truman became president. he had been vice president just 82 days and had met with fdr just twice outside of cabinet meetings and all that time. is presidency of course encompassed major events in the 20th century, the end of world war ii, mccarthyism and the united nations. flash forward now eight years almost to 1953, january 20th and swidey eisenhower is inaugurated as president. and just as he was back in that summer of 1922, harry truman is unemployed. after eisenhower's warring in the secret service drove them to-- and said goodbye and harry and bess rode a train back to independence. i guess they rode the train to kansas city and was there-- independents there was a depot where they could go back to the independence. harry did not know what to do with himself and there were rumors of the time that he would run for senate from the surry or governor. even that he would run for president in 1956, the last president eligible to serve more than two terms. it just occurred to me now the republicans pass that

in the harry truman in the last. a half of his term had a 23 percent approval rating barrett is the lowest, the lowest of any president has ever fallen to. even george w. bush and richard nixon did not fall that low. and they got down to a i think 24 and 25%. truman went down 223%, so why is it that he is so admired it at this point and why was he in such a bad odor at the end of his term in 1952 and 53? .. the answer of course is the korean war. in june of 1950, north korea crossed 30th parallel. they had in part been provoked by sigmund re-in the south. both sigmund re-and kim il-sung were going to get at each other's throats. both of them had the vision of uniting korea under their you just, under their rules. kim dill song comecon misstate in sigmon ariva establishing a pro-western unified korea. this war begins and the united states which had largely withdrawn from korea, truman decides that we cannot let this aggression go unanswered and so he makes what seems to make the wise decision, to enter into the curry

truman in 1948. no one expected the people would react enthusiastically to the country that would be that the united over an effort to save our former enemies. >> and truman's opponent did that election famously and the man who was going to be eckert expected to be dewy's secretary of state. sprick the republicans opposed their lives because they thought it wouldn't work and number two because they felt it was expensive. they had the same argument about anything. one of the great scenes lucius clay was not the easiest man in the world. his staff which was terrified of him would say when he is relaxed he is a nice guy. the problem is he never relaxes. [laughter] and he didn't get along particularly well with germans despite what we saw and when john foster dulles who already said the first act of the dewey presidency would be to get rid of lucius clay team has a few weeks before the election it was just assumed dewey was the next president and dallas came and had been looking better left, came to clay

and i think truman... i do know... i know truman thought that also. in the end... >> rose: why didn't marshall think that, and why didn't loeft think that? >> they didn't think it could be don't. they thought the winter would come, it was the foggiest coldest winter. how could we possibly get planes in and out without revolutionizing aviation? lovett. well, as it turns out one of the side effects of the berlin airlift was revolutionized. >> rose: i want to talk about that. >> we were taking off and landing at three separate airports in berlin, a plane every 45 seconds. at that time, the most modern airports in america were laguardia and national in washington. in bad weather they had to have 20 minutes between landings. >> rose: who was general william tuner. >> general william tuner, willie the whip was... willie the whip who was an organizational genius who figured out how you could get these planes in every 90 seconds and get them out, get them maintained, keep the men who were sleeping... >> rose: come fly in, drop the supplies and fly out. >> and

senator truman, investigating military expenditures never knew. vice president truman never knew until he became president and then they broke the news to him. [laughter] >> host: hello? here's the bomb, you're in charge. well, we've got to take a short break. stay with us. we will be right back. >> "after words" and a number of other c-span programs are available for download at podcast. more whiff garry wills and garrey in just a moment. >>> "after words" with garry wills and garry blanton continues. >> host: welcome back. we are here talking with garry wills, t of speed line. i would like to return to the exploration you have done on the founders of america and talk a little bit about how did washington, madison, lincoln see the role as commander in chief and how did it change since then? what about washington have done if he had the power? >> guest: its start with commander in chief, that's an interesting term. it's a historic term from the british usage and it meant when you had several ed models in the sumeria of the ocean and they have equa

senator truman investigating military expenditures never knew. vice president truman never knew until he became president then they broke the news to him. [laughter] >> host: hello. here is the bomb. we will take a short break. stay with us. we will be right back. >> host: welcome back we're talking with gary wills author of "bomb power." i want to return to the exploration of the founders of america and talk to us about how washington, madison, lincoln come see their role as commander in chief and how did it change since then? what would washington had done if he had "bomb power"? >> guest: let's start with commander in chief. that is an interesting term and is historic from the british usage that meant when you have several-- several out rosen the same period of the ocean with the quote rank the bair vermette would say one will be commander in chief for this operation in this theater at this time. that is what it meant and when washington went to boston there were militia general's and other competing authorities. you will be commander in chief

