>> for the next hour and a half, we will get your reaction to the death of former president jimmy carter while also looking back at his life and legacy. then we will talk to levy nyack at the american progress action fund to discuss the democratic party's future and discussed the republican trip -- the republican control in housing congress. then christopher cox will talk about his book on president woodrow wilson. take part in the conversation. "washington journal" starts now. host: this is "washington journal" for monday, december 30 . flags are flying at half staff this morning in honor of former president jimmy carter.

the navy veteran, 39th president of the united states, humanitarian, died sunday at his home in georgia. he was 100 years old. we want to hear your thoughts on the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter. here are the lines. eastern or central time zones, (202) 748-8000. mountain or pacific, (202) 748-8001. you can text your comments to (202) 748-8003. include your name and your city. you can also post a question or comment on facebook or x. the announcement of former president carter's death came yesterday afternoon. several newspapers are noting it

on their front page. washington times headline, jimmy carter, 39th u.s. president, dies at age 100. in passionate statesmen and dear friend. new york times, a peacemaker who never stops driving. it notes that the photo of him is from 2007, saying he was a self percent -- self-professed outsider intent on reforming washington. from the wall street journal, former president carter, nobel winner, dies at 100. the photo here says it was taken in 1977 and notes he was the longest living ex-president. from the washington post, this headline, one-term president who shone after the white house the article says jimmy carter come at the no-frills southern governor who was elected

president in 1976 was rejected by disillusioned voters after a single term and went on to an extraordinary post-presidential life that included winning the nobel peace prize, died sunday in his home in plains, georgia, according to his son. he was 100, the oldest living u.s. president at the time. the cause of death was not immediately provided. in a statement in february 2023 term the carter center said the former president would stop further medical treatment and spent his remaining time at home under hospice care. he had been treated in recent years for an aggressive form of melanoma, skin cancer with tumors that spread to his liver and brain. his wife died november 19, 2023, at 96. the article says mr. carter survived by his children jack,

chip, beth, and amy, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. according to the current terse -- carter center, they set a public event would be held in atlanta and washington, to be followed by a private event in planes. president joe biden ordered a national day of mourning on january 9. further details for final arrangements, including public events and motorcade routes, are pending. former president carter was on c-span in 1995, discussing his book "always a reckoning and other poems he spoke about his passing and the plans for his eventual funerals. here is a portion of that interview. [video clip] >> you have a poem in here about -- i am probably too far in the

book, but it is a poem about the end of your life in a munch of -- bunch of professions. what is the story behind it? >> we were trying to analyze the impact on the -- of the carter center and its relationship with emory university when i was dead. we got a group of scholars at emory to analyze how the university would treat the carter center after i was no longer there, and they cannot bring themselves to use any sort of language about my being dead. so they finally used the euphemism that my level of participation would be reduced. >> did you hear them talking about this? >> no, it was in a written report by the university.

they cannot bring themselves to say "when he passes away" or "when he is gone" or anything like that. >> it was a euphemism they used instead of saying when he was dead, they would say his level of participation was reduced. to kid them, i wrote the first version of this poem, and it fit and interesting concept. >> this sketch by your granddaughter here i assume is the carter family, your gravesite. >> it is a preacher with part of a funeral ceremony. there are a lot of very nice things you can say are passed on. going to meet his maker or no longer with us are having passed away. but these professors cannot even bring themselves to say i was

going to pass away or going to meet my maker, they just said my level of participation would be reduced. >> being a former president, do you have to think about your eventual departure more than most people would? >> matter of fact, my wife and some of my staff have complete funeral ceremony plans in advance. i hear about what president ford has done. so i know some things you have to decide before a president's demise. a former presidents level of participation is reduced. a lot of plans have to be made. i have not been participating in yet. i have let my wife be the ultimate judge on what should be done. there is professional staff associated, i think, with the marine corps, who knows the

history of presidential funerals and processions and the display of the body and how much is done within the capitol building and how much is done different places. >> is your family buried in planes? >> yes. my first ancestor. there was born in 1798, and rose's first ancestor was born in 1787. since then, most of us were born and died in planes. host: that interview and several others are on c-span's website. there is a tribute page on the homepage that you can click on for the key moments and videos from his time and also after he was out of office. we will start hearing from our callers. cynthia in melbourne, florida, is first. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i remember this man as a

great, thoughtful humanitarian president. he was governor of georgia. he was a veteran. he stood his ground against racism. he was a civil rights leader and believer for blacks and hispanics. he stood as the example for humanitarian with his work with habitat for humanity. a nobel peace prize winner, putting together egypt and israel. he stood his ground against israeli apartheid, on palestinians. even though he was a peanut farmer and he had a country accent, he had a genius iq. he returned the panama canal to the panamanians for their control, and they really have benefited well from that. but what is sad is that most of our living presidents did not go

back and refer to him on the issues that are happening in the world today. they pretty much demonized him or avoided him. but what i love about president carter is that he wanted to be remembered as a champion of peace and human rights. he will be. thank you for listening. host: that was cynthia. mark in massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. good morning. so the question, the comment, can you tell me how i am supposed to respond about president carter? host: we're talking about the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter. what are your thoughts? caller: life and legacy, yes, what a great christian man. yeah, he did so many things.

i was just watching some interviews of him from the past few decades and stuff. i think many people -- i did not even know that he deregulated the airline industry, the banking industry, transportation, and many other industries, deregulated the economy and stuff. he normalized relations with china, which i don't know -- you know, but the greatest thing i remember and know about him, and it is very, very unknown, that between the time he was governor of georgia and when he ran for president, he met with his very christian religious sister and wanted to know how to have a closer religious experience.

and she kind of got him in touch with god. and he went on a missionary trip up here to massachusetts and spent about a year and a half up here in the northeast, in new york city, and around springfield, massachusetts, spreading the gospel and doing the work of a good christian man. thank you for your show. you guys are awesome. and thank you for letting me get on. so early and i got right on. host: that was mark in massachusetts. gail in north carolina, good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to share my admiration for president jimmy carter. his faith in jesus christ, he himself said his life was a sermon. from his inauguration, he walked from the capitol to the white house.

he was married to his beloved wife for 77 years. at his inauguration, said walk humbly with your god. he was truly a peacemaker. he secured the panama canal treaties. he decrease the deficit he appointed more black americans to judgeships, only second now to president biden who has done a wonderful job in that regard. he was there during the three mile island crisis. as a lieutenant in the navy, he saw the nuclear reactor problem on a submarine. he has had one of the most productive post-presidencies with habitat for humanity. he passed immigration reform. he boycotted the russian olympics and placed an embargo, which i think led to the beginning of the dissolution of the soviet union.

deregulated the trucking and airline industries. extended health benefits for low income families. a defender of civil rights, and said the era of segregation was over at his inauguration. he advanced apartheid in south africa pure he was an environmental president and preserved more monumental lands with executive orders, conserved land in the united states. the carter center provided and decreased the number of guinea worm infections to 14 worldwide and just about enam and aided river blyton -- just about eliminated river blindness. he had intelligent persons and his cabinet, harold brown as an example. he taught sunday school in his post-presidency. he defended the new role of the vice presidency and elevated

walter mondale to become a true friend. he and gerald ford became long-lasting and respectful friends in the post-presidency. he wrote 30 books, 20 of which were new york times bestsellers. and he grew up with blacks in his childhood, which formed his character. and he hired a woman who was convicted of second-degree manslaughter to work in the white house. he invited bob dylan to the white house. i just admire him as a christian. and he embodied what a christian should be, what a great leader we have lost. god bless you, president jimmy carter. host: that was gail. josh and they reno, nevada.

good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for having me on c-span. here at tweed street, we think about jimmy carter really being -- host: we will go to cliff in new york. caller: thanks. host: go ahead, cliff. caller: good morning. host: apologies, cliff. i think we lost you. go ahead and give us a call back. we will go to frank in new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i was eligible -- 1876, and i did not know much about politics or economics but i had a gut feeling about jimmy.

i was not, at that age, a tree hugger or concerned about pollution. there was social justice and civil rights back in the 1960's, and i wondered what was going on there. jimmy struck me, he had a gentle, sort of kind personality. i thought to myself, this guys going to represent me more than the other fellow. >> are you there? hello? hello? host: frank, are you there? we will go to jason in waikiki --sorry, in hawaii. good morning. caller: hi, i am a young man. i look in his legacy and compare it to current president biden's. to me, they're very similar.

both what looks like to be one term president, both democrats, a believe both are humanitarians in their nature. biden more recently a humanitarian. i want to say that i think president carter, while i do not agree with many of the things he did during his administration, i do believe he was a good man and lead a good life. i think he end biden have striking -- i think he and biden have striking similarities. thank you. host: in a 1999 interview on c-span, former president spoke about his -- spoke about the office of the presidency. here's a portion of that interview. [video clip] >> for a moment, talk about the american presidency, the office of the president. would you change anything if you could? is it as powerful as it should be? >> it is extremely powerful in

the arena of foreign policy. when i decided to normalize diplomatic relations with china, the constitution gave me unilateral right to do so. congress had no role to play in that decision. i could have gone into ba ttle without consultation with her permission from the congress in advance. foreign policy, the president is it. in domestic legislation, almost all the legislation passed in my four years originated in the white house. i cannot remember a single major bill that originated in the congress. congress expected me to present to them this is what i want you to do about these subjects, and we had a very good batting average. the thing the president has practically no control over is the economics of the nation. he has an equal role to play

with the congress in taxation. but the federal reserve board really determines the rate of inflation and the tightness of money, which results in the growth of the economy. even better than that is the free enterprise system of our country, what the king kong -- conglomerate mass of major corporations do, general motors and ibm and so forth. and the other factor over which the president has no control is the international situation. if the were -- if they wore europe so you have a so-called asia crisis, the president has nothing to say or do about that -- if a war erupts. when i was governor and there was the formation of opec and the oil embargo against anyone who treated with israel, we had long gas lines and the prices of oil went sky high.

that was not nixon's fault. he did not have anything to do with it. so the president can splint for economic changes if they are bad. he takes credit for them if they are good. i would say the president plays a 10% or 15% role in the nation's economy. foreign policy, president is it. domestic policy, 50/50. economy, very little. host: we are hearing your thoughts this morning on the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter. he passed away yesterday at the age of 100. we are taking your phone calls and getting reaction on social media. this from steve, great human being, president carter really tried to live up to the creed of what a president should be, honest and kind, yet fair. jd says jimmy carter, known for his post-presidency humanitarian work, cofounded the carter center, earning a nobel peace prize in 2002 for promoting peace and democracy, his habitat

for humanity efforts were legendary. this text from tony in florida, jimmy carter was president when i first came to america. despite my differences with his agenda, he helped shape my political philosophy and my reference to the presidency. god bless you, james carter. back to your phone calls. jessica in wilson, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my phone call. i am in mourning this morning. jimmy carter and his wife were my best friends. they helped me build my house in new york when they came to the first new york city habitat for humanity project. and i worked on at least 16 projects with them a got to know them very well. this h me very hard yesterday, and i am still speechless, even though i knew that he would not

last long right after his wife because they were so close. for me, i remember we would build houses together. in the morning, he would not eat breakfast unless he had his grits. then he would go out like a champion and we would build houses. people ask me, does he really build those houses? does he really work? yes, he works hard, and he demands that anyone that is on his team work equally as hard. if it wasn't for him, i would not have had a place in new york. i am one of the people who he salvaged, and i will always remember him in my heart. and i hope the country remembers his legacy. thank you so much. host: that was jessica in north carolina. she is talking about former president carter's humanitarian work. this from the washington post,

talking about his life after the white house, saying that carter was a volunteer extraordinaire for habitat humanity, helping the international nonprofit build, renovate, or repair thousands of homes for the poor. his commitment and that of his wife are so unwavering that for more than 35 years, both gave one week a year to the organization, drawing tens of thousands of other volunteers. it was the carter work project, and the first habitat site was less than a dozen miles from his own home in plains, georgia. his last site was in nashville in 2019. and he carried on drill in hand despite a black eye and stitches, suffered in a fall the day before. in between, he was part of house raising projects throughout the united states and the globe. habitat's final tally for him,

4390 homes in 14 countries in north america, caribbean, europe, africa, and asia. let's hear from alfred in west palm beach, florida. good morning. caller: good morning morning, good morning, good morning from rainy south florida. thank you for taking my call. i want to say, sometimes our lives go in parallel lines with world thinking, but the thing i remember about president carter, his honor, his character, his compassion, the dignity that he gave while in the oval office. and then when i think about the other aspects of his life, the time between the dashes, the time that you are born and the time that you close your eyes, i

can hear him say, made the work be done, speak for me. certainly, the work that he did for humanity, mankind, his respect, and as a vietnam veteran, i give my greatest honor to this man for serving this nation in so many capacities, given the time as a veteran, given a time speaking for the lord, and the mere fact that he was a great man. funny, i remember my mom used to always say, give me my flowers while i can see them and i can smell them. i think we waited too long to now give the tribute and honor to a great man i believe god placed upon this earth. president carter, may the lord continue to bless your family

and comfort them during this time of sorrow. thank you. host: gaylord in oakview, california. good morning. caller: good morning. i am very disturbed that jimmy passed. my dad's stepmother is jimmy carter's first cousin, and she was a beautiful, wonderful lady with humanitarian thoughts, just like jimmy. it makes me really sad to see jimmy go. i wish he could have lived another 100 years. he was a great guy. you know. he is going to be well missed. thank you for having me on. host: steve in charleston, south carolina. good morning, steve. caller: good morning. well, i want to talk more about

jimmy carter, the man, like everybody else, not his presidency. i found the phone number on twitter this morning, so i am not doing this to hear myself talk on tv. his presidency can be viewed overall is maybe a failure. what an honorable man he was. he was a southern baptist. i am southern baptist. people from my church would go down there, and people would go down to plains to watch him teach sunday school. it was a big deal to go see jimmy. he was a strong christian. by the way, he is the only president who admitted to alter or to adultery, not because of a physical event because he said he lusted after another woman in my heart, and he said as a christian, that is the same thing as doing it. and i am a christian. boy, i tell you, he sets the bar pretty high.

he lived a life like we should all live our life, a life of service, a devotion to god and serving our fellow man. working humanitarian comes to mind. i have to admit, i did not vote for him, i voted for gerald ford back in those days. but what an amazing human being. he will certainly be remembered for his humanitarian efforts and trying to do for the unprivileged like they could not do for themselves. i really loved him as a man. i do not think another president will ever reach the level he reached as far as humanitarian efforts. thank you for your time, and have a great day. host: that was steve. let's hear from mark in st. paul, minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. at the risk of being deterred in the punch bowl, but ron kessler wrote a book about the secret service two, three, four years

ago, and indicated that every time marine what would land on the white house lawn, carter would insist upon carrying his own luggage into the white house. as soon as the cameras turned off, he dropped the luggage and then continued on to the white house. just kind of strikes me as phony and manipulative. i heard a hack historian, evan meacham, whatever his name is, on msnbc earlier this morning, he indicated that he thought carter was a complicated and ambition man, two adjectives which i do not consider to be content -- to be particularly flattering. thank you, goodbye. host: allen in cleveland, ohio. good morning. are you there?

we will try to get alan back on the line in a bit. first, we will show you an interview, another clip from an appearance that the former president had on c-span. it was 2010, talking about another book he wrote called "the white house diaries." he spoke about the iranian hostage crisis. [video clip] >> with the iranian hostage crisis, they eventually all came home. do you hear from any of them? >> yes, quite often. and i go on a book tour, usually one or two hostages will send word that they want to meet me behind the scenes. obviously, i shake hands and have photographs made. i verify the fact that they are doing quite well. this is not as much as it used to be right after i left office, but a good many of them would drive to plains and let me know

in advance that they were going to come, and they would spend a few minutes to think me for the fact that they did come home safe and free. so i have had a good many relationships with all of them. >> iran was so much part of your administration, in your book, you talk about there were two white houses, the carter white house and the dealing with the hostage crisis white house. in retrospect, is there something you would have done different throughout the course? i know you said an extra helicopter on the rescue mission. but do you wish you would have done something differently? >> not really. if i had known completely what was happening, what would happen, i might have done something different, but i don't think so under the circumstances.

i let the shah come to new york for treatment of his terminal cancer, and henry kissinger and the doctors and advisors said let him come, it is the humanitarian thing to do. the president and prime minister of iran, i told them i was contemplating letting the shah to new york for treatment, and i wanted assurance from them that they would protect americans globally. at that time, they were about 8000 americans in iran, working in different courses, including 66 members of the embassy staff. they sent me word that they would guarantee that nothing would happen to the americans if the shah came to new york, provided the shah would pledge not to make any sort of political statement while he was

in america. and the shah did give me that assurance. and then, to the surprise of me and i think to the surprise of the president and prime minister of iran, the militants took hostages, two of them. when the ayatollah, after three days, supported the capture and holding of the hostages, then both the president and prime minister resigned in protest. but that was just the beginning of a long ordeal when they held the hostages. so do not really believe i would have done anything different. the main advice i got was to attack iran, to bomb iran, and so forth, but i was convinced that had i done so, i would have killed 10,000 innocent iranians

and they would have immediately executed our hostages. host: we have just under one hour left in this first portion of today's program, hearing your thoughts on the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter . coming in on social media, this from jason on x, says, he really walks the walk compared to so many who wear their supposed face on their sleeve or use it to manipulate. carter, in my opinion, is the most unfairly maligned former president in the modern era. he handled several crises as best as any president could have been expected to. steve says, i went to college in 1981, received tuition assistance and a work-study job, the next year reagan's cuts went into effect, no more pell grant, no work-study, and my parents had three kids in college. god bless jimmy carter. this from mylan, carter made me

so disillusioned with government that that i turned to the libertarian party, lasted only a year in that, it was a joke full of potheads, then i voted for reagan's second term. brittany and tennessee says jimmy carter said he personally opposed abortion yet continued to support and represent the democratic party which has enabled the deaths of over 35 million on board -- unborn humans. helping to build a few houses will not offset that atrocity to humanity. back to your calls. lester in minnesota. caller: yeah, good morning. i just deleted my phone, or my tv. it is funny how great a man is after he dies, when he was the worst president up to his time. are you there? host: i. caller: ok.

like i said, he was the worst president at that time. we had all the gas lines, and he brought all the people, draft dodgers, back from canada, when we had 59,000 guys died in vietnam, 500,000 guys got wounded over there. they went there, he brings back the democrat cowards. the only thing good about carter was the carter who made the billy beer. you got any remarks? host: we will go to kyle in new york. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. man, a tough crowd. on a personal level, my father was brought in in the 1970's under the clean option energy proposals that jimmy carter was

laying forward. my father worked with jack kemp in the buffalo area. my father was working on some clean energy, alternate fuel sources, and had the honor to work with jimmy carter's administration on tt. i did not know too much about it until i got older. i was just born around that time, but i remember hearing the stories about how the democrats and republicans worked together about those alternate fuel source issues. and then when reagan got into office, a lot of those programs went away, the grants. obviously, people know about the solar panels on the roofs from the white house. probably when reagan came in, it took probably 30 years behind. talking about all these different issues that seem to be kind of rushed in now with the

image of carter and all this stuff. but there is the positive stuff about his legacy, and my own family, we appreciate the opportunity he gave my father to work with his engineering degrees and stuff, especially in those days when black americans were not really being promoted. i think you did a good job, at least with that. thank you. host: brian in rhode island, good morning. caller: good morning. yeah, i think he was a great guy. his massive presence on between street, especially -- on tweed street, especially the alert systems he helped integrate with the u.s. government, especially with -- trying to think the

tweed street bathroom incident. host: to russell in south carolina. good morning. caller: yes, i just want to say that jimmy carter is the reason i was able to attend college. my father had a stroke, and because of the things he did at the department of education, it allowed me to get basic education opportunity grant. i want everyone to know that the people that went to that small hcb you, any are lawyers, engineers, doctors, and very successful people. right now, the current administration getting ready to take our plans on taking control of the department of education to reverse a lot of the changes that jimmy carter put in place that allows a lot of lower

economic people to attend college. so when you compare carter to the folks that are getting ready to take over the country, no comparison. host: let's hear from james in new jersey, good morning, james. caller: yeah, hi. i am trying not to cry. i kind of knew carter on a personal basis. long ago, [indiscernible] she grew up with carter since childhood. i knew her. she was like a mother. something else about carter, he

helped start sidewalks, making it easier, so anybody who has a wheelchair who was going up and down a sidewalk, he did that. [cries] bye. host: that was james in new jersey. yesterday after the announcement of former president carter's passing, president joe biden gave remarks about the legacy of the former president. here are part of those remarks. [video clip] >> entire carter family, on behalf of the world and the whole nation, we send our heartfelt sympathies and gratitude, gratitude for sharing president carter for so many

years. jimmy carter stands as a model of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, life of principle, faith, and humility. a life dedicated to others. he is like my dad, he thought -- he said, joe, the job is about a lot more than the paycheck, it is about dignity. about dignity. said it will be ok. he believes as i do, as many of you do, that it is absolutely possible, within our grasp to do that. it is not that hard. he served the nation, served in the navy, and the state of georgia, became president, and a beloved statesman all over the world. to know his core, you need to know he never stopped being a sunday school teacher at the baptist church in plains, georgia. jimmy carter, a man of a bygone era, with honesty and character,

faith and humility. it mattered. i do not believe it is a bygone era. i see someone who embodied the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away. sometimes it seems like it is. we may never see someone like him again. we should all try to be a little more like jimmy carter. bravery lives in every heart, and someday it will be summoned -- every time it was summoned, he stepped up. every time, politically, personally, morally. and everything -- the one thing i admired most about him, he thought and believed, he really did believe this and i do, as well, everybody deserves an even shot. no guarantees, just a shot. host: former presidents have given statements on his passing,

and so has president elect donald trump. here is what he has said to those of us who have been fortunate to have served as president understand this is a very exclusive club and only we can relate to the innermost responsibilities of leading the greatest nation in the history, the challenges jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all americans. with that, we owe him a debt of gratitude. melania and i are thinking warmly of the carter family and his loved ones during this difficult time. we urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers. back to your calls. roxanne in maine. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to stress i grew up during the carter era, and yes, i remember there was no gas. that was temporary.

