Preview: One-On-One With Joe Biden

CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric Speaks With The VP Nominee About Taxes, Wall Street

(CBS)  Barack Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, spent Thursday in Ohio, the all-important swing state. First, he visited the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, then he spoke with union members in Akron. After that speech, CBS News anchor Katie Couric rode with him on the bus from Akron to Youngstown and asked what three things an Obama administration would do to calm the panicky financial markets. What follows is the transcript of that clip of the interview.

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Joe Biden: If you're president right this minute, one, explain to the American people what's happened, why we're in this trouble. They don't know. The president hasn't said anything, to the best of my knowledge. People got to know what is it, why are you doing what you - how did this get here and what are you going to do about it?

Secondly, immediately implement a transparency that says that every one of those companies were given those outfits that were given help to bail out, the solidify the markets say, `And, by the way, here's the deal, we get to look at your books. Don't tell me we're going to lend you the money and me not know exactly, exactly what you own and what you have.'

And the third thing I would do is demonstrate to the American people that you're really going to begin to invest. Stop the things that cause the problem, these profligate tax cuts that are raising the deficit, causing us to borrow money from China, to pay for oil from Saudi Arabia. Go out there and tell them you're immediately going to do something about the housing crisis.

Katie Couric: You talk about tax cuts, and there's been quite a brouhaha about your comment that paying higher taxes for those making $250,000 a year and over is the patriotic thing to do. Your vice presidential rival, Sarah Palin, Governor Palin said, "To the rest of America, that's not patriotism. Raising taxes is about killing jobs and hurting small businesses and making things worse."

Biden: How many small businessmen are making $1,400,000 a year average in the top 1 percent. Give me a break. I remind my friend John McCain what he said. When Bush called for war and tax cuts he said, quote, "It is immoral, immoral to take a nation to war and not have anybody pay for it." I am so sick and tired of this phoniness. The truth of the matter is that we are in trouble, and the people who do not need a new tax cut should be willing as patriotic Americans to understand the way to get this economy back up on their feet is to give middle class taxpayers a break. We take the tax cut they're getting and we give it to the middle class.

[smpusa]

I don''t hear anything new from Joe Biden. Sounds like the same old tax, tax, tax and spend, spend, spend. How can 95% of Americans get a tax cut, when only 50% pay taxes? Washington is great at spending other peoples'' money. Why should there be a death tax. That stuff has already been taxed. Government doesn''t run any program well so why would I want the government to run a healthcare system. Why not give families tax credits for paying for health insurance. Why not let Medical savings accounts roll and not expire year to year? There are many ways to avoid government involement. I don''t understand why so many Americans are buying Obama''s programs.

[tonfrac]

Thanks Joe Biden, you are a real champ. GREED has driven the US into the ground.

[stealth54]

I was all for Obama even though he put a *** to Hillary, that was until he put Mr. Hotshot Biden on the ticket. Come-on now, he got 9000 votes and Hillary got 18 million. Obama is so out-of-step that he must have thought he would be playing second fiddle to Hillary. Well the same is going to happen with Biden.

I''m going with McCain Palin now. That''s what''s so good about being an Independent, I can do whatever the heck I want.

[jfo1961]

As a female small business owner, I just ask Katie to ask the tough questions - we are electing the highest office in the land and I do not understand why my fellow Americans are not more discerning about who we have in office...?

It is not a matter of which party you support, it is about having the right skill set and knowledge.

Personally, I would like to know why Sarah initially agreed to cooperate w/the investigation on Troopergate - now she and her husband will not. If nothing to hide, why the resistance? Also, is it true she went to 6 colleges in 6y yrs? And McCain graduated 894 out of 899? And since when is it elitist to have a Harvard graduate as our President - especially one that grew up on food stamps? Would Sarah say George Bush is elitist b/c he went to Yale?

Let''s elect our TOP government officials b/c they are the best equipped to govern our country in TODAY''s times - not because we think we would want to hang out w/them.

Good Luck Katie -- make us proud.

[basementfrog]

Besides, do you want to pay for all these financial instutions being bailed out. Let em flop and the FDIC insurance,too.

And who wants to pay for all those soldies in Iraq. Screw them.

And you child''s education, hey, ya bumb, pick up the tab yourself from all those taxes you''er saving.

You can even pay your own medical cost, too.

