Transcripts For WCAU Meet The Press 20140907

Know whats going on, everything can change. Its a packed sunday, im chuck todd. Joining me to provide insight and analysis are nbcs joe scarboroughboro, Malika Henderson of the washington post, andrea michelle, andrew liter, buzzfeeds john stanton and amy walter of the political report. Welcome to sunday, its meet the press. Announcer from nbc news in washington, this is meet the press. And good morning. Obviously its a pretty big honor for me to be sitting in this chair as the 12th moderator of this program following in the footsteps of the likes of tim russert and, of course, david gregory. As you can see, were making a few changes around here. As i like to say, were living in a house as we remodel it, so the program in this studio will continue to evolve over the coming months. But what better way to start off my first show than with an exclusive sitdown with the president of the United States. To say its been a long, hot summer for president obama is quite an understatement. The brutal rise of isis in iraq and syria, and their execution of two american journalists triggered usair strikes in iraq. The president invited criticism when he made this frank admission. We dont have a strategy yet. More criticism came when he went golfing shortly after condemning james foleys murder. All this contributing to the sense the world is spinning out of the president s control. At home the president s Approval Ratings hit alltime lows and Many Democrats are desperate to distance themselves from the white house. All this hanging over his head, yesterday i sat down with the president in the cabinet room of the white house. Mr. President , welcome to your 12th appearance on meet the press. Great to see you. Thanks for doing this. Start with a very basic question, are you preparing the country to go back to war . Im preparing the country to make sure we deal with a threat from isil. Keep in mind, this is something we know how to do. Weve been dealing with terrorist threats for quite some time. This administration has dismantled al qaeda and isil. Isil poses a broader threat because of its territorial am bigs in iraq and syrisyria. The good news is coming back from the meeting, the entire International Community understands this is something that has to be dealt with. So what i have done over the last several months is first and foremost make sure weve got eyes on the problem, that we shifted resources, intelligence, reconnaissance, did an assessment on the ground. The second step was to make sure that we protected american personnel, our embassies, our consulates. That included taking airstrikes to ensure that towns like erbil werent overrun, Critical Infrastructure like the dam and were protected and able to engage in humanitarian missions that saved lives. Next, we have to get an Iraqi Government in place. Im optimistic next week we should be able to get that done. And i will then meet with congressional leaders on tuesday. On wednesday ill make a speech and describe what our game plan is going to be Going Forward. But this is not going to be an announcement about u. S. Ground troops. This is not the equivalent of the iraq war. What this is is similar to the kinds of counterterrorism campaigns that weve been engaging in consistently over the last five, six, seven years. The good news is because of american leadership, we have, i believe, a broadbased coalition internationally and regionally to be able to deal with the problem. What are you asking of the American People. Youre giving a speech. Thats the type of thing, i assume youre preparing the country for something. What are you asking them . I want American People to understand the nature of the threat and how were going to deal with it and have confidence well be able to deal with it. Youre giving that speech the day before the 13th anniversary of 9 11. Right. I want everybody to understand that we have not seen any immediate intelligence about threats to the homeland from isil. Thats not what this is about. What its about is an organization, if allowed to control significant amounts of territory, to amass more resources, more arms, to attract more foreign fighters including from areas like europe who have europeans who have visas and can travel to the United States unimpeded, that over time that can be a serious threat to the homeland so. What im going to be asking the American People to understand is, number one, this is a serious threat. Number two, we have the capacity to deal with it. Here is how were going to deal with it. I am going to be asking congress to make sure that they understand and support what our plan is. And its going to require some resources, i suspect, above what we are currently doing. This is asking congress for a vote, authorization of your strategy. This is not what does that mean . Define that. Im confident i have authorization i need to protect the American People. Im always going to do whats necessary to protect the American People. I do think its important for congress to understand what the plan is, to debate it. Thats why weve been consulting with congress throughout. This speech will allow congress, i think, to understand very clearly and very specifically what it is that we are doing, but also what were not doing. Were not looking at sending in hundreds of thousands of american troops. We are going to be as part of an International Coalition carrying out airstrikes in support of work on the ground by iraqi troops, kurdish troops. We are going to be helping to put together a plan for them so that they can start retaking territory that isil had taken over. What i want people to understand, though, is that over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of isil, we are going to systematically degrade their capabilities, were going to shrink the territory they control. Ultimately were going to defeat them. Long way. Long way from when you described them as a jv team. Was it bad intelligence or misjudgment. Keep in mind, i wasnt specifically refer to isil. I said that regionally there were a whole series of organizations that were focused primarily locally, werent focused on the homeland. I think a lot of us when we think about terrorism, the model is Osama Bin Laden and 9 11. And the point i was you dont believe these people not yet, but they can evolve. I was very specific at that time. What i said was not every regional terrorist organization is automatically a threat to us that would call