arianna huffington is co-founder and editor-in-chieff of the "huffington post," and joins me fresh froml downstairs on the obama presidency and you ran up the stairs and avoided the applause and the people trying to shake your hand, so thank you for that. >> thank you. >> and what is the state of the obama presidency? downstairs the people here, and certainly represent his base. his more liberal or progressive base, and are people feeling okay or disappointed or want to see more? >> well, the discussion which was with the great harvard professor and jeffrey rosen seemed to suggest that the american dream is in disarray, and over 24 million people unemployed or underemploy and the foreclosures and the kids who graduated from college and can't get jobs, and so they very good at articulating the problems and positioning them in terms of morality and basic american principles, but when it comes to policy, and legislation, he is constantly being outmaneuvered by the republicans, so he gives them a tongue lashing, but it is about preemptive surrender, and not prioritizing jobs, but deficit, a

want to go to arianna huffington, are they right?ll, at the moment, this is the new consensus that's emerging that the government needs to do more, that the government needs to do more when it comes to payroll tax holiday, for example, which would help businesses hire more. more when it comes to infrastructure spending -- our infrastructure is crumbling. the government can borrow at below 3%. construction workers are idle. and also more aid to states which are also finding themselves in a position of having to inflict major cuts. this is the time for the government to step in and allow the private sector to begin to hire more. >> but those seem like conflicting things. i'm going to ask you about this, mort. arian arianna's right. the places where most of us feel it is in states that end up cutting benefits. we're seeing this across the nation. what does the government specifically need to do and separately what does business in america need to do to help solve this problem? there is money in the system. >> first place, let's start of

when tim armstrong and arianna huffington announced aol's purchase of "huffington post" in february it marked not just yet another reshaping of aol but a redefinition of the online news business. less bench six months after that $315 million deal, aol now boast a new staff reported as large as that of "new york times." aas a good insult to the times injury, "huffington post" just last month surpassed the times as the most visited news site on the internet. just last week they made the boldest attempt to -- overseas. opening a u.k. edition and becoming the newest addition to london's interesting journalism theme. [laughter] just as one of its oldest avengers, the 168 year-old "news of the world" was printing its final edition. given all that's happening there, one could imagine there's an opportunity for a new player on the sink at "huffington post" is a noticeable part of a wealthy empire but but not the only part. aol's patch division is a closely watched experience in hyperlocal's citizen journalism today. website such as text crush, aol defense, aol government new site helping to sh

a big interest of mine personally with arianna is i like the obsessive nature of huffington post. that third attribute will come from the voice. i think that is a really key experience for all of our users. >> in fact, that is out my conversations with tim before the acquisition started. i remembered listening to tim at a conference in new york making his point about brand awareness and identity. the next day he and i met and talked for hours. that is the kind of conversation that went on for a couple of months. not a conversation about buying the huffington post, a conversation about this feature a media. it is amazing how his vision and night-vision were unbelievably aligned. i had an e-mail from him saying he would like to come to los angeles and meet with me and discuss some things. i invited him to lunch. >> he likes wants all lot. [laughter] >> before we started eating, he said he wanted to buy the huffington post and bring the huffington boasts and aol content together. for those of you who may be read the story, which closed the deal at the super bowl. >> at halftime. >> a

dream, and then i wanted to edit it next to people like henry kissinger and gene simmons and arianna huffingtont any one of these new immigrants could be the next sergei brand from google. >> and we have those questions of those seeking to become citizens were asked. >> have you ever sold or bought marijuana or speed? >> have you ever been a habitual druncard? >> have you told your body for money? >> no, i have never been involved in prostitution. >> well, they found that laughable, but it is not a question that anybody wants to be asked, but it is incredible what steps people have to go through to become citizens and people take it for granted thinking that the people sneak through, but this is the process they endure to live in what i think that most of us agree is the greatest country in the world. >> right. and to become an american citizen, you have to go through a lot of hoops and take two tests. you have to be a person of good moral character and then pass a civicing test, which i am not sure that many of the viewers would pass. >> and you will remember this 4th of july, it is important

that is called third world america by arianna huffington. a very readable book. see is a good writer. she touches on the trends that we have been seeing for a number of years in terms of our physical. frankly, if we do not reverse, and this is our point, or going to end up looking like a third country. fluent to the notice states. but he was waiting for a plan backed he happened to be sitting on the floor, crowded. he was wondering which was that their world country, the united states to china. a lot of ominous trends in this country are moving as in the wrong direction. did the act together and reverse those trends. another book that i'm reading right now is a book about the life of somebody i have known for a number of years. that is willie nelson. the book is called willie nelson and life. that is by joe neck but does he. that's the most readable book in the world because with so does is give us the name of everybody in the world that had anything to do with who nelson, but given the fact that willie nelson is one of the more, clearly one of the great entertai

joining me in our round table, george will, arianna huffington, founder of "the huffington post," former clinton budget director alice rivlin also a member of one of the many y commissions studying solutions to the debt crisis, and charlie gasparino, senior correspondent for fox business network. good morning, all. you heard what the secretary of the treasury said. george, is the country going to go off the cliff or will there be a deal do you think? >> we were supposed to go off the cliff originally in may. that was the drop dead date then it was moved to august 2nd, a week there this coming tuesday. now suddenly we wake up this morning and mr. geithner, whose credibilility is zero with republicans and this is one reason why, says no, no, 4:00 this afternoon, the asian markets open, and that's the drop dead date. the president this week in his tantrum compress conference said republicans won't say any to anything. they said yes to the ryan budget, the democratic senate said no. they said yes to cap and balance. the only plan put on paper, the president has put not one on paper, the only

. >> arianna huffington was here just a week ago, i'm sure she's going to be glad to hear that. we're almost out of time, but we have a couple of housekeeping matters to take care of, and i'd like to remind you of a couple of upcoming speakers, august 19th governor gary john soften, former of new mexico. on august 30th we'll have an interview with labor secretary hilda solis, and right before 9/11, rudy giuliani, the former mayor of new york, that'll be on september 6th. i'd like to present our guest with the traditional npc gift, and that is -- by the way, i'll just note we call it the npc mug, but you can drink either coffee or tea out of it. >> thank you. sweet tea. it'll be sweet tea. thank you. [applause] >> so one final question. one final question. looking back at history, can you think of two presidents, perhaps one republican and one democrat, that you admire the most? >> >> yes. republican would have to be abraham lincoln, but i have to tell you my all-time favorite president is george washington, and the reason why i admire him so much is because he was a reluctant pr