ward. james bakere iii and leon panetta. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ announcer: 1968 was the year of political assassinations and the space race. a fractious presidential election. riots of the political left and right. turmoil."8: american >> joining us from new york with

his latest book "president carter: the white house years." more than 900 pages. thank you for being with us. why did you write the book? >> i broke the book because i wanted to have a reassessment of the carter presidency. his hero was harry truman. harry truman signed "the buck stops here" and put it on his desk. truman is now remembered much achievements than his failures. i wanted the book to have the same impact for president carter. a reassessment of his presidency. not just to be seen as a great former president. i make the case that he was one of the most accomplished one-term presidents we've had in modern history and accomplished

more than many two-term presidents. hisress had much of legislation just under the legendary percentage that president johnson got in the white house. >> steve, you've read the book. it is a candid and honest book. inflation, iran, mafia, that inner party warfare. andal with it honestly candidly. they have come to totally subsume and obscure the very real accomplishments carter made at home and abroad. i wanted, after all of these years, two of these eyewitnesses in the future decades to try to put the presidency in a more vein.ve and candid

to have an honest reassessment of what was a very consequential presidency. >> you researched and wrote the book, but you also lived through those four years. can you give the audience a sense of that? >> yes. i was with president carter when he ran for governor. i was his to mystic advisor for four years, coordinating all domestic and economic issues. foreign policies as well. i was the backchannel to israel during the midwest process. i worked on a number of sanctions issues against the soviet union and against iran. an what i think gives authenticity to the book is based on 5,000 pages of notes taken of every meeting, every phone call i had with president, vice president, the cabinet, the congress. plus, over 350 interviewss and i

was not selected. i interviewed everyone, republicans, democrats, those who were favor to believe carter, those whether or not. i interviewed the president himself five times. so it's really based on very contemporaneous being there, and i try to do it as an insider but also to try to take a historian's objectivity and make it candid. i knew that if it was seen as just a whitewash, it wouldn't be taken seriously. so i really tried to put everything in order but having done so, to see major accomplishments, our energy security today is based heavily on the three major energy bills that the president signed which decontrol the price of natural gas and crude oil and puts conservation at the center of our agenda and scomploor wind power and the environment, he was the greatest environmental

presidents since need door roosevelt, doubling the size of our national parks, putting in ethics legislation, appointing more women and minorities to senior positions and judgeships than all 38 president put together and having a social policy that was very progressive, food stamp reform, health care remple and the like -- reform. and even with our achilles' heel, which was double-digit inflation, he took the position, steve, and he said to us in an election year i'm going to take tough medicine. everything i've tried, tough budgets, any inflations, nothing's work. i'm going to appoint knowing that chairman of the fed, he was going to in effect, squeeze inflation out of the system to hire interest rate asks he ahead

i would rather lose my election. so president reagan and the beneficiaries afterwards but it was carter who did it. and on foreign policy, even more so, camp david inaugurated 40 years of peace between egypt and israel. how many rights at the centerpiece of this policy reach touting latin america to the democratic movement arguing for democracy in latin america which did happen and doing the same with soviet union. reaching out in the soviet jewish movement. building up our defenses after the de: of defense spending in vietnam. everybody assumes that was p.m. reagan's doing and he deserves credit doing it but we started it. we raised defend spending at 3%. recognized china.

all of these things were done in a quite conventional -- questionable -- consequential way and made it more of a peaceful world and took on the soviet union with afghanistan. it was not just soft power, it was hard power. when they invaded afghanistan, he increased defense spending. had an olympic boycott. a grain embargo on the eve of the iowa primaries. and imposed a whole range of sanctions and inaugurated what was called the carter doctrine saying to the soviets any penetration in the gulf will be met with military force. and so i wanted to put all of these positive things on the record as well as dole honestly with the problems that we had. host: our guest is stuart eizenstat. he is joining us from new york. we'll get to your phone calls in just a moment. in the book title "president carter: the white house years." and let me follow-up on some foreign policies that you just

