and we were there at the funeral of john kennedy. and i remember the outpouring, of people realizing too late what they have lost. and i remember the opportunity of being here, to see the enthusiasm of young people who are doing things from the government -- for the government. i gave up a position in a law firm to become a prosecutor. think about what an exciting administration that this is. learn the law but do not forget, as long as you have a privileged position in society, remember, the more the privilege, the more the obligation, the more that you have to do for others. do pro bono work, do things that make you a greater part of the community. help your community to be a better place. thank you very much. >> ladies and gentlemen, join me in helping -- joining -- join me in thanking patrick leahy. [applause] >> about six or seven years ago, ruth ginsberg was a lecturer and she spoke about how lonely that it was to be the only woman on the supreme court bench, so i know that you will do the right thing. and the students provided

i think about when i was in law school i was inspired by another young president, john kennedy. he was present while i was in law school. in the senate i have had the privilege of working with his youngest brother for the past 35 years on some of the most pressing issues in this country. next month the senate judiciary committee will hold hearings on president obama's historic nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to be an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. we were meeting about this and i see my chief counsel here. a question was asked are we going to get her confirm? you better believe we will get her confirmed. [applause] >> take that one to the bank. just think of the number of firsts in her nomination. she is president obama's first nominee to the supreme court. she is the first nominee in well over a century to have been nominated to three different federal judicial offices by three different presidents. george h. w. bush, president clinton to the second court of appeals and now president obama to the supreme court. and she is the first hispanic nom

that was an argument john kennedy faced when he was running, and a joke he told afterward set had he lost, they kept saying the pope was going to run things, and he said, have we lost, we would only have had enough money to send a one word telegram to the pope -- unpack. [laughter] i asked sonia sotomayer about comments she made. she said, of course one's life experiences shaped by who they are. she went on to say ultimately and completely as a judge that follows the law, there's not one law for one race or color. there is not one law for rich or poor. there is only one law, and ultimately, a judge has to follow the law and, no matter what his or her of regain maybe. -- her of bringing may be. that is the type of judge we want. that is the kind of judge sonia sotomayer has been, and when she is elevated to the highest court, she will live up to justice thurgood marshall's description. he said, in our day-to-day work, we must continue to realize we are dealing with individuals, not statistics, and i think those are important words because the court could have a fundamental impact on p

>> it overwhelmingly went to john kennedy. he received a historic vote. interestingly enough he received almost exactly the same protestant vote that edley stevenson's had in 1956. but it was the catholic migration than that provided him a tiny, teeny sliver of a victory that he got in the united states. >> there's another new book out on the 1960 election, what's the fascination with this election? >> i think it's the two characters. arguably kennedy and nixon were two of the brilliant political minds in america produced in the 20th century. and to put them together face-to-face in this election with religion hanging over it, there were religion problems for both candidates and it was such a photo finish at the end. kennedy wins by barely 100 does in both. several contested states. so i think people go back to that and that they say it really was a changing of the guard when kennedy, you know, ekes out this little victory. nixon's career then blossomed later on. it's interesting to see these two political titans going toe to toe, such a close election. a

we stood on pennsylvania avenue at the funeral of john kennedy, and i remember the outpouring in this country and so many people realizing too late what they had lost. i remember the great opportunity of seeing this, and the enthusiasm of young people coming in to do things for the government. that is why i gave up a position in a law firm to become a prosecutor. i wanted to give something back. you have that same opportunity. think of what an exciting administration is. study hard and learned a long, but when you do so don't forget one thing. -- study hard and lenrn the law. as lawyers will have a privileged position in the society. the more the privilege amor the obligation, the more you have to do for others. -- the, more the thethe more the obligation. do things that make you a part of the community, not isolated from the community. you will be a better person. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, i join me in thanking senator patrick leahy. thank you. [applause] >> about six years ago rick bitter ginsberg was a lecturer -- ruth bader ginsburg was a lecturer, a

