he is the author of nine books including the triumph and tragedy of lyndon johnson. originally published in 1992 by simon and schuster the book has been re- released and is now back in publication. that's a very unusual in the book industry for a book that is 20 plus years to be released and it speaks to the excellence of this volume. tonight joe will talk about his book and about altruistic generous, bluntly honest accountability thing we devious all within the same few minutes. [laughter] bob is the longtime host of face the nation, the talkshow for now the fourth year in a row. he has won virtually every major award in the news business and in 2008 was named a living legend by the library of congress. while he never had the opportunity to interview lbj, he's conducted straight interview is with every president since lbj from richard nixon through barack obama. put simply, he is the very best competitive business. [applause] thank you all so much for coming tonight. i hope we are going to have some fun here. adjust for disclosure, we are old friends. i've interview

poverty rate is close to what it was in lyndon johnson's time >> actually it has been reduced and columbia researchers found out with a plemental income forecasting that the poverty rate has gone down from 29 to 16%. so it has gone down with new metrics but going through the original point of view or the point that you were raising is that you could free up the government from issuing food stamps if you raise the minimum wage from $7.50 and had the private sector paying fair livable wages at $12 an hour. >> they don't have jobs. >> if i might finish then with those jobs more than $7.50 they wouldn't also have to supplement their incomes by the federal government with food stamps. that would be one cost reduction that would accrue to the government and have the private sector paying for it for the productivity of the workers. >> final word john? >> look buzzwords, it's meaningless. you took about the minimum wage as a feel good panacea. >> tell that to the millions of americans. >> i'm sorry we have to go. auto i'll sure this debate is going to continue. >>> "cavuto on business" in about 20

you see images of lyndon johnson poring over a table and looking at possible places to bomb.hoosing the targets. i think other presidents after that do not want to be seen that way. we do not want to be viewed as that. johnson ended up not running for office again in large part because of the way things were going, and that i think was something they wanted to avoid. host: you mentioned images that linger. tonight on american history tv we will be showing the abc news special report from may 26 1975. abc news was reporting on events that had taken place in the weeks following the fall of saigon. here is a short clip from that reporting. [video clip] >> we delay the start of "the tonight show" starring johnny carson to bring you the following nbc news special report. >> at 12:00 noon on april 30, a north vietnamese tank broke the gate down at the palace of saigon. the communist soldier ran the enemy flag across the lot. to this day, the communist won. it is not a celebration. saigon had already surrendered. [gunfire] host: professor kalb, how long are those images going to lin

for the democratic nomination two weeks after bobby kennedy announced his candidacy, president lyndon johnson surrendered. >> i shall not seek and i will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. >> things got tragically complicated after that. bobby kennedy was assassinated after winning the california primary and vice president you look better humphrey ended up with the democratic nomination and lost the presidency to richard nixon. but since then, heavily favored democratic front runners are always at least a bit worried about a mccarthy-like uprising on their left. such an uprising needs a galvanizing moral issue, such as ending the vietnam war. bernie sanders believes he has such an issue now. >> in america, we now have more income and wealth inequality than any other major country on earth and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider and wider. the issue of wealth and income inequality is the great moral issue of our time. it is the great economic issue of our time. it is the great political issue of our time. and we will address i

so that led to lyndon johnson's war on poverty. i love that story. >> host: "the new york times":the lot of smaller papers did they get into the local area? >> i don't know. i don't think so now. i did not look at them. i looked more at the independent weeklies there are a half you like my home town of colorado london as soon even including telluride but we are just about the people in and those that work there a better ranchers. so our paper became a the talk show -- taco shell. that is too bad i like to see more bribing -- thriving paper. >> host: rick tupper pressures to the publishers face not to report negative stories if you are of a city like telluride based on tourism? >> guest: that is a very good question but i did pose that question to then the owner and editor of the daily in telluride she was trained in new york and they were hard-core journalist and they found out if you ben the rules a little bit you were taught don't let the people see the article first but just to relax people a little bit here sarah will write thi

and i got lyndon johnson and the best lyndon johnson was david levine. and the greatest character turz of last 20th century. and most often in noefrj the review of books. lbj had a famous gallbladder operation and a photograph of him. he was a famous as well as famous everything else. the picture. he is holing up. showing his you normal. the scar from his global. and the new york review. it's a wonderful caricature. and the scars will be vietnam that he is showing. that seem to sum up the vulgarity you have the president. and his personal possession of the vietnam water that is why we kept on escalating and it sealed to be a profound comment on so many things that were going on at the time. it of all in one shot. it is. always a personal question. and i think that what you can do a good job touching very much depends on who you are. i think that i would never myself. i would not have drawn him that way. it would be stupid for me and punching down as gary said. but someone in a muslim country did a picture of mohammed or published the charlie hebdo cartoo

