commons on nelson mandela. another thing is you are going to be criticized no matter what you do. i would have been criticized for what i did, and i got a lot of criticism, but you learn to live with it. i never let it influence me.

>> rosalynn carter in a recent interview in atlanta. she was her husband's political partner from their first campaign. she attended cabinet meetings and championed women's rights and health issues and even testified before congress. their partnership continued in the post-white house years. good evening and welcome to the c-span series on first ladies. we begin by looking at the lives of living first ladies. let me introduce our first two guests. they will be in the studio to tell you about her biography. our guest is a presidential scholar.

faith specializes on the history of the south. i want to talk about the themes. she was gracious enough to grant us an interview. we will post it online so you can hear all she had to say. i want to pick up on things i have learned that she referenced. the carter's first visit to the white house was after he had been elected and the inauguration. we have heard travel was ethical, but it is unusual in the modern age. what skills did she bring to this job? >> in some ways the transition to the governor's mansion in atlanta was big. she did get the chance to take on issues and do the kinds of things first ladies do at the white house, albeit at a smaller level.

on one hand they were washington outsiders coming to a town where they had not spent much time, but also they had that experience as governor, which she used as a foundation for what she expected to do as first lady. >> we had many books on first ladies. he says, under rosalynn carter the office of first lady completed its metamorphosis into a vital white house organ. previous first ladies had done campaigning, but none had preceded with the professionalism as rosalynn carter and her staff. the full-time east wing position grew by almost 30%, but she used the staff differently to expand on traditional and entertainment functions.

>> when she grew up, almost during her entire childhood the first lady of the united states was eleanor roosevelt, so one would inc. that is -- would think that is different. she testified before congress, and she wanted to be a serious player on the issues. she wanted the president to take her seriously. they communicated back and forth very candidly. she was not afraid to criticize him, at least in private. it was a strong modern era of first ladies getting involved in issues where you can make a difference. >> let me ask another theme in the series, and that has been the role of women in society. we have learned so often first lady is a linchpin for changes in the country.

one was in 1970 six, particularly southern women and how accepting the public was. >> she became the first lady at a time of great change in women's roles. that made her job challenging, but it also gave her some wonderful opportunities, which she worked hard to seize. i read that it was a lot harder for her to learn how to be the first lady in the governor's mansion because she had to train her staff to work in various capacities in the governor's mansion, and when she got to the white house everyone knew what to do and that was easier. she came into the white house at the moment when women's roles are really changing greatly across the country. i think people were surprised she was such an outspoken person coming from the south, and she tackled issues.

i think she really made a mark. >> those of you remember the big question was jimmy who. we are going to show you a bit of the campaign ad they put together. >> in the final days a group of georgia supporters often referred to as the peanut brigade flew into new hampshire. >> if we had snow on the ground like this we would the paralyzed for weeks. we couldn't get outside. >> her schedule was grueling, almost as tough as her husband, get through it all she remained a gracious campaigner. >> everybody know every in you do, and i just tell them we were born and raised in georgia. it has a population of 683, and everyone has always known everything i did. i really believe he can restore

honesty, integrity, openness, confidence in government we need. i think he would be a great resident. >> grace hill, what was happening in the country in 1976 that these outsiders from georgia appealed to the public? >> i think a lot of things are intersecting in interesting ways to help carter and first lady rosalynn in their rise in politics. on the one hand you have the failures of the mcgovern campaign. they want a campaign who is not going to be able to be pigeonholed as representing a liberal or left part of the party. carter with his southern roots, his small-town background, they think he is going to appeal to somebody who wouldn't vote for

mcgovern or might be alienated by that part of the democratic hardy. also, he is an interesting candidate because he is from the south, and he is speaking out in support of integration and the gains of the civil rights movement, and that also really helps create momentum he had them. he is seen as a candidate who can bridge a lot of divides and draw in a lot of people. >> that video represents the peanut or gay. who are the peanut brigade? >> it is the carter's from georgia who went to other states to campaign. it was impressive when they went into the snowbound streets of new hampshire. the advantage, when you are going to a voter and saying, i am asking you to vote for someone i personally know, that carries a lot of weight. people would wear gold peanut

pens, and i think the idea of running as an outsider might have worked in 1976 in a way that might not have worked in other years. it was the right campaign for the right time. >> it became the standard way in which candidates would run after that. it is very interesting that running from an outsider, what else could carter do, being from a small town, then run as an outsider from washington? it became a model for campaigns. after that you see many politicians running as outsiders. george bush, the second george bush ran as an outsider going after their dash off his experience in texas. >> the carter family, mrs. carter, the son, the mother-in- law, all involved in making it a

family affair. >> up until this point people wouldn't figure out you have to get outside of washington. one of my favorite stories from mrs. carter, she and a friend would go around and spend 75 days in florida, and they would go in a small town and look for an antenna because they figured it was a radio station, and they would say, would you like to interview us? a would ring questions they want to ask. it was a low-budget campaign, but in that year with finance laws of that kind that was the way to do it. >> i think it is a different way of campaigning than we see now staying with areas people in the small towns a visited.

>> they will do that in iowa and new hampshire, but after that it gets hard to do. tell me a little bit about learning the mechanics of political science. they had only a little experience. when you read a biography, their systematic approach to learning mechanics is interesting. what i am thinking about is they wouldn't tell them to the same audiences. she took memory classes so they would be able to remember faces and names. talk about their approach to politics. >> both of the carter's really believed in doing their homework. he would read the book on the 1972 campaign to find out what went right, what went wrong, and she would take meticulous notes, and when they ran for reelection in 1979, she pulled out all these notes from the 1976 campaign. she had the names of everybody.

they started out knowing they didn't know how to do this, but they did their homework, and they would come home on sunday so they were always on the same page. they would come back and compare notes on sunday. then they would head back with a very powerful combination. i cannot believe the work schedule she had during that campaign. i guess growing up on a farm you learn how to put in long days, but she was willing to make that commitment. >> what is great is your involvement. we welcome that as well. you can send us a tweet @firstladies. people are posting questions.

we will get to as many of those as we can. you can also call. if you are mountain pacific or even further west, we welcome the conversation. this viewer asks, where was she educated? we are going to visit the town of clayton, georgia. how big is it? that's when she was there it was dirt roads. now the roads are paved, but it doesn't look much different today than it did then. they are surprised they ended up there because when they were younger the goal was to get out of the town. >> that's check out this video. >> not much has changed since the president and mrs. carter

grew up here. if we were to take away this asphalt and have a dirt road in front of it, it would look very similar to a photograph of planes, circa 1925. she lived here with her mom and dad, brothers, and sister. one of her favorite memories is when her dad would come home from work, go into the kitchen, give her a 800, swing her around, and give her a kiss. rosalynn carter lost her mother at a young age. a trained nurse here in plains. on the night of his passing they actually took rosalynn carter to be with jimmy carter's sister ruth.

this is jimmy carter's farm. it is important to rosalynn's story, because she would have spent a lot of time out here with president carter's sister ruth. this is a room jimmy carter's room in gloria. when they came out to see her friend ruth, this is where they would hang out together, play games and do homework and enjoy each other's company. surely when miss rosalynn was out visiting president carter's sister she would have seen a young jimmy carter. >> this is where rosalynn smith carter and jimmy carter would have attended first through 11th grade.

>> her first memory of going to school here is she made straight a's at first quarter. she went home and she showed her dad, edgar, smith and her mom, miss ali, the straight a's and they were so proud of her dad gave her a dollar for her accomplishments. later on a local businessman had a contest for the student who had the best grade point average throughout the year. whoever had that grade point average he would give them $5. in 1920s and 30s that was quite a bit of money. after that 7th grade year, miss rosalynn won that $5 from a local businessman. one of the activities that rosalynn carter would have been engaged in was basketball. she was so excited when she made the srars varsity basketball team. we have a picture of her uniform and good accomplishment at the time. this is the united methodist church and right here where president carter asked miss rosalynn on a date for the first time. it's also here where they got

married. it's a special place for president and mrs. carter. >> there's a look at some of the early life in plains, georgia. i'll let someone on twitter ask s how did they meet? >> as the park ranger said, they probably saw each other from a distance because she was a friend of the sister but they seemed not to pay attention to her. but as he got older and it was known he would travel around the world and join the navy, she started to focus on him and the first date they had when she was 17 and was about 20, he went home and told his mother he was going to mary rosalynn after the first date.

it took him a while to convince him to marry her. until this event they hadn't run into each other. they were three years apart which may have been the reason. >> she married him at 19? >> yes >> was she ever able to finish college? >> i think she has an associates degree from georgia southwestern. that school is important. her mother went to that school and today the school has a care giving program named after her and she's active in that school.

