it's you, ta-nehisi coates trying to calibrate. you hear being talked about, especially when it comes to black discourse in america. in south africa, it's the same. i know. it's a different history, but a shared history at the same time, and it's always the conversation, "how do you calibrate? how extreme should you be? how much condescension should you have?" what was the one thing you noticed being with the president for so long in terms of his calibration? the first thing i-- immediately, i felt that i understood was that he was able to address white americans in a way they just think very few african americans could. >> trevor: why was that? >> because i think barack obama was born into a home, not just to a white woman and white grandparents but a white woman and white grandparents who shockingly told him it was okay that he was black and that h should not, ashamed of it. and he she could proud of it. and part of the reason that was possible is the sheer physical distance of being in hawaii, and not growing up against some of

i'm pleased to have ta-nehisi coates back at this table. welcome. >> thanks for having me, charlie. >> rose: it's great to have you back in america. >> it's greet to be back in america. >> rose: congratulations on the national book award. >> thank you. thank you. >> rose: how was paris. >> i can't lie. i loved it. >> rose: was it a part being somewhere different, was it the uniqueness of paris or something even more. >> no. i think it was, i mean it did things that may sound superficial that are very important to me like food. the food was great. the wine as great, all that's great. but i like the alienness of it. in this sense, it could have been anywhere. i liked that when i walked out on the street and people talked, i had to struggle to understand what was going on. i told my son once it felt like every day i was walking outside and i was on roller skates the whole time. i liked that, you know. it's the kind of fatal masochist thing because you're like off and you misunderstand people and you know, sometimes you just don't understand co

i'm here with ta-nehisi coates who has a piece in "the atlantic" next month called "my president was black." he's saying here's what i've done. does he face a different standard as an african american president. >> i would say through his eight years he was aware and people around him were very aware. if you look at the way he went about his campaign he's very conscious of it but also uniquely situated in a someone else may not have. >> you said he walked on ice and never fell. what's that mean? >> i can't take credit. that's run dmc. >> dickerson: but out put it in that context. >> i did. i felt like the whole challenge of governing a country and dealing with the majority white population and thus being the representative of that population at the same time having your roots in a community which to put it mildly for long periods of its history had not been a ben fiseficiary of the py of the country is difficult spot to be in to be with and without at the same time. i don't know we've appreciated how difficult that was. i think as historians will go back over the period they'll begin

and kellyanne conway discusses the transition and we'll have a conversation with ta-nehisi coates about the obama legacy. that's all ahead on "face the nation." good morning and welcome to "face the nation." i'm john dickerson. we turn to the president-elect senior adviser kellyanne conway. i understand you just got off the phone with mr. trump. do you have news you have to deliver. >> he want to say hello and looks to joining you in the future as the president in an interview. >> dickerson: we'll hold him to that commitment. late me ask you about the theory i've gotten from republican officials this past week. the theory is once donald trump clears the electoral vote on monday will drop the skepticism russia was involved in hacking the election. what do you make of that theory? >> the entire nonsense about the electors using the russian hacking issue undermines our democracy more than any other conversation and we were struck by the disagreement and consternation this week. have you josh earnest doing things from the podium as press secretary telling us what donald trump knew and presi

that's a question ta-nehisi coates tries to answer. "my president was black: history of the first african-american white house and what came next." coates sat for several extended interviews with the president and in the piece he examines obama's legacy in light of the surprise outcome of the 2016 election. and considers how so many people in so many counties around the country could have voted for obama, many twice and turned around and voted for his polar opposite. i'm joined now by ta-nehisi coates, for the "atlantic" author of the new cover story "my president was black." you know, you and i talked about this piece when you were writing it. the piece was being written in one universe, right, it was, like -- >> right. >> -- in the run-up to the election with this conception of it was going to be hillary clinton. >> right, right. >> then it got published into another universe and ultimately the piece wrestles with the difference between one and two. you saw last night in the town hall just talking to individual voters who voted for ba

