he made a pledge to ted kennedy, part of the carrying on of the kennedy legacy, was to work for healthe, for an expansion of health care to as many americans as possible. but barack obama understood and sensed that he was not going to be able to go the whole nine yards, wasn't going to be able to extend medicare to all, to turn the american health care system into a national health, that was not going to go in the american grain. so he fought for what he could, and got out quite a lot, but he was -- he was more measured, and centrist in certain i was on policy than some people realized. the left wing of the democratic party realized it. to some extent they're chafing it at his legacy now. he would argue and does argue eastern eastern i think history will support him in this that he got as much as possible at a time when the republicans were swearing up and down that their main objective was to make him a one term president. he didn't get any republican support for the health care law, and now that failure to make it bipartisan and he tried, initially, he tried, coming back and continui

i did what that quote from ted sorensen in the introduction. kennedy was incredibly well read and ted had an obscure knowledge of history. it became well-known after reagan later quoted it, but it was kennedy who surfaced that and directed goodwin to read it and come back with a draft. susan: one of the points in the book which escaped my knowledge was that jack kennedy as a younger man was not a good speech maker and it was a skill he had to learn to apply to himself, which is interesting when we see the soaring rhetoric carved into building. >> the issue of his catholicism is dealt with but my mother had a bugaboo with jack because he appointed his brother as attorney general. the current president has read a five -- has redefined nepotism, but how big of an issue was this during kennedy's day? stephen: i remember he said to robert kennedy when they were walking out, stop smiling, bobby. you'll look happy. i think it is a legitimate issue. fortunately robert kennedy was fairly well-qualified. he served on the rackets committee in the senate. he had r

i think ted kennedy would have been establishment under the definition of some. in my view he was under the accomplishments wing, he got stuff done. that is why he has a museum of accomplishments to talk about. we have to move away from talking about those questions, which are rorschach task kind of questions. are you lifting people up? when we did in overtime rule at -- labor department, to allhat gave leverage the employers and leverage away from workers. when you bring together police department's and communities that have been torn apart by unrest. i spent a good part of my career doing that. you are lifting up both. when you don't ask those false choice kinds of questions. and i hear people like donald trump asked the question in the context, whose side are you on monday police or the community? -- on, the police or the community? frontline officers have told me time and time again, you are most in currency is the community. are asking that question, are we lifting people up as opposed to burning people down? that is the question we need to ask. too frequent

ted kennedy was, in my mind the chair of the accomplishments wing of the democratic party. he got stuff done. that's why he has a museum of accomplishments to talk about. i think what we have to do and what were trying to do is move away from asking those questions which are kind of loaded questions and asked the questio question, are you lifting people up? when we did an overtime role at the labor department, we were trying to lift up 10 million workers who had been working 80 hours a week and hadn't gotten a meaningful raising years because the rules had been changed by folks in the bush administration in a way that gave all the leverage to employers and all the leverage away from workers. when you bring together you are lifting up both. when you don't ask those false choice questions and when he asked the contacts whose side are you on, the police of the community, i've been involved in the space for a long time. front-line officers have told me time and time again your most important currency is the trust of the community. when you are asking that question, are we lifti

ted kennedy, there would be almost a party around his exuberant, talking, laughing, joking. and then more sensitively he was a patient person who love the legislative process, loves to work it, and i don't think necessarily that jfk had that same sort of mind set. if i could just read a couple of sentences from a wonderful memoir, a gentleman by the name of harry mcpherson who wrote about political education. and the book, among many other some of the characters of the senate at that time. and let me read just a few sentence. he sat in the back row companies against the desk, wrapping his teeth of a pencil and reading the economist and the guardian. he was treated with affection by most senators, but he was all to elusive, finding his way in other worlds outside the chamber . handsome, bright, well-connected, he seemed to regard senate grandees as impressive but tedious. regarded by them as something of a playboy, a dilettante. his voting record was moderate and sometimes conservative, especially on trade in agriculture matters. he was not a prime mover in the senate. only o

