Transcripts For CSPAN3 First Ladies Influence Image - Betty Ford 20240712

Ourselves . I do not believe that being first lady should prevent me from expressing my ideas. Betty ford spoke her mind, pro choice and a supporter of the equal rights amendment, she and president gerald ford openly discussed her experience with Breast Cancer, through much oher familys public life, she struggled with drug and alcohol dependency and confronting it defined her postwhite house years. Welcome to first ladies, influence and image. Tonight, well tell you the story of elizabeth ford, the wife of our 38th president , president gerald ford, and here for the nebs 90 minutes to tell her story is Richard Norton smith, president ial historian. If you have been watching our series, you know him. Hes an academic adviser for the whole project and hes launched a whole number of libraries, among them the gerald r. Ford. Along the way, you developed a relationship with the fords. In the interest of full disclosure, i try to be as objective as possible, but yeah, i was very fortunate to become good friends with both of the fords. We want to start tonights story where we left off, that night in august in 1974 when the fords learned they were going to be in the white house. How much of a surprise was it for them when they heard the news . You know, this is one of the things that i find astonishing almost 40 years later. I recently took part in an oral, extensive oral history project that included about 150 of the fords associates including all of their children. And you know, you would think every other American Household in the summer of 1974 at some point sat around the dinner table discussing what was happening and what might happen in the white house. The only dinner table in america where that discussion apparently never took place was the fords. For mrs. Ford, i think it really was a case of denial in a lot of ways. You know, she said august 9th, 1974, was the saddest day of her life. I think in part, she felt badly for the country, but even more, she felt badly for pat nixon and the nixon family, who were good friends of the fords. And finally, she had never you know, he had never aspired to the presidency. She was, i think, even more reluctant with the idea of going, and she really didnt find out until about a week before it happened. Among the video pieces that youll see during our program tonight are some clips with the ford family children. The next one, first one up, is steve ford. We talked to him a year ago at a conference on first ladies and well include some of the pieces of that interview tonight. We begin tonight on the familys transition in august from their home in alexandria, virginia, and the vice presidency to the white house. Lets listen. Mrs. Ford has a whole policy. What is her reaction to the heavy responsibilities . Well, shes just doing her best, and well wait and see about the others. First of all, you have to remember, after dad got sworn in, the day nixon resigned and i think everybody remembers the image of nixons helicopter, him saying goodbye to his staff, family, friends on the south lawn of the white house. Helicopter leaves. We go in to the east room of the white house, where dad puts his hand on the bible. Mom holds the bible. Oath of office, were sitting there. We go take a family portrait in the oval office. Nixon has cleared off his desk. What people dont remember is we didnt get to move into the white house. Because nixon, we lived in our own little home back in alexandria, virginia, a little fourbedroom house in suburb yeah. Because nixon resigned so quickly, so unexpectedly, they werent able to pack up all their belongings, so they left their daughter and soninlaw, david eisenhower, to pack up all of it. It took seven or eight days. So we went back to our little house in alexandria, virginia. Dad has just become president of the United States. And were eating dinner around the table, but ill never forget, mom was sitting there cooking dinner, and she looks over at my dad and goes, jerry, somethings wrong here. You just became president of the United States, and im still cooking. I mean, that was our reality for the next seven days, eight days, before we moved into the white house. When they transitioned to the white house, it was that basic american normal family, that they got so much coverage. I remember and you probably do news reports of the president toasting. The famous picture the fact was mrs. Ford was never a morning person. I suspect he had been toasting his own muffin for many, many years. That was not something, but youre right, the idea was even more than that. You know, everyone remembered those famous pictures of Richard Nixon at the helicopter. With the v and what they dont know is what president ford, soontobe president ford said to his wife on the way back into the white house. He realized his job was to reassure the country, and if he couldnt reassure his wife, he couldnt reassure the country. And he leaned over and he just whispered in her ear, we can do it. And it was just the right thing to say. He said a lot of right things that day. You know, now, there were a lot of problems and controversies that ensued, but youre right. There is a sense that its as if the country had been building up, you know, to this thunderstorm, and the storm raged for a while, and then suddenly, you know, the clouds parted and it was normal again. There were people in the white house who we could recognize and relate to. One of her you have to remember, this was like going to live on another planet for these people. The first days, she actually lived in the white house, she didnt understand. She would walk through the halls and say hello to people when she saw them. Secret Service Agents, you know, household personnel, whatever. That was her nature. And no one spoke back to her. And she finally went to the legendary curator and said, am i doing something wrong . Do they dislike us for being here . And she was explained, no, the nixons, who were somewhat more formal, had established that practice. And so word went out to the white house staff, its okay to talk to the first family. And before long, stories about president ford and the butler about whom the movie was made recently, comparing football scores. They became old shoe almost overnight. Whats been so adorable about the series is your involvement all along the way, and tonight is no different. Well have our phone lines open and you can call us. If 2025053881 if your live in the mountain or pacific. You can also send a tweet using the address first ladies, and finally, you can join our facebook conversation. Facebook. Com cspan. You can see theres a large picture of first Lady Betty Ford and a robust conversation already under way. We said at the outset that her comments were often controversial, and its interesting to see to this day, she remains controversial. People are telling on facebook, i loved her, i couldnt stand her, all along the way. What made her so controversial . A number of things. First of all, she spoke her mind. In part, the very fact she would address subjects, i mean, quite frankly, you can understand a lot of the criticism of people who were accustomed to the lack of a better word, more traditional approach to the job. First ladies were not overtly political. First ladies did not wade into intensely debated moral issues like abortion, for example. First ladies certainly did not discuss whether their children had used marijuana or whether their daughter might have an affair. Part of what was different was for the first time, she was being asked questions that no one would have put to a pat nixon or a ladybird johnson. The difference was she was willing to respond. Mary on facebook said, mrs. Ford was an inspiration, perfect for the times. One of the things we have been following all along this series this year is the changing role of women in society and how the first lady in the office often is a benchmark for that. Yeah, and i think thats where i think she connected with millions of women. You know, she was candid about her personal struggles. She was a lot of people didnt realize when she became first lady, she had been married before. I think bonnie angelo, a Time Magazine correspondent, asked her about that and why people didnt know about it. She said no one had bothered to ask her before. In 1957, i remember the first time her name ever appeared in the washington post. And it was about her fashion sensibility. And it talked about her taste for quiet hats and slightly more