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00:01A nation at a crossroads.
00:04A movement awakened.
00:06A leader under siege.
00:09And a news team utterly lost in a strange city.
00:13It's Indecision 2010.
00:17The Daily Show's midterm tea party ganza.
00:22When Grizzlies attack.
00:30Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Daily Show. My name is Jon Stewart.
00:43Ladies and gentlemen.
00:48Please join me in welcoming the President of the United States, Barack Obama.
01:00medications beforeodå–œod Reserv.
01:04I'm Tyrant.
01:06That was great.
01:12Donna Ettoharich N生geist.
01:24Thank you very much.
01:25Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, I'm sorry, that's all
01:49the time we have.
01:52Thank you for joining us.
01:53This is a nice set.
01:55Thank you very much.
01:56It reminds me of the convention.
02:01We actually bought it, it was in a warehouse, and we bought it, we had it chiseled, let
02:06me give you Mug Force One.
02:08This is yours.
02:09Nice.
02:10There's no water in it, let me get some water for you, I'll get that on the thing there.
02:15Thank you so much for coming by, there you go.
02:24All right.
02:26Does that happen to you wherever you go?
02:30Just a wild, when you, because when you guys go to work, do people typically applaud or,
02:37it's a nice feeling.
02:38It was a wonderful welcome.
02:40It does not happen, for example, when I go to the Republican caucus meeting.
02:44It's a nice thing, slightly different.
02:47So here you are.
02:48Here I am.
02:49You're two years in.
02:50Yes.
02:51To your administration.
02:53The question that arises in my mind.
02:58Are we the people we were waiting for or does it turn out those people are still out there
03:13and we don't, and we don't, and we don't have their number.
03:16How, how are you, how are you feeling about, about that?
03:19Well, you know, I'm feeling great about where the American people are considering what we've
03:28gone through.
03:29We've gone through the two toughest years of any time since the Great Depression.
03:36And in light of that, the fact that people have been resilient, that folks are still out
03:43there working and opening businesses and, you know, working in the community, looking
03:49after their families, taking care of their responsibilities, that's encouraging.
03:53So there's still a lot of good stuff happening.
03:55But people are frustrated, you know, people, a lot of folks are hurting out there still.
04:02And you know, in that environment, I think that they're hoping that we can do a little
04:07bit better here in Washington than we've been doing.
04:09Now do you, is that, do you feel that as well?
04:12Because it is, you know, you're coming from a place, you ran on very high rhetoric, hope
04:18and change, and the Democrats this year seem to be running on, please baby, one more chance.
04:25Now, how did we go, in two years, from hope and change, we are the people we've been looking
04:35for, to, you're not going to give them the keys, are you?
04:38You know, is it, are you disappointed in how it's gone?
04:42Are you surprised that other people, even your base, can be disappointed?
04:46Or do you reject that narrative?
04:48You know, look, when, when I won, and we started the transition, and we looked at what was happening
04:56in the economy.
04:57A whole bunch of my political folks came up and said, you know what, enjoy this now, because
05:05two years from now, folks are going to be frustrated.
05:10And that is, in fact, what's happened.
05:12When you've got 9.6% unemployment, when folks are seeing their homes underwater, when the economy
05:22is growing, but is still not growing as fast as it needs to, to make up for the 8 million
05:26jobs that were lost, folks are going to be frustrated.
05:30And that's going to reflect itself in the political environment.
05:33But, having said that, I look over the last 18 months, and I say, we've prevented a second
05:40Great Depression.
05:41We've stabilized the economy.
05:43An economy that was shrinking is now growing.
05:45We've had nine months of consecutive private sector job growth.
05:50We have passed historic health care reform, historic financial regulatory reform.
05:57We have done things that some folks don't even know about.
06:00Four million kids.
06:01What have you done that we don't know about?
06:03Well, are you planning a surprise party for us, filled with jobs and health care?
06:14When you look at what we've done in terms of making sure that, before we even passed health
06:20care, four million kids got health insurance that didn't have it before, through the Children's
06:24Health Insurance Program.
06:25Expanded national service more than at any time since the beginning of the Peace Corps.