. >> lyndon johnson. >> absolutely. defense is a very good offense, but don't you, even you, adam find it offensive? >> i mean roosevelt is a great example. he was hated by his own people. he was seen as a traitor to his class was the expression that was used. no i don't find anything of this offensive. i think -- >> you do a little bit, adam come on. a little bit. >> here's the little bit. let me finish charlie. here's the little bit. i think a speculation tax is a dumb idea. i actually think that the banking regulation that we have done has been a very good idea. so the banks are whining right now they can't make money anymore. i think we are better off with the banks more regulated and safer. but i don't think we should stop people from investing or from gambling even with their investments. so long as we have good rules in place to protect people. >> that didn't answer my question. i have no idea what you're talking about but i agree. i do know what he's talking about. but what he's saying is that bernie sanders wan

president lyndon johnson ew to independence, missouri and in the presence of harry s.man signed the bills into law. medicaid covered the health care costs of millions of low-income people. we asked henry aaron if that met our sponsibilities to tseho couldn't afford medicacare is wouldn't be a problem if all stes provided benefits as generous ashose in say the upper third or upper half of the distribution. sometates provide meager medicaid benefits-- fewer than 10 days a year ofospitalization severe limits on the number of doctor's visits one can receive-- so that evenoderate illnesses may not be fully protected under the medicaid program. in addition, the population that may be served by the medicaid program in many states is quite narrowly defined. so notwithstandi e fact thamedicaid is the fedel health program for the poor millions of poor americans are not covered by any benefits at all they don't have government protection or private insurance because they're unemployed or because they work in jobs that don't provide such coverage. about 15% to 20% of the american

head start got its start in the summer of 1965, as one salvo in president lyndon johnson's war on povertyearly education program for low-income children supported their social, emotional and physical needs and got them ready for elementary school. it drew high-profile supporters, including the president's wife lady bird johnson... and actor gregory peck. >> sadly, there are little children who are already headed for lives of frustration and misery. no one ever read them a story taught them a nursery rhyme or showed them about letters, colors and numbers. when they start school, they'll be so far behind the others they may never catch up. >> in 1965 i was sitting on the porch of our shack in ames, texas with my mother and a woman approached the house. she introduced herself and told my mother she represented a new program called head start. >> reporter: darren walker's mother signed him up in the program's inaugural year, and he recently shared his story at a gathering of supporters and alumni from around the country hosted by the national head start association. it let me begin to imagine

not just lyndon johnson had a big nose. the best lyndon johnson was by david levine, the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th century. he did new york review. lbj had a famous gold letter operation and there was a photograph of him, because he was a famous bulgarian, as well as famous everything else, and in the picture he is holding up this shirt and he is showing his scarf. the new york review gets a wonderful caricature of l aj -- lbj, and it shows that of the annam. it seemed to sum up the ball garrity -- the vulgarity of the president, his personal possession of the vietnam war which is why kept escalating. it seemed to be a profound, and on so many things that were going on at the time that nobody -- the cartoon got it all in one shot. mr. rosenbaum: to think there is anything for you any of you, that is beyond the limits that you wouldn't touch? ms. crabapple: i think what you could do a good job touching his dependent upon who you are. i don't think i would draw mohammed myself. i wouldn't draw him, no

and that led to lyndon johnson's war on poverty. so it started with the mountain eagle. i just love that story. >> host: judy muller, "the new york times" for a long time owned a lot of smaller papers. did they get down into the into the local weeklies? >> guest: i don't know. no, i don't think so now. i really didn't look at that, so i really looked more at infeint weeklies. there are -- independent weeklies. there are a couple like the one in my hometown norwood, colorado that is owned by something of a chain. he owns three papers including one in telluride which is just up the river from us. we like to think we're telluride adjacent but our town is just a thousand people. and they're the people who work in telluride or ranchers. and so our paper kind of, it kind of became the taco in the taco shell of the bigger paper in telluride. oh and by the way here's what's going on in norwood, you know? and that's too bad because i'd love to see a more thriving paper come back. >> host: but if you're in a town like telluride colorado, and ranching and skiing is the livelihood o

