Transcripts For CSPAN2 Discussion On Private Lives And Publi

And you will hear more about shortly. To moderate tonights program we are pleased to welcome susan swain, the moderator for cspan first ladies influence and image. Susan swain is president and coceo cspan sharing responsibility for all operations of the Public Affairs cablenet work. She oversees programming and marketing for cspan3 Television Channels and cspan radio. She helped launch the washington journal, booktv, it American History tv. She has also been involved in the creation of numerous cspan history series such as american president s, the lincolndouglas debate and american writers your for over 30 years she has been one of cspans principal on camera interviewers. Most recently on april 14 first ladies was released as a book by Public Affairs books featuring a collection of images from the Television Series. It is the ninth book susan ness edited for cspan and Public Affairs. And as you noticed when you came in, we will have copies of the book for sale after the program and she will be signing copies for you. So now let me turn the podium over to susan swain into tonights program. [applause] good evening, everyone. Think as much for being here. I really appreciate you braving the traffic on a night when theres a capitals king. For he watching it on cspan, thanks for being with us. So many of you were with us for the first ladys series. As jim told you actually want to start with was a quote from abigail adams. When she sent john off to the Continental Congress she sent him with an explication of john, remember the ladies. Tonight were going to do that for abigail so she should be happy because the lives of these first lady often forgotten and they should be because they are interesting and theyve made an enormous contribution to our history. Opportunity to his personal as their history and what well try to do tonight is telling some of the stories along with video and film from National Archives collection and also some of their historic photographs and also some of the clips are more own series. We hope we will inform you and your change and inspire you to ask some questions because theres 30 minute set aside for your involvement. Our goal tonight is sort of a first ladys contributions to the presidency and now we are embarking on a new president ial campaign, we are already looking at the spouses of the candidates and icy spouses instead of lies because the clinton entrance changes whole dynamic and what our definition of what a first spouse might be. To whet your appetite for what you see ahead, before i introduce our panel as public to show you a priceless piece of film producers from the National Archives collection, from the truman library, 1945 National Airport. When bess truman brandnew first lady was asked to do a very early if it to christen and air in the lungs. Watch what happens. Lets take a look. At the National Airport ambulances with wings. Ready to be christened by mrs. Harry s. Truman who with her daughter margaret will do the honors at her first public appearance. The champagne bottle has not been properly prepared to break upon impact. [laughter] lets see how her military [inaudible] [laughter] [applause] mrs. Truman kept her cool as you can see i guess what she was deleted cyclics mortally embarrassed. What happened as we sold a she elected not to do any more public appearances. Thats not a possibility for women today who hold this will well because with the next presidency the Eisenhower Administration television was following first ladys everywhere. This is a great entrance into what well be talking about tonight, about women who are sometimes thrust into these roles by history and has to learn to adapt to the glare of the spotlight. I have four fabulous panelists i want to introduce to you tonight. You heard there were 56 experts involved in a Television Series from president s to 2013 the president of the 2014. Put them together in the book the reason we did the book is because there are lots of books on first ladies but never a broad collection of various points of view under one set of cover. Were delighted to have four other people are part of the process. First you meet karl anthony historian at the National First Ladies Library inc. In ohio. He has on blinded you about the new joint venture from los angeles. Karl, we welcome you. [applause] edna medford is local the chair of the History Department at Howard University and much published herself, she is a lincoln expert specializing in the civil war and reconstruction and shes had an incredibly busy you. She was part of the National Commission on the lincoln centennial celebration. She has spent the entire year with the commission attending all of those lincoln events. So i sat as a word to reach the universalist which is probably breathing a sigh of relief that shell be up to reclaim some overtime that. Let me introduce Edna Greene Medford Howard University. [applause] i have managed to do something that no matter should be able to do. Have to pay less by the first name. Let me introduce you to carl cannon. He is the Washington Bureau chief of real clear politics. Is covered every single president ial campaign since 1984 and is covered all the white house since then. He is an author himself, biographer and also a historian to giving if you sign up for his daily real clear morning politics briefings you get the detail politics with a History Lesson because he loves history. He comes by his passion for newspaper and politics