a month before. i did not expect that to satisfy anyone. it does not satisfy me, it does not satisfy the president, it does not satisfy the economic advisers. it particularly does not satisfy anyone out there trying to get by. specifically for our nation's factories, we lost more than 150,000 of those jobs last month. in states hardest-hit, i might add my state of delaware in particular was hit hard by the automobile industry. this is along with michigan and other big states. let me be very clear. a lower job rate loss is not our goal. less bad is not how we're going to measure success. we measure success -- we will not be satisfied until we are adding jobs, providing working americans with a stable job,

dependable and comes. . . more than $11 billion in highway funds and highway construction funds have been made available for a total of 3600 projects in states all across the nation. i am pleased that today's report shows some signs of all this activity having its desired impact. construction unemployment, for example, is down 59,000 jobs in maine, cutting in half the

average -- jobs in may. there is some direct sign that what we are doing is having an impact. it is an encouraging sign, but i want to make it clear that there is certainly going to be more setbacks on the road before we finally get to recover, as much progress as we have already made. we still have a long way to go on the road to recovery. that is why on monday, the president and i will be announcing our plans to ramp up the recovery act implementation over the summer. over the longer term, we know that the economic future of this country depends on the unique skills of the working men and women of this country, on them getting healthcare and getting those health care costs under control, and on building a clean energy future as we build this new economy. together, these initiatives will

not only spur job growth today, but we are absolutely convinced that will serve as a foundation or platform for an economic growth stirred up tomorrow, not based on a bubble, but based on real, sound, economic practices. we are working to build at foundation every day we are here. i think we are making some discernible progress. i remain confident that the country will emerge from this recession stronger and wiser than it was before we went in. we will take steps to reform the excesses' that brought this economy down, and ensure that the benefits of growth are shared with hard-working middle- class families. last time were in recover, we had productivity increase, and people lost 3%. that is not the objective of

this administration. when this growth occurs, we hope everyone will share in it, and we think they will. president obama and i are going to do everything we can to meet the goals we stated. in the end, as always, it will be the enduring spirit and the boundless ingenuity of the american people that will ultimately allow us to prevail. to sum it up, encouraging signs, but along, long way to go. thank you all very much. >> what does "ramp up" mean, mr. vice president? >> thank you very much. >> next, new york times columnist david brooks talks about the obama administration. president obama holds a press conference with german chancellor angela merkle, and

that -- look at the latest unemployment figures. >> there is still time to get your copy of c-span's 2009 congressional director, with information on house and senate members, the cabinet, supreme court justices, and the nation's governors, plus the street maps and how to con tact committees and caucuses. >> now, "new york times" columnist david brooks speaking about president obama. mr. brooks was at the national conference of the american advertising federation as the keynote speaker at the oak the new york times" luncheon. this is 20 minutes. >> i never get tired of looking in that. it is fun to be cool.

good afternoon. we are about to hear from one of the nation's most respected and well-liked drugless. he certainly has a lot to talk about these days. -- well-liked journalists. he must occasionally wondered why he campaigned so hard for the job. moments after he took the oath, president obama had to contend with a sharp downturn in the economy, rising unemployment, and a financial system that need a lot of help, to say the least. there were problems beyond our shores like iraq, afghanistan, and north korea. prognosticators have been saying this would be an extraordinary decade, and it appears they are right. while it is impossible to predict what will happen next, david brooks, and op-ed columnist for "the new york times," will provide us with his insights on politics in the age of obama. let me offer some background. before joining the "times" he

worked for "the weekly standard ." prior to that he worked at a competitor, "the wall street journal conchobar his last position was op-ed editor. he was also stationed in brussels, covering a small be, russia, middle east, south africa, and you are a. he demonstrated versatility as editor of the book review sessioction. he is the author of several books, and the reason c-span is here today televising this session. given his business better, it is a special honor to welcome him to the conference today. ladies and gentlemen, our keynote speaker, columnist for "the new york times," david brooks. ♪

>> thank you. "the times" is way cooler than "the journal." i am not used to this level of enthusiasm, except for the time was a student at syracuse. i was actually a student at florida state. i am going to talk all about washington. you have come here to our capital at a unique moment when we are like the business center of the universe. i used to cover business. i try to cover culture where ever it is going. in the 1990's i covered silicon valley when it was the business center of america and maybe the world. i used to hang around places where all the ceo's had these

water guns, places where people had luxury cars that came from companies with foreign policy. i used to say ben & jerry's should make a pacifist toothpaste. that was the culture back in those days that gave us all the progress of grocery stores like whole foods and trader joe's were all the cashier's look like they are on loan from amnesty international. my favorite section and trader joe's is the snack food section, because they do not have this potato chips and pretzels because that would lead to the obesity of america.