what i want to say is a president is for the people, and a president should be a peacemaker, not take from the people but to give to the people. because we are the ones who are screaming for this. we're looking for law and order. we are looking for resolution with guns. we're looking to be heard, and he did. he heard us. yes, every president has some faults, and i have to appreciate him. i always did. i always did. and i am a northerner, and i appreciated him a very, very, very much. thank you for listening. host: that was roxanne in maine. anthony in pennsylvania, good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. happy new year, everybody.

i have a personal story about jimmy carter that happen to me while in college that i would like to share. when he was campaigning in 1980, he came to my college and i was lucky enough to get tickets. i was even more like you to ask him a question. when i asked him the question, he did not have an answer for me. being a standup guy, he goes, let me get your phone number at your house and i will call you back with an answer. i just thought he blew me off. thought this guy is not going to call me. couple days later, i am sitting in my house with my family and the phone rings and my grandmother picks up the phone, sure enough, it is the white house calling. i'm like, come on, you're kidding me. sure enough, there he was. i spent about five to 10 minutes on the phone with him discussing the question that i had that he could not answer, and he wanted to know more about my life. he was very interested in what i

had to say. i thought that was very cool. the man was a standup guy, only democrat i ever voted for. and i am sorry to hear that he has passed, although he lived a great life, 100 years, more than anybody could ask for. the fact that he called me and answered that question gave me a lot of faith and honor in our presidency at that point. he was a good man. host: anthony, what did you ask him? caller: when i was back in the college, i was in a group that was trying to get research done for spinal cord injuries and money was being placed in the 25 different places and we wanted it in one place. there was a bill before congress that would do that. i asked if he would support that bill. he did not know about it, and he

researched it. eventually, when he called me back, he said i cannot really say yes, but we will see what happens when it comes to my desk. and never got anywhere, but he did call me back, and my family was very impressed. good man. him and his wife are a couple we should all look up to for their 77-year marriage. god bless them both. stay well. host: anthony in pennsylvania. robert in minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. a couple of very special times with president carter. i was there for his inauguration, and i believe that was the last time they had it on the opposite side of the capitol. it was the same time they had the first section of the subway system open to the public and

everybody got free rides. i ran to him, he made a cross-country flight to california but decided to stop in minnesota to find some books, and the thing that was so funny about the situation was that it was not well announced but there were still a few people there. we were told that we -- if we had more than six books for him to sign, we had to go to the end of the line. most people are only allowed one book, and here they allowed six. i had a very special pen i used for a number of people, including caroline kennedy and president obama, and i try to get the secret service to allow him to sign it with the pen. this is president of the united states on it with america and the presidential seal. i do have a picture of me going to the table and him -- my leaving the table and him sitting in the background.

he did not get the credit went president, but he will go down in history for everything he did after he left the white house. everybody knows what he has done there. president carter did a great job with what he could get through with congress and stuff. by the way, the pen that i was talking about, president obama signed with it, and i asked when he came to the twin cities, i said this is the same pen caroline kennedy signed books for me year ago, and he said i will sign with that pen, i would be honored. and president obama also stated to me personally, and this was october 2006, that he would be back in minnesota the following year, and i knew right away then he was running for office. caroline kennedy, she saw the pen and said where did you get something like this, and i picked it up at the white house

gift shop, but president carter will be remembered more for what he did after office. thank you for taking my message. host: that was robert in minnesota. the wall street journal has a blurb about president james earl carter in their opinion section this morning, says, believe it or not, a democratic president once campaigned on deregulation, fiscal restraint, and federal programs, jimmy carter came out of nowhere, plains, georgia, to win the white house in 1976 on a centrist platform, only to be undone after one term by economic and foreign-policy mistakes and the left of his own party. carter died sunday at the age of 100, was a winner in an era of gop presidential dominance, won the democratic nomination by figuring out how to exploit the changes that made primaries and

caucuses more important than party bosses, narrowly defeated gerald ford who had taken office after richard nixon, ran on an earnest, evangelical, who would restore integrity to the white house, a sign of our american culture has changed, the 1976 campaign, there was a carter interview with playboy magazine in which he conceded that he sometimes had less in his heart. he swept the south except virginia and won 30% of self-described conservatives. it says carter brought good intentions and admiral character to the white house but was unable to address the main problems at the time. democrats nominated him as a fresh face in a bright era of american politics, but he was ran down by the left and the presidency paved the way for the great reagan restoration.

back to your calls. irene in sun valley, california. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i will put you on speaker. jimmy carter, he was known as the worst president ever, and then there was biden. anyways. even howard dervish made comments -- howard jarvis made comments about how terrible carter was. my parents had a sticker on the car that said don't give away panama canal, give them carter instead. then one said give them kissinger instead. the state of florida, a lot of people would visit miami or go to live there, from the east coast, or they would go to florida to vacation, and crime went up, people lost their lives , and that was because of castro

opening up his prison gates, and it was thanks to carter to allow that we must not forget that. families lost their families from crime. i believe it was miami where there was high crime at that time. we must not forget the damage he did. he was the worst president. i believe cruz medic,, he said, oh, goodie, not the worst president ever, because we have biden. carter should never have been president, did a lot of damage to the country, and let's not forget the people that lost their lives in florida because of -- they called it something, castro let the prison gates and let all the criminals into america where they came to

florida. so let's not forget that thank you for your time. thank you for c-span. host: that was irene in california. she said she thought former president carter was the worst president in history. wanted to share something that c-span does every time a new administration takes office, presidential historian survey, most recently done in 2021 after now president elect trump left office. the historian's result list kercher -- list carter's ranked 26 in 2001. first time c-span the survey was 2000, and he was at number 22 at that point. looking at the specific categories, the categories he did best in in 2021 were moral authority, ranked seventh, and pursued equal justice for all,

came in fifth in that category. let's hear from jimmy in raleigh, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. hi, am i on? host: yes, you are. caller: good morning, and happy new year. honestly, i think jimmy carter did a great job. coming from a mentally disabled person -- host: we will go to robert in tuscaloosa, alabama. good morning. caller: good morning. 1998, i said jimmy carter was the best president i had ever seen. the lady said he was the worst, but she voted for the worst president jimmy carter was a great man, the best president african america ever had. most europeans or white people

don't know what he was involved in the nuclear weapons with iran , killing those people because there were a few hostages from the united states. he was a great man, best president african americans had seen before president barack obama in my opinion. have a great day. thank you. host: joe in washington, d.c. caller: good morning. i am kind of like the last of the x generation, and i was a little boy with president jimmy carter, i was born in 1967. jimmy carter, i remember him. it is pretty sad this man died. i was -- i grew up, born in

1967. i remember him. i was not from georgia anything like that. but i just remember the man had a character about him. and of all the presidents that i grew up with, i remember him. i never met the man -- [cries] i never met him, but i just felt he was a very good man. i will miss him. thank you. thank you. host: that was joe in

washington, d.c. this from the washington post, 11 facts about jimmy carter that may surprise you. one says he was the first president to be inaugurated by nickname mr. carter, born into office on a family bible held by his wife rosalynn carter, he took the presidential oath of office using the name jimmy instead of james, his actual first name, which he rarely used. bill clinton and joe biden used their nickname in the white house, opted to be sworn in using their full name during the inauguration, after mr. carter was sworn in, the organizers at his inauguration ceremony floated a giant peanut shaped parade to honor his roots. jimmy and rosalynn carter were married longer than any other residential couple, 77 years. the day after jimmy took her on

a date to the movies in 1945, he told his mother that he knew he wanted to marry her. a year later when she was 22 and he was 18, they were married. over the years they became not only friends and lovers but partners. breslin set seven decades later at his 90th earth day celebration. after leaving the white house the couple returned full-time to the house they lived in before he entered politics. the two-bedroom ranger that is valued at less than the vehicle parked outside. dolores and marilyn. -- in maryland. caller: good morning. i listened to rachel maddow's podcast and she had a report about jimmy carter earlier this year or the end of last year and she said that when she was in

the navy, she was in charge of deconstructing a nuclear meltdown. she saved the lives of the men that were engineering, that they would go in for only one minute so they would not suffer from the radiation. they were able to take them that nuclear meltdown, clean it up. thousands of people saved. that was so selfless and so heroic. i didn't know that about him until i heard it on her show. also when i was in high school,

in order to graduate from high school you had to do some specific activity. and i remember his speech that he gave when he accepted the nomination for president. i heard it on c-span and it reminded me what a great man he was his forward, progressive policies help everyone. it's like being president wasn't all that he wanted, the only issue was to help people all

throughout his life and i think god that we had him as the president everyday. thank you. host: we will get back to your calls and comments in just a few minutes but first, joining us to discuss former president carter's legacy is stuart eisenstadt. he was chief white house to mr. policy advisor under former president carter. he's also the author of president carter: the white house years. thank you so much for being with us. guest: thanks for having me. host: remind viewers about your work with former president carter both before and during his presidency. guest: i had more than a 50 year relationship with him. i was his policy director when he ran for governor in 1970. i was his policy director when he ran for president in 1974 and 1976 and i was the chief investor policy advisor in the white house. we had a very close relationship

but it was also a personal relationship. he came to our house just two weeks after the egypt-israel peace treaty for our passover annual seder, and reading about the jews leaving egypt 2500 years ago, and here is the man who made peace between egypt and israel. it was very emotional. one of the issues that i would like to discuss with you is that his post-presidency was so successful building homes for habitat for humanity, monitoring the carter center, solving to africa diseases -- two african diseases, that it eclipsed what was actually very impactful presidency. and i believe that he was one of the most important one term presidents we've had.

the energy security we enjoyed depended upon his energy policies. all of the ethics legislation which we have today, limits on gifts and things all came from him. department of education started with him. he was a great environmentalist. he doubled the size of national park system. and one of the things often forgotten, and them so glad conservative republicans said this in the wall street journal, and that is that is that his deregulation of airlines, of rail, of telecommunications, modernized the entire economy under president reagan and others. he was a deep south southerner who was a great civil rights advocate. he doubled and tripled the number of african-americans and women on the bench and in senior

positions. more african-americans, hispanics and women appointed than all 38 presidents put together before him. and on foreign policy and human rights policy, he really was a friend that connected all of his actions toward latin america, toward russia and one of the things he is not given credit for, ronald reagan implemented a lot of weapons distance thought to be important in bringing down the soviet union and i applaud him for that but every single one of them was signed by jimmy carter. the cruise missile, the silk bomber, that power was also very important in dealing with the soviet union. the normalized relations with china, and what has lasted now

40 years and even to the gaza war today, camp david accords and the treaty between egypt and israel. this was, over 13 hard days and nights drafting 22 peace agreements. and shuttling between the cabins and it is a monument to his personal diplomacy. if i may give one anecdote, the 13th and last day, prime minister reagan come for the president cabin and says i cannot make any more compromises, please let me take you home, i had a lane waiting. the president realizing this would be a flight on his own administration.

