to become justice breyer of the highest court.of the men you saw will be pallbearers. caroline kennedy just arrived. the family coming into the presidential library, again, to pay their last respects before they move on to the church. much more to come. we'll be right back. >>> coming up on "good morning america," we'll visit the green dream. a town that produces more energy than it uses. grows its own food. and has banned cars from its roads. >>> and hot stuff. we travel down south to the place where tobasco sauce was invented, in search of the secret, spicy family recipe. hey, why don't we use our points from chase sapphire and take a break? we can't. sure, we can. the points don't expire... ♪ there is nothing for me... ♪ there's no travel restrictions... we could leave tomorrow. we can't use them for a vacation. you can use the points for just about anything. i know... ♪ the way you look tonight ♪ chase what matters. get your new chase sapphire card at chase.com/sapphire. - hon, did you know there's a full serving of veg-- - (

not have that promising a health prognosis about richard arnold and instead he appointed stephen breyer. he also said that he hoped he could consider, that's richard arnold could be treated for that particular episode in be considered for another opening on the supreme court. another opening never came during clinton's terms that we go back to the criteria where clinton is looking at his legacy in terms of beyond his presidency, the supreme court nominees were ruth bader ginsburg, stephen bair, looking beyond that legacy when richard arnold died in 2004, his replacement would have been by a republican president and not by a democratic president where as stephen fire is still there, so if judged by that criteria, than that is one way to do it but i have also really appreciated paula greenberg's sentiments that he stated over the years about what ten years or even one year of richard arnold on the supreme court could have done for the country. >> one final and then i will let you go. could you speculate on what might it then the supreme court richard arnold on the court, what it might it

and we'll talk to some of his former staffers, including supreme court justice steven breyer. and he'll talk about how he inspired them to greatness. i know you have more to come in new york, bill. >> we do, kate. >>> we have the latest on that shocking story out of california. jaycee dugard, kidnapped in california. held for 18 years. we're learning new details, including just how close the authorities came to finding jaycee, when neighbors had their suspicions. >>> and a different story in northern california. everything must go, if it's government property, that is. the state is in such dire financial straits, they're having a fire sale. computers, motorcycles, even prison uniforms are up for grabs at low prices. we'll have the details coming up. >>> first, let's go back to kate in boston. >> bill, as we say, we're at the jfk library here, where members of the kennedy family will soon gather. the senator has laid in repose here over the last two days. over 50,000 mourners passed through to pay their respects. and shortly, a delegation of senators will arrive here. and with

the case to watch with big part profile and john challenger and christmas on and decade in which breyer management. online items after the show, head to our website to see why one homeowner is accusing wells fargo of illegally lowering a home equity line of credit... and why he's taking the banking giant to court. plus, are the government's stimulus efforts paying off?...we talk with two experts with very different opinions. and....what's next for the auto industry now that the "cash for clunkers" program is over..these stories and more on our website, first businessx.com. and straight ahead on the show... a look at home prices....signs things may be turning around in the housing industry....it's ahead after the break. home prices may finally be digging themselves out of the cellar. while activity in the housing market has picked up from rock bottom lows earlier this year, prices, have remained under pressure but there are a few signs of prices beginning to inch higher this year. the s-and-p case shiller home price index shows prices climbed between the first and second quarters....incr

supported these nominees of a democratic president, as did 86 of my colleagues for justice breyer. 95 of my colleagues for justice ginsburg. i hope those votes do not reflect a time that has slipped away when partisanship did not infect every facet of our political life. i could not forget that time, as regrettably president obama did when he was in the senate. i could easily say, as senator obama said, that i disagree with a nominee's judicial approach and that allows me to oppose the nominee of a different party. luckily for president obama, i do not agree with senator obama. i reject the obama approach to nominees. while i reject the way that senator obama approached nominations, that does not mean that i support the way judge sotomayor approaches judging. i disagree that civil rights of a firefighter mean so thatle they do not deserve -- so little that they do not deserve even a full opinion before an appeals court. i disagree that we should inspire with suggestions that wisdom has anything to do with the sex of a person or the color of their skin. i disagree that judges should ev

