>> sometimes if i have enough energy to. only in america. barbra streisand is having a special grammy moment. this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. tonight, politics, pop and barbra streisand. we begin with president obama getting the business from conservatives. listen to mitt romney today, the at the police call action conference. >> it's been a great conference so far and for that i suppose we should acknowledge president obama. he's the conservative movement's top recruiterment errecruiter. it turns out he really is a good community organizer. i just don't think this is the community he planned on organizing but he did. >> so how is the president's re-election campaign fighting back? joining me is stephanie cutter. welcome, stephanie. so a bit of an old timing over this. what i can't understand is why nobody saw it coming. >> nobody saw it coming? the criticism from the catholic church on contraception? peers, let's remember when we started on this debate. the president announced maybe two and a half weeks ago a monumental step forward for women's health and ensuring that all women had access to contraception care. as part of that announcement, whhe announced a year and a half extra transition for religious institutions. not churches. because they were exempted. but religious institutions to work with them to find a way to implement the poll any in a way that respected them. this policy doesn't take effect for them for another year and a half and working through the policy and obviously we saw many including some of the sound you were just talking about, mitt romney, other republican candidates, you know, john boehner, mitch mcconnell, a lot of men trying to drive a political wedge in to the issue and the president decided to expedite this. take the steam out of it, take the debate away and focus on protecting women's health in a way that respects religious beliefs. >> do you accept that by offering the compromise today, though, it obviously looks to everybody on the outside you've committed a goal trying to clear the mess up? that would have seemed to be what you're now accepting. >> well, it's actually not a compromise. it's an adjustment to the implementation. a compromise would be we're compromising whether or not women can get this health care. that's nothing to compromise on. women are getting the same access to the health care that they need. contracepti contraception. to keep them healthy. cut down the rates of cancer. that's, you know, unwaivering in terms of the president's commitment to. that this is an adjustment to the implementation. part of this is a little bit of a disbelief we're debating about contraception to begin with. this is birth control, something that women have been taking, you know, for decades. and something that is accepted in this country. 99% of women take birth control. it's a little unbelievable that we're debating it. >> it is. i don't think it's unbelieve that believe roman catholics would be debating it. i'm a roman catholic. >> as am i. >> you must understand why it's a big debate because, obvious, many roman catholics would be 0 pauled by this and know that. that's why i find it surprising nobody at the white house thought it through in terms of the roman catholic aspect. the right seizing on that and the way they have. >> well, piers, you know that the catholic church is exempted from the rule and they were exempted from the rule from the beginning. but, you know, as a roman catholic and as a woman, we have disagreed with the church for a very long time. i don't believe and the president didn't believe that we should, you know, a nurse at a catholic hospital have a less right of a care she needs as a nurse at the public hospital. >> the president is probably pleased that the approval ratings are ticking up and the economy appears to be slowly grinding its way back in to some kind of recovery. >> yes. >> the gop can't seem to decide who they want to take him on. i would imagine from your point of view, the obama 2012 campaign going quite nicely at the moment. >> we don't have an opponent yet. we are watching the republican primaries play out. we saw a lot of interesting speeches today at the conservative conference that you're playing earlier. a lot of very sharp lines being drawn. you know, mitt romney claiming that he was severely conservative as a massachusetts governor. and, you know, he continues to play to the conservative vote to try to lock up the nomination. doesn't seem to be working very well for well, both for playing to conservatives and alienating conservatives and we don't know if he'll be the general assembly nominee or rick santorum but we do know that over the course of the primary season they have spent time alienating people. >> one santorum question that came up with this comment about he wouldn't like to see female soldiers on the froint line in combat because of the emotional issue, he stressed he didn't mean the women's emotion, he met the man's emotion on the front line. what did you think of that? what does the president think of that? is he happy for women to be on the front line in combat and the emotions can be kept in check? >> i don't want to speak for the president of rick santorum's comment but the comment seems crazy to me. that men and women can't keep their emotions in check. certainly, there are both men and women of great valor who have been fighting for this country for a decade in iraq and afghanistan and that comment seems crazy to me and i'm sure to men and women in the military. >> finally, as we look at the forthcoming election and the battle hotting up, what do you identify now giving you're so closely involved with the campaign, is there a problem with the u-turn on the superpacs? >> credibility issue? no. from the response we have seen this week people appreciate he doesn't want to fight with one hand tied behind his back and tied long for campaign finance reform so that americans, low-dollar