>> could someone ask the second part of regina's question, were they both of the same religion 81 as a launching point to talk about politic and their political rise. >> they were always church-goers. his and her faith were important when they were campaigning for the presidency. that was again an interesting moment just like women's rights when evangelical christians more theological christians were embracing the public's fear coming out of the self-imposed isolation and really taking up a public life and carter really spoke to them. a lot of them that would later find themselves as the new rite or the christian rite, many of those people voted for carter and that was -- some of them the first time they voted in national campaign. they really put that at the center of their campaign. >> she became a navy wife and talk about the birth of their son. >> he was very active in the submarine program.

he helped develop things for the navy. he was at sea at lot. there were two sons born while he was in the navy. jack was born in portsdz smith and chip was born in hawaii and jeff was born in connecticut. she had a lot of jobs rape raising the sons because jimmy was not around a lot of the time and she would run the family finances which a task she took on at the farm as well. she was busy but also enjoyed the opportunity to travel to all these great places and i think they enjoyed living in hawaii, for instance. it was a special experience for them. >> jimmy carter was accepted into the nuclear submarine program and worked with the father of the nuclear submarine program. but he leads it. why? >> i think the main reason is his father dies earlier than

expected. his father, earl, passed away in 1953, and billy was too young to take over the farm. so, it was kind of, i guess, a question that the farm might be lost to the family if he didn't go back. when he went back he found out his father had been more active in the community helping poor people and giving loans to people that needed help and he never realized that as a child and he thought i could do more good back here. the thing is he didn't consult with rosalynn on that question and she actually refused to talk to him on the trip and he said after that, he learned his lesson and he would never make a

major decision without consulting with her. >> here she found herself back in plains after seeing the world. but they put themselves full-time into the peanut farm business and used it as a way to grow and get around the state. how did that segway into their life in politics >> they started off getting involved in local politics. it jimmy carter became involved with the school board there in plains and used that as a jumping off point to the georgia state legislature. and from there, eventually he launched two campaigns for governor. the first wasn't successful and the second was. they really used their sort of rootedness in plains and i think their experience of the broader world coming together helped them to get into national politic. >> let's invite our callers into the discussion beginning with steve watching us in fort meyers florida. hi, you're on.

caller: good evening. i was fortunate to meet president and misses carter when they came to fort meyers, florida in 1994. we presented president carter with a medal and this was because of his work to pass the alaska lands act which actually shaved about 104 million acres of wilderness. i wonder if misses carter had any effect on his environmental policies because i know she certainly wanted to put forth some information to president carter on some of his policy. i wanted to know how much of his environmental policies she might have had information about and to at least make him form a certain policy. >> was she a person concerned with environmental issues? >> they're both outdoor people and they both love to fly fish, for instance. so they've always had this personal interest in rivers. he was involved in environment in many ways. in fact they're both serious birders.

they go actual around the world looking for species they haven't seen before and have a notebook of different things they've seen. the carter presidency has generally been ranked by historians for the environment after ted y roosevelt and nixon, carter is right up behind them in most of the environmental rankings and both of them have a great respect fortunate and outdoors. >> keith is watching from greenville, indiana. you're on. caller: hi, how are you? >> very well. what's your question. caller: what was the reaction of president carter and first lady when he lost the election to ronald reagan in 1980? >> okay. thank you. you're fast forwarding our story but what was the reaction when they lost the '80 campaign? >> well, i mean, they were devastated. you know, i don't really know what to add to that. do you want to take that up? they were very devastated.

>> the election was not close, but until the last week or so, the polls showed it was an open race. but both of them realized before election it was coming, and it was hard. she is very candid if you read her memoirs she doesn't try to cover up how she feels about things and she said everybody's pretended like they weren't bitter but i sure was. so, you know, obviously for anybody what you put in to run for the office and put in to do that job it's tough when you get a verdict like that from the voters, but they've come to peace with it and been able to make a great use of the rest of their life. >> it was a fragile victory in '76 when he won.

it was a small victory. so i think it was in some ways a surprise victory. >> before we leave there, someone wants to know what major accomplishments did they make for the state of georgia that has been replicated by other states. what can you point to? >> in georgia, there was a major reorganization of the functions of state government so there would be fewer agencies. he was the first 1 to set up a film bureau to attract films to come to georgia which was big. he was active in international promotion of business and trade and the environment which we already mentioned. he only served one term as governor because at that time the georgia constitution did not allow anybody to run for a second term. that's why he only served the one term and of course reason he was either going to retire from politics or run for president. >> one of the things that is interesting about his governship he didn't run as particularly liberal on issues of racial integration and the legacy of

the civil rights movement that had rocked the south in the years leading up to and even when he was first running for governor for the first campaign. he really didn't run that liberal on these issues. but when he became governor perhaps in part because he did not have to run in georgia where white voters were not going to support those views he made a tactical turn and nurtured the career of a young andy young at that time and really began to really moderate what had been some pretty traditional white southern views before that. >> we have a question about race about the first lady. growing up in the south what views did rosalynn have on equal rights and human rights? >> well, she was very impressed by lillian carter. i don't think we mentioned

lillian carter yet. she was a major force through the whole town of plains because she was a nurse. where is the prevailing attitude was african-americans had to come through the back door and the schools were separate, as far as she was concerned everybody was equal and she had to carry out her nursing responsibilities that way. and everybody saw that and one of rosalynn's sisters was named after miss lillian so there was a respect for her. even at this time, although the prevailing culture was of segregated society, i think both of them grew up with a basic sense of fairness that said this isn't the way things ought to be

and of course as they travelled around the world they broadened their perspectives. >> neither of them were amongst the white southerners that stood up against the kind of segregationist's way of life. they may have had their personal views but they were quiet about those views and i think that's what is interesting about his governship. that's when you see that kind of change. >> you do have to distinguish between joining the civil rights movement but also supported -- even his father supported the sale to land to african-americans. that was one of the major forms of discrimination that was pursued. earl carter sold some of his land to african-americans and when carter ran for the school board and state senate, one of the issues was the closing of the schools over segregation. carter was very strong about not shutting the schools. so within plains, those were the kind of issues. >> he was endorsing george wallace when he was running for president. i think it's complicated but in the end they make the journey.

to me that's what is interesting to watch the change over time. >> michael in mississippi. you're on the air next. caller: good evening. two months ago marked the carter's involvement in the 30th anniversary of the habitat for humanity. i was wanted to know how did they become involved in the organization initially? >> well, habitat, as you may know, was founded in georgia and it's only seven miles from plains. the people who founded habitat were friends of the carters and the carters really liked the idea. so, what they agreed to in the early years was that their name could be used for the organization for fundraising and things like that and then they

spent one week a year working habitat projects. these are not photo ops. they go out and they're quite good with tools. they go back with habitat and they spend 51 weeks a year working at the center but they have -- made a major contribution to habitat. >> before we get into the white house we have to add one more person to the story and that's the birth of amy carter born in 1967 so the carters arrived at the white house with a young daughter and sons off doing other things with their lives. but, the inauguration was cast as the people's inaugural. we have video of what became iconic of the time which is the president and first lady getting out of the limousine and walking pennsylvania avenue. how important symbolism was that? >> i think that was important in a lot of different ways.

