good evening. two great interviews tonight with two fascinating people. first, tony robbins, who inspires millions. he's helped superstar celebrities and heads of state. and tonight he's talking about keeping america great with words of wisdom that could literally change your life. also, the hilarious julia louis-dreyfus. we watched her in nine seasons as elaine on "seinfeld." now she's playing the vice president on hbo's hit comedy "veep." a role that's changed her view on something important. >> i have more sympathy for all women in government. i think that being a woman in a position of power is tricky but important and crucial, actually. and i think the more women we have in power the better off our country will be. >> tonight, keeping america great with inspirational superstar tony robbins, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian. the list goes on and on. he's helped ceos and citizens from around the world. on tv you can see him in "breakthrough with tony robbins" and "life class," both on oprah winfrey's own network. tony joins me now. welcome. >> thank you. good to see you. >> i was looking at the list of people you've helped. never mind the international corporations and so. . bill clinton, princence diana, mikhail gorbachev, mother theresa, quincy jones. these are like the icons of my lifetime. all touched by the inspirational hand of tony robbins. >> i don't know about that. i've had a ticket to history. i've had a chance to be around some magnificent people and and learn from them along the way and in some indications be able to assist them as well. >> what is the common theme of anybody in their positions, where you get to be hugely famous with all the pressures that brings? what do they need from somebody like you? >> well, they all have something different. i get the phone call when the athlete's melting down in the middle of a sporting event, you've got to do something right now to turn him around. >> what do you say? when that specific thing is happening, what do you say? >> it's not a say. it's putting him back in state. you look at somebody like tiger woods. he has the same skills he always had. what he's lost is the state. he's lost that certainty. i'm sure you've seen a sporting event, any sporting event and you watch the person walking out on the field, go for a free throw, kick, and you know before they do it they're going to miss. you can see the certainty is missing. it's getting them back in that psychological emotional state where their best comes naturally. in that case. but i might get a phone call where a child is suicidal or the president of the united states calls and says you're they're going to impeach me in the morning. what should i do? >> did that actually happen? bill clinton called in 1998 and said tony they may be impaechl paechg me in the morn, what should i do? what an extraordinary position of responsibility. >> i'm sure i'm not the only person he called. >> you're one of the people he called. >> by any stretch. yes. >> step back for a moment. that moment, how did you feel? despite all these incredible things you've experienced, to have the president of your country call you in his great hour of need. >> well, you know, if you're thinking about yourself in a moment like that, you can't really serve. so then it would be all about you. what i felt was a sense of responsibility. and i also felt i needed to tell him straight what i really believed. i knew he was going to get different opinions. and i don't really talk about what i do with someone unless they speak about it. but i did speak at that point and said frankly, you're not going to be impeached in the morning. easy for me to say. i'm not in your position. just politically it's not going to happen. but you have to decide what your legacy's going to be, what's your outcome because you have to decide what you're going to be able to say that people at home can tell their children about. you have to look at what you can do legally. if i was you i'd be doing what's wright right and nothing less in that process because you want to look at yourself in the mirror. people know what's right. what happens is we get ourselves caught up in an environment where the environment starts to trigger us. we get them out of the triggers get them into something real. sometimes it's a strategy. sometimes it's changing their psychological state. sometimes it's helping them to break through some limiting belief. >> do you personally ever have crushing moments of self-doubt? >> self-doubt? as often as you do. >> that's not often. >> but it's not because i'm so great or brilliant. it's just like, you know, an athlete, when you build a muscle over and over in your life you do it. that doesn't mean i'm always right, either, by any stretch of the imagination. it's not crushing self-doubt. and if i had failures, challenges, i remember doctors coming to me and saying you've got a tumor in your brain, what are you going to do? you have to make those decisions when you have total uncertainty in your life, and it helps if you've trained yourself to be able to make decisions in those moments. >> oprah