Fox News "Fox and Friends" - Transcripts
MS. CARLSON: He ran away with victory in Iowa but finished a close second to Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. Can he ride this wave of enthusiasm to overall victory and become the Democratic nominee?
MR. KILMEADE: We're thrilled to have with us presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.
Senator Obama, thanks for joining us this morning. Three weeks ago you were --
SEN. OBAMA: Thank you so much.
MR. KILMEADE: Yeah. We appreciate it.
Three weeks ago you were down double digits to Hillary Clinton. Then you were up, according to many, for double digits. How did your big victory turn into a defeat yesterday?
SEN. OBAMA: Well, we knew this was going to be close. We had been down 20 points here in New Hampshire as recently as a couple months ago, and so we knew that we were going to have an uphill battle. We closed the margin, and what we saw was a tough race won by Senator Clinton. But we're still in a very strong position given how we've done in Iowa, what we're seeing in New Hampshire. All across the country I think people want to see a candidate who can bring the country together, who can overcome the special interests and really start getting things done, and that's what I'm going to try to do in Nevada, South Carolina, and then in the February 5th states.
MS. CARLSON: Senator, so much of your success in Iowa was galvanizing voters to come out who hadn't participated before, galvanizing the young voters to come out; the women voters in Iowa. Did that change for you in New Hampshire, or did the independents go to John McCain?
SEN. OBAMA: Well, you know, it's hard to say. I haven't sorted through all the numbers. What I know is that the voters are very engaged. They're very interested on both sides, Republicans and Democrats, as well as independents. Everyone understands this is a high stakes election, and I think voters are not going to let any candidate take anything for granted. They want to lift the hood, kick the tires -- they want us to earn it.
And my job is to make sure that I am communicating with them how I am going to provide them health care if they don't have it, how I am going to make sure that they can make college affordable for their kids, how we're going to bring troops home from Iraq responsibly. If I deliver that message then there are going to be some ups and downs, but I think ultimately we'll be in a very strong position to win the nomination.
MR. KILMEADE: Senator, a lot of people are going to speculate on what happened -- and you have to move on. I understand that. Your staff has to find out what happened, and after all, it was a good showing in the big picture. But just looking back, it seems as though Senator Hillary Clinton changed tactics, went after you -- said, "This guy has no record. Remember, Martin Luther King had a dream, but it was LBJ, a president, that actually put civil rights into place." And Bill Clinton really went off on you on Monday. He called your candidacy one of the biggest fairy tales he's ever seen. That's personal.
SEN. OBAMA: Well, look, obviously Bill Clinton wants to see his wife win, and I understand that and I'm not too worried about that. He did make a series of misleading statements, and it's important that we make sure we answer them.
But I remain convinced that what the American people are looking for is somebody who is going to be able to rise above some of the petty politics that we've seen in the past and really focus on solving problems.
And, you know, this is going to be a hard-fought battle. We are going to make sure that we're making our case in Nevada and South Carolina and then the February 5th states. But what we want to remain focused on is the American people, their problems, their hopes, their dreams. If we do that I think ultimately we're going to be successful.
MS. CARLSON: Senator, if Bill Clinton is Hillary Clinton's celebrity spokesperson, Oprah Winfrey is yours. She campaigned for you in South Carolina --
SEN. OBAMA: Actually, Michelle -- Michelle Obama is. But Oprah's a close second.
MR. KILMEADE: (Laughs.) Smart man.
MS. CARLSON: Very smart of you to mention your wife first and foremost. You scored a lot of points with that comment. But let's move on to South Caroline where Oprah Winfrey had huge crowds for you there. Will she come out and stump for you again in South Carolina coming up?
SEN. OBAMA: You know, we've got a great base, a great organization down in South Carolina. I think it's going to ultimately rely less on who comes and is stumping for us than what the candidates have to say. And what we've seen is, just as happened in New Hampshire, the polls close and it's now very close in South Carolina. And I think that if we do well in Nevada, we come into South Carolina with a good head of steam, we feel confident that that's a state where we can do well.
MR. KILMEADE: Senator, there was big talk about a major union coming your direction, this culinary union, and we haven't heard anything yet this morning. I know it's still early. What have you heard about getting a major union endorsement from Nevada?
SEN. OBAMA: Yeah. We think that we're going to do well in Nevada. I've got a good relationship with the culinary workers in Nevada. You know, they haven't made an official announcement yet and I'll wait until they do, but we feel good about the possibility that we could have some very strong institutional support in Nevada, a caucus state where organization is going to make a difference.
MS. CARLSON: Senator, a lot of people were watching the debates very, very closely and saw that you seemed to have a friendship of sorts going with John Edwards. At least during the debates, both of you were ganging up against Hillary Clinton. When Edwards -- if he does drop out of the race -- I'm assuming that you would love to get all of his supporters on your side.
SEN. OBAMA: Well, listen, I'd love to have his supporters, Joe Biden's supporters, Chris Dodd's supporters. Please come on board. But as far as I can tell, John Edwards is in this race. He is actively campaigning. I think he still believes he can win, and I respect that.
The one thing I would differ a little bit is the notion that somehow John and I were ganging up on Senator Clinton. You know, John actually was responding to an attack that Senator Clinton was leveling on me and trying to pull John into it, and I think he resisted.
But, you know, all of us are seasoned politicians and elected officials, and you know, I understand that during the course of debates there's going to be some back-and-forth.
The main thing, again, is to refocus attention on the problems that the American people face. I am meeting people everywhere who are concerned about jobs, concerned about the American economy, concerned about health care, and we've got to make sure that I'm delivering a message to them about how I'm going to solve those problems.
MR. KILMEADE: Senator, I know you can't read every newspaper, but the editorial on The Washington Post yesterday said that it's time for the Democrats to change their tune when it comes to Iraq. Violence is down; civil war is not going to happen. Who's going to be the first Democrat to say, "The surge is working; let's acknowledge it"?
SEN. OBAMA: Well, what I've already said is -- and I said this a long time ago -- is that if you send 30,000 of America's finest troops into Baghdad that you would see a reduction in violence, and I'm happy about that. And I congratulate our soldiers and our commanders on the ground for that.
What I've also said is that even as we see a reduction in the violence, if we do not see some sort of political accommodation among the warring factions in Iraq, we don't have long-term stability. And I think the best way for us to do that is to send a signal to them that we're not going to be there forever.
MR. KILMEADE: Right.
SEN. OBAMA: That's the difference that I've consistently had with the administration.
MR. KILMEADE: Understood. And I also saw you quoted saying, "Let's rid Afghanistan of al Qaeda." And if that is your policy, should we also rid Iraq of al Qaeda?
SEN. OBAMA: Well, right now we think that al Qaeda in Iraq is a far lesser threat than al Qaeda in Afghanistan, where we know bin Laden and his troops are still hiding and -- along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is the most immediate threat that we face in this country. It's a threat that we've lost focus on, and it's one that I want to focus on when I'm president of the United States.
MR. KILMEADE: Are you on Vivarin, Red Bull? How are you staying up? What's going on?
MS. CARLSON: (Laughs.)
SEN. OBAMA: You know, it's adrenaline and excitement and an interest in trying to deliver for the American people. So, I wouldn't mind resting my voice -- that may take another couple of days.
MR. KILMEADE: Call Oprah.
MS. CARLSON: All right. Senator Barack Obama, what a pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us this morning, and we hope to see you again sometime soon.
SEN. OBAMA: Thank you so much, guys.
MR. KILMEADE: All right.