Leadership, on security and economic opportunity, on freedom and human rights issues. She is also the chair of the Institute Human trafficking advisory council. Mrs. Vicki kennedy as both an accomplished attorney and notforprofit did. Good. She is a Senior Fellow Council and she advises clients on common issues and regulatory issues. She is the present of the board and the cofounder of the edward m. Kennedy institute for the study of the senate, a nonpartisan nonprofit, dazzling beautiful building right here in boston that educates the public about the unique role of the United States senate in our democracy. And tonight they will both be in conversation with kerry healey who is the inaugural president of the center for advancing the American Dream at the milken they can Milliken Institute opening in 2022. Both of us in massachusetts know of are publicly searchable. She was former Lieutenant Governor, was president , college present as well and with price you is a former resident fellow here at the institute of politics. So join me in welcoming Lieutenant Governor healey with mrs. Mccain and vicki kennedy. [applause] thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for those kind introductions, and i am so excited to be able to have this conversation with both of you today. I think with the backdrop of everything that is going on in the country right now, one of the most interesting legacies of both of your husbands is that they actually got along and they were fiercely partisan. There were fiercely partisan, no doubt about that. They wanted to win, but how was that relationship both in public and in private . Well, what you have to remember at the time, the senate was a much different place. It was a body of leaders that were obviously very passionate about what they believed in, their home states, their constituencies, et cetera, and the world. But they also were friends. Heres debates took place a special between my husband and her husband. They believed in what it was but they were never enemies. They were friends and they would walk off the floor, how many times to receive and slap slap each others back and go laughing all the way out before . Its a different time and upset about that. John himself said he didnt like teddy very much when he first met him. He said i really may be saw a lot of myself and him, i dont think, then he said he grew to respect him. They were both on Armed Services committee and he saw in teddy in teddy saw in john real patriotism, love of his country. Even though they came at it from a different place, they both knew that they cared about the country and have loved it. They just developed a bond and they found these little nuggets of Common Ground where they could Work Together. It was seapower is one of the things they worked on. Or immigration there were both were passionate about. They but sometimes related to go at it on the floor, i mean, go at it. But then there would walk of the four and go that was pretty good, wasnt it . Because it was never personal. Boy, do i wish those days were here again. But youre talking as though this was a really long time ago. Not that long ago. When did you see the change in the senate and in congress in general . Personally for me i think when teddy passed i think we began to see the ab suicide and all of this. Then with various older members who didnt run again or who did pass ultimately, it just change. Twitter and facebook and all the social media have really, not just changed but in a very bad way. Where you can instantly whack someone verbally on twitter or facebook. Its not a good thing. Its not. Both of you talked about the fact you knew each other. The spouses to each other and that members knew other spouses. How do you think that modulates conflict . I think it makes a huge difference. What i found is that, we had a Senate Spouse lunch and spouses would go to a lunch and get to know each other. I found if i would develop a friendship or work on a committee or do something with the Senate Spouse, that teddy invariably would go to the husband, husbands primary and teddy would go and say our wives were having lunch. What do you think theyre talking about . He would kind of keys and they would develop a closer friendship. They would maybe find something that they would work on but it was then the relationships of spouses was one way you could develop, begin to have something to talk about with so much on other side of the aisle and start to develop a relationship. But it was all about Relationship Building and having a facetoface conversation with someone, getting to know them as a person, getting to know their families. Thats what i think is missing because if you dont know someones family come if you dont know someone as a person, its really easy to have a caricature, dont you think . To say this person is this onedimensional kind of caricature, and you dont need to know them or think of them as a human being. After all, these are members of congress, members of the senate and were all human in the very end. Not just getting to know one another by getting to know, its a very unique situation in washington. Thats an understatement. Its a unique situation in washington and they can be very daunting at times and have come a use the word sisterhood because its primarily women, was very important and didnt matter what side of the aisle you on. A