joining us at the table, executive editor at random house and pliltser prize-winning historian john meacham, best-selling presidential historian doris kearns goodwin, and ferris professor at princeton university and author about president eisenhower evan thomas. >> what a great way to start it because dwight eisenhower, you always see presidents rise, you see presidents fall, and over the past four, five, six seven years i have found myself going back and reading ambrose's "eisenhower" over and over again. talk about -- let's start with eisenhower right now, my favorite president. it may change after i read your biography. >> exactly. or after we hear from meacham. >> or hear that he would kick dogs instead of go golf. but talk about eisenhower derided as dull and worthless and now we look back and say, my god, what he did over eight years pretty unbelievable. >> one of the great shots of all time was the kennedys on eisenhower. to make jack kennedy look young and vibrant, you had to make eisenhower look old and dull. that stuck. but what people didn't realize was that with a hidden hand, a

. >> up next, we're going to revisit the great conversation we had this year with doris and john meachambout the civil war and the battle of gettysburg. that's next on "morning joe." [ woman ] dear cat, your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. . >>> america is in the midst of a five-year commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the civil war. consider the turning point of that war the battle of gettysburg. it remains a defining moment in this country's history. with us to talk about it, msnbc contributor mike barnicle, he was there, pulitzer prize historian john meacham and he was cheering for lee and best selling author and presidential historian doris kearns goodwin. john meecham, why did gettysburg matter so much? >> it turned lee's army back. it ended the invasion of the north and was the turning point of the war. and at that point, th

cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. >>> in this week's "office politics," we talk with john mae maec meachamas a very cool collection of presidential photographs, but i began by asking john about this week's benghazi report. >> one of the things fin fascinating about it, of all the institutions that seem not to have paid attention to procedure, the state department is the least likely. they are built on procedure. that's what they do. sometimes to a fault, so i think that what i would hope would happen, and i think secretary clinton is particularly well positioned to do this, is to have a candid and full airing of all of the questions, and say where mistakes were made. we forget this now. there was a moment with the 9/11 report and 9/11 commission where my sense is that the country began to feel a little better, because we felt like we were being told the truth. being told the truth is best as we know it. and i think that's what should happen here. there wasn't enough security, that was a mistake. political leader who's admit mistakes i think do much better than political leaders that don't.

. >>> office politics is next with john meacham on president obama's legacy.me thought the timing of thomas jefferson's death was a sign of divine benevolence. not wanting just another seasonal business they added another holiday. ♪ it's so important to make someone happy ♪ when you give a child a toy, it has to work. ♪ make just one someone happy and when it's a toys for tots child, well, what could be more important? so this year, every hasbro toy donated to toys for tots will be powered by duracell. happy holidays. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere. >>> taking a look at wall street, a short week of trading due to christmas. and pending home sales for november. after surprisingly strong sales on thanksgiving, look for some mcdonald's restaurants to be open on christmas for the fist time ever. the company wants franchise owners to open their doors to boost december sales figures. >>> my conversation with john meacham, best-selling author of "thomas jefferson: the art of power." we'll show you some of the great photographs in his office and discuss th

john meacham's biography of thomas jefferson tops the list at number one. anne la not describes three prayers that she claims are essential to coping with difficult times in her book "help thanks wow." this is second. ina garden is third with her book, barefoot con he's saw, foolproof. at number four, a collection of poetry, "i could pee on this." next, bill o'reilly and martin dugard recount the assassination of president john f. kennedy. at number 6, comedy central talk show host stephen colbert with his book, "america again." william manchester and paul reid present their portrait of winston churchill in "the last lion." this is seventh. neil young is eighth with his memoir, "waging heavy peace," followed by andrew solomon's book, "far from the tree," about parents with exceptional children. then at tenth, bill o'reilly and martin dugard again with "killing lincoln." you can find more on these bestsellers by going to indiebound.org and clicking on indie bestsellers. >> pulitzer prize-winning author william kennedy explores the political and cultural stru

