[applause] >> betty ford spoke her mind, pro choice and a supporter of the equal rights amendment. e and gerald ford openly discussed her experience with breast cancer. for much of her family's public life she struggled with alcohol and drug dependency and confronting it defined her post white house years. >> welcome to first ladies influence and image. tonight we'll tell you the story of elizabeth ford, the wife of president gerald ford. here to tell her story is richard norton smith. you know him, he's one of our academic advisors for the whole project. he's helped launch a number of presidential libraries among them the gerald r. ford library in michigan. you developed a relationship with the fords so you bring that to the table. >> sure. i try to be as objective as possible. but i was very fortunate to become a good friends of both of the fords. >> we want to start tonight where we left off which is in august of 1974 when the fords learned they were going to be in the white house. how much of a surprise was it for them when they heard the news? >> this is one of the things i fin

. >> did the betty ford that the country came to know accurately reflect the betty ford that was your mother? >> yeah, yeah. for some reason, just the way her life unfolded she was challenged with two major issues. first, breast cancer and alcoholism. within the first 30 days of dad's administration, you had the resignation and the economy in shambles. mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. you have to remember at that time in 1974 people do not talk about breast cancer. you literally did not say the word "breast." it was a closet disease for women. here you have an image of mom and dad standing there in front of the press holding hands saying we are going to take the shame of the disease and be very transparent. -- take the shame off of this disease and be very transparent. that was important to her as a person to be able -- she did not choose it but to be that role model and she did well. of the hundreds of thousands of letters she got, women who said thank you for helping to take the shame of the disease. -- shame off of this disease. and saying i went in and got the exam and we cau

. >> first they be betty ford wanted to -- a betty ford wanted to elevate fashion design in america.>> she wanted to promote american fashion. this was a gown she wore to her first head of state even. it was designed by a lady named frankie welsch who had a boutique in alexandria, virginia. wore for her official portrait as first lady. dress some people might recognize. gown for ais andrait taken of the family featured on the cover of time likedne, but she also practical design as well. a fellow from new york designed a number of dresses and gowns for her, very practical, inexpensive, but for her very functional. outfits toear these arrival ceremonies for dignitaries but also to the hairdresser, to church, on trips, campaign event. they were the ones she could get most comfortable in. this was a piece she wore for a 60 minutes interview. she fielded many questions. know a lot of this because one of the things mrs. ford was very careful about was she cap what we call secretaries cards for each of these dresses. they would be no notations made on where she wore them, when she wore them

. >> and you and betty ford worked on that together. >> that is right. after we left the white house, betty nine would go to washington. she would get republicans and i would get democrats. we made some progress. >> did you and betty ford have the same relationship? >> we were we went to the funeral after we left the white house. that is when jimmy and gerald ford began talking a lot of times and saw how much each one they thought similarly. and then betty and i started working and we developed a wonderful relationship. >> there are several first lady still living. is there a sorority of first ladies, in a sense? >> i had a good relationship with betty ford and lady bird, as long as she was alive. that is about it. there has never been -- we see each other at events and a library dedications. but there is never been a closeness that i had with betty ford and lady bird. >> when you are first lady, unity weekly luncheon with your husband. what was the purpose of that? >> well, there are always things i wanted to ask him and some was about the family and fin

with steve ford, son of both betty and president gerald ford. your mother is one of the , if you turn around she is in the artwork for our series. she represents someone who did have influence and image. as a mother, talk to us about what she was like. >> you could say that about so many congressional lines. the more -- majority that time he was the house majority leader. he was on the road maybe 200 nights a year. for othergning republicans, trying to get a majority in congress. >> wrestling practice, all those kind of things, the glue that held the kids together while dad was out. i spent 25 years in film and tv business as an actor. i have to think what ever that calling was for me came not from dad's side but from mom. >> how successful was she -- you did have a typical -- how did going to the white house change that at all? >> looking back, we were fortunate. if you were a member of the bush or reagan family, there was almost an expectation that at some point, your father was going to run for president or be president. not with gerald ford.

did rosalynn and betty ford have a friendship? >> absolutely. when president reagan was wounded, he could not go to the funeral, because of his condition, vice president bush couldn't go. so he sent three presidents nixon, ford and carter. same thing happened with the first ladies. family asked miss ford to speak so there's a very close bond between the family. maybe part of it they both went through the trauma of failing to be reelected. >> the white house was a busy spot because two of the sons' wives and children moved in. >> part of the time -- >> and amy was there and then the nation also got introduced to miss lillian and president carter's brother, billy. >> miss lillian was the celebrity. when the democratic national convention was held in the summer 1976, most of the delegates already met the carter family except for miss lillian because miss lillian because she stayed home to take care of amy. she was the carter family member people hadn't already met. the big thing at the convention was, can i meet lillian carter? >> it was exciting to

the life and career of betty ford tonight at 9:00 eastern here on c-span. you can also listen on c-span radio. >> on the next washington journal, former mitt romney speechwriter peter winner talks about the strengths and weaknesses of american conservatism. lawless of jennifer american university discusses the impact of women in politics. plus, your e-mails, phone calls and tweets. washington journal live at 7:00 a.m. eastern daily on c-span.

first ladies continues with a look at the life of betty ford. during her time in the white house she raised breast cancer awareness after surviving the disease and voiced support for after her husband left office, she shared her experience with alcohol and prescription drug addiction which led to the creation of the betty ford center. the life and career of betty ford tonight at 9:00 eastern here on c-span. you can also listen on c-span radio. >> on the next washington journal, former mitt romney speechwriter peter winner talks about the strengths and weaknesses of american conservatism. lawless of jennifer american university discusses the impact of women in politics. plus, your e-mails, phone calls and tweets. washington journal live at 7:00 a.m. eastern daily on c-span. this week on q&a, yuval levin. >> yuval levin, your wikipedia site has in the second sentence, he has been called, quote, probably the most influential conservative intellectual of the obama era. what's that mean? >> that's a very good question. i wonder by whom. >> i think it

. >> first lady betty ford also wanted to elevate fashion designs made in america. >> hand-in-hand with mrs. ford's love for dance was her love for design, for fashion. and particularly, she wanted to promote american fashion. these are some of her dresses and gowns from her first lady timeframe. this is a gown that she wore to her first head of state event. it was designed by a lady named becky welch who had a boutique in alexandria, virginia. this next one is also a frankie welch dress. mrs. ford wore this for her official portrait as first lady. this is a dress that some people might recognize. she wore this gown for a portrait that was taken of the family and featured on the cover of "time" magazine. she also liked very practical design as well. a fellow from new york designed a number of dresses and gowns for her. very practical, very inexpensive, but for her very functional. she would wear these outfits, both of which are the same designer, to arrival ceremonies, dignitaries, and also to church, on trips, campaign events. they were those that she could get most comfortable in. thi

. >> passionate for the arts, first lady betty ford also wanted to elevate fashion designs made in america >> hand-in-hand with mrs. ford's love for dance was her love for design, for fashion. and particularly, she wanted to promote american fashion. these are some of her dresses and gowns from her first lady timeframe. this is a gown that she wore to a first heads of state event. king hussein of jordan. it was designed by a lady named becky welch who had a boutique in alexandria, virginia. this next one is also a frankie welch dress. mrs. ford wore this for her official portrait as first lady. this is a dress that some eople might recognize. she wore this gown for a portrait that was taken of the family, and featured on the over of "time" magazine. she also loved very practical design as well. a fellow from new york designed a number of dresses and gowns for her. very practical, very inexpensive, but for her very functional. she would wear these outfits, both of which are albert caprero pieces to arrival ceremonies for dignitaries but also to the hairdresser, to hurch, on trips for campai

in 1999 gerald and betty ford received the congressional gold medal. at that ceremony, president bill clinton spoke about betty ford's legacy with helping people with drug and alcohol addiction after she left the white house and we'll close with that. perhaps no first lady this our history with the possible exception of eleanor roosevelt has touched so many of us in such a personal way. because i lost my mother to breast cancer, betty ford is a heroin to me. because my family has been victimized by alcoholism and i know what it is to watch good, fine people stare into their personal despair, i will be forever grateful for the betty ford clinic and for the millions of other people whose lives have literally been turned around and often say you may not have gone to that clinic but went somewhere because she showed them it was not wrong. -- for a good person and a strong person to be imperfect and ask for help. you gave us a gift and we thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satelli

also tonight, c-span series on first ladies continues with a look at the life of betty ford. during her time in the white house, she raise breast cancer awareness after surviving the disease, and voiced support for abortion rights. after her husband left office, she publicly shared her personal experience with alcohol and prescription drug addiction, which led to the creation of the betty ford center. the life and career of betty ford here at 9:00 eastern on c- span. can also listen on c-span radio. on the next "washington journal" former mitt romney speechwriter, peter wenner, talks about the strength and service -- strengths and weaknesses of american conservatives. after that, jennifer lalas discusses women in politics. plus, your e-mails, phone calls, and tweets. next, a discussion on the top 10 lobbying victories of 2013. and what big lobbying battles lie ahead this year. from "washington journal" this is 35 minutes. host: kevin bogardus of "the hill" newspaper joins us now to talk about his recent piece on the top lobbying victories of 20. -- 2013. before we get into th