we sometimes mistake of the jfk years as a bastion of liberalism and that might because ted kennedy had such a long, liberal career that people morphed all kennedy thinking into one but jack kennedy had a brand of leadership and american identity that was slightly different than ted kennedy. look at arthur's lesson jerk -- arthur schlessinger's book. it is what it means to be a centrist american and you will get close to john f. kennedy's philosophical thinking on this is. stephen: he gave a speech called "definition of a liberal." he said liberalism is a believe in the possibility of society to improve itself. that is why he was pro-government, because he thought we could accomplish things together. that versus conservatism, which tries to protect what has already been established. in that sense he was a true liberal. he did believe government could be affected. that was the primary -- could be effective. that was the primary concept he had. he suggested medicare. he made changes to make america a more diverse country. he was not dogmatically, programmatically liberal. >> when i was fi

before he spoke, i thought that health care was the substantive thread, because don't forget that ted kennedy had run for the presidency based on it in 1980 against jimmy carter on health care, and he also hit a note that we were talking about beforehand which is the idea of narrative and politics. i think that when he said that what the kennedys did best was tell us stories about the best of ourselves, and i think that he said the stor ies that they told us about ourselves were so important, and inspirational, and barack obama is that kind of president. he wrote his own autobiography before he did anything, and he said in the campaign and literally said that we are the change that we have been waiting for. and the example that he gave in the class and the elegance and the smarts and the calm and the leadership gives to a new generation inspiration for inclusion of the kind of community that he wants to build. did he build it perfectly himself? of course not. is it a jag that he used the term jagged tentative but ultimately forward progress if we try? yes. and that is the inspirational part t

he reaches out to ted kennedy of all people, on the other side of the aisle, and then the other side of the political spectrum. a liberal in the most liberal sense of the term as opposed to george w. bush. and what did george bush do? he invited ted kennedy and his family to the white house after the inauguration and he said, the new movie "13 days" has come out about the cuban myself crisis and your brother and john f. kennedy and his presidency would you like to watch it in the white house theater? >> so all of these things in that particular week were about this trust developing, this mating dance, this relationship, this common cause of can we get something big done? they both had their own equities obviously politically and otherwise. but they both believed that we ought to do a better job of educating poor kids. >> you can just imagine the brother of president kennedy sitting there with the new president, president bush, watching a film in the white house movie theater. and then they started talking in that night about how they wanted to work together on some big issues. it's g

with encoursements from care line and ted kennedy he became the first black president of the united statesways we approach the 100th anniversary of president kennedy's birth, his family once again recognizes obama with this year's prestigious award. >> president obama brought in a new generation as president kennedy did, and transformed this country. >> reporter: from ending more than 50 years of sanctions against cuba to clean air and health care reform. >> we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. >> reporter: former republican presidents gerald ford and george h.w. bush received the award, but obama is first democratic president. >> usually as the president moves from politics into history americans tend to appreciate him more even if he was very controversial at the time. >> reporter: valerie jarrett was obama's senior adviser. >> he was able to soar above a lot of the kind ofox and by every single indicator he has moved our country forward. >> reporter: but now that his signature achievements are challenged by a new administration -- >> make no mistake, this is a repeal an

ted kennedy: everybody up here is a president of some union. except old kennedy!f someone hasn't watched c-span or isn't sure what it's about, what would you tell them it is about? brian lamb: i'd say you have to be interested in how the government spends your money. $4 trillion comes into this town every year and most people don't have time to pay attention to it and like things in bursts, but if you want to know the language of government, the process of government, the people that you never see on television who are making a lot of decisions that you don't realize are being made in your behalf, you can come to us and see political events as they happen in their entirety. pres. trump: this is a repeal and repllce of obamacare, make no mistake about it. sharyl: i hear from a lot of people today who are discouraged with traditional news, maybe c-span is really coming into its own, kind of ironically, dad want that unfiltered information that's so hard to find on the regular channels. brian lamb: i'm not sure, because we're not making any attempt to capsulize it, o

senate, ted kennedy said the promise of america will never be fulfilled as long as justice is denied to even one among us. and yet justice is denied every day. every day in 30 states across our nation. when the door of discrimination is slammed shut on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender individuals. we the people here in america understand that it's time to stop slamming the door of discrimination shut and open the door to full opportunity and full equality as envisioned in our founding documents. 60% of americans support same-sex marriages. more than half oppose north carolina's bathroom bill and other similar bills to discriminate against transgender individuals. according to one study by the public religion research institute, more than 70% of americans support comprehensive federal legislation. so public opinion is in support of moving forward, moving forward to keep the door of opportunity open and stop slamming the door of discrimination in the fails of our citizens -- face of our citizens. it's time, time for us to stand up for our fellow citizens, time for us to speak out ag