friend was a friend. So both of you have a heavy responsibility as the keeper of your husbands legacies. These are profound legacies and then both have long and varied and rich careers that focused on any number of areas, just you could write a a list as long at table. How did you when you are approaching this responsibility of preserving your husbands legacies, how did you choose . How did you know what perhaps he would have wanted you to do and what role did play in terms of what interested you as well . I feel very fortunate because we had the Edward M Kennedy institute for the United States senate on Columbia Point but its something teddy helped to create and think through long before he got sick. It was something way back in 2002 we started thinking of, because he basically people to love the senate as much as he did. I dont think thats possible but he thought that if, particularly young people could come in and understand how the senate worked, and he wanted a fullscale replicate of the Senate Chamber which we have. You could walk in and feel the off of many women of good will of both parties facing the greatest challenges addressing the greatest challenges that we had in our nation. They could come and feel that, that they would be inspired to try to do it again and thats really what the whole goal was. Working together, solving problems, understanding how our government worked. He thought if we could inspire people to do that, then they would want to vote and care about our country, and then go back into their communities and be involved. Thats how it developed. Cindy, how did you start thinking about it . Senator mccain was interested in so many different things. Fortunately we had the opportunity to plan this, this a long before found out that he was ill. We now, and it was definitely a joint participation with both of us because we knew that his character and the kind of leadership that he had exhibited in tough times and in making the tough decisions that were not popular, it takes a certain kind of person that stands up to that, much like teddy was and others, to make those decisions, the tough ones. So he knew he wanted to first of all bring people from around the world, not politically but to learn whats important, why you have to make a tough decision, become a leader in the country could maybe those people would have little bit of an influence. Tell us a little bit about the program, how it is structured. We call it the next Generation Leaders and would bring people from midcareer from around the world and to spend a year and washington. We place a note in various, sometimes in their professions and sometimes not into professions, around the country and then we get them together five or six times a year. Its proved to be very successful in that its Emily Collins character driven leadership. The things that matter to them of course defense, foreign policy, freedom of the press, Security Issues and then of course might issue which was human trafficking. We used to joke about it, my second human trafficking, thats overdue today. His eye, thats not the way it was but so fortunately we had the time to talk about it, we had the time to really plan and really do what his vision was for all of this. And why do you think that he was particularly inspired by or motivated to try to train these Global Leaders . What was a helping they were going to discover during their year here in the u. S. . I hope that they have discovered, in fact, i believe they have, they have discovered the importance of character in government. Because john, like teddy, there were some thugs around the world and guys who would not make the right decisions considering to people, et cetera. You know the people im talking about. It was important to him that the ten people, that he at least inspired them in one way or another to help them be better leaders. What do you think senator kennedy really wanted to do . I know he wanted people to love the sinner as much as he did but it know he also want to inspire civility. How is that connected and how do you evoke that . I would say we wanted to inspire civility more then he said he wanted to inspire civility quite honestly. Thats your part. Yes, i would say the spirit of teddy. So in really creating the institute, he said look, this isnt about me, although we have things about him in it. Its about the senate, about government. He wanted to explain the government were, how legislation happened. But i wanted to infuse it with the spirit of teddy. Howd you do that . Thats really where the civility, working across the aisle come in. Everyone knows he was a passionate partisan. He loved to wax alec and on the floor and care about, but he worked things done, finding that nugget of Common Ground. Thats really such a key part of what we do. If i could give with a typical visit would be and we have a big waitlist now of schools to get in, a very, very Popular Program called our simulated senate program. Students come in up to 100 students. They prepare. Its a threehour a threehourd the coming entity, senators. They are assigned estate, assigned a party. They are forced to put themselves in someone elses shoes. They understand what their constituents believe, what their party believes that they have to reconcile with what they believe and then they have a piece of legislation or amendment that they have to