tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with the founder and president of the huffington media group, arianna huffington. now the democrats have a tricky task of convincing people to reelect president obama despite economical problems. also we remember michael duncan, gone too soon at the age of 54. we are glad you joined us. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway

to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> please welcome arianna huffington back to this program. she is the founder of huffington opposed media group. she is also behind chateau convention, a nonpartisan alternative to the major conventions, focusing on

poverty, influence of money and politics, and the war on drugs. she joins us from charlotte. good to have you on the program. let me start by asking in your views on what the republicans did in tampa last week. >> they must be wondering themselves what they did. this is a great opportunity to challenge the record of the last few years in terms of the economy, the middle class, poverty, but instead they have clint eastwood and the empty chair and a lot of empty speeches, more base on identifying who people are and their history and paul ryan saying a lot of things i agree common and now that the

unemployed is not acceptable, the five napa how -- the fact the housing crisis have not been solved and that is unacceptable, the fact that kids cannot get jobs and that is unacceptable, yet offering no solution to solve this problem. tavis: what could they have done to take better advantage of all the opportunities they had last night? >> they would have to save the current administration did not bring a sense of urgency to the biggest problem facing america, which is the jobs crisis. this is the one big error of this administration. it is kind of inevitable, because for years in denver the president said the greatest danger was to bring in the same players and play the same games

expecting an different results. yet that is exactly what happened, expecting the economy to recover without the kind of infrastructure programs, the kind of payroll tax cuts that could have really brought about the jobs that are missing and that are really affecting all whole generation of young people ready to go to work. >> you have got tough words for this the administration over the last four years, and so have i, but you suggested vote for obame around, but you expressed reservations. do i read that correctly? >> i will vote for ross obama, -- barack obama because we only have two choices, and he is

infinitely preferable, but my biggest concern is the fact they have not brought the same urgency that dr. king talked about and that obama talked about to the problems we are facing domestically and that we continue to be in afghanistan even though there is no clear objective there. we are allowing young men and women to die or be maimed there and spending money without any key objective, and that is troubling that mitt romney did not even mention afghanistan in his speech, and i am sad and the one great thing about clint eastwood's speech is he did address afghanistan. he did urge all of us to do what we could to get out, and he got tremendous applause, so this is something that no longer has popular support. tavis: i want to talk about

these three issues that are being covered at your shadow convention. so many of these issues never make it to the stage at either party convention. i should also say next week dr. west and i are going back on our and we are going to battleground states this time around. you can follow us on this tour of poor people and their issues and how to raise this issue on the american agenda. you can follow this tour on huffington opposed. i get a chance to thank you for that, but of the three issues you are talking about, shadow conventions, tell me why we cannot get more traction, why it

is mr. obama, mr. romney have not said more about it. with regards to mr. obama, four years ago he ran on a platform of eradicating poverty in america, but nothing has been forthcoming in this first term with all the numbers but _ poverty is the new american norm. why not more from either of them? >> in our special interest politics, there is not a special interest representing the fopoor. that is why i am so grateful you are doing a tour, because so many of us in the media want to put a spotlight on the fact that we have 15 million more people living in poverty, but a lot of them are formerly middle-class who can no longer make ends

meet, and this is the first generation in america where we do not expect our children to do better than we are doing common- law yet poverty -- than we are doing, yet poverty is hardly on the agenda of either political party. at the same time, i think it is important to put a spotlight on what is working because there are good things happening. tomorrow we are bringing over 100 entrepreneurs, people who started a business, and even in these difficult times, and we need to put more spotlight on them to help of scale what they are doing, of the coast -- because the american spirit is alive and well. it is just not giving enough attention. >> but is the issue of poverty.

let's talk about the war on drugs. if there was a time when that seemed to be front and center, a one. it was a front burner issue, but what happened to the debate, the real media conversation about the so-called war on drugs? >> if you look at the timing, of the war in iraq happened, and then we started spending more time talking about the war on iraq and afghanistan, and the war on drugs was no longer front and center. no powerful interest group wanting to end the insanity of the war on france -- drugs. that is leading to half a million people going to jail for non-of violent and drug offenses, and the result of incarceration rates is we have millions of people who are

felons and disenfranchised for life, so the unintended consequences are enormous and long-lasting, and what is interesting is the people are ahead of the politicians. over 90% of people believe treatment is more affective, and yet politicians are worried they are going to be perceived as weak on crime. they are continuing to fight a war we are never going to win. >> the third issue covered at these shadow conventions beyond poverty and drugs is a corrupt and -- is the corruption of politics by money. i cannot imagine -- i wish i were there to hear the conversations going on about money in politics this time around to given the supreme

court decision. what is being said at these conventions about money used to corrupt our political process? >> everything is much worse than in 2001 we took on this issue, and one thing that is particularly worse is the lack of transparency with these super pacs, and we do not even know who is putting money into super pacs, so what we are seeing is a policy is really bought by powerful interests who not only spend millions of dollars on the election but also spend millions on lobbyists in washington. this is a very broken system, and everybody knows it. young people who want to change the world more than ever do not

believe that is going to be down to politics, so we are going to see what the turnout is for this election, but young people are more disengage than in 2008. it thrives there are people but believe the only way to fix this is a constitutional amendment. i see they have a petition they are asking readers to sign every day about this issue, but short of a constitutional amendment, what can be done to solve this particular problem? >> a constitutional amendment is something i am supportive of, but we need a public outcry. you notice in many moments of american history, it took a huge public outcry before things change, and that is a force that is needed, and now we have the