senator truman investigating military expenditures never knew, vice president truman never knew until he became president and then they broke the news to him. >> host: here's the bomb. well, we've got to take a short break. stay with us, be right back. >> "after words" and a number of cease and programs are available for download at podcast is to get more with garry wills and tom blanton in just a moment. >>> "after words" with garry wills and tom blanton continues. >> host: welcome back. we are here talking with garry wills, the author of "bomb power." i want to return to this exploration you have done of the founders of america and talk a little bit about how did washington, madison, lincoln c. this role as commander in chief? and how did it change since then? what would washington have done if he had the bombing power? >> guest: let's start with commander in chief. that is an interesting term. it is a historic term from the british usage and it meant when you had several admirals' in the same area of the ocean and they had equal brank, the government would say what will be commande

and david mccullough's book on truman, which obviously is a wonderful book on truman. but in both those books, berlin airlift gets about two paragraphs. and it was then i realized that people don't know this enabler. they knew in germany, but not in america and america is worried that we needed to know why. >> to base anything publicly? >> no, they never said anything palpably about being against it. the president is commander-in-chief. >> thank you both for your comments. i wondered if you might comment what was happening at the united nations at the time of the decision to the airlift to berlin, which seems in my opinion, the united nations like so many times from security council members that are at odds debate and there's no in action. >> well, the picture that we saw here for a moment of people talking at a table with the soviet ambassador, jacob miao, and the american representative announced in the end of it. this is how the airlift ended with a blockade ended, the airlift continued for a while. stalin took neither advice or questions as far as anyone could tell

and he wrote about truman. he wrote about truman and catapulted him into new fame and acclaim. the research and the beauty and the wonder of david mccollough, is summed up by some of william faulkner's nag magnificent words, and he said, i believe man will not merely endure, he will prevail. he is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inest oustible voice, but because he has a soul and a spirit capable of sacrifice and passion and endurance. the poet writer's duty is to write about these things. it is his duty to help man endure by lifting his heart and reminding him of honor and hope and pride and congressman pation, and pity, and sacrifice, which has been the glory of his past. the poet's voice need not merely be a record of man, it can be one of the props to help him endure and prevail. unquote. our poet, our writer, david mccollough, through painstaking research brings us american history. sacrifices endurance and compassion. he brought us truman's courage and honor, roosevelt's pride and soul. he brings us the human spirit that not merely endured, but prevai

truman drive, right near 202. roads were looking good frnlt then you got into the side streets, the areas where there are neighborhoods, it doesn't look add good as the major roads. the folks will need to be careful as they're leaving out. by and large, you know, pretty good considering the amount of snow we got last night. as tom said, we're seeing the snow sticking to tree limbs, it does make for a picturesque kind of scene. be careful and make sure you take your time on those roads. there are some traces of slush in the turn lanes, et cetera, the center of roads. you can see prince george's county still has the plows outputting down samt all over the area. it looks like there's been a plow here through this road as well. again, be careful. look out for what you're driving through this morning. i'm tracee wilkins live in largo. back to you in the studio. >>> the streets are also snow-covered in virginia. >> that's where megan mcgrath is continuing our team 4 coverage. >> good morning. we're in downtown mclane. t

the secret to oreck's effectiveness is its patented truman cell filter.s the air in the room through its powerful six-stage filtration system. its electrostatic plates capture many impurities such as dust, allergens, bacteria - even viruses -- then puts clean air back in the room. how clean is the air in your home? try my oreck professional air purifier for a full 30 days risk free, with free shipping! stand by for a very special limited-time offer! call right now and david oreck will automatically upgrade you to his new proshield plus air purifier. it combines the truman cell with the revolutionary new helios shield for even greater odor elimination. he'll also send you his amazing cordless refrigerator air purifier... and dual-purpose speed sweep cordless electric vacuum. together they're a $150 value, but they're yours free! and yours to keep even if you decide to return the air purifier. that's how sure david oreck is you'll love his new proshield plus. if you don't breath easier, sleep better, wake up more refreshed, dust your home less and simply en

