turning in his grave at that notion, since he thought that fairness was indeed the touchstone of all appropriate judicial thinking. i wonder what thoughts you have about, first of all, whether maker achieved anything. warren wrote it was the most important decision of his tenure. i wonder whether it has been lost in its effectiveness because of the prevalence of the view that there is not a judicial standard by which appropriate legislative districts can be formed. the other aspect about it is it seems to me that brown versus board, which is what was most remembered, has also been put in the ashcan. a recent "new york times" article wrote that racial segregation in public schools

now is greater than it was in 1954, in particular in urban schools. >> the impact is hard to measure, but i would guess in the 50 years since then, if you were studying, that legislatures around the country are more fairly reflecting the people of the states. they reflect the city's. that are not dominated by rural interests the way they were before. my guess is that it had a broad impact around the country but it is hard to measure. it says the district's should represent the people and that the people live in the cities, there should be more representatives in the cities and suburbs, not people representing some representative and the state legislature represents 1000 people in rural areas. i would think that has a big impact.

>> that's it seems to be the answer. we have time for at least a couple more i think so than one wants to line up, feel free. >> we did not see as the seventh fallout from the narrow interpretation of the commerce clause and the necessary and proper clause. are there any cases on the horizon for the court will be able to put that into action and if so, where do you think they will come out? >> that is a good question for one of my colleagues here [laughter] my sense is that the commerce clause holding -- if it is holding -- there is controversy whether the five boats on the commerce clause amount to a holding, has any teeth. there is some reason to say no. the decision itself said the mandate was novel. that would make you think that

all existing laws are insulated from challenge under this new commerce clause. and you also think that those same congress would use the vehicle of this kind of mandate to be the sole justification, seoul commerce clause justification, for any law in the future. it may be that this rate ruling applies to an old set. >> i think that might be right. the solicitor general -- the court wanted him to give him some sort of limiting principal in the commerce clause and the only thing he ever come up with was health care is different from everything else and health insurance is different from anything and there really is no other law like this. they're not particularly satisfied with his answer but that was certainly the government's view is that there really is nothing else like this out there. >> on the spending caused side, i bet there will be a ton of

litigation about what new conditions are ok. i think -- that had seven votes behind it. that opens up a new field of constitutional law. >> interesting that the criticism i have seen so far all comes from the conservative side on that. for the celebration, rather. i would think there be optimism on the liberal side because the federal government has twisted the arms of states to do lots of things that the aclu does not like. -- raising the drinking age to 21, raising the speed limit to 55, also is having a meghan's list -- all encompassing as the federal government wanted to be. there is a long list that the federal government wants -- twists the state's arms to do. >> one thing that went not remarked on is that justice briar and fagin joined bell holding which was a surprise.

it was a matter of health law was supposed to work. i thought the notion of was in the spending clause that we are going to give you states this amount of money for something and if you take the money, you have to follow the rules. you don't have to take the money. i thought in a way that roberts was restating the basic principle that it has to be a deal that the states can say no to. if they take the money, -- the thing that came up in the oral argument which was a hypothetical thing about holding the gun and you don't have to pull the trigger. arkansas would say, for example, we are reluctant to do the medicaid expansion and take an extra $50 million. it seems to be the way the law was written, they could turn around and say you will lose $400 million if you don't go along with it and that does not sound like a fair deal. they have restored the

principles that there has to be he a deal, that the state either gets to opt in and take the money and set the rules or turn it down. >> i am curious about the cable case that the supreme court heard in february. it went from being whether corporations can be held liable under the tort statute and whether human rights violations can be adjudicated in the united states. i'm curious what your opinion was unaware that decision will go. >> just to give you a touch more background, there is a 1789 law called the alien tort statute which is ambiguous but allows for human rights violations. it is about alien offenses

