tv Piers Morgan Tonight CNN September 14, 2011 9:00pm-10:00pm PDT
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120 years. >> so what lesson is there? it's an urban area. what's the lesson? >> economy and jobs are the number-one issue in this country and people expect their elected officials to perform and to put forward policies that will change the way our economy works. that's what house republicans have done. the president gives speech after speech after speech and people aren't buying it. they didn't buy it in new york. and by the way, if i'm a senate democrat, i'm watching last night's results and thinking the president is going to campaign run his re-election campaign against a do-nothing congress? the democrats control the senate. i'm thinking, oops? >> jim, paul, thanks for coming in. that's all the time we have. th. hope to see you tomorrow. "piers morgan tonight" starts right now. inferno destroyed his home.
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daring middle of the night rescue. a hollywood star who was moments from death. sir richard branson, how the self-made billionaire rebuilt the economy. plus, kristin chenoweth. from broadway to hollywood, she makes waves everywhere she goes. kristin chenoweth, her life, loves and fabulous voice. ♪ i want somebody i can bitch about ♪ ♪ i want somebody i can't live without ♪ >> this is "piers morgan tonight." sir richard branson one of the world's top businessmen with a life so glamorous he has a private island but his home went up in smoke, literally, a few weeks ago and he's here to tell the extraordinary story. sir richard thanks for coming on.
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i want to start by saying how sorry i am about what happened to you. i know what the house meant to you. you built it from nothing and it must have been so full of memories and souvenirs and everything of your extraordinary life. how are you coming to terms with what happened? >> well, the first half an hour, was obviously, horrendous because i woke up -- i was woken up by my son and looked up at the big house and saw 200 foot flames coming out of it. knew my daughter, nephews, nieces, my mother and friends were in the house. and that was truly horrifying. and then -- once we managed to rescue everybody and everybody was safe, it was a house. it had tons of memories which it will continue to have. i did lose a lot of mementos and things. but you soon realize how important -- how unimportant these things are, obviously
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compared to nobody being hurt. we've regrouped. we will be rebuilding, and we'll have an even more beautiful house with lots of memories for the future. >> i'm sure you will. what was extraordinary when we read the detail was how fast this fire took a grip of the great house. it was just a matter of a few minutes and, boom, the whole thing seemed to be going up. yet, there was a huge storm with massive rainfall going on. were you surprised how fast this happened? >> yeah. it was like something out of "wutherring heights." looking up at the house and seeing these enormous flames. 19 mile-an-hour winds, rain like you've never seen it. and it -- you know, just proved the power of fire and wind together. the rain was not going to have even a little dent in it.
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and from one end of the house to the other end of the house, you know, it was about seven minutes. so the importance of moving quickly when there's a fire, you know, was obvious and i was fortunate that i had -- my son, my nephew, moved very quickly and as reported, kate winslet was good enough to sweep my mother up in her arms and the children and help get everyone out really quickly. so all is well. >> that was an extraordinary thing. kate winslet gave an interview she believes looking back on it, they were four or five minutes away. if they hadn't been so quick in the house, potentially all dying, such is the veracity of what happened. she scooped up your mother and helped to carry her out of the house, is that right? >> she did. >> and you know, she had two young children to get out as well. they were quite steep, dark
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steps they had to go down. and she was magnificent. and, if she wants an upgrade, i'm sure we can sort something out. >> and i hear at one stage, richard, you ran to the rescue but you were stark naked not an image we'll dwell on for too long. but is that right? the knight in naked shining armor? >> yes, it was quite the sight. certainly not the kind of thing you want to dwell on for a long time. the -- my son was banging on the glass of our window screaming, you know, the house was on fire. the house was on fire. and i leapt out of bed and looked up at the house and saw what was happening and i just started running, yes, stark naked towards the house in the pouring rain. and i happened to run into a
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cacti on the way. which could have been very painful. i think not quite as bad as it sounds. but -- anyway, my son got there slightly quicker than i did and fortunately, by then, kate and others had managed to get everybody out of the house and you know, we soon realized that -- we managed to make sure that everybody was there and you know, stood with kate's kids and put something around me by then. and you know, just talked about life and the fact that stuff really is not that important, although there were a lot of precious things going up in the fire, the fact that everybody was well was obviously all that mattered. >> what did you lose, richard, that was irreplaceable? i heard you kept a journal for years and that the only copy of that went up in the fire. there was no backup. is that right? >> i'm not very technical, sadly, and i finished writing "losing my virginity" the second
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edition of it, and it was close to going to press. and sadly, that went. but -- and, obviously, years and years and years of notebooks which i keep. but again, you know, i'm just going to have to -- ask a few friends to jog my memory and i'll be able to get the book written and, you know, a lot of the other mementos. they felt important at the time when i had them. they obviously don't feel that important now that i've lost them. so, you know, when i was young i had a houseboat that's lived on. it sunk, and once again losing everything, including photo albums. but once again, it taught me that these things are not -- things are not that important, even photo albums are not that important. it's the present. and your loved ones and friends that matter. so one of those things.
