Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:01:20CLIFTON TRUMAN. DANIEL IS THE OLDEST GRANDSON OF
00:01:22PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN AND WIFE BESS.
00:01:26HE IS THE SON OF AUTHOR MARGARET
00:01:30TRUMAN AND FORMER NEW YORK TIMES MANAGING DIRECTOR AND MANAGING
00:01:34EDITOR CLIFTON DANIEL JR.
00:01:36MR. DANIEL IS HONORARY CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE TRUMAN
00:01:39LIBRARY INSTITUTE, NONPROFIT PARTNER OF THE TRUMAN
00:01:43PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM IN INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI, AND
00:01:46BOARD SECRETARY OF THE HARRY TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION.
00:01:50HE WAS A FOUNDING MEMBER AND CURRENTLY SERVES AS VICE
00:01:52PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY OF PRESIDENTIAL DESCENDANTS.
00:01:56HE'S THE AUTHOR OF GROWING UP WITH MY GRANDFATHER MEMORIES OF
00:02:00HARRY S TRUMAN AND DEAR HARRY LOVED BESS.
00:02:03BESS TRUMAN'S LETTERS TO HARRY
00:02:08TRUMAN, 1919 TO 1943. CLIFTON TRUMAN. DANIEL IS CURRENTLY PORTRAYING
00:02:11HIS GRANDFATHER IN THE ONE MAN STAGE SHOW GIVE EM HELL, HARRY.
00:02:15AS WELL AS WRITING AND LECTURING
00:02:17ON THE TRUMAN PRESIDENCY.
00:02:20LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CLIFTON
00:02:23TRUMAN, DANIEL.
00:02:26IT IS MY PLEASURE NOW TO INTRODUCE ANITA MCBRIDE.
00:02:30MS. MCBRIDE IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED EXPERT ON FIRST
00:02:33LADIES AND THE OPERA OF THE WHITE HOUSE.
00:02:36SHE DIRECTS THE LEGACIES OF AMERICA'S FIRST LADIES
00:02:38INITIATIVE AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY'S CENTER FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND PRESIDENTIAL
00:02:42STUDIES. IN THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
00:02:45HER WHITE HOUSE EXPERIENCE SPANS TWO DECADES AND THREE
00:02:49ADMINISTRATIONS, INCLUDING AS
00:02:51ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH AND CHIEF OF STAFF TO FIRST
00:02:54LADY LAURA BUSH. SHE IS THE COAUTHOR OF THREE
00:02:57BOOKS ON THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE FIRST LADY AND THEIR
00:03:01HISTORICAL INFLUENCE ON THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY, INCLUDING A
00:03:05FIRST OF ITS KIND COLLEGE TEXTBOOK, AN ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOK.
00:03:09SHE IS A FREQUENT SPEAKER AND MEDIA COMMENTATOR ON WHITE HOUSE
00:03:12HISTORY AND PRESIDENT YIELD TRANSITIONS.
00:03:14SHE IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED AND PHILIP AND PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS
00:03:18NATIONALLY AND GLOBALLY SUPPORTING WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP,
00:03:22THE ARTS, CULTURAL HERITAGE,
00:03:24HISTORIC PRESERVATION, VETERANS
00:03:27WELLNESS AND CIVIC EDUCATION.
00:03:30LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MS.
00:03:32ANITA MCBRIDE.
00:03:38AND OUR PROGRAM TONIGHT IS MODERATOR ED BY DR. KURT GRAHAM,
00:03:42PRESIDENT OF THE ADAMS PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, AND QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS.
00:03:46DR. GRAHAM WAS THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE HARRY TRUMAN
00:03:50PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM IN INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI.
00:03:54LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DR. KURT GRAHAM. AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
00:03:58REMEMBER THE BOSS, BESS TRUMAN.
00:04:05OUT. IT'S GREAT. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
00:04:09CLINTON IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE HERE IN KEY WEST. AND WE APPRECIATE OUR AUDIENCE
00:04:13HERE ON THE GROUNDS OF THE TRUMAN LITTLE WHITE HOUSE AND
00:04:16THE AUDIENCE JOINING US ON THE THROUGH THE C-SPAN BROADCAST.
00:04:20SO WE'RE VERY, VERY GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU TUNING IN AND
00:04:23LEARNING MORE ABOUT AN IMPORTANT TOPIC AND AN IMPORTANT PERSON.
00:04:26SO THANK YOU FOR THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
00:04:28AND THANK YOU, CLIFTON AND ANITA. IT'S A PLEASURE TO SHARE THE
00:04:32STAGE WITH BOTH OF YOU AND AND I KNOW WE'LL HAVE A GREAT
00:04:36CONVERSATION HERE. I WANTED TO START ANITA TALKING
00:04:39A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE WE ARE
00:04:41NOW WITH AMERICA. 250.
00:04:43I MEAN, WE ARE CELEBRATING THIS
00:04:45WONDERFUL ANNIVERSARY, 250 YEARS AS A NATION.
00:04:49AND WE DID A PROGRAM. WE'VE DONE A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS
00:04:52WITH SOME OF YOUR COAUTHORS OF YOUR BOOK, REMEMBERING THE FIRST
00:04:55LADIES ARE HERE TONIGHT WITH US.
00:04:58AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE WE THINK ABOUT WE'VE GOT TO GO
00:05:02CELEBRATE OUR HISTORY. WE'VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT THE PRESIDENCY, HOW IT'S EVOLVED.
00:05:05BUT YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES HAVE REALLY TURNED A LIGHT, A SPOTLIGHT ON THE FIRST LADIES
00:05:09AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT ROLE.
00:05:11SO BEFORE WE GET INTO TALKING ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT
00:05:14BESS, I WONDER IF YOU COULD TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES CAME TO
00:05:17THINK THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR
00:05:20AMERICA TO KNOW THAT FOCUSING ON FIRST LADIES WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT STEP, I'M SURE.
00:05:24BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND I'M EXCITED TO BE BACK HERE
00:05:2824 HOURS LATER, AFTER WE HAD SUCH A GREAT PROGRAM LAST NIGHT.
00:05:32AND LOOK AT THIS FANTASTIC BACKDROP BEHIND US WITH THE
00:05:36AMERICAN FLAG. IT'S JUST SO INSPIRING. AND PERFECT NIGHT TO BE TALKING
00:05:40ABOUT AMERICA. 250 AND WHERE WE HAVE COME SO
00:05:44FAR AS A NATION, BUT WE'RE STILL
00:05:46A VERY YOUNG NATION AND I THINK
00:05:48OUR ASPIRATIONS FOR OUR FUTURE,
00:05:50WE ARE ALWAYS IN PURSUIT OF A BETTER UNION.
00:05:54AND IT'S AN OBLIGATION, I THINK, FOR ALL OF US TO UNDERSTAND OUR
00:05:58HISTORY, PEEL BACK THE LAYERS OF WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT OUR OWN
00:06:01EXPERIENCE IN HISTORY. LIKE YOU AS A DESCENDANT OF A
00:06:05PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY. AND I THINK FOR US AS THE
00:06:09COAUTHORS OF REMEMBER THE FIRST LADIES AND THEN ALSO OF THE
00:06:12TEXTBOOK U.S. FIRST LADIES MAKING HISTORY AND LEAVING
00:06:14LEGACIES, WE KNEW WE WERE
00:06:17FILLING A GAP IN ACADEMIC LITERATURE FOR SURE.
00:06:21FOR THIS TO BE THE FIRST TEXTBOOK TALKING ABOUT FIRST
00:06:25LADIES IN 2023 IS QUITE A STATEMENT. THERE.
00:06:28AND I THINK THAT UNDERSCORES A POINT IF WE REALLY WANT TO TALK
00:06:33ABOUT OUR INCLUSIVE HISTORY IN OUR COUNTRY, HOW COULD WE NOT
00:06:35INCLUDE THE CONTRIBUTION WORDS
00:06:38AND THE STORIES OF THESE WOMEN WHO REALLY DID MAKE SUCH A
00:06:42DIFFERENCE IN THE FOUNDING OF
00:06:44THE NATION AND ALSO ITS PROGRESS?
00:06:46SO WE'RE REALLY THRILLED WITH
00:06:49THE RESPONSE TO THE TEXTBOOK. WE ARE TRAVELING TO UNIVERSITIES
00:06:53ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, SMALL AND
00:06:55MEDIUM SIZED SCHOOLS, PRIVATE AND PUBLIC, AND WE USUALLY GET
00:06:59THE SAME RESPONSE. WHY DID WE NEVER LEARN THIS BEFORE?
00:07:03AND THE FACT IS, YOU KNOW THAT
00:07:07THEY HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN THEIR DUE.
00:07:09THE FIRST LADIES HAVEN'T, BUT THEY ARE NOW. THERE'S A GROWING INTEREST IN
00:07:14THEM, A GROWING BODY OF SCHOLARS
00:07:16SHIP A LOT OF PUBLIC ATTENTION
00:07:20THROUGH TELEVISION SHOWS AND AND
00:07:22OTHER, YOU KNOW, POPULAR CULTURE AND THEN THROUGH THE FIRST
00:07:25LADIES THEMSELVES, WHICH ARE USING, YOU KNOW, A GREAT DEAL OF
00:07:29SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET THEIR STORY
00:07:31OUT THEIR WAY. YEAH, WELL, THAT'S THAT'S FANTASTIC.
00:07:35I WONDER IF YOU COULD OPINE JUST A LITTLE BIT ON HOW YOU AND YOUR
00:07:39COLLEAGUES CAME OR WHAT YOU MAKE OF THIS IDEA THAT THE FIRST
00:07:43LADIES HAVE BEEN SO
00:07:44MISREPRESENTED, UNREPRESENTED IN
00:07:47OUR HISTORY AND WHY WHY IS THIS
00:07:49THE MOMENT THAT THAT SHOULD AND BECAUSE WE COULD ARGUE THIS SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED 50 YEARS
00:07:53AGO. BUT IT WHEN SOCIAL HISTORY WAS ALL THE RAGE BUT IT IT REALLY
00:07:56HASN'T AND SO WHAT WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS HELD IT BACK? WELL, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE
00:07:59THINGS MY COAUTHOR, DIANA CARLIN, TALKS A LOT ABOUT AS A
00:08:05PROFESSOR, THAT SHE HAD BEEN A PROFESSOR. SHE HAD BEEN ALWAYS HAD TO
00:08:09COBBLE TOGETHER MATERIAL ABOUT FIRST LADIES TO INTRODUCE THIS
00:08:13TOPIC TO TO HER STUDENTS.
00:08:16SO REALLY RECOGNIZED THAT THAT THIS WAS MISSING.
00:08:20NANCY, OF COURSE, IS SPENDING THE YEARS THAT SHE DID AT THE
00:08:23ARCHIVES AND REALLY WAS ONE OF THE PROPONENTS FOR FIRST LADY'S
00:08:26RECORDS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE
00:08:30PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY DIDN'T EVEN HAPPEN UNTIL 1980.
00:08:34SO THERE HAVE AND PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN INTERESTED IN THIS, AND
00:08:37WE'RE NOW, YOU KNOW, AT AT A POINT WHERE WE'RE DIANA WAS
00:08:42ACTUALLY APPROACHED BY AN ACADEMIC PUBLISHER WHO SHE HAD
00:08:45WORKED WITH BEFORE OR THAT ASKED HER IF SHE WAS INTERESTED IN
00:08:49WRITING ANOTHER TEXTBOOK. AND SHE SAID, WELL, THIS IS ONE
00:08:51THAT IS REALLY MISSING IN LITERATURE. AND SHE HAD THE PEOPLE SHE
00:08:55WANTED TO DO IT WITH. AND LUCKILY THAT WAS ME AND
00:08:59NANCY. AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO STEP UP
00:09:01TO THE PLATE AND REALLY DO THIS. BUT I THINK THERE ARE BUT THERE
00:09:05ALSO WAS LET'S GO BACK AND GIVE DUE TO ONE PERSON WHO REALLY IS
00:09:09THE GODFATHER OF FIRST LADY'S STUDIES.
00:09:12AND I SAID GODFATHER WAS A MAN, PROFESSOR LOUIS GOULD AT THE
00:09:16UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN,
00:09:19WHO WAS THE FIRST TO REALLY INTRODUCE THE CONCEPT THAT THE
00:09:24FIRST LADIES AND THEIR SUBSTANTIVE CONTRIBUTIONS WERE
00:09:28OR WORTHY OF STUDY, WORTHY OF
00:09:30RESPECT FOR THEIR THEIR INPUT
00:09:33AND CONTRIBUTION TO THE COUNTRY. SO HE REALLY WAS LAUNCHED THIS
00:09:37AND LAUNCHED A WHOLE SERIES OF
00:09:40HIS STUDENTS THAT LATER BECAME
00:09:42AUTHORS OF BOOKS ABOUT DIFFERENT FIRST LADIES.