committed by other aliens against aliens. can use to a corporation for being complicity in human rights abuses abroad to? when the case was argued, the justices, said dwyer we talked u.s. corporations? what is a u.s. court during adjudicating a dispute between two foreigners about activity that took place abroad? they set the case down for real arguments are reminiscent of citizens united, making the case bigger and asking the larger question of whether the alien tort statute should have any teeth? . the answer may well be no extraterritorial application. >> my question is about the improper -- incorrect reporting that was done early on in the health-care case. law students learn early on that you have to read the whole

decision before you decide what the case is about and lawyers know that well. within the press corps, are there going to be possibly new rules for new standards that are adopted by some media organizations to try to prevent what happened from happening again? >> i will do a quick report on the court steps. [laughter] >> i'm sure there has been a lot of talk about going forward and making sure does not happen again. >> i talked the occasional law school class and if i read -- if i made my students read a whole decision, they would go out of their minds. [laughter] >> all of us who are journalists are trained to know what we're talking about before we talk and know what we are writing about before we write. in defense of some of my

colleagues, this was a very difficult, complex decision to be able to read in a couple of minutes and digest. if you were sitting in the courtroom, you had to wait a long time to figure out what happened. those of us who were downstairs, we could flip through the decision fast and find the key words. if you did not read the entire section, it is easy to see how that mistake could be made when you are trying to do this within one minute. >> i would give a shout out to our colleague pete williams -- i ask him how he would handle this that if he would be out there and have someone run the opinion to him or tell him, he said absolutely not. he said he would read it on the way out to stand up and say what it said. that worked well for him because he is a very smart and careful. >> he said the hardest part was

getting through the crowd. [laughter] >> it was crazy. >> pete williams is terrific. there are not many tv networks -- they all had a person who was a full-time reporter at the court and they don't anymore. he was in the best position to report this because he knows the court and he knew the case well. i feel really bad for the people out there because they've got themselves in a very bad situation of trying to say we are going to be on the air live and report this instantly when they did not have a chance to read the syllabus. someone is calling out to them and saying the first point is this or that and somebody i robert organization should say let's not try to beat everybody to be the first to report this. it will take a minute or two or five minutes to read the

decision and then let's go out and reported. let's not get on the air live and try to beat everybody. >> the only part of that i would disagree with is that part of our job is to be fair competition. that's what we all do, but one of the things that they drill over and over again is first get it right. there is no way you are going to read one page of the supreme court opinion and get it right. you still want to be first but you know you have to read before you commit anything to paper or now the computer or say it on the air f the historical record, does anybody know who was first with a correct headline? >> i can say that the associated press added at 10:07. >> pretty good. >> there may be some arguments about seconds.

i can say that if we were not the first, -- i think we were the first. >> really? i was in the courtroom leisurely hearing it being summarized by justice roberts but i think my colleagues came close. >> i know this much -- the associated press, reuters, and bloomberg had it at 10:07. we all have published at 10:07. >> i really need to say that my power is out and i am staying at the home of a bloomberg executive. i think bloomberg had it first. [laughter] >> on that note, we have run past 2:00 and i hate to leave someone standing with a question but i'm sure cspan wants to keep to its schedule so thank you for coming and please come again next year. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> today, an update on afghanistan including the role of marines, u.s. withdrawal, and dealing with the taliban. our guest is major general david berger. then the president of the heritage foundation on his book. later, a look at the freedom of information act with the sun life foundation and after that, the voice of america executive talks about his organization's goals and audience. that is today, july 4, on "washington journal" starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span.

>> no one paid attention to tunisia. if they thought about it, they thought that was where "star wars" was filmed. i started taking the techniques they used in tunisia and expanded on them and improve upon them until it got to the point where my twitter followers essentially became my newsroom. rather than being in a studio as an anchor would with producers left and right and researchers and someone talking into your ear, i was sitting on a park bench with my phone having dozens of twitter followers doing that role for me so i could essentially do wrong anchor coverage of these revolutions and fact check. >> you can watch this event tonight as part of our july for prime-time lineup. it includes a discussion on the