join us as we examine the influence of betty ford at 9:00 p.m.tern here on c-span. >> we are in the gallery of the light catcher building at the whatcom museum. we're looking at vanishing ice 1775 to 2012. the purpose of the exhibition is to highlight the rich cultural heritage of the planet's frozen frontiers, the alpine region, the arctic and antarctica. this is a photograph of the greenland ice sheet by a german artist, dating from 2008, and it's exhibited side by side th a photograph by camille seaman, also of east greenland. ist from the her last iceberg series of 2006. many people understand the importance of ice for the planet, its reflective qualities that help regulate the climate, but many people are unaware that there is a collective consciousness in western culture about these regions, and so it was important within the context of climate change to let people know that these regions are fundamental to our identity. >> there's more from the whatcom museum this weekend as book tv and american history tv look at the history and literary

and first lady betty ford. host: welcome back. -- a couple of live events to tell you about tomorrow here on c-span. -- general ray odierno speaks about the future of the army. that is at 1 p.m. eastern. at 2 p.m. eastern, the senate subcommittee on civil and human rights looks at refugees from the civil war in syria. it includes representatives from the state and homeland security departments. now i discussion of what happened during the first days of coverage under the affordable care act. "washington journal," this is 40 minutes. host: welcome back. our next guest is elise viebeck, she covers health care. guest: thank you for having me. host: walk us through how this has been going on for the congress has said. guest: sure. obviously the botched rollout of healthcare.gov did not help anything, but people have been having mixed experiences. some are going to the doctors office and they are fine, they are using their new coverage without issue, others are encountering problems when they call their insurance co

. >> thursday, our encore presentation of first ladies continues with the life of betty ford. she had a mastectomy and brought public awareness to breast cancer. she voiced her opponent to abortion rights and spoke openly about premarital sex. she shared her experiences of alcohol and prescription drug addiction which led to the betty ford center. join us thursday at 9:00 eastern on c-span. >> our series continues with the five most recent first ladies monday night starting january 13, live at 9:00 eastern on c-span. along with the white house historical association, we're offering an historical edition of the book "first ladies." now available for the discounted price of $12.95. then visit our website with the special section, "welcome to the white house" which chronicles life in the executive mansion at c-span.org/first ladies. >> we are in the depalri. we are looking ativannishing ice 1775 to 2012. the purpose of the exhibition is to highlight the rich cultural heritage of the planet's frozen frontiers -- the alpine regions, the arctic, and antartica. this is a photograph o

the first series on betty ford. tomorrow we will show you the recent first lady's program on rosalynn carter at 9:00 on c- span. today, joined us for more on the q&a series. is yuval levin. there is a look at some cell research. issues01 one of the big that the new president faced was the question of whether and how the federal government should fund embryonic still -- stem research. the question was whether it was moral it in the promise or potential of it to spend public money on that kind of research. the president made a decision in which he was advised that said you could spend money on lines that are it existed at that point, but not on new ones. of announcingrse that decision, he said these kinds of issues will stay with us. and we need help in thinking about them. he called together a group of 18 scholars, almost all of them academics who would come together several times per year to consider a challenging environmental question that has some public wallace the implication and provide information in terms of

betty ford, then betty bloomer, knew she wanted to do something with it. she was fascinated.she went to different camps. this was her trunk she would take to wisconsin, where she put on skits and plays, danced with friends, and that led to vermont, where she studied at the school of dance. these are some of her notecards where she kept notes, so each of these is dedicated to a different subject. you would find names of her teachers and the notes she took about the different things she was studying, much of it about choreography. some of them have dance figures she has drawn with diagrams that show how the stage is supposed to be organized. other material includes her record albums, and she collected music and collected popular tunes from the time, and these are some of the records he would find in her record album. i'm a big girl now. she shared her dorm room with a number of girls, so she had to leave notes. mrs. ford was an organized person. please put these back in the same folder. thank you. it is very important. this is her organizer. she carried this with her to vermont

our series first ladies moments with few exclusive interviews with former rosaline cart and betty ford. a little less than an hour and a half a discussion of what has days ed during the first of insurance coverage under the affordable care act. then officials from the senators for medicare and medicaid services say the affordable care has had minimal impact on the recent slow down in spending. s part of our series first ladies we spoke with former carter in ansaline exclusive interview. he talked about attending cabinet meetings, working on mental health issues, the what n hostage crisis and she hopes her legacy will be. she talks about her continuing president jimmy carter on a variety of issues. an is a little less than hour. >> rosalynn carter, do you remember when president carter started having conversations about him running for president? >> i do. >> what was that like? what was that conversation? >> it was very interesting. we had a friend that wrote and told jimmy he thought he should run for president. well, we couldn't even say the word, that my husband was running for -- we

