Obama And The Presidency Video

Obama And The Presidency Video Transcript

>> Since Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States 12 days ago, he's largely remained out of sight getting high-level government briefings and conferring with this transition team. But he surfaced on Friday afternoon in Chicago along with his wife Michelle to give us his first post election interview. It covers a wide range of subjects including the economy, the ailing automobile industry, the government's 700 billion dollar bailout program, their visit to the White House, the emotions of election night, and the quest for a family dog. You'll hear all of it. But we begin with the president elect and his thoughts about the new job.

>> So, here we are.

>> Here we are.

>> How's your life changed in the last 10 days?

>> Well, I tell you what. There seem to be more people hovering around me. That's for sure. On the other hand, I'm sleeping in my own bed over the last 10 days which is quite a treat. Michelle always wakes up earlier than I do. So, listen to her roaming around and had the girls come in and jump in your bed. It's a great feeling.

>> Hmm.

>> Yeah.

>> So it's been easier than the campaign trip?

>> Well, it's different. I think that during the campaign it is just a constant frenetic forward momentum. Here, I'm stationary but the issues come to you. And we've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of problems, a lot of big challenges.

>> Have there been moments when you said where did I get myself into?

>> Yeah. Surprisingly enough I feel right now that I'm doing what I should be doing. That gives me a certain sense of call. I will say that the challenges that were confronting are enormous and they're multiple. So there are times during the course of a given day where you think, where do I start?

>> What have you been concentrating on this week?

>> A couple of things. Number 1, I think it's important to get a national security team in place because transition periods are potentially times of vulnerability to terrorist attack. We wanna makes sure that there is as seamless a transition on national security as possible. Obviously, the economy, talking to top economic advisers about how we're gonna create jobs, how we get the economy back on track, and what do we do in terms of some long term issues like energy and healthcare, and how do we sequence those things in a way that we can actually get things to Congress.

>> Are you in sync with Secretary Paulson in terms of how the 700 billion dollars is being used?

>> Well, look, Hank Paulson has worked tirelessly under some very difficult circumstances. We've got an unprecedented crisis or at least something that we have not seen since the great depression. And I think Hank would be the first one to acknowledge that probably not everything that's been done has worked the way he had hoped it would work, but I'm less interested in looking backwards than I am in looking forwards.

>> The government has spent almost 300 billion dollars out of the TARP program or money that was set aside to help the financial industry. And nothing much has changed if you look at it. Nothing much has changed. It's 300 billion dollars, why is that?

>> I think that part of the way to think about it is things could be worse. I mean we could have seen a lot more banks failures over the last several months. We could have seen even more rapid deterioration of the economy, even a bigger drop in the stock market. So part of what we have to measure against is what didn't happen, not just what has happened. Having said that, there's no doubt that we have not been able yet to reset the confidence in the financial markets and in the consumer markets and among businesses that allow the economy to move forward in a strong way, and my job as president is gonna be to make sure that we restore that confidence.

>> Once you become president, are there things that you'll change?

>> Well, I think we still have to see how this thing unfolds over the next couple of months. One area that I'm concern about and I've said this publicly is we have not focused on foreclosures and what's happening to homeowners as much as I would like. We have the tools to do it. We got to set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. That is gonna have an impact on the economy as a whole and one thing I'm determined is that if we don't have a clear focused program for homeowners by the take I take office, we will after I take office.

>> Are you being consulted, Secretary Paulson is telling you what's going on?

>> You know what we've done is we've assigned somebody on my transition team who interacts with them on a daily basis and we are getting the information that's required and we're making suggestions in some circumstances about how we think they might approach some of these problems.

>> Are they listening?

>> Well, we'll find out.

>> People are comparing this to 1932.

>> Right.

>> Is that a valid comparison do you think?

>> Well, keep in mind that 1932, 1933, the unemployment rate was 25 percent inching up to 30 percent. You had a third of the country that was ill-housed, ill-clothed, unemployed. We're not going through something comparable to that but I would say that this is as bad as we've seen since then and if we don't take some significant steps, then it could get worse.