so he took eight copies the first day that they came, and then he endorses each one to each of reagan's grandchildren, with hopes for peace, jimmy carter. he sees reagan vocalize the names of each of his grandchildren. his lips quivered. he puts his suitcase down and he says mr. president, for my grandchildren i will make one last try and that is what ended up stealing the most consequential agreement between israel and its arab enemies to that day. host: what you are talking about is the topic of two op-ed's in the papers today, one from the wall street journal, jimmy carter's unappreciated legacy and the washington post history

views jimmy carter all wrong. why is it that historians and voters view former president white house years the way they do? guest: i think because we put a premium on winning the second term. somehow if you don't win a second term you are not successful. we lost the opportunity for a second term because of three reasons. i call it the three i's. interparty warfare. ted kennedy from the left attacked carter. it was debilitating, and ted who we never really reconciled and came together for the president. the second was inflation. we inherited high inflation from president ford and under nixon it got worse. but one of the reasons they got worse was because of the second oil shot.

the iranian revolution not only caused the hostage crisis doubled the price of oil. people were very angry at this. and third with the hostage crisis it doubt. 440 four days of trying to negotiate their release. he finally did, they all came home safely, but just to rub salt in his wound they were only released when reagan was sent in. so this was a debilitating mark on his presidency. they thought about inflation and iran. this was one of the most courageous acts any president could do and many of the seat that he planted on deregulation, education and energy only blossomed after. so what happened was july, 1979, inflation was rory area --

roaring. he decides to appoint paul volcker to have the federal reserve. volker told him very specifically in the oval office if you appoint me, i'm going to squeeze it out by high interest rates and it is going to cause a lot of economic pain during your reelection years. and president carter set i don't want my legacy to the that i didn't deal with inflation. you take care of the economy, i will take care of the politics. it was an enormously courageous thing and one folder did did succeed, but only by the time ronald reagan came. inflation dropped like iraq but it didn't come in time to help jimmy carter. but still, that act of courage showed how he governed. he did the right thing even if it was unpopular like the panama canal, like taking on the middle east, like taking on energy. all of these were thankless but they left a legacy which future

generations, future presidents benefited from. host: as we get ready to say goodbye to former president jimmy carter, how would you like americans and historians to remember and honor his legacy? guest: that he lived a life full of purpose and meaning. and he taught us therefore how to live. but also, he taught us how to die at peace with ourselves. he was at peace with himself. he knew he had done his best. he had a 77 year marriage, he had four wonderful children, he had 25 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. he had created under the carter center and lasting legacy that dealt with solving two african diseases, guinea worm and river blindness. he was a man in full.

he lived a life worth living. and he was a renaissance man, as close to it as we've had in the oval office in modern times he was a farmer and engineer, a preacher, a poet. he was the author of 32 books. he was an excellent woodworker. the giant cross on the back of the church he made himself. he was a great fly fisherman. he was as close as we've had to a renaissance man, and he served in the navy, went to the naval academy. he was a submariner. he only left the navy because his father was dying of cancer and he had to settle his family business. he was a man of so many dimensions, and i hope that they will all be remembered. host: you knew former president

carter for decades. do you have a fond memory or something you always were member him by? guest: i have two. one was unlike any president before or since, he knew we had to be away from families so he allowed the senior white house staff and their families to come to camp david. and when we were there, he would invite us over to watch movies and have corn. he invited my young son to jog with him and my other memory is only weeks after he had negotiated the first peace treaty between israel and its arab enemies, for our passover seder, would celebrate the exodus earlier from egypt. and the juxtaposition of that with sitting across her us in our dining room table, the man

who had negotiated the first peace with egypt was really so meaningful. a memory i will never forget, our son ryan, our son jay, my parents, cousins and relatives, my wife's sister, we were all there. it is a memory we will never forget. he stayed through the entire two our service. host: author of "president carter: the white house years." thank you so much for spending time without and sharing those memories and information about carter, we appreciate it. guest: i appreciate c-span not just for this interview but for everything you do to bring objective news to the public in a time when it is sorely needed. host: thank you for those kind words. we have just about 10 to 12 minutes left in this hour for

this portion of this morning's program. your reaction, your thoughts on the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter, passed away yesterday at the age of 100. we will hear next from allen in brooklyn, new york. good morning. caller: good morning. mr. eisenstadt reminded me of the incident described on the tv program last night, but with more detail. the details of these photographs of the three writers to camp david include the names of each of reagan's grandchildren, and the way he reacted to it fillon back to try to continue working on the treaty. this seems to be emblematic of something that might change america right now, if we could only refocus our attention from

the stupor of the spirit of trump rallies that led to the election result we had, appealing to the very worst in people, the greatest hatred, self-interest, shortsightedness. all the things that represent the very opposite of carter and oak is on the example carter presents us in his passing, and that we have forgotten about. perhaps we would have the clarity that may be even some of the partisan supreme court justices, congressmen, senators, people who have control over the next few weeks were realized article 14 section three means something. being faithful to the country means something. taking the oath of office if you are mr. carter means something. and that there is no reason why america should deem that section of our constitution to be repealed by some strange

interpretation of this past supreme court. they did not claim that the events of january 6, 2020 ones are not an insurrection. they dealt with the issue of the primary in colorado and all they said was that one state control the outcome of the election process for the remainder of the election season, but they basically tacitly accepted the findings of the colorado court that there was an insurrection into this point we had a few weeks left to realize we cannot have the death of jimmy carter honored by allowing someone to put his hand on the bible on this january 20 and swearing both to uphold the constitution that he has for the vowed to violate. not just on january 6, but his own words saying i will terminate the constitution. in his own words saying that we are going to eradicate all of

the environmental laws in a way that the constitution would not allow. we have to focus on the fact that the memory of jimmy carter allows us a stasis say whatever the process is, we must restore decency to our white house. host: good morning, brett. caller: hello. hello? host: you are on. caller: hello? host: can you hear me? caller: hello? host: don't think brett is actually there and able to hear us. george in tennessee, good morning george. caller: i would like to say ditto to the gentleman from new york. president carter, i thinned the cardi museum and i was on a flight, and this was probably

about five or six years ago, and he was traveling as a regular passenger, he and mr. carter. and when they closed the door, everybody was boarded. president carter got up and he shift every passengers hand on that flight. he went up one side and down the other and i just thought that was so amazing. that memory will always stick with me. and i thank c-span for giving me the opportunity to share it with the rest of the world. you have a great day. host: that was george in tennessee. vivian in florida, good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i am so moved by the late president's life. he had all the qualities that we should look for in a president.

the decency, the humility. his honesty. the story of his grandchildren, how he used them and what they would stand to benefit from their grandfather making the correct decision instead of trying to be a fully. -- a bully. that is the message that america needs to understand, that is where our currency is, that is where our strength is. that is who we are. he looked out for those who didn't have much and pulled people up instead of pushing people down. america, please do not let his life go to waste. his presidency must speak to us and guide us through these coming years. i thank you, c-span, and may god

bless america. host: that was vivian in florida. we heard earlier from biden about the passing of president carter and former president clinton and former president bush have also made statements. this from clinton, hillary and i mourn the passing of jimmy carter. we give thanks for his long, good life. president carter lived through others until the very end. his commitment to civil rights as a state senator and governor of georgia to his efforts as resident to protect our natural resources and the arctic national wildlife refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the panama canal to panama and secure peace between egypt and israel at camp david. his post presidential efforts at the supporting honest elections, advancing peace, mbating disease and promoting democracy

and to their devotion and hard work at habitat for humanity. he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world. and this from former president bush, james irvin carter jr. was a man of deeply held convictions. he was loyal to his family, his community and his country. president carter dignify the office in his efforts to leave behind a better world didn't end with the presidency. his work at habitat for humanity d the carter center set an example of service that will fire americans for generations. we join our fellow citizens and giving thanks for jimmy carter and in prayer for his family. just a few minutes left, we will hear next from brenda in michigan. caller: good morning, happy holidays to your you always do a great job. i just would like to say that i'm 83, and i believe that

president carter was and is a good man and i'm praying that our incoming president trump will change his stony heart and become the man that james carter did and was. that's all i have to say because our leadership is important. we must have good leadership in order to be good citizens. thank you. host: that is brenda in michigan. catherine in massachusetts. caller: maybe i missed it because i didn't see the whole show, did they already mentioned the negotiations that sean conley did with iran before the hostages were released under the reagan administration?

andrew their deals made at that point that would have basically said you with the election, they go free? as an older american, i lived through the gas lines and everything else, and i don't think now is as difficult as it was then, but we didn't make a big deal of it. i wish there were other people in my age bracket, i'm almost 80, that might have said the same thing. they took have money for food, they don't have money for this. it was difficult in our time but it wasn't publicized and maybe could just accepted. but i'm sure for the hostage families it was a difficult time and that is all i wanted to say. has that been discussed already, the negotiations that went on behind the scene, and was a sneaky deal by reagan and the republicans? host: that wasn't specifically already covered. caller: ok.

maybe i'm not clear on all of the details either, but i say from the time reagan was president to now, my opinion of the republicans is just a disgraceful party. my family were republicans, and there's one family member that still is a republican, but the rest of that have gone to the democratic party, the malfeasance of the republican party in every single aspect of life, and i say when my parents were republicans and my grandparents and aunts and uncles, they were well-dressed, well-spoken, well-educated and dissipated in everyday life and politics and i don't think the same thing goes on with the republicans of today. host: we are going to have to

leave it there because i want to get in one more call and we are short on time. troy in georgia, good morning. caller: good morning. can you hear me? i'm going to refrain from current politics, taking shots at any current politicians. i would just like to share that jimmy carter. i grew up in maryland in frederick county and was a young man when the nuclear accident happened outside every, pennsylvania. and we were bracing ourselves in maryland for a possible evacuation of that area and i recall jimmy carter and rosalynn carter flew to the area to evaluate the situation at the time. many of his advisers were advising them to evacuate the area which at the time would have been the largest evacuation in american history, somewhere

north or south of one million people was would certainly have affected us in frederick county. president carter, who was able to lie on his. in the united states navy, he advised not to start that evacuation. and relying on his nuclear experience, he assessed the situation and made the correct call on the evacuation. he shows them really great leadership during that very dangerous time for the nation, and i think he doesn't really get the credit that he deserves for that time and that emergency and have you handle the situation. thank you. host: if you didn't get in during the first part this morning, go ahead and hang on the line or give us a call back at about 9:30 when we will be egging up and continuing our

conversation but up next, the center for american progress action fund will talk about his take on how the democratic party should regroup after this year's election. ed later, christopher cox, republican of california will thus his book woodrow wilson, the light within and what he expects from the gop governing trifecta next year. we will be right back. ♪ >> in his latest book, peter's dedication reads this. it goes on the vietnam mall on the mall and the countless vietnamese counterparts. it did not have to happen. in his role as publisher, he

spent numerous hours working with former defense secretary robert mcnamara for his 1995 book in retrospect, a tragedy in lessons for vietnam. this book describes what happened in the years between 1963 and his last day as secretary of defense in february of 1968. robert mcnamara died in 2009 at the age of 93. >> the book "lbj and mcnamara: the vietnam partnership destined to fail" on this episode of footnotes+ available on the free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> attention middle and high school students across america. it's time to make your voice heard. c-span student documentary contest 25 is here. this is your chance to create a

