OBAMA TO DELIVER FINAL SOTU ADDRESS; TUESDAY, JAN 12, 9PM ET (HIS LEGACY & HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN)

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OBAMA DELIVERS FINAL SOTU ADDRESS; TUESDAY, JAN 12, 9PM ET:

SPEECH WILL HIGHLIGHT HIS LEGACY & HELP HILLARY

*** OBAMA'S PRESIDENTIAL LEGACY (GOOD & BAD):

ELECTED IN NOV 2008 (FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT)

RE-ELECTED IN NOV 2012

ORDERED DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN

PULLED TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ

REAL COMPENSATION FOR FAMILIES WHOSE LOVED ONES ARE MURDERED BY POLICE

BAILED OUT WALL STREET

BAILED OUT AUTO INDUSTRY

STIMULUS PACKAGE

REPEALED "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL"

DODD-FRANK

FORECLOSURE PREVENTION

CONSUMER PROTECTION

APPOINTED NEW MEMBERS TO FEDERAL LABOR BOARD

OBAMACARE

CLIMATE CHANGE

LEGALIZED MARIJUANA

POLICE BLUE-LIGHT POLICE PROTECTION ACT

NEW GUN CONTROL LAWS

REPEALED "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND"

HELPED GOV NIKKI HALEY IN REMOVING CONFEDERATE FLAG AFTER CHARLESTON MASSACRE.

~ How To Watch President Obama's Final State Of The Union

President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address Tuesday at 9 p.m. and is expected to focus on the future, with the 2016 presidential election at stake later this year.

The president previewed the address in a video last week and said he wants his speech to highlight not only the progress the U.S. has made and what he wants to accomplish in his final year, but "what we all need to do together in the years to come."

The White House has invited a number of people to sit in the box with First Lady Michelle Obama during the address, and one seat has been reserved and will be left vacant to represent "victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice."

Mr. Obama spent all of last week highlighting his new set of executive actions on gun violence.

Other White House guests include Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D); the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella; Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court same-sex marriage case; 

Spencer Stone, one of the three Americans who thwarted a potential terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train in August; one of the partners of a San Bernardino terrorist attack victim; and a Syrian refugee who moved to the U.S. with his children in December.

The speech, which will be the first with Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, as speaker, will come just weeks before the 2016 primary season kicks off in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Mr. Obama wants to ensure that a Democrat succeeds him, but he also is focused on plans he'd like to fulfill in his final year in office.

The president, for example, is intent on delivering a plan to Congress that would permanently close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

He has challenged Congress to consider a new war authorization against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Criminal justice reform and getting approval for the Trans-Pacific Partnership are also among Mr. Obama's final priorities.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) is scheduled to deliver the Republican response after the address.

** What: President Obama's final State of the Union address
Time: 9 p.m. ET

Where to watch/listen:

On TV: CBS television affiliates or on CBSN streaming on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Xbox One
Mobile: CBSN streaming on the CBS News apps CBS News for Android and CBS News for iOS
Online: CBSNews.com
On radio: CBS Radio News affiliates

** Who attends: Vice President Joe Biden will sit behind the president, next to Speaker Ryan. Members of the House and Senate will file into the House chamber for the speech.

Some of the 2016 GOP presidential candidates will be there. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul will attend, but Ted Cruz is skipping it in favor of his own campaign event in New Hampshire.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be delivering his state of the state address on Tuesday.

A number of Supreme Court justices usually show up, as well as members of the president's cabinet.

There's always a "designated survivor," who is a member of the cabinet designated to be at an undisclosed location when he delivers the speech, in case something happens to the president, vice president and speaker.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was the designated survivor last year.

Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis who spent five days in jail defying a court order to license same-sex marriages will be in the chamber, although no one has revealed which lawmaker invited her.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, on Tuesday said he won't be there, and further, he has reserved an empty seat in the House chamber's gallery during the State of the Union to represent "the lives of more than 55 million aborted babies."

Sources: CBS News, NBC News

NIKKI HALEY TO DELIVER GOP RESPONSE TO OBAMA'S 2016 SOTU ADDRESS (CONFEDERATE FLAG)

NIKKI HALEY TO DELIVER GOP RESPONSE TO OBAMA'S 2016 SOTU ADDRESS (CONFEDERATE FLAG):

GOV HALEY IS A GREAT VP PICK; WOULD ATTRACT MANY WOMEN VOTERS IN NOV 2016.

South Carolina's first legally elected Woman Governor NIKKI HALEY, has been selected to deliver the GOP's response to Pres OBAMA's 2016 State of the Union Address.

Along with receiving Kudos for demanding the CONFEDERATE FLAG be removed from South Carolina's state Capitol, there are several legitimate reasons why NIKKI HALEY would be a Perfect choice as Vice-President pick on the 2016 GOP ticket.