i mean, in part they were sort of prompted to do it at least as i heard the story. you can jump in if you want to, by congressman interested in physical fitness issues and urged them to think about it, but it became really a symbol of his desire to -- their desire to connect with people and not present themselves as kind of elites above the people and be in touch with ordinary americans. that's how it played out in terms of the inauguration. i believe she spoke about people along the way just weeping as they walked by and shook hands and spoke to people. it clearly was meaningful to people who were there. >> one other bit of symbolism she wore the same gown for the balls as she did in georgia. what is she trying to say? >> i think she decided they wanted a less imperial

presidency. it was a surprise the secret service was only allowed this because it was kept secret. it's interesting because they disagreed about certain aspects. he didn't want "hail to the chief" played at all and she thought he over did that too much. she thought it should be played more. he was adamant about reducing about the imperial nation of the presidency. >> the transition with president and misses ford, we saw that clip. the fords were devastated by their loss. mark asks, there was a friendship after each was in office. did rosalynn and betty ford have a friendship? >> absolutely. when president reagan was wounded, he could not go to the funeral, because of his condition vice president bush

couldn't go. sew sent three presidents nixon, ford and carter. same thing happened with the first ladies. family asked miss ford to speak so there's a very close bond between the family. maybe part of it they both went through the trauma of failing to be reelected. >> the white house was a busy spot because two of the sons wives and children moved in. >> part of the time >> and amy was there and then the nation also got introduced to miss lillian and president carter's brother billy. >> miss lillian was the celebrity. when the democratic national convention was held in the summer 1976, most of the delegates already met the carter family because miss lillian

because she stayed home to take care of amy. she was the carter family member people hadn't already met. the big thing at the convention was can i meet lillian carter. >> it was exciting to be in elementary school at this time. i grew up in georgia. for amy to grow up in the white house it was exciting if you were a kid. she seemed right there in the center of all the events and i remember thinking about that a lot as something that was really about exciting. >> how did she protect young amy from the press and that sort of thing? we have a photo. you can see how young she is. how did they approach parenting? >> well, i think that felt that all their kids should be able to have a private life if they wanted to and amy certainly did. you know, if you're a kid in the first family you've got secret service protection so it's hard to blend in, even if you'd like to.

but i think the press in general respected that and he'll realized that a child shouldn't be exposed to the kind of press that their parents get. i think it worked out well. it was very hard to move to washington and then have to move back. >> we have one photograph we'll put on screen that shocked most of us. this is amy carter going to school. we'll put it on the screen here so you can see. [laughter] >> the reporters on this little tiny character with her snoopy bag to school. they made the decision to public school even though she would be more exposed to this sort of thing. >> yes. the other thing i should say, the carters were relatively young occupants of the white house and then amy was very much the young daughter, so it's a little unusual for -- it's not unique but unusual for presidents to have a daughter that young. >> she was 8, 9?

>> something like that >> the decision for public school was really a decision that many people commented on and it became politicized. but it was in many ways an example to the nation and in some ways a rebuke of a lot of white southerners who were sending their kids to segregated private schools. >> before we leave, i want to talk about billy carter because he occasionally became political issue for the president in what ways? >> well, he didn't seem to understand how new sort of pervasive media coverage was not necessarily going to always be his friend. >> would you like to add to that? >> i got in trouble a lot. >> the lesson with billy he was equivalent to amy. he was the last child so there's a big age separation between the

the two brothers. billy became an issue in 1980 over issues related to libya. there were all sorts of investigations and no charges were ever filed or anything like that, but it did create some distractions at crucial points in the campaign in 1980. >> he also chose to commercialize the connection. i remember billy beer. did that strain the relationship with his older brother the president? >> i don't think so. billy was a popular figure around plains. he had a good sense of humor and he was a smart, smart guy. of course he originally was going to take over the farm and run the farm and then never did assume that position, so that had to be hard, although he did end up running it a lot of times when they were off campaigning. >> steven in lieu kentucky. caller: first of all, this lady

was special to me. because i was born the first week he was in the white house. the week i was born they had the national women's conference in houston, texas. misses carter and betty ford and all those women convened. i think it was the first time that the u.s. government ever sponsored an event like this for women in particular. i think it's an only time if i'm not mistaken. i know that in particular on women's issues carter was the first u.s. president at that time to appoint more women to office than any other person at that time. some other things i wanted to add. the arts. this administration was very good to the arts in performance at the white house started in 1979 on pbs. they hosted the first national poetry festival in 1980.

and also as far as her image is concerned, i've done some research on first ladies and i know this lady is sort of interesting because i think out of all the recent first ladies it seems like she's not as well-known. i think the reason is because she was so ahead of her time and multifacetted in her approach and she didn't stick to one issue and the press was upset with her because of that. >> i have to cut you off. thank you. obviously studied and knows a bit about this white house. what would you like to say to her? >> you've highlighted a really important historical moment and that is national women's conference was a historical event. it was the first event of that kind that was put on by the

government with the support of the president and it was a real moment of the kind of mainstreaming or sort of broader acceptance of the goals of the women's movement and it was really, really an amazing event. it's indicative of those kinds of things that rosalynn did. i mean, she really did refuse to stick to one event and championed women's rights and campaigned for the e.r.a. and kept up with mental health which she worked on back in georgia. that i think is indicative of her in many ways creating a modern first lady role. >> while she pursued her own causes she stayed involved in the president's issues and as we said attended cabinet meetings. we have clips where both president and first lady talk about her participation in the cabinet meetings. >> rose and i arranged to have one official lunch together in the oval office every week. we would postpone all the things that could be that were official in nature that dealt with the government of the united states of america or international

affairs or health or welfare or housing or transportation and we discuss those things in our official meeting in the oval office once a week. when i learned, for instance, rose was still a little frustrated in knowing enough about what was going on and she was never hesitant to let me know when she was frustrated -- and she hasn't changed -- then i decided there would be nothing wrong with rose attending the cabinet meetings. so i invited her to attend the cabinet meetings. she sat in the back of the room in an unobtrusive way. nobody knew she was there except me. i was constantly aware that my wife was watching me. >> a lot of people don't know but i sat by cleveland and he's an cabinet member. he was with veteran affairs.

and i sat next to him next to the door and i went every time the cabinet met because it was -- i thought it was necessary for me to know what was going on and why the decisions were made and so forth. so that i could explain to people in the country as i toured around. >> we have a photograph of the carters conferring. the late 1970s were a time of many challenges internationally and domestically as we have done in many programs. we have a list of the major issues to show you during that time period to demonstrate what the president was working on. including some of these issues such as the panama canal treaty. the energy crisis and those of you around remember the long gas lines people suffered through, inflation was high and there was a recession going on, mortgages in the high double digits and the panama canal treaty and cab david accords and negotiation of the missile treaty and big issue

that framed the latter half of the white house was iranian crisis. misses carter was involved in mental health and created the mental health coalition. >> the pivotal point for her was when he was running for governor for georgia and people came up to her mentioned problems ha that they had had in their family and particularly the stigma that was attached to mental health issues. that was the beginning of it. and she had a strong mental health program in georgia and then at the white house. >> we will take a call and then learn more about the announcement of the mental health commission. barbara is watching us is nashville. you are on the air.

caller: in 1976 we were invited to the white house. my husband was in the music business and we got invited to come to the white house and then after that the ladies got to go see the congress, which you just mentioned they were discussing the panama canal treaty and it was a great event. that night it was so -- it was just so wonderful being at the white house and meeting, it was a governors' meeting as well. and then we had done campaigning for president carter through some of the towns in alabama along with tammy wynette. it was a wonderful event and we loved president carter and mrs. carter. they were so gracious. >> thanks very much. we learned that her interest in the arts was much broader than just music. did they in fact reach out to that constituency as well?

>> what was interesting during the campaign, the expansion of the media during this time, a lot of the musicians from the south endorsed carter's campaign. southern rock was at its peak. cap corn records was headquartered in macon and musicians like the allman brothers band were headquartered in georgia. a lot became supporters of courter and helped spread the word of his campaign. a broad interest in the arts. he listened to classical music but they both also had an

interest in more sort of vernacular southern music as well. >> the people who keep these kinds of statistics say that first lady carter had three dozen specific interviews with media organizations and 22 press conferences during their term in office. we will see one of the instances when she talked to reporters after the president signed the executive order establishing the mental health commission. >> as you probably know, for the past year and a half, a little more i have campaigned all over the country. my biographical schedule had a little paragraph that said i was interested in mental health. everywhere i went if people had a good program they wanted me to see it. i had a chance to see things happening all over this country that are good. i also had some things happening that i thought needed help. i hope for this establishment of this commission i know that we can give some of that help. we have a chance to do great things in our country. i thought until today that i was going to be the chairperson. and i got a little -- [laughter] >> i got a little note from somebody that says -- according to the office of the legal council of the department of justice and so forth prohibits

the president from appointing a close relative such as a wife to a civilian position. it may be unpaid as well as paid. the 20 members of the commission including the chair will in fact be serving in civilian positions. no problem with your being designated as honorary chairperson. so -- [laughter] >> i will be very active honorary chairperson. i intend to -- we have office space in the executive office building which is close. i will be spending many hours a week there and traveling and involved in the fact finding process traveling over the country for hearings in the next six months. i intend to be active. >> i'm watching that and it sing of a prestage for hillary clinton being involved in the

healthcare during their white house years. evolution of the role of first lady but runs into legal limitations. >> it is a challenge. it is really a challenge. it is i think particularly challenging during these years when he rosalynn trying to navigate the roles. she not only has to negotiate the difficulties of being the first lady in the media all the time but also really a time when women themselves are very much disagreeing about what the proper role for women in society is and arguing about it. not just a time of feminism, it is the rise of right conservative women's backlash against feminism and critique of it. again, i think rosalynn has a difficult job there. >> you could see in that clip that she wasn't going to let that legal opinion hold her back. so she was able to do it. and had a great impact. she was so committed to reducing stigma from mental illness, getting it treated as a medical condition.

and in her own sweet way she was running that commission. >> and her issues really are still very much with us. i mean in recent healthcare reform is just winning some of the goals that she was working on back in the 1970's. >> she had a signature piece of legislation that made its way through the congress. can you talk about what that did and what the legislative trajectory was? >> the mental health commission issued reports in 1977 and 1978 and then in 1980, fairly late in the carter presidency they passed the mental health bill which was basically requiring that mental illnesses be treated like other illnesses. interestingly enough, just in the last few weeks, that has made it into the final rules of the affordable care act and secretary sebelius announced that with mrs. carter at the carter center.

she has been frustrated that more has not happened at a faster pace. again, i think she had been ahead of her time by a lot of the issues and now some are coming to fruition. >> we have a photograph of mrs. carter testifying before a senate subcommittee on mental health issues and we will take you to her talking in the present day in this interview in atlanta just recently about her disappointment about the legislation and what happened to it after it passed. let's listen in. >> i got upset with the president because they covered my mental health work the first few meetings i had. and then they never showed up any more.

and one of the things i wanted to do is bring attention to the issue and how terrible it was and what few services there were. and thinking just getting it out in the public, that is what i did in georgia, developed a good program in georgia, by the way. but they just didn't come and so one day i was walking in the floor in the white house and met this woman who was one of the press people, and i said you know, nobody ever covers my meetings and she said ms. carter mental health is just not a sexy issue. and that i didn't like. but i never did get very much coverage for it. but we toured the country and found out what was needed and developed legislation and passed the mental health systems act of 1980. it passed through congress one month before jimmy, as he says, was involuntarily retired from the white house and the incoming president put it on the shelf and never implemented it. it was one of the greatest

disappointments of my life. >> that is rosalynn carter talking about her frustration with the implementation of one of her major issues. she was a big champion for the equal rights amendment to the constitution. talk more about the backlash from the moral majority as it was beginning to grow as well for women's rights. >> when the carters took office, you know, there were only four states still needed to ratify e.r.a. and rosalynn got out there and campaigned and it really looked like it would make it, but again, to return us to that women's conference in houston that was really a moment when the organization of the fight against e.r.a. really became a kind of public as well. and conservative women across the country had organized to get themselves elegged as delegates to the women's conference and really began fighting back

against what they saw as changes that they were not welcoming and really began to systematically campaign for e.r.a. to be stopped. it was a kind of a difficult time there, you know, in many ways if you said that a woman from a small town in georgia somebody like rosalynn carter with her background would be a champion of e.r.a. and it wouldn't pass you would have been surprised by that. and i think she really gave it her all. she also said that was a very disappointing loss for her as well, that that was not ratified. but the conservative women got really organized around the country and began to fight back. >> i want to talk to you about the use of the white house which we have learned through the course of this series is a deadly serious political

business at how presidents choose to bring people into the white house. during the cart carter years, the numbers are impressive of people invited to official events at the white house. by 1978, grown to 40,000. in 1979, 5,000 and in 190, the election year, 100,000 official guests at events in the white house. how did they approach entertaining there? >> they seriously a lot of these have a serious purpose because if it as state dinner you have the head of a foreign country and if they were invited to a state dinner it probably has some diplomatic purpose attached to it. they serve very fine american products, fine wines and you have to get the protocol worked out. a lot of it is to say thank you for people that helped you in the campaign. and then, of course, in the election year, making sure you are touching all of the bases. they had some pretty great events at the white house in

1980. one of the callers mentioned the poetry conference which they had in january, i believe. and then they had all of the jazz greats came in for a lawn concert with u.b. blake and that was another stunning event. as much as she was the modern first lady in adopting the big issues like mental health and e.r.a. she also knew that she didn't give up the other part of it to make sure all of this functioned smoothly. as grace mentioned, she had a very professional staff there to work with her. so that was a big asset. >> and for the record, the carter white house was no hard liquor white house. >> i think that was more of a budgetary thing than it was aesthetics. they figured they could get better wines and better food if they didn't serve hard liquor. but, yeah, that was one way of doing it. they had to do this on a small budget. so, you know, the fact that you are doing more events doesn't mean you have more money to do them. you do have to be cost conscious about it. >> also i think it was part of where they were from. their kind of background.

many people in the south, small town south, white and black, who are people are faith do not drink. and it was also part of who they were and they brought that with them to the white house. and i think that was, you know, a cultural issue and also again a kind of class choice. it isn't going to be an elite atmosphere. we are going to have more of the people's white house and that was part of what they saw as something that they wanted to promote. >> in the next clip, mrs. carter talks about the media's reaction to this people's white house and what she saw anti-southern bias in the media. >> there is a bias against southerners. there was. i never would say that out loud when we were there because i didn't want other people to think it and i didn't want to think it. you had to keep proving yourself over and over. didn't matter what you did. you had great successes and then had to prove yourself again.

and i think it was, you know, i wasn't supposed to be sophisticated enough or something. but who wants to be sophisticated? i think there is a little bit of bias about the south. i remember after jimmy was elected there was a whole page cartoon in the washington post with the carter family, jimmy's mother and me and there were haystacks and we had on straw hats and there was straw between our teeth. and then i went from that to being steel magnolia. and but i thought that was pretty good because steel is tough and magnolia is southern. then i was fuzzy for awhile. and then i was most powerful. i had a full range of images. >> was she correct? was there an anti-southern bias

in the media while they were in the white house? >> i think she was correct. most people that are not from the south had a kind of opinion of who white southerners were that was shaped by the media's coverage of civil rights unrest and protests and violence. and i think that many people had those kinds of assumptions that were not from the south. i should clarify and i don't know what she meant when she said whites against southerners. certainly more of a bias against whites than african american southerners and national media environment. and a period when rural white southerners were all over popular white culture. "the andy griffith show,""petticoat junction," making comedy and so that is part of it as well.

