truman would be of a student -- to be able to convince truman. -- he would be able to convince truman. what role did george marshall plan? >> george marshall came into the state department and marshall to essentially reconstructed western europe. when it came to palestine, he said he defers to the state department. he said that he would go along with him. as we said, they had been opposed from the beginning. he would reverse american policy and back to having the u.s. go back to a trusteeship. the head of the jewish agency in new york became the first ambassador. he said that this is a big conspiracy. there were really conspiring to overturn an established u.s. policy. that was an accurate picture. he was correct about that. it showed how much they were literally conspiring to undermine change american policy. so, you have this famous meeting on may 12, a few days before the actual vote in the oval office. truman brought in his council. clifford had become another christian scientist. he was very close to max lowenthal and was not in the government but was an advisor to the government

it helped truman get promoelted in the army.ing the war, they were both kind of at loose ends and they decided to go into business together. it only lasted one or two years. then there was the depression. the two men always maintained their friendship with each other. >> this was a close friend. jacob son passed away. he was the only friend like a brother who considered him like family. he said he could not imagine him without. he was a reformed jew who quickly began reading the newspapers. he 9/11ly said this is the fate of my people, my ñbretheran in europe. on his own expense. he took all of his money to constantly travel back and forth to kansas city to washington, d.c. in this time critical meeting, truman was at times fed up from the pressure he is getting. he made a strict rule. no more zionists coming to see me. i just can't take it anymore. truman respected weisman. he was a scientist. he helped support the first time a jewish homeland was discussed. world war i arm a meants with the british. >> truman respected him. th

harry truman had a heavily republican and fairly conservative congress to deal with. but it's a part of the jimmy carter's persona that he betrays himself as an outsider which actually i think makes it hard for him to govern, two actually get things done a. i think jimmy carter in this book argues is not necessarily up front, jimmy carter and a great kind of moral vision that had a great deal of clarity to eds. what he did not have it was in the capacity to govern, the capacity to push things and those concrete solutions and that was also getting back to the first question probably one of his biggest troubles that he can never really over,. >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> absolutely, i think that jimmy carter i would put it this way, jimmy carter lightning in here and skills of politics to put bluntly, he was not lbj. he was good at campaigning absolutely and some people would criticize him to read this time of the speech which was that it struck them that he went to go back to campaigning rather than governing the country which is i thi

it was a question of whether truman was going to follow through. this was roosevelt's dream and he died before the first

one knew until may 14 what truman would do at the press conference.ut he had already decided and told only height and staff, said that he was going to support the jewish state at its creation. that is sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. you can also listen on cspan radio and by satellite radio and online to the broadcast. >> live coverage of the confirmation hearing starts monday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span, c-span radio, and on the web at c-span.org. we will also show them weeknights on c-span t2. >> taxpayer dollars? >> private donations? >> consumer funded, i guess? >> i do not know. >> private contributions? >> 30 years ago, america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiative. no government mandate. no government money. "washington journal continues. host: joining us for this segment is a ed whalen, president of the public policy center. what would a justice, sonia sotomayor, mean to you? guest: that is the big question. my concern is that she would be another hard left activists who will work to entrench their

nobody knew until may 14 what truman would do. there was a press conference the day before, no one knew what he was going to do. would they acquire a stake, as they said he was going to do? but he had already decided. he said, " i am going to support a jewish state." >> sunday at 8:00 p.m., eastern and pacific. you can also listen to the program on c-span radio on satellite radio, an online as a c-span podcast. >> on monday, the senate judiciary committee began its confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. coming up, a roundtable discussion about her decisions during her tenure on the federal bench. first, we start with three former clerks about her work ethic, her personality, and what it was like to work for the judge. >> with her confirmation hearings begin to happen monday july 13, we thought we would take this opportunity to talk to folks who know her best, some of her former law clerks. joining us are three of them. her clerk from 2000-2001, when she sat on the second circuit court of appeals. david mo

