>> tom is a friend of walter cronkite. different generations. both incidently, brokaw and cronkite, really looked up to the soldiers of world war ii and troops in general. tom brokaw knows the social walter cronkite very well. they would go out to eat and the kentucky derby once. tom's wife meredith models how you survive with a husband traveling all the time. he knew the funny walter cronkite. there is the new regime. he thought he would be able to hang around cbs in the 1980's and 1990's and they did not have a role for him. brokaw said he always had to be the top dog. he is very darwinian. that comes across in my research. with walter cronkite, people only see him as the friendly man, which he was, but there is another side of him that wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings. he is a fierce competitor that i have written about, and that includes presidents and generals. his desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> you talked to a nixon aide chuck colson. >> he was very nice. he was a very repentant pro- nixon person. he was em

there's much more insight on the legendary walter cronkite, including why president john f. kennedy became testy with him over an interview and why cronkite encouraged bobby kennedy to run for president against lyndon b. johnson. it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen you do a lot of no.aking? look i'm going through the rapids. okay... i'll take it. sync your card with facebook, foursquare and twitter for savings. that's the membership effect of american express. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. wow, that feels really go

gay speaks with walter cronkite's and chip cronkite, tim wendell and david maraniss, associate editor of "the washington post" that is next on booktv. >> good evening and welcome to the national press club. i am the aarp bulletin executive better for state news, member of the book and author committee and former president of the national press club. are booked tonight is "assignment to hel," the war against nazi germany with correspondents walter cronkite, andy rooney, homer bigart, and hal boyle. the authors timothy gay. excited to be doing this book because that just finished reading andy rooney's my war. before we turn to tonight's book but me mention some upcoming books. june 14th, liz quince said the persian look media and satirist will discuss her book is free or die. june 28th, a commanding officer of the uss cole at the time of the attack will discuss his book front burner:al qaeda's attack on the uss cole. on june 12th, the vice president and the republic of donna will discuss --ghana will discuss the last decades of africa. on july 24th, tom young, member of the national gua

a new book by douglas brinkley details what made walter cronkite tick. write this book about cronkite now? >> i grew up watching walter cronkite like so many millions of americans. he is an icon. and a few years back "the new york times" reporter mentioned to me before he passed that cronkite was the most important journalist to the second half of the 20th century. kind of took me back a little bit. i always thought of print reporters being the most significant. but when you really look at what cronkite did, taking us through the mccarthy era and space with john glenn and to the moon with neil armstrong and nixon during watergate and famously the vietnam war, we lived in walter cronkite's cold war era and his papers opened up at the university of texas. i had a trove of material, cooperation of walter cronkite's family and friends. so i took on the book. >> the book is not all glowing about walter cronkite. he was human just like the rest of us even though, you know, we make him out to be an anchorman super hero. >> it's hard to live up to being most trus

it's very much about walter cronkite, which it should be -- it's a biography. see the context of what goes on around him. they naturally concentrated on the cronkite moment, which is supposedly -- which is when he said, you know, that the vietnam war was mired in stalemate, followed by a hypocrifull incident and lyndon janson said, if i have lost cronkite, i have lost the midwest or i have lost the country or lost the war. cbs has no record of that, nor do they say it happened. that was made by the johnson white house. so that is mired in a lot of fog. but by and large... it's a flatly written book. all of the excitement if fascination of the characters involved really isn't brought to life. i think he was overwhelmed by his subject. >> eric: finally, liz, you are a diligent gum-shoe reporter, you write every page of the 812 pages -- does the book take the sheen off? >> oh, heavens no, heavens, no. you know, cronkite's secret was very simple. first of all, he was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet special work with. and america picked up that quality bec

