Candidates Tell What They Fear Losing

Katie Couric Asks The Top Candidates What, After Their Families, They Hold Most Dear

(CBS)  For the series “Primary Questions: Character, Leadership & The Candidates,” CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked the 10 leading presidential candidates 10 questions designed to go beyond politics and show what really makes them tick. Below is the full transcript to the question: "Other than your family, what are you most afraid of losing?" Watch their answers tonight on the CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.

Check out the candidates' full responses in our "Primary Questions" video library.

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MIKE HUCKABEE

Katie Couric: Other than your family, what are most afraid of losing?

Huckabee: My health. No doubt about it. And I almost did that. In fact, I did do that. And about five years ago, when my doctor sat me down and diagnosed me with Type II diabetes, told me that if I didn't change my lifestyle, I had, really, the beginnings of my final decade of life. And it scared the daylights out of me. And he described for me what diabetes was going to do. Well, I took an aggressive action against it, and was able to reverse it. And I haven't had any symptoms of diabetes now, in five years. I should live as long as anybody that's never had it. So, I was able to confront it, deal with it, and overcome it because I dealt with it that way. But, I also have this sort of nagging thing in the back of my head knowing that if I go back to living like I did, which is not exercising and, throwing caution to the wind when it comes to nutrition, that I would be right back where I was. And it'd be a very dangerous place to be.

Couric: You lost a lot of weight.

Huckabee: Yeah, 110 pounds over the course of about a year. And, I did something I never thought I would do. And that's start exercising and eventually running. I've now run four marathons, and I'm scheduled to run the Boston Marathon next April. You know, I never would have thought I would have watched a marathon, much less participated in one.

Couric: It's interesting, just as I've been asking these questions, that the natural answer for me.

Huckabee: Yeah.

Couric: And you're the first person who has said that about…

Huckabee: Hmm…

Couric: Worried about how…

Couric: I think, also, because I've lost so many people…

Huckabee: Yeah.

Couric: To cancer…

Huckabee: Right.

Couric: That, or the health of people you love. You know?

Huckabee: Right.

Huckabee: Exactly. Well, and my wife had cancer our first year of marriage. We've been married now, going on 34 years. But, we were still in college. It was a very, you know, tough time. Because you don't think that's going to happen to you when you're 20 years old. And it was a real shaping point of our lives, as well. Because you really do understand that if you lose your health, you lose everything. Nothing else really matters. Because losing your health can mean you lose your life. And then, does it matter what kind of house you live in? Does it matter what kind of car you drive? Does it matter how nice your clothes are? No. And no amount of money can replace that. So it, it's kind of to the point of, Maslov's hierarchy of values. And it gets right down to it. And your next breath becomes your greatest value.

JOHN MCCAIN

Couric: Besides your family, what are you most afraid of losing?

McCain: My country. I lived without my country for a period of time. And that's when I fell in love with America, once I was deprived of her company. I think that it's the most marvelous place in the world, with all our flaws and failing. I'd hate to be deprived of this…of the United States of America.

BARACK OBAMA

Couric: Other than your family what are you most afraid of losing?

Obama: My good name. You know, I always am thinking about making sure that at the end of my days, when people look back, they can say, "Here's somebody who operated with integrity. Here's somebody who was honest in his dealings with the American people and with his colleagues." And, you know, that's very important to me.

You know, because I think that it’s the thing that, especially when you're in public life, you know, is always threatened. Because I think people are watching you carefully. And I always want to make sure that I'm, you know, all the people who are taking the time to support me and work so hard on my behalf that I'm living up to their expectations. Which doesn't mean that I'm not going to make mistakes. But it does mean that I want them to feel confident that I'm working in a way that will make them proud and-- and justify that trust.

Couric: Is it ever hard to -- to do that though when you're in the throes of a very intense and at times -- tough campaign where there is, quite frankly, a fair amount of infighting going on (LAUGHS) among the candidates?

Obama: Yeah. Well, you know -- I don't think there's anything wrong with -- being able to throw some elbows a little bit once in a while. I -- you know, I used to play basketball. And I was skinny, but I was tough. And -- you know, I -- I wanna make sure that whenever I -- I talk about difference between myself and other candidates in the campaign that it's based on truth. That I'm not personalizing it. That I'm not taking cheap shots -- or distorting what they say. But, you know, to be clear about the differences that exist between the candidates, I think that is important for the voters to be able to make up their minds. And I wouldn't be running if I didn't think that I was better than any of the other candidates at the job of president.

