coming up next, we have a little interview with former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor. she doesn't do interviews very often so we were happy to get to talk with her. stay with us. >> schieffer: supreme court justices, current and former, rarely give interviews so when sandra day o'connor agreed to talk to us, we caught up with her on capitol hill. she had just finished testifying before the judiciary committee on a subject of great importance to her-- teaching civics-- or i should say, the lack of teaching civics -- in our schools. madam justice, it is really an honor to have you. thank you. i want to talk to you about this project that you devote so much of your time to, civics. >> yes. >> schieffer: you're basically trying to help young people learn about the government. i was stunned to find out that so many states now, which were no longer take civics courses. >> well, that was my concern. now, when i went to school, i grew up on a remote ranch. my parents had to send me away to el paso to live with grandparents to go to school. and i had civics every year. i got bor

she is former supreme court justice, sandra day o'connor. for the 30th anniversary of her nomination to the court, justice owe conor sat down with npr and abc correspondent cocie roberts for a interview exclusively to "to the contrary." >> what was it like when you found out? >> it was a shock, i mean, who would think for a moment that some cowgirl from southeast arizona would be asking to serve on the supreme court. it was a shock. >> that's how you see yourself? >> that's what i was. i mean, i had a little education along the way, i hope i learned something in the process. but i never expected to be asked to serve on the supreme court. i was very honored. i wasn't sure i should do it. i had never argued a case at the core, i had not been a law clerk at the court. >> did the president himself call you? >> he did. my phone wrong and it was ronald reagan an the phone. he said, sandra, i'd like to announce your nomination for the court tomorrow. frank lie my heart sang. >> really? >> it really did. because i was not at all sure that i could do

guests will include virginia governor bob mcdonald, and retired supreme court associate justice sandra day o'connor. it is important this evening to check in again on syria. today, the u.n. general assembly denounced syrian dictator bashar al-assad's war on his own people. the secretary general compared the war to the genocides in bosnia and rewanda. there was major fighting in the capital, damascus, today. and in syria's largest city, aleppo, rebels with rifles are battling one of the largest armies in the middle east. it was a year and a half ago that a popular uprising began to challenge the 42-year-old dictatorship of the assad family. the regime is trying to keep reporters out, but our charlie d'agata slipped in, where he met one family suffering terrible losses. >> reporter: brutal war has torn the country apart, family by family. ahmed hameda buried his younger brother on monday. two days later, he buried another. "god willing," she said, "i will see them in heaven." abdu died fighting the syrian rebel in aleppo. "he called me to say he had been hurt" he told us. "i am dying, i am dying, he

so what do you think your odds are of actually having sandra day o'connor come sit in the front row? well, that's--i don't know. i had--raquel welch came to see me. but you never portrayed raquel welch as a duck. exactly. you know, i have the feeling, actually, that justice scalia has seen my work. reading the decision, i thought that he had actually come and seen my work and tim's work, so maybe he will come, and i would be curious-- maybe that'll be my next piece. so you'll take this national-- colleges and universities. do you get a different reaction at all from college students than you do from whatever you'd describe as your regular audience? the reaction varies wildly from-- you know, i did this at a small college in michigan, albion college-- 300 people, standing ovation. i did it in upstate new york, and at a certain critical moment in the show where i say all of the negative things that writers said about us and that they're true, and half the audience got up and left. so it--it keeps it fresh, because i'm not just running it in one place in the same old-- it is a conversat

up, justice sandra day o'connor testifies about the importance of civics education. then representative chris van hollen talks about the impact of the ryan budget on the economy. and then that is followed by the president and the first ladyn the bus tour in iowa. >> retired supreme court justice sandra day o'connor testified before a committee last month on teaching civics in school. she has advocated for civics education since retiring from the supreme court in 2006. she is a founder and chairman of the board for icivics, an online project for kids interested in learning about six. -- civics. >> before we get started, i want to say it is a delight that sandra day o'connor is here. i am wondering, all of you who are students in this room, can you please stand up so that justice can see? not bad, huh? [applause] in the past, we have had justice breyer andd justice justice scalia were here. we have had many schools around the country that have the dvd of that hearing. people stop me on the street who have seen the dvd. it is a chance to learn. it is a learning experien

we'll close with a rare interview with sandra day o'connor.tired from the supreme court but still making a difference because this is "face the nation."

we heard andrew mentioned the remarks of sandra day o'connor. people feel the campaign contributions influence the judiciary. that is not fair when 75% of the people believe that influence -- but contributions influence of justice. what is more telling is another statistic which is a poll of judges themselves. a 50% of state court judges themselves actually influence the outcome of judicial decisions. when you get half of the -- of the judiciary thinking that, these of the folks were supposed to be unbiased in making decisions based upon the law and at the facts. when half of judges feel that campaign contributions influence the campaigns, we have a problem. >> talk a little bit about who is bringing the money into these races and to what extent has the amount of money changed over the years of your career. who is spending the money. what are they spending it. why has this changed in recent years. >> historically, lawyers were the folks who contributed to the elections. that is how it all started. lawyers had a system. we as a supreme court just

