An Evening With Walter Cronkite

Good evening. Good evening. Thank you very much that's very nice. My name is Walter Wendler I'm the chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale on behalf of the students the faculty and staff of this great institution. I want to welcome all of you to our campus this evening. You should know that the SEIU alumni association and the Laborers International Union of North America are co sponsoring this event tonight. They have made the event possible and we thank them for their generous support and we should offer them a round of applause for her work. Or. Ed Smith the vice president for the Laborers International Union of North America who lives in Atlanta was unable to be with us this evening and I know it was he realizes that he would. He's missing something of great importance and he was sorry he couldn't be here. But I will introduce a very special representative of our alumni association representing

some 200000 Saluki around the world. Mimi Wallace is the president of the SEIU alumni association. Mimi came all the way from California to be with us this evening. Her tenure at the helm of the association is just a few months old. It's brief but she has been part of this institution for decades. Well she lives in Beverly Hills. Her heart is in southern Illinois. We greatly. Praise. Thank you. We greatly appreciate her presence here this evening and her fine service on behalf of this fine university. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Mimi Wallace. Thank of the. Thank you very much Dr. Wendler. And you are so right. I do live in Beverly Hills. But my heart will always be here in Southern Yellow Knight and

Centralia. I have to put a plug in prison trailer. We are so excited with this evening's events we are co-sponsoring as you know along with the Public Policy Institute and the people with the labor unions. A most wonderful event we happen to just speak with Walter Cronkite. Before I'd say maybe an hour ago and you people are in. You are going to have a wonderful wonderful evening. This man is an believable and it is just death. It will be a memorable evening. We at the Association are very happy that we were able to co-sponsor this event and we look forward to co-sponsor in other events with perhaps a Public Policy Institute and other areas of the university. Thank you so much for coming and I

know that you all will enjoy this evening tremendously. Of you us she's a great representative of the Saluki alumni and we appreciate her very much. Events such as this evening bring some of the best minds in the nation to our campus. At this time I'd like to recognize former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar governor Edgar. Police than I ever heard. Of and this is a year. You are of we appreciate the governor's support of the Public Policy Institute since its inception. It's a great part of this campus and he continues to be a great friend of this university and we're very pleased to count him as a friend. Also tonight we're very pleased to have Congressman Jerry Costello Congressman Castello of the.

I'm but in my two short years my tenure in this position I've had the distinct pleasure of getting to know Congressman Castello. He's always looking out for southern Illinois he's a great friend of this region and indeed of this university. It's always a pleasure to see him. Jerry please give our best to George or your fine wife. And I know she wishes she could be here this evening. I also want to say just a few words about the Public Policy Institute our university is proud to host the institute headed by Senator Paul Simon. Paul and his distinguished staff including Mike Lawrence and John Jackson Mike and John if you'll please stand. John please. Thank you Mike. Of A. Of of. These are some of the finest most distinguished gentlemen that anyone could ever work with they're a great asset to the university and just we're proud to call them

members of our family. The institute as many of you know brings top speakers from around the nation to the campus and has looked at many social and public policy issues such as health care and all kinds of things that are that are important to the United States and it's just a great asset to Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Tonight as all of you know we are honored to have the dean of broadcasters Walter Cronkite on campus. Yes please. We were. Among as many of you I can mark the epics of my life by events in the history of this country that were reported by Mr Cronkite. I listened intently as many of my friends and family did on Long Island and we watched history unfold before us and we were

shepherded through those events by Walter Cronkite. And it's just a tremendous pleasure to have him here with us this evening and share a little bit about his experiences with the White House the space program and the Vietnam War to name a few. Today as ongoing assignments as many of you know with CBS PBS and the Discovery Channel. He is indeed the voice and face of a generation. But before we meet Mr. Cronkite I'd like to introduce a very distinguished gentleman and a great friend of southern Illinois senator Paul Simon. Senator Simon of a. The so thank you very much and we thank you Chancellor Mr. Chancellor and Mimi we thank you in the

well-nigh Association and let me add also for the first time in any of these events we've had we have a union co-sponsoring the international laborers union. And I would add any. Arrests any of you who feel like mowen tiering to co-sponsor any of these events in the future. We would welcome hearing from you. Let me add that we have the president of the university and his wife here James Walker and when Walker please stand and take a walk. Our Santa sign language interpreter this evening will be Janell nor us. Let me add. Following the discussion that I will have with Walter Cronkite there will be a chance for the audience to ask questions and I'm not sure where those microphones are.

