>> russell simmons is at the middle of all of this. he's a man of incredible achievement and charisma and networks. and that's why you see on this list, you see al sharpton, cameron diaz, you see will smith and scarlett johansson jayda pinkett smith it is a wide range of folks. quite frankly this letter, it was a complimentary letter to the president. he's done a lot. most folks on there are his friends saying you've done a lot but you've promised to do so much more. let's get on with doing more while there is time to move the ball forward. >> john: how would you grade this policy when it comes to crime in this country? >> on a lot of issues, the hope lies in the second term. the first term, had to deal with two wars with a big recession and something that felt like sort of the eve of a country tearing apart at home with the whole tea party issue. you've been re-elected. now, we want to give you an a on this term. that's why we're coming to you early. >> john: a lot of progressives have frustrations this president has never said prison

. >> russell simmons i concur. one of the best of the night was starring kevin spacy. >> new faces, old faces and new faces and old faces. and i do sympathize not just for the back stabbing leno but having to host. it must be hard to make jokes about a town that is one. democrats, republicans, the white house, congress. you all came together to make th spoof. i may lie, cheat and intimidate. mr. president, welcome. >> only thing better is the house of cards. i saw it through the whole weekend the way d.c. loves it. kevin spacy is going to all of the parties. famous afternoon brunch. they said here comes the president and they brought up the president from scandal. there was the spielburg piece that the president went through where he talks about daniel day lewis playing him in a movie and then obama pretending to be daniel day lewis playing himself. so it's this metaphor for how d.c. loves to mix itself into hollywood playing d.c. to make it look better. it is a fun night. >> you say i wasn't there. i do want to co

i had a partner at the ad agency, russell simmons, what that allowed me to do, called budweis budweisere jay-z the superstar, he will continue to partner with tech companies, what not, he will end up with billions and billions. he will be one of the great business leaders of our time. >> to me, i think the story is in the symbolism, you have this modern american dream come to fruition. the question is, is he america's greatest new age businessman? >> no. come on, guys. let's -- he's not. >> you just built him up, now you're tearing him down. >> he's brilliant at what he does, but i don't think he will go down as america's greatest business -- >> he's certainly pop culture's greatest businessman. >> i think he's the greatest symbol about american pop culture but he's not america's greatest businessman. >> you know what he can do? he put lebron james name in a lyric, he's put a lot of athletes names in lyrics. sign with me, i'll put you in a song. >> sounds trashy. >> i don't know how far that goes. >> if you were hiring someone to run apple or procter & gamble, would jay z be your guy? >

roseanne barr, russell brands, russell simmons, the kardashians and eva longoria.y of the president's loyal constituents are impacted by the quote, prison industrial complex. concerned that sons and daughters are left to, quote, fend for themselves when parent get long sentences in prison for nonviolent drug offenses. joining me now to discuss it. julie, advertiser to senator lautenberg and david, and boy so many people from harry belafonte and aclu folks, sean combs, jennifer hudson, i see ludacris, writing to the president saying you need to transform the criminal justice system to more intervention and rehabilitation-based model. your thoughts? >> my thoughts. here is a tip for hollywood elitists and all those who want to cite the mitigation. first start with fixing the behavior. the problem if you don't put that pipe or that "easy rider" wrap to your lips, you're not going to commit a crime. it's a feel-good to say we're going to change sentencing guidelines. and victimless. there's no illegal drug that's not in any way tied to a violent crime from production t