>> yes. >> where do they keep the polk diary, the written, actual longhand?>> that is at the library of congress. >> and then jump to another scenario you paint, talking about henry clay, first of all, how did henry clay relate to him? and had they run against each other, and that scene in the oval office or whatever the office was at the time, it wasn't the oval office, he came to visit him and why did he visit him? >> i don't think i know, but it's a touching scene to me. i think it's maybe the most touching scene in the book. henry clay had been the great opponent of jacksonism, jacksonian democracy, the jackson democrats, all of his life. and he had sought the presidency three times, three times thwarted, the last time by james polk, who he hadn't really respected all that much. then polk gets us into the mexican war. henry clay has a son, lieutenant colonel, a wonderful young man, killed in the war. you would think that that would be enough so that henry clay would never want to go near james polk, but yet he stops by on a courtesy call when he's visitin

there are justices who still write out their opinions on longhand. the whole thing is set by tradition. oral arguments go for a specific hour. a white light comes on, then a red light. there are certain days they have their meetings. the court has its own rhythms in its own orbit. justice rehnquist did not like to have any of those this dirt. when john roberts came on, he was more flexible on things. he left oral arguments go on longer. reckless what often interrupt somebody speaking when the red light went on. >> this is the chamber where brown vs. board of education occurred. these cases were decided in that room by human beings listening to the cases. the aura of this place is always present. if you go into that room. it does not matter how badly the law your is doing. there's something about the feel of the place that tells you something important is going on here. to my mind, it is very much different from watching the house or the senate where you know what made me go on the floor at any moment does not have anything to do with the legislative

i do it longhand, not on the computer. >> is that the way you always tend to write? >> yes, i think i was just a couple of years too late going through college. i never learned how to write on the computer. i will have law clerks help. if i think a law clerk can write part of this, i will have them draft something up that i will then heavily at it. -- edit. i like to do a lot of the facts myself. certainly, by the time the opinion is done, i do not put it to bed until i'm comfortable with my work. you figure out if you need to know a little bit more and you go back and look at the briefs and bring law clerks in and bounce ideas off of them. what is wrong with this? what is the answer to that? >> sometimes we will go around two other justices and i will say that this is the reason, but i do not think that that is the right basis but i will let the decision this way. -- white the decision this way -- white -- write the decision that way. i sometimes change it back and then change it back again. i like the writing process. when you are ready to send it out to the toughe

>> first of all, i do it longhand. i don't do it on the computer. >> is that the way you have done it? >> yes, i think i was a couple of years too late going through high school that the technological revolution was slightly behind me. i never learned how to write on the computer. if there's something i think they could write par of this, i feel comfortable with this so you go ahead and draft something up that i will helve edit. if its a new area, i will try to do it myself. i like to do a lot of the facts myself. i think they're very important. certainly by the time the opinion is done, i don't put it to bed until i feel comfortable that its my work. there's a lot of -- it's an ongoing process. you write a first draft. you go back and read the case. you're always going back and looking at the briefs. always bringing bouncing ideas off of them. it's sort of a continue waugs of the oral argument process. what tease answer to this? what's the answer to that? >> sometimes they go around to the other justices before that.

did you read it in credit or longhand form? >> i get to frustrated trying to read the handwriting of the 19th century. i read the version published by the chicago public library. i went over it very carefully. >> google has got it. you can watch it on your computer. did you read it all? >> oh, yes, i read it all. multiple times. i took notes from it. i came very close to memorizing it. >> if you had the four volumes, how big was it? >> each was 500 pages. >> you that 2000 pages of typed diary. >> >> james buchanan was considered our worst president. very disloyal to polk. and he had an inability to fire the man. he cannot abide face-to-face confrontation. he was almost cowardly face-to- face, and i do not think that was an unfair characterization. i do not recall what we were -- >> let me go to the point -- diary itself. the four years of his presidency, how much did he do every day? did you get any sense of when he wrote this? >> he broke this late at night. he was upset with a confrontation he had in a cabinet meeting with bu

but when he finally realize the magnitude of the crisis, he began writing in longhand a diary on almost a daily basis. and in retrospect, i think one of the things that he was doing was escaping the reality of trying to struggle financially by looking forward to writing in his diary. he never spoke about the diary. and as a matter of fact, here we are 70 years later, and i found out that my nieces, who would be his grandchildren, they still did know about them as recently as six months ago. i first found out about them when i graduated from law school here in cleveland in 1956. and i was very honored to be able to join my father in law practice, and my very first assignment was, he asked me to read the diaries covering the period from the beginning of the great depression until pearl harbor. and that is what is set forth in this book. when i asked him why, i should be reading material that was really years old, he said because you're going to be working with my clients. and if you don't understand the, that they had gone through and the fact that 20 years later they were still carrying

there are some justices who still write out their opinion in longhand and on legal pads rather than on computers. the whole thing is set by a tradition. oral arguments go for a specific hour. each side gets 30 minutes. a white light goes on when there is only five minutes left and then a red light comes on. there are certain days they have their meetings. the court has its own rhythms. chief justice rehnquist especially did not like to have any of those disturbed. john roberts came on in 2005. he is a little more flexible on things and will let oral arguments go a little bit longer. his predecessor, chief justice rehnquist would often interrupt someone right when the red light went on, even in mid syllable. >> this is the chamber where brown forces -- where brown vs. board of education was decided. the most important decision in our history in defining presidential power was decided in that room by human beings sitting on that bench, after having listened to argument by others. the aura of this place is always present. it does not matter how badly a given loyd is doing. and there are s

there are some justices who still write out their opinion in longhand and on legal pads rather than on computers. the whole thing is set by a tradition. oral arguments go for a specific hour. each side gets 30 minutes. a white light goes on when there is only five minutes left and then a red light comes on. there are certain days they have their meetings. the court has its own rhythms. chief justice rehnquist especially did not like to have any of those disturbed. john roberts came on in 2005. he is a little more flexible on things and will let oral arguments go a little bit longer. his predecessor, chief justice rehnquist would often interrupt someone right when the red light went on, even in mid syllable. >> this is the chamber where brown forces -- where brown vs. board of education was decided. the most important decision in our history in defining presidential power was decided in that room by human beings sitting on that bench, after having listened to argument by others. the aura of this place is always present. it does not matter how badly a given loyd is doing. and there are s