Well they're down in the front on both sides so you'll have to come down and or come forward to answer the the questions to ask the questions someone else will answer the questions. Before we bring on our distinguished guests. We have a very brief video that we will see at this point and then we'll bring on war crime. So whoever's here with some more. Baxter Walter Cronkite. Rushing over to meet you Mr. croquet. Call me Walter. Oh I'm older I'm got a cough med more you want me to come to work at

CBS. Now that I had a family I thought well why not even everyone there at the news that is where they get a hankering and covering the news first on the CBS station in Washington. And on the network from New York. This is Walter Cronkite I think we did this for the first time and you. Were there. Mine may of course. Sometimes when things went wrong they were really wrong. Fortunately however the power seems to be upside down at the border crime guy. Before I was assigned to take over the CBS Evening News in the spring of 1962 Soviet Premier Khrushchev was called Brownie to gain a Supreme Court legalized abortion of activity at the Jack Ruby trial would suggest at least. The motion problem although this is a meltdown of the Three Mile Island of atomic power I spent 19 years at that desk.

The Arab oil embargo and historic changes and everything from the world order regen today all been through flowing hair styles including my own impeachment of President Richard Nixon in the 60s undoubtedly were the most turbulent decade of this century. But. There were the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King the apostle of nonviolence in the civil rights movement has been shot to death in Memphis Tennessee. Most of the day I didn't have keenly felt the emotions except for the moment when I had to say that the president was dead. President Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. 2:00 Eastern Standard Time some Thirty eight minutes ago. Almost lost him. First the American people are confused. The firing still goes on. They were confounded by what was going on even as I was

the only rational way out. Between the bullshit. I recall that LBJ said I've lost water Cronkite I've lost the war the beginning of man's greatest adventure. The landing on the moon set of an interesting voice of challenge from. That vehicle and landed on the moon I was speechless. I really couldn't see what I mean at the time when there were a lot of other country and elsewhere people were downcast. Everybody there was cast. We were looking toward the stars looking toward looking toward getting out there. There was a spirit that was absolutely incomparable. This is my last broadcast as the anchorman of the CBS Evening News. For me it's a moment from which I long planned but which nevertheless comes with some sad news. Since he retired. It's been doing different things. Get the

Hudson thing up was a major success story. He said I hope I survive I think for his nature and historical travel seriously shows I'm discovering. With me made a series of 12 one hour public policy show thank you very much Mr. Bush. Thank you thank you Brit. I get a lot of recognition on the street days from old timers around who weren't even born while I was doing the evening news and it turns out it's all from dinosaurs. For our series on dinosaurs. And little kids keep coming up to me and saying you're the dinosaur. Well there was quite a century. The best of times the worst of times. But you know if there's anything it is that we Americans do

have a way of rising to the challenges that confront us. Just when it seems we're most divine. He suddenly show our remarkable some of the. 20th century maybe and leaving us with a force to problem. But I've also noted that it does seem darkest before the dawn. There is reason to hope. For the 21st century. And that is the way it will. Never go. Ladies and gentlemen when you say sterling silver You don't need to add any adjectives. When you say Walter Cronkite. You don't need to add any adjectives.

It is an honor and a privilege for us here in you and in southern Illinois to have as our special guests this evening Walter Cronkite. I am. You're hearing probably. Just a little.