talkative suits. In 1957, that was fine. That was one culture. A lot of people looked at betty ford, this cub scout den mother, this sunday School Teacher from west michigan, and they labeled her. They wrote her off in effect. And then they discovered, no, actually, this is a woman with views of her own. This is a woman who has had a lot of challenges in her life and a lot of those challenges bonded her with millions of other women who entertained similar doubts and uncertainties as she did. You reference her first marriage. Lets go back in time and learn where she came from, where her roots were, and what influenced her. Where was she born and when . She was born actually in chicago. Her parents are fascinating contrasts. Her mother clearly is the dominating, defining figure in her life. Hortence bloomer who i thought was a character straight out of tennessee williams. She came from a prosperous family, status meant a lot to mrs. Bloomer. She insisted, for example, that betty wear white glooves when se went shopping. She was a perfectionist to end all perfectionist. Betty as a child was prone to overeat, as far as hortence was concerned who responded by hanging a sign over her daughters neck saying please dont feed this child. Exactly. I mean, hortence was a formidable figure. Her father, talk about patterns. Her father was a traveling salesman and an alcoholic who died amid mysterious circumstances when she was 16. And it was one of those deaths that was never quite fully discussed. In fact, it was only then that betty learned that her father was an alcoholic and that those trips that her mother had made from time to time to be with him on road were a consequence of his illness. It was a house where secrets flourished. She had two brothers. One of whom was an alcoholic. So in many ways, she was genetically or culturally programmed for the disease that she would have later on. But hortence bloomer is a larger than life figure. She was a president of the hospital in grand rapids for crippled children. She wanted betty to join the Junior League at a very early age and kind of rise up the ladder. She had problems with a daughter who had a mind of her own, who, for example, wanted to pursue heaven for bid a career as a dancer. And she did. She went to new york and studied dance and was excepted into the Martha Graham troop which is an accomplishment. She spent a couple of years in bennington, vermont, associated with the program there. And then she joined the Martha Graham company. She never made the first ranks. And she was very modest in later years. But it is a key to her personality. She was a natural performer. She was perfectly comfortable being on the stage. And in some ways that came back to her to aid her when she became first lady. And she came back to grand rapids and briefly tell us about her first marriage and what happened. She came back to grand rapids. She taught dance. She worked as a fashion coordinator at a local department store. And she, by her own acknowledgment. She was a party girl who met a party boy. She knew him since she was 12yearolds old, bill warren, who was himself a traveling salesman and an alcoholic. And she were married. She was, i think, 24. And she had almost overnight kind of embraced a whole different set of values. She was ready to settle down and be a wife and have children. And that was not necessarily the same agenda that he had. The interesting thing is she made the decision after about three years to divorce him. And then he went into a diabetic coma. And she spent the next two years nursing him back to health. And then and then he filed for divorce. 1947, so altogether five years. She called it her firstyear misunderstanding. To get to the story of how she met and married gerald ford but let me take a call and well learn how that match was made. First up is susan watching in corpus christi, texas, youre on the air as we discuss betty ford. Caller i just wanted to say i have thoroughly enjoyed the whole series. It is been wonderful. Thank you. Caller and i love the way this is being done. I just love it. And my question is, did betty ford support her husband gerald ford when he wanted to run for the presidency, he became president by, i guess, just being the Vice President , but when he wanted to run for president , did she support him in this . Yeah. Good question. She supported him very vigorously. Both the fords people forget now, president ford right at the beginning of his presidency had sort of more or less let it be known he would not be a candidate in 1976. And i think Henry Kissinger helped persuade that would undermine his presidency from the outset and make him a lame duck. Both fords decided they liked life in the white house. For mrs. Ford if was a great improvement. Her husband as House Minority leader was on the road 250 nights a year. She spent much more time with him once they were in the white house. So they were both determined to do their best to extend the ford presidency. And i think for him particularly to have the mandate of a popular election is the only aed president , a president with an asterisk next to his name. She may have supported his bid for the white house but when they first met she doesnt know she was getting a politician, is that true. That is what she says. It is hard for me to believe that she was totally naive. I mean, jerry ford was a big man on campus. Local hero from his High School Days playing football. It is not terribly surprising that he should decide to go into public life. But there is no doubt she was surprised. They were married in october 19 48. And here is regina on twitter. Did the ford schedule the 1948 wedding for october 15th after the republican congressional primary and why . Yes. I think the simple answer is yes. You have to know west michigan to appreciate. West michigan then considerably more than now was a very culturally conservative place. A place with a Dutch Reformed Church held sway. And ford, who certainly was a fiscal conservative, nevertheless was running against and entrenched republican incumbent, kind of a moss back isolationist who opposed the marshal plan. Ford was one of the world war ii returning veterans who had seen the consequences of american isolationism and went into politics really with an idea, which was that america would have to play on a continuing role, a significant leadership role, anyway, in the world. Mrs. Ford was a divorcee and the concern was he told her when he proposed, wanted to get married but he couldnt tell her when and couldnt tell her why he couldnt tell her. The fact of the matter is, his political advisers were very concerned that west michigan he was already facing an uphill campaign that having a divorcee in the family might add might lengthen those odds even more. So, but october 15th, about three weeks before the election. He showed up late. He showed up at the rehearsal dinner late. He showed up in time for dessert at the rehearsal dinner. He was late for the wedding. He showed up in brown shoes and a dark suit and she was because he had been out campaigning. The glamorous honeymoon consisted overnight in michigan sitting outdoors listening to Thomas E Dewey the favorite son of owaso and then a Football Game in ann arbor. She stayed in the hotel in ann arbor, he went to the game. They went back to grand rapids on monday and he said he had to campaign that evening, could she make him a sandwich. He said a number of times she never let him hear the end of it. I think they took a number of second honeymoons to compensate. I think there were a lot of women around the country thinking the same thing. Owe her big after that. They were born in 1948, children followed soon therefore. Michael in 1950, jack born in 1952, steven born in 1956 and susan born in 1957. Im going to return to steve ford talking about their congressional years because, in fact, the politician won that race for the house of representatives and it was then to spend the next 25 years as a member of congress. Lets hear steve ford talking about that life. Dad was on the road 150 nights, maybe 200 nights a year sometimes, outcampaigning for other republicans trying to get a majority in congress. He wants to be speaker of the house. An mom, to her credit, was the one like many wives of congressman, back home making sure we got to the dentist, making sure we got our homework done, making sure we got to football practice and wrestling practice and all of those kind of things. And the glue that held the kids together while dad was out public servant. It was later