in fact, hol molly is up to 151 people he's inspired to become a teacher that's larger than many, many, graduate schools of education. >> steve perry. thanks. that does it for "360." thanks for watching. larry king starts now. see you tomorrow night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> larry: tonight, laura ingraham's on the warpath. hear her surprising stance on sarah palin. her opinion on the afghanistan war leaks. and her view of president obama's latest charge offensive. >> i have to admit i don't know who snooki is. >> you don't? >> larry: plus arizona governor jan brewer fighting back on immigration. if you thought she's giving up the fight against illegals

you're wrong. she took new court action hours ago. is she begging for an all-out brawl? next on "larry king live." we begin by welcoming governor jan brewer, republican of arizona. hours ago she filed an appeal with the 9th circuit court of appeals after a federal judge yesterday blocked key part of her state's anti-immigration law. 9 thank you for joining us, governor. is there any part of the judge's ruling that at all had any affect on you where you said maybe she's got a point? >> well, of course, we listened very carefully to her statements. and after reading her brief, we realize that she made some points, of course, when we signed the bill we felt it was in good order and that it was constitutional. and we have now consulted with our lawyers and with the members of the legislature to see if --

if there were -- some things we might want to kind of tweak a little bit. but we haven't necessarily made up our minds yet. >> larry: so, what did you file today, if you haven't made up your mind yet, are there certain parts you might change? >> well, not necessarily. what we did today, larry, is simply that we -- we made an appeal to the 9th circuit, an expedited appeal to the 9th circuit in order to get an appeal on the temporary, on the injunction that she ruled on. you know what? everybody gets a little confused about is that she didn't rule against technically the legislation. she ruled to block the legislation until the legislation has time to go through the process. so, you know, that judicial system, it takes, the wheels of justice move a little slowly. >> larry: you said that you would consider suing the federal government if it doesn't enforce immigration laws. would you elaborate on that?

>> well, i did. you know, it's the federal government's responsibility, of course, to secure our borders and to protect the people of arizona. and they have laws that mandate that they do that. and they're not enforcing those laws. and so, we, i have given it some consideration to, to sue the federal government. i haven't made up my mind on that yet either. you know, we are taking this very, very cautiously, very, very carefully. >> larry: how do you react, there are some law enforcement officials, we had a sheriff on last night, didn't like the law, said it puts too much of a problem for their, for their state troopers and others in law enforcement in the state of arizona to enforce? >> well that's their job. it's their job. they took an oath to uphold the laws and enforce it and protect the people of arizona. i don't know whom you had on last night, but that's a little

silly, isn't it, when it's their job? >> larry: it was a sheriff from one of your counties and other police officers have spoken out that it can be difficult if you have to single out someone just by the way they look or act, that puts a lot of onus on a police officer, doesn't it? it doesn't? >> that's not what they're -- that's not what they're doing. they're not looking at people and determining whether you are illegal or not. they are enforcing the laws and enforcing the federal laws on the statute. you know, it's simply ridiculous to think that they're just going to look at someone and arrest them. they have to be in -- in a position of committing a crime and they have been enforcing federal legislation, federal laws in some of our counties all along. so now with the bill -- that has been passed and the judge leading in the portion about sanctuary cities, it will actually make it easier for law enforcement to enforce the

statutes that the federal government has put forward meaning that they have to enforce the federal laws and that their supervisors can't tell them to do anything less. and so that was a big win for the people of arizona. you know, larry, there has been so much misinformation put out in regards to senate bill 1070 and the rhetoric that has been spread across the country. you know, we just wish that we could get really the truth out there. you know, it is the federal government's responsibility to secure our borders. we passed senate bill 1070 as another tool in order to protect the citizens of arizona. we have over 500,000 illegal immigrants living in arizona. and we simply cannot sustain it. it costs us a tremendous amount of money of course in health care, in education, and then, on top of if the all, in incarceration. the federal government doesn't