history of the statue of liberty and commencements this is from newark mayor cory booker and elon musk. it starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> for a very specific reason, want to focus on two men in my life who were at my graduation and i know they would like to be here today but for reasons i will mention later, they could not make the trip. these two men are my dad and my grandfather. they taught me what it means to be a man. they both are these outrageous spirits with the corn is jokes imaginable and they would show up to my graduation and both of them would be a stereophonic bad joke teller machine as they would way into may. my grandfather would sidle up to me and say, the tassel is worth the hassle. course, he would look for the

program and say i see you're not magna cum laude, thank you come lawdy, i'm out of here. >> will have discussions on the statue of leadliberty. it all starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> vice president joe biden and his wife spoke tuesday to the annual meeting of the national education association, the nation's largest labor union. on monday, the association's president called on members to reelect president obama. this is 40 minutes -- [cheers and applause]

>> welcome! are you ready for a great day? [cheers and applause] i endorsed and the lines were better, yes? i was just thinking -- if a vice president biden wants to return as the reelected vice president of the united states, we know how to do it right. [applause] now it is my great honor to introduce a very special guest. reallyy, she doesn't seem like a guest at all. she seems more like family because she is a lifelong indicator and a former member of the national education association. [applause]

most americans know jill biden as the second lady. but we also know her as dr. biden. she received her ph.d. from the university of delaware and she wrote her dissertation on maximizing student retention in community colleges. when we talk about access and equity in education, we understand the critical role that community colleges play in meeting those needs, especially for those students who are trying to balance education, work, and raising a family. dr. by then and -- dr. biden understands those students very well because she raised her children and received two master's degrees at the same time. [applause]

we could ask for more committed advocate for community colleges and public education in general. it is a great honor and pleasure to introduce to you our friend dr. jill biden. [applause] >> thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. good morning, everyone. you guys are rocking early. thank you for that kind introduction. it is so great to be here. i love being in a room of fellow educators. i just feel right at home. [applause]

for those of you who don't know me, have been a teacher really for longer than i care to read it. -- to admit. i taught as a reading specialist in public schools and i tutored at risk teens at a psychiatric hospital in delaware. for the past 18 years, i have been a community college instructor and i teach english at a community college right here in northern virginia. [applause] i remember when the president and my husband were elected almost four years ago. as i was thinking about how i would approach my role as second lady, you one thing was for sure. -- i knew one thing was for sure --i knew that i would find a way to continue to teach. [applause] thank you. i know that you all understand

being a teacher is not what i do. it's why am. -- it's who i am. [cheers and applause -- it's cool i am -- it's who i am. [cheers and applause] there is no greater feeling when a student grasps the concept i'm trying to teach. i know i am giving them the confidence that will make a real difference in their lives. like you, i see every day how important education is in the lives of all americans. i see how good education can put kids on a path to success. i also know from experience that, while teaching is rewarding, it is also challenging. and i can assure you that this administration is working hard to support education, to

support teachers, and to provide real leadership in our schools. [applause] i can also assure you that a lot is at stake for students and teachers and for the entire middle class. the president and the vice- president have both been teachers and they know that a great school starts with great teachers. [applause] so i want to thank you all for being here today and thank you all for the work that you're doing in your classrooms each and every day. and now, it is my great honor to introduce a man who has been an advocate for education and for teachers his whole life, my husband, our vice president,

joe biden. [cheers and applause] >> how are you all? [cheers and applause] it's nice to be with people you understand. ladies and gentlemen, my name is joe biden and i am in love with a teacher. [laughter] [applause] 0, and my love with her -- oh, am i in love with her. you know, i was told by a news commentator when we did an interview on valentine's day, this commentator from one of

the networks says -- people say you and your wife have a love affair. i said, yes, but kelleher more than she loves me -- but all i love her more than she loves me. and he looks at me and says, says. [laughter] i did a three-part series on what makes marriages last the longest unhappiest. -- and happiest. what was the conclusion? she said when the husband loves the wife more. so i will be married a long time as long as i am alive. ladies and emtman, look, dennis, -- ladies and gentlemen, look, dennis, i read your speech today for real. [laughter] and as usual, it was first rate. and it forced me to change my speech because much of what you say expressed the sentiment i was trying to express, except you expressed it better.