the secret to oreck's effectiveness is its patented truman cell filter. the oreck air purifier constantly moves the air in the room through its powerful six-stage filtration system. its electrostatic plates capture many impurities such as dust, allergens, bacteria - even viruses -- then puts clean air back in the room. how clean is the air in your home? try my oreck professional air purifier for a full 30 days risk free, with free shipping! stand by for a very special limited-time offer! call right now and david oreck will automatically upgrade you to his new proshield plus air purifier. it combines the truman cell with the revolutionary new helios shield for even greater odor elimination. he'll also send you his amazing cordless refrigerator air purifier... and dual-purpose speed sweep cordless electric vacuum. together they're a $150 value, but they're yours free! and yours to keep even if you decide to return the air purifier. that's how sure david oreck is you'll love his new proshield plus. if you don't breath easier, sleep better, wake up more refre

truman drive.let me show you what the snow is looking like in your yard, especially for all the kids out today. we've got a nice fluffy snow. it's very light, really cool, compacted and, you know, everybody will have fun with that if they want to get out and make some snowmen, they should have a good time. out on the roads, it's slushy, nasty in some parts. but mostly just wet in prince george's county. main roads and also some of the side roads. we talked with one computer a while ago. here is what she had to say about her commute. >> how do the roads look to to you? >> they look pretty good. i thought there was going to be a lot more snow but it's not. you still have to be very cautious. there are slick spots. be very cautious and watch your speed and your distance, and you'll be fine. >> are you leaving a little earlier than you normally do? >> yes, like an hour early because i didn't know what the ad conditions were going to be like. because of that, i wanted to allow myself extra time. >> repo

truman, first of all, he dropped the atom bomb.out congress getting involved in it, but he would to commit. >> guest: no congressional authorization. no declaration of war. he sends the troops almost right away and he says i'm the commander-in-chief. i protecting the nation's security, even though it's the small country, why haven't to be originally from. a small country abroad. and although i think congress always has a check because they don't have to find that. they keep funding network that they keep the draft in place. but ultimately, it is truman who says in this cold war period, we need to do this to maintain containment of the soviet union. and that means we need to stop incursions by the calmness in places like korea, or berlin. >> host: the truman doctrine. he did get stop by the supreme court when he tried to take the steel mills in the time for any set war power, i need a. and the supreme court stopped them. but that was about it. as far as curbing. >> guest: it was interesting, what young sammy clear is that was becaus

listen to truman.erlin has become a symbol of americas and the west's dedication to the cause of freedom. four days into the crisis, four days, he tells his cabinet that although he does not want to start a war with the soviets, he will not abandon the city. we are going to stay, he says, period. no one could accuse that democratic president of ditherring. truman proposes an air lift. massive round the clock air transport to supply the allies and citizens of berlin. almost no one in his cabinet thinks the plan can work. the ma juror tif of his advisers think the united states should leave the city in the hands of the soviets. but truman finds the resolve to stay. and he finds the resolve because he understands what is at stake. listen to harry truman. communism attacks our basic values, our belief in goshgd the belief in the dignity of man and human life, our belief in justice and freedom, he said. it attacks our institutions that are based on these values. it attacks our churches, our guarantees of ci

truman in 1944, third ballot. we take it for granted that conventions are going to be cut and dry and you're going to wrap it up on the first ballot. this was not a given in 1960 and lyndon johnson is pounding on the back room deal being that he can go to his fellow senators and they can go back home and twist some arms and he will arrive with enough votes in his pocket so that in the second, third, fourth, or fifth allocating the real jack kennedy. jack kennedy feels almost the same way. robert kennedy says, you know, if we don't win on the first ballot, we don't win it all. it was a very, very close for jack kennedy all the way to 1960, even in those primaries to the convention and to the balloting. there are a lot of promises made. the city would have to rent a very large hall, very much larger than this one to get all the people that jack kennedy promised the vice presidency to that year. [laughter] yes, your member senator governor in kansas or herschel loveless of iowa. they all thought they were going to be

the secret to oreck's effectiveness is its patented truman cell filter. the oreck air purifier constantly moves the air in the room through its powerful six-stage filtration system. its electrostatic plates capture many impurities such as dust, allergens, bacteria - even viruses -- then puts clean air back in the room. how clean is the air in your home? try my oreck professional air purifier for a full 30 days risk free, with free shipping! stand by for a very special limited-time offer! call right now and david oreck will automatically upgrade you to his new proshield plus air purifier. it combines the truman cell with the revolutionary new helios shield for even greater odor elimination. he'll also send you his amazing cordless refrigerator air purifier... and dual-purpose speed sweep cordless electric vacuum. together they're a $150 value, but they're yours free! and yours to keep even if you decide to return the air purifier. that's how sure david oreck is you'll love his new proshield plus. if you don't breath easier, sleep better, wake up more refre