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>> lots of dramatic things have happened to you over the years, richard. i can never work out if you're one of the world's unluckiest people or luckiest, because you always manage to survive. and yet you get bedevilled by all these crisis. which category are you in? >> that's a good question. i was arguing with a friend about the existence of god or not over dinner in the great house just before this fire took place. and the next morning i was thinking, now, is god -- was god really nice to us by allowing us all to survive? or was he punishing me for questioning his existence? anyway, i have been very fortunate in an extraordinary amount of times and somebody's very kind up there, anyway, getting us back from balloon trips or boating trips or, you
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know, whatever, safely. and so i am grateful. and now i'm spending most of my life trying to say "thank you" by working quite hard on important causes to try to make a difference. so we'll see how it goes. >> do you believe more or less in god since the day after your conversation over dinner? >> well, look, i believe in evolution. and i think evolution is magnificent, absolutely wonderful. i think the world that we live on is magnificent, and the creatures are magnificent. we have to fight to save the tigers and save the limas and save the imperilled species and look after the people that are on this earth. i think religion has done a lot of harm over the years and just
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because one's born in one country and not another country and shouldn't necessarily think that our god is the right god and somebody else's god is the wrong god. so -- i see myself as a humanitarian who loves people. maybe one day, somebody will be able to convince me that there is a god, and there is a particular god. but to me, you know, i just love people and that's -- you know, that, to me the most important thing. >> do you ever pray? >> i found myself on one of my balloon trips, where i was 99% definitely going to die crossing the pacific. everything had gone wrong that could go wrong. it seemed to be no way out of it. and i think there was a little bit of sort of, saying -- if you exist, i'll be really grateful if you can get me to the other side of the pacific.
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>> and despite the fact that you survived that, with your .1%, you still don't believe? >> i would love to believe. and i think it very comforting to believe. my father died recently and he was -- he didn't believe but he was a wonderful man and, you know, wonderful family man and wonderful with people. great sense of humor. but obviously, it would be very comforting to feel that he's still somewhere. but he's definitely here in spirit with all of the family. you know, if somebody can convince me that there is a god, it would be wonderful. but i do believe that evolution is likely to be the truth.