00:09:45YOU KNOW, HIS WELL, YOU KNOW,
00:09:47IT'S INTERESTING THAT YOU ARE
00:09:50THE CO-CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL
00:09:54AMERICA 250 COMMISSION, RIGHT? THE INITIATIVE ON THE GOVERNMENT
00:09:57AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICA 250 COMMISSION.
00:10:01BUT I'M CO-CHAIR OF A PROJECT THAT IS SEPARATE BUT SUPPORTING
00:10:04250, WHICH IS CALLED IN PURSUIT. SO I WANTED YOU TO TALK A LITTLE
00:10:07BIT ABOUT THE FACT BECAUSE WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THAT IS TO
00:10:11WRITE AN ESSAY OR YOU HAVE SEVERAL AUTHORS WRITING ESSAYS
00:10:13ABOUT EVERY PRESIDENT, BUT ALSO EVERY FIRST LADY, AND THEY'LL
00:10:17ALL BE PUBLISHED TOGETHER. YEAH, THERE WILL BE THE MAJORITY
00:10:21OF FIRST LADIES, BUT NOT EVERY FIRST LADY. BUT YES, EVERY PRESIDENT FROM
00:10:23PRESIDENT WASHINGTON TO TO
00:10:27PRESIDENT OBAMA. WE DIDN'T DO THE TWO MOST RECENT PRESIDENTS.
00:10:32PRESIDENT BIDEN AND AND PRESIDENT TRUMP, BECAUSE HISTORY
00:10:35REALLY HAS NOT NOT ENOUGH HISTORY. AND TIME HAS PASSED YET ON THAT.
00:10:39BUT THIS IS A NATIONAL CIVIC EDUCATION PROJECT THAT WE'RE
00:10:43REALLY EXCITED ABOUT. IT'S AN INITIATIVE OF A A
00:10:47BROADER PROJECT CALLED AN
00:10:49INSTITUTION CALLED MORE PERFECT AND IN PURSUIT IS THE NAME OF
00:10:53THIS INITIATIVE IS THAT, AGAIN,
00:10:56AS I SAID, IS A CIVIC EDUCATION. WE WANT TO DRAW ON LESSONS OF
00:11:00WISDOM FROM OUR PRESIDENT, FROM
00:11:02OUR PRESIDENTS AND IN A SELECT
00:11:05GROUP OF FIRST LADIES AND AND
00:11:08REALLY, WHAT WE HAVE INSTRUCTED
00:11:10OUR AUTHORS TO DO AND THESE ARE PROMINENT PEOPLE.
00:11:14THESE ARE FORMER PRESIDENTS. PRESIDENT BUSH IS WRITING ABOUT PRESIDENT WASHINGTON, GEORGE
00:11:18WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OBAMA IS
00:11:20WRITING ABOUT ABRAHAM LINCOLN. PRESIDENT CLINTON IS WRITING
00:11:24ABOUT TEDDY ROOSEVELT. LAURA BUSH IS WRITING ABOUT LADY
00:11:27BIRD JOHNSON, ONE OF HER FAVORITE FIRST LADIES, OTHER THAN HER MOTHER IN LAW, MICHELLE
00:11:32OBAMA'S WRITING ABOUT JACKIE KENNEDY AND HILLARY CLINTON WILL
00:11:35COME AS NO SURPRISE TO YOU AS WRITING ABOUT ELEANOR ROOSEVELT.
00:11:38CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS IS WRITING ABOUT WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, THE
00:11:41ONLY PRESIDENT TO ACTUALLY SERVE AS A CHIEF JUSTICE AS WELL.
00:11:45AND THEN OTHER OTHER SCHOLARS,
00:11:47JOURNALISTS, AUTHORS, NANCY AND
00:11:49DIANA ARE BOTH WRITING ABOUT FIRST LADIES.
00:11:52I'M WRITING ABOUT ONE. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER AS WELL.
00:11:56BUT THESE ESSAYS THAT WE ASK THEM TO DO ARE VERY SHORT.
00:12:001200 WORDS. WE WANT IT TO BE DIGESTIBLE BY
00:12:05ALL AGES AND TO DRAW ONE LESSON,
00:12:08ONE NUGGET COULD BE A SUCCESS, COULD BE A FAILURE.
00:12:11BUT HOW THEIR PRESIDENCY OR
00:12:14THEIR FIRST LADYSHIP CONTRIBUTED
00:12:16TO THE NATION AND THE PROGRESS OF THE NATION.
00:12:19IT'S REALLY EXCITING. IT WAS ANNOUNCED IN SEPTEMBER ON
00:12:23AN OCTOBER OR SEPTEMBER CONSTITUTION DAY AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY.
00:12:26IT WILL BE LAUNCHED ON PRESIDENTS DAY IN LESS THAN A
00:12:29MONTH FROM NOW AT THE NEW YORK
00:12:31HISTORICAL SOCIETY WITH THE FIRST ESSAY, WHICH WILL BE
00:12:34GEORGE BUSH'S ESSAY ON GEORGE WASHINGTON.
00:12:37WE'RE WORKING WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS, I.E. CIVICS AND
00:12:41ALSO THE. CONSTITUTION, NATIONAL
00:12:46CONSTITUTION, SAYS CENTER TO
00:12:49DEVELOP LESSONS AND PROGRAMS FOR
00:12:51STUDENTS AS WELL AT DIFFERENT AGENTS.
00:12:55AGAIN IS WE WANT THIS TO BE DIGESTIBLE AND TO BE
00:12:58UNDERSTANDABLE AND TO BE UTILIZED BY ALL AGES.
00:13:02AND THE ESSAYS WILL LIVE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON
00:13:05SUBSTACK A CURRENT, YOU KNOW, A NEW MEDIUM TO GET TO GET
00:13:10INFORMATION. BUT C-SPAN WILL BE A PARTNER
00:13:12WITH US AS WELL.
00:13:14SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. WE WANT THESE STORIES TO
00:13:19CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATION AND FOR PEOPLE TO
00:13:21REALLY DRAW LESSONS FROM WHAT OUR PRESENCE AND FIRST LADIES
00:13:25HAVE DONE THROUGHOUT HISTORY. IT'S A STAR STUDDED LINEUP, AND
00:13:28I'M REALLY PLEASED TO LEARN OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE WRITING ABOUT
00:13:31WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT. I MEAN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FIRST
00:13:35LADIES BEING OVERLOOKED, I'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT TAFT WAS A PRESIDENT WHO WAS OVERLOOKED,
00:13:38THAT HE REALLY WAS A VERY SUBSTANTIVE FELLOW.
00:13:43AND ROBERTS BELIEVES THAT, TOO. YES, IT'S VERY HAPPY TO PROUDLY. I'M SURE.
00:13:47I'M SURE HE DOES. BECAUSE IN TAFT, TOO, AS A JURIST, WAS AND WAS MAYBE EVEN
00:13:50MORE IMPORTANT THAN HE WAS AS A PRESIDENT. BUT THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING.
00:13:54WELL, I'M GOING TO LEAVE THE AUDIENCE IN SUSPENSE FOR A MINUTE TO THINK ABOUT TWO
00:13:58GUESTS, WHICH FIRSTLY, LADY,
00:14:00THAT YOU'RE WRITING ABOUT IN THE
00:14:02IN PURSUIT PROGRAM. BUT I WILL PIVOT FOR JUST A
00:14:05MOMENT AND SAY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS REALLY HELPFUL WHEN IT
00:14:11COMES TO WRITING ABOUT A PRESIDENT OR A FIRST LADY IS A
00:14:14PRESIDENTIAL FAMILY.
00:14:16AND I HAVE COME IN, MICHAEL, HERE, HAVING WORKED AT SEVERAL
00:14:19BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER FOR MULTIPLE
00:14:23PRESIDENTIAL LEGACIES TO REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT THE FAMILY
00:14:29CONTRIBUTION AND TO THAT LEGACY IS, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T JUST END
00:14:32WITH THE PRESIDENT, THE FAMILY CARRIES THAT ON. I MEAN, AS YOU KNOW, CLIFTON
00:14:36DOES THIS FABULOUS PLAY. AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, YOU NEED TO SEE IT. GIVE HIM HELL, HARRY.
00:14:41RIGHT HERE ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND MANY OTHER VENUES AROUND THE COUNTRY WHERE
00:14:45HE ACTS, IMPERSONATES HIS GRANDFATHER.
00:14:48AND IT IS IT IS FUNNY.
00:14:50IT IS THOUGHTFUL. IT IS IT'S WITTY.
00:14:53IT'S ENTERTAINING, BUT IT'S VERY SUBSTANTIVE.
00:14:55IT'S VERY REAL. YOU CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT HARRY TRUMAN AS PORTRAYED BY HIS
00:14:59GRANDSON. SO, CLIFTON, LET ME JUST ASK YOU
00:15:03TO KICK US OFF HERE A LITTLE BIT WITH YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SCHOLARS
00:15:05WHO WRITE BOOKS ABOUT TRUMAN AND THESE LADIES WRITING ABOUT BESS.
00:15:11BUT FOR YOU, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
00:15:13MEMORIES OF GRANDMA AND GRANDPA. YEAH. AND I WHEN ANITA WAS TALKING,
00:15:17ALL I COULD THINK WAS THAT MY GRANDMOTHER MUST HAVE MADE IT
00:15:21VERY HARD TO RESEARCH HER LIFE.
00:15:27YOU KNOW, DURING. DURING THEIR. DURING THEIR MARRIAGE, MY
00:15:31GRANDPARENTS WROTE, WELL, THE
00:15:33TRUMAN LIBRARY HAS.
00:15:371362 LETTERS THAT MY GRANDFATHER WROTE TO MY GRANDMOTHER OVER THE
00:15:42YEARS, WE OWN 184 OF HERS BACK.
00:15:45AND THAT'S BECAUSE HE CAME HOME
00:15:47ONE DAY IN THE AFTERNOON NEAR CHRISTMAS IN 1955, I THINK IT WAS.
00:15:52AND HE FOUND HER IN FRONT OF THE
00:15:53FIRE BURNING STACKS OF HER
00:15:56LETTERS TO HIM AND HE STOPPED
00:15:59HER AND HE SAID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
00:16:01DON'T YOU DON'T DO THAT. THINK OF HISTORY. AND SHE SMILED AND SAID, OH, I
00:16:08HAVE. WHEN WHEN SHE BECAME FIRST LADY
00:16:12ELEANOR ROOSEVELT HAD BEEN HAD BEEN GIVING THESE PRESS
00:16:16CONFERENCES AS WEEKLY BIWEEKLY.
00:16:18AND MY GRANDMOTHER CUT THAT ALL
00:16:20OUT AND CUT IT OUT COMPLETELY AND ISSUED A VERY SUCCINCT
00:16:25BIOGRAPHY AND SAID THAT SHE WOULD APPRECIATE ALL QUESTIONS
00:16:28IN FUTURE BE PUT IN WRITING. AND TO ALMOST EVERY ONE OF THOSE
00:16:31QUESTIONS, SHE ANSWERED, NO COMMENT.
00:16:35SHE DIDN'T ANSWER ONE. I HEARD IT THE YEAR SHE WAS MARRIED.
00:16:39WELL. OH, GOOD. WELL, AT LEAST THEY GOT ONE BIT OF INFORMATION OUT OF HER.
00:16:42BUT SHE WAS, YOU KNOW, SHE WAS.
00:16:45AND WE TALKED A BIT ABOUT THIS INSIDE BEFORE, DESPITE BEING
00:16:51COMPLETELY WOUND UP IN MY GRANDFATHER'S POLITICAL CAREER,
00:16:53SHE WAS AS POLITICALLY ASTUTE AS HE WAS.
00:16:56SHE READ SPEECHES, SHE CRITIQUED
00:16:58SHE SHE KNEW WHO WAS WHO AND WHERE IT WAS.
00:17:01SHE KNEW WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED. BUT SHE SAID IN PUBLIC THAT THE
00:17:05JOB OF A FIRST LADY OR A
00:17:09POLITICIAN, HIS WIFE, IS TO SIT NEXT TO HER HUSBAND, KEEP HER
00:17:11MOUTH SHUT AND MAKE SURE HATS ON
00:17:15STRAIGHT, WHICH SHE SHE DID IN
00:17:17PUBLIC BUT DID NOT DO IN PRIVATE.
00:17:22SO WELL. I'VE HELD THE AUDIENCE IN SUSPENSE LONG ENOUGH TO SPOILER ALERT.
