In an interview with President Obama on Wednesday, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams lobbed this softball:
"How is it that with – what, 13 days to go, you're fighting for your
life in a 47/47 race?... So after the excitement of '08, given the power
of incumbency, you got Bin Laden, you did not expect to be sitting on a
more substantial race than we are as we sit here today?" [Listen to the audio [1]]
Obama argued he was exceeding media expectations: "...we always knew
this was gonna be a close race from the start....you guys have some
short memories. Folks in your business were writing me off a year ago,
saying there's no way I would win."
In the portion of the interview aired on Wednesday's Nightly News and Thursday's Today,
Williams wondered: "What's the dynamic like between you and Mitt
Romney?... you don't appear to like each other very much." Despite his
campaign's particularly nasty attacks on Romney, Obama replied: "I don't
think that any relationship between me and Mitt Romney is different
from previous presidential campaigns."
Williams did have a somewhat challenging question for the President:
"...4% of voters said they would like a first term like the second, 62%
of voters said they would expect major changes in a second Obama term.
Would you be prepared to enact truly major changes?"
However, Williams allowed Obama to dodge the question: "...of course
people want to make sure that we continue with the progress that we've
started to see, with the housing market finally starting to strengthen,
with the auto industry back, with job growth over the last 31 months
actually outpacing the previous recovery."
More of the interview will air on Thursday's Nightly News, with the full exchange on Rock Center.
Here is transcript of the interview portion aired on the October 25 Today:
7:00AM ET TEASE:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: NBC News exclusives. Brian Williams on the campaign
trail with President Obama, behind the scenes at rallies and on Air
Force One. This morning, rare access with the countdown to the election
now at twelve days.
7:05AM ET SEGMENT:
MATT LAUER: Now to the presidential race and Brian Williams' excluse –
exclusive access, excuse me – to President Obama on the campaign trail.
They started out in Iowa on Wednesday, from there it was on to Colorado,
Los Angeles, and a quick stop in Las Vegas before an overnight flight
to Florida, where the President is beginning his day. Brian just got off
Air Force One, he's with us now by phone. Brian, good morning to you.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Matt, good morning, we're hanging on for dear life in a
quick-moving motorcade through the city of Tampa. We barely left the
airport grounds a few minutes ago. No one on Air Force One can remember
when the President did this last on a domestic trip, choosing to get his
night's sleep, and it was very few hours, coming west to east, but
miles to go before he sleeps again. He's got Florida, Virginia,
Illinois, Ohio just today. And yesterday, during one of our
conversations, we asked him how he finds himself in exactly this
position in this campaign.
WILLIAMS: How is it that with – what, 13 days to go, you're fighting for your life in a 47/47 race?
BARACK OBAMA: Well, actually, I think that, you know, we always knew
this was gonna be a close race from the start. And what we have right
now is a – is a lead that we've maintained throughout this campaign. And
we are gonna just continue to drive home the message that there are two
fundamentally different choices in this election about where we take
the country.
WILLIAMS: So after the excitement of '08, given the power of
incumbency, you got Bin Laden, you did not expect to be sitting on a
more substantial race than we are as we sit here today?
OBAMA: No, Brian, I – listen, you guys have some short memories. Folks
in your business were writing me off a year ago, saying there's no way I
would win. Right? So, you know, these things go in ebbs and flows. And,
you know, the one thing I've tried to always be is just steady in terms
of what I believe in, who I'm fighting for. And you know, I think that
one of the qualities I bring to bear in this campaign is people see what
did I say I was gonna do in 2008? And what have I delivered? And they
can have some confidence that the things I say, I mean.
WILLIAMS: What's the dynamic like between you and Mitt Romney?
OBAMA: Oh, I think when you're candidates that you, and you haven't
really interacted before, you can't say that you've got a real
relationship there.
WILLIAMS: So reports that, especially just observations that watching
the two of you, you don't appear to like each other very much.
OBAMA: Oh, I-
WILLIAMS: You appear to tolerate each other because you have to.
OBAMA: You know, I don't think that any relationship between me and
Mitt Romney is different from previous presidential campaigns. I mean,
John McCain I knew because I'd served with him in the Senate. But I
think if you look at George Bush and John Kerry, or George Bush and Al
Gore, or first President Bush and Bill Clinton, I don't think anybody
would say that while you were in the middle of a campaign that you felt
deep affection for the other guy because, you know, look, you're
fighting for competing visions.
But what I think the American people understand is, is that this is not
about two individuals or even two political parties. This is about two
different visions for the country and how we are gonna make sure that
every single person in America who is willing to work hard is going to
have a shot at a better life.
WILLIAMS: Mr. President, on domestic politics, a recent poll, 4% of
voters said they would like a first term like the second, 62% of voters
said they would expect major changes in a second Obama term. Would you
be prepared to enact truly major changes?
OBAMA: Well, Brian, you know, if you think about that question, I'd
like to meet the 4%. We went through the worst crisis in our lifetimes.
We had the stock market freeze up, tank, financial market freeze up,
small businesses couldn't get financing. We lost 800,000 jobs the month
that I took office. So, of course people want to make sure that we
continue with the progress that we've started to see, with the housing
market finally starting to strengthen, with the auto industry back, with
job growth over the last 31 months actually outpacing the previous
recovery.
And you know, the plan that I've put forward with education, with
making college and job training accessible to people, to ensure that our
manufacturing base is right back here in the United States, as opposed
to overseas, building on the work we've done, not only increasing oil
and gas production, but also clean energy, making sure that we're
putting Americans back to work, including our veterans, rebuilding roads
and bridges. All those things are designed to make sure that we have
even more robust growth in the future.
WILLIAMS: And Matt, we're back live now, miracle of television, we're
inside a Krispy Kreme donut shop in Tampa. The entire motorcade came to a
halt and one of these thoroughly planned but officially unscheduled
stops is going on. Looks like the President's gonna make breakfast out
of donut and some coffee. We'll have all this tick-tock,
minute-by-minute campaign trail coverage tonight on Nightly News, but
most of it on tonight's broadcast of Rock Center. Matt.
LAUER: Brian, did the motorcade stop because you were hungry or because the President was hungry?
[LAUGHTER]
WILLIAMS: You know, they didn't ask me. I can say, they've never had
this many machine guns inside or adjacent to a Krispy Kreme in Tampa in
modern times.
LAUER: Alright, thanks for your reporting, Brian. We'll take a look for more tonight on Rock Center. Brian, thanks very much.