senator ted kennedy, the late senator ted kennedy who is hard to get a handle on. i have been asked if i consider kennedy a dupe or something else altogether. by found things from kennedy on the vietnam war in the 1960's that he said about our troops. they were almost the identical to things that he was saying about the troops in 2003, 2004, 2005. very startling. i did not realize all the things that kennedy had said about our troops in vietnam in the 1960's. the major revelation that i have on kennedy, which i know a lot of you are familiar with is the may, 1983, document in the central committee archives in the soviet union. my understanding is that the archives have since been resealed. you cannot go in and get that document. that is okay. i've got it in the book. you can read it. i have 1-upped the russians. here is the actual document, which is in the appendix of the book. it is five pages in russian. if any of you regression. i have been told that the translation that is in the book is actually pretty kind. kind of charitable. if you read it in russian, both

. >> two years ago, as he watched his father, the late ted kennedy, struggle with cancer, patrick kennedynd himself returning to a familiar question. what does it mean to be a public servant? this week's attempted assassination of a politician raised up a new and dredged up other ghosts. here's christiane amanpour with the "nightline" interview. >> reporter: patrick kennedy never knew his uncle, john f. kennedy, and he never got to know another uncle, bobby, either. but he does know only too well what it's like to be part of a political family marked by assassin's bullets. when you heard that a congresswoman had been shot, an attempt had been made on her life, the first political assassination attempt in more than a generation, what went through your mind? as a kennedy? >> my colleagues, our hearts went out to her and we also realize this is the ultimate culmination we knew was brewing in terms of an atmosphere. granted, it was the act of a lone gunman who was delusional, but still, we've lived in an environment that sanctioned pretty heated rhetoric that's really bordering on irresponsib

you have been talking about this book you are working on, and in the audio book, ted kennedy says the same thing. have you read?" i went out and got the book that day and was amazed kennedy had confirmed the very thing i said. tavis: when you listen to the audio version of the tape of the speech, you can hear haley, i call her, mahalia, saying, "tell her about the -- tell them about the dream." there were others on the dais. none of them got to speak. there was sexism that even you admit was in existence. no women could speak on the march at washington. the only woman that mounted the podium that day was mahalia, and only because she was singing. you know it is mahalia yelling, "tell them about the dream." >> using current technology, martin luther king, jr. could mentally cut and paste better than any individual i have ever known, on the spot. in other words, he could speak in real time, and as he was speaking in real time, he could draw from instances and power grabs and sentences from other speeches he had given, and he could insert them as he was talking in real time. that was not

and, specifically, i'll talk about john dewey, frank marshall davis and ted kennedy as examples. during the q&a there's a lot of other people who we could talk about as well including actors, all kinds of people in hollywood, humphrey bogart, for example, who i talk about in the book as a dupe. but there was also, as you'll note in the appendix of the book, i find a bogart in the communist party usa archives, and i look at that very carefully as to whether that could possibly be humphrey bogart. that's something we could also talk about during the q&a. but first, why i did this. three components: scholarship, partisanship and the issue of redemption. scholarship, i notice that nobody had ever done a book on the role of dupes. in american history. and, in fact, did a google search on the term, and maybe two or three books in all the library of congress even have the word in the title. and yet it's a word that goes back to the founding of the republic itself. you'd probably be surprised to know that george washington used the word dupe, dupes in his farewell address. so he was warn

mitt romney has been in politics for 17 years, ran for the senate, lost to ted kennedy, ran for massachusettsovernor and won. four years ago, he ran for president and lost. the party of "wait your turn," will they say, now it's mitt's turn? and finally, pin the tail on the donkey. house republicans will vote wednesday to repeal obama's health bill. the senate is never going to buy it, the president won't sign it. what's the deal? with us today, "new york magazine's" john heilemann, "politics daily's" alex wagner, nbc's kelly o'donnell and nbc's chuck todd. all the republican action is in washington right now but the real republican story is the fight to beat barack obama next year and on that front, the important action isn't here in washington, it's out there. right now, 12 armies are pitching tents, gathering strengge, gttinad rey.th today we launch our 12 for '12 series putting a sharp eye on the huge republican field. the possibilities are mitt romney, mike huckabee, sarah palin, newt gingrich, tim pawlenty, haley barbour, john thune, mitch daniels, john huntsman and rick santorem. many s

kennedy marked his family business in 1957 with his move to the house. he moves in 1961 to the house. brother robert became attorney general. ted joined the senate two years later. they were bred for politics. >> we had quizzes around the kitchen table. what's going on? what are you doing about it? that was part of the kennedy legacy. >> there are still dozens of young kennedys who could pick up the torch. so it's possible this is a gap and not the end of an era. >> the work begins anew. the hope rises again. and the dream lives on. >> john hendren, abc news, capitol hill. >> the end of an era for the kennedys, and the beginning of one tonight for the tea party. by some estimates, a third of the new republicans arriving in congress this next week are connected to the tea party. let's bring in jake tapper. happy new year. we knew some of the newly elected tea party republicans haven't always seen eye to eye with the republican establishment. have you seen any signs of reluctance yet? >> yes, many of them wary of republican establishment figures as they were of democratic figures, but since the midterm elections, boehner was elec