>> on this concept of acceptance in the public image, she wrote image did become an annoyance that wouldn't go away. i know that if i were working productively and accomplishing something worthwhile images would take care of themselves. wrong. i learned that labels are easy to come by and hard to overcome. >> talk about the carter's acceptance by the washington establishment. the washington establishment. the georgens come to town campaigning as outsiders against the political establishment. how did the establishment react? >> i think one i would say that no president or first lady has probably ever been satisfied with how they were covered in the press or how they were accepted in washington. look at poor president ford who was pictured as someone who tripped over himself all the time when he had been an athlete. they did try to work around the press corp to some extent.

they thought they could go to the press at the local level and not deal so much with washington. president carter sold off the sequoyah which was this great boat they were trying to influence down this nice boat trip down the river. so they didn't do some of the traditional things that had been expected again related to this thing about getsing away from the imperial presidency. so there was some rough relations there. hamilton made some comment about they weren't going to bring in washington types into the administration. they did but there was always a tension there. >> michael in washington, d.c. >> i wanted to follow up on the comment you made about hard liquor. is it my understanding mrs. carter grew up united methodist

and president carter grew up baptist. did they attend the first baptiss of washington, d.c. when they were in d.c.? i know they attended st. john episcopal where all the presidents go to church. >> it's my understanding after they married they mostly attended baptist churches. >> i can't swear to that. >> i'm pretty sure they did ttend baptist. >> one of their sons joined the church first and then they followed them there. >> today they attend the church in plains which welcomes visitors on sunday and president carter still teaches a sunday school class there that the public is welcome to attend. >> if you go to plains and go to church, you could have a lesson by the former president. her work as first lady and that's representing officially he united states overseas.

and in 1977, she was asked to represent the -- the president and the country in a trip to jamaica, costa rica, ecuador, perdue, brazil, colombia, venezuela. on her return to the united states, she spoke to reporters with president carter looking on. show you that clip next. >> bring you greetings from latin america and the caribbean. [ speaking spanish ] i've done this for two weeks and i couldn't resist. but seriously, it was a good trip. this morning in venezuela, resident perez said to me that immy's pan american day speech nd my visit to latin america had opened new paths in inter-american relations, instead of the paternalism

that's characterized the past. we are ready and eager to develop balanced relationships. found goodwill and friendship everywhere i went. they love you in the caribbean and latin america and every head of state i spoke with without exception agreed with me on the importance of cooperating and consulting closely on the issues that concern you, jimmy, and concern us all. human rights, nuclear nonproliferation, economic development, arms control. i think we've made progress in all of these areas. i'm glad to be back home. i'm glad to be with amy and with jamie. i'm going to convey all of this information i have to jimmy. in fact, i look forward to consulting closely with him on a regular basis. >> at the outset of that clip,

she spoke spanish. a story about her spanish lessons? >> she started learning spanish in the governor's mansion in georgia. she and jimmy took a trip to latin america to promote business relationships with georgia, with various countries in latin america. and they began to study spanish. he apparently stuck with t. they would read the bible with each other at the end of the day. and they would take turns sometimes reading bible verses to each other in spanish. >> then, of course, the important role as the hostess for the camp david summit between antagonistic parties as they were trying to reach an agreement. what role did she play during that. and following the last clip, what was the public acceptance of the countries as the first lady coming to represent the u.s.? >> first on latin america, i

think that trip was somewhat misunderstood both in this country and abroad. that was a very substantive trip because president carter is rying to send message, this is new day for human rights. because you're an ally doesn't mean you can lock up political prisoners. you can't deliver it, so to have her deliver it, it was more effective. in camp david, the feeling -- president carter got the cia to develop these very fine profiles of the participants. and he knew what made him tick. and so he felt like they would all perform a lot better if their wives were there. and mrs. sidot couldn't come. but she was in frequent contact with anwar sidot. their being there had a very specific purpose that they were alking about things that would

affect their grandchildren and their families and having the spouses there would be a positive. nd i think it turned out to be that way. >> connie is watching us in walnut creek, california. hello, connie. connie, are you there? >> yes, mrs. carter had strong views of the passage of the equal rights amendment. i'm wondering since that time what her view of the progress that women have made in politics generally in society. and have she ever made a comment about whether a woman or should be elected president of the united states? >> thanks so much. >> i think she thinks it's overdo. the carters have withdrawn their emberships from the churches that don't allow women to be deacons.

president carter is going to be about the rights of women around the world. so they're still working on these issues. they're proud. carter has appointed a lot of women to the judiciary. ruth ginsberg was appointed by president carter and elevated to the supreme court by president clinton. she recognizes there was progress made. 44 days in iran. in our interview. >> i look back at the memories just waiting for the press conference in iran to say what happened that day. because we had no idea what was going on. and the only way we knew what was going on was when they would come out and announce it. and so it was just -- so we were thinking about -- we met with the families all along what jimmy was doing with the presidency. it was awful, it was awful. i would go out and campaign. i had found outerly early when the president goes out, he's surrounded. doesn't get close to people to aget close to conversations,

normal what they think about the opes and dreams, what they thought about what i was doing, jimmy was doing, anything that could help them. i had learned that early in his residency. and i would go out and everybody would say, tell the president to do something. and tell them to -- he's got to do something. i would come home and say, i would come home and say. what do you want me to do? ind the harbors?

he didn't know what to do. i wanted it over. every night, a new tv program started. nobody got over it at all, or could get over it. just think about it. every day, every night. it was awful. >> grace hale, earlier you commented on the role of the television media and shaping mages of the presidency. here we have a situation where every night what became "nightline" was america held

ostage counting down the ays. what's the role of the media in functioning the country on this situation in iran. >> we tend to think of our own ay as the media's uniquely interactive and everywhere and pervasive. and, in fact, there was a real kind of advance in the '70s and the coverage that the media could do and their access to footage and how quickly they could get things on the air. leaps forward were made. and you really saw that around the iranian hostage crisis, not only because it's being reported

and as you said the show that would become "nightline" was on the air every night talking about the crisis. but in the way, the iranians were able to use the media to their own advantage to pub publicize what was going on in their end and some ways insert themselves in the media onversation that maybe in an earlier era, the u.s. would be

able to dominate. that's part of the story as well. >> jay thinks it's ironic, sad, i don't know what the discussion is. today another event that c-span televised, one of many happening in the last few weeks discussing the possible accord with the iranians with the nuclear proliferation. we're still talking about the relationships with the country. i know the carter library and center had many discussions about the middle east. in the years ensuing, has the president and those who worked on his cabinet looked back and said we should have done something differently here? >> well, in iran specifically, i think president carter felt vindicated because the hostages got out alive. there was a choice between using military force, which would have been more popular with the public as mrs. carter's comments suggested, but high likelihood that a lot of hostages would have been killed or used punishing economic sanctions and then they eventually all get out alive. we're replaying that same kind of debate today. obviously with camp david, camp david was a -- was an early step. and i think president carter would have liked more time to expand to deal with the other issues between the arabs and israel, but he didn't have time to do that. so i think that he would have liked more time to work on that issue. but i think he turned out -- iran, as the hostages looked back on it over the years, they feel that probably the approach he took was the best one for protecting their safety. >> david is in chicago. you're on the air. >> hi, david. >> hi, good evening. a general question about the relationship between the reagans and the carters. and specifically, if i remember hearing president carter once state that president and mrs. reagan never invited the carters back for state dinner in eight years, or they weren't even invited back for the unveiling of the official white house portraits. is that true? >> i don't know. a little surprised by that. reagan came down to the carter library and gave a gracious speech.

so to that extent, you know, ex-presidents do -- and president reagan met with president carter before he send him off to represent the united states at the sidot funeral. there wasn't a lot hoff contact, but there was some. >> talked about the 1980 campaign. what were some of the issues in some of the iranian hostage crisis that were framing the debate. mrs. carter talked about going out to campaigning. what was she facing with the public? >> well, one of the main things she was facing was a pretty fractured democratic party. there were divisions within the party, kind of traditional base in the labor movement that the carters had never been particularly strong on that front or superconnected with the large union movement. the liberal wing of the party, obviously represented by ted kennedy, not particularly happen -- happy with the carters. in some ways, they were the

candidates that threaded through all of the factions of the conomic party. o the decline of the 1970s would be one thing she was facing on the campaign trail. t was an interesting time in our national life. the economy didn't necessarily go down for everybody, but for ndustrial workers, working class americans, it was a

really, really tough time. so that's something she would have faced. >> where did the carters go after losing the white house? >> they moved back to plains to sort of plan the rest of their life. they were pretty young to be out of the white house. they came back to the carter center. they were able to launch a new career working on the same issues. but to continue to have a very big impact, both in this country and around the world. they were very much partners in all of this. >> yes. >> how does she think the years after the white house had been framed and what they'd like to be remembered for. remember as of right now, jimmy carter is the longest serving ex-president in history. a lot of years since they left the white house they stayed involved in issues. let's watch. >> i hope my legacy continues for more than just first lady. ecause it's always been an integral part of my life, waging peace, fighting disease, building hope. hope i have contributed something into mental health issues and helped to improve a little bit, the lives of people living with mental

illnesses. but i also hope -- i have had great opportunities for so long now. and to go to africa or some of the countries where we go to africa two or three times a year. to go to those villages, things have come to fruition like we've been working on for all those years, we almost eradicated them. go to a village, it's a celebration. i mean, one of the good things about the carter center is we don't give money to the government. we send people in to help people in that country how to do something. and we were with the people in the villages. and helped the public there too and we work with them. and they do the work. and just to go to a village and explain to them, if you can get the chief to approve, that's what you have to do. if you see or hear about it from another country, they're so happy you're there. but just to see -- to go back when it's gone from a village or lmost gone, and the hope gives

to them most of the time it's the first thing they've ever seen that was successful. and it's just so wonderful, just to see the hope of it. it's something good is happening. i didn't mean to get emotional. >> will you comment more about the approach to the postpresidency, the postwhite house years? >> these are epic stories when you look at them closely. the carters started working in the 1980s, there were 3 1/2 million cases around the globe. this is a deep debilitating disease. the worm grows within the body and people can't go to school or work in the fields. and the last official number i saw was 542 cases and i think it's actually a little bit lower than that. it's just now in four countries, i think, mali, chad, ethiopia, and sudan. this is a remarkable achievement. this is going to be the second

disease after smallpox to be eliminated from the face of the earth. she didn't mention election monitoring, but they've now monitored elections, i believe, in 37 countries. and many of those countries more than once. nd countries like indonesia, liberia, they helped sort of nurture them as they've gone through several election ycles.

and then liberia is a perfect example. they not only moved to democracy where they elected the first woman president in an african country, but they had no mental health care. now with the cadre of nurses they developed over several cycles of that, most of the country is now covered with basic professional help. so when you start -- i'm just scratching the surface, when you start to see all of it going around the world because they can open the door as ex-president and ex-first lady, it's still going on, it hasn't stopped. president carter is in nepal last week for the elections there. >> he is now 9 years old? >> correct. >> and the first lady is 86, i believe. >> yes. >> lauren is elizabethtown, north carolina. hi, lauren, you are on. >> caller: hello, good evening. i wanted to know the relationship that ms. carter had with the late betty ford? >> well, they became very good friends.

and they worked on the era ogether as we mentioned. and they communicated a lot -- worked on projects together. and as i mentioned earlier, mrs. carter gave a nice eulogy. the ford family and the carter amily became good friends. for bette ford because for candor had taken a step forward or first ladies as well. and i think that made it a little easier for later first ladies to speak out to say what

they thought. >> and the -- the carters have concentrated on humanitarian issues globally. but i'm wondering about the relationship with the democratic party after leaving the white house after trouncing in the 1980 election. how welcome were they by the national party. what was their role? >> well, you know, immediately after that kind of defeat, those aren't the kind of people you're going to send out on the campaign trail or raising money. but the democratic party wasn't -- wasn't super embracing of the carters after that defeat. but it seems that it came around in time. i mean, the whole democratic party ended up across the '80s going in a more moderate direction and moving away from the more liberal wing. that's represented in the presidency of bill clinton. and so, in some ways, again, the carters were just a little bit maybe ahead of their time. the democratic party seems to have come around to a lot of the issues that maybe some democrats weren't thrilled with him about at the time. >> ashtontics on twitter asked does roslyn carter feel he deserves the accomplishments for snt. >> no. >> does any first lady ever, i might add? >> i think if you look at what president carter did, take panama canal treaty, for instance, that was something that was not at all popular at the time. but has opened up a whole range of developments in latin america. and mrs. carter would caution him, be careful politically here

a little bit because you do want to get a second term. but they didn't run away for the second term. o they moved ahead and had a pretty long list of accomplishments. hey did so and again i think grace mentioned this earlier, if you're doing the this with high interest rates, you talk to iran about the hostages, but the other thing that happened with iran was the cutoff from upplies in the middle east which raises oil prices and races inflation and interest

rates. so iran was this double whammy. not only did we have the ostages in captivity, but we had this inflair nation economy which no president wants to have in the election year. >> and the severest downturn in the economy since the depression in recent history. so in the time after world war ii -- >> until 2008. >> yes, yes, i meant before ecent times. >> david welsh on facebook wants to know where are the carter children now. what are they doing? did any pursue politics? >> well, jack, the oldest son, did run for the u.s. senate as the democratic nominee in nevada a couple of cycles ago. nd he lives in nevada. and his son, who is the oldest

carter grandchild, jason, is running for governor in the state of georgia. he's currently a state senator. chip lives in the atlanta area, jeff and amy both live in the atlanta area. so three of them are sort of close to home. and jack's out in nevada. >> and could you also comment about the grandson who made news in the last presidential campaign by unearthing the romney video that changed the direction of that campaign? >> this is a child who was in the inaugural parade. but he feels in his mother's womb. he is chip's son and he -- he's master of the internet and uncovered candidate romney's speech about the 47%. so he got in the news as a member of the carter family. >> do we know hisf grandparents' reaction as a result of that campaign? >> i think they were pleased. >> one more video, six minutes left in the program. this is plains and the carter's life there after the white house. let's watch. after the white house, mrs. carter took great interest. one of her projects was to help restore and refurbish the plains inn and antique mall. each room in the inn is dedicated to a decade in president and mrs. carter's life from 1920 to 1980. another one of mrs. carter's editions to the downtown plains the rose lynn carter butterfly garden. she established the garden to bring awareness to conserving butterflies, the habitats, and for her love of nature.

this is the baptist church where president carter and mrs. carter attend when they're in town. this is where he still teaches sunday school and ms. rosalynn is a deacon here in the church. plains is -- plains is home. everybody has some place they call home. and for the carter, plains, georgia is home. they could have travelled anywhere after the white house. and pretty much settled anywhere. but they wanted to come home. and i think that speaks volumes of the way they think about plains. they love it here. >> the person who is our interpreter there is national parks service. could you talk about the preservation of plains by the federal government through the national parks service and what one would find if they visit there? >> yes, the national parks service runs the historic site. it's got several parts to it. there's the carter boyhood home which is kind of a working farm now, it's apparently a large farm. and you could walk through the house there and have interpretation than his old high school or their whole high school has become kind of a museum. you can walk through there. the home they live in now is being deeded to the national park service. so it's well worth a trip to south georgia. you can go through warm springs an learn about fdr. which enyou get there, you can attend sunday school, stay in the plains inn, and visit the

historic sites. you're off of the beaten path. it's not close to an interstate. but people who are presidential and history junkies, it's a trip well worth making. >> and the carters have chosen he plains rather up than the carter center for the final burial place. >> only two presidents i'm aware of in post world war ii went back to their own hometowns. the trumans went back to inagains and the carters went back to the plains. >> keith, in illinois. hi, keith, you're on. caller: i've seen news coverage of when the carters intertangled with the clintons with the habitat for humanity. and i'm just curious, do they currently -- do they do anything with the obamas?