[basementfrog]

I agree with all those people who don''t want to pay taxes. Let the corporations do it and give all the profits to the rest of us.

Over the course of 2007, Palin fought to raise taxes on oil companies. As fuel prices skyrocketed for the lower 49, Palin complained the state wasn''t getting its share of the windfall. She raised taxes on oil profits. The increase amounted to $1.6-billion annually more for the state. Thanks to the addition of these new taxes, that is double the amount it received the year before.

On Aug. 7, 2008, the Alaska Legislature approved a measure she promoted that would send $1,200 to every Alaskan who qualifies. That comes to about $741-million for state residents.

The administration of Alaska''s governor Sarah Palin now gives $1,200 to every single Alaskan to help them pay for gas. In addition, each resident will receive an annual dividend of $2,000 from an oil-wealth savings account.

Think a family of 7 receives (Gov. Palin has 7 members in her family) an additional $22,400.00. WOW, who needs a job!

That''s a fancy way of describing wealth redistribution, i.e., downright communism.

That is real change we can believe in. Will she do the same for the Lower 48 states?

Well, why hasn''t Arnold Schwarzenegger got those big fact checks from the oil companies for every citizen of California. What''s wrong with him? Common Arnie, get us on that gravy train, too.

Lunch can be free and you can eat it too.

[notblue]

THe Dems are running on a platform of change, can anyonme explain how Biden represents change?

[rinnie5]

Do you honestly believe that Joe Biden is anything but a total windbag who would say things like Martians are discriminated against and I want it to stop if Martians controlled Delaware. He is a lifelong shallow politician who has already been convicted of plagarism and we all know how he would sell his soul to the dark side in order to get his behind in front of a camera! What a pathetic little man he is!

Convicted of plagerism? Did he do jail time? Trial dates please. Plus..I guess its ok for McCain to use Obamas "Change" logo. Plus if McCain says "enough is enough" any more...then where did that bright boy get it? He heard Obama say "enough" and it resonated with his followers. Should McCain be "convicted" of plagerism? And whats with McCain not knowing anything about Spain''s leader? He thinks he is in Mexico or South America. And he couldn''t fire that head honcho of Wall Street even if he was the President. Shoot from the hip McCain needs to take his alzheimers meds. lol And out of the Lipsticked mouth spewed "the Palin/McCain" ticket will fix things? Scary............power hungry manipulative twit!! I''ll bet if I didn''t honor a subpoena..I would be in jail right now. Seems to be a double standard there. If you are a republiscum you are exempt from the laws of the land?

[rinnie5]

godloved:

You preach religion and its called religious freedom.
Well...in politics..it should be freedom from religion. Now go handle a few snakes cuz you already are speaking in tongues..(forked tongues lol)

[Ed Abelia]

Palin Email Hacker is Son of Democrat Tennessee State Senator Mike Kernell according to the FBI.
David Kernell, a college student has been positively identified as the perp who hacked Sarah Palin''s Yahoo account.
State Rep. Mike Kernell said today that he was aware of Internet rumors about his son being the subject of speculation that he accessed the personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Asked whether he or his son, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, had been contacted by authorities investigating the break-in of Palin''s account, he responded:
"Me, no."
As far as his 20-year-old son, David, he said: "I can''t say. That doesn''t mean he has or hasn''t (been contacted by investigators."
Kernell, D-Memphis, cited the father-son relationship.
He said he had talked to his son today, but that he talks to his son regularly.
He declined further comment.

[jone775]

Publius77: please send me the link to you statistics...I have GOT to read that article!

[ubrew12]

Publius77 said: "Top 1% of US earners pay over 40% of all federal income taxes; bottom 40% of US earners pay no federal income taxes at all. "

Top 1% owns 40% of the country,
Bottom 40% doesn''t own anything but some debt.

[publius77]

Top 1% of US earners pay over 40% of all federal income taxes; bottom 40% of US earners pay no federal income taxes at all.

Perhaps some Obama supporter could tell us how those numbers should be readjusted for "fairness"?

[ubrew12]

According to the Economist Magazine, three-fourths of the economic gains made during the Bush administration went to the wealthiest 1% of Americans.

That''s why Biden feels its reasonable, given the hard times Bush''s policies have brought us, to suggest that calling for higher taxes on the wealthy is patriotic.

