borowitz right now talking about america's 50 funniest writers or you can join us to talk with john avlon who is the coeditor of this newest book, deadline artist, america's greatest newspaper columns. mr. avlon where did you get the idea to put this together? >> this was the book i wanted to read. it was the book that we wanted to read. errol louis and i were working at the new york sun together as new young columns and we started to talk to our colleagues, the late great jack newfield and saying what he or favorite columns, who are your favorite palm this? ian jimmy breslin his friend both picked the same one called the death of frankie jerome. it hadn't been anthologized since 1924 and it took us weeks to find. jesse angelo are coeditor of the "new york post," we'll begin this process but at the end of the day this was a labor of love, and education with inspiration but it follows a ruler think you should follow when you are putting a book together. you should write the book you want to read. >> john avlon who hoosier favorite newspaper columnist of all-time? you have to have one. >> i

john avlon is with us. e just got to say, john, we did call all of the campaigns today and it was an unusual day. usually one or the other is off. it was like they were all off, but herman cain. >> when did halloween become a political holiday? >> it seems like they were. and like i said, only rick santorum had little kids to take trick or treating. you were writing about jan brewer today in "the daily beast." would you call it a trick or treat in politics? >> we're giving this a political dirty trick. it's unprecedented. arizona governor jan brewer is threatening to impeach her entire independent redirecting commission opinion these are democrats and republicans tasked with coming up with nonpartisan lines. but what she has done, she didn't like what they came back with, wasn't in favor of her party so she is threatening to impeach the whole bunch. unprecedented power grab. that's a political dirty trick. >> wow. >> yeah. >> do you have any treats? i'm not going to let you get away without a treat. absolute

john avlon is with us. d call all of the campaigns today and it was an unusual day. usually one or the other is off. it was like they were all off, but herman cain. >> when did halloween become a political holiday? >> it seems like they were. and like i said, only rick santorum had little kids to take trick or treating. you were writing about jan brewer today in "the daily beast." would you call it a trick or treat in politics? >> we're giving this a political dirty trick. it's unprecedented. arizona governor jan brewer is threatening to impeach her entire independent redirecting commission opinion these are democrats and republicans tasked with coming up with nonpartisan lines. but what she has done, she didn't like what they came back with, wasn't in favor of her party so she is threatening to impeach the whole bunch. unprecedented power grab. that's a political dirty trick. >> wow. >> yeah. >> do you have any treats? i'm not going to let you get away without a treat. absolutely. we've got treats. a big ni

. >> last call for our guest, john avlon, comes from larry in newport beach california. >> hello. i was just wondering if jim murray is included in the -- and the contents of the book? >> who was that, jim murray? >> yes, jim murray. >> jim murray, l.a. times. >> absolutely. i'm glad you brought jim murray up because we have not spoken a lot of sports columnists or humor columnist. they are two of the great john rest. humor columns were the earliest of column. there were side by side with the editorial. and it is a tradition that we have sort of lost. you go back to mark twain, dave barry being a master of the forum here at miami when he was writing for the "herald," people like russell baker. these are enormous. the great thing about humor columnist, is what we learned from john stuart and steven colbert today. sometimes satire is the best way to tell the truth. the master the art of the lead. heat go back and read, breath smith on bobby thomson, shirley povich, the luckiest man in the world, jim murray and the l.a. times. so many others, great sports columnists really capturing

john avlon, leslie sanchez and paul begala are with us. good to have all of you with us. john, let me start with you. a few good economic headlines, they come amidst an overall picture which is grim. they change sentiment, are headlines like this good holl day, not great jobs creation, but some jobs creation, enough to deliver him this election on a silver platter? >> not to deliver anyone on a silver platter. the trend -- if you look at overall, that's the important thing, the trend. when reagan, leading up to his landslide in 18984 had 8.5% unemployment at this dime. that's why it felt like morning in america. the fact that the economy seems to be stabilizing is a positive sign. this is not over until it's over. it's going to be a squeaker. >> one thing that could help the president, today, this afternoon, on wolf blitzer, you saw it, a woman accusing herman cain of having a 13-year extra-marital affair is speaking out. here's what she told atlanta station waga about the affair and why she decided to speak out. >> he made it very intriguing. it was fun. it was something

