Transcript: 'State of the Union with Candy Crowley' (12-16-12)

Small Connecticut Town Grieves; Interview with Governor Malloy; Interview with Governor Hickenlooper

Transcript: 'Meet The Press' (12-16-12)

Full Transcript here

Guests: Dannel Malloy, Michael Bloomberg, Dianne Feinstein, Bill Bennett, David Brooks, Randi Weingarten, Tom Ridge, Michael Eric Dyson, Pete Williams

Transcript: 'Meet The Press' (12-9-12)

Full transcript. Excerpt below:

MR. DAVID GREGORY: This morning on MEET THE PRESS, time running out to avoid the fiscal cliff. Is a deal closer than most think?

In public, the lines are drawn. But behind the scenes, the give and take over taxes and entitlement cuts point toward a deal by Christmas. What is standing in the way? This morning, the debate is right here. The house speaker’s top lieutenant, Congressman Kevin McCarthy, and top White House ally, the assistant Senate majority leader, Dick Durbin. McCarthy and Durbin square off.

Then, what is the political endgame for both Republicans and Democrats? Who wins and who loses as this fight drags on?

Plus, the future of the Republican Party is a hot topic as both sides start plotting the 2016 campaign. Our political roundtable features two former Capitol Hill insiders: Newt Gingrich and Lawrence O’Donnell, plus three journalists on the story.

Transcript: 'State of the Union with Candy Crowley' (12-9-12)

• Interview with Tom Cole, Marsha Blackburn; Interview with Christine Lagarde

Transcript: "Fareed Zakaria GPS' (12-9-12)

Full transcript. Excerpt below:

We have a very important show for you today. First up, with Washington at an impasse, an exclusive conversation with one of America's greatest deal-makers, James Baker, the former Secretary of State, former Secretary of the Treasury, former White House Chief of Staff, on how to stay off the fiscal cliff and on what his party should learn from the last election.

Next, when the U.S. aimed high in the 1960s, we sent a man to the moon. With a similar effort, we can now cure cancer. That's what the head of the largest cancer center in the world, Houston's MD Anderson, says. You'll want to hear why we are close to success and yet so far.

And America has lost its number one standing in lots of areas from competitiveness to education. The new number one, in most cases, a Scandinavian country. What is the secret sauce? We'll dig into it.

But, first, here's my take. As we debate whether the two parties can ever come together and get things done, here is something President Obama could do, probably by himself, that would be a signal accomplishment of his presidency: End the war on terror.

For the first time since 9/11, an administration official has sketched a possible endpoint. Jeh Johnson, the outgoing general counsel for the Pentagon, said in a speech to the Oxford Union last week that, "As the battle against al-Qaeda continues, there will come a tipping point at which so many of the leaders and operatives of al- Qaeda and its affiliates have been killed or captured, such that al- Qaeda as we know it, has been effectively destroyed."

At that point, he said, "our efforts should no longer be considered an armed conflict." You might not realize it, but we're still living in a state of war. This is the longest period that the United States has lived in such a situation, longer than the Civil War, World War I, World War II.

It grants the president and the federal government extraordinary authorities effectively suspends civil liberties for anyone the government deems an enemy and it also keeps us at a permanent war footing in all kinds of ways. Ending this situation should be something that would appeal to both left and right.

James Madison, the author of the Constitution, was clear on this topic. "Of all the enemies to public liberty," he wrote, "war is perhaps the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies. From there proceed debts and taxes. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."

If you want to know why we're in such a deep budgetary hole, keep in mind that we have spent about $2 trillion on foreign wars in the last decade. In addition, we have had the largest expansion of the federal government since World War II.

Transcript: 'Meet The Press' (12-2-12)

Full transcript. Excerpt below:

GREGORY: Mister Secretary, welcome back to MEET THE PRESS. Thanks for having us at the

Treasury Department.

MR. TIMOTHY GEITHNER (Treasure Secretary): Good to see you.

GREGORY: You-- you’re the president’s lead negotiator to avert the fiscal cliff. You have been Capitol Hill. You presented the president’s offer. And it immediately was not received well. It was called by Republican leaders unserious. They’ve accused that president and you of wasting precious time here to avert the fiscal cliff. Was this the intended effect, the president’s first offer?

MR. GEITHNER: That's like the normal political theater of this place. You know, what we’re trying to do is to make it more likely, we come together on a good agreement for the American people. It extends tax cuts for the middle class, brings our long-term deficits down. Tough spending savings is-- is part of that, and-- and invest in things that matter to the American economy, like infrastructure, things to help get Americans back to work. And-- and we think we can do that. We have a good chance of do it now and it’s very important we do that. And I think we’re going to get there, David.

GREGORY: Do you think we’ll get a deal by the end of the year?

MR. GEITHNER: I do. I do because the only thing standing in the way of that would be a-- a-- a refusal by Republicans to accept that rates are going to go-- have to go up on the wealthiest Americans. And I-- I don’t really see them doing that.

Transcript: 'Fareed Zakaria GPS' (12-2-12)

Full Transcript. Excerpt below:

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: This is GPS, the Global Public Square. Welcome to all of you in the United States and around the world. I'm Fareed Zakaria.