for a major offensive. Our goal should not be to think that we can occupy every country where theres a terrorist organization. You have not said the word syria so far in our conversation. Obviously if youre going to defeat isis, youve used much stronger language during the week on your trip to wales, youve got to go to syria in some form or another. Youve ruled out boots on the ground. Im curious, have you simply ruled them out for domestic reasons or is there another reason for ruling out boots on the ground. Your own guys have said you cant defeat isis with airstrikes alone. Youre absolutely right about that. You also cannot over the longterm or even the medium term by dealing with this problem by having United States serially occupy various countries all around the middle east. We dont have the resources. Its put enormous strains on our military. And at some point we leave and then things blow up again. With iraq. Weve got to have a more sustainable strategy which means the boots on the ground have to be iraqi. In syria, the boots on the ground have to be syrian. Who . Well, we have a Free Syrian Army and moderate opposition that we have steadily been working with, that we have vetted. They have been on the defensive, not just from isil but the assad regime. The strategy both for iraq and for syria is that we will hunt down isil members and assets wherever they are. I will reserve the right to always protect the American People and go after folks who are trying to hurt us wherever they are. But in terms of controlling territory, were going to have to develop a moderate sunni opposition that can control territory and that we can work with. The notion that the United States should be putting boots on the ground i think would be a profound mistake. I want to be very clear and very explicit about that. I got a somewhat snarky email from a casual viewer who said, the United States gives a lot of military aid to saudi arabia. Its about time they use it. What do you say to that . I think its absolutely true were going to need sunni states to step up. Not just saudi arabia, our partners like jordan, united arab emirates, turkey. They need to be involved. This is their neighborhood. The dangers posed are more directed at them right now than they are us. The good news is i think for perhaps the first time you have absolute clarity that the problem for sunni states in the region, many of whom are allies, is not simply iran, its not simply a sunni shia issue, sunni extremism as represented by isil is the biggest danger that they face right now. Assad, essentially putting aside that priority that assad must go because isis is a more direct threat. You know, the reason were in this situation is because assad brutalized his people and specifically brutalized a sunni population that is the majority in syria. Its going to be hard for us to attract sunnis to fight against isil in this area if they think were doing it on behalf of assad. So our attitude towards assad continues to be through his actions, through using chemical weapons on his own people, dropping barrel bombs that kill innocent children that he has foregone legitimacy. But when it comes to our policy and the coalition were putting together, our focus specifically is on isil. Part one of my interview there. Some of you might have noted the president hadnt mentioned syria at all in my questions, he had mentioned it but hadnt said whether he took military action. Let me start with you, former head of the counterterrorism center. That is a president now getting briefing from your successor now and that believes those briefings. He believes they are a threat regionally. I dont think they see this as a homeland threat to the same degree that they should. You think hes downplaying the 9 11 threat too much. I think they can from the homeland. Organizations before, al qaeda and pakistan, it has to include the offense. That has to be in syria. You cant get around that. Thats the long pole on the tent. Saudi arabia, brought that up, wants moderate sunni, john kerry traveling there all this week. Is that going to happen . Its going to take a while. You cant totally roll back. You cant roll back what happened for three years. Saudis and others in the region are very upset, angry, they dont trust this president to go after assad because he didnt. He is basically saying hes outlining a war against isil in iraq, based on an iraqi army that has yet to be approved effective at all. So if youre only going to fight them in iraq, degrade them, syria, with the syrian army we let down for three years, we have not armed them to their needs, how does that work . Its a strategy. Its the clearest strategy. This was an incredible interview in that hes laying it out point by point. This is a long way from i dont have a strategy yet. Hes got the strategy. The question now is will it work . We refer to it as isis, Obama Administration says isil. The last s stands for syria, the last l they dont want to stand for syria. Joe, hes going to give a speech, American Public. What does he need to say, do you think, that will rally American Public to his strategy . I think he laid it out pretty well. You have to remember we look at the polls, six months ago, three months ago, the American Public said they didnt want to get involved, they didnt want a hyper active policy. Were an exhausted nation. I think the president is taking a very reasoned measured action. You think hes too i dont think hes been poll driven enough for a lot of Democratic Senators who this past week started breaking and suddenly sounding a lot more like john mccain. Yes, they are. Than you would expect Democratic Senators to sound. But we obsess over things like the jv team, which i obsess over. We all do. The brown suit. I dont have a strategy yet. The American People arent there yet. Its about safety. Its about security. Again, this president is taking a fairly measured approach and thats not where democrats are but thats where a lot of conservatives are. This vote in congress. Hes asking for a vote. Its interesting, not authorization he says but he wants them to basically thumbsup or thumbs down on the plan. Thats what hes asking for. He talked about a buyin. He didnt specifically say authorization. He said he had that buyin is funding. Exactly. He talked a little about resources. Thats exactly right. I was on the hill last week and it looks like this congress is looking at this next two weeks where they are on the hill as sort of