that brings you and your comments back to mike mansfield. i would be curious how many people remember the former majority leader. jarrett bernstein is with us as well. he's been very patient. former economic policy adviser to joe biden. jarrett, you know him well. what did you take away from today? >> well, i think that the vice president is going to be a very effective and helpful campaigner to whoever becomes the ultimate primary winner on the democratic side. one of the things that joe biden did really throughout his whole political career, but also in the two successful campaigns with president obama, was to really connect with the middle class. you know, i think president obama is remarkable as a leader. but you could argue he's more pr professorial than joe biden. he really connects and that will be a great asset for the democratic party. >> as opposed to joe biden the candidate. >> yes. now, there are a lot of personal moving parts here that i won't get into. you certainly heard him speak emotionally in the rose garden today. i guess

president, i knew mike mansfield. i visited with him in tokyo when he was the ambassador to japan. he was a great leader. he was a great human being. i also knew very well senator robert c. byrd. and there were times when i led the fight against labor law reform back in 1977, 1978, where i was hard pressed to like senator byrd, because he used every tool at his disposal, proarmd and otherwise -- procedural and otherwise to try to put that bill forward which would have changed the whole character of america for the worst. i was young, and i didn't realize how important that man really was. but as i continued to serve in the senate and saw his devotion to the senate, his devotion to the senate rules, his fairness when he dealt with both sides, i got so i really respected his understanding of the procedural rules. i venture to say that i don't know that anybody has ever had that full capacity as much as he had with the possible is exception of senator allen of alabama, who i greatly admired also. he stood right over there on that side of the floor and took on his own party time after

people like sam nunn, scoop jackson, mike mansfield, john kennedy, among others. by this are disgusted talk of republicans and democrats calling each other the enemy instead of reaching out across the table and actually finding ways to work together. i know what an enemy really is from hard personal combat. the other party is not the enemy, they are the opposition. in our democracy, we are lucky to have an opposition in order to have honest debate. it's creative, it's healthy. there's no opposition party in countries like china because there are no elections in china or in other nondemocratic authoritarian societies. over the years i have worked with democrats or republicans and my basic beliefs, principles of leadership and love of country have never changed. i proudly served for four years in the reagan administration as a republican. i proudly served in the senate as a democrat. we need to be honest here because the very nature of our democracy is under siege due to the power structure and the money that finances both political parties. our political candidates

people like sam nunn, scoop jackson, mike mansfield, john kennedy, among others. americans are disgusted by this talk of republicans and democrats calling each other the enemy instead of reaching out across the table and actually finding ways to work together. i know what an enemy really is from hard personal combat. the other party is not the enemy, they are the opposition. in our democracy, we are lucky to have an opposition in order to have honest debate. it's creative, it's healthy. there's no opposition party in countries like china because there are no elections in china or in other non-democratic authoritarian societies. over the years i have worked with democrats or republicans and my basic beliefs, principles of leadership and love of country have never changed. i proudly served for four years in the reagan administration as a republican. i proudly served in the senate as a democrat. we need to be honest here because the very nature of our democracy is under siege due to the power structure and the money that finances both political parties. our political

- by the way, the differences the best lesson i ever learned was from senator majority leader mike mansfieldrom montana. i used to have to go see him once a week. when i got there and you and john were helped me get through what happened when i 1st got elected. i did not realize, he would give me an assignment. i thought every freshman got an assignment. it turned out he was just basically taking my pulse. anyway, on the floor one day a scoria bob dole on the predecessor legislation. i had to go into my meeting with the majority leader, sat down and i guess i looked perturbed. i railed against jesse helms , no socially redeeming, did not care about the handicap and let me go on. the most important lesson i learned, he looked at me and said, what would you say if i told you three years ago a young man was adopted, 14 years old. i'd say, i feel like a jerk. he said, well, you did. this is your mo. there is always an appropriateness to challenge a man's talent but never appropriate to challenge a motive because you don't know. it is all about motive up there, not judgment. you are -- it is all

by the way the difference is the best lesson i ever learned was from senator majority leader mike mansfieldfrom montana. i used to have to go see him once a week. when i got there when you and john were helping me through what happened when i first got elected and i didn't realize he gave me an assignment each week. every freshman got an assignment that it turned out he was basically taking my post because i said i wasn't going to come to the senate as you remember. the bottom line is i walk on the floor one day and just laid -- jesse helmsley is excoriating -- americans with disabilities act. i had to go into my meeting with the majority leader. i guess i looked for turbine is that what's the matter and i railed against jesse helms he had no social redeeming and he didn't care about the handicapped and he let me go on. it was the most important lesson i ever learn. he looked at me and i mean that sincerely, he said jesse helms adopted a young man with braces up to his hips at 14 years old. i said i would feel like a jerk that he said well he did. he said show what i've learned and this is

