his back pain, but she was naming herself the corre corrector of all illnesses, including with sam rayburnobviously, it was not giving him the relief of what he should have had. this latest thing with a doctor who taught him straining and stretching was what gooif real estate leaf, but he was not a complainer. >> she talks about these two back operations in 1954 and 1955, and the most poignant thing, she describes what torture was and how he went through this, and we later found out it was absolutely unnecessary. she says the following summer he went back to the senate, and she says he looked so wonderful in his gray suit and he was strolling around the senate floor as if there was nothing wrong, then he would go back to bed at night in a hospital bed. the other thing is, you know, when he was president, i think dick would confirm. the number of times we now know he was -- they won their first foreign visit, which was to canada, and they planted a tree. he went over and especially rkt almost, unbearable pain. he was such a stoic and he was so unaccustomed to make the people was ever in suc

travelle was sort of offer herself as the corrector of all illnesses, including with the sam rayburn, and obviously it was not giving him the relief that he should have had. the later thing with the doctor that taught him straining and stretching was what gave the relief. but he was not a complainer about anything. >> he was a stoic and mrs. kennedy tells two things that, she talks about after this two back operations in 1954 and 1955 and one of the things was she describes what torture it was and how he went through this and she said we later found out it was absolutely unnecessary. the following summer he went back to the senate and was walking around is senate floor and go back to bed at night in a hospital bed. the other thing, is when he was president p i think that dick would confirm that, the number of times we know he was in pain, you never saw it. one image of that was their first foreign visit to canada and he planted a tree and he had been told to bend his knees not to aggravate his back and he forgot to do it and essentially almost ripped his back and put himself in terrib

he was very close to speaker sam rayburn, and also to majority leader of the senate, lyndon b. johnson, who was later vice president and then president of the united states. in working with lyndon johnson, jack brooks voted for some very important and controversial new laws, especially the civil rights act in 1964. before this law in 1964, there was widespread discrimination and segregation against black people in the united states, especially in the southern united states. black people were barred from going in restaurants and cafes, motels, and movie theaters. they could work there, but weren't welcome as customers or clients. there was widespread discrimination. many people thought that should be changed. during the year of 1963, proposw civil rights law, and he was doing this in part based on rising tensions in the south, especially in birmingham, alabama. and president kennedy in his administration introduced a sweeping civil rights bill, but now, and wasn't being passed. there was opposition from the south and other people, and then they made the trip to dallas. president

sam rayburn after the election said it was the most important vice presidenti vice presidential candidacy since teddy roosevelts back in 1900. so johnson had an unusual role to play as it turned out. the election turns out to be much closer perhaps than the kennedy people expected. but nixon had problems at the state level in, for example, illinois, where you had a weak incumbent republican governor, william stratton, who was insisting on running for a third term. he really didn't control the republican party, and mayor daley, who was not yet famous but was about to become famous as a result of the 1960 election, mayor daley arranged for a brilliantly balanced democratic ticket with kennedy at the top to draw out the suburban catholics but then running for governor a lutheran, otto kerner against the very unpopular stratton, and then the popular senator paul douglas picking up the university of chicago vote or the intellectual vote and also douglas had cultivated farmers in southern illinois for the entirety of his senate career, so he could campaign in southern illinois not only for hims

when he first came to congress the speaker sam rayburn of texas anticipating bells confrontational style interest and to play the part of a good freshman member, to be seen but not heard. he called them into his office and told them, adam, listen to what your colleagues have to say come and drink it all in and get reelected a few more times and then start moving, but, for god's sake, don't throw those bombs. in reply the missing a beat, mr. speaker, i have a ball and both hands, and a gun to throw them right away. raborn burst into laughter and paul recalls this was the beginning of a good between the two men. most famously throughout his career, paul pushed something done an anti-discrimination rider became known as the parliament and he attacked this on to as many pieces of legislation is a kid. it was eventually included in the 1964 civil rights act, and it and to permit the use of federal funds by institutions of for businesses that practice discrimination. paul also routinely confronted segregationist's on capitol hill, and i want to give you one example. a very senior member from t

