Michael is a radio show host and author and film critic. He is the former chief film critic for the New York Post and cohost of pbs Weekly Program sneak previews. He has a Daily Radio Program which airs on over 300 stations across the country and reaches 5 million listeners. Is written 13 books including hollywood versus america and the ten big lives about america. Please join me in welcoming michael. [applause] thank you everybody for coming up. For sampling some of the joys of the christmas season. We can say christmas season, we can say Holiday Season if you prefer. But president elect trump says we can say Merry Christmas again. So Merry Christmas to everybody, happy hanukkah, that, they actually fall about the same time this year. In fact exactly the same time this year which is unusual. Before i begin i want to introduce this book. My wonderful wife were coming up to her 32nd, she doesnt recognize it that shes 32. But of like to say thank you to my wife doctor diane medved. Dance new book is coming out in march from and it is called dont divorce its not addressed to anyone in particular but its addressed to everyone in general. Its a terrific book. I cant wait to be sitting in the audience for her presentations about that book. I also cant wait for your questions. I think thats particularly because were fortunate to have cspan with us tonight. That will be important and dramatic. I look forward to it. But i want to begin by anticipating three questions that are inevitable. Theyre going to come up anyway so lets deal with them now. Question number one, which i will get to at the end. Question number one is pardon the expression, the elephant in the room. Its the obvious question is something i wasnt expecting to have to deal with when i said ill try this book. The question is, you argue in the american miracle Divine Providence in the lives of the republic, you argue that there is special protection, special blessing for the United States of america. And yes, i do. I have radically agree with the iron chancellor, the guy who really welded together the modern german state. In 1898 chancellor bismarck said, god gives special protection to imbeciles, drunkards, lost dogs, the United States of america. He recognized it, generations of scholars have recognized it, but how can we recognize that special protection in a season when we have just experienced a president ial election with the two least popular candidates ever. Ever. I mean the disApproval Ratings for secretary clinton and for president elect trump were skyhigh. There is no doubt president elect trump has momentum and theres much greater momentum. But but he just won an election, right. His Approval Rating just skyrocketed all the way to 50 . Now its much better, it was in the 20s at one point. But still, if god protects america, if the will of history protects this country how did we end up with this particular election where virtually everyone i know, whichever side you ended up on was egg and i still about the decision of the process. Question number two is more straightforward. That is, how is is it that you ended up writing this particular book . What was it about the topic that got you to do this book . We will get to that. The third question is, lets say there is a skeptic out there and there are probably skeptics here tonight who say, okay this is just coincidence. The stuff you read about in the american miracle since a miraculous. Its just a bunch of random circumstance that fits together. In fact, the, the very first week we been very fortunate. We got into official bestseller territory at amazon today. The reviews on amazon have been basically all fivestar reviews, the first hostile review appeared today. The guy made precisely that point. He said i disagree with the author because what he is talking about is easily explained. You dont dont have to use any kind of supernatural its just fortunate and it happens. By the way, the more sympathetic party brought back in response and said people go back and forth like that on amazon said you obviously do not read the book, which he didnt because he anticipates that argument. But the truth is he acknowledged in the response that no, he only read the sample chapter that you can get on the website. So hes gonna try to take on the book without even buying it. Thats a terrible thing. In any event, we will get to that third question as well. The me take the middle question first. It really shouldve been the first one in order. I wanted to get the first one out there and then come around at the close the circle. The first question wasnt about this book about this topic and line of argument that was so compelling to me. It has to do with family history. I did this book in part and memory to my late father. My father was american miracle. My grandpa came to this country in 1910. He never went to school. I when i say say never went to school, he never went to school. Lincoln went to school a total of six months. And he ended up being the best prose stylist in english history. My father spoke year, he was from ukraine. He lived in a tiny town he was from melnyk. I know it all sounds like youre clearing your throat. Its one of the great things about ukrainian names. My grandfather comes to philadelphia in 1910. He has a plan. His plan is basically he is going to work long enough and earn enough money to send money home so his wife, my grandmother and her six children can make it across the ocean and join in philadelphia. That takes a lot of work and saving when youre working to be able to do that. And i grew up with this. And then have the opportunity to check it and it really is true, you can check the shipping records and all that. My grandmother was six children and her father started out and started riding the train through ukraine into the border with what was then germany and they arrived at the beginning of august and 1914. War had just broken out, world war i and they werent allowed to cross the border because they were enemy aliens. The bloodiest chunk of that war was between russia, germany and