. >>> let's bring in john avlon, cnn director. john, are we going to get a deal done? >> look, we better. the reality is there's increased pessimism on capitol hill. i can't believe given the stakes of this that congressman noem didn't know whether or not she signed the letter. we've got 150 congressmen and women saying go big, we've got your back. that's the urgency we need. time is ticking. that $4 trillion remark seems like a distant probability, more like they'll barely get through with 1.2 if we're lucky. >> and that just doesn't do much for you at all. you come right back to the table. >> no. >> i'm just curious. that letter was an important letter, the one she didn't recall signing. you had all those people sign it. i'm curious what you think about the significance of that. she did just say she was for some people paying more in taxes to do a deal. >> she did. and that is where -- that is where the give and take can occur. if we can agree on closing loopholes to raise revenue without raising taxes, that's a way for us to get some revenue on the table and offset

. >>> let's bring in john avlon, cnn director. john, are we going to get a deal done? >> look, we better. the reality is there's increased pessimism on capitol hill. i can't believe given the stakes of this that congressman noem didn't know whether or not she signed the letter. we've got 150 congressmen and women saying go big, we've got your back. that's the urgency we need. time is ticking. that $4 trillion remark seems like a distant probability, more like they'll barely get through with 1.2 if we're lucky. >> and that just doesn't do much for you at all. you come right back to the table. >> no. >> i'm just curious. that letter was an important letter, the one she didn't recall signing. you had all those people sign it. i'm curious what you think about the significance of that. she did just say she was for some people paying more in taxes to do a deal. >> she did. and that is where -- that is where the give and take can occur. if we can agree on closing loopholes to raise revenue without raising taxes, that's a way for us to get some revenue on the table and offset

let's bring in jeffrey toobin and john avlon, cnn contributor. john, let me start with you. you live near the original encampment. no longer an encampment. you've been back and forth down there the past couple of days. >> the day of the eviction -- they really hunkered down with a pretty organized tent city. the next day, taken out. it's become a park again. the court order has said they're not allowed to bring back tents and sleeping bags. that's a challenge for the occupy movement in new york particularly. to ask themselves what's next. are they going to evolve and become a constructive political force or become a destructive political force which will lead to their declining poll numbers. the fact they're using the pedestrian bridge, that's a constructive step, as opposed to blocking traffic just to get a short-term headline. >> let me ask you, jeff toobin, because what are their rights? where does it come -- where is there a life if there is legally where you are allowed to protest and exercise your first amendment rights and then you're not allowed to because you're dis

john avlon joins us, james carville, and nancy fotenhower. thanks to all three of you. can she do it for him? talking about gloria? >> can gloria save herman cain? this is different than that bill and hillary moment on "60 minutes." right now you're seeing a slow motion implosion of herman cain's numbers. the gender difference is stark. it's steep. he's still doing relatively well in iowa. iowa could turn the whole thing around from january 3rd, herman cain is in trouble and the numbers are finally taking a poll. >> would you agree, nancy? >> i do. herman cain's appeal was because of his integrity and sincerity. when he was on stage debating, he wasn't the smooth he was, but he seemed the most authentic. this particular attack is really a gut shot to him. it's one that is going to be extraordinarily difficult to recover from and, unfortunately, the sheer number of women who have come forward have started to tip the scales for other women across the country, saying, if that many people come forward, there must be some truth to it. >> james carville, there was a meeting t

john avlon from the daily beast is with us. leslie sanchez and paul begala, democratic strategist and contributor. john, let me start with you. a few good economic headlines. granted they come amidst an overall picture which is still very grim but they get the market to go up 3800 points. they change sentiment. headlines like this, good holiday, not great jobs creation, but some enough to deliver him this election on a silver platter. >> this is not a silver platter election. but the trend is his friend. if you look at overall where we've been in political history before, that's the important thing trend. reagan in 1984 had 8.58% unemployment at this time but 8% gdp growth. the fact that the economy seems to be stabilizing is a positive sign. that is a certain wind at president obama's sails. this is not over till it's over. this is going to be a squeaker. >> one thing that could help the president, today, this afternoon, on wolf blitzer, you saw it, a woman accusing herman cain of having a 138-year extramarital affair. shears w

john avlon joins us, james carville, and nancy fotenhower. thanks to all three of you. can she do it for him? talking about gloria? >> can gloria save herman cain? this is different than that bill and hillary moment on "60 minutes." right now you're seeing a slow motion implosion of herman cain's numbers. the gender difference is stark. it's steep. he's still doing relatively well in iowa. iowa could turn the whole thing around from january 3rd, herman cain is in trouble and the numbers are finally taking a poll. >> would you agree, nancy? >> i do. herman cain's appeal was because of his integrity and sincerity. when he was on stage debating, he wasn't the smooth he was, but he seemed the most authentic. this particular attack is really a gut shot to him. it's one that is going to be extraordinarily difficult to recover from and, unfortunately, the sheer number of women who have come forward have started to tip the scales for other women across the country, saying, if that many people come forward, there must be some truth to it. >> james carville, there was a meeting t