donors have a say in our elections. not just wealthy americans or -- >> i understand. i do understand that. but -- >> yep, on the decision -- >> just this way. when the president is on the record as saying that these pacs are a threat to democracy, how can he have the brass to support them now? >> exactly what i said. he'll continue to fight to change the law and the law is the way it is right now in this election cycle and we saw a commitment by karl rove and the coke brothers and other republicans to spend $500 million to defeat this president to defeat this president. mitt romney's superpacs, tens of millions of dollars were raised in the last quarter by less than 200 people. so in order to ensure that the millions of americans who are giving what they can, $5, $10, $25, that their voices are not drowned out. we're going to make sure that those attacks are responded to. we know they're coming. we are going to respond to them. that's why we made to decision to not unilaterally disarm in the middle of the election. doesn't mean we don't continue to fight to change the law and the president's committed to doing that. ultimately, might take a constitutional amendment to finally make sure that average americans have a say in their elections rather than special interests. but, you know, i think that the response that we have seen over the past few days after making the decision people appreciate that there needs to be a fair fight. >> so the threat level from superpacs to democracy is downgraded to zero for the period of the election. is that how we're leaving things? >> no, no. absolutely not. i'm sure that even with our announcement it's emboldened lots of people on the other side to give even more but we can do our best to ensure that the attacks are responded to. we'll continue on the campaign side to raise dollars from average americans. you know the statistics on the obama for america money. more than a million dollars, the average donation is $250 or less. you know, we're very proud of that. we're continuing to build that grass roots force and ensure that those voices aren't drowned out. >> stephanie cutter, thank you very much, indeed. >> thanks, piers. when we come back, mr. cool himself. ll cool j and surprising ideas for keeping america great. 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what should i call you now? what is the respectful way? >> i think todd works just fine. mother knows best. >> how are you feeling about the grammy's? they haven't had a host in seven years and you are the man, are you nervous? do you get nervous? with a name like cool you can't get that nervous. >> i wouldn't say i am nervous, but at the same time, it is not like i've got it and i'm done, and spandex on. you know? it is not that kind of a deal. i'm ready to do it. i look forward to living up to the challenge and getting out there and not being in the way. it is not going to be the ll cool j wardrobe show. it is going to be about the artists that, you know, were nominate and performing. >> you have won two grammy's. >> yes. >> and you know what is it like to win? >> well, i have been nominated nine times and i have lost more than i have won. >> and let's be honest. winning is better than losing? >> without a doubt. >> you came out with a wonderful quotation. you said, i'm happy to be black. i am what i am. i am doing very well in my life and i'm thankful to god for that. i'm a real person that cares about his art and cares about what he's doing and i have a heart and soul and i want to give. as a hope as a black man, i want to get on this path and get there. >> yeah. >> i found that very inspiring, that quotation. it made me think again that we are in a election year. >>. yes. >> the fact that america three years ago took a huge leap forward as a nation. >> yes. >> and got the first black president. >> yes. >> and given what you said there, how do you critique barack obama? >> i think that, you know, first of all when you're -- i want to qualify it by saying that when you are running for the president of the united states, you are going to make a lot of promises on the campaign trail that -- where, you know, when you look at the equation it's one plus one equals two outcome, right? but when you get into the inner sanctum you find out that one plus one and plus a couple of other ones equal four, and now people are saying what happened to two? i think that, we as people in the united states of america don't have all of the information in front of us, and for our benefit, and i think just on the worldwide level no democracy, no democratic government is like just doling out all of the state secrets and all of the various nuances and dynamics that affected the decision making going on in the inner sanctum. >> let me ask you a difficult question because you had an extraordinary upbringing and you fought against a lot of, you know, really tough things in your life. at the age of 4 you watch your father shoot your mother and your grandfather. >> yeah, yeah. >> traumatic event that most people couldn't imagine. >> yes. >> and you fought through and became this incredibly successful grammy award winning star and so on. is america still the country of that opportunity, do you think? >> of course, it is. of course america is still the county of that opportunity. and i mean, you know, going back to what we were saying about president obama, you know, the reality is that, you know, no matter who holds that office there is always going to be some opposition, and some of the opposition is going to be aggressive and some of the opposition is going to be passive and sometimes just there'll be just passive enough to look like you have coordination problem, like you can't put, you know, certain pieces of the puzzle in certain places. you know? it happens in different ways. but that being said, i don't think that anyone should assume i'm a democrat either. i'm a independent. >> but my mantra recently on the show