i also wanted to acknowledge journalist cokie roberts. there you are. [applause] a do not know if we should call and the first gentlemen of michigan, please, stand up. [applause] all trailblazers in business. with that, now i have -- well, before concluding introduce the first lady, i want to mention that we're so fortunate to have here authors and experts and labor leaders and organizations that have been advocates and university professors all who have come to join us. not to mention we're spinning our events over the net. for those of the office or at home, we hope you'll be engaged in continue with us in this process as well as we work to champion this issue and challenge us all to do better by and for american families. with that, i would like to move forward and introduce our next speaker, the first lady. let me just tell you a little bit about the first lady before she comes out here. there's not much more to add other than what you have already learned since she hit the national stage, but i have had the privilege of knowing her for many, many y

all of the week's new, george will, arianna huffington of the huffington post, sam donaldson and cokie roberts, starting with you. white house officials think shorof ninating republican senator orrin hatch to the supreme court, republican senators are going to object and pate their nominee as a radical. do any have a point? >> i'm not so sure. i think it's important for us to understand how radically and recently things have changed i the confirmation process. 1939 after this new deal fight with the supreme court. after the pecking plan by fdr. roosevelt nominates felix frankfurter. 12 days from the nomination through the hearing to the senate vote. nine days later he nominated william o. douglas. longest serving justice from all. 15 days from nomination to confirmation. stevens himself. the first justice appointed after roe v. wade goes through in three weeks. he's not asked one question on abortion and hearings, there's a five-minute debate on the floor. confirmed 98-0. as is, in 1986, scalia. it all changed in 1987. and i have a feeling that we may have burned over this forest and people ma