john f. kennedy his is an ambition of a dynasty. in some sense a political dynasty and a financial dynasty. his father was the first hot days was it to be the first catholic president but was derailed on 1940 when he takes the wrong side of the isolationist debate prior to world war ii and transfers those ideas to his son who in august, 1944 coming in the ever to equal his younger brother jfk plight plight, is piloting a bomber across the english channel filled with perhaps the greatest load of tea and tea in the history of mankind. somewhere across the english channel, that plane blows to bits. they never find a piece of him. rendered -- windows are shattered in london because it is so severe. that is the end of the plan for the presidency. those ambitions are transferred to john f. kennedy, jr. hookah up until this point* never saw him as a journalist perhaps a historian not sure what he would be. he is a dreamer but when old joe wants you to do something, his son's do it. so he runs for congress. by 1960, and the ambition that wa

he writes that eisenhower was famous for his fondness for jock -- for golf, but john f. kennedyday. caller: there are two, washington and reagan. washington because he set the tone for other presidents. he stepped down instead of being a dictator. he was a very straight arrow for his whole life and a wonderful person. and reagan because he turned the country around. i believe -- i agree with his dog use. he is someone else i admire. -- i agree with his of values. he is someone else i admire. host: julie writes ronald reagan was one of her favorites also. also, theodore roosevelt for the astonishment of the national parks service. wolfeboro, new hampshire, jim on the independent line. caller: i would have to join the group with lincoln. i think it is astonishing in the mere five years what he accomplished in keeping the nation together. his own personal life was so difficult. i would say as much as i'm delighted that obama is president now, i think it is too soon for us to gauge. finally, i would have to say reagan is perhaps my least favorite. we probably came closest to subvert

commenting on president john f. kennedy's assassination in 1967 walter cronkite said, quote, only in fiction do we find that the loose ends are neatly tied real life is not all that tighty and neither is the jefferson case. coming to terms with jefferson isn't easy for some in the 21st century. jefferson was no saint but none of his biographers claimed he was. no one will deny the fact is about the paternity of sally's children are ripples of evidence of one of the worst aspects of the slave system. the manner by which some enslaved women were sexually abused by their masters. but the hemming smith has now come hartel circle. citizens of albemarle county passed a resolution, quote, vindicating the memory of mr. jefferson from posthumous slanders with regard to his private character. these individuals were his neighbors who had the opportunity of personally knowing the true state of the facts. you know, when you visit monticello it is but a short walk from the west lawn, there is a cemetery, you feel closer to history. you fee

our president would do well to take note of an auburn --of an observation of john f. kennedy that all of the pop world problems -- all of the world's problems --the problems with base in the real-world require will solutions. we better get to it. the risks they pose are great and grave. as barry goldwater said, we can be conquered by bombs, but we can also be conquered by neglect, ignoring our constitution, and disregarding the principles of limited government. in the past year, his words rang true. washington has replaced private irresponsibility with public irresponsibility. the list of companies in industries the government is crowding out and bailing out and taking over continues to grow. first it was banks and mortgage companies, financial institutions, automakers. if they had their way, health care, student loans. in the words of congressman paul ryan, the $700 billion t.a.r.p. has morphed into crony capitalism and is becoming ua slush fund, just as we had been warned about. people on wall street are collecting billions of dollars in bailout bonuses. among the top 17 co

john f. kennedy. his is an ambition of a dynasty.n some sense, a political dynasty, also a financial dynasty. his father, joseph p. kennedy wanted to be the first tablet president of the united states of america. his ambitions, get derailed, around 1940 as he picks the wrong side of the isolationist debate going into world war ii. and he transfers those ambitions to his son, joseph p. kennedy junior, who in august 1944, in an effort to equal his younger brother, jfk's wartime exploit, pt 109 is piloting obama across the english channel, filled with one of perhaps the greatest lows of tnt in the history of mankind. and somewhere across the english channel, that plane debate. they never find the pieces of him. windows are shattered and buildings in london, the explosion is so severe. and that is the end of that part of joseph p. kennedy senior's plan for the presidency. those ambitions are transferred to john f. kennedy junior who up until this point never saw himself as a politician. saw himself as a writer, historian, journalist perh

