host: cynthia kelly, how would you add to that? guest: i think that truman had a difficult decision, but it was probably easier than we think it was. you have to understand his decision. you have to put yourself into the context of the time and figure out what did he know, what was the way in? the caller said he was concerned with the invasion. we were preparing for the invasion of japan in november. be a set number of americans whose lives were saved has been a subject of contention for decades. we will probably never know. in the most historians agree that the dropping of the bomb did it bring about the end of the war. it had gone on for six years and cost 50 million lives. if you think about its -- he did not use the weapon and we spent the equivalent of $25 billion building it, what would people think of truman if we went on and there were millions of lives lost? he had a tough decision, but there will be no consensus on whether he did the right thing or not. from his perspective, he was looking at some options that were not at

and cynthia kelly marks the 65th anniversary of the end of world war ii and the dropping of the first atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki. we will feature rarely seen archival footage. that is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> this weekend on "booktv," a discussion on the state of education in united states and the effects of stereotypes on learning and testing. on afterwards, -- "afterwords," a discussion of how we perceive war. after that, reza kahlili on how to deal with iran. for a list of programs, visit booktv.org. >> the democratic congresswoman maxine waters said there was nothing improper about our role in obtaining government funds for 1 united bank in california. the house ethics committee has been investigating the matter which occurred in 2008. following her opening statements, we hear a detailed presentation from representative waters' chief of staff, then questions from reporters. this is about one hour, 15 minutes. >> it morning, everyone. -- good morning, everyone. i have requested that the standards committee scheduled a hearing as soon as possible. unfortun

. >> and cynthia kellie, founder and president of the heritage foundation marks the 65th anniversary of the end of world war two and the dropping of the first atomic bomb on hiroshima and nagasaki. also, archival footage it shot by u.s. armed forces command of the aftermath. washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. now, we take a look at some of the key midterm election campaigns. this is 35 minutes. this is 35 minutes. >> joining us to take your calls and look ahead to the fall elections, aaron blake of "the washington post." thanks for being with us. we are going to open our phone lines. the numbers are on the screens for republicans. make sure you meet your set. there were key primaries in colorado and elsewhere. the colorado race -- we showed a rally with democrats yesterday. the headline by "the wall street journal" says the democrats see hopeful signs. why is that? >> this is one of the many situations this year where there is real trouble. we saw robert bennett lose in utah earlier this year. he became interior secretary. does not have much of a political

cynthia kelly is our guest. >> democratic congresswoman today insisted that there was nothing improper about her role in obtaining government funds for one the bank in california. the house ethics committee has been investigating the incident. following an opening statement, we hear detailed presentations. this is about one hour and 15 minutes. >> i wanted to thank you all for being here today. the press and the public have now had an opportunity to read the statement of alleged violations and have shown a lot of interest in the ethics matter that is now pending before the committee on standards of official conduct. i am eager to be able to have an opportunity to present my case. that is why i have requested that the standards committee scheduled a hearing as soon as possible. unfortunately, the committee has not yet specified a date for a hearing on this matter, and given the congressional schedule, it is possible that no hearing will be held for months, even after the november elections. such a delay is unacceptable, considering that the investigation has dragged out for almost one y