OK so we may have to shout some of these answers back you know for it is great to have you here. You. Senator before you start on that. OK. Because once you start on that we made up. Never get back to anything else again. Whatever it is you know the there were a couple of scenes in that film you just saw that little film which incidentally was produced for the purposes of helping to remind you of some of the things we've all been digging through together in the last half century or more. But there are a couple of little stories I could tell you that you saw there that don't really explain themselves perhaps but one was that picture you saw of the gorillas the baby the chimpanzees dancing around on my lap my lap. Well this was a story we were doing are we doing a documentary

about the effort to save the baby chimpanzees who were being abducted from their mother their mother being shot and killed by the poachers and the poachers selling the babies to the world market which is always looking for these baby animals. And after saving them from the poachers they've got to teach the babies how to live in the jungle because they have no mother to teach them how to do that. And some British and American groups are working on that. This is the story we were doing and now we've finished shooting or film and as usual we we give the SAVE THE BEGINNING TO THE END. We finished our shooting and now I'm doing my opening copy and I've pounded that out to the little typewriter and the producer decided that the great scene would be at these three little chimp babies would be playing around on my lap as I did this opening copy. Well they these chimps are the cutest

things in the world as babies. They come on manageable at adulthood at puberty just like human beans become impossible. And they have. But the three of them were dancing around my lap and now I. Can lever my copy of the first time I said it. These baby chimps are so much like us they are the nearest to us and the on the on the on the tree of life of any of the other animals and they act very much I guess they perform like as and as matter of fact. It even seems that they love us. Well about that time this one chimp was on my lap and I said they even seem to love us. And he sat back and looked kind of puzzled and whacked. Hit me over the place almost took my head off. Well of course the crew all laughed hysterically. OK Cronkite Let's try it

again. So we went through this again I don't know whether the same chimp or one of the other of the trio. But I got to that line. They even seem to love us. Whack another three times this happened. I'm convinced that they could understand English or at least they can understand what I said was he would seem to love us and like those of other species as well as other nations around the world. They don't all seem to love us when we try to frame by frame it that way. The other will story is the one where you saw President Eisenhower and me in the jeep. We were on the beach at DOE and Normandy and Omaha Beach and we were doing the 20th anniversary of D-Day a documentary with with the former president and obviously the former general. And I was going to drive him in a jeep along the beach as he explained what happened there as part of our documentary. What occurred to me as I sat there in the driver's seat that

maybe he should be driving he's showing me the beach so why shouldn't he be driving. And I had said to our producer Fred Friendly I said Fred you know why don't you why don't you have the general drive. And he said that's a great idea. And he went over and then I overheard him saying like well like producers are inclined to do. I've got a great idea Mr. President. How about your driving you do drive don't you and he said Of course I drive. Well you know no red blooded American boy would admit he doesn't drive a car. So we're changing seats and he's getting in the driver's seat and up on the little knoll there. Oh ma beach. My wife Betsy is sitting with Mamie Eisenhower. And as the former president gets in the seat she grabs Betsy's arm and says Oh my dear is I going to drive. Betsy said Well it certainly looks like it. And she said Oh my dear your husband has never been in greater danger.

Then she added You know he hasn't driven for 25 years they didn't ride at all well then. Anecdotal material. We don't know but in your autobiography you tell that you were courting young woman from an I don't know and which is very close to this area. And you remember her name. Oh I remember her name very well who was bitter winter and she had lived in Houston where I lived at the time. And we went to high school together and a lot of graduates from high school were she or her family moved to an Illinois from which I believe they had originally come some years before and I was desperate to see that winter again. And my first job on the Euston press I finally had a vacation coming so I beat my way toward an

Illinois to see bit again. Unfortunately as it were I stopped in Kansas City to see my grandparents first and I read that a new radio station had just opened up. So I applied for a job I got it and I never got down to Illinois to see bit again. Which was a tragedy. She might have been in the same class with Brenda Egger who's there with him and you know I'm OK. Is Brenda from Atlanta. She is from and I well remember but when are you thinking. Let's look back for just a little bit and then look ahead looking back who's the most impressive leader in any field you met in national leader here in the United States or in the United States. Well I think that probably it was Franklin Roosevelt.

