it is more, it is called clarence darrow the story of my life, but it is really more clarence darrow, my philosophy. he doesn't really give you any feel for the great cases and he doesn't give details or revelations and he does talk at length about where we fit on this graveyard landed and how basically all we are very lost sailors on a raft in a tossing sea and the best thing we can do is reach out and give each other comfort. if you really want to get a sense of this philosophy it is a really good place to go. >> thank you. >> hi. who i am if somebody was not willing to reveal how long i have been a big fan of clarence darrow. my question however is, and getting by the obvious know, are there people today who are clarence there are like who are exemplars of this man who is in, who is in his world? >> yeah. actually there is somebody here tonight. i don't know if he is around. paul, are you here? too embarrassed? i think the defense bar takes up capital punishment cases in this country is as gutsy and rave and noble is clarence darrow. [applause] they are. i did a series of stories a

someone like clarence narris, who emerges as a major voice whose account we used to talk about the case, was tried at least three times. hayward patterson, another defendant was tried at least and convicted at least three times. there was variation because given the negro history of the case and the ways in which the boys were separated, some were tried and convicted more than others. >> host: so what happened after that first case which took two weeks, all the boys had been tried together -- >> guest: they had all been tried. well, they were tried, in fact, in batches, so they were four different trials the first time around. >> host: okay. after that first case, two weeks, how did it get to the supreme court? >> guest: through a series of winding procedures. there were debates among various groups about who was best qualified to remit -- represent and defend the scottsboro boys. there's contention between an organization called the international labor defense which was, you know, the legal wing of the communist party and the naacp, the ild as it was called, won the right to defend the

new pressure on clarence thomas.ouse democrats demanding the justice department investigate him. he may have violated ethics rules by allegedly failing to disclose income. he said through a spokesperson that any omissions were inadvertent. luke russert joins us from washington. a lot of people say it's just politics. >> yesterday the group of 20 house lawmakers from western new york did send that letter and what they are saying is look, from 2003 to 2007, the wife of clarence thomas, virginia thomas got about $700,000 from a conservative organization known as the heritage foundation, a think tank that employs a lot of individuals here in washington, d.c. they are saying that look, clarence thomas is's excuse that he didn't understand how to file his wife's returns and her income from this group because he was confused with it is really a bogus claim. they said he's a smart man and should be able to process them and think he willfully refused to disclose. he didn't want to look like there was a conflict of interest. w

similarly, clarence darrow was a great defense lawyer, a defense lawyer for labor. when he heard the william jennings bryan was going to work for the prosecution, clarence dara said he had to work for the other side. -- darrow said he had to work for the other side. many people might have seen inherit the wind, the famous movie. unlike what the movie shows you, scopes' never went to jail. scopes' agreed to be a defendant because he knew a trial was going to take place some time -- somewhere in tennessee and he wanted to bring business to tennessee. that is why the trial took place there, because scopes' agreed to be the defendant. >> technology was a factor in the trial. cameras were allowed in the courtroom and it was broadcast nationwide on the radio. >> one of the things that is so remarkable about this trial, not only that it was broadcast on the radio and tens of thousands of americans listen to it, but it was a court room. for bryan to try to defend his christianity in creationism in the courtroom -- and was the context of the courtroom in cross-examination th

clarence, who emerges as one of the major voices was tried at least three times. another defendant was tried and convicted at least three times. it is a variation because of the legal history and the ways in which they were separated summer tried and convicted more than others. >> host: than what happened after two weeks? >> they were tried in batches if in four different trials the first time rhine. >> after that case, how does it get to the supreme court? >> through a series of finding procedures. there were debates of various groups who was best qualified to represent and defend the scottsboro boys. there was sharp contention between an organization called the international labor defense which was the low the gold wing of the communist party and naacp. and they run and -- won that right and got the approval. they also hired a competent criminal lawyer from new york, a san leibowitz, who played a critical role to lay the groundwork on the case as it went to the supreme court the first 11932. >> how did it said to have a court case tried by a common is funded jew

and supreme court justice clarence thomas says he and his wife share everything. then why didn't he share information with the court? as he's supposed to. congressman john garamendi on w00t his conflict of interest should be investigated. >>> and everybody is talking about governor chris christie. >> can you see him as president? >> republicans might get their wish, but it could be a dpreem come true for democrats, too. >> we slaughter him with the quotes from himself saying he's not ready to be president. >> banks gone wild, which means my pet banksie is on the loose again. "politics nation" starts right now.. >>> tonight's lead. republicans still playing follow the leader. >> earlier this morning, anwar al awlaki, leader of al qaeda, was killed in yemen. it's a major blow to al qaeda's most active operational affiliate. >> the drone strike was yet another major blow to al qaeda. it took out the man behind the ft. hood massacre and the botched christmas day bombing. and his death comes just five months after the death of osama bin laden. it mae drive republicans