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and anybody who questions evolution, i find it completely and utterly bizarre, because -- and evolution is magnificent. that's all i can say. >> we'll take a short break. we'll come back and talk to you about the economy, the global economy. in particular, the american economy. and the impact that's now having on what your thoughts are on how to get out of this hole. [ oswald ] there's a lot of discussion going on about the development of natural gas,
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[♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. right now, my special guest, richard branson. the global economy is firmly in the tank at the moment. why do you think that is? what is the best, simplest way, to get out of this tank? >> i think why it is is well reported. it was basically, greed. a vast amount of overspending, both in the public sector and in the private sector. how to get out of it, i think
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that there are various different ways. and i think the companies like virgin and other successful companies around the world must expand. they must be taking on new people. and if they've got spare resources, they've got to be putting it do good use. they can't sit back and wait for the recovery because if they sit back and wait for the recovery the recovery will never take place. if you talk to an average workforce, you'll find that there are at least 10 or 20% of people who resent only getting two weeks holidays. you know, would be quite happy to work, say, to job share with somebody else to work six months on or six months off or job share with a week-on/week-off basis. they may have children at home or they may have a partner at home who is also working and therefore, they can afford to do so. but they're frightened of
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actually telling the company that that's what they would like to do. so i think companies need to be braver in talking to their workforce. being for flexible in the hours that people work. giving people a chance to go to job share. giving the people a chance going part-time. and this in itself, i think, would get 5 or 6% of those people out of work back into the workforce because by these people job sharing, that would create jobs for people who have got no jobs at all. and i think would make a very, very big difference. >> what do you think of president obama and the way he's tackling this? as soon as he came into office his primary concern was to bring in his health plan, which he did. it got a very negative response from many americans and many feel that rather than focusing on that what he should have done was tackle unemployment and as a result, unemployment still
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nestles just under 10%. he brought in this big new jobs' plan last week. are you impressed by the way he handled this or disappointed? >> look, i think he would have done quite well not to have been elected when he was elected and waited four years because he was -- he had the worst stack of cards of any president for a long time. he was handed a bankrupt company by the republicans. and he's had to, you know, do everything he can to avoid a 1929 crash which, i think, we only just avoided by the first stimulus package. i think if there hadn't been that stimulus package, we would have had a 1929 crash. if more banks were allowed to go bankrupt we definitely would have had a 1929 crash.
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so i think he put out some big fires that were raging when he came into power. his health care plan, i'm british. there's a lot of talk in america about how bad the health system is in britain. i think that's exaggerated. if i fall ill in britain and i want a major cancer operation for free on the national health, i can get it. i know that the quality will be good. and that applies to anybody in the u.k. and so i think striving for a fair health care system in america was right. health care in america, for the poor, has been dreadful in the past. so i think he's right in trying to shake that up. >> you developed these two entrepreneurial centers in south africa and jamaica. do you think we need more centers like this set up by businessmen like you, encouraging that kind of entrepreneurial zeal, that many this is gone from places like america now? >> i think business leaders need
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to play a bigger part in tackling a whole range of issues than business leaders have done in the past. a lot of issues business leaders have felt, that's the government. our job is simply creating jobs and building companies for the benefit of the shareholders. i think the new -- the business leaders of the future should really try to play a role in helping society tackle problems, i mean, business leaders are more entrepreneurial. they survive longer in their jobs than politicians do. they have wealth to play with. and, therefore, getting out there and, you though, helping the next generation, maybe by setting up things like entrepreneurial colleges where young entrepreneurs can be given
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a leg-up is the kind of thing that i think business leaders should be doing. >> what about warren buffett's idea that all very rich people like he and yourself, should pay whacking more tax? >> there is -- i think the number one priority is for government to get rid of waste of spending. but having said that, i think there's something in what warren buffett says and that is, there are some anomalies in america where warren buffett in particular, is paying, you know, a lot less tax than, maybe, than a switchboard operator is paying and that's obviously, wrong. and those anomalies should be sorted out. and i think that president obama is right in trying to get those anomalies sorted out. the idea must be that we get the
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economy back and booming again. that we invest -- that businesses invest and we create jobs that we can create wealth and that hopefully, we can keep tax down right across the board because that's obviously, positive in the longrun. >> let's take another short break richard, and talk to you about the republican nomination race, for the next election in america. and also, about your plan to take people into space. and whether i can be one of them. to be part of an experiment to prove febreze air effects eliminates tough cooking odors. [ facilitator ] take a deep breath, tell me what you smell. it's grassy. it's green. it smells like fresh wood. like a latte. [ facilitator ] go ahead and take your blindfolds off. oh my goodness. are you serious? wow. i think my nose touched that. [ facilitator ] ok, rachel, annie. wow. [ male announcer ] eliminate tough odors with febreze air effects so you can breathe happy guaranteed.