in 1975, under the leadership of majority leader mike mansfield, the senate lowered the cloture thresholdfrom two-thirds to three-fifths, where it has remained ever since with the notable exception of senate democrats' unilateral decision last congress to lower the cloture threshold for most nominations to a simple majority vote. the cloture threshold for legislative filibusters remains three-fifths. now, one may wonder why a device that allows a minority of senators to delay or block legislation is a good thing. my friends and colleagues, the junior senator from oregon and the senior senator from new mexico spoke on the senate floor last week about the importance of majority rule and the need to allow legislation to proceed. i do not deny that obstructionism can be a serious problem. obstinately refusing to allow any legislation to move forward or requiring complete capitulation by opponents is not statesmanship and is not what the framers had in mind, but when exercised appropriately, the right to extended debate can measurably improve policy. the filibuster, mr. president, furthers two

vote, which is the most cloture votes ever held on the measure up to that time we knew we -- mike mansfieldsaid "this is it, if you don't get it this time, we're pulling the bill down." so i went to humphrey, i said "what do i do?" he said "call lyndon johnson." so i called the president -- which you don't do everyday -- and i told him our predicament, he said "well, do you know of any vote that can be cast for this where the person wouldn't be hurt? where they would not have any trouble politically?" and i said "well, the senator from alaska could do it but he's against cloture. but he also wants a housing project in downtown anchorage." [ laughter ] and the president said "thank you" and hung up. [ laughter ] so the next morning we're on the floor, will we get cloture? most people didn't think we would do it and just as the vote tally was ending i saw the senator from alaska come through the back door and vote aye and we passed fair housing, we got the cloture on the fourth vote, no votes to spare, but we got it. then the bill went to the house and it went to -- we used to call it judge s

more respect, when we -- by the way, the difference is the best lesson from our majority leader mike mansfield from montana. i used to have to see him once a week when you were helping me get through when i was first elected. he gave me an assignment. i thought every freshman got an assignment. i did. he was taking my pulse because i said i wasn't coming to the senate. the bottom line is the americans with disabilities act. i had to go into my meeting with the majority leader. i railed against jesse helms and he had no social redeeming -- i didn't care about the handicap. he let me go on. he said, joe, what would you say if i told you jesse helms adopted a young man with braces on both legs up to his hips until they were 14 years old as their own. i said i'd feel like a jerk. he said, well, he did. joe, what i have learned is -- and this is your m.o., he said it's always appropriate. it's never, never appropriate to assume a motive. because you don't know. today, as amy will tell you, it's about motive not about judgment. you're a bad pesh, you're not a god fearing man. it's about what people

democrats in years past understood this, people like sam nunn, scoop jackson, mike mansfield, john kennedyng others. americans are disgusted by all this talk of republicans and democrats calling each other the enemy. instead of reaching out across the table and actually finding ways to work together. i know what an enemy really is from hard, personal combat. the other party is not the enemy. they are the opposition. in our democracy we are lucky to have an opposition in order to honest debate. it's creative, it's healthy. there is no opposition party in countries like china because there are no elections in china, or in other nondemocratic authoritarian societies. over the years i've worked with democrats or republicans, and my basic beliefs, principles of leadership and love of country have never changed. i proudly served for four years in the reagan administration. as republican. i proudly served in the senate as a democrat. but we need to be honest, because the very nature of our democracy is under siege to the power structure and the money that finances both political parties. our poli

. >> -- democrats in years past understood this, people like sam nunn, scoop jackson, mike mansfield, john kennedy, among others. americans are disgusted by all this talk of republicans and democrats calling each other the enemy instead of reaching out across the table and actually finding ways to work together. i know what an enemy really is from hard personal combat. the other party's not the enemy. they're the opposition. in our democracy, we are lucky to have an opposition. in order to have honest debate. it's creative, it's healthy. there's no opposition party in countries like china because there are no elections in china or in other non-democratic authoritarian societies. over the years i have worked with democrats or republicans and my basic beliefs, principles of leadership and love of country, have never changed. i proudly served for four years in the reagan administration. as a republican. i proudly served in the senate as a democrat. but we need to be honest here, because the very nature of our democracy is under siege due to the power structure and the money that finances