. >> sandra day o'connor for civics, susan b. anthony, sanya richards-ross for p.e.. >> many teachers. >> if i had to choose someone to be my teacher, i would choose my great grandma. >> that's so sweet. >> it is not too late to tweet, if you want to keep it going. >> as kids head back to school we hope they get dream teachers as well. >>> just ahead are you stuck in a beauty rut. the year's best makeup products. >> answers to money questions. >> first your local news and weather. [ female announcer ] can your body wash nourish this deeply? the moisturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove has nutriummoisture, which can nourish deep down. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. not everyone can understand it. the worry. the endless collection calls. we know what it's like... to be in your shoes. we're the providers of careone debt relief services. bernie dancel, who created careone, has been in your shoes. he once had his own battle with debt, which motivated him to start what is now the nation's largest bran

court for decades and the weather was john marshall harlan in the 50s, lewis powell in the 70s, sandra day o'connor in the modern era. moderate republicans are gone from congress and they're gone from the supreme court. samuel alito and john roberts reflect the modern republican party. the polarization we see in congress we now see in the united states supreme court. so that to mean is the roberts court. it is a more conservative court than william rehnquist ever let. >> in your book, you describe john roberts is a radical. >> i do. the book is called "the oath" and it begins with the story of the botched oath that everybody remembers so well, but no one has told the story of why it was botched and that is why you open the book. and it is both a nature scene story on its own, but it also said that the protagonists, barack obama and john roberts. and the paradigm is that the man who claimed to be the candidate of change and the supreme court justice who claimed to be the baseball umpire who didn't want to change the rules have precisely reversed positions. it is obama who is trying to preserve what

and i guess civics you can tuck into another course so that education just doesn't exist and sandra day o'connor the former supreme court justice has turned that into her life's work talking about the lack of civics education and has become a crusade. on a leave that to the publisher but i think they would love to get into schools. it's not a literal text book. it's more readable than that. if it is readable and think they think maybe it doesn't count trying to bridge the gap so that people might actually get something out of it. but i do feel that it -- we do a disservice to young people when -- conquer it right now is a mess and i think it has gone beyond the point. but we did get a surgeon system, and that needs to be explained. so why think there is -- there is room in the marketplace for this book i hope. >> i have a multi-party question. you talk about third-party candidacies. in that light there was the experiment this year the public nominating somebody and they couldn't get what was it 100,000 votes? >> you are talking about americans elect and it was a process in search of the candidat

legally, the law in my mind at least since 2003 when sandra day o'connor wrote the opinion on affirmative action when it comes to higher education is the law of the land. there really is nothing left. university of texas very much like university of michigan deals with holistic issue, race, geography, poverty, family responsibility. it's exactly what universities should be doing. it's incomprehensible to me that the supreme court despite some angry members of that court could ever hold this law unconstitutional, this policy unconstitutional. >> richard, how do you see it? texas officials are saying that race is considered among many factors is spelled out, academic record, personal essays, leadership skills, all of that. and that's the criteria. >> exactly. it's only one criteria. it's not the sole cry tear yach criteria. it's only one. the person bringing this claim was not in the top 10% of her high school class for starters. but texas has every right to include this as avery said. that is the law of the land. the tests before the courts has been to compel an interest in diversity and t

the affirmative action admission plan at the university of michigan law school, and justice sandra day o'connor writing the majority opinion in that case said okay, this is a tough issue, but we have decided it and as far as we're concerned, it's now resolved for the next 25 years. we'll been 25 years from now a from of action in iraq education won't be necessary, but that's it, we finished. well, so this being -- i think it's about nine years later, we find the court having undertaken to review a primitive action admissions at the university of texas, and that's the case that is going to be argued early next fall, and decided some time the spring of 2013. and it's an example, i mean obviously five, let's assume five justices, some of whom were not on the court back in 2003 when the court decided the michigan case, who were not happy with that outcome, and have decided that they're going to get their hands back on it. and so i think the threat there is something that can really unsettled something that has been fairly well settled in much of the country up until now, in these last eight or nine

supreme court justice sandra day o'connor said it best. we all expect judges to be accountable to the law rather than political supporters or special interests. elected judges in many ways are compelled to solicit money for the election campaign whether or not these contributions actually tip the scales of justice, three of four americans believe the campaign contributions affect corpsman decisions. this crisis of confidence and impartiality of the judiciary is real and growing. real and growing crisis made worse by the supreme court 2010 citizens united decision is the topic of today's conversation. we have with a sedate three people here know well and personally the effects of campaign money on actual governing and judging. today we will discuss once its attempt on the idea that corporations are people and the affect the campaign cash is having across the country. so directly to my right, the justice on the montana supreme court appointed in 1993 and prior to his appointment worked in private practice and served as a glacier county attor

