for congress. they feel that as important as rolling back leg -- regulations. what else did you hear today? >> i think his description of the president was interesting. they had this real combative relationship between the white house and the chamber of commerce. he gave them a lot of credit for the environment he walked into before the financial crisis that was pretty descriptive about how he thinks a lot of policies v haveeered off track. >> it was surprising. any time he talks about the president is usually in a negative tone. the over-regulation when dealing with dodd-frank and health care reform, things -- these are things he hammers away.

c + is not the best grade you can get. he seemed like he had some nice things to say about how the president handled the economy going forward them to one topic we did not get to his potential bilateral trade agreements with china. is that in the offing? >> he has spoken about it before but we have not heard much beyond that. the partnership is being negotiated now which asian countries and does not involve china. he has reason i spoke about a bilateral trade agreement but nobody else has done that yet. >> governor romney has been a real hardliner on this issue so the chamber might be conflicted as to which candidates policies

they will push them to do you foresee mitt romney meeting with the u.s. chamber in the next couple of months? >> i think it would make a lot of sense because he seems to have a real alliance with the business community. some people might see it as preaching to the choir. some people are firmly behind him. it might be expected. >> this might be seen as overly political toward the national scene. >> gentlemen, thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> when i was in bed in afghanistan, the soldiers started telling me that the u.s. government was wasting tens of

billions of dollars on totally mismanaged logistics contracts. >> douglas follows the money in afghanistan and fines corruption from top to bottom, right into the hands of the taliban. >> and remember one meeting where the brigade commander, an incredibly effective guy, not long after president obama took office, and the state department was out there saying, we're going to give you a whole lot of development money, counterinsurgency, hearts and minds, when the nation. and the colonel said, do not send me more money. cenis contract officers that can oversee the stub -- send me contract officers that can oversee a this stuff. >> tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on q&a. and on may 6th, look for our interview with robert caro. it coincides with the release of "passage of power" volume for in

his multi volume biography of lyndon johnson. >> one of the things i always remember because my office overlooked the building in the plaza was that there was a daycare center in the plaza. some of the children were killed, others injured. during recess, they would come out and play and you would hear their voices. that left a lasting impression when they were silenced. i son, a dear friend of his in high school had just graduated and was working in the social security office. her father was a good friend of mine. when i got home the morning, had three different messages. first of all, he wanted to know what he could find out about his daughter. secondly, it did not look good. the third message was when he was crying. >> what our local content

vehicles next stop exploring the history and literary culture of oklahoma city with special bearings the weekend of may 5th and sixth on book tv and on american history tv on c-span-3. >> former u.s. rep virgil gould of virginia has been nominated to run for president by a the constitution party. >> the constitution party held its convention this weekend in nashville, tennessee. he gave his acceptance speech. this is about 25 minutes. >> let me call the meeting to order. thank you. thank you for coming back in here. it is now my distinct pleasure

and honor to introduce the presidential nominee, a candidate for the constitution party. it is virgil goode. he hails from rocky mount, virginia. he was born in richmond, virginia, in october 1946. he received his bachelor of arts from the university of richmond. he served in the virginia national guard. he is an attorney by trade. he served as a legislator in the virginia general assembly and the state senate's. he served 12 years as a u.s. representative in the u.s. congress. he is married to lucy goode. and they have a daughter. i would point out that with this 12 years service in the u.s. congress, he served in federal office longer than barack obama or mitt romney combined.

[laughter] with that, for his acceptance speech, let's welcome virgil goode, jr. [applause] >> thank you. [applause] >> first, i want to say thanks so much to all of you who were targets and supported me and this nomination battle for the presidency of the united states

under the constitution party label. when you win by one vote, you know every vote counts. i want to say to those who also ran, it was an honor to be associated. i want to thank joan and daryl for all they have done over the years for the constitution party. [applause]

robbie wells -- thank you. [applause] the energy and enthusiasm exhibited by robbie wells on this campaign has been tremendous. if he will continue to work with us, if we do not get to the top of the hill this time, we will get to the top of the hill in 2016. [applause] i also want to recognize susan

and thank her for her campaign and for sharing with us her life story, which every person should listen to because it is a true pulling yourself up by the bootstraps story under the free enterprise system. thank you so much. [applause] i am not sure if laurie is still here, but i want to express my appreciation for having the presence that a radio

talk-show host has. i hope i can call her up and get some pointers for jazzing up and going with a few well- placed reasonable zingers that will surely get you on radio and television. [applause] ron from california, i have to really thank ron. he allowed the california delegation is to vote for me. thank you very much. thank you for standing for traditional marriage and for your speech yesterday. [applause]

our party offices have worked very hard in bringing about this convention, getting persons here from all over the country. our staff persons are in the background, getting little recognition. i think we should give them a round of applause. [applause] our party chair is not running again for chair. i want to thank jim -- and i know i do this on behalf of all of you -- for his personal contributions to this party. he and several others have been mainstays in providing funding over the years to the constitution party.