adopt based on either a current topic or historic topic. It could be the compromise of 1850 which we that in the past or immigration, it could be healthcare. We have even had the farm bill, other pieces of legislation. They have to Work Together to be able to get this passed. They have to put aside their own beliefs in a lot of cases, and they have to listen to other people. We do it in in a fastpaced and live the way. Theyve got technology but you cant, but they have to meet each other and talk and work. Its facilitated. Thats where the civility comes in. And if it is my way or the highway, nothing gets done. They realize that pretty quickly. I know you really focus on the experiential learning piece of this, that its important for them to be in that prasanna. Do you tell them they should be civil or they wont succeed . I think they kind of figured that out pretty quickly. They know they have to talk to people and then we even have an exhibit that shows if you only get, that even the youngest children can have, its how you past a piece of legislation with the National Topping is for ice cream. Kind of really quick. The senate hasnt yummy things at the house has things that are not so tasty. So if you only go in your compromise with what the senate wants and not with any of the toppings on the house, which are things like raisins and orange slices as opposed to sprinkles and whipped cream, you dont get legislation passed. You find out very quickly that you have to come together and you have to listen to what other people want. Do you find, obviously your institute is also very focused on experiential learning, literally putting people out in the country for year to have those experiences. Yes. Its really the only way you can learn, in my opinion, and way that both they have done and what we are trying to do is exactly the same thing. Its really easy to be a monday morning quarterback at home in your armchair and say they shouldve done this, why are they not doing that . But when you really experience it especially with these young people, of course they not only realize its important to compromise but its also important to lead with character. I will say with regards to what we do at home, ours is completely open source of everything we experiment with or with human trafficking, et, et cetera, for schools, everything is online and its open book and its free of charge, which is exactly what john wanted and what i wanted, too. So its the exponential part of it spreads that way. If i could ask you something more personal. I like to talk about grief and about how that changes people. Im interested in how did your loss change how perhaps you saw the world . Or perhaps what you wanted to do with this next part of your life. Well, grief, everyone experiences it differently. Everyone has a different experience no matter what it is. For me, the beginning portion of it i felt very lost and i felt like there was no safety net for me, and that was not true but it was just how i felt. But what it has inspired me to do even more now is to not just continue johns legacy but to make sure that for the longterm were in this for the longterm and make sure his legacy not only survived but thrives in all of this. Thats a large part of what i do now, is not just his legacy but, of course, our institute and a library that we are building. I think one thing to realize is that grief is very personal, but at the same time its universal. Everyone goes through grief, and they go through in a very, very personal way. Cindy and i, as shocking as it is to think about, that both of our husbands died of the same thing, which that just is mind boggling to me. They happened to die on the same date. The same date. I mean, that to me is mind boggling. More of us are bound to now. We are bound during its just unbelievable, but with all of that similarity, our senators, our spouses, the connection, our communication, its still very individual and personal. But again universal. I think that grief makes you take stock, i think it makes you take stock and kind of focus on whats important. And when i am at my best it makes me more patient. I try to do that. If i may say, the same date, the same disease took both of our husbands, and we both had to deal with this in front of the world. The whole different element to dealing with it, but then having to do and make sure you held it together for your family and other things that you endure during those times. Its hard for anybody, but to do it on Television Set everyday was doubly hard. And it changed your role tremendously, because while you are both enormous accomplished in your own lives, you have had these very prominent, very highprofile spouses, and then suddenly it was your responsibility to fill those shoes. Thats true. I think for both of us our role in life changed. Even though our role in public life may not have. How did you feel that public attention differently afterwards, or did you . I kind of think i was in a fog, to be quite honest. I was, too. Theres lot have written about and a lot i dont remember about it. Like everything, youre mine has a way of protecting you a great deal. I think what you come out the other side and the new normal hits, its a new normal now, and getting used to that new normal and getting used to it for your family, too. We had a son deployed when my husband died, and so it