. >> retired supreme court justice sandra day o'connor testified on the importance of civics education. she has been an advocate for civics ever since retiring in 2006. justice o'connor is the chairman of the board for i-civics. this is about an hour and a half. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [no audio] >> before we get started, i want to -- it is a delight that justice o'connor is here. senator grassley is on his way. he was doing a conference call with students who are talking about education. i am just wondering, all of you who are students in this room, would you please stand up just so that justice could see? not bad, huh? [applause] in the past, we have had an justice o'connor, i was telling her earlier that just as brighter and justice scalia were here, and we have had so many schools around the country. now we have a dvd of that hearing. in the state of vermont, i have people stop me, students taught me on the street who have seen a chance to it's learn, and we tried to do that periodically here.

later tonight at 8 eastern, sandra day o'connor on the role of civics education in the u.s. >> we have learned that our american students when tested on math and science are not doing as well as students of an equivalent age from any other country, and and i think that our -- netmrs. ito's distresses because our country has been pretty advanced, and we do not want to see them lag behind, and that has resulted in the dropping of civics course thoss. there are only so many hours of the day and, and schools need to concentrate on doing more math and science and less civics. i would encourage them to teach civics as they go through. the brain is formed, and they are receptive, and they can get it and it is not too early to start. i think it is important that students want to know how their city works. they want to be part of its and the program teaches with games where young people play a role. it is theory of effective. >> you can see all of justice o'connor's remarks at 8:00 a.m. eastern -- at 8:00 p.m. eastern. john boehner pushing back against criticism from those who warn that paul ry

tonight at 8:00 eastern, former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor talks about civics educationnterested in the judiciary. she said six has taken a backseat to math and science. here is a brief look -- she said pacific's has taken a back seat. >> i learned to our dismay that american students, when tested on math and science, are not doing as well as students and equivalent age from many other countries. i think that distresses us because our country has been pretty advanced in math and science, and we don't want to see our students lag behind. mack is promoted in an effort to increase education efforts in those areas. it has resulted in the dropping of six -- civics courses. they have tended to do more math and science and less on civics. i would just like to be sure that we continue to teach civics to students. my own concentration has been at the middle student level. by then the brain is formed and young people are eager to learn. they are receptive and they can get it, and it is not too early to start. i think it is important, and students want to know how government works,

supreme court's, sandra day o'connor said it best.we all expect judges to be accountable for the law rather than to political supporters or special interest. but elected judges in many ways are compelled to solicit money for their election campaign, whether or not these contributions actually tilt the scale of justice, three of four americans believe the campaign contributions affect courtroom decisions. this crisis of confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary israel and growing. -- is real and growing. made worse by the supreme court 2010 citizens united decision is the topic of today's discussion. we have with us today pre-people who know well and personally the effects that campaign money can have on actual governing and judging. today will discuss with him to undo the idea that corporations are people and affects the campaign cash is having on courtrooms across the country. so justice james nelson, directly to my right, is the just on one end of the supreme court he was appointed to the court in 1993, and prior work in priva

eastern, sandra day o'connor talks about six education. she is chairman of icivics. she recently told a senate committee that civics has taken a back seat to science and math. >> we have learned to our dismay that our american students, when tested on math and science are not doing as well as students of an equivalent age as many other countries and that distresses us because our country has been pretty events in math and science and we don't want to see our students lagged behind -- to lag behind. it has resulted in the dropping of civics courses. there are only certain hours in the day and they tend to maybe do more math and science and less on civics. and i would just like to be sure that we continue to teach some civics to students as they go through. my own concentration has been at the middle school level because, by then, the brain is formed and the young people are eager to learn. they are receptive and they can get it and it is not too early to start. so i think it is important and students want to know how government works, how their city works, other count

we heard and to making the remarks of sandra day o'connor, three course of the american population feel that campaign contributions somehow influence the decision of the judiciary. that's a sad state of affairs when 75% of the people in the country believe that political contributions influenced just as. was even more telling is another statistic, and that's a poll of judges themselves in the poll of state court judges, 50% of state court judges themselves billy contributions, from campaign donors actual influence the outcome of judicial decision. when you get half of the judiciary thinking that, i mean, these are the folks that are supposed to be completely unbiased in making decisions based upon the law and the facts, but when half of the judges view the campaign contributions actually influence the outcome of decisions, we have a problem. >> talk a little bit about who is bringing the money into these races at to what extent has the amount of money changed over the years, of your career starting with you, justice diaz. who is spending the money? why are they spending it and to what e

