in march, 1929, calvin coolidge retired to northampton. he reluctantly handed over the country to herbert hoover. but he wasn't crazy about herbert hoover. said coolidge, that man has given me nothing but advice and all of it bad. [laughter] >> in retirement coolidge dabbled at law. he earned $3,000 a week authoring a popular syndicated column and he composed his autobiography, the autobiography of calvin coolidge. his world was now a different world. he had moved back to his house and discover an ex-president cannot live in a two-family house upon an ordinary smalltown street. autos crowded with curiosity seekers rolled by in constant procession. admirers trampled his lawn and trespassed upon his tiny porch. they peered through his windows. he and his wife paid $40,000 a house far grander than the other house, far less grand than pennsylvania avenue. it was there that he died on thursday january 5, 1933. disturbed by the great depression still saddened by his young son's passing and possessing fewer and fewer reserves of energy, he returne

as we go back to fdr or to calvin coolidge. nobody talks about hoover anymore. but if you want a balance, it's coolidge versus roosevelt. who was right in dealing with the economy. while it's kind of exciting to watch the debate coming out. >> tim naftali, "blind spot: the secret history of counterterrorism" is one and "george h.w. bush" is it important to be a two-term president to be successful? >> i think it's unfortunately true. that presidents believe they have to be re-elected for them to have had a successful presidency. you mentioned polk, james k. polk came into office and i'm saying only four years. he won the war against mexico. he changed our northern border with canada. he achieved what he intended to achieve and then he left office. i argued in the bush book that if george h.w. bush had decided not to run for re-election in '92, his reputation would have been much higher because his achievements in his first term particularly in foreign policy and also what he did about the budget deficit -- people forget that the reason we were able to overcome the

where - the smith college library is somewhat of a haven to me.ary c-span: home of calvin coolidge? >> guest: home of calvin coolidge.someat in fact, i live next door to calvin coolidge's former paperboy.ve c calvin coolidge lived a blockor away from where i live now andm my next-door neighbor would tell me stories about -- about how -i how, let's say, parsimoniousn calvin coolidge was, but howx gracious his wife was. c-span: calvin coolidge's, paperboy is still alive ands. living in northampton? c> guest: mm-hmm. c-span: how old is he? >> guest: he is in -- i think he's about 86, 87, somethinger like that.is s c-span: what kinds of things would he tell you about calvin yolidge?tng >> guest: well, he just tells mo this one story about -- it was christmastime and he -- he was a owed something like 95 cents fod the -- the week's deliveries or however long, and it was perhaps christmas eve and he goes to th coolidge house and mr. coolidgu comes to the door. and he hands him a $10 bill and he says,'and that will be $9. 05 change, please.'e. so that's the type of story he tells.ta c-span:

and calvin coolidge, my model president, he believed according to amity slays, coolidge had long ago determined the world would be better if he involves himself less. and that to me was what a president should do. hoover was mr. acted. he called, coolidge called him wonder boy. he said he never stopped giving me advice, and all that was bad bad. he was the first president, he was the first government official to insist that the government had the responsibility for people in homes and to make programs better. this all started under hoover. he was a total activist, just all the activity he did starting with the depression, starting with the crash, was wrong. disastrous. he browbeat banks into keeping interest rates low. he browbeat employers into keeping people on the job. he tried to rally wall street, all this was running contrary to what he said have led to, is what coolidge and harding had been earlier in the decade when there was a recession in 1921. just let it play itself out. there was a sharp work at crash in 20 and by 21 it was over. hoover just aggravated it. and now we hea