senior political analyst here at cnn and john avlon, contributor and columnist for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." thanks to both of you. you were here on friday. we were all angry and upset and hopeful that thereby a breakthrough. but there wasn't. >> no. this is a profile in cower did he say, this is a new low for this government and people should be furious. they put party over country and now we're going to have a lot of trouble ahead. they had the power to do something about it. the fact that they put out a statement saying they still hope we can deal with our fiscal crisis and shouldn't pass this to the next generation, that's just incredibly insincere, pathetic and folks should be furious and mad as hell. all that rhetoric about deficit and debt, they put tax cut theology over dealing with that. i'm just furious. >> david gergen, i'm furious too. in the deafening silence that was today and max baucus said maybe there's a last minute idea and all we got was a statement. they didn't even come to the cameras and a lot of them it appeared to have already gone home. then we get 15

john avlon, leslie sanchez and paul begala are with us. good to have all of you with us. john, let me start with you. a few good economic headlines, they come amidst an overall picture which is grim. they change sentiment, are headlines like this good holl day, not great jobs creation, but some jobs creation, enough to deliver him this election on a silver platter? >> not to deliver anyone on a silver platter. the trend -- if you look at overall, that's the important thing, the trend. when reagan, leading up to his landslide in 18984 had 8.5% unemployment at this dime. that's why it felt like morning in america. the fact that the economy seems to be stabilizing is a positive sign. this is not over until it's over. it's going to be a squeaker. >> one thing that could help the president, today, this afternoon, on wolf blitzer, you saw it, a woman accusing herman cain of having a 13-year extra-marital affair is speaking out. here's what she told atlanta station waga about the affair and why she decided to speak out. >> he made it very intriguing. it was fun. it was something

senior political analyst here at cnn and john avlon, contributor and columnist for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." thanks to both of you. you were here on friday. we were all angry and upset and hopeful that thereby a breakthrough. but there wasn't. >> no. this is a profile in cower did he say, this is a new low for this government and people should be furious. they put party over country and now we're going to have a lot of trouble ahead. they had the power to do something about it. the fact that they put out a statement saying they still hope we can deal with our fiscal crisis and shouldn't pass this to the next generation, that's just incredibly insincere, pathetic and folks should be furious and mad as hell. all that rhetoric about deficit and debt, they put tax cut theology over dealing with that. i'm just furious. >> david gergen, i'm furious too. in the deafening silence that was today and max baucus said maybe there's a last minute idea and all we got was a statement. they didn't even come to the cameras and a lot of them it appeared to have already gone home. then we get 15

then we'll talk with john avlon and the impact on american politics. in four hour, we'll wrap it up for today with jim rasenberger who wrote about the bay of pig incident in the 1940s. that's the lineup, but you can also watch author events on booktv.org. we'll be live web casting the events from chapman hall here. in just about two and a half hours or so, teray will be talking about his book and talking about that book with the audience. you can watch that on booktv.org. andy, the comedian, will be talking about the 50 funniest american writers also live webcast, and then stanley and pete will be joining our call in guest, john avlon to talk about newspaper columnists and the art of writing a newspaper column. that's all live on booktv.org. you have the choice. you can watch booktv on c-span2, talk with authors and call ins or watch booktv.org and see the author events being webcast. well, in just a few minutes, we'll be joined by teray who will be taking your calls and tweets as well, but we also want to let you know that the c-span bus is here in mi

to author leslie brody who has written a book on jessica mittford, and then we'll be joined by john avlon, newspaper columns and their impact on american politics. and then in about four hours we'll wrap up live coverage from miami with jim rasenberger who's written a new book on the bay bf pigs incident in the early '60s. that's our lineup on c-span2, but you can also watch author events on book the.org. booktv.org. here on the campus of miami-dade college. so if just about two and a half hours or so, toure will be talking about his book, "who's afraid of post-blackness?" and he'll be talking about that book with the audience, you'll be able to watch that on booktv.org. that will be live webcast, and then stanley crouch, mike barnacle and pete hamill will be joining our call-in guest john avlon to talk about newspaper columnist and the art of writing a newspaper column. so you have your choice. you can watch booktv on c-span2, talk with authors, or you can watch booktv.org, and you can see some of the author events being webcast. well, in just a few minutes we'll be joined by toure, and

