driver complained -- >> he looked back, said he was coming back to kick some ass. >> better not try throwing pennies at him. jeanne moos, cnn. >> would you stay a postage stamp, 39 cents? >> new york. >> that's it for us. you can follow me on twitter any time. "larry king live" starting right now. see you tomorrow. tonight a "growing pains" star is missing, last heard from a week ago. where is andrew koenig? his sister here wanting answers. evan lysacek joins us. he won the gold medal fair and

square, but the runner-up is still griping. is there a new cold war heating up over this? but first, is the american government broken? if so, who can fix it? can anyone solve the problems that can kill this country? are they bigger than a political person can solve? all next on "larry king live." >> larry: good evening. we begin with two distinguished american governors. in minneapolis, governor tim polente, and the governor of new mexico. we'll start with governor polente. governor, the five senators, including the new senator from massachusetts, scott brown, the vote expected tomorrow could pass. good idea, governor polente? >> i don't personally agree with that because i don't like that

particular bill and the approach they took with it, but for those individuals, they're doing what they think is right for the country ask thatnd that's somet they have to decide for themselves, and we'll see whether it makes a positive difference. >> larry: were you surprised five republicans went with it? >> it's not the type of bill that is so polarizing. i think they were disappointed they took out a bunch of the republican tax cuts earlier from an earlier version, but i don't think it's a complete surprise that they got at least a few republican votes for it. >> governor richardson, what do you think of the bill? >> well, i might note that senator brown, the new senator from massachusetts, voted for it. i think it's a good bill. it shows that president obama is anxious for bipartisanship. this bill is needed. it covers unemployment insurance, it covers a number of other benefits that are needed right now to help people. hopefully the next jobs bill is going to have some initiatives for small businesses to get

capital, tax incentives for companies to create new jobs. president obama met with all of us governors yesterday, and he was extremely bipartisan. it was a love feast, democratic governors, republican governors thanking him for the stimulus bill, for the help that is coming to us, has come to us, and highway jobs and education and keeping teachers and cops employed -- lar employed. >> larry: i was asking only about the jobs bill. >> the jobs bill is necessary. hopefully the jobs in the house will have more creative initiatives. >> not long ago with a previous version of this bill, they had a lot of republican support because they had some tax cuts in it, and then the democrats removed those provisions from the bill and they lost almost all the republican support over that maneuver with a few

exceptions that you noted. so instead of having a real bipartisan bill with lots of republicans on the bill with the prior tentative agreement that they had, they basically, again, made it mostly a partisan bill. and that's disappointing. it goes right to the heart of your question. >> larry: let me touch a couple other bases. governor richardson, what do you expect out of that summit on thursday? is that all politics? >> no, the president has said he wants republican ideas on health care, and i think you've seen republicans basically reject his bipartisanship. i am pleased the president put forth a more modest bill that involves, i think, potential bipartisan compromises on preexisting condition, on insurance reforms, on insuring more americans, on incentives for small businesses. i believe it's a good bill, a health care bill that hopefully will pass very soon in the house and senate, and then we move on to more initiatives, as he said,

on job creation, on the economy, on education reform. he talked to us about standards and testing and improving our educational system as the core of our economy. again, i think the president is more than extending an olive branch. i hope the republicans have some good ideas tomorrow that might be incorporated in this new health care bill. >> larry: governor palente, are you optimistic about thursday? >> we appreciate their hospitality, but he's basically taken a 1950s gentleman ljalopy through the car wash and tried to make it something new. it's still a 1950s jalopy. unless he's going to incorporate some of our ideas. if he's just going to run through what was the democrat

version of the health bill, that's not bipartisanship. if he wants to be bipartisan, he could take some of the ideas like medical malpractice reform or paying for performance and the like, but so far he's just basically compromising between two democratic positions. he hasn't meaningfully incorporated some republican ideas, and that would help a lot. i wrote about this not long ago in the washington post, and it's at timpalente.com so people can check out those ideas. >> larry: do you think we have a broken government? >> i think there is -- just having gotten back from washington, the atmosphere is two-partisan, it's poisonouison some cases. i said if the government and the president worked out some of these issues, we could get a lot more done than what's happening right now in washington. but i believe that the president has been sincere in his efforts at reaching out, he has addressed a lot of issues.

