U.S. Congress

For 17 years, former Vice President Al Gore has been on the forefront of warning against global warming. But in his new documentary, The Inconvenient Truth, he says that he "failed to get the message out." He's now getting the message out with his documentary and new book of the same name. The Washington Post calls the book "downright chilling." The documentary has been critically acclaimed.

Former Washington Post Congressional correspondent Juliet Eilperin says warlike tactics, manipulation and strategic takeovers have replaced compromise in the House. She drives home the point in her new book, Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the U.S. House of Representatives.

In his new book, Character Is Destiny Sen. John McCain passes along the stories of heroes — both famous and obscure — whose values exemplify the best of the human spirit.

Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, has a lot of experience
rounding upevotes for Republican legislation. He's the former Senate majority
leader and former House and Senate whip. He's also the author of a new memoir,
"Herding Cats."

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Good Night, and Good Luck, a new film about Edward R. Murrow, tells the story of the famed newsman's clash with Sen. Joe McCarthy. The film, with David Strathairn in the title role, was directed by George Clooney.

Dubose is co-author (with Jan Reid) of a new book about House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Delay's nickname — and the name of the book — is The Hammer. DeLay was a small-town Texas exterminator who rose to be the most powerful man in Congress. Dubose was the editor of The Texas Observer for 11 years. He is also co-author, with Molly Ivins of Bushwhacked and Shrub.

The daughter of former presidential candidate, Vice President Al Gore, Kristin Gore has just written her first novel, Sammy's Hill. It's about a young health care analyst who is trying to balance her personal life with her work for a U.S. senator. Gore has been a TV writer since she graduated from Harvard, where she wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. She has written for Saturday Night Live and Futurama

Obama, an Illinois state senator, is considered the party's rising star. He is currently running against Republican Alan Keyes for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Obama's keynote address at the Democratic National Convention brought him to the attention of many Americans. He talks about the race and his memoir, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

Republicans in Illinois have asked Alan Keyes to run against Barack Obama for the U.S. Senate. Keyes, a resident of Maryland, has served in a number of government posts, including U.S. ambassador to the United Nations economic and social council and assistant secretary of state for international organizations. He also hosted his own radio show.

He's the creator and producer of NBC's new series Mr. Sterling, about a freshman senator on Capitol Hill. O'Donnell was a writer and producer for the first two seasons of NBC's The West Wing. Before his television career, O'Donnell was in politics himself. He was Democratic chief of staff of the United States Senate Committee on Finance from 1993 to 1995. Prior to that he was senior advisor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan D-NY from 1989 to 1992. Currently O'Donnell is also senior political analyst for MSNBC.

In her 40 years of public service she worked for civil rights, helped write the guidelines that are now established in the Sexual Harrassment Act, worked for reform in South Africa and has argued before the Supreme Court. She has been the Commissioner on Human Rights in New York, the first woman appointed to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a law professor. Holmes Norton is the subject of the new biography Fire in My Soul, written by a long-time friend, Joan Steinau Lester.

Reporter Eric Schmitt. He covers Capitol Hill for the New York Times. He’ll talk about the new Congress and power sharing in the 50/50 Senate. Schmitt will also talk about how the just resolved Presidential election—along with a truncated transition period for George W. Bush -- may effect political decision making on the Hill.

Congressman Richard Gephardt. He's the Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives and has written a new book, "An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century" (Public Affairs). In it he writes about the "cycle of destruction" in politics, the personal attacks on the character and integrity of politicians by other politicians and how it effects the country at large and our sense of democracy.

Film critic John Powers comments on the plan to award Elia Kazan an honorary Academy Award. Kazan is best known for his films "On The Waterfront," and "A Streetcar Named Desire." The award is controversial because Kazan turned over names of suspected communist members during the 1950s.

Former Colorado Congresswoman Pat Schroeder. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 24 years. She's the first woman to hold the office that long. During that time she championed causes important to women: pay equity, the Equal Rights Amendment, breast cancer research, and family leave. She also landed a coveted spot on the House Armed Services Committee. She also coined the term "Teflon president" to describe Ronald Reagan. She's written a new memoir, "24 Years of House Work. . .and the Place is Still a Mess" (Andrews McMeel)

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. He's written a new book, "Newt Gingrich: Lessons Learned the Hard Way: A Personal Report" (HarperCollins).

Vilar's memoir "A Message from God in the Atomic Age" chronicles three generations of self-destructive behavior: in 1954, her grandmother was imprisoned for opening fire at the U.S. House of Representatives; in 1977, her mother leapt to her death from a speeding car; and in 1988, Vilar herself was committed to a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide. Alternating between her notes from the psychiatric ward and the chronicling of the history of her family, Vilar tells of her own attempts to come to terms with her family history.

Senator Bill Bradley has written a book about his life called Time Present, Time Past published by Knopf. Bradley announced last year that he would not seek re-election in 1996. In addition to his political career, Bradley was also a star basketball player with the New York Knicks.

Penny was in Congress for twelve years. He's just written a new book about the cultures that modern lawmakers bring to Congress which he says "have gnawed away at the sturdy foundations of republican democracy and trustworthy service that our Founding Fathers bequeathed." Penny's new book is Common Cents, which he wrote with journalist Major Garrett. Penny is now spokesperson for the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan coalition that promotes fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction.

The former congresswoman became Louisiana's first woman member of Congress in 1972. She was elected after her husband, then House majority leader Hale Boggs, died in a plane crash. Boggs was an advocate for civil rights and women's issues before her retirement in 1990. She is the mother of NPR and ABC-TV's Cokie Roberts, Washington lobbyist Thomas Hale Boggs, and the late Barbara Sigmund, who was mayor of Princeton, New Jersey. Boggs has new autobiography is called "Washington Through a Purple Veil: Memoirs of a Southern Woman."