everyone is different. with the wta, the women's tennis association, we have mentoring classes, so we are very connected to the generations. my team spent an enormous amount of time mentoring, helping, and we asked of them to keep doing it for each generation, and they do know about the past just because they are taught the past history. katrina adams went to northwestern, when the -- won the n.c.a.a. women's tournament. it is just amazing what each generation gives, and we do stand on the shoulders of generations before us. we just do. so i am very thankful to of the

gibson and the other guys around that time, too, that were very good to me -- i am very thankful to althea gibson. we are all in this together, so we have to help each other. >> what do you think has been the biggest change in the last 20 years? >> that was not very long ago. i think it has been an evolution of equipment change. this is really like. -- light. this is like my security blanket. what i told my dad i wanted to play tennis, my dad said, "show me." i went to my neighbors and beg them to give me a job. when i had $8.29 sit up in a

mason jar, i said i could not wait any longer and i went to brown's sporting goods and got my first racket. the salesperson said to me, "what kind do you want?" i asked what a dollars and 29 cents would buy. i got it because i loved the color. it was my favorite color. i would sleep with it every night and dream about winning and being number one. so when i see this, i love it. just like blindness, you know, with your blankie -- just like linus. the biggest thing is the materials in the rackets -- they are so light. but the aerodynamics -- you can hit so much harder.

the sweet spot is a lot bigger. i can go on and on. and all the pros today are talking about the strain they use. it has little shark sinks -- little sharp things. the spin takes more. everything is exaggerated. the slice and the topspin are exaggerated. they have control we never would have dreamed up. it.athletes -- let's face the training, the nutrition -- all the information available on how to train is so much better. much more dynamic. the kinetic linkage that they use when they hit. we were taught to be very static. it has totally evolves. -- evolved.

every generation just gets better. if you are an older person and keep talking about the glory days, that is fine, but the kids are better. >> do you agree that the pros should go but to wooden racquets as a way to bring variety, strategy, and subtlety back to the game? >> he is absolutely a genius. i love the way his mind works. he still plays every day. he is a crazy man. he is out on the court. he is in better shape now than when he played. he will tell you. had he seen how much dinner he is? -- how much -- have you seen how much thinner he is?

the year he stop playing doubles, as if he was in trouble. that is where he got his practice. it kept him sharp. it is different, and sometimes, occasionally, they have tournaments'. some of the older players, with wooden rackets. there are not too many left. it is getting scarce. >> are you satisfied with the level of pay today in women's tennis compared to that on the men's tour, and are there other outstanding quality issues? >> i bet you guys are not used to these questions. are so many men in sports. it is kind of their bastion. we are very fortunate. u.s. open was the first by in

many years. the difference in 1968 was the first year we got money. before that, we were amateurs. 1968 was the beginning of what we call open or modern tennis. i won wimbledon, and run one woman, and he got a check for 2,000 pounds, and i got a check for 750 pounds. i thought we would each get our own check, and everybody would be happy. in the back of my mind, i thought that would be another challenge. over the years, we just behind the scenes kept after the other. yes trillion's came around and then backed off again. i must tell you, venus williams

stepped up. she did make a difference. she was willing to go to meetings behind the scenes. she was willing to do a lot of things and put herself on the line. most players have a really hard time doing that. i take my hat off to her. in 2007, there was equal money. they had more -- equal opportunity. some of it is cultural, but usually, it is because the old boy network usually takes care of each other more than the girls. but let's face it -- men's tennis right now has three players that are extraordinary -- federer,o jokovich, and nadal. the women cannot decide who is best. if there is a rivalry going on, we say the rest of the

competition is no good, and if you did not have a rivalry like in women's tennis, it is like -- what is wrong with that? as a player, i have seen so many generations of this. i think it is amusing to listen. things go in cycles, but i do not think you will seat three players ever again in history -- they are real exceptional human beings and athletes, but the women -- lots of competition to decide who will be number one. we do not know, which is interesting to me as well. i kind of the top three will be up there, but we always have a long way to go. the wonderful thing is it is not about the money. it is about the message. we want to empower every human being, boy or girl, to be the best he or she can be. no person should be discounted for anything. it is very important that we help each other. i must tell you -- men come up to me a lot of times with tears

in their eyes and say how much that match up when i played bobby riggs -- how that changed their whole perception, and now they have a daughter and it is how they will raise her. they insist that their sons and daughters have equal opportunities. and they point to that match. they will say they saw it with there were 10 or 12 years old and it changed their lives and how they raise their daughters and the boys. president obama has told me that story, too. it is amazing how these men are the first generation of men of the women's movement. they are. if you are in your 40's or 50's -- 60's there -- you are the first generation of men of the women's movement. >> you were recently awarded the

presidential medal of freedom. what is the single most important thing president obama could do to address the continuing gender inequities? [laughter] >> 0, my goodness. he is trying with the fair pay act and all the different things that are going on, but we really need people to do it. not just leadership. every single human being is an influencer. every single one of you in this room. everyone who hears these words. how are you influencing that women do not get paid 77 cents on the dollar? it is very hard when you are in power to give up some of that power. it is very hard. if you are the dominant group, you know very little about

subdominant groups because subdominant groups know a lot about the dominant group. they have to bob and weave. the subdominant groups have got to bob and weave. they have got to survive. they have got to know a lot about the dominant groups. that is why it is important the dominant group knows a lot about the subdominant groups. you have to give it up. be inclusive. that is what it is all about. advocate for each of us. it does not matter our gender or sexual orientation. it does not matter. disability -- it does not matter. help each other. it is amazing how everybody wants to be better than somebody else. feel like they it big guns. great leader's race people above themselves. [applause] s raise peopler

above themselves. >> what advice would you give young mothers raising gross today in regards to sports and society in general. >> it is so funny. in terms of boys and girls, i wonder like what would a mother -- what i find with a lot of women -- like today earlier, i asked what they like to do, and they say they are terrible athletes, but they play tennis or like to dance. if i ask a guy that question, he does not say he is a terrible athlete. what are you doing, girls? do not put yourself down. mothers have did notice that. mothers and fathers or care givers -- whoever is in charge of the children -- everything you say, everything you do is so important. they pick up on everything. they are smart. it is amazing all the little things that go on every single

day that is biased or something in some way. teach girls to be empowered. teach girls -- your sons, also -- how you teach your son's is important. i grew up with a brother. i do not even know what it feels like to have a sister. my brother and i are so close. he is so adorable. he says that i had it so much harder. i cannot believe the difference. i only had to show up on time for the bus. he said he cannot believe my life compared to his because i'm a girl. we have had these discussions. i think it is important that mothers and fathers and care givers -- whoever is taking care of the tile -- guardians, whoever -- to really tell girls to believe in themselves. do not make excuses. do not say you are a terrible

athlete, that is for sure, not around me. if you can breathe, you are an athlete. [applause] >> many young women admire you and all you have done in and outside of sports. who did to admire when you were growing up as a young girl? >> women or men? gibson, obviously. my mother and father were a huge influence. they are a good team. my dad has passed away. he passed away six years ago. they helped each other. they were not afraid to cross the so called female/mail domain. my dad would say, "put your feet up. i will cook tonight." they would help each other. my mother would usually deferred to my father. there is that generation. but they were good to each

other, kind to each other. no one is perfect, but i think my brother and i saw that. they loved to dance, too. are you a clogged air? you are a quarter and a dancer. my parents love to swing dance. i know you are a good swing dancing. i think it is really important to have a sense of teamwork. what was the question again? oh, as far as then, rev. bob richards. he was the minister of the church i went to as a child. gold medalist pole vaulter, and he was the minister of our church. every sunday, he would drop sports into every sermon. do you think i was not there hanging on his every word? then i would watch him work out. i watched his discipline. he would run hurdles. they had no bend in those days

in the pole vault, so he was truly having to lift his body weight up. there was no flex to it at all. i always remembered looking at it. but i would go watch him to see the discipline and the intensity, and i remember he asked me what i wanted to be. i was this little chubby kid with classes, and he was probably thinking that i had no chance, but anyway, i loved this man. he was such a great motivator. he was one of the first guys on the we these box. he was a great motivational speaker. you thought you could win anything after the sermon he would give on sunday. i was ready to go get them. i loved that died. he was awesome. >> do you feel professional tennis suffers a lack of media coverage? it seems only major events are carried on network television and covered by newspapers. what can be done to reverse this?