BILL RICHARDSON

Couric: Besides your family, what are you most afraid of losing?

Richardson: What I'm most afraid of losing is my enthusiasm for being a public servant, mainly because that's all I've been. I've only been in politics and government. And I wake up every morning wanting to make a difference. And I worry about the day when I lose that motivation and I may want to take it easy and that's what bothers me. Losing the motivation, losing the interest in having power to do the right thing.

MITT ROMNEY

Couric: Besides your family what are you most afraid of losing?

Romney: Boy, that's all I'm afraid of losing. I mean, let me pause for a second and think about that. My family's my life. My wife and my kids are what my life is all about. And, I don't think I'm going to lose them. But I'm going be sad, being away from them when, when the end of life comes. I'm concerned about the future of America. I'm concerned about America losing its place as the most powerful military and economic entity upon the earth. I'm concerned about America losing its way, losing its goodness, losing its ability to lead the world, from a position of moral strength. And so it's important to me to see both the protection of my family and the strength of America. And interestingly, those two are connected. I think the best allied peace and prosperity have ever known is a strong America. And keeping America strong is one reason that I'm running. And the other is to keep America so strong that my family and my children and grandchildren will have a bright and prosperous future.

[maryd_dixie]

This is really an exceptional news segment. I think it gives us an interesting look at the candidates...one we don''t normally get. Most seem to respond more honestly individually rather than in a group format. Nice job.

[dovv]

Daughters of Vietnam Veterans for Ron Paul!
www.teaparty07.com
Support the Iraq Veterans Against the War
www.ivaw.org
Learn more about Christian Anarchism
www.harmlessasdoves.com
Go RON PAUL!

[samthetvcat]

I guess fear and contentment supposed to be peoples'' greatest motivators, in a big-picture sense maybe the answers to tell us something about how each''s preoccupations would impact their Presidency (?)

Huckabee and McCain - probably the two most at-peace with themselves. Huckabee because of his faith, and McCain because if his experience in VietNam

Obama - likes making a difference in peoples lives, acceptance = wants to make America better for everybody

Richardson - recognizes that power can corrupt if not used for the greater good = striving for power will always be shared

Mitt - likes ideals/symbols of individual strength, family, and country = already succeeded on a personal and family level, wants to bring pride back to the red, white and blue

Thompson - disconnected = doesn''t much want the Presidency anyway

Edwards - might be more left than he might otherwise be = not sure whether if he wins by having gone left whether he can then go back towards the center (?)

Biden - team player who understands the power of the group, understands that truth is power = will earn your trust by being kept on track with truth

Hillary - desire to be powerful, really hard on herself with perfectionism...no mention of her preoccuption impacting anybody else

Rudy - funny, he gave the exact same answer as Hillary! LOL

[adventurepa]

Another one bits the dust.
Inspector General Krongard has announced his resignation.

[prinzowhales]

Katie Couric Drivel! What about the 12% inflation last year? What about the $2.3 Trillion missing from Pentagon accounts as of 9-10-01 according to Rumsfeld? What about the open borders? What about the lies of 9-11 and the faux-war on terror? What about the attempt of the Israel-first establishment liars trying to start a war with Iran and renew the Cold War with Russia? CBSNBCABCCNNFOX and the Establishment merchants of drivel want you to identify and like the 10 pieces of merchandise they are trying to hawk to America...they can''t afford to talk about real issues--OR THIS NATION WOULD EXPLODE!!!

[mudrose-2009]

I would say those who said: Health, Family, or Freedom are the most viable candidates.
Posted by jack3213

I wanna see them all jog together. Then I''ll believe them. Ugh!

[john13414]

The only candidate that was true with his or her answer was that of "John McCain" stating ..........(My Country).
He is true to his word and would make an outstanding president during these times. He has the knowlege and experiance to run this country and to increase our militay defense. With China building up thier military, Russia''s "Putin" calling the Americans pigs, North Korea, Iran, wanting atomic weapons? The world right now is walking a fine line towards destruction.

I sure don''t want an actor, a minister, a mayor, a woman, and non experiance candidates, etc. becoming president. America the beautiful should stay this way! Vote McCain!

[macusweil]

They obviously left off Ron Paul because he will be our next US president, that why he''s not afraid of losing.

He''s got his own blimp.. I heard he filled it with the all the HOT air from Hillary and his GOP rivals. lol

www.ronpaulblimp.com

[jack3213]

I would say those who said: Health, Family, or Freedom are the most viable candidates.

