E-mail a friendPresident Barack Obama
airdate January 20, 2009
Illinois' junior senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the White House in February ‘07. He proved to be a stellar fund-raiser and, on November 4, '08, became the first African American to be elected President of the U.S. Previously, the only African American in the U.S. Senate, Obama is a Harvard Law School grad—and the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review—a former civil rights lawyer and former state senator. On January 20, '09, he became the 44th U.S. president.
Tavis revisits his conversations with the 44th president during his six previous appearances on the show. (23:21)
President Barack Obama
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"President Barack Obama": And will, to the best of my ability.
"Chief Justice John Roberts": Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
"President Barack Obama": Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
"Chief Justice John Roberts": So help you God?
"President Barack Obama": So help me God.
"Chief Justice John Roberts": Congratulations, Mr. President. (Cheering, applause.)
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Tavis: Barack Obama earlier today, accepting the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States. Five years ago in the spring of 2004, Barack Obama was a little-known state senator from Illinois who had just surprised many by winning the Democratic primary for Illinois' vacant Senate seat. Shortly after that primary win I spoke with then-state Senator Obama, and began our conversation by asking him about overcoming his self-described status as "a skinny kid with a funny name from the South Side of Chicago."
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Tavis: I mentioned actually earlier the phrase that you have become accustomed to using - "the skinny kid with the funny name from the South Side of Chicago." Tell me, beyond your race, beyond that issue, how you got beyond getting people to vote for a guy whose name a few months ago they couldn't even pronounce.
President Barack Obama: (Laughs) They still screw it up sometimes. They call me "Alabama;" they call me "Yo mama." (Laughter) There are all kinds of versions of it. But one thing that I confirmed in this race is that the American people at their core are a decent people. They get confused sometimes, they're busy, they're stressed, they're tired; sometimes they're watching "Fox News" and you know that's going to get them confused.
But ultimately when you talk to them about issues and you talk to them about the things that we have in common - our belief that every child should have a decent shot at life; the belief that the vulnerable among us should be cared for and the government has a role in that - people respond.
And one of the things that I started off this campaign believing was that if people knew who I was, if they knew that I had helped reform the death penalty, if they knew that I had provided health insurance for children who didn't have it, if they knew that I had helped set up an earned income tax credit that gave tax breaks not to the wealthy but to people who really needed it, that those kinds of messages are ones that would appear across race, region, and class.
Tavis: You tick off a number of issues now that really speak to what your resume is all about. It occurs to me as I talk to you now that you are now part of a national ticket. I know you already know that because everybody in D.C., every important Democrat in this country, has reached out to you to congratulate you, to offer their support, and now you're part of a national ticket.
There are some who say that you are too liberal, you're to the left even of John Kerry, and you really don't represent the kind of Democratic party going forward that they need to have if they're going to win in November.
Obama: Well, what really counts is what Illinois voters think. And since we got 53 percent of the primary vote in a crowded field, that, I think, indicates the fact that my track record is one that speaks to the needs of voters in Illinois. These labels - conservative, liberal - don't really work anymore. The fact of the matter is that I'm the only candidate in this race now with my Republican opponent who's ever cut taxes for people. I'm the only person who's passed bipartisan legislation that helps all people.
And so one of the things that I think is important for Democrats to recognize is that we can debate and explore the best ways of achieving goals like making sure that everybody has health care or making sure that all our children are educated, but we can't sacrifice those values because we're worried about what the Republicans are going to say about us.
My general attitude is that I will not compromise on my belief that everybody should get a decent shot in a country as wealthy as ours is. I'm willing to debate in terms of how we achieve those goals, and I think that the Democrats should be open-minded and non-dogmatic in terms of how to achieve them.
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Tavis: Just a few months later, even before he was elected to the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama was asked to give the keynote address in prime time at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. I sat down for a conversation with Obama the day after that speech that made him a political star.
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Tavis: It's been fascinating for me to see somebody who I've known for years come into the national consciousness. Jesse Jr. and I were talking the other day - Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. - and for us it was just fascinating to sit here in this hall and to watch you come into the consciousness of everybody across the country, but you seem to be handling it well.
