WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:06.000 It's nice siding Boston's news radio. 2 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:14.599 Well, fourteen people, innocent people lost their lives to this 3 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.559 madman who decided it would be a great idea to 4 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:22.559 race down Bourbon Street in his truck in mow down 5 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:26.600 Americans who are simply trying to welcome in the new year. 6 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.800 So it's only appropriate that we try to take a 7 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:33.880 look at maybe the other side of the coin. And 8 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:39.479 delighted to welcome back to Night's side. Former Assistant Secretary 9 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:45.000 of State Robert Charles, who is the new Englander if 10 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:50.759 I recall correctly, Robert a native of the state of Maine. Correct, 11 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:51.439 How are you tonight? 12 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.960 You are absolutely right, Dan, And we sometimes just need 13 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:58.280 good news. And I am awfully glad to be brought 14 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:00.600 on board to talk. And yes, I grew up in 15 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:03.560 a little town of about five hundred in central Maine, 16 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:06.560 and so of course I think we even talked about this. 17 00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:09.599 I listened, of course every night under my pillow to 18 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:15.239 the transistor radio to the Red Sox, Enrico, the whole gang. 19 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.920 Who were you know, part of the Red Sox in 20 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:21.120 that era. But yeah, I grew up in Maine. 21 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.120 Who is your favorite Red Sox player back in the day. 22 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:29.319 Oh, I mean really, I mean Ustromsky, of course he 23 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.840 was my well look Enrico Petrocelli and Rice and there 24 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.159 were great players back then. And I you know, the 25 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:38.319 irony is, I think there's a little bit of enchantment 26 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.000 that gets lost when you can access everything anytime of day. 27 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:45.200 You know. I grew up in a family where with 28 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:47.719 sisters and brother and my mother was a school teacher 29 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:51.040 and she would put us to bed promptly at somewhere 30 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:53.920 around eight or nine, and I would pay no attention 31 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.879 to that and have a transistor radio listening to the 32 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.439 Red Sox play under my pillow, and it was I 33 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:02.920 don't know, there was something a little bit Norman rockwellish 34 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:03.920 about that ears. 35 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:08.319 Oh absolutely, it's it's romantic in the best sense of 36 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:12.199 the term, in that your remain and you got that 37 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:16.520 transistor radio in your ears, so you're transported through the 38 00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:18.680 theater of the mind to Fenway Park or wherever the 39 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:21.479 Red Sox happened to be playing, Yankee Stadium, Commissie Park, 40 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:25.080 wherever in those days. And as long as you had that, 41 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.039 even though you were a few hundred miles away from 42 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:31.400 Fenway Park and a lot further away from you know, 43 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:34.800 the balt In those days it was Memorial Stadium, not 44 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:39.159 Camden Yards in Baltimore or where else. And you, nonetheless 45 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:42.000 were transported. And that's what we do here on night 46 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:45.280 side every night we try to do. But your life 47 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:48.639 took you, and I think it's important to set out 48 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:53.319 the world experience that you had. How did you find 49 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.280 your way into government service? And obviously as a former 50 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:04.240 assistant Secretary of State, that's pretty rarefied Aaron to function 51 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:06.240 and tell us, tell us a little bit about how 52 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:09.439 you got from a small town in Maine to the 53 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:11.360 cards a power in Washington, DC. 54 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.479 You know, I will tell you this. I think that 55 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.800 God works in strange ways. And we grew up in 56 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.479 an era where it was just assumed that if you 57 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:24.439 worked hard and had some idea about what you might 58 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:28.039 want to do, that the clouds would occasionally part. And 59 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:31.479 what I learned, I mean, my father never finished college 60 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.159 and my mother was an elementary school teacher, started at 61 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:36.919 twelve thousand dollars a year and more or less raised 62 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:39.479 four kids on her own, and we ended up in 63 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:45.240 a situation where she prioritized education and she said, you know, 64 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:47.639 if you want to do anything other than stay here 65 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:51.599 in this town or nearby. You need to get an education. 