i walked down the floor, strident fellow named jesse helms from north carolina was excoriating ted kennedy and another friend of mine, bob dole, for introducing the precursor for the americans with disabilities act. he was going on about it was not the role of government, and no one had a right to tell a county or business person to accommodate, etc. i thought he was being heartless. i sat down and senator mansfield said, what is the matter joe? i went on about how jesse helms had no social redeeming value, i thought he was terrible. he said, joe, what would you say if i told you that jesse helms, anee years ago, saw advertisement in early december for a young man with braces up to his hips 14 years old, saying all i want for christmas is someone to love me. ifsaid, what would you say jesse adopted that man as his own child? i said, i would feel like a fool. joe.id well, they did joe, it is always appropriate to question another man or woman's judgment, but it is never appropriate to question their motives. because you never know. once you? questione you motive, it makes it impossible to r

i am reminded of a story from many years ago when the noun state senator ted kennedy junior was sleepingparents. they lived in constant fear of what might happen if they couldn't afford the next treatment. some calculating in their own minds what they might have to so or borrow some bargaining for whatever they can get and right there in the quiet of night, working people of modest means and one of the most powerful men in america shared the same intimate and immediate selflessness. it was the quiet dignified courage of others the most frightening thing imaginable to do what it takes on behalf of the loved ones that compelled to to make them has cost not out of self-interest but concern for those who suffer. that's what the ordinary courage of everyday people can aspire when you were paying attention, people doing the right thing day in and day out they don't get attention for it but that's what is defined. i think women like my grandmother and so many like her work their way up and in the process pushed the glass ceiling a little bit higher and people who despite ms got up every single

that wasn't ted sorensen. kennedy came up with that one. trump has no orator cal skical .on had somebody, not bad. does it still matter? >> right now it's tweets and quick sound bites but i think oratory will come back into fashion. i teach at rice university where jfk came and talked to a student group about going to the moon. >> one of the great ones. >> it was so well done, and it got so many cheers, and it kind of moved a generation. so i still think -- >> we made it by the way, within the decade. >> that helps. and when neil armstrong went on the moon at mission control in cape canaveral and in houston, it puts john f. kennedy's challenge to the nation up on the board. and all this technology grew out of that, by him saying let's go to the moon, like gps, medical miracles, all sorts of different things we use, wirings. >> tang, of course. steve, which of these speeches did you like the most? wh do you think we'll fight them on the beaches, we'll fight them on the fields? what was jack's? >> the one that's considered the greatest by, i would say, most historians is the

i walked down the floor, a very is dried named jesse holmes from north carolina was excoriating ted kennedy and another good friend of mine, bob dole, who is still alive by the way, before introducing the precursor for the american's disability act. and he was going on how it was not the role of government and nobody had the right to tell a county or a business person or anybody else they had to curb cut, or buses had to accommodate, etc. i thought he was being heartless, so i sat down and senator mansfield looked at me and said, what is the matter joe? i went on for three minutes talking about how jesse helms had no redeeming value, i thought he was terrible. he looked at me when i finished in second the what if i told you that jesse holmes, three years ago, sitting in his home in raleigh, north carolina with his wife thought in advertisements in early december for a young man with braces up to his hips, 14 years old, braces on his arms, saying all i want for christmas is for somebody to love me and take me home. what would you say if i told you that jesse and dot helms adopted that young

it was passed before ted kennedy died, that it was modified by reconciliation. modified on a 51-vote basis. we have 52 republicans. you need 60 votes to fully repeal and replace most of the debates are how to tweak it and change it. what we should be having is a debate and the democrats should come to the table. they promised a bunch of things that didn't come true. we really need a debate about creating a portable health care system. it's been broken well before the obamacare fiasco and now the four or five months republicans have had in government. >> bret: senator portman said he thinks that the end of the calendar year tax reform as possible. do you agree with that and do you have to do health care before you did tax reform? sometimes these debates are linked together but you don't have to do them in that order. i hope senator portman is right. we need to do fundamental tax reform. the fundamental problems in america, at the physical level, are ultimately about entitlement promising and spending. we should do tax reform as well but they don't have to be sequ