and there is a great book on it john meacham just wrote and i enjoyed reading your book on jfk. >> welcomed i suppose to the center left. let me ask you about your potential here. i do think you were a very popular governor. and i think i talked to you're lieutenant governor on an airplane a while back and he said if you'd stayed there, you would still be there. so did you like that job in tallahassee as governor of florida? >> oh, it's a great job, absolutely. you know, i talked to bob graham about it. he said, charlie, when you're governor of the state, it's like being the quarterback of the football team. you have the opportunity to call a lot more plays than you do when you're serving in the u.s. senate. you're more of a speck taker of what's going on. >> where was he when i needed him? where was he when you needed him? >> he's right there. >> because if he had advised you to do that, you would still be governor. >> yeah. well, maybe so. i had the wonderful opportunity and my wife did to have dinner with governor graham and adelle, and they are lovely people, and he is a great floridia

pulitzer prize-winning journalist john meacham's boyle my of thomas jefferson topped -- biography of thomas jefferson tops the list at number one. anne la not in her book, "help thanks wow." this is second. ina garden is third with her book, barefoot contessa, foolproof. at number four, "i could pee on this." next, bill o'reilly recounts the assassination of john f. kennedy in their book, "killing kennedy." at number six, steven colbert presents his plan to get america thriving with his book, "american again." -- america again. william manchester and paul reid in "the last lion." this is seventh. of musician neil young is eighth with his memoir, "waging heavy peace." followed by andrew solomon's book, "far from the tree" about parents with exceptional children. then at tenth, bill o'reilly and martin due guard make the list again with "killing lincoln." you can find more on these bestsellers by going to indiebound.org and clicking on indie bestsellers. >> and now on c-span2, we bring you booktv. 48 hours of nonfiction authors and bookings. here are some of the programs to look out fo

and we conclude tonight's prime time coverage with john meacham. in his biography of thomas jefferson, mr. meacham reports despite mr. jefferson's strong beliefs, he was able to successfully lead the country in a highly partisan political environment. that all happens tonight on c-span2's booktv. >> and now patrick tyler talks about the influence that israeli military leaders have had in shaping israeli government policy since the country's founding. this is about an hour, 20 minutes. [background sounds] >> good afternoon. welcome to the new america foundation, i'm peter bergen. it's really my pleasure to introduce patrick tyler, a man who doesn't need introduction. he's author of multiple books on china, the middle east and most recently the excellent new book, "fortress israel," which is a really excellent account of the last several decades of the kind of israeli national security establishment and, obviously, of considerable interest right now given the recent events in gaza. in addition to his work as an author, patrick has had a distinguished

. >>> in office politics, pulitzer prize winner john meacham's take on the right to bear arms and whyhen originally written in the constitution. >>> will they or won't they? we will get several takes on whether congress and the white house will avoid the fiscal cliff. there are widely differing opinions on that. >>> controversy swirls around the new film "zero dark thirty dotthirty ." i will talk to a writer following that story. back to you, joy-ann. >> i like the ann. it works for me. thank you very much. >>> up next, one letter to a particular toy maker is making a christmas time that's extra special for a 13-year-old girl and her little brother. talk about a turn. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. hi, i'm ensure clear... clear, huh? i'm not juice or fancy water. i've got nine grams of protein. that's three time

john heilemann. and in nashville, jon meacham joins us.rsation this morning. we're taking it slow today. >> yeah, we are. >> easing into all the inevitable debates that will follow. but here they will stay a conversation. >> they will. there are several debates that we have to have. and i know all of you saw, as the news was breaking, the things that were saying online, both sides were saying online, even before we knew how these kids were. and it's so easy for ideologues on both sides to cling one thing and say, this is the cause of the problem. it's not that easy. mike, we've got the gun issue. it's just got to be addressed. the "new york post" is saying it. a lot of other conservatives are going to be saying it in the days and weeks to come. we've had a mental health crisis. how is it -- >> it's equally as grave. >> -- how is it -- well, of course, it is, yeah. and it is. and how is it that we know usually when something like this happens, what the profile of the shooter is going to be? and then you have -- i haven't heard this as much,

john f. kennedy in their book, "killing kennedy." ina quarten is third with her book. pulitzer prize-winning journalist jon meacham's biography of thomas jefferson moves up to fourth after being ranks fifth on the list last week. bill o'reilly and martin dugard make the list again with "killing lincoln" at fifth. a new edition of the guinness world records, 2013, this is sixth. at seventh, the lego company presents an encyclopedia of their toy characters. at number eight, missionary sarah young writes a journal from god's point of view in "jesus calling," followed by mark owen's no ease she day, a detailed, firsthand account of the mission to kill osama bin laden. then at tenth, j.j. virgin describes her way to lose seven pounds in seven days with her book, "the virgin diet." for more and to browse other lists, go to wsj.com. >> it all started off, i was a typical high school student. 17 years old, and i was walking through my lunchroom, and, you know, i knew everything back then. [laughter] and i was walking through, and a marine recruiter was sitting in the black corner, and he had his dress blues on. i'm telling

