anything done. jeb bush said this. bottom line here folks. no matter how you view this, today marks a turning point in american history. so why did the president of the united states do this now? proudly the united states has supported democracy and human rights in cuba through these five decades, primarily through policies that aim to isolate the island preventing the most basic travel and commerce that americans can enjoy any place else. though this policy is root in the best of intentions no other nation has joined us in imposing these sanctions. today cuba is still governed by the castros and the communist party that came together half
hoppers and hail storms. by that time, kansas was a republican state. lbj is the only democrat that got the vote for president between 1940 and 2012. the state hasn t send a democrat to the united states senate in more than 80 years. 100 years an formation, kansas once again became a key player at a critical turning point in american history. it started in 1951 when the school board was sued by a parent by a student not allowed to go to school. if you head north from kansas, you end up in neighboring nebraska. nebraska is broad and flat. a mile wide and six inches deep and nebraska relies heavily on agriculture, specifically corn. not surprising for the so-called cornhusker state. the demographic profile is
work in our communities and our states, in our homes and in our hearts to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country. that was president lyndon johnson 50 years ago today. he was speaking to a national television audience as he prepared to sign the civil rights act of 1964. a law he called a turning point in american history. congressional lawmakers in both parties had overwhelmingly passed the bill just hours before. it outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin and sought to fulfill the brown v. board ruling s call to end segregation in public schools. as americans mark the anniversary, some wonder if the same law could pass congress today. joining me now from austin, texas, is a presidential historian and director of the lbj presidential library. mark, thanks for being here. an auspicious day to have someone from the lbj library,
turning point in american history? well, it all seemed to come together at that moment, especially i was sitting there listening to the speech and of course, my nerves were a little wrecked at the moment, waiting to get to the podium. but it gave me all the more confidence to be up at that podium after hearing the president s speech, and i love the way it was couched as well as sort of a civil rights issue, comparing it to those other references he made. so you know, it s something that i felt the history happening at that moment and to be able to be up there as a gay man at that moment as well was just, to follow that was amazing. you know, this process has been so overwhelming and so fast and so quick that i think as the weeks and months go by, there s going to be a lot more settling into my psyche about all this but certainly at that moment, it was i felt it and i think
i think this is our sixth conversation since the weekend. and it s it s been a great working relationship. reporter: in such a tight race, romney couldn t afford to lose another day on the campaign trail. he was in florida, a state that is essentially a must win for him. romney set aside his usual attacks and struck a more subdued optimistic tone. this is a turning point in american history. reporter: his only fleeting reference to the president it is time to take a new path of bold, aggressive change. reporter: it s back to politics for president obama. he ll make stops in wisconsin, nevada and colorado. karen travers, abc news, washington. by all measures this is still a tied race, that is still going to come down to a few key swing states. most notably, ohio. according to a quinnipiac/ the new york times poll that we got yesterday, halloween, obama is up by five points, 50-45 over