] i am glad you are having fun, but you need to hit the books. [applause] you are competing against kids in that beijing and you cannot

avoid those math class is an engineering classes and science classes. we have got to focus. everybody has got to up their game. we have to get more efficient and productive, employees have got to constantly upgrade their skills. even if you have a good job, you have got to keep staying on top of it. the government has got to become more efficient. we have got to become more so -- we have got to become smarter in terms of how we help people to succeed. to do all of those things, i am going to need your help. i know that -- this has been a long slough. dealing with this economy. when i came into office, everybody was thinking, "six

months, we will get this all solved." i told you at the time, this was going to be a tough, long journey. i also told you i could not do it on my own. every kind of proposal in the american jobs act, every proposal to put more workers on the job, more money in their pockets, every single one of these proposals has been supported by democrats and republicans before. and so, they should be supporting them now. and that will only happen, though, if they set politics aside for a moment. to deal with america's problems. the only way they are going to do that is if they hear from

you. [applause] to their credit, i was glad to hear some republicans, including your congressman, said that they have got room for us to work together. they said that they are open to some of the proposals to create american jobs. i know that folks sometimes think, maybe you have given them the benefit of the doubt, but i am an eternal optimist. i am an optimistic person. [applause] i am an optimistic person. i believe in america, i believe in our democracy, i believe that if you stay at it long enough, eventually, after they have exhausted all of the options, he'll do the right thing.

[applause] but we have got to give them a little help to do the right thing. i am asking all of you to lift up your voices, not just here in richmond, anybody watching, listening, following online, i want you to call, e-mail, tweet, fax, visit, facebook, send a carrier pigeon, i want you to sell -- i want you to tell your congressman that the time for gridlock and games is over. the time for action is now. the time to create jobs is now. pass this bill if you want construction workers. if you want teachers in the classroom, pass this bill. if you want small business owners to hire new people, pass

this bill. if you want veterans to get their fair share of opportunities that they helped create, pass this bill. if you want a tax break, pass this bill. we will fight as hard for middle-class people as we do for oil companies and millionaires. pass this bill. let's get something done. [applause] the next election is 14 months away. we cannot wait. the american people do not have the luxury of waiting another 14 months for some action. some of you are living paycheck to paycheck, week to week, day by day. now is not the time for people in washington to be worrying about their jobs. it is time for them to be worried about your jobs. it is time to put america back

to work. now is the time to act in. we are not a people that just look and watch and wait to see what happens. we are america. we make things happen. we are tougher than these times. we are bigger than the smallness of our policies. we are patriots, pioneers, innovators, entrepreneurs, who, through individual efforts and a common commitment to one another, will build an economy that is once again the engine and envy of the world. we will write our own destiny. it is within our power. but we have got to seize the moment. let's shake off all the naysaying and anxiety and hand- ringing. enough of that. let's get to work. let's show the world why america is the greatest nation on earth.

thank you everybody and god bless you. god bless america. [applause] >> usa! usa! usa! >> on "washington journal," jenkins aboutlynn the president's jobs plan. this is 30 minutes. >> now joining us is lynn jenkins, a republican from kansas and a second term congresswoman. i want to start with the new

york times editorial and get your response to what they're subhead is. and it -- and aggressive president challenges the defeat- everything in congress. guest: thank you for having me. i am puzzled by that deadline given that the house has been the only ones who have done their job this year. the senate has not passed the budget in over 800 days and the house went about their budget -- what about their business, passed the budget. it was defeated. we have gone about business appropriating our money. we are almost through with that appropriation process. again, the senate may be has taken up one of the 12

appropriation bills. we have passed numerous job creation bills over to the senate. all law on the floor of the senate. they have not picked them up or they have been defeated. i would say we have been saying yes to a whole lot in the house. primarily focused on job creation and getting this economy moving again while reining in the fiscal mess that is in washington. to say that the house is saying no is an inaccurate statement. host: is there anything the president said last night that you agree with? guest: there were some things in there and i am hopeful that we can go about passing several pieces of legislation where we have common ground. one, for example, is in the area of free trade. we have grown weary of bogging

the president to send the three pending trade agreements up. again, free trade agreements work the opposite of what normal legislation do. just the opposite happens on these trade agreements. the president has had them lingering in his office for over two years. he just has to send those up. i think there is broad bipartisan support in both the house and the senate to ratify those. that is 250,000 jobs immediately that we could get moving. all he has to do is send them up. that would be a good start. host: what about his spending proposals? the extending unemployment benefits and construction for schools and infrastructure. where do stand on those issues?