i am a big fan of harry truman, my favorite president so far. i went up to his library a little over a year ago, and one of the things i took note of was that when he left the presidency 57 years ago, the one thing he said he regretted not having gotten done was health care for all americans. the speech he made to congress called on congress doing this was 61 years ago. we just had a presidential campaign. they all played down health care plans. we spent two your plans -- two years talking about health care plans. we have had over 40 high hours of marked up in three different committees. why would anybody call was rushing when we have this kind of backdrop and all this activity going on, i do not understand that. the fact of the matter is we have been very slow and deliberate in trying to pull this legislation together, and i am very pleased with the process that we had. we have a caucus that is very diverse, 51 blue dogs, 42 african-americans, 23 latinos and a hispanic compass, you've got new democrats, if you've got progressive democrats, to g

unfortunately little happened after president truman's speech. it is my hope that 64 years later we'll finally be able to achieve the reform that president truman envisioned and that our country deserves. we can't settle for marginal improvement. we must fight for substantial reforms that significantly improve our health insurance system. every day ohioans are frustrated with health insurance that is nearly impossible to afford. every day ohioans are stuck with health insurance that fails to protect them from catastrophic health costs. every day ohioans deal with health insurance that too often discriminates based on age, gender, and location and medical history. millions of americans are one illness away from financial ruin. 14,000 americans -- 14,000 americans lose their coverage every day. 45 million americans are uninsured. millions more -- tens of millions more are under insured. we can find a way for americans who have coverage to keep it and for those americans who lack coverage to guy. we can find the will to boost our health care system

. >> leading up to that, though, i've been under the impression that harry truman didn't know we had the bomb when 4e became president? >> that's my impression, too, but i'm not an expert on what harry truman knew about her -- our weaponry when he became president. >> you say this fellow worked as a russian spy, it's one of your footnotes, and he worked at the manhattan project. >> he was the son of american communists who went back to the soviet union in the 1930's but he spent the first year of his life here so he spoke perfect english. at some point, having been trained by the soviet g.r.u., the military intelligence, they sent him back. he had a full college education, electronics, all of that he did work in the manhattan project. now there's a real spy. your perfect spy. somebody who grew up here so he spoke idiomatic english, was taken back to the soviet union, which trained him to be a spy. that's a real spy a professionally trained spy. most of the people who were called spies, including alger hiss, if he was a spy, were not. what i said in the footnotes was that the skills o

. >> that was truman. >> this is the worst one i've ever had. this is the big one. i'm dying. you hear that elizabeth? i'm coming to join you, honey. >> i'm laughing, so are you. you still think this is good? >> the performances are undeniable. i will laugh just like the first time. the performance is undeniable but the writing is good. >> we have the best collaboration in the business. i am 36 years old and the reason i looked -- like this is because laughter and tears to your life. tavis: speaking of being in 36 years old, this is a box set, 19 discs. when you signed off on this, when you look back, what do you make of it? everybody comes on and agrees that every one of us wants to be judged by our body of work, not a particular series or interview, by the body of work. you are judged and what do you think? >> i look at america when i look at this. i have been asked why the topicality and the edginess, however they frame it. this is american life living the problems as i have seen them. that is all we were doing. when we came together, writers and producers, to talk about th

. >> that was truman. >> this is theworst one i've ever had. this i the big one. i'm dying. u hear that elizeth? i'm coming to join you, honey. >> i'm ughing, so are you. you stihink th is good? >> the performances are undeniable. i will lah just like the first ti. the performancis undenble but the iting is good. >> have the best collaboration inhe business. i am 36 years old and the reason i looked -- like this is because laughter and tearso your life. tavis: speaking of being in years old, th is a box set, 19 discs. when you signed off on this, when you look back, what do u ke of it? everybody comes on andgrees that everyne of us wan to be judged by our body of work, not a partilar series o interview, by the bodyof work. youre judgedand wh do you think? >> i look at aerica when i look at this. i have been ked why the topicality a the edginess, however they frameit. this is amecan li living the problems as i have se them. that i all we were doing. when we came togher, writers d producers, to talk abouthe next episode, we were used to eading newspers and payi attenti to th n