smaller government, across the board tax cuts like john f. kennedy. plus the first tea party convention is kicking off in nashville tonight, and the free market populous war against government is on its way. supply sider, carly fiorina joined the revolt against government tax and a spend. her campaign unleashed an unbelievable ad, an evil sheep ad against her opponents. you even got to see this. you do not want to miss the evil sheep ad against high taxing and high spending. i love it. what was it churchill hill ca called? a wolf in sheep's clothing. we call ourselves "the kudlow report."  >>> we've been talking tonight about the impact of politics on the stock market and the economy. chalk up a few points for the tax-cutting tea party revolution today. that's right. scott brown, the man who made history from his come-from-behind victory became the 41st republican member of the senate today after being sworn in earlier by vp joe biden. take a listen. >> people back home, i can tell you they were very upset at the amount of spen

host: in terms of historical president, john f. kennedyo not have attended college. as the years go by these things become less and less important. guest: i think they do become less and less important. we are in a time where we will have a woman president soon, a jewish demint -- jewish president, a mormon president. i do not think it matters as much as it used to. it does not mean we did not know about it or they have not had to overcome obstacles. hillary clinton has overcome a lot of bias. mitt romney has had to grapple with being a mormon in a very difficult way at times. it matters, but it seemed to be nattering less and less to younger generations, which is a good thing. host: at this tweet from "the star-ledger." reagan and clinton the most popular president according to a poll. brooklyn, new york, derek, democrats line. caller: i was calling about a comment made earlier. you said she was the best choice amongst men -- wasn't there an african-american in charge of the country before and the constitution was written and in your humb

you had assassinations of robert kennedy, john f. kennedy, dr. king, malcolm x, and many others. but you also had many successes that you had the voting rights act of 65, civil rights activist 64, which is a phenomenal piece of legislation. you had to open housing act. there are many other positives. but you also had the election in 19 city and there's a recognition that these rise industries, these constant protest, how sustainable would that be. and even african-americans had a convention in gary, indiana, to figure out where to go from here? a when you ask the impact of the voting rights of 1955, i think that definitely had an impact. you had new voters think that maybe we will attempt to work within a system, if we have politician to working within the. and thus we have fred gray, the richard arrington's, who were saying okay, we have these politicians who are responding to these new voters, let's see what we can do to sort of move this idea for. and that's what i would like to add, but they would have to discuss how 25 -- we're talking a politician who had a significant numb

and that appears to be as far as who's going to until world war ii, when he led john f. kennedy and lyndon baines johnson was in the navy. he comes out in 1946 as a great year for veterans running for office, young, ambitious, intelligent. so he runs in 1946. he is elected to the congress and the very best campaign and stumbles into what industry now knows as the alger hiss case. he was secretary of state, very promising cello in the new deal. and in 1948 another fellow named winston chambers testifies before the house un-american activities council, that i've only with alger hiss a communist, but that he was an espionage agent for joe stalin, soviet overmatch. most people think this is far-fetched, it can't be. richard nixon at first is one of them. and after listen to a little bit more of alger hiss, things don't add up. his is ultimately convicted of perjury. nixon goes on to the united states senate in 1950 and in 1952 the vice presidency of the united states. he's 39 years old here it is. and he, by 1960, was to be president of the united states as well. there've been a lot

the assassination of john f. kennedy. everyone was fixated on this. everyone had a strong opinion in the country. the country was divided. i wanted to write the definitive neutral historical account that people would look at 100 years from now and say this person get it right. >> host: interesting that you mention the various stories and parts of narratives. i mean this as a compliment. the book seems to be structured very much as very easy to read, very much like an international spy thriller. on the one we start off with the impeachment, and then we go back to the beginning of watergate. then we start. >> guest: whitewater. >> host: i'm sorry, whitewater. if i mistake again whitewater. i mean whitewater. but the narratives are woven together. they are never completed until the very final days of your book. was that intentional jim acker is there a readability quality to this? >> guest: oh, sure. i actually had sitting on my desk when i started, and this was before this had become real popularized, a copy of truman capote's "in cold blood." i wanted

