He has been. He came fairly early and model t only had contact with the u. S. Government but gave a Presentation Council on Foreign Relations in new york so there has been some significant change between the leadership of both countries. I would say you also have an exchange among various members of congress on both sides of the border as well, so it occurs at Different Levels and a member of the border state, contrary to what you might think because of the more publicized position of save the state of arizona that for years governors in the border state both in northern mexico and in the southwestern u. S. Have had a lot of contact because they realized it wouldve their problems are local and that is true in the border towns as well the relationships between el paso and juarez with tijuana and san diego. You might be surprised just how far some of those relationships go. Went to the surveys show about mexican attitudes about the mexican peoples attitudes towards the u. S. . Spinnaker tinkers a number of different surveys that have been done, but one of the general conclusions i would say is that you shouldnt judge what peoples attitudes are about the government in terms of what peoples attitudes are about the people. So, in general terms, there actually are a lot of positive evaluations provided both by mexicans and americans toward each other but i think what surprised some people and when you ask them their attitudes about certain values or issues, sometimes you find very close similarities in terms of the importance to both mexicans and americans would get to the same issue. It surprises even me as many years as ive been working on that country. Are you optimistic about mexicos future and the relations . Im optimistic about the usmexico relations. I am less optimistic about its future because i think it needs to really address some of these underlying issues and that they are all related. Poverty is related to Economic Growth and also the distribution of income in mexico. Its also related to corruption and trust in government effectiveness and its also related to unemployment which is a very significant explanation of why organized crime can attract so many young particularly male individuals who are not well educated who have generally been unemployed to criminal activities. So, all of these elements, Economic Growth, better access to education, Higher Quality education are related through crime which is related through violence and corruption. They are all intertwined command doeof those need to be more fuly addressed. Heres the book politics in mexico, democratic consolidation or decline as the subtitle. Claremont Mckenna College professor is the author but thank you for your time. We will have more booktv tomorrow night from our after words series. But each p. M each pm eastern ite child, the story of chinas most radical experiment. On saturday beginning at 11 a. M. Eastern booktv will be live at the mississippi book festival for their Second AnnualLiterary Lawn Party at the State Capitol in jackson. Panels on civil rights, education policy coming Mississippi State history and the 2016 president ial election. Authors include jon meacham was written on president jackson and george h. W. Bush and majority leader trent lott discussing his book on political polarization, crisis point. Next to the conversation about liberias president. Choosing a hero, my journey into the rise of africas first woman president. This was held at politics and prose bookstore in washington. Thank you all for being so patient. I am that coowner of politics and prose along with my wife and on behalf of the entire staff, thank you for coming out this afternoon. If you click administrative notes now would be a good time to turn off cell phones or something that might go beep. When we go to the qanda part of the session because we are recording this for the channel and cspan book tv is here. If you could step up to the microphone here so that it can be recorded and also heard by everybody else in the audience. For those of you that have been to the events before, we would like to ask you to fold up your chairs. Well, dont do that today, because we have another event coming up. It isnt often that we have a head of state here at politics and prose in fact it is pretty rare. At the moment because shes not with us yet. We should just get underway but we will feel very privileged when shes here to welcome president johnson of liberia. Its just over a decade ago in 2005 the president became the first woman in modern african history to be elected to the state and she is widely credited with a stable peace after years of brutal civil war educated in the United States including a masters degree from harvard she was in and out of her native country several times earlier in her career as a result of the local people and minister of finance when the power in 1980 and within a few months, she went into exile and then what turned out to be over the years the International Banking positions an in the world bank d the citibank. Returning to liberia in 1985 she ran for senate seat and after speaking out against the military regime, she landed in jail and then fled the country. Back once more a decade later she ran successfully for president against the warlord Charles Taylor with a transition to democracy and the general election of 2005 she ran a second time for president and one in the runoff. Taking charge of the nation shattered by years of civil strife and grappling with burdens of widespread poverty. The same year that she shared the Nobel Peace Prize with two other courageous women recognized for their nonviolent struggle. Her story is told in choosing a hero whos also a featured guest this afternoon and im happy to say is here at the moment. As the head of International Communications and Government Relations firm they represent liberian interests and serve as a longtime adviser. The career as a strategist on International Issues began three decades ago after she talked her way into a job in a Political Firm founded by among others paul manafort. At that initial review she told them there is no place in the world she wouldnt go and she has been globetrotting ever since. Shes been involved