commissioner of education ernest boyer and then with vice president walter mondale after washington he joined the walt disney company as a writer/producer on such diverse projects as that eddie murphy satire and the peter bogdanovich adaptation of "noises off." after becoming a dean at the annenberg school for communication and journalism at the university of southern california, he founded and heads the norman lear center, which studies politics, entertainment, and commerce and their impact on us. he's an expert on how big money and big media have coupled to create a disney world of democracy. marty, welcome. >> thanks, bill. >> you wrote "the distinguished gentleman" 20 years ago. could you write it today? >> oh god, it still is the same. all you have to do is add a couple of zeros to the amount of money. and the same laws still apply. it is fabulous and miserable at the same time. >> was washington then, and is it now, the biggest con game going? >> it is the biggest con game going. and the stakes are enormous. and the effort to regulate them is hopeless, because the very people who