>> You have a situation right now where you have General Motors which is in dire straits may run out of cash by the end of the year maybe by the end of or certainly, if we believe what we read in the papers by the time you take office.

>> Right. Well let's see how this thing plays itself up. For the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster in this kind of environment not just for individual families but the repercussions across the economy would be dire. So it's my belief that we need to provide assistance to the auto industry but I think that it can't be a blank check. So my hope is is that over the course of the next week between the White House and Congress, the discussions are shaped around providing assistance but making sure that that assistance is conditioned on labor, management, suppliers, lenders, all the stake holders coming together where they plan what does a sustainable US auto industry look like so that we are creating a bridge along to somewhere as opposed to a bridge along to nowhere and that's I think what you haven't yet seen that something that I think we're gonna have to come up with.

>> Are there a lot of people that think that the country would probably be better off and General Motors might be better off if it was allowed to go into bankruptcy?

>> Well, under normal circumstances that might be the case in the sense that you'd go through a restructuring like the Aero Lines had to do in some cases then they come out and there are still a viable operation and they're operating even during the course of bankruptcy. In this situation you could see the spigot completely shut off so that it would not potentially permit GM to get back on his feet and I think that what we have to do is to recognize that these are extraordinary circumstances. Banks aren't lending as it is. They're not even lending to businesses that are doing well, much less businesses that are doing poorly. And in that circumstance the usual options may not be available.

>> When the price of oil was at 147 dollars a barrel there were a lot of spirited and profitable discussions that were held on energy independence. Now you got the price of oil under 60 dollars.

>> Right.

>> Does doing something about energy is of less important now?

>> It's more important. It maybe a little harder politically but it's more important.

>> Why?

>> Well, because this has been our pattern as we go from shock to trans, oil prices go up, gas prices, the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity and then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it's not important and we start filling up our SUVs again and as a consequence we never make any progress. That's part of the addiction that has to be broken. Now is the time to break it.

>> Where is all the money going to come from to do all of these things and is there a point where just going to the treasury department and earning more of it ceases to be an option?

>> Look, I think what's interesting about the time that we're in right now is that you actually have a consensus among conservative, republican, leaning economists and liberal left leaning economists. And the consensus is this that we have to do whatever it takes to get this economy moving again, that we're gonna have to spend money now to stimulate the economy and that we shouldn't worry about the deficit next year or even the year after. That short term, the most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession.

>> How high a priority are you placing on re-regulations of the financial market?

>> I think it's a top priority. I think that we have to restore a sense of trust, transparency, openness in our financial system. And keep in mind that the deregulation process, it wasn't just one party. I think there's a lot to blame to spread around but hopefully everybody has learned a lesson and the answer is not heavy-handed regulations that crush the entrepreneurial spirit and risk taking of American capitalism. That's what's made our economy great, but it is to restore a sense of balance.

>> His first legislative goal will be to get Congress to pass an economic stimulus package that he hopes will create jobs and put money in the pockets of ordinary citizens, construction programs to shore up the nation's creaky infrastructure, a tax cut for the middle class, and his first initiatives on health care. But some things he can do with a stroke of a pen.

>> There are a number of different things that you could do early pertaining to executive orders.

>> Right.

>> One of them is to shut down Guantanamo Bay. Another is to change interrogation methods that are used by US troops. Are those things that you plan to take early action on?

>> Yes. I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture and I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world.

>> Can you give us some sense of when you might start redeployments out of Iraq?

>> Well, I've said during the campaign and I stick to this commitment that as soon as I take office I will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security apparatus, and we will start executing a plan that draws down our troops particularly in light of the promise that we're having in Afghanistan which has continued to worsen. We've got to shore up those efforts.

>> Where does capturing or killing Osama bin Laden fall?

>> I think it is a top priority for us to stump out Al Qaeda once and for all and I think capturing or killing bin Laden is a critical aspect of stumping out Al Qaeda. He is not just a symbol. He is also the operational leader of an organization that is planning attacks against US targets.

