U.S. Presidency

Isaacson has just written an extensive book about the life of Secretary of State and Nobel Prize Laureate. The writer takes us from Kissinger's boyhood in Germany, his family's flight to America in 1938, through his army career, his years at Harvard as a student and later a professor, and his rise to political power. Isaacson notes Kissinger's many accomplishments, but also portrays him as secretive, paranoid and duplicitous.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "The Kennedys" a new documentary on PBS about the political family. He says it evokes not just their history, but the many television shows made about them.

Judis was a radical in the Sixties, and came to appreciate the intellectualism and dialogue in the conservative movement, a topic he pursued as a journalist. He considers the current splintering of that movement, and where President Bush fits in.

A liberal in his early years, Will joined the conservative camp while studying at Oxford. He is regarded as one the most intellectual conservative thinkers in his field. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1977. His most recent book is "Restoration," which argues that term limits for Congresspeople could improve the legislative process and discourage a divided government.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the song "Read My Lips" by the group A Thousand Points of Night -- which is actually musician and producer Don Was. The song samples President Bush making a number of contradictory statements.

Political science professor and author Ron Walters has advised the Congressional Black Caucus and been a consultant to Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns. He is the author of "Black Presidential Politics in America," which offers a history of and strategic approach for blacks breaking into presidential politics.

Reporter Douglas Franz of the Los Angeles Times. He and reporter Mark Waas first broke the story that the Bush Administration continued to guarantee loans and to export military equipment to Iraq in late 1989 even though intelligence reports warned that Baghdad was developing a nuclear weapon and ballistic missiles. The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating an alleged cover-up by the C.I.A. and the Justice Department related to a loan to Saddam Hussein of five billion dollars in the years before the war, some of which was used to finance Iraq's arms program.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the forthcoming, election-themed "Frontline" episode, which airs tomorrow night. He says it's almost invaluable for voters trying to stay informed.

Journalist Jerry Knight has been covering the Savings & Loan Crisis for the Washington Post. He'll talk about the predicted bank closings that will probably occur in early 1993 triggered by a federal law that goes into affect December 19. The law requires that federal regulators take over failing banks when their financial problems "reach the point of no return." There are 1,000 banks on the FDIC's "problem bank list." The issue was brought up in last night's presidential debate.

Quindlen has been a reporter since the age of 18, and is a syndicated Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times. Some of her recent columns have dealt with the double standards applied to the wives of Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, the rumor alleging that Clinton tried to renounce his citizenship, and the expectations that could accompany a new president.

Safire writes a Pulitzer Prize winning op-ed column for The New York Times. He has a new book called "The First Dissident," which applies the lessons of the biblical Job to modern politics. Before writing columns, Safire worked for the Eisenhower campaign and wrote speeches for the Nixon administration. He tells Terry about his frustrations with President Bush.

Journalist Robert Krulwich is hosting a new "Frontline" documentary on PBS, "The Best Campaign Money Can Buy," about the funds that go into the presidential campaign. In particular, the documentary looks at contributors that give "soft money," -- money given to a party rather than to a candidate. This kind of giving bypasses the law which limits individual donations to presidential candidates to $1,000.

Lyn Nofzinger was an official in the Nixon administration and was Reagan's press secretary and later his aide in the White House, where he was known as a "hatchet-man". He has a new political memoir, called "Nofziger." He Fresh Air to talk about Reagan's recent decision to campaign for President Bush.

TV critic David Bianculli considers the strange trends in this year's election, among which involves all three major candidates making an unprecedented number of television appearances. He thinks this is overall a good thing, and will become the new normal in future elections.

Conservative cartoonist Wayne Stayskal's recents strips have focused on the Democrats, particularly Clinton. His syndicated cartoon appears weekly in the Tampa Tribune.

Part two of our Al Franken interview. He talks about his roles with Saturday Night Live, and his work with the Comedy Channel paroyding the presidential campaign.

Senior analyst and Latin American specialist at the National Security Archive Peter Kornbluh talks with guest host Marty Moss-Coane about the Iran-Contra scandal, particularly about the implications of the publicized 1986 note written by then-Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger. It implies that Bush knew about the affair, though the President has denied this.

British journalist Xan Smiley has been covering the U.S. election process -- beginning with the primaries -- for the Sunday Telegraph. He gives his impressions of the campaign and makes comparisons between American and British styles of politics. He says Americans are much more "decorous and dignified" than British politicians.

From Newsweek magazine, political reporter and media columnist Jonathan Alter. Guest host Marty Moss-Coane talks with Alter from Little Rock, Arkansas, about how the media did on the presidential campaign trail.

From the Wall Street Journal, Erik Larson. He'll talk with guest host Marty Moss-Coane about the problems with polls, which have become ubiquitous during this election season. He says things like a questioner's personality, the questions asked, and the "passion index," can all affect results.