documentary that can fire change, raise awareness and make an impact. your documentary should answer the question your message to the president, what issue is most important to you community often mark whether you are passionate about politics, the environment or community stories, student can is your platform to share your message with the world. $100,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of $5,000. this is your opportunity not only to make an impact, but also be rewarded for your creativity and hard work. enter your submissions today. scan theode for all the details on how to enter. the deadline is january 20, 2025. washington journal continues. host: joining us now to discuss the future of the democratic party, president of the center for american progress action fund. thank you so much for being with

us. guest: thanks for having me. host: we will start quickly just getting your thoughts on the passing of former president carter. guest: there is so much being said about him and i think the moment we are in right now feels really sharp in that he was a man of many things but the thing people will remember him for is his character. incredible not just during his presidency, but post residency, really speaking to these core values of people's humanity, not just the united states, but globally. obviously partisan, but i don't think it is a natural thing to say to have a president of very low character and i think by contrast that has really stuck for me in terms of the service that jimmy carter had not only as a president but his post-presidency and everything

the carter center accomplished is the incredible. host: we will have a new president sworn in in just a few weeks and we have a new congress coming in on my area republicans are going to have control of the white house and congress. what are your expectations for the next few years, are you going to be watching? guest: the same things that are on the table as we've all come to appreciate for better or worse with president-elect trump is that he is unfazed both. -- unfazed. he can change his mind on a dime. what he says one day might be completely the opposite the other day. we don't really know what we are looking at but we can say a few things with some confidence. for the fact that the president did make gains with working-class people, this is still an economic agenda written by billionaires and i think that

was sort of his signature accomplishment in his first term was passing a huge tax cut that disproportionately benefited operations and the wealthy. that is going to be a signature achievement or signature priority of the second term, but i think in a lot of confidence, the issue of immigration has been a signature for the president. it won't surprise anyone that they will continue to try to build the border wall. how far they go with threats of mass deportation and what that would mean across the country, the economy i think is unknown and that is an open question. i think another thing we have to keep an ion and this has sort of been par for the course for donald trump both as a candidate and as a president, is the real breaking of norms.

some we should probably dispense with, the way he speaks and behaves. but making the department of justice and arm of donald trump's political apparatus as opposed to an entity that jackson uphold the law equally for all americans i think is a real violation of our constitutional principles, and i do think that there are a lot of other elements like that where we are going to see donald trump and republicans really make government and apparatus that serves their interests as opposed to the public interest and i think we are going to see that across a lot of agencies. host: house republicans will have a very narrow majority, receipt at the most pending on how a special election goes when we talk about republican interest, how much or what area should democrats be

guest: --willing to work their colleagues? guest: if donald trump is willing to actually enact policies that that of american people, increase the public good in a number of ways, whether that is lowering costs for consumers, increasing wages for workers, these are all places where democrats have shown a real willingness to work with donald trump and the republican party. that hasn't actually been the economic agenda even the donald trump would campaign on those kinds of names. that actually hasn't been the agenda of maga republicans. i don't think anything the incoming speaker, mike johnson has said is a priority. minimum wage is a good example. that is something the republican party has advocated for. i think if they were serious about raising the minimum wage, it is a great example.

if they were serious about lowering health care costs or increasing housing. there are a lot of places where the way donald trump and republicans campaigned could align with democrats. we will have to see if there is actually anything the republican party forward. host: president of the center for american progress action fund, our guest for the next 20 minutes or so. if you have a question or comment for him, you can start calling in now. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. and just in the last week several congressional republicans have signed a letter to their leaders urging the use of reconciliation to pass president-elect trump's agenda, things like border security and extending the trump tax cuts. your reaction?

guest: some of that is standard fare now in washington. after republicans passed the first massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, i think everyone expects that they will do that again. again, funding for the border wall, things like that, actually changing policy is something that has an sort of unmanageable, and i think they will have real limitations on what they can get done in that respect. i don't think anyone doubts that they will be doing a lot of their agenda through a straight party-line vote. host: our first caller in texas, democrats line. caller: good morning, good morning.

i have a few seconds. i want to say that jimmy carter put me through college and i admired him a lot and that is the most i can expect from a president. the second part is i'm not confident, he is on track with something but it is still kind of early for him to finalize the agenda that we democrats expect next cycle. but the final thing is i notice in my studies about the election that i've voted way back for ronald reagan, and i'm wondering if the cycle between ronald reagan and donald trump, who would be the third one to

solidify the cycle that voters are voting? is it possible that somebody in the theater industry would be again president of the united states from exposure on the television? that is all i've got. i will listen to whatever comments you have to make. guest: i think joseph pitts on one aspect that really has made donald trump successful. not only the communications environment we are in right now, we've never had a more fragmented media environment, and his ability to communicate directly to voters, not only to mention the huge right-wing apparatus with newsmax i think giving him a real avenue, but he

also built a brand over 30 or 40 years much like ronald reagan did. the fact that they entered politics with various known qualities give them a huge leg up. we know this fragmented media environment is very challenging. host: robert in pennsylvania, democrat. . caller: good morning. first time i've ever gotten through in five years. so i just wanted to complain that democrats are not being aggressive enough in their strategy. and the other thing that really upsets me is how nancy pelosi blocked a causal cortez from getting a leadership position in the party. young people need to be aggressive, it is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. i don't really like have a democrats roll over and play dead. thanks.

guest: democrats should be very aggressive in defending the american people. this is a moment with the american people are pretty unhappy. whether the country is on the right track with the wrong track, people have set the country is on the wrong track and i think we have to be able to speak to that emotion and meet americans in that sense of feeling frustrated with the way things are going, offer a real agenda change that addresses the can earn the american people have and be really aggressive in defending the american people, the programs the american people depend on my social early in medicare.

host: keeler talking about some of the change that democrats should focus on between now and midterms. we hate thing midterms right now because we are not even in the next congress, but what are some of the challenges to them mentoring and getting those agendas and those action items actually done, actually having people who are running for office make those happen? guest: when they get to govern again? host: going into the next election, how do they convince people that they can be the agent change, that they have what is best for americans, they are the party that should be representing them. guest: historically it is easier to convince people that the

party out of power will offer change begets generally for the last 25 years, people have been pretty unhappy with the party in power and feeling like things are changing. i think the bigger challenge is when democrats to get a chance to govern again, that they actually covered with a lot more urgency, with a lot more sense of disruption, with a sense that the status quo is not acceptable, but that you want to shake things up. and i think that will probably closer to meeting the american people. i think the biden administration and democrats in the president's first two years accomplished a huge amount, but a lot of the american people didn't feel most of those things. so it's very hard to close the gap the policy and the american people feelings. i think what becomes really important is communicating with a sense of urgency, with a sense that you're trying to change

things. telling a story about how you were trying to move the country and not just talking about a set of goals or a set of legislation. i think all of that is going to be really important. host: kevin in washington, d.c., line for democrats. caller: good morning. i think the big problem is over classification of intelligence. that is something that this new administration, this would be health care benefits, giving the states the money instead of giving it to medicare and medicaid. the center for american progress at a public meeting january

2020, and the head of the biden campaign, he interviewed with the party chair and -- immediately after the meeting. so it helps with censorship. but trump knew that covid came from a lab because robert redfield told him that he saw the protocol that was rejected by the dod.

i think the declassification of that is really important. host: we will get a response from our guest. guest: some of those concerns run health care, that is something that the center for american progress is really proud of, planning a huge role in the creation of the affordable care act. almost more than 15 years ago, and the implementation of that's been a huge success story with more than 40 million americans having access to affordable health care as a result of that. a lot of problems with our health care system, there's really no evidence at this point and that the amount of risk of undercutting both programs to give the state more control over that we saw a lot of programs that haven't expanded medicaid even though the opportunity is there for the affordable care act provide health care to their

citizens or their residence. and this is one of the things that i think elon musk, vivek ramaswamy and president-elect trump are going to look at, really undercutting medicaid is a fundamental program that provides millions of americans with health care, and i think there is a real risk of bat and that is a good example where it can benefit the american people to provide them with better quality of living and i think it is clear that americans would have worse health care under that situation. host: let's hear from walter in florida, line for republicans. caller: good morning. i was just wondering if our expert knows in this past election, the republican seemed to be fractured. did the extreme maga right, the kind of people that ousted mr. mccarthy, did they gain or lose seats judging on what they said in these new candidates?

i know you probably can't tell exactly, but judging on what they said, do you know if they gained or lost seats in that party? guest: i think walker raises is the good point. republicans under donald trump, they now have full control of it. and i think that is one of the big ships that we've seen over the last eight years, which is the republican party very fractured in 2016 when donald trump narrowly won the presidency, lost the popular vote but won the electoral college. and what you see in 2024 is a much more unified republican party where virtually everyone has had to bend the knee to m aga. you now have a speaker who is going to be completely lockstep with president trump and there

is really no way to maneuver for republicans who don't completely agree with donald trump. and i think we've seen that yes, there have been real extreme candidates like kari lake in arizona who fell short, at the vast majority of republicans now find it very hard to certainly publicly disagree with donald trump and to actually vote against them will be very challenging. host: vermont -- sorry, st. john's, wine for democrats. caller: thanks for taking my call. i'd like to ask why the democrats, why joe biden has had on his desk for all these years as did trump before him the passage of a constitutional amendment cap people rights amendment which guarantees the rights to women over there different bodies.

and certainly i think all it would take his biden to sign it. it would overrule all those abortion laws that have been passed, the constitutional amendment over everybody has to obey it. and if he lets trump sign this, i don't know why he doesn't sign it, i always thought, luck -- kamala was always talking about women controlling their own bodies. trump had it for three years. he passed it on to biden's desk for all that needs as a presidential signature and it would become law. and if he lets trump this time, i think trump would pass it and then he would never get women to vote for democrats again. guest: i agree with the first part of the point which is that this is a real opportunity in

his last remaining weeks which is equal rights amendments, a constitutional amendment that has now been ratified by record number of states really should just be centered with a matter of technicality to make sure it is enacted and ratified. it could go a long way to protecting fundamental freedoms including the right to abortion and having women have control over their own bodies. i don't think there's any chance that president trump elect would sign this. i don't think there's any scenario where that happens and we end up with something president biden actually addresses and takes advantage of in his remaining weeks in office. nancy in texas, independent. caller: good morning.