john f. kennedy airport and it aims to provide economic and industrial relief to new york city communities that are grappling with an exodus of export and freight jobs and businesses, we are losing the jobs. small businesses are closing. the average everyday american is asking those of us in congress to help them. john f. kennedy airport, once the premiere airport for shipping cargo has fallen, causing the loss of thousands of jobs. as a primary employer, the freight forwarding firms in queens county employs approximately 41,000 people directly. studies project that every 1,000 air transport jobs that are lost means there's additional 470 jobs in associated industries that are also lost. so it seems to me the perfect remedy to save jobs in various areas is to help keep small businesses running and thriving. it's estimated that the industry has already lost 4,000 jobs in the area surrounding john f. kennedy airport. this issue became even more pronounced after the tragic events of of 9/11. whi

ted kennedy is one, john lewis is another. and so is the man i am privileged to introduce this morning, senator patrick leahy of vermont. [applause] now as of the son of irish and italian parents in vermont, a state where his father was used to see signs like -- no irish need apply, or no catholic supply -- and during a less progressive era, i suspect bags packed leahy understands what it means to sometimes feel like an outsider in the land of their birth. i believe that as a major reason why senator leahy speaks out so loudly against injustice, whether it takes place inside or outside of our country. is probably the trade i most admire of him. you can occasionally see it in his eyes as he thunders against the denial of an important symbol right war when he speaks of the dangers of trampling on checks and balances or civil liberties in the name of national security. and with the kind of criticism he has earned over the years from people like dick cheney. [laughter] including some nine bridges that i won't repeat here. it is ob

[laughter] i think when i was in law school i was inspired by another young president, john kennedy, who was president when i was at law school, senate had the privilege of working with his youngest brother ted kennedy for the past 35 years of some of the most pressing issues of this country, and next month, the senate judiciary committee is when to hold hearings on president obama's historic -- is going to hold hearings on president obama [pause] stored nomination of judge sonia sotomayer -- historic nomination of judge sonia sotomayer as supreme court justice. one question was asked, are we going to get her confirmed? you had better believe it. [applause] just think of the number of firsts in her nomination. she is the first nominee in well over a century to have been nominated to three different federal judiciary offices by three different presidents, george h. w. bush to the district court common president clinton -- district court, president clinton and now president of, to the supreme court, and of course, -- president obama to the supreme court, and of course she is the first

[laughter] the way that i chose the subject in 1993, i wrote a book about john kennedy which was very successful. there for things poured been on me to write about other presidents, other presidents, and i thought i have learned of what president's action they do. i did do more. if i wrote about one more president, ironic they my daughter is john barack obama's staff and in the white house. [laughter] and i always had a yearning. believe me nobody was having the right about scientific figures. [laughter] but i was fighting over it. and i wanted to reject. i have something to say about politics of the day. >> for me is a pretty embarrassing process. i am writing a novel but i am looking for something else. often i have a few ideas and mr. researching of them, i like to read, it is always fun but goodness come at some point* a certain excitement over takes me and it often turns out there is something in the material that i just part to stumble on. so i get chosen by the topic at some point*. i felt that walt, his personality, it has finally started working on me and then was the real di

he's probably best known for his presidential biographies of john kennedy, richard nixon and ronald reagan. his latest book, however, was a biography of new zealand physicist ernest rutherford in which he repeated the experiments that lead to the atom. he describes that as a labor of love designed to show his graduates that he was not as dumb as he thought he was. [laughter] >> so to begin, i wanted to invite each of our panelists to make some -- to offer some opening thoughts. and sort of thought we'd start with the question of, you know -- we're here today to talk about biography and history and i wonder if you would each talk about some of the challenges of telling history through the development of characters. paula, you're award winner. you want to go first? >> thanks a lot. [laughter] >> well, i think the greatest challenge -- it took me a long time to write this book. and for many reasons, of course, lots to do with research and the fact that you have to have a full-time job as well write. but also i had to learn about biography specifically. i'd written books about history before.

john kennedy once said that winston churchill marshalled the english language and sent it into battle in world war ii. there much truth it that. to the extent there is truth in that there is also truth that al from took a bunch of us who were very interested, some of whom you have seen here, some of whom were backstage -- chuck robb, sam nunn, dick gephardt -- and i was one of the first people in that organization and al made us put up each $1,000 apiece, which now seems like a small sum but in 1985 seemed like a very large sum. my campaign account was not nearly as large as, luckily, it is today. and we were very proud of that organization and it was somewhat controversial and has remained controversial because al has kept the organization, through many great leaders like bill clinton, like harold ford -- is harold still here? if harold were speaking he would have stayed, i guarantee you. tell him i said so, will you, please? or just yell at the television when you see him come on. but al from kept the faith an kept the focus. and he made an extraordinary difference in terms of respo

frankly the way i chose subjects was one, in 1993 i wrote a book about john kennedy which was briefly successful. therefore, things poured in on me about other presidents, and i thought i had learned what presidents actually to end so i did two more, nixon and then reagan. like everything in life, i got to feeling, if i wrote about one more president ironically my daughter is on barack obama staff in the white house, so maybe i will write about her. [laughter] and, i had always had this year ng, believe me no one was fighting over me to write about science at the figures. i wanted to reject, i had no more to say. i had something to say about the politics of the day, not the overriding ordered. >> robert? >> for me, it is a pretty embarrassing slap-process. i am sort of in the midst of it now. i am writing a novel but i am looking for something else and often i have a few ideas and i start researching all of them. i like to read. thank goodness at some point, and excitement overtakes me and it often turns out that there is something in the material and the subject that i am starting to

kennedy and then i specifically said, not along the lines of michael moore or al franken. i don't know over time if i moved to the right or if liberals moved further and further to the left and then abandon me. [laughter] and i tend to think that is set. i consider myself a conservative now on two of the three basic issues that define conservatism. i am as conservative as rush limbaugh is on smaller government and lower taxes, ims conservative as any conservative on anti-terrorism and national defence, on social issues i am libertarian. i don't care. i just don't care what people do. [applause] i understand that everybody agrees with that, but what distinguishes me for my old liberal friends is i don't think people are big debts if they believe certain things like they are against a marriage instance. liberals thank you are a heater and a bigot, i say what about thousands of years of history of religious history? so i am not like them, but i am libertarian on the matter of social issues and i think liberals just went further and further and further to the laughed and even

they all thought john kennedy had done that and of course kennedy had said that a motion but that was something johnson did. i think in fact johnson will be looked on more favorably. i would just say this about what you say the media has a tremendous impact on a presidents legacy. to some extent, but not entirely. and i would say that in this way. good public relations, a good press, never trounce a bad policy. and bad policy never tromps a good press. as an example of that i would cite the nixon administration. richard nixon did some awful things then history will remember him for those things but he also did some good things. the opening to china, the arms control agreements made with the soviet union. these were magnificent achievements. we remember them as just that, even though he got really bad press for what he did with watergate. so, in the and good policy-- could presidents are remembered for their good deeds. some tate man's it takes time for that to unfold but in the and it happens. >> and if you could just bend a brief moment, because legacy, is interesting that is a funct

in 1961 when president john f. kennedy said our country would lead the world by landing an american on the moon, within eight years, his goal was achieved with the apollo project. today that same innovation is present in the emerging clean energy economy. madam speaker, the opportunity for america to create thousands of clean energy jobs that will build our 21st century economy cannot be understated. evidence of that clean energy job growth, a key component of our local economic recovery, is already visible on the ground in communities like the -- like the new mexico first congressional district, which i represent. part of this clean energy cluster growth is a result of the vast natural resources new mexico has to share. we are second in the nation in solar energy capacity and 12th in the nation for wind energy production potential. but we also have invested heavily in our human capital. one example of this success is the work being done in partnership with sandia national laboratories, which has been at the center

kennedy, they were too young and most cases to cover bobby kennedy and so i think they were starstruck by this obama phenomenon. then he said, let's face it, is there a democratic and liberal bias in the media? of course, there is. and then rothenberg said, i am sure journalists pervert obama, they liked him, they are democrats. obama got better treatment. so there are acknowledging their bias, right? what i call their activism, but it gets worse than that. rothenberg and says, but you know, it is what it is coming it is the nature of the political environment. republicans ought to know that and then his friend charlie cook said, is what it is. now, is what it is, is just a few words and i couldn't figure out why i've been so unsettled by these keywords. it does bother me in a way i could not define why i was so troubled by it and then a few days later hit me -- i couldn't think of any other kind of bias, any other kind of bias where any decent person would write it off so cavalierly with the phrase, it is what it is. no decent person would ever say, we're not going to hire her, she is