there have always been debates. i need not tell this very prestigious audience that there has always been a debate on how to improve public education. we have always debated, democrats and republicans, usually with the same objective, how to improve public education, universal education in the most heterogeneous democracy in the world. and we talk about and debated over the years that i have been engaged about early education, its value. what can you do? does it matter? what is more important, early years or later years? how we allocate our resources, about classroom size, whether it matters or it doesn't. about subject competence of individuals in the classroom, about the need for quality

facilities, from laboratories to test, moving from dilapidated buildings. we have argued and atreus has -- there have been treatises been written about how much these things matter, about standards. in nearly part of my career, with but we shouldn't demand particularly high standards of kids from populi difficult circumstances. and decided, no, we should demand high standards from everybody because everybody has the capacity. [applause] we have these debates as the nation changed and the nature of the family change. today, it has changed as the social mores changed and the nature of the family changed. always, it was about how do we make public education better. i have always been guided by my mom's assertion, literally, when she would say children tend to become that which you expect

of them. children tend to become that which you expect of them. [applause] and those debates didn't usually break down in terms of democrat and republican. they broke down in terms of the communities you live in and the region in the country that you live in, what was more appropriate and what wasn't more appropriate. but, ladies and gentlemen, today, we're not dealing with your father's republican party. this is a different party. [applause] this is a different party. neither that nor good, just different. a different party. look, folks, let me get straight to the point. you guys, educators, teachers -- you are under full-blown assault. [applause]

romney, governor romney and his allies in the congress, their plan for public indication in america is to let the state choose title $1 to boost enrollment in private schools. i think we should have a straight honest to god talked about the difference between -- [applause] the difference between how president obama and i view education and how our republican colleagues today view it. again, i want to make it clear. a lot of you know me very well. by the way, where is delaware. [cheers and applause] hello, delaware! i am not prejudiced, but they're probably the best indicators in the room.

-- educator's in the room. [laughter] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, very seriously, governor romney is a good decent man pinned he is a good family man. i think his intentions are all positive. i don't make any moral judgments. i don't judge motive. i assume, with good reason, he cares much about america and the education system, as much as i do. but the truth of the matter is that we have a fundamentally different view. and when i said that he would like to take title 1 money and give it to the states and let them use it to increase the voice of private schools, strip you of your voice because he doesn't think that you all know much about how to educate, and he characterizes you and his allies characterize you as not

caring about -- not caring about the students, but about yourself. my jill is little when she says -- literal when she says that teaching is not what she does. it's who she is. [applause] these guys don't get that. i don't think they don't understand why you chose to teach in the first place. [applause] i honest to god don't think they understand. and by the way, like in politics, in business, religious hierarchy, there is really good teachers and there is really lousy teachers. there is a really lousy teachers and some plain good teachers. we are no different than any other profession in the world. but we are a profession. [applause] we are a profession!

this is a calling. you chose to be teachers because you care. you choose to be teachers because you want to make this country better. you chose to be teachers because you know every child -- every child is entitled -- entitled to go as far as they can! [applause] that is why you did it! but i'm afraid -- i'm afraid the governor and his allies, they don't get it. they don't get why you chose this profession. i'm not even sure -- i won't say that -- they don't get it. [laughter] and look, folks, your critics either call you or imply that

you are selfish. that all of this is about is an easy ride. that all this is about is you. as if you're not part of the community, as if you decided to teach for fame and fortune that you get from teaching. [laughter] ladies and gentlemen, when a parent isn't there to pick up his or her child after school because their car broke down or some other reason and you have a doctor's appointment, what do you do? you call the doctor and say i caot be there. i am staying with this child. [applause] it's you who getss your neighbor to watch your own child at home so you can stay with each other in class who is

