this is kenneth starr. so i say to my republican conservative friends, before you come here and start attacking goodwin liu for things he has never done, read what some of our conservative leaders in the legal profession are saying. today, just today, in "politico" there's yet another op-ed written by chief white house ethics lawyer for george w. bush, for 2 1/2 years, richard painter, a republican serving in a republican administration. this is what he said, "all that is required -- he said, "all that is required is for senate republicans to practice what they preach for so long under bush. give liu an up or down vote rather than a filibuster." well, we're facing a filibuster. i want the american people to know and everyone who is supporting goodwin liu and everyone who supports giving young, extremely talented people a chance to prove their meddle, someone who has been a star his whole life, someone who has caught the dream, give this plan a chance. don't filibuster. let us have an up or down vote. and i

can you tell us about the events that led to kenneth starr, professor amar, what they were referring thank you for the generous remarks. so, as i understand it, the letter from president starr was referring to testimony that i gave before the state assembly and senate judiciary committee, california state committees your what had happened in california was that the california supreme court had issued a ruling that it had and validated laws that restricted marriage to men and women. and thereafter, the voters of california enacted and initiative, proposition eight, which sought to to constitutionalize and it constitutionalize marriage between a man and a woman as the sole definition of marriage in california. anticipating a legal challenge to that initiative under state law, the assembly and senate judiciary committee held a hearing in which they invited me to testify as a neutral legal expert to assess the merits of the claims that many proponents of invalidating prop eight was making that it was an improper amendment of the constitution under the procedures prescribed by the constitu

kenneth starr's behavior was much more inappropriate than bill clinton's ever was. >> guest: obviously they felt very much about clinton the way they do about president obama and wanted to get rid of him and they would willing to do it that way they possibly could. from the time efforts were started to prosecute clinton, they were totally out of control. of a set earlier in the show i think people are going to be discussing this decades to come about the pros and cons of how bill clinton was treated. >> host: you are on quaid tour with this book unusual in "1 nation under sex: how the private lives of presidents, first ladies and their lovers changed the course of american history" is available in your book store or online bookseller is. why spend so much time talking about this? >> one of my main goals is to introduce history to the audience. if it takes something a little fallacious, it is great and this is a great primer for anyone to discuss the history because you're going to learn a lot more about sex lives and politics in foreign relations. >> host: we are -- you have a civil wa

upon supporters including kenneth starr said he has a brilliant legal mine.uld be the only asian american serving on the circuit . website draft mayor ed lee.orgposted an open letter talking about the positive qualitis and leadership of the interim mayor. it is led by exsupervisors who have gathered enough signatures. >> people of san francisco want him to run and tell him we don't mind if you change your mind. this is not my agenda. mayor lee plan to return to his old job as city administrator that mays more than being mayor. if you look carefully in the clouds in the video. you can see the silhouette circling the airport in connecticut. poor weather forced the pilot to pull out of the first attempt to land and the plane landed safely on the second try. president obama praised the coast guard's record of answering the call of disaster. >> in you we see the razeness that makes our first responders and leading the evacuation of lower manhattan on 9/11 and first americans on the seen from the earthquake in haiti to the oil spill in the gulf. tomorrow he thanks

let's talk about the letter from kenneth starr and mr. amare. they write what we wish to highlight beyond his intellect and legal talents and his viewpoints and the ability to follow the facts of the political valence may be. professor amare and ken starr provide two examples to support their opinion, and one is proposition eight. writing that goodwin knows what the law is and what he wishes to to be and able to deploy what the law is. can you refer to those remarks? >> certainly, thank you for the generous remarks. as i understand it the letter from mr. starr referred to the testimony i gave before the state assembly and the judiciary california state committees. what happened is that the california supreme court had issued a ruling that invalidated laws that restricted marriage to man and woman. and thereafter the voters of california voted an initiative that constitutionalized a marriage between man and woman, that is the full definition of marriage in california. anticipating a legal challenge to that initiative under state law, the assembly

