Barack Obama in 2008 CBS News interviews

On Homeland Security: Inappropriate to lie to public; just don’t answer questions

A: I don’t think it’s appropriate to lie to the American people. And I think that one of the things I want to change about the culture of Washington is, not just the “big lie,” but also the “soft lie.” The fudging, the manipulation, the spin. If we can restore a sense of trust between the American people and their government, we’re going to go a long way to changing the country for the better.

Q: What about in a national security situation?

A: I don’t think it’s appropriate to lie. I mean, you can put together a hypothetical where there is a national security emergency that is imminent. And you don’t want to provide, for example, the location of our troops. You don’t have to lie in those situations. You simply say, “we’re not answering questions.”

On Principles & Values: Favorite movie: “The Godfather”, for respect & family

A: Obama: Oh, I think it would have to be “The Godfather.” One and Two. Three not so much. That saga--I love that movie.

Q: Do you have a favorite scene?

A: I think my favorite has to be, the opening scene of the first “Godfather” where, where the caretaker comes in and, you know, Marlon Brando is sitting there and he’s saying “you disrespected me.” You know “and now you want a favor.” It sets the tone for the whole movie.

Q: And all hell breaks lose, right?

A: Yeah, right. I mean there’s this combination of old world gentility and ritual, with this savagery underneath. It’s all about family. So it’s a great movie. “Lawrence of Arabia.” Great film. One of my favorites--and then “Casablanca.” Who doesn’t like “Casablanca?”

Q: I asked for one!

A: I’m a movie guy. I can rattle off a bunch of movies. But that “Casablanca,” you know.

On Homeland Security: Disrupting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan prevented another 9/11

A: Well, I think that the initial invasion into Afghanistan disrupted al Qaeda. And that was the right thing to do. I mean, we had to knock out those safe havens. And that, I think, weakened them. We did some work in strengthening our homeland security apparatus here. Obviously, the average person knows that when they go to the airport, because they are goin’ through taking off their shoes & all that.

Q: As president, how would you prevent another 9/11 from happening?

A: The problem is when we got distracted by Iraq. We gave al Qaeda time to reconstitute itself. My hope obviously is that we continue to prevent them from being able to move at all out of those safe havens. But our intelligence indicates the likelihood of a potential attack is significantly higher now. And that has been an enormous mistake that I intend to correct when I’m president.

On Foreign Policy: Chairs European subcommittee; could hold Afghanistan hearing

A: Actually, the subcommittee that I chair is the European subcommittee. And any issues related to Afghanistan were always dealt with in the full committee, precisely because it’s so important. That’s not a matter that you would deal with in a subcommittee setting.

On Foreign Policy: My record on Israel is same as McCain’s

A: Yes.

Q: According to a recent poll out of Jerusalem, Israeli Jews favor John McCain for President 43% to 20%. Why do you think that’s the case?

A: Well, I’m not as well known as John McCain. I think that’s obviously a factor. And, you know, I think, understandably, Israelis are very interested in making sure that whoever takes the White House is absolutely committed to their security, regardless of other issues. And they know John McCain. He’s been there. Despite the fact that my record is as strong as John McCain’s on all the issues related to Israeli security, people just don’t know me as well. That’s part of the reason why we’re gonna spend a day visiting there in discussions and hopefully give people confidence that I have a track record that will assure not only the people of Israel, but friends of Israel back home, that, in fact, Israel’s security is paramount.

On Foreign Policy: Appropriate for Israel to take out Syrian nuclear reactor

A: I will not hypothesize on that. I think Israel has a right to defend itself. But I will not speculate on the difficult judgment that they would have to make in a whole host of possible scenarios.

Q: This is not a speculative question then. Was it appropriate, in your view, for Israel to take out that suspected Syrian nuclear site last year?

A: Yes. I think that there was sufficient evidence that they were developing a site using a nuclear or using a blueprint that was similar to the North Korean model. There was some concern as to what the rationale for that site would be. And, again, ultimately, I think these are decisions that the Israelis have to make. But, you know, the Israelis live in a very tough neighborhood where a lot of folks, publicly proclaim Israel as an enemy and then act on those proclamations.

On Foreign Policy: Jerusalem should be capital of Israel, pending final status

A: There was no backtracking. We just had phrased it poorly in the speech. But my policy has been very consistent. It’s the same policy tha Bill Clinton has put forward, and that says that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, that we shouldn’t divide it by barbed wire, but that, ultimately that a final status issue that has to be resolved between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

On War & Peace: Situation has improved in Iraq; but it’s still fragile

A: Well, there’s no doubt the scary situation’s improved. And it was very encouraging to see that markets are reopening; that in places like Anbar Province you have seen a complete reversal in terms of the attitude of Sunni tribesmen towards American forces there. That I think is a terrific momentum builder. And we’ve gotta keep on making sure that we’re making progress on those fronts. What hadn’t changed was there’s stil enormous suspicion between the Sunni and the Shii’a. And until that gets resolved and the central government is able to bring in Sunnis and give them confidence that their voices are heard; that their interests are met; that their constituencies are benefiting from oil revenues; and other steps that the government may be taking to improve economic opportunity--I think you’re still gonna have a fragile situation there.

On War & Peace: Surge reduced violence; but distracts us from long-term goal

A: What I was referring to is the need for a strategy that actually concludes our involvement in Iraq and moves Iraqis to take responsibility for the country.

Q: But didn’t the surge help do that?

A: What happens if we continue to put $10 billion to $12 billion a month into Iraq, if we are willing to send as many troops as we can muster continually into Iraq? There’s no doubt that that’s gonna have an impact. But it doesn’t meet our long-term strategic goal, which is to make the American people safer over the long term. We’re distracting from our efforts in Afghanistan, from going after Osama bin Laden.

Q: All that may be true. But do you not give the surge any credit for reducing violence in Iraq?

A: There is no doubt that the extraordinary work of our US forces has contributed to a lessening of the violence.

On War & Peace: Engaging in tough diplomacy with Iran is a sign of strength

A: Well, I’m encouraged to see, for example, the Bush administration send an outstanding diplomat, [Undersecretary of State William] Burns, to participate in discussions with Iran. This is what I’ve been talking about for the last year and a half. You know, engaging in tough diplomacy is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. So far the Iranians have not accepted the kinds of talks that we need to deal with in terms of suspending their enrichment program. But the fact that we’ve tried to talk to them then strengthens our hand in the international community when we wanna get Russia or China to help apply the tough sanctions that are gonna be required to make Iranians know that we mean business.

On Energy & Oil: Rebate checks instead of gas tax holiday

A: I meet Americans every day who are really hard hit. So absolutely, I want to make sure that tax stimulus package proposed that would follow up the initial rebate check with another one if you had three consecutive months of unemployment. That gets out to people right away. And in fact, we have a better chance of getting that done than the proposal that John McCain and Hillary Clinton have put forward, but understand this: the idea of a gas tax holiday is a phony approach. It is a gimmick. We saw this tried in a number of other states including my home state of Illinois. And what happens is, at best, you’re seeing pennies over 90 days, but more typically what happens is the oil companies just jack up prices by the same amount as the gas tax was as it’s suspended, so consumers don’t see the savings.