he's just issued a restraining order on jon meacham to stay away while they're trying to pick "person of the year." >> johnabout our "person of the year." and i've used him as a historical consultant. before i reveal the choice -- i won't ask you this question because it would tip what the choice is. but the question is, is there another person in this position who has also won it two times on his first election and his re-election? >> oh, okay. >> george h.w. bush? >> no -- yes. >> he won it in '88 and -- >> no. george h.w. bush only -- >> george w. bush. >> george w. bush got it -- >> in 2000 -- >> twice. george w. bush got it when he was first elected and on his re-election. he's the only other president besides -- >> really. >> yes. >> thank god meacham's here to confirm. >> so i was right. >> not mitt romney. >> who is it, rick? >> our "person of the year" for 2012 is president barack obama. and thiraph. we were in the white house last wednesday and obama posed for a picture. then we did a terrific interview. the story is by michael shearer, our white house correspondent. joe, i know you predicted it.

john boehner, we need to find common ground here, and we need to do it quick. >> there ain't going to be any between these two ties, my man. over here, good news, jon meacham will be number one on "the new york times" best-seller list this weekend. >> hear, hear. >> his book, "jefferson." bad news is he's going to get there wearing that tie with bunny rabbits on it. here they are. could we get a text poll? >> can i just tell you, i got this from harold ford. >> that explains a lot. >> so there you go. >> that means it's free at both ends. >> it's a disgrace to michael steele who dresses so well each and every day. >> look, i just show up and play, baby. that's it. >> you're doing a good job with that. >> got the pocket square. steele's going for if. >> congratulations on the book. >> thank you. >> going gangbusters. >> thank you. it's been fun. i've been out talking to folks, and everybody's been really, really nice. >> why are people so thrilled? i'm not saying this to give you crap. >> i can tell. >> why are people so thrilled by thomas jefferson? >> i think because he's the one founder people can imagine talking to. and i think it has to do with his ver

john knows how to have a good time, too. it's not all julia's fault. >> thank you very much. i appreciate that. >> i've got your back. >> jon meachamith julia reed is not to be undertaken lightly. >> i like this. this is like a celebrity roast sitting right here. >> i'm a madeira grad. >> lovely. >> what was your senior job? >> oh, let's see. i had a television show called m&m, the mika and melissa show. and then i worked on capitol hill. >> my father made me work for all the conservatives. i worked for jim buckley and then he lost his senate seat. and then i worked for jack kemp. we had a great time. >> in nashville, the meachams, a welcoming party. >> they're still being welcomed. al gore gave them the first one. they had a big old barbecue. al was very into the barbecuing in his backyard. >> how is al doing? >> he's having a good time. >> has he gotten over it? >> i think he's gotten over it. he's become a fine wine connoisseur. we had some very nice red wine over there. >> i bet he analyzes the chemical breakdown. >> he talks a s a little about wine. >> how's meacham doing? >> meacham, you know, he's got this great book out. he

meacham, to their friends in the church, enough is enough. protect our children. >> i keep thinking about bloody sunday through the voting rights act. march to august of '65, where john lewis and isaiah williams are nearly beaten to death. that film from selma, is in a newsbreak, as abc is showing judgment at nurenburg. suddenly americans are watching this movie about the third rite and realizing there are still storm troopers in the united states beating people for fundamental rights and they were themselves martyrs. johnson went to congress that week and by august the bill was signed. it requires that kind of presidential leadership. to harness this emotion before it dissipates. >> so let's take it to newtown, connecticut, which is a community attempting to move forward after the events that killed 20 children and six adults. classes resume today in several schools with additional security. the town will also say its final good-byes to 6-year-old jessica rekos. m services were held yesterday and 6-year-old noah pozner and jack pinto. pinto's family vowed to celebrate jack's life remembering the gift we were given and will forever cherish. several other services pla