the question is about, the role of harry truman and the berlin airlift.solutely, the first chapter of the book is a sort of a brief history of berlin and the dispute over berlin that unfolds after world war ii and, yes, if you remember the city had been divided into, into four sectors. the westerners with ended up fusing their sectors and, introducing a new currency. the east germans refused to, or the soviets refused to to allow that currency to be used in their sector. they introduced their own currency and decided to cut off access from west berlin to the rest of west germany. i remember berlin sits in germany which was occupied by the soviets and, at that point, harry truman decides we're not leaving berlin and we're going to airlift goods and supplies into our sectors to, to the people there. i think that was hugely important because i think it showed that that the western powers were not going to abandon the city. i think it turned a lot of the attitudes of berliners in our favor and against the soviets. and then, this is, berlin became the kind of

truman and even before -- by harry truman and even before that we have an obligation as a society thatrm energy and to provide the jobs that our people need to get us out of the great recession and back on track. thank you very much for this chance to speak. i know there are going to the questions. [applause] w3>> henry, let me ask the first question. >> did you write it down on a car? >> no. i cannot write. anyway, tell us what you see happening in the senate to get both the energy bill and the health care bill going? the energy bill has not even been taken up in the senate. so how do you see him making that possible? >> the energy bill has a lot of people who are supporting it. not just those who care about the in our mad. a lot of industry people, as i mentioned, -- not just those who care about ourç environment. the president has set out what he hopes to achieve in copenhagen. it tried to enlist other countries in trying to achieve those goals as well. if we are going to have an international effort to be successful, the u.s. has got to do more. we have got to show we are willing

most recently i believe in 2001 with a subtitle from harry truman to george w. bush. so he keeps at it. and franklin d. roosevelt, an absolute cossack. he wrote the new deal in 1932 intel 1940, which received both the bangkok and the france's parking prices and which is now about to appear in a new addition and he made out from his publisher, harpercollins i think so, but harper company. what the new cover i gather which is shocking to me because i cover again as a classic, too. mr. leuchtenburg is a past president of the american historical association, american historian society and the american historians and is undeniably wanted to mention for this evening event. in 2008, the same society the american historians may professor jan knight of the first recipient of the arthur m. junior award for distinguished writing in american history of enduring public significant. [applause] i'll be saying a little bit more about her past their leuchtenburg and a little bit. he is the author of the just published american presidents series volume on herbert hoover. he has been wo

truman sent troops to war in 1950 without asking for a declaration of war.vast expansion under president bush. host: next caller. caller: i have a different perspective on all this national security. i think that americans, as we have seen from the tea party and the interests by sarah palin to get involved in, that we are getting fed up with security rebound and its effect on our businesses. for example, some to put on expose of underwear and pretty soon we will be scanned going into airports to make sure that we are not the risk. who wants to have a naked body scanner of themselves floating around by these low-paid tsa agents? you have heard stories of some of these tsa agents doing their own criminal actions and breaking a laws and taking too much power. how do you feel about the rebound of what this does to our rights and business and what the constitution was designed for, to let this be a free economy? guest: i think the tension you talk about has been one within conservatism since the cold war, meaning on the one hand, a more hawkish posture in the gop

his successor, harry truman.d the lot of americans and japanese. going to kennedy, it going democratic right now. we got the trip to the moon and what have you. we're moving on into eisenhower as a republican. i think he was a pretty good president. a great general and a pretty good president. we can move on in. i am thinking about president obama now. this is great. i think he is going to be a great president. i would like to see it go to a nonpartisan presidency. you have this same amount of senators and congressmen, and everybody could go and the vote, and it would be no responsibility to the republican party or the democratic party and a lot less argument and more work. guest: i understand that. i have to tell you that the bombing have to pick his with the founders. they created this job in which they combine the function of head of state. we do not have a clean it like great britain. we have the president who is both a ceremonial and necessarily political leaders. governed by the very nature involves the pol

