>>> WELCOME BACK. WITH OUR NATIONAL LEAD TODAY, NEXT MONDAY, MAY 29th. IT'S MEMORIAL DAY BUT IT'S SOMETHING ELSE, TOO. IT'S WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY'S 100th BIRTHDAY. A BIG MOMENT FOR THOSE WHO REVERE ADMIRE THE YOUNGEST MAN EVER ELECTED TO THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT, AND A MAN WHO ONLY SERVED 1,037 DAYS BECAUSE OF THAT TRAUMATIC AFTERNOON IN DALLAS IN 1963. THE JFK LEGACY LIVES ON AND OTHER TO TALK ABOUT THAT LEGACY IS CAROLINE KENNEDY, FORMER JOHN F. KENNEDY'S DAUGHTER AND FORMER AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN. WELCOME. >> THANK YOU. >> THERE'S A VIDEO MESSAGE TO COMMEMORATE THE 100th ANNIVERSARY FEATURING YOUR CHILDREN, JFK'S ONLY GRANDCHILDREN. YOU'RE GIVING US GRACIOUSLY THIS FIRST LOOK AT IT, SO WHY DON'T WE ROLL THIS VIDEO AND THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AFTERWARDS. >> OKAY. >> IT WOULD BE MY FATHER'S 100th BIRTHDAY. I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HIM AND MISSED HIM EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE. GROWING UP WITHOUT HIM WAS MADE EASIER THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO KEPT HIM IN THEIR HEARTS, WHO TOLD ME THAT HE INSPIRED THEM TO WORK AND FIGHT AND BELIEVE IN A BETTER WORLD, TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO THIS COUNTRY THAT HAS GIVEN SO MUCH TO SO MANY. I REMEMBER HIDING UNDERNEATH MY FATHER'S OVAL OFFICE DESK WHEN I WAS LITTLE AND SITTING ON HIS LAB ON THE HONEY FITZ. HE WOULD POINT OUT THE WHITE SHARK AND PURPLE SHARK THOUGH I COULD NEVER SEE THEM. HE HAD HIS FRIENDS THROW THEIR SOCKS OVERBOARD WHICH I LOVED. PRESIDENT KENNEDY INSPIRED A GENERATION THAT TRANSFORMED AMERICA. THEY MARCHED FOR JUSTICE. THEY SERVED IN THE PEACE CORPS, IN THE INNER CITIES AND OUTER SPACE. HIS BROTHERS CARRIED ON THAT WORK FIGHTING AGAINST POVERTY, VIOLENCE AND WAR, CHAMPIONING HUMAN RIGHTS, HEALTH CARE AND IMMIGRATION. AS MY FATHER SAID IN HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS, THIS WORK WILL NOT BE FINISHED IN OUR LIFETIME. TO US TO CONTINUE TO CONTINUE TO PASS THESE VALUES ON TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. >> ONE OF DEFINING RELATIONSHIPS IN MY LIFE IS WITH SOMEONE I'VE NEVER MET, MY GRANDFATHER, PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY. IT'S A LITTLE ODD TO BE CONNECTED TO SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN EVERYONE ELSE HAS ACCESS TO MUCH OF THE SAME INFORMATION ABOUT HIM THAT YOU DO. THROUGHOUT MY LIFE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONNECT WITH MY GRANDFATHER THROUGH THE STUDY OF HISTORY WHICH I KNOW HE LOVED. BOTH STUDYING HIS LIFE AND THE ERAS AND PATTERNS THAT FASCINATED HIM. TO ME THAT'S WHERE HE LIVES, AS A HISTORICAL FIGURE ROOTED IN THE PAST BUT ALSO AS A PERSON CONNECTED TO SO MUCH OF WHAT CAME AFTER HIM, HIS WRITINGS AND FROM THE STORIES MY RELATIVES HAVE TOLD ME. BUT WHILE MY GRANDFATHER HAD REVERANCE FOR THE PAST AND THE LESSONS THEY COULD IMPART, HE ALSO KNEW THAT AMERICA WAS A COUNTRY WHERE CHANGE WAS POSSIBLE. WE AREN'T BOUND SOLELY BY TRADITION IF WE UNDERSTAND THE PAST WITH WHICH WE ARE BREAKING. >> I'M INSPIRED BY MY GRANDFATHER'S SENSE OF EQUALITY, HIS COURAGE IN NAMING THE INJUSTICES IN AMERICAN SOCIETY AND HIS CALL FOR ACTION. HIS WORDS AND HIS IDEALS MEAN SO MUCH TO ME AND TO THE WORLD WE LIVE IN TODAY, BUT WE'RE STILL FACED WITH TREMENDOUS INEQUALITY AND INJUSTICE FROM VOTING RIGHTS TO OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND MASS INCARCERATION. MY GRANDFATHER WOULD BE PROUD HOW FAR WE'VE COME AS A NATION SINCE 1963 BUT HE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TO TELL US WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. I HOPE EVERYONE REGARDLESS OF AGE OR PARTY WILL REMEMBER WHEN PRESIDENT KENNEDY TOLD AMERICA DECADES AGO THIS. NATION WAS FOUNDED BY MANY NATIONS AND BACKGROUNDS, IT WAS FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLE THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL AND THE RIGHTS OF EVERY MAN ARE DIMINISHED WHEN THE RIGHTS OF ONE MAN ARE THREATENED. >> PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS ELECTED ON A PLATFORM OF CHALLENGES AND NOT PROMISES, NOT FOR WHAT HE WOULD OFFER THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AS PRESIDENT BUT WHAT HE WOULD ASK OF THEM. MY FAVORITE PEACH IS THE ONE THAT PRESIDENT KENNEDY GIVE AT RICE UNIVERSITY WHERE HE MAKES THE CASE FOR SENDING A MAN TO THE MOON. HE SAID THAT THAT CHALLENGE WAS WORTHWHILE NOT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE EASY BUT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE SO HARD. MY GENERATION WILL INHERIT A COMPLICATED WORLD WILL COUNTLESS UNSOLVED PROBLEMS. CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THEM BUT IT'S THE TYPE OF CHALLENGE THAT I THINK MY GRANDFATHER WOULD HAVE BEEN ENERGIZED ABOUT AND EAGER TO SOLVE. HE CARED DEEPLY ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, ABOUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND RECOGNIZE THAT HAD ONLY IF AMERICA LEADS THE WORLD IN SOLVING GLOBAL PROBLEMS CAN WE MAKE SURE IT'S DONE RIGHT. FROM THAT SPEECH AT RICE AND FROM THE SPACE PROGRAM HE HELPED LAUNCH, WE CAN LEARN A SIMPLE BUT IMPORTANT LESSON. GREAT CHALLENGES ARE OPPORTUNITIES, AND IT IS EACH GENERATION'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MEET THOSE CHALLENGES WITH THE SAME COMBINATION OF ENERGY, FAITH AND DEVOTION THAT PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES DISPLAYED DECADES AGO. KNOWY WITH EAR UP TO THE TASK BUT WE HAVE TO DEMAND ACTION FROM OUR LEADERS AND WE HAVE TO VOTE. >> AS HIS FAMILY, WE'RE SO PROUD OF WHAT MY FATHER STOOD FOR DURING HIS LIFE AND HOW POWERFUL THOSE VALUES REMAIN TODAY. I HOPE THAT THESE REFLECTIONS ON PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S LIFE AND HIS INFLUENCE ON THOSE OF US WHO SHARE HIS LEGACY WILL ENCOURAGE PEOPLE ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES TO LOOK AT CHALLENGES IN THEIR OWN CORNER OF THE WORLD AND SEEK SOLUTIONS THAT HEAL, LIFT UP THE FORGOTTEN AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS. THANKS FOR WATCHING. >> POWERFUL VIDEO. THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING IT WITH US. REALLY APPRECIATE IN THE. >> THANK YOU. I THINK IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE FOR ME AND MY CHILDREN, AND I THINK THEY EACH SPEAK REALLY SO ELOQUENTLY TO WHAT THIS LEGACY MEANS TO THEM. >> WHY A VIDEO FORMAT AS A WAY OF COMMEMORATEING? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY COMING -- YOUR FATHER'S 100th BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP MONDAY. I'M SURE THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT YOU GO YOU TO TALK, WANTING YOUR CHILDREN TO TALK. >> WELL, AS HE BECOMES PART OF HISTORY I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO SHOW SORT OF WHAT HE STILL MEANS TO TUS AS A PERSON, AND I THINK -- I THINK EACH OF MY KIDS HAD A DIFFERENT SLIGHTLY TAKE ON IT, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF EMOTION THERE, AND I THINK THAT PROBABLY IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD SHARE BETTER ON CAMERA. >> I LOVE THAT STORY ABOUT YOUR DAD TELLING YOU ABOUT THE WHITE SHARK AND THE PURPLE SHARK FOLLOWING YOU AND MAKING HIS FRIENDS THROW SOCKS IN. IT'S SUCH A GREAT CORNY DAD JOKE. BUT I DO WONDER HEARING IT LIKE IS IT DIFFICULT HAVING YOUR DAD BE THIS ICON THAT THE REST OF US FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A SENSE OF AND WE HAVE A TAKE ON, AND HE'S PART OF OUR LIVES IN A WAY, AND YOU ACTUALLY KNEW HIM? >> WELL, I THINK REALLY HE SORT OF -- GROWING UP HE WAS SORT OF PART OF EVERYONE'S LIFE, AND SO THAT WAS A VERY SPECIAL AND UNIQUE THING FOR ME, BUT I THINK IT REALLY MEANT A LOT, AND I THINK IT MADE IT A LOT EASIER, AND I HAD SO MANY RELATIVES OBVIOUSLY AS WELL, SO -- SO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WOULD COME UP TO ME EVERY DAY AND SAY, YOU KNOW, I GOT INVOLVED IN MY COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF YOUR FATHER'S INAUGURAL SPEECH, AND EVEN WHEN I WAS IN JAPAN, PEOPLE WERE STILL TELLING ME THAT THEY HAD MEMORIZED THAT SPEECH, THAT THEY WERE SO INSPIRED BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S VISION OF SERVICE AND OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP THAT I THINK THAT THAT REALLY KEPT HIM ALIVE. >> NOT A LOT WILL HAVE INAUGURAL SPEECHES THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL QUOTING FROM. >> RIGHT, I MEAN, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IF. >> WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN? WE DON'T SEE ROSE, TATTIANA AND JACK, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE -- THEY ARE PRIVATE FIGURES. >> WELL, I THINK THE POINT HERE IS THAT -- THAT HE IS A HISTORICAL FIGURE. 100 YEARS IS A REALLY LONG TIME, BUT I THINK HIS LEGACY AND VALUES ARE TIMELESS AND LIVE ON, AND WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOUNGER PEOPLE TODAY WHO ARE STILL VERY CURIOUS ABOUT PRESIDENT KENNEDY TO CONNECT WITH THOSE VALUES, TO CONNECT WITH HIS MESSAGE OF JUSTICE AND SERVICE AND COURAGE, AND SO -- AND INNOVATION AND EXPERIMENTATION AND -- AND THE BELIEF IN AMERICA, SO THEY I THINK ARE THE BEST PEOPLE TO TAKE THAT MESSAGE FORWARD INTO THE 21st CENTURY. >> YOUR DAUGHTER, I BELIEVE IT WAS ROSE, SAID -- OR MAYBE IT WAS TATIANA, ACTUALLY, THAT GROWING UP SHE NEVER EVEN MET HIM SO SHE LEARNED ABOUT HIM THE SAME WAY THAT I LEARNED ABOUT HIM IN SCHOOL. WHAT DID YOUR KIDS ASK YOU ABOUT HIM WHEN THEY WERE GROWING UP? >> I CAN'T -- WELL, NOW THEY ARE OLDER SO I THINK THAT THEY WERE BOTH INTERESTED IN ANYTHING THAT I REMEMBERED WHICH ARE MOSTLY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES, SO WHEN THEY WERE LITTLE WE COULD TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS AND HIDING UNDER THE DESK AND MY PONY OR MY PETS AND I KNOW WHEN MY UNCLE TEDDY CAME TO TALK TO THEIR CLASSES HE WOULD ALWAYS TALK ABOUT ALL THE PETS THAT HAD LIVED IN THE WHITE HOUSE, THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT AS THEY GOT OLDER I THINK THEY REALLY BECAME INTERESTED IN THE ISSUES AND THE RELEVANCE TODAY. SO MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE NOW ON THE -- IN THE HEADLINES HAD THEIR ROOTS IN THE 1960s, WHETHER IT'S WORKING THROUGH MULTI-LUT RALL INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE U.N. OR ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT AND -- AND CIVIL RIGHTS OBVIOUSLY INSPIRING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AROUND THE WORLD SO I THINK THAT REALLY IT IS -- STUDY HISTORY REALLY ISN'T ABOUT THE PAST, IT'S ABOUT WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO WE WANT TO CREATE FOR THE FUTURE. >> YOUR DAD WAS SO ERUDITE AND PROUD ABOUT HIS WIT, DO YOU THINK HE WOULD MICK A GO THE OF POLITICS TODAY? THAT'S MAYBE A TOUGH ONE. >> WELL, I THINK, AGAIN, AND I WENT BACK AND LOOKING AT HIS SPEECH THAT HE GAVE RIGHT BEFORE HE BECAME PRESIDENT AND HE SAID HISTORY WILL JUDGE US BY FOUR QUALITIES, COURAGE, DEDICATION, QUALITY AND JUDGMENT SO I THINK THAT'S HOW HE WOULD JUDGE POLITICS TODAY, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY CAN MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND. >> YOU DON'T DO A LOT OF INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS ABOUT YOUR FATHER. IS IT TOUGH TO DO? >> WELL, IT'S -- IT'S A LOT EASIER TO DO WITH MY CHILDREN, AND I THINK I'M SO PROUD THAT THEY ARE PROUD OF HIS LEGACY, AND I THINK HAVING A CHANCE TO SHARE IT WITH THEM AND WITH ANOTHER GENERATION MAKES IT -- MAKES IT A LOT MORE FUN MORE ME OR ENJOYABLE. >> WELL, IT'S AN INSPIRING LEGACY AND SO HONOR THAT HAD YOU GAME HERE TO TALK TO US ABOUT IT. >> THANK YOU. >> THAT'S IT FOR "THE