in preparing for this lecture, i came across something from another vice president, calvin coolidge. quote, "at first, i intended to become a student of the senate rules, wrote coolidge. and then he found that the senate did what everyone it to do. i did not waste any more time, he went on, because they were so seldom applied. host: gerald ford was in the house for years and president, never in the senate. what was he saying there? guest: he was the president of the senate as vice-president, so that is what he was talking about, but i think it is for people in the house to make fun of people in the senate because they think of them as being pompous and pedantic, it takes too long, and they talk about it too much, and they cannot get anything done, and there is something of war in this town for people of the house to do that -- there is something of lore. his point that the senate has no fixed rules is largely true. he goes on to say that the senate will do whatever the senate wants to do. the problem is, of 100 people who want to do different things, and -- you have 100 people who wa

in preparing for this lecture, i came across something from another vice-president, calvin coolidge. "at first i intended to become a student of the senate rule, but i soon found the senate had but one sick role which was to the effect that the senate would do anything it wanted to do whenever it wanted to do it." when i learn that, i did not waste any more time, because they were so seldom applied. >> gerald ford was in the house for years, became president, never in the senate. what was he saying? >> as vice president, he was the president of the senate. that is what he was talking about. it is one way for people to make fun of those in the senate. they think of being pompous and everything takes too long in the talk about it too much and cannot get anything done. it is something of lore in this town for the house to do that. i think you saw some of that happening there. his point the senate has no fixed rules is largely true. he goes on to say the senate would do whatever the said it once when they want to do it the problem is coming of wonder people who want to do different thing

lot faced tragic -- you know, their own personal tragedies like the death of willie lincoln or calvin coolidge's son who died while they lived there. or, you know, the challenges our country faced while they lived there. and in those days after september 11th, when we would think about other times that our country had faced challenges, that was comforting and encouraging to us. >> larry: do you feel like a renter or an owner? >> no, you know that it's a temporary home. but you also feel like you're the steward of it. and that it's your responsibility to make sure that it's kept up and looks great, you know, is lovely and welcoming to whoever comes to visit. >> larry: i remember talking with you at length about 9/11 when you were in the white house. and i remember talking to ted kennedy. of course, the two of you shared 9/11. you were with him. >> that's right. >> larry: tell me. >> i was on my way to capitol hill to brief a senate education committee, senator kennedy's committee on early childhood education that morning. and really, which was one of the goals i had set for myself as first lady.

guests at hearst castle ranged from calvin coolidge to carry grant. even winston churchill and playwright george bernard shaw spent time here. before dinner, company would gather here in the assembly room where william randolph hearst guests' carefully nursed that one allotted drink. not everyone can afford to build a dream house like this. still john blackstone tells us that doesn't keep the dreamers from dreaming. ♪ when... > seldom is an americans' home actually a castle. the american dream house can take many shapes. ♪ my blue heaven > it can be a dramatic statement in glass and steel >> people can't get this house out of their mind from the moment they see it. >> reporter: or a dream house can be inspired by the simple structure of a corrugated metal grain silo. ♪ you see us smiling and say > even an old light house on the atlantic coast can have the makings of a dream house. >> this room is quite nice because it looks due south out the open ocean. >> reporter: wherever it is, for a dream house. and few places offer the spectacular settings of bi

stone was a conservative appointed by calvin coolidge, and he himself was critical with the liberation of the court regarding what had gone on. my question really is about democracy. the supreme court is an undemocratic institution. its members are appointed for life and are accountable to no one. and the exercise of power that can cancel out with the vast majority of americans say they want in a congressional legislation or however. isn't it our obligation to ask questions about our court and to criticize it, and to insist that it be opened up as a jury has opened it up in his brilliant books? instead of pretending that this is a group of nine people who operate objectively and who have only the best interest of the nation at heart? let them defend the federal election commission decision. and let the congress -- [applause] >> first, i just want to thank you for being here. there's no one i know who has done more to preserve the legacy of franklin roosevelt and ambassador daniel. [applause] >> and my short answer to your question, yes. [laughter] >> i think the court should be critici