. >>> 62 years ago today, president truman ordered the defense secretary to take the needed steps to remove discrimination in the military. he was talking about race. today the topic was sexual orientation, specifically the clinton-era policy known as don't ask, don't tell, a policy that is now on borrowed time. more on this story from our pentagon correspondent jim miklazewski. >> reporter: in a hearing today on capitol hill, the nation's top military commander revealed the worst-kept secret in the armed services. >> i have served with homosexuals since 1968. >> reporter: admiral mike mullen said it's time to scrap don't ask, don't tell that prohibits gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. >> we have a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> reporter: in his state of the union, president obama made repeal of don't ask, don't tell a political priority. >> this year i will work with congress. >> reporter: today defense secretary gates says he supports the president, but indicated it could take two y

i don't remember president after truman who did it. he did very much the same thing.ed his enemies and made the most of them. now actually i guess, no. they're different kinds of enemies. so republicans and particulars has been railing against what? secular humanism and the liberal media. so every president, every affected political leader chooses enemies. you're going to have enemies. and if you can choose enemies carefully and judiciously, then you can get a lot of mileage. roosevelt quite clearly engaged in something that comes really close to class warfare, where he talked about the wealthy of america, having interest only of their own class, who feather their own mass and then kerry about the rest of the country. and so roosevelt made this distinction between the wealthy few and the ordinary mini. and he made clear that he was on the side of the ordinary mini. he could do the numbers as well as everybody else. and if you narrow the field to a small enough group, you can afford to alienate half the population. i was talking about this when iraq obama talks about i

[applause] >> urged on by president truman and his definition very succinctly presented, strongly led by president obama and aren't we proud of our president of the united states? [applause] >> and then just harkening back to the president who brought us social security, president franklin roosevelt. >> some of the new -- i don't think -- well -- some of you may have heard a speech by franklin -- most of us have read about it. most of us have read about it in the history books. i happened to have been born in his administration. many think this is who. this president identifies with the aspiration of america's people. he knew that they needed jobs, that they needed a safety net. so one of my favorite storys that some of you have heard me tell before is that when -- it's important to knowing who we are as democrats. when president roosevelt died in georgia, he was taken by train to washington, d.c. to lie in state at the white house and then on to hyde park to be buried. and along the way hundreds of thousands of people lined the tracks. there were farmers, black americans whatever the

truman sent troops without a declaration of war. is an expansion that takes place under president bush. host: bedford, massachusetts. host: next caller. caller: i have a different perspective on all this national security. i think that americans, as we have seen from the tea party and the interests by sarah palin to get involved in, that we are getting fed up with security rebound and its effect on our businesses. for example, some to put on expose of underwear and pretty soon we will be scanned going into airports to make sure that we are not the risk. who wants to have a naked body scanner of themselves floating around by these low-paid tsa agents? you have heard stories of some of these tsa agents doing their own criminal actions and breaking a laws and taking too much power. how do you feel about the rebound of what this does to our rights and business and what the constitution was designed for, to let this be a free economy? guest: i think the tension you talk about has been one within conservatism since the cold war, meaning o

i mean, he's just an amazing personality and truman listened. with his record of dissent, burke figured they had him tagged. he was shocked when president dwight eisenhower announced that he was going to be chief of naval operations in 1955. he objected. this was not a good idea at all. there were 92 active flag duty officers senior to him. it was going to cause bad feelings and make his job impossible. furthermore, he had -- did they think he was a patsy, yeah? he had a bad habit of speaking his mind. did they know that? he was not going to change. objections overruled in 1955. my gosh, how did he do it? [laughter] >> the hard way. with the added press attention and with this war exploits written up again, you know, on the time -- many times, "time" magazine covered burke more than ever. he was a true national celebrity and he ruled. he was the 15th cno, burke immediately set about to inculcate individual initiative and responsibility throughout ranks. take the initiative and come up with me ideas. -- about new ideas. burke said he could not co

he starts out in the opening and says i represent the party of roosevelt and truman and we have brought you so security and the tennessee valley authority and electrification and all of these good things and extend represents harding and coolidge and hoover the party that brought you the great depression and howard k. smith. mr. nixon how do you respond? >> i have no comment. >> this is basically taking the fifth amendment. this is not good. and nixon pulls himself up for that. his body language is still very poor. he has the 5:00 shadow going on mixing case was the 8:00 shadow. foley fact of the visual effect of nixon was one of gft aide said by looking like an escaped convict using can look like the original fugitive. [laughter] johnson is listening in the radio thinking nixon has won but on tv they think he has lost. he did well but all the first debates really count. you don't get a second chance to make a first impression of the nixon has been around for crow that is the defining point* of the election. it goes to be a very, very close election. all year aside from jack kennedy's p