look, he brought us back -- we were heading into a depression, and the president basically has saved this country in the initiatives he has put forth on health care, on job creation, on helping our banking system, on many other initiatives that needed urgent attention. i will say that i was disburjd by the partisanship but it's not coming from the president's part. he has reached out and i think he's going to be effective. >> larry: governor pawlenty, do you think we're broke? >> we're broke financially, that's for sure, and we have to get the hot guns around the spending and get it under control. but in terms of the system, it's a reflection of a divided country, it's a reflection of a lot of polarized discourse and discussion, but when you get nation's governors in the room and say, what can we agree on health care, and you set aside

the things you can agree on, you can get a pretty good list. and i think they would be much better served at having done this in steps, including the republican ideas, we could have gone down this road in steps. but the system reflects a divided country. >> larry: someone once said, let us pray. we shall call on you both often. governor pawlenty of minnesota, bill richardson of new mexico. we're just getting started. democrats and republicans are mixing tit up, right here next.

we're back. olympic figure skating champion evan lysacek is here a little later in the hour and he'll answer your questions. send them on our facebook page, facebook.com/cnnlarrykinglive. its mission, to advance and promote american traditional values. peter barnhart, contributor time magazine. steven baldwin, author, actor, activist, born-again christian. he attended the political activist conference over the weekend and worked on the youth group movement. political analyst and host of the leslie marshall show.

we'll start with you, it shows 86% of those surveyed think the united states government is broken. do you agree with that? >> absolutely i agree with it. and they have good reason to see what's happened here. what are we looking at here, larry? these proposals that even came out this week, it's clear that the people in this city do not know how to solve this problem. they're putting through bills that are against what the american people have asked for, they're worried sick out there that they're not going to be able to take care of their families, and they see no turnaround. they see things getting worse. without any kind of response from washington that they deserv deserve. >> larr >> larry: leslie, do you agree or disagree? >> i agree the parties of government are a bit broken, but we don't say let's throw in the towel. what we're seeing is a president that wants bipartisan support. we're seeing republicans thinking about the people as

opposed to the party. and it's weird coming from me, a pessimist, but we need not be so pessimistic. i don't think we throw the baby out with the bathwater as they've suggested. >> larry: billy, what's your read? >> my read is that it is broken. i think when you have an administration that is trying to force a health care bill through here in 2010 knowing that it's going to be more difficult to do it later, even when most of the country doesn't want it at this point. it's a scary time when the --. >> larry: people don't want -- >> not this particular health care bill. a majority of people don't understand it, don't know what it is, so when the administration is trying to force it through because they're playing politics despite what the american people think, that's a broken government. >> larry: peter, do you think it's broken? >> yeah, i think it is broken. it's not surprising that at a time of almost 10% unemployment, people are pretty negative in

washington. that's the way the political system is supposed to work, for him to say the bill would go through if we got 58% of votes. there is no president in american history using the fill buster on a vast majority of the legislation. that's part of the reason it's so difficult to get things done. >> but larry, the reason you say it's been forced, it's not the means by which they get it passed, it's because the american people spoke out very clearly last summer in town hall meetings, they had rallies across the country in september and october, they went up there in massachusetts. democrats in massachusetts went to the polls to vote for scott brown for one reason. he said he would stop it. yet there it is, the president saying, we're going to jam this thing through no matter what. >> larry: hold it, senator brown voted to -- with the democrats on the jobs bill vote to take place tomorrow. >> he voted for the jobs bill

but it doesn't explain why he's pushing through health care. >> larry: leslie? >> it's best for the american people, larry. it's best not only for our financial health but for our fiscal health. this isn't just about politics, this is about not looking for the levy to break. this is about being prevent tavb in our public's health. >> larry: don't the people want the public option? >> yes, but is that what's best for everybody that fits into the equation? what the gentleman just talked about is it's forcing it through within the democratic party. it's not being bipartisan, it's not crossing over the lines and getting the republican party to be involved. they're saying, republicans, if you're not going to help us or agree. >> that's the party always pushing it through in government? >> they're going to be one of the biggest and powerful forcings ever to be done before.