guest: certainly, there is a role to play at the federal level. most people look at the federal government with this -- as having defense spending as our first priority. probably, infrastructure. there is a role at the federal level. a stimulus plan is unlikely to fly in the house given that, if all we had to do is spend the money and we would have 0 percent unemployment, we would be there already. we are $14.50 trillion in debt. just running money out there does not create jobs. instead, we would like to, in the house, focus on the barriers to job creation. in be it taxation, litigation, regulation. those need to be the areas we focus on. we will have that discussion, i

am sure, in the coming weeks. host: lynn jenkins, republican from kansas. she serves on the ways and means committee as we continue our discussion on the president's job proposal that he introduced last night. pat is a republican in new jersey. go ahead. caller: good morning. thank you for your show. i would like to know why the first lady was sitting with the head of ge after some many jobs just went overseas. how can you give the speech in two parts? you are going to define the problem, and give a solution, and then we have to wait a week for how we are going to pay for this? i was a democrat for many years until maybe two presidents ago. now i am ready to hang myself.

guest: thank you for the call. i thought it was an interesting choice to have the ceo from ge sitting with the first lady, given that they have been the poster child for sentimental tax reform. why is so necessary in our economy today. if the democrats in the senate would meet with the republicans on architectural structure for fundamental tax reform, which has become competitive once again in the international marketplace, by lowering the rates to attract the top 25% of corporations so we can compete internationally. right now, we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world, both marginal and effective rates. we have passed a fundamental tax reform structure within our

budget to address this issue. we want to eliminate loopholes on the top and get the 51% of americans who do not pay income tax back on the rolls. that is going to address the issue that most people have with ge, that they are using loopholes to increase income. you also mentioned the pay forward for the president's speech last night. he laid out how he wanted to spend money but he would not say how he wanted to pay for it. i think you will get some pushback in the house from members on that joint select committee, given that their function was deficit reduction. now they have been charged with paying for yet another stimulus program. i think you will see some objection to that this week. host: lynn jenkins, a certified

public the accountant -- a certified public accountant. member of the ways and means committee. can you explain to us how ge does not pay any income taxes and you say we have the highest income tax rate. how does that work? it is the tax code that we have. i believe we need to fundamentally change the tax code. we need to start over. the republicans in the house had that architectural structure within that budget document and it was a revenue-neutral, which is in a static micro economic model, the way it was done in the 1980's. the last time we did fundamental tax reform.

we put this model into a dynamic economic, real-world macro economic model. that is where you get the growth. it is our belief that if the senate would meet us at the table to handle that, we would be happy to do it. host: i want to show this picture from the washington post. your colleague was holding the sign up. "drilling equals jobs." i know that is close to your heart. guest: that is right. we have been working for months on a comprehensive energy package. that is teed up for the house to address this fall. there are lots of other bills that we need to address once and for all. last congress was my first term.

the speaker then, nancy pelosi, teed up the trade proposal. even the democrats in the senate would not go along with that. this is long overdue. we need to address the energy issue so we are not reliant on foreign oil anymore. caller: hello. i would like to be given a chance to make a statement. the president laid out his plans last night. he did a good job of laying out his plans. i want american people to wake up and realize that the people who were involved in the s &l scandals in 2008 our corporate criminals that have used the republican party to raid the federal treasury. they are doing everything they

can to stall the economy, because the president to have massive layoffs and budget cuts, putting out jobs where we have laid off.nd fireman's ♪ they are doing this so they can go about the mantling and deregulating laws, rating the federal treasury, at the expense of the taxpayers that payoff. the bankruptcies that go into a big economic slide where small- town republicans who believe in them, they use their ignorance and bigotry to stall. what they have done in the past