touched on. and in the bock, you write with regard to foreign policy, "carter was the first american president to make human rights a central feature of his foreign policy. his was the anti-this of the nixon-ford kisner concept of balance of hour." and you take that one step further. no one can draw clear line between the collapse of the soviet union and the human can you paign -- explain? guest: yes, steve, i can. for him, human rights and foreign policy was the flip side of the coin of civil rights at home. and for him, human rights was not a sort of doo we-eyed naive

policy. he struck at the soft underbelly of the soviet union by reaching out to the dissident movement, the democratic movement to the soviet jewish movement. he saved sha rance i can's own book, his life by saying he wasn't a spy during his trial and that increased soviet jewish immigration but it also gave hope. and along with pope john paul ii who came at the same time, it really gave hope to those in the soviet union and the east block that there was light at the end of the tunnel. this repression did not have to go on indefinitely. and he combined that, steve, that what i would call soft ower of human right, with hard power, increasing defense spending, modernizing our military and taking a very tough stand that the soviet invasion of afghanistan. so ronald reagan deserves all the credit for taking tough positions but the ultimate

collapse of the soviet union, but president carter created the foundation with both human right, democracy promotion and hard power upon which president reagan build. host: let's get to your phone calls. harold is joining us on the republican line from florida. good morning. caller: good morning. look, nobody would argue that jimmy carter wasn't in some ways a fine man. the problem is for those of us who are old enough to remember him. he wasn't exactly a successful president. he was a man who couldn't see the forest through the trees. it's just unbelievable. he spent his time trying to figure out who should play tennis on the white house tennis court. i mean, this is crazy. he just didn't get the job done. and when you say that he, you know, somehow built up american strength and did these things overseas, look, there was a reason that ronald reagan got

elected. there was a real reason. and if you want to look at the armed forces and how they were doing, try to see it as it actually was. there were some real problems with our troops in germany. i would rather not get into what they were but i mean, real problems. host: harold, thanks for the call. you addressed the issue about his attention to detail. caller: i do. and i appreciate the caller's comments. first of all, he did not micromanage the tennis courts. it was a gesture of grace to his staff to allow us to play on the tennis court. he did not motorcycle manage the hours. he only wanted to make sure when he wanted to play, nobody else was. but his attention to detail, which you mentioned, steve, and it's certainly true that he read every memorandum before making a decision. but one winter storm warnings in retrospect if that's a worst way to govern or wouldn't be better

to have an informed president than one who acts on tweets and without full action. and in terms of foreign policy, we reached out to our allies. with ked with germany and france with the u.k. to build up nato and missiles in europe, which the russians themselves said was a key reason for the ollapse of the soviet union. derelating airlines. bringing airline travel to the middle class, camp david, china, normalization, the panama canal and lat tin-america u.s. relations. these are ardly accidental things and one of the problems was that the benefits of those oftentimes only came to the fore

at the -- after he left office. inflation is a great example. we had double-digit inflation just like nixon did after the first oil shock. with the iranian revolution. and you will have car did the job and carter let him do the job and the benefit of lower inflation came later. it was a very accomplished presidency. it was a presidency with real problems. and again, i deal honestly with those but they shouldn't obscure the very real achievements both at home and abroad. host: with regard to the military, you write the following "far from hollowing out america's militaryings he was the architect of the beginning of the revival, increasing spending 10% but the impression stuck that he was soft on defense." guest: yes, steve. so you can take two independent voices.

robert gates who was secretary of defense and republican and democratic administrations and a new study on the tenure of our defense secretary harold brown. both say the same thing. it was carter who laid the foundation for the military modernization upon which reagan uilt and enhanced. so why was he viewed as being weak on defense? for a couple of reasons. first, in the campaign against president ford in 1976, he did call for reducing ford's levels of spending by five to seven percent helmet did call by removing troops and when he we seesaw rerealities, he increased defense spending. and with the afghan invasion, 5% a year and put in place all of these other modernizations. now, there was one other thing

that gave him this wrap of -- rap of being weak on defense. he killed the b-1 bomber and he thought it was insufficient, too costly and would be subject to soviet radar and so he opted for modernized cruise missile that could come in under the soviet radar systems. but the killing of the b-1 took on a symbolic importance. so this is another example of problems on curing very real accomplishments. host: and he knew in the military having been the first u.s. president to graduate from the u.s. say? value academy and serving in the u.s. navy. guest: not just serving in the navy but being an officer in the submarine corps. he nuclear navy.

