theodore roosevelt, it the antagonist in in the. focused on the republican party and ran as the standardbearer of the progressive party. as he famously put it the hamas campaign. william howard taft incumbent republican president who defends conservatism in this election. eugene debs, the labor leader from terre haute indiana who ran on the socialist party ticket at the high tide of socialism. and finally of course woodrow wilson the democratic governor of new jersey who was elected president. get a ph.d. in history and political science. the only ph.d. to become president of the united states and the campaign for a lot of emphasis on his academic credentials. the september issue of a very popular magazine at the time depicted wilson as a roman consul with burning sitting nearby and is celebrated in latin as an executive teacher and a spokesman of the people. i think that says it all. all four candidates it now is the fundamental changes were occurring in the american political landscape in each attempted to define the progressive a

he compared theodore roosevelt and woodrow wilson and it is a classic. this is the best single volume biography of woodrow wilson. >>>> i was one of three finaliss for the do we. i was 47 -- that was 27 years ago. >> we started out talking about elvis presley. the trauma winner this year for the pulitzer was something called "next to normal." that is an extraordinary show. i am seeing a tomorrow night. it reinvents the broadway musical. it does so in a way that is not provoking to the extreme and is entertaining. it is about a family that is struggling to stay together while the mother is coming apart at the seams. it is a story of her mental illness. she is unable to come to terms with the death of her son who is a character in the show. you learn that this boy is dead and has been for a long time. >> where does probably fit in the culture? are you can a broadway? >> not as much as richard. i was a big fan of sam shepard. they still blow me away. he is one of the people that we talk about that lives in our midst, but i think he is of the caliber of euge

but theodore roosevelt did it in 1912 with the bull moose party and split the republican party in two. and we're ripe for a new bull moose era. >> the third party presumably would have to be like perot. something like perot put the budget deficit on the map. perot actually made it impossible for bill clinton not to address that issue with historical significance. the one person out there who presumably is in a position to do that and the resources to do it would be mayor bloomberg of new york. >> yes. >> all right. we're going to switch subjects. this is a stream of consciousness hour so -- >> yes. >> -- question to both of you, what's the best historical book, book of history you've read recently? >> i would say i've reread david halberstam's "the best and the brightest." and i read it not just to look at the kennedy administration and vietnam in the 60s, but stylistically. i think halberstam was the best writer of history in the united states since 1945. i've also read his book "the powers that be" about the media climate and halberstam's ability to use a -- be a journalist, a histo

a theme that is stressed by theodore roosevelt, whose wild west sojourn was central to his experience. of course, this anxiety culminates in frederick jackson turner's famous frontier thesis of 1893, which are do two things. one that the existence of the frontier explains american development, american social, intellectual, cultural, material development. and second, that this era of american history was coming to a close. the frontier, according to census of 1890, was closed. what turner wondered, what would this do to american life, if the material motive, the precondition for all of these fundamental american traits disappears? it is a tremendous amount of anxiety at the turn of the century about this issue. it did not end then. john f. kennedy's campaign for president in 1960, which adopted the theme of the new frontier, was precisely meant to draw upon that turner thesis, on the turner vision of america as a nation meeting of frontier for its well-being, for the exercise of virtue and the cultivation of virtue. oene might consider the statehood of alaska, which occurred at the sa

would have said about this group of folks of conservation america >> i think if the times come theodore roosevelt would say we have to do this for our children's children that conservation is about the future and just as there was a ccc in the 1930's that franklin roosevelt and company planted over a billion trees we are doing things for young people. we do have an earth day and teachers use it as a one day common kind of the arbor day of today but when i saw the u.s. fish and wildlife doing with the climate conservation corps where we get our young people engaged in the outdoors and in nature and deal with italy local government project on a local level so they can start planting the vegetable gardens but idaho can have young people work in the fish hatchery is that we are a generation of new cutting edge conservationists here in the united states. [applause] sprick i will answer it this way somebody challenged my husband saying you really ought to be doing something different with your life that you were going to make money at and make a mark in this world, and my husband who is definitely the