reimburse us on any of these things. they need to step up and do their job. >> larry: how do you feel, governor, about the people who employ illegal immigrants? >> well, i think that they, you know, we were the first state to make it a law that we had to have employer sanctions. we implemented that. we are waiting to hear from the supreme court in return of that. all our employers use e-verify which is not a perfect system but a step in the right direction. the bottom line is, that's the keyword, "illegal." we're a nation of laws. you know, the bottom line is is that, you know, i always try to relate it to that a country without borders is like a house without walls. it collapses. and i know that there are several people out there that want to discuss other issues. we want our borders secured. it is the governor of the state

of arizona, i took an oath to uphold the laws and to protect the people of arizona. and i'm going to be relentless in it. i am going to do what is right. so, you know. >> larry: what would you do about the -- what would you do about the 500,000 already in your state? >> well, that is a problem. we certainly need to talk about that. but i am not prepared to talk about it until there is -- a surge by the federal government to secure our borders. our borders have got to be secured. you know, when president reagan, who was one of my idols, granted amnesty to about 3 million illegal immigrants it was based on the fact that the borders would be secured. that didn't happen. it didn't happen during the bush administration. and now here we go again. we have 11 million, 12 million illegals in the country. they want to talk about, their quote, their words,

comprehensive immigration reform. well, i don't want to talk about that. i don't want to deal with it until our borders are secured. then we need to come together and determine what is the best way to address that issue. >> larry: thank you, governor. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, larry. have a great day. >> larry: you too. governor jan brewer, republican governor of arizona. laura ingrahams next. don't go away. [ male announcer ] if you've had a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives.

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i'm going to work with kids. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] together we can discover the best of what's next at aarp.org. sweet & salty nut bars... they're made from whole roasted nuts and dipped in creamy peanut butter, making your craving for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, by nature valley. f[ car door closing ]ar irresistible, [ male announcer ] time tot! check your air conditioning? come to meineke now and get a free ac system check. meineke. we have the coolest customers. >> larry: it's great to welcome laura ingraham to "larry king

live." the nationally syndicated talk radio host, the laura ingraham show is a hit on the radio and a fox news contributor and number one "the new york times" best selling author. her new book, "the obama diaries" laura is at the four seasons in st. louis at an event. which is why all the people are cheering. she is taking a break from it to be on our show. we appreciate that. congratulations on the book, laura. >> larry, first of all it is great to see you. great to be here in st. louis. all my friends here at 97.1 f.m. talk, they're excited because they know i'm talking to you, larry. let me tell you, we have started here in st. louis, a hunger strike to stop you from retiring, okay? i'm not eating from 9:00 to noon every day. they don't want you to retire here. it's a sacrifice, in solidarity with michelle's anti-obesity thing. not eating between 9:00 and noon. every day. until you announce your

non-retirement. >> larry: not just this show. i will be on television doing specials. >> okay. >> larry: it's just this show. laura, this book, before i ask you about current things, this book is fascinating. "the obama diaries." the idea is this is fiction, you found this in an underground garage, similar to the watergate tapes. give us a little history of the book. >> larry, i didn't ask for the diaries. they came to me. you are familiar with the watergate complex, right? >> larry: yes, many times. >> the manicure, pedicure salon there. i was coming back from a manicure. this envelope of all these thing that looked like diary entries to me popped up on the hood of my suv. i was shaking, larry, trembling. frightening. i started looking through these things. it looks like michelle obama's diary, looks like barack obama's diary, joe biden's diary. i said it can't be. then i looked at the historical narrative, larry, of the last 18 months. i'm talking about minor things like the health care reform, the

stimulus bill, the auto bailout, the trips to europe and so forth. and the diaries, lo and behold seem to match up with the historical narrative. i can't vouch for authenticity, although i have, larry, tried to verify these with valerie jarrett who is the president's senior adviser. i approached valerie jarrett. she claimed she had no knowledge of these diaries. after reading the diaries myself i understand why they don't want to talk about it. that's all i can say. the people will have to decide for themselves. >> larry: why did you decide to do something republicans are against? publishing it. many republicans are against the publishing of the afghanistan reports. yet you broke the code and published a private document. >> well, larry, here's what i think. the think the obamas are so historic and they're so up on a pedestal and they're so different from everyone who came before that it was probably good to -- remember in the "wizard of oz" when you pull the curtain back on the