. >>> ted kennedy's widow says thanks but no thanks to a future in politics.icki kennedy says she's flattered by the push to go after her husband's old senate seat. but she insists she cannot imagine running for that office without him by her side. her decision leaves democrats now looking for a strong candidate to take on senator scott brown. >>> michael jackson's family is now applauding a california judge who ordered the singer's personal doctor to stand trial. the judge also suspended conrad murray's medical license. murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly giving jackson a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol. >>> and trouble in paradise for the internet sensation known as the man with the golden voice. ted williams was questioned by police in los angeles, after getting into a heated argument with his daughter. williams, who of course went from being homeless to a corporate spokesman in just a matter of days, was in california to appear on several shows. his daughter claims he's been drinking. but police will not elaborate

2008. >> caroline kennedy and ted kennedy not only endorsed barack obama but say explicitly that he wasennedy. >> reporter: jonathan alter is the author of "the promise" about obama's rise to power and his first year in office. >> that was not something that any of them had said about any politician in the intervening 50 years. he would not have beaten hillary clinton in the democratic primaries on super tuesday without the help of the kennedy family. >> reporter: tell me about why the family put their support behind senator obama. >> because i think he's going to be a good president. i think he is a good president. i think he's had difficulty, big difficulties, and the situation that he came into, and i think that he's handled it very well. >> reporter: do you think that hope and idealism has been galvanized today by president obama? >> i think he is trying to galvanize it. and i think he has in some areas. he's doing what he feels is the right thing. and i think we should all support him. >> reporter: for now, president obama may very well be the closest thing the kennedys have to one

although from time to time, ted kennedy and i used to really go at it on the floor and maintain a close friendship. so we shouldn't mistake passion for advocacy. in other words, passion is necessary in this debate that we're having. but we've got to make sure it doesn't spill over into personal attacks and impugning people's character or patriotism. so the president gave, i think, exactly the right speech in tucson. by the way, it was important to the people in my state as well that he came and gave that message in tucson. we grieve for those who were lost, and our prayers continue to be with gabby giffords, whom you know is making a remarkable recovery, so far. >> schieffer: have you talked to the president since the shooting? >> yes, i did. i talked to him. we had a pleasant conversation. i did advance to him the idea that we should work together on enhanced rescissions. the line-item veto power that i think is going to be necessary for this and other presidents to be able to really curb the excessive spending and earmarking that, unfortunately, still might go on and may have a resurg

." >> ted kennedy and or win hatch were powerful team, precisely because they didn't agree that much.each other. >> protesters arrested after they tried to [ bleep ] 200 [ bleep ]. >> fishing with the bears was really cool. >> that was cool. what did you think about them [ bleep ]? >> it was cool. >> all plans went out the window. i felt like i had a [ bleep ] in my [ bleep ] or something like that. i got to unload this thing. >> they did. come confusion, he [ bleep ] some big balls. >> they didn't mug shot me, they didn't [ bleep ] me. >> i know we're freezing but can the fans see what you're wearing. or are you too cold? >> no, that's fine. >> isn't she gorgeous? >> i have the absolute smelliest and sweatiest and stinkiest [ bleep ] ever. it's really awful. >> i'm 30 today. >> happy [ bleep ] birthday to me. >> jacqueline likes to take to the pageant with her her puppet baby. he's a disabled puppet, has a little wheelchair. >> we have to hurry. >> let's all [ bleep ] like animals. >> will you help us [ bleep ] like animals? great! >> jimmy: we have a good show for you tonight. elle

ted kennedy and i worked together to introduce accountability in the public school system. many of you did not like being in tested. i do not think how you can solve educational mediocrity unless you test, was a landmark piece of legislation, and finally, stem cell research. i gave a speech in august of 2001, so those were three things, but no question 9-11 defined to the presidency, because it made it clear my job was to protect the presidency. i made a lot of controversial decisions, and the truth is if i had to do over again, i would have done them again. i think one of the largest accomplishments was that there was no further attacks on the country. >> i am a freshman, and you talk about a pakistani-u.s. relations, and i was wondering where you see that going in the future. >> it is interesting that colin powell basically made out a list of demands to president musharraf, whose government recognize the taliban and said, who are you with? he said, the united states, and that began an important relationship, because pakistan had an affect on what took place in afghanistan