steven breyer worked for ted kennedy in one of his committee offices. it was his relentless work and his concern for the voters that really kept him going. >> looking back at his legacy, john, you have to pay tribute to in a way he was a surrogate father. not only to his three children. but to the sons of his brothers who passed away. this is a tragic loss for them. >> of course. john f. kennedy's two children. and then, the 11 children of robert kennedy. ted kennedy did serve as the patriarch of this family. it was so ironic. ted kennedy was the youngest of nine children. it's safe to say that the at least was expected of him in the kennedy family. but it turned out, that the most was asked. he was the young, chubby kid that people made fun of. and was really the family jokester. but by a very young age. a very young age. by the death of robert kennedy in 1968, he had to become a leader of this sprawling family. and a pillar, not just for his own kids, but for so many others. >> how did the last year of his life affect his ability to do his job? and ho

mourners from hollywood star jack nickelson to supreme court justin steven breyer packed the funeral.resident barack obama, former presidents jimmy carter, george bush, and bill clinton sat in the pews with their wives. president barack obama gave the eulogy recalling the achievements of the lawmaker. >> i, like so many others in the city where he worked for nearly half a century, knew him as a colleague, a mentor, and above all, as a friend. ted kennedy was the baby of the family who became its patriarch. the restless dreamer who became its rock. >> senator kennedy's son ted also spoke about his father. at the grave site tonight cardinal mckerrick shared contents of a letter president kennedy wrote to the pope. the letter delivered by president barack obama in his recent trip to rome. in the letter he tells the pontiff that he's dying and that he would like the pontiff's prayers. but he said he made a mis-- he had made mistakes but he had fought for the death penalty, and oaring laws that help the disadvantaged. one observer said the letter sounded like a last confession. > >>he> new

she has to always get up, whoever the junior justice is, to get up and answer the door, and stephen breyer was the junior justice for 11 years and he had to answer the door for 11 years and sam alito, the junior justice had to do it a couple of years and got off pretty easy. >> rick: a good thing the injury she sustained at the airport healed, she'll have to be getting up out of her chair to answer the door. and we look that the east conference room and should mention the swearing-in will take place in front of the fireplace at the bottom of the screen and the huge portrait we see is john marshal, the 4th e chief justice of the united states, and it looks as though judge sonia sotomayor is about to enter the room. there she is and that is chief justice john roberts about to administer the oath of office. from the housing projects of the south bronx, to the highest court in the land, let's take a listen. >>... a member of the court on september 8th, in a special session of the court. we are administering the oath this morning, simply so that she can begin work as an associate justice withou

president obama chose not to go that way this time and most unusual, swearing in wanes 1994 with justice breyer and he said i want the job and want to get going and drove out to chief justice rehnquist's vacation home in vermont and somebody got a bible and that he swore in and they called reporters an hour later and she'll get her chance at the white house next wednesday, a reception in her honor, back to you guys. >> jamie: caroline shivley, live on the steps, thanks so much. and, the supreme court's first full session with sotomayor will begin on october 5th. but, justice sotomayor will take her seat on the court in early september. that is when the justices meet for a rare early hearing. on a case that deals with campaign finance reform. joining me now on the phone, fox news correspondent shannon bream, who covers the supreme court for us, shannon thanks for joining us. i wanted to talk to you today a little bit about some of the key cases that will come up and, they'll come up quickly for the court. what does the justice have to look forward to. >> reporter: you mentioned the one early cas

no less than steven breyer was an aide.ears he has had thousands of staffers that have gone on to hold offices all across the country at various levels of government. there is something quite special about their talents. ted kennedy's office among congressional offices was known as a shop for the most ambitious most talented and most prolific. that fitting. there are very few on the landscape of congressional history to have claimed to have authored as many bills as ted kennedy, been involved as a direct sponsor or pushing from the back room. ted kennedy has such a legacy when he stopped, that stairway is expected to be filled with former staffers and congressional friends and allies never mind the several hundred that gathered in the hot sun. from here at capitol hill he'll leave the rear steps of the capital and take a left down independence avenue. think we have a map that shows you how it goes. it heads down past the smith sonya, the department of justice past the museum, past the white house the george washington monum

and when you think about ted kennedy, you've got to talk about supreme court justice, stephen breyer.er, who was formerly on his staff and was a college roommate his. or you've got to think from antonio hernandez to melody barnes, who is now president obama's white house assistant. now the most powerful thing that can be said, not only was he one of the most impactful senators, but you would have to say that ted kennedy had a greater impact than some of the 44 people who have been fortunate enough to serve in the white house. i'll leave it there. my memory, my prayers go out to the kennedy family as a whole. that does it for me this hour. i'm carlos watson. dr. nancy snyderman picks up our coverage from here. nancy, i know you'll be talking about senator kennedy and i assume there'll be other topics as well. what do you have coming up? >> we'll talk about the life and death of senator kennedy and who's going to take the lead on health care reform? the kennedy family is gathering today to mourn beginning what is three days of public and private tributes. >>> and really turning gears, w

extraordinary number of incredible men and women including people like supreme court justice steven breyer so that's been -- tt's something that you see best when you really step back and take a look at his whole career. >> our time is very, very short. one last question for the panelists. >> we couldn't finish the night without asking the obama question. what led up to and why did senator kennedy endorse barack obama and get caroline -- or was it the reverse, i don't know. but you must comment on that because it obviously impacts the future so dramatically. >> i got to tell you that i saw -- i thought for a lg time that kennedy would endorse obama 'cause i could see it in his face when he would talk about him. he just got this look in his face and i could tell you saw something in obama that he liked. when obama got him on his health and labor pensions committee and he brought him into the immigration debate and i think he saw in him someone who could carry on the legacy of his brothers and he saw somebody who, you know, certainly just would be an historic -- would have an historic presid

you had justice stephen breyer saying i was frightened to death for the first three years. that's a good line right there and justice david souter once described coming to court as walking through a tidal wave. so we get a little bit of an inkling of what she'll be facing. i thank you both for joining us. pete williams, taking us through it. hitting perfectly at the top. and patricia millett. >> thank you. >>> there are some new details this morning surrounding that deadly wrong-way crash in new york. state police say there was no evidence that diane schuler was impaired just hours before the tragedy. we'll have more on that straight ahead. plus the wife of south carolina governor mark sanford is moving out. what are her plans? we'll talk about it coming up on msnbc saturday. when i really liked to be outside, i did not like suffering from nasal allergy symptoms like congestion. but nasonex relief may i say... bee-utiful! prescription nasonex is proven to help relieve indoor and outdoor nasal allergy symptoms like congestion, runny and itchy nose and sneezing. (announcer) s

justice stephen breyer said i was frightened to death for the first three years and justice souter saidt's like walking through a tidal wave. if you see these potential differences for her as how she'll approach the job, even though she's been a judge for so many years? >> it is very different. i mean obviously it helps that she's been a judge for a long time. but the magnitude of your decision, on september 9th she's going to be deciding with the other eight justices, you know, what the first amendment means and she's going to be the last word now. she's not going to be applying supreme court precedent or bound by it. she'll certainly look to it and adhere to it. and in that case they're deciding whether they should overrule a prior supreme court decision interpreting the constitution. these are decisions of enormous magnitude and there isn't a big orientation program at the court. you're sort of thrown in and left to learn on your own. >> you actually have even more under your jurisdiction as a junior judge, as opposed to everybody else because she will definitely hear all the court c

