>> it riveting and riveting in that case 51 years after it was delivered. i find it stunning and quite moving that in this week when we're considering the 50th anniversary of the assassination the gallop survey has shown once again kennedy ranks at the very top of modern american presidents and that is true for young people as well as for people like me who were alive and remember his presidency. he inspired it. it was a gift of eloquence, charm, wit, vision. and he made his share of mistakes especially in the first two years of office but he learned and he was inspiring. my book is about the third year which i think is a gift of leadership that is so spectacular, not so well understood i would say actually because people say oh, he did this, he did that. but by the third year or after the miracle of the world escaping the cuban missile crisis without a shot being fired and that was kennedy acting with the incredible courage and calm in the moment of maximum risk in the planet's history, he found his footing. by then, he understood power, he understood lead

you could see the rivet right in there. and he attached a paper clip to it. put plastic cellophane around it and put a rubber band around it to make it more easy to handle, specifically when it gets full of blood if he were to slice somebody. >> how did you get the weapon out there? >> how did i get it out there today? put it in my mouth. >> the officers that were escorting this individual were able to maintain control of him through the use of the restraint strap. this is a weapon that could be used to inflict serious bodily harm. you know, so they did a good job today. >> i don't just go and try to hurt somebody for no reason. i don't go looking for trouble. i just want to do my time and i want to do my time in peace, you know. if people leave me alone, i'll leave them alone. i don't bother nobody. you're not going to hear me yelling, screaming, kicking the door. i don't do stuff like that. >> were you provoked today? >> i've been provoked for over a year. this has been building and building and building and building. i mean sometimes this is the only way p

the truth is why you got an audience that is riveted on this. i think most people won't pay much attention to this and the average guy would have turned off long ago. they decided to change the rules. i suspect that changes the senate in fundamental ways forever. the senate in our system was the example to the world that there was a way and a democracy to protect rights. that is lot of on the nominations and could be lot of if the senator gets his way on legislation as well. when one side decides they are going to do what they want to do all by themselves, there is a usual long-term price to pay. >> there is always that. >> you have to defend that all by yourself. the democrats on the president's health care plan decided they were not going to do what was necessary to get one republican in the house or the senate to be for that. that made the discussion from that moment on different than it would have been if they worked to get one single republican or 30. for years, i was either the chief depp dee or the whip in the house. there were only two b

kennedy showed such dignity and composure and kindness to everybody else that she was absolutely -- she riveted everybody. she calmed them down, comforted them by the way she held herself up. >> i think everybody looked at her and said, well, god, she's the man's wife, if she can hold it together, we have to. >> i never could understand how someone could be that strong. we were all crying and she was strong for the nation. >> if anyone ever epitomized the expression grace under pressure, it is jacqueline kennedy. within the space of less than four months, she has lost a child and her husband. the beauty of character she displayed is something we might all wish to emulate when we are called upon to face tragedy in our own lives. >> after the ceremony is concluded, the people will file past the body of their late president. there's now a line four blocks long, people waiting to file through. >> these people coming through now have been waiting for at least 10 or 12 hours. waiting very quietly, good order. >> i actually went down to d.c., grew up in new jersey. my mom and dad who were huge kennedy

>> well, you're helping, obvi s obviously by coming on and the documentary is eye opening and riveting. sigourney weaver in saunders, thanks to both of you for coming around and talking about this. >> hamid karzai says he still does not trust the united states and even after word of an agreement to keep troops on the ground. karzai told the gathering of elders that even if they and parliament approved the security ban he won't sign it until april's elections. the deal would keep 10,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan and would restrict u.s. forces from conducting operations or raids except for extraordinary circumstances. president obama penned a letter to karzai detailing the plan. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] can you heal a broken heart with a bundt cake? of course you can! even if that heart was broken by zack peterson. bake the world a better place with nestle toll house. [ male announcer ] this december, experience the gift of unsurpassed craftsmanship at the lexus december to remember sales event. some of the best offers of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> janet ye

there is also a truly riveting analysis of why we remain so fascinated 50 years later. "time" editor-at-large writes quote, this whiplash convergence of extremes makes the assassination of john f. kennedy almost a uniquely deranging events. in a matter of seconds, the mighty are rendered helpless, the beautiful is made hideous. frank quillity is turned turn lent and the familiar becomes alien. he joins us with raddica jones. good to see both of you. good morning. >> i want to look at the photos first because they capture the moments just before jfk's death again, never before seen. i thought, radika, we had seen everything from that day. how did you get these? >> that's what we thought, too. these were taken from a dallas jeweler, amateur photographer, a fan of kennedy and he staked out a good spot in the path of the motorcade to photograph the president and ended up taking these amazing, very visceral shots of the president in the last moments of his life. >> look how healthy and he and jackie both in these photos look so healthy and the access is so close. >> the acce

it was riveting and horrifying. millions and millions -- really the whole country watched it happening so it was tv coming of age in a way as well. but it was a period where really there was a tremendous amount of concern about what would happen next. and that's why president johnson's taking the oath on the plane and insisting that mrs. kennedy be there for that picture, that iconic picture, was so important so that people could all understand that there was no disruption in the government. >> he was already the president at that point too. >> right. >> he had taken the same oath that kennedy had taken the day that they were both sworn in in 1961 and johnson decided for continuity sake i'm going stand here and be photographed. >> cokie, 50 years later, i still -- i have people come up and ask me if i believe, and we aldo -- whether oswald acted alone. did your mom or dad, being as close to the leadership as they were, did your mom or dad ever suggest that they thought it was anybody other than oswald? >> no. my fat

. >> a riveting account from one of 11 people, nine skydivers, two pilots, gearing up for a final jump in the skies above wisconsin. suddenly, two planes collide in midair. take a look at this incredible video showing the skydivers and fiery debris. the plane plummeting to earth on the side. nbc has the exclusive on helmet cam and here's the story from the "today" show's matt lauer. >> some of the skydivers take their positions outside the trailing plane for their final jump of the day when disaster strikes. [ bleep ]. the two cessnas collide in midair. some of the jumpers literally slammed between the two planes. the wing of the lead plane bends around one of the jumpers and then breaks off. from a different camera. you can see other jumpers getting sucked out into a freefall. at 120 miles per hour, 12,000 feet in the air. one jumper literally turning his head to see a massive fire ball engulf one of the planes, flaming debris flying through the air around them. another parachutist watches as the remaining piece of the plane breaks up. somehow the pilot of that plane manages to escape

but it's absolutely riveting because of him and because of his wife and because of his kids. and not just his sort of good looks. but the way he carries himself. his demeanor. his kind of dignity and his coolness. it's an illusion. he was not nearly that great of president. in fact, the revisionists have had their day with him. he screwed up a lot. but he inspired people. he totally snowed the press. >> totally snowed. >> that lives on. >> you know, doris, let's show these pictures of jfk again. the best looking guy in the world. ugly guys like me look at him all the time and say, how could anybody be that blessed with such great looks? then you look at jfk. and you look at t.r. and it is hard to remember that both men, these powerful presidents were weaklings as children who willed themselves physically to get through a day, get through -- and get through a campaign. >> absolutely. >> and become tough guys that could get shot at during -- i'm talking about t.r. here. get shot. finish the speech. then go to the hospital. >> that's right. i mean, t.r. had this life threatening