We will take you around the world today starting with Egypt. The nation has erupted. We'll explain what the power struggle between the president and the courts means for the rest of the Arab world and the world at large.

Then, China's new leaders, we know their names, but just who are they and what can we expect from them. Is Xi Jinping China's Gorbachev or will he take a hard line?

Finally, the Black Swan; it was a best-seller that some say predicted the economic crisis. Its author, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, on his fascinating new book.

Also, the next phase of Europe's crisis, which nations might find themselves split apart? I'll explain.

But, first, here's my take. Yasser Arafat's body has been exhumed for investigation, bringing back memories of the unpredictable Palestinian leader and the Middle East in which he operated.

The news broke at a time when a conventional wisdom began to take hold that the Middle East today is much more dangerous, unstable, violent and anti-American than before. So let's take a look at the facts.

In the 1980s, the newly empowered, radical Islamic Republic of Iran unsettled the region with its promise to spread its revolution elsewhere. Lebanon was in the midst of a bloody civil war that engulfed not only itself but also the Palestinians and Israel.

Iran and Iraq fought a gruesome war with over 1 million casualties. Hezbollah attacked U.S. armed forces directly, forcing a humiliating withdrawal from Lebanon. A CIA station chief was tortured and killed, and U.S. secrets and interests compromised. And that was just in one decade.

Transcript: CNN's 'State of the Union' (12-2-12)

Geithner on State of the Union: No deal 'without rates going up':

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST:  Let me ask you, the reaction to your going up on the Hill and saying, hey, this is basically the White House position, has been Mitch McConnell saying, I - I think it was just demeaning for them to ask the Treasury secretary to come up here and give a proposal like this.

And by this, we have people saying it's a sham, it's, uh, you know, ridiculous.  It's a non-starter.

When you went up there, you didn't think Republicans were going to go, good idea?

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY:  You know, what we're trying to do is get these guys to come together, reach an agreement that's good for the country and good for the economy.

CROWLEY:  And by these guys, you mean you - you all...

GEITHNER:  The Republicans...

CROWLEY:  - and the Republicans.

GEITHNER:  - and Democrats together.

CROWLEY:  And the White House?

GEITHNER:  That's what we're trying to do.

And what we did is put forward a very comprehensive, very carefully designed mix of savings and tax rates to help us put us back on a path to stabilizing our debt, fixing our debt and living within our means.

We've been very detailed about how to do that, both from the spending side and the revenue side.  And we think this is a good plan for the country.  And it - and it does the most important thing, Candy, which is that it gives 98 percent of Americans the certainty they) their taxes aren't going to go up.  And it gives us the chance to make sure we're protecting Medicare for future generations and it gives us the ability to lock in a set of carefully designed reforms that put us back on a path to fiscal balance.

So it's a it's a very good plan and we think it's a good basis for these conversations.

Transcript, Video: Mitt and Ann Romney's Interview With Diane Sawyer

Full transcript. Excerpt below:

DIANE SAWYER: And John McCain said they gave him 23 years of tax returns when he was considering you for the vice presidency. If John McCain can get 23 should-- for transparency's sake the rest of the American public get 23 years?

MITT ROMNEY: Well, actually the American public has through legislation determined that we need a extraordinary dis-- set of disclosure of financial records of people running for president and I have complied with all that and then in addition put out two more years of tax returns. And exactly as John McCain and-- and-- John Kerry had, and-- I know the Obama people want to get us to do something that will cause a lot of attention to be drawn to the fact that I've been successful. John McCain wasn't worried about diverting from the issues of-- of the-- of the day, but I understand that the Democrats are going to try and do everything in their power to keep this election from being about the failure of President Obama to turn around our economy.

Transcript: ABC 'This Week' with Ron Paul (1-1-2012)

Full Transcript. Excerpt below:

TAPPER: Well, I think it's more than eight sentences, but -- but moving on, one of your former close aides recently said that you, quote, "engaged in conspiracy theories, including perhaps the 9/11 attacks were coordinated with the CIA, and that the Bush administration might have known about the attacks ahead of time." So have you ever expressed in front of anyone...

PAUL: Now, wait, wait, wait, wait. Don't -- don't go any further on that. That's complete nonsense.

TAPPER: It's nonsense?

PAUL: Just stop that.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Not true?

PAUL: Yeah, no. I did not -- I never bought into that stuff. I never talked about it.

TAPPER: OK.

PAUL: About the conspiracy of Bush -- of Bush knowing about this? No, no, come on. Come on. Let's be reasonable.

TAPPER: OK.

PAUL: That's just off-the-wall. 

President Obama on Meet the Press: Transcript (12-7-08)

President-elect Barack Obama appeared on Meet the Press (12-7-08) on Tom Brokaw's last show. Read the complete transcript and see the video here.

MR. BROKAW: Very nice to have you with us. As we saw in the opening, the world has gotten considerably worse since your election. There is no evidence that it's cause and effect, you should be happy to know. But, nonetheless, we now are officially in a recession. It's around the world, and most analysts think it's going to get worse before it gets better. Sixty-seven years ago this day, one of your predecessors, Franklin Roosevelt, faced Pearl Harbor.

PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Right.

MR. BROKAW: What are the differences between his challenges and the ones that you face?

PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Well, first of all, I think it's important for us to remember that as tough as times are right now, they're nothing compared to what my grandparents went through, what the "greatest generation" went through. You know, at this point you already had 25, 30 percent unemployment across the country, and we didn't have many of the social safety nets that emerged out of the New Deal. So there's no doubt that Franklin Roosevelt had to re-create an entire economic structure that had entirely collapsed, and we've got some strengths that he didn't, he didn't have.

But, look, if you look at the unemployment numbers that came out yesterday, if you think about almost two million jobs lost so far, if you think about the fragility of the financial system and the fact that it is now a global financial system, so that what happens in Thailand or Russia can have an impact here, and obviously, what happens on Wall Street has an impact worldwide, when you think about the structural problems that we already had in the economy before the financial crisis, this is a big problem and it's going to get worse. And, and one of the things that I'm constantly mindful of are all the people I met during the campaign who were already struggling before things got worse. You know, mothers and fathers who were working hard every day but didn't have health care, couldn't figure out how to send their kids to college. Now they're looking at pink slips, jobs being shipped overseas that devastate entire towns. And that's why my number one priority coming in is making sure that we've got an economic recovery plan that is equal to the task.

MR. BROKAW: Here's what you had to say a short time ago to the national conference of governors. It was kind of a reality check for them to put it in some kind of a context. Let's share that with our audience now, if we can.

(Videotape, Tuesday)

PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: We're going to have to make hard choices. Like the ones that you're making right now in your state capitals, we're going to have to make in Washington. And we are not, as a nation, going to be able to just keep on printing money; so, at some point, we're also going to have to make some long-term decisions in terms of fiscal responsibility and not all of those choices are going to be popular.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: On this program about a year ago, you said that being a president is 90 percent circumstances and about 10 percent agenda. The circumstances now are, as you say, very unpopular in terms of the decisions that have to be made. Which are the most unpopular ones that the country's going to have to deal with?

PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Well, fortunately, as tough as times are right now--and things are going to get worse before they get better--there is a convergence between circumstances and agenda. The key for us is making sure that we jump-start that economy in a way that doesn't just deal with the short term, doesn't just create jobs immediately, but also puts us on a glide path for long-term, sustainable economic growth. And that's why I spoke in my radio address on Saturday about the importance of investing in the largest infrastructure program--in roads and bridges and, and other traditional infrastructure--since the building of the federal highway system in the 1950s; rebuilding our schools and making sure that they're energy efficient; making sure that we're investing in electronic medical records and other technologies that can drive down health care costs. All those things are not only immediate--part of an immediate stimulus package to the economy, but they're also down payments on the kind of long-term, sustainable growth that we need.

Chris Matthews: Why Doesn't the Government Just Buy General Motors?

Chris Matthews, on Hardball, seems to be arguing that the government should buy General Motors rather than just bailing out the car industry. Read the transcript here (12-2-08).

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Is what`s bad for General Motors bad for America?

Let`s play HARDBALL.

Good evening. I`m Chris Matthews. Leading off tonight, take two for the big three. To paraphrase that 18th century author Samuel Johnson, nothing concentrates your mind so much as the realization you might go bankrupt in the morning.

Two weeks ago, the heads of the big three flew to Washington in separate private jets, all pleading poverty. Now Ford`s CEO is driving to Washington in a hybrid, and all the CEOs say they`re going to work for a dollar a year. They`re all submitting their turn-around plans to Congress today, but can they convince the government to bail them out? We`ll talk to one industry expert who says it`s time -- catch this -- to simply nationalize General Motors -- just buy the baby.

And speaking of people with their hands out, the country`s governors met with President-elect Obama in Philadelphia today. They`re asking for a big chunk of Obama`s planned federal stimulus package.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I`m not simply asking the nation`s governors to help implement our economic plan, I`m going to be interested in you helping to draft and shape that economic plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: More on what the governors want in a moment.

And those Nixon White House tapes are the gift that just keeps on giving. Nearly 200 hours worth were released today, including this sugar plum between President Nixon and Henry Kissinger, who was then his national security adviser and who had just met with Ivy League presidents, people Nixon didn`t like.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RICHARD M. NIXON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Ivy League presidents? Why, I`ll never let those sons of bitches ever in this White House again. Never, never, never. They`re finished. The Ivy League schools are finished.

Henry, I would not have had them in. Don`t ever do that again. Don`t ever have them in. They came out against us when it was tough.

Don`t ever go to an Ivy League school again ever. Never, never, never.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: Like him already. There`s so much more where that came from, and we`ll talk to former White House counsel -- boy, he knows what he`s talking about -- John Dean. He`s coming to HARDBALL tonight.

Also, voters are going to the polls, of course, tonight in that Georgia run-off election for the Senate between incumbent senator Saxby Chambliss and his Democratic challenger, Jim Martin. Plus, there`s news about Senate seats in Florida, Illinois. And here`s the wild card for everybody watching HARDBALL -- could Bill Clinton replace Hillary Clinton in New York in that Senate seat? More of that in tonight`s "Politics Fix."