you got to have some funding just to keep the doors open. jim, thank you so very much. [applause] i will not list all the party officers, and i know they have all worked hard, but i do want to mention specifically our

treasurer. [applause] joe has done work in the detail that is needed to have treasurers' reports that are informative, but also comply with all the federal election commission regulations. joe, thank you for keeping us out of trouble. [applause] are you ready to take on mitt romney, barack obama, and the establishment in washington, d.c.? if you are, say yes. [applause]

cahoonjim mentioned that i served in the u.s. house for 12 years. i did. peter from louisiana asked me, i know you cast a lot of votes and a lot of them i agree with, but tell me one or two that you may have cast wrong. you remember that, peter? hopheadand i did. i made some mistakes. it is not too difficult to do. and one, in particular, i voted for the patriot act. i know that most in the room are very much opposed to that measure. i want to say that my association with the constitution party over the last three years has given me a better perspective in analyzing legislation from a constitutional viewpoint. and i want to say that i made a

mistake in voting for that measure as it applied to u.s. citizens in this country and to legal permanent residents. i do not favor, although this may not comport with all federal court decisions, extending constitutional rights to persons from foreign countries or those illegally in the united states. [applause] as president, i would work with

the congress to repeal the applications of the patriot act as they apply to u.s. citizens. [applause] i also voted for support for the troops in afghanistan. i never favored rebuilding the country's with u.s. taxpayer money. like many, who voted yes on those actions early on, i suspect in the u.s. house and senate, you would have very close votes in extending the war in afghanistan. it is time to come home in an orderly and reasonable manner.

[applause] we can talk about some other will was issues. in most instances, i was right in line with the thought of this party and with a significant number of american citizens. i have a pro-life voting record. [applause] that distinguishes me from president obama, who has one of the most pro-abortion records and positions ever for a president and certainly during his service in the united states senate. i also would like to submit that over time, my pro-life voting record is better than that of mitt romney, who has converted more recently to our position. [applause] with regard to marriage, i have always supported the proposition that marriage should

be between one man and one woman. i was in the virginia senate, the u.s. house of representatives. if you look closely at president obama's position, you can see that he is moving ever slope directly in a direction of pro-civil unions and pro- homosexual rights. if i am president, i will veto legislation advancing the cause. second amendment issues, i have always consistently supported the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. one of the first amendment's that i proposed in the u.s. house of representatives was to give that right to citizens of washington, d.c.

when we were in the apartment of there, it was against the law for us to have a firearm in our apartment for self protection. thankfully, that has been changed in d.c., but we need someone in the executive office of this country who has a history of supporting the second amendment and who you know you can count on one and comes to the right of your cells to defend yourself and have a firearm for protection of your person and property. [applause] in the u.s. house, i was one of

the democrats who did not go along with the democratic leadership. time to vote for our budget resolution. the republican leadership would come by and say, you know, sometimes you just have to vote with us on these on balanced

budget resolutions loaded with deficit. i would not go along with them. that was not liked by the senior leadership in either party. now we are in a situation where our debt is $15.70 trillion and a deficit, under the obama budget, is $1.30 trillion, and under the ryan budget, it is $600 billion. with the constitution party is philosophy and viewpoints, with which i agree, we need to cut now and balance now. [applause]

we must have the courage to cut. from the department of education no child left behind to the department of education and general, we could go on and on, and i would say, look at record and mitt romney's record. just on those two issues. education, no child left behind, and foreign aid. i am for slashing and cutting, and they made before taking a paring knife and slicing off just a thin layer of cheese at the top. obama is not even for that. he wants to throw them out

another ream of cheese. go to it, gang. i was honored to be in ron paul's liberty caucus. i support and audits of the federal reserve. i do not think you will get barack obama or mitt romney to even mention the issue. [applause] another area, a big distinction between us and the republicans and democrats is illegal immigration and legal immigration. i cannot thank the national committee of the constitution party enough for having the courage in the face of political correctness to say, we stand with arizona in support of their legislation.