wizard, a little guy pulling a bunch of levers. i wanted to do that with the obamas. so that's what i did. and i don't know. they're fascinating though. do you know that michelle has actually referred to her husband after listening to one of his speeches as a walking, talking ambien cr? i mean, that's shocking to me. so it's -- it's -- we're having a lot of fun. it's serious. the country, larry, i think is on the brink in all seriousness. i wrote this book because not only do we need to understand what's happened over the last 18 months, i come at it from a conservative perspective. you see the polls whether you are a young person, woman, latinos are beginning to take a second look at this man who, a lot of people like personally, a beautiful family, a wonderful father, but, the policies are not working. and, we have to examine those. we have to take it very seriously. there's serious stuff in the book but these diaries are -- am i doing a dramatic reading on larry king? >> larry: yeah. i want you to read an excerpt from the "obama diaries."

go. >> this is like vegas, larry. the sans in vegas. do you know, he actually has a little admiration for hugo chaves? they had that moment, hugo gave him that book. remember that moment. he has admiration for him. this is larry, again, shocking to read. april 21st, 2009. he's got his own tv show and since he controls the stations, he talks as long as he likes. when you are president there is nothing more important than connecting with your followers. no one should obstruct that communication. uh, and what we really need now is an obama network. uh, i'll show them who the most trusted name in news looks like. move over, "ac 360." by the time the obama factor comes on the air you're going to be cut down to "ac 180.

i don't know what that is. it's shocking. it's very narcissistic. i mean, it's kind of narcissistic. the president is on television all the time. and larry, you saw him on "the view" joy behar, your pal, my very close friend, and the president, needed to go on "the view." he needs to be seen. that's the problem with his popularity. he clearly is just not seen enough or heard enough. so, that's -- that's where we are. >> larry: do you fear that some people may actually believe this book? >> larry, i can see why you are asking that question, first of all, this is why you can't retire. okay? i can see why you're asking that question. this administration, larry, blurs fact and fiction all the time. okay? we have 3 million jobs, saved or created. you are going to be able to keep your doctor and your health insurance. we're going to enforce the borders. all these things that are said by the administration. little loosey-goosey with the facts. so, what i try to do in this book is peel the onion a little bit.

let people decide for themselves whether the obama razzle-dazzle is as it seems or whether there is something much more nefarious going on underneath the surface or at least a lot more obviously radical. so that's why i did it. >> larry: our guest is laura ingram, in st. louis, the book is "the obama diaries" and we'll be right back. when you least . a regular moment can become romantic. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis. with two clinically proven dosing options, you can choose the moment that's right for you and your partner. 36-hour cialis and cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. >> tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. >> don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. >> don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache, or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help

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>> larry: one of the most popular people in this country is michelle obama, yet laura ingraham daring to be different takes her on as well in the "the obama diaries." you want to read a little excerpt, particularly dealing with michelle from the book? >> well, yes. larry, i would look to share this. if i would have known i was performing, maggie smith would have been on here with me. my goodness. this is pressure. the diary of first lady michelle obama. rome, italy, larry, july 8th, last summer, 2009. this is about the working vacations, the criticism they're

taking too many trips on the public dime. they're going to rome. they're going to africa. now next, indonesia. now going to spain, larry, next week. i am so tired of the media criticizing our working trips. yes, that's what it is, a working trip. every member of this family works damn hard on these international voyages. and no one even considers the economic stimulus we provide when we visit one of these foreign countries. just look at our girls' trip to london last month. taking the children to see the "lion king" on the west end will probably keep that show running for another year, larry. the little people want to do whatever we do. when i think of all the actors and the singers, the waiters and the maids, that we alone have kept in business, it makes my head spin. our just walking into an establishment can revive its fortunes for years to come, larry.

>> larry: did you -- some day they may find the bush diaries, because george bush vacationed 96, 96 days of his first year and a half. obama 36 days. >> well i think what people are -- i think what people are seeing, larry, maybe what's not sitting all that well with some folks is that the country is really struggling. of course the president should vacation, and no one expects the president to be at the deli counter at walmart. although they do have a great bologna sandwich at walmart. i highly recommend it. they don't expect that. at a time when so many people are out of work, larry, and so many people are truly struggling. st. louis, missouri is struggling, okay. it is a little bit tone-deaf, i think to spend your time this week in new york city on the set of "the view" and then tonight, at anna wintour's apartment in new york, the editor of "vogue" i know you've been there, larry,

and it's no big deal for you, but the president of the united states? it seem is a little tone-deaf. i think -- you might say, well, everybody vacation, but when the first lady is jetting off to madrid next week for a girls' trip and then it's, well, i'm also going to meet with king juan carlos and queen sophia, that's all time, but at a time when our country is where it is i think it's beginning to rub some people the wrong way. it's a little too much. >> larry: honestly, laura, did you criticize president bush when he stayed at the ranch during katrina? >> i don't know if fie phone calls would be returned from president bush. i criticized president bush a lot on a lot of things whether spending or immigration.

and his handling on a whole bunch of issues. i was leading the charge against harriet myers, the first on national media to do so. i think right now where the country is and how difficult a position we are as a nation, larry, what people want, they want the president to exude a sense of confidence and optimism, no one expects him to sit in the dark and not have state dinners. but it's everything is over the top, i mean, when, when the gulf oil spill is crippling the economy of five states, or damaging it severely, for the president to be in the white house swaying with paul mccartney to "hey jude" if president bush had done that, yes, larry king, i would have criticized him and i would have frankly asked him to apologize to the nation. that was embarrassing. >> larry: by the way, at, at the bottom of the hour, mark lamont hill, professor from columbia university will join us. >> oh, goody. >> larry: and he will debate laura. in your book you accuse obama and democrats in congress of advancing a radical agenda. you write, our story should be one of patriotic people who beat back the onslaught of

radicalism. are you saying that anyone who supports obama is unpatriotic? >> no, what i am saying is that what we have seen with the president, his proclivity, larry, to apologizing for this country. when you go overseas, the president of the united states, we don't say that we're perfect. nobody is. i'm the most flawed person out there, i say that all the time. we don't really want the president to go overseas, and we're not a nation of torturers, we're not going to do abu ghraib, we've had our own checkered past, that doesn't sit well with people. you combine that, larry, with one of the most radical transformations of the u.s. economy to have ever taken place in 18 short months, and frankly, larry, against the will of the american people, i say this -- you don't have the consent of the governed. and i think, you hear the crowd, larry, obviously it's a friendly

crowd and not meant to convey anything more than there's frustration among the electorate. they feel like their elected representatives are not representing the interest of the american people and i'm talking about republicans and democrats. i, there is a healthy dose of criticize criticisms, both parties. i was not very popular in washington in the last few years of the bush administration because of where i thought they went. >> larry: laura ingraham, our guest, the book, "the obama diaries," and when we come back, mark lamont hill, columbia university professor will take her on. there aren't many of us who use a cellphone

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negativity we see directed toward the obama administration, and even the first lady, i think it's ill placed, it's misplaced. we can focus our energy on other things other than mocking the president. do i think the president is fair game? of course. do i think some of it is funny? absolutely. i think some one as talented and smart as laura could be directing her energy towards the tea party that has a viciously racist wing or talking about unemployment and all sorts of things i am sure laura is going it agree with me right now. >> larry: laura, you can respond. >> i love mark lamont hill, a great one to duke it out with. look, the obamas are people. we're all people. they're not deities. they're not monarchs. when michelle obama goes to congress and demands billions of dollars for a child nutrition initiative and acts as a health care and a fitness expert, i -- she's a beautiful woman, but i didn't elect her to anything.