democratic all of their lives, john kennedy was a candidate, ronald reagan got 73% of their votes. . . and then what do you take from the focus group to put into your polls that strike you why didn't i think of that or the way the express' it? the way im trying to tell the tutors of the way they informed the polls a? >> guest: the issues are different things. frequently when i started in a country i haven't worked before and just like here the politicians are fighting each other, they have strong views and think they know everything and so, one thing i will do is a focus group open-ended, let people talk and almost enviably people will listen and say i can consider that, it opens up people's mind is to discover people are much more open minded about these issues and they haven't locked in preformed the way political class's login wasilla part of it is opening the process at the beginning to think afresh about it. but sometimes it's a way of getting leaders in touch. nelson mandela came out of prison, 27 years in prison. they were involved in negotiations, adding three and half years

nominated by the pope, which revives years has nothing to do with this page, that was an argument to john kennedy face when he was running an in joke he told afterward that had they lost because they kept saying the public's going to move into the white house and run things, he said had we lost we only have the money to send a one word telegram to the pope -- unpacked. [laughter] but you know, i asked sonia sotomayor about her comments made it, and she said, of course, one's life experience has shaped the they are. i would hope your life experience shapes everyone in this room, but she went on to say, ultimately incompletely and those are her words -- ultimately and completely as a judge you follow the law. there is not one law for one race or another, not offer one race or one for rich or poor, there is only one law and ultimately and completely the judge has to follow the law of the matter with his or her upbringing might be. that is the kind of impartial judges that we want. that is respect for the rule of law, that is also the kind of judge sonia sotomayor has been. and i think that w

kennedy and pope john paul ii. his work has recently been collected so that for generations to come his words will continue to convey the perspective, the faith and the love he had for the people of the northern marianas. god speed and thank you for all you have done for your people and islands. i thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. pence: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. pens: the old booge contains an admonition to lawmakers with these years. woe to you because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry and you yourselves will not lift a finger to help them. in the midst of the worst economy in a generation remarkably house democrats are poised this week to load the american people down with a national energy tax. and the american people deserve to know it. now, there's lots of debate about what

john f. kennedy had a c-average in high school, and a c-average in college, the next one won't surprise you, george w. bush had a c-average in high school, and a c-average in college, but this might surprise you. bush's c-average was one point higher than senator john kerry's c-average! [laughter]. >> al gore flunk gd out of his first college. and squeaked through his second. with a c-minus average. dick cheney the famous vice president flunked out, too. when his sat scores in language and math are added together, the legendary progressive senator paul wellstone scored 800 as a total. now, it is true that in his day, the match was only 1600 and now i believe it is 2400, still that is a 50 and america's global computer dominance rose as i told you from men without college degrees. ted turner, founder of the worldwide news service cnn, dropped out of -- dropped out freshman year and william faulkener, one of our nobel prize authors got a d in english in his freshman year in college. and, droppe

when you look back in history when john f. kennedy -- he quit the federal reserve and it issued silver certificates. then he was assassinated. i think it has a lot to do with the federal reserve. guest: maybe two points. one on the tarp in support of mr. obama, senator mccain also supported the tarp program as did the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, the house republican leader, john boehner. the bush administration was the one who came up with the tarp program. it was supported strongly by the chairman of the federal reserve, ben bernanke and bipartisan leadership. the rank and file never liked the program much. to the caller's other point, with the federal reserve -- one of the interesting questions is just how powerful the fed is. it has been very aggressively getting the financial system stabilized. most people think they have done a good job, but will have a difficult time removing programs to return to more normal operations. there are a lot of questions on the separation between the fed and treasury. mr. bernan

john f. kennedy was the youngest elected. teddy roosevelt did not come in. he was in the prime of his life. incredibly vigorous. one of the things i argue in the book is there is a psychiatrist at johns hopkins university robo-calls "exuberance." she effectively argue that roosevelt had a kind of form of manic depression called exuberance. betty cannot turn his mind off for his energy off. when you read a lot of roosevelt get so excited in his writings. he would like 4 50 miles and go on horseback all the time. as president he would disappear into the wild for days at a time without reporters. this was part of his need to act all the time. he was a person of pure emotion, pure emotion, locomotion. if you entered -- if he entered a room, he took it over. >> let me interrupt. are you a little like him? >> i identify with him in a sense that i admired him as a boy. -- that i had asthma as a boy. it was not fun. i have known a lot of relief from nature. i go on nature hikes with my kids. to the outdoors is a great replenish your. whenever --- replenisher. i go t