>> the democratic party won 59 seats in the senate, which is quite a lot. barack obama won in health care. scott brown won in part because of opposition to health care, but president obama won in part because they wanted health care. so for them to pass on something that the senators ran on is not democratic at all. >> larry: let me get a break and we'll come right back. by the way, we'll discuss more likely candidates in 2012. sarah palin or ron paul who won that seat-back vote. that's next.

>> larry: you think thursday's sit-down is a good idea? >> i think it's a strategy. they asked republicans, and they sent a message to america, saying, we're trying to work for them. then the republicans will say no and they'll go out and say we tried to do everything to get them to move ahead and it failed. i think it's transparent. >> larry: leslie, what do you think? >> i totally disagree. i would agree with they'll say it's transparent. we're going to see our government in action. we're going to see what they're thinking and seeing, there's no private meetings behind closed doors, and i think it will clarify what the plan is truly about, because i do agree with

stephen, there is a question of what it's about. >> larry: is it a bad idea? >> no, it's not a bad idea, i just think with these democrats already knowing what they want to do and the conservatives saying, we're not sure what's best, what's wrong with taking a little more time to figure it out? and you said yourself, larry, isn't that just the political process? this is way too important. this is going to cost way too much money to rush it. >> we haven't had a health bill in 75 years. >> so shouldn't we do it right and not rush it? >> larry: 14,000 people go off insurance every day. 14,000 people. >> i can tell you right now, when we get into cpac, i'll tell you what the conservative youth think about this. i was at cpac, and we did this thing called the cpac lounge. we had 4,000 conservatives at this event. they are terrified about the future of this country and

what's happening with big government controlling everything, making decisions for everybody. a lot of these young kids in college today are really scared, larry, and they want to see things change in the future. >> larry: peter barnhart, before i ask him, we want you to check out his article. he's got the front cover story in "time" magazine this week. it's entitled, "why washington is frozen." it's well written, no matter what your opinion is. peter, do you think this thursday idea is good? >> i agree with betty, i don't think they've dug in their heels. it's very similar to the republican opinion of the clinton health bill of 1983. they were deeply involved in crafting this, their handiwork is all over it. it's similar to a proposal that howard baker, a former republican, wanted.

this is why so many liberals are frustrated, because it includes so many republican ideas. >> but larry, let me ask you, why is it, then, that the democrats have control of the house, control of the senate, control of the white house and they can't get the bill through? >> because they need 58% of votes. >> one of the leaders over there in the house says he does not think this is going to get through, and i tell you now there is a lot of democrats anxious to have a chance to vote it down because they voted for it the first time and they're hanging loosely by that noose over there and they're hoping to get out of it by a vote saying, i got the message, folks. i'm voting it down. >> the reason it hasn't been able to pass anything is because the republicans have been, up until yesterday, the party of no. and one of the reasons that, you know, democrats, you know, are constantly up against a wall is because liberal democrats in this country strongly believe the republicans just want a failure for the president because they want him to be a

one-term president and they don't want him -- >> just clear -- the republicans demanded a deficit rupture commission, do you remember this? they demanded it and nanddemandt and when obama supported it, they voted against it so it didn't get 60% of votes. >> larry: this whole discussion says we're broken. >> absolutely. and i think clearly another sign that a lot of america, particularly the regular joe, blue collar people, they're unsure, they're uncertain. they're confused about what's going on. that's why you see a lot of republicans winning back a lot of these positions right now. things are swinging back right now because president obama said i'm going to go in and do this, small government, i'm going to take care of the little guy and that's just not what we're seeing, larry. >> larry: we're going to be back. don't go away. plus support for heart health. ( crowd roars ) that's a great call.

