guest: [laughter] you pick the right audience for a calvin coolidge joke. anything else? caller: enjoy the chuckle, thank you. host: let's go to john in wisconsin. thank you for taking my call. why don'tted to know they spin the tapes from day to day? or maybe even weekly on certain things. on certain things the presidents as a dozen say. that is my question. it was always up to the presidents what they would use the tapes for. fdr was afraid of being misquoted. to a certain extent nixon had that. but they refrained from making because israel seems like an underhanded thing to do to record people without once theyledge and use the tapes one time, they could really use them again because people were walking to the oval office knowing that they were being recorded. so presidents would use that advantage. can a president claim executive privilege in keeping the recordings that he or she has made? guest: richard nixon made that claim of executive privilege, his conversations with his aides needed to be protected so the executive branch could function, but ever since 1978 and

it was this project at the height of the depression and funded by coolidge and then hoover gave it a bit of a boost and coolidge gave him his initial federal funding which never would have happened after the depression. hoover carried on a little bit. t borglum campaigns hard for f.d.r. and -- st: we can hear and see what he sounded like? >> when do you think this work will be completed? >> i'm trying to finish it so the figures will be done by 1935 sufficiently to allow the president to unveil it. >> and the ingo subscription? >> they are planning to start this year. host: have you ever been out there? guest: i have. the national park service runs mount rushmore. they have quite a nice archives of mount rushmore's history and that was helpful to the project. that was a great clip that you just showed. .d.r. does unveil jefferson in 1936, which is a huge moment caught on the news real. i think there is a photo of it in my book. t borglum actually never finished mount rushmore and he dice in 1941 and his son puts the finishing touches on the project. mount rushmore was nt finished in

coolidge gave him his initial federal funding.oover carried it on a little -- but then work on he campaigned hard for fdr and fdr enabled rushmore to become rushmore. >> with you think this work will be completed? >> i am trying to finish it so the figures will be done by 1975 sufficiently to allow the president to unveil it. >> and the inscription? >> that may take another year. --are planning brian: have you been out there? mr. snyder: i have. the national park service runs mount rushmore. they also have archives of mount rushmore history. jefferson inil the 1946. it is a huge moment caught on the newsreels. but he never actually finished not rushmore. rushmore. rushmore was never finished in the elaborate way that he wanted. mount rushmore is this perfect symbol -- this is perfect symbol of american liberalism. some of the blind spots of liberals was race during this period. rushmore is carved on sacred indian land. it is really celebrating our government but there is also a negative side to it as well. going back to the new re

coolidge gave him his initial federal funding.oover carried it on a little bit but then he campaigned hard , borglum campaigned hard for fdr and fdr enabled rushmore to become rushmore. [video clip] >> with you think this work will be completed? >> i am trying to finish it so the figures will be done by 1975 sufficiently to allow the president to unveil it. >> and the inscription? >> that may take another year. we are planning -- to start this year and that may lead the work on till 1936. brian: have you been out there? mr. snyder: i have. the national park service runs mount rushmore. they also have archives of mount rushmore history. that was incredibly helpful. that was a great clip you showed. fdr does unveil the jefferson in 1946. it is a huge moment caught on the newsreels. there is a photo of it in my book. borglum never actually finished mount rushmore. the inscription never gets done. in 1931. mount rushmore was never finished in the elaborate way that he wanted. mount rushmore is this perfect symbol -- this is perfect sy

coolidge's famous line was "the business of america is business."he government was pro-business and they got excited. we had the roaring '20s. >> the so-called animal spirits. there are people that think because donald trump is pro-business that he'll create an environment in which business can flourish. >> well, absolutely. you know, he -- there's a deep sense of emotion here. loyalty. who is the government loyal to? our previous president was thought to be sympathetic to poor and downtrodden people. we have a president that doesn't show much sympathy to them now. so, hey, time to be a capitalist. >> bob, always good to see you, thank you for joining us. bob shillor at yale school of management, nobel prize winner in economics. we're minutes from the press conference at the montana sheriff's office, we'll get an update on assault charges brought against house gop candidate greg gianforte. a source close to the gianforte campaign tells nbc news the campaign raised more than $100,000 online in the last 24 hours with a very large majority of the donat