honestly. His father covered Ronald Reagan as a governor in california and was his biographers we grew up in that environment. A great friend of cspan as are all our panelists, carl cannon. [applause] our final panelist is somewhat ive just gotten to meet over the past two years working on the series krissah thompson. I hope you read her byline in the washington post. She is a reporter who is coming Michelle Obama and has written a detailed source but she told us she just their sister on first and gentlemen which is perfect our discussion to that which is going to be in tomorrows newspaper. In addition to carbon laura bush is also covered laura bush as well as to show obama inches beginning of this if you look into the new crop of candidates so she joins us to bring the journalist modernday perspective to the discussion. Krissah thompson. [applause] i know many of you bring your cell phones to these and weve got a twitter account set up tonight. As i mentioned the questions will be at the one hour point but if you see some interesting topics along the way and you want to send us a tweed i will be getting the right here. I promise not to be too distracted and double mix in your twitter questions as well. Thats where cspan watching at home i will be getting them and using them throughout the section. Welcome everybody. We are going to start each of our sections tonight with clips. The first was really delving into her major topic in which is duality of the public life and the private life to all of these women have been forced into by circumstance some of them happy partners along the way the others history thrust them into the role. We are going to start with a clip from interview that we didnt cspan with Michelle Obama when she was new in the role talking about this balance between private life and public responsibility. Lets watch. I think every first lady brings a unique perspective to this job. If you didnt you couldnt live through it. I think to the extent that this feels natural to me at any level, i never wouldve thought living in the white house and being first lady would feel natural. Its because i try to make it easy. I try to bring a little bit of Michelle Obama into this but at the same time respecting and valuing their traditions that is americas. This is not a new concept. In the book but we did it is include one quote from every first lady to start the chapter. I would like to share with you the quote we chose for Martha Washington. The first thing come i never go to the public place, she wrote. Indeed, i think i am more like a state prisoner then anything else. Theres a certain boundary suffer me which i must not depart from and i cannot get as i like. I am obstinate and stay at home a great deal. More than 100 years later, Grace Coolidge in the white house wrote this thinking about her role, she said this is a i n. Yet not i. This is the wife of the president of the United States and she took precedence over me. My personal life and dislikes must be subordinate to those things that were expected or required of her. Its something carl first ladies have been serving with. How to maintain the sense of self with all of these responsibilities thrust upon them. And im so happy you begin the discussion this way because it really goes down to the very root i think of what has always been a matter of fascination. Not only for the American Public but for the world public as you all probably know. You hear so often from foreign journalists who are interested in the role of first lady everything we are going to see perhaps at some point certainly role of a first man that it really isnt just about ginger actually about unaccountable power. As you said those thrust into. I think early on when this sort of sideways, you have to remember in the 19th century there was a real sense of womans inane should not be in public. And so the whole concept of first lady was like you know it was a real conquest for who they were as people to have this Public Interest in their lives. But Jackie Kennedy i think said it best. She said during the 1960 campaign she said you take three or four stories that are real about yourself, that illustrate a point, a good point about yourself or your family, and you just let them get them out and thats it. You read those same stories over over again and it touches that and thats a much of your real self you give to your persona. We didnt have Media Coverage anywhere near where we have today and get even the early first ladies felt like a layer. Spent if you think of someone like what the washington who was the first and was actually setting the tone for everyone who followed, it mustve been incredibly difficult for her. She probably had the same kind of scrutiny in the sense that her husband pashtun husband to come out of more so than he did. People never of course. She had always been around the winter camps with her husband and so the soldiers certainly never. People appreciated what she had done before she became first lady. I think after she became first lady she was pretty popular. But people began to criticize because this is New Territory for her and she doesnt know quite how to be a. All she has is the example of europe, of european royalty, and so shes trying to establish some practices that would be in keeping with what they would have been doing in europe. And americans resented that. They certainly did not want her to go in that direction. Such a tremendous burden. And some like Martha Hewitt spent all that time during the revolution with her