>> How close are you to settling on a cabinet?

>> Well, I think that I've got a pretty good idea of what I'd like to see but it takes some time to work those things through.

>> When do you gonna make your first announcements?

>> Soon.

>> Next week?

>> Soon.

>> You met with Senator Clinton this week?

>> I did.

>> Is she on the short list for a cabinet position?

>> She is somebody who I needed advice and counsel from. She is one of the most thoughtful public officials that we have. Beyond that you're not getting anything out of me, Steve.

>> Will there be republicans in the cabinet?

>> Yes.

>> More than one?

>> You're not getting more out of me.

>> You spoken to some former presidents.

>> I have.

>> Any advice, any good advice they gave you?

>> They were all incredibly gracious but I think that all of them recognized that there's a certain loneliness to the job that you'll get advice and you'll get counsel. Ultimately, you're the person who is gonna be making decisions and I think that even now you can already feel that fact.

>> What are you reading right now?

>> Briefing papers.

>> A lot of briefing papers?

>> Yeah. I've been spending a lot of time reading Lincoln. There's a wisdom there and a humility about his approach to government even before he was president that I just find very helpful.

>> Put a lot of his political enemies in his cabinet.

>> He did.

>> Is that something you're considering?

>> Well, I tell you what, I find him a very wise man.

>> Have you been reading anything about the depression, anything about FDR?

>> You know I have actually. That was--there is a new book out about FDR's first hundred days and what you see in FDR that I hope my team can emulate is not always getting it right but projecting a sense of confidence and a willingness to try things and experiment in order to get people working again. And I think that that's what the American people expect. They are not expecting miracles. I think if you talk to the average person right now that they would say, look, we're having a tough time right now. We've had tough times before. And we don't expect a new president can snap his fingers and suddenly everything is gonna be okay. But what we do expect is that the guy is gonna be straight with us. We do expect that he is gonna be working really hard for us. We do expect that he is gonna be thinking about ordinary Americans and not just the wealthy and the powerful. And we do expect that if something doesn't work that they're gonna try something else until they find something that does. And that's the kind of comments and approach that I wanna take when I take office.

>> There's been talk on Capitol Hill and a number of democratic congressmen have proposed programs that are part of sort of a new, new deal, the possibility of reviving agencies like the home ownership loan corporation.

>> Right, two points I'd make on this. Number 1, although there are some parallels to the problems that we're seeing now and what we saw back in the '30s. No period is exactly the same and for us to simply recreate what existed back in the '30s in the 21st century I think would be missing the boat. We gotta come up with solutions that are true to our times and true to this moment and that's gonna be our job. I think the basic principle that government has as role to play in kick starting economy that has ground to a halt is sound. I think our basic principle that this is a free market system and that that has worked for us, that it creates innovation and risk taking, I think that's a principle that we've gotta hold to as well. But what I don't wanna do is get bottled up in a lot of ideology and is this conservative or liberal. My interest is finding something that works. And whether it's coming from FDR or it's coming from Ronal Reagan if the idea is right for the times then we're gonna apply it and things that don't work, we're gonna get rid of.

>> Are you gonna make a lot of speeches? Are you gonna talk a lot to the American people? Gonna go on television and radio?

>> I'm not sure that the American people are looking for a lot of speeches. I think what they're looking for is action. But one of the things that I do think is important is to be able to explain to the American people what you're doing and why you're doing it. That is something that I think every great president has been able to do from FDR to Lincoln to John Kennedy to Eisenhower. I mean I think that they were people who were able to say, here's the direction we're going. Here's why I think it's important. Here are the possible dangers or challenges but ultimately, this is gonna leave us to a better America. And I wanna make sure that I can recreate a bond of trust between the presidency and the public that I think has been lost.

>> The president elect and Mrs. Obama have already been on a tour of their home. And when we come back they talk about the challenges and the excitement of moving into the most famous address in the world. ^M00:18:17 [ Clock ticking ]