president calvin coolidge in the 1920s remarked famously that the chief business of the american's business. by which he meant that americans would notably oriented towards producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world. this takes that and expands it. the chief business of american history is business. the story of the nation is the story of business history. now the land of enterprise weeds together the story of business is the story of america itself for michelangelo. to the 21st century. when i would like to do this evening is give you a flavor for how the two stories intertwine by reading some selections from chapter 10. which takes place towards the end of the narrative in the 1950s. in the fall of 1954 at the university of california at presley, students lost a series of sittings, walkouts and valleys to protest the university's policy for having political activism on campus grounds. young people joined by like-minded alleys in the area fast with police and challenged the authority of administrators and the political establishment that ran the university system her

should not be on the hook for underwriting lifestyles of former presidents that would've outraged coolidge and treatment and probably most presidents since george washington." that is one take on it. we especially want to hear from you. we set aside 30 minutes to talk about it. dave is up first. rochester michigan -- rochester, michigan, good morning. caller: good morning. i think this is just a continuation of this group me that president obama gets. it's as american as it gets to earn as much money as you can get. evidently that is the value that he is worth. wouldestion is -- what mr. obama want to pay as far as his fair share of taxes? he and warren buffett will tell the world that they should pay more money. that is where we should be looking at. this is just picking on obama because of who he is. host: let me bounce this on you. "the new york times" lead editorial wrote this, "it is disheartening that a man's whose historical candidacy now joins almost every modern president in cashing in and it shows surprising tone deafness, more likely to be expected from the billionaires the obam

calvin coolidge was in the white house. didn't say very much. didn't think he had to impose himself every five minutes on the american people like othermu presidents we can think about. he was attacked for not saying very much at all. government did much less. america thought it had learned from its crusade in europe, wag trying hard not to repeat. the world was at peace and the country's economic was booming. well, as bill was getting older, he is witnessing the -- by the time of his teen years, completely new world when he returns from the army in 1945. suddenly we're talking about mixed economies, not free markets. which he thought was really sing exceptionalism bit another name. we hat the aggrieves kind lie -- remember the parades of the g.i.s coming home after world war ii. in eastern europe, the soviet state, they were. so we had that form of tyranny, and socialism. then the benign kind, the kind that gets elected in a free democracy but then suddenly feels it has to run more and more of the economy. they were teaching this at yale. very

death leaves a heartache no one but love leaves a steal.that no one can president calvin coolidge oncerd, no person was honored for what he received. honor has been for the reward what he gave. these 234 brave men and women gave their all. they laid down their life to and serve the family, friends and co-workers and here today to honor them. in peace.roes rest may god bless the families they leave behind. may god watch over the officers protecting our streets and today and may god bless the united states of america. you. [cheers and applause] to have thered opportunity to introduce our next speaker. mike pence spent nearly a decade as a member of the u.s. house of a member ofves, as the committee on the judiciary, he was not only a key supporter of law enforcement officers but offensively a champion for law enforcement families. commitment to keeping his hisow citizens safe led to being elected as the governor of indiana in 2012. he serves ane, even greater role. welcome the 48th vice states,t of the united pence. r. [applause] v.p. pence: thank you, linda. thepresident, members of cab

calvin coolidge is in the white house. didn't say very much, he did not think he had to impose himself every five minutes on the american people like other presidents. he was attacked for not saying much at all!government did much less. america thought they had learned from this. europe was trying very hard not to repeat.the world was at peace in the country economic situation was booming. well, as bill is getting older, he is witnessing for the time of his teenage years the administration coming to power. a completely new world. when he returns from the army in 1945. where suddenly we are talking about mixed economy, not free markets. which he thought was really you know -- by another name. we had the aggressive kind that we saw. parades and gis coming home after world war ii. eastern europe -- so we had that form of tyranny. then we had the benign time. the time it gets the free democracy and then suddenly -- they were teaching this at yale university. very few premarket economists were around. all of them talked about t

president coolidge once stated no person was ever honored that is the reward for what you gave these gave there all. they laid down their life to protect and serve family and friends and co-workers who were here today to honor them may our hero's rest in peace may god bless the families they leave behind may god watch over the officers protecting your streets in communities today and may god bless united states of america. thank you. [applause] i am honored to have the opportunity to introduce our next speaker. mike pence sat as a decade for the u.s. house of representatives as a member of the committee on the judiciary not only a key supporter of law enforcement officers were also a champion for law-enforcement families his commitment to keeping his fellow citizens safe and then being elected as the governor of indiana in 2012 now of course, he serves a greater role so please help me to welcome the 48 vice president of the united states, michael pence [cheers and applause] >> thank you. mr. president, members of the cabinet, members of congress, honored guest and dignitaries and mem

