Martin Sheen: Biden's legacy has grown enormously

>>> AND YOU CAN HELP LIFT UP THIS NATION AND ALL ITS PEOPLE TO THAT PLACE WHERE THE HEART IS WITHOUT FEAR AND THE HEAD IS HELD HIGH WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS FREE, WHERE THE WORLD HAS NOT BEEN BROKEN UP INTO FRAGMENTS BY NARROW, DOMESTIC WALLS. WHERE WORDS COME OUT FROM TRUTH AND TIRELESS STRETCHES ITS ARMS FOR PERFECTION. THE CLEAR HAS NOT LOST ITS WAY IN THE DREARY SANDS OF DEAD HABIT. WHERE THE MIND IS LED FORWARD WITH EVER-WIDENING THOUGHT AND ACTION INTO THAT HEAVEN OF FREEDOM, DEAR FATHER, LET OUR COUNTRY AWAKE. THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ] >> DEAR FATHER, LET OUR COUNTRY AWAKE. THAT WAS EMMY AWARD-WINNING ACTOR MARTIN SHEEN IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THIS PAST WEEKEND, REPRISING HIS ROLE HAS PRESIDENT JED BARTLET, FROM THE HEAD TV SHOW "THE WEST WING." THAT TOOK PLACE IN AN EVENT FOR A NEW BOOK WHICH SHEEN HAS PROM INNOCENTLY TITLED "WHAT'S NEXT, A BACKSTAGE PASS FOR THE WEST WING, ITS CAST AND CREW, AND IT'S ENDURING LEGACY OF SERVICE." JOINING US WITH THE COAUTHOR OF "WHAT'S NEXT" MELISSA FITZGERALD, SHE APPEARED IN ALL OF WEST WING AS CAROL FITZPATRICK AND PRESS SECRETARY C.J.CREGG. WHEN YOU SAID, DEAR FATHER, LED OUR COUNTRY AWAKE. IF YOU WOULD, TALK TO US ABOUT THIS HISTORIC TIME, TROUBLING TIME THAT WE PASS THROUGH AS A NATION. >> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVITING US TO BE PART OF THE SHOW AT THIS HISTORIC TIME, TRULY. THE WORDS YOU PLAYED AT THE SYNAGOGUE THE OTHER NIGHT WERE FROM THE INDIAN POET LAUREATE, ONE OF THE GREAT POETS FROM INDIA. I LEARNED THAT POEM MANY YEARS AGO WORKING IN INDIA. THEY'RE SO APPROPRIATE. WHENEVER I SPEAK IN PUBLIC, I ALWAYS END WHATEVER REMARKS I'M GIVING TO WHOMEVER I'M GIVING THEM TO WITH THAT POEM. SO, I'M GLAD YOU PLAYED THAT, YEAH. >> I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY, THERE'S A GROUND SWELL IN THE COUNTRY. I'M THINKING BACK TO REAGAN'S FIRST RUN WHEN HE SAID IT'S A NEW MORNING IN AMERICA. AND HE CALLED AMERICA THE SHINING CITY ON A HILL. THAT'S THE NEW JERUSALEM FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW. AND IT'S SO REWARDING AND SO REFRESHING AND SO EXCITING TO HAVE JOY BACK IN OUR POLITICAL LIFE, IN OUR CONVERSATION. >> MARTIN, I'VE BEEN A REAL FAN OF THE SHOW. IN FACT, I HAVE ON MY TRAVELING iPAD, ALL OF THE SEASONS. I WATCH IT OVER AND OVER. IT PREPARED ME FOR WHEN I STARTED HAVING ACCESS WHEN PRESIDENT OBAMA -- I ALMOST KNEW THE ROOMS FROM WATCHING THE SHOW. >> OH, WOW. >> SO, I'M ASKING YOU THIS, WHEN YOU DECIDED NOT TO RUN AGAIN, BECAUSE OF IN THE SHOW, HEALTH REASONS, AND THEN WE SAW PRESIDENT BIDEN TAKE A REAL STATESMAN POSITION AND NOT RUN AGAIN THIS TIME, BOTH OF YOU DEFERRING, ONE FICTIONAL, ONE IN REALITY, AND SUPPORTING A PERSON OF COLOR FOR THE FIRST TIME BECOMING PRESIDENT. IN THE SCRIPPS CASE, A LATINA, IN THIS CASE, A BLACK ASIAN WOMAN. DID YOU THINK ANY OF THE PARALLELS WHEN YOU HEARD WHAT BIND WOULD DO, AND WHERE WE ARE AS A COUNTRY NOW, DEALING WITH SOMETHING THAT, IN FICTION, YOU HAD TO ADJUST TO IT. AND WE ARE ADJUSTING TO IT IN REALITY. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A WOMAN AND A WOMAN OF COLOR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AMERICAN HISTORY. >> WELL, WHEN WE WERE DOING THE SHOW, WE FILMED THAT IN THE LAST SEASON IN 2006. AND SAID WE HAD NO IDEA OF WHAT WAS IN STORE. BUT THE SHOW HAS ALWAYS BEEN RELEVANT, SINCE WE BEGAN IN 1999. AND IT'S STILL RELEVANT TODAY TO A LOT OF NEW VIEWERS THAT ARE FINDING IT ON STREAMING, OR ON VARIOUS NETWORKS. AND SO IT'S STILL A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION. AND THERE'S SO MANY AREAS, NOT JUST -- YOU KNOW, THE HISTORIC TIME WE'RE LIVING THROUGH WITH THE TRANSFER OF POWER, THE PASSING OF TORCH TO A YOUNGER, MORE VIBRANT CANDIDATE, IN THIS CASE, VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS. BUT, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SAID THIS THE OTHER DAY WHEN WE WERE AT THE WHITE HOUSE, THAT WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF JIMMY CARTER, NO PRESIDENT IN OUR LIFETIME HAS EVER MADE A MORE COURAGEOUS, PATRIOTIC AND SELFLESS DECISION. SAND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A GROUND SWELL TONIGHT. OF COURSE, AT THE CONVENTION. THAT PHRASE, "THANK YOU, JOE" IS GOING TO RESOUNDING THROUGHOUT THE NATION, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THANK YOU FROM A GRATEFUL NATION, A GRATEFUL WORLD. YOUR COURAGE, INSIGHT. AND LAYING ASIDE YOUR PERSONAL AMBITION TO THE COUNTRY, TO THE PEOPLE. AND HIS LEGACY HAS GROWN ENORMOUSLY. I HAD A CHANCE TO THANK HIM IN PERSON. GOSH, I'M JUST TONGUE-TIED EACH TALKING ABOUT HIM. EVEN THOUGH I'M A WIND BAG, YOU KNOW. >> OH NO. MELISSA, IN THE BOOK, YOU TALK ABOUT THE SHOW'S OVERARCHING MESSAGE, AND YOU WRITE IN PART THIS, FROM THE START, A COMMITMENT TO SERVICE WAS IN THE BONES OF "THE WEST WING" IN ITS DNA. IT WAS THE ETHOS OF A SHOW DESIGNED TO BE IN THE WORDING OF CREATOR AARON SORKIN, A LOVE LETTER TO PUBLIC SERVICE. THAT SAID, YOU CAN'T GET PEOPLE INTERESTED IN SERVICE IF THEY'RE NOT WATCHING. AS AARON HAS TOLD COUNTLESS JOURNALISTS, COUNTLESS TIMES, IT WAS AN HOUR A WEEK DEVOTED TO TELLING GOOD STORIES BUT BETWEEN THE SMART, INTERWOVEN NARRATIVES, THE PERIODIC FLOURISHES OF WORKPLACE ROMANCE AND BACK AND FORTH BANTER, AARON ALSO MANAGED A STUDY. ONE LACED WITH INSPIRATION, A ROBUST SENSE OF PATRIOTIC OPTIMISM AND A BOLD AMBITION, TOO. ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS, HIS STORIES SEEMED TO STEER THE CONVERSATION TOWARD THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE. AND I'M REMINDED BY BOBBY KENNEDY SAYING THAT PUBLIC SERVICE IS AN HONORABLE PROFESSION. AND THAT REALLY IS IN THE DNA "THE WEST WING" ISN'T IT? >> IT ABSOLUTELY IT'S. AND IT'S IN THE DNA OF OUR BOOK WHAT'S NEXT. IT'S PART OF WHAT INSPIRED TO US DO THE BOOK. THE WAY WE DID IT, TOO. IT'S A FUN FAN BOOK WITH BEHIND-THE-SCENES INSIGHTS AND STORIES THAT I THINK YOU CAN'T GET ANYWHERE ELSE. BUT IT ALSO TIES INTO SERVICE. OUR FRIENDSHIPS, WE'RE REALLY A FAMILY. AND OUR FRIENDSHIPS HAVE BEEN STRENGTHENED OVER THE YEARS AND INSPIRED BY MARTIN'S MARCH FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, FOR SURE BUT WE'RE ALL ON A TEXT CHAIN TOGETHER. WE COME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER'S ISSUES AND CAUSES EVERY SINGLE DAY. AND IN THE BOOK, WE REALLY LAY OUT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ISSUES AND CAUSES THAT THE ACTORS CARE ABOUT. AND THERE ARE WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN SUPPORT THEM. BECAUSE "THE WEST WING" WAS A LOVE LETTER TO PUBLIC SERVICE. WHAT'S NEXT A LOVE LETTER TO WEST WING, THE ARMY OF PEOPLE TO MAKE AND FANS WHO LOVED IT AND PEOPLE INSPIRED BY IT. AND WE ALL KNOW SO MANY YOUNG PUBLIC SERVANTS WHO HAVE BEEN INSPIRED TO GO AND LIVE THIS LIFE BECAUSE OF "THE WEST WING." AND I CAN THINK OF NOTHING THAT MAKES US FEEL BETTER THAN TO SEE THAT. PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE TO DO THE MOST GOOD FOR THE MOST PEOPLE. >> MELISSA, AS YOU LOOK AT KARINE JEAN-PIERRE AND AS PRESS SECRETARY, THE WAY THEY'RE TREATING HER AS PRESS SECRETARY IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE WAYS THAT C.J. HAD TO DEAL WITH JOURNALISTS DURING "THE WEST WING" SHOWS? >> ABSOLUTELY. I'VE SEEN MANY PARALLELS, AND SHE'S DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB, I THINK. AND I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO WORK FOR HER TOO. >> I THINK SHE'S GOING TO KEEP HER JOB, BY THE WAY. >> YEAH. I THINK SHE SHOULD. >> YEAH, I THINK SO. MARTIN, FINALLY, I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU A GENERAL QUESTION. YOU KNOW, I AM AN OPTIMIST. I REMAIN AN OPTIMIST. SOMETIMES, MY WIFE ASKS ME WHY I'M SO OPTIMISTIC, BUT I AM. I AM. >> YEAH. >> I BELIEVE -- PAUL McCARTNEY HAD A QUOTE ONE TIME, HE WAS ASKED WHY HE'S OPTIMISTIC. HE SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, I LOOK AROUND, AND IN THE END, I THINK WE'VE GOT THEM OUTNUMBERED. THE GOOD GUYS GOT THEM OUTNUMBERED. I LOOK AT YOU, I LOOK AT YOUR FACE. I LOOK AT YOUR LIFE. AND I JUST SENSE THAT YOU HAVE THIS INNERLIGHT, THIS INNEROPTIMISM THAT SEES THE BEST IN PEOPLE. THAT SEES THE BEST IN OUR COUNTRY AND SEES THE PROMISE OF AMERICA. TALK ABOUT THAT. >> WELL, YOU MENTIONED PAUL McCARTNEY, THERE WAS ANOTHER ENGLISHMAN BEFORE HIM, DURING THE WORST PART OF THE NAZI BLITZ ON LONDON, MR. CHURCHILL WAS ALWAYS UPBEAT, NO MATTER WHAT. AND AFTER A PARTICULARLY HORRIFIC BOMBARDMENT HE WAS STILL UPBEAT. AND ONE OF HIS AIDES SAID, EXCUSE ME, SIR, HOW UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES CAN YOU BE SO OPTIMISTIC? HE SAID UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCE, WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE? >> EXACTLY. >> YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY CHOICE. WE'RE EITHER GOING TO TURN THE LIGHT ON. >> EXACTLY. >> OR LIVE IN THE DARKNESS. I'D RATHER LIVE IN THE DARKNESS. SOMETIMES, YOU'RE A TARGET, SOMETIMES, EUROPE A LIGHTHOUSE. SO I CHOOSE TO BE A LIGHTHOUSE. >> WELL, I AGREE COMPLETELY. WHAT OTHER CHOICE DO WE HAVE. THE NEW BOOK "WHAT'S NEXT, A BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE WEST WING, ITS CAST AND CREW AND DEN DUERRING LEGACY" ON SALE NOW.