you can ask how surprised they were to be among the first means of lyndon johnson. here comes the hard part. i gather from the letter he has reason to feel comfortable with you. i don't other reasons, but i can guess them. [laughter] caroline: i just wanted to tell you with all my heart this is one thing that really meant something to jack. love jackie. after resolving his differences with moynihan as he always stayed from him in all of us, he found a way to make it happen. and so many ways, both private and public, she defines the role of first lady for the modern age. she straddled two areas. the one she describes in the oral history when women stayed home and had few opinions that differ from their husbands in the coming age when women broke free to become independent and self supporting. she lived fully involved. as the first lady she took the traditional women's focus on the hog and transformed it into a full-time job and a source of national pride. in doing so, she created her own identity as an independent woman. she became an international sensation, a new k

i mean, not just lyndon johnson had a big nose, so i'll do a a big nose and of that lyndon johnson. best lyndon johnson was by david ravine. the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th century and most often the new york review of books. lbj had a famous called operation and there was a photograph of him because he was a famous bulgarian as well as famous everything else. and in the picture he is holding up his shirt and showing his scarf and his gallbladder. in the new york review it's a wonderful caricature of lbj same picture but the stars were vietnam that is probably showing. and that seemed to sum up the vulgarity of the president his personal possession of the vietnam war which is why we kept escalating. i mean,, profound comment on so many things that were going on at the time and the cartoon company all-in-one one-shot. >> do you think there are anything, any of you are beyond the limits for that you would not touch? >> well i mean, well, i mean it is always a personal question. what you can do a good job touching very much depends on who you are. i would never d

you might have known that lyndon johnson taped off his cell phone conversations in the white house. she lady bird did not know she was being taped for making a record for history commended is quite a wonderful one for scholars. this is scholars. this is a conversation or ladybird is critiquing lyndon johnson's performance in a public event. >> i thought that it was wrong. an honorable you were looking down. there was a pickup in general. your facial expression. they didn't like it's he said. [laughter] >> therein lies the reason we talk about 1st ladies. what other advisor could be that candid to a president? >> you spencer maybe. >> what are we hearing? >> they owned television stations. she had the background. with his 1st ladies in some ways are to their husbands whether it is in an official capacity or not. she wants them to be as successful as he does. >> and that clip shows you when you talk about this the various attributes that they bring to the table mrs. johnson like mrs. obama thinks it a very organized way. very well structured. famous for i don't have a schedule. i like

you see images of lyndon johnson poring over a table and looking at possible places to bob.is involvement was to that extent of choosing the targets. i think other presidents after that do not want to be seen that way. we do not want to be viewed as that. johnson ended up not running for office again in large part because of the way things were going and the adopted i think that was something they wanted to avoid. host: you mentioned images that linger. tonight on american history tv we will be showing the abc news special report from may 26 1975. abc news was reporting on events that had taken place in the weeks following the fall of saigon. here is a short clip from that reported. [video clip] >> we delayed the start of "the tonight show starring johnny carson" to bring you the following nbc news special report. >> at 12:00 noon on april 30, a north vietnamese tank brought down the palace of saigon. the communist soldier ran the enemy flag across the lot. to this day, the communist one. it is not a celebration. saigon had argue surrendered. -- already surrendered. [gunfire

hudson is the first pitcher since gaylord perry during the lyndon johnson administration. >> ly not seekwill i accept your nomination to be the next president of the united states. where am i? as and twins. drew pomeranz. edwin escobar brings them home. worst e.r.a. as lose 6-5. >>> history tonight folks in the bronx. >> the 1-1 ... swung high. hit in the deep left center field. jones, deep left center, and that ball is gone. it is an a bomb from arod. >> alex rodriguez's career home run number 661. he passes willie mays on the home run list. >> nobody will ever pass willie mays. i talk about him being my father's favorite player. he is a legend and a role model for all of us. >> when game three tips off in memphis saturday, draymond green expected to be public enemy number one for smacking conley in his injured face. by no means is he apologizing for being charlie hustle. >> does that mean not to be so aggressive when a player is wearing a mask like that? you don't want to be too address aggressive with him? >> no. [ laughter ] >> the why is there a merman in the pool? why is there a ke