secretaries of state, condoleezza rice, madelei albright and hillary rodham clinton as well as sandra day o'connor, venus williams, lucille ball, and the list goes on. and putting future leaders right here in our audience. elie deal from 1327f with rage virginia. becky townson and members of troop 4006 from open virginia. yesterday the president honored her with the presidential medal of freedom. and today ana maria chavez her journey brought her here. she had a full scholarship to yale, then a career in public service, counseling benner is on a governor janet napolitano on urban relations, latino matters and community services. .. understanding online safety and are venting cyberbullying. transfer hopes to make her mark in a very big way. she is launched an ambitious program to close the leadership gap between men and women within one generation. we look forward to hearing all about it. please welcome, anna maria chavez. [applause] thank you. thank you, chorizo for that wonderful introduction. my mother appreciates the fact use the official bio. she does take credit. i want to do ahead table. tha

sandra day o'connor calls criticism of chief justice john roberts decision to uphold the health carew unfortunate. she said it shows a lack of understanding in the judiciary and she testifies before the senate judiciary committee on the importance of teaching succinct school. it's about an hour and a half. >> [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] ho before we get started -- before we get started, i should -- and delighted that justice o'connor is here and senator grassley was doing a conference call on education and i'm just wondering, all of you who are students in this room, would you please stand up just so that justice can see -- [applause] not bad. in the past we have had justice o'connor -- i was telling her earlier that justice breyer and justice scalia were here coming and we have had so many schools around the country and we now have a dvd of that hearing, and in the state of vermont i had people stop me on the street who have seen the tv, and it is the chance to learn -- it is a learning experience, and we try to do that periodically here. of course justice o'

. >> sandra day o'connor for civics, susan b. anthony, sanya richards-ross for p.e.ndma. >> that's so sweet. >> it is not too late to tweet, if you want to keep it going. >> as kids head back to school we hope they get dream teachers as well. >>> just ahead are you stuck in a beauty rut. the year's best makeup products. >> answers to money questions. >> first your local news and weather. [ female announcer ] can your body wash nourish this deeply? the moisturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove hasutriummoisture, which can nourish deep down. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. >>> good morning to you. it is 9:26. i'm marla tellez. as the san jose police department deals with more deadly violence, there are growing calls for them to ask for help. last night a man was stabbed to death at a safeway store on story and white roads. he became the city's 31st homide victim. police chief chris mohr says he is considering asking the chp to send officers in for backup. >> i'm not a posed to the idea, but i don't

. >> sandra day o'connor for civics, susan b. anthony, sanya richards-ross for p.e.andma. >> that's so sweet. >> it is not too late to tweet, if you want to keep it going. >> as kids head back to school we hope they get dream teachers as well. >>> just ahead are you stuck in a beauty rut. the year's best makeup products. >> answers to money questions. >> first your local news and weather. [ female announcer ] can your body wash nourish this deeply? the moisturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove has nutriummoisture, which can nourish deep down. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. >>> good morning, everyone. 9:26 is the time. it is wednesday, august 22nd. starting today, the d.c. taxi cab commission will begin installing new smart meters. comes with a credit card reader, gps technology and even a small tv monitor. provide content on the tvs and taxies. a 50% surcharge set to pay for the upgrade. get a check now on the roads. mike? >> a little bit slow and inner loop bit slow in springfield and very heavy

supreme court justice sandra day o'connor said it best. we all expect judges to be accountable to the law rather than political supporters or special interests. elected judges in many ways are compelled to solicit money for the election campaign whether or not these contributions actually tip the scales of justice, three of four americans believe the campaign contributions affect corpsman decisions. this crisis of confidence and impartiality of the judiciary is real and growing. real and growing crisis made worse by the supreme court 2010 citizens united decision is the topic of today's conversation. we have with a sedate three people here know well and personally the effects of campaign money on actual governing and judging. today we will discuss once its attempt on the idea that corporations are people and the affect the campaign cash is having across the country. so directly to my right, the justice on the montana supreme court appointed in 1993 and prior to his appointment worked in private practice and served as a glacier county attor

we heard andrew mention the remarks of sandra day o'connor. e-quarters of the american population feel that campaign contributions influence the decisions of the judiciary. that is a sad day of affairs when 75% of the people in the country believe that political contributions influence justice. what is even more telling is another statistic. that is a poll of judges themselves. a poll of state court judges. 50% of state judge -- state judges themselves believed it influences the outcome of judicial decisions. when you get half of the judiciary thinking that -- these are the people that are supposed to be completely unbiased and making decisions based upon the law and the facts. when half of the judges feel that campaign contributions actually influence the outcome of decisions, we have a problem. >> talk a little bit about who is bringing the money into these races and to what extent has the money changed over the years of your career starting with you. who is spending the money, why are they spending it and to what extent has this changed in r