but let me go back to clarence page here. clarence, you've studied campaign cycles for a long time, and as matt's correctly said, i don't think he's getting in now, because i think he would have done it. but you've got to put together a team that's going to win in iowa, you've got to be ready to slingshot yourself all the way to new hampshire, you've got to have some plan for south carolina. and chris christie's a northerner has to figure out how he gets through that south and still survives. >> it's hard to remember anybody since dwight eisenhower in '52 who came in this late or later than this. >> he came in like march of the election year. >> but he could do that, because he had that kind of popularity already. it was a very different era. look at rudy giuliani, he decided, i'll wait until florida to get in, and he was dead by then politically, and just didn't get anywhere. it's hard to imagine anybody coming in this late. but this is an unusual year. perry is a strong front-runner because of the very first day he got in,

clarence page, a chicago tribune columnist, and sam stein with "the huffington post."welcome to both of you. i'm not buying any of it, sam. i believe the white house selected that initial date specifically because it was the gop debate, and i don't buy what the speaker said either. perfunctory votes getting in the way or a security clearance sweep that's needed to be done in the house. what do you make of it? >> i agree on both points. i think the white house wanted a contrast. a direct contrast with the republican presidential field that nice where the president could lay out his vision and republicans squabble amongst themselves how bad it was and no one's answered the question. why couldn't boehner called back congress on tuesday? why call them back on wednesday? clearly the speaker could have accommodated. he said no and the president gave in and said, sure, i'll do it on thursday. >> clarence, all bad staff work? i ask because white house communications director dan pfeiffer went on "the daily rundown" with chuck todd and tried to clean it up. >> so did speaker bo

in my book i argue that the scottsboro case does not legally come to an end until 1976 when clarence, one of the boards who had been troubled in the late 1940's fled parole in the south, bound up working and living in new york under a different name was finally given a pardon buy then governor george wallace of alabama as the result of appeals made to governor wallace by the naacp and lawyers representing clarence. clearance is the only surviving scottsboro boys to actually received a form of legal redemption. >> victoria prices and robie dates, what can you tell us about these two? >> for mechem victoria price is the great satan of the street. it's victoria price accusations of rape which are the cornerstone of everything the was charged with the charges were laid at the doorstep of the scottsboro boys. she was on relenting in her assistance through her lifetime that she had in fact been the victim of sexual assault. ruby by the records and by my impression and understanding of her was a more gentle and a vulnerable person who joined in to victoria price's story but was much more amb

someone like clarence who emerges as one of the major voices his the council used to talk about the case was tried at least three times. he would was tried at least and convicted at least three times. there was a variation because given the legal history of the case and the ways in which the boys were separated, some were tried and convicted more than others. >> what happened after that first case which took two weeks? all the boys had been tried to get a. >> well, they were tried in batches. there were four different trials the first time around. >> okay. after that two weeks, how did it get to the supreme court? >> through a series of procedures. there were debates among various groups about who was best qualified to represent and defend the scottsboro boys. there was sharp contention between an organization called the international labor defense which was the legal wing of the communist party and the naacp, the idea of the one the right. they won. they got their approval they also hired a very competent criminal lawyer, sam leibovitz from new york and played a critical world and layin

i believe eight years after the sign was first installed, and clarence was -- a clearance was required. it will increase the distance to 10 feet. third, in the late e.'s, -- 80's, general advertising signs were banned. it was made fourthly and finally. >> is there a way for it to become compliant? something having to do with sidewalk clearance? could it be re-erected in a way that can conform to comply with current codes? >> from a planning code perspective, we would abide the public safety nature of the building code for the right away like this. i don't know the answer to that. >> does it have to be head of a certain height? >> we will see if he wants to lay in on that issue. >> you are saying that it would be the vertical clearance over public sidewalks will be 10-ft. this 12 foot clearance. >> we would be speculating as to whether or not it is possible. >> to be a regular sized assigned, part of it would have to block the window. which would not -- >> compliant. thank you. -- which would not be code compliant. thank you. >> that i could contribute to that of the more, if the sign w