husband supporting her husband, all she wanted which is good to go back home and be a private citizen. Let me jump to krissah and ask you about watching Michelle Obama as close as you have. That clip was from her early days. Dgc a growing comfort with the role over the years . Absolutely. I think initially come and she can describe herself into 2007 campaign and her husband told stories about the need to get a blessing and it was a process in order to do that. Butbut you see her now that she is fully brought into the role. She talks about it as being a bright spot light and whatever she stands in front of the light shines there, and so how do you use that platform . So i think for her being able to see the value in the celebrity that came with the role i was interested to hear carl say about jack eagen because i think first lady subsequently also done that can share with of the accusers account a piece of themselves behind. And so Michelle Obama does that as well. But easier to join join the role especially when shes with children, when she is pushing issues that she enjoys, you know, and i think that growth is going to continue. She and her husband are young so theyre not going anywhere so we will be able to get she continues to engage with the public. Carl cannon spirit every minute of your is named carl. I know. It makes it either difficult or easy. Looking over the first ladies since 1984 election using up close and covering them have any of them really struggled with this private public duality . That clip you showed of Michelle Obama was excuse me of the two quotes Grace Coolidge and Martha Washington mrs. Obama gave an interview yesterday that she had on both of those and that if you. She says what dont you like . You cant go out. Im stuck here. You cant just go out. The other thing come to johns want want to be a first lady . She said i want to be a pediatrician. Thats not what you wanted to be when she grew up id to me Michelle Obamas embrace the role in an uncommon way. More than any of these others ive covered. Hillary clinton is an exception to she thought as obviously a stepping stone. And she often talked about Eleanor Roosevelt. Its as if Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt could have run for president now. They wouldve handed her the nomination. The party wouldve been hers if we had risen by the. So Hillary Clinton has a personification of Eleanor Roosevelt 50 years later. In terms of embracing all of this role for what it is Michelle Obama to me is almost a transformational figure. I dont cover the white house anymore. I covered it for 15 years. Now i added the person who covered the white house i can sort say what i think a little bit more. If alexs is watching this program, you still have to be objective about Michelle Obama but i dont. Transmission concept is interesting. Eleanor roosevelt was being transformational but no one followed her it as she did. And i explained quickly . Show. Michelle obama is the first africanamerican first lady. People have written about that. Shes also i think something even broader than that. Shes the first one to say post entitled line first lady. She walks with a kind of confidence. You see these studies come to get their College Campus lately, girls when their little, because amateur, just as good as as athletes and then they get to age with a slouch into this. Michelle obama doesnt do that and she walks and she has a confidence, physical confidence, confidence and a physical and mental ability. Herself confidence to do as a person sort of an inspiration. I think its so easy and so fascinating when we all have a public figuresfrom the effects of the store and we know what the resume is. And often we forget those things. But Michelle Obama has perhaps the greatest degree of executive experience before coming to the white house is Lady Bird Johnson. When i look at what krissah which is that of mrs. Obama i think one reason a lot of these people are willing, including look at the clintons, willing to give it up their privacy and the intrusions is really that opportunity to really make a permanent change in perhaps the way we the American People think or perceive something. And we are really talking of some profound things at the Lady Bird Johnson really profoundly helped change the way americans think about that are visual environment as well as the safety of the. It has essentially been forgotten but she was part of that she gave a lawsuit to the event as a think Michelle Obama dustup about what we eat. And 50 years people might forget she was involved but she is a part of that. I think the chance to do that is why a lot of them say i will give up some of my privacy. It is often a learning curve and i think about modern first ladies weve all seen. Nancy reagan for example thought it was going to be like sacramento and it was not quite the same when she got here. No. She did were like sacramento that much either. [laughter] nancy reagan got tough press coverage here. The first first lady to get tough press coverage come and im willing to be corrected on this, is Mary Todd Lincoln. Because the secular nature of that war shes written about she is fair game. Shes a southern sympathizer, a spendthrift shes a hysteric. We are still at it. Slate had a piece five years ago with Mary Todd Lincoln bipolar . In 2010 this poor woman, we are still beating up on her. Nancy reagan got some of that coverage when she first arrived speak how did she regroup speak with you know how. Well wait and show people. I was thinking ab