truman on words. some i have known better than others. i knew mr. nixon very well and your last president i knew quite well too. the present one, mr. obama, is quite difficult to get to see and i haven't met him yet so i am reserving judgment on him but i think this is an office which w unique in the world because it is the only office in the united states which everybody sotes for. the person who is elected president of the united states has a unique claim to represent the nation. the nation is a very big nation of three hundred million people. it is a rich and powerful and productive nation. inevitably the president of the united states is a very powerful figure in deed and the constitution of the united tedtes does give him enormous power. of course, he is to some extent limited by congress and the judiciary but he still has very large powers. so the president of the united on oes is a figure in the world that has to be reckoned as probably the most powerful person on earth. or how is it you have gotten to know all the presidents since president

what is the point to attack when truman probably would not be reelected anyway. if you attack fdr, you attack not only the entire pool si, but also in terms of the of the policy in the united states. last but not least, but yalta? one the reasons is that the position, my position here at harvard is professor of ukrainian history. what i was trying to do with this book also was my hidden agenda to a degree. something that had major impact on what happened to ukraine after the war. ukraine turned out to be one the major victims of the war. one the major beneficiaries of the settlement after the war. we have to look at it from a number of sides. i don't think including yalta into history, this is a limit, i'll think about including israeli. i don't know how i'm going to accomplish that. thanks again. thank you very much for your comments. [applause] >> hopefully at this point, there is time remaining. he asked to yield questions on everything from stalin's charm to the implications of yalta. the floor is open to those of you who would like to ask questions. if you d

it was supported by the truman administration and even the eisenhower administration, although eisenhowerenes. it was not a complete story. it was not until 10 years leader until the sun -- civil- rights movement, that meaningful desegregation actually occurred. >> that is fair, but only fair to a point. relative to something like sex discrimination, but court was the head of the curb -- the court was the head of the curve. in sex discrimination, it was behind the curve considerably. so what kind of issues is to court willing to throw out a little bit? is gay-rights one of those issues? i do not know. >> let's turn to a different one. the war in terrorism. where is that? the court let way out in front. four or five times, the court has told congress and the executive that we are not going to allow you to treat terrorism suspects as you please come and get one supposes if there is any prevailing sentiment out there in the general public, it is one of fear, of anxiety, of these people who somebody wants to bring into our midst, talking about the government reconsidering have a trial of 9/11

truman onwards. some i've known better than others. i knew mr. nixon very well and your last president i knew quite well too. the present one, mr. obama, is quite difficult to get to see, and i haven't met him yet. so i'm reserving judgment on him. but i think this is an office which is unique in the world because it's the only office in the united states which everybody votes for. so the person who is elected president of the united states has a unique claim to represent the nation. the nation is a very big nation of over 300 million people, it's a very rich and powerful and productive nation, so inevitably the president of the unite is a very powerful figure, indeed. and the constitution of the united states does give him enormous powers. of course, he is to some extent limited by congress and by the judiciary, but he still has very, very large powers. so the president of the united states is a figure in the world that has to be reckoned as probably the most powerful person on earth. >> host: how is it that you've gotten to know all the preside

during his acceptance speech the democratic national convention in 1948, president truman, a man very succinct words, he said this. the democratic party is the people's party. and the republican party is the party of special interest. it has always been and always will. that's what he said. it was true then. and it is true today. [applause] >> democrats are the party of the people. and keeping in mind what president truman said about the republicans being the party of special interest, doesn't that combined with the latest supreme court decision insist that we pass public financing of campaigns. isn't that long overdue? [applause] >> democrats are the defenders of the middle class and all who aspire to it. democrats are fighting for fairness and justice. democrats are leading the fight for main street. never again will wall street's recklessness undermine main street's progress. never again will wall street be allowed to jeopardize the jobs, the pensions, the homes and the life savings of the american people. [applause] >> and democrats are for healthcare for all americans as a right,

