00:03:05 >> Native state. 00:03:06 >> Something we have first on cnn right now. 00:03:08 .. 00:03:10 >> I was born in illinois, that is my native state. 00:03:14 But it's not my home state. 00:03:15 That's all I'm saying. 00:03:16 >> All the information is coming through those particular lines lineswhere those red bulbs are. 00:03:21 >> That's right. 00:03:22 >> We've jumped the shark. 00:03:23 It's official. 00:03:24 >> 18,397 For romney but, look it just changed! 00:03:29 (Laughter) >> oh, my god, it just changed! 00:03:32 The election board! 00:03:36 Blitzer, do you have no short-term memory? 00:03:37 You just told us the votes are going to be changing all night and then you turned around and wet "oh! 00:03:43 " last time I saw someone this excited about numbers changing is a vampire made out of felt. 00:03:49 At least some cnn anchors chose to kill time the old-fashioned way-- a leisurely stroll to the cube. 00:03:57 >> Let's go over to the cube to our political director mark and check in with him, get a sense of when we may be able to project an actual winner in the state of michigan now that obviously the polls have closed and we've got son many votes in. 00:04:14 (Laughter). 00:04:16 >> Jon: So cnn's cube, or nerd terrarium, if you will, is pop you lated with individuals on headsets, yet to get information from them you must pack some gorp and hike the canyon. 00:04:28 (Laughter) I think coop's the only guy over there fit enough to make the journey. 00:04:32 I assume the trek was worth anderson's while. 00:04:36 >> What are you hearing? 00:04:37 >> We got some breaking news out of michigan right now, ander son. 00:04:41 We don't know who's going to win michigan and a bulk of the delegates. 00:04:51 (Laughter). 00:04:51 >> Jon: You better be going somewhere with this, poindexter. 00:04:55 >> We can now based upon our calculations from what our decision team has found out is award three delegates not only to mitt romney but also to rick santorum. 00:05:05 >> So they each get three at this point. 00:05:11 (Laughter). 00:05:11 >> Jon: Cooper added "don't ever (bleep)ing call know the " never. 00:05:18 So nothing's changed. 00:05:19 But here comes my favorite part. 00:05:22 >> I want to check in also with our contributors, our analysts about the delegate count. 00:05:29 >> Jon: Anderson cooper now has to do the post-cube no information walk of shame back to the base camp! 00:05:37 What was cnn thinking with that one? 00:05:40 (Laughter) to find out, let's check in with the best (bleep)ing news box on television. 00:05:47 .. no, we had our engineers put together what we call a convex polyhedron.
00:05:57 They put together, some of the analytics are there where people .. 00:06:02 (Laughter and applause) .. and .. over here. 00:06:06 (Cheers and applause) and I'm in a box. 00:06:10 Okay. 00:06:10 This way. 00:06:10 And then we come down in. 00:06:14 Okay. 00:06:14 We're at the news center right now. 00:06:18 (Laughter) .. obviously a lot of data is coming through. 00:06:21 Do you guys have any information for me that might clarify these election results in michigan last night this big primary? 00:06:27 >> No. 00:06:28 >> No we have nothing. 00:06:29 >> I have nothing. 00:06:30 No. 00:06:31 >> Jon: Thanks, guys, appreciate it. 00:06:33 We'll check in our polyhedron a little later. 00:06:38 Really appreciate that. 00:06:38 Thanks, guys. 00:06:40 Really appreciate it. 00:06:41 Best (bleep)ing news box on television. 00:06:44 Where were we? 00:06:45 Oh, right! 00:06:46 Michigan. 00:06:46 Anyway, the winner eventually did emerge and it was willard mittinghouse romney. 00:06:52 A cinderella story of a hundred millionaire coming out of nowhere to barely squeak past a crazy person in his own home state. 00:06:59 >> That's his native state. 