Joseph Califano — Religion and Politics

On Being with Krista Tippett

On Being Studios

Sociology, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality, Krista Tippett, Arts, Culture, On Being, Society, Society & Culture, Science, Social Sciences

4.7 • 10.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2004

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We speak with Washington insider Joseph Califano, a devout, lifelong Catholic, who held key positions inside the Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter administrations. Califano provides frank insight into the practical difficulties of applying religious ideals in the political arena.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Speaking of faith from American public media is supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts,
0:05.3	investing in ideas, returning results, PewTrust.com. Additional support is provided
0:11.4	by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the John Templeton Foundation.
0:17.6	This is speaking of faith, conversation about belief, meaning, ethics, and ideas. I'm Christa
0:24.0	Tippett. Today as part of our continuing exploration of religion and politics, a conversation with veteran
0:34.6	Washington insider Joseph Califano. Joseph Califano was born into a mixed Irish Italian Catholic
0:43.6	family in Brooklyn. He was raised with a devout faith in a pre-Vaticant to church defined as he
0:49.9	says by rules of conduct as detailed as a tax code but without the loopholes. And as Califano
0:56.4	writes in his memoir, Inside a Public and Private Life, his Catholic faith served as a moral compass
1:03.0	by which he negotiated political life at its most Machiavellian. He was a young aide to Kennedy
1:09.2	Cabinet members Robert McNamara and Cyrus Vance. In Lyndon Johnson's White House, Califano spearheaded
1:15.7	Johnson's great society initiatives on poverty and civil rights. Later, he was Jimmy Carter's
1:21.7	secretary of health, education, and welfare. Joseph Califano has experienced the tensions and conflicts
1:28.6	of holding deep moral and religious convictions while in public service.
1:35.8	I do think most presidents try and do what's right, even when they do the most controversial things.
1:43.6	Lyndon Johnson used to say, you know, it's not doing what's right that's difficult as president.
1:48.4	It's finding out what's right that's most difficult.
1:57.0	Joseph Califano's account of his years as a Democratic policymaker and Washington insider
2:02.8	offers a window onto the role of religion in both Democratic and Republican politics in our time.
2:09.4	Califano's political point of departure was the election of John F. Kennedy as the first Roman
2:14.7	Catholic president in 1960. Today, Catholic presidential candidate John Kerry is under fire from some
2:22.0	bishops for failing to follow church teachings on abortion. But when John Kennedy was running for
	...

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