He he inherited a nation which was deep in the developing depth and we had a serious depression on the result of the Hoover years in the presidency. And. And then of course the shadow war was beginning to darken the horizon and he undertook that chore of have having it when he was I think really working toward getting us involved as we know he promoted the additional years known to the British at a time when the British were about to lose the war to the German submarines and would have been isolated. That would have been the end of Europe. They thieve did that only in that lend lease of destroyers and prepared us really for Pearl Harbor. Not knowing the Pearl Harbor was coming but

in Pearl Harbor it came he was able to move with with dispatch and bring us into the war. And then conduct the early years of our participation in World War 2. I thought he was probably the most effective leader of our time internationally outside of the United States. What figure would you. Well I'd you know I'd I'd name a couple of surprises I think in that case. Senator I think for one I would certainly I would name Tito of Yugoslavia the effectiveness of his leadership was that he had the courage to tell Stalin that he was breaking off as a satellite nation to true the true the Soviet Union. That took a tremendous amount of courage. He did not

know whether Stalin would move troops immediately into Yugoslavia and he had his army the Yugoslavian army ready to meet them if that was the case. Stalin was bluffed out and did not there when they were there not an arms race. But then later on later on Tito as much as he was a dictator and a cruel dictator he is nothing that can be said nice about him as far as the way he handled his own people. But as a leader in world affairs he with Madame Bandaranaike you remember of saying law. Madam Bandar and Nike and and and Tito put together the Third World as a balance between that was a neutral natures as a balance between the Soviet side and the and the American or Western European

side and that balance probably kept us out of a military conflict for several years several years until we could begin to kind of adjust to the Cold War and and live that life. But Tito and Bandar and I keep at it an important thing for world history. And the other one would be would be. And war said of Egypt. I like you you've mentioned this in your books but I like you believe that one of the rarest attributes of the human soul is courage political courage by our leaders and by our elected representatives in all walks of life. And here was this man who was really not expected to become the leader of the Egyptian nation. But when he was one of the six colonels who had taken over. Egypt

after the monarchy was deposed there. And the leader died. He was the least of the six colonels. But somehow or other he was sort of written in as the heir apparent. But apparently deliberately masseur knowing that he was the weaker of the six the weakest of the six figure that he would be a whole wedding band that day in the job. While the more. Dominant would emerge it turned out that Saddam was strong in his own right. He held the job and then the incredible thing where he showed that the most political courage I've ever known in any leader anywhere was he dared to say he would like to go to Jerusalem. He would like to attempt. To get with the Israelis and to break the boycott

of the is as Israel of Israel that all of the Arab leaders had adopted and he did he got to Jerusalem then broke that boycott and eased affairs to such a degree that there was a while there for some genuine hope that there might be a lasting peace and a workable arrangement between Israel and the Arab nations that didn't work. But it but put Saddam in taking that move showed amazing political courage. First of all political courage. He knew that he would be a target to be thrown out of office. There would be all kinds of coups against him for that daring to go to Jerusalem and to a concert concert with the with the with the Israelis. But they also he had personal courage knowing full well that he all all almost could be taken out of action by assassination. And indeed that

was his fate just a few months later. Looking back the only time I can remember you being out on your program. You sure you want to tell this well and it maybe I didn't hear your interview with Buckminster Fuller and I might have been up because he was a good talker. For those of you who know me remember he was great he was great he was wonderful. I had a whole day with him for a one hour interview at his home and I never met anybody is really really inventive of course of an ideas and I and as I was and one of the things that really set me up. This was back in the early 70s very early 70s and we were just beginning to think in this country well our bicentennial in 1776 to 100th anniversary of the of our country.

