{"id":741,"date":"2012-03-18T17:46:48","date_gmt":"2012-03-19T00:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=741"},"modified":"2012-03-18T17:48:04","modified_gmt":"2012-03-19T00:48:04","slug":"60-minutes-interview-with-president-obama-notes-and-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=741","title":{"rendered":"60 Minutes Interview with President Obama: Notes and Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had an opportunity recently to watch the 60 Minutes interview with Barack Obama<\/a>, broadcast last December. \u00a0The interview comes at a time when the public opinion polls reflect a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the direction the United States is taking, \u00a0politicians generally, and Mr. Obama particularly. \u00a0So what was interesting to me was Mr. Obama’s confidence and self-assured disposition during the interview.<\/p>\n

His solid performance came as something of a surprise because I have, perhaps like most people, been familiar with the president only through the eyes of other politicians, various political pundits, and social media. And of course a good deal of my exposure has been through the various polls that make the rounds. \u00a0In other words, I’m familiar with Mr. Obama via the vast echo-chamber called “media.\u201d The 24-hour 7-days-a-week news cycle does not seem to be charitable to anyone for very long. \u00a0As George Will<\/a> would say, \u201cwell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watching Mr. Obama become president right there in front of Steve Kroft was instructive. \u00a0Of course he was president before, but I hadn’t really respected that. And of course the wisdom of hindsight, many years, decades or centuries from now will render a verdict on his performance that I cannot predict. \u00a0But in the moment, the here and now, President Obama seemed intelligent, pragmatic, and determined. Not just resolved, but optimistic. \u00a0The comparison that comes to mind? \u00a0JFK. As George Will might also say, \u201cof course.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there you have it. A relatively young president, a student of history not necessarily by choice, but circumstance, talking about American fair play, the need for people to contribute their fair share, about reversing social injustice. \u00a0Of course his circumstances are vastly different than John Kennedy. \u00a0But the two men seem to share the same kind of social ideals.<\/p>\n

I know there is another side to this story. \u00a0As Steve Kroft pointed out, several times, the polls don’t favor the president. He is subject to some intelligent and rational criticism from several different sides. But it seems to me our country has always been a place where the social dynamics can be fierce: individual liberty, free speech, an open marketplace, the rights of private property all combined together can be a potent elixir. We are a culture of opinions that are (mostly) ungoverned by concerns about safety. As a country we were born out of rebellion, schooled in it, and we are still at it. \u00a0Hurrah for the red, white and blue! \u00a0Well.<\/p>\n

The television broadcast was actually in two parts. \u00a0I’ve seen both parts, as well as the complete interview ( broadcast on CBS Overtime). \u00a0\u00a0What\u2019s interesting is that in the longer interview President Obama displays a much stronger side of himself. \u00a0I suppose the constraints of editing an important interview down to a few minutes is challenging. \u00a0And the shorter presentations do serve to explore the big questions and the President\u2019s answers. \u00a0But there are some subtle nuances that get lost. \u00a0One thing that doesn\u2019t get lost is that President Obama does not get rattled, he doesn\u2019t lose his focus, and he doesn\u2019t back down.<\/p>\n

Kroft touches on all the recent hot-button issues: Wall Street, the deficit, discontent from Democrats and Republicans, doubts about leadership, negatives in opinion polls, and the upcoming election.<\/p>\n

On the issue of Wall Street, Kroft cites recent negative poll results (42% believe the President\u2019s policies favor Wall Street, 35% said his polices favor average Americans) as being the result of a lack of accountability: no criminal prosecutions, and weak civil actions. \u00a0President Obama\u2019s response is a quick civics lesson (the executive branch is separate from the judicial branch), and at the same time he delivers a small introduction to the one point he makes throughout the interview: fair play. \u00a0What he actually said is that some of the most egregious and unethical acts were legal, and what is needed is legal reform. \u00a0\u201cThe toughest reform package since FDR and the Great Depression\u201d is how he put it.<\/p>\n

He said legal reform, but what he means is fair play. \u00a0It\u2019s a recurring theme throughout the interview. \u00a0The President also said \u201cwe,\u201d as in \u201cwe\u201d put together legislation. \u00a0His use of the phrase \u201c40 thousand foot view\u201d is interesting as well. \u00a0\u00a0The sense of all this is that he understands his power, and knows how to use it. \u00a0As that other Roosevelt said, \u201cthe bully pulpit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kroft raises the issue of tax reform. \u00a0Kroft begins to talk about Republican efforts to compromise, but the President steps in to offer a correction — \u201cthey made overtures where they were willing to raise two hundred billion dollars in exchange for two trillion dollars in cuts.\u201d \u00a0Obama\u2019s ability to deftly change the course of the conversation, to take a negative and flip it over so quickly, is displayed several times in the interview. \u00a0He is as congenial as Kroft, but just as determined to manage the interaction and get his message across.<\/p>\n

Putting aside for a moment the arguments between the two very different notions of \u201csocial justice\u201d that permeate the discussion (e.g., self-reliance vs. safety-net), for Obama, the whole question of tax reform centers on his idea of \u201cbalance.\u201d \u00a0His rejoinder to Kroft was that stripping the middle-class and seniors of tax breaks and benefits — \u201cthe things that people of modest means rely on\u201c \u00a0— was not fair. \u00a0Those who prospered the most from \u201cthe new economy\u201d \u00a0should do more.<\/p>\n

The other theme that Obama came back to is his willingness to engage in dialog with his opponents to find solutions to the problems at hand. \u00a0\u00a0From his perspective the Democrats are willing to make concessions, but they expect a willingness on the Republican side to do the same. In a word, \u201ccompromise.\u201d Kroft turns this around by saying that the President\u2019s own party thinks he gave away too much, that he was \u201coutmaneuvered … was stared down … capitulated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s answer to this is serious and measured: the long-term solution for Democrats is to agree to make changes in social benefits (\u201centitlements\u201d) and for Republicans to agree to raise taxes. \u00a0The vision here — and \u201cvision\u201d is the one key theme of the longer version of the interview that is missing in the shorter version — is for a sustainable social benefits program. \u00a0\u00a0The overarching theme: everyone contributes their fair share.<\/p>\n

When Kroft points out that even some of the President\u2019s supporters think he has not been bold enough, Obama points out that the flip side is the argument that he is too radical. \u00a0He manages to negate critics from both sides by defining them as extreme. \u00a0Which is to say unreasonable. He follows up by saying he\u2019s not in a popularity contest. \u00a0The message: he\u2019s the President and he\u2019s making the hard decisions. \u00a0And his opponents are just carping.<\/p>\n

When Kroft says Obama is being judged on his performance, Obama corrects him by saying he\u2019s being judged against an ideal, and not the real-world alternatives. \u00a0This is a lead in to a discussion about the upcoming election. \u00a0And here Obama delivers a masterful lesson in rhetoric: he dismisses the entire Republican field by saying it doesn\u2019t matter which one is nominated, because they all carry the same ideological torch.<\/p>\n

Obama defines the contest as one not of individuals, but \u201ccore philosophies,\u201d and he says the \u201ccontrast … will be stark.\u201d \u00a0When discussing individual contestants the President \u00a0calmly notes their political expertise. \u00a0He doesn\u2019t snipe. \u00a0He says he is content to wait until the nominee is chosen. Until then, he has other things to do.<\/p>\n

Kroft raise the familiar issue of leadership. Kroft asks if the President promised too much, underestimated the task. \u00a0This is the same as asking, \u201care you up to the job?\u201d \u00a0The President replies he understood what he was about, and he defines the challenge as not just a change in leadership, but a structural overhaul, a reversal of a \u201cculture dominated by special interests …\u201d, not something that can be done quickly. \u00a0A task that will take more than one president. \u00a0He is, by his own words, a man of determination.<\/p>\n

It can be said that Steve Kroft wasn\u2019t really playing hardball. \u00a0So be it. \u00a0But I do \u00a0think he was asking the kinds of questions Sunday evening viewers expected, and wanted — the big general questions, topical, something people can get their minds around in a few minutes. \u00a0More than soundbites, but less than a full-on debate. \u00a0In other words, Kroft was a somewhat friendly audience. \u00a0I suppose that\u2019s part of the game.<\/p>\n

I did not at all get the impression the President is a creature of the teleprompter, as is so often said. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He was self-assured without being terribly arrogant, he displayed a keen sense of humor, and he was non-plussed by Steve Kroft, and man who has been a journalist since Mr. Obama was a child.<\/p>\n

To put it another way, Mr. Obama seemed very much like a President.<\/p>\n