to ask you about the personal william mckinley for we go on.ow would you describe him if we had him here? he was aughing because tough guy. he was a tough nut for me to crack. i have written a number of biographies and i thought i was good at bringing people to life. but kimi was not easy to bring to life. andid not keep a diary wrote no memoirs, because he was killed in office. but you hardly wrote any letters. there is very little written record of what he was thinking or how was he was -- or how he was feeling or what he thought about this guy or that person. i was struggling with the book. my friend david ignatius at the washington post, who read my manuscript, touched on it and said this guy is a mystery. because he was a consequential and effective president. or whynot figure out how he was able to a comp us what he did, because he was indirect. .e was an incrementalist he was a manager. he was not a man of force. it turns out that, without that force, he had amazing capacity to manipulate people and manipulate them into doing the things

including his unexpected ascension to the white house after william mckinley fascination. -- william mckinley's assassination. here is a preview. >> i-70 came to the presidency through the graveyard -- i sadly came to the presidency through the graveyard. after sunday's, his physicians assured me and members of the cabinet that the president would recuperate from his wounds. i remember the trip well. highest point in new york state. that cloud splitter lived up to its name. when i reached the apex, the guide split, and my showed me the bodies of water and mountains for 360 degrees around. when we came. down and had lunch, the hunting path,was coming up the rushing with what appeared to be a telegram in his hands. i knew to be bad news. the telegram was from john hayes, private secretary to lincoln, now mckinley's secretary of state. it informed me that the president was dying in buffalo and i was needed tere. -- there. treating hiss wounds were obstetricians, none of whom had ever treated a gunshot wound in his practice. early inached there the morning, another telegram from john ms.

railroads took over the party then it took over politics in the late nineteenth century and gave us william mckinley who spent four million dollars of corporate money to bring us the overseas american empire the beginnings of it so there's a real and it's a it's dangerous in some ways and it's going to be chaotic but i think it's hatched to happen and it is happening great story opposition research that what if it been better maybe if let's say that had been put in check last year wouldn't have been better that bernie did get the nomination and then trump i mean there is the most stark difference that i think we could have had in our lifetime as different agendas and i would have welcomed and i would have welcomed an honest election not a rigged election i agree that the rip g.o.p. primary was in rigged but the establishment certainly did everything it could to hurt their most popular candidate in that is a form of breaking so my hypothetical how would you answer that i think of it would have been a much more competitive race i think that bernie would have been a better candidate and it was hillary

26th president's life and times, including his unexpected ascension to the white house after william mckinley's assassination. this is just over an hour. >>> i am john elliff, president of the lincoln group of the district of columbia. the

railroads took over the party then it took over politics in the late nineteenth century and gave us william mckinley who spent four million dollars of corporate money to bring us the overseas american empire the beginnings of it so there's a real and it's dangerous in some ways and it's going to be chaotic but i think it's hatched to happen and it is happening that both parties are losing legitimacy trump is doing a great job and witnessing for the republican party and now all of this internal fighting with within the democrats were brazil and clinton and what not and the fact that they we now know that the clinton campaign of the n.c. paid for the essence of what is the russia gate story opposition research that their credibility is is eroding by the day and we can only welcome this of course we don't know if you know well if you don't you're already joe that you have represented here and if you watch c.n.n. and miss them b.c. you wouldn't get that ok it takes critical eyes that people that are not just going into that kind of a zombie peavy ok steve you know one thing i'm going to give you a hypot

scott miller writes about the assassination of william mckinley in the president and the assassin. in another interview, ronald kleinman talks about assassination attempts and presidentse against and presidential candidates. you can find these programs online at c-span.org. announcer: monday night on the communicators, the newest member of the commission joins us to theuss net neutrality, effort to sue at&t, and media ownership rules. he is interviewed by john handle. >> do you have faith in the doj? has a limited role to play in mergers. we take a look and ask if there is a transaction specific harm. if there is, we try to find a remedy for the harm. then we can move forward with public interest determination. we view mergers as sort of a christmas tree where you can hang your agenda on it. that is not my approach or the approach that i think lawfully the announcer: watch the communicators monday night at 8:00 p.m. on c-span2. , primeng up next minister's question. then matalin right and condoleezza rice talk about threats to freedom and democracy around the world. then that 11:00

scott miller writes about the assassination of william mckinley in the president and the assassin.nd in another interview, ronald kleinman talks about assassination attempts and threats made against presidents and presidential candidates. you can find these programs online at c-span.org. announcer: monday night on the >> if you enjoyed this q&a, here are some others you might enjoy. william c on his book the president has wish those at the history of the white house and the people that there. there is also scott miller who buys about the assassination of early mckinley in the president and the assassin. >> congress is back from thanksgiving recess for the visiting mother hens, raising a december 8 deadline when current government funding was out. the senate returned with vote on additional -- judicial nominations. the rest of the week focuses on tax reform as the budget committee works on a version of the bill that includes oil drilling and repealing the health care law insurance mandate. the senate is respected to begin work on the tax reform bill by midweek. wednesday to consider