complicated things in some ways because he couldnt spend time with him because he was overseas. Vicki, i understand that when joe bidens son died, you past along a note of advice to him from your family. Would you mind talking about that a little bit . Sure. It was really advice. It was just, i wrote him a note after beau died, also happen to die of the same thing our husbands attack, which is also unbelievable. But i just shared with him a letter that meant a lot to teddy that his father, who had lost to mecca children of his own during his ashes will, he lost three children of his own during his lifetime, what he wrote this in the late 1950s after he had lost to back of his children. One son in world war ii and the daughter in a plane crash later. And he wrote to a friend who had lost his and he said, i cant tell you that i know how you feel because no one could tell me that they know when you how i felt. But what i can tell you is that when i did know whether life had meaning, i found meaning in what i thought my children would have done with the rest of their lives. Maybe thats what makes it all worth it. Something to that effect. I just shared those words with the Vice President , and he has said and shared those words again, that it meant something to him to try to find meaning in what beau wouldve done with the rest of his life. Its been inspirational to them. Both senator mccain and senator kennedy were in almost optimistic, and they showed a lot of perseverance. I would like to hear your thoughts on where he can people find that sense, that reservoir of optimism and perseverance today . How do you find it . How do others look at the legacy and find theres . I think it was a defining aspect of teddies life. His perseverance, his optimism, i think much of the game actually from his deep religious faith. It wasnt something he were on his sleep but it was something profound and kept in very grounded. And also kept him persevering. It was absolutely who he was. He kept his focus on this is something important, something im going to undergoing to keep going. Ill tell you just a wonderful persevering story that makes me smile to think about. In the spring of 2009 teddy threw out the first pitch for the red sox. He wasnt sick. But it was exhilarating. I mean, this is like the greatest thing. He could not believe how wonderful this was come he was throwing out the first pitch, opening day. I mean, opening day pitch. Its not just any gain. Opening day first pitch. So he practice. I said you will not be on the mound. You will be just a little short and give jim wright come he will catch and it will be just terrific. He decked out and he was red and he had just like his little thing and he gets out there and they put him on the mound. Now, this was different. This was different because he was not, he had a brain tumor, coordination was not quite, but he threw the first pitch and it went in the ground. So teddy said i want to do it again. Only he could do. And so all right, one more. So teddy, you know, he did another one. He told our grandson that not come he said, i wouldve stayed out there all day until i got it right. And you know what . He would have because he said thats what we do. We stay there all day until we get it right. And that was his life. He was just going to stay there until he got it right. Really fantastic. Obviously senator mccain was the epitome of optimism and perseverance. Can you talk about where they came from france . He learned that as a young man as as a prisoner of war bee it doesnt get much worse than being tortured every day and a place that was a hostile to him. So when he got out he said look, ive got nothing else. Thats as bad as its going to go. Im happy all day long everyday, and he would find humor and great grace in things that i would i would be kicking the wall because i was angry about and he would be just, this is great, dont worry about it, it will be fine. Its just part of who he was. He sucked great joy in things, and he much like teddy, just reveled in it and loved it so much he saw such great joy in things. He was infectious with of the people, really wonderful. Dont you think that something to love about each other that connects i really do. We both they both at the same perseverance and sense of humor. It. It just connected them. Wicked sense of humor by the way. Exactly. I will and then on a story of your husband wicked sense of humor when we were signing a when mitt romney, governor romney with signing the healthcare bill. I remember very vividly that your husband was looking on and equipped, if both mitt romney and i are supporting the same bill, one of us must not have read it. [laughing] on that happy note, i would like to move to questions from the audience because im sure that everyone is very anxious to join this conversation. We have four microphones a different places. I see one there and i see one over there. Please identify yourself if you would like to join the conversation and limit yourself to one question that actually is the question with a question mark at the end. Unfortunately the press is not going to be able to participate in questions, and thats it. So what some would like to join our conversation . If not, i will have to continue. Yes. Thank you for being here at the Kennedy School. My name is david deming. No, director for the Malcolm Wiener center for