winfrey called you the energizer bunny on steroids. now, be honest. when you first heard that, what was your reaction? >> that was pretty horrific. but she came to my event and, you know, for years she's known about me, not had me on for whatever reason. she thought these commercials i was, you know, commercial of some sort, not spiritual. and she came and said i'm only coming for two hours, i can't do more than that. and she stayed for 12. and it changed her life. she said literally on her air it was one of the most experiences of her life. and we're doing these specials, these live class that's are really fun. >> i've watched you do some of your live performing on television, 15,000 people going crazy you custom in like a rock star you're up and you're pumping you've got this big grin on your face and you're like boom. and i thought, what is the secret? and now i've met you. one, you're massive. you're absolutely massive. >> but i'm not in a crowd of 10,000 people. >> he can't be as big as he seems. but you are. you're physically very imposing. how helpful is that to exuding the kind of inner self-belief that you clearly have? >> well, clearly it's not just about inner self-belief. it's really about people getting to the truth. i believe people -- i'm not into positive thinking. i'm not about to say go to your garden and chant there's no weeds, there's no weeds. i'm going to say here's the weeds, here's how you're going to pull them out. i'm much more of a strategist. but to answer your question deliberately i was 5'1" sophomore year in high school. i was student body president and i wasn't a popular kid. i had this drive and this hunger to serve. i ran a real political campaign. i went to each group and said what do you need? i'll come back and tell you if i can do it or not my belief. i interviewed people. and i won not as the popular kid but the kid that -- raw and real, believed what i could do and i really delivered. i was there every single day in the summer. so it started back in high school when i was mr. solution for people regardless of my size. >> like many people who become very successful, you had a really traumatic upbringing. your father left when you were very young. your mother brought you up but was really fairly chaotic from all accounts. >> yes. >> and had a number of substance issues and so on and so on. and at 17 she throws you out of the home. what did all that do to you as a young man when you're coming out of your teens, you've gone through this hideous time, you haven't really experienced i guess real love from either parent? >> i don't think that's true. i had four fathers. so who i got to know at different levels. my mother ket changing in that area. my mom made me feel loved. she also was abusive and i never talked about that until oprah -- >> did she ever tell you she loved you? >> absolutely. she was physically loving but she would also go to the other side because she had substance challenges. and what it made me was a practical psychologist. i had to be able to read her, what was really going on, could i anticipate what's going to happen and that gave me i think skill sets in life that allowed me to read almost anybody in the future because it was life and death in some -- >> it was so unpredictable. >> exactly right. >> so you had to literally roll with the raves. >> and i know what suffering feels like and that gives you a hunger to make sure other people don't suffer. i love to see people lit up -- >> it can go the other way. people who are abused in that way can often become abusers. how did you avoid that trap? >> some of it is grace. and some of it is just i love people. i hated to see suffering before i even suffered. and when i had enough suffering i just wanted to end it. my mom, they were doing my biography and they interviewed her. and they said has he always been like this? she said well, when he was fine i was preg nnt wa his brother and we had no money, we were very poor and i sent him next door to get milk and peanut butter and i came home without those things. and she said where is it? i said there was a poor boy there, i gave him my money. she said, well, we're poor. so i've always had that connection to people and love for people but i think the pain gave me a hunger and drive to say i've got to conquer myself, it's never going to happen to my family, never going to happen to anybody i can have influence with. and fortunately that's reached millions of people around the world. >> how did your relationship with your mother evolve after she'd thrown you out? >> once we were separated i think it allowed her to -- i was her support system for everything. i have a younger brother, younger sister. and i went to the store on my bicycle, bought the meals, made the maelsz. he should never came out of her room. we had a 1200-square-foot house but she had her room. what happened is she had to adapt and eventually she was very proud of me. we had a very beautiful relationship. she's since passed. and i adore her. i wouldn't be here today without my mother and i wouldn't be who i am without the pieces inside me that i brought to the table