~ Paul Ryan: "Nikki Haley Has Extremely Bright Future In The GOP"

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is a "natural" and will deliver a "great" response to the State of the Union, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Monday.

Haley will respond to President Barack Obama's speech for the Republican Party on Tuesday, an honor bestowed on rising stars in the GOP. 

The high-profile event has been both a launching pad for careers and an opportunity for embarrassment, depending on how the politician performs.

But the recently minted House speaker told Jake Tapper on CNN's "The Lead" that he helped pick Haley because he believes the Indian-American governor, who is rumored as a contender for the vice presidential nominee, will knock it out of the park.

"I'm really excited about this," Ryan said. "If you want to hear an inclusive leader who's visionary, who's got a path for the future, who's brought people together, who's unified, it's Nikki Haley."

Ryan himself gave the response in 2011, a year before he was tapped to be the running mate of Mitt Romney in an unsuccessful bid to take the White House.

"Believe me, I understand the stakes can be high for a person doing this speech," Ryan said. "I think she's a natural."

He also divulged some of the advice he gave Haley, big and small.

"Put a cough drop in the corner of your mouth, it keeps you salivating so you don't go thirsty," Ryan said. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio famously had to awkwardly reach for water during his response in 2013.

But in seriousness, Ryan said he just told her to be herself.

PREVIOUS GOP STATE OF THE UNION RESPONSES:

2009: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (1)
2010: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell
2011: U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
2012: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels
2013: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida
2014: U.S. Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington
2015: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa

(1) Jindal’s response came after President Barack Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress.

Sources: CNN,  PBS, Youtube

NIKKI HALEY IS DONALD TRUMP'S PERFECT VICE-PRES PICK (CONFEDERATE FLAG)

NIKKI HALEY IS DONALD TRUMP'S PERFECT VICE-PRES PICK (CONFEDERATE FLAG):

GOV HALEY WOULD ATTRACT MANY WOMEN VOTERS TO THE GOP IN NOV 2016.

South Carolina's first legally elected Woman Governor NIKKI HALEY, has been selected to deliver the GOP's response to Pres OBAMA's final historic State of the Union Address.

Along with receiving Kudos for demanding the CONFEDERATE FLAG be removed from South Carolina's state Capitol, there are several legitimate reasons why NIKKI HALEY would be a Perfect choice as Vice-President pick on the 2016 GOP ticket.

~ Gov. Nikki Haley to deliver GOP response to Obama’s State of the Union

Critic of the administration is first from South Carolina to deliver response.

Haley a possible VP pick after her handling of the Charleston shooting.

Governor, chosen by Capitol Hill leaders, will give the address from Columbia.

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, coming off a year where she gained national attention for her handling of the Charleston church slayings, will deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Jan. 12.

Haley is calling her nationally televised speech from Columbia an “address” rather than a “response,” as the political counterpoints have been called since they began in 1966. Haley is the first South Carolinian to deliver the State of the Union response.

“This is a time of great challenges for our country but also of great opportunities,” she said in a statement. “I intend to speak about both.”

The Lexington Republican, considered a possible vice presidential pick, is heading into the middle of her second term as governor of a state that holds the South’s first presidential primary.

The opposition party’s State of the Union response has played into presidential politics in recent years.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., gave the address a year before he was picked as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate in 2012.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., delivered the 2013 response to Obama and is running for the White House this year.

Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, has been called a rising star in the GOP since she became South Carolina’s first woman and first minority governor in 2011.

She gave a prime-time speech during the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Haley’s political stature has grown since this summer, when she successfully called for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds after a state senator and eight other parishioners were gunned down at Emanuel AME Church on June 17.

An avowed racist, who had posed with a rebel flag online, was charged in those killings, which shocked the nation.

In his last State of the Union, Obama plans to deliver what the White House has called a non-traditional address that will focus on the nation’s challenges, rather than push new initiatives.

During her tenure as the nation’s youngest governor, Haley has criticized Washington politicians and the Democratic-controlled White House for what she has called burdensome regulations and legal overreach.

Most recently, she has fought against settling Syrian refugees in South Carolina and opposed possible plans to move Guantanamo Bay detainees to a Navy brig outside Charleston, citing security concerns.

Haley also has refused to expand Medicaid under the federal health-care insurance law that was the signature piece of legislation passed under Obama.

Haley was chosen to give the GOP response by Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“Not only has Gov. Haley fought to bring opportunity and prosperity to the people of her state, but she’s also demonstrated how bringing people together can bring real results,” McConnell said in a statement. “Gov. Haley knows the American dream and wants to see every American share in it.”