in the presidency that she finally had a chance to, i would say, blossom or shine and get her chance in the spotlight. But during dads 26 years of being a congressman, she was the one that kept or drove the family. And it is interesting because every family, there will be some blowup and one of us would get in trouble and we got in trouble a lot and it would be wait until your father gets home. And we knew that by the time dad got home the storm is gone and blew over. And he wanted to come home and be the good guy and bring you a present or Something Like that. So my heart went out to mom because she is the one that had to keep the whole ship pointed in the right direction. We are going to take a call. But keeping the ship together also started another very important chapter of her life. So lets listen to michael from atlanta and you are on the air, michael, go ahead. Caller hello, thank you. My question is what opinion or influence did mrs. Ford have in president fords decision to pardon Richard Nixon . That is a great question. And it is one of the sort of illusive areas. She said very little about the pardon. She thought it was necessary. She thought it was an act of courage. She said what you would expect her to say if her first memoir. I will say this, toward the end of his life and im sure cspan viewers may recall, when the john f. Kennedy library chose to give him the profiles and courage award, specificalliy fo the nixon pardon, he was initially reluctant to go, to go all the way across the country and at his age. He didnt see, in effect, the emotional significance of this and it was mrs. Ford who, i think, convinced him, jerry, this is the greatest honor that has been bestowed on you since leaving office. And he said after that, for 20 years everywhere he went people asked him about the pardon and after the profiles and courage award people stopped asking. Robert is in chicago. Youre on the air. Hi, robert. Caller hi. Thank you very much for your time. I understand two president s, kennedy and hoover, never received an income as president. Did mrs. Ford receive any kind of income after president ford had passed away . Thank you. First of all, youre right about both hoover and jfk. In fact, rejecting federal salaries as president. In hoovers case, he never accepted payment for any of his various positions, whether secretary of commerce or the Hoover Commission or whatever. The question about whether mrs. Ford did she get a widows pension, more more or loss, as i understood it. Do you get compensation if your husband dies and he served as president. No, i dont believe you do. I dont think so. So back to the amount of time, we heard steve she had ill correct no, in terms of payment, or pension, no. There is an office, of course, the president s Office Remains in operation and she had the franking privilege. What is a franking privilege. Very good. The franking privilege is basically free postage. And of course there was secret service protection. Until the aentd of her life. And did the public pay for that office . Yes. So there were benefits, not salary. Absolutely. So back to their days in congress. Steve ford talked about his dad being on the road 200, sometimes 250 days a year. That is a lot of time. What were his aspirations. Was this all for himself . Yeah. You have to remember, in 1963 there was kind of a Youth Movement among republicans who were really tired of being in the minority. And there was kind of an uprising. And ford was catapulted into i believe the number three position in the leadership at that time. But of course in 64 came the goldwater debacle and at the beginning of 65, the hat was thrown in the ring to become House Republican leader. He ran against a man named chally hallic who had, himself, staged an uprising against joseph martin, his predecessor. This was not ideology, it was generational. And the people who ran fords campaign, the two people who were most instrumental in his victory by three votes over chally hallic, one was a congressman from illinois named Donald Rumsfeld and a congressman from kansas named bob dole. But what that election really signified was the Republican Party was moving the center of gravity, the Republican Party was moving away from the old eastern establishment. At that point it was in the midwest. But they were beginning to be a significant number of republicans in the south in both houses of congress, a trend that would, of course, accelerate. And 40 years later, you could ago you could argue that it is become the southern and western party. Allegany asked this question. Besides her predisposition, did her being alone to raise the kids contribute to her drinking. Ill let betty fords own words answer that question. She wrote two memoirs, the later of the two, is that correct. Yes. And here is what she writes. I hated feeling crippled so i took more pills and now i know the pain i was trying to wipe out was emotional. Jerry became minority leader of the house and i was beginning to feel sorry for myself. It is poor me. He gets all of the headlines and applause but what about me. In 1965, about a year after i began mixing pain medication with alcohol, i snapped. I packed my bag one afternoon and decided to drive to the beach, take susan with me and let my whole ungrateful family worry about where i was and whether i was ever coming home. And remember in 1965, that is the year her husband has become House Republican leader. So over the years between his first election to congress and their Vice President ial pick, talk about her drug and alcohol use and what she has written about it and what people should know about how big of a problem that had become. I think it became a real problem in the 60s. First of all, there were a number of contributing factors. There was actually a physical she had developed arthritis. She was and she had a pinched nerve which may or may not have been the result of reaching up to raise a window. Whatever it was, she had a pinched nerve that was excruciatingly painful. And i think it became easy, frankly, she had pills prescribed for her and the pills made her feel better and the alcohol made her feel better still. One of the things that you realize is that, as we went through this oral history project that i just mentioned, although we werent particularly looking for this information, People Volunteer it, talk about a cultural change. Its really remarkable how much more people drank, how routinely people drank to excess in washington 40 years ago. And the argument could be made, it may have lubricated somewhat more civil culture. But obviously it had some serious consequences too. So from the job of House Minority leader, excuse me, how was he Richard Nixons pick to replace spero ago knew as president. He was considered in 1968 as a possible running mate. He wasnt interested in the executive branch. He loved congress he wanted very much to be a Firm Republican speaker in a very, very long time. That was his goal. In 1973, arguably the anas horribleas while watergate is unfolding, it becomes apparent that Vice President spero agnew is also under investigation for unrelated offenses, many of them stemming from his time as governor of maryland. To make a long story short, he resigns the office in october of 1973 and the 25th amendment, which has never been applied until now, is applied. Richard nixon has to find a Vice President but critically he needed to find a Vice President who could be confirmed and in the Political Climate of that time there were very few people. If he left, he would have picked John Connelly but a former democrat turned republican could not have been confirmed. Neither could Ronald Reagan or Richard Nixon and in the end basically democrats on field, Michael Mansfield and carl albert, the speaker and majority leader told the white house, look if you want someone who could be confirmed easily, pick jerry ford. And that is what the president did. The time as Vice President ial couple was very short. In december of 1973 until that day in august 1974 when president nixon resigned and they moved to the white house. Much of that time was consumed the country was consumed with the watergate scandal so it was a time in which the fords didnt do much and the Vice President well, he hit the road. Very shrewdly. I mean, he got out of town. And what did she do. Shes back at the house in alexandria. She was back at the house in alexandria. But now she said and realized for the first time in her life she had to be on time. That was a life long issue. She was not the most punctual