and our president would do well to take note of an observation john f. kennedy made once he was in office. all of the world's problems aren't his predecessor's fault. the problems that we face in the real world require real solutions and we'd better get to it because the risks they pose are great and they're grave. however, as barry goldwater said, we can be conquered by bombs, but we can also be conquered by neglect, ignoring our constitution and disregarding the principles of limited government n. the past year his words ring true. washington has now replaced private irresponsibility with public irresponsibility. the list of companies and industries that the government is crowding out and bailing out and taking over, it continues to grow. first it was the banks. mortgage companies. financial institutions. then automakers. soon if they had their way, health care, student loans. today in the words of congressman paul ryan the $700 billion t.a.r.p. has morphed into crony capitalism at its worse. it is becoming a slush fund for the treasury department's favorite b

we're the party of john f. kennedyup to serve and called us to pay any price, bear any burden. we're the party of edward m. kennedy, whose cause and doors, who said that here in the united states, the promise of health care should not be privilege but a fundamental right. that is who we are, a democrat. that is who we have got to be today, for all the stories we have heard, after all the campaigns, after all the promises we made, this is our best chance to deliver change that the american people need. if we do that, if we speak to the hopes of the american people instead of their fears, if we inspire them instead of divide them, if we respond to their challenges with the same sense of urgency they feel in their hearts, we will not just when elections, elections will take care of themselves. we will once again be the party that turns around the economy and moves this country forward and secures the american dream for another generation. thanks very much, everybody. god bless. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ["stars and stripe

the white house is occupied by another harvard man and former crimson editor, john f. kennedy, class of 1940. quote, if the crimson did show up at the white house we would get calls from solicitors office or bundy's office, referring to kennedy aides. and george buddy who served as the dean of faculty at harvard your. kennedy's presidency the rise and fall of camelot was the backdrop for some of the most extraordinary scenes and events in the lives of houston smith, andy weil, richard alpert and timothy live. kennedy was elected in the fall of 1960, the same season that andy weil and the harvard class of 1964 move to cambridge and begin their undergraduate studies. on the very day that kennedy defeated richard milhouse nixon and was elected president, november 8, 1960, huxley and his psychedelic connection met timothy leary at a boston restaurant and decide to work with him on the harvard psilocybin project. he was the president and editor of in chief of the harvard crimson at the height of the kennedy presidency. he would graduate, get hired by newsweek and head out to berkel

john f. kennedy's book would be thinner today than it was back then.idential commission is better than having none. but there are key factors. the scope, everything has to be on the table. secondly, the role, it must educate and engage american citizens beyond the beltway on the truth, the tough choices, the prudentens of acting sooner rather than later and the potential consequences for our families if we do not. thirdly, it must set goals and the goals of 2015, defendant to g.d.p. is not enough. we also need a debt to g.d.p. ratio for the longer term, which is what the commission recommended and i think we need to make meaningful progress on reducing the tens of trillions of dollars of unfunded off balance olingses. a triple goal. for membership, they need to have capable, credible and committed people who are not only credible and capable in washington, but in the real world outside of washington's beltway, because right now, that's a real problem. and thirdly, i mean with regard to committed, they have to be committed to come up with nonpartisan so

he received, as has been mentioned, the john f. kennedy profiles in courage award. can you imagine for people of our generation, someone to receive the john f. kennedy profiles in courage award? never forget that night, the kennedy library, he and joyce, black tie, beautiful joyce, proud jack standing tall like a marine. coming down those steps, being cheered by democrats and republicans alike. it wasn't about any partisanship. it was about patriotism. he was a proud marine, as we all know. semper fi was their motto. semper fidelis, always faithful. that was he motto of his life, faithful to god, faithful to country, faithful to his family, faithful to his district. i can't talk about jack, just one more moment, madam speaker, without talking about the funny stories he told us about tip o'neill. as he min tored us, tip was his mentor. he would tell us the stories of how it was to go to a baseball game with tip and this and that and the rest. i won't go into the stories now about those kinds of appropriations matters but tip instilled in him, perhaps he had it innatel