06:34Made sure that credit card companies couldn't jack up your rates without notice.
06:40Over and over again, we have moved forward an agenda that is making a difference in people's
06:45lives each and every day.
06:46Right.
06:47Now, is it enough?
06:48No.
06:49And so, I expect, and I think most Democrats out there, expect that people want to see
06:55more progress.
06:56Right.
06:57Certainly, in terms of the folks who voted for me, my expectation and hope is, is that
07:03if you look at the track record that we've accomplished in very difficult circumstances
07:07over the last 18 months, we have done an awful lot that we talked about during the campaign,
07:12and we're going to do more in the years to come.
07:14Well, that's what we'll do.
07:14We're going to take a commercial break, and then we're going to take a commercial break.
07:18We're going to come back and talk a little bit about how that progress is going to be,
07:21or what it was, what the process was like.
07:23We'll be back with President Barack Obama.
07:27We're back, we're here with President Barack Obama.
07:33Let's talk about, you know, you were talking about a list of accomplishments that you feel
07:40very proud of, that the Democratic Party, you know, they don't seem to be running.
07:44On the list of accomplishments, if anything, you know, I saw a commercial guy in West Virginia
07:48running for Senate, Manchin, who, he took a run full, and he shot the cap and trade bill.
07:52And I thought, oh, gosh, the Republicans are so, oh, that's a Democrat.
07:56Oh, that's interesting.
07:59Have you convinced your own party that the legislative progress has been enough?
08:06And how do you feel about their reaction to it?
08:09Look, let me say this about members of Congress.
08:12Are you going to curse?
08:14No, I'm not going to curse.
08:16I know a lot of folks feel frustrated about Congress, how it operates, you know, the bickering,
08:24the weird rules, the filibusters, all that stuff.
08:28But the fact is that there are a bunch of folks who, during the course of this year,
08:34took really tough votes that they knew were bad politics because they thought they were the right things to do.
08:40There are a whole bunch of Democrats.
08:46There are a whole bunch of Democrats.
08:49Guys like Tom Perriello in Virginia or John Bocherry in Ohio or Betsy Markey in Colorado,
08:57who are basically in Republican districts.
09:01They won in the big surge that we had in 2008.
09:04They knew it was going to be a tough battle, that these are generally pretty conservative districts,
09:11and yet still went ahead and did what they thought was right.
09:15And my hope in this election is that people who vote on the basis of what they think is right
09:22and have integrity and aren't just thinking about the next election but are thinking about the next generation,
09:28they are rewarded.
09:29Now, that's tough in this political process because you've got millions of dollars of independent money
09:35that's pouring into those races.
09:38They are being hammered by negative ads every single day.
09:43And the question then becomes, do the millions of voices who came out in 2008
09:47who said folks were interested in fixing our health care system,
09:53wanted a serious energy policy,
09:55wanted the kinds of changes in our student loan program that have allowed millions more kids
10:00to have access to college.
10:02That's what we ran on.
10:04That's what we've delivered.
10:05And my hope is that those people are rewarded for taking those tough votes.
10:09And if they are, then I think Democrats will do fine on Election Day.
10:13Is the difficulty that you have here
10:16the distance between what you ran on and what you delivered?
10:20Is that you ran with such, if I may, audacity.
10:24You know, so much of what you said was great leaders lead in a time of opportunity.
10:29We're the ones we're looking for.
10:32Yet legislatively, it has felt timid at times
10:35that I'm not even sure at times what you want out of a health care bill.
10:39And this is, John, I love your show, but this is something where, you know,
10:49I have a profound disagreement with you and I don't want to lump you in with a lot of other pundits.
10:54But this notion that health care was timid,
11:01you've got 30 million people who are going to get health insurance as a consequence of this.
11:05You've got a patient's bill of rights that makes sure that insurance companies can drop you when you get sick
11:13if you've been paying premiums, that makes sure there aren't lifetime limits,
11:16makes sure that kids who don't have health insurance can stay on their parents' health insurance until they're 26,
11:23and cuts the deficit by over a trillion dollars.
