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 are in charge of regulating them are the same people who are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the lobbies that run them. >> i have it on very good authority that a prominent washington senator recently told a group of lobbyists in washington, a room full of lobbyists, that they are the lifeblood of the city. and i thou

norman lear. do you know, who i am? i said you made the jefferson's. [laughter] we've video all day. some still run on youtube. you cannot believe on tv they take down your photos and rearrange the curtains and make it take. i said i don't think so. i lost 3.8 million you want me to make a cake? [laughter] my husband is retired military he said i have a fresh pot of coffee. [laughter] when we went to the white house they called me and said says your daughter one to come? we were on the train trip by said i will call. she said i have to get hurt cleared. it is not easy. i called my daughter's house but in an hour she said can you get a five of us? i was so embarrassed. i said sure. i have that much swing. we went into the white house and people lourdes chanting my name. the women and the men and nine grandson's it buys with this bid. they pull me separate and then they signed the bill. that was no walk down the red carpet. the feeling i have had i don't hate you are supposed to pray for personal things python that led send a message but it was the first

i was looking back, another los angeles reference, another one of my heroeses, norman lear. among the many, many thicks he did -- things he did during his heyday, 30 years ago this year -- probably those of you who were alive might not remember this -- but he created this pageant for abc, televised pageant called "i love liberty," and it was this great kind of corny, cheesy, wacky thing that involved, you know, television stars from the '70s, the muppets, you know, all these things that kind of mashed together pop culture and references to the founding fathers and references to the bicentennial and to the revolution, and he just took everything he could grab on to in american life at that time, both the cheesy and the kind of sublime, and he pulled it together into this pageant that was itself so beautifully american. it was diverse, it was multicultural, it did not shy away from our failings and our faults. and he put this pageant on. i can't believe abc televised this thing, now that you think about our culture today, right? [laughter] but millions of people watched this t

hollywood has said he is going to be throwing a fundraising dinner for obama in june and, last night, norman learominent democratic activists here in los angeles, who has sort of been sitting on the sidelines and says he was disappointed obama had not realized a lot of the promise. he said, yes, i am maxtion amount giving the maximum amount of money. he is much more active. others are going to follow. >> take us inside the clooney event to the best of your knowledge. what hollywood superstars are going to be there tonight? >> well, we know that obviously george clooney who is hosting and thelma hyatt, jack black, eddie murphy robert downy, jr. >> robert downy, jr. is going to be there and i am not there? what's up with this? sorry. go ahead. >> in addition there is also a lot of behind-the-steins scenes players, studio heads there, the heads of two of the major hollywood talent agencies are going to be there. they are very important because they mobilize a lot of the stars because they all, you know, are represented by talent agencies. it is going to be a powerplayer evening there. >> do you thin

i mean, i'm -- norman lear once said -- he said that having -- celebrity is something that you spend.ou can spend it down. and so i have on occasion sort of used my celebrity to share -- to put a shining light on certain issues that i think need looking at. and a lot of them for me have been environmental. >> let's have a look at one of these. >> president obama said let us be the generation that ends the tyranny of oil. man, that was great. except i just checked and right now big oil is still pretty much running the show. but mr. president, you've got a fabulous chance to turn that around and make good on your word. >> yeah, that was me. >> strong words for the president. >> no, not so strong. very supportive, in fact. and fortunately for us, the president and the white house did the right thing on the keystone pipeline and didn't allow it to go forward. all of that aside, you know, i'm not an authority. i'm not an expert. i'm not a scientist. and i don't pretend to be. but like i say, i sort of use my celebrity to help. and also frankly as a citizen, you know, i like to be vocal and

he gave the questions and then the next day cnn came and it was just one media, radio and norman lear called that night instead i want to send them in. do you know who i am? i said yes sir, you may jefferson's and all in the family. [laughter] i met him since then, but we videoed all day. bay left with oodles. they are still running some of them on youtube. you can't believe what you see on tv because they rearrange your whole house and hang up your curtains or take your photos down a movie dining room table, your coffee table and they want you to make a change. i said, don't think so. i just lost $3.8 million you want me to make changes? i said no, no. he said -- my husband is retired military so he was of a coffee person. he said oh i have got a fresh pot of coffee that they had me poured out and make some more. when we went to the white house for the bill, they called me and said, do you want -- is your daughter want to come because we both have been on the train trip with the obamas to the inauguration. i said i will call them. the lady who called said, have to get her cleared and

then the next day cnn came, and it was just one media, radio -- norman lear called that night, and he said i want to send a team in, do you know who i am? i said, yes, sir, you made "jeffersons" and "all in the family." [laughter] and he had just worked on "happy feet." i've met him sin then, but he set a team in, and we taped all day. there's still some videos on youtube. you can't believe what you see on tv because they rearrange your whole house and take your photos down and move your dining room table. [laughter] want you to make a cake, and i said i don't think so, i just lost $3.8 million, and you want me to bake a cake? no. [laughter] no, it'll just look like it. i said, no. he said, well, you've got a coffee maker. well, my husband is retired military, so he was a coffee person. he said, oh, i've got a pot of fresh coffee. but they had me to pour it out and make some more. [laughter] when we went to the white house for the bill, they called me and said does your daughter want to come? because we both had been on the train trip with the obamas and the bidens to the inauguration

. >> norman lear had been reluctant to actually write a check for the campaign. he reversed that position and talked to other donors who are encouraging their friends to go out and support -- go online and support the campaign. >> reporter: the president's re-election team also tried to capitalize on the same-sex marriage issue, by releasing this ad attacking mitt romney. >> my view which is i do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and i don't favor civil unions. >> reporter: and the democratic national committee says its phones have been steadily ringing. erica paine is a former deputy national finance director for the dnc. >> i think generally speaking, the progressives have really been looking for some fire from this president, and so i think you'll see across the board that people really step up. >> reporter: but it cuts both ways. and now, social conservatives are re-energized in their support for mitt romney. >> we're taking back the white house, and taking back america. >> reporter: romney also raked in big cash thursday, during campaign

"the new york times" norman lear and his wife have given money to the president in the last 12 hours.tly got a donation of $80,000 from the lears which maxes out their individual donation limit. >>> you remember the federal inmate who got more than 40% of the vote in the west virginia democratic primary on tuesday? well, the "wall street journal" asked around and out that west virginia democrats voted that way for one reason and one reason only. coal. west virginia voters are frustrated with president obama's policies on coal and energy and wanted to send a message. one expert in west virginia politics says that most voters probably had no idea who keith judd was, he was a convict. anyone running against the president would have gotten the same number of votes. >>> federal authorities say they have made a decision to sue the arizona sheriff joe arpaio. they wanted to settle without having to do so. he's been defiant so the u.s. justice department is going to do just that. we'll be right back. polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which