if i am president, you would not have eric holder as attorney general. our attorney general would go and be of friend-of-the-court to say let's uphold what arizona and alabama are doing to control their immigration. [applause] i said during our campaign, i want to thank robbie wells for having this position, calling for a moratorium, with a few exceptions, on the continuing issuing of green cards when we have unemployment between 8 and 9%. last year, 1.2 million green cards were issued. a significant number work to working age individuals.

one we have american citizens when that need work, you should not be bringing an so many from foreign nations to take jobs that our citizens have longed for and indeed so they can get off the unemployment line before we extend the benefits of this country to those from other countries. it is time to put the american worker first. [applause] in the house, i was always a supporter of ending diversity visas. 50,000 persons per year that can come in on a lottery system. you can be from the middle east, africa, asia, where ever.

even though you are nowhere near the front of the legal immigration line, you apply for the diversity visa pool, and you get into that lottery system, and they pull your number, in you come. why bring in so many persons, when many of you are working age, when unemployment is so high? it is the wrong course for the nation. if i am president, i will sign an work for the legislation to end those of diversity visas. [applause] and other big distinction between myself and president obama and likely candidate mitt romney, i do not support automatic birthright citizenship for the children of illegals in this country.

[applause] eliminating automatic birthright citizenship would also significantly help the budgetary situation of the united states and of several other states. you should not be able to comment, have a child in this country, get food stamps, get public assistance, medicaid, and some other type of public aid, all that is being paid for by long-term citizens who are paying taxes. we need to end that practice, whether it is by statute or by constitutional amendment. i do not know of another country in the world that is

that liberal with regard to illegal aliens having children in their native country. we have one of the most liberal immigration, may be the most, in the world. we need to turn that upside- down. if we do, our budget situation will be enhanced. most importantly, as my campaign literature says, we need to save america by focusing on the fact that citizenship should matter and should count for something. [applause] done lasting human dimension as

a -- the last thing i want to mention as a kid distinction between myself -- key distinction between myself and mitt romney and president obama is campaign fund-raising. they are they are hawks. they are adept at getting $10,000 for the primary and the general election. and really sharp at getting big money from big pacs. besides the few leftover campaign funds from congressional races and donations from immediate family, no donations over $200 and no pac contributions. it is time for the average citizen has the same voice in government as the oracle of

omaha, the head of google, at the head of facebook and all of those entities. we will give america the change that is needed and it will not be the barack obama change of 2008. >> a discussion on the roles of wives of the candidate and the 2012 presidential campaign. this is just under an hour.

>> watch our local content vehicles next stop exploring the history and literary culture of oklahoma city. special airing such on c-span2.

>> i want to welcome to veterans of the white house. guest: so much of it is larger than women's issues, there are family issues. i think this notion of where

women belong in the debate is really pretty limiting. they belong in the entire debate. i think we have put ourselves in a position of lamenting the role that women can play in this conversation. >> in this morning's washington post." guest: women to care about all kinds of issues. at the end of the day, when it comes to voting, you vote for the person who you think will represent the issues that you care about. whether that is a woman or a man or a republican or democrat.

host: let me ask you about the comments made. what she said about ann romey and the political tactics that followed. was she right or was he wrong? guest: it was wrong in the mean spiritedness that it seemed to come into play. and also the non-apology apology. that bothered me more than anything. when i saw the clip, what she was responding to was the fact that the candidate romney listens to what his wife has to say. she is out there traveling. when she hears these things, of course, she will share them with her husband. i think that was unfortunate that it came out that somehow her voice is not of the value.

because she had not been a working woman outside the home. host: this is -- this was made by a democratic operative who is not involved in the obama campaign. the mitt romney campaign jumped on int and even today, they are writing that it was a win for the gop. >> the marks were unfortunate. -- the remarks were unfortunate. most campaigns agreed that spouses and children are off the table in terms of making comments about them. each of these women who are campaigning for their husbands are doing the very best job that they can. they do bring a unique perspective in terms of how they

are the first of all voices. the outcome of world needs to respect the rules that each of them will play. host: you wrote about this in a blog. best coat there was a similar circumstance in the campaign of 2004 -- guest: there was a similar circumstance in the campaign have to dozen for. -- 2004. they alluded that laura bush did not have a real job. mrs. bush was the first, she never fueled the flames. she knew that this is politics. sometimes in politics, we say things that we do not mean. she really did not enter into the debate at all. i think mrs. kerry felt badly that she had said that. sometimes we say things we do