yes, i would like democrats to quit sending billions and billions of dollars over to other countries and ignoring americans. that is why they lost. and when we have a tragedy over here, a store and whenever, i don't have a bit henry can help us. they just spend and spend. we've got people starving in this case, and all they do a story about other countries and they have completely more the american people. that is why they lost the way they lost. they key. guest: i think nancy has adopted a sentiment a lot of americans have. i don't think it is accurate in

terms of where their priorities were. whether it is high cost, certainly addressing the issue of poverty directly, one of the economist meant in the first two years was the child tax credit, a larger child tax credit which cut child poverty in this country by 50%, and they couldn't get republican support to extend it. i think there are a lot of things democrats did do to actually address the problem the american people face. i think americans heard what joe biden and the democrats were trying to do and i think that is a real challenge in this political environment, which is i prefer all political figures moving forward. actually getting your message heard in this fragmented environment, president biden and the democrats accomplished a lot and americans heard very little about their compliments and didn't believe a lot of what they did and at the same time,

you have a different infrastructure with donald trump , sort of telling a caricature of what joe biden was up to, some of which were based on a lot of falsehoods that i think get heard far and wide. studies by m.i.t. that showed on twitter but all social media, falsehoods travel six or seven times faster than the truth and that is a real challenge for us. host: that is something that democrats talked about after losing the election, something you are talking about, what can they do better? how do they move forward and get that message across? guest: one is the actual message itself which i think democrats have got to keep this very simple and really tell a story how they are actually trying to create prosperity for all americans, not just for the

wealthy. i think that is a real opportunity for the democratic party that they are focused on the middle last and rebuilding the last fell last 40 years, really since ronald reagan. we had an economic theory that has been if you let the wealthy and corporations have fewer regulations and more of their own money, everyone else is going to benefit. we've seen a huge halloween out of the middle class in this country, so i think the democratic party has got to be really fake is -- focus on the story of prosperity. and then i think the second is just accepting the reality that it isn't sufficient, there is no nightly news that reaches everyone anymore, and democrats have to have a willingness and courage to sort of be in all spaces, whether that is podcasts, on fox news, obviously their own social media handles. this commitment that you are going to have conversations even with people who might disagree with democrats or share a different set of values, not being scared of being in those

environments i think is going to be vital to people hearing any message from democrats. host: time for just a couple more calls. felix in north carolina, line for democrats. guest: caller: good morning. how are you all on this wonderful day? guest: good. caller: outstanding. i'm going to be brief here. i think the main change that the democratic party needs to do is marketing. you have the product, you just aren't marketing as good as the republicans are. all the youth out there that wants to take over, you will get your chance as soon as you earn it. you have to take it. and lastly, the carter family, i was in the navy, got out when nixon was there. earth tries, heaven smiles. america, you all keep going.

have a great day. guest: i think there is no question this has been a challenge for the democratic brand. although i don't think that the republican brand necessarily is that much better, all the data project that people are still pretty unhappy with the republican party. donald trump wasn't really able to resurrect the height of favorability he had in his sort of 10 years of political life. but i think there's no question that americans struggle to really know what the democratic party is about. i think they can name a whole set of policies that democrats support for those policies are overwhelmingly popular when they pulled them, but that is not the same as actually telling the story. people need to be able to really get a feeling for what the party values and i think that is a huge challenge going forward. host: bill in delaware, line for independents. caller: yes, i find it ironic

that the republican party that always votes for helping the homeless and the democrats didn't get any credit for trying to moderate the war in israel. and the republicans are saying we are not going to do that either. i don't understand how people voted. can you explain the distinction of people saying, like the caller here saying we've got all these homeless and we are sending money, but republicans aren't going to solve that, either. guest:-- host: there are two dit things that bill is sitting on. people operate with very different information. we have a huge amount of

misinformation and disinformation circling in our media environment right now, particularly on social media. i think x is a hotbed for misinformation, including some of the tweets that elon musk puts out there himself. one, i think that people just have it very different sets of facts and that's a real challenge for democracy and people being able to make decisions. i do think that the second part of it that bill hit on is that people were really unhappy and there was an element of this election that was really just driven by a sense of change and feeling like even if they weren't enamored with donald trump and maga, which was incredibly unpopular as a political movement in this country, they were unhappy with the status quo and willing to vote for something different. not because they thought trump and maga would solve their problems, they probably had very

little hope, to be honest, that donald trump would lower costs and he's already saying, contrary to what he campaigned on, there is little he can do to lower costs, which is different from what he said for years, that he would lower costs immediately. i don't think people held out hope, but there was a real frustration with the status quo and so you saw a slight perp -- plurality vote for change. host: our guest is navin nayak, of the center for american progress, you can find their work online. thank you for being with us this morning. guest: great to be here. host: up next, former u.s. representative christopher cox, republican of california, will discuss his book, "woodrow wilson: the light withdrawn," in what he expects from the governing trifecta of

republicans next year. we ♪ will be right back. ♪ >> c-span digs into its archives to present to the trump nominees in their own words. tuesday, we will hear from dr. mamet cash patel. watch trump nominees in their own words, this week on c-span two. >> if you ever miss any c-span coverage, you can find any time online at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates, and other events featuring markers that guide you to interesting and newsworthy highlights. the points of interest markers appear on the right-hand side of your screen. the timeline tool makes it easy to quickly get an idea of what was debated and decided in washington.

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podcast about books with current nonfiction book releases and the seller list, industry news, and trends through insider interviews. you can find it on c-span now, our free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcasts. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us now to discuss his new books, with -- new book, "woodrow wilson: the light withdrawn," in what he expects from the gop next year, former representative christopher cox of california. welcome to the program. guest: good morning. host: we will start -- first we want to get your thoughts on the passing of former president jimmy carter. caller: this is of course after a century, it's really a milestone for america. i did not work directly with

jimmy carter. he was out of office by the time i was elected to congress in the 1980's, but i met jimmy carter in december of 1975 early in his campaign for the democratic nomination for president. i was the program director for the harvard law school forum. we invited him to speak. at the time, he was anything but a household name. so, i arranged for a large classroom in langdale hall, but we didn't quite fill it. even so, he made it pretty good grip -- pretty good impression, as i recall. he made a point of saying that he was in the race to stay, wouldn't quit, didn't want to be vice president. i remember him stressing his plans to pay her back the federal bureaucracy, which he planned -- claimed was bloated and confused and he did make strides in that respect as president, notably deregulating

the airline industry and eliminating the civil aeronautics board that had kept airfares skyhigh, no pun intended. everyone who benefited from a barter -- bargain airfare this holiday season has jimmy carter to thank. host: we will talk more about jimmy carter later in the program with our callers, but we want to talk about your new book that's just out this last month, "woodrow wilson: the light withdrawn." tell us why you chose to write about president wilson and how it relates to our current political environment. guest: i became interested in him because of my long-standing interest in how women got the vote in he was a significant player in the final acts of that drama. i was concerned with high -- how and why it took so long. in the early 1970's i wrote an

article, speaking of law school, about the first supreme court case on the 14th amendment that applied to sex discrimination, what we now call gender discrimination. the 14th amendment is of course the part of the constitution that guarantees equal protection under the law. that summer, coincidentally, i had a long talk with my grandmother that began when i asked her -- what was the first presidential election that you voted in. we had never talked politics and i was curious. she looked at me as if i were of two's, 1920, the first time i could vote. made me realize what a dumb question i had asked. the 19th amendment, susan b. anthony amendment, wasn't approved until just a few months before the 1920 election. i was suitably chastened. i asked her who she voted for and she said harding, naturally.

republicans were the ones who got us the vote. something i had never heard before. it was true in minnesota in 1920, a republican governor had adopted willie -- woman's suffrage by state law, as others had done, california in 1911. as i later learned, while it was true that republicans were the earliest supporters of women's suffrage going back to reconstruction and supported it in greater numbers in congress, democrats even as late as 1920, there were many democratic supporters as well in the states and washington. the story turned out to be much more complicated and to me, much more interesting. host: our guest, former congressman christopher cox, will be with us for 20 minutes or so. lines are standard political lines, republicans are (202) 748-8000.

democrats, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. congressman, your book came out last month. members of congress taking office next month have not had time to read it yet, but what advice could it give to them for this upcoming session? host: you know, one of the big takeover -- guest: you know, one of the big takeaways for me in the 14 years of researching and writing this book, how important it is when we look back, but even in present times, for us to take off our partisan jerseys and look at what people are saying about the issues. there really is quite a spread across the continuum. when we go back a century and look at people who were called republicans, democrats, progressives, conservatives,

it's all the same vocabulary we are accustomed to today, but they stood for very different things. not just because the polls were switched, which was not exactly true, but because the issue mix was so different. you would find people in the progressive movement, for example, who believed in things that you would not consider progressive today. you would find people on the republican side, some devout conservatives, who were quite progressive in their views. it really is a lesson to look at people in politics, people in congress, as if, as if they are speaking about issues. consider those issues and consider where you align with them and where you do not. our politics was much better for that, i think, and in the 21st century things have become so

tribal, once we hear a label attached to a person running for office or in office, we say we like them or we hate them. we put cotton in our ears if they don't have the right label. so, the use of these labels is itself very disruptive and it breaks down the ability of congress to work with itself. host: 14 years to research and write it, you also have experience serving in congress. were there any similarities to your time in congress, what was happening -- to the time in history you were writing about? guest: many. that's what's so enjoyable in writing about the history of congress, which this book in large part includes. congress still operates by the same rules it did from the beginning, with very few changes. people tend to reflect a range of personalities such as we see

today with social media amplifications of what goes on and it makes the whole book very different, but what happens in congress and in the committee, what happens behind the scenes, it's all interpersonal relations and those things are all very much the same. when woodrow wilson became president, he had democratic majorities that came with him. he subsequently lost his majorities and life was very different for him at that time. of course, in his second term he faced the question of whether to enter world war i, very consequential. it's one of the reasons we consider him so consequential still today. all of these things resonate with us in the 21st century. when we think about the problems in the middle east, we've got to go back to the maps that were

drawn in the paris peace conference and were signed in versailles. when we think about tariffs that have come up in today's presidential, the last presidential election, and now as president-elect trump prepares to take office, we haven't had tariffs as a major presidential issue since, really, early in the 20th century. woodrow wilson more than any president in the 20th century was the one who came in and turned the tables and said we won't do tariffs anymore. he always hated tariffs. instead, we are going to rely on the income tax. he was the first president to sign income tax into law after the passage of the 16th amendment. host: we have callers waiting to ask you questions as well. scott, new york, independent line, good morning. caller: first off, i saw a bald

eagle on the seneca nation yesterday and i hope he's up there flying with my buddy, mr. carter. mr. cox, 20 some odd years ago, you were on "washington journal." i talked about how in california they should use cannabis to grow to purify the air next to the pine trees that we were cutting and shipping down to china. talking about how cannabis can be used for products and stuff. when i got done, you pretty much laughed and said that's not an answer to nothing. however, i think it's also the answere forest re-when we are told by the incoming president who said that rakes and shovels would solve the problem and i don't think it's going to solve the problem of global warning -- global warming and burning of the forest re-. my question is, do you think i am as crazy as i was 20 years ago? god bless us humans out there. guest: i think if you remember a

conversation from that long ago, you are as sharp as ever. host: congressman cox, during your time in office you sat on several committees, chaired several committees, including chairing the budget committee right now. there have been efforts in the past few weeks where it was challenging to get the continuing resolution approved in congress to fund the government. one of the reasons why was president-elect trump and his call to eliminate the debt ceiling. what is your reaction to his request? guest: first, i have to deflate my resume. i was not chair of the budget committee. i served on it early in congress, but i did share homeland security and a few others. to your question, the fiscal disaster that faces the united states has a parallel to world

war i when we took on so much debt. interestingly, back in that time, woodrow wilson and his secretary of the treasury said that even in world war i we won't finance it all with debt. they had a mixture of taxes in which they then set out to repay it immediately after the war ended. something that president harding took very seriously. they worked very hard to paid down that debt. it was something known as the hamiltonian, that the united states would always pay back its debts. the hamiltonian norm has paid -- has faltered over time. the national debt keeps rising at the rate of trillions per year. it is something that obviously cannot continue.

