Answer: Thomas Dodd and Christopher Dodd

Generations of many political families have appeared on Meet the Press throughout its history, including fathers and sons from the royal family of Jordan to the Kennedys and Bushes. But the pair that holds the record are Senators Thomas and Christopher Dodd, with 37 combined appearances between them – by far the most of any father/son pair on Meet The Press. Thomas Dodd, who was the Democratic senator from Connecticut from 1959-1971, made his Meet the Press debut in February of 1962 (you can see the picture from the program above). He was introduced in 1962 by host Ned Brooks as “one of the most controversial members” of the Senate. Dodd would bear that out on the program, getting into feisty exchanges with the panel in that and his second and final Meet the Press appearance, in May of 1965.

Christopher Dodd followed his father to Washington – and eventually the Meet the Press set – first as a Congressman from the family’s home state, and then in 1981 as the youngest Connecticut Senator in history. Chris Dodd's first Meet the Press appearance came 21 years after that of his father, in August of 1983. You can see the family resemblance in the photo of Chris Dodd during his MTP debut, below. Chris Dodd would go on to outpace his father as a Meet the Press guest though, appearing on the show 35 times before he retired from the Senate (and once on PRESS Pass, which you can watch here). He is currently the Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America. Chris Dodd now holds one of the highest records both for total Meet the Press appearances, and for the 26-year timespan of his years as an MTP guest. 

David talks with Washington Post Associate Editor and Author David Maraniss about his new biography, “Barack Obama: The Story.” Watch the full conversation above.

President Obama shifted the debate this week by announcing a new strategy for the deportation of illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.  On Meet the Press this morning, White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe defended the decision and dismissed critics who say the new strategy was purely political. 

"It wasn't about politics," Plouffe said, later adding, "We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.  The president has often said those things don't need to be in conflict."

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) argued the new strategy effectively amounts to a power grab by the president. 

"The president of the United States is now dictating that certain laws will not be enforced," he said. "That is a rather serious step."

Also of note during the interview with David Plouffe was his use of the term "congressional allies" and that he pointed out Mitt Romney's event today with House Speaker John Boehner in Ohio. As David says above, this shows an attempt by the Obama campaign to try and tie Mitt Romney to an unpopular Republican Congress in order to gain favor with Independent voters.

McCain, a champion of campaign finance reform, lamented the amount of outside money in presidential elections and called the Citizens United decision that gave birth to Super PACs the Supreme Court's "worst decision" this century.

"Uniformed, arrogant, naive," is how McCain described it. "I just wish one of them had run for county sheriff.  That's why we miss people like William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor, who had some experience with congressional and other races in the political arena."

Our roundtable analyzed the biographies of both Romney and Obama and how their pasts have shaped who they are today. We were joined by the author of the new biography on President Obama, David Maraniss; presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin; Time Magazine's Mark Halperin; former Congressman Harold Ford; and the Wall Street Journal's Kim Strassel.

Also don't miss our Take Two web extra with David Maraniss to hear more about his revealing biography of the president.

We'll be back next week with an exclusive interview with possible Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press. 

David Plouffe

• On Tuesday, the Washington Post published a story quoting David Plouffe on the rough couple of weeks President Obama had:  “By November, it’s going to be about: Who do I trust more in [his] approach to the debt? Who do I trust more to create middle-class jobs? Who do I trust more to create an energy future? Who do I trust more as it relates to Afghanistan?” 
• David Plouffe, who was the architect behind President Obama’s campaign in 2008, replaced David Axelrod as White House senior adviser in 2011.
• Watch his last appearance on MTP.

Sen. John McCain

• Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) released a statement today criticizing President Obama’s announcement that his administration would stop departing young immigrants living in the country illegally, calling it "a politically motivated power grab that does nothing to further the debate but instead adds additional confusion and uncertainty to our broken immigration system."
• On Wednesday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) unveiled over twitter his top ten examples of “pork projects” in the Senate’s Farm Bill, arguing that the plan provides giveaways to numerous industries and agricultural producers.  Drum roll please, the number one pork project is, “Creates new USDA office to inspect catfish. FDA already inspects catfish, so this one’s a real bottom-feeder. #FarmBillPork”
• Sen. John McCain is a five-term U.S. senator from Arizona and was the Republican presidential nominee in the 2008 election.
• Watch his last appearance on MTP.