>> do the carters do anything with the obamas? >> i think sure, they had some interaction. we had pictures of them earlier together at the white house. but president carter sort of marches to his own drum beat and, you know, he has views that are very strong about the middle east and other things. and the ex-presidents still hang out. there's a book called the president's club that came out a year or two ago which gives you a lot of behind-the-scenes look at how the presidents interact. there are a lot of facets to it. sometimes people work together. sometimes they don't. >> as we close out here, redena crump kee wants to know, do they still take on new causes. >> they have this basic set of causes in which they travel extensively. and they're going to the poorest countries of the world. the chads and the malis make india and other countries look very wealthy. so they still do travel a lot. but they focus on the causes they have to produce the result that they're trying to

achieve. so mental health, election monitoring. peace negotiations, river blindness. these are sets of things they've been working on for a long time. and they're achieving a lot of success. >> as we close out here, gary robinson wants to know, what's the perception of the carters as time has passed since their presidency, and will it improve more overtime. as an historian, can you anticipate the future? >> not our greatest strength as historians but it's been a successful postpresidency. in many ways they reinvented that job and it doesn't look like they'll stop here in the later years. >> as historian looking back on the white house. has the perception of that change in the ensuing decades? >> i think perhaps the jury is still out. i mean, it's not seen as the most successful presidency of the post war era, but at the same time, trying to change some of the directions of event up -- events, promote what he was

promoting. energy independence, the spread of democracy. that's still the issue today. >> what about the first lady? >> top five, top ten. eleanor roosevelt is at the top. below that, there's some fluctuation. i think in his case, he's not rated as highly as she is. on the other hand, he was rated as one of the top three presidents in history on the environment. there's a libertarian book out that ranks them in the top ten that is interesting coming from that source. so i think the jury is still out. papers are still being declassified. people are being the broader perspective. hopefully people keep having these discussions. >> how much of her papers did she preserve for the public? >> she's got a lot. she took extensive notes and diaries. there's a lot of private comments in there and in general, those are still haven't

been available to historians. so she's a great documenter, she's a good historian herself. the memoir, "the white house years" is something i always recommend to people. you can still get copies. >> in fact, i have one here. first lady from plains. it is one of five books that mrs. carter has authored or co-authored in her years since the white house. that's it for our time and i want to say thank you for their continuing help to produce the series and we'll have a list of many of the others who made this ossible. and thanks to our two guests for their information and your conversation with the audience tonight. >> thanks for having me.

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>> our series first ladies returns in the new year .eginning with nancy reagan and over the next three weeks presentations of first ladies each weeknight at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. with the white house historical asociation c-span is offering special edition of first ladies. our website has more about each .irst lady at cspan.org >> it's a rare constant in

american political life if you look at congress in 1901 less than 2% of members came from working class backgrounds, got in politics and eventually wound up in congress. the average member of congress spent less than 2% of their career doing manual jobs or service industry jobs this. is one thing that really hasn't changed. lots of different as spebts of the political process has changed. the rise of big money in politics, the decline of unions and while all of this is happening, one of the constants during the last 100 years or so is that working class people are not getting elected to political office. >> does it matter that there is a disparity between most elected officials and the citizens they represent? sunday night at 9:00 on

afterwards. understand january in depth. mark will take questions for three hours all part of book tv weekends on c-span2. and online for book tv book club, we want to know what your favorite books were in 2013. join other readers to discuss books of the year. >> now a financial stability oversight council discussion on cybersecurity and financial markets. the council, created by the dodd-frank law, includes jack lew, ben bernanke, and the heads of the fdic and the consumer financial protection bureau. his is 45 minutes.

>> i apologize. i did not realize the microphone was on. i would like to call this open meeting of the financial tability oversight consul to order, and before we go to our regular order of is this, i would like to take note that this is the last meeting for two of our members, chairman bernanke and chairman gensler. chairman bernanke he will be at the january meeting, but this is actually chairman gensler's last meeting as chairman of the council. i would like to thank them for their dedication and service. i would like to thank chairman bernanke for the leadership of

the fed during a period of time when his leadership made an enormous leadership ifference. in the aftermath of the financial crisis, his boldness was critical to of hurting a great depression. with respect to the council's were, he has made immeasurable cut emissions in so many areas. i would like to thank chairman ensler for everything he has done to promote our financial markets.

gary has been steadfast in his pursuit and the ongoing transformation of our drifters markets operate, and it is a testament to him that we have made the progress that we have. half of the council, i want to thank you both for your leadership and your dedication. i know that chairman gensler's was asked to make a few remarks. >> i want to thank you, secretary, for those kind words. five years ago when the president-elect asked you to serve, the economy was in freefall, and a number of us got

together at the presidential transition, but a number of you had much tougher jobs, because ben was sorting through that crisis, and marty was there, and it was. since that time, i think we have really come together, the dedicated staffs of the council members, agencies have all worked together, and i think the economy really is working better. finance is just about one part of our interconnected economy. the vast majority of opportunities, of growth and innovation is outside finance, with 94% of private sector jobs outside of finance. finance is to serve the economy and help markets operate with commonsense rules of the road. president roosevelt got that right 80 years ago, and many of those reforms of the 1930's and the success of the next 80 years, and that is what president obama did as well after the crisis that he took on five years ago. but i think it is through these dodd-frank reforms that any of which are now being implemented. i want to mention a couple of mine around the table, if i can. i have six quick was. i think the heart reform is ensuring the largest financial institutions have the freedom to fail. i dad's small business of baltimore, if he did not make payroll, nobody was going to

bail him out, and that is at the core of what dodd-frank is. that is what i was so please just last month when moody's, the large rating agency, removed this uplift them and the credit ratings of the largest tank holding companies that had come to be the cause of perceived government backing, and that works because of title ii of dodd-frank and all over the fdic and the fed did, and ben and his people in the bank relators in supporting everything -- and marty. the second thing i think is making sure that there is enough capital on hand, and i know -- where is dan? i've have been on all these international meetings where dan has been tireless, along with tom's people, and making sure there's enough capital in the system and the stress tests really work. that is really coming into being. we have a new agency with the energetic leadership richard cordray making sure that investors are looked out for. we have a lot to do in the mortgage area. chairman schapiro is such a friend of mine, and mary jo white took on the issues of hedge funds and transparency and you're getting the money market reform done, and there's a lot of reform in that way, too. because those parts of the

sectors are outside the banking ystem directly that that was a import. fifthly, working with the fdic, everything you have done with that derivatives market. $380 trillion market. the public can see you. 70% interest rates are already cleared. that would not have happened without dodd-frank, without the sec and so forth. each of us have been vigorous cops on the beat. at the cftc cannot we have worked with the justice department and the sec. we exposed the pervasive rigging against the interest rate market. our annual report highlights this. i think the last thing i noticed, just the council itself, i was honored to serve in the clinton administration as well whenever something called

the president's working group. through secretary geithner's leadership, this council has come together, a place where we can collaborate them a have honest discussions, and when we disagree, we disagree agreeably. and i think the sign of that is that tomorrow we will, as i can predict -- keep fingers crossed -- i think we will bring an important rule across the line, the volcker rule. again, thank you. >> i do not have a statement. i want to thank you, mr. secretary, for those kind words, and thank my colleagues on the council. very rewarding working with all of you, and i think the council has served its purpose of helping us work together better and to better coordinate our efforts. very important that we recognize the financial system is a system. we cannot look at a piece by piece, but as a whole, and the council has been effective in promoting that holistic approach to oversight and regulation. so thank you, and again, it is

been a pleasure working with all of you. >> on behalf of the council, thank you both for tremendous service. s we approach the end of the year, i think it is safe to say that in recent months we have seen one of the most active periods of financial reform since the president signed dodd-frank into law. agencies have put and finalize mortgage will. this council designated companies for enhanced standards. federal reserve supervision, new requirements for otc derivatives, poor trading went to into effect to reduce risks from the large and previously unregulated market them and as

gary noted, we are on the verge of seeing the volcker rule completed. this work couldn't finish the final piece of the dodd-frank implementation, harmonizing international forms so that risks abroad did not pose risks here, creating strong protections for the money market fund and history, and moving forward on a bipartisan basis with significant reform to attract more private capital into the market. even as we get this done, the job of maintaining a safe financial system will continue. it is an ongoing effort that hat is never finished. we have to keep up the steps to version more aggressively to identify emerging risks, and when necessary take action. for today plus meeting, we have two topics for discussion. irst we will start with a very

important topic of cybersecurity. it is a question of how the public and private sectors are working together to combat cyber threats. and as this council highlighted in our 2013 annual report, ybersecurity and the broader area of operational risk is growing in targeted focus for financial regulators. it has been an important book is for me as treasury secretary and as chair of the council. today we will hear from an assistant secretary for financial institutions whose officers, as chair of the finest of and banking infrastructure committee. we are also happy to welcome kelly king, chairman and ceo of bb&t corporation. he serves as chair of the financial services roundtable technology policy terms of, and has been instrumental in organizing efforts to address cybersecurity. they will review the two

priorities for the public and private sectors and will outline the important collaborative efforts being taken to promote the financial sector's resilience against cyber attack. with that, i turn it over to them. >> thank you, mr. secretary, and members of the financial stability oversight counsel for the opportunity to speak today about cybersecurity about the public-sector's role, and our collaboration with national services sector. our experience over the next couple years shows that cyber threats to national institutions and markets are growing in sophistication. the changing nature of these threats prompted this cancel last year to highlight operational risk and cybersecurity in particular as orthy of heightened risk management and attention. in response to these threats, the u.s. government and financial sector have come together to identify vulnerabilities, reprove esilience.