exists, and that is a very hard problem to solve, and in terms of what surprised me, i guess john f. kennedy once said what surprised him the most was that things were worse than he actually said when he was campaigning. i would say what surprises me is everything i have said about washington for 30 years has turned out to be true, but i still remain confident we can improve that. we can change that. i know the president committed to that, and we can really pull together and solve some problems. >> david axelrod, we thank you for joining us. we invite you back any time. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> coming up, president obama's remarks of the conference with senate democrats, and later on this week's q &a, thom hartmann. president of mama took a meeting at a retreat. this is about an hour -- president obama took a meeting at a retreat. [applause] [applause] >> can i get everyone's attention? i want to talk just for a brief minute about where we were -- privatizing social security, a couple of

we have assassinations of robert kennedy, john f. kennedy, dr. king, malcolm x and many others but to also had many successes. you have the voting rights act of 65 in the civil rights act of 64 which was a phenomenal piece of legislation. there were many other-- but you also have the election of richard nixon in 1968 and these constant protests, how sistani would that be an even after the americans had a convention in gary indiana to figure out where do we go from here, so when you ask the impact of the voting rights since 1965 i think that definitely had an impact. we have note-- new voters who would say we would attempt to work with the new system if we have politicians to work with us and that is where we had fred grays, the richard harrington's they joe reeves to set we have these politicians who are responding to new voters. let's see what we can do to push this idea ford and that is what i would like to act on. they would have to discuss, they were talking about politicians who have a significant number of black voters in their district. im

we are the party of john f. kennedy who called us to bear any price and any burdeneren. ard m. kennedy who said here in the united states of america, that the promise of freedom should not be privilege but of fundamental right. that is who we have to be today. all the stories we heard, all the promises we made. this is the best chance to deliver chance for what the american people need. if we do that. if we inspire them instead of divid them and respond with the same sense of urgency. we are not just going to win elections. we will once again be the party that turns around the economy and turns their country forward and secures the american dream for the next generation. >> thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. [applause] ♪

many of the -- one of the many awards that he was most proud was the john f. kennedyave remained silent. he was brave and a patriot. the message of the gospel is that in the resurrection of christ, god had shown the world the death of god's love. as paul said, "in every way possible, nothing and no one can separate us, not war, not lost, neither poverty, not the future, nothing." this day, we look to the promise of a new heaven and a new earth in god's time and got's day. until that time, we are called to live faithfully, as christ has shown us. take risks for good, love one another, and trust the results to the living board. -- living lord. it is the revealed nature of god to help us to do what we cannot do. it is our nature, by scott's grace, to try. -- by god's grace, to try. john murtha did try. by god's grace he succeeded. let us trust john and all who we love, near or far, to god's gracious care and to our lord, who told us that because i live, you, shall live also. i invite you to pray with me and we will conclude with the lord's prayer. let us pray. loving god

our president would do well to take note of an observation john f. kennedy had made once he was in office. all of the world's problems are not his predecessors fault. [applause] the problems that we face in the real world require real solutions and we better get to it because the risks that they posed are great and they are grave. however, as barry goldwater said, we can be conquered by bombs but we can also be conquered by neglect, by ignoring our constitution and disregarded the principles of limited government and in the past year, his words ring true. washington has now replaced private irresponsibly with public responsibility. the list of companies and industries that the government's is bailing out and taking over continues to grow. first was the banks, mortgage companies, financial institutions, then automakers. if they have their way, health care. in the world of congressman paul ryan, the $700 billion tarp has morphed into crony capitalism at its worst. it is becoming a slush fund for the treasury's favored big players. while people on main street l