that's a very good question as john f. kennedy would say. next question. >> well, let's move on to the myth of american exceptionalism. >> okay. that is a fine book by godry hodson a british scholar who has specialized american history throughout his career. he is most famous for his book on 20th century america. that is a beautiful study of the '60s. this is sort of his love letter to america. he's almost like alistar cook in his long association of the development of america in the 20th century and what he's arguing here is that america is well loved for its exceptional qualities throughout the world and always has been. and that we have always lived our political lives internationally as an exceptional nation both morally and politically. and he is troubled that we have sort of taken the notion of exceptionalism in recent years and turned it into a rationale for a preemptive strike in iraq, for example. and he expresses worry that we have maybe overstepped the bounds -- the boundaries of what we can and cannot do in the world under the ba

it's about 1948 in the life of richard nixon, lyndon johnson and john f. kennedy, which was recommended to me by senator barrasso, a senator from wyoming who's a voracious reader. there's also a book about the republican leader of the senate coming out june 15 by an author named john david dyche. it's called republican leader, a political biography of senator mitch mcconnell. i expect i will read that if not seen it, although i did -- was interviewed by the author and since it's about me i expect i'll read it. ..

kennedy's bill to deregulate or get into the fed? i think it was something like built 00001, one of the first things he did. that would have allowed us to get into the fed and start to dismantle it. why don't they do something seriously so that we can get in and look at these people? they do not deserve the freedom of the law that they have been enjoying since 1913. host: also in "the financial times toda," today, 0 deficit disorder." the public mood may change. they're right about the u.s. deficit. the congressional budget office will -- even on its optimistic assumptions for economic growth, the cbo predicts national debt will double to 82% of gdp in the next decade, a level not seen since the second world war. let's go to the republican line, naperville, illinois. caller: i am calling to refute what the first caller said. he is way off base. this whole thing is the result of democrat policies. the reinvestment act starting with jimmy carter, strengthened in the clinton administration, resulting in the irresponsible behavior of fan

roosevelt and john f. kennedy and singled out gop bogeymen, too. without referring to the name of his likely republican opponent, former pennsylvania rep pat toomey, specter warned that his phone -- fell would be a senator who is far outside the mainstream, a senator who makes bricks santorum look like a liberal. that is from this morning's politico. joe, open phones. hi there, from -- on the democrats' line. caller: i would just like to talk a little bit about our mountain top removal issue here in west virginia. currently there has been approximately 1 million acres of mountain range removed in west virginia by the practice of mountaintop remover. they just basically go in and remove the entire mountain range, down approximately 1,000 feet on average, to read -- remove this -- remove the coal. what it does come it deforest our mountains, we have an undated -- we have been inundated with flooding. and those heavy metals are released during the mining process. more than 1,200 miles of streams have been buried. 62 percent of all the strains in west

kennedy years of lightning and days of drum in 1965. this particular movie, "a fateful harvest," is important for any american who is concerned about our national security. at a time when some americans question the presence of american troops, this film makes the case that the efforts to help the afghan people transition from poppy to other agriculture fights against the taliban. i saw these efforts that our men and women on the ground are doing in afghanistan when i was there a number of months ago in trying to switch from poppies to pomegranates and to wheat and other products. as we help afghanistan transition their economy, we will undermine the taliban. most americans cannot see this for themselves. that is why the release of this film is so important. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from georgia yield back? mr. scott: yes, mr. speaker. in closing -- the chair: the gentlewoman has already yielded her time. mr. scott: in clos

it is the room where senator -- senator john f. kennedy announced his campaign for the prz sivment it is the room -- it is in 190, the room where senator robert f. kennedy, whose desk at which i sit, announced his candidacy for president in march of 1968. down the hall -- it is the room where we're today marking up -- beginning the markup of the health care bill, legislation that will -- is the mostt important thing i've worked on in my, i guess, 17 years in washington. it's probably the most important bill this -- with the exception of war and peace issues -- that this congress has worked on in a long, long time. this congress has been trying for many years, as have been presidents, to pass legislation to reform our health care system. and in 1945, harry truman spoke before a joint session of congress down the hall hall in the house of representatives and said, millions of our citizens do not now have a full mayor of opportunity to achieve -- a full measure of opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. millions donlts now have