The address likely will curtail any plans for Haley to travel to Arizona for the national college football championship game Monday night between Clemson University, her alma mater, and the University of Alabama.

Haley, a Clemson accounting graduate who often attends games at Memorial Stadium, traveled to Florida last week to watch the Tigers’ semifinal win over the University of Oklahoma.

PREVIOUS GOP STATE OF THE UNION RESPONSES:

2009: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (1)

2010: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell

2011: U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin

2012: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels

2013: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida

2014: U.S. Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington

2015: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa

(1) Jindal’s response came after President Barack Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress

Sources: The State, CNN, Youtube

Gabby Giffords Hugs Pres. Obama Prior To His 2012 SOTU Speech (Video)

Sources: Washington Post

Obama's Economy Focused 2010 State Of The Union Address Preview

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Economy To Take Center Stage In Obama Speech


President Barack Obama will try to pivot past rocky times for the nation and himself Wednesday night in his first State of the Union address, offering a skeptical public repackaged plans to energize the economy, stem a tide of red ink and strengthen anti-terror defenses.

He'll also be trying to revive his own "Yes We Can" image.

One year into office, Obama faces urgent challenges as he addresses lawmakers gathered in the Capitol and a prime-time television audience at home for the constitutionally mandated ritual of U.S. governing. The country has lost more than 7 million jobs since the recession began two years ago, unemployment is stuck at 10 percent and the government is grappling with a record $1.4 trillion deficit.

Obama's presidency is troubled as well. The percentage of Americans giving a thumbs-up to his performance has fallen precipitously, from 74 percent when he took office to 56 percent now. He hasn't had a breakout legislative or diplomatic victory, and he's failed to break Washington's partisanship as promised. Then last week, an upset Republican victory in a Massachusetts Senate race threw Obama's signature domestic priority, a sweeping health care overhaul, into jeopardy and shined a spotlight on the economic angst now being taken out on him.

Against that backdrop, Obama will be using one of the presidency's largest megaphones to press several themes. They will be fleshed out in greater detail afterward, as the president travels to Florida on Thursday for a post-speech focus on jobs and when he submits his fiscal 2011 budget to Congress on Monday.

Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia will deliver a televised response Wednesday night, two months after putting his state in GOP hands in one of the party's major recent election victories.



Among the freshly sharpened messages Obama intends to weave through his remarks: He's a fighter for struggling families and against wealthy special interests; he relates personally to Americans' everyday concerns; he has come far in one year but has made some errors along the way and has much more to do. And he does not intend to fling aside an ambitious agenda on health care, energy, education, immigration and other issues in favor of trimmed-down goals.

In fact, Obama will argue that his sweeping ideas for change are as much a part of putting the economy back on track as more immediate job creation and economic security proposals.

"If we don't get that stuff right, then it's going to be very difficult for us to answer the anxieties that people feel over the long term," Obama said this week in an interview with ABC News. "I am not backing off the need for us to tackle these big problems in a serious way."

What He'll Say:

Advisers say the president doesn't plan to reshape his agenda as much as better explain and defend it:

* He'll map a way forward for mired health care legislation, now facing several options for passage, all problematic. Obama will also acknowledge the long, messy debate that has soured many on the idea and try to make a far-reaching overhaul relevant and attractive again to voters. "We have to move forward in a way that recaptures that sense of opening things up more," he told ABC.

* He'll talk about why he thinks the nation's future economic health also depends on reshaping financial industry regulations to place tighter rules on Wall Street, another immediate domestic priority. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama will detail "what he would find acceptable on that."

* He'll renew his call for immigration reform, a volatile issue once considered a first-year priority but lately sent to the back burner. Obama is expected to prod Congress to craft a plan to tighten the border with Mexico, crack down on employers who exploit illegal workers and resolve the status of roughly 12 million people who live in the U.S. illegally.

* He will give specifics on how he believes Washington's combative, partisan, gridlocked way of doing business can be changed.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

On national security, Obama will detail his administration's efforts to combat terrorism around the globe, which have seen some success but have been overshadowed by the attempted airline attack on Christmas Day and political difficulties in Pakistan. He also will address the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, nuclear disputes with Iran and North Korea, this month's devastating earthquake in Haiti and his larger ambition to restore the U.S. image around the world.

But bread-and-butter issues — lost jobs, difficulties paying for college or retirement, soaring deficits, anger at Wall Street fat cats — will dominate the speech.

"What he'll discuss more than anything is getting our economy moving again," Gibbs said.

The first priority is reversing persistent joblessness, and Obama is expected to push anew for job-creation proposals such as giving tax credits to small businesses to add workers and incentives to families to retrofit homes to make them more energy efficient. Neither proposal made it into a jobs bill passed by the House in December.

