thomas who work with him here in washington, and of course, i should especially single out senator jack danforthn every american would be proud to call friend. [applause] and of course, those special guests and the many members of clarence thomas' family here today, here in the front row, and clarence's mother, his sister, his brother, his cousins, sisters, aunts. that's the way it ought to be. all of you, some of whom drove all the way up. i see a little advertisement here from pinpoint georgia to be here this afternoon. that is 600 long miles that i got a feeling they might have driven 6000 miles to be here today. people from far and wide, from all walks of life, all levels of education and income, have come here today in testament to the character of clarence thomas. what brought you here is also something more. the power of the american ideal, the values of faith and family, hard work, an opportunity. these are the values that unite us all, that give america meaning. america is the first nation in history founded on an idea, on the unshakable certainty that all men are created equal. when we

and, of course, i should especially single out senator jack danforth, a man every american would be proud friend. [applause] and, of course, those special guests, the many members of clarence thomas's family here today. his wife ginni, his son jamal here in the front row. and clarence's mother, mrs. leola williams, his sister, emma maye martin, his brother, myers, his cousins -- this reminds me of pinafores -- cousins, sisters, aunts. [laughter] but that's the way it ought to be. and all of you, some of whom drove all the way up. i see a little advertisement over here from pin point, georgia, to be here this afternoon. and -- [applause] president h.w. bush: and that's 600 long miles, but i've got a feeling they might have driven 6,000 miles to be here today. well, people from far and wide, from all walks of life, all levels of education and income, have come here today in testament to the character of clarence thomas. but what brought you here is also something more, the power of the american ideal, the values of faith and family, of hard work, and opportunity. and these are the values th

many friends of clarence thomas who worked with him in washington and i should out senatoringle jack danforthevery american would be proud to call friend. [applause] and of course, those special guests and many members of clarence thomas's family here today, his wife and his son here in the front row and clarence's brother,is sister, his of cousins -- it reminds me penna fours. cousins, sisters, and ska but that is the way out to be. all of you, some of whom drove all the way up. icn see an advertisement from pinpoint, georgia. [applause] that's 600 long miles, but i have a feeling they may have driven 6000 miles to be here today. far and wide, from all walks of life and all levels of education and income have come here in testament to the character of clarence thomas. but what got you here is something more. the power of the american ideal, the values of faith and family, hard work and opportunity. these are the values that unite us all and give america meeting -- give america meaning. america is the first nation in history founded on an idea, the unshakable certainty that all men are create

then dick durbin and then jack danforth. dean of public servants in missouri. certainly for the republican party. it was jack who became an early fan of youns thomas, who he encountered in life an politics. any way, the people you see at a debate. >> let's bring in lawrence o'donnell. just as we're just getting twartds the top of the hour and the start of this evening's contest. lawrence, what's your take on this late strategy by donald trump to bring out all of these accusers of bill clinton's and put them with his family there in the front row and also, what's going to happen in terms of that tape from friday bleeding into tonight's contest? >> it seems he's going through with that his strategy was, he's basically announce ed twitter, which is he's now apparently no longer running if for president. he is running for a position in history and the position he's fighting for is political sexual scandals, he is the one who's not as bad as bill clinton. that is the only status he seems to be trying to achieve here and one of the iron any of these women choosing to

i said, look, big secret, don't tell anybody, but bush has decided to go with jack danforth of missouri>> the media ran with the false story. >> felt sort of bad, but i wasn't lying to the media, i was just giving misdirection to the guy who leaked. >> lying to the guy? >> well, yeah. it helps tell a story. when you want to have the story told by an evening anchor or the story told by the candidate who expresses in front of the cameras with as few filters as possible why he made this choice. >> four years later the "new york post" said john kerry had picked richard gephardt to be his running mate. this was of course a mistake. kerry had picked john edwards. john edwards turned out to be another kind of mistake, but that's another story. what the media reported even fooled gephardt's campaign manager. >> i called up dick gephardt, and i said, dick, i know you can't talk about this. he said, it never happened. i said, dick, i understand you have to deny it to me and everybody else. he said, steve, it didn't happen. >> why wouldn't you believe him when he said so-so emphatically, there was

he worked in the senate office of senator jack danforth for missouri. he worked in the reagan administration in two capacities. he was chairman -- the first assistant secretary of education for civil rights, and then chairman of the equal employment opportunity commission. and then, he was appointed initially by george h.w. bush as a judge of the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. then, ultimately, as an associate justice of the united states supreme court in 1991. we mentioned -- we were discussing this before we came in tonight, that last sunday was his 25th anniversary as a member of the court. [applause] i cannot introduce clarence without also mentioning his lovely wife, jenny, who is with us tonight. he would be the first to tell you she herself has a distinguished career in the city, and in the country, both in civic activities and think tanks, as well as in tv. we are pleased to have you with us also. [applause] when i say that it is very appropriate that clarence thomas be our joseph story lecturer tonight, it

your former united states senator here in missouri, jack danforth. up as i list your names. the former anchor of abc world news with charles gibson, obviously, charlie gibson. the president of the university of notre dame, father john jenkins. the former president of the league of women voters and the current president of the council on foundations, dorothy dodd ridings. the former president of princeton university, shirley tillman. go tigers. if you could all stand and give them a round of applause. [ applause ] one of the things our commission is responsible for doing is designing the format. if you've watched the previous presidential debate, you know this one is different because we have with us citizen participants who have been selected by the gala organization. they represent uncommitted citizens here in the st. louis area. they're here to participate in the questioning of the candidates tonight. the other important thing we've done is to take time to give the candidates more opportunity to discuss with themselves the important issues that fac

he worked in the senate office of senator jack danforth of missouri.ities. he was first assistant secretary of education for civil rights and then chairman of the equal employment opportunity commission. then he was appointed initially by george hw bush as a judge of the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. and then ultimately as an associate justice of the united states supreme court in 1991. we mentioned as we're discussing before we came in tonight that last sunday was his 25th anniversary as a member of the court. [applause] i cannot introduce clarence without also mentioning his lovely wife, jenny who is with us tonight. she. she has been a great helpmate of hers as he would be the first to tell you she herself has a distinguished career in the city and in our country. both in civic activities, and think tanks, as well as in tv. we are pleased to have you with us also, jenny. [applause] when i say it is appropriate that clarence thomas be our joseph story lecture tonight, it is because of his lifelong and particular

he worked in the senate office for senator jack danforth for missouri. he worked in the reagan administration in two capacities. he was chairman -- the first assistant secretary of education for civil rights, and then chairman of the equal employment opportunity commission. and then, he was appointed initially by george h.w. bush as a judge of the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. then, ultimately, as an associate justice of the united states supreme court in 1991. were discussing this before we came in tonight, that last sunday was his 25th anniversary as a member of the court. [applause] i cannot introduce clarence without also mentioning his lovely wife, who is with us tonight. she herself has a distinguished career in the city, and in the country, both in civic activities and think tax, as well as in tv. we are pleased to have you with us also. [applause] when i say that it is very appropriate that clarence thomas be our joseph story lecture tonight, it is because of his lifelong and particularly judicial period of