clarence page is a columnist for the "chicago tribune," beth a columnist for the "national journal" and the associated press. particular fi for those tristate folks up there who are older than 40 years old, they sit there and say, oh, my god, i've seen this exact story play itself out. >> exactly. >> not to i.d. you as the oldest guy sitting here. >> it's obvious. >> but anyway -- >> with age come wisdom. >> share with me the wisdom of watching christie and cuomo and feeling as if p it's deja vu all over again. >> it is. the only thing i can't do is tell you how to stop it. the fact is certain candidates who people really want to run are going to play this game. it's just attractive to christie. he doesn't want to rule it out entirely. however, he really doesn't want to run and i don't blame him because if the tea party doesn't like rick perry's politics, when will they get a load of the straight talk from chris christie? it's just incredible to me how people get to -- so attracted to bright and signny object of a new candidate. when that candidate falls short of perfection. remember, j

this is 29-year-old clarence randall. police believe he is all that a woman inside a car on the fixed -- and the 5600 block of ricci highway. if you have information, call metro crime stoppers. police in bolger workout here searching for a convicted sex offender who is missing. they say this man, 47-roll michael freedman, fell to register with authorities after being found guilty of sexual abuse on a 5-year-old child. police say he may be homeless. if you know where he is, call baltimore county police are mature crime stoppers. city housing officials are suspected back on the scene of an overnight row home collapse in northwest baltimore. it happened just under 2:00 a.m. on west north avenue, and there are no reports of injuries. no word as to whether the adjacent buildings are in danger of falling. u.s. park service says the group of engineers has found cracks and chips in the washington monument. inspection and repair continues today as we take a live picture here. a quick visual survey of the lower section of the monum

. >> get from clarence and eleanor is eleanor didn't -- mitt romney has an acceptability i think to anwful lot of people in the center and on the right. i think in a race with obama right now, he would win because the country would say, okay, we're going to take a chance with him. about but the other republicans have very sharp edges, which in a general election would be exposed, and you'd have a closer contest. >> okay. obama's albatross, the economy? >> the congressional budget office reported this week that unemployment will remain high between now and the end -- question, why is the public lost faith in president obama? is strictly the economy or more than the economy, like are the voters who voted for change not seeing the change? >> democrats are still sticking with him. i think the problem is a combination of the policies he pursued in the first two years of unpopular with the public, most importantly obama care, and then the rotten state of the economy. when we're growing at 1% with one employment rate above 9%, there's not much to be happy about. and the ratings on key issues,

it was brutal, and that's why i dedicated the book to my father who cut me off and clarence thomas at the same time. both of their guidance in my life coincided. >> host: that's a good segue back to the hearings. >> guest: yeah. well, i went for my waiting job, and i watched the hearings wanting to root for the take down of clarence thomas. i watched the tv, and the tv set told me this was a bad man and the newspapers told me he was a bad man, and i remember eleanor and patricia walking up the steps and saying we're taking a stand against this guy for sexual harassment, so i watched these hearings like a spectator who wanted to see somebody mulled, you know, like lions mulling romans, and i watched day one. i watched day two. i watched the entire thing. i went from wanting him to be taking down to wondering where's the beech? what's going on here? i don't understand what i'm watching here. i don't understand the comments on the screen. this is outrageous. i didn't understand the bumper stickers saying i believe anita. i said i believe i knee that what. what's going on here? everything

. >> clarence darrow? >> and i am almost 95 years old so i cannot remember his name. but i have this, and he is in my family. i have 6200 names that i have researched, on my computer. i researched them and make sure that they are my relatives. >> i want to let you stay on the line. we will try to get a phone number to get you connected with him directly. she brings up another part of his life, dayton, tennessee, the scopes monkey trial and clarence darrow. >> i was just going to tell nadine that we've put all of his speeches from 1896 online on our digital project. if you like to use your computer to look at the speeches, there are hundreds of them. every speech he gave in that 1896 presidential campaign is online on the "roads in the making -- modern america" website. >> all material from the series is available on-line, 14 weeks looking at presidential contenders. michael kazin. the scopes monkey trial. >> william jennings bryan is known to a lot of americans because he was the prosecutor in the trial in tennessee in 1925, which was prosecuting a teacher, john scope

clarence page is a columnist for the "chicago tribune," jackie kucinich is a reporter for "today."ns, let me start with you. >> yes, sir. >> because you've been around washington a long time, not to say that you're, you know -- >> the general himself. >> like wine. >> could the white house have done this better, could speaker boehner have acted better? what was your impression of all this when you saw this sort of break out into the open like this? >> well, i can tell you, the base was not happy. >> we know that. the base is not happy with the president about anything. >> well, the whole thing reminded me of the debate at the vietnam peace talks over the shape of the table. you know, day, week, the war is going on and they're arguing over the shape of the table. here they're arguing over what night shall the president make his speech to the joint session of congress? i mean, has everything broken down? has everybody gone nuts? this is the overall impression that you get. now the finger-pointing begins of who failed to get the mess e message. the white house says obama's people talk