tonight, a look at the life and career of betty ford. after that, supreme court oral argument in a case based on a state responsibility to control air pollution beyond its own borders. and later, an opportunity to hear charlie cook's thoughts on the upcoming 2014 midterm elections. ♪ >> being lady like does not require silence. why should my husband's job or yours prevent us from being ourselves? i do not believe that being first lady should prevent me

betty ford had been through her own episode but i think for nancy reagan to do this -- we will hear onest piece of nancy reagan and her own voice looking at her role as a guardian of ronald reagan and the white house. this is her talking about her political antenna. >> i had little antennas that pointed up when somebody had their own agenda and not ronnie's. i would tell him. he wouldn't always agree with me but i tell him. what was the first thing you notice when somebody had their own agenda? you just know. you have those antennas. >> visible antennas were probably directed to don regan who ultimately lost his job and some of that was over the disagreement over the iran-contra. situation. what did we learn through the relationship -- about the relationship? >> he wanted to get back to her and the astrology thing was a poisonous arrow in the quiver. they had different ideas about what reagan should've been doing. she listened. she was a careful listener. she tried to get george h.w. of don help her get rid regan and he told her it was not his job. was talking to the vice president of t

my mother, lady bird johnson, and betty ford were doing everything when i was a kid.time of our history. because nobody had written about them. they weren't there. when i wrote the grown-up book, as i have come to think of it, they suggested a children's book, too. and then i was so thrilled, george, at the illustrations. >> i'm glad you brought that up. we were showing them. they are just beautiful. >> they are fabulous. diane goode. the liberty tree. and here you have sally jay going to spain with her husband. and here you have the valley forge. and this is mercy otis warren, the great propagandist. writing. i think this must be eliza pink. >> they give you the feel of the times but they're accurate. "founding mothers, remembering the ladies" is in stores tomorrow. we'll be right back. rit,amr wn >>> there's ginger out there with the rutgers team. thanks to them. to to cheerleaders. and thanks to all at the sato project. for bringing all the puppies on set today. they can all be adopted. so please, if you want any one of these -- >> i think i know 20 or so guys that

and then steve ford, the son of former president ford and betty ford. he talked about his mother's struggles with substance abuse. you can watch rosalynn carter at 9:00 eastern time and steve ford at 955 eastern monday night on c-span. our "first lady's" series returns this month with five episodes on the most recent first ladies from nancy reagan to michelle obama monday night starting january 13 live at 9:00 eastern on c-span. houseong with a low white is oracle association, we are offering a special edition of the book, first ladies of the united states of america. it includes biographies and a portrait of each first lady. it is available for the discounted rights of $12.95 plus shipping at www.c-span.org /products. >> c-span -- we bring public affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and conferences, and offering complete gavel-to-gavel coverage of the u.s. house -- all as a public service of private industry. we are c-span -- created by the cable tv industry 34

betty. >> let's start off with ford. they passed toyota and china. they surged 49% of the country last year. and hundred 35 thousand vehicles. the job report has been outselling toyota for the first time in china. strong sales of the ford focus get credit. -- waszos -- the story airlifted from the galapagos. he suffered from kidney stones. they amazon ceo -- that is painful. airlifted by a neck of dorian navy helicopter. a spokesman said no surgery was necessary. he had a good outcome following treatment. bitcoin is back above $1000. that is thanks to zynga. they said they would accept bitcoin for online social games. his is the second time it has crossed the $1000 mark. the first time, back in november, it once shortly after. that is company is. >> a lot company -- coming up. we will look across business and politics. we will also go to germany. hans nichols -- chancellor merkel suffered an injury over the christmas break. ♪ >> good morning. loop," the"in the founder of shutter stock. he is a gazillion air. -- gazillionaire. they all know betty liu.

ford is back in the news for the wrong reasons. it's wednesday, january 22. "early today" starts right now. >>> hello. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. we start with the storm that's no joke. start in west mitch began. looks like the north pole. last year the lakes were frozen over. this year the ice covers to double. meanwhile thousands of flights cancelled across the country. now it's a fight just to stay warm as brutally cold temperatures settle in. our meteorologist bill karins is here. this lives up to hype around it. >> it's full blown blizzard conditions there. the storm is pushing out of the big city. snow is over philadelphia. d.c. and baltimore four to five. an additional inch or two through the day. it's not the snow anymore but the cold coming in behind it. the lowest wind chills now even including alaska are watertown, new york wind chill of minus 45. >> oh my goodness. thank you for that rude a wakening bill. let's go to the weather channel mike slidell where it's snowing side wway. what a are you experiencing except a lot of cold? >> reporter: it's been snowing like this all night long. the wind is off the atla