Roundtable: Maraniss, Goodwin, Halperin, Ford, Strassel

• David Maraniss, author of “Barack Obama: The Story” chronicles Obama’s coming of age and his struggle to form his self-identity. Read a Q & A with David Maraniss.
• On Nightly News, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin called President Obama’s decision to announce his support of same-sex marriage an “extraordinary moment in the history of the country.”Watch her last appearance on MTP.
• Time’s Mark Halperin points out that the road to November is still filled with obstacles for Mitt Romney. He listed nine reasons, here are two: “There are some congressional and real-world moments coming up which will give Democrats a chance to push Romney to the right.” And, “The Democrats still have more paths to 270 electoral votes.” Watch his appearance on PRESS Pass.
• Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN) shared with MSNBC’s Morning Joe his support of Mayor Booker's comments on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital, saying "Private equity is not a bad thing. Matter of fact, private equity is a good thing in many, many instances." Watch his last appearance on MTP.
• In her most recent column in The Wall Street Journal, Kim Strassel writes that Mitt Romney should embrace entitlements as groundwork for reform. She writes: “The alternative is for Mr. Romney to go Scott Walker and embrace reform as central to his stated desire to save the country for future generations. The positive GOP message makes the case that these changes save and strengthen these programs, giving Americans more choice. It notes bipartisan support for reform, and it contrasts that with Mr. Obama's own lack of leadership.” Watch her last appearance on MTP

Follow these guests on Twitter:

• David Plouffe: @whitehouse
• Sen. John McCain: @SenJohnMcCain 
• David Maraniss: @davidmaraniss
• Mark Halperin: @Markhalperin
• Harold Ford, Jr.: @HFord2
• Kim Strassel: @KimStrassel

In his new book Imperfect: An Improbable Life, Jim Abbott chronicles how he overcame adversity to become one of the great pitchers in baseball.

Despite being born without a right hand, Abbott played for four major league teams, and gives a lot of credit for his success to his parents whom he says the book is a tribute. He credits his father's 'why not?' attitude and described both parents as making him, "feel special, without treating [him] special."

As the book’s title suggests, Abbott lived an improbable life overcoming obstacles at every stage, both personally and professionally. While with the Yankees, he pitched a no hitter against the Cleveland Indians. To him, it was a defining milestone.

“That one game, that one successful moment, you know, to get that last out in Yankee Stadium, in the pinstripes, to throw a no-hitter -- it seems to give my career credence that, ‘Yeah he pitched with one hand, but he was pretty good too,’” Abbott continued, “Ultimately that was the message that I wanted to send.”

Abbott believes that his baseball accomplishments are all the more special because, growing up, they seemed so unattainable at the time.

"Every level became a gift -- to make the little league team, to make the high school team -- all of those levels became something that you were incredibly thankful for."

Watch David's entire interview with Jim Abbott above to hear more about Abbott's book as well as a reflection on raising his own kids.

Answer: Clare Boothe Luce

Clare Boothe Luce appeared on Meet the Press in December 1956, the week she retired as Ambassador to Italy. At the time, according to host Ned Brooks, she was one of the ten most admired women in the world.  Luce had returned from Rome, she told the panel, just twenty-four hours before appearing on Meet the Press – after being presented with Italy’s highest honor, the first time for a woman. Noting that Italy had been a “danger spot” for Communism, Brooks said “When Mrs. Luce went to Italy, she encountered much antagonism, but she overcame it and proved to be one of the most successful ambassadors of her time.”

But the Meet the Press panel did not give the retiring Ambassador much of a break. They continuously pressed Luce to answer for many of the United States’ foreign policy decisions and comment on its challenges, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Luce however seemed determined to not speak for the administration on issues that didn’t concern Italy. She insisted to the reporters that she had no involvement in policy beyond Italy, and was cautious in her statements about other parts of the world -- always noting that she only expressed her own personal opinion. At one point as panelist Lawrence Spivak persistently tried to pin down her views on the Suez Canal, Luce simply said: “I’m awfully sorry, Larry; I don’t get the cables from the Egyptian desk. All I know is what I read in the newspapers, and I read the newspapers and find there are often very contradictory views expressed by the columnists and reporters.”

In the last ten minutes of the program, Richard Clurman of Newsday thought he would make news with a new line of questioning: “May I ask you a question you’re sure to know the answer to, about yourself?” But the Ambassador joked back, “Well now you see how wrong you are, Dick; I know least of all about myself” and added that she wanted to take a break in a warm climate. Clurman tried to pin her down, asking whether she would run for Congress or another ambassadorship. Eventually Luce told the panel: “I told you I would not make any decisions until I’ve had a good big dose of sun and sand for about a month. Have me on again in another month, I’ll tell you.”

You can watch more from Clare Boothe Luce's 1956 appearance on Meet the Press in the clip below.

Every Monday, Betsy Fischer - the Executive Producer of Meet the Press - poses a trivia question on Twitter about the 64 years of history-making moments and guests on Meet The Press. Check back every Tuesday for answers and video clips!

Watch the exclusive web-only conversation with former democratic presidential candidate and former Senator from New Jersey Bill Bradley on his new book We Can All Do Better. Bradley discusses dysfunction in Washington and why he believes it is so important to take money out of politics.