i would like to highlight a few features of this effort begin. first, as is true with other aspects of forgetting financial stability, this effort needs to be constant and continuous. there will not be a day where we can sit back and take our job is done. some of the reasons why the challenge will be daily are as follows -- rapidly changing technology, increasing and expanding eliance by financial companies on technology to perform business and customer interaction functions, the creativity and persistence of would be cyber attackers and complexity of network architecture. so while we have made progress on her efforts to protect the financial system among we will always have much work ahead of us. second, the public-private partnership in this area is not only desirable, it is necessary. some of the threats that concern s the most and has the

potential for creating the greatest harm our deliberate actions with the intent to cause damage to the financial system. as a result, protection of our financial system can succeed only by combining the resources and capabilities of government with those of the private sector. third, this endeavor it is about protecting the financial sector as a whole from the largest financial institutions and exchanges to community banks and credit unions. accordingly, we work to reach financial institutions of all sizes and types. each stakeholder has an important role to play in this collective endeavor. i will share with you some key aspects of treasury's ongoing work on cybersecurity. i will outline our work to partner with other agencies, regulators, and the private sector to enhance cybersecurity. treasury serves as the sector's specific agency for the financial sector, which means it plays a leading role in policy development and a coordinating role in incident response. in this role, treasury has sought to increase engagement, improved coordination, and

facilitate information sharing on cybersecurity issues with colleagues across the federal government, particularly those involved in national security, homeland security, and law enforcement. the committee regularly with senior officials in these areas on matters specific to cybersecurity come up with in the complex of incidents and the more general operational and policy matters. more specifically, over the past year treasury has facilitated detailed cybersecurity briefings, including classified briefings, for both financial regulatory community and the financial sector. on many occasions, these briefings have been conducted by experts from other agencies. and the audience has been diverse. art utilities such as exchanges and clearing houses, large and small banks, insurance companies, credit unions, and sset managers.

briefings have been held across the country to the help of partner agencies, both to amend their offices available and have assisted us in conducting the briefings. we have also collaborated with other agencies, especially law enforcement, on incident response. treasury's role during an incident often is to facilitate the provisions by other government agencies with technical assistance to financial firms. treasury is also focused on streamlining the dissemination of information we receive, notably actionable threat affirmation. to that end, we continue to improve our communications with a broader national security community so we can efficiently received threat information, analyze and declassified information as appropriate, and provide it probably either to affected firms or to the sector as a whole. this option is performed by dedicated personnel used task is to share information on a regular, timely basis. they are in continual contact with the private sector's fsi group, which is a could go partner into stripping information to stakeholders. this partnership is an important building block of the public

partnership. as i have indicated come other agencies in the u.s. government are also active and partners in this endeavor. the basic concept is the foundation of the executive order, which was issued in february of this year. in the executive order directs agencies and departments to work with the private sector to take steps to protect our nation against cyber threats. under the executive order, we have been collaborating with other agencies to help the national institute of standards and technology to develop a framework to protect our critical infrastructure from cyber risk. the preliminary framework available for public comment, and the financial regulatory community and the financial sector both have been highly engaged in providing feedback hroughout the process.

the work under the executive order is vital, but it is not a substitute for cybersecurity legislation. administration hopes to work with congress to ensure our laws keep pace with the evolving threats while protecting privacy and civil liberties. in addition to our work to implement the president's executive order, we also work daily with law enforcement, intelligence, and the department of homeland security on cyber issues. first, we look to the intelligence community to provide us with threat and vulnerability information. we work with the broader intelligence community to analyze those threats and share them with the private sector. second, we work with law enforcement and dhs to disseminate information to financial firms and provide technical assistance, and particularly in the case of an incident, we as a government endeavored to be present at the scene and offer any assistance we are capable of providing. hird, we look at dhs and other

cabinet agencies in case another sector could affect the financial sector. the experience of superstorm sandy was instructed. a firm or have difficulty unctioning if there's no electricity or telecommunications, or if it's most important resources, its employees, cannot get to work. cybersecurity is a priority for regulators. in addition, the council as a whole has been briefed on cybersecurity and other operational risk matters. this was a focus of the council's 2013 annual eport. broadly speaking, the financial

regulators addressed cybersecurity to regulation and guidance, supervision, and participation in incident response. information security procedures and testing, adequate backup systems, and emergency business continuity and recovery plans. an important goal of these activities is to ensure that each firm under supervision has adequate policies and procedures n place to protect itself from cyber attacks and potential consequences. for example, the federal financial institutions examination council have over the years established uniform principles and standards for the examination of financial institutions during the examinations rely on manuals developed for this very purpose and for other relevant literature, including publications on standards.

earlier this year the working group was convened to update its approach to supervision and examination, with respect to cybersecurity. another example of activity in this area is the securities and exchange commission proposed regulation. as the council appreciates cybersecurity is a comic subject. given the nature of the threat and his potential sources, it can be addressed only through a whole government approach combined with a strong public-private partnership. that is the essence of the president's is negative order and a summation of our efforts. we have organized the production of the financial system. cybersecurity is here to stay, and we must remain vigilant to its ever evolving character. thank you for the opportunity to address this important issue efore the council. >> thank you, mr. secretary, for allowing the on behalf of my industry to be here today, and i thank the council members for allowing me this privilege. if i make to take the privilege of a sitting our angst to chairman ben bernanke and gary gensler. in the area of cyber, i will sum

it up, the world has changed. we are not going back. we have made progress, but we are long way to go. risk is increasing in pace and complexity, potential impact. it is from fraudsters to people causing disruption to nation states' manipulation and isruption. it is a big risk. we have to do all we can to mitigate that risk. what has been done? over the last 18 months, our industry has been coming together to do a number of things that i would like to share with you briefly. richard davis and i encourage you in the effort to raise the level of awareness of and ceo's in a country from a level that in all honesty 18 months ago was not as heightened as it needed to be to a level today check it is far from where why have to become but is much more advanced than a while ago. we are making progress. we have heard of the attacks,

they have done a lot to raise everybody's attention with regard to this area. the last 12 months we have had three cybersecurity summits. treasury has worked closely with us in pulling this together. we have great industry participation. also, mr. secretary, we have good support from the society security infrastructure. we have developed a comprehensive plan in five areas. these plans are to enhance information sharing and. improving in communication and dvocacy. three areas you may be interested where we are making progress is what we call

internet top level domains. what controls the international allocation of domain names, about a year ago, it made everybody aware that it was allocating some new domains that could be controlled. the fsr in working with the aba has been working together. it has been a huge deal today because everybody's information and insurance information travels over the dot-com network. think of it as a 24-lane highway, people going 90 miles an hour. a lot of chance for people in that scenario. this is a much more controlled the domain and will allow a four-lane access to a highway so your information sharing will be much more confidential.

making investments in something we call information sharing, which is an organization to analyze authorization between institutions. what we are doing there is dramatically increasing the capacity of them to make available information to all of the 14,000 and credit unions around the country, because the day the information is moving at a snail pace, and when we get it, and in the future is to move real time. we are happy about that. we're developing a secure cloud whereby if the future your credit card and debit card payments will not be as insecure as they are today, because while it is complex, effectively your information will never be disclosed to a merchant. it will travel through a cloud and no one outside of the banking industry will control that information. these are three important undertakings that are going to

substantially reduce the risk and make a nice step in progress toward where we need to go. we made our aggressive recovering and resiliency efforts. groups developed a simulation you say patient to sure sure with 50ld be an attack organizations involved. it has developed a simulation called systemic strike which simulates a cyber attack in the payment area which is very effective as well. we have made really good clobbered last progress -- really good progress. we were the most engaged of the sectors to participate in its development of cybersecurity. we have also made some really nice