00:17:25WE'RE GOING TO ASK YOU, ANITA, WHY IS IT THAT YOU WERE DRAWN TO
00:17:29BESS TRUMAN AS YOUR CONTRIBUTION
00:17:31TO THIS IN PURSUIT PUBLICATION, WHICH AGAIN, I MEAN, THINK OF
00:17:34THE HEAVYWEIGHTS THAT ARE COMING IN NOT JUST AS SUBJECTS, BUT AS
00:17:37AUTHORS IN THIS EFFORT. AND YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO
00:17:41BASICALLY HAVE YOUR PICK. AND YOU CHOSE BESS. SO I'LL START BY SAYING I WANT
00:17:45TO MAKE ONE CORRECTION TO SOMETHING I SAID BEFORE ABOUT ONE OF OUR PARTNERS FOR THE
00:17:49ESSAYS, FOR COMPILING THE ESSAYS
00:17:52FOR CHILDREN'S CURRICULUM. IT'S NOT THE NATIONAL
00:17:54CONSTITUTION CENTER, IT'S THE BILL OF RIGHTS INSTITUTE. SO JUST CORRECTING THAT.
00:17:58BUT FOR IT TO YOUR QUESTION, WHY
00:18:00DID I PICK BESS TRUMAN?
00:18:04AND I WAS SO FASCINATED WHAT I
00:18:06LEARNED ABOUT HER IN RESEARCHING
00:18:08OUR BOOK ON REMEMBER THE FIRST
00:18:12LADIES AND U.S. FIRST LADIES MAKING HISTORY AND LEAVING LEGACIES.
00:18:15AND I LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT HOW MUCH SHE DID.
00:18:18AND I WAS FASCINATED BY THE
00:18:21FACT, TOO, THAT BY ALL ACCOUNTS, TODAY'S STANDARDS, BESS TRUMAN
00:18:24WAS A TOMBOY. THIS WAS A WOMAN WHO WAS REALLY
00:18:28AN ATHLETIC FIGURE, VERY SPORTY.
00:18:31SHE WAS A CAPTAIN OF HER TENNIS
00:18:33TEAM IN HIGH SCHOOL. SHE WAS A HORSEBACK RIDER. SHE PLAYED BASEBALL, NOT
00:18:37SOFTBALL. BASEBALL AND WAS A LIFELONG
00:18:41LOVER OF BASEBALL. I THOUGHT, THIS IS IT. THIS IS A NUANCE ABOUT THIS
00:18:45WOMAN THAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
00:18:47AND AND THEN I WAS ALSO
00:18:50FASCINATED WITH HOW INVOLVED SHE
00:18:53WAS WITH THE PROTECTION OF THE
00:18:55WHITE HOUSE WHEN THERE WAS THE
00:18:57MAJOR AND THE WAIT FOR THAT TO
00:19:02PASS.
00:19:15ALSO IN THE RENOVATION AND, OF COURSE, OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND
00:19:19HOW INVOLVED SHE WAS IN THAT. THE OTHER THING THAT REALLY
00:19:23FASCINATED ME ABOUT HER IS HOW
00:19:26SKILLED SHE WAS AT POLITICS AND POLITICAL.
00:19:29NOT ONLY THE POLITICAL PROCESS, BUT PUBLIC POLICY PROCESS, TOO.
00:19:33AND THAT WAS FROM HER YEARS OF A
00:19:37SENATE STAFFER TO HER HUSBAND
00:19:39WHEN HARRY TRUMAN SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
00:19:42BUT EVEN DATING BACK BEFORE THAT, WHEN HE WAS AN ELECTED
00:19:46OFFICIAL IN MISSOURI CALLED A JUDGE. BUT IT WAS ESSENTIALLY A COUNTY
00:19:50SUPERVISOR HER AND HOW SHE KNEW EVERYTHING, HOW SHE TRAVELED THAT DISTRICT.
00:19:54SHE KNEW THE CONSTITUENTS. SHE KNEW WHAT THE ISSUES WERE.
00:19:57AND AND I THOUGHT THIS IS A
00:20:01FASCINATING FIGURE IN AMERICAN HISTORY OF HOW MUCH THIS ISSUE,
00:20:04HOW SHE USED THAT KNOWLEDGE TO
00:20:06HELP HER HUSBAND, BUT DID NOT
00:20:08WANT ANY PUBLIC NOTORIETY FOR IT.
00:20:11AND I ALSO FELT, YOU KNOW, WHICH WE CAN ALL UNDERSTAND HERE IS A
00:20:15WOMAN THAT FOLLOWED ELEANOR ROOSEVELT.
00:20:19HOW DIFFICULT MIGHT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN?
00:20:2212 YEARS OF THE MOST ACTIVIST FIRST LADY WHO WAS GOING DOWN
00:20:26INTO COAL MINES AND CERTAINLY BESS TRUMAN DID NOT WANT TO DO THAT.
00:20:29SO BUT SHE WAS HER OWN PERSON.
00:20:30AND I REALLY LEARNED THAT FROM MY RESEARCH.
00:20:33AND I WAS FASCINATED ABOUT HER. AND I CHOSE BESS TRUMAN TO WRITE
00:20:37ABOUT FOUR IN PURSUIT SHE MAY HAVE BEEN THINKING WITH WHEN IT COMES TO MRS. ROOSEVELT, SHE MAY
00:20:41HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THAT. AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE STORY IS APOCRYPHAL, BUT MRS. ROOSEVELT
00:20:45DID DO A LOT.
00:20:49SHE ALSO GOT HERSELF INTO TROUBLE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE
00:20:51AND AN AIDE CAME TO THE
00:20:53PRESIDENT ONE DAY, APPARENTLY,
00:20:55AND SAID TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT,
00:20:58SIR, SIR, MRS. ROOSEVELT HAS BEEN ARRESTED.
00:21:00AND THE PRESIDENT SAID, WELL,
00:21:02I'M NOT SURPRISED, BUT WHAT FOR.
00:21:05MY GRANDMOTHER PROBABLY DIDN'T WANT TO GO IN THAT DIRECTION.
00:21:09NO, FIRST LADIES DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO BE A DISTRACTION.
00:21:12THEY WANT TO BE VALUED AT IT. THAT IS DEFINITELY A DISTRACTION.
00:21:16WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT BESS TRUMAN IN HER ROLE AND AS YOU'VE ALL
00:21:20YOU'VE BOTH SORT OF ALLUDED TO, HER POLITICAL ACUMEN AND OTHER
00:21:24THINGS. TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HER, HER
00:21:28NEED, HER YEARNING FOR PRIVACY
00:21:31VERSUS A RELUCTANCE TO BE A PARTICIPANT.
00:21:34I THINK THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE. TRUE.
00:21:37AND THAT'S EXACTLY THAT. SHE SHE WAS A VERY PRIVATE PERSON.
00:21:40THE STORY ABOUT THE LETTERS BEING A GOOD EXAMPLE, SHE BURNED
00:21:44THOSE LETTERS BECAUSE SHE WANTED
00:21:46TO KEEP HER LIFE TO HERSELF AND TO HER FAMILY AND TO HER CLOSE
00:21:51FRIENDS. BUT SHE SHE WASN'T A RELUCTANT
00:21:55POLITICIANS WIFE AT ALL. SHE WAS AS ANITA SAID, SHE WAS
00:21:58VERY INVOLVED. SHE AND MY GRANDMOTHER, MY
00:22:02GRANDFATHER BOTH SAID THAT THE BEST TEN YEARS OF HIS CAREER,
00:22:05THEIR CAREER TOGETHER, WAS THE TEN YEARS IN THE SENATE WHEN SHE COULD BE INVOLVED IN A LOT OF
00:22:09THINGS. SHE LOVED WASHINGTON, D.C. SHE LIKED BEING THERE.
00:22:13AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS EARLIER. I'VE ACTUALLY HEARD THE STORY.
00:22:15AND I IT'S A FAMILY STORY. I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE I GOT IT, BUT WHEN HE RETIRED, WHEN HE WAS
00:22:21GETTING READY TO LEAVE OFFICE, SHE ACTUALLY SUGGESTED THAT THEY
00:22:23MIGHT RETIRE TO WASHINGTON.
00:22:25AND MY GRANDFATHER SAID, HELL
00:22:29NO, NOBODY WANTS A FORMER PRESIDENT HANGING AROUND WASHINGTON, DC AFTER HE LEAVES
00:22:33OFFICE. SO THEY WENT BACK TO INDEPENDENCE. BUT SHE REALLY DID, YOU KNOW,
00:22:37SHE HAD SHE UNDERSTOOD WHERE THE LINES WERE.
00:22:40SHE UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS FAMILY, WHAT WAS PRIVACY AND WHAT WAS PUBLIC DUTY.
00:22:44BUT SHE DIDN'T SHE DIDN'T HATE IT AT ALL.
00:22:47SO FRIENDS, I MEAN, A LOT OF FRIENDS, OTHER SENATE SPOUSES,
00:22:50THEY WERE -- INVOLVED IN THE SENATE.
00:22:54SPOUSE'S CLUB, A LOT OF VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES. I MEAN, SHE HAD A WONDERFUL
00:22:58BALANCE OF A PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE DURING THOSE SENATE YEARS.
00:23:01AND AND WAS, YOU KNOW, WORRIED
00:23:03ABOUT THAT CHANGE WHEN HE BECAME
00:23:06VICE PRESIDENT. BUT STILL, THEY MANAGED TO
00:23:09MAINTAIN OF COURSE, THEIR APARTMENT ON CONNECTICUT AVENUE
00:23:12NORTHWEST WASHINGTON AND AND SHE COULD STILL DRIVE HER HER CAR
00:23:16AND ON HER OWN. BUT THAT WAS SHORT LIVED, AS WE
00:23:20KNOW, BEFORE THEY WERE PROPELLED INTO THE BIGGEST FISHBOWL
00:23:22FISHBOWL THAT THERE IS. I THINK THAT'S THAT'S SO
00:23:26INTERESTING BECAUSE I ALWAYS HAD THE IMPRESSION FOR TRUMAN THAT
00:23:29THE BEST TEN YEARS OF HIS LIFE TO WHERE THOSE SENATE YEARS I
00:23:33MEAN, MARGARET WAS TEN WHEN HE WAS ELECTED. SHE WAS 20.
00:23:37WHEN HE GOES INTO THE VICE PRESIDENCY.
00:23:39AND AND YOU JUST GET THIS SENSE THAT THE THREE OF THEM JUST HAD
00:23:43A MARVELOUS LIFE, THAT DEPARTMENT AND CONNECTICUT AVENUE.
00:23:46HE HE LOVED THE SENATE.
00:23:48AND AND I AM PLEASED TO HEAR I
00:23:51KNEW LESS ABOUT BESS IN THAT ROLE, BUT THAT SHE ENJOYED THAT AS WELL.
00:23:55AND IT'S FUNNY TO THINK ABOUT. I'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT, YOU KNOW,
00:23:57HISTORY IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE BEING THROWN OUT OF OFFICE.
00:24:02BUT IN 1944, WE GET A RARE GLIMPSE OF SOMEONE BEING THROWN
00:24:04INTO OFFICE. AND WITH HARRY TRUMAN, I THINK HE COMES KICKING AND SCREAMING
00:24:08TO THE VICE PRESIDENCY. AND THERE'S A STORY. AND I KNOW IF ONE OF YOU IS, MAYBE YOU CAN TELL IT BETTER
00:24:13THAN I THAT WHAT GOES ON IN THE
00:24:1544 CONVENTION WHEN HARRY TRUMAN
00:24:17DRIVES TO CHICAGO FULLY INTENDING TO NOMINATE HIS FRIEND
00:24:21AND SENATE COLLEAGUE, JIMMY BURNS, TO BE THE NEXT VICE PRESIDENT BY THE TIME HE GETS
00:24:25THERE, FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR, AND A
00:24:28COUPLE OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE A DIFFERENT IDEA, AND IT INVOLVES A MAJOR DISRUPTION TO THE TRUMAN
00:24:33LIFE COMPLETELY. AND I AND I ALWAYS WIND UP AND
00:24:38WE WE TALKED ABOUT THIS INSIDE,
00:24:38TOO, WHEN THE JOKE IS THAT THAT
00:24:42ASIDE FROM JIMMY BURNS, HE TRIED TO THROW EVERYBODY ELSE TO GET
00:24:45HIS HANDS ON IN FRONT OF THEM TO TO BE VICE PRESIDENT RATHER THAN
00:24:49DO IT HIMSELF. AND FINALLY, A BOB HANNIGAN,
00:24:52CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, CALLED
00:24:55PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND SAID, WE ARE HAVING A LOT OF TROUBLE WITH
00:24:59THIS TRUMAN GUY. HE'S JUST NOT HE'S NOT GETTING
00:25:03ON BOARD. AND ROOSEVELT SAID, HOLD THE
00:25:06PHONE OUT AND HANNIGAN DID SO GRANDPA COULD HEAR THE PRESIDENT
00:25:10SAY, WELL, JUST TELL HIM IF HE WANTS TO WRECK THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR,
00:25:14THAT'S HIS BUSINESS. THAT'S THAT'S HIS RESPONSIBILITY.
