Would Lbj News Today

Into account everything thats happening on the immigration front. incredible challenges that we have in ensuring that latinos are also receiving equal treatment under the law. if it is a relay race then the next person grabbing this baton better pay attention to this issue. >> i like that you immediately started to expand the definition of civil rights. raul, i want to come to you in part on this because i think if we think about civil rights exclusively about african-american politics, then the...

Must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry, he really meant all of us, including hi , himself, right? so this suggests that that same tempered notion that president obama was giving us, when we look back at lbj, we see these great legislative applicators but it is always still just partial. its never fully there. >> definitely. thats the matter of legislation. you can only take it to a certain point. behavior has to change, and that behavior has changed in many, many ways. obama symbolizes so...

Question, which is immigration and the extent to which civil rights as a central issue of our day right now is about immigration. were going to ask this question, why is there a hunger strike in fronting of the white house right now. >> half a century later, the laws lbj passed are now as fundamental to our conception of ourselves and our democracy as the constitution. and the bill of rights. they are foundational. an essential piece of the american character. did you knowe vital nutrients as yo...

>> amy, i sort of like this president obama rhetorically better. i love -- i loved the yes, we can, especially for campaigning, like i said that as a strategy. but i appreciate that he tempered the sort of performance of hope that he often does by suggesting, man, this is hard and we may not be making much progress right now. >> well, i think the key word there is "we" because with this whole looking back 50 years to lbj, i think the critical point is you have to go beyond lbj as even obama refe...

Going to push him to do. and i think clearly right now, the movement that is pushing the hardest, that is the most organized, is the immigrants rights movement. and the question is not so much what is obama going to do but what are people demanding. >> well, i always look at the civil rights act and voting rights act and the immigration act -- i can see him moving into this. we saw george bush do this in 2006 when he started to break away from cheney. you start to think about your legacy. i thin...

Id get my butt kicked. >> total mega panel honesty and integrity. this group is going to stay around. after this, photo graphs from a different time in american history. the controversial presidency of lbj and the lessons we can apply today. everyone in america depends on the postal service. i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, theyre looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. its gonna cost us m...

>> all right. the book is "lbj and the presidency." hard to imagine a better title. thanks for taking the time to share that with us today. and thanks as always to our long-serving mega panel, karen, susan, and jimmy. thanks as always. straight ahead, the the madness begins. will you skip work to watch the games? well explain right after this. ♪ you are my sunshine, my only sunshine ♪

Several issues. im wondering, without those two traits, do you think an lbj who had all three would be able to breakthrough this gridlock today? >> i think you have to have that across the aisle too. i think obama has shown a willingness to compromise. i dont think thats been reciprocated by the opposition party. i was in a conference last weekend where barbara bush said that compromise in washington has become a dirty word. compromise is the only way to get things done in washington. it seems l...

Would lbj be as effective today? >> thats difficult to say, but remember the media is extraordinary important. we have a 24/7 news cycle which we didnt have back then. he didnt present the best face on camera. but again, lbj understood how to get things done. people who mattered to say yes. thats still vitally important in american politics. it was then. it is now. >> well, it does -- just a couple seconds left. it does suggest theres a rage in politics for people to present themselves as the ou...

This. all the people who knew him as well as johnson himself to tell the story of lyndon johnson and his presidency. you get different perspectives everywhere. my goal was to have a balanced perspective of who this man was and what he means to this country today. >> jimmy has a question for you. >> so mark, i have read the master edit. i will read the book. but if you were in washington today and you were sitting in the senate as a top staffer or senator and you had the thought and knowledge of ...