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RELATED LINKS

• Sen. Obama's official site
• Time cover story on Sen. Obama
• Article on Sen. Obama
• About The Audacity of Hope
• Sen. Obama in The New Yorker

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Tavis: I'm pleased to welcome Barack Obama back to this program. Last night he handily won his Senate race in Illinois. When he takes office in January, he will be the only African American serving in the U.S. Senate. He joins us tonight from Chicago. I guess I can't say Senator-elect, because he already is a Senator. But I should say U.S. Senator-elect. Barack Obama, you just beat Alan Keyes. What are you going to do now?

Barack Obama: Well, I'm not going to Disneyland, but I am taking my wife out on a date this weekend, and I'm going to take the kids to the park, and that's going to seem like Disneyland.

Tavis: Yeah, well, you're not going to Disneyland, but you are going to the U.S. Senate. Congratulations.

Obama: Thank you so much. I appreciate you, Tavis.

Tavis: Are you glad to have this thing behind you? I mean, all along, this is such a foregone conclusion.

They found Alan Keyes finally to run against you when nobody else would step up, but you've got to be relieved, even though you won, this thing is finally over.

Obama: Well, you know, now the real work begins, and I think that we had gotten to the point where we believed we were going to win and win handily, which meant that you didn't want to take your eye off the ball, but you also recognize all the enormous work that's required in terms of setting up a Senate office, getting counsel in terms of how to be most effective in Washington, and really digging deep into the issues that are going to be challenging Americans for I think many years to come: health care, jobs, how do we improve our educational system, make it competitive in the global economy, and what do we do in terms of our foreign policy to address the real threats that we have there, but do it in an intelligent way. So those are all things that I'm really eager to get involved with. But the first think I'm going to need to make sure that I'm touching home base and that my wife and kids remember what I look like.

Tavis: Speaking of your wife and kids, before we get back to the issues here, I was on with Peter Jennings, as you know, doing election night analysis and commentary, and I was so pleased when you finally took the stage. They took your feed last night, and I cracked up when I heard your wife's introduction of you, "Ladies and gentlemen, my baby daddy, Barack Obama."

Obama: Let me tell you something, in my family, when it comes to star wattage, I am fourth between those three women. You know, all I can do is just keep up. But they're wonderful; they're the joy of my life. They're part of why I do what I do. Because I want to make sure that my wife and children have the kind of world that they deserve.

Tavis: Speaking of analysis, somebody made the point during our commentary and analysis on Tuesday evening that had Barack Obama--and I've discussed this myself before, but had Barack Obama been in the U.S. Senate four years ago, we all recall the scene from "Fahrenheit 9/11" where Michael Moore shows the Congressional Black Caucus, 38 African American members going to the well of the house asking to be heard about the election results of four years ago. They can't get a hearing. Ironically, Al Gore, President of the Senate, was overseeing this situation, but because the members of the Congressional Black Caucus cannot get a single U.S. Senator to sign on, there is no debate on the results of four years ago. The question was raised last night, ask whether or not that outcome might have been different had an African American member been in the U.S. Senate. Now, I don't mean to go back and ask you how you might have voted at the time. I'm only raising that because I wonder whether or not you are prepared for all the pressure that is now going to be thrust on your shoulders, the hopes and dreams of not just black folk but of a whole multiracial, multicultural, multiethnic America rests on your shoulders in the U.S. Senate. You ready for that pressure?

Obama: Well, when you describe it that way, Tavis, I'm not sure I am. No, look, my job, I think, initially is to make sure that I'm the best possible Senator for the people of Illinois who are sending me there. And that requires a lot of blocking and tackling, the basics, opening up a constituent office, making sure you're answer your mail on time, making sure that you're traveling all parts of the state so people know that you're responsive to their concerns, and then crafting legislation that you can actually get 60 votes for in the United States Senate. And so those are really my tasks. That's where my focus is going to be. And I have to say that I'm probably going to have to say no to stuff. Tavis, you know, because you experienced this, I'm already starting to get invitations for every NAACP Freedom Fund dinner all across the country. You have to explain that it's not that I don't want to share time with you, but my first obligation is to my family, my second obligation is to the people of Illinois who are sending me to the Senate, and as I get more experience in providing leadership on that front, then hopefully I can also be an important voice at the national level.

Tavis: Well, because you do have star power, I get the sense that you're probably going to get your pick of the best plums that exist for the kind of committees you want to serve on at the outset here. Are there particular committees you'd be interested in serving on, number one, and number two, where do you think legislatively you begin your work as a U.S. Senator from Illinois?