here is what other presidents have looked like six months into their first term, harry truman, 82%, ronald reagan 60%, barack obama pretty low at 55% in the gallup poll recently. not where he was not long ago. how does this play out? it does this. this is why the president is paying a price in the polls. people are anxious again about the economy. look in february 51% thought the economy was getting worse. that began to improve. people were getting a bit more optimistic. now 33% say in the most recent poll it is getting worse. 45% say about the same, two in ten americans say it is getting better. that is the president's big problem. that translates into other numbers. how is the president handling the economy? it was 59% in february, six in ten americans saying he was doing a good job. now more americans disapprove of how the president is handling the economy than approve and health care is a related issue. more americans, 50% now disapprove of how the president is handling the health care issue. he is still relatively solid. 74% of democrats approve on health care. the president has lost

president harry truman and his decision to recognize the state of israel. >> no one knew what harry truman would do. what will we do if the jews declare a state as they said they are wrong to do? truman said i do not know, we will have to see. he said he will support eight jewish state when they announce it. >> you can listen to the program on c-span radio and online as a c-span podcasts. >> sonia sotomayor was born in 1954 in the bronx. this is the apartment complex where she grew up. tonight, a look at the life and career up judge sotomayor york through our friends and colleagues. we begin with susan sterne, a columbia university law professor who knew her when they were students at yale university. >> professor susan sturm, when did you first meet sonia sotomayor? >> in my first year of law school at yale, in 1976. >> what are the circumstances? >> we were friends with a common friend and her small group, and we met at a social occasion. a group of law students who were getting acclimated to a new situation. >> what did you have in common? >> we shared an interest, most importantly in s

these are the same recycled arguments made when president truman tried to pass universal health care had to compromise by settling for medicare. when we finally got medicare passed you heard the same boogeyman cried. the same recycled argument. >> their doctors are good, want choice, want to keep their doctors. >> it won't happen, you know that, come on. obama said it time and time again, you can keep your insurance if you want it. the market is responding to the fact barack obama's economic policies have gotten us to pint dennis, you can confidently declare the recession is over. >> i said that in spite of obama, not because of obama. >> obama's in charge. >> the poll numbers speaks for themselves. all you have to do is look at the poll numbers and see what america thinks. >> washington is going into august recess and the market is happy because they seized upcar. everybody is wondering what washington is going to do to interfere with our industry sector. leaving and going home to their districts, the markets are happy. >> the hap markets have been happy. >> any time, any time that

harry truman did very much the same thing. i don't remember a president after truman who did it. and identified his enemies and made the most of them. actually i guess, no, there were different kind of enemies. so republicans in particular have been railing against what, secular humanism, and the liberal media. so every president, every effective political leader chooses enemies. you are going to have enemies, and if you can choose enemies carefully and should graciously did you get a lot of mileage out of your enemies. roosevelt quite clearly engaged in something that comes really close to class warfare where he talked about the wealthy of america, adding interest only of their own class, who feather their own nest and didn't care anything about the rest of the country. so roosevelt made this distinction between the wealthy view and the ordinary mini. and he made clear that he was on the side of the ordinary many. well, he could do the numbers as well as anybody else, and if you dare with a few to a small enough group you're going to forge to alienate 10% of the population that

. >> i've always been under the impression that harry truman did not know he had the bomb when he became president. >> that is my impression as well. but i am no expert on what harry truman knew about our weapon when he became president. >> you said this fellow worked under a russian spy and worked on the manhattan project. >> that's right. he was the son of american communists who went back to the soviet union in the 1930's. he spent the 18th first years of his life here, so we spoke perfect english. if at some time having been trained by the soviet gru, which was the military arm of intelligence. they sent him back. he had a full college education, electronics and all that. if he actually did work on the manhattan project. if there was a real spy . realwho appear so he spoke perfect english, was taken aback by his parents to the soviet union rej. that is a professionally trained spy. most of the people called spies here, including the alger hiss, were not spies. the skills of kovall or the sam. cristi spread information to the soviets about the manhattan project. >-- he spread informat

i'm a fan of harry truman. i went to his library. he left the presidency 57 years ago, and the things he regretted not getting done was health care for all americans. he called on congress to do the 61 years ago. so we spent two years talking about the plans. we have had 79 hearings on health care, 45 hours of marked up in three committees. why would anybody do this when you had this kind of backdrop going home? i do not understand that. the fact of the matter is that we have been very slow and deliberate trying to put this together. " we have now is a caucus with 51 blue dogs, 40 to african- americans, democrats, progressive democrats, asians, pacific islanders. we of all these caucuses to deal with. the diversity of the country is reflected in our caucus. so i expect this to go through a process that is a little bit different from what republicans go through, because they do not have the diversity we have. >> to follow up, there is talk today, given the pro-active negotiation, to bypass a markup and go directly to the floor. what d

