Transcript: President Barack Obama, Part 1

KROFT: Look, the Republicans aren't interested in spending a trillion dollars on infrastructure right now. They don't want stimulus programs.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you know, again, historically, rebuilding our infrastructure is something that has garnered Democratic and Republican support. I want to have a conversation with them and see if that's still the case. What I just mentioned in terms of providing tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States. That's not a traditional liberal position. That's a traditional Republican position. That's a Chamber of Commerce position.

KROFT: It is a Chamber of Commerce position. Why haven't they been able to persuade the Republicans that it's a good idea?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you know my hope is that now that the election's over. That there's gonna be more openness to taking those kinds of steps. The fact is that in the six months leading up to the election, I think whatever proposals we put forward were not gonna get a serious hearing. Because it didn't serve short term political purposes.

One thing that I'm absolutely convinced of is the message the American people were not sending in this election was, "We want to continue two years of bickering. We want to re-litigate the past two years." I think what they want to do is start acting like adults. Come together responsibly. And let's move the country forward.

KROFT: You talked about jobs. Where are these jobs gonna come from? What kind of jobs? There are people out there that haven't worked in two years that are worried that they're never gonna be able to get a job.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, let's take the example of infrastructure. One of the hardest hit sectors is the construction industry. Because there are a lot of folks, particularly men, who are skilled tradesman. Who have been laid off from manufacturing plants that had closed. Went into the construction industry and the housing industry. Now, that is collapsed. And these guys are sitting around with skills, eager to work. Don't have a chance to work.

It would be natural for them to go back to work in constructing roads, bridges, airports. That's an example of us being able to absorb a workforce that needs help, is highly skilled, and ready to go. You know, we know that in the health care sector, there's gonna need to be a lot of a growing workforce. Because the population's gettin' older. And they're gonna need more health care.

We still, in this country, have a shortage of nurses. Despite the fact that there's really high unemployment. Partly because it's hard to get a nursing degree. There aren't enough slots out there. Nursing professors are paid so badly that a lot of schools can't hold on to nurses. So, for us to go in and say, "Let's make sure that young people can get the training for jobs that we know exist, make sure that they can finance their educations, make sure that people who are looking for second careers can potentially get the training that they need, even while they're working part time."

Those are all gonna be critical. And that's part of the reason why over the last two years, we've made a huge investment in community colleges. We've made an investment in, you know, a student loan system that works better for people. Because you're right, some of these jobs aren't gonna be comin' back.

Now, the third category is in new industries. And we've put a lot of emphasis on clean energy as an example. We used to . . .

KROFT: And has it produced any jobs?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Absolutely it's produced jobs. And I'll give you a specific example. In advanced batteries that go into electric cars. We used to have two percent of the market. We're now on pace, because of the investments that we made, to see us have as much as 40 percent of the market by 2015. So, in five years we went from two percent of the world mark potentially to 40 percent of the world market. And those jobs are in places like Michigan and Ohio that had been really hard hit by the exodus of manufacturing jobs.

You're seeing some of these jobs start coming back. So, it's gonna be a mix of things that brings job growth back to the country. The one thing that we can't do, though, is to dis-invest in things like education. Or clean energy. Because our thinking is that we just need to retrench. I mean, we've got to distinguish between things that are wastes of money -- that don't give us a big return. And so, in terms of how we run our government, we've got to identify wasteful spending. And programs that no longer work. But we've gotta keep on investing in those things that are gonna create a better future for the country.

Click here for part 2 of the transcript.

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[JimM1960]

When the president was asked whether the recent election (where the Republicans took control of the House) was a response to him, he denied it blaming the economy. If he really believes this then we are in trouble. He is simply not listening to what the citizens of this country wants. Is he naive, or narcissistic? How long does he believe he can use charisma over substance.

[aocooke]

I find it very unfortunate that education doesn?t even show up in this interview, not even in discussions about infrastructure. The government continually parades out their support for education and then forgets it when the time to commit funds is here. I you want to create jobs through building programs what is always so wrong with building schools. Rural schools have been especially hard pressed since their local tax base has been deflated for so long they haven?t been able to keep up. In the West many of these are due to the fact that the federal government is the largest property owner in the district and can?t be taxed.

[Joutue]

By jontue November 9,2010 at 3:21 AM


Obama should of cut out the waste of the space program, which wasted billions of dollars, that could of help our students in college. He claimed every child should have a proper education.
He also needed to cut the waste in the war defense, we didn't need those new planes that looks like something from outer space.
And wind mills aren't going to solve every ones problems on creating energy for everyone in this country.
The electric cars, what was wrong with the type we already drive?
And the money wasted on the clunkers, didn't help the poor folks, when the rich was using it buying caddillac's.
Obama had some wild idea's alright or someone close to him did.
He's been the most wastful president that's come along in years.
He's a dreamer and not a doer.

[Joutue]

By jontue November 9, 2010 at 3:05 AM

The tax cuts for the Rich aren't going make us or break us. Because Bernanke is going keep printing money that's really worhless, but some how they'll make it fit the situation.
There's where Obama went wrong in keeping Bernanke on in the feds and reappointing him for the job. Bernanke is the one that caused the housing bubble, made people lose their homes. He's Corrupt person.
Another wrong of obama's was hiring Tim Geithner to the treasury. Him and Bernanke continue to keep proping up fannie and freddie and the other big banks.
In stead of using the stimules money to bail out those big corporations, Obama should have bailed out the people right off
entering office, and invested in getting our plant and factories
back in to operation. That was his main BOO-BOO.
That going green isn't going to create very many jobs for the people.