it's just going to take a great deal of public support from democrats and republicans in congress to work on this together without people demanding we keep doing it because future generations will suffer greatly. guest: if you work -- host: you were talking about how long it took you to research and write it. during that time, did anything surprise you? guest: everything surprised me throughout my research. including the main focus, which was women's suffrage. the way that that unfolded, i had thought that president wilson was a reluctant convert to women's suffrage. that you know, ultimately, he's the one who carried it across the finish line. not so. turns out that he began with, you know, peak prejudices against women in politics and as

that war down, he got only as far as embracing the idea that white women should vote. he was very effective of jim crow in the south. even after he got into his second term, after having campaigned against the susan b. anthony amendment, his opponents had been all for it, even after he became a reluctant convert, he worked with southern democrats to change the language of the susan b. anthony amendment to eliminate federal enforcement so that in the south , they could have only white women voting. to me that was quite a shock. host: for those who are reading your book or who may read it in the future, what do you want them to take away from it? there are so many books about history, what do you want them

to focus on? host: one of the wonderful things about the story are the heroes. woodrow wilson, when looked at through the lens of racial justice and women's voting's rights, does not -- women's voting rights, does not fare so well, congress and members of congress were the reason that susan b. anthony became a part of the constitution. for years, going back to 1868, when members of congress during reconstruction first introduce constitutional amendments to give women the right to vote, support continued to build. the support in the supporters were in congress. as an institution congress is so often overlooked, but that is where the change came from. it wasn't presidential leadership.

it was leadership from men in congress, and they were all men until jeannette rankin was elected in 1916. she, by the way, is one of the great heroes of the book, of course, she was the comanager of the susan b. anthony amendment on the floor of the house the very first time that it passed with a two thirds majority. but we have people like senator samuel pomeroy, representative george dooley, who introduced those first amendments. people like senator joseph bristow of kansas. george sutherland of utah, great leaders in the 20th century. congressman edward taylor of colorado. even champa park, the democratic speaker who had to deal with his caucus, had been a separate supporter.

the men who finally got it across the finish line, the house minority leader in later chair of the woman's suffrage committee with frank mondello of wyoming. we had andrea jones of new mexico, senator, john rinker, california congressman, who work supporters of the amendment, but in the end adjusted to the plan by eliminating federal enforcement. so, a lot of really interesting things take place in congress. host: looking at that time compared to when you served and then when we are now as republicans get ready to retain control of the house and take control of the senate, with the white house as well, the republican trifecta. what advice would you give and what are you expecting from the republican party for at least of

the next two years? host: they will have a very narrow majority -- guest: they will have a very narrow majority, this is no time to abandon working with the other side. history and fact suggests that president trump, leaving personalities and political parties out of it, he stands a good chance of losing his majority at the midterm coming up. if that were to happen, obviously, the presidency, for its success, would be very dependent on an ability to work with the other party in congress. i would say that even going beyond that, my experience as a legislator over 17 years was that big changes, big things that are going to stick in american life, have to be at least partly bipartisan. you don't necessarily need unanimity or everybody on board,

but you have got work across the aisle at have got to get some people who see things a little differently to say this is something good for everyone. that will be a good touchstone for legislating. even early on when there was a little bit of a mandate and we didn't have to listen to anyone, we could do it our way or the highway, that's when they otherwise take hold. i think that will lead to unhappy results. host: jim, ohio, line for republicans. caller: mr. cox, i think it's incredibly interesting. with all the books now being written by woodrow wilson, i have a couple of questions for you. what's the difference between 1912, when there were three people running for president, roosevelt and taft and wilson,

and how they really felt about world war i? thirds, and being down in the south at the end of the civil war. and the fact about what his second wife took part in after his stroke when he was basically unable to be president. how do you feel about those things? host: taking it from the top, the 1912 election was a really fortunate set up for woodrow wilson. he became a minority president with only 42% of the vote. he had not one but two republicans running against him at the same time. the incumbent, william howard taft, and the very popular teddy roosevelt who had been a republican president for that. attempted to get the same nominees in 1912.

almost did. narrowly lost. putting together the women's party. so, woodrow wilson finds himself the winner, even though republicans got a majority of the popular vote. you asked about his decision to enter world war i. he ran as the peace candidate when he ran for reelection in 1916. almost immediately after his inauguration, he asked congress to give him a declaration of war against germany, which they did. that turnabout really marked a turnabout in woodrow wilson himself. the man, the way that he conducted himself. he became much hardened as a war president. he brooked no opposition. so, many of the people who had campaigned and worked on his

election were committed pacifists and they came to washington to protest after he decided that the united states should enter the european war. when they did so, they faced, you know, significant depression by the federal government that today we would consider essentially illegal, violating the first amendment in many ways. people were imprisoned simply for saying the united states should not be in the war, that it was a bad idea and so on. they stated prison throughout, eugene debs being the most famous example. even after the walk -- the war when others were pardoned, he himself would not pardon the man who ran for president. you asked about edith and about woodrow wilson's second wife and

her role after he became disabled at the end of the presidency. i would say for edith wilson that i don't think she was rescued in. i don't think she was out to be president herself. her aim was to protect his health. her great sin was in putting that in such a high place that she thought it would hurt his psyche and so on if you are no longer president, that she didn't let anyone else know the terrible's -- terrible state he was in. covered it up, there's really no other word for it. went to great lengths to do so. he was really just sequestered for months. people couldn't even see him. so, all of this was hidden from the american people. the government was left to run itself. he was cut off from most news.

meetings. he didn't have situational awareness. this following him leaving the country for six months, something in retrospect unwise and totally unprecedented, he was in europe for six months at the versailles peace treaty, keeping him out of touch. at a time when there was no transatlantic communication that we are used to today. no telephone, no ability to transmit documents, having only morse code, things had to be encrypted and decrypted on either end. so, the president was really focused only on what was going on in europe and unaware of things like the cresting of the ratification fight for the susan b. anthony amendment. the labor strike that was ongoing. the inflation. the race riots and so on that were all domestic problems that

needed presidential attention. so, he came back and then suffered this series of strokes that really took him out for the rest of his presidency. the united states did not have a president for that time. no other way to say it. ike hoover, his white house aide that took care of him, said he was just in a trance, sort of staring into space. so, that's the situation that edith presided over. honestly, it was at a time when the vice president ought to have taken over and president wilson ought to have resigned. host: let's hear from todd, cleveland. caller: chris, i'm a burn my way through this book.

i'm going to be in shaker heights to go buy it. i like people that don't waste their words when they write historical books like this one. i have some questions. first, can you expect -- express how edith came to her conclusions as to why she was against women getting the right to vote? second, did woodrow wilson, and if it's in the book let me know, did he speak at all about after women got the right to vote how he felt about its progress? and of the third question is, he had to know a lot about the capabilities of women, black-and-white, although he didn't want black women to get it, ida b wells, i know about that. did he ever wrestle with it out in public? we know about bella lockwood winning the supreme court case, things like that.

other things like the details to why. did i give you two must wrestle with? guest: i think, possibly. if i miss anything, let me know. starting with edith, not only edith gault, who became edith wilson, but the first mrs. wilson, were what they called at the time antis, anti-suffragists. both of them shared with woodrow wilson and upbringing in the south. they were from families that previously held people in slavery. they were confederates in the civil war. they were, you know, steeped in the southern democratic culture in which the woman's place was in the home and not out in public life or politics. so, in fact for many years when

wilson was younger, it was thought inappropriate in that culture for women to even speak in public. so, so even in the 20th century, decades later, these women stuck to their views that women voting was a bad idea. help me out, which order did you want me to take these in? caller: after women achieve the right to vote, black women included, relatively speaking, knowing how it that really went, did he ever speak about what he thought about the progress of the country as a result? at some point he had to have had a measurement of how the country improved having gotten the right to vote. host: the answer that question basically is no.

women got the right to vote nationally, including black women, in 1920. at that time wilson was so seriously disabled that he was not saying publicly much about anything. did very little in the way of public statements. prior to that time, prior to his struggles, when he had belatedly in his second term come out in support of the susan b. anthony amendment, he said as little about it as possible. when he finally changed his long-standing opposition, lifelong opposition to the amendment, it was on the e of two thirds of the house of representatives voting in support. when i say the eve, i mean literally the night before. as we know, two thirds of the house doesn't vote for unpopular things. women's suffrage at this point had become hugely popular across the country.

we saw how popular when the ratification took place and was ratified relatively quickly for a constitutional amendment by three quarters of the state. so, wilson at that time changed because a dozen democratic members of congress, including the chair of the women's suffrage committee, begged for a meeting, which they almost never got. they got to see him the night before. the chair of the women's suffrage committee had stated publicly that they were going to win and didn't want the president, that was stated publicly. the purpose of the meeting was they didn't want the president, the leader of their party, to be on the sidelines during this great remarriage and -- great american reform. they pressed him in a 40 minute meeting. even then, he didn't come out in favor of it, instead issuing a

statement of his own. in a very cramped away he said he would authorize them to issue a one sentence statement that they had consulted him and said they should vote for it. he said nothing about it. this was in january. he said nothing about it until september, when the senate got around to taking it up. then he made a short speech in support, but it was then after that, as i mentioned earlier, that he agreed to change the language of the amendment. for the most part of his presidency, he said as little as possible about the subject. he came into contact with lots of intelligent women, friends and wives. so, what was he actually

thinking? i think that what he was actually thinking was that this was women being treated as full citizens as contemplated by the language of the declaration of independence. not a bad idea. not really worried about black women voting. staying against it for as long as he could. and even after he came out for it, he was in favor of changing the wording. host: our guest, former congressman christopher cox, out of california, the author of the new book, "woodrow wilson: the light withdrawn," the light withdrawn. congressman, thank you so much for being with us this morning. guest: good morning. the sun will be coming up here in california pretty soon. host: thanks for joining us so early. we appreciate it. we are wrapping up today's program with more on your calls

on the passing of former president jimmy carter. you can start calling in now. lines are on your screen. eastern and pacific time zones, -- eastern and central time zones, (202) 748-8000. mountain and pacific, (202) 748-8001. we'll be right back. >> the house will be in order. >> this year c-span sup that celebrates coloring -- covering congress like no other. since 79 we have been your primary source for covering capitol hill, taking you to where the policy is debated and decided, all with the support of america's cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> democracy, always an

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at a commencement address at liberty university back in 2018. this is one of his last appearance is the network. >> when i became president, before i was inaugurated, i was given a brief by the military leaders of our country. i learned, really for the first time, that that the arsenals of the soviet union in the u.s. alone, if they were used in a nuclear war, might put an end to the ability of all human beings and animals to survive. because of the direct explosions

, the atomic fallout, end of the covering of the skies by dark clouds of smoke and debris coming from the nuclear devices. no human being, no animals, could survive a nuclear war. we now still have that great responsibility and threat. and we have to share it with seven or eight other countries, which you know. russia, china, great britain, france, england. israel. pakistan. india. and maybe, we don't know for sure, north korea. with this threat to human existence, what then can you and i do about it?

