Booktv has covered many of these candidates. You can watch them on our web site, booktv. Org. Booktv attended a Publication Party in washington, d. C. For author and Time Magazine columnist joe klein. Mr. Kleins latest book, charlie mike, profiles two combat veterans that created Public Service organizations after leaving the military. Mr. Klein mingled with guests and moderated a Panel Discussion about the book. De facto mayors, defacto school principals, and that storys nebraska really been told. Thats what this book is about. Get them to libya. Get them to syria. No. No, we need them here. Oh, i see what youre no, we dont have [inaudible conversations] of them come back, and i talked to the ceo of [inaudible] about creating a way to give people who have had those experiences in military service some sort of formal credit for it. Because it doesnt translate. Ive been fighting this fight. Im a journalist on Everything Else but only for the next year, but im a lobbyist when it comes to these kids. Right. And i have been trying to get the administration to start, lets start a program that would give them, license them for their skills before they get out. You know . We need 70,000 welders in this country, and there are plenty of welders who are coming out of military, but then they have to pay money and go to school. If they come out with a credential oh, thats so sensible. Who could be against that . Well, ill tell you, who could be oh, the unions. Not just the unions, but the state bureaucracies because the state licensing commissions. You know, i was talking to kasich yeah. And i said do you know what it takes to become a truck driver in ohio . 10,000 and three months of training. The guys who drove me over mines in kandahar province, i think they can handle i80. Right. And he said youre absolutely right, and nothings happened. And if it doesnt happen hes one who likes to make things happen. Can you talk to martha [inaudible] no. So shes a representative from arizona. I just interviewed her. Shes doing all these veteran bills, particularly around this issue of getting employment tracks like on Border Security and all of this. And somebody that would be very simpatico. Senator from, really mark warner. No, the other one. Tim kaine. Tim kaine. Ding, ding, ding. Youve got more of your brain left than i do. Not really. [laughter] tim kaine is very interested in this too. Weve had several conversations about it. And i think hes a really good guy. He is a really good guy. I think [inaudible] this is one of those areas you can get bipartisan support well, its supposedly being run out of the first ladys office. Out of who . Do you think it might be jill biden . Shes the one thats more intimately involved in the military. Well, i dont think anybodys gotten tremendously [laughter] you know, my son chris, the diplomat, served in baghdad with beau. Oh, wow. Good for you for documenting what . Is it [inaudible] no, no,. No simon schuster, not even one company, two guys its two guys story through the whole two guys who are linked by a tragedy who go on to start these fabulous Public Service organizations. One of them is eric [inaudible] who founded the Mission Continues and is now running for governor of missouri oh, wow. As a progay rights republican. Proimmigration. Hes running against [inaudible] and one of his first Mission Continues fellows, Mission Continues gives six months Public Service internships for veterans if they come up with a sponsor like habitat or whatever. One of his first fellows was jake wood who was also in the story then, right . Who is the founder of [inaudible] and he and his best friend, clay hunt [inaudible] and developed some rubicon out of that fellowship. Wow. And claying [inaudible] and so the book is the story of them and clays story. And how clays death had this profound and how they adjusted their organizations really changed them. [inaudible conversations] but this has been the great privilege of my life. Who understood the book . [inaudible] priscilla. Yeah. I mean, there are a couple of, i mean, Jonathan Karp really was the one who said to me you write novels, write me a novel, write me a nonfiction novel. Yeah. Theres no prosthelytize anything this book at all. [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] where is he now . Jake . He be here tonight . He was going to be here tonight but his wife has surgery scheduled for tomorrow in l. A. So he cant be here. Eric is doing fundraising s so he cant be here. But were going to have some cool people from both organizations. You know, when i go around the country, weve been in some cases because jake is not only a former navy seal and probably the only navy seal who ever worked for Mother Teresa [laughter] wow. But he [inaudible] really . Wow. Mother teresa, jewish, navy seal, wow. Rhodes scholar. And he, and because of the fact that hes jewish, the Jewish Book Council has imlom glommed on to him, and im doing synagogues in various places, and were combining those events with service projects. With Mission Continues service projects. And [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] part of it is going to take place in the middle east. And a lot of its going to take place in israel. [inaudible] yes, i did. I like him a lot. A couple of big stories on you. [inaudible] i want to write books, and the opening scene, whatever its about [inaudible] [laughter] terminal two is where india or pakistan, all the Worlds Airlines fly in, the biggest sort of melting pots. Its one of the greatest scenes ive ever seen is that terminal. [inaudible] i know. [inaudible conversations] it really is very, very plugged in. I talk to them for five minutes the Italian Restaurant in the crown princes military reserve, do you know about that place . Inside the place . Yes. No, i havent been no, we were the only people there. [laughter] youre actually right. I mean, it was the same thing during vietnam. I can remember interviewing a veteran [inaudible] they didnt necessarily come back into society [inaudible] the theory of my case was that after were doing counterinsurgency, and i went out and embedded, i said to myself theyre going to come back with a [inaudible] for Public Service. I called petraeus, and he said, you know, i hadnt thought of that, i think youre probably right. So he and paula went to work and found he people. Paula . Oh, paula. In fact, theyre both acknowledged in the same paragraph but not in the same, not in the same youre so discreet. Anyway, i really look forward to reading it. [inaudible conversations] they making a movie about you or something . [inaudible] whos following you . Cspan. I love that. [inaudible conversations] ken her ball is [inaudible] rming. [inaudible conversations] also the main thing was that, and i gave him my credentials, he wanted me to become a war correspondent. I think you lied to me about how much war experience i think you deceived me about how much war experience you had. I had been to the middle east a number of times for Rolling Stone and for new york magazine. [inaudible] i hadnt been out on patrol in an area that was 90 taliban controlled before. I wont do that now. I wouldnt do that now. So how are you . How do you like it . I like it a lot. Thats great. We have to get together. We have to get together. And talk about it. These guys, these guys, you should really be getting to spend more time with because theyve had troubles with aid in the past. And it would really be great if the state department could coordinate with them, because their theyre so good at disaster relief. Theyre brilliant. I was there today [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] how are you . Great to meet you. Dave callaway is a veteran who has been setting up combat surgeries throughout the third world to help people out and civilians out in conflict situations. He also runs Emergency Services in the city of charlotte, north carolina, and [inaudible] i do all the stuff thats bad. He once tourniqueted jon stewart. I did. Which was the highlight of my life. [laughter] [inaudible] no, he invented a new kind of tourniquet. He wanted to know some of the stuff that was going on with [inaudible] and a friend of mine invented a tourniquet that they use in the army now. One of my heroes [inaudible] so what year were you there . I was there whats your recent role . Might have been 13. No, it had to be 11. I went there four times in the course of a few years. [inaudible conversations] last year i put my body armor down in the basement [inaudible] spent nine months. My wifes okay with me going. Yeah. [inaudible] you know, these guys are often overlooked. Its a whole of government approach. Yeah. But ive got to say, this was the greatest privilege of my life, you know . Watching them work and writing their story. [inaudible conversations] the interesting thing is [inaudible] you know, we create [inaudible] i was watching these kids, im trying to remember the name of the captain who was there from the 101st. But, you know, i studied counterinsurgency at leavenworth with petraeus and his group. And i was watching [inaudible] this kid whos under fire [inaudible] called petraeus and i said, you know, i think that coupe insurgency training counterinsurgency training is preparing these kids for Public Service. And he said, you know, i hadnt thought about that. And so he started helping me find the people in this book. Really . Anyway, what he [inaudible] yeah, i know. [inaudible conversations] hey this, folks hey there, folks, good evening. Hi there. I just wanted to, i wanted to warmly welcome many fojs, friends of joe, and also people im fortunate to call many of you longtime friends. Its so good to see all of you, and welcome to francos home. Im extremely grateful for him having hosted this evening. Ill say a little bit more about that in a moment. You know, as joe and i have been talking in recent weeks about doing this here in washington, its really occurred to me that in every era in American History there has been in this tremendous infusion of character and strength into the citizenry of the united states. And they are our returning veterans. These men and women, tempered by as we all know from multiple deployments, have made extraordinary contributions to what and who we are as a country and as a people. And most recently, in the last 14 years in iraq and afghanistan and also other places, they have fought to keep us secure. And as we have so often found and as joe has written about so eloquently in charlie mike, once theyve returned home, theyve often, more often than not returned to their community ands tried to answer the question, how do i continue to serve here now that ive transitioned and that im out of uniform . People like eric brighton, people like jake wood, many of you, actually, here tonight who have served. You try to, essentially, charlie mike, or continue the mission in your own way. And i think this is ultimately why were all here tonight, for joe, for the contents of book. Its, essentially, to recognize an outstanding generation of returning veterans, to hear the Inspiring Stories of these men and women and how they are making choices to continue to serve. And i also think how to reflect upon or consider how we, essentially, hear that call to service, how we engage in, as joe would say, active citizenship here in our own lyes. One of lives. One of the things that i wanted to do right now, a word about franco before we proceed with joe and the panel and several of our corporate sponsors who i will ask to come up and say a few words. Franco is someone we all know as a sophisticated entrepreneur, diplomat, philanthropist. And, obviously, being the owner of sort of the legendary cafe milano is but one. One of the things i think is so interesting about franco that people dont often know is how dedicated and commits he has been to our Service Members and to our troops as theyve returned home. And, in fact, hes done this under the radar, and, you know, obviously, not in any sort of a public way. But he spent during the height of both wars a lot of time at walter reed on weekends talking to