>> espn covers a lot of the u.s. open. i think we have more hours in television probably. the trouble is it is not in prime time every time. i think a lot of people -- it is hard. if you want to root for a player -- we need more american champions. our poster boy for collegiate tennis. david benjamin is here. john israel graduated from the university of georgia, top 10 in the world now. we never thought that would probably happen. he is our poster boy now. i tell him he is untroubled. i have been trying to get more young people to go to college. they all want to turn pro, and they are not good enough, quite frankly. when you go to college, the socialization process helps you. it helps you to cope with life

on the tour. you are much more mature. you handle things better. it is not what happens on the court. it is what is happening off the court. john is our poster boy right now. we did not use a have graduates, but it is tougher now because we had to turn pro earlier and give up a lot and do homeschooling more. it has changed. i think most of the kids should be going to college or university, not turning pro. they can do it. >> how would you rate the state of affairs for american tennis? >> i would say we are not at our height of the moment. but we do have junior development. we are making a concerted effort. i have heard we have young better girls and boys right now. i do not know if that is true. i do not think you ever really know until you grow up. i did find this one.

this guy came up to me and said he would love me to watch his daughter. this is a daily requests. i am at the ymca in arizona where my mother lives. so pumping iron, my one hour to myself. he is so nice, says he is so sorry to interrupt and you love me to watch his daughter. so unthinking and will cut through this fast -- does she have a ranking? >> yes, she is number one in the 10 and under. in the southwest. >> it is one of our weaker sections, but she knows how to win. so i said ok. when i come back, i promise i will call and i'll take a look. he gives me the information, i put it in my sock. i called. i went out and washed her. she is so highly motivated.

i am very big on motivation. if a kid is motivated, and i am with them. taylor johnson is her name. she is a lefty. she is in l.a. her parents moved so that she could train at our training center. she is 11, okay? she is adorable. she just loves it. i have another guy i'm trying to help get a scholarship. anyway, i love helping kids. they are so funny. but she loves it. she gave me a photo of herself and said she would see me at the u.s. open in 2019. [laughter] [applause] >> we are almost out of time, but before asking the last question, a couple of housekeeping matters. i would like to remind you all of upcoming speakers. they 30, the chief executive officer of the girl scouts to talk about the 100th

anniversary, and on june 4, the gerald ford journalism award with guest speaker chris matthews. second, i would like to present our guests with the traditional npc mug. >> that is nice. >> i would like to ask everybody for a wonderful round of applause for our speaker today. [applause] and for all of you tennis fans out there, i have something very exciting that i would like to let you know and to thank you, that the usda has donated to a wheel of tickets to the 2012 u.s. open. these tickets include seating in the president's courtside box, hospitality in the president's week, courtside seating in the louis armstrong stadium, access to all other courts, and behind-the-scenes tour of the arthur ashe stadium.

we will be auctioning these tickets off, and proceeds will go to our national press club journalism institute. the national press club institute is committed to helping working journalists improve their skills through ongoing training programs encouraging future journalists through scholarships, so i ask that you keep an eye on our website for information on how to bid on this. i did have one last question, and i would like to ask -- besides the victory over bobby riggs, what was your most satisfying victory? >> first of all, that was not my most satisfying win. [laughter] it was most satisfying from a pressure point of view. it was about social change, not about tennis, although it helped. we exploded. tennis at the grassroots level and professional exploded after that moment. i would say anything to do with teams.

those are the ones i cherish absolutely at the top. i like teams. i am 18 kind of girl. i grew up in team sports. world team tennis. when i played for the new york team, for the chicago team. those are ones i hold dear because i still have deeper relationships with those people. also coaching was a real honor. >> i want to thank all of you for coming out today. we have some tennis balls we are going to close out with. notice the difference arises. this is our tenant and initiative we are trying to get organized, but see all the different sizes. the colors -- kids like colors.

[applause] >> a lot of these people already have this stuff. you guys back there? we have a lot of space here. back in the back, get ready.

>> thank you all for joining us today. [applause] >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> i analyst, a discussion on " the american spirit" which makes the case for american exceptional some -- in a moment. after that, ross perot talks about leadership lessons from his life in military and leadership service. and pres. obama takes part in naturalization ceremony for active service members. >> took field top to a handful of elite types in the different cities he visited and generalize -- brilliantly, of course, from that, but huskily talk to a wide range of other people and explore the countryside and wanted to understand what makes americans tick. he was surprised by a lot of things that he saw.

he had read that americans were individualistic, but he saw us as communistic. he saw americans as a group of people like to form associations, wanted to always be with other people. he saw the french as the individualists and americans as the more social people. from that, he concluded that he was going to put up this colossal statue, and it would have to say something to people who understand -- understood themselves as a big group, as a society, as a kind of collective entity. >> you can watch this whole event as part of our prime time lineup. it also includes a discussion on how social media has changed news coverage. and commencement speeches from the mayor of newark and from elon musk.

>> this weekend, had to the state capital named in honor of thomas jefferson in jefferson city, missouri. literary life. former senator and first lady jean carnahan on life inside the governor's mansion. also, if revisions list from ancient mesopotamia to the university of missouri special collection. the stories behind eight miniature battle linnaean tablets. and sunday at 5:00 p.m. eastern -- back at one time in 1967, this is called the bloodiest 47 acres in america. >> a former wouldn't take you through the historian is a historic missouri state penitentiary. -- a former warden takes you

through the historic missouri state penitentiary. and this week and from jefferson city, saturday at noon and sunday at 5:00 eastern on c- span2 and 3. >> now discussion on a recent book that makes the case for american except journalism. this is 30 minutes. lism.erican exceptional i host: what inspired this book for you? guest: we sat around and were listening to all the gloom and doom and without that this was such an extraordinary place to raise children and grandchildren and we ought to celebrate what america is about, the

patriotism, the rule of law, the freedom we all enjoy, so we decided that a book based on that would be interesting and have some shelf life we could use for kids and grandkids in years to come. >> -- host: one of the things to talk about is every american starts with a blank slate and you say that is something at the center of the american spirit. guest: very much so. we are the only country in the world where it does not matter who your parents were, who your grandparents were, what class you came from, webcast you came from. you can be whatever you make of yourself. it really is a blank slate. do your own bank and be what you want to be, but here, you have got the freedom to do it, which is what makes america so extraordinary. host: talked about the privileges and advantages some have based on what kind of family they are born into, whether they have more money or

higher education values. as a family that talks about setting goals, what about the kids who do not have that? guest: if you watch some of the tv shows that have been very popular, you will see what a real class system is like. in america, again, because of what our forebears have done in terms of the land grant colleges that we have of opportunities for higher education, whether it is vocational training for liberal arts training, we have these opportunities that do not exist in other places. i know -- i have studied overseas and seen it up close. we are such an open and vibrant place where people can rise up and be whatever they can be. >> we are speaking with ed fuelner.

do you think americans have an optimistic or pessimistic outlook on the country and where it is headed? >> some of the recent political polls say something like 60% of americans say their children and grandchildren will not do as well as they did, but fundamentally, i think the american people are looking and looking to not just political leaders, but to local leaders, religious leaders, education leaders to say that we can do more, we can do better, and i am fundamentally an optimist, have been for the 45 years i have been in washington. we can make things better. things can get better. i'm optimistic, and i think most americans are. when you think about what we are celebrating today -- the rise of

individuals able to express themselves through their governmental system as opposed to being oppressed the way it was before america came along. >> many say political partisanship is high right now. we see articles in the newspaper el at holes of americans rating of congress, how did you think partisanship is playing into the feelings of americans about their government, their leaders? guest: i think most americans have to take a step back and say, here is what my relationship to the government ought to be, here is what i could reasonably expect from government, and here's what i ought to be willing to contribute just having watched general berger from afghanistan and thinking about the 1,430,000 american men and women who were in uniform today, it kind of brings a chill down my spine thinking about what they're doing for us. i think as a people we have to

come together and have this great national debate that we're about to go into 124 days from now and say, this is the direction we want the country to go. the way the founders develop the constitution -- of course it is not supposed to be easy to change things. we want to have some gridlock, frankly. we want things to go through trial and error. we do not go for change for the sake of change. we have big challenges ahead, but fundamentally, optimistic, and looking to the future in getting americans back together the way we were right after 9/11 as a country. the: let's open up conversation with edwin feulner, president of the heritage fund is nation. -- foundation. caller: good morning. i am a professor of studies at roe university.

