WEBVTT - How History Will View the 2020 Election

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<v Speaker 1>To say that was a year unlike any we'd ever

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<v Speaker 1>lived through before would be an understatement. America and the

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<v Speaker 1>world experienced the pandemic and economic crisis, along overdue reckoning

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<v Speaker 1>with racism, climate related disasters, including the most active hurricane

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<v Speaker 1>season on record and raging wildfires on the West Coast,

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<v Speaker 1>and as a result of all this, we experienced a

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<v Speaker 1>complete upheaval in the ways we live, learn, work, and

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<v Speaker 1>interact with one another. Amidst all these challenges, Americans held

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<v Speaker 1>a national election, casting their ballots and record numbers, and

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<v Speaker 1>a presidential election that has been a bedrock of our

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<v Speaker 1>constitutional democracy from the beginning. It's taken place every four

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<v Speaker 1>years amidst wars, depression, and the pandemic, from virtual conventions

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<v Speaker 1>to expanded vote by mail and early voting so that

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<v Speaker 1>people could cast their ballots safely and reliably. Election often

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<v Speaker 1>had a different look and field than those of the past.

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<v Speaker 1>In the scope of America's challenges and the widely divergent

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<v Speaker 1>ways the two candidates and parties approached them raise the

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<v Speaker 1>stakes even higher. Our future and our very democracy were

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<v Speaker 1>on the line. That became even more apparent in the

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<v Speaker 1>weeks after election day, as Donald Trump and his most

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<v Speaker 1>ardent enablers tried to overturn the results of a free

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<v Speaker 1>and fair election that he lost and undermine the public's

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<v Speaker 1>faith in our entire system, eventually leading to the disgraceful

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<v Speaker 1>and deadly assault on the Capitol on January six. So

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<v Speaker 1>why am I telling you this? Because with every new

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<v Speaker 1>development in the campaign and its aftermath, it was clear

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<v Speaker 1>we were living through one of the most consequential moments

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<v Speaker 1>in our history, one that would be intensely examined and

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<v Speaker 1>debated for years to come. Against the backdrop of our

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<v Speaker 1>own lives. We were also living history in real time,

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<v Speaker 1>never sure what each new day would bring, and we

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<v Speaker 1>still are. I've been thinking about this a lot lately,

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<v Speaker 1>wondering what future generations will make of all of it,

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<v Speaker 1>and what we as a country and as individuals will

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<v Speaker 1>or will not do to keep us moving forward. It's

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<v Speaker 1>clear to me that President Biden and Vice President Harris

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<v Speaker 1>are doing everything they can to serve everyone and working

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<v Speaker 1>to bring us all back together. But the damage of

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<v Speaker 1>the last four plus years of poison politics is very real.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why I'm so glad to have a friend with

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<v Speaker 1>me today who's one of America's most distinguished historians, the

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<v Speaker 1>person I've learned to turn to when I'm trying to

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<v Speaker 1>make sense of these kinds of questions. Douglas Brinkley is

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<v Speaker 1>a professor of history at Rice University, an amazingly prolific author, commentator,

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<v Speaker 1>and a walking encyclopedia of American history, politics, and culture.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad he's here, and glad we're going to have

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<v Speaker 1>this conversation. Thanks for being here, Doug. Thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>having me, Mr President. Why did you decide to become

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<v Speaker 1>a historian? Well, I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and

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<v Speaker 1>my mother and father were teachers, high school teachers. My

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<v Speaker 1>dad did social studies and my mother was an English teacher,

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<v Speaker 1>which meant we didn't have much money. Um, so we

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<v Speaker 1>had a small house. But what we did have was

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<v Speaker 1>time and time in our summer, and so we got

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<v Speaker 1>a trailer, a twenty four ft Coachman trailer, and my

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<v Speaker 1>mom and dad would take my sister and I all

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<v Speaker 1>over America. I got to visit the lower forty eight

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<v Speaker 1>states by the time I graduated from high school, and

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<v Speaker 1>in particular, they took us to history sites. So I

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<v Speaker 1>would go to Independence, Missouri and see Harry Truman's house,

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<v Speaker 1>where we'd go to Nebraska and and discover the landscape

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<v Speaker 1>of the novelist Willa Cather, or we would go to

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<v Speaker 1>California and look at John Steinbeck's house. On and on.