john f. kennedy helped a lot to call attention to rachel carson's ideas by commenting on them in a press conference and setting up a presidential that 53 committee to look, presidential led by sri committee to look into her claims about the massive contamination of the environment by chemical pesticides. >> host: when you say her claims where did she get her knowledge? >> guest: kurson had studied, she was ecologist by training, marine biologists and ecologists. she had impeccable credentials and was an m.a. from johns hopkins. she didn't have a ph.d. degree but she had worked all her life of fish and wildlife service and in government and had read and studied the ocean for per great best seller, "the sea around us" and then subsequently "the edge of the cp quote she did impeccable research. she was not a person who was writing for the academic community. and the remarkable thing was that rachel carson insisted on writing for the public. she wanted the public to know what was happening in their world

just hours earlier, president john f. kennedyupport of civil rights legislation on national television. evers' assassination prompted president kennedy to ask for a comprehensive civil rights bill which became the civil rights act of 1964 which was an historic and mighty blow to the institutionalized racism in america. mr. evers was buried in arlington national cemetery and received full military honors in front of a crowd of about 3,000 people. now, this resolution, mr. speaker, not only honors the life of -- the life and sacrifice of mr. evers, but also commends the navy for its recent decision in naming a ship in his honor on october 9, 2009, secretary of the navy announced the united states naval ship medgar evers, a lewis and clark class dry cargo ship. for decades, medgar evers' legacy has inspired americans. he fought diligently for what was right and gave his life to the cause of civil rights. his life has been memorialized in song, in film, in sculpture, and now by the united states navy. and i ask, mr. speaker, unanimou

it was the first time since john f. kennedyse. i have diabetes and heart failure and try to take care of that. to think of what these congressmen do, and i want to talk about some who said he would only run on term limits. he is still there. we have professional lazy people. they did not know how to hold a job. i was a union brick layer. i did not have negotiation or arbitration. you could get paid off in the middle of the day. i want the health care system for younger people. i have grand children in ohio. and i want to thank you for taking my call. i have tried several times to get on. america, start to be americans. think together. host: thank you, john. caller: i think the united states should stop giving israel $10 billion a year. this charity begins at home. this is one of the richest countries in the world. we do not need to borrow money to send $10 billion a year to israel. they can take care of themselves. host: silver spring, maryland. okcaller: this is my first time calling c-span. i have been trying to call for many

our president would do well to take note of an auburn --of an observation of john f. kennedy-- all of the world's problems --the problems with base in the real-world require will solutions. we better get to it. the risks they pose are great and grave. as barry goldwater said, we can be conquered by bombs, but we can also be conquered by neglect, ignoring our constitution, and disregarding the principles of limited government. in the past year, his words rang true. washington has replaced private irresponsibility with public irresponsibility. the list of companies in industries the government is crowding out and bailing out and taking over continues to grow. first it was banks and mortgage companies, financial institutions, automakers. if they had their way, health care, student loans. in the words of congressman paul ryan, the $700 billion t.a.r.p. has morphed into crony capitalism and is becoming ua slush fund, just as we had been warned about. people on wall street are collecting billions of dollars in bailout bonuses. among the top 17 companies that receive your bailout mo

and in terms of what surprised me, i guess john f. kennedy once said, i paraphrase what surprised him the most was that things were worse than he actually said when he was campaigning. i gess what i would say is that what surprises me is that enching i've said about washington for 30 years turns out to be true. but i still remain confident that we can improve that and we can change that. i know the president is committed to that. and that we can really pull together here and solve some problems. >> we thank you for joining us. we invite you back any time here. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> now, a senate hearing on the military's don't ask, don't tell policy on gays and lesbians in the military. we'll begin with remarks from senator carl 11, chair of the senate armed services committee. this is about an hour, 25 minutes. >> the committee is now going to receive testimony from our senior leadership of the department of defense as we begin the task of addressing the don't ask, don't tell policy on gays in the military. i believe that ending the