program in a 1997 letter to boehm where if quote, says, john f. kennedy was right, the u.s. navy sales will bear your mark as -- seals will bear your mark as long as they and the freedom they fight for continues to exist, wrote admiral taylor in addition to his distinguished military service, lieutenant commander boehm was equally admired for his long standing support of military veterans within his punta gorda community. regrettably, lieutenant commander boehm passed away on december 30, 2008, at his home at the age of 84. it is my home that -- hope that we can somehow honor his outstanding legacy and service to our country through the passage of h.r. 2470 and by designating the port charlotte postal facility in his honor. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 2470 and i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. bilbray: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume and i rise today in support of h.r. 2470, legislatio

kennedy's dream in the 1960's to have 100,000 peace corps volunteers serving overseas throughout the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's this decade we might have avoided this disaster in sudan. i want to commend the committee because they have on the anniversary of the 50th anniversary of the peace corps which is 2011, we now have only 6,000 volunteers serving in 78 countries. and the price tag of that is less than weapons system. it's a drop in the bucket. $350 million for that incredible service that we are having from our country. what i want to commend the committee on and all of them is the strong support for strengthening u.s. diplomacy. with a consistent new vision for a global engagement. i think that's the global engagement that president obama has promised this country and is now seeing delivered. with that this bill authorizes an increase in peace corps funding. and will allow the peace corps to build to the point where we have 20 countries that are asking for peace corps volunteers. we have about 12,000 people a year that volunteer to go in the peace corps that sign up. a

it is about 1948 and the life of richard nixon, lyndon johnson and john f. kennedy which was recommended to me by senator grasso was also a voracious reader of american history. and all so interestingly enough there is a book about the republican leader of the senate coming out in june 15th by an author named john david died and it is called the republican leader, a political biography of senator mitch mcconnell and so i expect i will read that. i have not seen it although i did -- was interviewed by the author insists it is about may i expect i will read it. >> to seymour summer reading lists and other program information visit our web site at booktv.org. ..

kennedy. which was recommended to me by senator barrasso, who is also a voracious reader of american history. and also interestingly enough there is a book about the republican leader of the senate coming out in june 15th by an author named john david died which is called republican leader, political biography of senator mitch mcconnell. and so i expect i will read that. i have not seen it although i did it come i was interviewed in by the author. and since it is about me i expect i will read it. >> to seymor summer reading lists and other program information, visit our rating site and booktv.org. the publishing 12 of publishes 12 books a year, carrying gold stain is publicity director at 12. mr. goldstein, what are some of the books you have coming out and later 2,009? >> this summer we are publishing henry waxman, the waxman report in july, it is a look back some of the landmark legislation of the congressman has involved involved with, tobacco, clean air, nutritional labels and what he does

kennedy was the youngest elected because t.r. didn't come in as elected. he was in the prime of his life, incredibly vigorous and one of the things i argue in this book is there is a psychiatrist at johns hopkins university that wrote a book. and she argued that roosevelt had a kind of form of manic depression called exuberance and he couldn't turn his mind off or his energy off. so when you read a lot about roosevelt, bully, he would hike sometimes 40, 50 miles. he would go into rock creek park as president and horseback ride all the time. he would do these -- like as president here, just disappearing in the wild for days at a time without reporters. but this was part of his need to act all the time. he was a person of pure emotion, locomotion, constant -- if he entered a room, he took it over. >> let me interrupt and ask another -- this probably isn't fair, but are you a little bit like him? >> i identify with him in the sense that i had asthma as a boy and it wasn't fun having asthma. for some reason, i have found a lot of relief from nature. so i go on

including president's john f. kennedy, george w. bush, jimmy carter, bill clinton, and gerald ford. president ford often described the impact of scouting on his career stating that, quote, without hesitation because of scouting principles, i know i was a better athlete, i was a better naval officer, i was a better congressman, and i was a better prepared president, end quote. in 2008 alone, the boy scouts of america provided educational community service and recreational programs to over 2.8 million young people. with the support of over 1.1 million volunteers in nearly 130,000 community-based organizations. as noted by the boy scouts of america most recent annual report to the nation, two events in 2008 exemplified the promise and value of scouting. first throughout the course of five weeks in the summer of 2008, approximately 3,600 scouts and volunteers in coordination with u.s. forest service prartiss pated in arrow -- participated in arrow corps five. the program resulted in the completion of more than $5.6 of national forest improvements. additionally, june 11 of 2008, witnesse