they said, you are just as brier. -- you are justice breyer. he said his favorite thing about serving on the supreme court is the opportunity i have to work with justice souter. [laughter] i actually think the hearings are a magnificent public educational opportunity for people to learn about what goes on in the court. i think we do squander the opportunity by having a stylized kabuki dance. the vendors -- the defenders will say she is moderate and restrained. that is not a good use of public education. i would love it if the court talk more about the kind of cases i have talked to you about today, not just a few hot button issues. if someone landed from mars, they would think the court only decided about things like abortion and gay marriage. it is of vital case of the huge apparatus, this magnificent apparatus of the federal and judiciary that decides countless cases in which procedure matters and statues matter. a few questions about whether the carmac covers intermodal shipments by rail or see, that would have been a lot better. i recognize

look at steeven breyer on the supreme court one kennedy's chief of staff.mpensation after 9/11. now president obama's pay czar, working with-- he worked with ted kennedy and helping him get the votings rights act approved in the mid 1990's. 1990's. >> well, we apparently lost marriage -- major garrett's mic. >> the point is well taken. >> it certainly is, the washington is filled department after department, white house, everywhere else with former ted kennedy officials who-- whom he trained and infused with his particular kind of idealism and point of view. so, his influence goes well beyond the single man into hundreds, literally hundreds of kennedy accolites, who has made washington what it is today. >> i believe it was caroline kennedy who said just last evening before us are many who have worked for senator kennedy for years and years and many will work for him forever, even in death. major garrett, our connection is reconnected if you would continue. >> reporter: yes, shepard, when i covered capitol hill for nearly 20 years, you know, the kennedy staf

he led the fight against bork and led fight for stephen breyer.r in history can say that. >> so many of his staffers went on to much bigger and more important roles, as well. he's got a whole alumni of kennedy staffers who turned out to be incredibleably important, powerful people. jeff, stand by. want to check in with jack cafferty right now for "the cafferty file." jack. >>> we have some very touching e-mail. the question is why did america remain fascinated with the kennedy brothers for more than 50 years? we only have time to read you a few, but enjoy these. sean in canada -- they lived down the street with the big red door and the white picket fence and the one whose oldest brother went off and died for america. i live in canada, but, heck, i feel like they were my friends when i was a kid. lee writes -- not only did ted take care of his own children but his brother's children when their fathers were taken away from them in such a horrific way. from virginia -- thanks to jack kennedy's presidential campaign, i got active in politics and still

they said, you are just as brier. -- you are justice breyer.said his favorite thing about serving on the supreme court is the opportunity i have to work with justice souter. [laughter] i actually think the hearings are a magnificent public educational opportunity for people to learn about what goes on in the court. i think we do squander the opportunity by having a stylized kabuki dance. the vendors -- the defenders will say she is moderate and restrained. that is not a good use of public education. i would love it if the court talk more about the kind of cases i have talked to you about today, not just a few hot button issues. if someone landed from mars, they would think the court only decided about things like abortion and gay marriage. it is of vital case of the huge apparatus, this magnificent apparatus of the federal and judiciary that decides countless cases in which procedure matters and statues matter. a few questions about whether the carmac covers intermodal shipments by rail or see, that would have been a lot better. i recognize tha

produced the unusual alignment of justices ginsburg and scalia together in the majority and justices breyer and alito in the dissent. these facts show the relative difficulty of and reasonable room for debate in these appellate cases. there is also the measurement of the judge's concurrence and dissent rates which demonstrate her method of deciding cases is consistent with that of her colleagues on the second circuit. for example, despite the thousands of appellate opinions, she only dissented in 21 cases and written separate concurring opinions in 22 others. i turn now to the third qualification, judicial integrity. here there are those who have suggested that the judge will use her office to engage in judicial activism and advance a certain social or political agenda that suits her personal preferences. principally these critics point to the new haven firefighters case and her berkley and duke speeches as examples of such activism. i believe this has warranted strict scrutiny. at the outset it bears noting that in her 11 years on the second circuit, judge sotomayor has agreed with the res