. >> we have the honor of celebrating the 4th of july on the truman balcony overlooking the south lawn of the white house with the washington monument in the backdown and watching a spectacular fireworks display. it was unbelievable. being in a rodeo in oklahoma is pretty darn good. >> the former president was given six standing ovations as he called the u.s. the greatest nation on the face of the earth. over for some tech news. >> tech news this week. a big birthday celebration this week. the sony walkman, that's the one there on the left, went on sale 30 years ago this week. the 30th birthday impacting the music industry and the listening habits of millions of people, the first time we were able to carry our own music around in the compact device. now we have the convenience of even more compact devices like m-p 3 players. my dad still has a sony walkman. when he actually goes out and walks the dog in the morning. >> wasn't there an e-mail that teenagers were shown the walkman and it was like something from another planet. they couldn't figure out what they were looking at because it

harry truman, you know, that speech was a year before i was born. we're talking about a very long time to get here. and the cost is not just that we've got 61 years. there are costs right this minute. the president talked today where he was trying to take the hyperbole out of it and get back to what we're really talking about which is health care. 14,000 americans every single day lose their health insurance. if you talk about the time between the first of august and labor day we're talking about 500 million americans will lose their health insurance coverage. 62% of bankruptcy is caused by medical costs 50% of home foreclosures. maybe it's not a rush for those men in suits, retired men and largely men who suggest we delay. they all have health insurance. it's not an issue for them. but i think people like senator demint is going to go back to south carolina and find out that when he's trying to create a waterloo for the president, a political tactic, that he's going to find out there are a lot of waterloos going on in south carolina with families w

we have been talking about health-care reform since the days of harry truman.oon for the families who have seen their premiums rise faster than wages year after year. it is not too soon for the businesses. it is not too soon for taxpayers asked to close a widening deficits. reform may be coming too soon for some in washington. it is not soon enough for the american people. we do not shirk from a challenge. [applause] we can get this done. people keep saying that this is really hard and why are you taking this on? america does not shirk from a challenge. we're reminded of that earlier this week when americans from all over the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of the moment the astronauts walked on the surface of the moon. kennedy had set the goal of nearly a decade earlier. there were times when people said it was foolish and impossible. president kennedy understood and the american people said about approving what this nation is capable of doing. there are those who see our failure to address stubborn problems as a sense that somehow our best days are behi

then, when johnson signed the bill, he even invited former president truman to sit by him. in fact,

harry truman, you know, that speech was a year before i was born. get here. and the cost is not just that we've got 61 years. there are costs right this minute. the president talked today where he was trying to take the hyperbole out of it and get back to what we're really talking about which is health care. 14,000 americans every single day lose their health insurance. if you talk about the time between the first of august and labor day we're talking about 500 million americans will lose their health insurance coverage. 62% of bankruptcy is caused by medical costs. o 50% of home foreclosures. maybe it's not a rush for those men in suits, retired men and largely men who suggest we delay. they all have health insurance. it's not an issue for them. but i think people like senator demint is going to go back to south carolina and find out that when he's trying to create a waterloo for the president, a political tactic, that he's going to find out there are a lot of waterloos going on in south carolina with families who are facing real crises because we

harry truman spent about 11 working vacations here when he was president. earnest hemingway lived here in the 30s and 40s. did about 50% of his writing here, including the flasic "for whom the bell tolls" and tennessee williams completed a streetcar named desire. so a rich literary history. >> we tried to soak in all the best that key west has to offer. in fact, we tried some of the fabulous food, the laidback atmosphere. and of course the margaritas. and we even washed down more than our share of hot sauce. and i also went diving for sunken treasure. there are still millions of dollars worth of treasure out there just waiting to be found. >> all right. we're going to show you all around, meredith, as the show goes on. right now we'll send it back up to new york and you. >> all right, looking forward to all of it. coming up from here in new york, the october toe mom, nadya suleman is back in the headlines. she signed her family up for a reality show but now a judge says she can no longer oversee her octuplets' finances. first the top stories of the morning,