. >> woodruff: and, "the atlantic's" ta-nehisi coates talks the legacy president obama leaves behind. >> if having an african-american president was as revolutionary as we claim, it was then there'd probably be some sort of backlash. >> sreenivasan: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ love me tender >> we can like many, but we can love only a precious few, because it is for those precious few that you have to be willing to do so very much. you don't have to do it alone. lincoln financial helps you provide for and protect your financial future because this is what you do for people you love. lincoln financial-- you're in charge. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention. in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more i

ta-nehisi coates joins us at the table. how many word was this?guys read twitter. >> it's a great read, congratulations. >> thank you. >> but you write this, you say he never could have succeeded along normal lines. he needed a partner. >> traditionally, the president came into office thinking, you know that he basically would work with congress. and he would start in this position and they would start in that position, and they would work together. anu you know, legislation that would be the result of compromise. that did not actually happen. they did not want to come to the table. >> you say his greatest misstep is borne out of his insight? >> the great insight is the fact that it was possible for the country to elect a black president. that indeed the barrier of white supremacy actually could be vaulted by a special individual. him specifically. but that actually, i think, also caused him to underestimate the force of it. >> and because of his own upbringing. >> yes. >> why didn't they come to the table? >> well, i think what -- you know, if yo

. >> woodruff: and, "the atlantic's" ta-nehisi coates talks the legacy president obama leaves behind. >> if having an african-american president was as revolutionary as we claim, it was then there'd probably be some sort of backlash. >> sreenivasan: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

that out of the way, the history of the bookkeeping and everything, please join us in welcoming ta-nehisi coates in conversation with heather ann thompson. [applause] .. >> >> to say that we need to remember the history of thanksgiving of america but the tradition began the year with a did gregory. [laughter] so last the into fast dog thinks giving in remembrance of what happened in attica but i called him today he has proper scholarship with 100 pages of footnotes he said i'd give it a book before without no footnotes. [laughter] and i told him this and he wanted me to tell you that you are a hero he said no viking get through this because of the pain. this is a huge deal but i am just telling you. he is in the panther party after he left the party i we still people might earliest memory is black men in jail sendai pretty much mean that so to mcm to identify that as the enemy and attic l. was such a huge influence for those radicals who would say something horrible but that is why because you never know when history will come around 45 years later. and people verify things that are out of the m

ta-nehisi coates was his guest. he was not aware of any of this back story.nterviewed coates for the book. he said, i thought something really interesting, he said, you know, people struggle with racism in good ways all the time that we don't see and hear about. we hear about the confrontation, the conflict. and to him, yeah, what jon did over the course of a number of years sometimes didn't make everybody happy, but was moving the ball forward. was of good intention and progressive in every way. charlie: to create diversity there. chris: yes. jon: when you are faced with that type of criticism, your first response is generally defensive. -- defensiveness. when we first started the show, comedy was the -- especially late night, was the realm of late night ironists. just very, very witty and people who did very well in their s.a.t.'s and wrote for their parody papers at their colleges. the room was populated with a variety of relatively unathletic white men. charlie: who love sports. jon: who did not love sports. and you would find, usually i'd have one guy wh

mayor, reading through this wi with ta-nehisi coates, the president's candor, did you get the sense he finally getting some of these thoughts off his chest? >> well, brook, i had the same experience at the tail end of your eight years as a chief executive and i was only the mayor of philadelphia, he's president of the united states of america. there is a little more freedom that comes with that. i said to the president a good while back that -- in the second term there's a word called liberation and i think increasingly you're going to hear more and more of his thoughts. he is so responsible of a person and so stand up of a person that he rises that saying maybe some of these things while he is in the heart of his presidential time could have a greater impact on some members of the public that don't share those views but those are his views, he is living out his life experience and that piece that you read is absolutely true. it's just surprising for someone who -- you know, many of us were raised work hard, go to school, get good grades, stay out of trouble and you can be successful.

face the nation," john interviews former national adviser john donlon and henry kissinger and ta-nehisi coatesther great sunday for john. >> hopefully we will keep that coming. >>> much of the country is waking up to frigid and potentially dangerous cold temperatures. they are below freezing for millions of americans right now around the country. the cold stretches from cities in the pacific northwest down to the southeast. between now and sunday, below freezing temperatures are expected in 49 states! that's a lot. 14 states from the mountain west to the great lakes are under winter storm warnings. the windchill on new hampshire mt. washington was 87 degrees below zero! demarco morgan, how are you doing out there? >> it's cold out here to say the least. 87 below, i don't think i could handle that! why many of the people here will be waking up to streets complete covered in snow and you can't make out the sidewalks here. here is one thing you want to be careful about. in the street there are sheets and pockets of ice that are beneath this white powdery stuff. if you plan on getting out here, yo