as well. >> let's take a short break. when we come back i want you to put your hat on and fix america in about six minutes. >> okay. perfect. sounds like perfect television. >> i can't think of anybody else who can actually do this. but you might be able to. >> okay. thank you. this man is about to be the millionth customer. would you mind if i go ahead of you? instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. yoyou u wawalklk i intna coconvnvenentitiononalal ms ststorore,e, i it't's s rert ababouout t yoyou.u. ththeyey s sayay, , "w"weleu wawantnteded a a f firirm m bebn lilie e onon o onene o of " wewe p prorovividede t thet inindidivividudualalizizatat yoyourur b bodody y neneede. ohoh, , wowow!w! ththatat f feeeelsls r reae. itit's's a aboboutut s supuppope yoyou u fifindnd i it t momost. toto c celelebebraratete 2 25 5f bebetttterer s sleleepep-f-forof yoyou u - - slsleeeep p nr inintrtrododucuceses t ther ededititioion n bebed d st inincrcrededibiblele s savf $1$1,0,00000 f foror a a l li. ononlyly a at t ththe e slsleeer ststorore,e, w wheherere n make your move, scream yes. as hard and strong as you can. >> yes! >> you got it! go! >> yes! >> whoo! >> tony robbins. that was oprah demonstrating the famous fire walk during the multiday seminar. unleash the power within. i mean, you could have nearly killed oprah winfrey. if she'd fallen into your fire -- she'd be lying there in flames and you're watching $3 billion worth of talent going up all down to you. that takes confidence. shoving oprah winfrey onto your fire walk. >> no, what takes confidence we did our breakthrough show and i took a man, i wanted to do this show where i have the opportunity to get people who are facing the worst environments. you know, today you look around, piers, and you see people, 63% of the country now says their best days are behind us. that the future for their kids and their self will be far less than what they've experienced. i said what's the best way to do? you can tell people all day long it's going to be better and that's not going to do anything. we have to make it better. i thought if i took a show where people had extreme problems, extreme stress and showed them turn around in 30 days. i'll tell you what the goal of more courage was. give me some examples. and we found a man and his wife who were literally getting married in mexico. he jumps into a swimming pool and he becomes a quadriplegic instantly. he's now in a little room in l.a. he can't move. his wife is never going to be able to have a child with him. she's his caretaker. what can we do to change his life in 30 days? i said i can do this, and not just be uplifting but make it real and have it last. in essence i had to figure out how to shift his story of what's possible in his life because you and i both know people who have a great life and are miserable. >> let's have a clip from that very moment. watch this. >> whoo! you okay? >> yeah, i'm great. this is amazing. amazing. >> the man is a quadriplegic physically. jumping out of an airplane seems a little insane to most people. but so much of our life is on automatic pilot that we don't even see it anymore. he was able to not only do this but really, really enjoy it. >> you see, that is obviously great television, but it's also a profoundly moving thing to watch. >> it was unbelievable to experience. >> to see that man's face. feeling like he was alive again. >> he couldn't -- he said he couldn't leave the house. and i took him to fiji, which was a trip by itself, i won't waste your time but they dropped him if you can imagine. i got him skydiving in a few days. i separated him from his wife who said it couldn't happen and for ten days taught him murderball which if you've ever seen it looks like mad max, rugby for quadriplegics, transformed his idea, had him build a truck that he couldn't build when he was able-bodied and went 100 miles an hour, he drof it with his elbows. all this. he calls me out camping. his wife got cancer after the show. brain cancer. everybody said it couldn't be done. he took charge, made it happen. the man changed his life. because i always say that talking is wonderful but an experience is much more powerful than a belief. so i give people experiences that help them to change. >> do you. you also give people advice. there are businessmen in this country who are rumored to pay you $1 million a year to give them advice. >> i have one client who's one of the top ten financial traders in the world, he's been my client for 20 years that way. >> why are you worth that kind of money to somebody -- >> because i'm not coming to inspire him. he doesn't need any inspiration. >> what does he need? >> i'm a strategist. what he needs is modeling. i came in when he lost money. he hasn't lost money for the 20 years i worked with him. he gives me that seven figures plus a piece of the up side full. when i come in every single time or in the course of three or four times a year i will come in and help him improve his strategy. the markets are changing. what do we need to do in this system to get the result? so most people think of me as the positive