just after he announced his melanoma and just before he was oing to get new treatment, remarkably, he's been cancer-free now for over two years. he's back to all of his activities at 90 plus. using your d.n.a., activating the immune system to block the cancer rather than chemotherapy which kills the good cells in and the bad and going back to the presidency, he was a great advocate for health care expansion. we proposed a major expansion in health insurance. we had food stamp reforms. he was fiscally conservative but

he was progressive on poverty, race and bringing us together, reaching out to the african-american and hispanic communities and as i mentioned, literally pointing more the senior positioning as judges and in the administration than all 38 presidents put together before him. host: we'll go to steve who has been patient in florida. democrats line. good morning. you're on with stuart eizenstat who is joining us from new york city. caller: yes. thank you. i'm really anxious to read your book. it's really refreshing to hear someone honoring the legacy of president carter. i live in florida but i was born and raised in a town in northwestern pennsylvania. and i remember sitting there in disbelief when i was oh, 23 years old, watching the election and seeing jimmy carter lose the

race and seem still angry with my father's generation for crossing the line. voting for president reagan and all the baby boomers were so cstatic. i feel the i feel like he had to make some unpopular decisions. he was the first one that told us that the energy crisis was real. he was an environmentally minded president. i feel like we went through the cycle again. right now, president obama is

getting discredited. here we go again with supply-side economics, taking credit for everything, one of the things president obama did. he found a parallel. host: a response. guest: good question. had a highirchner view of policy. he was a firtash president carter had a high view of policy. he thought you should put politics on the sideline and do what was right. on one level, a weakness. the other, a great strength. it allowed him to take on challenges and accomplish something. the middle east is a political landmine, but he accomplished it. a political landmine, but he accomplished it. able toronment, he was broaden our natural -- national parks system.

heel, our achilles' double-digit inflation. inflation during the 70's for next and and forward. taken into the stratosphere because of the iran crisis. challenge ofough this, knowing it was going to lead to tighter control of higher interest rates, higher unemployment. we pay the political price for that. the country and reagan afterwards, the benefit of the system. in terms of president -- host: go ahead. president obama, they had a similar, more academic fields the presidency, give and take. one of the things i want to .tress, taking it to today we've lost the sense of bipartisanship. where so polarized.

president carter had weekly breakfast with the democratic leadership. regular leadership breakfast this with republican leadership. the panama count -- tree was doing. the republican minority leader howard dickerson, her energy bill was due to support a republican senator. accomplishments we made, senator stevens is a republican. has sense of bipartisanship been lost. that's one of the great problems we have. it's the unwillingness to compromise. able tot carter was bring republicans and democrats together for some accomplishments. the book.aphs from president jimmy carter walking down pennsylvania avenue. carter at the age of nine.

joining us from ripley, new york. yes.r: host: you are on the air. caller: i'm a vietnam veteran. what i've seen over there, what we did to the people. i cannot believe the american people are so greedy for what we've done. dosomebody says they will what they say, and this is what our president is doing. it's very disturbing. the only work is to move a banana tree because we will rip it out. building orphanages for the blewe, the kids that we their legs and arms off. not including what we did with agent orange. people complain about agent

orange. those people are dying because of this. >> thank you. >> and think it's very important. dies off of staff serving in vietnam. his own son served in vietnam. interestingly, president carter began to reverse this negative view, not from the vietnam war. people took it out on soldiers who were fighting in the interest of their leaders. they were prorated. he set up a special commission set up theand vietnam memorial. it's hard to believe when it's the most visited memorial in washington. people said, you are trying to elevate the soldiers. we felt soldiers should not be blamed for the mistakes of their

