Arianna appeared on "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour on Sunday, as part of a roundtable with George Will, Chrystia Freeland and David Stockman.
The group started by discussing Paul Ryan's budget plan, and Arianna pointed out that the stunning thing about the "incredible shrinking budget debate" is that we're focusing on what we're cutting, rather than talking about what is happening in the country in terms of jobs.
"You go around the country, and there is this anxiety, this fear about kids graduating from college and not being able to get jobs," she said. "The foreclosures are still rampant. Even Mitt Romney actually took this on in New Hampshire and sounded like a real populist talking about the problems of people not being able to make ends meet."
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The guests also discussed Donald Trump and whether the release last week of Obama's birth certificate would settle the birther controversy.
"In times of deep economic anxiety," Arianna pointed out, "paranoid politics can thrive, and demagoguery can thrive, and people can believe things for which there is no evidence."
George Will, discussing the potential Republican candidates for president in 2012, said "The Republicans have to simply nominate someone who is a plausible president, and then it becomes a referendum on Mr. Obama."
"George has a point here," Arianna replied. "And Seth Meyers made that point last night [at the White House Correspondents' Dinner] in a way when he said 'The one person who can really beat you, Mr. President, is Obama '08,' and 'Don't you miss him?' effectively. 'What happened to him?'"
"I was talking to a hardcore Democrat after the dinner, who said to me, 'That Obama is gone. He's not coming back. We just have to win.'" Arianna said.
"So this is what's happened, and it's an interesting dynamic. Hardcore Democrats are just about winning, but the problem for the White House is all the first-time voters who came out in large numbers and really got him to the White House in '08 -- are they coming back? Because they're not just about winning, they were inspired."
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What industries have our new GOP governors started? I see cuts...but I don't see ideas for growth. I live in FL, the only thing our Gang of GOP tea party people have passed are laws that deal with sex and drugs. Great!
Or should the question be: should government start businesses? Since the GOP/tea party says small government is best I guess not, right!
Remember, President Obama was in the WH for two months and the tea party people were yelling where are jobs? Ok, guys, you've been in office 3 months, where are the jobs?
Here are some hints: I know you don't want nationwide health care, but that is one industry that's growing. Also, renewable energy, but you don't want to invest in a new industry like we did with oil back at the turn of the 20th century.
I'd vote for Bernie!!
I think 2008 Obama showed up tonight to let everyone know that the announcements of his death are a bit premature.
Bad news - Reps don't have a decent front runner candidate for President in 2012.....Good News...it really won't matter now will it. They really had to destroy him before this happened." Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall" - yeah - not quite the same - they partied in Berlin when that happened, but not on the President's lawn like they did tonight. "Justice has been done". God Bless America.
Which makes one wonder...what does "winning" really mean?
Jeesh! Are these far left Dems dim? Their only hope for anything progressive is a 2nd term for Obama. No dem is going to run against him in the primary. And none of the wannabees have any charisma, anyway. Americans always vote for charisma -- "someone you can have a brew with".
Make up your minds to that, and get behind Obama.
Didn't your mama tell you? "You can't always get what you want!."
You gotta "Love the one you're with".
But that in now way compares to how utterly disgusting the republicans are.
After Bush, all the sickening blull, I won't even consider a republican.
They can blackwater and halliburton their way to he11.
"They can blackwater and halliburton their way to he11."
Here, here! Nicely put. :)
And since we will almost certainly not get anything approaching a progressive alternative, I'm sticking with the current WH occupant.
And frankly, that's a strong strong argument.
Otherwise, the 2010 election results would NOT have favored the Republicans in the House as they did.
The money that Rove, Koch Brothers, and all the secret organizations poured into the last election is really corrupting our democracy.