Interview with President Obama: The full transcript

(CBS News) 

On Friday, December 9, 2011, 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft interviewed President Barack Obama in the Cabinet Room of the White House. The President discussed both his accomplishments and the challenges he faces as he begins his quest for reelection. Below is a transcript of that interview. The video of this interview is also available on this website.

STEVE KROFT: The speech on Tuesday in Kansas sounded very much like a campaign speech. What were you trying to get across?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Our economy is in a transition of the sort that America's gone through maybe every 70-75 years. We went from an agriculture economy to an information, to an industrial economy during Teddy Roosevelt's period. We've now gone from an industrial to a knowledge-based, innovation society. And, you know, there are a lot of disruptions.

And the middle class in America has really taken it on the chin, during this period. They haven't seen their wages go up, they haven't seen their incomes go up. You know, women went into the workforce to try to keep family incomes up. But then that wasn't enough; they ended up getting into debt. And they're not seeing enough prospects for a future where their kids are gonna do better than they are.

Now the good news is, we can solve these problems and meet these challenges, because America, by definition, is an innovation society. We constantly remake ourselves. So there's no reason why we should not succeed in this era, just like we've succeeded in past eras. But it requires us to make some adjustments. And it requires everybody to have a fair chance, everybody to do their fair share, and rules of the road that create fair play for everybody.

And what people have been frustrated about, especially since the financial crisis, is the sense that the rules are rigged against middle-class families and those aspiring to get in the middle class. So, if we're willing to make investments in education so that everybody gets a fair chance and kids aren't coming out with $100,000 worth of debt to go to college.

If we make sure that everybody's doing their fair share, to pay for things like infrastructure improvements in basic science and research and advanced manufacturing and innovation, we ask those who've benefited the most over the last three decades, we ask them to do a little bit more. And if we've got tough rules of the road -- like the financial reform package that we passed into law last year -- there's no reason why over the next five, ten years, we cannot reposition ourselves so that every single American, no matter what they look like, no matter where they come from, they can succeed. And that's my goal as President. That's what I think about every day. And that's what led me to run for president in the first place.

KROFT: Since the midterm elections, you've made an effort at bipartisanship. It hasn't worked out that way. In Kansas, you didn't mention it. And it seems to me, it appears, watching you the last month or so, that you have stopped reaching out to Republicans. That you're going on the offensive... and taking your message to the voters.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I think that when I came into office in 2008, it was my firm belief that at such an important moment in our history, there was no reason why Democrats and Republicans couldn't put some of the old ideological baggage aside and focus on common sense, what works, practical solutions to the tough problems we were facing. And I think the Republicans made a different calculation, which was, "You know what? We really screwed up the economy. Obama seems popular. Our best bet is to stand on the sidelines, because we think the economy's gonna get worse, and at some point, just blame him."

And so we haven't gotten the kind of engagement from them that I would have liked. And the best example of this was when we were negotiating around reducing the deficit. The truth is that, compared to other countries around the world, our deficit problems are completely manageable. If we had a balanced package that reforms some of our health care programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, that cuts discretionary spending, which I've already agreed to do - and we've cut a trillion dollars' worth of spending so far, and I'm willing to do more. And I've put forward specific plans to do more.

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[NancyLou9]

I think I'm a little confused: what country is Obama talking about?

Where is unemployment at 8.5%? Where is it the economy has improved over the last two years? Where is it Obamacare is saving people's lives when it hasn't even really kicked in yet? How is it he has reduced spending when we all know he's tripled the national debt and spent more than the rest of our presidents combined?

Please forgive my confusion because I DO pay attention to the news and read everything I can get my hands on as it relates to this country, the economy, unemployment and our political leaders. I haven't read any of this at all in the last three years so...

What country is Obama actually talking about?

[Markh1248]

Interesting comment by our "fearless leader"... It is my job to put forward a vision of the country that benefits the vast majority of Americans. So his vision is not for the benefit of ALL Americans I see...

And here I thought his job was to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic! Stupid me...

[radgirl1]

Do you think that Bush's Christianity benefited all Americans? Do you think his anti-abortion stance was for the benefit of all Americans? Or his anti-stem cell stance benefits all Americans? Do you think the Iraq War benefitted all Americans? Do you think that Bush's inaction during Katrina was for the benefit of all Americans. Those are not visions of my America.