not mean. there is a great example from 1984. barbara bush made a comment about geraldine ferraro, about two words. to this day, she regrets having made that comment. many years later, they became very close friends. those are things in the heat of the campaign, this is what happens. host: use study and teach about this topic at american university. guest: yes, and we enjoy it. first lady said that an impact on politics and policy and diplomacy. some have been more willing partners than others. at the end of the day, they are the best advice giver, the best confidante to the president. their antenna are greater than

most political operatives. host: let me share with you, these are comments going back to 1992, when hillary clinton made news for her comments, but also for the interview she did with "60 minutes." [video clip] >> i suppose that i could have stayed home and baked cookies. host: in the interview, she said, i could be like tammy why ynette. dust code that is what is unique about the role of first -- guest: that is what is unique about the role of the first lady. each of them find their way through a campaign, which are very long process these.

many of them have served in public life before there has been some chose to run for the presidency. some of them are more familiar with what can come up during a campaign, and some of them are not. the interesting thing is how different each of them are. and how they choose to campaign, and on what issues. casco i could not have set a better. -- guest: i could not have said it better. caller: good morning, how are you doing? ok, as far as what's hillary said about ann romney, it was true. it was not mean-spirited. even she admitted that herself. why are you sitting there letting this man get away with this -- there is no dignity and

the work. that is the husband that is running. that is what is mean-spirited. i do not understand you democrats. you let the republicans did away with it. you do not stand up for the democratic party. i wish you guys would stop that. play his clip. that is on dignified. host: what do you want from mitt romney? what you want to hear? caller: he should apologize. poor people have worked all their lives in one capacity or another. we have cleaned people's houses, we have mocked their floors. -- mopped their floor.

why would he say something like that? his policies will make sure that women are in trouble. i would not fall for that if i was a woman. host: barbara, thank you for the call. guest: she is making a very good case for us. my comments are more about the role of the first lady and the role of the campaign. as opposed to begin at the issues that she is referring to. she makes some valid points, but the most valid point is that that is where the candidates come into play for us as the spouse. what she has pointed out about mitt romney is something that people evaluate as they move forward. those are the types of things that really happened on the candidate side of the equation. host: there are a couple of photographs i want to show you.

there is a photograph of pat nixon with her daughters and richard nixon. there is a photograph of hillary clinton as she and graduate -- congratulate her daughter. how the role of the first lady has changed from the 1950's and 1970's to the 1980's and today. guest: throughout our history. a first lady has been a bellwether of changes to come, but also has been reflected of what is happening in the country at the time. most people, when they think of activists first lady, they think about our roosevelt. in some ways, yes, she broke the mold. all first ladies have had an impact on issues that they care about. they are best when they select things they have some background

on, experience, and credibility. guest: absolutely. when they choose something they are compassion about, when they really have an impact. oftentimes, with the work their husbands are doing, they can be a force to be reckoned with. host: the other photograph, ladies first. this is not only everything they say, but what they wear, everything they do is the focus of scrutiny dating back to jackie kennedy. test but it is true. we have a fascination with -- guest: it is true. we have a fascination with what our first ladies wear. it is a fact of life. it is human nature. we want our first lady's to be comfortable with the they are and to represent as beautifully. sometimes, some of that plays out in how they are dressed. host: can either of you share

any advice that you gave to michelle obama or laura bush? guest: my advice to a number of the people that we work with, let's make sure that whatever we are doing is authentic to her. mrs. obama also shared some very important advice. there is nothing on her agenda that is more important than what is on the president's agenda. between those two pieces of guidance, we were able to help per creates -- helped her create a very impressive set of work and objectives that you wanted to accomplish. the garden was one of those things. it can capture people's imaginations. her work with military spouses. raise the awareness of what these families are going

through. if you are able to connect all of those things, you really do have a winning combination. host: laura bush? guest: laurel bush came to the white house before i work directly with her. -- laurel bush came to the white house before i work directly with her. her love of reading and literacy and the national book festival, now going into its 12th year. that is something that is a legacy. i absolutely have to agree you are best at this role when you select things that you care about that can support the issues and goals of the administration. people do respond to that authenticity. when i came to work for mrs. bush in the second term, you are freed up from elections after you have won a second election. she knew exactly what she wanted

to do. frankly, she knew what she went to do when she first came to washington. in the second term, to do more of the global work, aids relief and malaria. we made five trips to africa. 15 countries. we went to the middle east on a health diplomacy project. we traveled all over the world on issues to support the administration. host: is the top of the hour. our guests are anita mcbride and camille johnston. our look at the role of spouses in american politics and first ladies. our phone lines are open. you can also send a comment on our twitter page.