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<v Speaker 1>The national parks were built into this a lot, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>whether from the Everglades to the Grand Canyon, from North

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<v Speaker 1>Cascades National Park to you know, the the Lake Shores

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<v Speaker 1>in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We went all over

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<v Speaker 1>and I just fell in love with the history sites.

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<v Speaker 1>I would take pictures of myself at the homes of

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<v Speaker 1>former presidents, at at graves of Paul Revere or or

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Abraham Lincoln's tomb, and I just kind of

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<v Speaker 1>became a history nerd. So by the time I was

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<v Speaker 1>going to college, Um, I was debating law or history,

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<v Speaker 1>and eventually I chose to make my profession to be

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<v Speaker 1>a historian. Well, historian, how do you think history will

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<v Speaker 1>review this election? Boy, Um is gonna live for a

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<v Speaker 1>long time. I mean, first and foremost people are going

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<v Speaker 1>to remember, Um, this was the year of the pandemic,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the giant moments in all of US history. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, we've had tragedies of you know, John F.

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<v Speaker 1>Kennedy's assassination in nineteen sixty three, or the Oklahoma City bombing,

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<v Speaker 1>which you led us through UM so admirably, or nine

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<v Speaker 1>eleven with UM George W. Bush. But those the disaster,

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<v Speaker 1>if you like, tragedy happened in a localized way. COVID

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<v Speaker 1>hit everybody, every state, every community, and everybody was asked

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<v Speaker 1>to participate. So it's interesting to me that Joe Biden

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<v Speaker 1>in the end developed the mask as his version of UM.

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<v Speaker 1>The make America Great red caps of Trump meaning a

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<v Speaker 1>symbol of twenty will be Biden's mask because early on

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<v Speaker 1>he decided to lay low in Delaware, only do a

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<v Speaker 1>limited amount of events and make sure he's social distance

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<v Speaker 1>and try to educate the public on the public health

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<v Speaker 1>pandemic that we were suffering through by by example. And

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<v Speaker 1>so I think Biden will be remembered as the mass

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<v Speaker 1>president who did the right thing through the pandemic, where

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump was quite reckless. I think history will also

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<v Speaker 1>look at as a record number of voter participation. I

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<v Speaker 1>find that to be heartening UM, that we really were

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<v Speaker 1>able to run a free and fair election without UM

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<v Speaker 1>foreign interference, and we had record voter turnout which means

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<v Speaker 1>our people in America showed up during a pandemic to vote,

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<v Speaker 1>and so I find that upbeat. But in the end,

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<v Speaker 1>the oddity of um Donald Trump, his strange behavior um

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the pandemic, a holding of rally and Tulsa with

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<v Speaker 1>no mask, and then his botching of of how to

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<v Speaker 1>communicate to the public about the pandemic, really stays. You

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<v Speaker 1>know it's there, and there's the excitement at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the year. I remember Mr President of ninety eight,

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<v Speaker 1>after Nixon and Humphrey and Wallace and the assassinations of

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<v Speaker 1>King and and Bobby Kennedy, the astronauts were on the

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<v Speaker 1>cover of Time magazine in December of nine looking at

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<v Speaker 1>planet Earth and are gearing up for going to the moon.

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<v Speaker 1>When I saw Joe Biden and Kamala Harris first woman

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<v Speaker 1>Vice president uh UM on the cover of Time, I thought, Wow,

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<v Speaker 1>even through this weird, ugly year, we're breaking a first

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<v Speaker 1>in America with Kamala Harris becoming vice president. So I'm

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<v Speaker 1>trying to feel upbeat about our democracy, even though I

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<v Speaker 1>do recognize we're we've got a lot of corrosive issues

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<v Speaker 1>we're having to grapple with. Well, I guess Douglas Brinkley

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<v Speaker 1>after this. I want to welcome Doug Brinkley back and

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<v Speaker 1>say that when we originally talked, it was before the

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<v Speaker 1>attack on the Capitol along January six, and I think

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<v Speaker 1>that it's important to put that into some sort of

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<v Speaker 1>historical context as well as thinking about what it means

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<v Speaker 1>today and going forward. Um So, first of all, let's

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<v Speaker 1>do just the TATA history. Doug, uh, can you tell

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<v Speaker 1>us about some other examples of insurrection in the country's

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<v Speaker 1>history and violence against institutions. What happened? What can we

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<v Speaker 1>learn from it? Well, it is unprecedented what happened on

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<v Speaker 1>January six. I mean, it's going to live in infamy.