for a long time, humans had to contend with animals. just for survival. we depended on our speed, our agility, our strength to survive in competition with animals. we know that for several generations now, human intelligence and the weapons we have developed prevented us from prevailing over animals. so, what is there left to do? how can we prevail as human beings? one of the things we had to learn was how to get along. to do good for one another. to get along with our potential enemies. in other words, follow the

mandates of present peace. learn how to live even with our enemies in peace. it's what jesus taught. that will be our only chance for survival in the future. host: you can find the full video as well as other resources on the c-span website, c-span.org. going to your calls, bradley is in northport, michigan. good morning. >> thank you for taking my call. i certainly appreciate jimmy carter as a fellow human being, first and foremost, but overall as a president, his character and moral fiber, as we all know, is unquestionable, contrasted with today's offerings he had a spark of energy that was much needed then and going forward, we all know about that. he established the department of education, now under threat.

i am a retired teacher. i value it highly. and established across the country a standard for taking care of disabled students that i don't think would exist in many of these southern states, especially. so, there's a lot to remember about him. let's hope history judges him kindly, because he is deserving of that. so, thanks for everything, jimmy. host: that was bradley in michigan. good morning, john, new jersey. caller: a little thing about jimmy carter, probably the last of the renaissance men of these -- this country. one thing that he did that wasn't really recognized by a lot of people but it helped people like me, he deregulated beer so that pre-prohibition laws that had made it so you couldn't homebrew were taken away.

if you didn't do that, we wouldn't have 90 hunt -- 9900 breweries in this country right now. ronald reagan, he was never going to deregulated. nothing against them, but that never would have been in his agenda. what he did by doing that alone created an entire industry by itself. back in the day, belgium, germany, england, so many beer styles that they sold, you can get it all here in america now and it all started under jimmy carter. even though i've been critical of his presidency, when you look at what he did, woodworker, fly fisherman, naval academy guy, starting a peace treaty in the middle east, starting habitat for humanity, just incredible. i'm embarrassed by myself when i see what accomplishments this man had. thank you for your time, have a good day. host: that was john in new

jersey. rick, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you today, ma'am? host: doing well. caller: i might be a republican, but that jimmy carter helped a lot of people. habitat, building homes for these people who are poor. a correction about jimmy carter and the beer, that was his brother, billy carter. but anyway, all the things, it deepened within me and it made me cry a little bit when i found out he passed away. the one thing i got to say is, if the rest of the democrats would be like jimmy carter and understand people that's in need and everything, maybe we would have a better nation. helping each other to see how people are. there was a lot of people that were homeless.

back then, too. jimmy carter give them homes. not only that, ma'am, to me jimmy carter was a hero in my book and i love him. i will tell you what, he cared for the people. a lot of people didn't want him to go on. but i will tell you one thing, he was a good man. he was well respected. i got to say to all the other democrats, understand how he was. they could change their minds. but i doubt it. anyway, jimmy was the best of all democrats. thank you for your time, ma'am. god bless you. host: bernie, kentucky, louisville, good morning. caller: good morning, tammy. he's a great example of what can be done after a presidency. his accomplishments are limited.

difficult time in his presidency, but everything he did afterwards was a perfect example of what you can do. it will be hard-pressed for anyone to say anything bad about president carter. i did some research on wikipedia , he was also a huge wrestling fan at that time. in georgia that's not uncommon. we are certainly going to miss him. i hope that he and the family are doing well. thank you. host: that was bernie in kentucky. this from the opinion page of "the washington post," this morning, "mr. carter followed his principles, not politics. to some extent, he was overtaken by events that were set in motion well before he took office. his post presidency is generally regarded as exemplary. he and his wife devoted

themselves to numerous causes in support of health, alleviation of poverty and human rights. in 2002 he was the winner of a nobel pre--- nobel peace prize. well into his 80's he traveled to different -- distant places to make his presence felt. there is a great divide between his presidency and post presidency, but that is simplistic. he was complicated in his principles, more so than any other modern american president, governed by his religious beliefs, as the carter biographer wrote, those who subscribe to the ethics of righteousness can never be certain they have accumulated enough merit. jimmy carter didn't lack so much for passion as he does for respite. he was approaching 90 when that

was written and he never really did let up. never stopped until now. back to your calls. martin, kentucky, good martin -- good morning, martin. caller: i want to talk about how jimmy carter changed america or while he was president instead of talking about what he did afterwards. he made it clear that racism is no longer welcome in the democratic party. all the white people in america from texas and oklahoma all the way to the east coast left the democratic party after 200 years and went to the republican. he also made it clear that the military is going to be an equal opportunity employer. to this day, the military is the only company in america that aggressively hires and recruits women and minorities on an affirmative action basis. and what happened right after he left that nobody has ever clarified, in 1980 we had high interest rates, high unemployment, high inflation, it

was terrible. reagan came on television to say folks, the government did this to us. one month after getting in, reagan had a press conference and set folks, i have to talk to you. i found out after i became president i have to make everything worse before it gets better. he put half the country out of work until the only place hiring was the government, which is why i joined the navy in 1983. i was in college at murray state . jean gordon liddy was speaking and talked about what a terrible president jimmy carter was. then someone asked him why he got out of prison. he said carter commuted his sentence. that's all i have. thank you. host: that was martin talking about jimmy carter's accomplishments in office. this came out earlier today, 11 facts about jimmy carter that

may surprise you. his judicial appointments were the most radically gender diverse at the time, naming 57 minority judges, 40 seven female judges to the federal judiciary during his single term in the white house, which according to the carter center was more than all previous presidents combined. one of those judges was ruth bader ginsburg, who he nominated in 1980 two the district of columbia circuit. the 39th president came of age politically during the civil rights era, but came to embrace the moment publicly later in his political career, pointing the first black woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, patricia roberts harris. rick, ithaca, new york. good morning, rick. caller: good morning. thank you for the opportunity. so many wonderful things to say,

but i think the one that i will say is that jody carter wrote many books. you may have mentioned it and i didn't hear it. some were very profound and wonderful, meaningful for me. i would commend them to people and to people and suggest they take a look online and see if there is something there that they might find worthile and helpful to them. thank you very much for your time. host: that was eric in new york. former president carter did do interviews with c-span, talking about several of the books he wrote over the years. he also did several events. this is from the smithsonian back in 2010. here he is talking about his reelection defeat in 1980. >> as 1979 became 1980, this began to eat heavily into the political year of 1980, the year for which you have been planning to run for reelection.

fighting off primary opponents from your own party. >> for a while. [laughter] >> did you, was there a point where you realized -- they are still there and now this is starting to be a problem for this enterprise? i want to say that i think i'm doing a good job. >> even eight days before the election it was very close. you mentioned november 4, right? that was the anniversary of the hostage takeover, as well as election day. the anniversary of the hostages, people were paying very little attention to what i was saying, or even reagan, that was a burning question, that the hostages were still there in president carter was unable to get them three.

i was the major issue. second, when you almost mentioned, for the last two years of my term, senator kennedy was running against me. very effectively. whenever senator kennedy made a comment, every news media in america covered him word for word. he was a formidable opponent. he never really was reconciled to me. the democratic party was split until the very end. the other thing was iraq invaded iran. all of those oil supplies were lost. so, the price of oil more than doubled in just 12 months. there was enormous inflation. interest rates went up all over the world. so, those things combined to cause my defeat. but i have let a good life since then.

[applause] host: just a few minutes left in today's program. programming note, at 10 a.m. eastern here on c-span, we are going to be bringing you live un security council meeting there in new york. they are going to receive a refund the recent reported attacks on israel from iran backed militant groups out of yemen. that's 10, right here on c-span. let's hear from carla in bethesda, maryland. good morning. caller: yes, good morning. i just wanted to ask, what did jimmy carter do for the country of nicaragua? because it looked as if he helped them, but not in the end. the country is a complete mess and he actually handed over,

facilitated, the, the power struggle with the wrong people. [echoing] host: are you still there? caller: i am. host: go ahead. caller: that was my question. host: we'll go to gill in pensacola, florida. good morning. caller: i was very fortunate to attend the carter center classes on negotiations and received a federal mediator certificate. that has benefited me throughout my career and into retirement. it is interesting that carter, religious as he was, felt that

the moral majority that came in after him under the reagan administration tried to impose their religious dogma, and he never did. it's an anomaly that the republicans have taken up religion as a moniker, yet they are hardly as religious as he demonstrated his life. host: that was gail in pennsylvania. from a 19 99 interview with carter, he was asked about his favorite president. here's that clip. [video clip] >> four years ago you gave a speech where you said harry was the best president of the 20th century. >> well, i said he was my favorite.

first, i don't think he ever told a lie. i think he told the truth, good news or bad news. i think he was the first real champion of human rights, at least in my lifetime. he demonstrated that in very difficult ways by bringing successful conclusions to the second world war, where we could have been abusive and condemnatory, destroying the society of germany, italy, and japan. instead, it was through his wisdom and judgment that he would let those countries survive in war, notbut with a nm and a commitment to democracy which has persisted in all three countries. i think he was quite generous. the marshall plan that was just announced by george marshall could have very well been called the truman plan.

he was generous as a cabinet officer. i've great admiration for him in many ways. host: from the washington post, their headline, 11 facts about jimmy carter that may surprise you. he installed solar water heated panels on the white house west wing in 1979. he unveiled solar panels on top the white house as part of his ambitious plan to reduce expensive oil imports by boosting u.s. use of sustainable energy, harnessing the power of the sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependency on foreign oil. at the time it is one of the greatest and most exciting adventures undertaken by the american people. the panels were removed by the reagan administration in 1986 during white house repairs. mr. carter had great ambitions for solar power which he hoped by the year 2000 would account for 20% of u.s. energy needs, a

call that was not reached -- a goal that was not reached. peanut one set the technological standard for campaign jets. peanut one, otherwise known as mr. carter's 1976 campaign aircraft served as the headquarters for mr. carter's democratic primary season. it's specialized computer equipment designed to keep the campaign operating from 30,000 feet attracted the admiration of political journalists, including the washington post. hooked up by elaborate circuitry to the scheduled media where organization staff in the atlanta headquarters. the campaign computer was connected to polling data and newspaper records. just a few minutes left. sean in virginia. good morning.

caller: good morning, america. i just got a good story about it. 1979 i was in korea in the army. he came in and met the troops and he actually ran with the troops along the border between north and south korea. that was a special time for the military at the time. of all of the things he did for so many. i think his accomplishments after his presidency really amazing. anyway, everyone have a happy and safe new year. god bless the american troops overseas. host: and also in the wall

street journal this morning and opinion piece by stuart eisenstadt who worked for president jimmy carter in the white house as an assistant for domestic affairs and is also the author of "president carter: white house years." the headline is jimmy carter's unappreciated legacy. in part it says "after more than four decades it is time for history to redeem the carter presidency. there were gasoline lines, high inflation, the iranian hostage crisis, a speech dubbed malaise, a term he never used, and a land slightly election defeat. -- and a land slide redirection -- and a landslide reelection defeat. he left office with that approval rating lower than any since richard nixon and harry

truman but he should be remembered as an accomplished resident who single term produce lasting accomplishments. carter's success rate of passing major legislation was among the highest of modern presidents, not far below lyndon b. johnson, more than 10 million jobs were created, double that of ronald reagan's first term and more than five times as high's george h. w. bush is one term. " that is part of the opinion piece from stuart eisenstadt in this morning's wall street journal. this morning in just a few minutes we will be taking you to new york, where the u.n. security council is meeting to receive a brief on the recent reported attacks on israel and the iran backed who the -- the iran backed houthi attack in yemen.