Obama: The nice thing, aside from having a wife who's got a great sense of humor and doesn't take this stuff too seriously, just to remind you of who you are, really what I tried to do in that speech was just give voice to what I'm hearing from voters on the South Side of Chicago and downstate Illinois.
And it was really their eloquence that was communicated, and so it's not that hard for me to keep it in perspective. This is really just an expression of I think a lot of the hopes and dreams of people all across the country who know we can do a little bit better.
Ultimately, what voters want to know is not whether you can deliver a good speech; they want to know are you somebody who can help them pay their bills, help save money for their kids' college education, deal with this healthcare crisis that we have. If we talk about those issues effectively, I think we'll be just fine.
Tavis: How did you decide what to put in, what to leave out of your speech? I've been in a number of conversations all this week, certainly since your speech, with people trying to analyze what you did say, what you didn't say. As always, speeches get parsed.
And I really felt for you, because it's unfortunate, in many respects, that if, in fact, you win, you'll be the only African American in the U.S. Senate. You've got to be all things to all people. How do you do a speech where you have to remain authentically Black for those Black folk in Chicago and the South Side you represent who know you, but at the same time, everybody else now, you're the face of the party. I heard Pat Buchanan say that you were great, it was the best speech he's heard in a long time.
Obama: Well, I think that - I try to remind people that I'm rooted in the African American community but I'm not limited by it. And I think that basic philosophy applies to the speech and it applies to my politics. When I try to pass a bill that is boosting the wages of low-wage workers, that helps everybody but disproportionately, Black folks are low-wage. If I'm working on people who are uninsured or underinsured, well, that helps everybody, but Black folks are specifically underinsured.
And so my approach is generally to say the African American experience is not unique to America and that we are all aspiring for the same common dreams and common hopes, so that if I help everybody, I can help the African American community in particular.
Now there's some issues like affirmative action or discrimination in which those are specific to minority communities, and I'm going to stand foursquare behind dealing with those issues, but see, I have optimism that White America wants to see justice done as well, and I don't think those things are contradictory.
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Tavis: In November of that same year, Barack Obama handily won his Senate race, becoming the only African American in the U.S. Senate. I spoke with then-Senator-elect Obama the night after his historic election and began by asking him about the pressures of his new job.
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Tavis: I wonder whether or not you are prepared for all the pressure that is now going to be thrust upon 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. (Laughter) 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 answering your mail on time, making sure that you're traveling all parts of the state so people know that you are 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 I hopefully can also be an important voice at the national level.
Tavis: 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. 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.
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Tavis: In September of 2005, Barack Obama joined us just a few weeks after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Among the issues we discussed that night was the conversation that kicked up following Katrina about the reality of poverty in America.
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Tavis: You have spoken - I should say spoken very aggressively and I think poignantly, personally - about the issue of poverty. A number of us have been raising that issue of race and class and poverty. Let me ask you before I move on to some other things in the time I have left right quick whether or not you think that out of these tragedies we really can get some traction in America on doing something on eliminating extreme poverty.
Obama: Well, one of the things, one of the little bits of good news that came out of the Katrina situation was that it wasn't just Black folks that were ashamed of our government and our failure to respond to our fellow citizens. I think that everybody was embarrassed by it. And shame is always a good place to start when you want to change.
Now, the only problem is we tend to have a short-term memory, and a lot of times we go from shock to trance very quickly. So my hope would be that we use this opportunity. George Bush has said he wants to do something about poverty. He's recognized that racial discrimination is connected to the poverty in the Gulf and in the Delta.
And if that's the case, my hope would be that we call him on his bluff and we say, "Mr. President, we are ready to work with you in a non-ideological fashion to have a sustained effort to deal with poverty." But my concern right now is if we're not using the $60 billion that we've already allocated to provide job training and opportunity to young men and women in the Gulf who are already displaced and dispossessed before the hurricane, that doesn't bode well for our long-term, sustained effort on the part of this administration. It may be that we just have to make sure that the Democratic Party talks about this in a serious way during election time.