having trouble passing that english class and you know they won't make it it'll pass. -- if they want passed -- if they don't pass[applause] . it's you -- and i have watched this -- if you leave the dinner table early to go to a home visit to emphasize to a mother who was under great stress raising her kids by herself that there are ways she can get help. it's you! it's you! it's you who does that. [applause] and there are so many stores i could tell. i was up in york, pa. -- where is pennsylvania? [cheers and applause] their school district was flat stripped of money. the reason is the god awful recession they inherited and the

nature of the change of the city of york. more power than it ever had before -- more poor than it ever had before. they have a contract that let them get a pay increase. but the teachers and all the school personnel got together and gave up that next year's raise in order to teach kindergarten in york, pennsylvania. [cheers and applause] and by the way -- and by the way, i am confident and i apologize for not mentioning the hundred other yorks out there, for not mentioning what you guys have given up in the midst of this recession.

ladies and gentlemen, your the same people who coach your team all week at school and then go volunteer at a little league field on the weekend. you're the same people who organize the fundraisers for the family whose house burned down and lost everything in the house because they didn't have homeowners insurance. you're the people in the community that people turn to. organizee people who the bake sale at your church to raise money for summer camp. you were the same ones who go out and buy school supplies in some of your district out of your own pocket because your kids can afford it. -- cannot afford it. [applause] governor romney and his new republican party, instead of focusing on the things the connection help you do your job

better, like making sure you have modern labs for chemistry and science, using equipment that these kids will have to use when they get to college or go out in the workplace, making sure that the kids have access to computers because it is the new tablets of the generation -- you cannot engage unless you're proficient in that technology. instead of going out and doing that were giving you the flexibility you need to teach with creativity and passion so you're not just teaching to a test, giving you a seat at the table when we talk about how to improve education in this country -- instead of those things, what are they doing? critics will say i am being harsh. i will acknowledge there are notable exceptions. but there is a pretty uniform view held by mr. romney and the

republicans in the united states congress today. they criticize you and the blame you. they make you the fall guy. they should be thinking of ways to help you make your job easier, not more difficult. instead, they hector, the lecture, and they blame you. and they call you selfish. let me just say this. they have a different value set then we do. my dad used to say don't tell me what you value. show me your budget and i will tell you what you value. [applause] show me where you spend the money and i will tell you what it says. [applause] let's take a look at governor romney and the republican congress. show was their budget. they have voted on the budget

they believe should be the budget of the united states. just with education, they cut $4.9 billion out of elementary and secondary education, which may result in as many as 30,000 -- 38,000 more teachers and aides losing their jobs. yes, they continue to exist on a 4 billion -- continue to insist on a $4 billion tax credit for oil companies so they can drill. tell me which is the greater interest of america? they cut head start by as many as 200,000 kids losing access to quality education because we have increased the standards for headstart. all those studies have shown that early education is absolutely critical in dealing with this gap.

[applause] they cut programs, as many as 9 million students will lose money. they deny work steady jobs to more than 125,000 students who need the help to stay in llege. they refuse to help the state's put back to work over 300,000 educators as we did the first two years so you don't end up short-handed, short shifted, and kids not getting what they need. [cheers and applause] governor romney eliminated the $2,500 tax cut that helps middle class families struggle to keep their kids in school. why do they do this? they do this -- do they think it improves education? do they think it improves our ability to compete in the world?

do they think this will better position us to lead the world economy in the 21st century? i don't think so. i think they do this because they want to make sure they have enough room for a two dollars trillion tax-cut for millionaires -- for a $2 trillion tax cut for millionaires. and an $800 billion continuation of the bush tax cuts. he proposes a new tax of two trillion dollars for those making a minimum of $1 million. as i said, this ain't your father's republican party. these people have a different view of how to move america forward. they have a fundamentally different value system than we do.