[AmazingGrce]

Very Interesting, CBS, MSNBC and WP web site are providing NO substantive information about president Obama activities for the last 2 days of his trip... Almost like they don't want to let us in on the agreements he is striking up with India and other countries along the way.

Also nothing about how Germany and other major export surplus countries are fed up with Obamas call for them to stop exporting so much... OH ! I get it, he wants them to suffer like we are suffering. Is Obama really that stupid or is he just plain arrogant?

[ctkmart]

Well... it appears your are the uninformed. He had done nothing thus far but anger the American people. None of his polices has been accepted by the american people. If you are so for the people, then you would recognized that politicians should be listening to the hearts and minds of the public. Obama, just thinks he knows what is best... this is why his approval rating is so low. If you like his policies, then its because you are the entitlement crowd that wants to be coddled by the government. My desire is simple... let me make my own decisions, my own success and my own failures... I find most of the country feels the same way. Obama is not for the american people, he is for the progressive policies he believes that america should embrace... he said it himself... if he communicated better, then they would understand and overwhelmingly be behind him. This is his problem.... we do understand.... yet he still thinks we are dumb. I hate being insulted by a president. "You said it yourself: "constantly striving to make a better life for ordinary Americans". I want to make my own better life and not depend on the government to do it... you just don't get it do you? Just like the president.....

[txmeijerthriftyacres]

Be careful about the number of fingers pointing back at you, buddy. Your extremist point of view is and should be part of the discussion, but also recognized for what it is...generalized opinions held by the farthest right among the conservative half of our country. There?s another half out there, and i am part of it. So please stop believing your first, second, especially third, fifth, sixth, and eighth often incomplete sentences, for they are not the truths you have asserted. And I can?t really respond to the rant beyond, except to hope that you recover some ecumenical belief in the brotherhood of all living creatures on earth, large or small, and a correct sense of the size of the chained disasters we have only begun to taste as a result of our 30-50 year public neglect of a sizeable American inheritance (natural wonders/ resources and flows, urban and rural infrastructure wrought using the concentrated detritus of living things from millions of years past, great teaching and research universities and scholars, the amazing scientific revolution in the late 1800?s/Armistice/disarmament/New Deal/Great Society/?68 Cultural Revolution, etc.).

[JimM1960]

Those are not 'extremist' comments, they are realistic comments. At least what you call the far right is based in reality. The far left is a magical kingdom where we can wish things true with no basis in what's real. Like the way they keep spending money we don't have. Some day we all have to grow up..like it or not.

[ctkmart]

Well... it appears your are the uninformed. He had done nothing thus far but anger the American people. None of his polices has been accepted by the american people. If you are so for the people, then you would recognized that politicians should be listening to the hearts and minds of the public. Obama, just thinks he knows what is best... this is why his approval rating is so low. If you like his policies, then its because you are the entitlement crowd that wants to be coddled by the government. My desire is simple... let me make my own decisions, my own success and my own failures... I find most of the country feels the same way. Obama is not for the american people, he is for the progressive policies he believes that america should embrace... he said it himself... if he communicated better, then they would understand and overwhelmingly be behind him. This is his problem.... we do understand.... yet he still thinks we are dumb. I hate being insulted by a president. "You said it yourself: "constantly striving to make a better life for ordinary Americans". I want to make my own better life and not depend on the government to do it... you just don't get it do you? Just like the president.....

[tjfirst]

Wow. This was one of the softest interviews i have ever seen. The president just suffered the largest political defeat since 1938 and Steve Croft didn't press at all about why that happened. Truly amazing! The president says we need to figure out how to make up for $600 billion over TEN years when we just spent $787 billion on a (failed) stimulus, he's pushing for more stimulus, we bailed out GM and the banks, and created a health care bill with all sorts of hidden costs in pages that no one ever read! Steve, it might have been a nice followup to ask why it's necessary to increase taxes on people and business who create all of the commerce in this country, while to him it's a given to keep increasing spending on bill after bill. The only reason we have a revenue problem in this country is because we spend too much and our programs are amazingly corrupt an inefficient... Very poor, uninspiring interview.

[onefeather2]

I may not agree or like what President Obama does, But the fact is he did not get us in the mess this country is in, this started a long time ago and did the People say anything?? most did not. when people had jobs and were making it did most say quit sending our jobs overseas? and these Stupid awful prices they sell houses for, instead of saying no we wont buy at those prices, we will, and of course it is the Location you know. it is most of our fault because we refused to do anything years ago and now it has come back on the average person we want to blame it on Obama. This counrty has fell because of greed on both sides.

[AmazingGrce]

You are correct that OBAMA is not to blame for the current economic crisis BUT he is responsible for actions that do or do not fix the problems. He is also responsible for the massive debt he is continuing to rack up with his failed efforts to 'bailout' companies that should be forced to fail or fix themselves.

Yep the problem has been brewing for more than 2 years, more than 10 years even. It stretches back to such flawed concepts as pushing for home ownership even for folks who simply don't have the money to own a home - and those flawed ideas were supported by both the GOP and DEM parties - THEY DUG the hole we have fallen into.

[theLearnedOne]

The President still gives the same BS about being too busy with other pressing matters and therefore not being able to disseminate the correct information to the American people! The truth is he has not listened to the plights of the American people and the GOP about creating jobs being number one priority. His real agenda is to take credit for being the first President to pass the Health Care Bill. Now that the people have spoken, this President still doesn't get it and thinks he can 'charm' as again. Shame on him and I hope he will be booted out soon!