00:25:17TO WHICH DAVID MCCULLOUGH AND PARDON ME, DAVID MCCULLOUGH
00:25:21WROTE THE GRANDFATHER'S RESPONSE
00:25:23TO HEARING THAT WAS SHEER.
00:25:28THERE WAS NO GETTING OUT OF IT. THEN.
00:25:32OH, YEAH. THE SIDE OF THAT CONVERSATION
00:25:35THAT WAS RECORDED WAS, WELL, MR. PRESIDENT.
00:25:40OH.
00:25:44THE. PROBLEM THAT.
00:25:46YEAH, THE THE DOWNSIDE, THE ONLY
00:25:49DOWNSIDE TO BEING IN KEY WEST IS IT'S A VERY POPULAR DESTINATION. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF PLANES
00:25:52COMING OVERHEAD.
00:25:57THAT WHAT WAS I GOING WITH THAT
00:25:59BEFORE THE.
00:26:01YES, YES. THE LAST WORD IS IT'S VERY IT'S
00:26:05REALLY THREW ME OFF THEIR CLIFF. AND SO SO WITH WITH HARRY TRUMAN
00:26:08BEING SORT OF FORCED INTO THIS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF PRESSED INTO
00:26:13SERVICE, MARGARET AND BESS, WHO HAD BEEN VACATIONING, COME JOIN
00:26:16HIM IN CHICAGO. AND THERE'S A PUSH OF THE MEDIA
00:26:20TO WHERE HARRY AND BESS GET. THERE'S SO MANY REPORTERS AND
00:26:23PEOPLE BETWEEN THEM THAT THEY END UP ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF A ROOM.
00:26:27JUST THERE'S JUST THE THRONG OF PEOPLE. IT'S JUST TOO MUCH.
00:26:30AND AND SHE TURNS TO HIM AND I AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS
00:26:33FROM MCCULLOUGH OR WHERE I GOT
00:26:35THIS, BUT AND SHE BASICALLY
00:26:39LOOKS AT HIM WITH DISAPPROVAL AND SAYS, IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED? IS THIS HOW YOU PICTURED THIS
00:26:43WOULD BE? AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THEY'RE
00:26:45LEAVING THAT HAPPY SENATE LIFE
00:26:47WHERE HE WAS A SENATORS SENATOR. AND I THINK THE ONLY REASON HE
00:26:51TOOK THE JOB OF VICE PRESIDENT BECAUSE HE REALIZED THE ONLY JOB A VICE PRESIDENT HAS IS TO
00:26:54PRESIDE OVER THE SENATE. AND I THINK THAT THAT YOU KNOW,
00:26:58MAYBE IT WAS SOMEWHAT ENTICING TO HIM THAT HE THOUGHT HE COULD
00:27:00WORK HIS CONNECTIONS FOR THEM IN THAT WAY.
00:27:03BUT BUT THAT WAS THE BEGINNING,
00:27:04I THINK, OF A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD FOR BESS AND HARRY AND
00:27:08EVEN MAYBE FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
00:27:11WHAT I THINK AGAIN, ONE OF THE
00:27:15LETTERS THAT I READ BETWEEN MRS.
00:27:17TRUMAN AND ONE OF HER BEST FRIENDS BACK IN MISSOURI WHEN
00:27:21SHE WAS PROPELLED INTO THIS ROLE
00:27:24OF FIRST LADY, THAT HER FRIEND HAD WRITTEN TO HER.
00:27:26AND AND SAID AND I THINK KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE
00:27:31DIFFICULT FOR BESS TRUMAN TO NOW BE IN THIS PUBLIC LIFE.
00:27:34BUT MRS. BESS TRUMAN RESPONDED. SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, THERE'S
00:27:38NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT BUT MANAGE THE THE UNPLEASANT THINGS
00:27:41THAT MAY POP UP. AND I READ WHAT I SAW, AND THAT
00:27:45WAS THE SENSE OF DUTY AND
00:27:47OBLIGATION THAT SHE UNDERSTOOD.
00:27:49AND WITHOUT EVEN IF IT WAS
00:27:51PERSONALLY DIFFICULT FOR HER, SHE WAS GOING TO RISE TO THE OCCASION.
00:27:56YEAH. YOU KNOW, WHEN I THINK OF THE
00:27:58MANY IMAGES OF THE TRUMANS, I
00:28:00MEAN, THEY'RE VERY, VERY WELL PHOTOGRAPHED OVER THE YEARS.
00:28:04AND THERE'S AN IMAGE THAT YOU JUST CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR MIND,
00:28:07AND THAT IS HIM BEING SWORN IN IN THE CABINET ROOM, HAVING JUST
00:28:12LEARNED PROBABLY WITHIN TWO HOURS THAT ROOSEVELT HAD DIED
00:28:16VERY SUDDENLY. AND BESS IS AT HIS SIDE.
00:28:20MARGARET IS TO THE OTHER SIDE IN THE BACKGROUND.
00:28:22AND YOU LOOK AT THEIR FACES AND THEY'RE THERE.
00:28:26THEIR FACES ARE SAGGING, THEIR JAWS ARE DROPPING.
00:28:28AND OF COURSE, THEY'RE MOURNING LIKE THE COUNTRY IS, THAT THE
00:28:31PRESIDENT HAS JUST DIED VERY SUDDENLY.
00:28:33NO ONE WAS EXPECTING THAT.
00:28:35BUT FOR BESS AND EVEN FOR MARGARET, I THINK THERE'S JUST A
00:28:39SENSE OF SHOCK ABOUT WHAT THIS MOMENT MEANS. AND, YOU KNOW, HARRY TALKED
00:28:43ABOUT IT FELT LIKE THE A LOAD OF HAY FELL ON HIM.
00:28:47YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE METAPHOR THAT HE THAT HE KNEW AND COULD USE.
00:28:49BUT I THINK ABOUT THAT IMAGE AND THE MANY, MANY IMAGES OF BESS,
00:28:53AND SHE WAS NOT NECESSARILY PHOTOGENIC ALL THE TIME.
00:28:57SHE COULD LOOK PRETTY SERIOUS, PRETTY DOUR AT TIMES.
00:29:00HARRY TOOK A GOOD PICTURE MOST OF THE TIME, BUT BESS OFTENTIMES
00:29:05LOOKED VERY BELEAGUERED.
00:29:07AND I THINK IT IS EASY FOR PEOPLE TO ASSUME FROM THAT THAT
00:29:10SHE WAS A WOMAN WHO HAD NO HUMOR, THAT SHE WAS VERY DOUR,
00:29:14THAT SHE WAS VERY SOUR ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON AROUND HER.
00:29:17AND I IN THE YEARS THAT I WAS AT THE TRUMAN LIBRARY, I CAME TO
00:29:20REALLY IN MY OPINION, THAT JUST
00:29:22WAS SIMPLY NOT THE CASE. IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
00:29:26CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S PERSONALITY
00:29:28AND HOW THE RECORD THAT IS THERE
00:29:31MAYBE IS DIFFERENT THAN THE
00:29:34PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD ANYWAY AND IN SOME OF THE LETTERS IS DIFFERENT THAN THE WAY SHE
00:29:37REALLY WAS REACHING? NO, NO ONE SAW HER LOOKING
00:29:40BELEAGUERED MORE OFTEN THAN I DID.
00:29:43COULD YOU WANT TO YOU WANT TO
00:29:46SEE A BELEAGUERED BESS TRUMAN JUST SURROUND HER WITH HER GRANDSONS?
00:29:50NOT A PROBLEM. NO, SHE BUT SHE WAS.
00:29:52AND SHE DOES SHE I THINK PART OF
00:29:56IT IS THAT SHE JUST DIDN'T CARE IF SOMEBODY POINTED A CAMERA AT HER.
00:29:58SOMEBODY POINTED THE CAMERA, TOOK A PICTURE. SHE WASN'T GOING TO YOU KNOW,
00:30:02PUT ON AIRS OR SMILE IN THIS. I MEAN, SHE DID, BUT SHE WASN'T
00:30:06PAYING IT. SHE WASN'T AS CONSCIOUS OF IT AS GRANDPA WAS IN PRIVATE.
00:30:10SHE WAS SHE WAS VERY FUNNY. SHE SHE LOVED TO JOKE.
00:30:14SHE LOVES STORIES.
00:30:16SHE LOVED, YOU KNOW, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT WE COULD IRRITATE
00:30:19HER, SHE LOVED BEING AROUND US, BUT SHE SHE DID.
00:30:23SHE HAD A VERY GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR. SHE WAS SHE ALWAYS WAS PAYING
00:30:27ATTENTION. SHE LIKED HER FRIENDS AND HER FAMILY AROUND HER.
00:30:29AND SHE SHE'S GOT A REPUTATION NOT ONLY SHE'S GOT A REPUTATION
00:30:33FOR BEING BELEAGUERED BECAUSE IT APPEARS THAT SHE LEFT VERY OFTEN
00:30:36WHEN GRANDPA WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, SHE WENT BACK TO INDEPENDENCE.
00:30:39AND THE THE THE MISCONCEPTION IS
00:30:42THAT SHE HATED WASHINGTON.
00:30:44AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE EVEN SUGGEST TO ME THAT SHE HATED MY
00:30:48GRANDFATHER JUST BECAUSE SHE KEPT LEAVING. WELL, THAT'S BECAUSE HER MOTHER,
00:30:52MADGE GATES WALLACE, FOR WHOM SHE WAS VERY CLOSE AND WAS A
00:30:56HUGE SUPPORT EVER SINCE MY GREAT GRANDFATHER, DAVID WALLACE,
00:30:59COMMITTED SUICIDE. MY GRANDMOTHER WAS HER MAJOR SUPPORT.
00:31:03THE ONLY OTHER THE ONLY GIRL IN
00:31:05THE FAMILY THAT SHE HAD SONS, THREE SONS BESIDES MY
00:31:09GRANDMOTHER. SO SHE WAS THE OLDEST. SHE WAS THE ONLY GIRL.
00:31:12SO MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS CONSTANT. IT WAS A TUG OF WAR.
00:31:16SO SHE WOULD GO HOME TO INDEPENDENCE. AND THEN MY GRANDFATHER WOULD
00:31:20START THE LETTER SAYING, YOU'VE BEEN THERE LONG ENOUGH, I NEED YOU HERE. AND SHE WOULD COME BACK.
00:31:24SO IT WAS BACK AND FORTH AND THEY WERE ALWAYS BETTER TOGETHER.
00:31:28AND MCCULLOUGH WROTE THIS IN HIS BOOK, AND IT'S A GOOD STORY. WHEN THEY WERE LIVING AT BLAIR
00:31:32HOUSE DURING HIS SECOND TERM IN OFFICE, SHE HAD BEEN IN
00:31:35INDEPENDENCE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. I WANT TO SAY MAYBE MORE THAN THAT.
00:31:39AND WHEN SHE CAME BACK, THE ATMOSPHERE BLAIR HOUSE JUST
00:31:43UPLIFTED. EVERYBODY WAS HAPPY. THEY WERE GLAD TO BE TOGETHER.
00:31:47ALL OF THE STAFF, ALL OF THE AIDES, EVERYBODY WAS IN A GOOD MOOD.
00:31:51AND MY GRANDMOTHER CAME DOWNSTAIRS THE NEXT DAY AND SHE
00:31:54TOOK THE HEAD USHER, AS I THINK WAS MR. FIELD'S ALONZO FIELDS. SHE TOOK HIM ASIDE AND SHE SAID,
00:31:58MR. FIELDS, WE HAVE A THERE'S A
00:32:01THERE'S AN ISSUE ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
00:32:04WE HAVE A WE HAVE A WE HAVE A OH
00:32:07OH HEALTH FIELDS. ONE OF THE SLATS ON OUR BED IS
00:32:13BROKEN. IT'S MORE THAN A GRANDCHILD
00:32:16REALLY WANTS TO HEAR.
00:32:19BUT THEY WERE STILL VERY CLOSE
00:32:24IN THEIR 60S. SO.
00:32:26BUT SHE WAS SHE WAS THEY YOU KNOW, SHE LOVED HER FAMILY.