charlie: and ted wrote him a note, which kennedy had on his office in the wall that said, if only theynew how hard you worked. david: that's right. ♪ charlie: you write about politics and not about -- you wrote about the brooklyn bridge. that was your first book. david: i wrote about the americans went to paris. i don't think politics and the military should be seen as the whole of history. charlie: ok, that's my point. david: much of what history is really made up of includes neither. they could be art, poetry, music that will last the longest by far. we have to include that because it is part of being human. charlie: what is the responsibility of government when it comes to culture and science and supporting those very important sectors? david: it is very important that the government supports this. absolutely. and pbs and the humanities, the arts, science, absolutely. if anything, there should be more. i'm all for it. i have worked hard to keep those institutions going. i believe in them fervently. somethinget me -- as i know about you and i want to say it because if it's with the c

ted kennedy taught me that idealism and pragmatism are not mutually exclusive. progressives make progress. and that's what we're about is trying to make progress. and the challenge we have in both parties is that sometimes there's only two grades. 100% or zero as defined by a few folks. and that's a challenge that we have to overcome. and it's a work in progress. >> i'm going to take the last couple of seconds to say this, it goes back to something mike said. if all of your friends are fellow democrats or if all of your friends are fellow republicans, if you spend your time watching fox or msnbc, and you and your friends agree on everything you're the problem. start talking to people who disagree with you, understand them, learn them, love them, you know, let's get back so that we have more of the way tom and mike are able to relate to each other as friends. they can have their disagreements in a respectful honest way. that's what the aspen institute stands for. you know, and it's the key to the future. let's stop dividing ourselves and then complaining about th

. -- anyones later -- who could get along with orrin hatch and ted kennedy must have been doing something right. >> from replace to elena cage, so we get through the introduction portion. >> ok. kagan, who is a graduate of princeton university, and harvard law school, was also a marshall scholar at oxford university -- as was stephen breyer. working in the clinton administration -- domestic policy staff. she then became the first jewish woman dean of harvard law school. then she followed -- >> she probably would also qualify -- followed -- she became the next jewish solicitor general 2009. -- one of the efforts of presidents -- r two point -- hopefully under justices. she was the exact same page, 49 going a few month -- bet that -- that neil gorsuch was. what expects the golden era to get nominated. >> that's right. now, of exhausted and with me -- except for if we -- halftime about miracle. we are talking about legacies in history. perhaps will agree is a historian, it too early to talk about the legacies of the sitting justices. process -- in my 20 minutes before opening it up to the au

but ted kennedy, you wrote -- this was very powerful "nixon often spoke of what the kennedys got awayard what he was judged with. we have no margin of stakes. the legacy students would be confined to campus for the weekend." in other words guys like kennedy got a pass. guys like nixon did not. >> nixon called me after the man walked on the moon. he said you think he will get away with this? kennedy had gone off the bridge with the girl in the car and left her to drown. it was horrendous. it was two days before. i said no way he escapes this. but he was a candidate to run against us in a couple years because the whole media, the kennedy organization -- >> neil: he ended up not running. >> but he was elevated. but can you imagine if nixon had done that and lied about it? before in the motel, acting -- he would have been -- we would have all resigned. >> neil: what i didn't realize, that you're a good historian as well, when nixon got into office because of the three-way race with wallace and the -- he only got 43% of the vote. he didn't take congress with him. that hadn't happened in a

it's the same status as the 1996 hippa law that ted kennedy backed.regg: i have got to tell you it's out there. it ran crazy yesterday. let me ask you -- we have some power in congress, but we can't prevent people from lying. gregg: you can do a better job of messaging. i haven't seen you guys out there meeting with the drum that you are protecting people with conditions previous to their coverage. the last bill that died in the house had a scant 17%. a majority of americans vigorously opposed it. that may be true of this one once the polling is done. americans grew accustomed to obamacare over its 7 years, opposition to it abated over time. if your party gets rid of it, might you pay a steep price in the mid-term elections? >> i don't think so. when you combine the premium reductions with more enrollment which will allow us to cover those who are sick with preexisting conditions. people will have more access to healthcare at more premium rates. that's the whole purpose behind the guaranteed renewability. so you will have a better product when all is