And if Sarah Palin is thinking of running for the Senate in two years, she`s getting the "Bring it on" treatment from her fellow Alaska Republican who now holds that seat, Lisa Murkowski. And Alaska snowball fight in the HARDBALL "Sideshow" tonight.

But we begin tonight with the bail-out of those big three auto makers. Joining us from Detroit is the president and chief operating officer of General Motors, Fritz Henderson. Mr. Henderson, well, you look like a happy guy tonight, sir.

FREDERICK "FRITZ" HENDERSON, GM PRES. & COO: I don`t know, Chris. I`m just glad to be here. Thanks for taking the time with us.

MATTHEWS: Well, let me ask you about this. There`s been a proposal out there that the government simply buy General Motors. If we`re going to pay for the bail-out and the bail-out of a company that`s basically broke, why not just buy the company and produce cars at the federal level? If the private sector is not working, why not try the public sector?

HENDERSON: Chris, I guess a couple things. First, we`ve crafted a plan, drafted a plan that`s intended to allow us to be competitive, viable. We`ve asked for support. We have a plan to repay the support. And we think we can get General Motors on the right path. I do have some experience working around the globe, including a number of places where governments have owned auto makers in total, and generally, it doesn`t work.

MATTHEWS: You know, Lee Iacocca, when he borrowed the money for Chrysler back in the `80s, repaid that billion dollars. Can you guarantee that you`ll repay it? If this is a bridge loan, then you should be able to repay it. And what terms do you offer the government in exchange for borrowing $18 billion?

HENDERSON: We -- our plan -- what we did is we sized our plan based upon a number of different scenarios, including a very pessimistic or downside scenario in order to stress-test it.

MATTHEWS: Yes.

HENDERSON: Based upon that scenario, we certainly feel confident that we`ll be able to repay the loan. And in terms of protections, we would offer the normal taxpayer protections, senior status, warrants, ability to call the loan in case we don`t meet milestones, and frankly, an oversight process to make sure we`re hitting our milestones.

MATTHEWS: How do you hit milestones, as you put them, sales goals, if we`re going into a long recession, it looks like? According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, we`ve been in one for a year. Projections are that it could be a long and deep one. How can you sell cars when people really don`t have to buy cars, they choose to in most cases because they want a new car? What stops people from keeping the old car in a recession?

HENDERSON: Well, we`ve been in a blizzard-like recession, actually, since over the last year in our industry. Consumer durables -- second largest for a consumer. The auto business has been turning down. And if I look at this year, first quarter down versus `07. Second quarter down versus the first quarter. Third quarter down versus the second quarter. And then October and November have just been bleak.

MATTHEWS: Yes.

President Obama Press Conference (12-1-08)

President-elect Obama held a press/news conference to introduce his new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Read the complete transcript here.

Last week, we announced our economic team, which is working as we speak to craft an economic recovery program to create jobs and grow our struggling economy. Today, Vice President-elect Biden and I are pleased to announce our national security team.

The national security challenges we face are just as grave and just as urgent as our economic crisis. We are fighting two wars. Our old conflicts remain unresolved, and newly assertive powers have put strains on the international system. The spread of nuclear weapons raises the peril that the world's deadliest technologies could fall into dangerous hands. Our dependence on foreign oil empowers authoritarian governments and endangers our planet.

America must also be strong at home to be strong abroad. We need to provide education and opportunity to all our citizens, so every American can compete with anyone, anywhere. And our economic power must sustain our military strength, our diplomatic leverage, and our global leadership.

The common thread linking these challenges is the fundamental reality that in the 21st century our destiny is shared with the world's. From our markets to our security, from our public health to our climate, we must act with that understanding that, now more than ever, we have a stake in what happens across the globe. And as we learned so painfully on 9/11, terror cannot be contained by borders, nor safely provided by oceans alone.

Last week, we were reminded of this threat once again when terrorists took the lives of six Americans among nearly 200 victims in Mumbai. In the world we seek, there is no place for those who kill innocent civilians to advance hateful extremism. This weekend, I told Prime Minister Singh of India that Americans stand with the people of India in this dark time. And I am confident that India's great democracy is more resilient than killers who would tear it down.

And so, in this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning, a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges. We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships. We will show the world once more that America is relentless in the defense of our people, steady in advancing our interests and committed to the ideals that shine as a beacon to the world -- democracy and -- (audio break) -- because American values are America's greatest export to the world.

To succeed, we must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy, our intelligence and law enforcement, our economy and the power of our moral example.

The team that we've assembled here today is uniquely suited to do just that. In their past service and plans for the future, these men and women represent all of those elements of American power, and the very best of the American example. They have served in uniform and as diplomats; they have worked as legislators, law enforcement officials and executives. They share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America's role as a leader in the world.

I have known Hillary Clinton as a friend, a colleague, a source of counsel and a tough campaign opponent. She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and a remarkable work ethic. I am proud that she will be our next secretary of State. She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capital, and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world.

Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances. There is much to do -- from preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to Iran and North Korea, to seeking a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, to strengthening international institutions. I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton is the right person to lead our State Department, and to work with me in tackling this ambitious foreign policy agenda.

At a time when we face an unprecedented transition amidst two wars, I have asked Secretary Robert Gates to continue as secretary of Defense, and I'm pleased that he's accepted. Two years ago, he took over the Pentagon at a difficult time. He restored accountability. He won the confidence of military commanders, and the trust of our brave men and women in uniform, as well as their families. He earned the respect of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle for his pragmatism and competence. He knows that we need a sustainable national security strategy, and that includes a bipartisan consensus at home.

Charlie Gibson Interviews an Unapologetic George Bush

ABC's Charlie Gibson interviewed the soon to be President George Bush. Read the complete transcript and see the video here.

GIBSON: Do you feel in any way responsible for what's happening?

BUSH: You know, I'm the President during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in President, during I arrived in President.

I'm a little upset that we didn't get the reforms to Fannie and Freddie -- on Fannie and Freddie, because I think it would have helped a lot. And when people review the history of this administration, people will say that this administration tried hard to get a regulator. And there will be a lot of analysis of why that didn't happen. I suspect people will find a lot of it didn't happen for pure political reasons.

[...]GIBSON: That's the second time I've heard you use the word "joyful" about the presidency, and that might take people by surprise. Even in really tough times?

BUSH: Oh, yes. As I said, some times are happy, some not happy. I don't want people to misconstrue. It's not -- I don't feel joyful when somebody loses their life, nor do I feel joyful from somebody loses a job. That concerns me. And the President ends up carrying a lot of people's grief in his soul during a presidency. One of the things about the presidency is you deal with a lot of tragedy -- whether it be hurricanes, or tornadoes, or fires, or death -- and you spend time being the Comforter-in-Chief. But the idea of being able to serve a nation you love is -- has been joyful. In other words, my spirits have never been down. I have been sad, but the spirits are up.

[...]GIBSON: Was the election in any way a repudiation of the Bush administration?

BUSH: I think it was a repudiation of Republicans. And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy. In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as President.

GIBSON: But both candidates wound up criticizing you a lot.

BUSH: Yes, well, that's what happens when you're the incumbent during a tough economic time, but --

GIBSON: Hurt?

BUSH: No, not really. You know, I've been around politics a long time. Remember, I was the guy in 2000 who campaigned for change. I campaigned for change when I ran for governor of Texas. The only time I really didn't campaign for change is when I was running for reelection.

[...]GIBSON: Do you feel the divisions are deeper, the enmities perhaps a little stronger, the language a little tougher now than it was January 20, 2001?

BUSH: Yes, I do. I do. I think -- I don't know, the close election created some pretty harsh language. But once I was President I think people decided that, well, let's try to work with him, and I said, I'd like to work with you, and we did some pretty good things. But having said that, Washington has always been politics. I mean, if you, like, for example, study the early Presidents, there's some pretty tough language when it came to Abraham Lincoln, or the relationship between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

So I didn't go into this naively, I knew it would be tough. But I also knew that the President has the responsibility to try to elevate the tone. And, frankly, it just didn't work, as well as I'd like to have it work.

GIBSON: I guess the bottom-line question I'm asking you is, do you feel you were in any way able to change Washington? Or do you feel --

BUSH: I think we did. I think we brought a results-oriented government, and we insisted that people focus on results, not process, and on a variety of reforms. Whether it be No Child Left Behind, or like the PEPFAR Initiative, or the Malaria Initiative, the question we always asked was, are we achieving the results?

Washington can be a very process-oriented town. The budget process -- let's just pass money because the program sounds good. We worked hard to say, is the program achieving the results? If not, let's eliminate it.

Meet The Press Transcript (11-30-08)

First lady Laura Bush and Ted Turner appeared on Meet the Press this week. Read the complete transcript (11-30-08).

MS. BUSH: Life under the Taliban is so hard and repressive, even small displays of joy are outlawed--children aren't allowed to fly kites; their mothers face beatings for laughing out loud. Women cannot work outside the home, or even leave their homes by themselves. ... Only the terrorists and the Taliban forbid education to women. Only the terrorists and the Taliban threaten to pull out women's fingernails for wearing nail polish. The plight of women and children in Afghanistan is a matter of deliberate human cruelty, carried out by those who seek to intimidate and control. ... In America, next week brings Thanksgiving. After the events of the last few months, we'll be holding our families even closer. And we will be especially thankful for all the blessings of American life. I hope Americans will join our family in working to insure that dignity and opportunity will be secured for all the women and children of Afghanistan.

(End audiotape)

MR. BROKAW: Not too long after that, great progress was made in Afghanistan.

MS. BUSH: That's right.

MR. BROKAW: Women became involved in politics, they're members of the parliament. They've taken a much more active role in that country. But as we all know, the Taliban have come back into Afghanistan in larger numbers, and now there were 15 schoolgirls that were attacked...

MS. BUSH: That's right.

MR. BROKAW: ...with acid in Kandahar just recently. Some arrests have been made...

MS. BUSH: Mm-hmm.

MR. BROKAW: ...but that's pretty discouraging, isn't it?