of people. There are those that think it was a passive aggressive and few things in her marriage that she could control. But in any event, all that changed once she become the Vice President s wife. She also had causes that she was involved with. She had been involved from an early age with disabled children. The washington Childrens Hospital was something she was involved with. But in addition to that, she also had a Vice President ial residence that had never been occupied before, that had to be decorated. And they never got to it. Two days what was it a few days before Richard Nixon resigned, the Vice President agreed to accompany his wife to the house that he, by then, knew they would never live in because if he didnt, the press would have sensed that were in the end game. And he didnt want to give that away. And he finally said to her, just a short time after, betty, were never going to make it to that Vice President ial house. They went to a dinner party and kept all of this. August 1st he had been told by general hague, the white house chief of staff, about what became known as the smoking gun tape. And it was pretty clear what the consequences of that would be. And after midnight that night, he said, betty, were never going to live in that house. Lets listen to robert in leesburg, florida, for the next question. Caller hello. Enjoying everything. Betty ford wrote wonderful autobiographies. And are they in print . And secondly, i cant commend them too strongly professor smith address these, thank you. Well show them both on screen. The first was betty ford, the times of my life which was cowritten with chris chase and the second was the one we showed earlier, betty, a glad awakening. We had trouble finding them in print. Are they still available. I dont think the first volume is and sadly chris chase who worked on both volumes sadly passed away within the last month. Which is the better of the two . Oh, gosh. A glad awakening is a very candid and sometimes almost painfully candid but much more mrs. Ford. And also this wonderful wry sense of humor. And you could experience her rebirth. In print. In print. Were going to listen to betty ford herself next, just one month after they were sworn in as the first couple as the president was sworn in and they became the first couple. She held a News Conference apt the white house. Im going to listen to one question that was asked of her and her response. How would you like to be remembered . For what . Well, i like to be remembered very in a very kind way. Also, as a constructive wife of a president. I dont expect to come anywhere near living up to those first ladies who have gone before me. Theyve all done a great job and i admire them a great deal. And it is only my ambition to come close to it. I never forget, one day out of the blue, we were talking and she said to me, i dont even know what prompted it, but i dont know why everyone thought it was a bad thing that i admired Eleanor Roosevelt. She was one of her heroes. And i think it wasnt just a public accomplishment of mrs. Roosevelts life or even her life in the white house, as it was the private challenges that Eleanor Roosevelt had confronted along the way. And in becoming Eleanor Roosevelt. But it was clearly, she was a role model. And i think lady bird johnson. First of all she was a very good friend but also very much a role model for mrs. Ford. The ford pressy was just 865 days but there was a tumultuous time. We close a few events as some of the hallmark events of the ford years beginning with the pardon of Richard Nixon in 1976, the nation celebrated the bicentennial and there were two assassination efforts, rising inflation was a hallmark of his years in office and the vietnam war and with the fall of saigon and you will remember the scenes of the helicopters leaving the American Embassy as the city fell. So a very continuing history unfolding. History accelerated in the two and a half years and by no means all of it was it in a personal front, just a couple of months after they came into office, mrs. Ford discovered she had Breast Cancer. Yeah. In some ways this was the moment that she, i think, first impressed herself on the American People. Or maybe the whole ford family. It is really hard 40 years later to conceive of the degree to which people didnt talk about this disease. I mean, euphemisms were employed. And even obituaries. People didnt die of Breast Cancer, they died of a wasting illness. And what mrs. Ford did was to bring this out in the open and overnight transformed the way women in particular looked at this disease. For her it was also a lesson. I mean, she had it was her first maybe and most important lesson in the influence that a first lady could have. Just by being herself, by shining the light on a dark corner by educating the public. Next up well listen to president ford himself announcing the results of her surgery. I just returned from the hospital where i saw betty as she came from the operating room. Doctor lou cash has assured me that she came through the operation all right. [ applause ] its been a difficult 36 hours. Our faith will sustain us and betty would expect me to be here. In a few weeks, i will complete my chemotherapy treatments. And that will be another milestone for me. Since that first year, i have not talked much about the difference of my experience with cancer. But at that time my mastectomy and the discussion about it, i was really pleased to see it because it prompted a large number of women to go and get checkups in their local communities. It made my recuperation easier because i knew that i was helping others. I make this Progress Report to help cheer up those who have just had an operation for cancer, and to encourage them to keep up their good spirit. Part of the battle against cancer is to fight the fear that accompanies the disease. And, of course, famously, one of those women who was inspired by her example was happy rockefeller, the wife of the Vice President. Who two weeks after mrs. Fords surgery was diagnosed herself with the disease. And who went on to have surgery of her own. When you see president ford making the announcement, you could see his lips quivering. This is terribly emotional for the whole family. Yeah. He said that night when he went home alone to the white house, the night before that was the loneliest night of his life. Gary robinson on twitter wants to know what was the result of her candor, was there anything else besides what you suggested, that more people got checkups, anything else that changed about the way we treat Breast Cancer in this country as a result . Well, i think it initiated what had been missing. It initiated a national conversation. A conversation among women. A conversation between women and their doctors. I mean, when it comes to Womens Health issues, literally history is divided into two periods. It is before betty and after betty. And we have a photograph of the fords in her hospital room looking at the card with all of the get well wishes from across the country as she begins her recuperation. Next up is james who is watching in key port, new jersey. Hi, james, youre on caller hello. Let me congratulate you on a wonderful series. Ive been watching since mrs. Jackson and it is wonderful. I was wondering, president ford was a member of the Warren Commission and i was wondering what mrs. Ford thought of his involvement on that commission and the results and the controversies that have since occurred about the commission results. That is a great question. You know, im sorry to say i wish i had, but i never had a discussion with her, i never heard her discuss it. He felt very strongly that a lot of he was once trapped on an airplane, i shouldnt tell this but i will, he was on an airplane and the movie was oliver stones jfk. He was not happy. Artistic license was one thing but he worried that young people, people not alife at the time of the assassination, would see this and conclude that it, in fact, was history. He also, it was interesting, we had a number of conversations about the Warren Commission. He and his fellow congressional members, remember dick russell was on, hale bogs, anyway, the members of congress who are on that commission were very careful in the language that they chose. They rewrote, as i flunderstand it, the staffs initial report to say we have found no evidence of a conspiracy. Which is a little bit different in a subtle way from saying flat out there was no conspiracy. While were speaking of assassinations, we mentioned that gerald ford