truman said, what's that? he says it's captain burke, arleigh burke. didn't i meeting down there in norfolk? yes, sir, that's the one. he is good. yes, sir. well, just write his name back and period on the promotion list. the old secretary of defense and everybody were shocked. rear admiral, arleigh burke was saved for this country. now, the irony in the revolt of the admirals however this remarkable career with so many turnabout that they did feel they have to give them a place to start it cool down. and a noncontroversial position would be defense research and development board, ironically. this position was another step in opening a new vista to admiral burke and introducing him and controlling him with technological and strategic solutions to naval and defense issues. creative breakthroughs, thinking smarter not richer. we need that today. the seeds were sown in this training for burke's monumental polaris breakthrough. well, when i moved back after the outbreak of the korean war in june 1950, the traveling doesn't stop your burke or the deputy chi

after world war ii when harry truman had a republican congress, they hammered out the marshall plan at blair house so it's nice about that. i know you're too modest to say this but i recall a young wolf bhi blitzer asked a question. you asked him why don't you reach out to israel. a few months later he did and said wolf blitzer made me do it. >> there you see the president of the united states walking from the west wing of the white house with joe biden. you see them there. it's just a very, very quick walk across the street, pennsylvania avenue. since the oklahoma city bombing as most viewers remember has been shut to vehicular traffic unless it's an emergency vehicle. but it's an easy walk across the street. gloria, you've seen this walk on many occasions. the president will go in. he's got biden, sebelius, secretary of health and human services. he's got his whole team basically ready to go but there are a lot of republicans and democrats as well. >> they were even debating the shape of the table and whether the president should be standing or whether he would be sitting. because if

i said in my little remarks harry truman living in the blair house where we were today had the senateforeign relations chairman down once a week to meet with general marshal to write the marshal plan. when you want a bipartisan effort you form a private relationship and put it together and the president hasn't figured that out yet with the senate. >> greta: are you saying he's inexperienced? >> i don't know what it is. i thought he doesn't want to do it or doesn't know how. i think he's a very able person. he showed today he knows a lot about health care. i don't think he knows how to create a bipartisan piece of legislation in the senate. we do it all the time. ted kennedy did it all the time. >> greta: what about harry reid, even getting testy with you? >> it o'he did seemed like we was a little irritated. get with you! >> because i said what he dent like to hear their bill cuts medicare by half a trillion dollars and spends it on a new tram. their bill raises taxes half trillion dollars and sends to states big costs raising college tuitions and taxes and it does raise premiums. the

the first presidential visit to that county and we can't half ago, since harry truman in 1948. >> wee. >> oberlin college, one of the great private institutions of higher learning in this country, 10 miles from there, there was a building built their seven years ago fully powered by solar panels. it is the largest building on any college campus in america like that. those solar panels or bought in germany and japan. germany, a country that has an energy policy and the manufacturing policy. 75 miles west of there is toledo, ohio, where you have been several times. the legal has more solar energy jobs it than any city in america -- toleda has more solar power energy jobs than any city in america. we have all kinds of things in so many of our states, manufacturing wind turbine components and solar components. if it were the only major industrial country in the world without manufacturing policy. every rich country has one. we don't. i know what you're doing with ronald bloom and others. how do we read that china is exploding in terms of wind factor in manufacturing and solar panel manuf

i think in this case, jim, people have compared it to race and harry truman in 1948. in that case, the president and the military were reading society. i mean, to desegregate a major american institution in 1948 was really -- >> it came out of no where. >> it came out of no where but it was an historic act. i think now, just looking this morning, in 1987, the peer poll asked do you think a local school board hands the right to fire a teacher who is a known homosexual. 51% americans thought it did just on that basis alone. 20 years later it dropped to 28%. and it's dropped even more you can be sure today now three years later because it's a generational thing. i think in this case, the military is basically following society and its lead. >> lehrer: do you agree with that. >> i agree. the i support the move and support the way they've done it and they've done it in a very slow way. we're going to study it try to reconcile it and sometimes you put something into a study when you don't want to kill it. in this case, for a lot of us who would like to see it done faster, w

sitting on my desk when i started, and this was before this had become real popularized, a copy of truman capote's "in cold blood." i wanted to take -- this story you could not have made up. this was so crazy, all the pieces of it. with your wildest imagination if you were writing fiction you could not have made this story up. i wanted to capture it in a way that was readable for a completely broad audience, but i wanted to get it right. and so early on in the process of remember having had little talk with george stephanopoulos as i was getting started, just an informal chat. if anyone can get all of these pieces and show how they are connected, which no one had done before, everyone had treated them as separate, you would have something. that is what i tried to do. >> host: let's begin with those. absolutely fascinating. spend time explaining this context the story of jim mcdougal is really extraordinary. why did he play such an extraordinary role? >> guest: without jim mcdougal you did not have any of the rest of the scandal contraction. it was also this -- arkansas, as you know, was a