00:32:29SHE LOVED SHE WAS A LOT OF FUN TO BE AROUND.
00:32:32I THINK YOUR MOTHER I READ, TOO,
00:32:34IN YOUR MOTHER'S BOOK HOW SHE SAID THAT YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS
00:32:38THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD MEMBER OF
00:32:42THEIR FAMILY. PEOPLE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW THE FULL. YOU KNOW, ALL THE FACETS OF HER
00:32:48PERSONALITY, INCLUDING THAT SENSE OF HUMOR AND THAT IS REALLY HARD.
00:32:51I MEAN, I BANG AROUND THE WHITE HOUSE, THREE DIFFERENT
00:32:54ADMINISTRATIONS WORKING DIRECTLY FOR A FIRST LADY, KNOWING TO
00:32:58OTHERS REALLY WELL WHEN THEY ARE
00:33:00TYPECAST IN THE BEGINNING AND THEY COME INTO THE ROLE, IT IS
00:33:04VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN THAT AROUND AND ALMOST
00:33:08IMPOSSIBLE. SO I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT PLAGUED MRS. TRUMAN, TOO.
00:33:12ONE OF THE THINGS WHAT I'M SURE
00:33:17I'M SURE IS JUST RIGHT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS
00:33:21INTERESTING ABOUT BESS, YOU KNOW, THE THIS THIS IMPRESSION
00:33:23THAT SHE'S DOUR, THAT SHE LEAVES WASHINGTON, SHE HATES WASHINGTON.
00:33:26SHE DOESN'T EVEN REALLY CARE WAS I MEAN, ALL OF THAT BELIE IS
00:33:30ANOTHER REALLY IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT HER AND THAT IS THAT SHE WAS REALLY QUITE POLITICALLY
00:33:34ASTUTE. SHE WAS VERY SAVVY AND WAS A
00:33:37REALLY IMPORTANT CONFIDANTE AND
00:33:41ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT. COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THAT A
00:33:45LITTLE BIT? ANY ANY EXAMPLES OF BESS AS A AS AN ADVISER?
00:33:49WELL, I THINK A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO NOTE ON THAT. AND CERTAINLY I DON'T THINK IT'S
00:33:53A SECRET THAT OUR MYSTERY THAT PRESIDENT TRUMAN OR SENATOR
00:33:58TRUMAN OR OR COUNTY SUPERVISOR
00:34:01TRUMAN RELIED ON THE GOOD ADVICE
00:34:03AND GREAT COUNSEL OF BESS TRUMAN
00:34:07BECAUSE SHE WAS ASTUTE. HER EAR WAS TO THE GROUND.
00:34:09BUT SHE WAS ALSO VERY SENSITIVE TO THE FACT THAT IT WOULD NOT
00:34:12EVER BE PRISSY TO LISTEN FOR
00:34:15THIS IS YOUR MY RESEARCH AND YOU COULD VALIDATE THIS OR NOT NOT
00:34:18BE PERCEIVED THAT SHE WAS THE ONE MAKING THE DECISIONS. THEY WERE HIS DECISIONS.
00:34:22HE WAS NOT SHY ABOUT SAYING THAT.
00:34:25HE OF COURSE, RELIED ON HIS WIFE ADVICE.
00:34:28SHE WAS ONE OF THE BEST ADVISERS AROUND HIM.
00:34:32SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. AND THAT IS A FINE LINE THAT ALL
00:34:35FIRST LADIES WALKED INTO, NOT TO, YOU KNOW, CROSS THE
00:34:40THRESHOLD AS BEING SEEN AS THE POLICY MAKER OR THE DECISION
00:34:42MAKER BEYOND BEING AN ADVISER. YEAH.
00:34:45AND THERE WAS THAT INSTANCE. AND I WANT TO SAY IT WAS WHEN HE
00:34:49WAS A JUDGE, I THINK PRESIDING
00:34:51JUDGE OF JACKSON COUNTY, THAT OF
00:34:53A DOWNSTATE POLITICIAN, HAD
00:34:56ASKED FOR HIS SUPPORT IN RUNNING FOR I THINK IT WAS STATE SENATE
00:34:59OR STATE STATE HOUSE.
00:35:02AND GRANDPA WAS NOT HOME. SHE CALLED THIS GUY CALLED MY
00:35:07GRANDMOTHER BECAUSE GRANDPA WAS TRAINING WITH THE NATIONAL GUARD.
00:35:11TWO WEEKS OUT OF THE YEAR IN JULY OR AUGUST.
00:35:13AND HE WAS HE WAS GOING TO BE
00:35:16HOME PRETTY SOON, BUT RATHER THAN WAIT FOR HIM TO GET HOME,
00:35:18SHE CALLED TOM PENDERGAST, THE BOSS OF THE DEMOCRATIC MACHINE,
00:35:22BOSS TOM, AND ASKED HIM WHAT SHOULD WHAT WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
00:35:25SHOULD, SHOULD HARRY SUPPORT THIS GUY OR NOT?
00:35:29AND PENDERGAST TOLD HER FLATLY, NO, KEEP KEEP HIM OUT OF ALL
00:35:32POLITICAL FIGHTS RIGHT NOW. SO SHE TURNED AROUND AND CALLED
00:35:36THIS SENATE SENATE WANNABE BACK
00:35:38AND LIED TO HIS FACE, JUST TOLD
00:35:42HIM THAT I'M SORRY HARRY WON'T BE BACK FOR WEEKS.
00:35:45HE CAN'T POSSIBLY HELP YOU. SO. BUT SHE KNEW.
00:35:47SHE KNEW WHO TO TALK TO AND WHAT TO DO. AND AND AND HOW TO GET THINGS
00:35:52DONE. I THINK THAT'S SUCH A GREAT EXAMPLE.
00:35:54I THINK ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE TO
00:35:56THE POLITICAL COURAGE THAT SHE
00:35:58HAD IN A RECOMMENDATION THAT SHE
00:36:01MADE TO SENATOR TRUMAN WHEN HE
00:36:04HAD BEEN IN CHARGE OF A SELECT
00:36:07COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THAT
00:36:09ANY FRAUDULENT PRACTICE FRAUD
00:36:13AND AN ABUSE BY DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AND DEFENSE
00:36:17CONTRACTORS. AND SHE HAD ENCOURAGED SENATOR
00:36:21TRUMAN, HER HUSBAND, TO TAKE THIS INVESTIGATE AND AS FAR AS
00:36:24IT NEEDED TO GO, EVEN IF IT
00:36:26IMPLICATED THE PRESIDENT IN THE
00:36:28UNITED STATES AND FOR THAT, YOU
00:36:30KNOW, HE WAS RECOGNIZED PUBLICLY AND I THINK RECOGNIZED BY TIME
00:36:35MAGAZINE. AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY FOR A HERO
00:36:37AND ABOVE A CORRUPT ABILITY IN
00:36:40HIS PURSUIT FOR THE TRUTH.
00:36:42AND I THINK THAT IS A GREAT SIGN
00:36:44OF COURAGE AND ASTUTENESS ON HER PART AS WELL.
00:36:48ONE OF THE STORIES THAT THAT YOU SHARED WITH ME BEFORE WE CAME
00:36:51OUT ABOUT SPEAKING OF HER COURAGE AND HER WILLINGNESS TO
00:36:55NOT BACK DOWN, THERE WAS A LITTLE ISSUE AFTER SHE LEFT THE
00:36:58WHITE HOUSE AND MRS. JOHNSON WAS THE FIRST LADY, AND SHE WAS
00:37:02TRYING TO TAKE AN INVENTORY OF THE FIRST LADY PORTRAITS.
00:37:05COULD YOU SHARE THAT WITH THIS CLIP?
00:37:10SURE. MR. JOHNSON CALLED MY GRANDMOTHER AND THE JOHNSONS AND
00:37:13MY GRANDPA WERE FRIENDS.
00:37:16THEY'RE VERY CLOSE. PRESIDENT JOHNSON CREDITED MY
00:37:21GRANDFATHER WITH WITH LAYING THE FRAME OF THE FOUNDATION FOR
00:37:25MEDICARE FOR FOR HEALTH CARE AND
00:37:29SIGNED THE MEDICARE ACT OF 1964
00:37:32ON THE STAGE AT THE TRUMAN
00:37:35LIBRARY, SIGNED IT ON THE STAGE AT THE TRUMAN LIBRARY AND GAVE
00:37:39MY GRANDPARENTS CARD, ONE CARD TO.
00:37:42I THINK THE NUMBER ON MINE.
00:37:47IS 5,000,365,280. AND THERE'S A LOT OF LETTERS IN THERE TOO.
00:37:51BUT SO THEY WERE VERY CLOSE. THEY ONLY HAD THIS ONE HITCH.
00:37:54MRS. JOHNSON CALLED MY
00:37:58GRANDMOTHER IN 19 I THINK IN 1965 AFTER LBJ HAD WON ELECTION
00:38:01IN HIS OWN RIGHT. AND SHE SAID, MRS. TRUMAN, WE'D
00:38:05LIKE TO HANG YOUR OFFICIAL PORTRAIT AGAIN IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
00:38:09DO YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS? AND MY GRANDMOTHER'S SAID, YES, I DO.
00:38:12IT'S ON MY WALL. AND MRS. JOHNSON SAID, YOU YOU
00:38:16CAN'T DO THAT. THAT BELONGS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
00:38:19AND MY GRANDMOTHER SAID, DALE, IT DOES.
00:38:22IT'S A PICTURE OF ME AND IT'S ON MY WALL AND THAT'S WHERE IT'S GOING TO STAY.
00:38:26AND SO MRS. JOHNSON, THIS WONDERFUL WOMAN, LADY BIRD
00:38:30JOHNSON, SHE SAID, WELL, I'M NOT GOING TO GET ANYWHERE DOING THIS.
00:38:33SO SHE CALLED THE ARTIST GRETA KEMPTON AND HAD MS.
00:38:37KEMPTON PAINT TWO COPIES.
00:38:41ONE OF THEM BELONGS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. THE OTHER IS ON THE WALL AT THE
00:38:45TRUMAN LIBRARY IN THE ORIGINAL
00:38:47IS ON MY GRANDMOTHER'S WALL.
00:38:50I THINK IT BELONGS TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.
00:38:54THAT WAS WHERE WE GOT WE GOT THE PAINTING AFTER ALL. YEAH, BUT SHE HAD TO BE GONE
00:38:59BEFORE WE COULD DO THAT. OH. OH, BOY. THAT WAS THE.
00:39:02THAT WAS THE CHALLENGE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF HAVING A CURATOR
00:39:06FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT MRS. JOHNSON, OF COURSE, HAD TO
00:39:08OVERSEE, AND PRESIDENT JOHNSON ASSIGNED COMMITTEE FOR
00:39:12PRESERVATION OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND ALL THE THINGS THAT THE WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL
00:39:17ASSOCIATION HAD JUST BEEN ESTABLISHED A FEW YEARS BEFORE THAT WERE.
00:39:20IT'S THEIR JOB TO PROTECT THE COLLECTIONS THAT BELONG TO THE
00:39:24WHITE HOUSE. BUT THERE'S ALWAYS A COUPLE OF WAYS IT'S GOING TO CAT AS LONG AS THERE IS ONE IN THE WHITE
00:39:27HOUSE, THAT'S FINE. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
00:39:31I THINK IS INTERESTING IS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE TRUMANS AND
00:39:35WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THEIR MARRIAGE, I MEAN, HER ROLE AS AN
00:39:38ADVISER, THE MANY LETTERS THEY SENT BACK AND FORTH, SOME OF WHICH WE HAVE, SOME OF WHICH WE
00:39:42DON'T, THEY THEY COME FROM VERY
00:39:47DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. HARRY AND BEST TRUMAN, VERY
00:39:49DIFFERENT SOCIOECONOMIC POSITIONS.
00:39:52AND I ALWAYS HAD THE IMPRESSION THAT MRS. WALLACE ALWAYS FELT
00:39:55THAT HER LITTLE BESS COULD HAVE DONE BETTER.
00:39:59AND EVEN AFTER HER SON IN LAW BECAME PRESIDENT, I DON'T THINK SHE CHANGED HER MIND ABOUT THAT.
00:40:03AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT
00:40:05YOUR APOCRYPHAL STORY IS THAT WHEN WHEN MADGE CAME TO THE
00:40:09WHITE HOUSE THE FIRST TIME, SHE LOOKED AROUND AND SAID, HMM, YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER.
00:40:13I KNOW WHAT? I'M NOT SURE THAT'S TRUE, BUT IT
00:40:17SOUNDS LIKE MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER.
00:40:19WELL, THE WHITE HOUSE WAS IN BAD SHAPE AFTER ALL. RIGHT?