social policy and the question is about the nature of the bond between the senators they put a think about the relationship which was evident, everybody who saw it, one thing i think about that a dont see as much today in public life is a sense of common purpose, i sense that even if we might disagree on a specific issue where both united behind idea country over party. At that substance country over personal gain. And so my question is, how do we polish of that in our young people here at the Kennedy School and around harvard more generally . It seems like it so important to the function of government. Thank you very much. Country over party. Country over party, country over state, country over everything else. I mean, i was reading john mccains oral history, i was mentioning to cindy i just regret. I encourage everybody to read it. Its online and you can read it. He said something that was so interesting to me. He said, theres a reason that we are called United States senators, and then our states come next. And i think you can say the same thing with party. You know, the party is, you always list are or d but that comes later. They both had that sense that it was a higher purpose. It was about the country. How you pass it on i dont know, thats a were trying to do at the institute. I mean, i think we all have an obligation. George washington in his farewell address was very concerned about Political Parties taking away from caring about the country. I hate to think thats what we are. I think its a huge problem and i dont have the solution, to be honest, except to come to the institute. [laughing] you have to just keep talking about it, look to the examples of not so distant future, of statesmen and women who really did put country over party. I think we will get there again. I do, too, at a think for this reason. We, as voters, period, we shod demand more. This is unacceptable whats going on. Its unacceptable. In any way, shape, or form. I bet you are husband are up there right now just really going at it about this. They are upset about this. But because of the nature of the lack of civility and the lack of honor in character that is being displayed, not just on one person but an entire body, in my opinion, a body that our husbands respected to a level that was the on even understanding sometimes, and their honor and dignity about this country was even more spectacular. So i think we as voters of that to our country. We owe that to our country. Vicky, i was taken by something you said earlier and i can think of examples where cindy mccain to this as well, which was their husbands look for little pieces of agreement, and that was certainly guilty when you get anything, anything done in massachusetts was because we were looking for those little, that one thing u agreed on as opposed to 90 of the things that you did not agree a. Absolute. Theres another thing. Not assuming a bad motive of somebody who believed has a different political philosopher and you pick that was a huge thing with my husband, with your husband. Just because you think that theres a different way doesnt mean you have a bad motive. We have to get away from that. People who think differently from us are not bad. That doesnt mean they are not patriots. This cannot be sustained, thats all. It cant. Its like a pendulum. Much like a lot of things that have happened through the years, it swings like like a pendulumd will come back. Everyone just have to vote and hold people to account. We have a question here. I just wanted to say both of your husbands were incredible leaders that passed on. Now, if they were magically back and they were in top form, given all of the challenges we are talking about with partisanship and everything, what with the actually do . What would they be hitting the floor doing to start healing us . Action steps . One of the things we talked about, the senate, when it works, its a very procedural place. Theres something called regular order, committee work, committees work, routine kinds of things but things happen. For example, when the democrats were in charge, teddy was the chair of the h. E. L. P. Committee, health, education, labor and pensions. When republicans were in charge he was the regular of that committee. He was on other committees as real as we talked about. But what happened . That committee it unbelievable amounts of things, funding, nih, education, healthcare. But how . When youve got republicans and democrats together, they worked together. Example. No matter who the republican was on the committee, they would sit down. They would Work Together and they would say okay, give me your list of priorities. Teddy would always make this, the your list of top five things you do and ill give you my list of things i want to do and let see if we have any overlap. Look, we overlap on two. Lets get our staffs to start working together and see if we can get these things done. Mike enzi of wyoming, certainly a very, very conservative senator who has worked with the teddy back then, mike told me that they come all other legislation out of the committee passed with nothing short, less than at least 80 vote in the senate. They got tremendous amounts of things done. Now, its not the dark ages. Were talking ten years ago, you know . Thats an example of just making, having regular order in the senate and having a system that works. I think