a compatriot of father bob brooks. thank you for that. i think eddie got tired from showing off the super bowl ring last night and is rooting for the patriots. i don't think we established that. i am a to mid giants fan in the midst so i will quickly move on to the book itself. i thought i would just talk briefly about why this story intrigues me so much. a little bit about the reporting process and bring it forward to today because that intrigues me and open the floor to questions and i will admit first of all i am sadly not a holy cross grabbed which somebody thought naturally i must be an alumnus of the school--the way i came across the story was one of the men in the book, we were having lunch and it was the same day that ted wells was a front-page story in the new york times representing scooter libya at the time and going way back, he started to talk about his classmates, the other black classmates and started to talk about father brooks and i was intrigued because clarence thomas was one of those classmates and i have not read much

they were elected from black majority, urban districts and with the exception of senator edward bob brooks of massachusetts who was elected in the 1916s these men and a woman at the end, shirley chisholm were all democrats. there was a shift in party loyalty that occurred that code itself to larger forces beyond capitol hill. one of them was the lily white movement in the south in which southern republicans began to freeze out african-americans from the political process from local politics from nominating conventions. another even larger force at play is the great migration of tens of thousands of african-americans beginning in the early part of the 20th century and lasting in number of decades. these are folks coming from rural poverty in the south and looking for northern industrial jobs and the opportunity to participate more fully in politics. also by promising african-americans cooler participation in the political process in the 1930s the new deal coalition also help reactivate black political participation and brought greater numbers into the democratic party over a number of decad

we're very lucky to have bob kagan from the brookings institution to lead this conversation. really nobody's thought more deeply about the role of american power than bob has in recent years. so that further wind-up, let me turn the podium over to our moderator, npr's tom gelton. tom's not only a very fine and experienced reporter and serious student of international affairs, but he's got the gravitas and the horsemanship to herd this think tank pundit round-up forward into the future. so, tom, please -- >> thank you very much. maybe i need to push the button, so that's a warning to the rest of you too. and as is the custom, you know, at these events i guess we have to remind you to silence your cell phones so we don't get interrupted. this is a real pleasure for me to be here, and i'm very impressed by how many of you have shown up on this spectacular spring afternoon, almost a summer afternoon. i guess i shouldn't be surprised, though, because you have a chance to listen to the thoughts of a writer who has given president obama his main talking point, foreign policy talking

brooks. >> greg: hey, hello, everyone. i am your compact communicator greg gutfeld. today on lease from greece, andrea tantaros. the silver samurai, bob beckel. the oil man with the great tan, eric bolling. and america's gumdrop, dana perino. it's 5:00 in new york city. 1:00 a.m. in my spleen. this is "the five." this is packed tighter than willy wonka band. let's do this america. yesterday, president superhero at the united auto workers conference where he gave us his view of america. it wonder if he said that america is not just looking out for yourself. that it's not just about greed. it's not just about trying to climb to the very top. and keeping everybody else down. >> america is not just looking out for yourself, not just about greed. it's not just about trying to climb to the very top and keep everybody else down. >> greg: so predictable. talk about a back-handed compliment. him saying it's not just about greed, means it is about greed. it's like president, you're not just a left wing community organize they're got lucky. you are also a good golfer. shouldn't president obama apologize to half of america whose motives he questi

brookings institution to lead this conversation. nobody has thought more deeply about the role of american power than bob has. let me turn to our moderator, and npr's tom gjelten. >> thank you. maybe i need to push the button. good morning to the rest of you, too. as is the custom at these events, we have to remind you to do silence your cell phone. it is a pleasure for me to be here. i am impressed by how many of you have shown up on this spectacular spring afternoon. this should not be a surprise because you have a chance to listen to the thoughts of a writer who has given president obama his main foreign policy talking point for the state of the union. i am not at all surprised if you are anxious to hear him elaborate on a provocative thesis that the idea that america's declining is actually a myth. a very impressive "new republic" article, and an even more impressive small book in which he spells that out. without further ado, i think you all know robert kagan from his writings, and one of the things most impressive about your record is you are not only a pundit, but you helped to advise administration's