this is walter cronkite. good night. >> your quote from lyndon johnson, he told the country in a few weeks right after that, that he wasn't going to run again. >> right, the end of march, 1968. that's right. >> if i've lost cronkite, i've lost middle america. i've been reading that for years. true? >> there's no evidence that lyndon johnson ever said that, and the power of the anecdote that's discussed in "getting it wrong" called the cronkite moment, supposedly lyndon johnson was watching the cronkite show, and at the end of it, johnson supposedly leaned over and snapped off the television set and said something to the effect of, if i've lost cronkite, i've lost middle america, or if i've lost cronkite, i've lost the war, or if i've lost cronkite, i've lost the country. there are various versions as to what he said, a lot of various versions as to what johnson supposedly said. that in my view right off the bat is a tip-off, a marker of a media-driven myth. if you can't get the story straight as to what the p

walter cronkite, andy rooney, aj liebling and how boyle. he speaks with walter cronkite township cronkhite of a former "usa today" reporter and editor, tim went out and didn't bareness can associate editor of the washington post next on booktv. >> good evening and welcome to the national press club. my name is larry aarp is running for state news, member of the book and author committee and former president of the national press club. our book tonight is transfer, the war against nazi germany. the author is timothy gay am excited to be doing this but because i just finished and he burnt his my war. before we turn to tonight's book, let me mention some upcoming books at the press club. june 14, this wednesday, comedienne, political satirist and cocreator of "the daily show" will discuss her book, this free or die. june 28, commander curt l'ecole commanding officer of the uss cole at the time of the attack will discuss his book on the front runner, al qaeda is attack. on july 12, john germ on a, vice president of the republic will discuss his

>> remember, walter cronkite was with the u.p. during world war ii. sm had a propaganda aspect to it. cronkite was pro nasa, pro federal government, was pro vietnam war from '65 to '68. >> until. >> he goes and reports from vietnam, comes back and does a february 27th, 1968, the primetime special saying that vietnam was a stalemate. big ripple effect. >> big ripple effect. that changed the debate, it shook lyndon johnson. why did he have -- we'll come back to the other point in a mi minute. why did he have so much authority, one reporter, one anchor. >> he had that much because he became beloved. he brought the nation through -- we were used to him in the 1950s. he was one of the inquisitors of the nixon/kennedy debate but mainly the kennedy assassination when he guided america almost as pastor in chief through that long weekend and just started building an audience, mr. steady eddie. also some areas also got cbs news. >> cbs and nbc had huge audiences, there wasaudiences, was no cable television you all that. so come back to the senate office, bobby k

. >> i didn't think about it until you were talking about walter cronkite.at was not the inspiration for those specs? >> no, but this book is fascinating. and when walter cronkite put on these glasses, it was one of the most iconic moments in news. he was announcing the death of john f. kennedy, the president. take a look at this. >> president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time. >> that's what 1963 when he announced that. i spoke with the author of this new book. it's called cronkite about that moment and others. listen. >> he didn't just announce that to the nation in that famous scene with the glasses and looking at the clock. but he had to continue all weekend long. he had to report on, you know, lee harvey oswald, who he was and, of course, ruby killing him and how did jackie kennedy handle the death and then the funeral. so i call him a rabbi or a pastor in chief. he held her hands in a communal way through that long tragedy of the kennedy assassination. >> initially i was going to do an interview with douglas and it became so fascinating.

cronkite became anchorman at cbs in 1962 people were getting their news from the evening news of walter cronkitet almost became a ritual. you got home from work, 9:00 to 5:00, relax a little, watch cronkite and have dinner. his impact is immense. on things like civil rights, gay rights, the women's movement, the environment in the '60s and '70s, cronkite insisted all those stories were covered in a real time and an important way. you can't think of things like the birth of earth day and the images of bull connor in the south and the horrors of jim crow were brought into everybody's living room. cronkite's managing editor of cbs insisted on it. >> president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time, 2:00 eastern standard time. >> i remember getting these glasses, right? i never thought about it. i just liked the glasses. my colleagues sort of call them micron kites. i picked up that name. it's interesting when you see him with those glasses talking about the death of john f. kennedy, taking him on, looking at the clock. that was his moment. that is probably the iconic moment in journalism.

