host: james traub? guest: i guess i would agree, in general.e believes he could be a good president. i believe this is almost a desirable alternative. he is a very knowledgeable, bright guy. i do not think he has those qualities of character. i do not mean to say that he has no character at all that americans look to have as their president. i think obama, for all the mistakes he has made, has proved that people have a deep sense of comfort up and we did with him, as a person. biden is more of a hyperactive person. -- deep sense of comfort with him, as a person. host: franklin, new hampshire. caller: mr. traub, i know you denounced the history of vice- president cheney, and you believe that he was just awful. if you would be kind enough to share with the audience what you know about the history of the vice-president? i would also like to know your opinion of what i would call ridiculous decisions of having trials in new york for ksm, releasing the terrorists from guantanamo. they do not even want to face the fact that we are at war. joe biden b

james traub on joe biden and john neumann, an author, discusses kennedy's handling of vietnam and compares it to policy in afghanistan. live, at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c- span. . . but this is what it looked like number 21st 1989 -- the speaker. this was the first televised session for the british house of commons. joining us by telephone to talk about this is the comptroller of the bbc pollard -- the comptroller of the bbc tv. what do you see looking back at this 20 years? >> we now regard the decision to televise this as a matter of inevitability. very few look back and think they did something remarkable. at that time, it was a momentous decision. it had been turned down many times, until eventually the decision was taken to go for it. >> the leadership at that time -- what was its position? emma margaret thatcher was >> margaret thatcher was against televising the house of commons. they thought it would turn it into something quite different. the vote was taken, despite her influence. >> there was an 18 month trial period. >> there was a long period after the vote before televising actua

james traub his article on joe biden. newman discusses his handling of vietnam and obama's policy on afghanistan. that is live at 7:00 a.m. on c- span. >> now available, the book "abraham lincoln," is a great read for any history buff with a unique, contemporary perspective from columnists, journals, and writers from his early years to his life in the white house and his relativity today. now it is in digital audio to listen to any time available wherever digital audio download are sold. learn more at c- span.org/lincolnbook. >> up next, filmmakers lesley and andrew cockburn

host: james traub? guest: i guess i would agree in general.a good president. i believe this is almost a desirable alternative. he is a very knowledgeable bright guy. i do not think he has those qualities of character. i do not mean to say that he has no character at all that americans look to have as their president. i think obama for all the mistakes he has made, has proved that people have a deep sense of comfort up and we did with him as a person. biden is more of a hyperactive person. -- deep sense of comfort with him, as a person. host: franklin, new hampshire. caller: mr. traub i know you denounced the history of vice- president cheney, and you believe that he was just awful. if you would be kind enough to share with the audience what you know about the history of the vice-president? i would also like to know your opinion of what i would call ridiculous decisions of having trials in new york for ksm releasing the terrorists from guantanamo. they do not even want to face the fact that we are at war. joe biden but it would be a great idea

host: james traub? guest: i guess i would agree, in general.e believes he could be a good president. i believe this is almost a desirable alternative. he is a very knowledgeable, bright guy. i do not think he has those qualities of character. i do not mean to say that he has no character at all that americans look to have as their president. i think obama, for all the mistakes he has made, has proved that people have a deep sense of comfort up and we did with him, as a person. biden is more of a hyperactive person. -- deep sense of comfort with him, as a person. host: franklin, new hampshire. caller: mr. traub, i know you denounced the history of vice- president cheney, and you believe that he was just awful. if you would be kind enough to share with the audience what you know about the history of the vice-president? i would also like to know your opinion of what i would call ridiculous decisions of having trials in new york for ksm, releasing the terrorists from guantanamo. they do not even want to face the fact that we are at war. joe biden b