a lame duck period, right, in trying to do the bare minimum. That might be what he faces Going Forward. Hes also facing a congress that might not want to go forward. Whats happening in october. Interesting, do they really want to use september to debate. They have scheduled hearings for the 16th of september. Then theres a vote, bill nelson has to put forward a bill on this authorization. We now know what our september will be about, about isis, abroad and here. Thank you andrea and michael for being here. My National Security gurus are sticking around. A lot more from the president s interview. Taking heat for action on immigration. Youll hear why he tries to explain politics wasnt behind it. Then theres ebola. He says the u. S. Has no point but to take charge. Theres a process it mutates, and then it could be a serious danger to the United States. [ male announcer ] ours was the first modern airliner, revolutionary by every standard. And that became our passion. To always build something better, airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. That redefine comfort and connect the world like never before. After all, you cant turn dreams into airplanes unless your passion for innovation is nonstop. Unless your passion for innovation is nonstop. Dad,thank you mom for said this oftprotecting my future. You. Thank you for being my hero and my dad. Military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa Auto Insurance could be one of them. If youre a current or former military member or their family, get an Auto Insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. If energy could come from anything . Or if power could go anywhere . Or if light could seek out the dark . What would happen if that happens . Anything. And welcome back. This mornings New York Times says this. Given the worlds weakness on ebola, the United States needs to take the lead. In the second part of my exclusive interview with president obama, i asked him about that as well as his decision to delay executive action on immigration until after the election. Immigration. You made a decision to delay any executive action until after the election. What do you tell the person thats going to get deported before the election that this decision was essentially made in your hopes of saving a Democratic Senate. Well, thats not the reason. A couple things i want to say about immigration. Number one, i have been consistent about why this is important. The country is going to be better off if we have an immigration system that works, that has Strong Border security, that has streamlined our Legal Immigration system, so the best and the brightest who want to stay here and invest in here and create jobs here can do so, that families can be unified and that a system where millions of people who are here in many cases for a decade or more, who have american kids, who are neighbors, oftentimes our friends, that they have a path to get legal by paying taxes and getting aboveboard, paying a fine, learning english if they have to. So the good news is we have bipartisan support for that. We have a senate bill that would accomplish that. The House Republicans refuse to do it. What i said to them was, if you do not act on something thats so common sense youve got labor, business, evangelicals, law enforcement, folks across the board supporting it, then im going to look for all the legal authorities i have to act. I want to make sure we get it right. I want to make sure that all the ts are crossed. Dont play politics. Looks like Election Year politics. Not only do i want to make sure ts are crossed and is are dotted. Here is the other thing, chuck, and im being honest now, about the politics of it. This problem with unaccompanied children that we saw a couple weeks ago, where you had from Central America a surge of kids who were showing up at the border got a lot of attention, and a lot of americans started thinking weve got this Immigration Crisis on our hands. What i want to do, when i take executive action, i want to make sure its sustainable. If the public is not behind you, youre not taking it. Sounds a little like youre concerned the public wouldnt support what you did. What im saying is im going to act because its the right thing for the country, but its going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what weve done on unaccompanied children and why its necessary. Ebola. Theres some anxiety in the country about it. Obviously its something that africa is trying to get its hands around. Theres obviously anxiety in the United States. How concerned are you and how concerned should americans be . Well, americans shouldn be concerned about the prospects of contagion here in the United States shortterm, because this is not an airborne disease. I noticed you said shortterm, though. Im going to get to that. Its not an airborne disease like the flu. You can only catch it through the transmission of bodily fluids. The problem that weve got is in right now a limited portion of western africa. So what ive said, and i said this two months ago to our National Security team is, we have to make this a National Security priority. U. S. Led effort. As usual. Were going to have to get u. S. Military assets just to set up, for example, isolation units and equipment there to provide security for Public Health workers surging from around the world. If we do that, then its still going to be months before this problem is controllable in africa but it shouldnt reach our shores. Now, here is the last point were going to make. If we dont make that effort now and this spreads not just through africa but other parts of the world, there is the prospect, then, that the virus mutates, it becomes more easily transmittable and then it could be a serious danger to the United States. Whats rational for this election. Im going to be cynical here. 3 billion, i would argue, to decide harry reid or Mitch Mcconnell on the gridlock on the senate. Were talking whats the difference between a twoseat democratic majority and twoseat republican majority as far as your agenda is concerned. First of all theres a sharp ditch between the democratic agenda and republican agenda and the American People want to know that. If youve got Democratic Senate bills are introduced to raise the minimum wage. Thats something democrats support. Is that on your desk . Ill get to that. Equal pay for equal work. We care about that. Republicans, thats not their priority. We think its important to make sure