and it worked. - [ifill]: mr. of the mayhem in the middle east involving allies like israel, and jordan, and refugees on the border... do you worry at all that your administration underestimated what the toll would be of an arab spring? - [deggans]: gwen never let the difficulties and the challenges of the job that she took on d. and you could sense that there was a really wonderful, really talented, really trustworthy person at the center of everything that she did. there was no doubting her ability as a journalist. but she also had this personal warmth, and she had this charisma and made yn to what she had to say, and made you admire the work that she did even more. - [glover]: the newshour's future appeared bright with gwen and judy, but unexpectedly in 2016, health problems forced gwen to take a leave of absence for two months. despite this, she uld not be deterred and made her presence known her first day back on the job. - [just]: she did an amazing interview her first day back, after having been out for sev

with sherrilyn ifill >>> back with sherrilyn ifill, president and director counsel at naacp legal defensefound as i've gotten older i used to value intelligence above all, like smartness was everything. then i sort of realized there's a lot of smart people and judgment is actually everything. and you are a brilliant person but i think your judgment is incredible. i always look to you -- >> oh, that's nice. >> no, really, your perception of politics and how you're able to blend with a pragmatic vision how to move forward has been a north star for me. and hearing you enunciate the case for optimism was actually very effecting for me honestly. and i think, you know, one thing i keep coming back to is american liberal democracy and the way we think of what an actual democracy is basically is a, you know, 46-year experiment. >> absolutely. >> it's not the majority of the time. it's a small little thing, and your idea more about the idea we're not trying to rebuild things. the idea is we actually want to make something new, which is like an actually equitable, just, flourishing, true multiracia

so it was a great pleasure to get to sit down and talk to sherrilyn ifill.legal defense fund. you have been running it since 2013. >> since january 22nd. >> and you are stepping down next year? >> i am. >> it's been a tough ten years. here's aim going to tell you the joke that i was going make earlier. but i didn't want to say in front of you. there's a stat called plus/minus in basketball. it's independent of what the players are doing, i'm like she is plus/minus. i think it's a little rough. >> you are making a different calculation than i'm making. right. i actually think and it's the part that i feel good about. i feel incredibly pleased and congratulate identified and actually surprised and hopeful about the progress that's been made in helping millions more people understand the issues that i have devoted my life to than ever before in my lifetime. >> that's, i mean, that -- >> it's pure plus. >> the issues you work on. voting rights and the protection of multi-racial democracy have never been more essentially activating issues that people talk about i

it was great to see sherrilyn ifill out there speaking for democracy.think that calling attention to it in the way that they did, is that a good first step or what are your thoughts? >> i think we're almost at a point where western democracies are going to host a summit about our democracy. look at america. they're going to be sending their thoughts and prayers to our democracy if the democrats don't show the fierce urgency of now. i've never been more concerned about my democracy, this democracy, ever. yet what's concerning to me is there was a poll two months ago. only 40% of democrats think our democracy is under attack. yet 70% of republicans think it's under attack. why? because the gop leadership in one voice is saying they're taking away your right to vote, they're taking away your voice, and democratic leaders are making a speech here and there and not one unified loud voice saying our democracy's under attack. i think this democracy summit, sure, great. we need one in america. we need president biden, vice president harris, and our democratic l

in nearly every presidential and vice presidential debate moderated by jim lehrer and the late gwen ifilme time, annette was a generous mentor to so many young journalists who came up through the program. we want to congratulate and thank her for her years of contributions, and wish her well in what sounds like a busy next chapter. we are going to miss you a lot, annette. thank you. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and have a good weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institution

i sat down with extended interviews with the great sherrilyn ifill and the atlantic's stellar reportersm, a threat to civil and voting rights to this country and what we can all do about it. you can check out our special edition of with pod on "all in" next friday at 8:00 p.m. on msnbc, and the full unedited interviews will also be released as with pod episodes. you'll be able to find them wherever you get your podcasts along with many other great conversations i had this year on everything from the minimum wage to ufos. we'll be right back. feel stuck with student loan debt? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi— you could save with low rates and no fees. earn a $1,000 bonus when you refi— and get your money right. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and get your money right. aloha! isn't this a cozy little room? sorry your vacation request took so long to get approved, so you missed out on the suite special. but lucky for you, they had this. when employees are forced to wait for vacation request approvals,it can really cramp their style. i'm gonna

is there a structural change cannot" sherrilyn ifil suggested one man shouldn't be able to kill the billark warner, tester, those who voted against it when it came to a vote -- i would love to see a vote. >> sandra: you suggested them all along. >> i have. maybe mark kelly from arizona. he just doesn't say anything, we have no idea what he believes. >> sandra: so you think if manchin had not stood his ground, others would have stood up? >> they are all running for reelection. >> sandra: let me finish on this because you made a suggestion that perhaps democrats will learn a lesson here and change course. is that fair? >> eh... >> sandra: maybe not. put this on the screen because i think it's interesting. it says "joe manchin rescues the democrats. this gives biden a chance to change course." i think this is interesting perspective, because at the end of it the journal says, "the response of many of our readers will be this is impossible, since biden is too weak a leader to pull off a course correction. perhaps he is, but we are not allowed to cheerlead more potential failure. this offers