just listen to governor romney and some of his republican friends. listen to some of the things they said. one said, "the government needs to get its nose out of the education system." and he compared stallone's to "stage three cancer -- he compared student loans to "stage three cancer." governor romney said, "i'm not pleased with what i read about in a plan to save 240,000 teachers jobs." he is not pleased? give me a break. [laughter] he's not pleased. with putting 240,000 teachers back in the classroom. in philadelphia, on his magical mystical tour, he told a group of teachers that class size doesn't matter.

prompting one of the people, i teach a cassette, "you know, i cannot think of any teacher in the whole time i have been teaching come over 10 years, who would say more students would benefit them." [laughter] i cannot think of a parent that would say "i would like my teacher to be in a room with lots of kids and only one teacher." [laughter] when he was out at the midwest speaking at a college, he said not long ago that these students had to be willing to take a chance. how? go home and borrow money if you have it from your parents -- if you have to from your parents. how many of you know who can go home to borrow money to start a business from your parents? [laughter] [applause]

and he says the president is out of touch? [laughter] how many of you have a swiss bank account? [laughter] by the way, did you ever think you'd be choosing -- did you ever think you'd be choosing for president one guy who has a swiss bank account and one who doesn't? if you really want to know what he thinks about the profession, if you want to know how fundamentally out of touch he is with what made you choose your profession in the first place, go to his website. here's what he says about you -- "when your cause in life -- referring to law -- is preventing parents from having

a meaningful choice or children from having a real chance, then you are on the wrong side." that is what he thinks of you. pretty astounding. your calls and life is preventing parents from seeing their kids have an opportunity for choice? your cause in life is preventing children from having a real chance? is he serious? he is though. he is. i believe he believes what he says. that is why i believe they mean what they say about their budget. i have been doing this for a while. i cannot think of a candidate for president who has ever made such a direct assault on such an honorable profession. [applause]

how many of your colleagues -- like i said, look, guys, you know me. there are some lousy teachers and you know it as well as i do just like there are some lousy businessman or some lousy bankers. but ladies and gentlemen, how many of your colleagues do you know who entered the profession of teaching for any other reason than expanding choice, meaningful choice for kids? how many of you would trade a 5% bump when your salary for those kids to come up and look at you and say, mrs. jones, you change my life? [applause] anything many of you know

that pleases the teacher more than knowing that they help a kid with either an academic or deep personal problem and knowing that you saved them? [applause] because, ladies and gentlemen, the next generation that is well-educated will have the freedom to choose. they will have a fighting chance to avoid some of the incredible difficult choices people have to make. 6 allen of 10 students, six out of 10 jobs in the next decade will require some sort of certificate degree after high school just to be able to compete. it is all about choices. it is all about opportunity. it is all about community. it's about america.

it's about making america once again the strongest economy in the world. i know and you know that jill is right that any country that out-educate us will out-compete us. that is just the naked fact of life. we are the only country that has had universal education for 100 years. every other country realize it is good for them, good for competition. what it comes down to creating an economy where everyone has a chance, where the middle class can live in the security that their children can do more, and reap even greater rewards. that is what i thought the

system is about. and we have a fundamentally different view as to how to accomplish that then governor romney and his friends do. make sure that those at the very top have the greatest opportunities and somehow those so-called "job creators" will make everything ok for the rest of us, that everyone else will do just fine. it's from the top down. he believes it. he truly believes it. but we believe that the way to build this country is the way we always have, from the middle out that is the way it has always been done. and when to do that is to invest in the things that have always made our economy grow, innovation, research, development, infrastructure, and education -- and education. [applause]

and ladies and gentlemen, have a tax system where everybody pays their fair share. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, my conservative friends said that as well off and be -- that is wealth envy. think about this. in a jobs bill that we had, there was a part that would put 400,000 teachers, a teacher date, cops and firefighters back to work. and the way we pay for that is we said we will pay five tenths of 1% on the first dollar you make after your first million. according to the polling data, even the millionaire's thought that was fair. millionaires are just as patriotic as poor people. the very wealthy are just as patriotic as the middle class. but nothing has been asked of them in this her run this recession.

