senator ted kennedy, the late senator ted kennedy who is hard to get a handle on and i have been asked if i consider kennedy a do or something else altogether. i found things from kennedy on the vietnam war in the 1916s that he said about our troops almost identical to things he said about the troops in 2003/2004/2005 in the middle east. it was startling. i didn't realize all the things kennedy had said about troops in vietnam in the 1960s. the major revelation that i had on kennedy which i know a lot of you are familiar with is a 1983 document in the central committee archives in the soviet union and my understanding is the archives have been sealed. so you can't go in now and get that document but that is okay. i have got it. it is in the book. i am excited about that. here is the actual document which is in the appendix. it is five pages in russian. if any of you read russian -- i have been told the translation that is in the book is actually pretty kind to the kennedys. kind of charitable. if you read it in russian it is worse. both in and russian -- here is in english also and in

senator ted kennedy, the late senator, ted kennedy, who is hard to get a handle on, and i've been asked if i consider kennedy a dupe or something else all together. i found things from kennedy in the vietnam war in the 1960s that he said about our troops that are almost io identical to things he said about the troops in 2003, 2004, and 2005 in the middle east. it was really startling. i didn't realize all the things kennedy said about our troops in vietnam, for example, in the 1960s, but the major revelation that i have on kennedy, which i know a lot of you are familiar with, is in may 1983 document that is in the central committee archives in the soviet union, and my understanding is that the archives have sense been resealed, and so you can't go in now and get that document, but that's okay because it's in the book and you can read it. i've one-upped the russians and i'm excited about that. [laughter] it's in the appendix in the book, five pages in russian -- by the way, i've been told that the transligs that's in the book -- translation in the book is actually pretty kind to kennedy.

senator ted kennedy, the late senator ted kennedy, whose hard to get a handle on, and i've been asked if i consider kennedy a dupe or something else altogether. i found things from kennedy on the vietnam war in the 1960s that he said about our troops. they were almost at an angle to things you saying about the troops in 2003, 2004, 2005 in the middle east. it was really startling. i did realize all the things kennedy had said about our troops in vietnam. for example, in the 1960s. but the major revelation that i have on kennedy which i know a lot of you are familiar with is a may 1983 document that's in the central committee archives, in the soviet union. my understanding is that the archives have since been resealed, and so you can go in now and get that document. but that's okay, i've got it in the book so you can read it. so i am one of the russians. i am all excited. but here is the actual document which is in the appendix in the book, it's five pages in russian, so if you read russian -- by the way, the translation that's in the book by is pretty kind to the kennedys, kind of cha

we don't need a ted kennedy institute. what we do need are politicians looking out for us.nd if they don't start, let's give them some hell. and that's the memo. now for the top story tonight, reaction. joining us from washington fox news analyst laura ingraham the author of the big best seller "the obama diaries." this is almost too easy for you. i teed you right up on this. let's step back for a moment. the air arrogance of this congress. not just democrats there is republican pork in there, too. there is a 36-million-dollar expenditure from susan collins from maine a republican for a reading initiative. a reading competition. you know, so i'm saying to myself, do they just hate us? do they just despise us? what do you think? >> people in washington have gotten really used to certain way of doing business. slipping these earmarks into these bills even though the public has said time and again stop this madness. >> bill: we don't want it. >> we have no money. when we talk about money, we are already a trillion dollars in the hole. so we don't have any money. the idea that

chris that is the name of the senate in the category of ted kennedy and robert byrd in terms of his abilities to get things done, his ability craftsman, ofe somebody who is able to combinem idealism intact to kennedy, of wi with them and i think i vie mentioned before a totally different viewpoint and get them to compromise and be on his site and be part of the effort that he is leading. he's a man of the senate, whoor senate. think e i will miss him personally for the guidance and friendship and i think every one of us will. chris, good luck, godspeed. >> wisconsin senator wes feinberg is also retiring from the senate. he was defeated by republican businessman, ron johnson. earlier senator feingold a three term democrat was praised by his republican colleague, senator john mccain on the senate floor. mr. johnson will be sworn in january 3rd. >> if i could say a few wordsied about a friend and colleague whom i will miss very much when he leaves the senate after we adjourn. senator russ feingold. and i can't thank him for his service without mentioning the outstanding work of his capable staff