i write in the book in 1968 walter cronkite even urged bobby kennedy to run for president. senator at that time. and challenge lyndon johnson for the democratic nomination because cronkite had gone to vietnam and was sick by what he saw about the johnson administration had lied to the american people and called the war a stalemate. many people are questioning why would a cronkite, a serious journalist, urge somebody like bobby kennedy to run for president. the answer is vietnam tore the country apart. cronkite stayed in the middle from '55 to '68. once he went inside the country being a humanist transcended being an anchor. >> i want to talk about this whole idea of liberal and conservative when it comes to news. we hear so much about it now. especially with the advent of cable news. some people being on the right and being on the left. was walter cronkite considered a liberal in those days, did people know about it and was he criticized for it? >> he was not considered a liberal until 1968. then he was classified as a dove. and then the nixon crowd, i've listened to all the

. >> sunday -- >> with walter cronkite, people see him only as the avuncular, family man, which he was to everybody. but there's another side of him it wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings and beating the brinkley report every night. he's proud of the fiercest competitor i've ever written about. and i've written about presidents and generals. cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> douglas brinkley on his new biography of longtime cbs anchor, walter cronkite. that's tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> on friday, fla. -- former florida governor, jeb bush said he supported the efforts to rescue the financial industry in 2008 but was not in favor of the obama's administration's aid to auto companies. in his testimony, he rejected the grover norquist pledge which called on lawmakers to oppose all tax increases. the hearing addresses role in the economy and includes testimony from henry waxman. this is about two and half hours. >> the meeting will come to order. welcome to the house committee hearing on the growing cronyism in washington and the barriers to

by the time he was the anchor, people were getting the news from the evening news of walter cronkite and it almost was a routine. you got home from work and relaxed a bit and watched cronkite and had dinner so his impact was huge. the gay rights and environment movement and civil rights. all the stories were covered in a very real time and important way. so you cannot think about something like the birth of earth day and why the imagines of bull connor and the horrors or jim crow were brought into everyone's living room, because walter cronkite as managing editor insisted on it. >> jfk died at -- >> i remember getting these glasses and i never thought about it. i just liked the glasses and my colleagues sort of called them my cronkites and i picked up that name. it's interesting, when you see him with the glasses, talking about the death of john f.kennedy. that was his moment and that is probably the iconic moment in journalism and i think the next is 9/11. >> everyone knows that clip, he came in that day, a normal friday, a lot of people had cut out for the weekend and others were ha

. >>> sunday, on q & a -- >> i think the problem is with walter cronkite, people see him as only the avungular man. he wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings, and he is probably the fiercest competitor i have ever written about, and i have written about presidents and generals, and cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best selling author douglas brinkley on his new biography of walter cronkite. >>> madison's montpellier is a trust for historic property located south of the capital in orange, virginia. the 2600 acre estate includes the gilmore cabin, built in the 1870s by one of mr. madison's former slaves. american history tv visiting the restored farm to learn what it was like for an emancipated slave and his family. >> welcome to the gilmore cabin. friedman's farm here at james madison's montpellier. i'm the director of education and visitor engagement. this farm was built in the 1870s after the civil war. if you follow me inside, i'll fall show you around. george gilmore was a slave for james madison. he was born in 1810, according to the family's

. >>> sunday on "q&a" -- >> people see walter cronkite as the friendly man, which he was to everybody, but there is another side of him that wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings and beating huntley brinkley report every night. he is probably the competitor i've ever written about, and i've written about presidents and generals and cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best-selling author douglas brinkley on his new biography of long-time cbs news anchor walter cronkite, sunday at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span. >>> former british prime minister tony blair defended his relationship with rupert murdoch this week before a british panel examining the relationships between politicians and the press. he told the panel that he had a working relationship with mr. murdoch during his time as prime minister, but added that they became personal friends after his time in office. later during the hearing a protester interrupted the proceedings, calling the former prime minister a war criminal. tony blair served as prime minister from 1997 to 2007. this is about