in a number of complex and sensitive projects around the world but much of her work has focused on africa. And if choosing the hero, she leaves her story together and offers an instructive tale of an International Friendship achievement. By the way, i would like to note that also here today is joyce, the former president of malawi. [applause] and the ambassador to the United States. [applause] and now please join me in welcoming reva. [applause] its about five to ten minutes out so we will have to be a bit flexible. We are going to start and stop and we will move that way. I wanted to say that its an honor to be here today introduced by bob graham and eventually alongside of the madam president with my American Family and my liberian family. And in the company of so many friends and colleagues whom ive worked with over nearly two decades. Special thanks to my husband jeff, my daughter and my son andrew. You are everything to me. And to my work family and the remarkable team that brought my book to life. Life. Theres so many reasons i wanted to write this book but for the sake of time as we are running 30 minutes late, i want to focus on three. The first one, i spent nearly three decades traveling the world to some of the most inhospitable places often in times of conflict, somalia, angola, iraq and liberia. These were the front lines of history and i was a witness. Many of the people that ive come to know did not live to fight another day. I needed to make sense of it all. How would my work be judged and by whom . This book makes sense of it all. Second, i wanted the world to know evelyn johnson, who hopefully you will know soon not as madam president or as the first woman elected to lead an african nation and not as the president ial medal of freedom winner but the person under all those titles and accolades to know her humanity and to meet the grandmother, the mother, the sister, the friend, the woman that i came to work with in february of 1997 when everything was lined up against her. Her own countrymen, the African Regional players, the international community, and yes, the u. S. Government was against her as well. Even her own family will be coming in with her including her grandchildren a at a at a hope e would relent because rightfully, she feared for their safety but she was seized with her mission in life. Her calling to bring peace to her country. She was willing to fight no matter the cost, no matter the consequences. I had hoped that im was going to be here because this woman wasnt perfect but she makes mistakes and has regrets but has been utterly consistent total life. Its always been the wellbeing of the liberian people that she desired most of their future and promised that she sought to advance. I met Ellen Johnson when she was determined to return home from exile to her native liberia to challenge the rule of the warlords. She was looking for someone to fight for her in washington, d. C. I met ellen at a time that i doubted almost everything about my life choices and again i think that brad shared with you how i started with a Political Consulting firm back in 1985. So it was her faith in me that restored my belief in myself. The final reason, final of three, i wanted to be mystified washington, d. C. To draw back the curtain and show how things really get done, to demonstrate the importance of American Leadership in the world and what happens when we get it right and to shout out to those that i credit for much of liberias post conflict success, which is select members of congress and their staff. So, is she on her way, no . Shes here . The ambassador went back. Did you want me to do the reading or should i wait . Okay. Im going to wait. No . Who has read the book . Somebody say something. I am now living here ab living. [applause] you missed my introduction to the book. Anyone want to summarize it. I will share with you i wanted to make you cry. Im going to do a reading from the book. It is the Second Chapter and then we will ask madam president to come up. The year is 1996 july and i just met adam president for the first time serving as the head of the undp. She sat over the entire program and budget for the african continent and i just met her and this is my thought. How did i get here trying to sell on that summer afternoon in new york city in 1996, i have the overwhelming sense of being at a personal crossroad. Its time to stop and examine what im doing and why. I need to put everything on the table and take a brutally honest look at my life. What difference had i nee made , what lasting good have i done what would she say if she were standing here before me . I wish with all my heart she was. What she reassured me that all of this is lifes journey and that im accumulating experiences and lessons that would be a pride with meaning one day. Would she make the trial so trivial given that the decisions in berlin im sure if a few thingof a fewthings i know to be good. My husband jeff, my daughter, my unshakable belief that there are people in the world dedicated to others and i want to be one of them and this the thought that is just beginning to take off. Ellen johnson will make history. She will change the world. I dont know how she will do it or what it will entail but i know i want to help her and come along i in germany that journeyk for Ellen Johnson. Ask good afternoon. When reva told me she was going to write a book, my question was first lady you want to do that and i said theres so much to be told. I want to be able to share some of these experiences with the world. All right. Go to it. Are you sure you want to write a book, are you sure you want to say the things you say, are you sure you want to disclose confidence . But she said this is my story and in a way this is your story. We think it ought to be told. And besides, there are lots of things in this role but ive traveled people attending the good sides and bad sides. The thrill that one gets from following the work and agony that one faces from time to time when you run into obstacles so she did it here and there and changes here and there and the book is a wonderful book. It tells a story of reva, some of the daring things she did of courage and then go into the