He also plans to propose modest new measures to help with the financial struggles of the middle class — money for child care, helping out aging parents, saving for retirement, and paying off college debt, for example.

Aware of increasing voter concern about the government's red ink, Obama also plans to talk about various efforts at what Gibbs called "a slow chipping away" at the deficit. The White House announced Obama would ask Congress to freeze spending on some domestic programs for three years — though the savings would total just $250 billion over 10 years, a tiny fraction of the annual deficit.

Other issues likely to get a mention in Obama's speech, still being crafted on Tuesday.

* A record $8.8 billion in federal funding in the next fiscal year to help military families with child care, counseling, financial services and other programs, a top priority for first lady Michelle Obama.

* The president's campaign promise, as yet unfulfilled, to lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

* A new plan for a better and quicker response to Bio-terrorism threats.


Sources: MSNBC, Fox News

Obama Focused On Health Care Reform Not 2012 Elections (Transcript)

Obama Stakes 2012 On Reform


President Obama said on Monday that he’s committed to passing health care reform – even if it costs him re-election.

"I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president," he told ABC's Diane Sawyer.

Sawyer interviewed Obama at the White House on Monday, just two days before he’ll deliver the State of the Union. In a preview of the interview, which airs at 6:30 p.m., ABC News said Obama would not back down.

"You know, there is a tendency in Washington to believe our job description, of elected officials, is to get reelected. That's not our job description," Obama said. "Our job description is to solve problems and to help people."

And the president dismissed his slumping job approval rating.

"I went through this [in] the campaign,” he said. “When your poll numbers drop, you are an idiot. When your poll numbers are high, you are a genius. If my poll numbers are low, then I am cool and cerebral, and cool and detached. If my poll numbers are high, ‘boy he's calm and reasoned all right.’"





Transcript: Diane Sawyer Interviews Obama



DIANE SAWYER, ABC'S "WORLD NEWS" ANCHOR: Mr. President, thank you.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.

SAWYER: So, looking back a year, going before a joint session of Congress. What's the biggest difference in going this week?

OBAMA: Well, you know, this may seem counterintuitive, but the biggest difference is that I was more worried about where the country was going a year ago than I am now. Keep in mind that when I made that joint session speech, we still didn't know whether the financial system was going to stabilize. We still were looking at five, six, seven hundred thousand jobs per month being lost. It still wasn't clear whether or not we were going to be able to generate economic growth again.

And so, the steps that we took at the beginning of this year have meant that the potential meltdown of the economy has gone away. What hasn't gone away is the desperation that people are feeling who were one of the 7 million who lost jobs during that period, and so right now, I think there's frustration and anger about why can't we get this thing moving faster? And it's a frustration that I feel as well…

SAWYER: Republicans are already out today saying what you're talking about so far for Wednesday night is not going to create any new jobs.

OBAMA: The -- well, I would suggest that they save the rebuttal for after the speech. They haven't really heard what we're proposing.

SAWYER: But what is it going to be? New stimulus money -- as we know, in the House, they have talked about $170 billion or so for new stimulus money…

OBAMA: Here's what we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about how we can first of all, focus on job creation and growth. And I've met with the Republicans, by the way, several weeks ago. So, I have their ideas. I know what they're proposing. And some of the things we propose are things that actually should get some strong bipartisan support.

We're also going to make sure we're focused on some issues that have been burdening the middle class well before the crisis hit. You know, what's happening in terms of affordability of college. How can people save for their retirement in a more secure way? How do they deal with both child care and elderly parents that they've got to take care of?

So, there are going to be a set of proposals that we put forward that help to stabilize the situation and deal with the growing insecurity and anxiety of people who, even if they haven't lost their job, are still feeling squeezed by their incomes shrinking and their costs going up.

SAWYER: But a year ago, you said the first item on the agenda, a year ago, jobs.

OBAMA: Absolutely.

SAWYER: Painted a picture of jobs from coast to...

OBAMA: Well, now, Diane, I think that's not fair. Here's what I said...

SAWYER: A hope for jobs, at least, infrastructure...

OBAMA: Here's what I said, was that our number one priority was stopping the economic contraction and putting people back to work. Now, we have stopped the economic contraction. The economy is growing again, and we did create or save several million of jobs. That's not my opinion. That's the opinion of conservative economists as well as liberal economists, was that the Recovery Act, which is a combination of tax cuts, infrastructure improvements, helping states stabilize their budgets -- all those things helped to lessen the fall.

But we've still lost 7 million jobs. So, I understand why the American people, their attitude is not "It could have been worse." Their attitude is, "How do we make sure we keep on making it better?". And that's what we'll be talking about on Wednesday.