And he was telling me all about the geodesic dome which I had really never heard of before this was all a brand new idea for me. I'd never seen one time or heard of it. And he said you know with my geodesic dome I could put a cover over Philadelphia. And they could celebrate that too under that averse tree of all the events that took place in perfect and perfect cover so there would have wouldn't have to worry about the weather any time during seven thousand nine hundred seventy six they could have an event every day of the week. And besides it was to see my geodesic dome two miles high so full that people would come from all over the world just to see the dome and then they'd learn about the great story of our democracy. It was a wonderful idea and I was so taken with that last drop some of my my impartiality and tried to sell this to the people of Philadelphia. I

went immediately to see the seller of the hill of the Philadelphia Bulletin people and then they sent me to the mayor and his committee and I just couldn't take it. They just couldn't get the dream. I just wish that he could have talked to them I think he might have talked them into the geodesic dome the biggest in the world the whole city under he could talk people into it. Pretty well but the one time I remember you were at the Democratic convention. You were on with the senior Mayor Daley and he hardly let you get a word in edgeways as that may be my in accurate recollection but I'd be interested you recollect that interview. Will you remember that that terrible the convention Democratic convention of 78 when when there were all the demonstrations a terrible demonstration of blood to shed in the streets of Chicago. And of course Daley was a mayor of the city of Chicago and his result the scene also was

that Johnson had decided he was not going to run again. Well I have always felt although it's been denied to me by all the Johnsons say and Johnson himself that I you know he had Air Force One sitting by at the airport he had built behind his house. And in Texas his ranch and he had it declared an international airport. But he was available for the for Air Force One and he had it standing by doing that whole convention and Daley was stacking the galleries with his people and they had all kinds of signs ready LBJ and that sort of thing. And I'm convinced that there was a little plot there that there would be a voice from the gallery as there had been of the Roosevelt convention and shouting men and demanding that Johnson run again. It never developed because the Daley overplayed his

hand and the violence from the streets. His people carried into the hall and we had we had their goons out on the floor of the convention if you remember. But Dan Rather was knocked down by one of them and and. He had the NBC guy was arrested by Daley's people all kinds of things were happening it was a it was a chaotic scene. So the Johnson drafter there were if there ever was such a plan and I I can't swear there was never proved it but I'd simply still feel it never happened. But at any rate there have been of course a lot of criticism of the press and of Daly's administration and his police who had been beating up the demonstrators just before in front of the hotels and the hotels and all that sort of thing a lot of criticism. I thought Daley I want to have a chance to speak his piece but I didn't want to get into a debate with him. That

wasn't the idea. I thought give him some air time. And nobody really understood that is what I was doing because I was criticized for not asking him the hard questions. But he he also didn't help my cause any because I had no opportunity to explain what I was going to do. He suddenly appeared about 10 minutes before he was supposed to come to our studio in the in the whole convention hall. He's going to come there for I forget 7:30 or something. He showed up at 7:15 suddenly and as his goons just broke on indoor studio and here he was suddenly confronting me and I had to invite him to sit down and I said I started an introduction he started talking. And I never got back to any questions which is what I was going to ask a tough question anyway I was really going to let him tell his piece. But he did it anyway by practically seizing the microphone from me. And I've been getting criticism from that from some Chicagoans ever

since. 2002 Congress voted five hundred twenty million dollars for the J Walter Thompson agency to improve our image abroad. Is this the right way to improve our image abroad or. How should we. We know that there has been a problem for the United States these days where you know I'm sure you read Senator just three or four days ago it was announced that a committee that was put together to I forget what they called it they had a long name the war even fit on a. Movie marquee I know. Five or six words that I can't I would scold but that the idea was some people to study

our public relations abroad and too good to assess its value whether it worked or not. And if it hadn't worked what we should do about it. Well these were a bunch of learned people out of advertising and International Affairs and Public Relations and so forth. Now can you imagine having to appoint. A committee to say whether or not oh the whole question was asked the question whether why whether the people overseas particularly the Arab and Muslim world like us or not. Can you imagine having to appoint a committee to study whether they like us or not can't we don't we know whether the later. But this point it was ridiculous but anyway the committee came brought his report in just a few days ago. And the report was believe it or not. They don't like us very much. What a surprise what a surprise. And what do they want to do about it. They want