11:26This is what I think most people would say
11:31is as significant a piece of legislation as we've seen in this country's history.
11:38And the notion that...
11:40But what happens is...
11:42Right.
11:43What happens is it gets discounted
11:46because the presumption is, well, we didn't get 100% of what we wanted.
11:51We got 90% of what we wanted.
11:53So let's focus on the 10% we didn't get as opposed to the 90% that we did.
11:58And right now, there is a woman in New Hampshire
12:00who doesn't have to sell her house to get her cancer treatments because of that health care bill.
12:06And she doesn't think it's inconsequential.
12:09She doesn't think it's timid.
12:10The suggestion was not that it's inconsequential or that it doesn't help.
12:14The suggestion was that it was timid.
12:15Timid.
12:16Yeah, that was...
12:18And I'll tell you what I mean.
12:20And I don't mean to lump you in with other presidents.
12:27But...
12:27I think if I were to try and coalesce,
12:35I think, whatever criticism of it may be,
12:39it's that you ran on the idea that this system needed basic reform.
12:46It feels like some of the reforms that have passed, like health care,
12:51have been done in a very political manner
12:54that has papered over a foundation that is corrupt.
12:59And I thought that...
13:00That I think is fair, which is...
13:02Here's what I think is fair.
13:05That over the last two years, in an emergency situation,
13:09our basic attitude was,
13:12we've got to get some things done,
13:14in some cases quickly,
13:17that are, in order to do that,
13:22basically worked with the process as opposed to transform the process.
13:26And there's no doubt that that frustrated folks.
13:28It frustrates me.
13:30Look, I would love not to have a 60-vote requirement,
13:35which is not in the Constitution,
13:37but is in the Senate rules right now,
13:40that apply to everything we do,
13:42so that I can't get a deputy secretary of treasury
13:46in the middle of a financial crisis
13:47because somebody's holding it up
13:49and is filibustering the appointment.
13:52So there are all kinds of things that happened
13:54during the course of these two years in terms of process
13:56that I'd like to see changed.
13:59Keep in mind that those areas
14:01where we had control over process,
14:03we actually made changes.
14:04So, you know, we've got a whole bunch of rules
14:06about lobbyists interacting with the White House
14:08that are very different from any White House before.
14:11If somebody wants to come to visit the White House,
14:13now that list is given out to everybody.
14:16That's a change, but...
14:18Did you just invite me to the White House?
14:19No, no.
14:22Because we'd have to disclose it,
14:24and I don't think it would actually...
14:25Right, you don't want people hiring them.
14:25I was over there.
14:26Exactly.
14:27Let me explain more specifically
14:29because I think that's, you know,
14:31to say within the system,
14:33without the system,
14:34you know, in the healthcare bill,
14:36you worked within the system,
14:39you know, there was...
14:40During the campaign,
14:41there was a talk that we were going to be able
14:42to negotiate prices
14:42with Canadian pharmaceutical companies.
14:44A deal was made with them,
14:46$80 billion over 10 years.
14:47Okay, that seems like a quid pro quo
14:49that seems reasonable,
14:51but there's other things with the insurance companies.
14:52You know, I was talking with a woman
14:53in the audience before the show,
14:55and she brought up an interesting point.
15:02You know, 2014 is when these exchanges kick in,
15:05and there'll be some sort of price controls,
15:06but up until that point,
15:07there's really nothing in this bill
15:09that doesn't allow these insurance companies
15:12to raise rates.
15:14Not true.
15:14Well, in fact,
15:16what we've done is
15:17we have empowered
15:18state insurance commissioners
15:21to review the rate hikes
15:23that are taking place in states.
15:25In some states,
15:25like North Carolina,
15:26they've already used it
15:27and rolled back.
15:29Premium increases by 25%.
15:30Doesn't that only trip, though,
15:32on egregious raises?
15:33Don't they know, like,
15:34if you raise it 30%,
15:35so they raise it 29%,
15:37you know, is that...
15:38If the point, John,
15:40is that overnight,
15:42we did not transform
15:44the health care system.
15:45Right.
15:45That point is true.
15:50Well, when you put it that way,
15:51it seems so petty.