guest: absolutely true. she is an impressive woman. she always was. there were moments for her that were harder than others. she was one of these transitional first ladies. but i think her career has borne her out in terms of being an impressive person from start to finish. guest: i would like to add one thing to that. kroll as first lady of the united states only helped her -- her role as first lady of the united states only helped her in the position she had a secretary of state. she is our nation's top diplomats. . it was a platform that allowed her to be what she is, a terrific secretary of state. host: on our twitter page -- guest: i thought about that when

you were talking about that. she was to lead the nation's first hostess. -- truly the nation's first hostess. host: the pictures of our first lady and president. michael is on the telephone. caller: good morning. steve, i do not know, with 16 trillion dollar deficit, this seems like it is a diversion. but it is an interesting topic. he stressed that hillary's connections were with cnn as a journalist. host: she is not a journalist. she is an analyst. caller: the audience would be well served to know that she has

been to the white house over 30 times. you tried to stress that she has come back -- no connection with the obama campaign. i find that a little bit doubtful. in the analyst that has been to the white house 30 times, i think she has ties to the obama campaign. host: you are absolutely right. she is a democratic strategist. my point is that you did not have somebody directly involved in the campaign, but certainly involved in democratic party politics. but her comments -- i was asking a tactical political question. please go ahead. caller: the reaction by team obama reflexed their recognition of her connection to them -- reflects their could recognition of her connection to them. i am old enough to remember when

the women's movement started. i am a conservative and i think it would be fair to say that generally, liberals have found stay at home moms -- that aspect of american womanhood to be less than what they think can be accomplished or should be accomplished by american when men. this is reflected in their attitude in many things. you played the comments by hillary clinton and so on and so forth. i do think it is an undercurrent that runs through the left that stay at home moms, and women that do not pursue professional careers, and even if they do, as you mentioned about robust, -- laura bush, they still did derided. host: michael, i will stop you

there. guest: i could not disagree more herb. the democratic party has a very big tent. there are women who stay at home and women who work outside the home. women who are single mothers and their working for those reasons. women work because they choose to. there are also women who stay at home and vote democrat. it is too much of a generalization. the president and first lady both spoke very highly of ann romney. these are choices that women can make. whichever they choose is to be respected. despite the fact that we are still talking about this a week later, i think everybody agrees with that. host: the political tactics behind what she said and how the

campaigns reacted? guest: the campaigns reacted very quickly. this is something that people are sensitive to. we all care about, both parties carry about it. ies leader said in the party' care about women and care about women's choices and care about the fact that the debate should be that we respect the choices that women make. that is at the heart of it. making a choice of what you want to do. if you want to work outside the home, if you do. some people have to. we have to respect that, too. pure research to a tad -- there was some great research that came out in the last week about the growing trend of how many women, 18 to 34, that really

care about getting out and the workforce. they also care very much about being married and having a family. it is a classic -- we are always trying to balance doing both. to feel that you are making a contribution in both ways. it is hard. it is hard work. guest: these are not monolithic. guest: i am very optimistic about how iraq country manages transitions. we will manage that transition well, -- about how our country

manages transition. we will manage that transition well, too. guest: probably less focused on what he is wearing. host: we will go to richard in new york city. caller: i have a question. the pace the salary of the communications director -- who pays the salary of the communications director of the first lady? guest: of the white house. guest: it is helpful to have anita here because there have been misnomers. host: richard, did you want to follow up? caller: in this area of concern about government spending, hello?

how much money is wasted? the first lady is not elected. does she deserve the continual god knows how much spending? we are all concerned about paying taxes because most of our taxes are wasted. this represents a significant waste of our money. guest: i will use a quotation that a former president said. we get only one employee in the united states government for free. and that is the first lady. it is not an elected position, not an appointed position. it also gets no salary. it frees up the first lady to do the kinds of things that they care about and without having any statutory requirements. by and large, we can imagine the role and see how much of the contribution they have made to raise the national debate and

awareness on issues of concern to everybody in the country. we cannot drive down a highway in any state in the united states and not think ladybird johnson for her efforts for the highway beautification act that her husband signed. it is because of for that we do not have a letter on our highways. caller: this is on our platter page. -- twitter page -- host: this is about women's votes up for grabs. he points out that gloria steinem was dismissed kay bailey hutchison as a female impersonator.