66 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:54.840 And so sometime around the middle of my high school years, 67 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:57.159 I decided it was probably important to get a little 68 00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:59.319 more serious. I was a runner and some other stuff, 69 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.199 but I I started to work hard. And you know, 70 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:04.120 I'm going to just tell you this as an inspiration 71 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:08.479 for anybody listening with kids, grandkids or themselves. You have 72 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:12.360 to first envision something that you would like to do. 73 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:14.080 It doesn't matter whether you're going to be an astronaut 74 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:15.639 or you're going to be a pole vaulter in the 75 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:18.000 Olympics something. And then you have to have in your 76 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:22.839 brain and in your heart the belief, the true belief 77 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:26.120 that no matter what anybody else says, you could actually 78 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:28.759 do that. And then you have to work your tail off. 79 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:32.319 And so, you know, sometimes luck comes, or you know, 80 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:34.959 the blessings happen when you work hard. So what happened 81 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:39.240 with me was I'd never had it. My father didn't 82 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:41.720 finish college, had no links to Dartmouth College at all, 83 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:43.680 but I had seen it once and I was just 84 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:47.560 intrigued by this college in New Hampshire and beautiful place. 85 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.240 And you know, I do remember there were people who 86 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:53.720 even sort of laughed that I would try to apply 87 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:57.040 to this, but I decided, what the heck, I'll just try, 88 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.639 and so I applied and I got in by some 89 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:04.720 strike of lightning. But ironically, and again this is this 90 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:07.920 whole idea of don't give up. They didn't give me 91 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:10.639 any money. I had no money, and they let me in, 92 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:12.399 but I had no money, and in that era, that 93 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:15.319 was the deal. So my mother, God bless her, and 94 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:18.120 we just lost her last timer, but she said, look, 95 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:21.240 take the family car and go over, and you're not 96 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:24.480 a bad debater. Explain to them that you're a good investment. 97 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.000 And so that's what I did. And they came through 98 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:29.399 with loans, which I paid back every penny and wouldn't 99 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:31.160 have done it any other way, and they came with 100 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:34.560 those scholarships. And so then what happens is once you 101 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:37.279 begin to realize you can turn the dial, you know, 102 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:40.800 like cranking on some bolt that has been rusted shut. 103 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:43.120 But then you get it to turn. Now you start 104 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.879 really trying to turn it. And so I applied for 105 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.279 a scholarship to Oxford and got it, and then to 106 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:51.519 Columbia Law School and got it, and then I wanted 107 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:54.839 to now for some people this will sound sort of hokey, 108 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:58.000 but there's things called clerkships. And I wanted to clerk 109 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.439 for a federal judge, a conservative because I am conservative 110 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:03.959 was back then, and I you know, I didn't know 111 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.519 I was until I realized everything I believed was what 112 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:07.959 people call conservative. 113 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:08.879 But I. 114 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:14.319 Applied to three hundred judges. I figured out read every 115 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:17.879 opinion that I could get recent opinion of those judges 116 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:20.079 and found the ones that were more to my way 117 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:24.959 of thinking, and applied to three hundred, got six interviews 118 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.240 out of three hundred, and got one offer. And I 119 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:31.120 therefore clerked on the US Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, 120 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:33.839 which is the largest circuit and just below the Supprise Court, 121 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:34.519 and then. 122 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:37.519 Very liberal circuit, as you know. 123 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.560 Very liberal circuit. But I worked, and this shows you 124 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.040 what kind of challenges I faced. I worked for a 125 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:47.079 Reagan appointee who was a former US Marine, Robert Beezer, 126 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:50.680 so it was an amazing experience. And then I come 127 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:54.439 back and ended up with time again just knocking on 128 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:56.680 doors the way you would if you were a local 129 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:00.399 candidate for something, and I ended up working in the 130 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:03.399 Reagan White House and then staying close to the Reagans 131 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:05.720 until the end of both their lives, and worked in 132 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:08.800 the Bush forty one White House and ended up running 133 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:11.079 the largest part of the oversight committee for New Gingrich, 134 00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:14.480 bouncing back and forth between being a private sector litigator, 135 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:18.279 which I hated. I basically was not motivated by money, 136 