00:40:22AND THEY THEY THEY HAD TO PRESIDE OVER THAT. RATS AND ALL.
00:40:26SO I'LL CUT HER A LITTLE BIT OF SLACK. THAT'S RIGHT. BECAUSE ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS,
00:40:29ELEANOR ROOSEVELT TOLD MY
00:40:31GRANDMOTHER WAS THERE ARE RATS. THOUGH.
00:40:35AND SHE WASN'T TALKING ABOUT AIDS.
00:40:38SENATORS, CONGRESS. THE LONG TAILED ONES.
00:40:42YEAH. YEAH. OH, MY GOSH.
00:40:44I, I WAS GOING TO SAY SOMETHING
00:40:48ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH
00:40:51THEIR MOTHERS AND MOTHERS IN LAW.
00:40:53I MEAN, DESPITE THAT SENSE THAT
00:40:56I WOULD FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE
00:40:58THAT HARRY TRUMAN EVER SAID OR EVEN THOUGHT AN UNKIND THING
00:41:01ABOUT HIS MOTHER IN LAW OR THAT OR THAT BESS HAD ANY THING
00:41:06UNFAVORABLE TO THINK ABOUT MAMA TRUMAN I MEAN, I THINK THAT THEY
00:41:09WERE VERY DEVOTED CHILDREN AND GOOD GOOD TO THEIR FAMILY.
00:41:13SHE MY GRANDMOTHER LOVED MAMA TRUMAN.
00:41:15THEY GOT ALONG GREAT.
00:41:17THEY WERE BOTH OUTSPOKEN TO A FAULT.
00:41:21WHEN MY WHEN MY GRANDMOTHER WENT
00:41:24OUT TO THE FARM IN GRANDVIEW, SHE PITCHED IN.
00:41:26YOU KNOW, SHE DIDN'T SIT AROUND AND WAIT TO BE SERVED. SHE HELPED.
00:41:30THEY THEY THEY GOT ALONG BEAUTIFULLY. AND GRANDPA NEVER SAID A
00:41:36CROSSWORD AD ABOUT MADGE GATES. WALLACE THEY REFERRED TO EACH I
00:41:39THINK HE CALLED HER MRS. WALLACE AND SHE REFERRED TO HIM AS MR. TRUMAN.
00:41:43YEAH, BUT THEY THEY THEY KEPT
00:41:45THE DETENTE GOING FOR DECADES,
00:41:50SO THAT'S. BUT NO, YOU'RE RIGHT. THEY DIDN'T. THEY AND BOTH BOTH OF THOSE
00:41:55MOTHERS DIED DURING THE ADMINISTRATION. RIGHT? WELL, YES. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
00:41:59MY MAMA TRUMAN, 1947.
00:42:02I THINK IT WAS.
00:42:04AND HE WAS ACTUALLY ON HIS WAY HOME. HE WAS CALLED HE WAS TOLD THAT
00:42:07SHE WAS NEARING THE END AND HE GOT IN THE PRESIDENTIAL PLANE,
00:42:10WAS FLYING HOME, AND HE WAS SO CLOSE TO HIS MOTHER THAT AS THEY
00:42:14WERE FLYING, HE TOOK A NAP AND
00:42:18HE JUST CLOSED HIS EYES FOR A FEW MINUTES AND HIS MOTHER'S
00:42:20FACE APPEARED TO HIM IN STARTLING CLARITY.
00:42:24AND HE WOKE HIM UP. AND TWO SECONDS LATER, IT WAS
00:42:29EITHER IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DR. GRAHAM WALLACE, GRAHAM WHO POKED
00:42:32HIS, SAID THE OTHER DR. GRAHAM,
00:42:34WHO WHO CAME THROUGH THE CABIN DOOR AND SAID, MR. PRESIDENT,
00:42:37YOUR MOTHER HAS JUST DIED.
00:42:38AND GRANDPA SAID, I KNOW HE THEY
00:42:42WERE VERY CLOSE, VERY CLOSE KNIT FAMILY.
00:42:46AND AND HIS MOTHER IN LAW DIED JUST A FEW YEARS, A FEW YEARS
00:42:50AFTER THAT. YEAH. MADGE DIED IN 1952, AND THAT WAS
00:42:53ACTUALLY THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IT INSIDE. THAT WAS THAT WAS WHEN MY
00:42:59GRANDPARENTS BOUGHT WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE TRUMAN HOME FROM
00:43:01MADGE'S ESTATE. RIGHT. THEY THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN
00:43:05THEIR THEIR LIVES AND THEIR MARRIAGE THAT THEY'D EVER OWNED
00:43:08THEIR OWN HOME. HE LIVED WITH HIS MOTHER IN LAW FOR 30 YEARS.
00:43:12EVEN AS PRESIDENT. RIGHT.
00:43:15YEAH THAT'S THAT IS INCREDIBLE TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT AS
00:43:18A MARRIED COUPLE, THE ONLY HOME THEY EVER OWNED WAS WHAT THEY
00:43:21BOUGHT FROM THEIR MOTHER'S ESTATE.
00:43:23WELL, THERE'S THAT GREAT LINE. AND GIVE THEM HELL, HARRY. YOU KNOW, BEHIND EVERY GREAT MAN
00:43:27IS A PROUD WIFE. AND STANDING RIGHT BEHIND HER IS
00:43:30A SURPRISED MOTHER IN LAW.
00:43:34YEAH. WELL, WE HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY HERE WITH OUR GUESTS
00:43:37TO TAKE A QUESTION OR TWO FROM THE AUDIENCE. I KNOW WE HAVE A A ROVING MIC IF
00:43:41ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO. IT'S ROVING CLINTON.
00:43:45IT'S A ROVING CLINTON. SO IF ANYBODY. OH, WE HAVE A GENTLEMAN HERE IN THE FRONT ROW. I'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION.
00:43:49GO AHEAD, SIR. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TO DO THIS HERE AT THIS
00:43:54INCREDIBLE PLACE. SO MY QUESTION, WITHOUT TRYING
00:43:56TO BE CONTROVERSIAL, BUT IT IS
00:43:58CURRENT TOPIC IS THE EAST WING AND ITS ROLE WITH FIRST LADIES.
00:44:02HOW IS THAT DEVELOPING AT THIS POINT? OH, GREAT QUESTION.
00:44:06SO THIS GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT HOW MUCH
00:44:09THE TRUMANS DID AND MRS. TRUMAN,
00:44:12OF COURSE, IN PROTECTING THE
00:44:15INTEGRITY OF THE WHITE HOUSE. YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS FALLING
00:44:18APART IN THE LATE 1940S AND THEY
00:44:21HAD TO MOVE OUT BECAUSE IT WAS
00:44:23STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND AND HAD TO MOVE INTO BLAIR HOUSE FOR OVER
00:44:27THREE YEARS WHILE THEY ENTIRE BUILDING WAS WAS BEING
00:44:32RECONSTRUCTED. AND YOU KNOW, TRUE TO FORM, THE CONGRESS WANTED TO GO THE
00:44:36CHEAPEST ROUTE TO DO THAT, WHICH WAS TO TEAR THE WHOLE BUILDING
00:44:38DOWN AND RESTORE ART AND WHICH
00:44:42MEANT TAILORING DOWN ALL THE HISTORIC WALLS.
00:44:45WHAT WE AS AMERICANS FEEL
00:44:47CONNECTED TO THAT VISION OF OF
00:44:49THE WHITE HOUSE AND REALLY
00:44:51THANKS TO HARRY AND BESS TRUMAN,
00:44:53WHO REALLY PROTECTED THE WHITE
00:44:58HOUSE FROM BEING TORN DOWN AND
00:45:00USED EVERY WAY POSSIBLE, THEY
00:45:06AND MADE IT SAFER BECAUSE WHAT THEY DID, OBVIOUSLY, THEY HAD TO
00:45:08GO DEEP UNDERGROUND, REALLY DECONSTRUCT ALL THE EQUIPMENT THAT IT TOOK TO REBUILD THE
00:45:12WHITE HOUSE STEEL GIRD. IT ALL BECAME IT BECAME A MODERN
00:45:16BUILDING. FINALLY. BUT TO PRESERVE THE EXTERIOR
00:45:20WALLS, IT WAS THE MORE EXPENSIVE ROUTE.
00:45:22BUT BUT THEY DID THE RIGHT THING.
00:45:26SO THAT'S THAT'S AN EXAMPLE. BUT I HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, BE
00:45:30HONEST. GOING THROUGH HISTORY, WE HAVE HAD MANY EXAMPLES WHERE THE
00:45:33WHITE HOUSE HAS BEEN MODIFIED.
00:45:36THINGS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO IT.
00:45:39COLONNADES HAVE BEEN ADDED. A WEST WING WAS ADDED IN THE
00:45:43TEDDY ROOSEVELT ADMINISTRATION BECAUSE THE STAFF WAS WAS
00:45:47GROWING. THERE WAS A BIG FAMILY THAT MOVED IN WITH THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY.
00:45:50THERE WAS NO ROOM TO HAVE STAFF.
00:45:51AND IN THE RESIDENCE AND THEN
00:45:55ALSO, OF COURSE, IN THE EAST
00:45:57WING WAS WAS BUILT UNDER FDR, HIS ADMINISTRATION, TO
00:46:02ACCOMMODATE IT AND INCLUDE A GROWING STAFF.
00:46:04AGAIN, AND ALSO TO PROVIDE COVER
00:46:06FOR AN UNDERGROUND BUNKER.
00:46:08THIS WAS WAR TIME AND IN EACH OF
00:46:10THOSE INSTANCES, GETTING THE
00:46:14MONEY APPROPRIATED TO DO THAT WAS NOT AN EASY THING.
00:46:17THERE WERE ALWAYS FIGHTS WITH
00:46:19WITH CONGRESS AND IN FACT, EVEN IN THE TRUMAN ADMINISTRATION,
00:46:23AFTER ALL OF THIS EXPENSE TO
00:46:25REBUILD THE WHITE HOUSE, THERE WASN'T A LOT OF MONEY LEFT OVER
00:46:28TO ACTUALLY FURNISH THE WHITE HOUSE AND UP TO THIS POINT,
00:46:32THERE WASN'T A WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION THAT
00:46:35PROVIDES THE PRIVATE FUNDING. THIS ALL HAD TO COME FROM
00:46:37CONGRESS AND PRESIDENT TRUMAN HAD DISPATCHED THE CHIEF USHER
00:46:41UP TO THE CONGRESS TO PETITION
00:46:43FOR MORE MONEY FOR FURNITURE AND
00:46:47AS THEY WERE GETTING READY TO LEAVE THE TRUMAN'S WERE GETTING READY TO LEAVE.
00:46:50BUT STILL, HE WANTED IT TO LOOK BETTER THAN IT DID FOR THE NEW OCCUPANT COMING IN.
00:46:54AND THE RESPONSE FROM THE HOSTILE CONGRESS WAS, WELL,
00:47:00WE'LL JUST WAIT AND SEE WHAT THE NEXT GUY WANTS AND SENT THIS
00:47:02CHIEF USHER RIGHT BACK TO THE
00:47:04WHITE HOUSE WITH NOTHING IN HAND. SO THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A
00:47:08STRUGGLE WHEN PRESIDENTS WANTED TO MAKE CHANGES AND
00:47:11MODIFICATIONS TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
00:47:13NOW, THE CURRENT DEMOLITION OF THE EAST WING WAS STARTLING, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
00:47:17I THINK BECAUSE WE HAD ALL BEEN AT LEAST INFORMED LAST SUMMER
00:47:21THAT THE EXISTING EAST WING
00:47:24WOULD BE PRESERVED, AND THE NEW
00:47:26BALLROOM, WHICH, BY THE WAY, I
00:47:28AGREE WITH, THAT THERE SHOULD BE
00:47:30LARGER, ENTERTAINING SPACE. THE STATE DINING ROOM ONLY HOLDS
00:47:34134 PEOPLE. IT IS DIFFICULT TO HOST BIG
00:47:38EVENTS AND WE HAVE SEEN IN MODERN TIMES THAT SEVERAL PRESIDENTS HAVE HOSTED BIG
00:47:42EVENTS ON THE SOUTH LAWN.
00:47:44IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE TO PUT THESE BIG TENTS TO BRING ALL OF THE
00:47:48INFRASTRUCTURE STAGE WING AND
00:47:51FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT LIGHTING A
00:47:53PORTA POTTIES FOR WOMEN IN GOWNS
00:47:55TO BE USING OUT ON THE LAWN.
00:47:59SO IT WAS NECESSARY. IT WAS A NECESSARY ADDITION.