everything i've heard so far as far as the description of this country is so far off base. basically, you're just regurgitating [unintelligible] myths that are not true today and were not true when they first begun in the late 19th century. also, if you look at income inequality and the stagnation of wages, this is not the land of opportunity, at least not right now citizen. and your comment about people not being judged by the color of their skin? all you have to do is look at the flap over the immigration laws in arizona, the id suppression laws for voter id -- which goes against people of color. what i find at the heritage

foundation, it is nice free to tell these bedtime stories to folks, but it is just not true. host: can you get into detail about your first, 20 say you think this is a myth? caller: or you say you can do anything in this country if you just have the will and the mind to do it, that is a wonderful method. that happens occasionally. a lot of folks like to say, well, the exception proves the rule, but it does not. host: let's get a response. guest: susan, fundamentally, we see things differently. i see america as a glass that is half full plenty of opportunity for individuals, wherever they are in the social economic category, to move up and do better. i see problems with income inequality and problems with

government programs that do not work. i see problems with crony capitalism, frankly. that is why we talk about the need for rule of law, equality of treatment for everybody. we're not pollyannas lonely talk about what america can be. what we say is every day we should take another step on the road to make it closer to what that ideal is. are we there yet? no, but i believe we are finally moving in the right direction. i think both political parties and leaders should be positive about where we can be going in the future. that is what really makes america such a special place. host: independent caller, cape cod. caller: good morning. 10 or 12 years ago, it was obvious bush was leading us down the road to war in iraq, the stupidest thing that has

ever happened to us. i am tired of being negative. it is nice to be positive. adjustor the judgments that we are headed in the right direction. -- i just for the gentleman say we are headed in the right direction. sir, this country is broken because of a corrupt money grubbing political system. we need a third party. there is none on the horizon, because the needs money under the current system and rules, to become a viable party. we have voters that put gun- control or abortion or religion ahead of an honest and -- program for, like, president

obama is trying to do but is prevented from doing by republican house. we're so an appropriately and stupidly, if i use that word -- but then the cats were thrown out in 2010. we are about to do the same thing. there is no reason, please, that mr. romney and mr. obama should be so close. host: let's get a response from edwin feulner. guest: again, we must have different views of what the future holds, of where we have come from and where we are. one of the things i have learned in my long time in washington is as you look at the political dimension of washington, there are no permanent victories for either

side. but there are no permanent defeats, either. ronald reagan once said we can trust the people. i guess that is why i go back to the process we have in place that lets the american people express their views. and to our friend in cape cod, i hope you are involved in terms of local municipal and state government but in massachusetts because that is the government closest to you -- but in massachusetts, because that is the government closest to you. there is an important senate race, a congressional race as well as the presidential race. there are checks and balances in the system so things do not happen quickly. they do not change quickly, but we do have the opportunity to really make a difference and get the country back on track, i think. >> edwin feulner is co author of "american spirit."

he is the president of the heritage foundation and joined as a founding trustee in 1973 and became president just four years later. he writes a weekly column you can find in dozens of newspapers and websites across the country. he was given the presidential citizens medal in 1989 by president ronald reagan. our last caller talked about the shift in the republican party he perceives. sounds like he was a supporter of reagan and lost interest in the republican party due to the iraq war. the thing conservatism has changed? do think the republican party has changed significantly in the last 30 years? guest: i think they're more divided along the ifill logical lines -- along the ideological lines. we make a very strong point that we are not partisan. we will work with anybody who agrees with us on any issue, and very much try to put together a bipartisan groups. one of the neat things about being in the think tank

business at heritage, we have grown to the point where we have 700,000 members around the country, which is extraordinary. 700,000 people who want to be directly involved in the battle of ideas in washington, not political elections, but in terms of policy politics. what happens after someone is elected. center for american progress on the left and others have the same kind of gross statistics they can talk about. the american people really i think are much more involved than ever before a host:. democratic caller, st. louis. happy fourth of july. what do you have to say with edwin feulner? caller: what did you say? host: turn down your tv. caller: why would anyone want to vote for a person that is not truthful?

that tells stories all the time or lies or whatever you want to college, and are always changing their mind about everything? i am talking about mr. romney. you know what i mean? i am a supporter of president obama. i think he is a wonderful person. host: we're having trouble hearing you because you are leaving their tv up. let's talk about mr. romney. guest: i see him as a strong candidate. in this day and age, with the kind of media scrutiny that is out there, with the opportunity for people to interact directly through c-span, twitter and facebook and the opportunity to always stay on top of what every candidate says to monitor virtually every words they say, people on either side can claim, shame on the other guy,

he does give us a misstatement. the american people i think are smart enough to figure out who is basically on the right track and basically on the wrong track. it is a complex time, but the scrutiny the american people are able to give their political leader is a much greater than ever before. i think that is good for democracy. host: we will be talking about the freedom of information act, celebrating the anniversary today. we will dig into that in a little while. your book is called "the american spirit." we have people on twitter about what they see as the american virtues and values. republican caller, larry, good morning. caller: i am calling in reference to the lady that called in and was speaking with the judgment and said she was a

professor from new jersey or whatever -- with the gentleman and said she was a professor from new jersey or whatever and saying the heritage foundation was like a fairy tale. i was wondering why she was not done in philadelphia this morning with her friends in the marching area down there? i am a retired vietnam veteran. the heritage foundation is an excellent foundation and a lot of other foundations that we have in this country, to give people the right to speak their piece, just like myself here. host: what march in philadelphia are you speaking about? caller: the march down there. the lady said she was a professor and she should have been at the march for her attitude. host: why don't you answer this, you talk about the heritage foundation, but what do you think about the american spirit? caller: it has been kind of on

the downgrade since vietnam. the hippie generation -- they are still alive and well, which you can tell. like i said, i spent time in the marine corps. to be able to downgrade their own countries perfectly all right, i guess. by the same token, we need to vet are professors a little more. host: national occupy gathering set july 4 in philadelphia. comment on the edwin feulner,. guest: independence hall is such a national symbol that any

notion that in a particular group would claim it for themselves for some small part of what america stands for, i think should be -- it belongs to all of us. we all ought to be go and celebrate what happened to hundred 36 years ago with the declaration of independence and the writing of the constitution -- 236 years ago with the declaration of independence and the writing of the constitution. we cannot debate about the occupy forces, and i would love to do that and we do do that from the at heritage, but the notion that somehow something so sacred to every american ought to be occupied is an asthma, to me. host: it looks like we have one dominant theme, "we're number one, we're number one." the talks about america ranks seventh in literacy, 20 summit

in science, 49th in life expectancy and so on. guest: we do have major challenges. we do our annual index of freedom. the united states has slipped from no. 4 among the 187 countries to no. 10 because of market regulation, higher taxes, making us less competitive around the world. clearly, our educational system is something that really needs major improvement, major work. that goes back to primary education. it goes not only to functional literacy and numeracy, it also means reminding our kids and grandkids what makes america great, reminding them the story of the founding of america and why this is such a special place. history is very, very important. i hope our professor there from new jersey does in fact go back

and talk about what happened in new jersey during the revolutionary war. we have so much to be proud of and, yes, we are number one in seven respects in terms of individual freedom. we got to give back to the rule of law. a lady called it or tweeted about generosity. the most generous country in the world in terms of not just private philanthropy, but spontaneous giving. just watching tv over the last few days with the storms and people voluntarily all putting their houses, bringing bags at the two others who need it because the refrigerators are out, because the power is out. that is the way american people are. we do not run down to a government office and say, give me a card so i can go get a government handout. we take care of each other. is what we ought to continue to be talking about. host: democratic caller, florida.

caller: good morning. how are you today? i want to express, i agree with a previous caller. however, i believe as a nation, as far as demonstration and fighting for more rights and individual believes that we have become very complacent. he spoke about the vietnam era. there were so many demonstrations and outright disdain for what was going on. in a sense, i believe because of that, perhaps the war did in sooner than we expected. it probably went on way too long. but we're looking at our economy, the price of gas -- although, it is getting better and around the nation as a

whole. i mean, people just do not stand up and boycott. talking about before the revolutionary war. as long as the individuals are the factions stood up and fought and did things like the boston tea party and during the industrial revolution, the women in the garment industry in new york city fighting for their rights. yes, there was loss of life for these individuals, but it always seems there are the few that have made the greatest difference here in our nation. host: thank you. guest: you are right. when you look at the heroic actions, you go through economic history, yes, people are willing to stand up and say what they believe in and fight for what really is right.

it is that optimistic spirit, but still a spirit of responsibility. these are the attributes we talk about inside our new book in terms of how they really can come to life again today. these are not battles just from history, but battles and opportunities that we should be looking for today as we move ahead. host: the book is called "american spirit." what are those virtues and values? guest: we list 20. the first one we start off talking about his patriotism. the pride we have in terms of being americans. we go on to that, freedom is central to what we as americans want. as we talked earlier, it is that blank slate that enables us to do whatever we can be because america is basically an idea, not just a location. we can make things really better. individuality, responsibility

for our own actions. we talk about a family that was wiped out because of the corruption, frankly, a bernie madoff. their employees and others lost everything because of investments they had made with bernie madoff while they scrimped and saved and figure out ways to make their employees whole. that is very much in the mode of what the american spirit really is about. that is what we should be talking about. it is good citizenship, honesty. as i said, the rule of law. it means everybody is treated equally. it means there is no crony capitalism where one guy is given a favored over another. those are the kinds of basic principles that underlie and the american spirit and bring about american exceptionalism, too. host: independent caller, arkansas.

go ahead. caller: they said this is the land of the free. they tell you where you can smoke, what you can do. this is not the land of the free any more. our kids are going overseas, fighting battles that, you know, we should be fighting here. to take care of our elderly, to take care of the people that took care of the elderly, that it hurt. and they have to fight for disability. you know, just to take -- just to survive. guest: of course, there are individual cases where things could always be better here, but isn't that what really makes america such a very special place is that we have community institutions that are churches, synagogues, places of worship

can bring people together to solve problems in the community? every week, i write about 25 or 30 letters to young men who become eagle scouts. i think it is important congratulate them for what they have achieved and what they have managed to do in terms of rising above the average and pulling out some of those best things in the american spirit. it is the to celebrate what we believe in. that is what we do in our book, not just to be vain and pollyanna-ish, but to say we have much to be proud of and let's build toward that and toward a better future. host: louisiana, good morning. go ahead. caller: i would like to ask your guest his interpretation of

the constitution about the natural born citizen. host: and why is that relevant to you? caller: well, the way i read the constitution, is says in order to be president, you have to be a natural born citizen. that means to me that both parents have to be a citizen of the united states. but if you will see on obama's birth certificate, it says his father is a kenyan president. host: so you do not think he is qualified to be president? caller: well, i want an interpretation of the constitution.