from truman to ronald reagan was presidents had pretty high approval ratings for a large portion of their presidencies. but the last couple of presidents, bill clinton, george w. bush, and barack obama we've seen the first few months hovering in the 40s. bill clinton dropped lower below that. some of that reflects the partnership going on in washington. politics has become just a sport and it's really hard for a president to have approval ratings in the 60 and 70 percentage point just because you have one political party that's always against you. >> i imagine with this administration, they're taking on some big things like the stimulus and, of course, health care, and that, again, opens the door for divisiveness with party lines and even a response from those at home. >> exactly. president obama has spent his capital so far on the stimulus and now health care. obviously things he's making very big gambles that pay off in the long run for him. >> mark, it's great to see you. thank you for professionali and keeping your clothes on. check out first read first thing every morning. it's

so we asked president truman the question about the bomb. i would like to quote what he said about it. he said that when he was informed of the existence of the bomb, you may know that president roosevelt had not told him that we had this bomb, so he learned about it only when he became president and how it would probably bring japan to its knees in two or three days. he asked general marshall and general bradley if we invade the japanese islands, how many lives of american boys will be lost? they answered their best guest was between 200,000 people and 300,000 people. president truman said there was not any decision to make. there was nothing to do but dropped it. he went on to say that it was the hardest decision he ever made, but once he made that decision, having gotten the best advice he could get from his advisers, he slipped easy and this is 1960. -- he slept easy. he fell that the possibility of saving as 300,000 americans and all of the japanese that would have died fighting was worth it. so i really felt that i was there in a momen

the united states has failed since harry truman in 1947 to try to get health care -- bismarck in 1883sed health care legislation and here we are in the largest industrial nation and we still cannot get this done and his presidency could rest on that one issue. >> a lot of people outside america would be a bit been used as they say, well, he's got a democratic congress, what can it get through? >> unfortunately for him, a lot of democrats are wealthy now. and the congressmen who represent the district are sending their constituents don't want to have their taxes raised to pay for this. there are acting in many ways like republicans, perhaps. they have to show the kind of empathy that is kind of been the hallmark of democratic politics, of the poor and working-class. they have to come through. the have to find a way to pay for this but a lot of people look on the left and say that wall street was bailed out, it is time to help out the american -- average american. of the moment of truth for congress as well. but the president is the one who will suffer -- there is a bi- election that he

entity that could provide sustained oversight of wartime contracts similar to the affairs of the truman committee of the 1940s. waste, fraud and abuse of wartime contract transcends politics. oversight should not be the luxury of a divided government, and language when congressional majorities of and the president share it with political party. we saw the disastrous result of that as we initiated and prosecuted action in iraq. i have high expectations with the commissioner of wartime canna cobblers and we're here this point to assess its project today. this highlights a number of issues related to management accountability, logistics, security and reconstruction efforts in iraq and afghanistan. one interesting case describes the report, shows the cost of construction of a duplicate of dining facility at the cost of $30 million. that certainly represented on such issues. what's also important that the commission break new ground that there is no sense creating those that merely duplicate the work is going on by inspectors general or the government accountability office. we already receiv

. >> sheriff, you've compared this case to everything from a truman capote movie to the charles manson killings, i mean, why these comparisons? when are we going to get sort of a bigger picture here? >> it may be a while, because as i've explained, we're in the prosecutorial phase of this investigation now, meaning that there is so much information that we cannot speak openly and freely about. those examples i made because of the numbers of people that have been involved in murders that were very high profile throughout the united states. in the truman capote case, the clutter family, of course, in kansas, there was only two individuals involved in that murder. and when you go out to california in '69, '70 with the tate/low lobiaco murders, there were seven, we're up to more than that. >> the number of people from what at least you told us appears to be a robbery, it just doesn't make sense. >> well, i would agree with you on its surface, it doesn't, but as the state attorney has said, and i also concur with, a motive -- a motive -- for this crime was a home invasion and robbery. and a

