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| 'A typical president, I think, has two or three big problems' | | Obama at a press conference |
| Barack Obama / May 03, 2009, 00:01 IST |
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During these first 100 days, what has surprised you the most about this office, enchanted you the most about serving here, humbled you the most and troubled you the most?
Let me write this down. (Laughter.) Surprised, troubled. I have got — what was the first one?
Surprised.
Surprised.
Troubled.
Troubled.
Enchanted.
Enchanted? Nice. (Laughter)
And humbled.
And what was the last one, humbled?
Humbled. Thank you, sir.
All right. Okay. (Laughter.) Surprised. I am surprised compared to where I started, when we first announced for this race, by the number of critical issues that appear to be coming to a head all at the same time. You know, when I first started this race, Iraq was a central issue, but the economy appeared on the surface to still be relatively strong. There were underlying problems that I was seeing with health care for families and our education system and college affordability and so forth, but obviously I did not anticipate the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
And so the typical president, I think, has two or three big problems; we have got seven or eight big problems. And so we have had to move very quickly, and I am very proud of my team for the fact that we have been able to keep our commitments to the American people to bring about change while, at the same time, managing a whole host of issues that had come up that weren’t necessarily envisioned a year and a half ago.
Troubled? I’d say less troubled, but sobered by the fact that change in Washington comes slow; that there is still a certain quotient of political posturing and bickering that takes place even when we’re in the middle of really big crises. I would like to think that everybody would say, you know what, let’s take a timeout on some of the political games, focus our attention for at least this year and then we can start running for something next year. And that has not happened as much as I would have liked.
Enchanted? (Laughter.) Enchanted. I will tell you that when I meet our servicemen and women — “enchanted” is probably not the word I would use. (Laughter.) But I am so profoundly impressed and grateful to them for what they do. They are really good at their job. They are willing to make extraordinary sacrifices on our behalf. They do so without complaint. They are fiercely loyal to this country. And the more I interact with our servicemen and women, from the top brass down to the lowliest private, I am just — I am grateful to them.
Humbled by the fact that the presidency is extraordinarily powerful but we are just part of a much broader tapestry of the American life. And there are a lot of different power centres, and so I can’t just press a button and suddenly have the bankers do exactly what I want, or turn on a switch and suddenly Congress falls in line. And so what you do is to make your best arguments, listen hard to what other people have to say, and coax folks in the right direction.
This metaphor has been used before, but the ship of state is an ocean liner, it is not a speed boat. And so the way we are constantly thinking about this issue of how to bring about the changes that the American people need is to say, if we can move this big battleship a few degrees in a different direction, we may not see all the consequences of that change a week from now or three months from now, but 10 years from now or 20 years from now, our kids will be able to look back and say, that was when we started getting serious about clean energy; that is when health care started to become more efficient and affordable, that is when we became serious about raising our standards in education.
And so I have a much longer time horizon than I think you do when you’re a candidate or if you’re listening, I think, to the media reportage on a day-to-day basis.
And I’m humbled, last, by the American people, who have shown extraordinary patience and I think a recognition that we’re not going to solve all these problems overnight.
You are currently the chief shareholder of a couple of very large mortgage giants. You’re about to become the chief shareholder of a car company — probably two. And I’m wondering what kind of shareholder are you going to be? What is the government’s role as the keeper of public trust in bonds in soon to be public companies again
Well, I think our first role should be shareholders that are looking to get out. You know, I don’t want to run auto companies, I don’t want to run banks. I’ve got two wars I’ve got to run already. I’ve got more than enough to do. (Laughter.) So the sooner we can get out of that business, the better off we’re going to be.
But I want to disabuse people of this notion that somehow we enjoy meddling in the private sector. If you could tell me right now that when I walked into this office that the banks were humming, that autos were selling, and that all you had to worry about was Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, getting health care passed, figuring out how to deal with energy independence, deal with Iran and a pandemic flu — I would take that deal. (Laughter.)
And that’s why I’m always amused when I hear these criticisms of, oh, Obama wants to grow the government. No. I would love a nice, lean portfolio to deal with. But that’s not the hand that’s been dealt us.
And every generation has to rise up to the specific challenges that confront them. We happen to have gotten a big set of challenges, but we’re not the first generation that that’s happened to. And I’m confident that we’re going to meet these challenges just like our grandparents and forebears met them before.
Excerpts from a press conference by US President Barack Obama, Washington, 29 April, 2009
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