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<v Speaker 1>It's going to be one of those moments where the

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<v Speaker 1>video footage is played over and over again, like the

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<v Speaker 1>Kennedy assassination or the planes going into the World Trade Center.

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<v Speaker 1>But when you look back in American history, and we've

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<v Speaker 1>had plenty of insurrections, I think the energy of the

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<v Speaker 1>Trump insurrection you could see parallels with the No Nothing

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<v Speaker 1>Party of the eighteen forties. In eighteen fifties, the know

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<v Speaker 1>Nothings were vehemently anti Catholic. They had conspiracy theories, about

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<v Speaker 1>how the pope was going to run America. They wanted

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<v Speaker 1>America to stay a white Christian Protestant country. So German

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<v Speaker 1>and Irish immigrants coming to America, we're getting killed, stoned, hazed, um.

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<v Speaker 1>And it really grew in power the know nothing things.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, former President Millard Fillmore was drafted as ex

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<v Speaker 1>president to lead the No Nothing Party. People like John

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<v Speaker 1>Wilkes Booth considered himself a know nothing. The leading congress

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<v Speaker 1>people in Massachusetts, in Maryland became know nothings um. And

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<v Speaker 1>of course that led that tension of that anti immigration

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<v Speaker 1>view kind of fizzled out once we got into the

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<v Speaker 1>Buchanan presidency and we are on the doorstep of the

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<v Speaker 1>Great Civil War. And nothing talks insurrection more than the

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<v Speaker 1>Civil War. I mean the fact that Abraham Lincoln had

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<v Speaker 1>to take a train ride from Springfield to Washington, d C.

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<v Speaker 1>With the assassin's lurking, going into an executive mansion that

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't protected, and the thought that when the Fort Sumner

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<v Speaker 1>happened in the Southern States broke, Lincoln was just surrounded

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<v Speaker 1>by basically insurgents. Uh. And incidentally, the no nothings I

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<v Speaker 1>see having very similar attributes and people that joined the

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<v Speaker 1>Tea Party movement for example, or Q and od uh.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a feeling in America about conspiracy, ease that elites

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<v Speaker 1>were Masons, and there be used to be a great

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<v Speaker 1>anti Mason movement that somehow these elites were had a

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<v Speaker 1>secret cabal in society. So the other Americans formed their

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<v Speaker 1>own sort of secret cults to try to beat up

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<v Speaker 1>on the elites. And so I see a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>currents I recognize. However, with social media added into the mix,

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<v Speaker 1>which has never before happened in American history, I really

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<v Speaker 1>worry about the continuation of other January six, if not

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<v Speaker 1>an attack on our capitol, but you know the need

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<v Speaker 1>to secure federal and state buildings. There is a real

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<v Speaker 1>anti government movement alive and will in our country right now.

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<v Speaker 1>And do you think there's going to be a long

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<v Speaker 1>term impact. You know, I think that where this whole

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<v Speaker 1>year will be getting more puzzle pieces for January six,

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to be its own realm of study. There

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<v Speaker 1>will be universities that have January six scholars um and

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to It's why Nancy Pelosi correctly in my mind,

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<v Speaker 1>called for a nine eleven commission like report we just

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<v Speaker 1>need to gather more and more data, um, not just

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<v Speaker 1>for the sake of helping the FBI or law enforcement

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<v Speaker 1>find perpetrators of the capital raid, but just to start

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<v Speaker 1>let us understand what happened. And so that's gonna work

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<v Speaker 1>itself through for a couple of years here, this neo

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<v Speaker 1>civil war we're in right now. You and know better