having today, the country has had this for over 200 years from james madison on one side to harry trumanon the other side of this question. what i would offer is really sort of following up on what jamie said earlier about when you were in that log war situation, when you are truly in this sort of extreme situation where for the first time in our nations history we have neither a president or vice president, the need for clarity. antony, let's say it's a tie between the two of you, i tie between madison and in trueman, i think the tie goes to what is sort of unimpeachably clear and so there isn't any unconstitutional about. i think there is some doubt among some of our most prominent scholars, why not construe that doubt in favor of removal. >> navia mention, let me just give one historic comeback, that backs up what jamie said. keep in mind that after lincoln was assassinated and andrew johnson became president, he was impeached by the house and came within one vote of being convicted and removed from the office by the senate. at that time the next person in line for the presidency was

news edge at 10 back to normal after the home of harry truman was shut down. trees went down in independence last night. some folks who had planned on touring the house sunday had to be turned away. the house itself wasn't damaged. other homes in indepeence didn't fair as well. how is this for beautiful? ow photographer dave ryzak shot the sunrise this morning. did a little time lapse magic to give you a glimpse of what you probably didn't have time to see. we've been lucky for a good number of days. gorgeous weather outside. more like summer today than it has been the last couple of days. however, if we can keep the humidity at bay say another six to eight weeks, i would be happy. >> this photo would not be possible tomorrow. it is pure art because the humidity is going to drop so low, i think it may be crystal clear for us tomorrow at sunrise. >> no clouds. >> it is getting comfortable out there. might have been humid earlier in the day but it is getting better and better. we still have one or two storms to track around. i'll show you our radar. it is a beau

>> the debate started 59 years ago with harry truman. sean: no, no, no. >> excuse me.the obama bill. there is no obama bill. those are going to come together, and, frankly, we are going to get a deal here, and the blue dog democrats are going to come in, and barack obama will be the greatest president in history. i know it drives you crazy. sean: you have lost your mind, and i say that affectionately. >> if they listen to you, prozac sales are going to go up. sean: ok, here is what i predict. the chicago way. rahmbo, nancy pelosi, they are going to twist the arms of all of the blue dogs. these people are going to be pushed to the brink. is america about to learn and nationally what the chicago way is about? >> it is going to be republicans getting him -- >> tom delay as a consultant. sean: so in other words, this really is his waterloo. >> this is where we are going to see how driven by politics this white house really is. they are students of the bush years, and they are committing to all of the things they railed against. >> when you are seeing now is somebody who is

. >> harry truman?> so you see, he knows -- i don't know what those dates or who those people were that he mentioned, he will be here with us tonight. d we'll quiz the crap out of this kid. believe me. also tonight, he has an album coming out june 23. it's called "back and forth". from l.a.'s own, pete yorn is with us. next week, our guests include justin timberlake, elish -- eli shcuthbert, jamie foxx, depeche mode, the latests and billy bob thornton and i hope he's in a good mood when he's here. we have been inspired by oprah. since she began twittering or tweeting, or whatever the hell they call it today, we too have decided to twit. in fact, our very own security guard guillermo now has his own twitter account. isn't that right, guillermo? >> yes. >> and how do people reach you on that account? >> on the phone or the computer too. >> the phone or the computer, you have no idea what it is? do you? >> a little bit. >> explain it to us. what is twittering? >> a website where you go and meet people and

truman would have done it. but it's tough. >>reporte >>reporter: 52 fiscal conservative so-called blu dogs have enough votes to kill the measure. they're trying to negotiate with their democratic leadership, but warn without changes they can and will kill the bill. >> (unintelligible). it's more united than i've ever seen them to giving the american people the kind of health care reform that makes sense, that insures those that don't have health care insurance will be able to afford it in the future and insure we get this spending under control. >>reporter: there are 3 health care bills pending. the blue dogs say all are too far left. if their suggestions are adopted, the final bill can be improved and approved. >> if it's going to be able to pass, it's because we made it better. >>reporter: the number leader acknowledged more talks will be needed and the house will not make the president's august deadline either. >> we both had the hope we would be able to pass the health care bill by the time we left here on the 31st of july