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:21.519 so it really didn't light my fire. And then eventually 137 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:23.759 I got a call one day from Colon Poland and 138 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:27.839 I actually, I actually said, are you sure you have 139 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.279 the right number? I mean, I had no link to 140 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:34.319 cold and Powell, but it you know Helen. Anyway, I 141 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:36.560 ended up talking with him and he said, no, You've 142 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.839 written a lot. You are the guy that I'd like 143 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:43.319 in this job. And so I ended up basically training 144 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:45.800 all the Iraqi police, Afghan police, spent a lot of 145 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:49.160 time I had spent time with law enforcement, and just 146 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:53.560 basically got to apply abroad in seventy countries. All this 147 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.639 learning that I had, and then as time passed, I 148 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:00.720 rolled out of that into starting a little company that 149 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:05.279 worked for five of the combatant commands and did some 150 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.120 things for the military and also for nonprofits. I was 151 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:11.319 really big on counter narcotics. I really believe kids. We 152 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.480 got to work with the kids. We were given incredible 153 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.360 benefits by the World War II and Korean War vets, 154 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:19.759 many of whom were in this book. But we owe 155 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:22.560 it to pass that baton forward. So I work with 156 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.839 nonprofits and everything was going around along pretty well. I 157 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:32.480 had joined the Navy as a reservist in intelligence because 158 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.879 I had some background in intelligence, and nine to eleven happened. 159 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:40.440 And the irony is that again, God puts you where 160 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:43.039 he wants you on any given day, and if I 161 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:45.720 wasn't sure of it before that day, I was sure 162 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:48.759 of it on that day. Because I was meant to 163 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:53.000 be in the Pentagon where the CNOIP wedge is, or 164 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:55.879 fifteen of us that looked after bad guys and four 165 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:59.360 hundred in the command center. That wedge was hit that 166 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.519 day and I wasn't there. Instead, I boarded a plane 167 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:06.039 forty five minutes before the plane that hit that Pentagon 168 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:09.000 and in DC and spent all of nine to eleven 169 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:11.320 in the air. So when I was done and realized 170 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:14.840 I'd lost a lot of my shipmates, I just volunteered 171 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:18.399 for active duty immediately, and then that gave me other 172 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:22.039 kinds of understanding, and eventually I ended up in the 173 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:25.799 position with Paul, and you know, life is a you 174 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:28.080 have to accept what comes to your door. And some 175 00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:30.480 of it's bad and some of it's good. But the 176 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:32.519 thing you have to keep doing. In my opinion, and 177 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:34.840 I many of the people in this book, in fact, 178 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:38.879 all the people in this book said yes to responsibility. 179 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.080 And if we can just teach the lesson that when 180 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:44.600 something comes to you and you can either stand up, 181 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:46.919 take responsibility and do it, or you can look the 182 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.279 other way. Take the chance, take take the dare, take 183 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:53.039 the move, make it good, do something good with yourself, 184 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:55.360 and then something will follow, and something will follow, and 185 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:58.720 something will follow. So my journey out of the little 186 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:00.240 town and I came back and I lived in that 187 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:03.799 little town now. But that little journey was a lot 188 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.440 like Jimmy Stewart's journey. You know, I've been a very 189 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:07.120 blessed guy. 190 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:10.559 Yeah, you know, it's funny. I actually rewatched The Wonderful 191 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.240 Life a couple of nights ago, and it is still 192 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:16.120 a great movie every time I watch it, and with 193 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.360 a great moral, you know moral at the at the 194 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:24.799 end that hey things, you know, what goes around comes around, 195 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:26.480 I guess would be one way to describe it. In 196 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:29.879 more more more recent parlance. I'm intrigued that you were 197 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:32.480 able to work in the Reagan White House at such 198 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:36.200 a young age. You were there really in you very 199 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:39.159 early twenties. How did how did that work come along? 200 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:40.360 How did that break come along? 201 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:43.039 So that particular break, and I'm going to get to 202 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:44.240 the break, but I want to tell you something about 203 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:46.879 Jimmy Stewart. He's in this book because if you do 204 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:49.039 a deep dive into his life, he's at the very 205 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.000 end of the book with some of the founders. You know, 206 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:55.440 that guy flew the missions of the kind that the 207 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:58.360 brother is recognized for in the movie. He had flown 208 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.559 those missions before that movie. Jimmy Stewart was a bona 209 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:04.200 fidees War hero before he ever played the guy that 210 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:08.240 stays at home. But my break came because again I'm 211 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:13.399 not the irony is I was at Dartmouth and I, 212 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:15.200 first of all, I was sure I was going to 213 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.039 fail out, but my mother had reassured me, don't worry, 214 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:19.639 you can always come home if you do. But then 215 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:22.799 I worked hard and didn't and a moment came towards 216 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:25.559 the very end where I could apply to work not 217 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:28.720 in a white house that wasn't available, but it was. 218 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:31.919 You know, everything is a step, step to step to step. 219 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:34.480 I was allowed. I Dartmouth had a program where you 220 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:37.480 could write your own program up, take some initiative, and 221 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:41.000 if they liked it, they had some corporate funders that 222 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:44.360 would fund it, so sort of anonymously. And so I 223 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:49.039 wanted to work in a piece of the US House 224 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.720 that was kind of a caucus or a committee that 225 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:54.039 was working on legal issues, because I thought in that 226 00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:56.200 moment that I was going to become a lawyer. So 227 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.960 I just ended up with an internship, an unpaid everyday internship, 228 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:02.840 and I worked my butt off in that internship and 229 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:07.279 published a paper which then led somebody who knew that group. 230 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:11.720 When Reagan won in nineteen eighty, he got there just 231 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:14.639 like you're going to see all these offices populated by people. 232 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:18.799 They're populated by the president's choice, but the number two, 233 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:22.159 number three, number five in that line are not there. 234 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.000 And so what I did is I was given a 235 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:28.519 chance by a guy who Roger Porter, who later taught 236 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:31.279 at the Kennedy School. I never knew anything about Harvard, 237 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:35.000 never knew anything about this stuff, but he said, how 238 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:36.679 would you like to come? I don't have a deputy. 239 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:38.320 How would you just like to come and work. I 240 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.519 saw the work you did for this little caucus, so 241 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:44.679 I said, yeah, of course I'll come and work. Of course. 242 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:46.360 And I dropped everything and came and work. 243 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:47.720 So yeah, I know one thing. 244 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:50.960 Lead Roger Porter is, yeah, that's what a break? Well 245 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:54.399 what Robin? I got to take a quick break. My 246 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:58.039 guest is Robert Charles. He's a former Assistant Secretary of 247 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:02.759 State for International Narcotics and Laurence Forcement Affairs. He worked 248 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.679 under the George W. Bush Bush as I call it 249 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:10.639 Bush forty three administration in that capacity. He's had a 250 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:14.080 fascinating career, uh and has written a book called Cherish America, 251 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:16.759 which I want to dive into, and I'm hoping that 252 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:20.720 some of you might want to. No one probably has 253 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.200 had an opportunity to read the book yet. I don't 254 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:26.080 expect you to do a book report. However, maybe some 255 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.720 of you, once we get going here, might be able 256 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:33.399 to recommend some other Americans that if Robert were to 257 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.480 do a sequel book that he might include. So we'll 258 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.000 have some fun with this, I promise. If you'd like 259 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:44.000 to talk with Robert Charles six one seven, two, four, six, one, seven, nine, 260 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.120 ten thirty. Those are the two best numbers to reach 261 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:48.440 us at. My name is Dan Ray. This is night Side, 262 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:52.120 and we're talking to a person who has been blessed 263 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:54.960 uh in his life. Uh, and he is now blessing 264 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:58.240 others uh. And a book is entitled Cherish America. And 265 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:01.519 if anyone tonight who live here a dozen Cherish America, 266 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.120 well your head is not screwed on straight, particularly after 267 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:07.840 what transpired on Bourbon Street in New Orleans just about 268 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:11.360 twenty eight hours ago. Now we're coming back on night Side. 269 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:12.600 We'll be back right after this. 270 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:17.279 Now back to Dan Ray live from the window World, 271 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:23.320 Nice Sight Studios. I' WBZ News Radio. 