campaign and it later came out in soviet archives that of all people senator kennedy was -- senator ted kennedy was imploring the russians to get involved in the 1984 elections and this well, well back in terms of russian involvement, they're always trying to figure it out. >> i think there's an important for viewers to remember outside of all the noise or going back to the 1960s or 1970s. this was different. as director comey, as james clapper has said, this was a collusion between wikileaks and russia, it was intended to harm hillary clinton directly. it was intended to help trump. no evidence that votes were changed. i agree with that. and so what's important is to remember trying to defend the president no one is saying he's not the rightful president that you have an enemy nation that has tried to influence the election. it could have historical precedent. that seems irrelevant in terms of what 2016 was about. that is where james clapper fits in. >> stand by. coming up another trump cabinet nominee withdraws his name under a cloud of controversy raising questions about who's doing the vett

i think what ted kennedy's together was a serious blow to that kind of across the aisle camaraderie and working in the congress. >> you worked with the bush administration on administration. >> he's constantly working with people in the other party. >> charlie: trent lott said if they only knew. meaning if they only knew how hard you worked for. do you think we somehow lost a sense of purpose? >> absolutely not. we have been through worse times by far. we interested serious obstacles in our path over and over but we come through. >> charlie: things like mccarthy -- >> civil war, influenza, the american revolution. most people don't understand at the time of therican revolution one third of the country was for it, one third was absolutely against it and the remaining third were waiting to see how it came out. it wasn't as though the whole country wanted this to happen. and these problems created suffering and denial of fairness and equality and life and death in a way we're not used to and in many ways we're spoiled by all we've been given by our predecessors not just in material wealth

what ted kennedy's blow -- it was a serious to that across the aisle camaraderie and working togethern the congress. charlie: he worked with the bush administration on education. david: he was constantly working with the other party. and another wrote him a note, saying, "if they only knew." david: that's right. ♪ charlie: would you write -- you wrote about the brooklyn bridge. that was your first. david: i wrote a book about americans who went to paris. i don't think politics and the military should be seen as the whole of history. charlie: ok, that's my point. david: much of history is made up of is art, poetry, music that will last the longest by far, and we have to include it. it's part of being human. charlie: what is the responsibility of government when it comes to culture and science, and supporting those very important sectors? david: it is very important the government support this. absolutely. humanities, the arts, science, absolutely. if anything, it should be more. i'm all for it. i have worked hard to keep those institutions going. i believe in them fervently. charlie: a

that it was passed and that it had to be passed quickly after the death of senator ted kennedy , where the democrats lost their veto-proof majority. passedcertainly it was with only democratic votes, and it was rushed because they were becausethe because -- there were special circumstances and the needed to pass it quickly. i think republicans worked very hard to make sure there were no republican votes on that law. it created a law that republicans were not going to support from the beginning. that is why you had seen republicans for a long time saying it was not workable. they came up with the idea of repealing and replacing the law very early, before it was even implemented. true that thely affordable care act was passed without republicans. you cannot call it a bipartisan law. host: from flint, michigan. hi, debbie. first i would like to apologize to you for that man last week calling you a little girl. that was unacceptable. we appreciate your fairness. republican, from independent, democrat. for all the republicans an independents who do not think there voices are heard -- who do

. >> sure democrats voted for ted kennedy in the first election after chappaquiddick.elieve what he did in chappaquiddick was morally indefensible. republicans are swallowing hard. if montana voters want to vote for him they kmor. i blame leaders of the republican party not stepping up saying this is unacceptable. >> partisanship is one thing. encouraging people to believe there are no facts in whatever you happen to say that's convenient is true is a completely different standard of crazy. >> it's good point. plenty of people who found bill clinton's personal life deplore scrabble and didn't believe his life but voted for him because they were democrats or other reasons. other reasons. but as you know, i mean republicans on capitol hill are being very, very quiet about this and they are saying things he should apologize. he assaulted the guy. he didn't call them a mean name. >> it's an interesting question to what degree the republican party pays a price. this is a party in 2014 elected a class in my view of senators and congressmen and women who are impressive. energ