when you step into the role you step into the arena. okay? it's not all what sleeveless wants, sleeveless gets. that's not how it works. >> laura, i don't think that, i don't think that michelle obama is a nutritionist. i don't think nancy reagan was an expert on drugs or law enforcement when she became a critical ally in the reagan administration's war on drugs. >> totally different. an inept analogy. she was not on the campaign trail campaigning. she didn't have three cabinet secretaries trailing around with her. >> that's not the point. >> larry: one at a time, please. one at a time. mark, go ahead. >> the point here, laura, every first lady, every presidential administration has someone who advocates for public issues. whether or not michelle obama is a public health expert isn't the point. we have nutrition problems, we have food deserts in detroit, chicago, philadelphia and new york, where people have to go miles and miles for fresh fruit and vej tebls. let's focus on that instead of beating up on the president or his wife. >> it's not beating up on anybody. when you inject yourself into one of the most contentious

debates of the last 15 years, which is frankly, what this whole fitness/health initiative ends up doing for michelle obama, that's fine if that's what you want to do. when you do that you better be prepared, mark to have your ideas and your viewpoints tested in the public arena. it's no teflon, no teflon in front of michelle obama. >> i agree. >> she has to answer the critics like any other pundit or any other policy advocate. and she is a policy advocate. she is out there pushing policy. >> larry: let's get into specifics. mark, the -- the governor -- mark, the governor is trying to overturn the judge's decision about portions of the arizona immigration law. what do you think of the move? >> well, i think it's a necessary move and ultimately we'll find many aspects of the law are unconstitutional. i think there are several things we have to think about. laura is right. many people on the right are correct in saying this is a response to the federal government's failure to enforce immigration policy.

what we need is comprehensive common sense immigration reform so that we don nre in arizona is one of the most, yoknow, vicious, ugly and vile pieces of public policy we've seen in the last 50 years. >> vicious? >> absolutely. vicious. based on xenophobia. it's probably -- >> i have to buy a vowel on that one, mark. i mean, vicious? >> absolutely. it is a mean-spirited public policy that is also likely unconstitutional. any time you imbue with a state authority a power in the federal goth that's a major problem. it is ugly, vile, and i think unconstitutional. >> ugly, vile, vicious, this is not an argument. ugly, violent, vicious. you know what is really ugly is when the federal government and our chief law enforcement officer, which is ultimately what the president is, refuses, really, larry, to enforce federal laws that are on the books right now that have not

been repealed to -- that you have to carry your i.d. if you're an alien live in this country, if you're a permanent resident, alien, student visa, federal law requires you to carry your documents, okay? you are not supposed to be here illegally. if you are you need to leave. if you are here illegally, some trying to work, you are here illegally. you can sugarcoat it, say it is mean, you can say it's vile, but that means you think the laws are vile. repeal the laws or enforce the laws. arizona is doing what the federal government will not do. >> again, some of what you are arguing, laura, is just a straw argument. i began from the premise that the federal government needs to enforce the law. what we need -- >> they're not going to enforce them. they're not enforcing them. mark. that's why that's where we are. >> laura, we agree on the point. we don't have to pretend to disagree on the point. my disagreement with you is on the response to that reality. the response to that reality. >> states are supposed to do nothing? sit there and hope -- >> larry: laura, don't interrupt. one at a time.

>> this is a different network, we can't interrupt each other. the point here is that we need comprehensive immigration reform. humane guest worker policy. that means a path to citizenship. that means we need to repeal nafta which create the push into the united states. all we talk is what happens when immigrants get here. we need to talk about what pushes them there. what kind of economic policies have drawn mexican farmers by stripping away their vitality in mexico? this is the type of stuff we need to be talking about instead of engaging in reactionary politics which is what the right has been doing and the left is sitting on its hands while this is happening. >> larry: we are going to take a break. >> okay. >> when i get back, can i, one quick, larry, what -- >> larry: go ahead, laura, quick response. >> what we have in effect basically in, in land obama with an immigration, is a don't ask/don't tell policy. don't ask about your immigration status. frankly if you are here illegally you don't have to tell. they don't want it for the military but for immigration policy. >> larry: we'll move to other things. all right. we're going to move to other