272 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:27.080 With me is Robert Charles. His book is entitled Cherish America. 273 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:29.600 And I want to get right into the book. The 274 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:31.679 book came out in October. If I'm not mistaken, Am 275 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:32.600 I right or wrong on that? 276 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.600 Robert, Yes, sir, yep, it was released again. Yep. 277 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:40.000 So this is a new book that is out there. 278 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:45.360 Give us just a little bit of the cast of 279 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:48.120 characters who we would get some insight in if we 280 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:51.960 were to take the opportunity to read the book. At 281 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:54.320 his entirety and then I'd like to just get to 282 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:57.000 some of the stories that are in the book. Obviously 283 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:00.799 we can't tell them all. But who gets this profile here? 284 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.240 Who are you talking about in this book? 285 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:07.440 Absolutely Dan. So let me start by saying I never 286 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.320 intended to write this book the way it ended up 287 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:13.440 getting written. It was six years in the process, hundreds 288 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:18.399 of hours of interviews, and notably it's called Cherish America Stories. 289 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:23.080 The subtitle is Stories of courage, Character and Kindness. And 290 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:26.519 what I sort of stumbled upon as I sat down, 291 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:28.879 thinking I needed to write a few of these stories 292 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:31.879 down is I began to realize that in many ways, 293 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:34.080 and maybe all of our lives are like this, we 294 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.159 just don't know it. But there's a Forrest Gump element 295 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:40.279 to my life story, which is that I have crossed 296 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:44.200 paths with people who did truly extraordinary things, and they 297 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:47.240 were pieces of my life. And I didn't know that 298 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:49.799 they had done some of these things until later on, 299 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.799 and I began to pull on threads. So the book 300 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:55.639 actually is divided into four sections, and the first one 301 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:01.360 has about twenty two stories, including everybody, and this section 302 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.399 is called Courageous Souls, and it is gripping sort of 303 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:08.679 Agatha Christie's style, stories about and they're all true about 304 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:13.960 law enforcement officers who did something extraordinary, pilots, military pilots 305 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:19.679 who did something extraordinary, teachers or nurses, infantry officers, and 306 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:23.120 those that you wouldn't expect, people who have disabilities, and 307 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:26.080 other things that just make your jaw drop when you 308 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.000 see what they've done with who they are just at 309 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:31.679 the lead in. So then the second section is places 310 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:34.159 in Time. The cast of characters in that first section, 311 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:37.320 I'll tell you some of the stories and you know 312 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:40.480 in short and they'll stop you in their tracks because 313 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:44.240 they did me. And then places in time, including places 314 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:46.919 like Arlington, where I have a lot of relatives buried, 315 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.919 and an extraordinary day there that ended with a shaft 316 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:53.399 of light on a stone which just blew me away, 317 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:56.600 and I've got photographs in the book. And then getting 318 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:59.279 out of communists Poland when I got myself in trouble 319 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:03.279 there walking alone on the beaches of Normandy, and the 320 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:09.359 sort of granular feeling the living of the moment of 321 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:11.839 being there. I think people come away feeling it a 322 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.079 lot more strongly when they read that story. And then 323 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:18.039 some other tougher ones I privately in my twenties walked 324 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:21.400 through Auschwitz and had notes about all of that. And 325 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:25.119 then gradually the third piece is Glimpses of History, which 326 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:29.200 are private stories that have never been told, but include 327 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:31.759 very personal stories having worked a couple of years with 328 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:35.480 Colin Powell about what kind of a leader he really was, 329 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:37.920 what kind of a person inside out, and they're they're 330 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:40.640 pretty compelling stories. People have never heard them, and there 331 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:43.240 I think you come away with a much higher level 332 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:45.839 of understanding and respect for who he was, even if 333 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:48.799 you went in with a high understanding. And then Ronald Reagan, 334 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:51.519 who I had the privilege of staying up with after 335 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:54.079 the White House and tell some stories about both he 336 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:57.319 and his wife, who I Nancy Reagan, who came and 337 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:01.480 helped me in Washington on counter narcotics shoes with some testimony. 