they have snacks for kids who come home and say they want a snack that will prevent colorectal cancer. that was one culture i covered in the late 1990's. i spent a lot of time in home depot, watching men by barbeque grills, because that is when they are most emotionally exposed. [laughter] a used to go over to the sam's club, which is like walmart on acid. you could go there and i 30- pound bags of tater tots. packages with 3002 chips -- 300 q-tips. i used to wonder who came here shopping for condoms, because

the quantities are so massive. there are a lot of optimistic people in america. [laughter] the other thing about those places this everyone is having the same conversation, about how much money they are saving by buying in bulk. a couple will say they should think of of -- they should get 15,000 obstacles because they were thinking of having kids anyway. that was one culture. now we are in a different culture. washington is really the of political and profit center. i got one good piece of advice, which was interviewed three politicians every day. i try to do that justify know what is going on everyday. i can tell you they are all emotional freaks. they talked so much, they drive themselves insane. they are also guaranteed to

invade your personal space. when you go up to a politician, he will read your ground ahead. i had dinner with the republican senator a couple of months ago and he had his hand on my inner thigh the whole dinner. a few years ago i watched ted kennedy and dan quayle meet in the floor of the senate and a sort of grabbed each other and hugged each other. there were so happy to see each other, and their faces were like this are a part. there were talking and laughing and hugging and grinding together. i was up in the press gallery saying get a room. i do not want to see you two. these are the politicians and the people who run our country. the fact is, they would not do it if they did not care about the country. the life is actually not a glamorous.

we in the public are sometimes a little too suspicious of them. they have their failings. they have a fear of being alone. they travel in packs. they are like emotional for year-old, but they do care about the country. the country is now led by one of the most remarkable politicians i have ever met, barack obama. [applause] i met him early on when he came to the senate before he had achieved messiah status. i see him in off the record settings once a month since he has become president. i had a chance to have dinner with him a few weeks ago at a columnist's house. he was carried into the dinner by cherub's who were floating there. oprah winfrey and bruce springsteen were throwing rose petals at his feet. he said to me, david, what sort

of wine would you like me to turn your water into? it is his character that shapes this administration. i will just tell you a few of the traits that he has. one is incredible perceptiveness about other people. the story i tell about that is, several years ago i was writing stories attacking republican congress. one morning i got an e-mail from obama that said david, if you want to attack us, you are only throwing in a sentence is to make yourself feel good. he got that. he is also a real intellectual, someone who really reads. i was interviewing him over the phone one afternoon and he was tired. he was a little cranky. out of the blue i asked him, if he had heard of a certain theologian. he said yes.

i ask what it meant to him. he described his theology in perfect paragraphs. there are not a lot of u.s. senators who can do that. there used to be one, and now there are none. that is just an incredible testimony to his intelligence. as you have seen, he is a man was incredible self control. there was a presidential debate where bob schieffer was hosting on cbs. when mccain would get to the podium, there was a legal pad, and mccain wrote his talking points as politicians tend to do on stage. obama did not write a word. but every time he would be asked a question, he would draw a straight line through a piece of paper. after the debate, one of bob's keepers assistance ran on stayeged and took the paper fora

souvenir. it was just a white sheet of paper with just a few straight lines. that is an example of a man with great composure and calm. when you attack a politician, usually they call you and tell you what a complete loser you are. with the obama people, if i write something critical of the president, i will get a call the next morning and they will say david, we like you and appreciate your work. it's so sad that your a complete and total loser. so they are very nice about it, and it makes you feel so good. he also has a trait of self confidence.

he is a very self confident guy. that has created some pluses and some minuses. he has surrounded himself with very, very smart people. there is a traffic jam of brains in this administration. half his staff comes from harvard and the other half comes from yale. i often say if we are attacked by terrorists during the harvard-yale game, we are all screwed, because they will all be up there in new haven. he has a very smart staff filled with people who really will argue in front of him. he had a decision a few weeks ago to decide whether to release the torture memos. he gathered people in the office of his chief of staff, rahm emanuel, and they literally had a debate. he listened to the bay for an hour and a decision right there on the spot. rahm emanuel is from chicago. he is a competitive, aggressive

guy. he has lost his middle finger in a delil accident, and he is very confrontational and curses a lot. obama jokes that when he lost his middle finger, he was rendered mute. [laughter] he is concerned about education because he's afraid american high school students are cursing at a fourth grade level. that is a good rahm emanuel line. the self-confidence of obama has made him president and helped him tackle although problems we have. that self-confidence can also lead him to overreach. let me read you something he said to a staff member who he hired. he hired him for the campaign. in the job interview, this is

him talking to this guy. obama says, i think i am a better speech writer than my speech writers. i know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. i will tell you right now, i think i am a better political director than my political director. that is a high level of self- confidence. when you look at what the obama administration has done, they have taken on issue after issue, and each individual issue, they have done it intelligently. i was in afghanistan a few weeks ago. what struck me was that at issue that the people on the ground and afghanistan, the policy they wanted was the policy obama adopted, and very aggressive policy. he has just taken over general motors.

he has created an $800 billion stimulus package. he is in the process of remaking the health-care sector, the housing sector, taking over the bank's, very impressive educational reforms. one thing after another, he is doing it all. i am a guy who leans on the cautious side of life. i am a temperamental conservative. i grew up and left wing household. my parents took me to a be-in in the 1960's were hippies would go just to beat. one of the things they did was put a garbage can and this set it on fire and threw their wallets in to demonstrate their liberation from money and material things. i was 5 years old. i ran up and put my hand and the fire and grabbed a $5 bill and ran away. that was my fur step over to the

right in life. [laughter] all of this aggressiveness makes me nervous. i see them talk about decisions, and every decision is smart. and yet, one of the things that adds up is the money. we are now running a 13% of gdp deficit. we will double our national debt in 10 years. the amount of money we pay just on interest on the debt is going to be $890 billion a year, which is almost the entire budget right now. i wonder how you can do so much? how can you take over autos, health care, have the american economy, and manage it all, no matter how smart you are? so i am the worry wart brown the media these days. i see a guy who is tremendously impressive. he manages his staff so beautifully and talks like no

other politician i have seen before. i just wish she was doing less. i just wish there was a little more humility there. maybe i will be proven wrong, because if there is one thing we know about this country, a country that can make a barbecue grill called the weber genesis grill, name of barbecue grill after a book from the bible, can probably achieve anything, but i am still loyal nervous about even as greater president as we have right now. thanks very much. [applause] i have been told there is time for questions. i know you guys from texas tech are out there. i was just at tcu about three

weeks ago with bob schieffer, who has that bob schieffer school of journalism. my 10 year-old son fell in love with the young woman who was down there. if there are any questions, speak up. the question is whether penski has not saturn. does that mean saturn will be in the daytona 500? i had not heard that. i am tremendously concerned about what is happening to gm, because i think corporate culture is very important. if you do not change the corporate culture, you are probably not changing the company, and i am afraid we are trying to buck up gm without changing the corporate culture. i do not see anybody else, so

thanks very much for your attention. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> coming up tonight on c-span, president obama holds a press conference with the german chancellor. the joint economic committee examines the results of the latest government unemployment report, and "new york times" columnist david rooks talks about the obama administration. >> this weekend on "book tv, coli, the midwest's largest literary event. saturday, starting at 11:00 eastern and throughout the day, panels and offers on the economy, globalization and the american worker, homosexual rights, former illinois governor rod blagojevich, civil rights

and sojourner truth, the mob and counterfeiting, and a look at the graphic adaptation of bestead circle's "working." an interview by mary matalin, and live sunday, in depth with bill ayers, former weather underground member. his latest is "race course against white supremacy." he will take your calls as well as calls from the audience. for a complete schedule, go online to booktv.org. >> president obama at and german chancellor angela merkel held a news conference today in dresden, germany. both leaders talked about the middle east peace prawns --

process, guantanamo bay, and the 65th anniversary of d-day. tomorrow, president obama visits france where he will speak at a ceremony commemorating that anniversary. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. we are delighted to have the american president here this morning with us after having met for the last time at the nato summit. we will visit dresden and later go to the former concentration camp. i think that this is indeed a trip of a highly symbolic nature. let me remind all of us of the visit to the concentration camp we will take later in the day.

it is important that the american president, barack obama, makes his first stop in dresden. this is a symbolic city. it was almost destroyed during the second world war. it was rebuilt after german reunification. it has turned out to be a jewel of german culture. the people here are so glad that you come to see them because it shows that you also pay tribute to the tremendous efforts they made in this 20 years after the fall of the wall. we have made very good use of that time talking about the political agenda, pressing issues. president obama gave a very important speech yesterday in cairo, which i think will be an ideal basis for a lot of fashion of a positive nature, particularly with the peace process in the middle east. he also talked about a time frame for progress to be made. i said on behalf of the federal republic of germany that we

would like to try and be helpful in this peace process to the extent this is possible. we need a two-state solution in order to accompany this along the way. the status of negotiations with iran on the nuclear program was also at the top of our agenda. we agreed to work closely together. germany will try to work with its contacts to give a positive contribution. we also debated the situation on world markets. we exchanged views on the different stimulus programs that we pursued in our countries. we talked about the upcoming g8 meeting. what is important is to implement what we decided on in

london. you have a very ambitious plan that you laid out. we will keep a close eye on developments. in the autumn when we meet we will state clearly that strengthening the multilateral system is also important. negotiations on climate change are also on the agenda. we very much welcome the hard work the united states has done in order to see to it that the necessary answers are found for this phenomenal climate change. we know that it is very much an uphill battle. we are familiar with that. and we are keeping a close eye on legislation that is passed. we need an ambitious program. we wto