MS. BUSH: It is discouraging. But on the other hand, there has been lots of progress. Are there steps back? Yes. And they're terrible, brutal happenings like the girls who were just walking to school and were targeted just because they were going to school, and disfigured with acid. The really good news is these--the people who did it have been arrested. There is an Afghan police force now and an Afghan army that are building up to be able to protect the people of Afghanistan internally like the--like we want them to. We all want them to. And there are many, many signs of progress. When I was in Bamiyan this year I met with a governor, female governor, I met with female police officers. Are there--are women afraid to step out and have some of these roles? Sure, to some extent they are. But these sort of happenings are more isolated than they sound when we read about them in the newspaper, because they are so horrific when we read about it.

MR. BROKAW: And it's much worse in the south and in the rural areas...

MS. BUSH: That's right.

MR. BROKAW: ...than it is in the north.

MS. BUSH: That's--and Kabul is in much better shape, I think, than it has been. Violence is down there in the city. But in certain parts of Afghanistan, because there are still so many very conservative people, women themselves are afraid. I met with a group of women, parliamentarians, members of parliament, who were in the United States recently, and they said, "This is our chance, and if we don't take this chance, if we don't succeed now then when will we ever be able to?" And I think the main thing that that says to me is that we need to stay with them, we have to continue to support them.

Recently when there was a terrorist bombing in Afghanistan, a group of people--1,000 protesters actually came out to protest. Most people in Afghanistan want to be able to build their country, live a decent life, not be afraid of a terrorist attack, and the fact is we just need to keep working with them so they can do it.

President-elect Obama News Conference (11-26-08)

Obama held his 4th press/news conference as President elect on Wednesday (11-26-08). Read the complete transcript.

PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA: It has been increasingly clear in recent months -- and we saw some additional reports this morning -- that we're facing an economic crisis of historic proportions. And at this defining moment in our nation's history, the old ways of thinking and the old ways of acting just won't do. We're called to seek fresh thinking and bold new ideas from the leading minds across America. And as we chart a course to economic recovery, we must ensure that our government -- your government -- is held accountable for delivering results.

Today, I'm pleased to announce the formation of a new institution to help our economic team accomplish these goals: the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. This board is modeled on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board created by President Eisenhower to provide rigorous analysis and vigorous oversight to our intelligence community by individuals outside of government -- individuals who would be candid and unsparing in their assessment. This new board will perform a similar function for my administration as we formulate our economic policy.

The board will be composed of distinguished individuals from diverse backgrounds outside of government -- from business, labor, academia and other areas -- who will bring to bear their wisdom and expertise on the formulation, implementation and evaluation of my administration's economic recovery plan. The board will report regularly to me, Vice President-Elect Biden and our economic team as we seek to jump-start economic growth, create jobs, raise wages, address our housing crisis, and stabilize our financial markets.

Let me speak to why I think this is necessary. The reality is is that sometimes policymaking in Washington can become a little bit too ingrown, a little bit too insular. The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking. You start engaging in groupthink. And those who serve in Washington don't always have a ground-level sense of which programs and policies are working for people and businesses, and which aren't.

This board will provide that fresh perspective to me and my administration with an infusion of ideas from across the country and from all sectors of our economy, input that will be informed by members' firsthand observations of how our efforts are impacting the daily lives of our families.

I'm pleased to announce that this board will be chaired by one of the world's foremost economic policy experts, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve and one of my most trusted advisors, Paul Volcker. Paul has been by my side throughout this campaign, providing a deep understanding of financial markets, extensive experience managing economic crises, and keen insight into the global nature of this particular crisis. Paul has served under both Republicans and Democrats, and is held in the highest esteem for his sound and independent judgment. He pulls no punches. He seems to be fairly opinionated. (Laughter.) He has a long and distinguished record of service to our nation, and I am pleased that he's answered the call to serve once again.

President Obama Press Conference Transcript (11-25-08)

This was President elect Barack Obama's third press conference (11-25-08). Read the complete transcript.

PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA: Please be seated. Good morning, everybody.

Yesterday, we talked about the need to jumpstart our economy. I speak to you today mindful that we meet at a moment of great challenge for America, as our credit markets are stressed and our families are struggling.

But as difficult as these times are, I'm confident that we're going to rise to meet this challenge, if we're willing to band together and recognize that Wall Street cannot thrive so long as Main Street is struggling, if we're willing to summon a new spirit of ingenuity and determination and if Americans of great intellect, broad experience and good character are willing to serve in our government at its hour of need.

Yesterday, I announced four such Americans to help lead the economic team that will advise me as we seek to climb out of this crisis. Today, I'm pleased to announce two other key members of our team: Peter Orszag as director and Robert Nabors as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Now, before I explain why I selected these outstanding public servants, let me say a few words about the work that I'm asking them to undertake. As I said yesterday, the economic crisis we face demands that we invest immediately in a series of measures that will help save or create 2.5 million jobs and put tax cuts in the pockets of the hard-pressed middle class.

Many of those new jobs will come in areas -- such as energy independence, technology and health care modernization -- that will strengthen our economy over the long term. But if we are going to make the investments we need, we also have to be willing to shed the spending that we don't need.

In these challenging times, when we are facing both rising deficits and a sinking economy, budget reform is not an option. It's a necessity. We can't sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars, on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of politicians, lobbyists or interest groups. We simply can't afford it.