i mean not just lyndon johnson had a big nose, so i'll do a big nose and i've got lyndon johnson. the best lyndon johnson was by david levine, the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th century, most often in the new york review of bookings. lbj had a famous gallbladder operation, and there was a photograph of him because he was a famous bulgarian -- absolutely garon, and in the picture he's holding up his shirt and showing his scar from his gallbladder n. the new york review, it's a wonderful caricature of lbj the same picture but the scar's of vietnam that he's proudly showing. and that seemed to sum up the vulgarity of the president, his personal possession of the vietnam war which is why we kept escalating. and, i mean, it seemed to be profound comment on so many things that were going on at the time and nobody -- and a cartoon got them all in one one shot. and brilliantly. >> do you think there are any things that for any of you are beyond the limits that you wouldn't touch? >> well, i mean, it's always a personal question and i think that what you can do a good j

you see images of lyndon johnson poring over a table and looking at possible places to bob.ent of choosing the targets. i think other presidents after that do not want to be seen that way. we do not want to be viewed as that. johnson ended up not running for office again in large part because of the way things were going and the adopted i think that was something they wanted to avoid. host: you mentioned images that linger. tonight on american history tv we will be showing the abc news special report from may 26 1975. abc news was reporting on events that had taken place in the weeks following the fall of saigon. here is a short clip from that reported. [video clip] >> we delayed the start of "the tonight show starring johnny carson" to bring you the following nbc news special report. >> at 12:00 noon on april 30, a north vietnamese tank brought down the palace of saigon. the communist soldier ran the enemy flag across the lot. to this day, the communist one. it is not a celebration. saigon had argue surrendered. -- already surrendered. [gunfire] host: professor kalb, how lo

we have the war in vietnam, and a massive amount of our troops are heading into vietnam under lyndon b. johnson. we had the war on poverty declared by lyndon b. johnson and, of course, we have the war for a quality. all of that is consuming headlines for not just i can signify but seemingly the entire decade. thomas paine once put these are the times that try men's souls during the american revolution. i say that for the 1960s because these were turbulent times. everything was going on in selma, everything happening racism was ubiquitous across the nation. so because of that i think this crashed in and of itself just didn't get the attention it deserved because it happens in quote-unquote small town u.s.a., wichita, kansas. i arrived at by paula air force base. i knew of the "wizard of oz" and toto. it was about to begin to imagine me sitting there in this new city taking in my surroundings and listening to the instructors who were there. at something called first term airman center. during this time is basically an increasing are doing about the history of the city and they did. i'm hearing ab

since lyndon johnson put in his war on poverty, i do not know how many times of dollars has been spent the black community. and they have not gone anywhere. it has gotten worse and worse and worse. host: what do you think is the long-term solution? caller: a balanced situation where the black family has to be brought back. fathers have to be put back into the situation. you have black on black crime which, of course, you tell us in the media -- and i'm not picking you up. host: i understand. caller: don't bring up that there are murders and washington d.c., in chicago, in baltimore, in every city in this country. black on black crime. host: which creates that cycle of poverty. caller: the cycle of poverty is created by ease of getting from the government what you need. there's welfare and everything else. so there is no necessity to work, to do the righ tthing. host: my point is if you grow up in a single-family without a father, often that leads to more poverty for those families. caller: yes, it does. host: the father figure is out of picture even longer. caller: the family has been

not just lyndon johnson had a big nose. the best lyndon johnson was by david levine, the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th century. he did new york review. lbj had a famous gold letter operation and there was a photograph of him, because he was a famous bulgarian, as well as famous everything else, and in the picture he is holding up this shirt and he is showing his scarf. the new york review gets a wonderful caricature of l aj -- lbj, and it shows that of the annam. it seemed to sum up the ball garrity -- the vulgarity of the president, his personal possession of the vietnam war, which is why kept escalating. it seemed to be a profound, and on so many things that were going on at the time that nobody -- the cartoon got it all in one shot. mr. rosenbaum: to think there is anything for you, any of you that is beyond the limits that you wouldn't touch? ms. crabapple: i think what you could do a good job touching his dependent upon who you are. i don't think i would draw mohammed myself. i wouldn't draw him, n

johnson -- lyndon b. johnson.had the war on poverty, and of course, we had the war for equality. so all of that is consuming the headlines for not just 1965, but seemingly the entire decade. thomas paine once wrote these are the times that try men's souls during the american revolution well, i say that for the 1960s because these were turbulent times. everything was happening racism was ubiquitous across the nation. so because of that i think this crash in and of itself just did not get the attention it deserved because it happens in, quote-unquote, small town usa wichita, kansas. i had never been to kansas before, i arrived in 2003. i knew of the wizard of oz and to the o. -- toto. so you can imagine me taking in my surroundings and listening to the instructors who were there. they have something called the first term airmen's center, and it's basically an in briefing. you learn about the is history of the city, and i did. so i'm hearing about the city and all these things that have happened, and there's a short

