who were pretty fabulous, like daniel day lewis and doris kerns goodwin and steven spielberg and tony kushner, and it was really quite a panel. the first thing i said was how great it was to see bipartisanship here. but let me tell you what -- i think you know how great the movie is. i've now seen it twice. it's better the second time. but it shows you that government can do important, good things for the cause of human dignity. and that it takes work and it is hard. it takes focus. and presidential leadership. and you have to think about the good of the country. and it shows that government can be a force of good. and, of course, you know, in my work sometimes it's so exhilarating and sometimes it's so frustrating. and you get -- you just throw up your hands. but we can do it. if lincoln could do what he did, which was an amazing feat to outlaw slavery when everything, all the cards were stacked against him, as a matter of fact, i think it was tony kushner who said tonight we had the fiscal cliff. there it was the 13th amendment cliff. no one knew whether it would pass until the actual votes

. >> i like our chances now, lincoln's actual words or tony kushner's dramatic license? >> you know, i can't remember with that line. >> you don't know where you start and lincoln stops? >> there are a few places that i know are me and a few places that i know are him. i didn't write the second inaugural address, i wish i had. i can't remember that. it's definitely in the spirit. >> you say you chose to focus on this fight to pass the constitutional amendment in the house. it had already passed in the -- >> senate. >> -- in january of 1865, just a few weeks there. frame for us the significance of that fight. what is actually going on that we should have cared about? >> the senate had passed the amendment to abolish slavery the year, the spring before. and the house had defeated it, the republicans had a majority but not a supermajority. and you need two-thirds of the house and the senate to pass a constitutional amendment. so lincoln made this decision. he didn't do it hugely, publicly, although he let it be known that the administration was behind this surprising introd

follow-up on that i'd love to get your opinion on the work of "the new york times" esteemed colleague tony kushner. >> she's going to work his side of the street and i'm going to work mine. he's a very good writer. we have a very different political -- we have very different political views. you know, that's the great thing about free speech. [applause] i get to write -- to put on my plate if i can find enough suckers to invest in them and so does he. and to some the audience, glad i said it. [laughter] you know, we will what that out, we will fight it out and prosperity will be its own judge and what will that mean to all of us? we will all be gone. big deal. >> this is a question over here somewhere. >> yes. why don't you grab that? >> my name is phil, and i was interested in when you were saying about the social animals and the communication. i was wondering if you had i guess you're intellectual conversion early in life before you established and a little bit older would you have been more reticent to be vocal about -- >> you bet. [laughter] >> okay. good to know. [applause] >> i don't think i

the tony kushner certified choice. >> you're right, kushner's going to help. >> i'm very ambivalent aboutmyself. i'm very wishy-washy about it. on one hand, i think it's the most phenomenally made movie of the year. i think it's a great piece of filmmaking. on the other hand, i think it's amoral. i have strong questions about the use of the information. >> we're about to disagree, though. i think "les mis," i saw it last night? your view? >> it's a monster, it's a monster hit. it's an absolute monster. you know in "alien" those face huggers, that sort of impregnate you through the mouth. that's how i felt after i saw "les mis." there's a movie that's so in your face for three hours. when it's over, there's no question why i was applauding, they were shouting at me for three hours, i wanted to shout back. >> i agree with you, it was tough as a movie, because it still belongs on the stage. my son was in it in high school. i love this play, i love the music. i thought that hathaway was great and hugh jackman was great, and i thought everybody tried, even poor russell crowe, because he should

. >> joining us now is the acclaimed play light and gay rights activist tony kushner. >> it has been astonishing to watch over the years the slow but steady progress of marriage rights, in general, the enfranchisement of the lgbt community. the pace was faster than i anticipated. >> a federal judge struck down part of a controversial law signed by president obama that gave the government power to indefinitely detained anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial, including u.s. citizens. chris hedges is with us, senior fellow at "the nation closed would institute. he is suing the demonstration over the national defense authorization act. >> in essence, it validates -- invalidates section 1021 that permits the government to use the military to hold american citizens, strip them of due process, and detain them in military facilities, including our offshore penal colonies, until the end of hostility. it is monumental because she invalidated ala. quite a courageous decision. clearly a correct one. >> iraq veterans against the war held a ceremony w

senators and their spouses will be joined by spielberg, actor daniel day lewis, screenwriter tony kushnernd doris kerns goodwin. senate majority leader harry reid and mitch mcconnell wrote this. the film depicts the good which is attained when public servants put the betterment of the country ahead of short-term political interests. we believe that viewing this film would provide all senators with a positive opportunity to gather and reflect during the holiday season. the movie's themes should hit pretty close to home, don't you think, for senators still struggling to find common ground on the brink of this fiscal cliff we're talking about. bitter partisan divide, gridlock. the clock is ticking. but lincoln offers us a powerful message about democracy. the question is will the senate be moved by this movie? the way the rest of america has been moved by this production? will it shake their sensibilities in the senate to compel them to compromise for the good of their constituents and the country? let's hope this movie night inspires the party of lincoln to quit voting against the interests

coming up on "mors and company," screenwriter tony kushner on learning politics from "lincoln." >> allf the various fields of human inquiry, theology and philosophy and morality and psychology, meet rather beautifully in politics. and sometimes i wonder if politics isn't exactly that, it's the taking of all the sort of great ineffables and trying to make them have some meaning in the actually historical moment on earth in which we live. >> at our website, billmoyers.com, you'll find our large video collection of poets, including m autry, who over the years ha appeared on our broadcasts, reading from their work. that's at billmoyers.com. i'll see you there and i'll see you here next time. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> don't wit p >> fu>>- carnegie corporation of new york, celebrating 100 years of philanthropy, and committed to doing real and permanent good in the world. the kohlberg foundation. independent production fund, with support from the partridge foundation, a john and polly guth charitable fund. the clements foundation. park foundation, dedicated to heightening publi

and when you combine the fact that it's tony kushner supplying the script and it's spielberg."lincoln's" an american movie, but it's an international phenomenon. >> best actress in a motion picture? >> i think that seeing rachel weisz in "deep blue sea," a movie not many people saw, that was a great surprise. jessica chastane in "zero dark thirty" was someone everybody really expected to see nominated. and helen mirren in "hitchcock," a movie that didn't get particularly good reviews, but boy, what a perfect performance she gave in that. >> is it a pleasant surprise to see "salmon fishing in the yemen"? that was a good movie, but it didn't do well at the box office, but a very sweet movie. >> yes, well, this is -- >> it got a lot of nominations. >> yeah, this is where the hollywood foreign press in dividing movies into drama and musical comedy works in the favor of smaller movies, because there are more movies that can be nominated. so, it's a much more diverse list than you'll see in the oscar nominations. >> were you surprised by ang lee? >> not at all. i think "life of pi,"