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<v Speaker 1>than I, but I think it's going to go on

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<v Speaker 1>for a while. I don't see uh Joe Biden, who

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<v Speaker 1>is doing an incredibly great job as president and calming

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<v Speaker 1>our country and showing leadership and statesman like qualities, But

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to take us a while. Uh. The great

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<v Speaker 1>poet Robert Frost used to say, the only way out

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<v Speaker 1>is through. Only we're going to get out of this

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<v Speaker 1>this mess we're in politically is to kind of go

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<v Speaker 1>through all the steps that it could take a few years.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna have a hard time that. Already. They're literally

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred bills introduced in the state legislatures by Republicans

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<v Speaker 1>to make it harder to vote. One in Georgia says

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<v Speaker 1>you can't have vote my mail anymore unless you've got

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<v Speaker 1>a good reason not to vote on election day and

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<v Speaker 1>you have to have an affidavit swearing to that, putting

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<v Speaker 1>yourself at legal risk. And it's chilling stuff like this everywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>There are amendments and offered in my state legislature of

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<v Speaker 1>my native state Arkansas, basically trying to control what what

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<v Speaker 1>the courts can do and what cases they can hear

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<v Speaker 1>and things like that. I mean, this is all over

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<v Speaker 1>the country. So they're just as active as they were before.

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<v Speaker 1>They're energized, and they believe that they nearly won. And

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<v Speaker 1>so we're just gonna have to keep fighting this. And

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<v Speaker 1>for the President his administration, the most important thing to

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<v Speaker 1>do is produce just produced results people can feel. Where

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<v Speaker 1>were you on January six, Mr President, you were in

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<v Speaker 1>Chappa Claw and you started watching all of this unfold?

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<v Speaker 1>What what did you think? What was your your fears?

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<v Speaker 1>And did it ring your Oklahoma City bell or it did?

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<v Speaker 1>But I have to say, if you look at what

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<v Speaker 1>we saw on six, I knew that Trump said I

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<v Speaker 1>you'll have a peaceful march. I heard him say that,

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<v Speaker 1>but he was encouraging them to do what they did.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, he used to do the same thing in

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<v Speaker 1>with his rallies. You know when he said, uh, he'd say,

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<v Speaker 1>beat the hell out of the protesters at his rallies?

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<v Speaker 1>Are you know, maybe his second amendment? People could take

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<v Speaker 1>care of Hillary? And no one took him seriously. I

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<v Speaker 1>mean not no one. I took him seriously, but but

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<v Speaker 1>I think a lot of people didn't. What I saw

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<v Speaker 1>that day was profoundly troubling, but I did not realize

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<v Speaker 1>myself until later in the day, and then as the

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<v Speaker 1>days unfolded how much actual danger members of Congress were

0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:20.600
<v Speaker 1>under at the time. That they could have been viewed

0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:25.160
<v Speaker 1>as just a crazy mob having fun, you know, trashing

0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:28.760
<v Speaker 1>the capital, which was terrible, but you can repair things.

0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.440
<v Speaker 1>But it's obvious that a lot of them were there

0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:37.880
<v Speaker 1>under an under a planning program and intended to do

0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.960
<v Speaker 1>what they did and intended to They thought they could

0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:45.280
<v Speaker 1>intimidate a number of these Congress people and the Vice

0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:50.840
<v Speaker 1>president into changing their opinions. And because Donald Trump told

0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:56.160
<v Speaker 1>him that's all it would take, they actually believed him.

0:15:56.280 --> 0:16:10.760
<v Speaker 1>We'll be right back. The historian Brinkley, who do you

0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:15.680
<v Speaker 1>believe is the most consequential person in American history and

0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:18.680
<v Speaker 1>if you will, in world history that most people don't

0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:22.200
<v Speaker 1>know much about. Boy, there I have a few that

0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.640
<v Speaker 1>quickly jumped to mind one I know you would agree

0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:29.120
<v Speaker 1>with in recent times as Dolora Suerta. UM. You know,

0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:33.200
<v Speaker 1>she's people are looking for a Latino leader, and there

0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.120
<v Speaker 1>she is in our mist and when you really read

0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:39.720
<v Speaker 1>her backstory of bravery working with Caesar Chavez in the

0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:44.160
<v Speaker 1>fields and as an organizer, she's somebody that really deserves

0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:49.760
<v Speaker 1>a definitive biography and a lot more attention to. UM.