15:52When I say...
15:53When I say that...
15:55When we promised during the campaign
15:57change you can believe in...
15:59Right.
16:00It wasn't change you can believe in
16:01in 18 months.
16:03It was...
16:04Right.
16:04Change you can believe in,
16:06but you know what?
16:07We're going to have to work for it.
16:08And the history of this...
16:09The history of this country...
16:10Let me make this point.
16:13Because I think this is really important.
16:14It's a good point.
16:15Look, when Social Security was passed,
16:18it applied to widows and orphans.
16:21And it was a very restricted program.
16:25And over time,
16:26that structure that was built
16:27ended up developing
16:29into the most important
16:30social safety net
16:32that we have in our country.
16:34The same is true
16:35on every piece
16:36of progressive legislation,
16:38every bit of progress
16:39that we've made.
16:39When the Civil Rights Act passed,
16:41there were still a bunch of folks
16:43down south
16:43who couldn't vote.
16:45And, you know,
16:46I'm sure there were
16:47a bunch of commentators
16:48out there who said,
16:49you know what?
16:50This law's not doing the job.
16:52There's still folks
16:54who aren't able
16:55to exercise their franchise.
16:56But the point was
16:57is that we had created
16:58a structure,
16:58we had put a framework in place
17:00that allowed us then
17:01to continue to make progress.
17:03That's what we've done
17:04over the last 18 months.
17:05That's what I expect
17:06we're going to keep on doing
17:07as long as I've got
17:09the capacity to do it,
17:10as long as I'm
17:10President of the United States.
17:11All right, sir.
17:12We're going to take
17:12a commercial bite
17:13from our back
17:14and we're with President Barack Obama.
17:19Welcome back.
17:20We're here with President Barack Obama.
17:23You know,
17:23you expressed
17:26some frustration
17:30with those on the left
17:31that are still feeling
17:32disfotestified.
17:34Do you think in any way
17:35the expectation
17:37was something
17:38that maybe even
17:40you and your campaign
17:41created?
17:42Were people being naive
17:44in the sense of
17:45I remember very clearly
17:46you said, you know,
17:46we can't expect
17:47different results
17:48with the same people.
17:50Right.
17:50And I remember
17:51when you hired Larry Summers.
17:56I remember thinking,
17:58well, that seems like
18:00the exact same person.
18:03And why would you
18:06so in some respects
18:07I get your frustration
18:09with this idea that
18:10well, geez,
18:11are you never satisfied?
18:13But again,
18:13the expectation
18:15I think was
18:16audacity
18:18going in there
18:19and really rooting out
18:21a corrupt system.
18:22And so the sense is
18:23has reality
18:25of what hit you
18:27in the face
18:27when you first stepped in
18:28caused you to back down
18:30from some of the more visionary
18:32like bringing a guy
18:33like Larry Summers.
18:34First of all,
18:36if you look at how
18:39we have handled
18:40this financial crisis,
18:41if you had told me
18:43two years ago
18:44that we're going to be able
18:45to stabilize the system,
18:48stabilize the stock market,
18:50stabilize the economy,
18:51and by the way,
18:53at the end of this thing,
18:54it'll cost less than
18:551% of GDP
18:56where the S&L crisis
18:58cost us
18:592.5%
19:01of our entire economy,
19:03a much smaller crisis.
19:05I'd say
19:06we'll take that
19:07because
19:07we save taxpayers
19:09a whole lot of money.
19:10And in fairness,
19:13Larry Summers
19:13did a heck of a job
19:15trying to figure out
19:16how to...
19:18You don't want to use
19:18that phrase, dude.
19:19I saw.
19:20I was...
19:21Pun intended.
19:24All right.
19:28Larry was
19:29integral
19:30in helping
19:31to think through
19:32some really complicated stuff.
19:33Now,
19:34the notion is,
19:35I think,
19:36that
19:36somehow
19:37managing
19:39a crisis
19:41of this magnitude
19:41is
19:43a matter
19:45of black and white
19:46and you've got
19:47some clear decisions
19:48that you can make
19:49and here's how
19:50you can do it
19:50and you shut down
19:52these banks
19:52and push this stuff aside
19:54and somehow
19:55it's all going to be right.