of all the way through a calvin coolidge but in the '30's that made the difference with the invention the entire opprobriums -- and tenement programs. we had a recession and we recovered very quickly but there was a recession in the 1920's but then the economy started growing very quickly john: without big government we destroy the planet? >> federal spending damages the environment and california has a terrible drought partly the responsibility of the government has been subsidizing water that causes over consumption farmers are forming what they shouldn't be that is at the roots of the problem. the subsidies cause distortion one of the biggest polluters is the federal government agencies. [applause] >> some say we have to balance the budget but you say that is not politically realistic and we don't have to? they say okay but we will raise taxes but simply to have it grow slower than the private sector over time. there is a long last where you say would is a list of countries? they have greece and france and italy. >> this will continue to grow just more slowly? >> we want government

president calvin coolidge once stated no person was ever honored for which he received. before brave men and women gave their all. they laid down their lives to protect and serve the family, friends and coworkers and public who are here today to honor them. they are heroes rest in peace. may god left the families they leave behind. may god watch over the officers protect in our streets and communities today and may god place the united states of america. thank you. [applause] i am honored to have the opportunity to introduce our next speaker. mike pence spent nearly a decade as a member of the u.s. house of representatives as a member of the committee of the judiciary who is not only a key supporter of law enforcement officers, but was also a chance in for law enforcement families. his commitment to keeping his fellow citizens safe way to his being elected as the governor of indiana in 2012. now of course he serves an even greater role. so please help me welcome the 48th vice president of the united states, michael r. pence. [applause] >> thank you, linda. mr. president,

delegation to washington, d.c., including young children, and the whiteet outside house, because coolidge refused to talk to them. for onee only have time last question, but you are welcome to continue the conversation during the reception. i was interested in what you are saying about recruiting directly at ellisdirectly, withe , andf the strike itself there was quite a high turnover in the workforce because of that with new recruits coming in. a decade and a half previously, had there been any attempt to develop industrialized unions in the united states? question, while they were active in this area. there was the strike, actually two strikes. and there are two factions who tried to organize in 1912 and 1913. they tried to organize in pessaic as well. not any lasting success. there had been another attempt, not by the ifw,, but to organize another industrialized union under leadership, and that also failed. there have been previous attempts. none of them succeeded. that is one of the reasons i think the wool companies were so sure in their own minds that they were going to be able to w

the questioner brings up grace coolidge and pat nixon. what is the difference, when the president is an introvert? annette: wow. pat nixon is a fascinating character to me because she is sort of a mask that you never get behind. i get the -- from the things i have read, he was not a womanizer. lesley: [indiscernible] annette: what? lesley: the inflatable doll? does anybody know what i'm talking about? if you were around during nixon times, it was close to scandalous. he would go out on weekends with a friend in florida, and there was an inflatable manikin or something. anyway. i digress. annette: not with anybody alive. carol: i don't want to picture that. lesley: he wasn't a womanizer with real women. annette: i wasn't expecting to get to that point. gil: there is a heartbreaking anecdote about pat nixon, which is that -- first of all, if you go to the early campaigns, the 1948 presidential campaign, it was called the pat and dick show, and they have a good dynamic. it gets ruined over the years. jump ahead to 1973, and it is the worst s

in the calvin coolidge era, the teapot dome and a prosecutor for a weird postal service bribery scream i don't really understand but seems like it involved tons of money. in watergate in the '70s, there was a problem with the special prosecutor idea who nixon brought in to work on that scandal. in watergate nixon fired the special prosecutor. he told the attorney general to fire the special prosecutor and he resigned in protest and told the deputy attorney general to fire the special prosecutor and finally got somebody else so he did get rid of him. congress was mad and really not happy about it. they eventually let nixon install a new special prosecutor for watergate but only on the condition the senate judiciary committee would sign off on it with a majority vote if nixon wanted to fire him too. the watergate hearings sprawled all through 1973 and he resigned in 1974 and pardoned by his successor, gerald ford, so he couldn't be prosecuted. by the time jimmy carter got in there, the country felt ethics-wise, it was time for a hot shower. one of the big post watergate reforms, the ethi