leaders. day, january 21, they have this inauguration. the first act was the executive order giving amnesty to those -- not because he thought it was a good thing, he served in the military. he wanted to feel vietnam. that was another unpopular but one that did bring us together. it's emblematic of so much of what he did, taking up unpopular causes and doing the right thing, though not often advantageously. >> a tweet from matt smith that teachestilts -- still sunday school. attending a class is on my bucket list. good morning. >> good morning. .hank you

lectures you put on in atlanta, i attend them regularly. to carter, goes standing in the jewish community. i know your book is about the white house. , but obviously you know there are many in the jewish community who believe that he is predisposed towards the palestinian -- called an anti-semite, because in particular, one book he wrote and other things he has done. i'm wondering if you could comment on that from your perspective. as someone newhim and worked with him. >> i'm so pleased that you did that. president carter got 8 -- 70 percent of this straight yet only 40% of the jewish vote in 1980. despite the fact that he had the first boycott dutch to prevent

companies for the boycott of israel. despite the fact he was the father of the u.s. holocaust memorial museum, despite the fact that he reached out for champions -- cause, and despite the fact that he's negotiated over 15 arduous days and nights. happen.that life does he view this negatively? , andnk it was because wanted to achieve peace -- in order to achieve peace in the middle east, he had to push this. he pushed the prime minister hard. 70% of the jewish vote in the illinois primary in 1980. resolution, 465 , which contrary to his commitment to the prime minister at camp david, on six occasions mentioned jerusalem as occupied

territory and in the resolution against any settlement. personally hit point to get all the secretary of state to jerusalem out. outflow a mass of support. since he left office, in my opinion he's in many wonderful things. shocked.w that, i was i think that one single phrase toalways mentioned succeeding israeli prime minister's. it stuck to carter like glue.

the thingsso many of he did for israel. increased spending for israel. all the other things i just mentioned. soviet jewry.o all these things weren't scared. he had topositions take to achieve these. it's really unfortunate and incorrect to half that. if you ask most american jews today, it's the one thing -- all things accomplished during the administration. >> can i get a quick comment with regards to opening up tomorrow in jerusalem? what effect would that have on relations with allies outside of israel? move has not, that occasioned the kind of anger, demonstrations one would have

thought. initially, i thought it was something that should await a full process. two-state -- opening solution. it appears to me the palestinians are in no mood to negotiate. i think now it's a positive thing, but it's important not to let that move prevent us from pushing for the student -- everyate solution that president has supported up to this point. it is still critical to deal with jerusalem. embassy, weing the are putting it in west jerusalem. an eventual two-state solution -- whatyou think the president trump has done is positive. has not been except

-- accepted with the anger 11 have expected. is stuartst eisenstein. his book on president carter, the white house years and with regard to iran. shutting off iran's oil exports. what has led to the hostages please -- and -- release and not their murder? full force -- would be met with the full force of the united states. while some of the countries prestige with iran. ,he book is more than 900 pages focusing on policy issues president carter faces. good morning. >> doing a great job as usual. i wanted to ask quickly about pakistan.

one of the certain outcomes that proved -- was housed -- how the carter administration got caught in pakistani intelligence operations. both east pakistan as well as here, it's led to the dividing clifford. falling through the back channel. implications not just for clark, but at the same time, purposefully a motion with elements of saudi intelligence. push an agenda. if that became muddy, questions about bert lance, what was going on in the white house with respect to pakistan. to this day, we have not sorted

out what we are going to do. and, how we will contender -- entangle ourselves. fcc eye, what occurred after our administration. i went to come back to your quote. i'm candid and honest about this. president carter cannot be anyed for the shaw's demise more than the president eisenhower can be blamed for the castro resolution -- revolution 90 miles away. mistakes.e many our intelligence was atrocious, one of the worst since world war ii. that thet realize shaw's political support had evaporated. we didn't realize that and now i come on the shaw six presidents

had given tens of millions of dollars for our sophisticated -- was being treated for five years for incurable cancer. we didn't realize the impact of the khomeini, radical islamic .leric, exiled outside of paris coming back to iran to ferment the revolution. mentioned, iu believe i recommended, as did her national security adviser, that we should not have taken immediately -- immediate military correction. but blockadingn, harbors. crisis, preventing flow out of iran. it also hold himself up, didn't travel. more press attention.