00:07:02 >> Jon: Fine! 00:07:05 (Laughter) but mitt is looking to put santorum in his rear-view mirror 6cj% and he seems to have his eye on his opponent in the general election. 00:07:13 >> He raised the national debt. 00:07:16 I will cut, cap, and balance the budget. 00:07:18 He passed obamacare, I will repeal obamacare. 00:07:22 credit rating. 00:07:25 credit rating. 00:07:27 >> Jon: He killed osama bin laden, I will reanimate him. 00:07:31 (Laughter) bring him back to life. 00:07:32 He married michelle obama, i will divorce michelle obama. 00:07:36 (Laughter) he told you yes, we can. 00:07:38 I'm here tonight to pledge to you, no. 00:07:41 No we can't. 00:07:42 (Laughter) bizarro obama. 00:07:43 Of course, rick santorum's party after losing was a bit more subdued. 00:07:50 He has earned, though, through the recent primary results a strong measure of our respect, admiration forged in the heat of a difficult campaign. 00:08:02 It allows rick santorum to rise above the callow barbs that stemmed from a childish weapon people associated with what can only be described as frothy ass juice. 00:08:14 (Laughter) and that will not come back. 00:08:19 Tonight, sir is your night. 00:08:22 >> To the people of michigan, we came into the backyard of one of my opponents. 00:08:27 (Laughter) (cheers and applause) (laughter) >> Jon: Kind sir, why must you taunt us. 00:08:49 We are desperately trying here. 00:08:51 >> That's how america works best, from the bottom up and building a great america from the bottom up.
00:14:19 >> Made it a symbolic tsunami. 00:14:23 >> LIKE PUTTING a McCoat on a mink. 00:14:25 >> They were playing the music from "the natural" in this film, the old robert redford movie. 00:14:29 .. "last " >> the death star imagery is very appropriate because it is taking out that moon and then that planet to clear a pathway to the nomination. 00:14:43 (Laughter). 00:14:43 >> Jon: Wow! 00:14:44 And that's just from one night? 00:14:47 That's crazy. 00:14:47 >> I know! 00:14:48 >> Jon: Because the death star wasn't try to clear a pathway to anything. 00:14:54 The death star blew up the peaceful planet of alderaan to demonstrate that the empire .. 00:14:59 .. The ultimate power in the universe! 00:15:02 >> Jon: Exactly! 00:15:03 A ridiculous metaphor. 00:15:04 >> Not to mention the fact that the death star was a money pit. 00:15:07 >> Jon: There's no way it would have been sustainable. 00:15:09 And vulnerable? 00:15:10 Where was the security? 00:15:11 The weak point was only the size of a womp rat on tattooine but two meters is two meters, right? 00:15:17 >> I know! 00:15:18 But the point is, jon, with all the hours of talk, nothing i heard last night made any more sense than when o'reilly said-- and I'm quoting here-- eww. 00:15:33 (Laughter). 00:15:33 >> Jon: You really think you can give an accurate, informed analysis gutturally through sound? 00:15:38 >> Easy, easy. 00:15:40 >> Jon: All right. 00:15:40 Well we know how you feel about mitt romney. 00:15:43 >> Eh. 00:15:45 >> Jon: What about stphro ++erpl. 00:15:47 >> Eww. 00:15:49 (Laughter) >> Jon: Southern states are in play on supertuesday. 00:15:52 Can't rule out gingrich. 00:15:54 >> Ay yai! 00:15:57 >> Jon: What about ron paul. 00:15:59 >> Uh-uh. 00:16:00 Uh-uh. 00:16:00 >> Jon: He's polling better than any other candidate against president barack obama. 00:16:04 >> Uh-huh. 00:16:05 There we go. 00:16:06 >> Jon: Of course, mainstream .. 00:16:08 >> Ew. 00:16:09 >> Jon: So we're not supposed to talk about ron paul. 00:16:12 >> Nah. 00:16:14 See, jon, this does work, doesn't it? 00:16:17 Oh, oh, huh? 00:16:18 >> Jon: Oh! 00:16:19 >> Ah! 00:16:21 >> Jon: A ha! 00:16:24 >> Meow, meow. 00:16:27 (Laughter) (honking) >> Jon: John oliver, everybody. 00:19:43 (Cheers and applause) >> Jon: Welcome back. 00:19:45 My guest tonight a journalist whose new book is called "the the unlikely " please welcome to the program, masha gessen.