bob lenzer, my thanks to you with "forbes." now we have to hand you off to wolf blitzer. "the situation room" starts now. >>> brooke, thanks very much. newt gingrich still isn't counting himself out, but it seems to be coming down to romney versus santorum. despite a pair of deep south defeats, the romney camp still claims the outcome is inevitable. >>> the president and the prime minister start with a series of jokes, but turn deadly serious when it comes to iran and syria. >>> why some local veterans are outraged. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." rick santorum has a brand-new surge coming after stunning victories in the deep county. newt gingrich is refusing to add up the numbers. mitt romney's cavern says this race is still a forgone conclusion. let's begin with joe johns, he's in illinois. joe? >> reporter: wolf, this is rosemo rosemont, illinois, outside of chicago, where newt gingrich is expected to appear shortly. there were new calls today from conservatives for gingrich to get out of the race and give rick santorum a clean shot at the republican nomination. as indecision limped closer to t

brookings. i haven't been drinking this morning but i was served up by suzanne and bob analysis of the situation in iran that completely shared but raised the question, one to suzanne which is is there nothing that can be done on the negotiation front to head off what looks like an inevitable military confrontation? and to bob, since your judgment was that the only effective way of dealing with iran's nuclear weapons program is to use force and repeatedly so, if we get to that stage, is it better from a u.s. perspective for israel to do it or is it better for the united states to do it? >> uh-huh. >> i would tend to be pessimistic with respect to a negotiating process in the short term but i think it is our only long-term viable mechanism for dealing with the iranian nuclear program which to say we can establish constrants which are sufficiently durable from the perspective of the international community. that we can arrive at a solution that is tolerable to both sides although not preferable to either side. there's sufficient evidence in the past that the iranians have been willing to do that u

brookings. i haven't been drinking this morning, but i was served up by bob and suzanne some analysis. situation in iran, which i completely shared, but it really raises the question, one to suzanne, which is, is there nothing that can be done on the negotiation front to head off what looks like an inevitable military confrontation? and to bob, since your judgment was that the only effective way of dealing with iran's nuclear weapons program is to use force, and repeatedly so, if we get to that stage, is it better from a u.s. perspective for israel to do it, or is it better for the united states to do it? >> i would tend to be pessimistic with respect to a negotiating process in the short term, but i think it is our only long-term, viable mechanism for dealing with the iranian nuclear program, which is to say i do think that we can establish constraints that are durable from the perspective of the international community, that we can arrive at a solution that is tolerable to both sides, although not preferable to either side. there's sufficient evidence in the past that the iranians ha

brookings institution to lead this conversation. nobody has thought more deeply about the role of american power than bob hess. -- bob has in recent yearst me turn to our moderator, and pierre's tom gjelten, -- and pr's --npr's tom gjelten. is an experienced reporter in international affairs. he has the gravitas to herd this roundup into the future. >> thank you. maybe i need to push the button. good morning to the rest of you, too. as is the custom at these events, we have to remind you to do silence your cell phone. it is a pleasure for me to be here. i am impressed by how many of you have shown up on this spectacular spring afternoon. this should not be a surprise because you have a chance to listen to the thoughts of a writer who has given president obama his main foreign policy talking point for the state of the union. i am not at all surprised if you are anxious to hear him elaborate on a provocative thesis that the idea that america's declining is actually a myth. a very impressive "new republic" article, and an even more impressive small book in which he spells that out. without further ado, i think you all know robert kagan fro

brookings institution to lead this conversation. nobody has thought more deeply about the role of american power than bob hess. let me turn to our moderator, and pierre's tom gjelten, -- and pr's tom gjelten. >> thank you. maybe i need to push the button. good morning to the rest of you, too. as is the custom at these events, we have to remind you to do silence your cell phone. it is a pleasure for me to be here. i am impressed by how many of you have shown up on this spectacular spring afternoon. this should not be a surprise because you have a chance to listen to the thoughts of a writer who has given president obama his main foreign policy talking point for the state of the union. i am not at all surprised if you are anxious to hear him elaborate on a provocative thesis that the idea that america's declining is actually a myth. a very impressive "new republic" article, and an even more impressive small book in which he spells that out. without further ado, i think you all know robert kagan from his writings, and one of the things most impressive about your record is you are not only a pundit, but you helped