Keller @ Large: Some Still Don't Have A Clue About Putin

BOSTON (CBS) - Here is today's good news/bad news story.

It comes from a new Gallup poll assessing Americans' views of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.

The good news is, 72-percent of us have an unfavorable view of Putin, who is one of the world's worst human rights offenders.

The bad news is, the 22-percent who inexplicably take a favorable view of Putin is a nine-percent increase over two years ago, and includes an appalling 20-percent jump in approval among Republicans.

If you are one of those people who have changed your mind about Putin, I have a question for you: exactly what is it about him that you suddenly find more appealing?

Let's go to the most recent report on Russia under Putin from Human Rights Watch:

"The Kremlin's crackdown on civil society, media, and the Internet took a more sinister turn in 2015 as the government further intensified harassment and persecution of independent critics. For the fourth year in a row, parliament adopted laws and authorities engaged in repressive practices that increasingly isolated the country. Against the backdrop of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and sanctions against Russia over Crimea, anti-Western hysteria has been at its peak since the end of the Cold War."

An authoritarian kleptocracy where human rights are routinely trampled, headed by a warmonger who has invaded a sovereign neighbor and aggressively meddles with other countries, including our own. Add in Neanderthal policies toward the disabled and gay people and you have a poster boy for evil in the modern world.

The good news: most of us get it.

The bad news: a growing number of us haven't a clue.

Listen to Jon's commentary: