we'll hear from former activist tom hayden and marilyn young and david maraniss. this was part of a conference at the lbj presidential library in austin, texas, on the legacy of the vietnam war. >>> ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the presentation of the colors by the texas army rotc color guard and for the pledge of allegiance led by united states marine corp sergeant daniel hamilton. ♪ ♪ [ star spangled banner ] ♪ >>> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god,in divisible, with liberty and justice for all. in liberty and justice for all. >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome miss elizabeth christian, president of the lyndon banes johnson. >> good afternoon. on behalf of the board of trustees, i welcome you to the second day of the vietnam war summit. controversy and debate is critical to the success of this summit. last night former secretary of state henne kissinger said on this stage, in a statement that is bound to generate serious discussion, that he does

and what i'm reminded when i read the chapter is of david maraniss' wonderful book "first in his class" a reporter at the time for "the washington post". and president clinton was and perhaps still is the most gifted politician of the baby boomer generation. he's just remarkable, his genuine empathy. i spent a lot of time in the great state of arkansas, and leave aside the unpleasantness, his genuine empathy for human beings is absolutely clear, it is powerful, it is palpable, and the folks of arkansas really understood that about him, that he genuinely cared. the i feel your pain is absolutely genuine. so in a way, it also reminds me of the book looking back on lbj's presidency entitled "the tragedy of lyndon johnson" because of what could have been. so there are certain tragic dimensions of it which we all lament. now, that having been said, i think this idea of this redemptive process afterwards, we have certainly see that powerfully with both, i think, president carter and president clinton. in contrast, president ford i think was viewed -- and perhaps this is unfair -- as really j