[applause] it is time we just ask. let me conclude by saying that, when i talk about a middle- class, a lot of the economists -- not a lot, some of the economists and some of my friends on the other side talk about it like is a number. the debate whether it is 49,500 or 62,900, whatever. for me, the middle-class is more than just a number. it is a way of life, a value set. it is about being able to own your own home and not just rented. it is about being able to live in a safe neighborhood where your kid can walk to a park and know they will be ok. it is about being able to attend a modern school that is well equipped and fully staffed where, if they do their part, the parents and the child, they can qualify to go on to school

after high-school if they choose to do it. [applause] and it is about being able to have the certainty that commit your child is eligible, they will be able to go to college. that the answer to college should not be your income level. it should be your intellectual capacity. [applause] do you know anyone, rich or poor, middle-class, that doesn't aspire for their child to have a college education? one of the parts of being the class is being able to help your elderly parents and to save enough money on your own so you won't have to look to your children for help. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, one more thing.

to be able to dream about the possibility that your child willo even better than you did -- the neighborhood i was raised then, we were not poor. it was typically middle-class. i lived in a suburb in a 3- bedroom house like a lot of you with four kids. and all the time we had a relative living with us. when my grandmother died, my grandfather lived with us when he had a stroke. that is normal. you know what? the way some of these guys talk about us, they think that somehow, when you come from that circumstance, our parents and we don't dream their kids could be millionaires, that our kids can be -- can have a fortune 500 company, that our son or daughter can be president

or vice president of the united states. my mother never had a doubt that i could be viper -- that i could be vice-president or president of the united states. [applause] my mother and father never had a doubt that my brother could be a successful businessman. they never had a doubt that my sister valerie to do whatever she wanted. that is what being middle-class is. [applause] and no group of people make it more probable or possible for someone to achieve and attain that did to kate -- to achieve and attain than educators in the united states of america! you are the ones! [applause] you are the ones who give them hope! you are the ones who give them

wings! you are the ones! who inspire them, like somebody inspired you when you're in high school, when you were in college! none of us would be here in the position we are were it not for the teachers and the help to get to school and somebody caring about us. ladies and gentlemen, you know, one of my favorite poets is william butler yeats. here's what he said about education. he said education is not filling a pale. it's lighting a fire. it's not filling a pail. its lighting a fire. and you can see it when the flame goes off in that students size. j.p. stevens of bias.

you can see it and feel it. -- student's eyes. do what you do. it's the thing that makes everything you do worthwhile. it doesn't always happen. but when it happens, there is no feeling like it. that is why you are educators. that is why you do what you do. that is why you're so important. so it is time to live fire! blighted fire and tell these guys we will not settle indication! -- in education. we will not trade off education for their priorities! we will be the best educated nation in the world! god bless you all and may god protect our troops. thank you! [applause] [cheers and applause]

[chanting] >> four more years! [applause] [cheers and applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [applause] [applause] >> today for a very specific reason, i want to focus on two men in my life who were at my graduation and i know they would like to be here today but for reasons i will mention later, they could not make the trip.

these two men are my dad and my grandfather. they taught me what it means to be a man and they both are these outrageous spirits with that corneous jokes imaginable and they would show up to my graduation and both of them would be like a stereo from a bad joke telling a shame. machine. my grandfather would say the tassel is worth the hassle. he would look for the program and say i see that you are not magna cum laude, just thank you, lawdy, i'm out of here. >> you can watch the history of the statue of liberty a how social media has changed news coverage and a commencement speech from elon musk.

it all starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> it is independence day and coming up on c-span, "washington journal" is live. at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the congressional gold medal ceremony for the marines, a group of african-american marines from world war two. later, a house natural resources committee hearing on proposed changes to the national mall. in 45 minutes, an update on afghanistan, the role of marines, u.s. withdrawal, and dealing with the taliban. our guest is major general david berger, commander of the first marine division in afghanistan. at 8:00 a.m., the president of the heritage foundation on his book "making a case for american exceptionalism." exceptionalism."