had two attempted on his life within short order. Is he the only president to have assassination attempts carried out by women . Oh, that is a good question. I cant think of any. Yeah, i think yeah, i think youre absolutely right. The first was lynette squeaky from. And it is a classic instance of the time. Squeaky from who was a member of the man son family, take it for what it is worth and sarah j. Moore who was a bay area housewife on the fringe of politics, only in the 70s would either of those characters have emerged at a public notice. And what about the ford family reaction to these assassination attempts and how did the president take it . Did the security increase . Were they greatly concerned about his life . I think the secret Service Really did change things thereafter. For a while he sporadically wore, for example, a bulletproof vest. The day of the sacramento, the squeaky fromm incident he was there to meet with governor jerry brown who was still governor jerry brown. And the remarkable thing, and this is so typical of gerald ford, he went in and he had his meeting with Governor Brown and he never mentioned what had happened outside. And he said later on he thought it would really be kind of ungracious to tell the governor, well, some lady tried to shoot me in your front yard. And there we have the photograph of him being escorted by the secret Service Agents away from the scene. But it couldnt happen today. With twitter and with all of the instant news, he couldnt have kept it from the sitting governor as did he then. That is true. But it is also very unlikely that he would be out strolling through the grounds of the State Capitol as they decided really on the spurofthemoment that morning in september of 1975. Tim is in denver. Hi, tim, what is your question. Caller hi. Very good. I saw betty Ford Campaign for president in october 1976 before the and someone asked who are you for and of course betty ford said may the best team win. But my question is i hear the relationship between the fords and reagans were kind of is that true . What is interesting, let me answer that this way. Certainly in 1976 they were rather frosty. They were running a very intense, very close really uncertain battle for the republican nomination. I think quite frankly the Ford White House underestimated Ronald Reagan and they almost paid the ultimate price for doing so. But, in fact, in later years, remember crazy as it sounds, in 1980 president reagan very seriously thought about having gerald ford on his ticket as his running mate. And i also know that in t the 90s, particularly after president reagan wrote his letter to the American People revealing his alzheimers, i know president ford visited him more than once after that and whatever old animosity there may have been were long, long since evaporated. But of course, even more so with jimmy kerr. Well talk about her interest in issues and nora asked on twitter how political was betty ford, was she simply a supporter of her husbands beliefs and values . That is a good question. Because publicly she was arguably the most political first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt. She was the most outspoken advocate for the equal rights movement. She publicly disagreed with her husband during the presidency on the roe v. Wade case, which she famously discussed on the 60 minutes interview. And other venues. So she was very much an independent force. And initially that terrified people in the white house. After the 60 minutes interview, the president said he said jokingly, youve lost me 10, 20 million votes. It was only a few days later when the first polls came in and the people in the white house were astonished that, in fact, it was an overwhelming, 70 of those polled, sympathized with the first ladys candor, if not necessarily her specific views. Here is the first lady herself talking about the equal rights amendment to the constitution and urging its ratification. The equal rights amendment, when ratified, will not be an instant solution to womens problems. It will not alter the fabric of the constitution or force women away from their families. It will help knock down those restrictions that have locked women in to the old stereotypes of behavior and opportunity. It will help open up more options for women. But it is only a beginning. The debate over era has become too emotional because of the fears of some, both men and women, about the changes already taking place in america. Within the Republican Party itself, this party that had had marigold water and the early 60s and the split that was developing in the party. How did the republicans feel about betty fords Public Statement on these and abortion rights issues and the like, was it going over well within the base . Well, there is no doubt she was a polarizing figure. When i said 70 voiced approval, that meant 30 disapproved. And you could be sure that that 30 was disproportionately the republican base. Certainly conservative republicans. Traditionalists, if you will. So she there was a legitimate debate. It is interesting, i would recommend to readers, john robert green who wrote a book on ford presidency as part of the university of kansas series also did a book on mrs. Ford. It is a very well researched and really a great read. And he makes the case probably stronger than i would that she was on balance detrimental to her husbands reelection prospects. Particularly within the Republican Party. But not exclusively within the Republican Party. Youve a couple of times mentioned the 60 minutes interview. How significant was her sitting down with the most popular news and Public Affairs program to publics view of her and the partys view of her. I think it defined her for millions and millions people. Who really, first of all, it was the first time theyve seen her in that kind of setting. But i also think for millions remember how americans were accustomed to seeing first ladies on television. Wed seen mrs. Kennedys unforgettable white house tour. But it was a very orchestrated presentation. People were not accustomed to a first lady being asked or answering, as i say, the kinds of questions that her view was, look, people are talking about these around their dinner tables all over america. Why shouldnt the first family have the same privilege. And they covered issues such as divorce, use of marijuana, her daughters dating and sex before marriage, things of those nature. Absolutely. She also talked about her use of pillow talk to get a woman in the cabinet. She was she also mentioned she was working on getting a woman on the supreme court. John paul stevens it is safe to say would not have been her first choice but then she wasnt doing the choosing. Den ice is in tampa, florida. Youre on the war. Caller thank you very much. I love the show. Thank you. I read somewhere that mrs. Ford was older than president ford and i wonder if that is true. No, actually he was five years her senior. And weve talked all along the way and the series about the use of the white house for entertaining but that entertaining as a political purpose. To start that, were going to go back to or go to the ford museum in grand rapids where the curator there shows us her elements of style and how she approached that aspect of her job. Lets watch. Hand and hand with mrs. Fords love for dance was her love for design, for fashion as well. And particularly she wanted to promote American Fashion. These are some of her dresses and gowns from her first lady period. This is a gown that she wore to her first head of state event, king hussein of jordan. It was designed by a lady named Frankie Welch who had a boutique in alexandria, virginia. This also, next one also is a Frankie Welch dress and this she wore for her official portrait as first lady. This is a dress that, next one, that some people might recognize. It is but Louie Estevez and she wore this gown for a portrait that was taken of the family and featured on the cover of Time Magazine. But she also loved very practical design as well. And albert perperot, a fellow from new york, he designed a number of dresses and gowns for her, very practical, very inexpensive, but for her very functional. She would wear these outfits both of which are alberts pieces to arrival ceremonies for dignitaries but also to the hairdresser, to church, on trips for campaign events. They were the ones she could get most comfortable in. This is a piece that she wore for the 60 minutes interview and so she faced morally schaefer while wearing this dress. She fielded his many