incredibly bright or at least, iterring sense made them bright the whole business surrounding the late ted kennedy you recall he went off that bridge. >> right mary joe -- >> there was never any long range associated with that because we reference his great presentation on health care that didn't pass until obama came along. >> what is it about the democratdynasties, whether it is the longs of louisiana, the birds. >> the browns of california. >> the cuomos of new york. what is it? >> just part of our heritage we really do hold on to those imaginary figures we hold more on the substantive side than they were capable of that is who we are we love to talk about the kennedys more importantly, bill clinton is becoming bigger and bigger and bigger, and more productive, on the inspirational side it is like a cult he comes to town let's say, sales force.com and there is a scramble for the private opportunity after he finishes his gig to talk about and sit at his feet as he puts on flip flops and a sweater and tells stories that may or may not be true. >> well, it is not necessarily the democrats holding

earlier this year, scott brown had a stunning electoral victory in massachusetts with ted kennedy's old seat. poling was showing it was going to be a competitive race in the major networks never covered it as a competitive race until the very final couple of days because it was just just incomprehensible the democrats could lose the seat and so much of the tea party movement in the same category can't believe people aren't happy with the policies right now and the federal government. >> guest: i am startled as i look at the data i see the love of activism that points to scott brown but you could point to share an ankle and marco rubio, the list goes on. for some reason the media hasn't wanted to give the tea party movement credit. for goodness' sake, you don't have to be a supporter of christine o'donnell or share unable to represent the vibrancy, authenticity and power and potency of the tea party movement. >> host: you tel dan anecdote in your book about rush limbaugh, the radio show host and mr. steele of the rnc. can you tell us that anecdote again and say what you think it means? >

nixon perceived a lot of enemies, and the goons first # assignment was to tail senator ted kennedy everywhere because nixon thought he would be his opponent forever reelection -- for reelection. they broke into not just the watergate that i'll get to, but broke into the offices and stole the files of ed musky's campaign manager. think of it. you have to stand back. the watergate break-in itself, the one all the fuss is made about, by the time that happened, it was routine. they had already done the most menacing thing which was to raid the offices of the psychiatrist of danielelsberg who looked the papers. nixon thought it would reflect badly on his policy and he was engaged by leaks. that was what nixon was really trying to cover up. he was much more worried about that, but as for the watergate break in, i don't know what the mystery is about. he wanted to get the goods on lawrence and brian, the democratic national committee chairman, and there was also some thought that o'brian had connections with howard hughs on which nixon had taken heat because his brother borrowed money and in the cou

ted kennedy and i as well as judd gregg and boehner and george miller, these are both democrats and republicans, worked at introduce accountability into the public school system. many of you lived under no child left behind and you probably didn't like being tested. nevertheless, i don't see how you can solve education -- educational mediocrity unless you test. and so that was a landmark piece of legislation. and finally, stem cell research. now that issue was not one i campaigned on but it came up during my presidency and i gave a speech out of crawford, i think august, 2001, on stem cell research. so those are three areas of pretty consequential decision- making that took place prior to 9/11. but no question 9/11 redefined the presidency because it made it abundantly clear that my most important job was to protect the country. and i took a -- i made a lot of controversial decisions to do that, many of which i describe in the book. and the truth of the matter is if i had to do them over again, i would have done them again. because i think one of the largest accomplishments of my administration

this is part of the 2000 page bill and is one of ted kennedy's people said they're about 50/50 other like that that nobody knows about that are now law. this was a major achievement that nobody can take away from barack obama. he won ugly, 31 and it will be a part of his legacy. >> well, time will tell. the issue really for me was the sellout of the public option. there's this constant refrain among obama files that with this i'm sorry, this horrible clichÉ, don't let the perfect enemy of the good. it's a question of fighting, fighting for something. obama traded away the public option so long ago. we knew that. mitchell's great piece in harper's on health care really just laid it all out. and it was a capitulation and i didn't have to be that way. i mean, reject that idea. >> you know, it doesn't do any good to try and imagine. >> no, it's called politics, fight, rollover your opponents. >> you've got these -- conservative democrats. i mean, lyndon johnson, when he passed any big legislation from a major piece of legislation is that the 60 democrats put a whole bunch of liberal demo