0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:54.920
<v Speaker 1>I think Dwight Eisenhower's performance in World War Two, while

0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.000
<v Speaker 1>we all honor it was really quite remarkable the way

0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.840
<v Speaker 1>he dealt with all the egos of British generals and

0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:06.120
<v Speaker 1>people like Pattent and with the way that Ike's personality

0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:09.479
<v Speaker 1>was able to kind of keep a steady hand, uh

0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.520
<v Speaker 1>throughout World War Two. We probably owe eyes and how

0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:16.840
<v Speaker 1>were more gratitude for his leadership during the war than

0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.399
<v Speaker 1>we then we give him um. And then there's somebody

0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.280
<v Speaker 1>I've why I've kind of might made a hobby out

0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:27.400
<v Speaker 1>of Mr President named Charles Thompson, who was the Secretary

0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:31.520
<v Speaker 1>of the Continental Congress when our nation was founded, and

0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.679
<v Speaker 1>he kept all the minutes at Independence Hall, you know,

0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:37.679
<v Speaker 1>the records, and he'd also have to reimburse Jefferson and

0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:42.600
<v Speaker 1>Adams for lodging and food and all of this. But he, um,

0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.720
<v Speaker 1>he kind of was our did an amazing job to

0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:49.719
<v Speaker 1>fund Washington's army. So when you read George Washington at

0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.919
<v Speaker 1>Valley Forge and the men of the Continental Army are

0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:58.119
<v Speaker 1>freezing and have dysentery and uh, they're really their toes

0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:03.520
<v Speaker 1>are falling off, and it's Washington writing Thompson, I need munitions,

0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:08.119
<v Speaker 1>I need blankets, I need medicine. And his ability to

0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.880
<v Speaker 1>find things that Washington needed during the war. And then

0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:14.920
<v Speaker 1>Thompson's the one who chose the eagle as their national

0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:20.119
<v Speaker 1>symbol when Ben Franklin wanted the wild Turkey. Yeah, and

0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:23.720
<v Speaker 1>he then designed Thompson the Great Seal of the United States.

0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:27.239
<v Speaker 1>And he was against slavery. He was an abolitionist and

0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:30.959
<v Speaker 1>also wanted quality for women, and I was a lawyer

0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:35.200
<v Speaker 1>defending Native American rights. He ran the Sons of Liberty

0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:39.639
<v Speaker 1>like Sam Adams ran it in Boston, Charles Thompson ran

0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:43.920
<v Speaker 1>it in Philadelphia and was the top beer maker brewer,

0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:47.119
<v Speaker 1>and that period of America. Well, Sam Adams now has

0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:50.119
<v Speaker 1>a bottle of beer named after him. Nobody's named the

0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:54.360
<v Speaker 1>bottle after Charles Thompson, who was actually a more successful

0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:57.280
<v Speaker 1>brewer than uh Sam Adams. So one day I hope

0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:01.960
<v Speaker 1>somebody does a book on Charles Thompson. I think you've

0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:04.359
<v Speaker 1>probably just inspired two or three hundred people to start

0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:08.680
<v Speaker 1>looking at it. Give us a travel recommendation. You talked

0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:12.399
<v Speaker 1>about traveling as a child, all these places that my

0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.320
<v Speaker 1>dear love American history. What or two or three places

0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.200
<v Speaker 1>you to want your children to see now to learn

0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:22.640
<v Speaker 1>about the pass in the future. That's my favorite question

0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.200
<v Speaker 1>you can ask me. Because I'm a I'm a real

0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:30.080
<v Speaker 1>road person. I love to go explore America. Underrated UM

0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:33.040
<v Speaker 1>is back to that upper Midwest. If you go to

0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:38.440
<v Speaker 1>Minneapolis St. Paul and go to um Lake Minniaca right

0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:40.400
<v Speaker 1>there near the cities, but then go to the St.