host: let's ask edwin feulner what he thinks. guest: we have distributed more than 4 million copies of the constitution to americans all across the country so they can actually read the document and know what it says. what the constitution says is the president must be natural born, does not say his parents have to be natural born as well. we all know there is some controversy about this in terms of president obama's birth certificate from hawaii, but i think that is a little bit beyond the scope of the call or beyond what we're trying to emphasize in terms of the american spirit. i think the constitution is pretty clear on that issue. ayer to everyone to go back to the original document and see what it says. host: donald trump has called in the question the ability for president obama to be president due to his birth. do you question his american origins at all?

guest: i am not one to get into that one. at heritage, we will argue about policy, politics. we will work with whoever is elected to whatever office. i will not side with donald trump or with others on either side on that question. host: democrat, california. hi, al. caller: good morning. i want to say my grandfather was the respected general of the cia 1951. he was pretty much one of our icons. [unintelligible] he and his friend, a famous lobbyist, basically were fascists. i was wondering if the heritage foundation wednesday to the idea that fascist ideals these people had in the 1930's and 1950's have now been defined as

conservative in the minds of millions of americans. guest: i sure hope not. tommy corcoran, tommy the cork, as he was known, would be hard to ever describe as a republican since she was one of the most prominent democrats in the city. at heritage, what we're trying to focus on and stay focused on, pending public policy issues across the whole range of subjects, whether it has to do with missile defense or foreign policy or welfare reform, medicare/medicaid tax policy. we're not going to go back and rebattle some of history's lessons. as a private citizen, i just did reading the herbert hoover book of his diary, really, of world war ii, the ultimate

revisionist history of world war ii. it is good and worth everybody considering, but what we're trying to do is get everybody back to basics to find that big area or we all agree what america should be, can be, and how we can work together. host: you talked about the heritage foundation and how it printed out the constitution. the declaration of independence, a -- a thing that they do annually on the fourth of july. how important is it that americans know these documents and are be in touch with these documents? guest: it is absolutely central that every american knows them. it's not a bad idea over the next couple of days to read the

whole declaration of independence to your family while you are sitting around enjoying a burger or whatever. these are what our freedoms are based on. back toortant to get basics and realize what we are all about. i'm glad the "new york times" does that every year. fivers six years after the declaration of independence, they said this is something that should be celebrated with bonfires and guns and he called them eliminations from one end of the continent to the other. it's the start of a new era and the birth of freedom. >> one final tweet --

respond to his claim that young people especially but americans in general don't have skin in the game. guest: this is part of the problem. we have the index that we publish called the index of dependency where we talk about the number of americans to actually pay taxes, who are in the productive sector and employed sector versus the number of people on the other side who are taking. that is a big issue. how do you make sure everyone has candidly the game? i don't want to go back to the draft. like milton friedman, i think it's an unfair tax on a certain segment of the population. but you talk about that generosity of the american spirit and good citizenship. so much of this can come forward on a voluntary basis and that's what ought to be tightness together and building up as a nation. >> what are you doing to celebrate the fourth of july.

we have talked about what we have inherited and how fortunate we are. host: he is the co-author of the book "the american spirit." >> tomorrow, the former cbo director of the potential cost of medicaid to states and the federal government and the lights of -- in light of the supreme court decision. then christopher hayes discusses his new book. then be executive consultant of cctv

>> protest began getting planned in different countries. my tour followers essentially -- rather than being in the studio with producers left and right and researchers and an ear piece giving me the latest wire information, i was sitting on a park bench with my phone having dozens of twitter followers doing all of those roles for me so i could essentially do coverage of these revolutions and fact check things coming out of it. >> you can watch this whole event tonight as part of our july 4 lineup. also includes a discussion on the statue of liberty and commencement speeches from cory booker and elon musk.

>> tomorrow's road to the white house coverage will feature president obama on a bus tour in ohio and western pennsylvania. on friday, you can see his remarks in pittsburgh. you can also watch them on c- span.org and c-span radio. >> we pulled in for refueling and more the ship in harbor. >> the former commanding officer of the u.s. as coal are on the events surrounding the attack that left 17 people dead and 37 injured. >> i was turned back to my desk when an 1118 in the morning, there was a thunderous explosion. you could appeal it thrust up

and to the right. we almost seem to hang for a second in the air as we did this three-dimensional twisting and flexing. ceiling tiles popped out and everything lifted up about 1 foot and i literally braced myself until i could stand up. >> more on sunday at 8:00. earlier this year, the u.s. air force academy held the national character and leadership symposium. ross perot was the keynote speaker. he talked about leadership lessons from his life in business and military service. this is 50 minutes. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> ladies and gentlemen, a man of integrity. he has continued to serve our nation. he has received many distinct honors, the highest civilian honor bestowed upon the department of defense. please join me in welcoming mr. ross perot. [applause] of you -- it is an honor to be with all of you. he is an incredible man.

he cannot be with us here today problems. he is an oklahoma cowboy. he was selected by the air force to retrace lindbergh's route after world war ii. that was a pretty good trip. he was an ace in korea. general macarthur set the combat up. robbie had more fuel. china's ace had to go back north. he decided he would shoot him

down in front of his own troops. just think about that. that will be the ultimate loss of face. i just define the warriors spirit and that is what he did. there were 19 mig's on the ground. he got 14 in one pass. these are the details. there's not one black mark in his record. general macarthur took all of the heat.

i said, "how could you only get 14 on the ground?" you can imagine the response i got from robbie. robbie went on to vietnam. he was on the cover of "time" magazine. he was hit by a sam missile. they put this great man in a box and capt. for five years -- and kept him for five years. he never broke. he inspired other prisoners to stay alive by tapping on the box.

how is that for leadership? after five years in the box, they decided to let him out. it took him a few weeks to regain his ability to walk and talk. they did not have church services. he ordered church services. a pow said, "we don't have any hymnals." he said, "write them out on top of a paper." -- on toilet paper.

you take every risk when you do not go to church. these police captain robbie alive. the man will tell you what a hero robbie was to them. the vietnamese came and and grabbed robbie back into the box. they were having church services. the prisoners still strongly to honor -- stood strongly to honor robbie. years later, i said it was going on in your mind when they drag you back into the box.

he said, "with them seeing, i was 9 feet tall. i could have gone bear hunting with a stick -- with them a singing. 9 feet tall and with a stick at the base. now you all know that. he came home and was responsible for the thunderbirds. he brought a fighter pilot to embarrass him by having into all the dirty work run the prisons. the man called him max. they smuggled food and medicine to men who were dying.

he went back home. when saigon fell, robbie, colonel rutledge with the first to go in and save him. can you imagine after five years going back in that box to go back gate to pick up by vietnamese soldier? they did that and did the right thing. it takes a person with a lot of integrity to do that. robbie has a lot of integrity. they were on the border and ready to go. brent scowcroft heard about

this and sent a raider a car to pick up 19 family members and took them to the airport to fly them back to the states. he is here in the united states today. we did not leave our men behind. that is because of robbie. it will be placed in a proper place in the leadership paul to remind her this man is and is outstanding leadership. [applause] i would like to tell you another story. there is a big statue for lance.

thank you for being with us tonight. he graduated in 1965. he won the congressional medal of honor. he began a pilot training. he was assigned to the 366th fighter win as an f-4 phantom pilot. he was tasked with a bombing mission over north vietnam. his plane was engulfed in flames. he ejected from the aircraft. broken leg and a rough landing. he had no food.

he evaded his enemy for 46 days. he was finally captured by the viet cong. he was severely tortured. he lost 100 pounds. he somehow overpowered a guard and escaped into the jungle before being recaptured several hours later. he was put in prison in the hanoi hilton. the men were planning an escape. he was lying nearly unconscious and suddenly raised his head and said, count me in.

unfortunately he passed away a few days later. we have a statue at the air force academy. i hope every cadet will be inspired after they see the statue. now i'd like to talk about raymond murphy in korea. many were wounded in the battle. he continued rescuing marines after he was wounded. the wounded and him were taken to a medic hospital. he refused treatment until all of this man were taken care of. freedom is precious and freedom must be protected. i hope you will always live the words. "you will be the leaders

protecting our nation. i know you will set a whole new standards." do not forget them. you saw them and drive through the streets. they earned the medal of honor. god bless them. they got it. john graduated from west point in 1964. he wrote his own obituary. he said he was his best authority on as long life. i think of the phrase, "duty, honor, country."

he was killed in a helicopter crash in 1970. "i'm writing my own obituary because i'm the best authority on my own life. i love the army. it gave me the most satisfying years of my life. the army the live in germany and japan -- the army let me live in germany and japan. i climbed mount fuji. i met the ruins of athens and rome. i earned a master's degree in a foreign university.