i mean, it really -- when i think of ted kennedy, who when i came to the senate was just somebody that i could never believe i'd be working with ted kennedy, and then i invite the presiding officer sometime, maybe you've seen it coming to my office, but as you come into my capitol office, as you walk into the door, i have a letter that was stoants me by -- that was sent to me by president kennedy between the time he was elected and before he was inaugurated. and ted used to come into my office and many, many times he would look at that letter from his brother and he'd say shall that's his real signature. it was a letter to me. congratulating me on establishing the first young democrat club at the utah state university. and then-to-have -- and then to have this wonderful letter from caroline. these things we do affect people and there's no better example than that nice letter i got from caroline today regarding her father. reading that -- thanks for doing this for my father. so, mr. president, i further ask that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the moti

this is part of his 2000 page bill and is one of ted kennedy's people said there are about 50 other things like that nobody knows about that are now law. this was a major achievement that nobody can take away from barack obama. he won ugly, but he won and it will be part of his legacy. >> time will tell. the issue really for me was the sellout of a public option. there's this constant refrain among obama files that with this, i'm sorry, this horrible clichÉ, don't let the perfect tv enemy of the good. it is a question of fighting, fighting for something. obama, he traded away the public option so long ago. the news that. mitchell's great piece in "harper's" on health care really just laid it all out, and it was a capitulation. it didn't have to be that way. i reject that. it doesn't do any good to. >> a magic wand? it is called politics. is called faith, is called roll over your opponent. >> how? conservative democrats, i mainland and johnson passed medicare which was itself tough because in a big legislation major piece of legislation is always tough. he had 68 democrats plus a whole bunc

he forge add very productive working relationship with my predecessor as chair, senator ted kennedy. for example, he played a key role in senator kennedy in crafting the bipartisan no child left behind act. and a few years later i was proud to work with both of those new england senators but especially senator gregg to reauthorize and improve the americans with disabilities education act. in 2008, senator gregg was a key leader in crafting and forging bipartisan support for the emergency economic stablization act. system are criticized the troubled assets relief program, tarp. but facts are facts. tarp prevented a total meltdown of our financial system and almost the entire $700 billion taxpayer investment has been or soon will be paid back to the u.s. treasury. in fact, just this week the treasury booked a $12 billion profit on its previous $45 billion investment in citigroup. this year senator gregg has played a key role on the "help" committee in bringing together senators from both parties to advance food safety legislation. now, frankly, there were many times when sharp policy d

i talked to my friend, sart -- senator kennedy, ted kennedy. he thought about it seriously.nto the next morning and the time was beginning to run out and finally he said he just didn't feel he could do it. so we quickly put together a short list and sarge shriver was high on that list. but you know something? he was in russia and we couldn't find him. we couldn't locate him. this was before the days of cell phones and so on. but if we would have found him at that day, he would have been my running mate right from the beginning. instead of that, we went through a list and finally ended up with senator eagleton and on the advice of doctors, we asked him to step down and then we had just a short time to replace him and i went to sarge and talked to him and he said absolutely, i would be happy to run with you. and that's how he became my nominee. and he was a good one. i will honor him the rest of my days and his splendid family and i'll treasure all the joy and cheer, optimism and faith that he imparted to so many of us over the years. thank you very much. [applause] >> to quot

some of my favorite debates were with a guy named ted kennedy who had passion like i haven't seen before or since. >> all right. senator mccain, appreciate your time this morning. a reminder cbs news will have complete live coverage of president obama's state of the union address tonight. it begins at 9:00 eastern time right here on cbs. we want to turn now to get you some more of the news of the day. jeff glor is standing by at the news desk with the day's headlines. good morning. >> good morning to everyone at home. we begin here with more on that terror bombing at moscow's busiest airport. a make-shift memorial is growing where yesterday's bombing killed 5 and injured more than a hundred. mark phillips has more on that in london. good morning. >> good morning, jeff. the blame game is under way in moscow following yesterday's airport bombing. the politicians are blaming the airport officials. the airport officials are saying the government's own transport police were at fault. this, while new video of the deadly explosion, was released. >> reporter: a closed circuit camera captured the

. >> reporter: he has worked with democrats, joining ted kennedy, for example, in crafting the no child left behind education bill. boehner's aid aides say he'll use his first speech of the speaker of the house to talk about tough choices to deal with the $14 trillion debt. and unlike his congressional colleagues, he says he has never once put an earmark in a bill for a pet project. keeping a close eye on boehner, a new crop of republicans, many of them new to politics, who may want even deeper cuts to spending. people like bobby schilling, who, until yesterday, ran a piece pizzeria in illinois. >> we need to go to washington so our kids and grandkids have the same opportunities afforded to us. >> reporter: there will be 85 new republicans sworn in tomorrow. now, every, single one of them supported boehner for speaker of the house. but they have a willingness to challenge their leadership when they disagree. >> thanks very much. >>> new developments in the scandal involving an aircraft carrier commander, who produced raunchy videos starring himself. he has been relieved of his command,