This isn't about big government or small government. It's about building a smarter government that focuses on what works. And that's why I will ask my team to think anew and act anew to meet our new challenges.

We are going to go through our federal budget, as I promised during the campaign, page by page, line by line, eliminating those programs we don't need and insisting that those that we do need operate in a sensible, cost-effective way.

Let me just give you one example of what I'm talking about. There's a report today that from 2003 to 2006, millionaire farmers received $49 million in crop subsidies even though they were earning more than the $2.5 million cutoff for such subsidies. If this is true -- and this was just a report this morning, but if it's true, it is a prime example of the kind of waste that I intend to end as president.

We're also going to focus on one of the biggest long-run challenges that our budget faces -- namely, the rising cost of health care in both the public and private sectors. This is not just a challenge, but also an opportunity to improve the health care that Americans rely on and to bring down the costs that taxpayers, businesses and families have to pay.

Now, that's what the Office of Management and Budget will do in my administration. It will not only help design a budget and manage its implementation, but it's also going to make sure that our government -- your government -- is more efficient and more effective at serving the American people.

There's no better person to help lead this effort as director of the OMB than my friend Peter Orszag. Peter's been one of our nation's leading voices on budgetary issues. It's said that a nation's budget reflects its values and its priorities. I believe that's true. And I know that Peter will bring to his work at the OMB a set of priorities that I and the American people share.

Throughout his career, he's made significant contributions in our understanding of all the major economic challenges that we're now confronting -- from reducing medical costs, to saving Social Security, to fighting global climate change, to helping put the dream of a college degree within the reach of more students.

As director of the Congressional Budget Office, he reenergized and reinvigorated the agency, while shifting its focus to confront the health care crisis that is not only a cause of so much suffering for so many families, but a rapidly growing portion of our budget and a drag on our entire economy.

Traitor Joe Lieberman on Meet the Press: Transcript (11-23-08)

Turncoat Senator Joe Lieberman refused to apologize to President elect Barack Obama for supporting John McCain during the presidential election while appearing on Meet The Press. Read the complete Transcript (11-23-08).

MR. BROKAW: You've always, as a public servant, held other people accountable. You were the only one to speak out on the floor, for example, against Bill Clinton during the time of the impeachment. Holding yourself accountable, looking back over the last six weeks, two months or so, what are the statements that you most regret?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I don't want to go into the details. Let me just say this, I don't regret having supported John McCain because I sincerely believed in his experience and his extraordinary record of working across party lines to get things done. But I do regret, as I said to the caucus and, and afterward publicly, there were some things I said in the heat of a campaign that I wish I had said more clearly. There are other things, frankly, I wish I hadn't said at all. That happens to all of us in the heat of a campaign. But, nonetheless, I regret it and I want to move forward. And I was very grateful that my caucus, in the resolution they passed, did not disapprove of my support of Senator McCain, because they respected that I did is as an Independent Democrat for somebody I had worked with very closely. They expressed their disapproval of some of the things I said. I accept that. That was the spirit of reconciliation. And now we move on together to get the nation's business done.

MR. BROKAW: Have...

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Urgently.

MR. BROKAW: Have you picked up the phone and talked to Barack Obama about just that?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: I, I called Senator Obama, President-elect Obama, after the campaign. He's busy. I heard back from Joe Biden and Rahm Emanuel. I'm sure, in time, Senator Obama and I, who, who, who have developed a good friendship and working relationship over the years he's been in the Senate, will, will talk. In some sense he talked to me through Harry Reid and his spokespeople, and I appreciate very much the spirit of reconciliation that he evoked. We don't have the luxury of looking backward to the campaign. He's the winner. He's the president-elect. We've all got to work together with him to make him successful, and that's what I'm committed to doing.

MR. BROKAW: I hear the word regret but not the word apology.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I do, I regret it. I mean, I don't, I, I, you know, I'm going forward. You can take from the word regret what you, what you, will. I wish I had not said some of the things I've said. But, again, we all do it. There was a lot of stuff said in this campaign about both candidates that I think a lot of people regret. I'm happy to step forward and say that I regret some of the things I've said. But somebody once said to me, God put our eyes in front of our head so we would always be naturally looking forward. And that's what, at this time of peril for our country, we've all got to be doing.

Why is Lieberman a traitor, you ask? This is an individual who betrayed his party simply because he is more loyal to Israel than to the United States of America, to whom he has sworn loyalty.

al Qaeda No. 2 Insults Obama with a Racial Epithet

Bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, (video and transcript below) is not only a murderer but a racist. He also doesn't know much about American history. He attacks Barack Obama, who has had his name mispronounced deliberately on many occasions to read Osama, and defends Malcolm X. Wasn't Malcolm X murdered by a Muslim?

Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites.

The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies. Ayman al-Zawahri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites, that Obama is "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader.

In al-Qaida's first response to Obama's victory, al-Zawahri also called the president-elect — along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice — "house negroes."

Speaking in Arabic, al-Zawahri uses the term "abeed al-beit," which literally translates as "house slaves." But al-Qaida supplied English subtitles of his speech that included the translation as "house negroes."

