One-On-One With Barack Obama

Katie Couric Interviews Obama And His Rivals On The Eve Of Super Tuesday

(CBS)  On the eve of the country's biggest presidential primary contest, Super Tuesday, the leading presidential candidates spoke with CBS News anchor Katie Couric about what they have yet to overcome. That ranged from assumptions about temperament to lagging support in key states.

The following is the full transcript of Couric's full discussion with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

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KATIE COURIC: Sen. Obama, our new CBS News poll shows you and Sen. Clinton running … neck and neck nationally. But when it comes to the Super Tuesday states, currently Sen. Clinton is ahead of you by 18 points. Knowing that none of these polls have been omniscient, how concerned are you about that last figure?

BARACK OBAMA: Well, I have no doubt that Sen. Clinton is the favorite going into Super Tuesday. I mean, keep in mind that it was only a couple weeks ago where we were 30 points down in places like California … and New Jersey. And so she's got a built-in advantage. We would expect her to do well. We think that we're gonna get our share of delegates and our share of state victories.

But, you know, what is important is to see how much progress we've made over the last couple of weeks. People have really stood up and said that they want real meaningful change, especially when it comes to economic issues like the sub-prime lending mess, making sure that people can stay in their homes, making sure that we're doing something about these jobless numbers.

People are seeing their wages and incomes flat-line at the time when their cost … of everything from healthcare to milk at the grocery store have gone up. And so we're trying to focus on that exclusively, along with the issue of Iraq. And I think that we're seeing … a terrific response everywhere we go.

COURIC: Getting back … to Super Tuesday, how critical is it for you to win the state of California? And if so, why?

OBAMA: Oh, I don't think anybody anticipates us winning the state of California. I think that Sen. Clinton, as I said, was up 30 just two weeks ago. I think we'll get our share of delegates. But I'm seeing enormous interest and energy. I think we're bringing a lot of new voters into the process.

So, you know, we're gonna look at the whole evening tomorrow understanding that Sen. Clinton had a number of built-in advantages and was much better known in a lot of these states. But that our organization on the ground and the volunteers that have been coming out, young and old, people from all walks of life, I think they're really gonna make a difference and that we'll see … a split decision basically coming out of tomorrow with both of us having won sizable numbers of delegates and states. And then I think we'll have to continue on.

COURIC: What do you make of, Sen. Obama, the recent polls in California that show Hispanics overwhelmingly supporting Hillary Clinton?

OBAMA: You know, there were polls showing that everybody was overwhelmingly supporting Sen. Clinton. And once they got to know me, we do better. And that's been true in Latino community.

I won the Latino vote by a margin of three to one when I ran for the United States Senate even though there was a Latino, candidate of … high caliber in the race. I won the Latino vote in Iowa because we had the time to work and get known there. You know, we have less time. It's more compressed in places like California and Arizona and New Mexico.

But I'm confident that when people know my track record in working on comprehensive immigration reform-- promoting plans like the Dream Act that makes sure children can go to college who might not otherwise be able to go that the Latino community is gonna respond in the West, in the Southwest the same way that they have responded in my home state.

COURIC: How do you see this whole thing, Sen. Obama, shaking out? If at the end of Super Tuesday you and Senator Clinton are fairly even in terms of the delegates you've amassed, fairly even in terms of the states you've won, where do we go from there?

OBAMA: Well, we've got more states after that. We've got Mid-Atlantic states like Maryland and Virginia. We got states like Washington. We eventually are gonna get to Texas and Ohio and Pennsylvania. So there's gonna be a lot of contests still remaining.

And what we wanna do is just keep on talking about the issues that matter to families the most. I was here in New Jersey just shaking hands in a rope line. I talked to a woman whose face was half paralyzed. She described how her insurance companies was not willing to reimburse her for the surgery that might cure that paralysis.

You know, those are the kind of … stories you hear every single day. Those are the kinds of things that can be fixed if we've got a White House that is listening to people and is pushing aside the special interests, reducing the influence of lobbyists. That's been my agenda from the start. And I think it's needed now more than ever.

COURIC: And finally, let me ask the question … that I've asked all the candidates today. What do you perceive is Hillary Clinton's biggest weakness?

OBAMA: Oh … that's not a question that, you know, I'm gonna focus on. I think that she's got a lot of strengths. I know why I believe I would be a superior candidate. I think I can attract Independents and Republicans into a progressive agenda for change.

I think I can bring people together more effectively than she can. I think that I'm not as caught up into the system of lobbyists and special interests as she has been. And I think that in terms of talking to the American people-- I have been very straight with them about how I'm gonna deal with issues like Social Security and solve those problems … in a way that she has not.

So, you know, I would argue that it has less to do with her weaknesses than my strengths as a nominee. And I think if I'm going up against somebody like a John McCain, I can attract and compete for Independent voters in a way that she cannot. And that will result in victory in November.

COURIC: Sen. Barack Obama. Sen. Obama, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us today.

OBAMA: Thank you.

[tcoleman12]

Too bad no one saw any of these interviews...

[hereticzero-2009]

Couldn''t give a *** about the American Family Association and their opinion about anything.

[hereticzero-2009]

I''m voting Obama.

[suzieh2308]

**Barack ''08!!!** - everybody better vote - I dont care who it''s for get out there and get your voice heard!!

[hemdan2008]

the 75 Million and me Hemdan''s Family we are Vote for Obama and we gives him our support to be the new persident of united states and make the world is better inshalah ,,, thank CBS News and God bluess America

Hesham Hemdan
23 old, guy from egypt

[truthword08]

PLEASE READ THIS:

The American Family Association has released an excellent voter''s guide that you should read carefully before you vote in the Super Tuesday primaries. I have included a link to the guide, so in this article I will only summarize some of the most important information.

In this guide the American Family Association lists eight issues on which the answer of any real Conservative should be a resounding "Yes!" Not surprisingly, none of the three Democrat candidates answered yes to a single one. I was surprised to find that only one Republican candidate had a perfect record. Mike Huckabee was for each of these important issues. More important, he has always been in favor of them. Not one of these was a new position for him.

Some of the issues are proposed legislation; some are proposed Constitutional amendments; some are simply moral positions, such as the refusal to participate in "Gay Pride" celebrations. (Both Romney and Giuliani have participated in these disgusting events "celebrating" homosexuality.)

The first test is whether a candidate supports a national Human Life Amendment. All the candidates claim to be pro-life, but only Mike Huckabee passed this test.

Here is the link to the chart:


http://www.afa.net/pdfs/08vg.pdf

TW08

If you want a true conservative candidate who HAS NOT flip flopped on the issues and become a recent "convert" to conservatism like Mitt Romney, then Mike Huckabee is your man!

[buddhabman]

This is going to be fun tomorrow. Go VOTE !

Obama 08

[byeneocons]

Akona: Get some help. And if you are really
Karl Rove: Eat a salad.