supported these nominees of a democratic president, as did 86 of my colleagues for justice breyer. 95f my colleagues for justice ginsburg. i hope those votes do not reflect a time that has slipped away when partisanship did not infect every facet of our political life. i could not forget that time, as regrettably president obama did when he was in the senate. i could easily say, as senator obama said, that i disagree with a nominee's judicial approach and that allows me to oppose the nominee of a different party. luckily for president obama, i do not agree with senator obama. i reject the obama approach to nominees. while i reject the way that senator obama approached nominations, that does not mean that i support the way judge sotomayor approaches judging. i disagree that civil rights of a firefighter mean so thatle they do not deserve -- so little that they do not deserve even a full opinion before an appeals court. i disagree that we should inspire with suggestions that wisdom has anything to do with the sex of a person or the color of their skin. i disagree that judges should ever

business because if you can make the argument that there's a public benefit to do this and justice breyer from the oral arguments you pretty much can find a public benefit in just about anything. you know, 2 cents of higher tax revenue, well, that's a benefit, you know? and now there's no line. so it's important. i thank you very much for your time and look forward to your questions. thank you. [applause] >> well, thank you very much, jeff. we're now going to hear from susette herself. susette is not a public speaker, she says, but she certainly is a bub figure. -- public figure. she's going to speak very i%1e and she has since this all begun has gotten her nursing degree. she's a practicing nurse now and she will tell you, i guess, the house still exists, not where it did but please welcome susette kelo. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. my name is susette kelo and the government stole my home. first the municipal government of my hometown new london connecticut stole it. then the state of connecticut said it was legal for them to take it. finally, the federal government said it w

on that model, for example, justice breyer would do quite well the statistics which show. you know, i guess i am a little concerned that sometimes our constitutional dialogue, and i think you heard it here with mike a moment ago, when he refers to the voting rights act, is a quote absurdist aji. it may be absurd as a policy matter. of course, that is something that congress overwhelmingly disagreed with, mike, in 2006. but that doesn't always make something unconstitutional. and i do think that sometimes in our constitutional dialogue we are losing sight between the distinction between what is bad policy and what is unconstitutional, and on this respect, and this is not someone who has been consistent but i would like to point out what justice souter said in his last dissenting opinion this term, which is in the dna case. i think that is a model for at least one way of thinking about what a principled judge is. and this is what he says. we can change our own inherited usage is so fast and a person is not labeled a stick in the mud for refusing to endorse a new moral claim

justice breyer's dissent said this was overly theoretical over case law and it sevens to mask a radical nature of today's decision, laws not exercised in mathematical logic. if it was we could just have computers on our supreme court. chief justice warren in kansas supreme court with real world experience, recognizes the power of a unanimous decision. the roberts court is now desegregation two years ago ignored real world experience of millions of americans and showed -- shoved it apart, the most hallowed precedence of the supreme court. i will be saying more about this as we go along, madam president. but i note that her critics missed, as judge sotomayor pointed out, greater fairness fidelity to law, by acknowledging that despite the aspiration of impartiality she shares with other judgments, judgejudges are human. critics ignore this by saying they have not perfect. i would like to know which of the 100 u.s. senators could claim to be perfect. there are some who could but i'm not one of them. by knowledging that judges come to the bench with sprpses and -s and viewps they can be on g

stephen breyer, the associate justice of the united states supreme court, was an aide to senator edwardedy. he arrived a short time ago. many of the people who worked on senator kennedy's campaign. the vice president will be here tonight, many senate colleague, as well. a reminder that the people of massachusetts and the people of the country are both paying tribute to a senator who was two very different things, the leader of liberalism nationally and here a senator known for doing the shoe-leather work, helping you with your social security check or veterans' benefits. 50,000 people came to visit during the public phase of this. >> we'll have live coverage starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern and continue our coverage tomorrow, john. thanks very much. >>> senator kennedy's death leaves vacant a crucial u.s. senate seat. it falls on massachusetts to fill it. our national political correspondent, jessica yellin, is joining us with more on this part of the story. jessica, what's going on? >> reporter: wolf, senator kennedy knew that the vote on health care was looming and one of his last wishes