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welcome back. richard, of all the runners and writers for the republican race right now, who do you think may end up being the nomination to take on president obama? >> well, obviously, rick perry seems to be in the forefront at the moment. and i think what's sad is that we're already now talking about the next election. i mean, i think one of the problems in america is the facts that you only have four-year terms. in britain we have five-year terms. at least for the first three and a half years, three and a half, four years, whoever gets elected can think about running the country and concentrate on
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running the country rather than dealing with the next election. >> are you a fan of the tea party? because i guess in their essence, they are very bransonesque. they are a popular uprising of people that had enough of establishment and wanted to get action done through the power of people on the streets and they've become now, a more formidable political party as an offshoot to the gop. what do you think of them? obviously, many british people would find some of their views pretty extreme but that doesn't necessarily play out in america. >> i think the thing that worries me about the tea party is, you know, whether they care about people less fortunate than ourselves. i think there has to be a balance. and i'm just not quite sure from listening to them talk that they've got that balance. a lot of them are religious but in hearing them speak you wonder whether they'll really do care
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about people in desperate need of help. and so if they could get that caring side, then i think i would feel more sympathetic than i superficially do from hearing them speak to date. >> let's turn to one of your great passions at the moment. space travel. virgin galactic is well under way to getting the first of its vessels into the ether. bring me up to date with where you are, richard. when do you expect to take your first spaceflight? >> well, it's very exciting at the moment and exactly a month today, we unveiled the space port in new mexico which is stunningly beautiful and right out in the middle of the desert. and the space ship has finished. the mother ship is finished. and that will be going down to new mexico for the the unveiling. the rocket tests are going extremely well.
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and so, i think that we're now on track for, you know, a launch within 12 months of today. and i think that, you know, this could be the beginning of a whole new era of space travel which will be commercial space travel. virgin galactic, not only hopes to put people up in space but to be able to put satellites up in space for a fraction of what they've done in the past. and one day we hope to do intercontinental travel using similar technology to that that we've developed to put people into space. so an exciting few years ahead. >> well, now we're talking, i have a bit of a vested interest in this. like you, i shared the demise of concord with a very heavy heart. you tried to rescue it, but weren't allowed to. i need to get back from l.a. or new york to london in about an hour, richard. are you going to be the guy that makes me come closer to my
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children? >> i hope so. i don't know how old you and i will be by the time we take this particular box but it might take an hour at the airport. actually, in the air, i hope around about an hour between los angeles and london is not completely out of the question. so once we've actually got the first stage safely ticked off and you're safely into space i hope you can go for what. >> you'd been selling tickets to the spaceflights for $200,000 a pop. how many have you sold? >> we've nearly reached 50. it's those 500 pioneers that have literally helped us pioneer this space ship company. it's not a cheap thing to build a space ship company and it's been fantastic to have people in
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all over the world sign up. and actually, you've got a penny or two, we might be able to get a couple hundred thousand out of you as well to help -- >> i was rather thinking we could broadcast live from your space vessel as your make your own version of one small step for man, one giant leap for richard branson? >> one giant leap for piers morgan. >> i like the way you're thinking. >> well, i'm sure that we can start negotiating now and we'd love to have you up there and i'm sure that some of your rival tv stations would like me to organize a one-way ticket. >> i'm sure that's true. >> since i'm massaging your ego, i spent the weekend at ted turner's ranch in montana. >> did you? >> and i asked him what he thought about your program. and i just thought -- >> oh, no.