00:48:02I THINK WHAT WAS SO STARTLING IS
00:48:04WHEN THE DEMOLITION HAPPENED, WE WEREN'T PREPARED FOR THAT.
00:48:07WE WEREN'T TOLD IT WASN'T REALLY COMMUNICATED.
00:48:10WHY THAT WAS NECESSARY TO DO SO
00:48:12AND WHY IT COULDN'T BE PRESERVED.
00:48:15THE GOOD NEWS IS NOW I DID WATCH THE FULL COMMISSION MEETING OF
00:48:19THE NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING
00:48:21COMMISSION, WHERE THE PLANS WERE
00:48:23PRESENTED JUST RECENTLY, AND IT WAS EXPLAINED BY THE ARCHITECTS
00:48:27WHAT THEY FOUND WHEN THEY
00:48:29STARTED TO TO.
00:48:34MITIGATE THE CHANGES THAT WERE
00:48:37NEEDED AND THERE WERE STRUCTURAL
00:48:42PROBLEMS AND THERE WERE THINGS THAT REALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE EXPENSIVE, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO
00:48:46REDO. SO IT REQUIRED THAT THE BUILDING COME DOWN AND BE REBUILT.
00:48:49I THINK IF PEOPLE HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT AHEAD OF TIME MADE NOT NOT
00:48:54EVERYONE WOULD HAVE AGREED, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED THAT
00:48:57INFORMATION BECAUSE THAT THOSE BUILT THAT BUILDING BELONGS TO US.
00:49:01SO THE GOOD NEWS IS, IN THE NEW
00:49:05PLANS, THERE WILL BE A NEW EAST WING. IT'LL BE AN IMPROVED EAST EAST WING.
00:49:08IT WILL BE TERRIFIC OFFICES FOR
00:49:11THE FIRST LADY AND HER STAFF. THERE'LL BE COMMERCIAL GRADE
00:49:14KITCHENS FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR BIG STATE DINNERS BECAUSE THE
00:49:18CURRENT WHITE HOUSE KITCHEN IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF THIS STAGE.
00:49:22AND WHENEVER THERE WERE BIG STATE DINNERS, YOU WERE HAVING
00:49:24TO BRING IN OUT OUTSIDE CATERING
00:49:27EQUIPMENT IN ORDER TO EXECUTE THOSE DINNERS.
00:49:31SO NONE OF THAT WILL HAPPEN. THERE WILL BE A BETTER VISITOR EXPERIENCE.
00:49:34I THINK WHAT WE ALSO HAVE A LITTLE PROBLEM WITH IS THE SHEER
00:49:38SIZE, THE SCOPE IN THE SCALE.
00:49:40DID IT NEED TO BE 22,000FT TO TO
00:49:44HOUSE A THOUSAND PEOPLE FOR A SEATED DINNER?
00:49:47I'M NOT SURE EVERYBODY AGREES WITH THAT.
00:49:50BUT THE FACT IS, WE DID NEED SOMETHING BIGGER THAN WHAT WE HAD.
00:49:53AND THE FIRST LADY AND HER STAFF DESERVE BETTER SPACE THAN WHAT
00:49:57THEY HAVE. AND I CAN SAY THAT WITH ALL
00:49:59CREDIBILITY BECAUSE I SPENT FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OF MY LIFE IN
00:50:03THAT SPACE AND KNEW HOW MODIFICATIONS HAD MADE IT, NOT
00:50:09AS REALLY NOT AS EFFICIENT AS IT COULD BE.
00:50:12THANK YOU. GREAT, GREAT QUESTION. THANK YOU.
00:50:15ANY ANYBODY ELSE? YES, SIR. SO, ANITA AND CLIFTON, I'D BE
00:50:19VERY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING
00:50:21WHAT YOU WOULD THINK.
00:50:23BARBARA BUSH AND YOUR MOM WOULD
00:50:27YOUR GRANDMA WOULD THINK ABOUT
00:50:29THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING TODAY.
00:50:33YEAH, WELL, I'LL JUST SAY, I THINK WE KNOW WHAT BARBARA BUSH WOULD SAY BECAUSE SHE SAID IT.
00:50:38YOU KNOW, BEFORE SHE PASSED AWAY. THERE'S NO SECRET SHE'S NOT ONE
00:50:42THAT EVER HELD BACK HER TONGUE. THAT THAT THAT'S FOR SURE.
00:50:45AND YOU KNOW, AT HER STAGE IN HER LIFE, SHE SHE FELT SHE COULD
00:50:49SAY ANYTHING THAT SHE WANTED TO. SHE ALWAYS DID ACTUALLY.
00:50:53SO I YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS A
00:50:58DIFFERENT ERA. THESE ARE WOMEN OF A DIFFERENT ERA AS WELL.
00:51:02AND I THINK YOU KNOW, BARBARA
00:51:05BUSH WOULD SHE WOULD BE HERSELF
00:51:07AND SHE'D HAVE SHE'D HAVE THINGS
00:51:09TO SAY, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. YEAH, THOSE ARE TOUGH QUESTIONS.
00:51:13THEY THEY CROP UP, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WITH GRANDPA, AS WELL
00:51:17AS MY GRANDMOTHER, HER.
00:51:32YEARS AGO, THE FIRST TIME A PLANE THAT BIG WENT OVER, I
00:51:35DIDN'T KNOW THEY'D EXTEND THE RUNWAY. I THOUGHT THEY WERE LOST, THAT THERE WAS TROUBLE.
00:51:39IT'S AN EMERGENCY LANDING.
00:51:43IT COMES UP. AND I THE WAY I WIND UP WANTING TO ANSWER IT, EITHER FROM MY
00:51:47GRANDFATHER OR THEIR GRANDMOTHER, IS THAT IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU BRING THEM BACK.
00:51:50ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU KNOW, IF YOU JUST PLOP THEM DOWN RIGHT IN
00:51:53THE MIDDLE OF THIS WITHOUT ANY
00:51:56PREPARATION, YOU PROBABLY GET A LOT OF SHOCK FROM BOTH OF THEM.
00:51:59BUT IF YOU HAD THEM WATCHING THE WHOLE TIME, I THINK THAT WHAT
00:52:04YOU WHAT YOU WOULD HEAR WAS, WELL, OKAY, WE DO THIS, WE DO
00:52:08THIS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THIS COUNTRY AND EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, WE REPEAT
00:52:12OURSELVES. WE MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES. WE SWING BACK AND FORTH TO
00:52:17LIBERAL, TO CONSERVATIVE.
00:52:18WE GO AND IT CAN GO EXTREME AND
00:52:22EITHER DIRECTION, IT'S IN THE PLAY. GIVE THEM HELL, HARRY.
00:52:26ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MY WIFE, POLLY AND I WERE ALWAYS SO
00:52:29SURPRISED ABOUT AND LEARNING THIS SHOW AND GETTING READY TO PUT IT ON YEARS AGO WAS THAT
00:52:34IT'S SOUNDS A LOT LIKE WHAT'S
00:52:37GOING ON TODAY AND IT'S THROUGHOUT THAT SHOW AND THEY
00:52:41ARE TALKING ABOUT THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION AND THEY'RE
00:52:43TALKING ABOUT ROOSEVELT'S CHURCHILL.
00:52:46SO WE WE ARE YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IS AS HUMAN BEINGS, WE
00:52:52CREEP FORWARD STEADILY, THE
00:52:54WORLD HOPEFULLY IS GETTING A IT CONTINUES.
00:52:58IT GETS A LITTLE BETTER ALL THE TIME. BUT WE ARE WE ARE ALL GUILTY IN
00:53:02OUR GOVERNMENTS OF MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES OVER AND OVER AND
00:53:06OVER AGAIN AND SWINGING BACK AND FORTH.
00:53:09WE HAVE TIME FOR MAYBE ONE MORE FROM THE AUDIENCE.
00:53:11IF SOMEBODY HAD A YES, SIR,
00:53:14BRINGING IT BACK TO KEY WEST AND
00:53:17WOULD THEY ASK THIS QUESTION? CLIFTON, YOU SEEM TO REALLY
00:53:21ENJOY KEY WEST THAT IMPRESSION AT ALL?
00:53:25WELL, I THINK IT'S FROM THE
00:53:27GENES, FROM YOUR GRANDFATHER. I WOULD ASK THE QUESTION WHAT IT
00:53:31BEST THINK ABOUT KEY WEST AND
00:53:36HIS ACTIVITIES DOWN HERE.
00:53:38SHE TOOK A SHE TOOK THE TYPICAL
00:53:42OF HER GENERATION, I THINK WHEN IT CAME TO KEY WEST.
00:53:45HE NEEDED TO COME DOWN HERE. HE HAD A TERRIBLE COLD. HE WAS WORN OUT.
00:53:49HE WAS STRESSED. HE WOKE UP THE FIRST MORNING UPSTAIRS, RIGHT BEHIND YOU.
00:53:53ALL, AND THE COLD WAS GONE. AND THE STRESS WAS WAS FADING AWAY.
00:53:56AND HE WROTE TO MY GRANDMOTHER, I GOT A GOOD MIND TO MOVE THE
00:53:59GOVERNMENT TO KEY WEST AND JUST STAY. THANK GOD HE DIDN'T DO THAT.
00:54:03IT WOULD HAVE RUINED THE ISLAND FOR ALL OF YOU.
00:54:06BUT HE BUT FOR THE FIRST HIS FOR
00:54:11THE REST OF HIS FIRST TERM, FINISHING OUT ROOSEVELT'S TERM,
00:54:13SHE DID NOT COME DOWN HERE A LOT.
00:54:16SHE CAME MORE WHEN HE HAD WON
00:54:19ELECTION IN HIS OWN RIGHT. BUT FOR HER AND MY MOTHER, THEY
00:54:22WEREN'T HERE NEARLY AS OFTEN.
00:54:24AND SHE REGARDED KEY WEST AND
00:54:28SOME OF HIS OTHER PURSUITS AS A BOYS CLUB KIND OF THING.
00:54:30HE NEEDED TO GET OFF AND CHILL OUT AND THAT WAS FINE WITH HER
00:54:34PLAY POKER ALL OF THAT WAS GOOD
00:54:37FOR HER, YOU KNOW, TO LET HIM
00:54:40RELAX AND BLOW OFF STEAM AND AND TAKE IT EASY.
00:54:43BUT SHE DID ENJOY THE PLACE.
00:54:45AND WE CAME DOWN HERE WITH MY GRANDPARENTS SEVERAL TIMES AFTER
00:54:49AFTER WE WERE BORN. I THINK THE LAST TIME WE WERE
00:54:51HERE AS CHILDREN WAS IN 1969.
00:54:54SO HE DID HE DID COME BACK TO THE LITTLE WHITE HOUSE, THE
00:54:58WHITE HOUSE IS THE FIRST PLACE ANYBODY EVER SERVED ME AND
00:55:00ARTICHOKE I WONDERED WHY THEY
00:55:02DIDN'T LIKE ME. BUT SO WE'VE WE'VE BEEN DOWN
00:55:07HERE WITH HIM AND HE HE DID ENJOY COMING BACK.
00:55:10AND IT IT IT WAS ALWAYS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE TO HIM. AND PEOPLE, OF COURSE, ASKED
00:55:14NOWADAYS, YOU KNOW WHAT WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS YOUR GRANDFATHER'S
00:55:18GREATEST DECISION AS PRESIDENT? AND I KNOW THEY WANT TO HEAR THE MARSHALL PLAN, THE END OF THE
00:55:22WAR IN JAPAN, THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE. I ALWAYS SAY NO PICK AND KEY WEST BECAUSE I GET TO KEEP
00:55:26COMING DOWN HERE YEARS AFTER YEAR.
00:55:29A LOT OF THOSE DECISIONS HAPPENED HERE. THE CREATION OF SO MANY
00:55:33INSTITUTIONS IN OUR GOVERNMENT HAPPENED HERE.
00:55:36SO THIS WAS A GREAT PLACE AND SOMETIMES I THINK IT'S A
00:55:39REMINDER FOR PRESIDENTS, YOU KNOW, IT IS NEVER A VACATION.
00:55:43IT'S JUST A CHANGE OF SCENERY.
00:55:44THE PROBLEMS AND THE ISSUES COME WITH THEM.
00:55:47THE DECISIONS STILL HAVE TO BE MADE WHEREVER THEY ARE.
