Wondering what’s in store for the next two years? In a revealing 40-minute, year-end interview, President Obama took questions from NPR’s Steve Inskeep on topics ranging from Cuba and the Middle East, to race relations and plans to use his “veto pen.”
“I suspect there are going to be some times where I’ve got to pull that pen out,” says @BarackObama
Sitting in the Oval Office on Dec. 18 just before taking off for his family vacation in Hawaii, the president hit on a number of issues that are likely to play out in the remaining duration of his presidency.
Yesterday, NPR released a full transcript of the interview, which will air in three parts.
Here are seven takeaways:
1) Obama will use his veto power to block attempts to roll back the Affordable Health Care and any “gains” made on the environment. He said:
Now I suspect there are going to be some times where I’ve got to pull that pen out. And I’m going to defend gains that we’ve made in health care; I’m going to defend gains that we’ve made on environment and clean air and clean water.
2) He is not clear about the reasoning behind the GOP’s objection to his stance on immigration reform. When asked by NPR’s Steve Inskeep how he’d respond to a Republican lawmaker who says their “legitimate concerns” are not being addressed, Obama said:
[T]he problem is what are those concerns and how is it that I’m not addressing them? … [T]hey’d have to identify for me specifically what those concerns are other than some sense that, you know, these folks just shouldn’t be here.
3) He is frustrated with the results of the 2014 midterm election.
I’m obviously frustrated with the results of the midterm election. I think [Democrats] had a great record for members of Congress to run on, and I don’t think we — myself and the Democratic Party — made as good of a case as we should have. And, you know, as a consequence, we had really low voter turnout, and the results were bad.
4) Race relations surfacing in recent months are “probably healthy,” and when asked whether the nation is more racially divided than it was six years ago, Obama said:
No, I actually think that it’s probably in its day-to-day interactions less racially divided. But I actually think that the issue has surfaced in a way that probably is healthy. … It’s understandable the polls might say, you know, that race relations have gotten worse — because when it’s in the news and you see something like Ferguson or the Garner case in New York, then it attracts attention. But I assure you, from the perspective of African-Americans or Latinos in poor communities who have been dealing with this all their lives, they wouldn’t suggest somehow that it’s worse now than it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago.
5) When challenged on his position that America is “less racially divided,” Obama said, “Data’s funny.”
NPR: As everybody knows, the coalition that’s elected you twice included huge minority participation, record minority participation. You had huge percentages … in minority communities. The white vote for Democrats has gone down to rather dramatic levels, which suggests a political division between races that is different than it used to be.
Obama: Yeah, it — but, you know, data’s funny. You know, you can, you know, what’s the saying? They’re …
NPR: Lies, damned lies and statistics.
Obama: Lies, damned lies and statistics, right? So, when I was elected in ’08, I actually did better among white voters in some jurisdictions than John Kerry did. I …
NPR: And then 2012 …
Obama: 2012, it might have dipped, but it was still on par with what had happened before. In the midterms, because of the nature of the electorate, it tends to exaggerate some of these racial differences — I guess my point being that I think it ebbs and flows in part given circumstances.
6) Unlike Cuba, Obama does not plan to open a U.S. embassy in Iran. But when asked about the prospect, Obama said, “never say never.”
I never say never, but I think these things have to go in steps. … [T]here’s a lot of history there that’s different from the history between us and Cuba. And the strategic importance of Tehran is — or Iran — is different from what we face with Cuba.
7) Iran “has a chance to get it right with the world.”
They’ve got a chance to get right with the world. This is not just about us. They have a path to break through that isolation and they should seize it. Because if they do, there’s incredible talent and resources and sophistication inside of — inside of Iran, and it would be a very successful regional power that was also abiding by international norms and international rules, and that would be good for everybody. That would be good for the United States, that would be good for the region, and most of all, it would be good for the Iranian people.