338 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:04.319 And then the Bushes and a couple of sort of 339 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:08.359 serendipitous events. One is that Roger Porter actually and I 340 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:11.359 were at an event with Gorbachev at one point and 341 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:14.680 it was a multi day event, and at one point 342 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:19.680 in that event, I asked Gorbachev whether he believed in God, 343 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:24.759 and his answer was fascinating. And then my other part 344 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:27.079 of my life which is an odd ball. But turn 345 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:32.200 of again serendipity is I did oversight of NASA for 346 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:34.359 a number of years when I was with Congress, and 347 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:37.880 in that process, over time back in the nineties, got 348 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:40.480 to know very well Walt Cunningham who was Apollo seven, 349 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:43.599 Gene Cernon who was seventeen, and Buzz Aldrin, who I 350 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:47.680 have ended up working three or four times a week 351 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.960 with for the last twenty five years. And so there 352 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:54.720 are stories, you know, the Buzz stories are ones which 353 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:57.960 will just grab you because maybe six years ago, five 354 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:02.200 years ago, I said, Buzz, we talk all the time, 355 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:04.880 and you're telling me things. I've read all your books, 356 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:07.480 and I've seen the clips, and I've read the transcripts, 357 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:10.519 and you're telling me things that are not in any 358 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:12.400 of those books. And I think you ought to write 359 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:15.119 another book. And he said, I don't, you know, I'm 360 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:17.920 in my nineties. I'm not interested in writing another book. 361 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:20.160 And so I said, well, here's what we're going to do. Then, 362 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.279 I'm going to turn on the tape recorder and eventually 363 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:24.440 we're going to pull some of these stories together. How 364 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:27.839 they got off the moon is absolutely gripping, and most 365 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:30.440 people have no idea that they almost did not get 366 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:33.400 off the moon. They had other near death experiences in 367 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.559 things like Gemini twelve and some of the other Gemini missions. 368 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:40.640 So his stories are just absolutely riveting. And eventually I 369 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:43.839 didn't originally think of it, but when it was all 370 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:47.480 said and done and he'd read the manuscript, he offered 371 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:49.559 to write the forward for this book. So his forward 372 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:51.799 in this book again words You're not going to see 373 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:56.359 anywhere else. He has a very clear understanding of what 374 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:59.720 makes America great, and he really portrayed it. And then 375 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.480 the last section includes deep dives into it's called where 376 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:06.839 They Stood, some deep dives after reading hundreds of letters 377 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:11.079 of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and Ben Franklin and 378 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.240 some other more modern heroes like Jimmy Stewart. Deep dives 379 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:18.720 into some things that you don't know about people that 380 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:21.160 you think you know. So I will tell you that 381 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.759 the bulk of the story of the book is these 382 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:27.920 gripping stories about people who in a moment, and literally 383 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:31.079 it's fifty six stories, but in a moment needed to 384 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:36.079 show courage, very often real courage, and didn't know if 385 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:38.839 they had the power to do it, but leaned in 386 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:41.759 and did it. And some of these are things that 387 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:44.079 lasted a lifetime. Some of them happened in a thirty 388 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:46.440 second block. I mean, the first story in the book 389 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:48.880 is a guy, a law enforcement officer who later worked 390 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.559 for me, who he worked the night shift when he 391 00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:56.720 was young and in the Charlotte area, and he was 392 00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:59.839 coming home one morning early and saw smoke curling out 393 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:02.279 of trailer. And the bottom line on that story is 394 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:05.599 he just did some extraordinary things and ended up saving 395 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:10.519 two little children's lives. And so unique was his selflessness. 396 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:13.480 And I think of it that way that everybody else 397 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:17.400 in this book, from you know, from the law enforcement 398 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:20.480 officers to the military personnel, to Scott Hamilton, who was 399 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:24.000 the Olympic skater that I've known, and what motivated them. 400 00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:26.559 Their names are in this book, the last names. Rick 401 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.240