regarding judge sotomayor's temperament recently, she rhetorically asked, has anybody watched scalia or breyer on the bench? we're in a country where we can confirm gruff, to the point female judges as we've confirmed gruff to the point male judges. in short, mr. chairman, i am proud to support judge sotomayor's nomination and i believe she will make an excellent supreme court justice. she knows the law and she knows the constitution but she knows america, too. thank you very much. >> thank you very much, senator klobuchar. and next senator kauffman. >> mr. chairman, i would like to begin by others commending you and the ranking member on running an excellent hearing, a fair hearing. everyone had a chance to speak. everyone had a chance to ask questions and it was just very, very well run. >> thank you. >> judge sotomayor is an outstanding nominee. she has a superior intellect, superb judgment and unquestioned integrity. she would be a terrific choice at any time. but given our current economic crisis and the likely role of the court in reviewing legislative responses to that crisis, i submit

extent inspiring a incredible number of men and women and people like supremcourt justice stephen breyer so that has been something that you see best when you step back and take a lk at his whole career. >> te isery short. one last question for the panelis. >> we coun't finish the night without king the obama question. what led up to and why did senator kennedy in doris barack obama and get carolina or was it the reverse, i don't know what you must comment on that because of obviously impact the future so dramatically. >> i have to tell you that all i thought for a long time kennedy would endorse oba because i could see it in his face when he woul talk about h he got this look in his face i could tell he saw something in obama he liked. whenbama came in kennedy got him on the health education labor tensions committee. he brought him into the immigration debate and i think he saw in him someone to carry on the legacy of his brothers and he saw somebody who certainly would be a historic precedent in terms of civil rights and so fth, t i think that is what did it for him and as for caroline

regarding judge sotomayor's temperament recently, she rhetorically asked has anybody watched scalia or breyer up on the bench? surely we've come to a point in this country where we can appoint as many rough to the point female judges as we've confirmed rough to the point male judges. in short, mr. chairman, i'm proud to support judge sotomayor's nomination, and i believe she will make an excellent supreme court justice. she knows the law, and she knows the constitution, but she knows america, too. thank you very much. >> thank you very much, senator klobuchar, and next senator kaufman. >> mr. chairman, i would like to begin by others have commended you and the ranking member on running an excellent hearing, a fair hearing. >> thank you. >> and everyone had a chance to speak. everyone had a chance to ask questions, and it was just very, very well-run. >> thank you. >> judge sotomayor is an outstanding nom she. she has the superior intellect, broad experience, superb judge and unquestioned integrity. she would be a terrific choice at any time, but given our current economic crisis and the likel

of these people that voteded for ruth bader ginsberg, a lot of these people who voted for stephen breyer, a lot of these people that voted for democrats all along decided this time they were going to vote against sotomayor. >> do you think there was any one senator who was critical in reducing the number of republicans who did vote for her? >> i don't know. i would guess, pat buchanan, would you guess john mccain coming out and voting against her, which was a real surprise to me especially since mccain was one of those gang of 12 a few years back that said we weren't going to have filibusters in nominations, are you surprised that the number was that high by republicans? >> no, not too surprised, joe. i thought this was coming. it was developing. frankly, there is a new militancy among republicans in the senate. they're going to vote on philosophy and ideology just as well as the democrats are. we haven't been this strong against a justice since 1968. we blocked af appointment by lbj trying to slip in a chief justice to replace warren in those days and senator bob griffin did it and then