questions. We know this because one of the things that mrs. Ford was very careful about, as organized as she was, she kept secretary cards for each dress and there would be notations made on where she wore them and when she wore them and for many of them she wore them multiple times. Some of this is in the handwriting of her secretaries, some is in her handwriting herself. And many of these extend beyond the first ladys period and into her postfirst ladyship period. She would wear these into the early 1980s. And her love for design, her promotion of American Fashion led to in 1976 her receiving the prestigious Parsons School of design award. And this is the accolade she received for her promotion of american designers in fashion. We have you have a comment. She loved clothes. And she had been a model in her early days. One of the ways she supported herself in new york was as a professional model. Back to twitter. Here is a question from lizzy g. Who wants to know how did betty ford balance being first lady and being a mother . She said, it is funny, for people who one reason i said i thought lady birthday johnson was a role model because mrs. Johns is exhibit a. And in exactly how to do that. Mrs. Ford said she thought that being a good housewife and mother was a much tougher job than going to the office and getting paid for it. So she was both a traditionalist and a trail blazer. And as weve already said, she not only balanced the job, but of course before she were in the white house, she was in a sense mother and father. During that very brief presidency, they hosted 33 state visits. Oh, yeah. Well because the reason it was so concentrated is because it was the by centennial year. So 1976, in addition to being a hotly contested republican race for the nomination, and then, of course, the fall campaign, it played out against the back drop of the american bicentennial. And she loved entertaining. This is why i think when steve talked about her blossoming, this is what he meant. I said earlier, this is a woman who was accustomed to being on the stage. Well, as first lady, she was back on the stage. She really enjoyed the entertaining part of the job. The entertainments were really personalized. President sadad of egypt was a great fan of the american west. And so she rounded up original remington sculptures to decorate every table in the dining room. The guests, pearl bailey became not only a great favorite as an entertainer, but they referred to each other as sister. They became very, very close friends. Guff is marietta georgia, youre up next. Caller hi. My question is how did she feel when gerald ford lost to jimmy carter and why did she establish the betty ford center. Okay, guff, you sound like your one of our younger viewers, how old are you . Caller im 8. 8 years old. And why are you watching our program tonight . Caller because my family is really interested in president and first ladies. And are you interested too. Caller yes. And do you have a favorite president or favorite first lady. My favorite president is abe ham lincoln and my favorite first lady is michelle obama. And where do you live . Caller marietta, georgia. Have you ever been to warm springs, georgia . Caller yes. Oh, okay. Lhow about that. At 8. Im impressed. It was the campaign. She felt badly. He lost his voice at the end of the campaign. And so it was left to the first lady, this is another first, i think, to read the concession statement and the telegram of the congratulations that had been sent to president elect carter. At the same time, she wouldnt miss life in politics. He had promised her long before watergate that they were going to retire in 1976. Once he concluded that he would never be speaker of the house, she had exacted a promise and after 1976 they would leave washington, go back to grand rapids, he would practice law, they had no money. Make a little bit of money for the kids and so on. And of course intervening events played havoc with that. In the end they still left washington, they gist went to a different destination. So earlier we talk about her struggle with alcohol and pills when she was in the house of representatives. Here is what she wrote about this during the white house years. The neck problem got worse so my pills were always with me. Still i didnt not drink alcoholically in the white house. There was too much at stake. What little drinking we did was confined to camp david on a weekend or drinks up stairs before we went to bed. She said the pills were always with me. How big of a problem was this for her during her white house years . You know, i dont know how to answer that. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest she is what i call a circumstantial alcoholic. If there is such a thing. And as far as the pills are concerned, you mentioned 33 state dinners. She was at all of them. And by all accounts a very vital hostess. So im not sure that the problem really erupted when they left washington. I mean, it was a significant problem before the presidency, and it was a almost lethal problem after the presidency. But ironically, those two and a half years in the white house, i think, was much less of a problem than either end. Speaking of the state dinners. The fords welcome Queen Elizabeth during the bye centennial and were going back to the ford museum and learn more about that visit. On august 9, 1974, Vice President ford was sworn in as president of the United States. This is the dress that mrs. Ford was wearing at the swearing in ceremony in the east room of the white house. She was less than excited about becoming first lady. But president ford encouraged her, saying we can do this. She resolved that if im going to have to do this, im going to have fun doing it and the fun started almost immediately within ten days she had a state dinner to entertain king hussein of jordan and something she had to prepare for as first lady and hit the ground running. While she was first lady, she had a number of opportunities to entertain because president fords administration overlapped the bye centennial. Some of the most coveted events at the white house were held during that year and people wanted these invitations, wanted to receive these invitations. So this one is for the may 17, 1976 event when they entertained valerie disdain, president of france. But there were a number of notable people who came to the white house and among them emperor hirito of japan and this is a letter receifor hosting hi the first time any emperor left japan. Here are the some invitations and dinner menus from probably the biggest event and that is when we hosted Queen Elizabeth in july of 1976. This is the gift that the queen of england presented to president and mrs. Ford and to the people of United States. It is a gilded anden amled and on its face is a hand painting image of the white house and it was the official gift of Great Britain to the United States celebrating the 200th anniversary of the United States. And she wrote a nice letter back to the fords thanking them for their hospitality and for the friendship that they extended to the queen and to the people of england. And in this letter the queen writes to the president and mrs. Ford, it was the greatest pleasure for us to visit the United States and to be able to join in the bicentennial celebration and is he signed it we send our warm good wishes to you and mrs. Ford, your sincere friend, elizabeth. We have a couple of questions that follow from that so let me ask them. Norma steel on facebook, the cherry trees and pandas have been mentioned in past episodes, please comment on any other significant gifts that are still in the white house and how the rules have developed over history about gifts being given to the nation that were considered personal gifts. Also what gifts have first ladies and well say in this case the ford [ technic [ technical difficulties ] if you go to the Woodrow Wilson house here in washington, for example, you could see all sorts of gorgeous things that president will was given on his european travels toward the end of his presidency. I think, i think it begins with the kennedy presidency. Regina on twitter asked did betty start any white house traditions . Youre thinking hard there. I know. You know, it is interesting, she broke the mold more than she started traditions. In some ways he think weve regressed in terms of what we expect a first lady to address, what issues, what controversies and the like. So, no, that is a tradition she didnt start. Would this be your answer to Sheldon Cooper