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>> -- you'd be pleased to hear he absolutely loves it. >> that's great. >> so you have a blessing from the man who set up cnn in the first place and he said to say hello. >> that's very, very nice to hear. he's one of my heroes as indeed, you are, richard. we need more entrepreneurs like you. we're talking of the day, about the fact that there's no space travel program. there's nothing to get excited about. in tough times it's great to have something to look -- the kids to watch on tv and say, wow! like i did in the late '60s and '70s with space travel. and it's such a shame that none of that is going on, and so i wish you all the very best with that. i really do. i think it's an incredibly exciting thing to be doing. >> thank you. see you up there, as they say. >> not for $200,000 you won't. but we'll negotiate. richard branson, thanks very much. >> nice to talk to you, piers. >> as always.
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richard branson thank you very much. coming up from "wicked" to "the west wing" and hollywood star, kristin chenoweth. natural instincts. it's the only hair color that's clinically proven to be less damaging. shiny, healthy looking color... every time you color. ♪ for a healthy look... look no further than natural instincts. ♪ it's all good. and it's proven. get all the healthy look of natural instincts in our vibrant shades.
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and a petit scene steeler whether she's on the big screen, tv or broadway. did you write that? a petite scene stealer? >> i wanted to hear you say "petite scene stealer." >> a powerhouse. are you really 4'11"? >> yeah. 90 pounds. >> what i like about you, among many things, your quote where you say, when i open my mouth usually i can insert my foot really easily but i have a good time when i do it. it's obviously not very far to travel. >> i'm quite limber, piers. >> clearly. what do you mean? do you have a tendency to spew stuff out you instantly regret? >> no one knows this story but this sums it up and you'll appreciate it because of your background. i was singing for the queen, the queen of england. >> my queen? >> your queen. >> really? >> yes. >> i was there two months ago when obama was there and i did a 20-minute concert for her but at
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the palace as you know, the waiters all have red jackets. >> of course. >> well, the man came up to me and i thought he said something about getting something to drink and i said, a glass of champagne would be amazing. >> and he said, i'm admiral so and so. so i think that kind of puts into perspective -- >> you went up to a british admiral and asked him to get you a drink? >> not just an admiral, he was head of the entire military. >> the chief of the armed forces, i think i know who you mean. you asked him to get you a drink? >> yes. >> you little hollywood scab. you can't do that. >> he was so wonderful about it. >> what else dud do around the palace? ask the queen to get you some caviar? when did the farce end? did you meet the queen? >> of course, twice. >> what happened? >> the first night was wonderful.
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you only address her and touch her if she touches you. the second night, his royal highness, he brought her over to me. she was so gracious. i sang a song that meant something to them "people say we're in love" which is from "oklahoma" which is where i'm from. she bowed and she said, thank you so much. and from what i hear, that was a big deal. i was like, you're welcome and i just love your dress -- i'm just going to shut up. >> you said to the queen, i love you dress. really? you need to have some lessons. >> i know. >> you think you stumbled on a secret love song story? >> people say we're in love. >> isn't that sweet? >> and there was a glimmer in her eye and it brought me, hope that, a., prince charming is out there. and b., that they were still so close and you could see that song meant something to them and i had been given a hint that they did like that song so when i sang it she reacted. >> that's so sweet. >> and he did, too. he's magnificent. >> in what way?