he picked up the standard from his dear friend ted kennedy and helped lead the fight that ted kennedy always dreamed of for affordable health care for all americans. for that achievement alone chris dodd earned a place in history. chris dodd has as eugene o'neill might say the map of ireland on his face but he has the promise of america written in his heart. his work in the senate has made that promise real for millions of americans. in his office in the russell senate office building, once occupied by his father, are portraits of two thomass. thomas dodd, his father, and another of his he roerbgs sir thomas -- his he roerbgs -- heroes sir thomas moore. he said if you can't completely eradicate wrong ideals or deal with inveterate licenses as effectively as you wish that is no reason for turning your back on public life altogether -fplgt you wouldn't abandon a ship in the storm because you couldn't control the wind. 30 years in the senate, chris dodd kept his compass fixed on the ideals that make america great and good. in doing so, he has made the senate, connecticut and america a be

the last time something like this happened, jimmy carter and ted kennedy. what did you think was going to happen when you wrote this piece? >> first of all, it was difficult to write. i drafted on a saturday evening, last saturday evening and i read it and said, you know, i do not know i want to post this. i will let it sit. i got up the next morning and listened to a couple of talk shows, frank richards and i said, you have to post this. the piece is not about being a super critic or punishing obama. it is about to accountability -- it is about accountability. i thought back to the night he was elected. i remembered of being in the home of dr. claiborne carson and stanford university. several people were moved. people were crying. someone asked me, you are crying. did you ever think you would live long enough to see an african-american president? no. but i said, i am not crying for obama's victory. i am crying for those people are not allowed to see this victory, because i know the road that so many people have traveled that made his election as the 44th p

ted kennedy.le are going to be surprised to find out that you and ted kennedy were good friends. >> boehner: we were really good friends. >> stahl: tell us about that. >> boehner: he may have been this big liberal lion publicly; privately, he was a regular guy. you could work with him, work things out. >> stahl: the question now is whether he can work things out with the president. at his news conference on tuesday, mr. obama threw out a challenge. >> president barack obama: once john boehner's sworn in as speaker, then he's going to have responsibilities to govern. you can't just stand on the sidelines and be a bomb thrower. >> boehner: we have to govern. that's what we were elected to do. >> stahl: but governing means compromising. >> boehner: it means working together. >> stahl: it also means compromising. >> boehner: it means finding common ground. >> stahl: okay, is that compromising? >> boehner: i made it clear-- i am not going to compromise on my principles, nor am i going to compromise the

legislators are meeting tonight and kron 4 jonathan lomas live with a look at ted kennedy meeting. >> have your hand a copy of that bill you're talking about by assembly member and if that to jerry hill is the one who's chairing the meeting. they got together four groups of people, first of all the people in san bruno and the people and politicians of sacramento that are making legislation like this bill to keep explosions from happening again. if state regulators and finally pg&e. the open by burning the groups together they can get the public questions about what will happen in the winter months when pg&e said it was to turn the pressure back on those gas lines. the gas lines that the one that exploded here in several back in september. some some members is spoke to said they're not convinced that pg&e is doing everything they can to run out the cause of this explosion and it sure doesn't happen again. as a lineman tom said he is very a great >> hurry here's what you told us> when the angry guy, and i wondering why this happened, my gut tells me it could be prevented. there's a lot

senator john kerry and vicky kennedy, former wife of senator ted kennedy, attending the memorial. >> every single thing she did, she did to the fullest possible extent. >> reporter: edwards entered public live in 1997 when her husband, john, became a u.s. senator. she accompanied helmet on the campaign trail during two failed presidential bids. >> six years later she was diagnosed with bed & breakfast cancer and it returned in 2007. cate read experiments from a letter that her mother left behind for her kids. all i ever really needed was you, your love, your preference to make my live complete. you are a complete joy to me. >> reporter: elizabeth edwards final years were made more complicated with her husband admitted to having an affair and fathering a child. a block away from the service members of controversial group protested the service. westboro protesters were met by a larger group of counterprotesters. >> the son of bernie madoff was found dead in his new york apartment today, two years to the day after his father was arrested for a $65 billion investment scam. investigators