Wounded Warriors and their families. Again, off the radar, and thats when you know its the real deal. I cant think of a better partner in crime, as i like to call us. I cant think of anyone for whom i really have more respect, and joe as well, more grateful in bringing together this pretty Awesome Group of people tonight. So i wanted to say, franco, thank you very much. I wanted to invite you to come and offer a few words, and i really, really, really appreciate your commitment and how you have made that manifest again here tonight. So, franco, do you want to say a few words, please. [applause] by now you already know my name, welcome to my home. Of course, i want to give a warm welcome to all of you. It is my privilege and deep honor to host this special book party for joe klein. A journalist and an awardwinning author. First of all, let me thank the sponsors for their generous support. And id like to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude to the honorable jane [inaudible] dade gergen, general jones, general john allen, michele flournoy, christian [inaudible] and congressman seth wilson. And the last but not least, Wendy Anderson. Shes the soul of this event. And for most of you dont know, she traveled to italy last week. [laughter] to rome. And spent a lot of hours on [inaudible] thats the reason we got this weather. [applause] shes really incredible and extraordinary, and fashion really brings us together. So a very special thank you to you, wendy. And now let me express my [inaudible] to joe klein for this inspiring book. I truly am very proud to host you, joe. There is no greater responsibility as an american than to acknowledge the men and women who have given everything to serve and protect us, to guarantee our freedom and security. Joe kleins charlie mike is a tribute to our veterans. This is a moving and deep tale of life and death. Page after page is the story of eric and jake fills our heart with hope. For the first time, we see merging from the battlefield a story of lives saved, not devastated. This book is a positive [inaudible] for all of us. And so these two combat veterans who are continuing their mission by helping ohs. So thank you by helping others. So thank you, joe, for this powerful and magnificent project of hope and faith. And welcome home. Thank you. [applause] all right, gang. Im about to throw you over to the real point of the night which is joe and a great group of folks, veterans, who are going to speak with him. I just wanted to say, you know, its really clear to me that joe was inspired to write charlie mike because of the time he spent embedded with our folks down range, mostly in afghanistan. He observed soldiers and marines not just fighting, but building things; government, helping revitalize communities and helping people. And i think hes recognized very clearly through the content of the book that this generation of veterans was going to have a very strong inclination and a natural desire to continue to serve and lead back here at home. From the start hes clearly recognized that their assets, that their seasoned leaders, theyre people who are living lives of consequence and that they had something as a group and as individuals, something very profound, to teach all of us about the way that we participate in our democracy and act as citizens in the 21st century. Thats really what the message is, i think what ive taken the message to be of charlie mike, and its certainly the reason were all gathered here tonight. So im going to introduce joe klein. Thank you. [applause] well, hi. Im kind of blown away. Thank you so much, wendy. Thank you, franco. Thank you to the sponsors. I want to thank all my battle buddies from the wars of New Hampshire and iowa [laughter] and afghanistan and iraq who are here tonight. I see mike boescher who i was in afghanistan with, and i know that there are a bunch of people out beyond these lights who i have spent many, too many, nights in iowa and New Hampshire with. And i also, of course, want to thank the veterans here. You know, thank you for your service has become kind of a cliche. Too often its thank you for your service, but im not sure i want to ohioan you, because you to honor you, because you guys are kind of screwed up, arent you . And so i will thank you for your service, but i want to add four very important words. These four words were first uttered by eric after he got blown up in iraq and was at bethesda naval hospital. And he walked up the wards, and he asked the wounded, the desperately wounded there, what do you want to do next . I had the same experience in military hospitals. They always say the same thing. I want to go back to my unit. And then he would ask them, well, if you cant, or when you get out of the service, what do you want to do . And they would say, well, i want to go back and maybe coach a Little League team or teach or become a cop or a fireman. And, in fact, the polls show that this extraordinary generation, 90 of them want to continue, want to charlie mike, want to continue their service when they come home. And so eric, in a moment of brilliance which is not unusual for him found himself saying to these kids who said they wanted to continue to serve the following four words which i say to the veterans here now we still need you. We really do need you in this country. Because of your values, your disbritain, your sense of community discipline, your sense of community, your sense of purpose. Now, you may wonder how an old political reporter like me got involved in this. And so im going to tell you a quick story, and then im going to invite [inaudible] wendys right, i wouldnt be here tonight if i hadnt been there, but i wouldnt have gone there if i didnt live in a town just north of new york city where nine of my neighbors didnt come home on the night of september 11th. I had thought that i had retired from journalism. Turned out i retired for eight months and eleven days. I had to get back in. For me journalism has always been an education. And i had to learn the military, i had to learn