the inability to cut defense spending on what he sees as needless weapons, and democrats like john f. kennedyower, saying he is too conservative on balancing the budget and in danger in america and creating what is called a missile -- enda ngering america and created what is called a missile gap. host: new orleans, independent color. -- caller. caller: good morning. i would like to know what is it, what mental incapacity, what orders you have been giving, that will keep you from addressing the hard facts and evidence that i keep on hearing from callers that call in about 9/11. when someone says there is evidence of explosives and buildings, you don't address it. when someone says there are hundreds of witnesses to explosives to buildings, you don't address it. when someone brings up any questions outer -- that counter the so-called official story of 9/11, you ignore it. you go on to something else. also, let me bring up one more that a gentleman did not bring up. seven of the alleged hijackers were on bbc tv after the fact being interviewed. these things are facts. they are in the public reco

back to john f. kennedy. host: let me go back to kennedy this morning. . .ler: that person was utterly disrespectful for you. you have conservatives on frequently. i've seen that often, sir. please, you have had a lot of people on there. the bottom line, we went into afghanistan because of our support for israel. we have no business being there wasting r wasting billions of -- being there wasting billions of dollars while we go broke. how long will this go on for? host: we'll get a response. guest: there were contentions that u.s. support in iraq had something to do with israel, but this is the first time i've heard someone suggest that u.s. policy in afghanistan had something to do with israel. it clearly was in response to the attacks of 9-11. i don't think there is too much of a connection. although one could argue the attacks of 9-11 were a response by arab extremists to american support for israel. one could make that argument. i would suggest that u.s. policy -- i think that the suggestion that u.s. policy in afghanistan is a result of our relationship

the way john f. kennedy did. the way ronald reagan did.i think the president pretty much said that he would support across the board tax cuts, as long as they weren't across the boards. [laughter] >> this whole thing about not wanting to do tax cuts for the rich, it's a phobia on that side of the aisle. and reminds me the time someone came up to ronald reagan when he was running for president. he had been criticized for the very same thing. this pipefitter came up and said governor reagan, i heard you're being criticized for those tax cuts for the rich. but i want you to go ahead and pass those tax cuts for the rich because i ain't never been hired by a poor man. [applause] >> law, the american people know what works and what doesn't. the reverse economic decline we need fiscal discipline in washington, d.c., and fast acting across the board tax relief for working families, small businesses and family farms. get government under control, get government out of the way, and america will come roaring back. i promise you. [cheers and applause]

by that i mean utilizing the bipartisan effort that was in the last half century utilized by john f. kennedyin the early 1960's and ronald reagan in the 1980's. i believe if we were to implement those policies, mr. speaker, we would see the kind of job creation that the american people are seeking. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the -- report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 1109, resolution providing for consideration of the senate amendments to the bill h.r. 3961, to amend title 18 of the social security act to reform the medicare sgr payment system for physicians and reinstitute and update the pay-as-you-go requirement of budget neutrality on new tax and mandatory spending legislation enforced by the threat of annual automatic sequestration

lifetime perhaps watergate and nixon's ultimate resignation and disgrace and the assassination of john f. kennedywas fixated on this. everyone had a strong opinion. the country was divided and i wanted to write the definitive neutral historical account that people would look at 100 years from now and say this person got a right. postscripts interesting to me mentioned the various stories and parts and narrative's and i mean this as a compliment. the book seems to be structured very much -- and it's really easy to read -- very much like an international spy thriller. [laughter] on the one, we start off with the impeachment and vote on the impeachment and go back to the beginning of watergate -- >> guest: whitewater. >> host: unsury and if i missed the cut through the conversation please correct me. [laughter] i mean whitewater but the narratives are woven together so they are never completed until the very final days of your book. was that intentional? was there a quality to this? >> guest: sure. i will tell you this little story and i haven't told anyone else. but i actually had sitting on my des

the way john f. kennedy did. the way ronald reagan did.ng as they weren't across the boards. [laughter] >> this whole thing about not wanting to do tax cuts for the rich, it's a phobia on that side of the aisle. and reminds me the time someone came up to ronald reagan when he was running for president. he had been criticized for the very same thing. this pipefitter came up and said governor reagan, i heard you're being criticized for those tax cuts for the rich. but i want you to go ahead and pass those tax cuts for the rich because i ain't never been hired by a poor man. [applause] >> law, the american people know what works and what doesn't. the reverse economic decline we need fiscal discipline in washington, d.c., and fast acting across the board tax relief for working families, small businesses and family farms. get government under control, get government out of the way, and america will come roaring back. i promise you. [cheers and applause] >> and finally, finally to reverse american decline we should recognize that our present cri