. >> sunday on q and a -- >> i think the problem with walter cronkite people see him only as the friendly man, which he was to everybody, but there is another side of him tlapted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings of beating the brinkley report every night. he is probably the fearest competitor i've ever written about and i've written about presidents and generals and cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best-selling author douglas brinkley on his new biography of long time cbs news and anchor walter cronkite sunday at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span. >>> each sunday evening at 7:30 now through labor day weekend, american history tv features our series the contenders. 14 key political figures who ran for president and lost, but changed political history. this sunday the great

." >> i think the problem with walter cronkite, people only see him as the avuncular friendly man. which he was to everybody. but there is another side of him that wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings, with beating huntley brinkley report every night. he is probably the fiercest competitor i've ever written about. and i've written about presidents and generals. cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best-selling author douglas brinkley on his new biography of long-time cbs news anchor walter cronkite. sunday at 8:00 eastern and pacific. on c-span. >>> writing is a transactional process. writing assumes reading. it goes back to that question about, you know, a tree falling in the forest if there's no one there to hear it. if you've were not a wonderful novel, then one of the parts of the process is you that want readers to be enlarged and enriched by it. and you have to pull on everything at your disposal to do that. >> author and pulitzer prize-winning columnist anna quindlen will talk about her perspectives on writing and life plus her social polic

. >> i think the problem is with walter cronkite people see him as the friendly man, which he was to everybody, but there's another side of him thatmented to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings and beating hutly brinkley report every night. he's probably the fiercest competitor i've written about, and i've written about presidents and generals. cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best-selling author douglas brinkley on his biography of walter cronkite tonight at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span. >>> writing is a transactional process. writing assumes reading. it goes back to that question about, you know, a tree falling in the forest, if there's no one there to hear it. you know, if you've written a really wonderful novel, one of the parts of the process is that you want rea

. >> i think the problem is with walter cronkite, people see him as the friendly man, which he was, but he was obsessed with ratings and beating huntley brinkley report every nightme. and i've written about presidents and generals and cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best-selling author douglas brinkley on his new biography of long time cbs news anchor walter cronkite tonig

lived a very modest life you know he has net worth was never even close to being a millionaire walter cronkite was making sixty thousand dollars a year doing the c.b.s. evening news. since reagan dropped that top tax rate down below seventy four percent there's been this explosion in the nature of elites in the united states what what what are the consequences of that and what are the solutions to. i'm glad that you you know the dropping of the top marginal tax rate i think is i don't write about it in the book when i write about taxation policy in the last chapter but i think it's a really important thing because it really does change if you if you believe as as conservative economists say they do in incentives right the idea of dropping the top tax rate is that people will work harder build the you know that the mark zuckerberg of the world formerly would have just sat around on their duff but now they're going to invent facebook and they're going to keep working on facebook and keep giving us all some products because they're going to take home more of every marginal dollar they make i don'

wonjoyha another book that i have been beginning to read is a book by douglas brinkley about walter cronkite. there wasn't a more well know versn ic twa cnke. we love him in texas. he went to the university of texas and grew up in houston and he was a foreign correspondent for united press inrn a oalep peen hen' just a face guy. when cbs evening news became more important, when the new rath m nwork d w nktart as the anchor in the 60s and was there for 20 years into the early 80s and i just think that pridents, time covering is certainly fascinating and he was a fascinating person because he was so thoughtful and douglas brinkley is a wonderful histian. s hto pro at rivit heke tav academy and princeton. he is the real story and also does detailed comprehensive research in hiriding sohe biography of cnke e be din biography of walter cronkite. the fact that douglas brinkley wrote it andight high regard for himnd t f tt kis l-n a loinount a having this kind of biography is an excellent thing for us to have documentation in there thasok ita voices. vital vcesan oiz edhiynt a ele t and put a chapt