you had senator ted kennedy and his son patrick. you guys are the opposite. >> good to be with you. >> good to see you all. let's get into some of the tough choices you are going to face that diane set up right there starting with the cutting of the spending. i look at this pledge to america that so many republicans ran on this year. it says, we will roll back government spending to prestimulus, prebailout levels, saving at least $100 billion in the first year alone. yet we read this morning in "the new york times," let me start with you, senator-to-be paul saying that they're scaling back, that ambitions -- aides to the house republican leader say the goal is $50 billion to $60 billion. are you on with that? >> our goal is a little more ambitious. we have a bill that we're working on that will be $500 billion. you snow, $50 billion is not even scratching the surface. the debt problem is enormous. you know, we're bringing in about $2 trillion in spending, nearly $4 trillion. so $50 billion is not enough to scratch the surface. we ha

this early rival and a late friend ted kennedy used to joke about campaigning in west virginia.broke down, he got a whole of the highway patrol and they ask where he was. he said he was all robert byrd highway. dispatch said, "which one?" [laughter] it is a life that immeasurably improved the lives of west virginians. of course, robert byrd was a deeply religious man. he understood that our lives are marked by sense as well as virtues, failures as well as successes, weakness as well as string -- weakness as well as strength. he did something he regretted. he did something he regretted. he said there were things he regretted in his youth. you may know that. i said, "none of us are absent some regrets, senator." that is why we enjoy and seek the grace of god. as i reflect on his 92 years, it seems to me that his life has been full of justice. like the constitution he kept in his pocket, like the nation itself, robert byrd was the quintessential american. he had the capacity to change. the capacity to learn. the capacity to listen. the capacity to be made more perfect. over is near

people may be familiar with the no-fly risk -- list, senator ted kennedy was flat and not able to go and fly on a plane. the problem is virtually everybody who gets the night -- they used the term initial denials -- even those can go back to the system and by the gun once it is found out. in 2007, the last year we really have numbers for, there were 50 convictions. only about -- under 90 cases that they thought might be prosecuteda -- prosecutable -- host: you mention a lot of the current gun laws are counterproductive and. how would you change it? guest: make it easier for people to carry concealed. -- handguns. policing is the most important single factor for people to be able to stop crime. but please understand themselves that they virtually always arrive after the crime has been committed. and many of the cases, how can you get somebody there with a gun faster because the amount of damage and harm done in many of the crimes is, in fact, related to how long it takes from when the crime starts and someone is able to get on the scene with a gun. host: john lott is a ph.d. from ucla

fixes education is the leave no child behind act that has everyone behind it from george bush to ted kennedy. it did not fix the education. on the contrary, it's one of the reasons people are turning on government. so many efforts like the effort to fix education, like the bailout of wall street, has ended betraying the american middle-class and the working poor. look at the deal warren buffett made with goldman sachs and look at the deal the american government on behalf of the american taxpayer made with goldman sachs. you'll be angry it whether you are left ring or white -- what you are left wing or right wing. i'm not saying they should not have bailed out wall street, they should have bailed out wall street with strings attached. [applause] i have many friends of mine who are good capitalist to sleep with a copy of "fountainhead" under their pillows. that's not how the capitalist system is supposed to operate. you take extensive risk, you may the wrong -- to make the wrong decision, and you go bankrupt. if you are too big to fail and you will be salvaged by the hardworking american taxp

fixes education is the leave no child behind act that has everyone behind it from george bush to ted kennedy. it did not fix the education. on the contrary, it's one of the reasons people are turning on government. so many efforts like the effort to fix education, like the bailout of wall street, has ended betraying the american middle-class and the working poor. look at the deal warren buffett made with goldman sachs and look at the deal the american government on behalf of the american taxpayer made with goldman sachs. you'll be angry it whether you are left ring or white -- what you are left wing or right wing. i'm not saying they should not have bailed out wall street, they should have bailed out wall street with strings attached. [applause] i have many friends of mine who are good capitalist to sleep with a copy of "fountainhead" under their pillows. that's not how the capitalist system is supposed to operate. you take extensive risk, you may the wrong -- to make the wrong decision, and you go bankrupt. if you are too big to fail and you will be salvaged by the hardworking american taxp