calvin coolidge was the first president to speak at the white house correspondents' dinner.was in 1924. it was not until 1962, at the prodding of helen thomas, that women were allowed to attend this event. the washington hilton has the largest hotel ballroom in the city, about 3000 people can cram into there, and trust me, it is cramped. there is the white house correspondents for abc news. he got his start as the press secretary to a one-term democrat from pennsylvania. she was the one who voted for president clinton's budget and all of the republicans on the floor and waved goodbye to her. there is larry king. not sure who the woman is. is that his wife? another dinner first timer, rachael ray, with her husband. she has that show. she cooks. and then finally, pop tart justin bieber is also there this evening. as you heard ed chen said, it is going to be about another 50 minutes while the three dozen people eat dinner in the washington hilton ballroom. meanwhile, we want to show you another event that was held this year. this was held on april 21st. members of congress trad

president clinton credit, we kept spending under control and only grew 2.9%, the lowest rate since calvin coolidge. and we cut taxes, and we set priorities. even while controlling spending, we doubled the national institute budget because we believed in that. and the president had to sign bills, and without that we couldn't control budget and taxes. and this is important, we used to be a country that worked hard, saved and paid off the mortgage and left children the family farm. we are becoming under obama a country that sells off the farm, doubles the mortgage and leaves the kids with the interest payments. and i think it's wrong. they are projecting $10 trillion in deficit. i think we need to make a commitment to be balance the budget by 2015. we can start this year. i think we should insist on balancing the budget by controlling the spending. and i would rename the spending system, we do not need to raise taxes in the country. that's over governed and overspent. and at 9.9 unemployment we have no interest in raising taxes and killing more jobs. host: now the host is about to come into a pro-for

it only grew an average of 2.9% a year the four years i was speaker which is the lowest since calvin coolidge. we cut taxes and balanced the budget so we accelerated economic growth. we also priorities even controlling spending. we doubled the national institutes of health budget because we believed deeply in medical research. but president had the signed bills and they have to get half the credit if something happens because without the signature we cannot have reformed welfare or cut taxes or balanced the budget. so i think that is fair. finally, to the core point, which is really important. we used to an country that worked hard, saved, paid off the mortgage and left children the family farm. we are becoming under obama a country that sells off the farm, doubles the mortgage and leaves the kids with interest payments. i think that is wrong. they currently are projecting $10 trillion in deficit. i think we ought to make a commitment that we will balance the federal budget by 2015. it took two years to bance it when i was speaker. we can balance it by 2015 if we start now. we can control spe

it only grew an average of 2.9% a year the four years i was speaker which is the lowest since calvin coolidge. we cut taxes and balanced the budget so we accelerated economic growth. we also priorities even controlling spending. we doubled the national institutes of health budget because we believed deeply in medical research. but president had the signed bills and they have to get half the credit if something happens because without the signature we cannot have reformed welfare or cut taxes or balanced the budget. so i think that is fair. finally, to the core point, which is really important. we used to an country that worked hard, saved, paid off the mortgage and left children the family farm. we are becoming under obama a country that sells off the farm, doubles the mortgage and leaves the kids with interest payments. i think that is wrong. they currently are projecting $10 trillion in deficit. i think we ought to make a commitment that we will balance the federal budget by 2015. it took two years to balance it when i was speaker. we can balance it by 2015 if we start now. we can control s

it only grew an average of 2.9% a year the fr years i was speaker which is the lowest since calvin coolidge. we cut taxes and balanced the budget so we accelerated econom growth. we also priorities even controlling spending. we doubled the national institut ohealth budget because we believed deeply in medical research. but president had the signed bills and they have to get half the credit if something happens because without the signature we cannot have reformed welfare or cut taxes or balanced the budget. so i think that is fair. finally, to the core point, which is really important. we used to an country that worked hard, saved, paid off the mortgage and left children the family farm. we are becoming under obama a country that sells off the farm, doubles the mortgage and leaves the kids with interest payments. i think that is wrong. they currently are projecting $10 trillion in deficit. i think we ought to make a commitment that we will balance the federal budget by 2015. it took two years to balance it when i was speaker. we can balance it by2015 if we start now. we can control spending