i have been married to a fine and wonderful woman. about 20 years, i decided i should find his wife. i found her. she is a nurse. she said, there could never be someone else like alex. i love him as much say as one he was here. i want you to know i'm very happy. i could never have a better life. you would think she had just found in million dollars on the street. that is quite a treat.

confessor and judge. i played college football and rugby. i boxed at oxford against cambridge only to get knocked out in the first round. i played handball to distraction. i went to the german jump master school. i experience all these things because i was in the army. i never knew what it was to fail. i never knew what it was to be too old or too tired to do anything. i did not die for my country. i lived for my country. can you imagine a better role model?

a little boy had an uncle who decided to build his own airplane from a popular mechanics -- he built a wooden frame. his grandmother helped him covered with cloth. they painted over the cloth. he attached an engine to the wooden hull. he took out to a pasture to test fly it. his mother went with him. "henry, you fly low and slow." henry took off and successfully fly the airplane.

he later fly the airplane from texas to alaska and back home. later on, as the boy grew up, this boy spent hours sitting on henry's lap learning to fly. he had learned to fly a single engine helicopter. this will board through the helicopter around the world, single engine helicopter -- this little boy it flew a helicopter around the world. he made it home. it is on display at the smithsonian air and space museum. he replaced lindbergh as the youngest man to ever fly around

the world. he later attended college. he joined the air force reserves and became a fighter pilots. he came home from the experiences and went to the ceremony were the little boy received his air force wings. that is a day this board will never forget. this boy worked 50 years as the chairman of the committee to build the air force tomorrow. you see in the memorial. that was a massive effort. he has gone to do a number of things. he learned the principles of

leadership while serving in the air force reserves. he has been as successful businessman. this little boy is my son. i cannot tell you how proud i am of him and the wonderful things he has done. the list goes on from there. the first rule of leadership is to treat people with dignity and respect. this has been validated again and again. this is nothing more than a restatement of the golden rule. principles of leadership are timeless. human nature remains a constant. consider the principles of scouting. a scout is honest, loyal,

friendly, courteous, kind, thrifty, brain, and helps other people at all times. he promises to keep themselves physically strong and morally straight. the boy scout motto is "be prepared." attila the hun was born at the beginning of the fifth century. they cannot say one thing and do another. do not taught at both sides of your mouth -- do not talk out of both sides of your mouth. leaders much attached values to high standards and have no tolerance for the uncommitted. all these things are relevant

today to the world you and i live in. there's much encourage creativity among their subordinates. leaders must provide direction and never let them wander aimlessly. chieftain's much be willing to make personal sacrifices for their good of their huns. chieftains must encourage healthy competition but must contain it when such becomes a detriment to the tribe.

the spirit of the lot is greater than its letter. chieftains must never tread the cloak of honor and dignity. chieftains told a profound conviction of duty. the principle to leadership is timeless. human nature remains a constant. always use the word "leadership" and not manage. you must set the example by being a strong effective leader who motivates his team to achieve to the full potential of the entire team. you must have an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect.

you were in this trust and respect by treating others as you would like to be treated. trust and respect our fragile. -- trust and respect our fragile. these are learning experiences. they are painful but they heal quickly. when someone makes a mistake, they feel terrible. do not chew them out. put it behind them and move forward. make sure they understand you have not lost confidence in them. did not put people into categories. recognize there is something unique in everyone. i am unique. i'm special.

treat me with dignity and respect. keep the person challenges to fulfill their full potential. united teams win. "all for one and one for all." every part of your unit must be equally important. give your team strong, intelligent leadership. recognize and reward performance. listen, listen, listen to the work of the people on the front lines. tell them what they are doing right and wrong. don't keep written records of evaluation. judge people by what they have done lately.

they made a mistake 20 years ago. be willing to live on the front lines. feed the troops first and the officers last. the first rule of leadership is treat other people with dignity and respect, the way you would like to be treated. this has been validated again and again. this is a restatement of the golden rule. in a rapidly changing world, and human nature remains a constant. principles of leadership go back to the fifth century. codeiples of the knights'

to always be ready, do nothing to offend anyone, be prepared, never breaking a promise. the principles of leadership were included in the magna carta. the pioneers who settled our country lived many of these principles of leadership. they were generous and brave, polite to others and always ready to rescue a companion. they knew they had to take care of themselves and one another. only the strong survive.

we live in the greatest country in the history of man. our pioneers came over on sailing ships. you would not go across a lake if you could see them today. they found work. they saved money. they headed west. there were no roads. there were no mcdonald's. they came to be free. they did not have the weapons but they have the drive and the will to do it. they wanted to be free. they paid the price to do it. 56 men signed the declaration.

24 were lawyers. these were men of means and well-educated. they signed the declaration of independence knowing the penalty would be death if they were captured. they pledged for the support of this declaration with firm reliance of the protection of the divine providence, "we pledge our lives, our fortune, and our sacred vow." they were soft-spoken man of means and education. they had security but they valued liberty even more. there were tortured before they died. two stepson's in the revolutionary war. they fought and died from

wounds in the revolutionary war. carter saw his ship swept from the sea by the british navy. thomas was so hounded by the british that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. he served in congress without pay. his family was captain hiding. poverty was his reward. thomas nelson jr. -- the nelson home was taken over. he urged general george washington to open fire. the home was destroyed and nelson died bankrupt.

13 children fled for their lives. they lived in forests and caves for year. his wife was dead. he died a few weeks later of a broken heart. every day think about the last phrase of the first verse of "the star spangled banner." "o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." we must have a great leaders like you defending the gates of freedom. we are so fortunate to have you with that mission. i know you'll continue to do great work. you will make our country better

as we go forward. thank you for your service to the country. it is an honor to be with you today. thank you so much. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and supplement, we have the opportunity to of a personalized question and answer session. we have some questions that were compiled. here's your microphone. all right. we will get that working. there were go. i think you're good, sir. the first question -- did you

have any time in annapolis when your character was tested and you had a difficult time making a decision? >> that was one of the greatest opportunities of my life. i knew i wanted to go to the naval academy. i got an employment and i went. i passed everything except one part of the physical exam. i had a broken nose. the doctor said i had to go home to get that operated on. i said i could not fix it. he never touched it. people from all 50 states could not have been finer people. i had the privilege to do a lot of interesting things while i was at the academy. i was vice president in my

second class year. i was president of the class in my third and fourth year. i was asked to take full responsibility in creating a new honor code at the academy so that it was their honor code. i went to every platoon and worked over a year on it. every niche shipment was on board -- every midshipman was on board. it is still in place today. the midshipmen are very positive about it. they check to see if they still

felt everything about it was appropriate. it set the highest standards. that came straight from the troops. i've had a lot of great opportunities in the navy. i never would have had the success in life unless i have that in the navy. that made all the difference. >> thank you, sir. hoosier most influential role model in your life -- who is your most influential role model in your life? >> i have to break it down to different people at different times. robbie.

i wish you could no robbie. he would have given anything to be here tonight. he was the epitome in terms of a great leader and in putting others first. i learned all those lessons at the naval academy and were reinforced in the navy. i was involved with the prisoner of war project. i got to meet robbie and all the other pow's. i would have to say there's not a lot i would change in what i said today. you heard just about everything i had to say. >> when you are hiring somebody in the civilian sector, do look for in someone you are hiring?

>> i am in the computer business. you got a bunch of geeks and nerds. [laughter] they could not lead a group in silent prayer in an emergency. i started training all my system engineers. guess what i did? i took young people in the military only they had done their four-year tours and train them in system engineering. that was a piece of cake. i could tell you stories by the hour. a lot of the people i hired into the company were enlisted men who just left the service and they could've gone to mit.

they cannot as sergeants and and leadership at the platoon level. their mission in life was to get a college degree. they were determined to get a college degree. my computer centers never closed. they could work any of three shifts and go to college. we have the finest computer centers in the world. everybody that visited us was overwhelmed. when they got their degrees, we train them in systems engineering. they were unbelievable in terms of helping the company grow successfully.

leading a group under fire is a piece of cake. i said it backwards. leading the technology group is a piece of cake. i could tell you stories by the hours of things we do all over the world that our mission impossible that they do on their own because it is de right thing to do. that is one good example of the quality of people that come out of the military. nobody could understand why wanted you. all those guys want to do was bring the coffee. they did not want to go out and get something done. their leadership level was about zero. we had a long way to go.

it has been wonderful to see all the great things they have done. they made the company successful. there were successful financially. paper for example of military on your life. you are a very special, unique person in terms of how to get things done and to keep them excited and climbing. >> thank you, sir. you have a gigantic family. what would you say is her legacy message you would like to leave for them. >> i want all them to be honest, tough, smart, learn leadership, take responsibility for other people, and keep

themselves physically strong and morally straight. so far i could not be more proud of them. my son is the best possible example i could give you. he was in the air force as a fighter pilot. imagine if 15 years putting together the air force memorial. he is a unique person. i have four daughters. i am happy grandfather. i could not be more proud of my family. make sure we did not spoil future generations. they understand they have to

build their own futures and so far it is too good to be true. >> thank you, sir. have you ever had to release an employee base off of a character flaw or they were doing something morally wrong? >> if somebody's stealing something or doing something, to not ever get involved over abuse of a woman. that is out the door. we do not tolerate that at all. people here that when they're interviewed. most people say this is a weird place. that is fine with me. the people we have are so committed to the company and so

committed to their team members in the company and will go anywhere anytime to help by team member that has a problem. >> thank you, sir. do you have any final words of advice for them? >> get up every morning and make things better. let's assume you of that 15 great successes. that is history. don't ever become complacent. just keep making things better. our country has a lot of problems. if people like you are involved, i think things will be better. we need to get back on track. the financial track is obvious. we have to have this sharing

for each other to move forward. that would be wonderful. thank you. >> thank you, sir. [applause] as a token of our -- [cheers] as a token of our appreciation, we would like to present you with a flag. >> oh, boy. >> please, for a second presentation. >> oh, wow.