that, john, one of his last acts within underfoot and talking about regular order. I mean, dont you think that something he wouldve been passionate advocating . I think thats what it would be doing, saying lets go back to having the senate be the set. People often ask me that and thats exactly what i would tell them. He would be begging for regular order right now. Let me go to the balcony. Thank you both so much for being here. Its an honor to hear from such eloquent and inspirational walmart as yourself. Both of you have talked extensively about educational, hang playing a key part in your careers. What role if any do think education plays when solving bipartisanship, striving toward bipartisanship when youre passing on path of Civic Engagement and Youth Engagement and universities . Is the room for education to start having these conversations about bipartisanship and solution seeking more seriously . I think bring it back Civics Education in Public Schools is very important i know in my home state, they pulled it. I know thats not exactly what youre asking but really is because how are we going to help our students and our communities understand the importance of serving your country in the United States senate or any other way a lesser understand what Civics Education is, what it actually is and what it does and how to do it . I know there is funding issues february but thats one that i would say hang onto, and that is not the case in my own home state. I want to echo that. You have to first steps before you get to a discussion of bipartisanship. You have to know how your government works. We havent unbelievable lack of knowledge in the country even with College Students asked about the government works. In terms of three branches of government. I think there theres studies t show that only a third of americans know that we have three branches of government. Less then a third can name all three branches. They dont know that we have coequal branches of government. Honestly, i dont know if everyone who is serving in government knows that we have three coequal branches of government. [laughing] so im very sincere about that. I am very sincere about that. It really starts with that and understand what the real, how our constitutional system works. And once you understand that then you can start taking it to the other level. Once you really know how it is supposed to work, then i think bipartisanship and civility start to flow from that. If i i could add onto that a little bit and push you a little bit further a cousin think obviously what you said is right, but is there a role for higher education, more High School Education to promote a diversity of ideas . I actually do think so, yes. I think its an important thing. I will go out and perhaps shock people that im saying this, but yes, i do. I think there need to be, you need to be exposed to a lot of ideas. You cannot have just one idea that you are hearing. You need to hear a diversity of ideas. You need to debate a diversity of ideas, absolutely. So that you know what you really believe. Its important. I i agree. I think its also, not every school has been nurturing environment with regard to just that, encouraging different ideas, different thoughts. Those are the things especially at High School Level and sometimes at the College Level we are missing, is the spirit of debate but also the spirit of agreeing also and disagreeing. Its something that a wish with more of an effect i wish and elyse education for teachers it would be a a part of what we wd do. Can i say this, kerry . I think you could have a diversity of ideas and debate but in a civil way. It doesnt have to be the most provocative person on either side who was insulting and brewed and makes people feel unsafe and unwelcome. Do you know what i mean . We tend to go to extremes and say oh but theres other ways to do. You could have vigorous debates on hot topics which can be fun. Both of you talk about dignity and i think that is part of the corollary is how to debate with dignity. Exactly, exactly. Let me go up here to this balcony. I would just like to expand upon im a sophomore here at the college. I just want to expand on the questions you answered me about putting country over party which i agree with. How do voters balance when they see candidates with one they have a crisis of character and other whatever crisis of ideas where the fuel they fundamentally disagree with the entire direction they would take that country and and it would hurt them and a family, but in the other candidate they see they would have fundamental disagreements about the way they live their life . This is not applicable at all to the current situation. Can i tell you what i think . I think a major crisis of character is extremely problematic. And i believe in checks and balances on policy. And i think thats why we have a congress hopefully that works and i think that hopefully we have courts that will do their job. You have two other branches of government, but i think that a crisis of character with a bully pulpit and on the world stage, elyse from where i sit, is tremendously problematic. I agree. A crisis of character, or character in general, tells you a great deal about someone. The obvious things and problems they are popular talking abouto that person is as a person and how he or she makes decisions. Theres a lot to gauge