mr. henderson, a president, who will give some opening remarks and introduce the mayor. thank you. [applause] >> ok, so we will let you behind the curtain. the mayor is a few blocks away, so i am going to talk extra slow. [laughter] you know, when you invite people in political office, they have a lot more to do rather than speak to folks from across the country who really think this is a great opportunity, and we have always had great welcoming, and we appreciate the may for joining us, and when he comes in, i will introduce him, and in the meantime, i would do some song and dance -- and we appreciate the mayor joining us. it is really an exciting opportunity for us. we do not do this as a routine matter for the other areas of focus. we do not have an annual event with our grantees or our arts and culture grantees. but we do do another. many of you were with us when we call this the community revitalization program and have been with us during the switch to a more economic focus. that switch to a more economic focus, for those of you who do not spend all of your time thinking abou

mr. henderson. >> thank you, chairman harken. senator enzi and to all the distinguished members of this committee, i want to thank you for inviting me to this important bipartisan roundtable discussion on the reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act. mr. chairman, i have been uncharacteristically quiet this morning and i would hope that gives me, perhaps, an additional minute to lay out both the things that we like about this bill as well as those that pose a concern. let me say at the outset i think all of us seem to agree that no child left behind is in need of significant improvement. i think we would also agree that the global economy has imposed new demands on our nation to improve the quality of public education available both k through 12, but also post-secondary education. and the fact that our workforce is going to be drawn from an increasingly diverse population, of individuals both native born and immigrants in our country, makes this not just a moral issue, and that is improving education reform i

mr. henderson. >> thank you, senator harkin and senator enzy, i want to thank you for inviting me to this important bipartisan round table discussion on the reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act. now, mr. chairman, uncharacteristically quiet this morning and i hope it will give me an additional minute to lay out things that we like about this bill as well as those that pose a concern. so let me begin. let me say at the outset that i think all of us tend to agree that no child left behind is in need of significant improvement. and we would also agree that the global economy has imposed new demands on our nation to improve the quality of public education available both k-12 but also post-secondary education. and the fact that our workforce is going to be drawn from an increasingly diverse population of individuals both native-born and immigrants in our country makes this not just a moral issue -- and that is improving education reform is a moral issue. but it's also a national

mr. henderson? >> thank you, chairman harkin, senator enzi, and all distinguished meshes of the committee. i want to thank you for inviting me to this important bipartisan round table discussion on the reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act. mr. chairman, i have been uncharacteristically quiet this morning, and i would hope that gives me, perhaps, an additional minute to lay out both things that we like about this bill as well as those that pose a concern, so let me begin. i mean, let me say at the outset that i think all of us seem to agree that no child left behind is in need of significant improvement. i think we would also agree that the global economy has imposed new demands on our nation to improve the quality of public education available both k-12, but also post secondary education, and the fact that our work force is going to be drawn for an increasingly diverse population of individuals both native born and immigrants in our country makes this not just a moral issue,

mr. henderson. that's it. go ahead. >> senator merkley, i think your question is a really important one. and i think there is a risk. as i said, there are many good elements to this bill. i think i have some reservations, significant ones, about the incentives i mentioned before, and teacher evaluation and around the press for accountability and transparency. and i think there is a risk without more steps being taken that you won't in this bill drive the crucial transparency needed to look at performance across the whole system. and in an effort to provide flexibility, i think your question that we may not give the public the transparency in how well states and schools have been doing in educating kids at all levels, achievement gap schools. and i think that flexibility is good. but i think there is some imp t important improvements that need to be made, otherwise there can be a real down fall in law. but i hope that can be addressed in this legislative process. >> i want to come back quickly to this issue abo

mr. henderson, the president and ceo of the leadership conference, he also heads up the leadership conference education fund. prior to these roles, mr. henderson was the washington buerau director of the naacp. >> i would like to welcome today, allen thomas, president of madison high school in richmond, kentucky, vice president of the kentucky association of secondary school principals. this year, he was the kentucky principal of the year. and he has spent time working in his school on focus and finish program. which identifies struggling seniors. we're very happy to have principal thomas here with us today. >> thank you very much. thank you all for being here for this very important discussion. >> mr. hess and mr. shur i'm told you might have to leave early. thank you. before we start, let me explain the format of the roundtable. i'll ask a question of one of panelists. that person will answer. if one of the panelists wants to respond, take your name tent and put it on its head like that. so, i know to call on you. if a committee member wants to ask a question or a follow-up or an interventi

mr. henderson. this strategy would probably not have passed muster at langley.to tell marlene about it. [laughter] when the occasion arose, marlene told the caller repeatedly and with growing exasperation that he had reached the wrong number. [laughter] until the emissary gave up and finally asked for larry by name and stated his business, blowing the operation. [laughter] but i cannot part from our gallant friend without a personal word. lucky are those who in their journey through life encounter someone of total reliability, absolute unselfishness and a devotion that its magnitude can never be deserved. larry played such a role in my life. his friendship was a gift, not a claim. he occasionally honored me by describing me as his mentor. he was, in turn, one of the buttresses of my existence. when i called him the day before he left us, i tried to tell him how much he meant to me. he wanted to talk about a letter he had sent me about a recent book i had written. he wanted to make sure i understood that he had read every page of it. it will be a lonely world wit