>> i cannot think of anything i would rather have. [applause] somebody must've gotten the word that i valued the sword and that i give swords rarely people of done great things. the last people i gave the sword excalibur were the two men who did the job on bin laden, the seals. [applause]

this will be my best treasure and i thank you so much. i thank you for all you are, what you do, and what you're going to do in the future. keep it up. redouble your efforts. god bless you. >> ladies and gentlemen, mr. perot would like to me you. otherwise there are buses -- would like to meet you. >> i will show you one more thing. robbie wrote when he came back.

"the passing of a night." read that and you will be inspired. thank you. [applause] >> it 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. they both are these outrageous spirits with corneous jokes imaginable and would show up to my graduation and both of them would be like a stereophonic bad joke telling machine as they

would lay in to me. my grandfather, this huge big man would say you see, the tassel is worth the hassle. yes, granddad. he would look through the program and i would -- he would say i see you're not magna cum laude, you are just think you, lawdy, i'm out here. >> discussion of the statue of liberty of how social media has changed news coverage. commencement speeches from elon musk, it all starts at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> president obama took part in a naturalization ceremony for active service members earlier today at the white house. , and security secretary, janet ipod area -- and a pot, lead the pledge of allegiance. >> these and gentleman, performing the national anthem,

the president on national marine band. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> please be seated. mr. president, madam secretary, distinguished candidates for citizenship and special guests, good morning. it is a special morning and distinct honor for me to be here. i m, myself, a refugee to this great nation and a naturalized citizen. i now have the privilege to serve as the director of u.s. citizenship and immigration services, the component of the department of homeland a

security that administers our nation's immigration efforts. we commemorate not only the to under 36 anniversary of our nation, but also celebrate the meaning of american citizenship. among us are 25 exceptional individuals who chose to serve their country and who took an oath to support and defend the constitution before sharing fully in the rights and opportunities it provides. their commitment and dedication to the values we cherish should stand as an inspiration to us all. i will now proceed to call the candidates 17 home countries. when your country of current nationality is called, the stand and remain standing until everyone is standing. believes, bolivia, cameroon, cape verde.

colombia, ecuador, el salvador, gonna, guatemala, guinea, honduras, mexico, nigeria, palau, philippines, russia, ukraine, if anyone's home country was not called, please stand at this time. i would like to invite the secretary of homeland's security to the podium to administer the oath of allegiance. our nation's third secretary of homeland security, secretary napolitano understand that champions the important role immigrants play in america. secretary the pot, no, i percent to 29 candidates for citizenship, all of them have been found eligible for citizenship. please administer the oath of

allegiance, thereby admitting them as united states citizens. >> thank you. candidates, please raise your right hand and repeat after me. this of this is pretty long, so i will break it up. i hereby declare on notes -- on oath that i absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty of whom more which i have here to 4 been a subject or citizen, that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and of a loss of the

united states of america against all enemies foreign and domestic, that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, when required by the law. that i will perform noncombatant services in the armed forces of the united states when required by law, that i will perform the work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law, that i take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or

purpose of evasion, so help me god. congratulations. [applause] please be seated. congratulations to our newest american citizens. today you have earned all the rights and responsibilities that come with being a citizen of the united states. america is now your country. you have worked so hard to get here. you should be as proud this moment and this achievement, just as i am proud to call you my fellow citizens. there is no more fitting day on

which to do this, to join the american family than the fourth of july, when we celebrate the 236th anniversary of our declaration of independence. this is all the more so because these new citizens are members of the armed forces, all of the 25 candidates here this morning. our nation thank you for your service. we owe the freedoms we all enjoy to the sacrifices of men and women like you. men and women who have already sacrificed so much for our nation and have served so honorably, even before she had become your own. you have a richer lives on the line for our country even before you could officially be called americans. and all of us are honored to celebrate this moment we to endure families on this special day. america is a nation of immigrants, and we are proud of that fact.

since 2001, u.s. citizenship and immigration services have naturalized over 80,000 members of the armed forces, bringing immigration services to our troops wherever they serve. since 2009, we have offered non- citizens enlistees the opportunity to naturalize before completing basic training. so that they can graduate as american citizens. the the part of homeland security is now working with the departure of defense so that our naturalization and basic training will be a place at all our service branches by the end of the year, and we will continue to do everything we can to expedite the naturalization process for individuals like you who have already given so much to our nation cricket so let me offer -- so much to our nation. all of us are proud to call you our fellow citizens. now it is my distinct honor and

privilege to introduce to you the president of the united states, barack obama. mr. president. [applause] >> thank you. good morning, everybody. secretary napolitano, distinguished guests, family and friends, welcome to the white house. happy fourth of july. what a perfect way to celebrate america's birthday. the world's oldest democracy, with some of our newest citizens. i have to tell you personally, this is one of my favorite things to do. it brings me great joy in an inspiration. it reminds us that we are a

country bound together not simply by ethnicity or bloodlines but by fidelity to a set of ideals. as members of our military, you raised your hand and took an oath of service. it is an honor for me to serve as your commander in chief. today you raised your hand and have taken an oath of citizenship. i could not be proper to be among the first to greet you as my fellow americans. looking back, it was an act of extraordinary audacity, a few dozen delegates in that hall in philadelphia daring to defy it the mightiest empire in the world, declaring that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states.

236 years later, we marvel at america's story. from a string of 13 colonies to 50 states, from sea to shining sea, from of fragile experiment in democracy to a beacon of freedom that still likes the world, from a society of farmers and merchants, largest, most dynamic economy in the world. from a ragtag army of militias and regulars to you, the finest military the world has ever known. from a population of some 3 million, free and slave, to more than 300 million americans of every color and creed. with this ceremony today, and ceremonies like across our country, we affirm another truth. our american journey, our

success would simply not possible without the generations of immigrants who have come to our shores from every corner of the glow. we say it so often, we sometimes forget what it means. we are a nation of immigrants. unless you are one of the first americans, and native american, we are all descended from folks who came from someplace else. whether they arrived on the mayflower or on a slave ship, whether they came through ellis island or across the rio grande. immigrants sign their names to our declaration and helped win our independence. immigrants helped lay the railroads and build our cities, calloused hand by calloused hand. immigrants took up arms to preserve our union, to defeat fascists, and to win the cold war. immigrants and their descendants

helped pioneer new industries and fuel are information age, from google to the iphone. the story of immigrants in america is not a story of them, it is story of us, who we are. now, all of you get to write the next chapter. each of you have traveled your own path to this moment, from cameroon in the philippines, russia, and places in between. some of you came here as children, brought by parents who dreamed of giving you the opportunities that they had never had. others of you came as adults. finding your way to a new country and a new culture and language. all of you did something, you chose to serve. you put on the uniform of a

country that was not yet fully your own in the time of war. some of you deployed into harm's way. he displayed the values that we celebrate every fourth of july. dougie, responsibility -- duty, responsibility, patriotism. we salute a husband and father, originally from mexico, now united states marine, joined by his wife sylvia and daughter, juliet. becoming a citizen he says is another step in the right direction for my family. where is francisco? [applause] we salute a young woman from el salvador who came here when she was just 6, grew up in america, and said she always had a desire to serve and dreams of becoming

an army medic. ouisa.gratulate lis [applause] we salute a young man from nigeria who came here as a child. i left nigeria with a dream, that we all have a destiny in life and we are all born with the resources to make a difference. we are confident he will make a difference. we congratulate him. [applause] we salute the young man from bolivia who came to america, and listed in our military, and has volunteered to help care for our veterans. he is becoming a citizen to become part of the freedom that everybody is looking for. [applause]

it has taken these men and women, these americans, yours, even decades, to realize their dream. this reminds us of a lesson of the fourth period on that july day, our founders declared their independence, but that only declared it. it would take another seven years to win the war. 15 years to forge a constitution and the bill of rights. nearly 90 years of great civil war to abolish slavery. nearly 150 years for women to win the right to vote. nearly 190 years to inshrined voting rights. even now, we are still perfecting our union, still extending the promise of america. that includes making sure the

