On Wednesday, while discussing Forbes magazine releasing its 2015 Most Powerful list, the hosts of CBS This Morning were perplexed by Russian president Vladimir Putin beating out President Obama for the top spot, with Obama only being number three on the list. Charlie Rose pressed Forbes assistant managing editor Luisa Kroll: “Make the case as to why Vladimir Putin is more powerful than President Obama.”

Kroll explained: “I think a lot has to do with how he exercises his power and his influence. Whether it’s in Crimea or in the Ukraine, he’s not afraid to go out and exercise his power. He has no checks and balances.” Rose interjected: “So it's not a question of being more powerful, he’s simply using it.”

Kroll pointed out: “Yes, and that’s one of the factors, how actively you use your power.”

Moments later, fellow co-host Gayle King fretted: “But the President of the United States wasn’t even in the number two position. You would think, in America – ” Kroll responded:

No, that’s the first time since we’ve been doing the list that he actually falls, that any U.S. President falls out of the top two spots. Again, I think it has a lot to do with the fact this is going to be his last year in office. He’s a little bit more hamstrung, both domestically and internationally. And that’s just a nod to his decreasing power at this time.

Co-host Norah O’Donnell still couldn’t wrap her mind around Obama not being the most powerful on the international stage: “I was stunned by that because the U.S. economy is five times larger than the Russian economy, we spend ten times more on the military than the Russians do. So how do you define power for this issue?”

Kroll noted: “Well, again, it's money, it's the use of power, it's the spheres of influence, and it's the number of people....I think it's not that we’re saying the U.S. isn't powerful, it is definitely still the most powerful country, but in terms of the number one person in the way that Putin exerts his influence.”

Other than Kroll’s brief reference to Russia seizing territory in Ukraine, there was no mention of Obama’s string of foreign policy failures.

Here is a full transcript of the November 4 segment: