Goodwin Discusses President-Elect Barack Obama and Past Presidents

Noted historian and author of several books about United States Presidents, Doris Kearns Goodwin chatted with Imus this morning. While ticking off Goodwin's numerous accomplishments, Imus paused to highlight some unfortunate suspicions on his part.

"She worked for Lyndon Johnson, then went back down to Texas with the former president and floated around in a pool with him there," Imus said. "We don't know what else happened, we've never been able to get to the bottom of it, but we suspect probably other stuff that she doesn't want to talk about."

Goodwin promised Imus that on day they'll have a blockbuster conversation where Goodwin shares all her dirty secrets. Stay tuned.

Also an NBC news analyst, Goodwin was in Florida this morning where she's getting pumped for the inauguration. She thinks that in these trying times President-Elect Barack Obama should take a note from the speeches of former presidents.

"There's a fine line between being too pessimistic about what's going on...like Carter in his inaugural speech talked about the limits that even our great nation has," she said. "You need the optimism of a Reagan, but there has to be a fine line where you're not too optimistic."

Asked how long Obama has to solve the country's problems before "everybody jumps all over him," Goodwin answered that the honeymoon will last longer than usual, so long as he keeps up a dialogue with the American people.

"He's already said, 'There's going to be false steps before there are victories,'" she said.

Imus pointed out that Obama's focus on pressing matters like the economy has debunked theories that he is a "wild-eyed, crazed radical" looking to dismantle all of President George W. Bush's programs. Goodwin praised Obama's ability to look to the future.

"Obviously you want to stop whatever it is that Bush was doing that you disagree with, but you don't have enough time and energy and imagination and focus right now to look backward-you have to go forward," she said, and then quoted former President Abraham Lincoln, who said, "You can't allow the past hurts to fester within you or it poisons part of you."

Imus said he thought of Goodwin when Obama named Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to be Secretary of State because it fell perfectly into Lincoln's philosophy, as described in Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln."

Said Goodwin, "He really has absorbed the strength of Lincoln's ability to say, I'm going to put people into this inner circle-even if they disagree with me, even if they've been my rivals-if they are the best people in the country."

Julie Kanfer