this goes on both ends. guest: women can be as brutal to women as men. focus on the issues that everybody cares about. host: margaret is on the phone from new jersey. caller: you have yourself in a pickle this morning. i would like to concur with the lady from chicago. if you listen to hillary's it was thatonsents, women of means have an easier time deciding whether or not to stay at home as opposed to those women who have to work outside the home and care for their children. i have another comment, if i may. this fellow from north carolina, i would like to know if he commentss ted nugent's

reflected of romney's views. thank you. host: thank you, margaret. guest: the obama campaign did that this time. host: please ask, the first families have been poor. the president talked about this week, a growing up in a single family. laura bush broke up central texas and a middle-class family. guest: a great number of them. abraham lincoln. his wife tried to prove to the country and prove to the congress that because he came from the country, and somehow he

was not able to govern. he was the only one that could hold the nation together. our candidates are reflective of america. all demographics, all economic stages that represent our country. host: ann romney said that her husband has to loosen up a little bit. guest: this is another important role for the spouse. humanizing the president. you want the first lady out there doing no harm on the campaign trail, spreading a lot of good will, trying to humanize the candace, showing a different side of today are. -- humanize the candidate, showing a different side of who they are. you are right, i think at an event in washington, just last

week, she talked about the decision making process. somewhere in the families said they did not want him to do it. at the end of the day, these are family members, too. they're just like any of us but they have struggles and hopes and fears and happy times and sad times. you want to hear a lot about that. you want to find some way to connect. host: that same process in 2007. guest: for mrs. obama, this had not been a lifelong career for them. under those circumstances, there is a lot to weigh. working for tipper, she and al had been in public life for a

number of years, so the decision was different for them. host: michelle obama on the campaign trail. she will be in nebraska this week on tuesday for a series of campaign related activities. and then on to iowa, which is a key battleground state. friday, in naples, florida. how does this come together? how does your campaign schedule

with her duties as first lady? guest: you will see her out more on the campaign trail more than she has been because of the timing. i remember campaigning with tipper, and we would go have lobster rolls when we were in maine. mrs. obama will be fund-raising. she will be out doing events. she will be talking about the things that she cares about. the one thing that they all share in common is that they are passionate about this as they are about anything else. they believe there has been is the best person for the job.

if you start with that premise, the amount of work and time is based on the other responsibility as a mother or as another job that they have. all of them are out there doing this because they believe that strongly. host: anita mcbride served as chief of staff to first lady or a bush. i want both of you to think about this. what is one little-known fact of laura bush and michelle obama would you share with our audience? let's go to joanne from florida, good morning. caller: my comment is, we have not elected 18, a presidential team. we have elected one person. i am mindful of the fact that women's work is important, whenever we can do, whatever burk we can find in this economy

is important to us and to the country. i'm also concerned about the amount of money spent on images, at the image of the first couple. the staff for a first lady. what happens if if a president is a male and simple? does he have to find a wife and did a -- a male and simple. does he have to find a wife before he can expect to be elected? costco grover cleveland. casco -- a guest -- host: grover cleveland. james buchanan. best of you are absolutely right. we do not elect a first lady. once they are elected, and they are a partner, the spouse is a

partner in the process. has a tremendous opportunity and a platform immediately to talk about issues that they care about. we have an increasingly greater expectation as americans that the president and spouse do something with this time that they have of living in the white house. host: the role of spouses and first lady is in presidential elections. the comments of michelle obama the generated a lot of attention as she was campaigning for her husband. [video clip] >> what we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. it is making a comeback. let me tell you something. for the first time in my adult lifetime, i am proud of my country. and not just because barack obama has done well, but because

i think people are hungry for change. host: people are hungry for change, first time being proud. that generated a lot of political buzz in 2008. guest: i remember it as well. we had just touched down in slovenia. we were doing an interview with abc news. he asked mrs. bush about that comment. we had not had the benefit to know that it happened. her instinctive response was, i am sure she did not mean that. she understands trick questions. she also understands that in a campaign, in politics, things get said, people do not really mean. she also respected the fact that, of course, michelle obama is going to be proud, the first

african-american running for president. she did not take the bait. i wrote about that, too. caller: good morning. when you were talking about the works -- republicans want to cut all the services. nobody talks about if the men have to pay child support, the women might not having to be go on food stamps. i do not understand why the first lady has not taken up that. where the kids hungry? it drives me nuts. nobody wants to talk about any men issues. host: thank you for the call. let's moveabout