it's the type of cancer that killed senator ted kennedy. can tell you as a neurosurgeon, i saw a lot of these tumors but we haven't made much progress in terms of treatment. it remains one of the worst diagnosis a patient can get. what if you can use your body's immune system to fight this cancer that's where we're heading. >> reporter: steve hall wasn't sure he'd be there at his daughter erin's wedding. almost to the year after the day after he was diagnosed with the deadliest form of brain cancer. >> i had just taken, you know, a water sample. >> reporter: paul was 60, and he thought healthy. he had no idea he had a brain tumor until one saturday morning in august when he collapsed by the pool. >> all of a sudden, i felt this jolt through my left leg and my left arm. >> i just saw him collapse. >> reporter: there was a trip to the emergency room. and there was a brain scan. >> i felt like our whole life was turned upside down in a matter of two hours. >> reporter: and the surgeon said, well, you have a geo blastoma multiforme, that's stag

ted kennedy, nobody questioned whether he was a liberal or not. yet i remember when he cut the deal with george w. bush on no child left behind. he had to make some real concessions there. i remember he spent a year negotiating with john mccain on immigration reform bill. he had to make some real concessions there. ted kennedy was a guy who knew that sometimes you couldn't get what you wanted. you have to make some concession. and i think one of his regrets later in life is he didn't make enough concessions on an earlier health-care bill. so that is what this is. this is not obama moving to the center. it is not try angulation where you try to rise above politics. it is taking out a firm position which he said in his press conference, which was he is against raising taxes on the upper-class. and yet saying the politics is what it is. the situation is what it is. i have got to make this concession. i would say to house democrats, who don't like the deal, well a, i understand the frustration because he didn't call. i understand house democrats made

politician of 2010, scott brown, a republican who won the vacant senate seat led by the beloved deceased ted kennedy. and beat coakley 52-47, a 120,000 vote margin. a stunning upset for the democrats. okay. worst politician. pat? >> i'm sorry to say it is one of ours, john, and monica. >> wait a minute. >> sal paladino. , a republican candidate for governor of new york and told the new york post, listen, buddy, i'm going to take you out. [ laughter ] >> worst politician i'm happy to say is one of yours, martha engel who ran against harry reid, sharon engel, martha coakley, whatever. sharon engel. my bad. with two r's. and ran against harry reid and harry reid was given up for dead and she made possible for him to win his race. thank you, sharon. >> i am going to give this to the entire democratic party. because in defiance of the american people, they rammed through a number of big government, big spending, high tax, anti-growth poli >> tough competition. among several people. snapped by the jaws of victory. paladino as well. he really, every time he opened his mouth, it got worse and worse for him

rally that had twenty thousand people at it at the university of massachusetts headed up by senator ted kennedy we have got to rid the world of the threat of nuclear annihilation and this treaty is a small step toward that wonderful goal ok live from washington democratic strategist we thank you for your input to an obscene small thank you it's a pleasure thank you. kareen put in sugar and pyongyang's disputed nuclear program at the heart of talks between the russian and north korean foreign ministers russia says it's deeply concerned over reports of industrial you ready would richmond in north korea and called for six party talks to restart he go to prison also been trying to find out more about the high level meeting was held behind closed doors. we do know that pyongyang's nuclear program is the most important issue being discussed north korea walked out of the six party talks last year which also include united states south korea china japan and russia. also expelled international nuclear monitors from the country and continued with the nuclear tests calling causing off a huge wave of conde

senator ted kennedy and senator john murtha. he says the amnibus spending bill might just as well be called an opl a news spending bill. lawmakers say how can they make a considered judgment when the bill is dropped on senators just before christmas with the idea of pushing it through in only three days. many republicans and democrats argue the senate should do what the house did, pass what is called a continuing resolution that just continues spending at current levels until february when lawmakers would have the time to examine spending calmly and carefully. megyn: let me ask you a question. it's easy to blame this on the democrats, they are in control in the senate, this came out of the senate appropriations committee. the republicans who are now so shocked to receive this bill with all the earmarks in it have been working behind closed doors for months with the democrats on this very bill. and some of the republicans who are most outraged now, including mitch mcconnell, and john cronyn are so outraged. 650,000 for advanced g