19:56It turns out that
19:57at every juncture
19:59where we're making decisions,
20:01we've got to make
20:02some calculations.
20:03If you
20:03shut down this bank,
20:05does that mean
20:05that you're going to have
20:06a cascade of 100 other banks
20:07that are going to be shut down?
20:09Does that mean
20:09then the taxpayers
20:10suddenly have to pay
20:11for all that?
20:11Is that going to cost
20:12more taxpayer money?
20:13So,
20:14a lot of the debates
20:15that were taking place
20:16in terms of financial
20:17regulatory reform,
20:18in terms of how to
20:19stabilize the financial system
20:21were ones that
20:22required some expertise
20:23and Larry helped
20:25to provide that.
20:26Now,
20:26having said that,
20:27I appreciate you
20:32being polite.
20:33It's just really hard
20:34not to talk.
20:35I know.
20:40Can I ask you
20:41just one quick?
20:41If they had told you
20:42the same thing,
20:43stabilize the banks,
20:44stabilize the Dow,
20:45unemployment will be
20:47near 10%,
20:47would you have taken
20:48that deal?
20:50You know,
20:50if I had
20:54the capacity
20:55to have prevented
20:58the unemployment
21:00that happened
21:01basically before
21:01we put our economic
21:02plan into place,
21:04obviously we would
21:05have done that.
21:06but the problem
21:06was we lost
21:074 million jobs
21:08before I was sworn in.
21:09750,000 jobs
21:11the month I was sworn in.
21:13600,000
21:14the month after that,
21:15600,000
21:15the month after that.
21:16So most of the jobs
21:17that we lost
21:18were lost
21:19before the economic
21:20policies that we put
21:20into place
21:21had any effect.
21:22But I want to go back
21:29to your earlier point,
21:29which is this notion
21:30that folks, I think,
21:32hoped that we could
21:33completely transform
21:35Washington.
21:37I understand that impulse.
21:39There are some very
21:40good people here,
21:41some good public servants
21:42who work very hard.
21:44There are some folks
21:45who aren't so good.
21:46and the culture here
21:49is not always real healthy.
21:52And we're going to have to
21:53a little
21:54people chuckle here.
21:58And so bringing about
22:01change in terms of how
22:02the legislative process
22:04operates,
22:04in terms of the power
22:05that lobbyists have,
22:07the power that
22:07special interests have,
22:09that is a work in progress.
22:12It's just not going
22:14to happen overnight.
22:15But I don't regret
22:16that during the campaign,
22:18having said,
22:19that we can change
22:20that process.
22:21We can make it
22:22more transparent.
22:24It's not going to be ideal.
22:26We can reduce
22:28the power of special interests,
22:30although special interests
22:30are still going to have power
22:31in a democracy.
22:33They're going to be able
22:34to petition their government
22:35like everybody else,
22:36and they've got a lot
22:37of lobbyists
22:37and a lot of cash to do it.
22:39But we can limit
22:41the amount of power
22:41that we have.
22:42We can make sure that
22:44as a White House,
22:47we are more open
22:48than previous White Houses.
22:50You know,
22:50there are folks,
22:51I'm sure,
22:51who don't think
22:52that we've achieved
22:53the ideal.
22:54And so I guess
22:55on all these issues,
22:56my attitude is,
22:58if we're making progress
23:00step by step,
23:02inch by inch,
23:03day by day,
23:04that we are being true
23:06to the spirit
23:06of that campaign.
23:07So you wouldn't say
23:09you'd run this time
23:10as a pragmatist.
23:11You would not.
23:12It wouldn't be,
23:13yes, we can,
23:14given certain conditions.
23:16No, I think what I would say is,
23:18yes, we can,
23:21but it is not,
23:23but it is not going to happen overnight.
23:27Do you still believe
23:28government is nimble enough
23:29to handle these 21st century crises?
23:33Is that,
23:33is government agile enough
23:35to handle,
23:36you know,
23:36you said we want to build
23:37a 21st century regulatory regime
23:39for business.