campaign. how did that come about? i am sure there was a lot of competition for a lot of issues. guest: mrs. obama chose this issue because this is something that she had experienced in her own family. how to make sure your kids are eating right and getting enough exercise and paying attention to the things that matter at that stage in their life. she knew there was a obesity epidemic and the country. she felt like she could have an impact on that. she has done -- the garden was the first part of this and it was a little piece that captured the world's imagination. it stands as the symbol for the overall initiative. since then, there have been pieces of legislation, changes in the supermarkets, changes in how companies manufacture their foods and what they sell to kids, how the market to kids. all these experts are part of --

all these efforts are part of a larger initiative. host: for laura bush with literacy? guest: something you care about, something you have experienced in your own life. you use the platform to raise an issue. we talked about literacy and education, supporting reform, education reform. no child left behind. what she saw on the campaign trail in 2000, as a librarian and teacher, she visited schools and libraries all over the country. she's all the sad state of some of our school libraries and help updated -- outdated some of the books were. she greeted a foundation that was managed separately of the white house -- created a foundation that was managed separately from the white house.

it is still in existence. so many school libraries were destroyed. that foundation gave grants of more than $25 million to rebuild those libraries. host: when the obamas leave the white house, do you think the garden wall remain? guest: i hope so. host: there is a garden at the white house attributed to jackie kennedy. guest: all along jackson place, you can see from the north side of the white house, these are historic homes. some of our former secretaries of state lived there. they were slated for removal

during the kennedy administration. she cared about historic preservation and she appealed to a number of wealthy americans to establish an endowment. they just celebrated the 50th year. it is an important -- should protect this town homes and raise this level of protecting our patrimony. it is a living museum to who we are as a democracy. host: early in her term, and nancy reagan did not have a cause back in 1983. she then embrace the just say no campaign. lessons? casco people expect you to do something with iraq -- guest: people do expected to do something with the role. find something that is meaningful. pay attention to the national conversation because you are going to be a part of it. what you choose to do will have an impact on what people choose

to talk about. host: a little-known facts about michelle obama? guest: she is a mean tennis player. she can get out on the court and compete. host: laura bush? guest: she is very funny. one of the best examples of that is your willingness to dig out their at the correspondents' dinner in 2005 and did the speech -- and do this speech. surely has quite a sense of humor. -- she really has quite a sense of humor. host: you know that we have that video ready. [video clip] >> i am married to the president of the united states. here is our typical evening. [laughter] 9:00, mr. excitement is sound

asleep. [laughter] i am watching "desperate housewives." [laughter] [applause] with lynn cheney. [laughter] ladies and gentlemen, i am a desperate housewife. host: what is the story? how did that come about? this week is the week of the white house correspondents' dinner. we'll have live coverage saturday evening. guest: mrs. bush was supposed to deliver the remarks at the radio and tv correspondents dinner. it was the same time died. we all went to rome. it was the present's idea.

-- president's idea. she said okay. the funniest part of that, practicing for the speech, there was a line about barbara bush as a mother in law. be in an italian american, -- that was a funny moment for me. host: do you want to watch the event? all of the dinners are available on our website, c-span.org. a few more minutes of your phone calls. grace is on the phone from montgomery county, maryland. caller: i want to comment on the comments. i think she was taken out of

context. she was talking about the choices that women have. a lot of women do not have the financial choice to stay at home. that is the point she was trying to make. their paycheck represents almost half of the income of the family. if they were to stay home and permanently, it would affect the standard of living. women all over america have to make this choice. it is not easy to work and have kids. emergencies, your child is sick, school closes up early for the day. ann romney did have the choice, and that is great for her. but let's not miss that point. for millions of american women, the financial stress does not exist. that is the comment i wanted to make.

guest: that is why this conversation will continue. it is exactly one of the things someone should choose to vote on -- or not vote on. these are the issues that are most important to people. the financial situation of their families, these are the exact issues people should be voting on. host: the five myths -- women go together, female voters favored female candidate, women votes debate -- based on women's issues, a candidate wife can deliver women's votes, and then decide elections. guest: i do not know if i agree with four or five of those. i think women vote on a wide variety of issues. this debate about the economy

and people's concerns about their future. i do not think women but only for women. -- vote only for women. we do not vote for a candidate spouse. guest: the spouse can have an important role. when i was working for tipper, to discuss the fact that she had been treated for depression. the route the rest of the campaign, people -- throughout the rest of the campaign, people said, thank you for coming forward with that. it was to raise awareness and it was to advocate for parity in help insurance. that is something that can have a major impact on a family's life. people voted for al gore because they respected what tipper had done.