is desire to be the best was pronounced. >> douglas brinkley on his biography of walter cronkite.astern and pacific on c-span. >> on c-span, the u.s. house returns at 9:00 a.m. eastern to debate energy and water spending. over on c-span2, politico hosts a forum on health exchanges. at 9:00 a.m. on3 on, the house budget committee hears from the former florida governor jeb bush and henry waxman on tax policy and entrepreneurship. >> also on "washington journal," we'll hear from representative john larson, a member of the ways and means committee. and at 8:20, congressman

when it was growing up when they decided to extend walter cronkite act 30 minutes. what do we put on? but there it is the scorpion and the bottle element. but that is not the main problem. [laughter] but perhaps it will come back. these campaigns drive away some of their people. it has become very easy to be cynical. >> but what about south dakota? yes? [inaudible] >> did i immerse myself in chinese literature? deeply. i would have talked about that but it is a very sophisticated subject program not sure an audience like this could keep up. we can talk about shi. [laughter] what does it say? >> following up i am curious since you can nine and some of which he must have seen in the closing days of his life. but now b.c. may be that is not a fair question. >> thank you for the question. it is the novelty to challenge. it did not end up so well. my father died 2008 and i think although had it not been -- it has been said i faint he lived to see history coalesce and that certain ways. but he launched shi. not flippantly but the direction of velocity of ideas. he was ask

walter cronkite. >>> madison's montpellier is a trust for historic property located south of the capital in orange, virginia. the 2600 acre estate includes the gilmore cabin, built in the 1870s by one of mr. madison's former slaves. american history tv visiting the restored farm to learn what it was like for an emancipated slave and his family. >> welcome to the gilmore cabin. friedman's farm here at james madison's montpellier. i'm the director of education and visitor engagement. this farm was built in the 1870s after the civil war. if you follow me inside, i'll fall show you around. george gilmore was a slave for james madison. he was born in 1810, according to the family's oral tradition. what happened to george after dolly madison had to sell montpelier, we're not sure. the slaves were broken into three distinct groups at that time. one was sold with the plantation to henry moncure. one group oz slaves was sold outright to other owners all over, and one group of slaves accompanied dolly to washington where she had moved. we believe that george gilmore was among the slaves that were

i watched walter cronkite. he was something special.ou watched him and you trusted him and you believed in him. therefore, you watched. with msnbc, i don't think people believe it. they look at what they are saying. they don't have confidence in him and therefore they don't watch. >> greta: isn't there room for a diverse opinion on all sorts of issues, whether political -- i guess not -- the facts are the facts whatever they are. but a lot of the political discussion. doesn't it enrich to us have a diverse argument about, or a diverse debate? >> diversity is great, diverse debate is fantastic. you have to be believable on both sides. certain cases they're not believable. >> greta: thank you for joining us. >> thank you, greta. >> greta: coming up, he is one of president obama's major supporters in 2008. but that was then. and then there is now. former congressman arthur davis says he will back the republican candidate in the 2012 election. why did he just switch parties? former congressman is here to tell you. that is next. in two minut

. >> walter cronkite, the anchorman, the apaern people loved him. but did other journalists? an honest look at the life and career of the most trusted man in news. >> hello, everyone. i'm don lemon. thank you so much for joining us. we're going to start the hour with politics. an historic recall election just days away in wisconsin. scott walker in a recall with tom beahr. they drove the efforts angered by walker's push to end collective bargaining rights for workers. we're at the democratic phone bank. first, it's going to be very, very close. >> well, you know, this race really will come down to how many people come out on election day. that's really what both sides are saying here. as we mentioned, i'm outside of a democratic field office here. they have been making calls, knocking on doors. that's really been the name of the game for the last several days, weeks, especially, but it will be nonstop from now until tuesday. and the latest polls show governor walker with a very slight single digit lead. a lot of people feel like, there's maybe 80,000 homes out there who are u