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Tavis: One month after that conversation I was in Chicago hosting an empowerment seminar called Success Soul. Barack Obama joined our all-star lineup that weekend, and among the topics discussed, his definition of success.
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Obama: The most important thing that I've discovered was that success had to be internally generated and defined as opposed to externally generated. And the other thing that I've come to learn defines success for me, at least, and the people that I know that I really respect and seem to be happy with their lives, I notice that usually, success is not defined narrowly as being just about them.
It's usually about something bigger than them, however they define that - whether that's a church or their community or their country or their people. Somehow they've hitched their wagon to something that's a little bit bigger than just them, and I think one of the problems we have in our society is that so much of success ends up being defined simply by what we've been able to accumulate instead of what we've been able to offer and give back.
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Tavis: In the fall of 2006, Barack Obama took another step in his remarkable rise with the release of his bestselling book, "The Audacity of Hope." During his book tour he joined us for a conversation that very quickly turned to what was becoming the talk of the political world - was Obama considering a run for the White House?
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Tavis: I landed back here in Los Angeles last night prepared to come to work today to talk to you, and lo and behold I land and I've got, like, 35 messages. I did not see "Meet the Press" yesterday but I had to get a copy of it today, because everybody was saying, "You have to see what Barack said on "Meet the Press." So you realize now what you did yesterday.
Obama: All I did was (laughter) - all I did was tell the truth in response to a direct question. And it was funny - Russert actually told me afterward, he says, "I just think folks aren't used to hearing that on the show." Here's what happened. I'm on the show and I'm talking to him about the upcoming elections and about the book and what I've been writing, and he was doing his usual thing.
And then he says, "Look, nine months ago you were on this show and you said you weren't running for president. Now you've been traveling around the country. Are you thinking about it?" And I said, "Yes, I'm thinking about it."
Obviously, there have been a lot of things that have happened over the last nine months. That doesn't mean I'm doing it and it doesn't mean that I've thought about it with the seriousness and the depth that I think is required. And so I simply acknowledged the fact that given the conversations that have been taking place, it would be foolish of me to pretend that somehow I hadn't thought about it.
But to let people know that my main focus is this election, which is going to be one of the most important elections in the country, and after November 8th, after November 7th, I'll have some time to ponder whether something like that is even realistic.
Tavis: Now, I've known you for a long time. You and I have been friends for a lot of years. I must tell you, respectfully, with an answer like that perhaps you belong in the United Nations as ambassador, and not in the U.S. Senate. (Laugh) That was the best non-answer I have ever heard, brother.
Obama: Tavis, I am telling you the truth, which is that my whole focus right now has been on this election and this book - getting this book done. As you know, writing a book is no joke. And doing the work that I'm supposed to be doing as a U.S. Senator and representing my constituents in Illinois. I would be the best PR person on Earth if I could have engineered the series of conversations that have been taking place over the last several months.
At some point, when you're asked the question often enough, you figure well, let me just go ahead and tell people how I'm actually thinking. But I want to emphasize what I just told you and what I told Russert yesterday, which is the presidency is a unique position. It's not like you thinking about am I going to take that sales job in Omaha.
It is something that consumes you; it consumes your family. The process of running for that office is ridiculous in how it's structured. And so it's not something that you do just for fun, or just because you think it would be neat to be president. You've got have a reason to do it and you've got to do a gut check about that, and that requires time and energy and focus, and I don't have that right now.
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Tavis: In the fall of 2007, Barack Obama's presidential campaign was already in full swing and the first-term senator was raising money at a rate never before seen in American politics. In October of that year, Senator Obama paid us a visit here in Los Angeles for an extended conversation about what most still believe was a long-shot bid for the White House.
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Tavis: What's your response to people who say he's raising money but still stuck in these polls?
Obama: Right. Well, look, we always viewed Hillary Clinton as the default candidate. You and I both know that in the Democrat party, the Clinton name - that's a good brand. People like Bill, they like Hillary. We always knew going into this race that we were going to be the underdogs.
The key for us always was that if people knew me as well as they knew her, then we would win. And the only way we could do that is to focus on the early states. We can't run a national campaign because we can't run, even as much money as I've raised, we can't advertise all across the country.