it's always good to have a strong fist, if you will, as theodore roosevelt used to say, speak softly and carry a big stick. that's a big part of national power. but soft power, meaning the ability to influence the thinking of others and to encourage them to adopt principles that are peaceful and that promote human rights is also critical for our country. and i think we vastly underuse the resources we have. we're an extraordinarily wealthy nation. we trade with people around the world. they want access to our market. they want our technology, our healthcare technology. our education skills. all these things we could provide in such a way that nations would think more kindly of us, more likely to work with us. but, you know, i kept on hearing when i was in latin america, for instance, about the miracle cure. or the miracle operation. and i said well, you know, what's that? and they said oh, fidal castro he provides cataract surgery and bring sight to people. he does that for a tiny fraction of the investment that we make in latin america and he's appreciated because he has branded it

historians, doris kearns goodwin who has written about abraham lincoln, lyndon johnson and now theodore rooseveltshe is now work on a biography of teddy roosevelt. jon meacham wrote a biography of andrew jackson and now on president george bush 41. douglas brinkley who has written by roosevelt, reagan and carter. mi pleased to have all of these eminent writers on this television program. so i begin with doris kearns goodwin and having her assess where this president is at this time and what comparison can we make with other presidents. >> well, i mean, there's no question that the passage of the health care has secured a police for him in history. you know, it's interesting. i think he always wanted something like that. i remember the first time i met him down in the senate office building when he was still far behind hillary clinton. and he said that he used to look every now and then at the pictures on the wall of the various presidents. and he didn't want to be fillmore or-- but even then he was thinking if i do this, i want to use power for a purpose. so here is something that generations as

point out that both peter roosevelt and franklin roosevelt or assistant secretaries -- both theodore roosevelt and franklin roosevelt or assistant -- were assistant secretaries of the navy. [laughter] there was a time when the navy only had three commissioned brigades, the united states, the consolation, and the constitution. we had a tiny navy, and one which had never fought. since the days of the revolution, the navy had been pretty quiet, although you could make a pretty good argument that the reason america changed the articles of confederation to the constitution that we have today it was because we could not build a national and navy to deal with the barbary pirates. that was one reason for the changes in philadelphia in 1789. in 1798, then secretary of the navy had three ships, a few marines to sail on those ships, and a decidedly limited navy. today, things have changed a little bit. some of the things that allen talked about. today, we have two hundred 86 ships in our battle fleet -- we have 286 ships in our battle fleet, over 3000 aircraft and 9000 people. we have a budget north of $

having been persuaded to run for president by his mentor, theodore roosevelt, who launched a third-party candidacy against him, precipitating his defeat for a second term, allowing democrat woodrow wilson to win the presidency. as the court's sole former president to serve on the bench, he is the only person to have engineered his future appointment from the white house. several biographers suggest that he promoted justice edward white to the position, rather than his younger colleague, because white was only 48 and would probably serve long enough to preclude a future president from appointing taft. white was 55 years of age at the time of his promotion, served until 1921, when president warren hidiharding fulfilled t's goal. he began actively participating in every presidential position to fill vacancies. he wrote, i look forward to having you on the bench with me. i know as you do, that the president intends to put you there. president harding was happy to places brilliant friend on the court. his next choice for the court was actually his second pick for the next seat. the president

yes, we are working faithfully to carry on the legacy of theodore roosevelt in the 21st century.e also know that we must adapt our strategy is to meet the new challenges of our time. over the last century, our population grew from about 90 million, to 300 million people. as it did, we lost more of our landscape to development. meanwhile, a host of other factors come from a change in climate, to a new pollution, have put a constraint on our land. but rising to meet these challenges is a task and an obligation, and it is one that governments can not and should not need along. there are roughly system hundred privately run land trust in this country that protected over 10 million acres through voluntary action. the national resource conservation service has predicted over 30 million acres, it is a service that is almost 75 years old together, we are conserve our working lands in a way that preserves the environment and protect the community. that is the collaborative. to at the heart of the america's great outdoor of initiative that we are much -- if this we are mounting today. in t

the mention of edwin morris's theodore roosevelt biography, made clear that reading lists don't only give presidents of break from the tedium of briefing documents, they also inform their politics and policies, reaffirming, or creating or shifting their views. peter bakker will look at two branches of government, executive and judicial. obama v. roberts. conflict between the executive and judicial branches traces its roots to the early days of the republic. there was franklin d. roosevelt's open war with the supreme court in the 1930's, after a in validated much of the new deal program. he proposed to expand the court with new justices appointed by him, only to have the court packing scheme backfired. the struggle between the current president and chief justice so far has been quite tame. it is conceivable, that the legal challenges filed against mr. obama's health care program will wind up before the roberts court. justice stephen breyer told a house subcommittee that he expects it within the next four years. more from the week in review section of "the new york times", also availab