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>> he's light. he lights up a room and he's so very proud of her. i don't know it's -- >> he gets a lot of flack for that but he's a good man. he's stood by her through thick and thin and she's never put a thought wrong. he has, he's like you. >> he's a knucklehead. >> i can't call him a knucklehead. he's married to my queen, but you can. >> but he impressed me the most. >> not quite as bad as kathy griffin. she straddled my desk and attacked me. >> no, she didn't. >> yes, she did. >> i bet the counter on kathy -- not kathy ireland? kathy griffin. >> that would be been funny. >> griffin, of course, she straddled it. she's one of my best friends. >> crazy. like a mad, young, female gorilla charging at me. >> kray, kray, kathy griffin. >> she's the best. >> we went to see the sheryl
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crow/kid rock concert recently. >> it's hard to imagine what you're like. >> we're so different, we're good friends. >> we'll take a little break and then we'll turn to politics. >> i feel like a -- >> you're aggressive. i want to talk to you about christine o'donnell and homophobia and the christian faith. so get a load of that. >> oh, my gosh, i'm nervous. naomi pryce: i am. i'm in the name your own price division. i find empty hotel rooms and help people save - >> - up to 60% off. i am familiar. your name? > naomi pryce. >> what other "negotiating" skills do you have? > i'm a fifth-degree black belt. >> as am i. > i'm fluent in 37 languages. >> (indistinct clicking) > and i'm a master of disguise >> as am i. > as am i. >> as am i. > as am i. >> well played naomi pryce.
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♪ because we knew you ♪ because we knew you we haven't changed ♪ >> oprah we've been changed for good! >> that was quite a moment. you sing on oprah's final show? >> i'm still -- i watched the video, i'm like, yeah, i did do that. >> she was crying. you were crying. i'm crying. when do i get one of throws. >> you don't want that. >> well, the planning, we should start early. >> when you're fully grey and old old man i'll come back. >> what was it like? oprah's last show? she's am amazing woman. she helped launch my show for
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me. she's been so kind. what does she mean to you? >> for me, we always talk about the ah-ha moments with oprah. what she's taught me and to live in each moment. and it sounds very polyanna and is kind of easy, but she really does live in each moment. >> do you do that? >> i certainly try. >> i find extraordinary that you're single. >> yeah. >> how can this happen? >> piers, help! anyone? >> trust me, five hands have gone up immediately. you'd have no problem in here. they don't get out. they don't even see daylight. >> i don't get out either. i've been engaged twice. i was the "run away bride" twice but i've worked through my commitment issues. >> what were those in. >> scared to be married? really? why? >> i think the whole idea of having to be with someone all the time scared me and like, what would i do if i needed to be alone, go to the bathroom, i don't know, just, life.
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but now i'm over it. >> do you regret either of them? do you wish you'd married either one of those men? >> i think they were fabulous guys. one was a professional baseball player and one is an incredible actor. i think it was the wrong time. but i don't regret either because i loved them. my fiance' mark kudish is engaged to someone who is a lovely woman. i just loved him, but it just was the wrong time. >> didn't you have a little fling with george clooney? >> in my mind. >> not in reality. >> when i was by myself. >> not physically. >> no. we haven't met yet. i'm sure that when he meets me that will all change. >> that's pretty crafty. >> i love his style. >> he is stylish. >> he's like cary grant. >> he's the modern day cary grant. you did go out with aaron
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sorkin, who i met for the first time recently. >> i did. >> and he wrote my greatest-ever tv show, "west wing." >> when you write "west wing" it's like, what do you do after that? well, then you go on and get an academy award for "the social network." what i love about aaron, he continues to challenge himself. if you can imagine growing up a musical theater guy is what he was. he was a musical theater major at syracuse and look what he's given the world. >> you were like a little breath of fresh air on "west wing." >> thank you. >> you were like lucy on "dallas." every time she arrived everything just went by -- she was a firecracker. >> thank you. that's a compliment. >> like this little semblance -- a breath of fresh air. >> growing up in oklahoma which is very much a republican area, i had the best of both.
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i had both -- >> normally people say, i love your accent. but i love your accent. >> thank you. >> that oklahoma thing -- >> yeah, it's there, isn't it? >> it is. >> it's there all right. >> but you didn't know that i was from there in "west wing" did you? i sounded kind of smart, didn't i? >> you put on your intelligent voice. i wasn't expecting that at all. >> "my intelligent voice" i'm stealing that from you. >> let's talk politics. you've had a few views with what's going on with the tea party and michele bachmann and others. what do you make of it, obviously they're very -- she's very christian, but she's many say bordering on homophobic. she makes her views about gay marriage and gays in the army and so on, pretty well known. what do you think about that? >> oh, piers. i'm a christian too. nowadays, to say that word, it's
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like, are you crazy? >> a goal of mine is to make people realize -- it's just like if you're muslim, there's many kinds of muslims. i am a christian, and i would call myself conservative in some ways and not so conservative in some ways, and i don't think that the gay issue is a political one, it's a civil rights issue. i believe as a woman, a christian, an actor, an artist, people who love each other should be allowed to be married. i know that doesn't go along with what mrs. bachman says and everybody that claims -- proclaims that. but it is what i believe. i don't want to be judged for what i believe, but it is what i believe. if it was a sin to be short, what would i do? i'd be right on the hell bus, right? i believe that's the way god made me, and i don't believe god makes mistakes, and that
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includes a person's sexuality. >> as a former "west wing" cast member, i have to ask you your own political view. are you an obama fan? would you vote again for him? do you feel disillusioned by him? >> i won't say who i did vote for, who i will vote for. that's a private issue. i would not want to be president of the united states. can you imagine that job? >> i can't think of a worse job. >> i think time's going to tell a lot with even president bush. i know there's going to be people out there who are going to be like, how could she say that? i think he's a good man, he had to make some tough decisions. i think obama's having to make some tough decisions. i support him. >> that's a good point. i recently finished president bush's book, "decision points,"
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an unusual book, not a traditional biography about decisions he took when he was president. and you do have a better understanding, even if you didn't like his presidency or him personally, you have a better understanding of why he made those decisions. >> that's right. >> it is an interesting book. >> i actually want to read that because i think that, you know, don't -- don't judge anybody unless you can stand in their shoes. that's the way i feel. and this is the leader of our free world but i stand behind our president. i stand behind him. >> i think that is a nice american trait that most americans, whichever side of the fence they are on, push comes to shove they do stand behind. >> easy to jump ship sometimes, right? but not what we should do as an american. >> what do you think of modern america, the problems that america faces today? >> you know what scares me the most? sometimes our youth, i don't know if it's the computer age, internet age, i don't know what it is but i grew up in a household where my father said work hard, play hard. you get what you put out, you're gonna get in return. i feel that there is a growing sense of entitlement.
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>> totally agree. >> it's a problem. and i think people look at me, even younger kids and say i just want to do what you do. you know how i got here? i worked my butt off. i studied. i got a master's degree. i went to avenue podunk place there was to sing, and was proud to do so. so to put in -- to get what you want and have it last, you have to put in the work. >> i totally agree. well, luckily for me, you have put in the work to become a great little singer. >> thank you. >> great singer, forget the little. i don't think you are a better singer because you are little, right? it makes a difference. >> thank you. >> after this break, you are going to fulfill a lifetime ambition, you are going to look at me in the eyes and sing for me. >> done and done. deal. >> deal? >> deal. >> the queen and then me. whoa! hey! [ dog barks, growls ] ♪ whoa, watch out, little man.
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and i'm back with my special guest, kristin chenoweth who has won tonys and emmys, but frankly, she's told me this will be the highlight of her entire career, if not her life. she is going to sing for me personally. the song "father and daughters" from her latest cd "some lessons learned" accompanied by brentwoods and jude gold
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anderson cooper will be on after this, but for now, the great kristin chenoweth. take it away. >> this is for you, handsome. actually this is a song for my dad. ♪ well, you laughed and told me you really wanted a boy, but you cried the first time you held me said you never felt such joy ♪ ♪ that's fathers and daughters ♪ and when you took the training wheels right off my bike ♪ ♪ that's the first time i could feel my wings 'cause you taught me i could fly ♪ ♪ that's fathers and daughters ♪ when i was a pink ballerina dancing in the kitchen, you held out your hand so i could try my luck at spinning ♪ ♪ the world keeps turning always through it all ♪
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