kenneth starr, no hero on the democratic side of the aisle, has said he would be a great judge. bob barr, former republican congressman, and goldwater institute director clint bollock express support for his nomination. it was written -- quote -- "in our view, the traits that should weigh most heavily in the evaluation of an extraordinarily qualified nominee such as goodwin are the professional integrity and ability to discharge faithfully an abiding duty to follow the law, because goodwin possesses these qualities to the highest degree, we are confident he will serve on the court of appeals not only fairly and competently but with great distinction. we support and urge his speedy confirmation." end of quote. well, we're not going to meet their wishes with a speedy confirmation. the question is whether or not 60 senators will decide today that professor goodwin liu is entitled to a vote, a vote, an up-or-down vote in the united states senate. professor liu said in his confirmation hearing, "the role of a judge is to be an impartial and objective arbiter in specific cases and con

kenneth starr, no hero on the democratic side of the aisle, has said he would be a great judge. bob barr, former republican congressman, and goldwater institute director clint bollock express support for his nomination. it was written -- quote -- "in our view, the traits that should weigh most heavily in the evaluation of an extraordinarily qualified nominee such as goodwin are the professional integrity and ability to discharge faithfully an abiding duty to follow the law, because goodwin possesses these qualities to the highest degree, we are confident he will serve on the court of appeals not only fairly and competently but with great distinction. we support and urge his speedy confirmation." end of quote. well, we're not going to meet their wishes with a speedy confirmation. the question is whether or not 60 senators will decide today that professor goodwin liu is entitled to a vote, a vote, an up-or-down vote in the united states senate. professor liu said in his confirmation hearing, "the role of a judge is to be an impartial and objective arbiter in specific cases and con

classmate of mine, john yu, has in fact spoken in support of professor liu's nomination, as has kenneth starr. professor liu is the recipient of the university of california's highest teaching award and clint bulloc of the goldwater institute says professor liu's writings show intellectual honesty. this high opinion of professor liu is broadly shared. in giving professor liu its highest rating of unanimously well qualified, the american bar association interviewed scores of american judges who have worked with him and found his reputation to be one of impartiality, integrity and great ability. for the nominees to our circuit courts of appeal, we could ask no less. professor liu's activity as a noted legal and policy scholar is in my view being used unfairly to impugn his judicial temperament. in meeting personally with goodwin liu, he explained to me he clearly understands and respects the difference between scholarship and jurisprudence. actacademics explore the contous and limits of the law, often advocating for specific policy outcomes. that is the work of a great law professor. judges, on

and finally, someone who has been quoted often here today, kenneth starr. a prominent conservative, former reagan appointment to the d.c. court of appeals, has written to us together with professor akeil omar to say -- "goodwin liu is a person of great accomplishment, integrity, and he is exceptionally well qualified to serve on the court of appeals. in our view, the traits that should weigh most heavily in the evaluation of an extraordinarily qualified nominee such as goodwin are professional integrity and the ability to discharge faithfully an abiding duty to follow the law. because goodwin possesses these qualities to the highest degree, we are confident that he will serve on the court of appeals not only fairly and competently but with great distinction." i have a very hard time understanding why people would do this, where we listened to and read appellate court judge mcconnell's views, which were antithetical to many of us on this side but believed he would be a fair and good judge, and he was unanimously confirmed. and someone who has the finest educ

one of president bush's former i lawyers falls within theen mainstream, even kenneth starr,r the whitewater special prosecutor and forces him to serve in the clintonmi administration. the record is clear any claimsnb anything but deserving of the confirmation is simply-- i inaccurate. i i recognize every senator has a right to vote how he or she it's feels they should vote. it's worth noting however that the vote before us now is not a. vote to confirm him. it's a v hote on whether he deserves an up or down vote. there is no question he doesn'te deserve the up or down vote. a simple up or down vote is a controversy of request. this is not only my viewlo and i view of my fellow democrats it w is the view of my republican friends as well.he junior senatr in article 1 of our republican colleagues, the junior senator t from texas and longtime member of the texas supreme court wrotq the following, and i quote, wasteful delay in the process of selecting judges hurts the justice system and harms alles i americans.te it is intolerable the matter ma what to fight thetter white houe and no matter whi