on twitter who asked how did the Ford White House differ from previous administrations . Well, it differed in a number of ways. And some of them are purely social. For example, she restored the round tables at dinner. She thought it was much more informal. It led to conversation. One of the things that she did, she did not, for example, do a lot of decorating. But she did there is on the second floor a private family dining room and mrs. Kennedy had located some spectacular and historically invaluable french wallpaper described portraying the American Revolution in very graphic military term. And mrs. Ford, who had the utmost respect for mrs. Kennedys taste said nevertheless, i couldnt sit there and watch these people shooting each other on battlefields. And so she had the paper rear moved. I think think carter actually had it put back. Before we leave the white house years, elizabeth said they lived in vale, colorado for a while. And places associated alexandria, virginia, washington, d. C. , grand rapids, michigan and veal, colorado and palm springs, california. That is right. An at time the president passed away, when we were planning his funeral, there were a number of personal touches. And one was when there was no case, no horsedrawn procession through the streets of washington. Instead, the hearse drove through the old neighborhoods in alexandria where large crowds turned out and of course they stopped at the world war ii memorial to recognize his service in the war. 1976, the bicentennial and a hotly contested president ial election. Yeah. The campaign included a slogan vote for bettys husband. How was betty ford used during the 1976 campaign. There is controversy about that and debate about that. People think she was misused, m. That she was rather fragile, delicate figure. She was certainly very active in the primary campaign. In the ford reagan race. There are people who remember that the convention sort of duelling candidates wives. The entrance of mrs. Reagan to the convention hall. The entrance of mrs. Ford, who by the way, had the Great Fortune to be introduced by carey grant, which is pretty impressive. Dan is watching from michigan. I was going to say the museum in grand rapids, been there a couple of times, its a great place to visit and enjoy. Im just curious, their post white house year, how much time did they spend in grand rapids and where did they go after they left the white house up in california . Good question. They had been out to the area around palm springs in the past. They had vacationed out there. And the weather was perfect for her health. Her arthritis, which was a significant issue. In addition to e hother health problems. They decided the to change their plans, which originally envisioned going back to grand rapids. The president came back to grand rapids very often. I know because i was director at the library for 60 years. He would come back, gosh, we started, every year at christmas time, he would come back and turn on the christmas tree. He would come back, we did a series for the 25th an verse vi of his inauguration and we had John Paul Stevens and Alan Greenspan and he would fly from california. He would come back just to introduce those people. He felt so honored that they would make that effort. Mrs. Ford came less frequently. They had a running gag. They divided the country in half for fund raising purposes. He had america east of the mississippi. She had the United States west of the mississippi. Aj is in alexandria, virginia. One of the homes to the ford family. Hi, aj. I have to push the button. Hi, aj. Im here. Im curious if there is a specific reason why the first lady invited king hussein for the first dinner she hosted at the white house . You know, its interesting. She, the president became president august 9. On august 10th, she was informed almost matter of factually, by the way, you udoh know that king hussein is coming in a weeks time. So she had nothing to do. This was something that had been arranged during the Nixon Administration and she literally within her first 24 hours, was kind of you know, thrown in sink or swim, to organize a state dinner for the king of jordan. The 1976 campaign, there was the big challenge in the party from reagan. A lot of work during the primary when president ford had the nomination, a Hard Fought Campaign against jimmy carter, the governor of georgia. And by the time Election Night came and the fords had lost, president ford lost his speech. He asked the first lady to give the speech. Well watch a little bit of that now. The president asked me to tell you u that he telephoned president elect carter a short time ago and congratulated him on his victory. The president also wants to thank all those thousands of people who worked so hard on his behalf and the millions who supported with their votes. Its been the greatest honor of my husbands life to have served his fellow americans during two of the most years in our history. The president urges all americans to join him in giving your united support to president elect carter as he prepares to assume his new responsibility. Lots of pain on peoples f e faces on there, as there always are, in those concession speeches. It was tough. Remember, they had come from so far behind. And i think, i mean every candidate believes theyre going to win, but he never lost an election. And you can see, well the look on the kids face. So we went intory as the only person in American History to serve both as Vice President and president of the United States without ever having faced the public and won the electoral vote. It wasnt very much long er aftr that that the intervention as weve talked about with the family members occurred. Were going to listen to steve ford tell the story of that intervention as the family realized the extent of betty fords problem with alcohol and with drugs. You know, i think we sensed something kurg during the presidency. Because she had legitimate pain from a several pinched nerves and was getting medication from that. What we didnt know e was that the combination of alcohol and those pain medications produce ed that cocktail that at times, took away some of her sharpness and those kind of things. But eventually, it had to play out. It had to get to the other side of if presidency, where i think it created a time for mom after the presidency, where she wasnt first lady anymore. She was out in california. Dad was traveling again a lot and building a new home. Kids, were all gone. And slowly, over months and months and months, she developed a melancholy, eventually turned into depression and pulled back from life. You know, started canceling appointments. Not showing up, sleeping in late, slurred speech, all those thing, but that takes months and we didnt know what we were looking at a. We were like millions of other families thaluey whats wrong mom . There was not the education about alcoholism and drug dependsy that there is now. So it took, dad searched through several doctors before he finally found a doctor that would maybe have courage to say i think your wife is an alcoholic. That was just not the image anybody accepted. Finally found the right doctor. Dad, excuse me, had the courage to say were going to do this intervention, the whole family went in, did the intervention with mom, and you know, at that time, i had never heard the word intervention. Now youve got tv shows about it. So it was a different time. We did it. Dad led that intervention and my memory of that is clear. We walked to the door that morning, all the kids, and dad surprise mom and he took her hand and said, betty, were here because we love you. You know, the kids want their mother back. I want my wife back. Those interventions are tough. That is tough, hard, hard, hard work. A will the lot of tear, a lot o lot of raised voices, a lot of hugs and more raised voices and denial and not denial. It goes back and forth. Its a tug of war, an dad just never gave up. Kept holding her hand. Said betty, we love you. Trust us. We woke her up, she did the work. As many of you probably know, 16 years ago, th this april, i participated in a Treatment Program for prescription drugs and alcohol dependent. Today, i am a very grateful recovering alcoholic. And i know firsthand that treatment does work. We see her talking about her successful treatment. We have to see her command of speech making versus the other clips weve shown is markedly different. Yeah. When she became sober. Thats true. Something might surprise people, particularly seeing this very confident, commanding