have appreciated their voting rights, their citizen rights to be free and it took the days of lyndon johnsonomises because he wasn't there -- he was there at the end of the civil war. >> as we commemorate the events of 150 years ago, good evening. >> caller: good evening. mr. swanson, i had a couple of questions about the couple that went with the lincolns to the theatre that night. what were the circumstances that they led that night and i heard they led tragic live after the assassination, if you could comment on that. >> yes. yes. abraham lincoln's theatre guests were mayor rathborn and his fiance clara harris daughter of a senator of new york. they were not the first choice. mr. grant was supposed to become but mrs. grant couldn't stand mary lincoln. she told the general, i'm not going to the play with the lincolns, we're going back home to visit our kids. ultimately, mr. rathbone and clara harris went. mr. rathbone was stabbed. they had tragedy living in germany he went insane and years later using the same weapons that booth used a pistol and a knife, he murdered his wife in front of t

lyndon johnson was fighting a limited war and they had to sell it to the american public as such. but you could just go on any battlefield or out in the country and see that the facts didn't match the story. so, we got what they called the credibility gap. morley safer used to wear "i was ambushed" the credibility gap. >> schieffer: laura there were at the fall of saigon. >> i was there from '72 to '74 then i returned in april of '75. i left on the chopper on the last day april 29th. >> schieffer: what did you feel while that was happening? we've all seen again these dramatic photos of that evacuation. it was remarkable that they were able to do what they did. it was the end of the war. >> the final american withdrawal from vietnam. >> it was the end of the war. i am part of the generation who was defined by vietnam. i started college in 1968, i protested the war the four years i was there. i went to saigon. it's where the rest of my life began. then there i was on the last day. i was one of the youngest reporters there, and as the chopper lifted up from saigon, we were holding ha

[laughter] following in the footsteps of sam rayburn and lyndon johnson, jim asserted leadership in congresst a time of confusion in the senate and the white house. demonstrating a unique ability to command our nation's political resources to get things done. and this went across the aisle to the republicans and even down pennsylvania avenue to the white house, which is a million miles away if you serve in congress sometimes. jim wright had fought in world war ii to defend the values of the great estrogen ration -- greatest generation as tom brokaw describes his generation. a generation of men and women united in common purposes of family, country, duty, honor courage, service. during world war ii he flew many combat missions. i haven't really been able to discern exactly how many yet there's such a debate over it. maybe somebody will tell me before i go back to washington. but he was awarded and he served as a bombadier and was awarded the distinguished flying cross for hire bravery. jim believed that government should serve the people as well as the economic interest, which also must be re

followed by lyndon johnson with a poor strategy. 550,000 troops to the republic of vietnam. we won that war. there were democratic neocons. and in the biggest difference between a non- neocon at a democrat is the democrats today don't believe in the use of force unless absolutely positively they have to. and at a minimum risk of loss of american life. i think that is why israel comes up more often than not i did not hear an antiseptic we will to hearing some people mean jews. i get that all the time. time. i'm just an irish catholic boy from ohio. they believe in american exceptionalism. >> host: hugh hewitt indiana. would you be standing behind governor of be one of the business folks? >> guest: i would i would be with them. a big believer of religious liberty. i believe that any individual or business that has a deeply felt conviction about to his principles if your serving people i make this gradation. photography, forests kate baker. forests, unless there being asked to be there during the ceremony to which they object they had to sell flowers and leave. the real issue i

he was a senator from wisconsin and almost beat lyndon johnson. >> different times. neil: i agree but you wound the unassailable incumbent to the point that the incumbent looks staggered -- >> point in case point in case, we had somebody in illinois who was a united states senator for about a year, a nobody, and he became president of the united states. >> on the cover of news week magazine 20 times. neil: you don't think de blasio is on the cover? the big bird. neil: he's been on the cover. >> barack obama there was a sensation around him. i'm sure he's doing this to enhance his national profile. but he's not going to run now. >> wasn't he in iowa? wasn't he in iowa? he's in iowa. >> mitt romney was running. neil: well yeah, hillary clinton will not get the democratic nomination. >> what's he doing in iowa eating corn? neil: thank you thank you. >> charlie, he believes it charlie. don't be living in the cave charlie. >> he believes a lot of things. neil: such a manhattanite get out of manhattan. all right guys, tax the rich and spend on the poor. it does seem to be