things, talk about the charlie rangel situation when we come back. with chase sapphire you always get an expert advisor immediately. man: chase sapphire, this is brian. hi, brian. we're on vacation and would love to change hotels. you call. we answer. [faint music playing] problem solved. is the music too loud? ♪ ♪ go to chase.com/sapphire. waking up with morning pain can drain the energy right out of you. fight it with new... it combines extra strength bayer aspirin to treat pain plus an alertness aid to help you get off to a running start. try bayer am the morning pain reliever.

>> larry: we're back with laura ingraham, author of "the obama diaries," and mark lamont hill, professor at colombia. charlie rangel was charged with 13 counts of ethical wrongdoing by a house investigative panel today, among them that he improperly used his staff and office and accepted favors. here's what he said about it. watch. >> if i struggle hard to find

some good news in the statement of alleged violation, i do get small comfort in knowing that there is no allegation, this scintilla bit of evidence that i have been guilty of corruption, wrongdoing, and some of the things that some of the reporters have been saying. >> larry: any political ramifications in this, laura, beyond a story about a new york congressman that is kind of sad? >> well, larry, it's -- i think what's sad, he sat as chairman of the tax writing committee in the house of representatives for years while anyone who follows politics with any, any modicum of seriousness knew that charlie rangel was in deep, deep ethical trouble, perhaps legal trouble. what i do say, larry, that all i want is one rent controlled apartment in new york. i don't need four.

all i need is one. charlie, please, one, small room, all i need. i have a dog. she can sleep in the bathroom. >> larry: mark, what do you make of the story? >> with regard to charlie rangel in particular, we have to let the investigation continue. i don't want any rush to judgment, after the sherrod fiasco, last thing we need to do is rush to judgment on anything. that said, i don't think this would be a bigger story, unless there's a broad pattern of corruption among the democratic party. i don't think this will be a referendum of democrats or have the extraordinary impact on the elections in november. democrats have a lot to worry about. i don't think the charlie rangel circumstance is the biggest thing on the list. >> larry, one thing is -- remember nancy pelosi when she came into office as a speaker, she got the gavel, it was an exciting day of ceremonies and so forth. she was very proud to declare she was there in washington to quote, drain the swamp, the swamp of corruption in washington, d.c. everybody is a hypocrite, politicians are hypocrites, you can say that. but that's a pretty big

declaration to make then to have charlie rangel, we had chris dodd and the sweetheart deals. we had the countrywide issue. look, republicans have had their scandals as well, but now the democrats happen to be in power, right? so you have to, you know, you focus on the republican scandals, larry, but when charlie rangel was a very important figure in the u.s. house of representatives, and very likely guilty of a number of fraudulent actions. oh, mark, come on. mark is not even passing the straight-faced test. nobody is convicting him of anything. this is an ethics investigation, going on for years. everybody in washington know as but charlie rangel. okay, it is going to continue to never have any resolution, okay. >> i don't want to trade in hearsay here. no one on the left or right has the market cornered on corruption. there are corrupt republicans and corrupt democrats. anyone who declares by putting -- >> we're talking about him now. the republicans are not in

charge -- >> laura, laura, laura, laura -- if you stop talking over me. i am conceding the point. agreeing with you. a mistake for democrats to say that by coming into -- i know you hate agreement. democrats come into power to say they're somehow going to get rid of corruption is a lie. it's a flat-out lie. i don't say that. let's not pretend there is this huge wave of corruption bigger than charlie rangel if he did do something wrong. let's let the investigation continue. let's focus on the real issues which is not charlie rangel. >> unemployment is the real issue. absolutely. i want to talk about that all show. unemployment for the next ten minutes. i'm ready. let's do it. >> larry: laura, it is -- >> larry, i have a question. can i ask you one question, larry, just one question. >> larry: yes, you may. >> what was it like to kiss marlon brando? >> he kissed me. >> i have been dying. there was a moment there. >> larry: all right. all right. let's get it straight. >> there was a moment. >> larry: at the end of the first interview. i interviewed him subsequent to that. he for some reason kissed me on the lips.

>> yeah. >> larry: you want to know the truth, laura? i can't stop thinking about him. >> i sensed it. i sensed there was a glow, larry. when he took the kleenex and blotted your face. i remember that. >> you seem pretty excited about it too, laura. is this some thing you have here? >> it was magic. television magic. >> larry: laura goes around underground garages looking for diaries. we'll be back with more and we'll talk about "the view" right after this.

>> larry: back with laura ingraham and mark lamont hill. president obama covered a wide range of topics with the ladies of "the view" including race. here is a short excerpt from what he said. >> your mother was white. >> uh-huh. >> would it be helpful or why don't you say i am not a black president, i am biracial?

>> you know, when i was young, and going through the identity crises that any teenager goes through. i wrote a whole book about this. >> yes. we all read it. >> part of what i realized was that if the, if the world saw me as african-american then that wasn't something that i needed to run away some, that's something that i could go ahead and embrace. >> larry: laura, i know is must puzzle -- why is racism still a question in this country? >> well, larry, i think what happened, remember a year ago, remember the cambridge police incident with professor gates and the president kind of weighed in on that and said that was a dumb thing the police officer did? and that set off a conversation. i think sadly a lot of people are disappointed that they thought they had a post-racial president in president obama,

and because of that, and maybe some of the things that happened with this immigration debate they think he might be the most racial president. whether or not he wanted to be. so on "the view," that was very interesting, and barbara walters was on her game. in asking that question. why don't you call yourself biracial? obviously you're half white -- just a fact. you are half white, half black. it's biracial. he didn't, he really stumbled on that question, i thought. i'm not a body language expert. i'll leave that to o'reilly, but it really seemed to me he was struggling. he was struggling with that, and he -- he didn't really answer the question. that is a fact. he is black and he is white. and celebrate it. i mean, he didn't answer it. >> he actually did answer the question. he made a point to say the world sees me as african-american. he understands the unique racial legacy of the united states. at one point had a one-drop rule. if you had one drop of african blind you you were considered black. because he's considered black to the police.

if he was in cambridge with the police officer he wouldn't be seen as biracial. if i'm in new york they don't care what percentage is white, they see a black person. it is so permanent and lingering in the united states' imagination -- >> white supremacy? >> there is white supremacy in the united states. i know you don't want to acknowledge that -- >> we have a biracial, black, whatever we want to call him, a man who is the first black president of the united states. and we had, we had millions of people who came to washington, celebrating that. i mean, that was amazing for our country. was that not amazing? was that not a hurdle we cleared? >> that is a hurdle. if joe lieberman. >> it's not a non sequitur. it is a fact. >> let's think of one thing. if joe lieberman were to become president we wouldn't say there was no longer anti-semitism. if hillary clinton were president we wouldn't say the world is no longer sexist. >> i don't think anyone is saying there is no racism. i think obsessing on race, when we have desperate joblessness. >> larry: one at a time. hold it. one at a time. mark. one at a time.

>> one, laura. >> larry: laura. >> pointed to the election of a black president as evidence of white supremacy no longer lingers. >> i never said that. >> if you want to focus on public policy, any measure of social prosperity black people are at the bottom of it. social misery, black people are up at the top of it including the unemployment numbers. president obama is not the first president to link race to public policy. when president bush ushered in the no child left behind policy he talked about the achievement gap between blacks and whites. nobody wanted to be post-racial but post-racist. that's what we're fighting for. >> okay. well, one -- you said a lot of things there, but the number one thing i think as americans is we really want to get beyond the hyphenated america. i do. i mean, i'm half polish and irish, english -- we want to get beyond that. the country is yearning, larry and mark, for authenticity and want someone to offer real

solutions for the black community, the latino community, the white community. the american community. forget the color of your skin. we need prosperity and jobs in this country. >> larry: we'll be back with more of laura ingraham and mark lamont hill. let's check in with anderson cooper. az's new immigration law going into effect today. we're going to take a ride along with the sheriff's department out in front in the fight against illegal immigration. we'll hear two different sides of this. the sponsor of the controversial arizona bill, russell pierce joins us and the reverend al sharpton. an embarrassing trial for a very powerful congressman. charlie rangel, 20-year democrat, has not striked a deal with the ethics committee yet, though that may still be in the works. the charges against him are stunning. frankly. 13 charges against him. extraordinarily powerful man. we'll look at in detail at those charges and why so many democrats are kind of mum on the whole thing. all that and more larry at the top of the hour.

>> larry: that's 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific. anderson cooper and "ac 360." 200 or 300 cambodians are injured or killed by thousands of land mines that are still buried or active since being planted 30 years ago. cambodia has one of the highest numbers of active land mines worldwide. this week's "cnn hero" put many of those land mines in place when he was an 11-year-old soldier. today he revisits former battlefields for an entirely different crusade. watch. >> my name is aki ra. when i was 10 years old, they chose me to be a soldier. sometimes we were ordered to plant 4,000 to 5,000 mines. i saw a lot of people chi idyin.

i put people in danger and damaged the country. after the war was over, i decided to clear mines by myself. now people have joined me. now it's safe. the villages are requesting us to de-mine because the people are afraid of mines. >> translator: i have done a lot of good things, different from during the war. i have cleared thousands of mines. i want cambodia to be safe. >> larry: extraordinary. our hero has even adopted child victims of land mine blasts. to see more of aki ra's story or nominate someone you think is changing the world, go to cnn.com/heroes, nominations close this sunday, august 1st. laura and mark come back after this.

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>> larry: back with our remaining moments with laura ingraham and mark lamont hill. couple of political things. what do you think of governor palin, sarah palin, as a possible nominee of the republican party in 2012? >> well, larry, i'm still surveying the field. i'm going to ask these people in st. louis behind me. what do you think of sarah palin? that's what they think of her. >> larry: what do you think of her? >> so -- well, larry, here's what i think. i think that sarah palin could get a really bad charley horse and, like, cnn would go, you know, 24/7 on her. she's -- you guys are on sesed with sarah palin. she's out there. she's a fissigure in conservati politics. she sparkles on stage. people love her. she's magnetic. we don't know whether she wants to run for president, whether she will. i think she is a force to be reckoned with and i think she's -- she's fascinating.

i think a rlot of people in the race are fascinate. i like her as a person and she's going to do a lot for the party. >> larry: mark, what do you think? >> i think she's fascinating, too, for a lot of reasons. i think interesting and has the ability to be a kingmaker in state-wide elections. does she have the talent or credentials to be president? no. does she have the political muscle to be president? no. mitt romney is a safer choice. mike huckabee is the dark horse in this. i don't think sarah palin would be a wise choice for republicans. as for someone on the left, i'd love sarah palin to be the nominee. >> one thing is interesting, larry, is that she does have more chief executive experience than barack obama had when he ran for president. i mean, we have to remember -- >> she was the mayor of mayberry. >> maybe alaska doesn't count for mark but it's a pretty cool place. you can see russia from -- >> larry: one quick -- guy,

before we leave, we only have 35 seconds. laura, how is your health? >> my health is great, larry. five years out. i don't call myself a survivor. i call myself by the good graces of god and great family and friends, a thriver and you've always been supportive of that. i really appreciate you asking. i'm doing great and have two kids at home, maria and dimitri 5 and 2, they're my life. >> larry: does five years mean it's over, does five years mean the cancer is done? >> larry, you know what they say, no one gets off this planet alive, so it's a snapshot. we have a snap of a finger. i hope for the best. i don't worry about it. >> larry: laura, congratulations on the book. marks, thanks for joining us. >> pleasure. congrats, laura. >> thank you, larry. thanks, mark. >> larry: laura ingraham "the obama diaries." mark lamont hill, professor at colombia university. tomorrow night, tony robins. now "ac