had chronicled the presidencies of injury jackson and fdr waited until he left the administrations of john f. kennedy and lyndon johnson before he wrote his book the imperial presidency -- 1973 when the whole watergate scandal was breaking on the nixon presidency and he made a very interesting confession in the book which i think is worth sharing with you. he said that he shared in culpability for perpetrating over the years and exalted conception of presidential power and he went on, american historians this writer among them labored to give the expansive theory of the president's historical sanction overgeneralizing from the pre-world war two contrast between a president who is right and congress which is wrong, scholars developed uncritical cold of the activist presidency. and while he died last year, i think the goals of the activist presidency is still very much alive and with us today. it is still what i think american children learn in schools, college students learn in political science class is taught from a presidential centric standpoint, what the american people when this daily

it is about 1948 and the life of richard nixon, lyndon johnson and john f. kennedy which was recommended to me by senator barrasso from wyoming who is also a voracious reader of american history. and also, interestingly enough there is a book about the republican leader of the senate coming out june the 15th. by an author named john david dyke, called republican leader, a political biography of senator mitch mcconnell. so, i expect i will read that. i have not seen it although i was interviewed by the author, and since it is about me i expect i will read it. >> to see more summer reading lists and other program information visit our web site at booktv.org. >> artist talks about growing up in iraq under saddam hussein. his decision to move to the united states and the killing of his brother by a u.s. missile and 2004. this event hosted by busboys and poets in washington d.c. is halo over an hour. >> thank you so much. you guys are in for something truly remarkable

influence of anthony kennedy. ests. as linda pointed out, liberals, really, on the court, again, using judicial liberals have no more interest in arguing over justice kennedy like the the human jump ball than the conservatives do because they're going to lose. i mean, already he's been with them five times, he's been with conservatives 11. he doesn't always make the conservatives happy but he's going to go with the conservatives more often than not. so if you're the chief justice, you could say let's decide a case more narrowly. let's decide a discrimination case more narrowly. that's a way that we can speak with one voice without letting justice kennedy decide all these big issues, without us fighting over the vote of anthony kennedy. and they may well be doing that, of course, in ricci. but i think this case, it was a pretty remarkable opinion for a chief justice to have written and who joined this court with a goal of trying to find a more unified voice. >> do you think this section 5 question will be back, tha

, so when john roberts talks about consensus and unanimousness, one way of thinking about that is a way of minimizing the influence of anthony kennedy, and that is in everyone's interest. as linda pointed out, liberals really on the court, and again using judicial liberals, judicial conservatives have no more interest in arguing over justice kennedy, like the human jump ball than the conservatives do because they're going to look. he has been with them five times and conservatives 11. he doesn't always make the conservatives happy but he will go with the conservatives more often than not, so if you're the chief justice, you could say let's decide a case more narrowly. let's decide a race case, a discrimination case more narrowly. that's a way that we can speak with one voice, without letting justice kennedy decide all these big issues, without us fighting over the vote of anthony kennedy, and they may well be dock that, of course, in richie, but i think this case, i thought was a remarkable opinion for a chief justice to written and who joined this court with the goal of trying to find

way of minimizing the influence of anthony kennedy. and that is in everyone's interest. as linda pointed out, liberals really on the court and again using judicial conservatives have no more interest in arguing over justice kennedy like the human shambala and the conservatives do because there are going to lose pierre already they have been with conservatives 11 and liberals five times, does annoys me the conservatives happy but will go with them more often than not. so if you are the chief

justice kennedy. it was somewhat repetitive. he voted quickly. he basically said the court sweeping away some of the rules. it was one of the most sharpest the sense i have seen from kennedy, maybe because he does not right that many of them. this case is quite significant. it will take some time to shake out. looking at the court and the justices, it is an interesting line of justices in this case. three liberals joining scalia, kennedy writing the dissent, bryant joining alito. when we looked at the role of the justices and how they change the courts, we will see sonia sotomayor having her own impact. the confrontation close -- plus has had a lot of influence. if you look back to the first term of the supreme court, there is a case called white versus illinois. it is about a man who was convicted in a sex abuse case. the girl accused -- who accused them should have to go in and testify against them or so he was arguing. they analyze that in the way the evidence was reliable and here's a. thomas wrot