i thought to my friend, ted kennedy, and he thought about this seriously.y put together a short list, and sarge shriver was high on that list, but you know something? he was in russia, and we couldn't find him. we couldn't locate him. that was before the days of cell phones, but if we'd found him that day, he would have been my running mate right in the beginning. instead of that, we went through a list. finally, we ended up with senator eagleton and on the invasive actors, we asked him to step down, and then we had just a short time to replace him, and i went to sarge, talked to him, he said absolutely. i'd be happy to run with you, and that's how he became my nominee, and he was a good one. i will honor him the rest of my days and his spean did family -- splendid family and treasure all the joy, sheer, on optimism, and faith that he imparted on so many of us over the years. thank you very much. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> the -- [inaudible] [laughter] as bill hoyer once said -- [laughter] and will say again -- [laughter] thank you. i wish all of y

clark's own exquisite biography of the address argues that its best lines came not from ted sorenson, who was kennedy'sechwriter, but from jfk himself, who made sure to be photographed working on it. a claim loyally corroborated over the years by the late sorenson himself. >> it was kennedy's speech. >> reporter: corroborated, but not always believed, except by those who recognized that his themes, like sacrificing for liberty -- >> pay any price, bear any burden. >> reporter: -- were themes he'd expressed throughout the campaign. and no one doubts that the edits were kennedy's, as when he spoke of human rights. >> those human rights to which this nation has always been committed. >> reporter: a young aide, later a u.s. senator, had urged kennedy to mark the cause of civil rights, so listen for this two-word insert. >> to which we are committed today, at home and around the world. >> the president got to me that day and he revived the can-do american spirit that the world was waiting for, and he was young himself. >> reporter: young, and also bold. after years of cautious leadership in the 1950s and a

dedication of life to social justice and also i might add the work of our former senator kennedy, ted kennedythis bill would never have become law. and i congratulate all of them for their work. madam president, serving in the senate today are colleagues whom i would also like to thank for their efforts to enact that legislation. the 1983 king holiday bill had six of its 34 sponsors are still in the senate today, including senator baucus, senator bingaman, senator inouye, senator lautenberg, levin, and lugar as well as the president of the senate, vice president joe biden. five senators who were members of the house of representatives at the time were original cosponsors of the companion bill, h.r. 3706, which became law. they are majority leader reid, senator akaka, boxer, mikulski and schumer. i thank them all for their leadership and vision in the 1980's as to the importance of making this holiday a remembrance to dr. martin luther king. 20 years before its enactment in august of 1963 on the steps of the lincoln memorial, dr. king delivered his most well-known speech in which he called for

people may be familiar with the no-fly risk -- list, senator ted kennedy was flat and not able to go and fly on a plane. the problem is virtually everybody who gets the night -- they used the term initial denials -- even those can go back to the system and by the gun once it is found out. in 2007, the last year we really have numbers for, there were 50 convictions. only about -- under 90 cases that they thought might be prosecuteda -- prosecutable -- host: you mention a lot of the current gun laws are counterproductive and. how would you change it? guest: make it easier for people to carry concealed. -- handguns. policing is the most important single factor for people to be able to stop crime. but please understand themselves that they virtually always arrive after the crime has been committed. and many of the cases, how can you get somebody there with a gun faster because the amount of damage and harm done in many of the crimes is, in fact, related to how long it takes from when the crime starts and someone is able to get on the scene with a gun. host: john lott is a ph.d. from ucla

fixes education is the leave no child behind act that has everyone behind it from george bush to ted kennedy. it did not fix the education. on the contrary, it's one of the reasons people are turning on government. so many efforts like the effort to fix education, like the bailout of wall street, has ended betraying the american middle-class and the working poor. look at the deal warren buffett made with goldman sachs and look at the deal the american government on behalf of the american taxpayer made with goldman sachs. you'll be angry it whether you are left ring or white -- what you are left wing or right wing. i'm not saying they should not have bailed out wall street, they should have bailed out wall street with strings attached. [applause] i have many friends of mine who are good capitalist to sleep with a copy of "fountainhead" under their pillows. that's not how the capitalist system is supposed to operate. you take extensive risk, you may the wrong -- to make the wrong decision, and you go bankrupt. if you are too big to fail and you will be salvaged by the hardworking american taxp

the challenge i do not want us to miss is that the last bill of ted kennedy, the last great action that brought people together was what was named the edward m. kennedy served america act. it called for national service to go from 75,000 to 250,000 americorps members, that expanded service learning that gave a great new impetus to the board generation's -- the boomer service.n's that will be continued, along with what happens with the peace corps. will it continue on that track? armey, who may not go to jail, spoke for a bad part of the tea party, saying second on his agenda to kill would be the serve america bill. it has been put on a list that may mean a whole new battle. it was a night when the republican conservative from wyoming it said that in every committee that worked on this, the majority of republicans supported. the ranking member worked on it. we worked with the white house. why can't we do more of this? the reason i am optimistic is that is when things get worse that the clearest thing people ever know in politics is what is not it. and i think their response to what the p