others were set aside for non-profits connected to lawmakers who recently died, ted kennedy and john murtha. many of the $8 million in earmarks requested over the years by members of both parties and dumbed on the senate in the omnibus bill. some republicans said they will vote against the bill even though it has money they once requested. >> i intend to vote against the earmarks because i think the american people sent message on november 2, saying they want a new way to operate in washington. >> reporter: some defended the earmarks, such as for swine or animal waste management as part of a search for alternative to not foul the air for whole communities. david price, one democrats who requested the money says it is a legitimate need. >> the research on twine i defend any day of the week. >> reporter: those who wants viruses affecting the wine grapes defends that. >> i won't stop fighting for the need of the economy in my district. >> all i want them to do is be authorized. i can't judge all of them as to whether they're worthwhile or not. it's the process that is broken. >> a proce

we talked a lot about senator ted kennedy. that was a type of cancer that he had. and this is one of those tumors, still, larry, that when you get the diagnosis, oftentimes it comes accompanied with this average survival around 14 months. with some types of brain cancers, we've done before. with this type of cancer t is so complicated, not just one cancer, there are so many different types of cancer literally within a tumor, and they're all smart. they're all wiley. they all evade treatment. that's what makes it so difficult to treat. >> larry: we'll be back with more. don't go away. ♪ oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday. because they have 20% more calcium per chew than viactiv or for the delicious flavors like chocolate truffle and vanilla creme? mmm. -mmm. -mmm. [ female announcer ] hard to say really. new caltrate soft chews, we put the yum in calcium. >>> i did everything. i did east meets

. $8 million for a ted kennedy institution. 36 million more for the corrupt public broadcasting corporation bringing that outlet up to 500 million bucks a year of your money. there is no way we are going to stand for that kind of waste. total pork about 9 billion in the bill. so reid is humiliated, not that he cares, he doesn't. but the country is obviously wising up fast. the u.s.a. now owes about $14 trillion and the head of the fed ben bernanke says we better start paying that debt down or there is going to be a fiscal disaster here as there is in california right now, in greece, and in ireland. that brings us to people who feel the government owes them stuff, riots throughout europe this week have demonstrated there are plenty of folks who want other people to pay for their lives. if they don't get that, they will turn violent and disruptive. just look at these pictures. these riots came about because governments are cutting back on giving people stuff in europe. and this could happen in america. but i don't think it will. the november election, the tax compromise and the corrupt spendi

[applause] and his beloved dear friend ted kennedy, senator ted kennedy, said that he personifies whatg fathers were thinking of when they were thinking about a united states senate. [applause] he has been called a patriot and warrior of the united states constitution. however, the best way that i can describe the senator is that the architect of the alachua. he is the most historic figure to ever call west virginia home and will forever live in our hearts and those of our children. no one can replace our senator, no one. [applause] [applause] no one can fill his shoes, and we must never forget his tireless dedication as we humbly to follow in his footsteps. senator byrd, you have toiled and triumphed on behalf of your beloved mountain state, and now your time to rest has come. your memory will live in our hearts forever. may god bless you and erma. may god bless the state of west virginia. and may god bless america. [applause] [applause] >> i am senator mitch mcconnell from your neighboring state of kentucky, the republican leader of the senate. [applause] and i am here today to repre

the ted kennedy institute. john murtha center. swine waste management studies in north carolina. you've got grape germs or virus studies going on in california and down the list. it is all porked up. all earmarked up again this is why the tea party and the country just has had enough. they are back at it again. there they go again. i can wait to get them out of town and get the republicans in control so we can actually now do what everybody has been talking about. >> greta: you are talking about a 1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. let me back up a little bit on that bill. i've been critical of the house and the senate, both sides of the aisle for waiting until the last minute to decide this. they knew the deadline was the end of the year. i realize democrats control agenda so they may get all the blame because they set the agenda. 1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill to finance the federal government beginning six weeks ago beginning october 1st, for a year. they are six weeks behind on that. what have they been doing? trying to shove it down everybody's throat. >> in minnesota i