figure from 1994, to the end of her life, she had butterflies before she went on stage. Which was very, also im very curious, she was terrified. And a part of that is the perfectionism that i think was bred in her by her mother. One thing we havent talk ed about, we talked about a genetic disposition of alcohol. Some of these, i think an emotional disposition as well. You know, she writes particularly in wide awakening, about the effomptyness and low selfesteem. She was very sensitive about the fact she didnt have a college degree. For example. And i think again, at a time when earlier in her life, her husband was, his career was taking off, by the time they came back to southern califor a california, he was out on the road and look at that. He was out on the road, almost as often as he had been before and now the kids were gone and now the emptyness became everything. And slipped back into the old habits. We should just tell you u what you just heard was richard. We have a lot to cover in a short time. After the intervention of 1978, she was kicked into long beach hospital. It was very demanding, somewhat risky period. She didnt want to be there. She made it very clear, for example, that she cant didnt wa didnt want to see her room with three other faces. She reached the statement that a said she was overmedicated. And they had to push her and push her to that she had an alcohol problem. She was detoxified there. But she was hosting the future. And it was the beginning of a whole new life. In a lot of ways. Her neighbor was man named leonard. And about a year after her successful intervention, to make a long story short, for what became the betty ford center. It was found nd 1982. How long did she serve as the chair. Until i want to say 2005. And was an active chairperson raising money. Very active. Very hands on. She said her friends hated to see her coming. She was a phenomenally successful fundraiser. Do you have any sense about how many people treated . Thousands. I dont know. Also, they used to have, every year, they may still, i dont know, an alumni event, and the president was so proud of her. At the alumni event, you could find her sort of Holding Court and he was cooking hot dogs. You know. For the alumni. He also said about ten years ago, that when history books were written, her contribution to america would be considered greater than his own. Susie is in eugene, oregon. Youre on. Going to move on. Samuel in virginia. Hi. Hi, hi professor, smith. This is samuel. I really enjoyed being a student in your class this semester at george mason university. I really enjoyed your class a lot. Thank you. You talked about how the president ford, president carter, became friends in 1981 on the way to the funeral on the plane. I wanted to ask, you didnt talk about how betty ford and Rosalynn Carter became friends. I wanted to know how that event transpired. Im glad you asked because just as this unlikely former friendship developed between the two former president s, likewise, mrs. Ford and mrs. Carter, they discovered they had a whole lot in common. They teamed up, for example, to become a pretty formidable lobbying payer. They would testify before congress for funding, for example, for Mental Health programs, which of course had been a special interest of mrs. Carters and for the work that mrs. Ford was doing on alcohol and drug dependsy issues. What kind of relationship did the fords and nixons have after leaving washington . I think perfectly friendly, to be perfectly honest with you, you couldnt go through watt eergate and the pardon and have it not affect the old casual friendship. That they had enjoyed, but i remember seeing them together at the time that the Nixon Library was dedicated in 1990. In post presidency, very active in politics. He lived until the age of 93. The longest, one of american president to this date. We have some video of his casket in state in the capitol building. Can you talk about, and theres mrs. Ford there. Can you talk about her role in planning that Funeral Service . Well, she was very much a part of it. We had a number of meetings that began actually several years out and of course, he was addant, he did not woant a horse drawn through the streets. She said think of the kids. Jeff wants to know did any of the four children ever entertain political careers themselves . I know jack was interested for a while, but i dont think any of the others have. How long after her husband died did betty ford die and how did she die . She died on july 8th, 2008. Which is about four and a half years, and she died of being 93. We have photograph of their grave sites. Can you tell us about this site and what their design was for it . Yeah, this was something that was always in effect built into the plan. The ford museum is located on the banks of the grand river in Downtown Grand Rapids and from the beginning, it was planned as of course was the case with many recent president s, that they would be interred at the site of their libraries or museums. Very simple design, as you can see. Built into the hillside there. And they those the words themselves. Very quickly, right after the president passed in december of 2 2005, yeah, mrs. Ford had the house. They were all in trees out in front and for christmas, they put white lights in the trees. She left them on that year past the Christmas Season and someone asked her why. She went out every night and turned on the lights. Said thats how gary knew she was okay. Both of them living to 93 years old. Five years separated them in age. She was a winddow for the last five years of her life. We always close this program by asking our guests about the legacy of the women that were profiling, but tonight, were beginning to put it in the words of another president. In 1999, gerald and betty ford received the congressional gold medal and at that ceremony, president clinton spoke about betty fords legacy and her work with helping people with alcohol and drug addiction after she left the white house and well close with that. Perhaps no first lady in ourry with the possible exception of Eleanor Roosevelt, has touched so many of us in such a personal way. Because i lost my brother mothe Breast Cancer, betty ford is a heroin to me. Because my family has been victimized by alcoholism and i know what its like to see good, fine people stare spoot abinto s of their own personal despair. I will be forever grateful for the betty ford clinic and for the millions of other people whose lives have literally been turned around and often saved, may not have gone to that clinic, but went somewhere. Because she showed them it was not wrong. For a good person and a strong person to be imperfect and ask for help. You gave us a gift and we thank you. If you enjoyed first ladies, pick up a copy of first ladies. Through interviews with top historians. Now available in paperback hard cov, hard cover or as an ebook. Tonight, on American History tv. Beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. A look at the lives of nancy reagan and barbara bush. Cspan, in cooperation with the White House Historical association, produced a series on the first ladies examining their private lives an the public roles they play. Fifrs ladies, influence and image, features individual biographies of the women who served in the role of first lady over 44 administrations. Watch American History tv tonight and over the weekend on cspan3. American history tv on cspan3. Exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend, saturday at 2 00 p. M. Eastern on oral histories, an interview with courtland cox, covering his time attending howard university, his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and serving as secretary general of the 1974 sixth pan african congress. On sunday, at 4 00 p. M. Eastern on real mamerica, the 1963 nbc news report, the American Revolution of 63, a program on the status of the Civil Rights Movement with protests from albany, georgia, birmingham, alabama, gingrich, maryland, and in the northern cities of engelwood new jersey, chicago and brik listen. Then a discussion on congress with historians, as well as political scientist norm an orne stein and at 8 00 p. M. , andrew cohen talks about his book, john f. Kennedy, about two day, june 10th and 11th, 1963, that define jfks response to the Nuclear Arms Race and civil rights. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv. This weekend on cspan3. Ive learned you can do anything you want to. They used to ask me if i thought the first lady ought to be pai