0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:45.040
<v Speaker 1>Croy River along the Wisconsin border and then north where

0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:48.760
<v Speaker 1>voyagers Um National Park is and nobody really goes in

0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.280
<v Speaker 1>northern Minnesota. But then in Michigan if you go to

0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:57.080
<v Speaker 1>Lake Travis and I'll royal parts, but there's a national

0:19:57.760 --> 0:20:02.119
<v Speaker 1>lake Shore I recommend to everybody called Leaping Bear National Lakeshore.

0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.480
<v Speaker 1>These giant sand dunes that go into the lake. UH

0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:09.679
<v Speaker 1>in northern Michigan, and so vacationing up there in the

0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:14.920
<v Speaker 1>summers in Minnesota, Michigan is um particularly when the weather

0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:17.679
<v Speaker 1>gets warmer in the summers. That's cool up there and

0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:20.960
<v Speaker 1>you don't have the crowds of Cape Cod or or

0:20:22.000 --> 0:20:25.359
<v Speaker 1>around Seattle or somewhere that that leaps to mind. And

0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:29.520
<v Speaker 1>then just Utah to go see the canyon lands, arches

0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:33.479
<v Speaker 1>in Zion and Bryce Canyon, what you did for Grand

0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:37.920
<v Speaker 1>Escalante and saving that part of the Colorado Plateau which

0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:41.520
<v Speaker 1>you can go get lost in the Red Rock wilderness

0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:44.399
<v Speaker 1>and you can find solitude and you can hike, and

0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:47.520
<v Speaker 1>they're all these little towns there. I'm proud that Utah

0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:51.280
<v Speaker 1>has become a National park state that you can really

0:20:51.359 --> 0:20:55.280
<v Speaker 1>go and travel. And FDR envisioned it is that FDR

0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.199
<v Speaker 1>planned Utah to be a National park state as a

0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:00.560
<v Speaker 1>way to raise income for the state. And he did

0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:04.119
<v Speaker 1>the same for Vermont for ski lodging, and he thought

0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:08.439
<v Speaker 1>recreation dollars coming into those states would help defer some

0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:12.720
<v Speaker 1>of the mining or types of extraction industries that could

0:21:12.720 --> 0:21:16.480
<v Speaker 1>be harmful for the land. So there's nothing like Utah

0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:18.919
<v Speaker 1>parks um if you get a chance to go to

0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:22.560
<v Speaker 1>them and then in Arizona to the Grand Canyon. Thank

0:21:22.600 --> 0:21:28.119
<v Speaker 1>you very much. Um, I can't thank you enough. I

0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:31.160
<v Speaker 1>take it. I can close by saying that, on balance,

0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:36.680
<v Speaker 1>you still believe America has better days ahead. Absolutely, and

0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:41.399
<v Speaker 1>that's what matters most. So thank you Doug Brinkley, and

0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:44.280
<v Speaker 1>I hope our listeners enjoyed this. If you have any questions,

0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:47.840
<v Speaker 1>you can contact Doug or figure up some of his books.

0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:51.560
<v Speaker 1>You'll like them all. Thanks, Thank you, Mr President. That

0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:55.639
<v Speaker 1>was fun. Why am I telling you? This is a

0:21:55.640 --> 0:21:58.760
<v Speaker 1>production of My Heart Radio, the Clinton Foundation and at

0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:04.200
<v Speaker 1>Will Media. Our executive producers are Craig Manascian and Will Malnadi.

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<v Speaker 1>Our production team includes Mitch Bluestein, Jamison cat Sufis, Tom Galton,

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah Harrowitz, and Jake Young, with production support from Tyler

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<v Speaker 1>Scott and LaTavia Young. Original music by What White. Special

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<v Speaker 1>the work of the Clinton Foundation. So thank you. Hi.

0:23:07.359 --> 0:23:11.800
<v Speaker 1>I'm Dr Mike Kimpill, Director of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program,

0:23:11.960 --> 0:23:14.760
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<v Speaker 1>Lyndon Baines Johnson. President Clinton often says that the key

0:23:23.080 --> 0:23:26.600
<v Speaker 1>to great leadership is in finding our common humanity, something

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