power of social media that can help us organize so much faster and have our voices heard more effectively. tavis: this is one issue, and i suspect there are more, but this is one issue on which obama supporters have said consistently, let him get a second term. in a second term he will do this. in a second term he will do that. first they were saying, do not say anything. let the guy get elected furs. then they said, give him time, and then when things have not worked out the way they thought, they move the goalposts again and said, you wait until the gets his second term, so we keep moving the goalposts, but supporters are saying when he gets a second term it is going

to change. i want to know whether or not you think we are going to see a dramatically different rock obama -- barack obama if he wins, and specifically with regard to campaign finance reform. now he has said, and i got to play by the rules, because i cannot lose, but when i get in, i am going to fix this campaign finance issue, so what are your thoughts? >> i think my answer is the same, and that is that i do not know. now i do not think anyone knows. it is the obvious race between obama and romney, but it is the issue of campaigning, and we do not know who is going to end up in the white house if he wins reelection.

there are differences between the two. obama campaigned as a leader, but he governs as a timid leader. you cannot be a transformational leader and not ruffle many feathers, and he understands that, and we have wasted a lot of pressures term, and if we go back to the original stimulus bill, if it had been better crafted, better targeted, larger, we would have perhaps not had ongoing erosion in terms of jobs that we have seen, so time matters comi-con when it comes to us it -- time matters when it comes to a sense of urgency, and i did not know if the president when he is back in the white house will experience its when there is nothing to lose.

what do you make of the tone and the tenor of this campaign? we know what was said last week at the rnc and all the fact checking going into what mitt romney said. what is your view of the demeanor going into this particular election? >> i think it is the worst campaign of my life term, and i am pretty old. there is no question this is the worst campaign ever, and what makes it harder is that this is a time when it really matters. these are not times when we are just electing a president to imes andover the good term our prosperity. this is a time when the american dream is at stake.

we are no. 10 in of board mobility. we are behind france in of board mobility. that gives you an idea of how bad things have gotten. i wrote a book on third world america, because if we do not turn things around we will become a third world countries. during these times to see the way this campaign degenerates into a discussion of charges and countercharges common on and we in the media have responsibility, too, because so much media coverage is about process, and so much is going to be increasingly about the latest polling results and not the big issues. when romney picked paul ryan, i actually thought this was going to elevate the campaign into a real discussion about the role of government and the nature of capitalism, but it has not happened. >> what is your sense about how

social media can change the game from being about issues and the stuff but does matter and not just a typical historical covering of the horse race? are we doing anything to change that conversation? >> yes, i think the potential is still there, and what has already happened is to give a voice to millions of people who would not have had a voice before. we have citizen journalist here in charlotte. we brought them here to cover the campaign and bring in some different perspectives. there is no question that in the end social media and new media can be ice huge country being forced to the power of money -- can be a huge force in the power

of money. tavis: what say you about the increasing cynicism of the american people? i am not one who believes that is not without a legitimate reason, but what is your sense about the cynicism that seems to be running amok and when our body politic is concerned? >> it is legitimate, because our system is very broken. it can only produce sub-optimum solutions. at the same time the public is idealistic. the american public is waiting to be called to something larger than ourselves here again we are talking about the question of job creation and what can we do. good what can we do to actually

accelerate job creation on the grounds that we cannot wait as bystanders, hoping against hope someone in washington is going to come up with a solution. it is amazing. we have got foundations committing $1 million to the most innovative job creation idea, and the ford company contributing to help community colleges, non from on who -- not-for-profit groups, all coming together. it reminds me a little bit of what happened during the second world war. people were buying liberty bonds, planting victory gardens. they were all engaged in this together because they knew what was at stake. people can recapture the spirit.

that is for me going to be the defining difference, and maybe you can help bring that about on your poverty to ur. tavis: let me close where we began this conversation. the minute this is over in wraps up with president obama's speech, and on friday the jobs numbers come out, and we are told the census bureau will release poverty numbers. we all know the link between poverty and joblessness. what is your sense of what is going to happen in this debate? >> the numbers are not going to be good, whether they are a little better or a little worse. they are not going to be good. we are debating whether they are a tiny bit better or a tiny bit worse, but what are we going to

do about it? we are not having it before the conventions. we are not having it after the conventions, and that is where we are doing our part by focusing on job creation. goo to send those ideas, to send us stories about what is happening, because we cannot move into a state of mind where we think nothing can be done. we need to do our part to make a difference and turn things around. tavis: the founder of "and huffington opposed," -- of "the huffington post," arianna huffington. up next, we remember the life of michael dunton, gone too

soon. over the labor day weekend we were saddened to learn about the passing of michael clark duncan. he turned in and now an unforgettable performance in "the green mylaile." he talked about his unlikely path to hollywood through the south side of chicago and how his mother turned him away from a career in sports. good >> i have to say it was all -- >> i have to say it all started from my mother. she wanted to be an actor. when my mother saw me, she thought, i am going to push him in that direction, but i pushed back i wanted to play basketball and football. i did not think acting was going to be a lifestyle for me. i was going to be on the football team, but my mother told me to quit.

tavis: she did not want you to get her. >> but you are on a black campus. tavis: she is under 100 pounds. >> my mother always told me to go for your goals and never give up no matter what they are. i started to believe that, but as i grew older, everything my mother ever taught me came true. she told me never smoke, never do drugs, never drink. those things i have never done in my life. >> gone too soon at the age of 54. that is it for our show tonight. thanks for watching, and as always, keep the faith. >> i am tired of all the pain.

it is in my head all the time. can you understand? >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. join me next time for a conversation with the former u.s. secretary of labor, robert reischauch. king had that said there is right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to as we work together, we can stamp hunger out.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. thank you.