we are in rushville, indiana. our first caller is kurt from ohio.elcome to the conversation. >> thank you and good evening. this is a great program and i hope that a lot of people take advantage of this great service that you are giving to the american people. my question is -- i have a couple of comments -- the first one is being in the suburbs of akron, ohio, i wanted to know a little bit more about wendell willkie's role as an attorney for the goodyear tire and rubber co. where he, during that time, was heavily involved in akron city democratic politics. my second comment is with wendell willkie being the dark horse candidate at that time in 1940, do you see history kind of repeating itself 72 years later with the emergence of herman cain as the new dark horse for the republican party with no political experience and a business background, that sort of thing? he is starting to look better compared to governor romney and governor perry and all the others who are basically career politicians. >> you bring up two good points. thanks for the call. he

we thank the rushville historical society for letting us conduct this program here. as we look at the life and career of wendell willkie, he passed away in the fall of 1944. here is a newsreel that reflects on his life. >> wendell willkie republican candidate for the presidency of the united states in 1940, taken suddenly at age 52. dominated by popular acclaim, wendell willkie won the admiration of all his countrymen for his energy, policy, and forthright courage. he spent the last years of his vigorous life in an effort to promote mutual understanding and good will among all nations. he talked with churchill in london and shared experiences with britain's average folks. he visited and talked with the people of russia, of the middle east, and of china, renewing his strong faith in the unity of all people. a great american and world citizen who will be sorely missed in the critical years ahead. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> this weekend, sunday, michelle obama welcomes military fami