ted kennedy was trying to interfere in the 1984 election.k the history of this is rich for maria or others to be criticizing donald trump and russians. >> what's rich is when you have russian supervise in the oval office and the president of the united states sharing highly classified information with them that came from israel, a close ally of the united states, but a nemesis of iran which is one of the closest clients of the russian state. that is rich and that's why we have a special counsel investigating this whole mess. >> i didn't even get to ask you about comey who is going to testify. we will have to save that for another time. jeffrey lord, thank you very much, maria, thank you very much. >> love having their voices. >>> a huge arms deal overseas could mean boost in jobs for the u.s. how $110 billion in tanks, jets, and weapons for saudi arabia could translate to work for americans. >>> president trump overseas, attempting to build religious bridges. that could be a tall order, especially after controversial remarks made about islam

it was a combination of mitt romney and ted kennedy.ipartisanped a health care plan that is working. why don't they use that? that's my message. host: so your senators, robert menendez and cory booker, democrats, opposed to the republican bill. how do you think they should approach these negotiations if it comes to a point where democrats have a say? caller: i think someone should stand up and suggest that they use the model in massachusetts for health care. everyone would be insured and there would be no problems. you heard the woman from massachusetts. she said it was great. it was flowing there. host: ok. let's go to ridgefield, connecticut, where howard is calling on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to point out from the previous caller, massachusetts is an obamacare state, that's the basic model. there are no examples of free markets working for health care. ago, there wasrs a paper that explained exactly why free markets fail. whenever people say we need free mark

eunice founded the special legitimates and cher brothers, be john kennedy and bobby kennedy and ted kennedy. what impact has the catholic faith haven't on your life and does it faith the way you think about pope francis? >> well, think first of all, dan, thank you for that great first question. you start off really easy. that was a -- that is a tough one. i want to thank the key school for inviting me here. walked around the campus. >>> it's a great school. and incredible resource here's for kid. so thank you. and thank you all very much for coming. i really appreciate you spending time with me on a saturday afternoon. obviously the faith -- the catholic faith, my mom and day went to mass every day. my father and mother, whether they were traveling in america or around the world, i remember clearly when they check into hotels the first question they asked was always where is the local catholic church and what time is mass in the morning? so, that sense of catholicism was imbedded into me and all of my siblings as well. so i think that you can't for me separate our perspective, our views on

was passed quickly after the death of then senator ted kennedy. >> i was in here covering capitol hill but certainly it was passed with only democratich votes. it was rush because they were special circumstances they need to get a through quickly. that does plant what happened now. republicans worked hard to make sure there were no republican votes on that law.republic he created a law that republicans were not to support from the beginning. that's why you seen them saying it would not be workable but i think they came up with the idea of repealing and replacing the law. but been working toward for a long time. it is true was passed without republican support. you cannot called a bipartisan law. >> caller: good morning. before i get started i like to apologize to you for last week and that macon you a little girl.. does unacceptable.inde most of us out here don't believe in that. we appreciate your fairness. we believe that you go for republican, independent, democrat. so far the republicans and independents don't think your voice get heard, believe me, i sit here and listen every morn

and secondly when ted kennedy got in that was the time to exit because there were two giants, an incumbent and a kennedy. >> no room for you. >> there was me from california, forget it. but i was what do they say, blind ambition. >> yeah. >> that thrust which i definitely have a thrust to keech reaching. >> you ran for president against jimmy carter in '76 when he was a governor of georgia, you were 38 years old. >> yeah, 38. >> you'd been governor for a year or two. >> but, remember, being governor in california for two years is somewhat comfortable to being governor of georgia for how long four years, six years. >> and you last the '80 race as you point out was not stellar. >> no, that was not smart. >> you came back here and were woubd politicly. >> i put that as an whichl can be pushing in a very stupid direction. now i'm conscious that even though i think i'm right, i could be very wrong. so that experience has enabled me to be more questioning of my own assumptions. even when i seem, well i think that's clear, no, maybe it's not so clear and that's why you need a diversity of adviser