SAWYER: New proposal? Something surprising?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I'll let you guys judge whether it's surprising or not. There's going to be consistency though in the sense that my first job coming into office was to rescue the economy from great peril. My second job was to make sure that we create a new foundation for economic growth.

Here's part of what happened. Over the last decade, even when people were saying that the economy was doing fine, it was one of the first times in history where the middle class actually saw its incomes decline. We actually saw very little job growth during that period. And on a whole host of measures from health care cost, college affordability, people were having a harder and harder time getting by. So what I've said is we can't go back to the same pattern where you've got bubbles, whether it's in housing or the dot.com boom that are fueling a lot of speculation, making a lot of people a lot of money, but leaving a lot of people in the middle and low-income people behind.

What we have to have is a foundation that's built on a good education system, a sound energy policy, a health care system that works for everybody, financial regulations that ensure we don't have this crisis again, and those foundations for long-term economic growth are going to be my focus this year. They're going to be my focus next year. They're going to be my focus the year after that because if we don't get that stuff right, then it's going to be very difficult for us to answer the anxieties that people feel over the long-term.

SAWYER: A couple of quick news questions if I can. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke going to be confirmed. Do you guarantee the markets that he's going to the Fed chairman?

OBAMA: He has my strongest support. I think he's done a good job. What we've seen is not only Democratic leaders, but also Republican leaders say that he should be confirmed and I'm confident that he will be confirmed.

SAWYER: Even though Barbara Boxer, John McCain have come out and said look -- John McCain said he's the guy who steered into the iceberg. Barbara Boxer said we need a representative of Main Street on the Fed.

OBAMA: What we need is somebody at the Federal Reserve who can make sure that the progress that we've made in stabilizing the economy continues. And I think Bernanke is the best person for that job.

Watch Diane Sawyer's interview with President Obama on "World News" at 6:30 p.m. ET tonight, on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m., and on "Good Morning America" at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

SAWYER: Secretary Geithner and Economic Chairman Summers, have you asked them to stay until the end of 2010? Have they said yes?

OBAMA: You know, we haven't had the conversation because my presumption is that they are staying. There's a lot of "hue and cry" in Washington because this is what happens. The political season is starting a little bit early this year. But the fact of the matter is that when you look at the cards that we were handed at the beginning of last year and where we are now, a lot of that has to do with sound, steady economic leadership. And they've been terrific advisers for me and I think they will continue to be terrific advisers.

SAWYER: To all the people terrified about the deficit, $1.5 trillion more this year than taken in expected next year. Can you guarantee them still that there will be no taxes on anybody who makes under $250,000 a year? That's still the absolute rule?

OBAMA: I can guarantee that the worst thing we could do would be to raise taxes when the economy is still this weak. So we're going to be rolling out our budget. I'm not going to be giving you too many previews of the State of the Union, but I think it's important to understand that No. 1, I haven't raised taxes on anybody, I've cut taxes. Ninety-five percent of working Americans have gotten a tax cut, partly because it's the right thing to do because of the recession, partly because it's just something I campaigned on. So that's point number one.

Point number two in terms of the deficit. Understand where our deficit index comes from. When I walked into office, we had a $1.3 trillion deficit. We also had $8 billion (sic) -- $8 trillion worth of national debt that had been accumulated from the previous administrations, cutting taxes during war time, a prescription drug plan that wasn't paid for. The only additions that we added were the stimulus package last year, which amounted to $1 trillion. Now that's a serious amount of money to rescue the economy. But it pales in comparison to the structural deficit that's built into our budget right now, that is a problem that is long running and we're going to have to solve.

And we're not going to solve it easily. There aren't any magic solutions to it. It's going to be a slow chipping away, and what I'm going to do is propose a series of measures that show we are serious about it. That I, the president, am willing to not just point fingers, but actually make some tough choices myself. My hope is that both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill will join me in this effort of solving the problem, instead of trying to kick the can down the road and blame somebody else.

SAWYER: Health care -- going forward, should all the conversations, all the meetings be on C-SPAN?

OBAMA: You know, I think your question points out to a legitimate mistake that I made during the course of the year, and that is that we had to make so many decisions quickly in a very difficult set of circumstances that after awhile, we started worrying more about getting the policy right than getting the process right. But I had campaigned on process. Part of what I had campaigned on was changing how Washington works, opening up transparency and I think it is -- I think the health care debate as it unfolded legitimately raised concerns not just among my opponents, but also amongst supporters that we just don't know what's going on. And it's an ugly process and it looks like there are a bunch of back room deals.

Now I think it's my responsibility and I'll be speaking to this at the State of the Union, to own up to the fact that the process didn't run the way I ideally would like it to and that we have to move forward in a way that recaptures that sense of opening things up more.