thinking guy because i do believe in passion and enji and i believe in an inspired life and the other choice is the bad life. so i bring energy but the strategy is what makes it work. >> let me give you a scenario. i am the patient and i am america incorporated. >> yes. >> now, there are clearly fundamental problems with america right now and yet i like to call this segment keeping america great because it remains a great country. >> i agree. >> i imagine it plays perfectly to your constant air of positivity. but what is the solution to the american current malaise, do you think? >> in one minute or two. >> yes. >> i think there's five areas i look at personally and i look at them in how i can make a difference in my time and investments and money there. i look at energy because right now we're continuing to pollute the environment and we're sending our money overseas and we've got wars funded to a great extent to try to protect our oil. and it's an old technology and it's out, and we know that there's other technology available, and so when there's guys like, you know, elan musk that built tesla and they built a car that can go zero to 60 in 2 1/2 seconds and 2 mile range on the thing. t. boone pickens is a friend of mine. he's got a plan that can take 8 million trucks and wipe out about 60% of our use of foreign oil just by getting us to convert like we did from gasoline to diesel, making that conversion now to natural gas, which we have plenty of. and he lost by six votes in the senate and he's going to get it done i'm helping him. energy is one place. cheap natural energy and energy that hopesfully gets us away from polluting. second piece for me really is education. we all know it's antiquated, it's insane, and there are lots of great people that are creating breakthroughs but the institution keeps stopping it. there are a few people that are doing breakthroughs like the khan institute but now teachers are starting to actually do homework with kids in class, have them watch the class at home, be in class where i can interact with you and actually teach you and see dramatic changes in that area. so that things can be done. and i work in that area. third to me i look at employment. we have to retool. if you look at the last -- since 1960 there have been eight recessions. every time we expand unemployment and the most we've ever done on average in the past is 52 weeks. and i totally believe in supporting -- personally my foundation, we feed 2 million people. i was fed when i was a kid. i fed 250,000 people last week in new york as a gift that i did at one of my events. so i believe in that. i'm not pumping my word. i just want you to know. when you believe in that. when you give people 99 sxwiekz don't retool them where they're literally tore two years not working and we operate from a belief that these low-skill, low knowledge jobs are ever going to come back even if apple like you talk about brought it back, it's not -- it's like saying bring farming back from a century ago. we were 80% farmers. now we're 2%. we have to retool. i say give them the money they need but they've got to do something for it and they've got to be retooled for it to match where the economy is going in reality. >> my argument with apple is that the jobs that they're outsourcing to china in vast numbers, those very same jobs could be done in america. >> did you see -- >> and it costs them more money but where's the sense of national -- >> you've been talking about this. i watch your show. but i don't know if you saw, their biggest distributor is opening up plants here in the midwest. >> i did see that. >> and they're bringing all that business here. maybe they're listening to you. >> i like the howard schultz interview. the starbucks guy. who talks about moral capitalism. >> i agree. >> that has to be the way for america. doesn't it? >> i agree 100%. and you and i can't control that. so that's the next piece. it's really developing emotional strength or emotional fitness, psychological strength within our culture. if you looked at a generation that was around -- born in 1910, you know, somebody like the wizard of ucla over here, right? the greatest coach in history. he was born in 1910. when he was 19 years old, it was 1929. all of a sudden the stock market crashes. when he's 29, it's 1939. world war ii. that generation went through 20 years of winter, of unbelievably tough times that make what we're doing right now look easy. it made them strong. they're known as the great generation. we've been through a fall. and when i mean a fall i mean a rewards time, when you're reaping everything and it's so easy, when you got a house with no money down, where you could make money without having to work at it. we're now in winter and there are sunny days in the middle of the winter but we have to get stronger again -- >> i was watching on a flight today "down-tonabbey." i don't know if you've seen any of it. it's set in war time. and when you see all these young kids going off and be coming home, it really resonated with me. as somebody who never went through that. that actually things aren't so bad. this is not