Obama: Well, I think in terms of the committee assignments, things are obviously in flux now. The Democrats are going to lose a seat on each committee because of the loss of seats in the Senate, so there's a queue. People don't care that much about star power when it comes to them getting committee assignments. They care about seniority or looking out for the interest of their state and their office, which I understand. I think we do have the possibility of getting some good committee assignments because of the assistance that I provided to the Democratic Caucus as a whole in this election effort. In terms of legislative priorities, I think that health care is an area where we may be able to find some common ground between Republicans and Democrats right away, and I'd like to see us both reduce costs by improving access to generic drugs and improving medical technology, how we use a paperless system to drive down costs on the one hand, and then expand accessibility, to children in particular. And in the intelligence area, we still haven't passed this intelligence bill that was recommended by the 9/11 Commission, and I think that that has to be something that moves us beyond politics. Get that done on behalf of the American people.

Tavis: Your would-be leader in the Senate, Tom Daschle, went down to defeat on Tuesday night. I can only imagine that while you were exultant, as your family and friends and supporters were about your victory in Illinois, you move into the U.S. Senate a at a bad time for Democrats. You're even more in the minority now with almost, what, 55 seats, the Republicans are getting close to that 60 number, that filibuster-proof number, a few defections here and there on certain pieces of legislation, tell me how you feel going into the Senate on the one hand as a historic figure, but at a time that is not so propitious for Democrats.

Obama: Well, you know, obviously there are challenges and there are opportunities. I think you described the challenges well. I'm going to be a junior Senator in the minority party, and given how much bitter partisanship has been taking place over the last several years, that is not as much fun as being in the majority. There's no doubt about it. And I think that the Democrats are going to have to regroup and consider their message nationally. The opportunity comes in because I continue to think that the fundamentals of this country, whether it's job loss or how we deal with the health care crisis or education, I think the answers that are being offered by the President and the Republican-controlled Congress right now are inadequate. And I think the people of America recognize that, they're concerned about terrorism, they're concerned about maybe a lack of attention on the part of Democrats to issues of family, faith, and community. We haven't perfected a language that describes our values as effectively as the Republicans have, but I think the opportunity remains, and that's something that I'm going to be working with other Democrats to develop over time.

Tavis: Your story is quite remarkable. Everybody now knows about your story. Certainly if you read "The New York Times" bestseller list every week, you see the Barack Obama book is on the bestseller list, so people are reading and learning more and more about your story. Allow me a personal note, if you will, for just a second, that I hope you'll respond to. Because this for me is one of the more fascinating things, more recently about your story, which really isn't covered in the book. But I wonder if you'll speak to it to our audience tonight. I am so empowered by your example, not just as an African American, but as a human being, in large measure because just a few years ago, as you well know, you ran for a seat in the House, the lower body in Congress. And I cast no aspersion on the House, it's a fine body to be a part of, but not as exclusive a club as the U.S. Senate is with 100 members. You ran for a House seat, and let's be frank about it. You got beat pretty handily.

Obama: I got a spanking, Tavis.

Tavis: You got a spanking running for that House seat. And here you are now, just a few years later, as the only African American member in the Senate. I think somewhere in there, there's a story that sometimes God has greater things for you than you have in store for yourself.

Obama: You know, truly I've been blessed, and I recognize those blessings. But I also think it speaks to an important aspect of politics, and that is not only that timing is everything. That, I think, everybody knows. But it's also the community's timing that's important. Sometimes, and I think my Congressional race was a good example, I was on my timetable, but the community said, we love you, but that's not our timetable. And I think this time, I was listening to the community's timetable in terms of whether it was appropriate for me to go after this opportunity, and that's part of the reason why I think we were so more successful.

Tavis: I don't mean to be syrupy here, but let me close by asking you your thoughts with regard to what you will say in the coming days and months and years to persons who have dreams, have goals, have aspirations that seem so out of touch with reality.

Obama: Look at my story. I mean, there is no way that you could imagine a black guy with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas, born in Hawaii, ending up the junior United States Senator from the great land of Lincoln, except in this country. That's not to suggest that somehow it's all peaches and cream out there, especially for minority youth. It is to suggest that we can't be hampered by our assumptions about what's possible and what's not. If we're willing to work hard and dream big, I think things are really possible in this country that were unimaginable a generation ago.

Tavis: Well, there's nothing junior about this guy, except for the fact that he is the junior Senator from the state of Illinois. Barack Obama, congratulations. All the best to you. We are proud of you and look forward to many years of your service to your community, to your state, and indeed, the country.

Obama: I appreciate you, Tavis. Thank you so much.

Tavis: Nice to have you on. All the best to you. Up next on this program, legendary soul singer Isaac Hayes. Stay with us.