when we vote, but more importantly and i agree with this, character is extremely bored, more so than other things in many cases, in my opinion. You have to look deep into the person. You do as Much Research as possible, reading, watch tv, whatever it may be by think it should be heavily considered in your vote. Im interested in your response in particular because senator mccain was considered a maverick, and that was certainly often how he expressed his unique ideas. Do you see people willing to be mavericks in this environment, or is that as much of a casualty as civility . I think it is a casualty. I wish we saw more of it. I mean, i wish we saw people that were mavericks that would step forward, take perhaps the unpopular topic and move it along, much like my husband would do. He would take the unpopular vote when he thought it was right. It wasnt about him or his party. It was about the country. I noticed the case with teddy, its all, and if i might say, he loved the term maverick. He thought that was really cool. [laughing] he was a Fighter Pilot in his other life. So what allowed senator kennedy to be a maverick . I think its just courage and conviction. I think its just what he believed. It goes back to, he knew what he believed. He wasnt afraid to compromise. He just didnt compromise his values. Are we having a crisis of courage today . Gosh, yes. Absolutely without question. Dont you think . Without question. I think so. Its a crisis of leadership, a crisis of courage and absolutely, and its a crisis in terms of the voting population. Because once again its up to us to fix this. We can fix this, at the ballot box, but people have to pay attention. I think the giveaways at giving news can also be difficult as well. Here we are at the institute of politics, and i cant, you know, i cant not mention president kennedys profiles encourage book and the whole idea of people being willing to risk their see, being willing to risk compressed and up for for principle and for courage. Right now i fear that too many people are more worried about reelection, and that becomes the motivation. When i hear oh, with the base is against this, and we get upset the base. That really bothers me. I have always grown up thinking that experience matters. John mccain and ted kennedy had literally decades of experience. Any other profession, a pilot flying through a rough start, we want the politics prince, the gentleman who landed the plane on the hudson successfully. Someone who is not a rookie. The public is disaffected with people with experience in politics. I would think that is an asset. What do you do by changing the perspective that long serving politicians are bad . I think they are great sometimes. The experience does matter. The core element in all of this, too often we tend again, social media, the news, we pick what is glamorous. Said something outrageous or did something outrageous and overlook the things that are the most important. That is an educational process we need to undertake with regard to the voting population. For both of our husbands both of them ran for president , both of them lost and in both cases had a great run. They had done the right thing, they had done the best they could. And came out of it. The end result was not what they wanted but it was a good race, clean race on the issues. You may disagree. I do. I was smiling when you talked experience. Teddy ran for the senate when he was 30, nothing like a young man with new ideas and later he started to say there is nothing like age, wisdom and experience. The key is whether you are still relevant whether you are phoning it in or whether you are really still hitting the ground every day working hard and getting things done and for both of our husbands they are hitting the ground, getting things done. That is the test. To me. You could be in one term or you could be in we 7 terms, it depends whether you have the energy doing it and there could be someone in their first term who is still just phoning it in. It is not about how long is there but what you are doing with the time you have and the truth is the longer you are there you understand the system. You understand the issues. You know how to get things done. You develop relationships. You have a depth of knowledge you dont have at the beginning and understand what you believe in a way you may not have known when you were first elected. It is a good thing. I think learning to listen. The ones that do really well are the ones that listen. Absolutely. Lets go up to the balcony. Thanks for being here. I am an alum and a project director at the Kennedy School. I was thinking what has been fun about this cycle is watching people in the role of potential president ial spouses who dont fit our traditional conceptions of what that would look like and i was wondering to hear a little bit from you about your reflections of how that rule has transitioned over time during the period in which you both served and if you have thoughts for the public whether our expectations of that role should be changing. As far as i am concerned it is fun to watch the changes that are happening the way the roles of melted around this new beginning with everything. I still am a big believer, dont get mad, in the traditional spouse. Like it or not, in a political family you have to have support and a spouse is the likely person who is