director for majority leader of the senate, senator harry reid who previously worked for senator ted kennedy, senator george mitchell. he picked only the best. jim manley. [applause] >> hello, everyone. thanks. delighted to be here. as rob said, my name is jim manley. and to clarify shortly, up until last friday, i was the senior communications adviser and spokesman for senator reid. i am now -- i have now joined the ranks of the unemployed while i try and figure out my new options in life. as rob suggested, i have worked on capitol hill for 20 years. i started off as a press assistant for then majority leader, george mitchell, whereas one of my greatest claims to fame is putting together clips every morning. i then worked for senator kennedy, first of all is his press assistant for a year or two. but in 1995 i guess i became his press secretary for the health education committee where ross suggests i have a chance to work on both politics and policy. six years ago, one of the first thing senator reid did after he became democratic leader was to hire me to set up his so-called war room and i

ted kennedy and orrin hatch were a powerful team precisely because they didn't agree that much, and they spent a lot of time fighting each other and so the senate cleaned in and listened on those occasions when somehow this ultimate odd couple of things that they were willing to fight for together. sometimes as john kennedy once said the party asks too much. sometimes party leaders also asked to much especially if the exploit the rules of the united states senate for the sole purpose of denying it president a second term but that is what we witnessed the last two years. republicans nearly unanimous in opposition to almost every single proposal by the president and almost every proposal by democratic colleagues. the extraordinary measure of a filibuster has become an ordinary experience. today it's possible for 41 senators representing only about one-tenth of the american population to bring the united states senate and the congress to stand still. now certainly i believe the filibuster has its rightful place. i used it wants to stop the drilling for oil in the wildlife refuge because i b

director for majority leader of the senate, senator harry reid who previously worked for senator ted kennedy, senator george mitchell. he picked only the best. jim manley. [applause] >> hello, everyone. thanks. delighted to be here. as rob said, my name is jim manley. and to clarify shortly, up until last friday, i was the senior communications adviser and spokesman for senator reid. i am now -- i have now joined the ranks of the unemployed while i try and figure out my new options in life. as rob suggested, i have worked on capitol hill for 20 years. i started off as a press assistant for then majority leader, george mitchell, whereas one of my greatest claims to fame is putting together clips every morning. i then worked for senator kennedy, first of all is his press assistant for a year or two. but in 1995 i guess i became his press secretary for the health education committee where ross suggests i have a chance to work on both politics and policy. six years ago, one of the first thing senator reid did after he became democratic leader was to hire me to set up his so-called war room and i

ted kennedy and orrin hatch were a powerful team precisely because they didn't agree that much, and they spent a lot of time fighting each other and so the senate cleaned in and listened on those occasions when somehow this ultimate odd couple of things that they were willing to fight for together. sometimes as john kennedy once said the party asks too much. sometimes party leaders also asked to much especially if the exploit the rules of the united states senate for the sole purpose of denying it president a second term but that is what we witnessed the last two years. republicans nearly unanimous in opposition to almost every single proposal by the president and almost every proposal by democratic colleagues. the extraordinary measure of a filibuster has become an ordinary experience. today it's possible for 41 senators representing only about one-tenth of the american population to bring the united states senate and the congress to stand still. now certainly i believe the filibuster has its rightful place. i used it wants to stop the drilling for oil in the wildlife refuge because i b

historians have argued about just how much of the speech was the work of longtime kennedy speechwriter and advisor, tedy evidence. >> reporter: a new exhibit at the kennedy library in boston offers visual proof that kennedy himself deserves much of the credit. it's a steno pad from j.f.k.'s secret, evelyn lincoln. >> even in her shorthand, you can see she's written out the words, "long twilight struggle, and now the trumpet song begins, tyranny... >> disease and war itself." >> reporter: one other line in that speech helped trigger a debate that has endured for decades. >> we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. >> reporter: for some, that hawkish declaration set the stage for the beginning of american involvement in vietnam ♪ there's something happening here... ♪ >> reporter: for historian thruston clarke, however... >> most of the rest of the speech was about peace and negotiations and the threat of nuclear war. >> let us never negotiate out of fear. but let us never fear to negotiate. >> reporte