they proceeded someone advocating for them on that issue. -- they appreciated someone advocating for them on that issue. i do think a spouse can have an impact. host: camille johnston and anita mcbride. carol is on the phone from colorado. caller: thank you for bringing this to people's attention. i do not think first lady's gets enough credit. i think the obamas are a class act. i would like to talk about ann romney. i think it is hard to identify with her because she has never had to pay half a per in come today care. -- have the upper income to day

care. if she could answer to those things, people could identify with her. we do need to bring attention to the fact that women cannot get their child support in this country. thank you for having this redesign. you can see from the male callers, how angry they are that -- host: thank you for the call. the president was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. mitt romney says he will not apologize for success. another battle line in the 2012 campaign. guest: i do not think any person cares less for the direction of the country. people can feel they can participate in the economic opportunities.

this is where it does get difficult. i hate to see these divisions. guest: the issue itself is very important. the fact was that it was directed at mrs. romney. people do know that women are making the exact choices. it is not a matter of whether or not the issue is important. it is a matter of who the answer is directed at. that is per we can probably come to some agreement. host: we have two more calls. welcome to the conversation. caller: i do not understand the

acceptance of hillary clinton. as secretary of state, the world is on fire. tens of thousands of people have been murdered in the middle east. the thing about her husband sent back women 30 years. she was affluent and educated and yet she stayed with him. i do not understand per popularity. she is known to be a liar. that is all i want to say, thank you. caller: thank you for the call. guest: i think she has been a tireless advocate for women around the world. i think she deserves a great deal of credit. host: the last three secretary

of state have been women. guest: absolutely. they bring a personal level to the job that a lot of foreign dignitaries and people around the world admire and respect. i think they bring a personality to administration and to a country that they put on display at around the world. at the same time, they are tough as nails. guest but they have to be. dust could they can compete at -- guest: they have to be. best code they can compete at any level. host: i want to thank c-span and "washington journal" for having an open forum. the fascination with the first spouse has anything to do with

our fascination with european monarchies? guest: our own vision of royalty. guest: i do not know about that. each of these women has had the role done so differently. it would be hard to find that level of commonality. guest: we have a fascination with our first family. but the relationship of families behind the mysterious white house. i think we want to connect with today are as people. quite different than a monarchy. host: it is not royalty, but it's a white house state dinner. the first male social secretary for the obama administration. white gloves, not needed. a look at some of those who have

attended past state dinners. guest: regardless of the administration, at the interesting thing about a state dinner is that you showcase your best and brightest minds the nation has to offer with the visiting countries dignitaries. you look for commonalities and interests. the state dinners are opportunities to engage in diplomacy. they are also opportunities to showcase the best of america. host: and there is a competition to get invited. guest: every social secretary can tell you some of the funny calls they get to get someone's name on the list. actually, there is a lot of thought and attention and detail that goes into planning a state visit and to planning a state dinner. when it is over, you want for

guests to feel the united states has rolled out its best red carpet. host: what calls did you receive? guest: just a couple of around the queen's visit. queen elizabeth's visit came around. it's a social secretaries or the first line for that. a series of conferences, the social secretary to lyndon johnson talked about a phone call she got from an american ceo. there wife was dying of a terminal disease and they had to absolutely come to the state dinner. this particular person was in a perpetual state of terminal illness for many years. guest: that is a lie that you have to live with, right? host: camille johnston and anita

mcbride. thank you very much for being with us. we appreciate your time and perspective. >> tomorrow, former staff director and general counsel for the house homeland security committee previous a cyber security legislation that could come before congress this week. "washington post investigative reporter talks about his series on the history of errors at government funded crime labs. "washington journal" is live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> there is room for a positive government policy. it is the private sector that drives developments and fuels

it. we've had some vision of where we are going and some encouragement and some policy by the government. if ever we needed that, it is right now. we have this imposing an opportunity creating infrastructure. >> monday, copps on legislation to reform the fcc. 8:00 on c-span2. >> one of the things that i always remember because my office overlooked the building, there was a day care center in the plaza. some of the children were killed. during the recess period, they would always come play. that left a lasting impression, of course, when they were

silenced. my son had a dear friend of his in high school, her father was a good friend of mine. when i got home, i had three different messages wanting to know what he could find out about his daughter. the third message, he was crying. >> watch our local content of vehicles not stop exploring the history and literary culture of oklahoma city. on american history tv on c- span3. >> up next, q &a. david cameron takes questions at the british house of commons. after that, a history of the nixon white house by