23:40By the time government builds that,
23:42obviously it would be
23:43the 22nd century,
23:44but won't they have already
23:46started trading molecules
23:47in some sort of weird,
23:49you know,
23:49does government still have
23:51the ability
23:51to be agile enough
23:53to handle these types of things?
23:55I think it's a legitimate question.
23:56I will tell you that
23:57there are a couple of things
23:59that have changed
24:00in our politics
24:01that are going to have
24:02to be fixed.
24:03One is the way
24:04the filibuster operates.
24:06I mean,
24:06as I said,
24:07that's just not
24:08in the Constitution.
24:09In fairness,
24:10in fairness,
24:12Democrats used it
24:13when Bush was in office
24:15and felt very comfortable
24:17using it,
24:17although not to the extent
24:18that it's been used today.
24:20What we've been seeing
24:21is unprecedented.
24:22And that makes it
24:24very difficult for us
24:25to move forward
24:25in serious ways
24:27and actually reduces compromise.
24:29Because what ends up
24:29happening is
24:30that if Republicans
24:32know that they can
24:34block anything
24:34because we don't have
24:3660 votes,
24:37then they feel
24:38no need to compromise.
24:39That means the Democrats
24:40then,
24:41their attitude is,
24:42well,
24:43we're not going to compromise.
24:44We can't get 60 votes.
24:45Right.
24:45And everybody moves
24:46in opposite directions.
24:48The same thing is true,
24:49I think,
24:49when it comes to
24:50how our districts are drawn.
24:52You know,
24:52we've got a lot of districts
24:54these days
24:54that are so safe,
24:5690% Democrat
24:57or 90% Republican
24:59that that also helps
25:00to polarize the electorate.
25:02So there are a couple
25:03of things
25:04that are structural
25:05that are probably
25:06going to need to be changed.
25:07But having said all that,
25:09we have made
25:11a lot of progress
25:12over the last 18 months
25:13that,
25:14from a historical perspective,
25:17ranks up there
25:18with any legislative session
25:20we've seen in history.
25:22And we're going to have
25:24to continue
25:24to make some progress
25:25on things like energy,
25:27which didn't get done.
25:29On immigration reform,
25:30that did not get done.
25:32And most importantly,
25:34we've just got to do
25:35a lot more work
25:36in terms of generating
25:37the kind of jobs
25:38that ensure
25:40we've got a growing
25:41middle class
25:41and that people are able
25:43to live out
25:43the American dream.
25:44Because right now,
25:44I think there are a lot
25:45of folks who are worried
25:46that if we don't make
25:47serious investments
25:48in education,
25:49in energy,
25:50in infrastructure,
25:51in research and development,
25:52that we're going to start
25:53falling behind.
25:54Well,
25:55I thank you
25:56for being here,
25:58for taking the time.
25:58I know you're
25:59a very busy man.
26:00Well,
26:00you've got lots to do.
26:01John,
26:01I appreciate this.
26:04You know,
26:04the one other thing
26:05that might have made
26:05a difference
26:05is if you had
26:07held a rally
26:08to restore sanity
26:09two years ago.
26:12That might have,
26:15I don't know,
26:16you could do that.
26:17That might have made
26:18a difference.
26:19But I enjoyed it.
26:21Can I just make a plug
26:22just to vote?
26:24Make sure the plug's out there.
26:27I didn't know
26:28what you were going
26:28for.
26:30When you said,
26:30can I just make a plug,
26:31I was like,
26:32are you dropping an album?
26:33What's happening here?
26:35Go out there
26:36and vote November 2nd.
26:37A lot of you have
26:38early vote in your states.
26:39Make sure to take a,
26:40make use of it.
26:40Thank you so much.
26:41Thank you very much.
26:41Thank you very much.
26:42Thank you very much.
27:13Together Nation,
27:14we will put a stake
27:16through the heart
27:16of agreeability.
27:18Live coverage
27:18of the rally
27:19to restore sanity
27:20and or fear
27:20this Saturday
27:21at noon,
27:229 a.m. Pacific.
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