like living through the first or second world war. and it's funny, when i look at you, you are the kind of caricature -- i don't mean that in an insulting way. i mean in a positive way. of how people used to perceive americans. bursting with energy and positivity. one of the problems of what's going on right now is i think a lot of americans have lost that self-confidence and they need it back. >> i think they need confidence but they also need a strategy. confidence without a strategy is like doing a bunch of affirmations without any discipline. it's the beginning of delusion. you have to get the confidence but one thing is to get to you do some things that will make you confident rather than just a pump up. i'm not a believer -- i know many people see me in an audience and they see 10,000 people. that's because if you went to a rock concert or you were going to an nba final the level of energy's incredible because information without that emotion, you forget. you know exactly where you were 9/11, the moment you heard, where you were what was going on because there's so much emotion. 8/11 you have no idea where you were. so i believe we have to develop that emotional muscle again and we can do it culturally. it's been done where it's not the parents doing it. it's been done where we've changed our culture and we've used the media to do it. one example of that happened at harvard when they came up with designated driver. if you look at what they did, in four years instead of running ads they put it in the stories, i'm a designated driver. the biggest television shows in the world. and all of a sudden within four years 50% of the people were being driven home by a designated driver. we can shift our cultural values through the media. what we tend to do is focus on the latest and greatest challenge we see, whether it's a real challenge or not unfortunately in the media today. >> what's the last one of your five points? >> it's the health side. it's the human energy. five es. the human energy side. because if you look at the diseases that eat up all our time and enji and money and our health bills that we're looking at, the trillions of dollars we're looking at, they're really mostly lifestyle diseases. there's a man named david fineberg who runs ucla here, head of hospitals there and he turned the hospitals around from a place that 30% said it's a good place to go and now it's 90%, better than the four seasons. what he did was change the culture there but he saves lives. he's taught people -- 4 people out of 1,000 people that got an intravenous form of transfoougs would get ill and one of the four would die. now none do. sounds impossible. he just changed the system. so we can make behavioral changes culturally that would allow us to reduce those bills, provide more energy that could be implemented to your family and your life. i'm a big believer that the core of it is still energy. physical and emotional energy is the basis of changing anything. if exhausted you're not going to be a great relationship you're not -- >> on the question of physical and emotional energy you have actually broken into a sweat. >> i do. that's what i normally do. >> and i feel like i want to as well because you've been -- it's inspiring listening to you. >> thank you. >> it is. and it's substantial and it's important. and i'd love to talk to you again about this kind of thing. maybe with an audience. >> i'd love that. >> and get america going again. because it is a great country. >> it's an extraordinary country. >> there are lots of tony robbinses out there. >> it's not tony robbins. there are lots of people out there creating the future for us. we just have empower more of it and start to believe in our strengths and a little bit less of our weaknesses, work a little more on our strengths. >> tony, it's been a real pleasure. >> thank you for having me. >> thanks for coming in. tony robbins and "breakthrough with tony robbins" airs on mondays and "life class." monday night is tony robbins night on the own network with oprah. thanks for joining me. >> thanks for having me. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? 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i'll get it started. whoo! ♪ whoo! >> you can't have "seinfeld" without elaine. you can't have elaine without julia louis-dreyfus. and after nine seasons and an emmy she went on to star in watching ellie and the new adventures of old christine. now she's playing the vice president in hbo's new comedy political drama. i don't know what you call it. we'll come to that in a moment. it's called "veep." it looks terrific. and you join me now. >> i do. i'm joining you. how are you? >> i love the way you were laughing so uncomfortably at yourself dancing there. >> well, can you imagine if you were dancing that way? >> no. but it is how i dance. >> it is? >> pretty much, yeah. >> then we have to go out dancing. >> when you look back at "seinfeld," because it's such an iconic show. even we brits love "seinfeld." sought whole world loved this show. when you do something that huge -- >> yeah. >> -- what is life after "seinfeld" really