ultimately, the supreme court in a 6-3 opinion authored by justice breyer corrected this error by her circuit on the grounds that it had failed to follow well-established precedent. another group that didn't make the cut were those who need the courts to protect them from unfair employment preferences. as a lawyer, she advocated for and in fact helped plan lawsuits that challenged civil service exams for public safety officers. and as a judge, she kicked out of court, with just six sentences of explanation and without any citation of precedent, the claims of a group of firefighters who had been unfairly denied promotions they had earned. this past june, the supreme court reversed her ruling, making her 0 for 3 this term with all nine justices finding she had misapplied the law. gun owners didn't make the cuss, and -- make the cut, and they haven't fared well before judge sotomayor either. she has twice ruled the second amendment isn't a fundamental right and, thus, doesn't protect americans when states prevent them from bearing arms. and here too she didn't even give a losing party's

she asked her husband did to offer the breyer.and penalties. gretchen: she joins us with her lawyer. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. gretchen: you what to this banquet. you knew that you were not allowed to say a prayer. u.s. shoe has been to say -- you asked your husband to say it. >> this was a banquet that was held in the evening. it was a group of adults that joined together to honor one another. my husband and i have been married for 30 years. because i was told i could not say the blessing, i asked him to say it for me. i was not in violation of any court order. the aclu contends that i was. we will let the judge made that determination. steve: your trial will be tomorrow in florida. the school district struck a deal with the aclu. do not continue this lawsuit against us and we promise that students and teachers will not talk about god. your client is in trouble. the principal is in trouble. the athletic director is in trouble. the senior class president who graduated a few months ago was not allowed to speak b

ultimately, the supreme court in a 6-3 opinion authored by justice breyer corrected this error by her circuit on the grounds that it had failed to follow well-established precedent. another group that didn't make the cut were those who need the courts to protect them from unfair employment preferences. as a lawyer, she advocated for and in fact helped plan lawsuits that challenged civil service exams for public safety officers. and as a judge, she kicked out of court, with just six sentences of explanation and without any citation of precedent, the claims of a group of firefighters who had been unfairly denied promotions they had earned. this past june, the supreme court reversed her ruling, making her 0 for 3 this term with all nine justices finding she had misapplied the law. gun owners didn't make the cuss, and -- make the cut, and they haven't fared well before judge sotomayor either. she has twice ruled the second amendment isn't a fundamental right and, thus, doesn't protect americans when states prevent them from bearing arms. and here too she didn't even give a losing party's

the supreme court steven breyer on the supreme court.ashington and again, so many people who came through ted kennedy. but i wanted to pick up, alisyn, on something just thinking about the kennedy's legacy. i think of it almost beyond politics, it's sort of an american royalty, american family, an irish family whose father, joe kennedy, had four sons, you know, joe, jr. was lost in world war ii, a war hero then of course john kennedy became senator and president kennedy. robert kennedy also became a senator, attorney general and then ted now, the three, he's the last of the males in that family, but what a legacy and of course, the power of that family and the whole notion of you know, irish people striving you know, to find their place in american life in american politics standing for the working man, the father wanting his sons to be as successful in politics after he'd been successful in business. it's truly a great american story and i think that's why so many people, i don't care what your politics, think of ted kennedy as, you kno

their hands and are so shocked, how could we have ever voted for ruth bader ginsburg and stephen breyers against the supreme court nominee for the first time in his life. first time in his career because he has a challenge on his right. that's the thing with the republican votes. it is all about the primaries. obama's vote was not ideological, it was political, exactly like mccain's. obama was trying to communicate i am on the left. >> let's look at a new poll, quinnipiac poll out today, president's approval rating down, lawrence o'donnell, to 50%. >> ooh. >> yeah. it continues to drop. then we had some quinnipiac polls earlier this morning. show these, president being upside down on health care reform. 39% people only approve of his health care reform. you can say progressives are upset that he's not going far enough. but on bipartisanship, america wants democrats and republicans to start coming together. do you want health care reform if it is only a democratic plan? only 36% of americans want that. lawrence o'donnell, help the president out. help the congress out. speak for progressi