Today's program showed that the debate over which candidate is right for the economy continues. Governors John Kasich (R-OH) and Deval Patrick (D-MA) traded jabs over both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama's economic record.

Kasich said this week's unemployment numbers "frighten" him and called dysfunction in Washington one of the reasons for it.

He also argued that some of the blame should go towards his own party. "You think I'm happy with the fact that I left Washington and the Republicans that controlled everything blew the budget up?" Kasich asked rhetorically. "No," he answered.

However, Kasich maintained that most of the blame must go to the top. "The executive is not leading," he said.

Governor Patrick, on the other hand said a do-nothing Congress is a major part of the economic turmoil. "What we have right now is a Congress which has decided that there is a political advantage in stymieing this president, putting ideology ahead of country."

You can watch the entire program on our website to hear more from governors as well as our political roundtable featuring Romney Senior Adviser Kevin Madden, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos, President of the Center for American Progress Neera Tanden, and Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed (D).

Plus a special conversation with former Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley on his new book "We Can All Do Better" as well as what is needed to break the gridlock in Washington.

We're off next Sunday for NBC Sports coverage of the French Open. We'll be back the following week. 

If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press. 

Dan Klaidman's book, To Kill of Capture: The War on Terror and the Soul of the Obama Presidency sheds new light on how important of a role President Obama has played in strategy decisions for the war on terror. 

In a PRESS Pass interview with David, Klaidman described the President as being a "fairly cold-blooded realist," when it comes to his foreign policy.

Specifically, Klaidman was referring to President Obama's personal involvement in selecting enemy targets to be killed by U.S. drone strikes.

According to Klaidman, these types of specific target decisions were not normally made by the Commander in Chief, however, this president "was concerned that the use of force has a way of sort of spinning out of control, and he wanted to make sure that he exercised some kind of supervision over that process." Klaidman also pointed out that the president runs the drone program in a "surgical" manner.

When it comes to the general election, Klaidman maintained that it will be "very difficult" for Mitt Romney to attack the president on foreign policy. However, he argued that Obama is not "completely insulated" from attacks by Romney, citing recent violence in Syria as an example where the president could be vulnerable.

You can watch the entire PRESS Pass conversation with Dan Klaidman  above to hear more about his new book To Kill or Capture and how he thinks the war squares morally for the president.

Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA)

• Gov. Deval Patrick endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren week. He said, “It’s time for us to turn our attention to our Republican opponent and not be so focused on each other.” Patrick also said Warren shared his “politics of conviction.”
• Patrick was re-elected to a second term as governor of Massachusetts in 2010.  Patrick also served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton administration.
• Watch his last appearance on MTP and his interview on PRESS Pass.

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

• Gov. John Kasich tweeted about the latest jobs numbers.  He wrote, “Today's poor nat'l jobs report highlights what OH is up against: a WH that refuses to implement ideas that give confidence to job creators. Ohio needs a partner in the WH that can follow our example: a balanced budget, taxes cut, and regs streamlined. All to foster growth.”
• Kasich took the office of governor in January 2011. Prior to that he served as a U.S. congressman for the state of Ohio for 18 years.
• Watch his last appearance on MTP.

Roundtable: Madden, Schmidt, Tanden, Reed

• Romney senior adviser Kevin Madden is the Executive Vice President of Public Affairs of JDA Frontline and previously served as the National Press Secretary and Senior Communication Strategist during Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign. Watch his appearance on PRESS Pass.
• Republican strategist Steve Schmidt served as John McCain’s chief strategist during the 2008 election.  He was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the HBO political drama “Game Change.” Watch his last appearance on MTP.
• President of the Center for American Progress Neera Tanden tweeted this week about the upcoming Wisconsin recall election.  She wrote, “Wisconsin polls tightening w/ Barrett coming on strong; seems to indicate DC pundity might have called the race a tad early...”
• Mayor Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) traveled to Paris last month to take part in a global summit on urban development. The New Cities Summit focused on city planning. Watch his last appearance on MTP.

Fmr. Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ)

• Bill Bradley is the author of the recently released book “We Can All Do Better.”  In the book, “Bradley offers his own concise, powerful, and highly personal review of the state of the nation.” 
• Bradley was an Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and played with the New York Knicks from 1967-1977. Today he is the host of “American Voices” a weekly show on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.
• Bradley served in the U.S. Senate from 1979 to 1997.

Follow these guests on Twitter:

• Gov. Deval Patrick: @MassGovernor
• Gov. John Kasich: @JohnKasich
• Kevin Madden: @KevinMaddenDC
• Neera Tanden: @neeratanden
• Kasim Reed: @KasimReed
• Bill Bradley: @BillBradley