." >> the problem with walter cronkite, people see him only as the family man, which he was to everybody, but there is another side to him that wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings. he is probably the fiercest competitor, and i have written about presidents and generals and cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best selling author douglas brinkley on his new biography on longtime cbs news anchor walter cronkite. >> yesterday, the house gaveled in to begin work on 2013 spending for the energy department and federal water projects. the bill provides $32 billion while increasing funding for the u.s. nuclear weapons stockpile and fossil fuel programs. members completed work on amendments, and next week, they will take final votes. the house returns tuesday with morning our speeches at noon eastern and legislative work at 2:00. yesterday, the house leaders came to the floor to talk about next week's agenda. this is half an hour. >> the gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip. mr. cantor: i thank the gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip, for yeale

part of a massive campaign, political espy i don't know madge, directed from the white house and walter cronkite it on the air oop half of his broadcast. >> because that have the nixon administration put great pressure on us, chuck coal son went to new york, right to bill who owned the company in those days base you cannily said we're going to put you out of business. >> and colson was one of nixon's closest aides. and the first broadcast was 15 minutes, it was based on our story and of course we didn't know about the tapes at the time. and you go back and look at the tapes during this period and nixon is in there in a rage, he said the "washington post" is going to have damnable problems. he is saying -- he is saying things about people and again, everyone was an opponent, was an enemy and the language -- not only -- you put the headphones on and listened to some of that stuff you say, that's going on in the white house? what is going on? >> bob: i tell you the thing that struck me as i read this piece that you put in the "washington post" today, it is fine piece of work. it really reminds us a

involved until this >>> a high-level campaign of espionage unparalleled in american history >>> walter cronkite'sn the cbs evening news. >>> the white house denies involvement in any wrongdoing >>> nixon believed use the presidency as an instrument of personal revenge or rewards. we keep looking for caper somebody says " what would be good for the country " president gerald ford and considering the good of the country pardon richard nixon. nixon never thank him. tony guide to cbs news new york. >>> in the bay area talking about warm weather that could lead to record highs tomorrow. then changes ahead. will cover that in due course. ,,,, >>> the creatures of madagascar are three found their way to the top of the box office. the latest installment earn more than $60 million. prometheus had a big opening taking in 50 million, snow white and the huntsman and men and black three round out the top five. they threw everything away, where volunteers did spring cleaning at one of san francisco's popular beaches. a quiet park near ghiradelli square where a favorite, a lot of foot traffic, that causes trash

it is different than we had walter cronkite way back when when it was 6:00 p.m. to 630 and that is it. now it is all the long. i am a bit of a junkie to a point. that i have to sleep. tavis: i do not know that this ever is the case because he is such a great writer. when you look at the script and there is something that sorkin wrote that ought to be changed, does that happen and how do you see that to aaron sorkin? >> very quietly and usually through someone else. a lot of players in between. it cannot be traced back. -- a lot of layers in between. this comes from doing theater and speaks to the cast. there were very smart to cast theater people who could handle that dialogue and know that when the writing comes in, that is what you do. that is where you learn, every word. it is not restrictive. it is very liberating in a way because i do not have to write it, i do not have to paraphrase or come up with some better joke like you would if you are on a movie where it has been written by a lot of people, some of whom are not even writers. you do not have that probl

. >> walter cronkite, edward r.ephen: i don't know about hacks, i'm sure they were fine in their time. they couldn't hack the speed with which we work right now. cronkite couldn't report on a kardashian-- he couldn't handle it. he would have to get three confirmations before he said it was left nipple, right nipple. >> the speed at which we report right now is the reason why two networks reported today that the health care law was struck down. >> stephen: i notice there is some kind-- i think we will all remember where we were when we heard that [bleep]. >> because there is some kind of virtue in being two minutes earlier than the next guy. >> stephen: yeah. >> but what these guys are really about, honestly, this show is a swashbuckling, romantic comedy. >> stephen: there are pirates. >> actual pirates. and it is really a fantasy set against real world events. how the news is made up. the show takes place in the very recent past as a matter of fact there is a story in one of the episodes, in the script, i would like