we can go back to president truman who took the audacity to integrate the services. at one time, my uncles, members of my race, couldn't even serve in the military. and we moved to this point where they're some of the best and brightest that we've had. >> warner: alabama republican jeff sessions disagreed, and questioned whether the pentagon review will impartial, given that the president, gates and mullen have already spoken. >> if it was a trial, we would perhaps raise the undue command influence defense. and i think we need an open, objective, and a fair evaluation. a lot of things that have been said, i wouldn't note, that are not accurate, at least in my view, at least misrepresent certain things. >> warner: while the review is underway, gates said, the pentagon is looking at what it can do under existing law to ease enforcement. >> we can raise the bar on what constitutes a reliable person, and on whose word an inquiry can be initiated. overall, we can reduce the instances in which a service member who is trying to serve the country honorably is outed by a thir

truman and even before -- by harry truman and even before that we have an obligation as a society that-being to reform health care and reform energy and to provide the jobs that our people need to get us out of the great recession and back on track. thank you very much for this chance to speak. i know there are going to the questions. [applause] w3>> henry, let me ask the first question. >> did you write it down on a car? >> no. i cannot write. anyway, tell us what you see happening in the senate to get both the energy bill and the health care bill going? the energy bill has not even been taken up in the senate. so how do you see him making that possible? >> the energy bill has a lot of people who are supporting it. not just those who care about the in our mad. a lot of industry people, as i mentioned, -- not just those who care about ourç environment. the president has set out what he hopes to achieve in copenhagen. it tried to enlist other countries in trying to achieve those goals as well. if we are going to have an international effort to be successful, the u.s. has got to do more

franklin roosevelt, harry truman. i love the writing style of one person.at is most important to me -- putting together words and ideas. i write about domestic politics mainland. lately what has been fascinating has been the flowering of the conservative grass these days in the tea party movement. for a while, you go back to about a year ago and pretty much everybody i knew and the commentators thought we had turned a grand, historical corner and entered a new era of liberalism. now, it looks like that is not so. for a while there, i enjoyed several columns and offering this and various pieces of advice to president obama. i lived in chicago before i moved to this city. a state senator was barack obama. i would see him at house parties and things like that. i remember when he ran for congress and got beaten. we moved here and he was still a state senator at the time. now he is president. host: did you ever say, that man could be president some day when you saw him? guest: he has this charisma and electricity. when he enters the room, everybody knows it. he

i mean i think you go all the way back to harry truman, and you had the power-- there is-- the bill is the power to persuade as well as a law. >> rose: donna. >> look, i-- . >> rose: let donna comment. >> i live in a real world. >> rose: don't we all. >> where the doctors at the university of miami provide health care in the safety net hospital of miami. that safety net hospital is in deep trouble tonight because of the number of uninsured people have gone up in our community. and the safety net hospital simply can't afford to take care of all of them. every state in this country is seeing major increases in their medicaid bills. need a bis people that are uninsured, that eliminates preexisting conditions, that gives people real access to drugs. and makes sure that they can get up every morning and their kids will be covered with health insurance. this bill covers every major element that need its to be covered. and i believe that there is wide spread consensus when you explain the bill to people. i do believehe politics has overwhelmed it. i hope that the president decides to go forwa

go back to president truman, who took the audacity to integrate the services. at one time members of my race couldn't even serve in the military and we moved to this point, aware that the best and brightest that we had, generals and the commander-in-chief. what we are doing here now is not looking at the integrity and commitment at individuals make not based on their sexual orientation but the defense of this country. the policy needs to be changed and must be changed and we must have everyone who is willing and able to volunteer to defend this country, defend this great american tradition of ours has the opportunity to surf regardless of their sexual orientation and based on that, we must continue to have an american spirit and have individuals willing to serve. i don't have a question, just a statement. i hope we look at legislation, 185 members on this house bill which with house bill 1283, i hope and pray that we will get it and moving on this issue it will not be wasting the taxpayers' time or energy on something that is so basic to human rights and opport