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where's my car?!!!! where are you?! arghhh... (announcer) dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles give you outrageous comfort, all-day-guaranteed. woah. it's not too far... (announcer) are you gellin'? dr. scholl's. a little presidential politics in this portion. bay buchanan, were you surprised the president won the strong vote in cpac? >> not in the least. cpac was packed full with young people, and what are they worried about there? they're worried about that deficit, that's something he's keen on, they're worried about the expense of the wars, and he comes right home. ron paul has been out there. you know what the interesting thing is, in the early days of those debates in the republican primary, i was at most all of them and people ridiculed ron

paul when he spoke out, and he just kept speaking and he's got a big following in this country. >> leslie, are you concerned or happy that sarah palin is a threat? or is she a threat? >> i don't think she's a threat. and one of the reasons i don't think she's a threat is what 32% of republicans are saying. like her? we didn't vote for her. i don't think she's qualified to be president. i don't think she's going to run, larry. if she did, she is great fodder for talk show hosts, and as a liberal democrat, i think we'll have an easy victory over that, but i don't think she'll be the party they put forth. >> larry: stephen, will the tea party movement go into effect? >> absolutely, i think the tea party movement will build and build and build. i can't talk about sarah palin, i'm her favorite baldwin, as she stated on saturday night live, larry. but when we did the cpac lounge for the young people, it was the

young people that sort of rallied. >> larry: ron paul got the vote. >> ron paul got the vote, a lot of young people were his followers. they're going to sponsor now the spac bus tour because now we've got all these conservative groups at colleges around the country that want to see a change. >> i think republicans are going to do really, really well. i don't know if they'll pick up the senate, but i think it's entirely possible. when you're running and unemployment is this bad, americans don't like all the deficit spending and the bailouts and the takeover of the auto companies. if they were seeing results, and i think they actually will start to see the results in the next couple years, then i think they would be more accepting of it. but obama has the worst of all worlds right now, which is the people don't like the medicine and the disease has not been cured. >> the worst of all worlds, the medicine he's delivered isn't working worth a hoot, and people, there is no consumer

confidence out there, banks continue to fail at huge numbers, you have more and more layoffs. inflation is looming, so for f heav heaven's sakes, this medicine isn't working and he hasn't figured it out. >> if he hadn't passed this bill, i think unemployment would be 12 or 15%. >> top economists say it would top 15%. >> these are people who believe what senator john mccain says, when there's no consumer demand, the government has to step down. >> the jobs bill isn't a jobs bill. the credit they're giving the businesses, the businesses say we can't use this. we need sales in order to hire people. >> the republicans voted against a bill that's entitled jobs bill? >> larry: the americans could disagree with it. thank you all. we'll have you back.

olympic gold medallist evan lysacek is warming up for his interview and he brought his gold medal with him. ask him a question on our facebook page or you can tweet him. first, the "growing pains" star is missing. his sister is here, hoping he's alive. she's next. sara's mom discovered neosporin® with patented technology that heals cuts two days faster than store brands. neosporin®. heals faster than store brands. what are you really buying? a shiny coat of paint? a list of features? what about the strength of the steel? the integrity of its design... or how it responds... in extreme situations? the deeper you look, the more you see the real differences. and the more you understand what it means to own a mercedes-benz. the c-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for special offers through mercedes-benz financial. ♪

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we're back. andrew koenig, best known for his role as richard "boner" stabone is missing. last seen in a bakery in canada. his sister is here, and aggie landrick, a long-time friend, and spokesman for the vancouver police department. what do you make of this, danielle? >> well, it's just very upsetting, and my brother does suffer from depression, so we're very, very worried about him.

and we just want to find him. >> larry: when was the last time you spoke to him? >> i think through e-mail maybe around the 8th or 9th. >> larry: about a week before? >> yeah. >> larry: how was he doing then? >> it was just a brief e-mail exchange. i don't really know. i saw him, i think, on january 31st, and he was okay. he seemed a little down, but he was at my house for my birthday, so he was sort of, you know, he was -- i think he was trying to be. >> larry: was he working? >> yeah. he was doing a lot of editing, and he is involved in this podcast -- actually, it's my husband's podcast, and andrew films it, and so he -- yeah. >> larry: does he have family? wife, children? >> no. no. >> larry: he's single? >> he's single.

>> larry: how are your parents doing? >> not great, obviously. my mom is really being strong and making all the phone calls and doing all the organizing and being very strong. >> larry: we're showing his picture. a lot of questions. has he ever gone off before? >> not without announcing it. it's not unusual for him to sort of go somewhere for a while, but he would tell us. >> larry: danielle and andrew's father is actor walter koenig, right, who placed ensign chekhov on "star trek," and he gave a brief interview about his missing son. take a look. >> he's trying to get ahead in this business and he's been working at it a long time. he went up there to see his fans. he has some very close friends up there and vancouver is the place he really felt most

comfortable. >> larry: constable fanning, what can you tell us from a police standpoint about this missing adult? >> well, larry, i can tell you that the police have been working very hard. since we were involved february 18th, we have canvassed the neighborhood where andrew was staying, we took his picture around to the cafes and restaurants in that neighborhood. nobody had any information that helped the investigation. of course, we've been talking with andrew's family throughout this investigation as well as friends here in vancouver. we just finished a search today in stanley park, not because andrew was seen in stanley park but because he loved the park. when he used to live here, he used to take walks in the park. so we've had our mounted squad going through the park all weekend along with other people who work in stanley park, and today we had the search and rescue team walking through the park, covering every square inch, looking for any sign that andrew may have been here in the past few days.

>> larry: where did he live, danielle? >> venice. >> in venice, california. >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: did he used to live in vancouver? >> he used to many, many years ago. >> larry: is his place in venice intact? is there anything missing from there? >> yeah. >> larry: there is things missing? >> he moved out. >> larry: so there is no furniture of any kind there? >> yeah. >> larry: where was he in vancouver n a hotel? >> no, he was with friends. >> larry: maggie, what do you make of this? >> obviously, all of us who love andrew are very upset and concerned for him. it's a surprise he would come to vancouver without telling us ahead of time that he was planning to come for a visit, and it's unusual for him to come this distance or go to toronto and montreal as he did to see close, mutual friends of ours for such a short stay. he was in toronto and montreal

both only for a few days each time. he sent me a facebook message on the night of the 10th, which i understand was the day he arrived here, asking if i could get together in saying that he was only here for a couple of days. unfortunately, it being the first -- the opening ceremony of the olympics the next day, i was working pretty hard in the newsroom and was unable to get together with him. that's the last i heard from him. >> larry: we'll have more in a minute. more on the mystery of andrew koenig when we return. woman down from nasal allergy attack. but we've got the ammunition she needs: omnaris. (troops) omnaris! to the nose. (general) omnaris works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris fights nasal allergy symptoms that occur from allergic inflammation... relieve those symptoms with omnaris.

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kirk cameron played mike seiver on "growing pains." andrew played his pal boner. he released this statement. if anybody has any information about andrew, they can contact the vancouver police department. >> vancouver police department, officer rala or officer paya. actually, their constables. >> larry: you mentioned

depression. does that add to your concern? >> yeah. yeah. >> larry: has he ever tried to harm himself? >> no, not that i know of. >> larry: has he been treated for depression? >> yes. i know he was on anti depress sants, a sants and i just found out through a friend that he has not been on them for a long time. >> larry: how old is he? >> 41. >> what kind of work does he do? >> he was always editing and directing, and my dad says it's hard to make it in this business. not that that has anything to do with it at all. >> larry: have you had any sightings at all? >> we've had a number of sightings over the past few days. we've received sightings from as far as the west coast of

vancouver island, which is probably about a four-hour trip from here. we also received a call today that somebody thought they saw him in one of our olympic venues last night. so tips are coming in, but we're pleading with the public, if you think you see him, go up, if it's possible, and try and talk to him and certainly alert us. if you think you've seen him over the past few days, then give us a call. if you think he's somewhere else, if it's outside of vancouver, call your local police department and have them help you. we put this call out to the media after an exhaustive investigation. we started on the 18th and realizing we weren't coming up with the leads we needed, we asked the media to put it to the public. we needed more eyes out there. we haven't been able to validate any of these reported sightings. we're hoping the media will get this raised to the point we can

find andrew safe and sound. >> larry: maggie, is there anything in the last phone call you had with him that led you to worry? >> like i said, it was a facebook message that was our last point of contact. this has come completely out of the blue in a sense in terms of his trip to vancouver, but those of us who love him and have known him for a long time know that he has struggled with depression, as his sister says, for quite some time, so that's not a new factor. >> larry: well, we can all hope for the best. again, you've seen his picture, you know all about his story. we hope that you can help, and if you spot him or think you've seen him, contact the vancouver police department or a local police department if you're in another city. >> right. >> larry: danielle, will you keep in close touch with us? >> yes. thank you very much. >> larry: anything we can do.

>> i appreciate it. the first american man to win a gold medal in two decades is here. write to us on facebook.com or tweet us. there he is. he's next. i was just in town for a few days, and i was wondering if i could say hi to the doctor. is he in? he's in copenhagen. oh, well, that's nice. but you can still see him! you just said he was in... copenhagen. come on! that's pretty far. doc, look who's in town. ellen! copenhagen? cool, right?

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evan lysacek is the newly mintd gold medallist and we'll be talking to him in a minute, but first here's jessica yellinsignificant in for anderson cooper for a preview of 360. jessica? toyota is standing by the contention that the problem with the cars is only the gas pedal and the carpet mats, not related to anything electronic, not something bigger and possibly much more dangerous. but our investigation says otherwise. we're going to tell you what we found, and we'll also look at what some are calling the too cozy relationship between the car companies and the lawmakers investigating it. also tonight, larry, a high school in rhode island just hours ago deciding to fire their entire teaching staff.

88 teachers all now without jobs next school year. the reason for the firings? chronic poor student performance. the question, is it time this happened or is the action too extreme? finally we're going to bring you a follow-up to a story we brought you last night about six haitian orphans who are supposed to be on their way to the u.s. but were caught up in red tape. our gary tuckman stayed with them all day. it was a wild ride, to say the least, and we're going to tell you what's next. larry, we've got all that and more at the top of the hour, but now back to you for a great interview. i can't wait to watch this. >> larry: that's 10:00 p.m. pacific with jessica yellin. evan lysacek, the first to win a figure skating gold since 1988. the first world reigning champ since scott hamilton did it in 1988. he brought the medal with him. did you think you were going to

win? >> i didn't think i was going to win, and it's never a healthy process, so it's difficult to block that out of your head, but i really just wanted to have my best performance at the olympics, and i've been such a fan of the games my whole life, it's such a special event, that i wanted to do the training and ensure that i could have that moment. >> larry: what do you make of all the negative response of the russian silver medal list, plushenko, your failure to do a quad jump. what do you make of that? >> my decision not to do a quad jump was before the games began. a year ago i had a stress fracture in my left foot which came from training that quadruple jump, so i couldn't do anything on the left foot for about six months. before the olympics, i started training in the quad again on the left foot and it started to bother me again, and i had, you know, visions of last year and i didn't want my olympics to be the same experience that i had

at the world championships where i was wondering if i would get through it, so the solution was to just take that one element out. >> larry: is a figure skater expected to do the quad? >> we have a new judging system, and it really is accurate you m the 4:40 program. if it was about doing a quadruple jump, it would be a ten-second free skate where you go and do your best jump and that's it. but it really is about accumulating points and for me that's taken, you know, countless hours of work to be able to figure out the right strategy to maximize points in 4:40 routine. >> larry: if we have it right, you tied to 0.01 of a point in the artistic. however, even without the quad, you won the technical side. you won gold by 1.31. are you surprised that he keeps complaining? >> well, i guess a little bit. but -- >> larry: disappointed?

>> not disappointed, but it just stings to me a little bit. he's someone that i really look up to and have looked up to. and he's been a trail blazer in the sport and will go down, of course, as one of the best ever, dominating the sport for 12 years now. he has three olympic medals, two silvers and a gold. and i've tried really hard to not feel like it's a personal attack, but it's starting to feel that way. and coming from a stranger, it wouldn't bother me, but coming from somebody i really look up to -- >> larry: a hero in a sense. >> yeah. but, you know what, it's hard to lose. >> larry: it is what it is pop it's hard to lose. and, you know, whatever the reason is, i can't blame him for it. i have to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. >> well said a question from our facebook page. how do you pick your music and costumes? >> my music is picked a lot of times from my coaches. i like to have input, but i like so many different types of music, anything they bring me i usually say yes to. >> larry: and what you wear? >> my costumes are done by vera