more appropriations they want more public relations they want more television programs they want to build libraries. They want to provide books and education some education was really what would help of course but not their public relations approach. What is needed. We want to make friends in the rest of the world you caught me off on my one of my favorite subjects here good. But what is needed clearly is to is to develop a program a concentrated program that would do everything that we can do. Spending what we can afford to spend and spending it in people in involvement in dedication to try to help raise the standard of living of those people who are so depressed in the rest of the world they're depressed to the point of Despond the press to the point of enmity. For those who have. We can build them we can lift them up and by that

by lifting them to a higher standard of living. Make friends lifelong friends of them they would understand that we were with them we were for them. We were helping them in every way we could. That's what we need. That's what we ought to be doing. And it is. The applause on that is interesting because I think that you know when we appeal to the idealism of people Jerry Costello is here I can remember Senate caucuses sometimes as a what are we what can we do to improve the image of the Senate and said let's improve our substance and we don't need to worry about improving the image and I think that's. What I'm going to ask you one more question and then we're going to toss this open for to our audience and I have plenty more questions if they don't have any.

Tomorrow the board of CBS or NBC or ABC is Walter Cronkite. You're the new CEO. How do you do you change things at all. What do you do to improve the product of American television news television. Well Senator first of all let me do a little disk for a scalpel on this thing I say. I think we've got good staffs in the traditional networks ABC NBC CBS good news staffs good executives and they are handicapped by what they are permitted to do and able to do from top management. In particular the ridiculous situation of a half hour evening news broadcasts. They're been their principal their flagship broadcast one half hour in the evening right at dinner time

and a little early and dinner time for that from a lot of the country. The We Are One of the most complicated nations in the world. One of the most important the most important perhaps nation the world certainly to us we are. And we got this divergent interest from the rock ribbed shores of Maine to the sunny California sort of thing. But the Sunday before the election I don't know what would have happened. To. That end. RADKE This is a complicated nations are many many different cultures even mixed. You couldn't cover this. This nation adequately alone. Now we're supposedly the leader of the world we think we're the leaders of the world assertive military leaders of the world a complicated world a terribly complex world and we give these newspeople a 19 minutes after you deduct the commercials of the lead in the lead up 19 minutes a day to

tell the news of the world. And so tell it that people understand what is happening. They know the background of the story and they have some concept of perhaps how we should react to that news 19. What are the most complicated story of the day gets two minutes or three minutes. This is ridiculous. It can't be done. So if I were a CEO. The first thing I do is give those evening news programs an hour and that would not be easy because the reason they don't get the hour primarily is that the local stations don't want to give away another half hour at a time in the evening when they make most of their money with their local news. But we would have to almost force them to do it by doing it yourself and they'd have to follow. I think that's how we got the half hour. We are one time 15 minutes ribbands we got the half hour. The no no and none of the affiliation affiliated stations said they would take it. And with considerable courage commercial courage at

CBS we decided to do it and let the devil take the hindmost. We put the half hour on and every station followed. I mean I think they do it we did in ours. Then I take those those those programs they have the news program during the week. It was a magazine programs. And I had wouldn't deal in scandal with crime. I would take those hour programs and with those I would do the background news and what to explain the headlines we've given you in the previous hour. And I'd have another hour with interviews background documentaries that way to educate the people to these important news items of the day. At the. Door we go to the place. You know. I know about your institute of course I know a lot about it. I read

about a club admired it. I read your books. Not all 22 but a fair portion there of the and I know I know what you said about the institute the general idea that it was not a think tank. He was a do tank and I heard you had dinner tonight with you had a small dinner a wonderful dinner with some leaders or community in the university and you put forward a new idea you have for four international educational program. What wonderful idea could I put one forward for you to do program. How can I stop. You can't you I've got the floor. You know the you know. What I'd like to see. What I'd like to see is is for every every advance made in the tools and the

skills of making war. We demanded as a people an equal advance in the tools and skills of making peace. This will help. Answer that problem though. Making friends in the world certainly this whole programme would be aimed in great part perhaps recalling that so word today in politics I suppose we call in the whole idea of of the preemptive war which I think is the worst policy decision this nation ever made. Credible. President Bush announced that in his policy speech which is required every three or four