going to do that. I do like the opportunities that spouses dont always move to washington, they stay at home in their home state. I think that is important, that is a new development. Negative or positive . Positive absolutely. Very positive in my opinion because it is more centered on what is important or at stake. I also love watching the younger folks coming in and how they are doing this and how they see themselves in their role. To washington. For us it was much better for me to be in washington with teddy but then right back to massachusetts. I have 2 i think it is an interesting role depending whether you are the spouse of a senator or the spouse of a president. I dont think the idea of a totally separate career for the wife husband of a president. I dont know how that would work. I dont think it can work. There are issues of conflicts that you have to be sensitive to. There are issues of conflict even with the senate. It is something you have to be aware of. That is the case with you, with your legal work. Didnt have anything before the senate. There are other people who do it successfully, not possible for me to continue my legal work and be married to teddy. He was very encouraging, said you should continue but in the newspaper, they were my clients and it wasnt possible to do. But i am back. We have a backup at the microphones but we have five minutes left. Can we just hear some of the questions and maybe you can choose which ones to respond to. Thank you for being here. I was going to ask who do you think in the senate is best representing her husband at legacies . I like that question. Im not touching that with a 10 foot pole. It is a great question. Thank you for giving us a glimpse at your reflections on grief. My question, we talked about being a political spouse, what is it you would have known about that role before getting involved in it . What attracted you to a life of Public Service . That is really funny because i dont think really either of us i didnt think of the role, you go ahead. I married a naval officer. I had no idea. I thought we would be living in florida or something. I grew up in it. We started to have our babies and anyway, i grew into it and it is much different than his experience was. You read about political spouses or whatever it may be. We had a front row seat to history like none other. Any time i would get frustrated, this is a unique perspective and the unique position to be in. I wouldnt trade it for anything in the world. The last two questions, lets stay here. I promise i will get to you. I have a quick question. Do you think the need to have a quick and fast answer, streamlining of executive authority is what is eroding the appreciation of the senate, to ask you that question. The global world that we live in that is eroding that appreciation . Is the senate too oldfashioned . Interesting question. Whether it should be streamlined and made more fastpaced. An interesting, provocative thought and one worth considering. You can try it in your institute. Very interesting. Speed the liberation thank you for being here. So particular in service. What you consider the most underreported aspects of each of your husbands legacies that the joint legacies you shared together. Underreported. I dont think i understand teddys work on Armed Services and his work that is it. What would people what would he have wanted people to know about that . Without knowing much of what he did, i remember him running for reelection in one competitive race against someone you know well. Lets talk about your record, somebody said if you dont to your own how you horn no one will hear your music. He moved on so im not sure he was focused on what other people would know about what he did but he was focused on troops and having the proper equipment and the proper armor, being adequately equipped. Is there an underappreciated piece . All through his career john remained on the interior committee and remained careful about the land in arizona but land use around the country. I dont think he was ever appreciated for the work he put in, and they are a huge deal. The amount of work he did, Armed Services, the tv clip that night. Thank you. [applause] the former ebola virus coordinator under president obama, discussion on the coronavirus. The center for American Progress gets underway at 11 30 eastern. Also online, cspan. Org. You can listen with the free cspan radio apps. The us added 273,000 jobs in february according to data released by the Us Labor Department and the Unemployment Rate edged a little lower to 3. 4 . Before the coronavirus outbreak. Sunday night on q a, Peggy Wallace kennedy, daughter of George Wallace talks about her fathers controversial career and what inspired her. In 1996 we took our youngest son who was 9 at the time at the Martin Luther king Museum Historical site in atlanta and we went over to the museum and it was being newly constructed at that time. We came to this exhibit and it showed the bombed out sixteenth street baptist church, our dogs in birmingham and George Wallace standing in the store and he looked up at me and said it is so sad, doing those things to other people, it broke my heart. And i said he never told me why he did those things to other people but i know he was wrong. Maybe it would have to be up to you and me to make things right. Watch sunday night on cspans q and a