they supported the concepts of the protch tax cuts of john f. kennedyday in h.r. 470, to create jobs. sadly the administration obsessively pushes a health care takeover which the national federation of independent business confirms will kill 1.6 million jobs. both parties should be working together to promote small business, the backbone of america, to create jobs. in conclusion, god bless our troops, we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. welcome, mark connor, westbrook, the newborn son ofed that and christie westbrook, born february 19, my sympathy to the family of wayne of richland, the father of chief of staff eric dell of the second district. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i rise to tell the story of an american recovery and reinvestment act project that is set to create new high-tech manufacturing jobs in my hometown of battle creek.

he served as cochairman of the commission on presidential debates, chairman of the john f. kennedy library foundation since 1992. he's a good fellow with a great sense of humor. and i can tell you what's been said about him. he's never been known for excitement. one friend said of paul kirk several years ago -- quote -- "behind that quiet exterior is a quiet interior. he's just that sort of person. soft spoken but effective." he may not speak in a lion's roar like ted kennedy, but his reverence for america and his belief in this great of nation and sense of justice is just as strong. on the saturday before thanksgiving during the effort to break the filibuster on health care reform, senator kirk came to the floor and told the story of a woman from summerville, massachusetts, who finished college, prepared for grad school and suffered organ failure. in many states that woman might have found herself in a critical state and medical debt and surely she wouldn't have been able to find insurance. but because of massachusetts' first in the nation near universal health care program, paul

and the assassination of john f. kennedy. everyone was fixated on this. everyone had a strong opinion in the country. the country was divided. and i wanted to write the definitive neutralist oracle account that people would look at 100 years from now and say, this person got it right. >> host: it's interesting you mentioned the very stories and parts in their kids. and i mean this as a conflict. the book seems to be structured very much, really easy to read, very much like an international spy thriller. on the one, we start off with the impeachment and the vote of the impeachment. there we go back to the beginning of watergate, and then we start -- >> guest: white-water. >> host: please correct me. i mean whitewater. but the narratives are woven together so they are never completed until the very final days of your book. was that intentional? was there a readability quality to this? >> guest: sure. i set out, i will take this little story and i haven't told anyone else, but i actually had sitting on my desk when i started, and this was before this had bec

so john f. kennedy's book, profiles in courage would even be thinner today than it was back then. but the simple fact is having a presidential commission is better than having none. but there are key factors. the scope, everything has to be on the table. secondly, the role, it must educate and engage american citizens beyond the beltway on the truth, the tough choices, the prudence of acting sooner rather than later, and the potential consequences for our country and our families if we do not. thirdly, it must set goals, and the goals of just 2015, deficit to gdp, in my opinion is not enough. we also need a debt to gdp ratio for the longer-term, which is what the commission recommended. and i think we also need to make meaningful progress on reducing the tens of trillions of dollars of unfunded off-balance-sheet obligations. so a triple gold for any type of fiscal commission. for membership, you need to have cable, credible and committed people who are not only capable and credible in washington, but in the real world outside of washington's beltway. because right now, that's a re

john f. kennedy helped a lot to call attention to rachel carson's ideas by commenting on them in a press conference and setting up a presidential that 53 committee to look, presidential led by sri committee to look into her claims about the massive contamination of the environment by chemical pesticides. >> host: when you say her claims where did she get her knowledge? >> guest: kurson had studied, she was ecologist by training, marine biologists and ecologists. she had impeccable credentials and was an m.a. from johns hopkins. she didn't have a ph.d. degree but she had worked all her life of fish and wildlife service and in government and had read and studied the ocean for per great best seller, "the sea around us" and then subsequently "the edge of the cp quote she did impeccable research. she was not a person who was writing for the academic community. and the remarkable thing was that rachel carson insisted on writing for the public. she wanted the public to know what was happening in their world