years by the president when he made that as is as a centerpiece of the new policy of the United States for heaven's sakes. Didn't he understand. Could he possibly not have understood what he was doing in saying that it was all that the United States was adopting this policy that if we saw the danger of abroad we would go to war to to squash that danger and diminish that danger at any rate. He was he was setting an example for every nation in the world particularly the smaller nations particularly all those nations of Africa the nations South America of the world. He was he was telling them it's all right if you don't like what your neighbor is doing and are concerned about what your neighbor is doing is perfectly all right to go to war against them. That's what he said that's his policy. This policy applies doesn't most apply to them. They've already exercised it in a couple of accidence situations in West Africa.

What I'd like to see what what I'd like to see is this is this policy I'm talking about. And and you know it could almost have a name. Preemptive peace. How about. Organize. We emptied and. We would kill when where war is threatened and with peaceful means where there are peaceful efforts at diplomacy far better diplomacy than this administration been playing with the with the with the river nation or United Nations for instance or the rest of the world. We'd make friends and we'd make peace. And who would not be any more expensive to us than this terrible expense we have. Imagine those billions upon billions of dollars that we spend trying to find out ways to kill more people more efficiently. Is that what we want our country to be. Is that what we want America to be.

You are now writing a column and I think the nearest newspaper that carries your column is in heat which is a long way from Carbondale and if the denizens of the publisher of the Southern Illinois if you're here why I think you'd be a great column to carry. Waller asked me to mention that I told him I would. You know I've got I've got more newspapers in Illinois than any other state except for 14 newspapers. If you thought about the possibility of doing commentary on radio or television. Oh they'd never accept. I don't have the voice for that. Oh. I. Well you hear that from an Oh you might have ended up on the faculty that had a really successful

career you know. We're already 10 minutes questions from the audience and. They're who we are and we're not going to be able to question people. Yes. I think we're lucky to have Mr. Lawrence and the rest of the public policy a wonderful speaker for us. Thank you for being here my question. You spent years in television where you can have no opinion. Now you're doing you have the freedom to express your view about the world your views about the world. How how was that transition for you and how is the how how does it feel for you now to

be able to speak out in a time when our nation really intelligent people to speak out on certain policies and certain actions. Well I would like to see all of us have the personal courage to stand up for what we believe and in many cases in most cases I think in the United States that we just stand up for the things that our founding fathers believed when they created this wonderful nation of ours and gave us that great document the Constitution of the United States and of course the great original document the Declaration of Independence. I would like to see everybody demand and be sure to be sure that their right to speak up and say what they believe is right or should be right about the country out loud in any group in any place. The mere suggestion and I'm very upset quite honestly about the Patriots Act which suggests.

You know. One of the one of the most misused words I think in the dictionary is patriotism and what people believe patriotism to believe to be patriotism is not to slave usually follow a leader. A would be leader or a leader elected leader a one who would be elected to the patriot one who loves his country or her country and is willing to stand up for what he or she believes is right to do in this country. What is what follows. What follows the. That individual's concept of what America is and I think that the great majority of Americans have the right concept of what America has the concept we have there with with our history background. But but it is that being unpatriotic is not

saying you don't agree with the with the with the the management is running the country that the policy of that management might be what you believe to be is entirely the wrong course 180 degrees off course for what the country should be doing. You have the right to stand up and say whoa hold it a minute. I don't agree with that. You know that's that's no more. It takes more courage to live and move and we should keep that alive in our mind. OK over here and we're going to take about two more on each side and he has to fly out of here yet tonight. Yes. A. Business Administration. I'd like to take this opportunity first to thank you for your service to your country. I think you're a model American.

