once again, my apologies to doris kearns goodwin and everyone at the book signing. (laughter) so it's time for another installment of my award winning segment "current events." (applause) ♪ shock the monkey... >> don't tase me bro! (cheers and applause) >> stephen: tonight, the lighter side of tasing. (laughter) folks, someone has finally answered the question that runs through all of our minds when we see a taser victim writhing on the ground in excruciating pain: why isn't this a sport? (laughter) well, it is now. this is ultimate taser ball. jim? (audience reacts) >> you've got to not be scared, man. when you get that ball you know you're going to get tased and if you can run through the tase, you'll always succeed. >> running somebody, while tasing. >> stephen: yes, ultimate taser ball has done the unimaginable: they have made soccer interesting. (laughter) remember, folks... (cheers and applause) remember, this is ultimate taser ball, not regular taser ball. (laughter) the noncompetitive game of teenagers tasing their testicles in a parking lot. jim? (audience

joining me from boston, doris kearns goodwin. she worked as a white house fellow for lyndon johnson. she's rain number of books including "lyndon johnson: the american dream." and her pulitzer prize winning work on franklin delano roosevelt. joining me in new york, michael beschloss. he is a historian who has written a number of books including "presidential courage." jim fallows. he served as a speech writer for jimmy carter. he wrote a piece on president obama in the "atlantic" magazine called "obama explained." jon meacham, he is the author of "american lion: andrew jackson in the white house." it earned him a pulitzer prize. he's currently writing on george h.w. bush and thomas jefferson. finally, robert caro, he is a two-time pulitzer prize winning author and has dedicated decades to writing about lyndon johnson. his fourth volume "the passage of power," is set to come out this may. i am pleased to have them here to have this discussion about men and power, the power of the office and how those two things come together. i be

the whole picture. >> our thanks to doris kearns goodwin, richard reeves and chris matthews.xt wednesday our reports will include a story that's very much in the news. thanks in part to a very popular and controversial ad featuring clint eastwood that aired in the super bowl. it's all part of the resurgence of the american auto industry. we're going to take you to flint, michigan, which after so many bleak years is now celebrating some good news, the addition of a graveyard shift added to a very venerable auto industry. >> in the heartland. i don't take it for granted at all. >> we'll have that story and with all the talk about what doesn't work in america, we'll take you to a place that pretty much has worked for years. fedex headquarters. we'll talk to the people there and ask how it is they manage to deliver on time so many million pieces a day. >> how long you work here.

i happen to love doris kearns goodwin, and not just because she's a red sox fan. >> i'm a phillies fan. >> she had talked about t.r., but they claim it came before that. and it just seems to me that if you are -- and this i do not know what i'm about to say. from sort of inside knowledge. but it is my asuction that if you want to make the next campaign about the progressive revision, you are wiser to go back to the progressive era when this all started then to stop at roosevelt and the new deal. and i think that it's logical that he did this. >> i completely agree. but i think that is consistent with where he's coming from. that's his thinking is naturally to go back to that progressive prediction. and that just establishes that. >> yeah. good. >> david cowan. picking up on ancestors, even if theodore roosevelt is a distant ancestor to president obama, there is an effort at making him an ancestor. so i wonder if you could all comment on another missed opportunity, which is theodore roosevelt layed the basis for dealing with the abuses of money and politics. and apart from rhetorical fl

and still ahead, doris kearns-goodwin, chuck todd, and alex wagner. we'll be right back.utter tickets, swoon penguin journey junior mints moviefone evil prince bollywood 3-d shark attack ned the head 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback on movies. it pays to discover. lord of the carry-on. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. -three. -one. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% back on groceries. and 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. -it's as easy as...1. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. chocolate

doug brinkley and doris kearns goodwin.morning. >>> we had this conversation about president clinton. you listened to that. >> i did. >> get a sense of how you assess and the way he put the lewinsky scandal. >> i'm looking forward to watching the documentary. pbs does a great job. you can't write about clinton without graping with the lewinsky -- it's the blue dress. not the thing that people want to see, that's a pity. there's so much in the presidency. the economy turned around and started humming. the fact that he -- the cold war well. jack kennedy could get away with an affair but by the time 1993 rolled around, from e-mails to a billion going around the world in an hour and the dna did him him in the end. >> doris, on this president's day, bill clinton? >> i think he's probably one of the most natural politicians we've had, much like theodore roosevelt. loved the job, loved being president. we have a sadness of the monica lewinsky thing comes in is the loss of time. time is the most valuable innth to a president. serio