conversations going back and forth, jacques was the first establish -- jauk was the first to -- john kerry was the first. but the kennedies decided there had always been tension between the kenddi's and the clintons, really. there was sort of a rival claim to being the spiritual leaders of the party, and that rupttur was very real and painful, at least from the clinton side. i think it was difficult for the kenddi's too. >> did the selection of joe biden surprise you? >> i will admit to being surprised. knowing that they had tensions in the senate, senator biden was the chairman of the foreign relations committee, been there for decades. he did not really treat this young senator with a big profile very well. he treated whim some disdain. and that came out in the campaign and the primary process when biden himself was a candidate. they obviously set that aside. the candidate himself, obama wanted biden from the get go. the press unfolded. he was frustrated with the shortness of the short list. and while biden was his pick, i think he wanted something more. and look at them today. bid

accident by justice kennedy that did not sound like justice kennedy to me. it was basically representative, but he basically said the court is sweeping away 90 years of established rules, vast potential to disrupt criminal pronings proceedings. a sharp accident from him. this case is quite significant, and it will take some time to shake out. i wanted to make a point in looking at the court, how we look at the justices. obviously an interesting lineup. kennedy writes the accident, and briar joining roberts and alito in the accident. talking about how new justices can change the court, obviously we will see society mayor have her own impact on the court. >> if you look back to his first term on the supreme court, there was a case called white versus illinois. a man was convicted in a sex abuse case and he was trying to argue that the girl who accused him should have to go in and testify so he could confront her. he said no. whether or not the evidence was reliable as hear say. thomas wrote a powerful concurrence in which he urged the court to rethink the way

roberts, but i will say there is a remarkable dissent by justice kennedy that did not sound like justice kennedy to me. it was basically somewhat repetitive, actually, so maybe he wrote it quickly, but he basically said the court is sweeping away 90 years of rules, disrupt criminal proceedings, i mean, it was one of the sharpest and most pointed dissents i've seen from kennedy who maybe because he just doesn't write that many of them, this only being one of four this term. but this case is, obviously, quite significant, and it'll take some time o shake out. i wanted to make a point, kind of looking at the court and how we look at the justices. obviously, a very interesting lineup of judges in this case, scalia writing it, thomas in the majority and then the three liberals joining scalia, kennedy writing the dissent and then breyer joining roberts and alito as well on that disseven. when we think about the role of new justices and how they can change the court, obviously, we will see sotomayor change the court. that's an area that justice thomas has had quite a lot of influence on, and if

in fact it was john kerry that was the establishment figure to pilaf and indorse obama. but the kennedys decided look, they're had always been tension between the kennedys and the clintons. there was a sort of rival claim to being the spiritual leaders of the party, and that rupture was very real and painful at least on the clinton side. i think it was difficult for the kennedys, too. >> host: did the selection of july and as barack obama is running mate surprise you? >> guest: i will admit to being surprised. yes, i will. knowing they had tension in the senate, senator biden was the chairman of the foreign relations committee. he didn't really treat this young senator with a big profile very well and he fairly treated him with disdain and that can help in the campaign and the primary process when biden himself was a candidate. they obviously set that aside. the candidate himself, obama wanted biden from the get go. the process unfolded and came out the end but as i explained in the book he was frustrated with the short list and while biden was his pick i think he wanted

when jack kennedy took office the highest marginal increase tax was 91%. andel lowest tax rate other than zero was 20%. that is when he came into office. now, when you look at this kennedy cut the highest rate from 91% to 70% and cut the lowest rate from 20% to 14%. cut them all in the middle too but those of the two extremes. if you look to the percentage cut in the tax rate on the highest bracket it went from 91 to 70 so that is the 21 percentage point cut for do you divide 21 by 91 n.t. get a 23% cut in the rate. by cutting the lowest rate from 20% to 14% that is a six percentage point cut, 6% /20% is a 30% cut in the rate set up the highest rates by 23% at the lowest rates by 30%. the one thing you've got to understand in economics is people don't work to pay taxes. people could give a what the taxes are. they what they-- they worry about what they received that afterwards. the tax rate is not important. that the after-tax return that is important. but we take you to the after-tax return. let the guy was in the top bracket, for every dollar that i made