he put it together with george miller and ted ted kennedy. he has the capability of doing that he has to keep his ear to the ground and keep his republican leadership together. he needs to talk to mitch mcconnell on a regular basis and keep sampling what is needed by republicans. he will have to stand up to some of the republicans around the country who want to go further in terms of their politics in terms of doing something good for the country. he needs to create legislation which will show that he has created that economic after -- opportunity which is vital to politics in america today. >> do you agree with no earmarks? >> i more or less agree with it. does that mean the white house will be able to spend that money on anything they want? i am more about what the replacement for it will be. there has to be middle ground solution. one of them is leadership by members of the appropriations committee and they should not be getting big bonanzas of earmarks were freshmen members will not get anything. earmarks are not all bridges to know where

i cursed every senator ted kennedy the hook. just to make a point.he last verse deals with the whole imus situation and how we took this this guy's comments and made it about rap music and when it stops being about imus uz what does do my lyrics have to do with this [no audio]. and i started the ignorant [no audio] in the hotel, i was on tour and i didn't get to finish it then the juicy sample and then so much... and i just left it alone and i came back when the incident happened with imus to finish it and i thought it was just perfect for the time. it meant so much more. when i recorded it it was just really a joke about provocative lyrics and i wanted to show how these words are just words and people's intent and action give words power. but then when that happened it made the point of the song and i just added that third verse and that's why it came out on "the black album." >> if you had an interview somebody like charlie is now in a one-hour segment, who would it be? >> i would interview muhammad ali, mahatma gandhi, malcolm x and martin luther

ted kennedy, orrin hatch, bill clinton and daniel patrick moynihan, they all wrote me. from politicians, the one i liked best was years ago from senator barry goldwater. i didn't agree with goldwater about much of anything politically, but i admired him a lot personally. and after i wrote a piece about him for "60 minutes" that harry reasoner did, we became good friends. as much as i disliked barry's politics, i couldn't help liking him a lot personally. robert schuller, the pastor of the crystal cathedral in garden grove, california, wrote me a couple of good letters, even though he and i don't agree much about religion. i get christmas cards from the comedienne phyllis diller. even the beautiful loretta young sent me a nice note years ago. of all the letters i've saved, the ones i like best are from friends i worked with-- arthur godfrey, charles kuralt, walter cronkite, garry moore, and harry reasoner. don't wait for me to throw out the letters i got from any of them. >> kroft: i'm steve kroft. we'll be back next week with another edition of "60 minutes." hey... ever

journal had called in 2007 the most liberal member of the senate to the left of barbara boxer, ted kennedy, hillary clinton, you name it, so i'm thinking when i woke up the morning of wednesday, november 2008, i'm going to finally see a change. it's going to be 40% liberal, 20% -- because it's got to be, right? the 40-20 again. so you had this incredible situation where a self-identifying and self-professing conservative electorate by a margin of two to one goes in and decisively votes for president a man the national journal ranked the most liberal member of the senate in 2007. it's quite unprecedented. and how did that happen? well, you've got to go in to the reasons why bush lost, why people didn't like bush or why john mccain lost, many ways a vote against mccain was a vote against bush. i think a lot of people, too, were taken by this concept of change. what does change mean? but the progressives for obama people, man, they were thrilled. with this. the american public finally voted the way that tom hayden and jane fonda and mark rudd and these folks have wanted them to vote. the same

bush, ted kennedy, and other leaders team up to give us no child left behind.hey believed enough leverage from the government would allow this to happen. nine years later, one of the big challenges awaiting lamar alexander and his colleagues is a try to said that is right. no child left behind has made the performance of every school more transparent, flagging the achievement gaps, listing the treatment toward some notion of proficiency, intervening in bad schools, and giving kids alternatives to bad schools. the problem is not much different today. american kids are not learning enough. in international comparisons, that that will be out on tuesday. we are all behind of the rest of the world. we are flat and other places are getting better. the problem identified in 1983 remains unsolved in 2010. no child left behind will not solve it. neither will tightening the screws further. we have had 20 years of screwed tightening. taking schools away from those who run them neglects kids. to give credit where it is due, it needs to be said that barack obama has tried t

of all the descendants of president kennedy and of bobby kennedy and of our own late colleague, ted kennedy, it was patrick to last held public office, patrick who longest held public office, patrick who youngest held political office, and patrick who most successfully used political office to further the family's mission of lifting up every american. in rhode island, a state that he adopted and that adopted him, he first entered public service at the young age of 21 winning his congressional seat a few short years later in 1994ings, one -- 1994, one of only four g.o.p. seats the democrats won that year. over the years patrick continually faced capable and well-funded opponents, but his constituents had come to recognize and welcome his humble dedication to their lives, reelecting him seven times. he was my younger, but senior colleague in our rhode island delegation and i believe he took considerable enjoyment in being my senior colleague. patrick, if you ever come back, you won't be senior any longer, i've got you on that one now. the arena of politician is combative. all the more so when

tend to, during their careers, lean on earmarks, are doing if in their death, 8 million for the ted kennedyor ed marky. we have to do it for ted. >> yeah. i think this one is one of the more noxious ones. there was a noxious weed management one as well. $8 million to help construct this thing in boston. and i guess it's perfectly appropriate, you know, that one of the porkiest senators would be rewarded with one of the porkiest earmarks. >> steve: a senator who hates earmarks is john mccain and he'll be joining us in a couple of minutes. stand by for that. michelle, what do you make about this, the department of justice is suing on behalf of a muslim woman worker who wants three weeks unpaid leave for a trip to mecca, which begs the question, why is the united states department of justice involved in this? >> well, i've long said of this justice department that it is more appropriately titled the department of social justice because the attorney general, eric holder, is essentially a social justice activist who has the power to selectively enforce the law. this woman may or may not have a c

but ted kennedy, full of passi passion. and on certain days when he was agitated and full-throated, you could hear him out on the street fighting and shouting for the things he knew were important for america. i think of bob dole, who would saunter on to this floor and he almost seemed to have an antenna that knew exactly what was going on, what the mood service and what he could and couldn't do and how you must compromise at certain times. he had a knack for that unlike any others that i've seen. i think of a strom thurmond who left us i think at age 100. what -- if everybody could know his life story, what a -- an unbelievable, courageous story. and one of the things that happened with strom thurmond is i was very involved and have always been involved in organ transplantation, to save people's lives. and i did a press corches a bill i was introduce -- conference on a bill i was doing on organ transplants. and strom thurmond showed up. i think he was 90 years old. and he signed an organ donor card. and he said, after he s

it was divided in my re-election campaign between me and people who were loyal to ted kennedy. that cost me a lot of votes. so those were the two things that i believe that could have been done better. >> all right. welcome to "morning joe." this is how we're going to start today? >> they were not laughing at the former president, but the production value. willie wanted to know whether he had taken a flip cam to his bathroom with the white linoleum background. >> it's only wednesday, december 15th. good times. with us onset on "morning joe," msnbc contributor mike barnicle, and director of the earth institute at columbia university dr. jeffrey sachsachs. >> willie geist also with us. dr. sachs, congratulations. we have been here for two years criticizing washington for being fiscally irresponsible. >> i think we finally made it. >> i think we made it. we found a republican party who is working with a democratic president, and together it's just two great tastes that taste great together. a trillion dollars added to the national debt in the blink of an eye. >> just like that. >>

i ti saying this i think he's the best much as the driver seemed in terms of getting things don ted kennedy full of passion and on certain days when he was agitated and full throated you could hear him out onut the stro fighting and shopping for the things he knew were important for america. think of bob dole on this floor who always seem to have an antenna that knew exactly what was going on, what the mood wase what he could and couldn't do and how yo.u might compromise at certain thaimes. they didn't act like that. i think a of strom thurmond whow at age 100 -- if everybody coul- no his life story, what anous s. unbelievable, courageous story and one of the things that ver e happened with stdrom thurmond is i was very involved and have always been involved in organ transplantation to save people'l lives, and i did a pressroduce - conference on a dillinger is o introducing on organ transplants and strom thurmond shows up i think he was 90-years-old and signed an organ donor card and he said after he signed the card at age 90i don't know if i havew got anything anybody wants to define gone