>> as you know, i've been around for a while, since the coolidge administration actually. [ light laughter seth: yeah, very quiet guy. >> there you go. the thing i've found out, much to my -- sometimes paying a heavy penalty is you got to do the right thing. look, i praise the president when he does the right thing. he has a national security team around him which is outstanding. when he responded to those children being gassed by that he responded by sending the cruise missiles in. so where i think he's doing the right thing, and that's to a large degree our national security, then i'm with him. but on other things, you've just got to do the right thing. i was elected by the people of arizona, and i've got to do what i think is right for them. >> seth: do you -- [ applause ] yeah, absolutely. you mention his national security team. of course part of that national security team was now-disgraced michael flynn. >> general flynn, that's right. >> seth: are you worried sometimes, that even when he's surrounded by the right people, he is distracted and maybe doesn't listen to them? >> yes. i a

states because he said all movements start off this way and he wrote a year before i was born, calvin coolidge one one of the largest landslides in american history. america was at peace and the welfare state no-bid armies. eight years later roosevelt wins the 1932 election. -- >> he needed a depression in there. >> but that is what he wrote. >> you know of course you know about nixon's strategy. they are back. for sure yours. nobody saw and for short leaders nixon with the president will be talking about strategy and richard nixon who had to march more moderate stance even liberal stance is now assuring this. >> let me ask you about that. what was buckley's attitude toward nixon. because although he was by the left mainly for excessive anti-communism, he was more liberal in most ways than i could. so what was buckley's attitude toward him? >> well when nixon passed away, buckley said that it's amazing how conservatives clung to nixon throughout his battles though he did very little for them. and he said what is it about this man and why is it that so many still cling to him? and he says back

and so with nose thoughts those minds, let's hear the words of calvin coolidge spoken on this spot ind to commemorate war and victory, but rather the results of war and victory which are embodied in peace an liberty. we have little need to inquire how the war began. its day of carnage is done. but we should never forget that we were asserting our rights in main fataining our ideals. that at least we shall demand as our place in history. no one can doubt that our country was inspired by this experience. it attained a conscious national unity which it never before possessed. that unity ought always be cherished. this is all one country. we had revealed to us in our time of peril the unity and spirit of our people. they might speak with different tongues, come from most divergent quarters of the globe. but the essentials of our hour, they were moved by a common purpose, devoted to a common cause, and loyalty to a common country. we should not permit this spirit which was such a source of strength in our time of trial, to be dissipated in a more easy days of peace. we need it then, and we

joe, in your day, back there in the coolidge administration, we used to take up an operations bill, about process, and, frankly, i don't blame that on this scandal. i blame it on a broken process here in the congress of the united states. >> silent cal always insisted on a private orpder, you would expect that from a new englander like coolidge. i'm actually thinking about this, last night, how great it could be, john man, if the investigation started, they moved it to the side, instead of donald trump trying to move everything through as quickly as you make a big mac in a drive-thru, regular order. tell ryan and tell mcconnell you would like both sides to start doing, going to committees, on tax reform. the senate, starting to go to committee on health care reform. stop this nonsense of talking to three people, and fringe elements of your party, and getting together a bill that gets, you know, 217 votes. >> yeah. i can't really -- the concept of regular order and the trump presidency don't really seem to go together. >> no. he's not tweeting again, is he? >> he is tweeting again. >> sena

and president coolidge came back and 150,000 people said to be the largest crowd that the community -- that our president had ever spoken to. i think it's an extraordinary story of grassroots support, of crowd source funding to pay for what turned out to pay for an extraordinarily dramatic memorial. two very important decisions made at the time. the first was to create a memorial of scale, which this is. 217-foot tower. these two fantastic exhibit holes, sphinx, and a freeze on the north side and really a large memorial and then the second significant decision was to collect globally. so in 1920 the association began collecting archival materials and three-dimensional objects from the war from all belligerents and all sides and have continued to do so for the last 90 years. in the '60s and '70s in the '80s there was some deferred maintenance issues that caught up with the memorial and that wasn't uncommon in city structures in other cities as well and the people responded to that and congressman cleaver was mayor cleaver at the time, he made it a priority of his mayorship to restore t

we saw that under coolidge and harding. we saw that under john f. kennedy. these are the plans that actually work. this isn't theory. this is longstanding practice, and it is so good to see an administration returning to the policies that work and for the first time in 16 years having a president who actually gives a damn about balancing the budget before it bankrupts the country. and that's the one point i wanted to differ with you on. you said that if we continue down this path, our grandchildren will have $30, $40 trillion of debt on our shoulders. i don't think we get that far. you mentioned a sovereign debt crisis. when the government loses access to capital, pension systems implode, basic services, including public safety falter, ultimately you have runaway inflation and the economy collapses. i asked a leading economist with mercatus how long do we have, and his answer was, well, you can't really make a prediction like that, because a number of different factors will influence the onset of a sovereign debt crisis. he says, i can tell you this, when we