00:55:51BUT WHAT IS SETTING TO BE RELAXED AND REALLY BE ABLE TO
00:55:55THINK CLEARLY? SPEAKING OF THAT KICK BACK KIND
00:55:59OF CHILL VIBE THAT THAT THEY SAW
00:56:01IT AND FOUND HERE IN KEY WEST. I'VE NEVER THOUGHT OF THE
00:56:05TRUMANS AS BEING SORT OF PRIMA DONNAS OR BEING, YOU KNOW, INSISTING ON BEING SERVED IN A
00:56:09CERTAIN KIND OF WAY. BUT BEST DID HAVE SOME VERY
00:56:11STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT THE WAY
00:56:13CERTAIN THINGS WERE PREPARED. LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A BEVERAGE THAT SHE WAS SERVED IN
00:56:17THE WHITE HOUSE THAT DIDN'T QUITE MEASURE UP TO HER
00:56:21EXPECTATION. I WONDER, CLIFTON, IF YOU COULD SHARE THAT VIGNETTE WITH US, AND
00:56:25CERTAINLY CERTAINLY IT WAS IT WAS NOT A MOJITO. IT WAS NOT HERE.
00:56:30THE FIRST NIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE. SHE ASKED FOR AN OLD FASHIONED.
00:56:34THEY BOTH DRANK BOURBON.
00:56:36GRANDPA LIKED GRANDPA LIKED HIS NEAT.
00:56:39MY MY GRANDMOTHER LIKED AN OLD
00:56:41FASHIONED AND HOPEFULLY, YES.
00:56:46SO SO GRANDPA, MY GRANDMOTHER
00:56:48GOT THE MR. FIELDS. I THINK IT WAS MADE HER AN OLD
00:56:52FASHIONED AND SHE DRANK IT, BUT SHE DIDN'T LIKE IT.
00:56:56AND IF WORD GOT BACK TO HIM THAT SHE, YOU KNOW, TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
00:56:59SO THE NEXT NIGHT HE TRIED A DIFFERENT RECIPE AND SHE TOOK
00:57:02ONE SIP AND SAID, THAT'S STILL NOT IT.
00:57:06SO MR. FIELDS WENT BACK TO THE KITCHEN, THE SAY, THE STAGE
00:57:08SIZED KITCHEN ON THE WAY UP AND TRIED A THIRD RECIPE.
00:57:12AND HE PUT IT IN FRONT OF HER AND SHE TOOK A SIP AND SAID, NO,
00:57:15NO, I'M SORRY. THAT IS STILL NOT IT.
00:57:18AND NOW MR. FIELDS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT IRRITATED.
00:57:21IT'S THE FIRST LADY, BUT HE'S STILL NOT HAPPY. HE GOES BACK IN THE KITCHEN,
00:57:26GETS A FRESH GLASS, PUTS ICE IN IT, DUMPS STRAIGHT KENTUCKY
00:57:28BOURBON OVER IT, TAKES IT BACK
00:57:31OUT AND STICKS IT IN FRONT OF HER. AND MY GRANDMOTHER TOOK A SIP
00:57:34AND WENT FLOW.
00:57:35SO NOW THAT'S AN OLD FASHIONED.
00:57:40I DID THE HOUSEHOLD STAFF REALLY
00:57:42DID LOVE YOUR GRANDPARENTS AND THEY LOVE MRS. TRUMAN.
00:57:45AND SHE WAS VERY RESPECTFUL OF ALL OF THAT.
00:57:48I JUST WANT TO WRAP UP AND GIVE
00:57:51YOU BOTH A CHANCE TO REFLECT IT
00:57:54ON THE NATURE OF BESSIE'S LEGACY BEING BEING A WOMAN WHO IS IN
00:57:58SOME WAYS EVEN STILL MISUNDERSTOOD AND UNDER APPRECIATED.
00:58:02YOU KNOW, HISTORY CHANGES WILL ALWAYS HAVE NEW INTERPRETATIONS OF PRESIDENTS AND FIRST LADIES.
00:58:06WE KNOW MORE ABOUT ELEANOR ROOSEVELT THAN WE DID, YOU KNOW,
00:58:1020, 30 YEARS AGO. BUT NO ONE WOULD SAY THAT SHE'S BEEN OVERLOOKED OR FORGOTTEN.
00:58:13WE KNOW MORE ABOUT JACKIE KENNEDY OR LADY BIRD THAN WE
00:58:17DID, YOU KNOW, 10 OR 15 YEARS AFTER THEY WERE IN OFFICE.
00:58:21BUT BUT NO ONE WOULD SAY THEY DIDN'T GET THOUGHT ABOUT OR
00:58:24TALKED ABOUT, WHEREAS WITH BESS AND SOME OF THE OTHER FIRST
00:58:27LADIES AS WELL, I FEEL LIKE A
00:58:29LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CONTRIBUTION.
00:58:31SO I'D LIKE YOU TO EITHER SAY
00:58:35WHAT YOU THINK IN A NUTSHELL,
00:58:36THAT CONTRIBUTION REALLY WAS AND
00:58:39WHY YOU THINK IT HAS BEEN SO
00:58:42LONG IN BEING RECOGNIZED OR WHAT
00:58:44WE CAN DO TO CONTINUE TO SEE THAT SHE IS RECOGNIZED OR YOU
00:58:48WANT ME TO START? OKAY.
00:58:50WELL, I THINK PROGRAMS LIKE THIS ARE A BIG HELP, RIGHT?
00:58:54AND I THINK THE SCHOLARSHIP, THE MORE OF THE SCHOLARSHIP THAT'S
00:58:57OUT THERE AND THE WRITING IS IN THE STORY, THE FIRST LADY'S ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND
00:59:01EDUCATION, WHICH WE ARE A PART OF, THIS IS OUR MISSION TO GET
00:59:05THE STORIES OUT.
00:59:07AND I THINK TO IDENTIFY THOSE
00:59:13UNDERREPORTED CONTRIBUTIONS AND FACETS OF THEIR CHARACTER THAT
00:59:17WERE EITHER OVERLOOKED FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
00:59:19THE THE PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH
00:59:21THEY SERVED OR MAYBE THEY WERE NOT COVERED AS WELL, DIDN'T HAVE
00:59:25AS MUCH AS A PUBLIC PROFILE AS FIRST LADIES DO.
00:59:30NOW. SO THE UP AND YOU ARE CONSTANTLY UNCOVERING NEW MATERIAL AND
00:59:34INFORMATION. SO IT'S NOT A ONE OFF. IT'S NOT A ONE AND DONE WE HAVE
00:59:37TO KEEP AT IT AND THAT THAT REALLY IS THE THE CHALLENGE OF
00:59:41OUR COUNTRY AND CIVIC EDUCATION
00:59:45GENERALLY FOR ALL OF OUR KIDS AT EVERY AT EVERY LEVEL TO REALLY
00:59:49BE INVESTED IN UNDERSTANDING WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE CAME FROM, WHO
00:59:52ARE THE PEOPLE THAT HELP TO BUILD OUR NATION. MISTAKES THAT THEY MADE,
00:59:56CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THEY MADE AND
01:00:00AND REALLY THE THE IMPORTANCE OF
01:00:02THE UNDER-REPORTED STORIES. SO IT'S FUN TO UNCOVER THESE
01:00:07DETAILS AND AND TO SHARE THEM AND THEN, YOU KNOW, TO HEAR FROM FAMILY MEMBERS AND TO READ THE
01:00:11WORDS OF YOUR MOTHER'S BOOK TO HOW YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS
01:00:16MISUNDERSTOOD AND AND REALLY.
01:00:19SOMETHING THAT ONLY THE FAMILY REALLY KNOWS.
01:00:22SO TO HAVE YOUR SHARING OF STORIES ABOUT THE HUMOR, THE
01:00:26FAMILY LIFE IS REALLY JUST HELPS
01:00:29TO BUILD A MORE THREE
01:00:31DIMENSIONAL NOTION OF EACH OF
01:00:33THESE PEOPLE IN OUR HISTORY. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT
01:00:37PORTRAIT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD REALLY THINK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THAT SHE DID.
01:00:40YOU COME HERE AND YOU YOU LOOK AND YOU SEE AND FEEL HOW THEY
01:00:45SPENT THEIR PRIVATE TIME.
01:00:48IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF A FULLER SENSE OF WHO THEY ARE.
01:00:52AND I AGREE. AND I THINK THAT WITH MY
01:00:54GRANDMOTHER'S TIME, THOUGH, IT
01:00:56WAS A DIFFERENT TIME THAT SHE
01:01:00AND A LOT OF THE FIRST LADIES UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY COULDN'T BE
01:01:04OUT FRONT, THEY COULDN'T DO THIS. BUT TO UNDERSTAND AND HOW MUCH
01:01:08THEY WERE DOING AND HOW MUCH
01:01:10GOOD WORK THEY WERE DOING, THAT
01:01:13ONLY HELPS TO BRING THEM AND I THINK ALL WOMEN OUT OF OUT FROM
01:01:17BEHIND ALL OF THIS, TOO.
01:01:18AND IT JUST IT TAKES US FORWARD
01:01:21TO TO TO UNDERSTAND AND WHO THEY WERE AND HOW MUCH OF AN
01:01:26INFLUENCE THEY HAD AND HOW VITAL THEY WERE TO EVERY PRESIDENCY,
01:01:29EVERY ONE OF THEM, NOT JUST MY GRANDMOTHER, EVERY FIRST LADY.
01:01:33ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE TO THEIR HUSBANDS.
01:01:36THE PRESIDENT'S AND THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR HUSBANDS.
01:01:40AND I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THAT. SORRY. I LOVE THAT. THAT ONE STORY ABOUT MY
01:01:45GRANDMOTHER UNDERSTOOD MY GRANDFATHER VERY WELL. AND SHE DID HAVE INFLUENCE ON HIM.
01:01:47AND THAT'S ILLUSTRATED BY THAT WASHINGTON HOSTESS WHO CAME UP
01:01:51TO MY GRANDMOTHER AT A PARTY AND SAID, MRS. TRUMAN, CAN'T YOU GET
01:01:55THE PRESIDENT TO STOP USING THE WORD MANURE?
01:01:59AND MY GRANDMOTHER SAID, YOU
01:02:01DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'S TAKING ME TO GET HIM TO USE THE WORD
01:02:06MANURE. YOU SEE THAT SENSE OF HUMOR, A
01:02:09SENSE OF HUMOR COMING THROUGH?
01:02:11WELL, IF BESS HAS BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD AND IN THE PUBLIC,
01:02:15SHE CERTAINLY WAS NOT MISUNDERSTOOD BY HARRY WHEN HE WAS ON THE 1948 WHISTLE STOP
01:02:20CAMPAIGN. ONE OF MY FAVORITE LITTLE ANECDOTES THERE WAS HE WOULD COME TO THE BACK OF THE PLATFORM
01:02:24AND GET OUT AND HE'D TALK TO PEOPLE AND GIVE THEM SOMETHING. THE BACK WOULD SAY, GIVE THEM
01:02:28HELL, HARRY. AND HE SAID, I'M DOING IT. I'M DOING IT.
01:02:30AND THEY HAVE HIS LITTLE SPEECH AND THEY SAY, HANG ON JUST A
01:02:34MINUTE. I'M GOING TO SEE. I'D LIKE YOU TO MEET THE BOSS. AND HE'D BRING BESS OUT.
01:02:37AND IF MARGARET WAS UP AND ON THE TRAIN AND READY TO BE PRESENTED, HE'D SAY, NOW LET ME
01:02:41SHOW YOU. LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE BOSS'S BOSS.
01:02:43AND SO, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY BESS AND MARGARET WERE AT THE CENTER
01:02:47OF HIS WORLD. AND NOT JUST HIS EMOTIONAL
01:02:52MARITAL AND PARENTAL WORLD, BUT CERTAINLY HIS POLITICAL WORLD, HIS EMOTIONAL WORLD.
01:02:56EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM.
01:02:59THE SON SORT OF ROSE AND SET OVER THOSE TWO WOMEN.
01:03:02SO SO IT'S WONDERFUL TO GET TO
01:03:04UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT BESS. APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU BEING HERE.
01:03:08AND PLEASE JOIN ME IN THANKING ANITA MCBRIDE AND CLIFTON TRUMAN
01:03:11DANIEL, FOR A FABULOUS EVENING.
01:03:18THAT'S. A LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
01:03:20THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US TONIGHT.
01:03:23REMEMBER THE BOSS,GOOD EVENING.
01:06:42EVENING. MY NAME IS WINNIE AND I'M THE
01:06:45DEAN OF THIS GREAT CATHEDRAL.
01:06:47AND IT IS MY HONOR TO WELCOME
01:06:49YOU ON THE BEHALF OF. THE COMMUNITY OF SAINT JOHN, THE
01:06:53DIVINE I WANT TO THANK OUR PROGRAM TEAM EVENTS TEAM.
01:06:55YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THEM AROUND. I THINK LAURA'S HERE. AND