like? do you just -- do you still look upon scenes like that with great affection or does it become this terrible curse, you wish you'd never been involved with? >> hardly. it was a complete blessing. i grimace because, you know, it's -- i'm making fun of myself doing that. so there's an element of being -- there's a feeling of some shame and humiliation watching that. but -- but i just feel very blessed to have had that experience. who knew that would have happened? >> when you first started -- >> "seinfeld"? >> yeah. >> i thought it would have been canceled. >> in that first moment when you first start making a show, at what moment do you start thinking, actually, this could be huge? >> i think i never really caught up to how big -- honestly, how big it was until right before we ended. >> really? >> i swear to you. i think for a couple of reasons. first of all, it did take a while for the show to become a big, big hit. it took four years, and then all of a sudden we were an overnight sensation. and in addition to that i was having my babies during this period of time. i have two boys who are not babies anymore. but still, i was -- i was very sort of going back and forth to work and mothering and work and mothering. i remember when we were shooting the final episode and they had to put up like screeners in front of the stage to keep people from looking in with telephoto lenses because everyone was dying to know who was going to be on the final episode. and i was so shocked that anybody gave a crap. >> didn't like 100 million people watch that episode? it was something ridiculous. >> i don't think it was 100 million people. >> it wasn't far off it. >> really? >> it was like a super bowl. yeah. the whole of america just stopped to watch it. >> really? do we have a fact checker here? >> hey, if i'm exaggerating, go with me. it's better for you. >> yeah, yeah, it was about 100 million. >> whatever it was, it was a ridiculous audience. >> yeah. it was a big audience. >> it's being clarified. 76 million. >> 76 million. >> i wasn't far off. >> so you got that. but wait a minute -- no, i have 95 million. that's what they're telling me. >> we really are splitting hairs here. you sound like you're very affectionate about it. do you still all hang out? do you have like little "seinfeld" reunions in some dinghy little bar in manhattan? >> oh, we get together on a daily basis. what are you talking about? >> do you ever meet? or did you all just go off? did the ships just pass out of the port and that's it? >> we do see each other on occasion. in fact, we got together i guess it was last year and we did the -- or the year before. i don't know. time's off for me. but anyway. we did the whole thing on "curb your enthusiasm" and we did the "seinfeld" reunion there. and that was pretty wild because that was like being in a time capsule going back in time, that we recreated the sets of "seinfeld" and stuff. it was very strange. and nostalgic. >> i mean, have you ever worked out in your head why it got so big? even though you weren't aware of it at the time. now you look back and you realize the phenomenon of "seinfeld." >> yeah. >> it reruns all the time. what is it about that show, do you think? >> well, i think it's a couple things. first of all, i think it's sort of lightning in a bottle. a lot of good fortune, everything kind of lined up. having said that, i mean, it was a singular vision. we were left alone to our own devices. people didn't get in our way. people meddling with the sort of, dare i say, artistry of the process. and it was good casting. and we made ourselves laugh doing it. and i think if you can have a very good time and genuinely enjoy what you're doing and believe in it truly, you know, you're not faking it at all, i think that comes through the material. >> elaine was very opinionated. >> yes. >> are you? i get the sense you are -- you're quite a little political activist. you like to have pretty strong views and opinions about your country, its politics. >> well, i mean, you know, i'm -- yes. the answer is yes. i mean, i'm opinionated. i'm not running for office myself. i mean, i'm -- norman lear once said -- he said that having -- celebrity is something that you spend. you can spend it down. and so i have on occasion sort of used my celebrity to share -- to put a shanie i shining light certain issues that i think need looking at. and a lot of them for me have been environmental. >> let's have a look at one of these. >> president obama said let us be the generation that ends the tyranny of oil. man, that was great. except i just checked and right now big oil is still pretty much running the show. but mr. president, you've got a fabulous chance to turn that around and make good on your word. >> yeah, that was me. >> strong words for the president. >> no, not so strong. very supportive, in fact. and fortunately for us, the president and the white house did the right thing on the keystone pipeline and didn't allow it to go forward. all of that aside, you know, i'm not an authority. i'm not an expert. i'm not a scientist. and i don't pretend to be. but like i say, i sort of use my celebrity to help. and also frankly as a citizen, you know, i like to be vocal and i vote and support certain candidates. >> will you be backing obama in november? >> are you kidding? 