american dream endures for all those, like these men and women, who are willing to work hard, play by the rules, and meet their responsibilities. just as we remain a nation of laws, we have to remain a nation of immigrants. that is why as another step forward, we are lifting the shadow of deportation from deserving young people who were brought to this country as children. that is why we still need a dream act to keep -- it is why we need, what american success demand comprehensive immigration reform. the lesson of these 236 years is clear. immigration makes america stronger. immigration makes us more prosperous. immigration positions america to lead in the 21st century. these young men and women are testaments to that. no other nation in the world

welcomes so many new arrivals. no other nation constantly renews itself, refreshes itself with the holt and drive and optimism and the dynamism of each new generation of immigrants. you are all one of the reasons that america is exceptional. you are one of the reasons why even after two centuries, america is always young, always looking to the future, always confident that our greatest days are still to come. so to all of you, i want to wish you the happiest fourth of july. god bless you all, god bless our men and women in uniform and your families, and god bless the united states of america. [applause]

and with that, i want you to join me in welcoming on to the stage one of america's newest citizens, born in guatemala. he enlisted in the marine corps, served with honor and afghanistan, and i know he is especially proud, because in a few days his father walter will become a naturalized american citizen as well. where is walter? there he is over there. good to see you, walter. please welcome lance corporal byron acevedo to lead us in the pledge of allegiance. >> i am nervous.

[laughter] i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [applause] >> thank you, everybody. have a great fourth of july. congratulations to our newest citizens. ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

♪

>> thank you, everybody. [applause] >> did looks utterly superficial by comparison.

bartoli talk to a wide range of people and explore the countryside and wanted to understand what made american stick. he was surprised by a lot of things that he saw. he had read that americans were individualistic, and he actually saw us as much more collectivist. it seems kind of hard for us to imagine that, but he saw the united states as a group of people who liked to form associations, who wanted to always be with other people who were not there. he saw the french as the individualists and the americans as the more social people. from that he concluded that if he was going to put up his colossally statue, he was going

to have to say something to people who understood themselves as a big group, as a society, as a kind of collective entity. >> you can watch this whole event as part of our prime-time lineup. it includes a discussion on how social media has changed news coverage, and commencement speeches from newark mayor cory booker and inventor elon musk, all starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> tomorrow, douglas holtz-eakin on the cost of medicaid to u.s. states and the federal government. then christopher hayes discusses his new book, "twilight of the elites, america after a mediocracy." then a look at china central'

television. that is here on c-span. >> barclays, the international banking and financial-services company based in london was fined four hundred $50 million in penalties by u.s. and u.k. authorities to settle allegations of manipulating international interest rates. bob diamond resigned yesterday and is here before members of the british house of commons treasury committee investigating the banking scandal. this portion is 40 minutes. >> on page 3 of the fsa, on numerous occasions, between september 2007 and may 2009. it took into account concerns of

the mission. in relation to that, the fsa goes on to say on page 3, senior management concerns about what the banks were doing, perhaps not telling the truth, resulted in instructions being given by less senior managers at barclays in order to avoid negative media comment. this was going on well before the 29th of october 2008, is that correct? >> yes, sir >> it has to be. can you tell me, or tell us, when you discovered that this activity was going on?

>> during the investigation. >> you did not know this was going on when you spoke to mr. tucker on the 29th of october 2008? >> i was not aware of it. >> you are saying in the course of the investigation. >> there are two things that happened. soon after 2009, there was a request that came men to investigate or do a study, and it was during that where both the situation of the credit cards was part of what i was learning through the investigation.

>> give me an approximate date when you discovered -- that is one of the reason to have lost your job, mr. diamond. >> the findings of the investigation, came to me four or five days before they were published. other members of management, because of the confrontations we have been having as witnesses, were not over the chinese wall, so my job was to make sure we had the investigation going on and it was important to the board, but the think it is important that i explained -- >> what month the do discover the reporting was coming on? just give me the day.

as chief executive, why did you not know this was going on on your watch? >> i think what this refers to -- >> let me put it in context. if you look at 2007-2008, using the same charts that we all have but without going through them, in almost 90% of the cases -- >> you have made that point. it was -- the fact remains, it is still a breach of principle 5. do you accept that? >> yes. can i just say one quick comment, why did you not follow

up with -- no one is disputing that. you got this on the 30th of october, didn't you? >> yes. >> it was your conversation with -- >> this is not the first time we had discussions. i was not aware that jerry had a miscommunication or a misunderstanding. [unintelligible] >> my main focus in that no was

the issue with white hall. what did you say after you sent that e-mail, which was your account of your discussion, what discussion did you have? >> i have no separate recollection. >> what did you say after you copied him on that e-mail? he had a misunderstanding of what was required of him. you accept that, don't you? >> yes. >> the would discuss and would you have -- did you have with him? >> the discussion about the contents of the note. i was unaware that jerry had the impression that the conversation i had with paul, either by note or by conversation, was an instruction, and not a role that he did instruct carriker >> to

the best of your knowledge and belief, were you under investigation in your capacity, under any civil or criminal investigation? >> no. >> could i ask you to think of criminal prosecution in a custodial sense? do you think that would be a necessary deterrent for and bankers, investors, or commanders of wrongdoing? >> i think that is a decision for the regulators. >> given that you are talking

about the culture, you do not have a lot to say about the role of banking in our society. do you think you should include a regime such that wrongdoing, either acting recklessly or deliberately misleading markets, do you think that should lead to a sentence or bankers? yes or no, what do you think? >> i think people could do things they are not supposed to do should be dealt with harshly. we have been for a process ourselves of dealing with people. when i got the results of this investigation, and it was because of the images, as i said, did not see a lot of the deep elkridge i was broadly aware that things were coming out. when i read the e-mails, i got

physically ill. it is reprehensible behavior, and if you are asking me to those actions be dealt with, absolutely. and immediately, when it became clear in the investigation that there were specific actions, it was dealt with at the time. we did not wait for the end of the investigation. there were times when it was helpful to the investigation for people to be placed on suspension, as opposed to terminated. i want to assure you, david, that behavior was reprehensible. it was wrong. i am sorry, i am disappointed, and i am also angry. there was absolutely no excuse for the behavior that was exhibited in those activities and the types of e-mails that were written. i stand for a lot of people at barclays who are really angry about this.

this is wrong, and i am not happy about, but we put all the resources we could to make sure that the people who did that we have your -- did that behavior were dealt with. this does not represent the barclays that i know and love and does not represent the work of 140,000 people who work day in and day out for their clients and customers. we have to be very careful, knowing how bad this was, that barkley's got on top of it. we report directly to the board, not to the management of the organization, and we are taking action on it. was wrong. >> the chancellor of the exchequer has said of your demise, i think it is the right decision for the country. do you agree? >> i was not aware of that, and

i think my decision was the worst decision for barkley's. i love barclays, and i will not speculate on anything else. for almost 25 years, i have been part of the financial-services industry in the u.k. and i have great relationships with the bank of england and the regulators. i have loved my time here, and this is a great place to work. >> this misunderstanding over your file note lead to will fall under reporting that david was just referring to. it is a very unusual filing. they understand our skepticism that even though you talked to -- everyday, you never succeeded in clearing up this misunderstanding? >> if you had any skepticism i

would be surprised at that. >> is seen to have a great fear that alastair darling was a word about the country looking for major funds to nationalize. >> we had to worry about this because the government was nationalizing banks. did you really think he was looking to nationalize barclays? but so was not referring to the chancellor. -- i was not referring to the chancellor. >> you said that david ask you about phase three, which was

after the conversation on the 29th of october, when the american regulators indicated during the examination, is that the first time you had any of the activities in phase 2, which was to rent the rates -- rig the rates to the benefit of barclays. is that the first time you knew anything was going on in your bank of that nature? >> the behavior was reprehensible. when i knew of it was during the investigation. i want to correct one thing you said, george. you said they were acting on behalf of barclays. they were acting on behalf of themselves. i don't think they had any

interest in benefiting barclays. >> in phase one, they were actually cheating, cheating pensioners and pension funds, cheating the ordinary public, cheating investors. you did not know anything about that, and yet the regulator and documents a trader when it sitting with a submit your and shouting across the room, this is the rate we are going to declare. does anybody have a problem with that? look atexpect you to all the e-mails, but did you run such a firm that nobody in the firm -- this is crucial, this is the integrity of the bank. >> again, this is reprehensible behavior.