you know, if you want to go back to 1965 when lyndon johnson declared war on poverty, we spent $22 trillion in this country on anti-poverty problems. last year alone the federal government spent $688 billion financing over 120 separate anti poverty programs state and local governments tossed in another $300 billion, so we're spending just about a trillion dollars last year on poverty. that doesn't strike me as neglect. and baltimore well between 2003 and 2013 which is the last year we have complete data for, baltimore received $6 billion in federal and state grants to fight poverty. and it received anned a the igs ed aned a ed aned a -- an additional $1.6 billion from the stimulus program we had. spent $1.4 billion of that $1.6 billion so far. yet we still see 25% of baltimore living in poverty. we still see the problems that beset sand town. we're not getting a great deal of bang for our buck. and it might be because we're spending -- throwing money at the problem of poverty, rather than dealing with the things we know can lift people out of poverty. number one of those is a job. less than

. >>> other news we're following in the united states 50 years ago, president lyndon johnson declared the war on poverty and still remains a huge problem in the united states. president obama stressed that point at a poverty summit here in washington. >> i think that we are at a moment in part of what's happened in baltimore and ferguson and other places but in part because a growing awareness of inequality in our society, where it may be possible not only to row focus attention on the issue of poverty, but maybe to bridge some of the gaps. >> all right. let's discuss what's going on with our senior political analyst, editorial director for "the national journal" and chief political analyst gloria borger. you have to admit poverty in america, people don't realize how significant it is. why does he decide to raise the issue? >> the first thing the trends have been daunting really in this century under the good economy, in the 1990s under bill clinton the number in poverty declined 7 million, under george w. bush increased by 8 million and under obama another 6 million. we're up. the ot

hudson is the first pitcher since gaylord perry during the lyndon johnson administration to allow 15 hits. only difference, that was a win. last night was a loss. 7-2 was the final. >>> a's and twins pomeranz left a village on the bases but dan otero couldn't leave them there. escobar brings home two. no earned run charge to the bullpen last night but they have an american league worst 5.24 earned run average a's lose. >> history in the bronx. >> deep left center field jones in deep left center that ball is gone! it's an a-bomb a-rod. >> 661 career home runs passes willie mays on the all time home run list. >> no one will pass willie mays. talk about him being my father's favorite player. he is a legend and he is also a role model for all of us. >> smart soundbyte there for a guy who was villified across the land. he is must-see tv. bonds, aarons, babe ruth and now a-rod. give you time to digest that. i'm dennis o'donnell. see you tonight. >>> play of the day, more baseball. you're going to check out astros jake marisnick. the centerfielder, you don't often city a double play unassis

hudson is the first pitcher since the lyndon johnson administration to allow 15 hits. that was a win. last night was a loss 7-2 the final. >>> a's and twins starter drew pomeranz in the fifth. dan otero couldn't leave them there. eduardo escobar brings home two with a base hit. no earned runs charged to the bullpen last night. but they have an american league worst 5.2 e.r.a. we have history last night in the bronx. >> the 1-1. swung high and hit in the air to deep left center field. away back goes jones in deep left center, that ball is gone. it's an a-bomb from a-rod! >> alex rodriguez's career home run number 661. he passes willie mays on the all time home run list. >> no one will pass willie mays, he is my father's favorite player, a legend and role model for all of us. >> smart soundbyte there for a guy who is villified across the land. but he is must-see tv. , bonds, aaron, babe ruth and now a-rod. i'm dennis o'donnell. see you tonight. >>> play of the day, check out astros with the unassisted double play against the angels. what's unusual about this he is a cent

john kennedy, and lyndon johnson . nobody wanted to be in that hot seat again. crass political concerns affected the decision to continue. some people may think that there was an idealism that motivated our actions. we were opposing communists. let's assume that was the case. we had nothing to replace it with. the means that we used to achieve this were horrific. the war was not necessary. nor were the vietnam ease people asking for our intervention. the government was corrupt and brutal. that is what we offered as an alternative. not only do we have to look at the factors getting into this war, but it is critical not to forget the conduct of the war by the united states was brutal and may well have involved the commission of war crimes. let's start with chemical warfare. united states dropped 20 million gallons of agent orange covering some 20 million acres in vietnam alone. not including laos and cambodia. agent orange contains dioxins. it is one of the most deadly chemicals known to humans. the purpose of the purpose of the use of agent orange was to defolian