this is the sole focus of his latest year. for ted koppel. every program for cbs news saying, 210. crisis --ain hostage and the rescue mission, which .as a disaster not because of president carter, but sufficient practice between the four military services. all of that combined to be the themate -- straw that broke camel's back. nothing to pakistan. host: joanna is joining us from damascus, maryland. democrats line. new york. caller: i'm so happy you wrote this book. i'm going to read it this summer. i'm in a book club. it's changed to the book club regiment. ends in june. president carter is my favorite president in modern history. on and 1947.

year. be 71 this i loved his passion and commitment to this country. i wrote him a letter a few years ago. i thought, if i don't read it now it will never get written. he wrote me a note back. .hanks me for the letter he's a wonderful man. the fact that he had cancer, i that was onry when tv. i find him so beloved. i want to disagree on one point. i want to second what you said touched theing original roosevelt, original environmentalist. .e was made fun of at the time he took solar panels out of the white house. i find that outrageous. i want to disagree on one point,

and that is your comments on his use of the word apartheid. i read that book. here's my feeling. what he was recognizing, he was a man that believed in fair play, democracy, a full rights. squeezing theere palestinians further and further. putting jewish settlements there. he saw that. he called it for what it is, what it was, the fact that palestinians did not have the same rights as israelis. >> thank you for the call. a response. >> two things. first for palestinians, i agree with you that palestinians need more rights. so did president carter. he said he saw palestinians as being the equivalent of the

african americans discriminated against when he was growing up in the south, but the problem is this. by using a lowe's and -- loaded term like apartheid, they are as we had the treaty, the palestinians should have full crossed theen he line by using the provocative fords. feels that the two-state solution is important. .- provocative words he feels the two-state solution is important. it was a term that is difficult. let me focus on your initial comments. steve, this is one of his points. he was not just ethical in office. he have laws more important than ever today. the ethics act of '78, assets going into office.

more important than ever today. and, respecting the presidency and the institution. denigrate his attorney general or cabinet officers, or the courts, or the press. he respected the institution, and he respected the executive branch, and the free press. even when it was critical of them. i will let people draw conclusions with what's happening now. president carter in person that -- i wrote it with president carter in perspective. this is a critical part of his domestic legacy, along with the environment and energy, creating

the modern vice presidency, taxing, inflation. respecting the presidency and its institutions is something , more todaymportant than ever. have about a minute left. we talk about the 1980 campaign. you the following. it's difficult to conjure up a more catastrophic final year than 1980 four presidents office. november 4, 1979, hostages in iran. on novemberr reagan 4, 1980. profound level, carter was a moderately conservative democrat, partly to -- dominated. today in seeing that the democratic party. >> yes we are. 1980 was catastrophic.

we had the challenge from the left. carter was a moderate democrat, but not liberal enough for ted kennedy. we have afghan invasion by the soviet union, the hostage crisis. we had his brother. we have the rise of inflation, because of the iran crisis. the hostage crisis with the rescue effort. we had even as we completed, arms control treaty, like afghanistan. --many ways, a point of tough. when you have all of them, it was difficult. the ted kennedy challenge, inflation and iran would take this from 1980. host: the book president carter, white house years. joining us from new york. thank you for bei

announcer: here on c-span, you is next. that is followed by theresa may taking questions from members of the house of commons. later, we will look at the impact of fresh and sanctions on u.s. foreign-policy. ♪ announcer: this week on "q&a," university of california santa barbara english professor yunte huang. he discusses his book "inseparable: the original siamese twins and their rendezvous with american history." ♪ brian: yunte huang, author of "inseparable: the original siamese twins and their rendezvous with american history," who were chang and eng?