So our key strategy has always been we focus on Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, New Hampshire; that we talk to people about not only healthcare and education and energy and Iraq - all the things that people, all the candidates are talking about - but also talk about who can bring the country together to solve these problems? Who can overcome the special interests that stand in the way of solving these problems? Who's going to be straight with the voters and tell the truth? And if we can deliver that message in the early states and do well, then I think that that will translate into the national.
But we're not going to see a change in the national polls until the first votes are cast in Iowa. Those are reflective of the casual voter, the person who doesn't know, isn't watching the nightly news reports all the time, who says, “Yeah, I sort of like Clinton, and Obama? I like him too, but I don't know enough about him.” And that's our challenge: we've got to close that gap.
Tavis: Two quick follow-ups on that before we move on. I'm just reading this stuff every day. You, of course, are the guy, you're the candidate. How much truth to the stories that we're reading that you are having to do some damage control where your supporters are concerned who are fretting - your wonderful answer not withstanding - fretting that if these numbers in the polls don't start to move, the campaign's in trouble?
Obama: No. Listen, campaigns always go through ups and downs, and what I've always said to my folks is, "If you were looking for the safe choice, you shouldn't be supporting a 46-year-old Black guy named Barack Obama to be the next leader of the free world." (Laughter) That's not where the smart money went, especially when you're running against the dominant political force in the Democratic Party over the last 20 years.
People have gotten involved in our campaign because they believe that politics as usual, business as usual, is not adequate. It's not that they dislike some of the other candidates. They just think that if - let's take the example of healthcare. If we can't break the gridlock between Democrats and Republicans, but if we also can't overcome the insurance company and the drug company lobbyists that have a lock on the debate in Washington, we're not going to get anything passed. It doesn't matter whether John Edwards' or my plan or Hillary's plan is better. And that, I think, people understand.
The second thing my supporters understand, the day I'm inaugurated, this country looks at itself differently and the world looks at America differently. And if you believe that we've got to heal America and we've got to repair our standing in the world, then I think my supporters believe that I am a messenger who can deliver that message around the world in a way that no other candidate can do.
Part of the reason - when I sat down with Michelle and I said, "Should we do this race?" We asked three questions - one, could our family survive it? And since Michelle's exceptional and my children are above average, we figured they'd be okay.
The second question was, could I win? And we looked at it and we said, "We can win." Because I'm not interested in running a symbolic race - that's been done.
The third question was, is there something I can do that no other Democratic candidate can do? And what I believe is that the country is ready to get beyond the old arguments that we've been having since the '60s, about Vietnam and the sexual revolution and the role of faith in society - all these things that we've been arguing about and the American people have moved beyond that.
And that's part of the reason why you see consistently in polls that among independents and among Republicans we do very well. When we get these big crowds, I'm always shaking hands afterwards and I always have folks come up - "I'm a - I'm a Republican, Barack, but I support you." And I lean over and I say, "Thank you - why are we whispering?" (Laughter) They're almost surprised themselves.
But I think it has to do less with the positions I'm taking than the tone I'm taking, which is I'm going to listen to everybody, and I want to break down this red state-blue state divide. That's part of the reason why the convention speech I did in 2004 went so well. It's because it's not that my positions were different, but the language and the tone was one of let's unify the country.
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Tavis: The assured confidence that Barack Obama exhibited that night and throughout the next year would become the hallmark of a campaign that vaulted that skinny kid with a funny name from political obscurity to the highest office in the land. As Barack Obama has said on many occasions himself, he stands on the shoulders of so many who came before him.
Dr. Maya Angelou said it so well on this program just last night when she referenced names like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John and Robert Kennedy, Medgar Evers, and Fannie Lou Hamer. If only those pioneers of progress could have been on hand to witness this day early in the 21st century, when an African American put his hand on the bible and took the oath of office as president of the United States.
Today we honor their service and their sacrifice as we celebrate the triumph of the possible.
Until next time, good night from Los Angeles, thanks for watching, and as always, keep the faith.
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President Barack Obama: This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father, less than 60 years ago, might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. (Cheering, applause)
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