SAWYER: A lot of people think you must say at the end of the day, this is not who I was in 2008, these deals with Nebraska, with Florida...

OBAMA: Let's hold on a second, Diane. I mean, I think that this gets into a big mush. So let's just clarify. I didn't make a bunch of deals. There is a legislative process that is taking place in Congress and I am happy to own up to the fact that I have not changed Congress and how it operates the way I would have liked. So that's point number one.

Number two is that I think it is important to know that the promises we made about increased transparency, we've executed here in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I mean, this is the first White House in history where you know anybody who has walked into my office, anybody who has walked into the White House, you actually have a record of who comes in. We have put more stuff on the Internet than ever.

We've eliminated lobbyists from all the boards and commissions that historically, you know, they dominated in this town. So it's not that we haven't made significant progress, but we haven't changed it as much as we needed to.

Now, in terms of the health care bill, the product of making sure that we got historic insurance reforms that people have been fighting for years so that insurance companies can't take advantage of people, making sure that we're bending the cost curve, and -- and actually starting to reduce health care inflation in this country, which is a huge problem, making sure that 30 million people have access to health insurance, making sure that small businesses have tax credits -- it's important that people look at the core elements of what both the House and the Senate passed.

And every health economist out there, who's serious about this stuff, will tell you it's a vast improvement over the status quo. It doesn't -- that doesn't excuse the stray cats and dogs that found their way into legislation. It is point out that as we move forward, we've got to make sure that we're focused on what is actually helping the American people deal with what is a very serious problem.

SAWYER: A personal question, if I can, because a lot of people heard you in the Baptist church say sometimes in these buzz saw bruising seasons...

OBAMA: Right.

SAWYER: ... you sit and confront your own doubts...

OBAMA: Yes.

SAWYER: ... somebody who is close to the administration that asked the question, I was wrong about -- personally -- personally wrong about fill in the noun...

OBAMA: Well, you know, I -- I'd say I probably make a mistake a day, maybe two. But -- but I think in terms of over the course of the year, as I said before, we've been so focused on just getting things done that I think that we stopped giving voice to the frustrations that people have about the process here in Washington.

SAWYER: You talked about...

OBAMA: And that was -- that -- that's something that I take responsibility for. I will also say, though, that what we've actually been fighting to get done is entirely consistent with what I campaigned on.

It -- it's trying to figure out how we can make sure that, you know, the -- the woman I meet in Iowa, who has lost her job and now doesn't have health insurance, how she can get some help. It's -- it's the small businessman in -- in New Hampshire, who is -- is looking at suddenly his premiums going up 40, 50 percent and is having to make a decision about either cutting health care for his employees or losing an employee.

And -- and those are the voices in my head when I wake up in the morning, and those are the voices in my head when I go to bed at night. And I don't make apologies for trying to solve some big problems that this town has proven incapable of solving for way too long.

SAWYER: Ever in the middle of all that's coming did you think maybe one term is enough?

OBAMA: You know, I -- I would say that when I -- the one thing I'm clear about is that I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. And I -- and I believe that.

You know, there's a tendency in Washington to think that our job description of elected officials is to get re-elected. That's not our job description. Our job description is to solve problems and to help people. And, you know, that's not just the view of elected officials themselves. That's also the filter through which the media reads things.

And the reason I can say this with confidence is I've gone through this before. I went through this through the campaign.

When your poll numbers drop, you're an idiot. When your poll numbers are high, you're a genius. If my poll numbers are low, then I'm cool and cerebral and cold and detached. If my poll numbers are high, well, he's calm and reasoned.

So that's -- that's the filter through which a lot of this stuff is interpreted. But...

SAWYER: Do you think there's a lot of bed wetting, as David Plouffe said?

OBAMA: I do think that people are always thinking in the cable news cycle, and whatever appears that given day is how people view the world. That is not how I look at things. You know, I went to Iowa -- I went to Ohio last week on Friday. And I went to a company that the family had owned for years -- third generation. They make machine tools.

And you go and you talk to the workers there and you talk to the owners and then you go to the diner and you're meeting with people and talk to them. You know, they are not interested in whether Democrats are scoring points on Republicans or vice versa. What they're interested in is, you know, I can't get a loan from my bank right now. I'm trying to save for my kid's college education. You know, I'm worried that my 401(k), although it's bounced back a little bit, still doesn't leave me enough for retirement.

Those are the things that people talk to me about. And so that's what I spend a lot of my time thinking about.

SAWYER: Two diametrically opposing paths have been laid out by your supporters. One is come out swinging, go down for history, let everyone -- let the Republicans filibuster and do it and the other is slow down, scale back, less money. Which is it going to be?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I reject those two polar opposites. Here's what I can tell you. I will not slow down in terms of going after the big problems that this country faces because other countries aren't slow down.