kennedy, fdr, lyndon johnson were all wealthy presidents who were known for looking out for the poorddle class. >> let's talk about -- >> the issue is not that they made money. the issue is she made money and said we've got to afford houses. the issue is the disconnect and the money. >> not if the message is a message that is backed up with policy backed up with a record that looks out for people. >> let's talk about her availability. it's about some time since she's taken questions. is this really the lesson is learned from 2008 that she needs to be more bold and open when we see her kind of heading out the back door of her event in nevada? >> that's the front news stuff. on one hand they've hired a bunch of new people communications for them that are very good with the press. at the same time they drop this stuff that they don't think is a shock to anybody. but they drop it on a friday because that's how they always treat the press. while i think there is this idea that the press doesn't need to be treated very nicely we are the ones that tell people what's going on right? we are t

. >> in lyndon johnson had to decide what to do. johnson had to decide are we going to accept the loss of vietnam to the north, south vietnam and north. are we going to accept it and get the hell out of there or go in there heavy and win the damn war, or go somewhere in the middle. he decided to go somewhere in the middle and muddle through for x many years until we were all exhausted and we came home. what is the best selection? go in all the way, whatever that means, 100,000 troops on the ground. lindsey graham says 100,000 troops. go in and really try to win the battle, or pull the hell out, or something in the middle. and what's his name? mccain, john mccain says a few special forces troops on the ground will make the difference. >> those are the three options. and i've been wrestling with this all day. i think i'm on the pullout side. >> get the hell out. >> to go in heavy, it's going to take 200,000 or more. >> so let the beheadings continue there is a consequence here. >> well, if you're going to stop the beheadings, you can'

starting in 1964, the war in poverty and enterprise spear headedly lyndon johnson and then in 1971, nixon's war on drugs. now we are worried about terrorists and violence. often the misguided efforts pertained to american life. tremendous amount of resources are expended to all levels of golf to government to solve the problems of poverty, drugs, and terrorism. these are not small and on the margins we witness significant deg dade of property rights as well. what should the federal government do about it? does congress need to spend more money on jobs programs? should the department of justice sue the city of baltimore for practice of civil rights violations? i'm aware that president and congress made steps in this direction already. this seems to be a no-brainer. does it make sense to deploy weapons of war, weaponized aircraft grenade launchers and large caliber firearms? what do body cameras merit? can we achieve andy griffith results by increasingly employing a arsenal of batman or suing a robo cop. my guest's research is on the war on terrorism, the drug war materialization of police ta

lyndon johnson, a beautiful organized person.he carried a lot of baggage for him and he would have been the first to say so and i think that is true of so many of them. even poor little mrs. tyler when she could barely stand up. when she could, she would go to receptions. she went there with her husband and i think you need to attach that to all of them. but that is the basic -- that is why they are there. many would rather not be there. we all know the ones like mrs. taft who could not wait to get there. for lady had a stroke the month later. she would sit at the tables of the state dinners and close the doors. she would have everything served to her as though she were at the table. she really wanted it but there were other people who did not but they did because their husbands were there. i know that is old-fashioned and simplistic. ms. swain: thank you very much. today, and related focus on first ladies in the history of the white house. if a project -- this whole project -- the reason why the study first ladies is because the

mccarthy surprised second place finish with 42% of the votes was a stunning repudation of president lyndon johnson vietnam policy. >> it changes the political picture in america for 1968. >> mccarthy's upset drew then senator bobby kennedy into the democratic race. it pushed johnson out. in 1984 it was little-known senator gary hart who beat expectations and finished second in iowa to then go on to new hampshire and stun walter mondale, beating him by ten points. >> boy, did new hampshire come up with a surprising finish tonight. >> hart's candidacy collapsed, but his victory exposed weakness in mondale. in november, ronald reagan carried 49 of 50 states. in 2012 mitt romney beat rick santorum, but never recovered from santorum's bruising. a populist insurgent is poised to become the latest protest vehicle, pushing hillary clinton to the left and potentially exposing vulnerability that could help republicans in the fall. and the democratic presidential candidate senator bernie sanders joins me now. welcome back to "meet the press." let me start with an issue you are going to be dealing with in a f