[applause] >> david mccullough is author of truman, john adams, brave companions, warnings on horseback, the path between the seas, the great bridge and the johnstown flood. his book, 1776, is published by simon and schuster. visit simonsays.com. >> this summer, book tv is asking what are you reading? >> i am the code of politics in washington, d.c.. i got into the business because i love to read more than anything. i don't do too much exercise. i lie on my sofa and read instead. i want to tell you, this is such an incredible year for reading and books. i am happy to have the chance to talk about this on c-span3 because i think c-span doesn't bring enough fiction to you. fiction can be more true than books about policy or history. my two theme this year our immigration and south asia. i am not going to talk about three paperbacks that are so popular on their own, they really don't need me to support them but i will tell you what they are. one is never land, which has received all kinds of awards, by joseph o'neill, who is part dutch and part irish, and he has -- it takes place in new yo

truman. the foundation has been operating from the original appropriation in the interest of that amount since 1977. but as the cost of college has increased over the years, the foundation's assets have not grown, accordingly, to meet the needs of the students it serves. so, mr. chairman of the subcommittee, mr. serrano, i ask for your assurance that you will seek funding for the harry s. truman scholarship with the other body. mr. serrano: will the gentleman yield? mr. skelton: i yield. mr. serrano: i thank the gentleman for bringing this to our attention. i will do my best to work with my senate colleagues in conference. mr. skelton: well, i certainly thank the gentleman, and i thank you for this opportunity to raise the issue on the floor. thank you. mr. serrano: thank you. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from missouri. mrs. emerson: does the gentleman have any further speakers? mr. serrano: just myself. mrs. emerson: well, in that case, i'd lik

we've been talking about health care reform since the days of harry truman.ow could it be too soon? i don't think it's too soon for the families who have seen their premiums rise faster than wages year after year, or the businesses. it's not too soon for taxpayers asked to close widening deficits, costs that threaten to leave our children with a mountain of debt. reform may be coming too soon for some in washington, but not too soon for the american people. we can get this done. we don't short from a challenge. we can get this done. people keep on saying, well, this is really hard. why are you taking it on? you know, america doesn't shirt from a challenge. we were reminded of that earlier this week when americans marked the 40th anniversary of the moment the astronauts of twalke the moon. ten years earlier had said, we're going to the moon. there are times when people said, this is foolish. this is impossible. but president kennedy understood and the american people set about proving what the nation is capable of doing when we set our minds to it. there are t

we have been tried to get this done since harry truman. i'm confident we will get health care reform done this year. let's not rush it. >> when you see mike ross and the other lawmakers head back to their districts for the august recess, there will be a lot of town halls where these lawmakers will get an earful from the constituents. martha: sounds like some of the republicans got what they wanted and then a little bit more time for all of this to work itself out. perhaps everybody will use the recess to read the 1000 page bill. thank you very much, james rosen. rick: the new developments on capitol hill happening as the president takes his message to the american people. president obama holding a couple of town hall meetings today. here he is in north carolina. he is putting his focus on consumer protections. he says they will have to be part of any bill that will get his signature. >> what may need and what we will have when we pass these reforms are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are tre

ronald and allis radosh on president harry truman. >> no one knew on may 14th what truman would do. there was a press conference the day before. what are you going to do if the jews declare a state as they said they are going to do? truman said, i don't know. we'll have to see. but he had already decided and he had told only hiram whitesmith. >> and live now to the u.s. capitol as the senate convenes today to resume consideration of homeland security spending for fiscal year 2010. this is live coverage on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will now lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. most merciful and gracious god, who has led this nation through turbulent times in the past, keep us this day confident in the movements of your loving providence. ignite in our hearts the hope that out of the world's challenges and tragedies your spirit can guide us to a desired destination. today, give our lawmakers a clear sense of duty and honor in every decision. may they live and work, not alone or by their own efforts, but in your strengt