regarding the judge sotomayor to rhetorically asked has anybody watched justice scalia or justice breyern the bench? surely we have come to time in this country mr. president when we can confirm as many to the crop coming to the point breath female judges as we have confirmed to the point brought up mail and judges. we have come a long way as it can see from my colleagues that came during the last hour. we know that when and sandra day o'connor graduated from law school the only offer she got was from a law firm position of a legal secretary. two justice ginsburg face some obstacles. we have come a long way. but i hope my colleagues in this case will also come a long way and look at the records look at the facts. as i have said before of people are entitled to their own opinion but they're not entitled to their own packs. in short mr. president apprentice support judge sotomayor nomination in them believe she will make an excellent supreme court justice. she knows the law she knows the constitution pushiness america to appear in thank you mr. president and i yield the floor space and the

breyer and beginsburg -- ginsburg are moderate. now, we have to start emulating what they did.we have to seize -- we have to show how their being activists is against the elected rules of government. i think they have a number of goals now which are very dangerous. number one they want to go back to pre-new deal and restrict the ability of the states to restrict corporate power. which is another way -- to regulate the economy, which is another way of saying restrict corporate power. this case where they ask for reargument on -- and which they look determined to overturn the ability of congress to restrict corporate campaign contributions, if that happens, that will be a complete disaster. imagine if general electric can decide that it does president like some senator or congressman and puts some $20 million into one campaign out of corporate could havers. -- coffers. it will make national what you have with mayor bloomberg who put $100 million into his own campaign, but it would be with every campaign. this would be a disaster, and we may have to decide how to fight it. we may

president and thank you steve breyer and thank you yoyo ma, and thank you for being here, joe biden, the vice- president-elect. [applause] now, i have something in common with george washington. other than being born on february 22. it is not as i had once hoped, being president, it is the rare, rare privilege of receiving an honorary degree from harvard at a special convocation. [applause] i am moved and deeply grateful to my university. it was exactly 100 years ago, this september, that my father entered harvard college as a freshman to be followed in the next generation by jack, joe, and bobby, and then by me. at home, here at harvard, which became a second home, i learned to price history, play football, and to believe in public service. it was long ago but i see it now as fresh as you'd and yesterday and i hope that in all the time since then, i have lived up to the chance that harvard gave to me. and along the way, i have also learned lessons in the school of life. that we should take yourself seriously but never take others too seriously. that political differences may make us

nothing up their sleeves and answered questions in a straightforward manner include judge steven breyer in 1994. he answered the question posed by senator hatch, "do you believe that washington b. davis set a law" and secondly, "do you agree it was correctly decided in" and then ruth bader ginsburg answered questions about casey and abortion precedence. justices alito and roberts declined to answer question after question after question. then judge rockets would not answer the -- then judge roberts would not answer the most basic questions about commerce clause jurisprudence. then-judge alito would not say whether the thought the constitutional right to privacy including the holding in roe. i think i'll discuss this in more detail, but i think we have seen that this was part after strategy to play an ideological shell game and now ware preantsed with a candidate whose views are truly moderate, as proven through the most copious records in 14*u7b years and none the less, my friend senator grassley from iowa beliefs that her performance left him with more questions an answers. i have to r

breyer and beginsburg -- ginsburg are moderate. now, we have to start emulating what they did. have to seize -- we have to show how their being activists is against the elected rules of government. i think they have a number of goals now which are very dangerous. number one they want to go back to pre-new deal and restrict the ability of the states to restrict corporate power. which is another way -- to regulate the economy, which is another way of saying restrict corporate power. this case where they ask for reargument on -- and which they look determined to overturn the ability of congress to restrict corporate campaign contributions, if that happens, that will be a complete disaster. imagine if general electric can decide that it does president like some senator or congressman and puts some $20 million into one campaign out of corporate could havers. -- coffers. it will make national what you have with mayor bloomberg who put $100 million into his own campaign, but it would be with every campaign. this would be a disaster, and we may have to decide how to fight it. we may ha