[hillarynow]

"The American economy is the envy of the world, and we need to keep it that way," Bush said, conceding that "I''m not an economist" but maintaining that he sees strong basic indicators in the state of the economy. "The fundamentals of our economy are strong" George W Bush - Aug 9, 2007


"The issue of economics is not something I''ve understood as well as I should" John McCain - Dec 17. 2007
"Our economy, I think, still the fundamentals of our economy are strong" - John McCain - Sep 15. 2008

[bcdwriter]

I agree with what Sen. Biden had to say, and he is absolutely correct about his comment regarding the wealthy helping to quell America''s economic problems we face today. This country, unfortunately, have not seen the worse in every capacity because of its greed, selfishness, manipulation, and total disregard for the working people in this country, namely the working poor (i.e., Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian). Both overtly and covertly, HISTORY OF AMERICA''S FALLINGS & FAILINGS ARE REPEATING ITSELF IN EVERY SHAPE, FASHION, AND FORM due to clear cases o RACISM & CLASSISM in this political campaign, and country! If the American masses chose to elect people who''ve already shown that they don''t give a *** about anyone other than those of their own ilk, namely McCain & Palin, then go ahead and vote for these people to run this country. But remember, whether you believe it, or not, there is such a thing as a "WHIPPING FROM GOD," and believe me, Man CANNOT STOP what''s been put on us (i.e., hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunami, etc.)!

[edgepama]

Here we go again. Why is it that every comment page on every participatory web page sound exactly the same? Do any of you take the time to actually read the positions of your respective candidate? There is an outstanding book available now entitled: "SHOCK DOCTRINE: the rise of disaster capitalism." written by Neomi Klein. I strongly suggest that all of you who profess to know evything READ IT! Then, Maybe you won''t be a parrot for the talking heads who feed you hate speech twenty-four hours a day. Wake up and pay closer attention. Don''t take anything a face value. If the person you are listening to is constantly running down or blaming the "other guy" it''s a good bet that he or she is blowing smoke up yor butt. You have know idea how silly some of you sound. The American pulic is so manipulated into believing anything told to them that, even in the light of live cameras, you (we) question the reality and accept, hungerly the lie. There is no sadder slave than the slave who believes his bondage is the natual way of the world. Please, please, please, learn for yourself what it is you are railing about. This is not a war between two sworn enimies. We are a whole country and anyone who tells you differently is no Patriot.

Mr. Biden''s comment regarding the moral responsibility of higher income Americans was villified today by Rush Limbaugh and David Ramsey as being somewhat unconscionable.
I belive Mr. Ramsey referred to such a notion as a Communist notion.
I think that such a characterization of Mr. Biden''s comment is uncalled for.
In My opinion, such characterizations have no place in Political discourse.
Mr. Biden is a highly respected American Public Servant. Any criticism of his political positions should be offered in that regard. Accordingly, I wish to register my admonition to Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Limbaugh for their low blows taken at Mr. Biden.
I do, however, feel that Mr. Biden''s moral argument was ill-conceived.
It is NOT the province of a political candidate to dictate a moral position to the electorate.
As a member of America''s Middle Class, I can appreciate Mr. Biden''s intention to offer middle class tax cuts to that group. However, I do think that he should refrain from using a "moral" rationale for his resoning.

[arthanyel]

linymo - even if he was what you describe, it doesn''t mean what he is saying is untrue - or incorrect.

The level of hate that is being shown in this campaign - on all sides - is frightening. Our country''s future should not be decided based on hate and fear if we want to have America back where it once was - a shining example of what free human beings can accomplish by working together.

[arthanyel]

I can only hope and pray that the decision on our next president is made by voters that can see through the illusions of both campaigns and think through what this country truly needs.

For me, a lifelong Republican until 2004, it is clear that the political machine behind George Bush is the same machine behind John McCain. That machine has proven - PROVEN - that it does not care about the average American citizen, it does not respect the law, and it will do anything to get its agenda advanced - even if it is puts all of us at risk.

I supported John McCain in 2000 and I support Barack Obama now - because we have to change the course of the country. Obama is at least saying the right things and is worried about the right problems. If he turns out to be just another politician, in 2010 we (the people) can hand the government back to the Republicans. I hope that at least we%u2019d get a new set of Republicans.

Ask yourselves this - what kind of America do we want? I want one that doesn''t live on credit cards, doesn''t torture prisoners, and doesn''t redefine the laws to get away with blatant crimes that endanger not only the country''s future, but its very soul.