ted kennedy and orrin hatch were powerful teams, precisely because they didn't agree that much. and they spent a lot of time fighting each other. and so the senate leaned in and listened on those occasions when somehow this ultimate odd couple found things that they were willing to fight for together. sometimes ask john kennedy once said, party asks too much. sometimes party leaders also asked too much. especially if they exploit the rules of the united states senate, the sole purpose of denying a president a second term. that's what we have witnessed for the last few years. republicans nearly unanimous in opposition to almost every single proposal by the president, and almost every proposal by democratic colleagues. the extraordinary measure of a filibuster has become an ordinary expedient. today it's possible, 41 senators representing only about one-tenth of the american population, to bring the united states senate and, therefore, the congress to a standstill. now certainly i believe the filibuster has its rightful place. i used it once to stop the drilling for oil in the arc

strategist for some of the remarkable policy leaders, public leaders including our dear friend, ted kennedy, john kerry and harry reid. she was the chief spokesperson for the obama -- there'll be time for her to speak. >> i'm just looking at half the presentation. >> she was the chief spokesperson for the obama/biden campaign. she's here and give her a warm welcome. [applause] >> so stephanie, i was wondering maybe you could open up and give us a sense of the lay of the land in terms of where we are today. >> sure. first let me say as ron mentioned, i worked for senator kennedy for many years that's when i became familiar with families usa and i just want to say thank you for all you do every day out there fighting for better health care and quality of life for the american people. it really does make a difference especially sitting here in washington and seeing what you do. so thank you. and that's when i first became familiar with ron pollack he was a legend in senator kennedy's office. if you wanted something done you caldron. so as soon as i got to the white house i caldron and it has w

. >> reporter: long time kennedy speech writer and advisor ted sorensen was often given credit for the inaugural address. thurston clark disagrees. >> the torch has been passed to a new generation, bear any burden, those were kennedy. he had a sorensen draft in front of him on january 10. he flew to palm beach, he looked at the draft and he dictated his changes and additions to the draft. >> reporter: at the kennedy library in boston, director tom putnam showed us the display that includes pages from the steno pad of kennedy's secretary. >> even in her short hand you can see she's written "out doors long, twilight struggle" or "the trumpet summons us again." "tier new england, disease, war itself." these are signature lines that we remember and this is the genesis of them on that flight to palm beach. >> reporter: most memorable, of course, is the line that defined his central message. >> ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. (cheers and applause) >> reporter: the sudden end of the kennedy presidency left behind a sense of what could have been.

ted kennedy, orrin hatch were a powerful team, precisely because they didn't agree that much. and they spent a lot of time fighting each other and so the senate leaned in, listened on those occasions when somehow, this ultimate odd couple found things they were willing to fight for together. sometimes, as john kennedy once said, party asks too much. sometimes, party leaders also ask too much. especially if they exploit the rules of the united states senate for the sole purpose of denying a president a second term. but that's what we witnessed for the last two years. republicans nearly unanimous in opposition to almost every single proposal by the president and almost every proposal by democratic colleagues. the extraordinary measure of the filibuster has become an ordinary expedient. today, it's possible for 41 senators representing only about 1/10 of the american population to bring the united states senate and therefore the congress to a standstill. now certainly, i believe the filibuster has its rightful place. i used it once to stop the drilling for oil in the arctic wildl

and you do that i think primarily with people that deal from theeart, people like paul wellstone, ted kennedysse helms. there are a lot of others and many people get many things done in this body, but i think it's just best when people deal from the heart. and when they do that, then there's a chance for us to com together around key and heartfelt things. this has been a great body to serve in and i've delighted in being able to do that. there's much to be done, much to be done for the country. we've got to deal with creation of jobs in america. we have deal with our debt and our deficit. we have many, many issues to deal with. the -- my hope for here and my hope for our country is that we go back to the virtues of the greatest generation and look to those for ways to move on forward. it's kind of looking back at the old path at what worked in tough mes d moving on forward to the new path. i was -- i came into this seat after bob dole served in this body and served in this seat. senator dole from kansas i think is the icoc figure of the world war ii generation and of that greatest generation.

. >> i have been reading the kennedy inaugural speech, and it is more poetry than political rhetoric. >> tedsorensen. >> when you look to the original notes, the stuff in kennedy's handwriting is is. the inaugural speech is different from the state of the union, which is it coming up. that is tough to make poetry. >> who remembers the state of the union address? >> i remember most of them. >> do you? >> no. the iranian thing that bush talked about in iraq. -- uranium thing that bush talked about and directed the times are different. you cannot compare the two. >> kennedy's speech memorably pledged america to bear any burden to ensure the success of liberty. it is ironic that joe lieberman, the last of those democrats and that tradition, is retiring exactly on the 50th anniversary of that declaration. >> mark? >> kennedy's speech talks about sacrifice. that is a word that has been missing from the lexicon, since the certainly -- certainly sends 30 years ago with ronald reagan. >> we hear that a lot did not enough calls for sacrifice. what politician is willing to say -- >> when obama asked fo