[countsueulaw]

"Americans are too broadly underinformed to digest nuggets of information that seem to contradict what they know of the world ... Instead, news channels prefer to feed Americans a constant stream of simplified information, all of which fits what they already know. That way they don''t have to devote more air time or newsprint space to explanations or further investigations... Politicians and the media have conspired to infantilize, to dumb down, the American public. At heart, politicians don''t believe that Americans can handle complex truths, and the news media, especially television news, basically agrees."
Tom Fenton, former CBS foreign correspondent

[mudrose-2009]

Just what exectly freedoms have we lost?
Posted by Neocon04

They really don''t know, couldn''t tell if they tried. They just like to hear themselves say it. When you ask them the say I Don''t Know. Now pictured Bill Crosby saying the phrase with those big wide black eyes of his and that look of well I DON''T KNOW.

[countsueulaw]

Another example of why we need Ron Paul to lead this Country. CBS has conveniently left Ron Paul out of this biased Mockery.
"The media serve the interests of state and corporate power, which are closely interlinked, framing their reporting and analysis in a manner supportive of established privilege and limiting debate and discussion accordingly."
Noam Chomsky
"The news and the truth are not the same thing. "
Walter Lippmann
"Paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people..."
Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice

[neocon04]

The biggest enemy to freedom is in Washington DC. We have lost more freedoms in the last 30 year than in the 200 before it....

Posted by culturechang at 09:54 PM : Dec 06, 2007
__________________________________________________

Just what exectly freedoms have we lost?

[heyitsme_76]

Who cares what Katie Couric has to ask ?? Does anyone even watch the CBS Evening News ??!!

[mudrose-2009]

DECEMBER 7, 1941

[patsandy2]

Let me know when CBS has the courage to talk about HR676. Thank You.

[kslocum44]

I want to commend Katie and the CBS news for producing this wonderful series that is drawing out the true nature of the candidates. . In a "sea of sameness," it''s refreshing to see those candidates that are not afraid to step off the stump and answer the questions with honesty and not provide the canned political response. Hopefully throughout the series, some of the smoke and mirrors will clear and we can see who we are really looking to elect.

Thanks Katie and CBS.

[poliincorect]

Dear Katie,
Did you get Ron Paul on the CBS Evening News tonight?
I was out with friends and missed the show.

[kingjackspad]

Like to share something with everybody, and i think major media outlets should take notice of this.
"The equal opportunity requirement dates back to the first major broadcasting law in the United States, the Radio Act of 1927. Legislators were concerned that without mandated equal opportunity for candidates, some broadcasters might try to manipulate elections. As one congressman put it, "American politics will be largely at the mercy of those who operate these stations." When the Radio Act was superseded by the Communications Act of 1934, the equal time provision became Section 315 of the new statute.
A major amendment to Section 315 came in 1959 following a controversial Federal Communications Commission (FCC) interpretation of the equal time provision. Lar Daly, who had run for a variety of public offices, sometimes campaigning dressed as Uncle Sam, was running for mayor of Chicago. Daly demanded free air time from Chicago television stations in response to the stations'''' news coverage of incumbent mayor Richard Daley. Although the airtime given to Mayor Daley was not directly related to his re-election campaign, the FCC ruled that his appearance triggered the equal opportunity provision of Section 315. Broadcasters interpreted the FCC''''s decision as now requiring equal time for a candidate anytime another candidate appeared on the air, even if the appearance was not linked to the election campaign.

Read more at http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/E/html
E/equaltimeru/equaltimeru.htm

[culturechang]

Huckabee and Clinton might actually be telling the truth. Health is a big concern of middle aged people.

McCain doesn''t realize that what he sacraficed for Vietnam has already been lost...and the outcome of Vietnam did not matter. The biggest enemy to freedom is in Washington DC. We have lost more freedoms in the last 30 year than in the 200 before it....and a lot of it while he was a voting Senator. Guliani is clueless too. We''ve already lost so much and he hasn''t noticed.

Richardson is a committed career politician by his own statement. A career politician cannot vote his conscious in the politically correct environment we have now because they are scared senseless over political backlash.

Romney is just saying whatever it takes to get elected. As a saleman, he could sell ice to Eskimos, but that doesn''t make him a good President.

Thompson is one dimensional and hasn''t even thought of freedom.

Edwards and Romney are the same. Good looking car salesmen.

Why would Biden be worried about his integrity. Its in HIS complete control? Does he not trust himself?