100%. 100%. >> you're not a mitt romney kind of girl. >> no. that's not my guy. >> let's come back after the break and talk about your new show, "veep," because you play a vice president. and although at first look there's a palinesque feel actually you couldn't be more different to her. >> correct. >> let's discuss why after the break. >> okay. what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ your finances can't manage themselves. but that doesn't mean they won't try. bring all your finances together with the help of the one person who can. a certified financial planner professional. cfp. let's make a plan. now their agenda's on steroids. >> he told the crowd at ohio state university that if mitt romney were elected he would rubber-stamp the republican congressional agenda. in an unusual move the beijing news appears to be backing off its criticism of blind activist cheng guangcheng after negative editorials prompted reader backlash. many feel the newspaper is a mouthpiece for the local communist party. earlier this week cheng had sought refuge in the u.s. embassy in beijing, saying he had been mistreated by chinese officials for years. and yesterday the u.s. and china came to the agreement that chen could apply for a passport to fur further his education in the united states. a former adviser to john edwards has testified that he repeatedly urged the then democratic presidential candidate to steer clear of his mistress and that edwards refused and told him to back off. prosecutors say edwards broke federal law by accepting money from wealthy donors to pay for rielle hunter's living and medical expenses. if he's convicted, edwards could face up to 30 years in prison. two bodies have been found in the disappearance of a tennessee mother and her three daughters. the bodies were found in mississippi. but police did not identify them. an amber alert was issued earlier fought three sisters, ages 14, 12, and 8. police believe they were abducted along with their mother by 35-year-old adam mayes, described as likely armed and dangerous. those are your headlines this hour. i'm don lemon. "piers morgan tonight" continues right after this. you need me to sponsor this bill. >> yes, i do. i do need you to do that. and i want to know what you need from me. what do you need? you need some non-earmark earmarks? do you need support during your re-election campaign? i just -- i just want to be photographed eating a hot dog or any other phallic food. oops. that was a mistake. >> julia louis-dreyfus playing the vice president on hbo's "veep." she's back with me now. it's very funny, this. i was watching it today. and there's another scene where you're the vice president and you get told the president's having heart murmurs and you can barely contain your glee because you're thinking i've got, it i've got it. and then you realize how awful this looks. it's dark but funny. >> yeah. thank you very much. >> it's a non-partisan show in the sense that you never declare your political allegiances, right? >> that's right. we never identify the party that she is in. you never see the president, as a matter of fact. the show is -- the way the politics and white house and capitol have been portrayed i think in the past very well is either sort of very nobly like "the west wing," which was a wonderful show of course, or sinister. and this is -- this is between the two. it's a show about political behavior. and it's sort of -- our show shows sort of the raw grittiness of life in politics. >> do you like the freedom that hbo gives you? because you're able to use profanity. there's some racy sex scenes. >> yeah. >> it's pretty full on, isn't it? >> it's [ bleep ] fantastic. oops. >> you can't say that on cnn. >> don't you have a bleeper here? >> yes, we're going to have to now. the whole dream dies. i had you down as this vestal virgin figure. >> oh, please. you don't know who you're talking to. you have no idea. >> it's hbo, though. it clearly is very liberating in that sense. >> absolutely liberating. it has been -- but not just because of the language. i have to say, there are very -- armando inuchi, who's a brit, and he's the genius creator behind this show and the director, he has a very specific way of working. and this is hbo being supportive of the process. so there's a respect there for the artist and what you're creating. >> inevitably, because you're playing a female vice president, there will be comparisons to sarah palin. she's the only one who was even remotely near that role. did you have more or less sympathy for her by the end of your process? just on what it takes to be a vice president. >> i have -- i have more sympathy for all women in government. i think that being a woman in a position of power is tricky and -- but important. and crucial, actually. and i think the more women we have in power the better off our country will be. that's for sure. >> the more sarah palins? >> no, not the more sarah