The message also includes old footage of speeches by Malcolm X in which he explains the term, saying black slaves who worked in their white masters' house were more servile than those who worked in the fields. Malcolm X used the term to criticize black leaders he accused of not standing up to whites.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the latest message was just "more despicable comments from a terrorist."

The 11-minute 23-second video features the audio message by al-Zawahri, who appears only in a still image, along with other images, including one of Obama wearing a Jewish skullcap as he meets with Jewish leaders. In his speech, al-Zawahri refers to a Nov. 5 U.S. airstrike attack in Afghanistan, meaning the video was made after that date.

Al-Zawahri said Obama's election has not changed American policies he said are aimed at oppressing Muslims and others.

Here is complete transcript of Zawahri diatribe.

Muslim brothers everywhere: Peace be upon you and the Mercy of Allah and His blessings. As for what comes after:

Barack Obama has won the presidency of the United States of America, and on this occasion, I would like to send several messages.

First, a message of congratulations to the Muslim Ummah on the American people's admission of defeat in Iraq. Although the evidence of America's defeat in Iraq appeared years ago, Bush and his administration continued to be stubborn and deny the brilliant midday sun. If Bush has achieved anything, it is in his transfer of America's disaster and predicament to his successor. But the American people, by electing Obama, declared its anxiety and apprehension about the future towards which the policy of the likes of Bush is leading it, and so it decided to support someone calling for withdrawal from Iraq.

The second of these messages is to the new president of the United States. I tell him: you have reached the position of president, and a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits you. A failure in Iraq to which you have admitted, and a failure in Afghanistan to which the commanders of your army have admitted. The other thing to which I want to bring your attention is that what you've announced about how you're going to reach an understanding with Iran and pull your troops out of Iraq to send them to Afghanistan is a policy which was destined for failure before it was born. It appears that you don't know anything about the Muslim Ummah and its history, and the fate of the traitors who cooperated with the invaders against it, and don't know anything about the history of Afghanistan and its free and defiant Muslim people. And if you still want to be stubborn about America's failure in Afghanistan, then remember the fate of Bush and Pervez Musharraf, and the fate of the Soviets and British before them. And be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them.

President Obama on 60 Minutes: Transcript (11-16-08)

Read the complete transcript.

Kroft: Has this been easier than the campaign trail?

Mr. Obama: Well, it's different. I think that during the campaign it is just a constant frenetic, forward momentum. Here, I'm stationary. But the issues come to you. And we've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of problems, a lot of big challenges.

Kroft: Have there been moments when you've said, 'What did I get myself into?'

Mr. Obama: Surprisingly enough, I feel right now that I'm doing what I should be doing. That gives me a certain sense of calm. I will say that the challenges that we're confronting are enormous. And they're multiple. And so there are times during the course of a given a day where you think, 'Where do I start?'

Kroft: What have you been concentrating on this week?

Mr. Obama: Couple of things. Number one, I think it's important to get a national security team in place because transition periods are potentially times of vulnerability to a terrorist attack. We wanna make sure that there is as seamless a transition on national security as possible. Obviously the economy. Talking to top economic advisors about how we're gonna create jobs, how we get the economy back on track and what do we do in terms of some long-term issues like energy and healthcare. And how do we sequence those things in a way that we can actually get things through Congress?

Kroft: Are you in sync with Secretary Paulson in terms of how the $700 billion is being used?

Mr. Obama: Well, look, Hank Paulson has worked tirelessly under some very difficult circumstances. We've got an unprecedented crisis, or at least something that we have not seen since the Great Depression. And I think Hank would be the first one to acknowledge that probably not everything that's been done has worked the way he had hoped it would work. But I'm less interested in looking backwards than I am in looking forwards.

Kroft: The government has spent almost $300 billion out of the TARP program.

Mr. Obama: Right.

Kroft: Money that was set aside to help the financial industry. And nothing much has changed if you look at it. Nothing much has changed. It’s $300 billion. Why is that?

Mr. Obama: I think the part of the way to think about it is things could be worse. I mean, we could have seen a lot more bank failures over the last several months. We could have seen an even more rapid deterioration of the economy, even a bigger drop in the stock market. So part of what we have to measure against is what didn't happen and not just what has happened.

Having said that, there's no doubt that we have not been able yet to reset the confidence in the financial markets and in the consumer markets and among businesses that allow the economy to move forward in a strong way. And my job as president is gonna be to make sure that we restore that confidence.

(CBS) Kroft: Once you become president, are there things that you'll change?

Mr. Obama: Well, you know I think we still have to see how this thing unfolds over the next couple of months. One area that I'm concerned about, and I've said this publicly, is we have not focused on foreclosures and what's happening to homeowners as much as I would like. We have the tools to do it. We've gotta set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. That is gonna have an impact on the economy as a whole. And, you know, one thing I'm determined is that if we don't have a clear focused program for homeowners by the time I take office, we will after I take office.

Kroft: Are you being consulted by Secretary Paulson?
Is he telling you what's going on?

Mr. Obama: You know what we've done is we've assigned somebody on my transition team who interacts with him on a daily basis. And, you know, we are getting the information that's required to and we're making suggestions in some circumstances about how we think they might approach some of these problems.