[jaybeeen]

Obama simply does not have leadership ability. He confuses 'compromise' with 'capitulation'. Kroft touched on this, but it was dismissed by the President. Obama punted the public option on healthcare reform, meaning that our nation's health will continue to be driven by profits, not doctors. Obama REALLY messed up on not allowing the GWBush tax cuts to expire. He completely capitulated to the Republicans. All he had to do was simply state that the tax cuts are done. Congress could not have overridden a veto - the votes weren't there. Our deficit problem would have been partially solved and our financial situation better. Ironically, now he seeks Republican cooperation with increasing taxes on the rich, is befuddled when the Republicans are obstructionist, even though he frittered away the opportunity by extending the tax cuts. His cluelessness is certainly frustrating.

It is nice that he seems to be finally 'taking the bull by the horns' and implementing change by bypassing Congress. I just wonder what took him so gosh darn long - he was repeatedly beaten bloody politically before finally coming around. Not a quick study in the political arena. To their credit, the Republicans have been candid - it is more important to oppose Obama than it is to help the American people. They have repeatedly demonstrated this fundamental precept. What took the President so long to realize that bipartisanship is simply impossible? Again, frustrating. We've wasted time - could have been making things better, instead we just drift.

We get the govenment we elect. Obama certainly suffers from his lack of leadership and political incapacitance, to be sure. He also suffers from backlash from a largely racist opposition party - best demonstrated by booing the First Lady at a NASCAR event. Has a First Lady ever been booed? There are a lot of people who simply lack the mental capacity and should, for the good of the nation, not vote. The poster who mentioned "200 million dollar a day trip to India" is a prime example of someone who should do the patriotic thing and not vote. Same for the racists.

I have no intention of voting for Obama in 2012 for the points mentioned above, and the numerous other examples of his incompetence I did not include. But, seriously, is this Republican field 'the best you got?'. I suspect Obama will be re-elected. Another four years of rudderless, directionless, 'leadership' will not be good for our nation, but as the President did state, the comparison to the Republican opponent will be stark, and a majority of Americans will go with 'the devil they know'.

Where are the visionaries and statesmen (stateswomen) in our nation?

[McJen50]

"It is nice that he seems to be finally 'taking the bull by the horns' and implementing change by bypassing Congress." Yes indeedy - just what we need, a dictator. Congress was established for a reason. Hopefully you are familiar with the term "checks and balances". What you don't seem to understand is that Republicans ARE trying to look out for the country. Our debt is becoming crushing and Barry's response seems to be SPEND MORE and that will fix everything. Regulate EVERYTHING. Free stuff for everyone! Republicans are trying to stop the runaway and out-of-control spending. You consider the "obstructionism" to be a bad thing but I view it as an attempt to keep the ship from sinking. As for racism, Republicans don't care what color he is - the only people that have to separate everyone into a group of some sort are liberals. MLK said that he hoped his children would be viewed by the content of their character and not their color. Barry thinks we should move to a more socialistic European style of government but we can see how that is working out. That is not the form of government that our Founding Fathers established.

[witzer22]

Hats off to Steve Kroft and his tough questioning and also to President Obama for answering them so inteligently. It's a breath of fresh air to listen to a President with brilliant ideas compared to the dullard that occupied the White House before him. America, think twice before making another terrible mistake like the one twice made with George Bush. His policies have driven this great nation into the ground. Thank God for the courage and strength of Barak Obama in standing up to those who want to continue Bush's policies.

[McJen50]

Should have had a bigger stimulus? Why, so it could have been an even bigger failure? You are seriously deluded. Brilliant ideas? Bush overspent but he looks like a piker when compared to what Barry has done. You do realize how much he has increased the national debt? You do realize that our foreign policy stinks? You do realize that our allies are very wary of us and our enemies think we are a joke? I really pity you, you seem to have no sense of what's going on.

[1olderbutwiser1]

I would like to see Obama's response as to how he has squandered our wealth all over the world, his 200 million dollar a day trip to India, the unfettered printing by the federal reserve of an unbacked-by-gold currency, and his future possible responses about inflation, after a soon coming deflation where even more is transferred to the 1%...this man can deceive even better than Newt or Romney. All three are only "progressives" who will "move us forward" to the precipice, and have us go over the cliff at full throttle. A four trillion reduction, yes......a four trillion reduction from a proposed initial increase of almost nine trillion..Typical lying government double-speak. Throw him out. We should have as a voting option,,"none of the above". In all elections. It would save a bundle.

[parthree]

If you read the transcript, it is quite different from what was shown on TV. The video was heavily edited. Obama makes so much more sense than the Republicans.