wang, a very good friend of mine. >> larry: not bad. she does a lot of wedding dresses. >> she has her foot in the door in many different areas. >> larry: more facebook questions and his predictions for the ladies. mpany insurance. this is not how does it fit in my company's budget insurance. this is help protect and care for your employees at no cost to your company insurance. with aflac, your employees pay only for the coverage they want or need. and, the cost to you - nothing at all. if all you know about us is... aflac! ...then you don't know quack. to find out why more businesses provide aflac, visit getquack.com [ birds screech ] [ loud rumbling ] [ rifle fires ] [ announcer ] if you think about it, this is what makes theladders different... from other job search sites.

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>> larry: a question from twitter for evan. where is he going to keep his medal, which i have in my hand, and does he plan to be at 20914 olympics? >> well, for the time being at least, i'm going to keep the medal, if not around my neck, as close to me as possible. all my friends like to hold it and see it. i'm keeping it with me. it's got a good weight, right? >> larry: are you going to compete in the next one? >> it's in russia, if they let me into the country, maybe we'll see. >> larry: you're going to appear on "stars on ice." >> that's my next goal. "stars on ice." it's olympic, world and national champions there. >> larry: you were telling me something about this gold medal that's unusual. can with eget a closeup? >> jerry: each medal is cut out

of a grand plate and they fit back into it like a puzzle piece. so the etchings on it and the curvature of this one is unique just to me. it's so rare but it's nice that this one is really my own. >> larry: so no two golds are the same? >> jerry: or two silvers or bronzes. they're all unique. >> larry: you have a forecast on the ladies side? >> jerry: you have my favorites. yu na-kim is the reigning world champion going in, which comes with a considerable amount of pressure but she can handle it. >> larry: are you picking her? >> i'm picking her, yeah. and the canadian joannie rochette is also very, very nice to watch. >> michae . >> larry: i never have, no. it's something you decide at a younger age. you go in one direction for pairs and train one another or go another direction in singles.

>> larry: how old were you when you started to skate? >> i was 8. >> larry: did you want to go into hockey? >> i met chris chelios and decided i wanted to be like him. i had no ability, so i started basic figure skating classeses. i hated it at first, but once i got enough stability to go fast and feel the wind on my face, it's a unique feeling being on ice. so i fell in love with the sport. to this date, with everything that comes along with it, for me to step out on the training rink and feel the wind on my faces, it's pretty cool. >> larry: when you're skating, do you feel falling? >> as i get older, falling hurts more than it used to. >> larry: or do you think, oh, i almost fell. >> not really. i think work on specific elements like the quadruple toe loop or even a triple toe loop

is difficult because i always have that little bit of fear that i'm going to break my foot again. some elements are fun until you hurt yourself even then there's an element of fear involved. >> larry: is it always fun? >> it's not always fun. but i think that i have to remember to realize that i'm so fortunate to be able to do something that i truly love on a daily basis. and of course, i have tough day, but if i didn't love it as much as i do, i don't think i would get through the tough times. and my love and my passion and i guess my appreciation for the sport is what keeps me going and keeps me motivated. >> larry: congratulations, evan. you live here in l.a. now? >> i do, yeah. >> larry: a chicagoan by birth, though? >> yes. >> larry: stars on ice start touring in april. evan lysacek, the gold medal, skating champion, men's figure skating. an update last night. we aired an interview with the dalai lama. during the interview, he talked

about his relationship with the chinese government, a topic the chinese embassy and the united states addressed in a statement sent today to cnn. it reads in part, what dala dalai lama has said and done in the past decades has fully shown that he is not a pure religious figure, but a political figure in exile who's long engaged in activities to split china and undermine ethnic unity in china under the cover of religion. while claiming that he visits foreign countries are aimed to spread religious teaching, he has never stopped defaming chinese government, selling tibet independence proposals and undermining relations between china and other countries. by the way, as an aside, he did say he is opposed to independence in our interview. this is well reflected, continued the chinese embassy and his remarks during the current visit, including those he made on cnn's "larry king