has been a theme of keeping america great, because i think it is a more positive way of viewing what is going on right now. >> it is. >> and let me ask you, you are a successful businessman, and never mind everything else. how do we keep america great? >> i think that in order to keep america great we have to keep america creative. i think the key is to create. i don't think that anything great in this nation has ever happened without creation, whether it is the wright brothers or it's what bill gates or rest in peace with what steve jobs did, and so many great things, but i think the basis of america, it is about creating, even if it is just creating freedom. we have always been about creation. you look at it. if you have the billionaires and some of their kids are running around and they're partying in the hamptons, the only cure for their lives if they are bored and have everything is to create. sometimes creation is the best solution to create. now, not destruction, but harmony. we need to make sure that there's art in the school. why? why should art be in the school? because if art isn't in the school, then a guy like steve jobs doesn't get a chance to really express himself because in order for art to meet technology, you need art. you know, it is not like, oh, it is technology, you need both. i think we have to maintain that balance. and that's where people kind of get it a little muddy. and then when you think about, you know, the class thing that is going on, and you have one group of people that are wearing all white and playing cricket or croquet or however you say it -- >> cricket. >> and they are playing that, and then you is another crew playing it on the sidewalk and playing skully on the sidewalk and google that. you know, they can't relate to each other, but there is a middle ground. >> here is the thing. they talk about it all of the time, the rich are getting richer. you have a huge upper class of very wealthy people in america, the 1%. >> right. >> and then the underclass which is the branding it has been given which are people that have shoved aside by the system, and that number is getting bigger, and it is not a black thing or white thing, it is all colors and creeds and more people are falling into this real poverty trap. real poverty trap. >> yes, yes. >> and what do we do about that section of the community? >> well, einstein had a great quote. he said, you have to learn the rules of the game and play better than anyone else. you know? so that obviously means you have to be educated. to know the rules of the game, you have to be educated. it starts with education, but it is not about going to the public school, and learning arithmetic and reading. of course, we need that, but there are certain things that are being taught around the dining room tables and certain things that are taught in, you know, the fancy dimly-lit rooms that need to be shared in the underclass or that underbelly community because that will only help society as a whole. remember, if you -- >> how much should they be personally responsible? i interviewed ron paul recently. >> completely. >> he was very big on you can't wait for governments or states or whatever it is to help. you have to help yourself. >> he is right. he is right in that regard because, you know, you know the government is not our religion. the government is our government and their job is to make sure we have a safe society and we are protected and they take care of us and make sure that the needs are taken care of as a society and as a nation. but we have to take care of ourselves, and i think that starts with believing it could happen. you see, a lot of the times when you are dealing with downtrodden and you are dealing with the underbelly, the urban community, you are dealing with people who have given up hope. so, you know -- >> when you talk to people in that position, what do you say to them to inspire them? >> look at me. >> but how did you get there do you think? when you look back, what was it about you that allowed you to get out of that trap? >> well, it was a woman named ellen griffith and that was my grandmother, and, may she rest in peace, and she said, todd, if a task is left to be done, don't leave it till it is done, and let it be the labor of love. do it well or not at all. that is an education that i was lucky enough to get at home. i wasn't taught that in school. when i walked in school, i had a math teacher that caught us dummies and punch us in the back and put us in the classroom. that was his idea of a joke. in the meantime, he has created math ophobes. >> i have heard will.i.am sat right there and tell me about a similar story from his mother. i see you have the love of an undivided parent. can be one parent. >> i understand. >> that just believes in you. it's ten times easier than if you have nobody. >> yeah. >> what do you do if you have no one? >> you have to look at all of the people in the world that are successful and you have to synthesize all of those positions, those people, those goals they achieve, the things they did, the heroic moments. you have to take, you know, your greatest michael jordan moment and your greatest, you know, whoever you name moment and put them all together and say, you know what? i'm going to go for it. i always tell people. i said this in one of my books. i said, if your plane crashrd and it was in a song and everybody was gone and there was a life preserve, would you let it float away or grab on to it? it's your life. you have to make the decision at the end of the day. you know, as bad as the urban community is, the trailer park, as bad as it can be in lets say the appalachians and certain parts of america where it's really, really tough, there's no bars around the community. so you can get out. you have to make the decision to get out and a lot of times it is not the physical bars but the mental bars that stop people. you know? it's like an elephant that knew it was tied u