. >> brown: and historians michael beschloss, richard norton smith, and beverly gage weigh this week's vote against mid-term elections past. >> lehrer: plus on other news, ray suarez talks to jason beaubien of npr about haiti's latest crisis-- tropical storm tomas. >> brown: and margaret warner has the remarkable story of ingrid betancourt-- held hostage in the jungle in colombia for six years. for me, my rob session was to give back to my children, and it was also i my responsibility. my right was to be free. i was a free woman. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ç >> i want to know what the universe... >> looks like. >> feels like. >> from deep space. >> to a microbe. >> i can contribute to the world by pursuing my passion for science. >> it really is the key to the future. >> i want to design... >> a better solar cell. >> i want to know what's really possible. >> i want to be the first to cure cancer. >> people don't really understand why things work. >> i want to be that person that finds out why. >> innova

bush's and other presidential memoirs from historians julian zelizer and michael beschloss. >> ifill: from flood-ravaged pakistan, special correspondent saima mohsin follows a team from doctors without borders still working to save lives. >> we have mostly skin diseases. we have upper respiratory tract infek shuns and we have about 6 to 8 malaria cases. >> lehrer: we look at the power shift in state capitals after the midterm elections with reporters from minnesota, ohio, wisconsin and maine. >> ifill: plus, ray suarez has the story of neighbors and classmates who remember barack obama's childhood days in indonesia. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> lehrer: president obama spent this day in the capital of indonesia, looking to build up ties with that heavily muslim nation. margaret warner

our final is historian and author michael beschloss. profiled president kennedy and johnson, and recently authored "presidential courage: brave leaders and how they changed america." i read recently that in 1800, a lawyer wrote to a connecticut newspaper warning that in thomas jefferson became president, murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly thought and practice. the air will be rent with the cries of distress. the soil will be soaked with blood. the nation black with crimes. we wonder is the over heated rhetoric of the blogsphere perhaps part of our traditional national history. mr. beschloss will give us a little context. thank you. [applause] >> yes. sometimes things do get a little bit over heated, amy. i couldn't help but member when you are saying that the story about the nervous immigrant to america who came to ellis island, and the american official said to her, do you believe in the over throw of the u.s. government by force or violence. and she said violence. [laughter] >> i am delighted to speak here in t

and he says, those attending were michael beschloss, h.w.glas brinkley robert caro, robert dallek doris kearns goodwin, david kennedy, kenneth mack and garry wills. did you attend that one? and i understand there's -- i've heard there's been a second one. >> yes. i attended both of them, and it was a -- i was very proud to be there. and michelle and barack obama were basically hosting a book club with some historians. the second meeting david mccullough was there, so we got to talk about john adams and jefferson. and doris kearns goodwin was there, and she always likes to talk about john kennedy and lincoln, who the president loves a lot. so, i would think of it -- i don't think we influenced the president. i look at it more that he really does read presidential biography as a hobby, that he had us all come in. it's off the record what we talked about. but there's nothing that secret about it. i talked a lot about theodore roosevelt, because i just wrote a book on t.r. and i found it -- i think he uses it as a form of relaxation. and it help