this gets back to the john dewey notion of evolutionary progress.if i were to give advice to the frustrated progressives, i would say first of all you want somebody on the court who is going to be extremely capable of doing the work, and i know people say we shouldn't have a circuit court judge always appointed and so on and so forth but we really need somebody that can play the game inside properly and you also have to have someone who is not so identified with the political agenda that they come with two strikes against them. one of the things justice ginsberg told us and she said this very seriously in her time on the court has become more balkanized. there is less cross fertilization of ideas, less sharing. socially they get along well. ginsburg scalia alignment and so one but she's concerned that because of frankly the power of the interest groups to old people in certain directions in the court that she's seen less of the type of interaction she feels produces the best law so i would say relax. no one knows what these people are going to be li

but instead, to unify the party, dewey picked the governor of ohio, taft's friend, fellow conservative, a man named john bricker, and one of the slogans was, "the war will end quicker with dewey and bricker." >> let's get to a phone call. marvin in los angeles. go ahead. caller: thomas e. dewey was a reasonably young man in 1953 and he, of course, was very influential in general eisenhower running. was dewey offered a job by eisenhower? after all, his v.p., governor warren of california, was offered the job of chief justice. >> that's a great question. yeah, there is some debate over it. i believe he was informally approached, shall we put it, you know, about the supreme court. when you stop to think about it, really nothing else made sense, except perhaps secretary of state and there he had the next best thing, maybe better, his long-time political ally and his kissinger, john foster dulles. one of the things about dewey that is often overlooked is the extent to which he brought into the american political process a whole generation of very talented people. i mean, dwight eisenhower, richard nixon are

john roberts is seen as this -- in this series as consoling charles evans hughes. that is so enriching. >> richard norton smith, we were watching the thomas dewey interview. the is not the interview of your dream. he was saying no, no, no. what was or at reaction? -- what was your reaction? >> a lot of people ask me about it. the last question -- he and his brother seemed to be so detached from the events that had engulfed their lives, everyone thought there were going to live in the white house. it did not seem to really be part of their dinner conversation. the only response i have -- i recently did a project on gerald and betty ford and i talked to the four children. the remarkable thing is, in the summer of 1974, they may have been the only family in america that did not have the dinner table conversation about what would happen if they never discussed the possibility -- they never discussed the possibility that their wives may be offended. as strange as it may seem to people who are not involved in politics, there is a family dynamic. parents consciously decide to shield their children from all of this. >> jean baker, you wrote a book on t

c-span: in your professional training in your life at johns hopkins would have used it to yourself i don't ever want to do what i see that doctor dewey>> guest: there have been a few occasions obviously. you learn likely at places like hopkins there are privileges where we have some of the post a brilliant and best physicians and the world. i wouldn't say that happens as much to be as it happens in the local school and as much as it happens as a resident when i saw colleagues only in my discipline but in other disciplines to be good things i consider to not be good for either for the welfare of a patient. the key decisions to continue the treatment. making decisions to stopping treatment. giving the family false expectations. i think that that is obviously some think that i really feel strongly against it. and i told myself i will never do that. my goal in life is always to be honest to a patient is to beat when i cannot of the operating room the first thing what i do talk to them this is what we do this is what we are going to do. you do every single thing that is in my brain right now. c-span: to sit in the book one of the things i

john roberts is seen in this series as consoling charles evans hughes. that is so enriching. >> richard norton smith, we were watching the thomas dewey interview. the is not the interview of your dream. he was saying no, no, no. what was your reaction? >> a lot of people ask me about it. the last question -- he and his brother seemed to be so detached from the events that had engulfed their lives, everyone thought there were going to live in the white house. it did not seem to really be part of their dinner conversation. the only response i have -- i recently did a project on gerald and betty ford and i talked to the four children. the remarkable thing is, in the summer of 1974, they may have been the only family in america that did not have the dinner table conversation about what would happen if they never discussed the possibility that their wives may be offended. as strange as it may seem to people who are not involved in politics, there is a family dynamic. parents consciously decide to shield their children from all of this. >> jean baker, you wrote a book on the stephensons. did you rely at all on the family? >> indeed. his sister, buffy