the way john f. kennedy did. the way ronald reagan did.as they weren't across the boards. [laughter] >> this whole thing about not wanting to do tax cuts for the rich, it's a phobia on that side of the aisle. and reminds me the time someone came up to ronald reagan when he was running for president. he had been criticized for the very same thing. this pipefitter came up and said governor reagan, i heard you're being criticized for those tax cuts for the rich. but i want you to go ahead and pass those tax cuts for the rich because i ain't never been hired by a poor man. [applause] >> law, the american people know what works and what doesn't. the reverse economic decline we need fiscal discipline in washington, d.c., and fast acting across the board tax relief for working families, small businesses and family farms. get government under control, get government out of the way, and america will come roaring back. i promise you. [cheers and applause] >> and finally, finally to reverse american decline we should recognize that our present crisis

we are the party of john f. kennedy, who summoned us to serve, called us to pay any price and bear any burden. and we are the party of edward m. kennedy who said that here in the united states of america, the promise of health care should not be a privilege but a fundamental right. that is who wer democrats. that's who we got to be today. for all the stories we have heard, after all the campaigns we have waged and all the promises we have made, this is our best chance to deliver change that the american people need. if we do that, if we speak for hope of the american people instead of their fears and inspire them instead of divide them and give them the same sense of urgency they feel in their own lives, we aren't just going to win elections, elections will take care of themselves. we will be the party that turns around the economy and moves the country forward and secures the dream for everyone in the next generation. thank you everybody. god bless you. [cheers and applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite

we are the party of john f. kennedy who called us to pay any price and bear any burden. we are the party of edward m. kennedy. he said that in the united states of america the promise of health care should not be a frivolous but a fundamental right. that is who we are, democrats. that is a we have to be today. [applause] after all the promises we have made, this is our best chance to deliver change that the american people need. if we do that and speak to the hopes instead of the fears, if we inspire them instead of divide them, if we respond to their challenges with the same sense of urgency they feel, we're not just going to win elections. elections will take care of themselves. we will once again be the party that turns around the economy, moves the country for, and secures the american dream for another generation. thank you very much. god bless you. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> our coverage of the national tea party convention continues tonight at 9:00 eastern. >> what is your name? how many members of the media have you sign insofar? >> about 150 so far. >> how many people are

lifetime perhaps watergate and nixon's cults resignation in disgrace, and the assassination of john f. kennedy. everyone was fixated on this. everyone had a strong opinion in the country. the country was divided and i want to read the definitive neutral historical account that people would look at 100 years from now and say this person got it right. >> host: it is interesting to me you mentioned the various stories in vertus. i need this as a complement. the book seems to be structured very much and it is really easy to read, very much like an international spy thriller. we start off with the impeachment and then we go back to the beginning of watergate, and then we start-- >> guest: why water. >> host: that's right, white water and if i say that incorrectly i mean whitewater but the narratives are a woven together so they are never a completed until the very final days of your book. was that intentional? was there every debility quality to this? >> guest: sure. i will tell you this story and i haven't told anybody else. i actually had sitting on my desk when i started and this was before this

was part of his att but becoming president, he was frustrated by the inability democrats like john f. kennedyenhower, saying he is too conservative on balancing the budget and in danger in america and creating what is called a missile -- enda ngering america and created what is called a missile gap. host: new orleans, independent color. -- caller. caller: good morning. i would like to know what is it, what mental incapacity, what orders you have been giving, that will keep you from addressing the hard facts and evidence that i keep on hearing from callers that call in about 9/11. when someone says there is evidence of explosives and buildings, you don't address it. when someone says there are hundreds of witnesses to explosives to buildings, you don't address it. when someone brings up any questions outer -- that counter the so-called official story of 9/11, you ignore it. you go on to something else. also, let me bring up one more that a gentleman did not bring up. seven of the alleged hijackers were on bbc tv after the fact being interviewed. these things are facts. they are in the public r