mr. henderson, the president and ceo of the leadership conference, he also heads up the leadership conference education fund. prior to these roles, mr. henderson was the washington buerau director of the naacp. >> i would like to welcome today, allen thomas, president of madison high school in richmond, kentucky, vice president of the kentucky association of secondary school principals. this year, he was the kentucky principal of the year. and he has spent time working in his school on focus and finish program. which identifies struggling seniors. we're very happy to have principal thomas here with us today. >> thank you very much. thank you all for being here for this very important discussion. >> mr. hess and mr. shur i'm told you might have to leave early. thank you. before we start, let me explain the format of the roundtable. i'll ask a question of one of panelists. that person will answer. if one of the panelists wants to respond, take your name tent and put it on its head like that. so, i know to call on you. if a committee member wants to ask a question or a follow-up or an interventi

mr. henderson was the washington buerau director of the naacp. >> i would like to welcome today, allen thomas, preside of madison high school in richmond, kentucky, vice president of the kentucky association of secondary school principals. this year, he was the kentucky principal of the year. and he has spent time working in his school on focus and finish program. which identifies struggling seniors. we're very happy to have principal thomas here with us today. >> thank you very much. thank you all for being here for this very important discussion. >> mr. hess and mr. shur i'm told you might have to leave early. thank you. beforee start, let me explain the format of the roundtable. i'll ask a question of one of panelists. that person will answer. if one of the panelists wants to respond, take your name tent and put it on its head like that. so, i know to call on you. if a committee member wants to ask a question or a follow-up or an intervention, i ask them to do the same. so, we usually have a lot of fol whox want to talk. i'll recognize someone and we'll continue the conversation. it won't

. >> let's hear frommed that mccormick from henderson county. mr.mccormick a question for the candidates please. >> i need clarification on this issue. this would be for gubernatorial candidate david williams. i understand mr. williams was voted -- he voted against the slot machines at the racetracks some time ago. but yet we also understand that mr. williams doesn't mind gambling too much himself. so it seems like a double standard to me. i would like him to clarify his position on gambling. >> i do not gamble. i have not gambled for several years. i don't hold it against anybody that does gamble. but i will tell you this. gambling is an issue for only one person on this panel right here. steve beshear ran four years ago saying he was going to support a constitutional amendment to expand gaming. he has not been able to get it passed through the house of representatives. it passed out of committee and he helped kill it over there. so now he wants to blame everyone folks out there want t who's responsible for not having a constitutional commitment --

henderson also for "the washington post." thank you for joining me. can herman cain survive this by simply denying all of the allegations that you heard mr. bennett say here? this is the first interview i know of after the press conference. but thaw his client will come forward and he wants to organize the other woman to come forward. what mr. cain said about his client and knowledge of a settlement or characterizing a settlement as opposed to an agreement was misleading, can he survive this? >> it's hard to say how he can go day after day with this stance? he doesn't know these women, what they are talking about, a settlement? it's hard to see how he survives it if these women come out and have a joint news conference where they lay out the facts. one of the things that will be interesting to watch over the next days is to see if republicans start to turn on him. you saw today mitt romney came out before he had kind of brushed questions about this aside. today he came out and said that these were serious allegations and that they were disturbing allegations. so i think that's going to be something to watch for. if you remember with antho

mrs. cain stands by her man. but new poll numbers show republicans like newt on their piece of pie. >> this is a wild risk. okay. who knows what the polls will be. >> nia malika henderson on the gop's ever changing pallete. new questions about the judge who let jerry sandusky walk. wait until you hear how she's connected to this disgraced ex-coach. and chilling video of sandusky talking about kids. >> how did it all start? basically because i'm a frustrated playground director, i guess. >> plus, it's 3:00 a.m., do you know where the gop candidates are? >> are you becky, becky, becky, becky standstand? >> these guys would be funding if they weren't so scary. politics nation starts right now. >> welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead. the announcement we've been waitinging for. the supreme court has agreed to decide the fate of the biggest achievement of the obama presidency, the health care law. it's likely to be the most important ruling since bush versus gore, with a decision expected during the presidential election. what hangs in the valance is coverage for tens of millions of americans. that's now in the hands of nine justices. and two of the

mr. henderson. that's it. go ahead. >> senator merkley, i think your question is a really important one. and i think there is a risk. as i said, there are many good elements to this bill. i think i have some reservations, significant ones, about the incentives i mentioned before, and teacher evaluation and around the press for accountability and transparency. and i think there is a risk without more steps being taken that you won't in this bill drive the crucial transparency needed to look at performance across the whole system. and in an effort to provide flexibility, i think your question that we may not give the public the transparency in how well states and schools have been doing in educating kids at all levels, achievement gap schools. and i think that flexibility is good. but i think there is some imp t important improvements that need to be made, otherwise there can be a real down fall in law. but i hope that can be addressed in this legislative process. >> i want to come back quickly to this issue abo