i'm looking at the poll gallup di the idents truman there nixon an average honeymoon period of 26 monthsn average of seven months. is it our leaders? is it us? is it congress weighing in? what is it that has duced this number? >> i think everytngs accelerated inhe modern times and the news cycle is faster, everything is unrelenting, and as brian points out, this esident does haveubstantial majoriti in both houses of congress and yet he's getting more pushback reall from his democrats than he i in many cases from reublicans, and he's been unwilling so far to get in touch with ier lyndon johnson and twist arms and try to persuade the democrats and maybe to a little threaning along the way. he's very popular. he has a lot ofache around e uny. he could put more pssure on the democts if he wants to. >> why do you think the honeymoon is over for presidents on average? >> i think eleanoris rht. the problems obama is having, he has not been asn theefront ase needs be in aressing the problems with this congress. this congress doesn'tant to do anything overly cautious, they ha majorities in both h

>> the debate started 59 years ago with harry truman. sean: no, no, no. >> excuse me.the cbo that you keep talking about -- the obama bill. there is no obama bill. those are going to come together, and, frankly, we are going to get a deal here, and the blue dog democrats are going to come in, and barack obama will be the greatest president in history. i know it drives you crazy. sean: you have lost your mind, and i say that affectionately. >> if they listen to you, prozac sales are going to go up. sean: ok, here is what i predict. the chicago way. rahmbo, nancy pelosi, they are going to twist the arms of all of the blue dogs. these people are going to be pushed to the brink. is america about to learn and nationally what the chicago way is about? >> it is going to be republicans getting him -- >> tom delay as a consultant. sean: so in other words, this really is his waterloo. >> this is where we are going to see how driven by politics this white house really is. they are students of the bush years, and they are committing to all of the things they railed against. >> whe

insurance companies made out of popsicle sticks and spit, and forms in triplicate sometime in the truman administration. in both of these sights, the democrats are in dominant position because of the sheer number in congress and their popular new president. republicans have decided to fight both of these big political fights using the same tactic for each of them. see if you can pinpoint the tactic here, starting with the sonia sotomayor confirmation hearings. >> a wise latina woman -- >> the wise latina woman -- >> would be a wise latina comment. >> your wise latina comment -- >> anybody with him -- >> decision making based on her biases and prejudices. >> biases and personal preferences. >> miguel estrada. >> decision making on her biases and prejudices. >> oh, nationally televised point made. see, they don't have a problem with sonia sotomayor's race, but they want everybody to know that she has a problem with theirs. now health care is starting to look like the second verse of that same song. for starters, news of an amazing admission from congressman roy blount of missouri. he's the

he covered presidents from truman to clinton and was fascinated by politics. he took us to convention after convention, perched in his booth over the floor. >> i think we've got a bunch of thugs here, dan. >> once in 196 in a cbs documentary he dropped his anchorman objectivity. >> to say we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, if unsatisfactory conclusion. >> t-minus 19 seconds. >> when it came to american exploration in space, he was particularly excited and on. >> one small step for man. >> oh, boy. i'm speechless. it will be the story people remember for the 20th century. >> reporter: during a tumultuous time in our history, his nightly sign-off became one constant we all counted on. >> that's the way it is. that's the way it is. >> reporter: ever the working reporter, cronkite was the first anchor to be named managing editor of his broadcast. >> go back to the beginning, try to tell it as close to a narrative as you could and answer the questions, how, why, what and where? >> reporter: away from the anchor chair he had many interests. a passio

. >> remember truman capote's book "in cold blood" where somebody goes into a house with a master plan? >> yeah. >> amazing you think something like this could still happen. my thanks to you and my good friend from miami, also, eddie lavandera, joining us with the latest on escambia county. talk about a county that's changed its character in the last ten years or so. >> ain't that the truth. >> no more. our show doesn't end at 4:00. it just moves on to cnn.c cnn.com/live. join us today. it's a little more hip, a little more fun, not that it isn't always. remember trisha murphy? she's coming back to join us for that segment. she'll join us on the sotomayor hearing. i'll talk to her. when we come back, the latest on michael jackson dramatic video.  with annuities from fidelity. turn your savings into income -- guaranteed, and get a retirement "paycheck" for life -- guaranteed. call... to get started, and learn how to secure retirement income that won't go down -- guaranteed. call fidelity at... for details about guaranteed income for life, and change the way you think about your retirem