dramatic moments in the 2008 election, as you remember, was when your family, your mom and your uncle, ted kennedynd your cousin patrick all got up there at that stage at american university -- we're looking at the picture right now at au -- and really put the sort of good housekeeping seal of approval on barack obama. your mom had already written that op-ed piece for "the new york times" that sunday that everybody was embraced by. now we're watching this sort of very formal, historic embrace between your uncle ted and barack obama. why do you think your family just said, here's the torch. carry on, to barack obama from the kennedy family? >> well, president obama inspired me in 2008 with his vision for america. he is a hopeful candidate who had a bold vision for this country and knew that we could succeed if our politics were just a little less cynical and a little more productive. and i think my uncle teddy and my mom recognized that vision in him, and they saw a leader who could get the job done and, of course, we're all so happy to have been proven right. president obama was a tremendous presi

there was a letter from ted kennedy trying to arrange a deal with gorbachev to damage the reagan campaign. where was the big investigation? in other words, if we're going -- >> jeffrey, that did not dominate the 1984 campaign. you are talking about historical footnotes. this is an issue that dominated the campaign. >> wouldn't it be nice if you had a president who said, this is awful, we need to get to the bottom of this, because this is threatening and challenging our very democracy? >> every day there are thousands, tens of thousands of electronic attempts to break into government computers. >> they've been going on through the obama administration. where was the outrage? >> it's from foreign governments. there needs to be some kind of solution, some kind of way in order for a democracy in this country to continue. >> in fact. the president appointed rudy giuliani to head up a commission on this and they are hiring -- >> where is the information? >> they're starting their investigation. >> lindsey graham opened the hearing by saying this is bipartisan issue. could be the republicans on

is serving in congress, where he's taking up health care, the signature cause of his great uncle ted kennedynt made by speaker ryan, where he called the repeal bill, quote, an act of mercy. with all due respect to our speaker, he and i should have read different scripture. the one i read called us on to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless and comfort the sick. >> reporter: and on the campaign trail now is chris kennedy, bobby's son. he launched his campaign for senator in february. >> to embrace the notion that we're all in this together. that's the country i want for my kids. >> reporter: and who knows? even younger kennedys may be eyeing public office, too. jfk's granddaughter, rose, who bears a striking resemblance to her grandmother, jackie, wrote a speech in honor of her grandfather's birth. >> it caught to be possible in short for every american to enjoy the privileges of being american, without regard to his race or his color. >> we're faced with tremendous inequality and injustice. >> reporter: and all eyes on jack kennedy's grandson, also named jack, who is

it was passed by 60 votes before ted kennedy died and modified by reconciliation. there is a broad thinking by republicans on the right that it can be replaced by majority. 60 votes for a regular recorder. regular path 51. >> rose: used in the confirmation. >> of justice gorsuch. so first of all, i don't think that -- i'll put my cards on the table to your point about conservative voting record, i don't think that obamacare solved a whole bunch of problems. i think it helped a bunch of people and exacerbated a bunch of other problems, so i wanto fully repeal and replace obamacare, but republicans are, you know -- naive isn't exactly the right word, but we're regularly talking to the public as if the problems in american healthcare began with obamacare, and obviously healthcare reform was needed before obamacare. there are a whole bunch of structural problems in american healthcare. >> rose: the clinton administration tried. >> exactly. we are not doing the things you need to do to create a system where there is portability of health insurance across job and geograp

this would seem to me primarying a president, still 1,000 days, ask ted kennedy how that went, but thiso me like a win-win issue. this is not -- not something that anyone could say, yeah, i think it was great that the president was doing. >> margot, how do you explain it? >> i just think that the republicans seem to be taking a page from donald trump's campaign manual which is don't apologize. done -- if you don't want there to be a approximate don't say there's a problem. like their fate is completely tied to his fate in the in terms of the mid term elections and fate is certainly likely to be better if they are able to move forward and pass legislation. in order to do that, they have got to put the fbi controversy behind them. the only way they see that to be possible is if they don't pile on the president, just try to support him and hope he picks someone they can vote for in good conscience and move on and try to get back to tax reform. >> who is the one making the fbi controversy a controversy? >> the president and attacking the former fbi director personally. circle on your calend