sixth residence life and times, including his unexpected ascension to the white house after william mckinley's assassination. you are as a preview. >> i sadly came to the residency through the graveyard. the assassination of president mckinley occurring. he was shot in buffalo, new york. to be by his side. after some days, his physicians assured me and members of the cabinet that the president would recuperate from his wounds. thecabinet felt it would do anxiety some good if i were to go on a planned vacation in the beloved adirondack mountains. i remember well. ted junior shot his first buck. it lived up to its name when i guided the apex and my showed me the bodies in the for 360 degrees around. or we can down and had lunch, the hunting guide was coming up the path rushing with what appeared to be a telegram. i knew it to be bad news. the telegram was from john hale, he who in his youth had been private secretary to lincoln, no mckinley's secretary of state. he informed me indeed that the president was dying in buffalo and i was needed there. terribly sad news to come to the presidency throu

26th president's life and times, including his unexpected ascension to the white house after william mckinley's assassination. this is just over an hour. >> i am john elliff, president of the lincoln group of the district of columbia. the lincoln group has existed since the 1930s to honor the life and legacy of abraham lincoln. and this year we have a special opportunity to hear from an extraordinary speaker. and in introducing him i would like to repeat something that he said at the first national republican convention that he attended as a young man in 1884. he was part of a reform wing of the republican party, and they had an insurgent candidate to be temporary chair of the convention, taking on the candidacy of the republican national committee. that candidate happened to be the african-american congressman from mississippi, john r. lynch. here is some of what our speaker said. it is now less than a quarter of a century since in this city, chicago, the great republican party organized for victory and nominated abraham lincoln of illinois who broke the fetors of the slaves and rant them asun

26th president's life and times, including his unexpected ascension to the white house after william mckinley'sssassination. this is just over an hour. >> i am john elliff, president of the lincoln g

then william mckinley who was a company great officer, but nonetheless a union veteran. every republican who held the presidency for the rest of the 19th century had been directly involved in saving the union. the democrats, we know who they ran successfully twice, grover cleveland who hired the poor polish guy to vote for him. there's a disconnection between who's getting elected as a republican and a democrat to the presidency. the republicans would say of course the democrats are running a draft dodger. we run generals, they run draft dodgers. the democrat ran one former general for president, hancock in 1880. and he did okay. but he did not win. it is a plus to have union veteran on your resume if you're running for office after the civil war. and the democrats struggle with this notion that they were not really fully on board with this struggle to save the union. they came back, once the former confederate states were back, the democrats regained control of the house of representatives. didn't take a decade. but the republicans used the union cause very, very effect

and reaching its combination in 1896 and william jennings bryan, and the basic question had been answered. whether brian wins, whether mckinleyins, americans agree whatever the solution is for this, the kind of problem is they confronted in the gilded age government was the answer. they differ on the details but they agree on that. progressivism is inevitable after 1896, really very likely and that will follow. to conclude, it is not just even, that we can find seeds of the present in the gilded age, they are there and i won't deny that, i mentioned many of them, the problem is it is more important. the danger to find clues for the present world in the past, it trivialized the past, all that matters, all the lives these people lived that made them just like us. if all we are interested in is people just like us, why bother? we can study us. we are wonderfully ahistorical nation, we are obsessed with ourselves. you can follow modern politics without thinking the last 10 minutes are the most important in all of human history. what the past give you is something else, the strangeness of the past, the difference in the past, ways

mckinley win in the convention? robert: it was a coronation. he had it. he won the presidency by running against williamames brian, the big question about the cost of gold and how to expand silver and expand the money supply. a lot of farmers felt they were being beleaguered by the bankers. william james brian emerges at the democratic convention in an explosion of political sentiment in favor of the free coinage. as he said, they shall not crucify us on the cross of gold. they shall not put the crown of thorns, and he stands up at the podium and out stretches his arms like a cross of gold. the democrats went crazy. but mckinley stayed with gold and launched the first educational presidential campaign, where he realized he was going to have to explain these issues. he won by a significant margin. brian: and he beat them again in the next election. was it bigger? robert: yes. and by that time his presidency had been so successful. mckinley ended it a big depression on his watch. so he managed to take the sting away from brian's silver advocacy. brian: there is a lot in here to read that we cannot get to.

william jennings bryan. but i would argue by 1896 it doesn't matter who won the election. the basic question had already been answered in a populist leader and they did not have a chance if mckinley wins so whatever would be the solution to the kinds of problems confronted then government would be the answer. they differ on the details but they agreed on that. so does this make it inevitable? so that is what will follow. so to conclude, it is unjust to find the seeds of the gilded age they are there but i will not deny them. but the problem is the danger just trying to find the clues is that it trivializes the past. all that matters and all the lives of our just like us in if we're only interested in people just like us then why bother? we can study as. we are obsessed with ourselves you cannot follow modern politics without finding out of human history. but the past will give you something else. it is the way is the name of the gilded age still can come up with ideas with the things that seem unfamiliar. the gilded age was about fighting. but they believed in that competency it should not be the addition of human lives. they believe that concept that hardly seems to apply that i