00:22:45 >> Jon: Does this demystify him? 00:22:47 If you remove the cloak of invincibility from putin, does he collapse? 00:22:51 .. wherever you see a book that says "the unlikely rise," you always know the next " >> I hope so. 00:23:00 >> Jon: You do. 00:23:01 .. you feel he's... his .. because for me, boy, to return to those cold war simple days. 00:23:10 (Laughter) >> I understand. 00:23:11 Well, I think you should take that opportunity now because i don't know how much longer this is going to last. 00:23:15 >> Jon:.. you really think the clock is ticking on vladimir putin. 00:23:22 >> I think so. 00:23:23 Because the power structure he has built rests on fear and personal connections and money and the fear is being taken out of the equation and that means the whole thing will collapse and I think it will happen soon. 00:23:33 >> Jon: He is not kind to his critics and there is all kinds of-- as we say in my language-- militia goss that goes on with people that write that. 00:23:43 Were you trepidatious at all to take this project on? 00:23:46 Militias go. 00:23:47 >> I tried to keep it secret that I was working on it. 00:23:50 >> Jon: Okay, this is going to be on television. 00:23:54 (Laughter) I'm not suggesting this airs in .. 00:23:56 >> Right. 00:23:57 >> Jon: You are talking to me on television. 00:23:58 >> Right. 00:24:00 I'm aware of that. 00:24:03 (Laughter) .. 00:24:05 (Laughter and applause) >> Jon: I just wanted to let .. 00:24:11 >> The book is due to be published tomorrow so I don't think I'm going to be able to keep a secret for much longer. 00:24:17 >> It's interesting because maybe this does help retake critical mass where you demystify the dictator to the point where he loses his power. 00:24:27 You write a lot of anecdotes of .. his early life, even the way that he proposed to his wife is so reveltory. 00:24:37 >> It's amazing. 00:24:38 They dated for three years his wife describes the proposal. 00:24:44 He said to her "well, we've been dating for three years so you " and she thought "well, he's " >> Jon: Because she knew what kind of man he was! 00:24:55 >> Right. 00:24:56 And so she said "yes, I know " he said "in that case, I've made " and she knew he was breaking up with her and that's when he said " (audience reacts). 00:25:08 >> Jon: And he said "you know " and he listed the kind of man he is. 00:25:12 >> Right, not a nice person to be with, kind of inconvenient, bad at expressing his emotions, as he was demonstrating. 00:25:19 >> Jon: This is his pitch to the woman he's going to marry. 00:25:23 (Laughter) I wonder if the shirt was on at that time. 00:25:26 I wonder if he said all that and he said okay, but on the plus .. you know? 00:25:35 .. it's a remarkable story. 00:25:38 When you break down a feared leader, humanizing them is such a weapon in a weird way. 00:25:46 >> Jon: . 00:25:46 >> Well, I found it hard to humanize him. 00:25:49 (Laughter). 00:25:50 >> Jon: You know what I mean. 00:25:51 But removing their cloak of invincibility. 00:25:56 >> Right. 00:25:57 He's a small guy. 00:25:58 He's a small guy in every sense .. 00:26:03 (Laughter). 00:26:03 (Cheers and applause) >> Jon: I should have warned you about american audiences. 00:26:11 We don't know a lot about .. 00:26:15 (Laughter). 00:26:18 It really is an incredible portrait of a leader that i think we should know more about. 00:26:23 Thank you so much for being on the show and don't worry. 00:26:28 This is not a very widely scene program. 00:26:30 (Laughter) so you're safer than you probably realize. 00:26:33 the unlikely rise of vladimir putin" is on the bookshelves now. 00:26:35 Masha gessen.