SAWYER: But it's about money...

OBAMA: Asia is not slowing down. Europe's not slowing down. They're worried about getting the competitive advantage in terms of clean energy. They're worried about their kids. Our health-care system is unsustainable.

So on the big issues, I am going to keep on pushing not because I welcome controversy. The easiest thing for me to do -- the easiest thing for me to do, Diane, would be to go small bore, avoid controversy, just make sure that everybody's comfortable and we only propose things that don't threaten any special interests in Washington.

If you do that, then you can get a boost in the poll numbers but, ultimately, you're not solving problems that are vital to making sure the American dream continues for the next generation. And I don't want to look back on my time here and say to myself, all I was concerned about was nurturing my own popularity. That's not why I came.

And so the one thing that I think -- whether it's supporters or opponents -- should know is that I am not backing off the need for us to tackle these big problems in a serious way. Now, if there are ideas that...

SAWYER: Even if it's spending money?

OBAMA: Well, in some cases we are going to be saving money. We are going to have to be serious about the deficit in ways that we haven't been before. We've got to – we need a smarter government, not a bigger government, not a smaller government, we need a smarter government. And we don't have one right now. And that is part of the task before, for us this year and for several years to come.

SAWYER: Mr. President, a couple of quick questions, if I can about the terrorist threat against this country

OBAMA: Sure.

SAWYER: Because of what has happened recently. There are reports now of other potential suicide bombers coming out of Yemen. Osama bin Laden, as you know, has issued a tape championing the Christmas Day attempted bombing. Do you have any indication that they are already here?

OBAMA: Well, obviously, I don't want to talk about classified information. I can tell the American people this: That since 9/11 we have put in a series of measures, both on the intelligence side, militarily, as well as in Homeland Security, that make us much safer now than we were before 9/11.

SAWYER: And since Christmas?

OBAMA: Since Christmas, we have identified some additional holes that need to be filled. And I think everybody –

SAWYER: Not yet filled?

OBAMA: Well, no. I think many of them were immediately filled. But some of them, in terms of how we make sure that intelligence in one agency is immediately passed on to another. I think that is something that constantly is improved. And we're constantly learning how to do it better.

There is no doubt that there is a real terrorist threat out there. Al Qaeda, itself, is greatly weakened from where it was back in 2000. Bin Laden sending out a tape, trying to take credit for a Nigerian student, who engaged in a failed bombing attempt, is an indication of how weakened he is, because this is not something necessarily directed by him.

The concern that we have now is that if you have the lone wolf, or the small network, that can equip itself to try to engage in suicide attacks, those are in some ways folks that are even harder to catch than well-known terrorists like bin Laden. So we have to improve our cooperation, our work with countries like Yemen to make sure that we are catching those individuals ahead of time. In some cases they may not have records. They may not be known terrorists. And that makes the job harder.

This is part of the reason, though, why it is so important that we don't have a knee-jerk reaction that actually inflames the situation in the Muslim world. That we are measured, we are deliberate, we do everything we need for our security, but we also are engaged in the public diplomacy that makes sure that some lonely teenager, in some Muslim country, doesn't think that the way to belong is to engage in attacks against the United States. So, it can't just be a military response. It also has to be a diplomatic response. It also has to be us working in these countries on providing educational opportunity.

America has to be perceived as a country that is a force for good and that is why, I think, the extraordinary response of not just our government, but also the people of the United States, to a tragedy like Haiti is so important. It is important because it is the right thing to do, but it also shows that America's power is used, not just in a military fashion, but to make sure that people are getting help.

SAWYER: That's the signal. May I ask one family question then. Mrs. Obama, as you know, has always been the person we are told, who gauges you and gauges the world outside. In the past 78 hours, what's been the most -- 78, 48, one week, what's been most the important and useful thing she's said to you?

OBAMA: She told me that after we went to Sasha's basketball game that I need to show Sasha how to shoot her shot a little more effectively. So yesterday, we went out and went to the gym for about an hour and nothing was more therapeutic than taking my daughter to shoot some baskets. That's the stuff that grounds me.

But you know, I think, as I said before, Michelle and I now have been through these cycles enough where she has a lot of confidence that as long as I'm trying to do the right thing, as long as I'm focused on helping the people who sent me here, no matter how hard the decisions are, no matter how many times the politics may break in a different direction, that over time, people can tell if you're on their side or not. You know and so the most important thing for me is just to make sure that every day, I know who I'm fighting for and that we communicate that effectively. That we don't get so trapped in the bubble that people start thinking boy, he's been -- that Washington has changed him, instead of he's changing Washington.

Thank you.