palins in my opinion but certainly -- >> just clarifying what you meant. >> yeah, i'm glad you did that. because if not we could have had a problem. >> a headline, julia calls for 100 more sarah palins. >> no, i'd like 100 more female democrats. that's what i'd like. but it is -- it's hard to be a political person. male or female, by the way. >> you're in a profession where women have become increasingly dominant in many ways. do you sense the proper equality in america now or anything near it? >> you mean in politics? >> no, i mean just generally. for women in america right now. >> well, it's interesting because all of these issues are -- transvaginal probes and -- >> how did we get to transvaginal probes? >> well, we're talking about women in power. >> wow! that's one of the most alarming segues i've ever had. transvaginal probes? >> and yet you're rapt, aren't you? >> i had a call for -- >> and i answered. >> i know where you're going with that. tell me. >> what i mean is i'm hoping that -- here's what i mean. >> you mean as long as we have states in this country and governors that approve that kind of thing for women there is no real equality? >> yeah, absolutely. >> because men would never have to be ordered by a state to do that purely for reasons connected to birth control. >> exactly. >> that's the sort of politer way of putting it. >> good, good. you handled that very well. >> what is your feeling about the whole republican debate about all these social issues? it seemed to me it was a very strange way of trying to win a female vote. and you can see romney's numbers going down with women because hang on, this is our lives you're talking about. >> yeah. well, it didn't work for him. it hasn't worked. so it will be interesting to see how they try and shift it back around. because they will. >> are you expecting some sharp flip-flopping? >> i know. i've seen it. i'm seeing it. and i will see it. >> what do you make of your country right now generally? >> i love it. i don't know. i don't know what that country means. >> i suppose what i mean is we have a regular segment called "keeping america great." and the reason i chose that particular phrase is because it's more positive than saying everything's going to hell in a handcart. in your perspective as a successful businesswoman, actress and so on, you've had your finger in many pies in this country. but what do you think is the problem? what is the solution for america? >> i have no idea. >> yes, you do. >> no, i don't. >> you've thought about this. both of your kids. what america do you want for them? how are we going to get there? >> for my children i want my children to be active. i want them to be -- i mean, i'm going to -- just -- i want them to vote. i want them to be active. i want them to give back. i want them to be kind and compassionate. what else? >> that's good. >> yeah. >> are enough americans pursuing that line of ambition, do you i? good old-fashioned american values. >> how about the whole world? how about the idea of compassion and kindness across the board? see, this is why i'm not running for office -- >> no, i love this. >> you do? >> you should be running for office. >> all right. i'm going to run. i'm announcing my run for -- >> this is fantastic. >> this is it. it's happening right now. spur of the moment. and i'm running for office. >> wow. >> what office do you think you should run for? >> i would go on the anti-transvaginal probe ticket. and on that bombshell let's have a break. >> oh, [ bleep ] me. oh, no. good luck getting all that. 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>> well, first of all, we're separating. no, i'm kidding. i think i got lucky and i chose the right guy, for starters. >> how did you know he was the right guy? >> here's the deal. i realized early on, and i was so sure of it, that i knew if i told anybody they would tell me i was crazy. so i kept it to myself. >> that's fascinating. >> i thought he was so -- yeah, i just knew. i thought oh, my god, that's him. okay, i can't tell anyone. >> do you feel lucky? >> i do feel lucky. i am lucky. he's much luckier than i am. >> do you make each other laugh? >> oh, yeah. >> who makes the other one laugh more? who is funnier? there is an snl battle every day, isn't it? >> new york it's not an snl battle. but who's funnier? i don't know how to answer that. he's just a good companion, i think. it's nice to go through life together. >> i like this story. >> it would be unbelievable if three weeks after this airs that -- never mind. >> are you seriously about to split up? >> no, i'm kidding. i adore him. >> i'm going to look so stupid. >> that's what i mean. >> it's been a real pleasure. >> thank you so much. >> i think it's going to be a big hit. >> i hope you're right. >> hbo, tune in. >> i appreciate it. >> nice to meet you. >> thank you. nice to meet you, too. ♪ [ man ] when i went to get my first new car, my dad said to get a subaru because they last. ♪ he drives a legacy, but i'm nothing like him. i got the new impreza. maybe i should have picked a different color... 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