[Sueindecatur]

This president came into office facing the biggest economic mess since the great depression. Thats not blame its just fact. We had a GDP of -9, NEGATIVE.NINE. (more than double the prob of the 80's) a debt of $10.5 Trillion, interest rates already near zero & were losing 800,000 jobs per month,& our economy had lost $10 Trillion in wealth. Our eocmony which is 70% consumer spending had been running on the rising housing values that funded both our spending with home equity loans & refi's w/cash back & replaced our savings & to top it off -- many jobs were generated by the booming housing market. In addition he faced too wars. In my humble opinion the man has done and AMAZINGLY good job of stablizing the economy & put in place a HC law that in 2014 will give the average working joe a HC safety net we've never ever had before. Thank you thank you President Obama - job well done.

[witzer22]

You are right sir. People have such short memories. They forget how bad things were when Obama took office. If not they would never say that things are worse now than 3 years ago. Major corporations and entire industries were on the verge of collapse and Obama's policies saved them. Health care reform got passed even with the GOP amending it and then trying to destroy it with a pack of lies. The stock market was as low as 6500 represented by the DOW and look at it now. It's amazing that things are as good as they are today considering the GOP's attempt at sabotaging it at every turn. They took a vow to destroy Obama's Presidency even if it meant trying their hardest to keep the economy sluggish moving into the 2012 elections. At a time that America needed the two parties to work together to avoid another great depression, the Republicans decided to be obstructionist, their only goal being to destroy a Presidency at the expense of the economy. From the first day of Obama's taking office it was their goal to shift the blame for the worst economy since the great depression from the Bush administration, where it belongs, to Obama. If you want to see dramatic improvement in the economy and a system that actually helps the middle claass and the poor then vote the obstructionist Republican Congress members out of office.

[GEMTAM]

Are you serious? How can anyone think Steve Kroft was too hard on the President. Apparently you think he should have let the President spin everything from his perspective without challenging anything. That would not constitute an interview. In fact he let the President off the hook on almost every occasion.

Here's a few facts that should have been discussed and challenged. The President said he would usher in a new kind of politics and that he was going to be a uniter. Shortly after he got elected he was unwilling to compromise on Obamacare and told the Republicans "elections have consequences". A kind way of saying I am going to drive this car my way (So much for being a uniter). He also complained that he has a do nothing congress. That is an excuse, he has had Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate in 2 of his first 3 years. The problem was that he did not have his priorities in line. Instead of focusing all of his attention on Obamacare, he should have been focused on the economy.

He also said that by the end of his first term he would cut the deficit in half. Instead of the deficit being cut in half from $10 trillion to 5 Trillion he has added $5 Trillion. We now have a $15 Trillion deficit.

He also said that if he could not turn around the economy and get the country in a sound position by the end of his first term he should not be re-elected. Now he is saying that he needs four more years and that it may even take the next president after his 4 additional years to turn things around.

He says he has a do nothing Congress, what he really has is a prudent Congress who are concerned about how to best use the taxes of the American people. This congress is determined to remove the checkbook from the President before we are totally bankrupt.

He wants to tax the rich so that he will have more money to spend on failed policies. I have heard many rich people say that they would not mind paying more taxes if they could be promised that the extra taxes would go directly to the deficit, but the President will not make that promise. He has had his turn in the batters box and struck out. Now lets give someone else a chance.

Had Steve Croft challenged him on his own statement that I refer to above, he would have done his job as a real reporter.

[Sueindecatur]

he did focus on the economy 1st with the Recovery act which most economists agree stopped the bleeding & changed the trajectory. It was only common sense to do that & wait to see if we needed additonal stimulus especially since when he took office we already had a debt of $10.5 Trillion. Also some of those promises were made not under the assumption he would take office in the midst of an economic collapse 2nd only to the great depression. I would assume people would be intellgent & honest enough to realize that....

[MalcolmX2Pac]

The problem is 'conventional wisdom' is wrong. The truth is not somewhere in between. The truth is outside of anything anyone in Washington can comprehend. American democracy is not broken. Its working just fine for the people its supposed to work for. The very concept of our system of government is amoral just like business are amoral. A business has one common goal and that's to maximize profit. American democracy is built to insure that these companies maximize profit and they are being relatively successful for the companies that can afford to invest in their interest through capitol hill. People like Gingrich are here to convince people who would otherwise not accept this system to do just that. In the process they've convinced democrats the supposed good guys that its unconscionable and radical to not just speak out against it but to do something about it. Nobody will be that guy to change the system because some people wont like that very much and they'll do radical and unconscionable things to protect it.

[tenbender]

Why not ask the hard questions ? After all this was not a campaign vidio was it ?