john avlon, i've got to ask you about health care. the american people now show a poll like the mandate for insurance. if he. >> they said bring it on. for the reasons that you just said. if it gets struck down, the most powerful person in is justice kennedy. all of a sudden it will create a base. it's a matter of settled law before the election or they have to go back to the drawing board which could simulate the base. but this is a -- this is going to be one of the driving themes of the next couple of months. >> all right. thank you very much to all three of you. we appreciate it. by the way, president now talking about obama cares, is the way he's playing it obama care. he says obama cares. >>> still "outfront" two republican candidates says that they will get to military strikes against iran. well, we do the numbers on this show. how much will it really cost america to go to war with iran? >>> and ramos kidnapped and escaped in a gunfight. >>> and an american accused of spying for israel spent time in an egyptian jail. he comes ou

let's bring in john avlon, senior columnist for the daily beast. strategist and the former bush deputy secretary and republican strategist. okay. let me put this question to you. can he survive this? there is the whole smoke/fire question. there is the fact that nobody wants anybody talking about their libido on national tv, even in defense of them. >> yeah, that's right. i do think it is solely up to mr. cain as to whether or not he stays in the race. ultimately he'll have to make the decision as to whether he can recover from this. whether the odds are too long and whether he can continue to see this sustained damage of his reputation. his campaign was built on media attention last month. that's how he gained his rise to the polls. it was an untraditional campaign. not built on organization. and i think in this case, it is a little bit of live by the sword, die by the sword. the media coverage of his campaign obviously has turned very swiftly and i'm not sure he can recover. i think the allegations that we heard this week about the affair lead to

let's bring in john avlon, senior columnist for the daily beast. strategist and the former bush deputy secretary and republican strategist. okay. let me put this question to you. can he survive this? there is the whole smoke/fire question. there is the fact that nobody wants anybody talking about their libido on national tv, even in defense of them. >> yeah, that's right. i do think it is solely up to mr. cain as to whether or not he stays in the race. ultimately he'll have to make the decision as to whether he can recover from this. whether the odds are too long and whether he can continue to see this sustained damage of his reputation. his campaign was built on media attention last month. that's how he gained his rise to the polls. it was an untraditional campaign. not built on organization. and i think in this case, it is a little bit of live by the sword, die by the sword. the media coverage of his campaign obviously has turned very swiftly and i'm not sure he can recover. i think the allegations that we heard this week about the affair lead to

john avlon, you've been down there and seen some of their brochures and things. what's the takeaway from this? >> if you read occupy the machine or any of the basic anarchist guides you get a sense of the professional protester element in this. they have an agenda way beyond income inequality. some of the lines talk about 500 years of genocide characterizing all we've done in this country. >> taking land from the american indians. >> that's not a useful argument to make if you want to play a constructive role in our politics. here's where the tea party did take a populist political movement and quickly turned into a political force. that's been one of the interesting challenges going forward for occupy. as they mature, as even liberal allies like portland mayor sam adams say, i sympathize with your goals but you have to evolve to be a constructive force. talk about income equality. great. what they're going to do about it? are you going to talk about crony capital snimp great. what specific plans do you want to put forward? then you can determine the debate going

on the 19th we'll have james glek, john avlon and jim razzen berg, author of jfk, castro and america's doomed invasion of cuba's bay of pigs along with a few others. on the 20th, randall kennedy, author of racial politics and the obama presidency. brooke hauser, author of the new kids and several other authors will take your calls live from miami. visit booktv.org for more information on live coverage on the 2011 miami book fair international. >> here's a short author interview from c-span's campaign 2012 bus as it travels the country. >> karen beckwith, how did you decide which essays to include in this work? >> my co-editors and i organized with a grant from the aaron berg foundation, the project on american democracy, um, at the university of notre dame that we would convene, um, by our estimation the best scholars on women in politics in the u.s., not only in the u.s., but, um, scholars who were working on u.s. women in politics. so we brought together a range of people, um, whose research we knew well and, um, convened for a two-day conference at notre dame, um, after which -- at

on the 19th, we'll have james gleek, author of "the information," john avlon and jim razzen berg, author of "jfk, castro, and america's doomed invasion of cuba's bay of pigs." on the 20th, randall kennedy, author of "racial politics and the obama presidency," brooke hauser and several other authors will take your calls live from miami. visit booktv.org for more information on the live coverage of the 2011 miami book fair international. >> when more than 12,000 members of the professional air traffic controllers' organization, patco, walked off their jobs with the federal aviation administration on august 3, 1981, one shrewd analyst noted that their illegal strike had been in the making almost since the moment that their union was founded in the 1960s. it was the inevitable choice, wrote this journalist, because most of patco's 12-year existence appears to have been preparation for this moment. the controllers had such a long history of militancy before 1981 that it was not surprising in some ways that they became the first union to stage a carefully choreographed and planned nationwide s