eventually, in 1961 speaker sam rayburn challenged smith in a bruising fight that expanded the membership the committee to break the hold of those who were blocking reform legislation. and it made possible what would occur later in the 1960s with the civil rights act and the voting rights act. and as so often happens in american history, change at the political level is often driven by social movements that are happening out there far away from capitol hill, and certainly, it was the post-world war ii civil rights movement that forced congress and the presidents eventually to act with that civil rights act in '57 and '64 and the voting rights act in '65. and in many respects this movement that was occurring out in the country overshadowed what was going on here in washington, but it did create the conditions that effected change on capitol hill in the post-1970 period. and within a decade the number of african-americans in congress doubled. and as their numbers increased, the momentum for organizing oaf time strengthened -- over time strengthened. very briefly, i'd like to talk about the

compare them to lyndon johnson and speaker sam rayburn in the '50s. before my time, but i hear it was awfully nice. giants-like speaker tip o'neill, even the loyal opposition of gerald ford and everette dirkson in the '60s and '70s. john alter is with us today. there's a human tendency to look to the past. they call it euphoric recall. we look to the past. it was better then. was it better then? >> well, i'm not sure. i just came from speaking with one of lbj's top aids. in some ways, it was worse. you had rank racist. they were throughout the house and senate. i could tell you stories that would curl your hair about some of the things. and theodore billbow, senator from mississippi. >> what about at the top? in other words, if you look at the edge of leadership. >> we need to be careful about these blanket comparisons to the past. but i think when you look at the big picture, and we have some very good people who serve, but they are serving in a system that is paralyzed and dysfunctional. >> and you do that for what? we know it's not just money. >> i

and they are attacking things and flying into electric fans and landing on sam rayburn said. and they're doing things that pigeons do. and harry truman is wearing a white suit. [laughter] well, that is probably the low point. harry truman starts of kind of slow and the kind of has to point to how than barkley to get some applause lines. and then he gets into what he is going to do. and i'm going to challenge the republican party and the do-nothing congress to come back in a special session and pass a program for the american people. in the crowd goes wild. people say, wow. this could be a horse race. maybe there is something going on here. but when harry truman goes to detroit to start his campaign on labor day, as democrats traditionally do, he does not have enough money to get the train at the station and they have to make some frantic calls to do that. it's still very dicey for him. the progressives under henry wallace come into philadelphia next. they have their convention. it's very interesting to see the people who show up, and we hear these and later on. pcr is providi

being a profession alison to russell and sam rayburn. so he's able to do it but we haven't seen much of in the washington. >> i think one difference is he has a family. he has a young family. l.b.j. could go over to richard russell on sunday morning and read the newspapers with him and he's not with his family. so that's the difference in the way you spend your time. >> we go through the range of history not from jefferson but the modern era of truman onward is how the demands of the presidency are so enormous nobody can do it. you need to have the neediness of clinton and l.b.j. but the intellectual capacity of obama and the large scale rhetorical power of reagan or kennedy or obama but the person-to-person chattyness he doesn't have. so it's... no wonder we find fault with all of them. >> rose: why is this seeming emotional detachment on the part of president obama? >> i'll draw here on my experience serving the 39th president of the united states, jimmy carter. you could tell that jimmy carter really didn't like the idea that you had

invariably come from the same -- cut of the same group that are the least people likely to say that -- sam rayburnankers, this uncollege educated guy from texas showed up at this big meeting of fancy bankers and this first -- first words were i quantity you to know i'm not scared of you. and -- it would be really nice to hear that from -- i don't know, the next chairman of the fed. >> what is stunning is you look at that dorgan tape and what's -- not only stunning but how exactly he predicted what would happen. it is that -- nobody is doing what he thought people would do at that point. which is to go back and saw -- we are going to really regret, you know, there hasn't been that sort of like -- universal notion of wow, dorgan was right and we should go back and do it. he would go predicted what would happen when you reveal glass. he didn't predict the reaction that would happen when his predict -- first prediction comes true. >> he didn't predict -- he thought that on that same floor that senate body would be appalled. >> well, matching -- right. instead it is full speed ahead. [ female announcer