Barack Obama in Meet the Press: Meet the Candidates 2007 series, with Tim Russert

On Civil Rights: African-Americans vote Democratic because of issue stances

I don’t think the Democratic Party takes the African-American voters for granted. I’m happy that the president spoke at the Urban League. He should have spoke at the NAACP. I want Republicans to compete for the African-American vote. They’re not getting the African-American vote not because African-Americans aren’t open-minded, but because Democrats have consistently championed those issues-civil rights, voting rights, concern for working families-that are of greatest concern to African-American voters. Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

On Education: Provide decent funding and get rid of anti-intellectualism

I try to avoid an either/or approach to solving the problems of this country. There are questions of individual responsibility and questions of societal responsibility to be dealt with. The best example is an education. I’m going to insist that we’ve got decent funding, enough teachers, and computers in the classroom, but unless you turn off the television set and get over a certain anti-intellectualism that I think pervades some low-income communities, our children are not going to achieve. Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

On Government Reform: People are really ready for a message for change

Kerry cares a lot about diversity in the party. And I think that certainly made a difference. I also think that the manner in which we won our primary in Illinois was a hopeful sign, because the conventional wisdom was that I would get the black vote and then a sliver of white vote, and instead we won in places people didn’t expect us to win, in suburban areas, in rural areas. And it indicates that people are really ready for a message for change. What they want is somebody who has a positive message, who has a tone in their politics that says, “We can disagree with the other side without being disagreeable.” Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

On Jobs: Make sure that African-American men have access to jobs

It’s heartbreaking that 3 out of 4 black children born are born to unmarried mothers in Illinois. Some of it is just making sure that African-American men have access to jobs. There’s been the devastation as we lose manufacturing jobs that disproportionately hurts African-Americans, blue-collar workers who used to be able to support a family with an unskilled job. That’s no longer possible. So we got to have a base of economic security in order to build strong families. Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

On Principles & Values: Want common-sense solutions, not liberal-conservative labels

I’m not somebody comfortable with liberal-conservative labels. What the American people are looking for are common-sense solutions. They want to get beyond a lot of slash-and-burn politics. One of the most encouraging things about Kerry’s campaign is the degree of hopefulness, reflected in his choice of vice president. This country remains the greatest on Earth, not because of the size of our military or the size of our economy, but because every child can actually achieve as much as they can dream. Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

On War & Peace: Set a new tone to internationalize the Iraqi reconstruction

Many families have got reservists, National Guardsmen, the sons, daughters, uncles, and aunts of people who are in Iraq for 18 months. They don’t see an exit strategy. They’re deeply troubled about how we got into the war. Kerry is going to have to offer the ability for his administration to be able to set a new tone, re-establish the kinds of relationships with our allies that allow us to internationalize the reconstruction process, make sure that Iraq succeeds and allow our troops eventually to get out Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

On War & Peace: Iraq war was sincere but misguided, ideologically driven

The war in Iraq was an ideologically driven war. I think Bush was sincere and is sincere about his desire to maintain a strong America, but there was a single-mindedness to this process that has led our country into a very difficult position. It’s a consequence of that single-mindedness that we did not create the kind of international framework that would have allowed success once we decided to go in. I think that this administration is sincere but I think it’s misguided. Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

On War & Peace: Would have voted no to authorize the President to go to war

I would have voted not to authorize the president to go to war given the facts as I saw them at that time. But, as I said, I wasn’t there and what is absolutely clear as we move forward is that if we don’t have a change in tone & a change in administration, I think we’re going to have trouble making sure that our troops are secure and that we succeed in Iraq. Source: Meet The Press, NBC News, 2004 interview with Tim Russert Jul 25, 2004

The above quotations are from Meet the Press: Meet the Candidates 2006-2007 series, individual interviews with Tim Russert, throughout 2007. Click here for main summary page. Click here for a profile of Barack Obama. Click here for Barack Obama on all issues.
*Barack Obama on other issues:*
Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade	Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform Technology/Infrastructure War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty
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Page last updated: Nov 30, 2018