Uncharted Waters to be able to come out of it and succeed and to have your goal accomplished. Somewhere along the way of course because of her commitment to tell my story and that has the hills and valleys, the good times and bad times. And for the long road. Let me say there are quite a few people in this room that could write similarly because theyve been on the road with me. They shared those difficult days and good days leading us to where we are. I think one has to give a lot of credit for doing this book in the midst of all the things she was doing, she could tell a story of that success. Taking on the task of joining others to rebuild my country but still she continued giving that to be a part of what we are trying to do to reconstruct the country and rebuild something that has been so badly destroyed. Shes always been there with us. I sometimes think that she knows the country as well as i do because shes always probing and finding out and questioning and talking and sharing some of her own ideas. She is truly a part of the renewal and shes contributed to this report she has given me for us to achieve what we have. So to all of you that are here to be able to share in this, thats the endgame. [laughter] i hope everyone here will participate in that endgame because the effort is not only to write the book that to share it and how some people read it. You might want to write your own experiences and it could be just as interesting and captivating, or you could be encouraged to start a journey of your own, a journey of identifying somewhere along the road something you want to achieve and begin to person that to be able to share your experiences after youve reached the goal that you set up to achieve. I cant recognize quite a few people in this room. I know choice comes first. We are waiting for that one, too mac i know that there are so many here that are proud of that and i want to say to all of you that contributed to what we have achieved in liberia that its because you have been there and you have been able if not directly, indirectly through the organizations that you are proud of and support that comes through your own government so many ways in the university is s that we have had an opportunity to be able to speak to and be able to read from and work from and all of that has made the story of a Success Story that it is. And so, i want to thank all of you for being here and for being a part of it. Im quite sure we are going to get to the second part of the show and thats when we will really begin to have fun. As we begin to have the interaction. Each of you unsure have found as you look forward to carrying on. Thank you for being here. [applause] [inaudible conversations]. It is easy to stray of chorister to be isolated and abandoned. That things will get better. With what we believe bin and what we choose. [applause] questions . Madam president coming it is my privilege to be here. And i went through a line by line. And if ive allowed to say i am amazed and how you provided support to the president. I know how critical it is to call any time of day or night. And madame president but the question through iraq, you go there and you are not well. And just take that through that. As you leave your husband behind. I will take that question. [laughter] madam president thank you and also for your inspiration she was in london. So why is this relevant . But it is part of my story we have a couple of friends here but though long story short of was a state Department Contractor to the Iraqi National congress congress, monica hired by a battle and albrights 1999 and then they were in exile and then 9 11 happened. And that i felt that was my place that they needed to set up the communication operations so one of the ridiculous chapters of my book to stay on the average kid continent is pretty caroling and at one point if you recall iraqi history private first class just to lynch i was complete the secondguessing my life and there was a card it was saying i love you because you take such good care of me and i think i will not be able to do that anymore but i went there because i felt it was my obligation to set up the Communications Operation and despite all of the craziness once i got there after 13 hours, it was a remarkable period of history and that chapter defines that with the famous quotation that he says when he quotes Winston Churchill that, i dont remember americans. [laughter] i dont remember Something Like they will eventually do the right thing after tried every other option. [laughter] but that was iraq. I am a College Student here in the d. C. Area. One of the most meaningful books that i have read it i mean that with sincerity. My question is, what do you think it is important for future generations to believe in with the main messages of the book and why . The what you want to be secure course stick with that do not be scrapped distracted by what every face stay on course but if you stay on course you will get we ought to me. [applause] one of madame president s most quotable quotations is that if your dreams dont scare you they are not big enough and. That is one of the quotations and i would second that just to persevere when you think everything is as bad as it can get to reach out. My name is rachel i have spent the last nine years living in uganda and kenya with the journalist to tell stories but with the importance of the female role model with the nexus of culture and tradition that keep them from aspiring and i am breathless because i and spewing a the history. What works or what it takes to have a Young African female to aspire to be in the position if. I cannot say even half from networking defined as reaching out to to understand the culture. To identify common causes a and working together. And pointed out a few people and in our own life story so many of those that were a part of this to bring together young people to talk about the world and to Work Together and all the young black College Women dont just day in the cocoon. Reach out. Be courageous the neck may be it is sacrificial go out that is the great experiences share that with alabama. [laughter] florida places where with perhaps you can knock identify where uganda is