>> i know that. >> i have to answer on behalf of barclays. >> your now out of a job because of the attack on the integrity of the bank, and that was the behavior. there was nobody in your firm that came to you and said you were going to have to watch this because we are going to be in deep trouble. >> this first came to light during the investigation. the positive side is the organization said we have a problem, we have to fix it. can i finish? >> it is a wash, because the real worry you should have is that the staff did not have the

confidence or the intelligence to come and speak to the boss. people were involved in actions that could destroy the bank. >> none of this information until the investigation came above the supervisor level. >> senior management, and this is in september of 2007, were worried that high levels within barclays, expressed concerns over the negative publicity. their concerns in turn resulted in instructions being given to less senior management. who do we described as this senior management at barclays who were concerned about the effect that you are forcing a

higher figure than your competitor banks and were worried about a labor government with radical believes that they were looking to nationalize banks would pounce on you. what senior management were those? >> my understanding from the report -- >> no. we are sitting here on the fourth of july. you have now had three years to find out who the hell were the senior management? >> it was people in the group treasury. >> right, and they would not think to tell you -- >> at the time i was not the chief executive. >> so why didn't they tell you? >> i would not disagree with you on the bigger question, but at

the time i was responsible for the investment bank and the wealth of business. i am the chief executive today. but your question is right, george. this is wrong behavior. as soon as it came to light, it was addressed in a significant way, and i think the regulators have said that this is an industrywide problem. >> this is what the ordinary person out there will think. if we move on to phase three, a telephone conversation on october 29, 2008, and your daddy misunderstand apparently what you said and goes off and then struck his people to get the rate down, and you are telling us you have been doing

it for 18 months. >> i did not get where that came from, i am sorry, george. >> in october 2008, i was not aware of the behavior going on. >> the 29th of october, 2008, you had a conversation that you spoke about and as a result instructions were given, get the rate down. what i am asking is, why didn't somebody turn around to him and then tell you, bob, we have been doing it for 18 months. you didn't have to have that conversation. they were doing it.

it could destroy the bank, and they were doing it. >> the behavior was wrong. keep in mind, george, this was not changing libor rates. >> when did john barley discover all this, because he was the chief executive? what did he know? what did he think about your little problem here? >> john and i were both witnesses, so it was inappropriate during the investigation to discuss either

of our investigations, but we were both of the mind that we had to put all our resources behind the investigation, find out what happened, and eradicated. i am sorry to come back to it again, but i think it is a sign of the culture of barclays that we were willing to be fast and come out with this. >> that tells the world that to achieve executives had been running the firm and had been doing fundamentally wrong things and senior management was either too frightened or to disinterested to actually tell the chief executive. >> is there any response you want to make to that? >> i think the culture has shown that when we have a problem, we get on it. as soon as it was known, it was

dealt with. an industrywide problem is coming out now. >> when you have derivatives trade, it is shouting out across the trading floor, their convictions prior to making a request and submitting it. does that not say something about the culture at barclays? >> the fact that the supervisors did not raise it further is wrong. >> mr. diamond, you seem to be in a slightly parallel universe. surely must realize how enrage

people are that you took that reprehensible behavior. it is actually criminality. we also know that the -- presumably their own personal reward was linked to about profitability of the bank. what would you say to that? >> in terms of the fax, what is the question? >> did you live in a parallel universe to the uk? >> i will just say it again. the behavior that came up between 2005 and 2007, and there were two instances after that. there have been none since the investigation started. it was wrong and reprehensible.

it makes me angry. it makes me disappointed. it puts a stain on the organization. 14 traders out of a couple thousand traders. >> the actual criminal behavior into 2009, and 173 separate recordings of fact. asking -- when you say it was limited to a small group of traders, clearly there was a significant amount of collusion going on.

>> if you look at the impact -- >> can you answer that question? this is collusion on something of a grand scale, and time will tell pelgrin that was. simply to worry about the profitability of their own book, to the extent that traders were actually able to persuade them to -- what does that say about the culture at barclays? >> it is absolutely wrong and as soon as we knew it, it has been eradicated. some were removed immediately. when it was clear that there was this behavior, it was dealt with immediately. i cannot go back and change

that. i understand there will be follow-up criminal investigations on certain individuals. we are certainly not going to stand in the way of it. process understand the by which this sort of activity could have been passed up through the bank. where did you sit from 2005 onwards? where was your desk? did you ever take part in those daily morning meeting? , if itn't recall that was, probably in the late 1990's. [unintelligible]

i am not sure there were minutes, there may have been. >> that is a very important point kick what we would like lot more to look like today was ever discussed. >> it would have come out in this investigation. this is a very, very thorough investigation. >> that would be interesting to track down. whose job would it have been to look for criminal activity? whose function was it to be looking for criminal activity, and how did they do that? >> it would fall within the area of compliance. >> how would compliance go about seeking out evidence of criminal activity? >> i am not sure they were looking for just kem -- chemical -- criminal activity. there are many ways from

technology, from meetings, from training the people, reviews of people. it is quite pervasive. >> they would have been in a physician to pick up on what was going on. >> this did not get above the supervisor level. once we uncovered it, we eradicate it. i admitted it was wrong. the investigation was all over it and the behavior was stopped. >> would they have been aware that falsifying libor was an

offense? desk supervisors -- >> there have been cases where desk supervisor for where and other cases where they were not. in most cases, they have been dealt with if it was clear. in some cases, we have asked them to either be suspended or stay out during the investigation with their compensation suspended. if we needed them for the investigation or if it was not clear that we needed full due process. that due process is going on as we speak and it began the moment the investigation was published and announced. how sorry i am, how angry and disappointed we are. workplace is an amazing institution which i love.

140,000 people are impacted by these 14 traders, and it is not ok. no one is saying this is ok. >> it is not about the attitude , but can weank's just get back to the point about the desk supervisors? was it clear that falsifying libor was wrong? the bank would require them to know that that was wrong. what was the procedure at the time if i as a desk supervisor knew something? >> you keep coming back to the same issue. it was wrong.

>> what was the actual procedure? >> i don't have the manual with me. >> so they would have been openly required to raise that, and it would of been very helpful to know who they should have raised it to and which part of the barclays organization. >> that is very simple, if it is compliance. in terms of a supervisor level, the responsibility to inform their balls and also -- there is no excuse their -- to inform their boss. in cases where that happened, there were not doing their job, and they are being dealt with. it has been difficult to have

some of these facts out there, because they are sad. it impacts the reputation, but i also want the committee to understand that there are aspects of this which are industry-wide. i am not blaming it on anyone. i plan on these individuals. >> what steps can be taken now to look at other possible areas within the bank that could also be subject to unfortunate behavior? >> first of all, i was gratified when i got the final report, very gratified, the fact that we did not wait to get this report was recognized by the department of justice, who said -- >> which other areas within the bank have you looked at? >> it has been many years since this happened.

>> are you concerned that the market has been in some way fixed by market options or other rig fixing? have you examined those areas? it did not stop the libor manipulations. >> it was behavior before the submission was put in. >> in spite of the fact that your audit failed to notice there was corruption going on under your noses, and then openly. have you now look at other areas of the bank to seek if something like that has been going on

there for years as well? is there been an inquiry as to where other parts of the bank have been fraudulently fixing rates? >> we have to start by going through our processes and audit controls and someone was not happy with those, there may been other places to look and of course we would do it. that is part of the overall process. this is not meant as an excuse. i think context is helpful. it is interesting at barclays because david and you have focused so much on the culture. i understand that. the rate setters and workplace, many of them have been here 25- 30 years. this is a core part of the barclays u.k. business that you

are asking about earlier. this is not something that was created just recently. many have been at their jobs for quite a while. it is important to have it in context that was not perceived by the industry to be higher risk. for so many years, the spreads were also tight that it was not considered high risk. >> effectively what you are saying is that the level of complacency that have been going on for years -- >> no, it had not been going on for years. audits are often based on where we see the risk to be highest. the risk in the area of rate setting exploded during the financial crisis. >> i am talking about criminality in the days before the financial crisis. let's be very clear about that.

given to the point that people have left and on to other banks. this is absolute corruption with individuals within barclays and was helped by an attitude within the bank that people were allowed to be run -- regenerative -- remunerated. >> i think you take the conclusions way too far, but i will not defend their behavior. the behavior was wrong. the compensation was not based on just their own book, but i am not going to disagree with you. it has been dealt with, but there is no excuse for the behavior. >> the conversation that we have had so far, there is something

wrong with the culture of banking industry in this country. but that is inappropriate question, given the financial crisis, given what i've had to deal with in a short time as chief executive. i think there are aspects of the culture in financial-services that are changing appropriately and evolving. the bad behavior is wrong at any time, in any age, in any business. but in the context of people being rewarded more broadly, that is something we do even more of now. >> surely there is something

much deeper and that is the problem with our banking industry. would you accept that? >> i think today one of the difficult things for bank chief executives is to recognize that there were problems that happened many years ago, but today we still have to fix it. the best we can do is to recognize where those problems were, become fully transparent with the regulators, and internally understand exactly what the impacts are, and learn from those mistakes. >> there is something more you can do. you could join the polls for an independent investigation into banking in this country. would you support that? and my own opinion is that there

it is a lot of regulation right now and has tightened it tremendously since the crisis. what we are trying to do is balance safe and sound banking with jobs and economic growth and competitiveness around the world. i do feel the level of operation, the level of scrutiny is higher. the focus is higher. it was difficult when regulation was not this strong, other institutions fail. that has been a burden on the taxpayers and on the industry. i think there is a better regulatory environment today. >> it is independence day. coming up, a history of the statue of liberty. 125 ye