15 years. host: lynn jenkins? guest: you are looking at a small-town kansas girl. i do not think we are ignoring or bigoted. i think she has a sense that the president has proposed numerous things to congress and we have rejected them out right, when, in fact, if he gives us a bill, this will be the first time he put his ideas on paper. the congressional budget office, earlier this year, said we cannot score a seat. this would be the first time we would be able to address an issue that the president brought to us. she mentioned in the s &l crisis and scandals. in last congress, the dodd-frank

bill was signed into law. it did nothing to address the issue. in fact, it has created quite -- created quite a burden for small town, main street financial institutions that did not create the problem but are being punished. a lot of them are being forced out of business. i would wholeheartedly disagree with that caller. host: what is the economy like in kansas? guest: we are insulated a bit from the highs and lows. so our unemployment is not nearly what it is at the national level. folks in kansas are hurting, i will tell you that. we have egg producers that are tough old birds and they are holding their own. egg prices are good, so that is good. but we are also home to a lot

of aircraft manufacturers, and that is a tough business right now. we, too, are just looking to washington, not just to create jobs, but to create the right environment so the private sector can create the jobs and we can grow our way out of this mess. host: next call is from athens, georgia. caller: good morning. i am an independent. i was a republican most of my life until about 15 years ago. i have a couple of different things i would like to -- i am tired and so are many of my friends and relatives tired of hearing about unemployment. 90% of our people are employed. i am not just a half full, but a 90% fall kind of person. what is right in our economy? i have yet to see any football

stadium empty. i look around at the professional games. none of theirs are empty. the skyboxes are full. if that is a good economy, that is a red flag. when i see a nice big sector empty, i believe we are in trouble. guest: people have set their priorities, as they do. i think that is why the personal debt of individuals is at an all-time high. because many folks across the nation, washington is no different. we have been living beyond our means. i think she has a point. we continue to live high on the hog and it is time washington

balanced its budget, eliminated its debt, and started living within its means, much like many families across america are going to have to make those tough decisions and maybe forgo some of those sporting events to do the same thing. host: here are some facts from the u.s. department of labour regarding the u.s. unemployment situation. 14 million americans are unemployed, 139 million have jobs. 6 million of the unemployed have been out of work for more than six months. 8 million people are working part-time. 1.1 million have stopped looking for work. 8% is the unemployment rate for women, at 9% for men. 16% for african americans and 14.6% of americans ages 20-24 are jobless.

the president also called for a summer jobs program. what do you think of that? guest: i think the key is not to throw money at a problem. the key is to solve the problem. the problem is, right now, businesses cannot afford to hire additional employees because of the barriers to job creation. they are not competitive internationally on their income taxes. they are being killed by regulators. i understand common-sense regulation is necessary. i hear from businesses day in and day out. many of these regulators, whether it is the occ, the epa, usda, they are off the chain. they are too aggressive and are putting people out of business. folks are concerned about litigation, so you cannot pay

higher taxes and higher additional employees. if you are a business on main street, you're going to do one of the two, not both. in this environment of uncertainty, i think employers are just paralyzed. they are not willing to hire someone with the anticipation that the president health care proposal will actually come into the full implementation in a few years. that will cost them. there is always a threat from the administration that they are going to raise their taxes. so they are just sitting, waiting for some certainty relating to health care costs. once we can give them that certainty, i think we will see the whole issue of unemployment fourteens, women, everybody result. host: nathan, a republican from

kentucky. caller: i have a couple of comments about another stimulus plan. we have already bailed out the banks a couple of times. we have bailed out the auto industry a number of times. why don't we bail out the small citizens? we could divide $450 billion in 2450 millionaires. that is about one millionaire for state. i cannot think of anything else we could do then throwing that money across the united states. all of those people would be buying new cars. there would be buying all of the other stuff that they have never been able to afford. it would stimulate our economy faster than anything else. guest: i have never opposed to

taxpayers keeping more of their hard earned money. to bail anyone out at this point is not really feasible. the federal government is broke. we have spent $1.50 trillion every year for the last three years. more than we took in. there is a $13.50 trillion national debt. some of the last stimulus money was thrown at folks. probably, they did the right thing. they paid off their debt or put it in the bank so they could save it. in that did nothing to stimulate the economy. i am not eager to sign up for more debt, more deficit spending at the federal level on a program that has been proven not to work. host: richmond, virginia.