SAWYER: So serious question, Colts/Saints.

OBAMA: You know, I think both teams are terrific. I guess I'm rooting a little bit for the Saints as the underdog partly just because when I think of what's happened in New Orleans over the last several years and how much that team means to them. You know, I'm pretty sympathetic. And Drew Brees came to visit here at the White House, a terrific young man, and he's done a lot not just for New Orleans, but also for military troops. I'm very impressed with him.

SAWYER: Two pictures: inauguration, first congressional speech. What would you say to him?

OBAMA: You're going to look older in a year. You've got more gray. But you know what, I'd say to him, stick with it. That's what I always tell myself, just stick with it. You know, the one thing that I think people in this town forget is that the kinds of political setbacks that we experience, they're nothing compared to the setbacks of a guy who loses his job is going through. He's sending out 100 resumes and he's not getting any answers back and his wife and kids are at home and he's thinking, am I going to be able to make sure that mortgage payments gets made? Am I going to be able to afford to keep my health insurance? Those are the kinds of setbacks that in some cases are life or death and yet Americans all across the country in circumstances like that, they get up every day, they go out for that next interview and they keep on interviewing until they find a job. Those are the people who inspire me. That's why when I get up in the morning, you know, I'm not worrying about what the latest headline is. I'm worrying about whether I'm being true to them.

END


Sources: AP, Politico, ABC News

Obama, Congressional Dems Finally Switch Focus To Job Creation...Too Late!

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Obama Plans For Health Care Delay, New Jobs Bill


The White House privately anticipates Health Care talks to slip into February — past President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address — and then plans to make a “very hard pivot” to a new jobs bill, according to senior administration officials.

Pres. Obama has been told that disputes over abortion and the tight schedule are highly likely to delay a final deal, a blow to the president, who had hoped to trumpet a health care victory in his big speech to the nation. But he has also been told that House Democratic leaders seem inclined, at least for now, to largely accept the compromise worked out in the Senate, virtually ensuring he will eventually get a deal.

Internally, White House aides are plunging into a 2010 plan calling for an early focus on creating jobs, especially in the energy sector, along with starting a conversation about deficit reduction measures, the administration officials said.

Both will be major themes for his first State of the Union speech, which will most likely take place on Jan. 26 or Feb. 2. White House aides are in the early stages of planning for the national address, but Obama will not only trumpet what he has described as his “B-plus” performance in 2009 but also set the stage for the 2010 congressional campaigns.

Obama and Democrats seem in agreement that they want to minimize the number of tough votes moderates in their party must take in the aftermath of the health care debate. They also seem in agreement that a jobs bill is a must — and that they need to show a serious commitment to reducing the deficit, a very difficult task after racking up record spending in Obama’s first year.

The first order of business will be getting a health care deal, which Obama and Democrats see as inevitable. The White House is working closely with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leading liberals to make sure the House does not push for significant changes to the compromise worked out in the Senate. This will force House Democrats, who often feel slighted by all the attention and influence the Senate gets, to swallow a compromise it did not write or advocate.

Logistically, it’s hard to see how this gets done before early to mid-February. The House comes back into session on Jan. 12 and then goes on a Democratic retreat. The Senate doesn’t come back until Jan. 18. And once a final health deal is worked out, it could take seven to 10 days for the Congressional Budget Office to deliver a final report on cost.

“I think we should be in a place by the State of the Union where the issues are being resolved and it’s just a matter of time,” a senior administration official said.

White House aides are planning an intense focus on the economy and jobs at the beginning of the year. And an aide said Obama will be “very prescriptive” about measures he wants from Congress.

The plans were telegraphed in a speech the president delivered at the Brookings Institution on Dec. 8, with an emphasis on infrastructure improvements, green jobs and small-business incentives for hiring and investment.

All that will fit into a middle-class agenda that the White House hopes will give the country a psychological lift, even before jobs numbers rebound.

Key elements of the plans outlined at Brookings:

— Help small businesses by building on tax cuts in the stimulus bill, including the "complete elimination" of the capital gains taxes on small-business investment. Obama also wants to extend write-offs to encourage small businesses to expand. And he wants to help small businesses get loans by waiving fees and increasing guarantees for Small Business Administration-backed loans as well as continuing to mobilize bailout funds to facilitate lending to small businesses.

— Boost Infrastructure by Modernizing Transportation and Communications networks.

— Create Environment-Oriented Jobs by pressuring Congress to start a program with incentives for consumers to retrofit their homes and expanding select Stimulus initiatives to promote Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Jobs.

Also in the State of the Union address, Obama will discuss his views about the deficit and some of the things he’s going to do to address it over the midterm and long term.



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Sources: Politico, MSNBC, Morning Joe Show, Google Maps