having been persuaded to run for president by his mentor, theodore roosevelt, who launched a third-party candidacy against him, precipitating his defeat for a second term, allowing democrat woodrow wilson to win the presidency. as the court's sole former president to serve on the bench, he is the only person to have engineered his future appointment from the white house. several biographers suggest that he promoted justice edward white to the position, rather than his younger colleague, because white was only 48 and would probably serve long enough to preclude a future president from appointing taft. white was 55 years of age at the time of his promotion, served until 1921, when president warren hidiharding fulfilled t's goal. he began actively participating in every presidential position to fill vacancies. he wrote, i look forward to having you on the bench with me. i know as you do, that the president intends to put you there. president harding was happy to places brilliant friend on the court. his next choice for the court was actually his second pick for the next seat. the president

theodore roosevelt and woodrow wilson would understand, but it's really are mckinley who walks us over the bridge and makes us into the 20th century global power that we were. >> host: we are here live at the "los angeles times" book festival. held in the west l.a. area. and, in fact, the c are san bus is also here. they are handing out book bags. so if you happen to be in the area, come on down and see us. >> caller: good afternoon. looks like you are enjoying yourself there. we have a little rain. first of all, i'm currently reading the chalmer thrillology. -- triggology. if you are really interested in questioning, you want to see all of that stuff. i want to ask you with regard to the if you want to perceive them as trouble, a lot is linked to lack of regulation that we are experiencing. there's a phrase, to business. and i think over the last certainly 20 to 30 years if any president or any one, any politician is perceived as being even mildly hostile to business, he or she is not going to get any kind of ball rolling whatsoever. i want to ask you, if we get to a day where real re

upon taking office, theodore roosevelt, avid bird watcher bear hunter, set out on a tour of the americanthat would change his life and the life of the nation forever. he stood in awe of the geysers of yellowstone. he can't in a snow blizzard at yosemite. -- he camped in a snow blizzard at yosemite. he stood on a cliff at the grand canyon. from that sense of commitment spring five national parks 18 national monuments 51 federal byrd reservations, and 150 national forests. from that commitment sprang an effort to save the great redwoods of california and the petrified forest of arizona the great bird rocks of the aleutian islands. and the congress of thongas of alaska. that legacy is an extraordinary achievement and no matter how long i have the privilege of serving as president, i know i could never match it. and i probably will never shoot a bear. [applause] [laughter] that is a fair guess. [laughter] buttu intend to enrich the legacy. -- but i do intend to and ridge that legacy. and i feel a bond with the land that is the united states of america. i do for the same reasons that you do.

i do want to point out that both theodore roosevelt and his cousin franklin were assistant secretaries of the navy. [laughter] >> today is a navy birthday. 212 years ago today, congress authorized the department of the navy. it was a pretty different place and organization from the navy of today. then, the navy only had three commissioned units, the united states, the constellations, and the constitution, still in service in the boston naval shipyard. we had a tiny navy, and one that had never fought. since the revolution, the navy had been pretty quiet. you could make a pretty good argument that the reason why america changed from the articles of confederation to the constitution that we have today was because we could not field a national maybe. that was one main impetus of getting together in philadelphia in 1789. in 1798, then secretary of the navy, -- the then secretary of the navy, had three ships, very few squadrons of marines to sell on the ship, and it was a regional maybe. today, things have changed a little bit. some of the things that allen spoke about, today, we have 286 s

theodore roosevelt and woodrow wilson would understand very well the implications, but it's really mckinley who very calmly, carefully walks us over the bridge and makes us into the 20th century global power that we were. >> host: we are here live at the los angeles times book festival, it's held on the grounds of ucla in the west l.a. area, and, in fact, the c-span bus is also here, and they are handing out book bags. so if you happen to be in the area, you want to come down and get a book bag, come on down and see us. next cal for tim naftali comes from west handover, new hampshire. good afternoon. >> caller: hello, peter and good day, tim. looks like you're enjoying yourself. a general comment and then a question for you there. first of all, i'm currently reading the chalmers johnson trilogy. he's a lot of research on militarism, and his books are very, very well corroborated and documented, so i understand well what you mean about having the documentation there. i mean, it actually might be conceived as too much, but if you're really interested in questioning what goes on, you want to s