austria. So they ride the train back and during the course of the war the Russian Revolution three years later and then the russian civil war which lasted six more years, the russian civil war did not end until 1923. They are struggling for our way, separated from my grandfather and five of my fathers sisters, they were all girls, died. There is one survivor, my uncle. Finally in 1924 they got out. They came to america, my uncle was 20 my grandmother was in her late 40s. And my grandfather just turned 50. They came to philadelphia, they reunited and it was tearful and can you imagine separated for ten years, having lost five children and then the tragedy that my grandmother got sick when she came here. She was terribly worried because they had no money, they cannot pay for doctors and she could not keep down her food. She was convinced there was a tumor in her digestive track because she cannot eat and cannot keep food down and she felt this thing growing. She went to see a physician, a dr. , my uncle isaac. And he examined her she was tearful, my grandmother who i knew was a tearful person. She could as they say she could cry on a good piece of chicken. She like to cry. She had light blue eyes. So uncle isaac examines her. They sit down and shes crying and she says to me to tell you what it is and she cries and says yes its a tumor is that it and he says its not a tumor its a baby. And then she says its not possible, cant be a baby. Ive been away from my husband, im away from my husband im not in the way of women. The dr. , uncle isaac smiles and says look, your name is sarah is in it . And it was, and the baby was my father. The american miracle, his nickname in south philadelphia really, and i knew i knew people who still refer to my dad this way was tomorrow which will tumor. Because this would neighborhood lore everyone knew that she had a tuber and it turned into my dad. My dad growing up in south philly with people who had never been to school was kind of a star in school. He won the mayors scholarship in philadelphia and then he fought through the navy in the war i got out of the war went to the university of pennsylvania in undergraduate and two masters degree at a phd in physics and he had an amazing life. And the one thing that he never shied away from was a sense of wonder and blessing and destiny. About his parents coming to this country. The First American born child and he was conceived right after my grandmother came to the United States of america. This land of new life, this land of fresh starts, this amazing blast, spectacular land. My dad was 22 when i was born. And he is to take me around in philadelphia to Historic Sites to Independence Hall were both the constitution and i write a great deal about the Constitutional Convention of the miracle about the convention in the book. And he infused me the idea that this is amazing stuff. He took me out to valley forge. My dad used to do word pictures and say this is where George Washington was on his big horse and i was four years old. If he had that sense you love history it isnt just a bunch of accusations in his days series of miracles that is the impulse of lead me to write this book. I always try to pass on to our own three children that i try to communicate in the radio show the history with faulkner is great quotation is passed is not dead it is not even passed. That is exactly the point. We need to live with a sense of gratitude for the amazing existence of this country and survival of this country the other question about cutting guide who protects the United States allowed a choice between trump and clinton . We will get to that but then the yen their question is how do you argue one that this is not just coincidence . And what is fascinating to me the fellow who did the negative review them actually to me is the bizarre and strange story that many of you know that one day one remarkable 24 hour day coming it is the of 50th anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence and people being biblically e literate at that time and were religious someone form time or another. The biblical jubilee. In the bible every six years you have the jubilee and you were to proclaim liberty throughout the weekend and that this ascribe of the of liberty bell. With this grand jubilee year that the population has grown god for muskrat a straggling group of colonies basically into economic and military powerhouse in very short order. Where celebrating because john adams was 90 years old and alive and well his son philip said the white house says president John Quincy Adams amazing. So Thomas Jefferson he recognized jefferson was the of best writer of those who did fix their name only three were still living typically the Life Expectancy was more than 20 years last and people thought we were incredibly fortunate. For but reportedly the last words word jefferson survives. But he didnt. He died in six hours earlier. The only president s to die on the same day. To say november 22nd, 1963 huxley dies and jfk dies. So what . By the way trump that. Then c. S. Lewis died. That this is like a joke but they have nothing in common. Jefferson and adams have everything in common november 22nd, 1963 was the other day until the death of john kennedy. That was a special day even before the two giants died on did. So the odds of this happening you have about the same mods of this happening on the 50th anniversary july 4th and the president s to die on the same day in the other two by the way the only another one president to die in july july 4th was james monroe a founding father five years later. It is about the same laws as drawing a royal flush 45 times in a row. It is not normal. And that story and one other story that has to convince you something is going on. Abraham lincoln is such a familiar figure we feel that we know him are what he looks like but we really lose the sense unless you go back just how weirton everything about him is. It is incredibly weird and illogical he ever became president and not just because steve grew up for in did not own shoes or a formal education un to school a total of six months he did not come with a distinguished background. He came from the most disadvantaged imaginable background and was not a successful politician he was not reality tv star or former senator he ran for senate three times and lost everytime. He only one major race in the selected a single term then he went to congress to oppose the mexican war destroyed his popularity and so goes his National Political career. The fact he was nominated is a miracle the fact teeone is the mayor called even more them at and the journey that he took from a religious skeptic is a predestined land of promise not the Promised Land but a land of promise that main lincoln simply amazing. But one of the three stories that i highlight in the book involves the emancipation proclamation. In the summer of 1862 no speechwriter or president ial assistant he reads into his cabin and and his principal advisor to was not the exxon will executive. [laughter] a u. S. Senator and former governor of new york fairly remarkable in his own right said mr. President buchanan issue this proclamation now we have lost battle after battle after battle of the second bull run the campaign in the battle of pole run they were beaten every turn by the confederates in the southerners few cannot issued a proclamation. And he agreed. How high he told him to put in his drawer to wait for a sign. From god or quoted from providence are. The sign came in the unlikely way robert e. Lee is invading the north marching at the head of the triumphant army of Northern Virginia the most formidable man fighting force ever there were motivated loral was high victory after victory now they are invading the north with of confederacy the union army all of a sudden he brings back general mcclellan some truly say he is a legend in his own mind. [laughter] and you can read the of letters and he rode at the time with the sauce and gramm tranten zone importance and referred to lincoln and letters to his wife is the original guerrilla highly educated and polished he was the back woods where he brought him back after firing him to leave the army to stop the invasion of the north britain is on the verge of recognizing the confederacy the first new member of the family of nations based upon the principle of chattels labor. Fortyfifth indiana volunteers are marching all might for the confederate invasion theorized in maryland they lie down in the grassy open field and a 42 yearold corporal named michel weights waits while his buddy is brewing coffee on the campfire berger one of the few pleasures than there is another. Just as he lies down to stretch out it touches three cigars better not smoked. Look pretty good he starts to ask for a light and his buddy says wait what were they wrapped in a grex covered with dense handwriting the summit top general order 181. This looks serious it was signed by general chilton chief of staff robert e. Lee. Did take it to the captain knew takes it to the major they go on and on because this could be important this was considered a tragedy. He has good sense to interrupt the council to say it must be a fraud theyre trying to set a trap because this cannot really be the information the layout of all the troops and all the plans that all of a sudden he says this was written by chilton. Somebody says i know him from the regular army. Theres a guy named sam who was on mcclellans staff who says he was stationed in detroit working at a bank in each right michigan he looks at the handwriting in says i am sure that is authentic. If i dont beat him and his time to go home. The invasion of the north is stopped that is the sign then tells the cabinet and to cabinet members writing down i ever received the signed i am waiting for and now issues the emancipation proclamation. There is not the possibility of speeding that this is random chance. This same week the United States of america which we did only because there was a clerk in the state department who would risk arrest he sign those papers anyway let at that very moment you can say it is the pattern of happy accidents it is still a pattern. That is what emerges with tremendous clarity in the american story. And that brings me to the final question. What do you say about clinton and trump . What i say is there anyone in america did that is that the campaign is over . Really . Really . [laughter] that was seriously depressing but have you noticed yes i do give some credit to mr. Trump, the mood is better. Is better now. During the campaign it was so dark and the divisions were so horrible. Guess things are happening that our strange. I think rex tiller seven estrange i am sure that will work out for the best i hope and meeting with connie west kanye west unfortunately dont have secretary of music position i am not sure what that was for laugh laugh but the mood is better in here is one of those things that i learned and righty the american miracle the profound truth that was revered even those that rejected it in the book of exodus 33, moses wants to seek gods face. He wants to seek gods glory per godeys said shelby your glory and he said no man may look upon it and live in. I will show you my back. But the traditional understanding of the jewish tradition of that very strange passage is that it is possible to see history after it happens and understand it. In norway that it is impossible to understand as it is happening. I cannot resist. And then to say it is the job of displacement to listen for gods footsteps then to grab onto the coattails and hang on. That is our job. There may be reasons why this Difficult Campaign and his election rally could contribute to good things in america. The market is not everything but another great day today and things are going better than people expected. And here is the one thing if anyone can identify other than he believes in himself himself, that this is not an ideologue and he really does seem in his own imperfect way he seems to be trying to be president of all the people so the of possibility even with this Difficult Campaign worki