clarence page, who writes a column for "the chicago tribune." dana loesch, editor at bigjournalism.com. founder of the st. louis tea party. and abc's senior political correspondent, jon karl. jon, let me turn to you first. tried to getetome sort of termination out of senator demint. but keeping his powder dry. given that, what do governor perry and governor romney have to do to break out of the current situation? >> frankly, you've seen the polls that show that perry has just shot to the top. we don't know how real this is. this is the month we'll find out whether or not he is truly the front-runner. we have three debates over the next three weeks. perry has taken off because he's got this record as the jobs governor in texas. and he speaks the tea party language. but there is the biggest file on rick perry. of any of the other candidates, he has the longest record. he has written a book. he has the most that can be attacked. we'll l e if he can survive it. >> you alluded to polls. we'll put them up. the latest quinnipiac poll has rick perry six

i immediately recognized it as being clarence. it turned out that he had created a number of just amazing sculptures of trial lawyers. and he went on to do one of clara fults, the first woman attorney in california and became the leader of the public defender movement. and just by happenstance, he called me and had this idea of encapsulating one of the greatest trial attorneys of our times. so, bill? is he here? this is not a magistrate. [laughing] -- not a magic trick. >> i've never met tony serra, so i have to make use of the internet to get a sense of who he was and the imagery. what clearly came over was his passion for justice. and in some cases almost a rage for justice. and initially when i started the imagery with the clay, i tried to show this passion for justice, this rage. but then i had a conversation with jeff about tony serra. and another element came out, his great heart, his deep generosity, and his respect for those he defended. so i've tried to incorporate both of these things in this piece. and i depicted him as

>> part of the voting rights act, section five of the pre clarence revision, and it applies to only certain states, many in the south, not all. also counties in certain places. there is a national debate right now as to whether or not that is constitutional and violates that federalism of those states. whether this is really estate issue end the federal government should not get involved. i need -- think that it is still an issue. there is a question of is this outburst and other places? i think that is a legitimate question, but this month's -- notion of a check on partisan officials and their changes i think is a good thing. at the debt is a good thing in part because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. reviewing an election changed before it is made is much less expensive than litigation after the fact, after you have had an election. it could be discriminatory or problematic. also with this review does is helps all voters, not just those of color because politicians are less likely to engage in shenanigans when they know that it is going to be reviewed. i am very sensitive

. >>> democrats, are turning up the pressure on supreme court justice, clarence thomas. at issue is thomas' failure to disclose that his wife got thousands of dollars from groups that wanted the new health care law repealed. democrats are demanding a justice department investigation. a sensitive issue since the court is expected to rule on that law next year. >>> and a satirical newspaper sparked an investigation after posting a gag article and false tweets about a standoff on capitol hill. the big story on "the onion" website, showed a photo of house speaker john boehner holding a gun to a little girl's head. it claims that congress had taken little schoolchildren hostage. the article said that boehner and the others were willing to kill all the kids if they didn't get $12 million. >>> the nation's intense crackdown on illegal immigrants has taken effect in the state of alabama, despite lawsuits and protests against it. [ chanting ] civil rights activists are furious about this, saying the controversial new law gives the state power to track down and detain virtually an

happen with clarence thomas in a certain way, right, you know? in a more evil way, many of us have gotten comfortable because rock is in the white house, but he cannot be most effective unless we are on his ass, right? we voted, so i will go home now, and see you in four years. the republicans, the tea party, all these folks, they are on his ass, so if you believe that all that there is power in that position, and there are folks that make convincing arguments about a black face on white supremacy, so there is complications, but can progress be made? can progress be made with that position? absolutely. but while we honor and acknowledge that, we have to look at the masses of folks, and i think jamal represents the conditions of the masses that we need to be focused on. >> did you want to say something? it looked as though you were starting to say something. >> i will say, he said the same thing i was thinking. people ask me how i feel about having an african-american president. i said i had ambivalent feelings. on the one hand, i know that he is

clarence thomas at the same time. both of their guidance in my life coincided. >> that is a good segue back to the hearings. >> yes. well, i went from my job and started watching the hearings, wanting to refer the takedown of clarence thomas. i watched the television set. it told me that this was a bad man. the newspapers told me he was a bad man. i remember patricia schroeder walking up the steps. saying, this guy, we are going to take a stand against this guy for sexual harassment. i watched these hearings like a spectator who wanted to see somebody mauled, you know, white lions mauling romans. i watched a one, 82, the entire thing. i went from wanting him to be taken down to wondering where is the beef. what is going on. i don't understand what i am watching. i don't understand the color commentary on screen where they are saying, oh, this is outrageous. i did not understand the bumper stickers calling by me on the street. what is going on? i don't understand. everything that i knew, everything had picked up in col