cheryl on our independent line. caller: i would like to start by saying that i wish i could hear in the republican leaders in congress stand up and say that the deficit that we are facing did not just pop up when barack obama took office. it has been going along for years and years. i wish i could hear them say this is not a problem that you can fix overnight. it is going to take years and years for this problem to be fixed. i wish i could hear the republican leaders, instead of always saying, "why would the president put forward?" i would like for them to find some common ground on what can

work. i am tired of it all the petty, if i cannot have my way, that i am not going to do anything at all. guest: i may surprise cheryl from richmond. the deficit did not pop up overnight. that was the reason i ran. when republicans had power in washington, they blew it. they spent too much money. in my first term here, democrats had unfettered power in washington. they took the deficit that republicans running annually and made it a monthly deficit amount. republicans blew it and now we find ourselves in a divided government. now we are expressing frustration. if it is any help at all, i agree. i think there is enough blame to go around for both parties for the mess that we find ourselves in. you are right. it is not going to be fixed

overnight. it took decades to make the mess and i believe it will take a few years to fix the mess. what republicans have done is put out a budget that actually eliminates the public debt over time. at least we have a plan to do that. the administration does not and the democrats in the senate do not. i hope, as you do, that we will work in the coming months to find that common ground. and there are those things, as we mentioned earlier. the free-trade agreement. if the president is serious about regulation reform. if he is serious about tax reform. then we are in business. host: you serve as kansas state treasurer from 2002-2008. this news from the herald

newspaper -- two more health care reform lawsuits dismissed. the fourth circuit court of appeals finally issued its ruling thursday into lawsuits over health-care reform laws mandates. the fourth circuit dismissed both suits, one from virginia and one by liberty university on whether the mandate is constitutional. guest: what you did not read it -- my understanding is they were dismissed on procedural points. it had nothing to do with the actual case at hand. i think the last time a court has actually ruled on the merits of the case was in atlanta and they ruled that it was unconstitutional. i think what we can probably be

certain about is that at some point, the united states supreme court is going to be asked to rule on this. i am not a constitutional attorney, but i understand that there is a 50-50 chance that it could be deemed unconstitutional. house republicans have already voted numerous times to repeal that and replace it with something that we think better addresses the issue at hand, the out of control costs in our health-care system. it is unlikely that that is going to change unless some faces change in washington. host: have you seen your former governor since you came to washington? guest: i have. host: we have about five minutes left before the house comes back into session. mary from tampa. caller: even though the president has proposed the jobs

act, a big problem -- i am here wasting my life. i have been unemployed since may of 2008. i cannot spend money, i cannot save money, i cannot pay my bills. pay my bills is very important because i have been turned down for so many jobs now because i have bad credit. the credit agencies lobby employers to get a credit report but i never had a bad credit until i lost my job. now i just sit here. my life is being wasted. i am living with family and friends. i go to a gym with a member of my church. there is a woman up there that is 87 years old. she worked two days a week. she gets a pension and social security.

i after what she works. she says, "because i am bored." if you do not need money, why don't you give up your job to someone who is getting nothing. i am getting absolutely nothing. guest: she is expressing a frustration that we hear a lot in kansas. i had a jobs fair in kansas last week before we came back. we had 1100 people in topeka, kan., come through, just like this woman from camp up looking for work. the thing is, we had 1000 jobs available from employers that had set up tables there. the key is finding the right employer for the right employee and getting that match made. i would encourage her not to give up. we cannot give up.

that is not what americans are made of. we keep plugging and if washington will do its job, create the right environment for private sector job growth, then we will get this unemployment situation under control. host: a democrat from long branch new jersey. quite caller: thank you for taking my call. president obama inherited two wars. i would like to know how much that is adding to the deficit. we had a huge bass alignment under the republican administration. they are billions of dollars over the estimated cost. i would like to know how much that is contributing to the deficit? guest: i appreciate you being here. i can tell you the department of defense budget is 20% of the budget.

that is not the cost of the war, that includes everything at the pentagon and in the defense budget. i think the president is going to be addressing that issue. thank you for having me. we look forward to getting to work on capitol hill to find the common ground that is needed. host: lynn jenkins, a first-time visitor to "washington journal." >> next, nancy pelosi tells republican leadership is committed to passing the jobs act. she made remarks at her weekly legislative meeting. this is about 20 minutes. >> good morning. how are you? things are moving along quickly on the floor, so we will move along quickly here as well.

i guess the quickest way for me to give you my reaction to the president's speech is to say that, last night after his speech, i went home and was flipping between the game between the green bay packers and the new orleans saints and the u.s. open. they both reminded me that the president's speech was definitely a touchdown, and ace certification, a home run, out of the park. any sports analogy you want to come up with, i think he achieved. once again, he talked about the fact that -- the press is asking what does this beach mean? what does the speech mean to congress? after listening to the speech,