Thank you. Been around for so long and have have been center stage so for so many great important things that have happened in our country and hopefully this year the Cubs winning the World Series I hope you'll be around to see that it. Was definitely a one time event of the century. Thank you. My question to you is you. You've been around for all these great changes in our country and we faced the Cold War we became and face the technology age and this new era we're in the war on terrorism. What do you think will be the next greatest challenge that defines us as Americans today. The next word is next. It will be fine of as American. I think it's going to be economic. I think it's going to be how we how we adjust to this terrible deficit which is going to so limit so terribly limited what we can do with our country to make our country what it should be. The

danger to our educational system. We're not going to have enough money do any of the things we should be doing or education or civil heaven sakes. It seems to me to improve our educational system which everybody seems to agree is necessary. There is a fundamental simple first step we should pay teachers what they're worth. The and. The an. Order be. Desirable. Special. We ought to be able to pick the very best to come out of their universities too and to help bring up our young people to understand what our country is about what the world is about what the economy is about to vote for peace rather than war because they will understand all the pain of the problems of both. Well that's just the beginning. We don't we need the schoolhouses there in tatters and much of America protecting our big cities. We've got to do something about our

infrastructure our roads or bridges or dams. These things are. Our electric grid because we know when we too will these things need immediate attention. Almost immediate attention and you go on what about Medicare and all the rest of it. We don't have any money left. We're broke. We're absolutely the brokers the poorest nation in Central Africa. We don't have the money. We not only don't have the money we have now saddled our children our grandchildren our grandchildren's grandchildren with this incredible debt. This is our challenge. What are we going to do about it. I don't know what the answer is. The economists and the politicians or political leaders or government people they're going to have to show us the way. You know if I may interject and I probably shouldn't but when you say

you were broke. The reality is if we show some courage you know the total tax burden a lot of people will believe this the total tax burden of Americans in terms of a percentage of our income compared to Western Europe and Japan if you take in the industrial compact in Japan the only country that has a lower percentage of our income goes for. Taxes is Turkey. And so the question is will we have the courage to say to people you know we're going to have to sacrifice a little bit if we want better schools if we want more adequate health care. Anyway I shouldn't be answering let me. We're going to take. One more there and one more in there and before I get in trouble Marlene who is the chief of the operation we're going to rule have to limit it to that.

Yes and I'm sorry I apologize to the others in the line. Oh OK. Crane from the not for profit organization that's endeavoring to preserve the Arabic Mr. Fuller dome home here in Carbondale. These ideas of creating friends by raising the standard of living and creating tools of peace are not new. In fact their core tenets of the Buckminster Fuller philosophy. I was wondering if you could speak to the idea of Buckminster Fuller said these ideas over 50 years ago. Why is it that these ideas are not being picked up by mainstream media or American mainstream. If these are the ideas are going to save America. Why aren't we listening to Buckminster Fuller's philosophy. I don't know. I don't know. The books have been written even though there's a rhythm about them. And it's all there for to be picked up and you

don't seem to be advanced enough to do it. Someday perhaps. Yeah right you get the last question to make it good. Boy am I the have to CDnow and Mr. Cronkite I'm wondering with all of the things all of the events that you have witnessed and reported on in your career what one event do you think has had the most significant impact on our society today or on our society in the future. 12 of. One answer that is a birth control pill. It's changed the entire culture in this nation and a very important one. There are so many technical scientific advances that you could name almost any o them on their influence the future. But the one event that I think will be remembered by

people 500 years from now people living out there among the stars and in space cities and perhaps on the plants themselves the date they're going to be right they're going to remember is the date that man landed on the moon. The date that man escaped his environment on Earth and went out and found a place in space where he could exist the first time. And I use that 500 year example because what is the day that almost every school child in America knows today it's Oct. 12 14 900 to 500 years ago when they found out that there was a whole nother world across the Atlantic. And. When Columbus discovered America. Well that it by the same relationship will be what the children 500 years from now by whatever means they learn

by osmosis or whatever they're going to know that day when man has escaped his environment on Earth and landed on the moon. We think oh you were being here. This is been a real war. OK. You're. You're. You're. You're like you're. Like. You're. Not you're. There. You're. Free.