that issues like family leave and Family Friendly policies and more effective child care are in place so that folks are getting help, that young people are getting more assistance when it comes to paying for college educations. Rebuilding our infrastructure, putting folks back to work on our roads, our bridges, all of which would boost our economy now and boost it into the future. On all those issues, there is a sharp contrast. Now, it is true that if the house stays republican, then its unlikely that i get a lot of these bills to my desk, but it makes a big difference if weve got at least one branch in congress that is presenting these ideas, making arguments. I know that given the gridlock that weve seen over the last couple of years, its easy to say these midterms dont matter, but the fact of the matter is that on every issue thats important to middle class americans, overwhelmingly were going to see a majority prefer the democratic option and us having a Democratic Senate that can present those issues and put them forward just like they did on immigration, even if the House Republicans fail to act means that were debating the right stuff for the country. Were debating the things that are going to help us grow. This wouldnt be meet the press if i didnt have a chart with me. Year of action on the state of the union, its going to be small here, bigger for the state of the union. A lot not accomplished here one thing about supporting rebels. Immigration, overhauling tacks, raising minimum wage. You brought up the issues yourself. That was with a Democratic Senate. Thats why you look at this and sit there and say, how does things change and do you think your presidency is in bigger trouble than if you have a Democratic Senate . I think elections matter, i think votes matter. Given the fact that the punditry overwhelmingly felt youre overly pointing at me on that. That this was going to be a good year for Senate Republicans because the seats that were up were in states that were tilting or significantly with significant republican majorities. If democrats hold the senate, i think that should get republicans to, once again sends a national message. I think what it does is to send a message to republicans that people want to get stuff done. Their strategy of just obstructing and saying no to every piece of legislation that might help middle class families, that might create ladders of opportunities for people, that that is an agenda that the American People reject. That then gives us room, hopefully, to find some compromises. Look, ive said this before, chuck. If you ask me back in august what i want for my birthday, i would say, give me a loyal opposition that has some common sense and is willing to work on some basic issues that didnt use to be partisan issues. Well, for more reaction on the domestic portion of my interview there, joe and nia is back. John is on buzzfeed because we didnt have enough goatees and amy walter. Joe, let me quickly start with you. You just made a comment off camera. Make it off camera. You thought you heard deja vu all over again. Im surprised. I think the president s warren gates has been engaged, watching, you know what, this guy looks like hes finally getting reenergized and hes ready to play. Then i hear him say, you know, if we win this time, then this time republicans are going to get the message they have to work with us. He said that to me in 2012 before the election. He said if we win this time, then they will understand that im legitimate. I said, well, bill clinton got reelected and we impeached him the second time. Is that where youre headed . Thats not where im headed. But the idea if republicans dont win this time that suddenly they are going to play ball isnt the answer. The answer is figuring out the way you figure it out. How do you come to a deal with these guys on issues that matter . Stanton, he was trying to make the rational for why the midterms matter. When you have to say i know some people dont think but they really do matter, its a tough sell, clearly about energizing the Democratic Base. Trying to get women, latinos out. The election doesnt matter. Unless a thing happens in the next two or three weeks that creates a massive wave. Were trying to have some shows here clearly in terms of legislation passing. If democrats keep the senate and they have a twoseat or oneseat majority or republicans take it and have a twoseat or one seat majority, youre still left with the same dynamic in washington. As joe says, until he figures out a way around that, its going to day the same. Lets go to immigration, nia and amy. Nobody is happy with this decision. Weve got the president hitting left and right. Here is pro Immigration Rights group. In june president obama promised he would take every action england to fix our broken immigration system by the center. Today he said he wont until after the election. The delay comes with human cost. John boehner, never auto a right time to declare amnesty, to delay possibly unconstitutional unilateral action instead of abandoning the idea smacks of raw politics. Isnt it always raw politics. Chuck, come on. This is most from the president. It is. Although, i will say this. He is correct when he said after the crisis on the border, there was a jump in concern. You could see that in the polls, where this issue on Border Security went up. Where it becomes raw politics is when you recognize democrats are playing complete defense this year in the race for the senate. They are playing in red states where this issue is always going to be red hot. So whether there is a Border Security issue or not, taking executive action on anything republicans can call amnesty was going to boost up republican base. You look also, arkansas, louisiana, north carolina, alaska, kentucky, montana, georgia, this does not help a single nia, this map, you have this great stat, eight of nine states with Competitive Senate races, hispanics make up less than 10 of the electorate. Thats right. Very small. If you look at those Southern States right now, its anywhere between 3 and 8 of this electorate. It will be different Going Forward because you do see this population boom among hispanics. You look at a state like colorado. This is going to matter. You have mark udall saying he wishes the president would move forward on this. 12 of the electorate in colorado will likely be latino. Thats what im wondering, hes trying to get the Democratic Base out. This is going to upset. Lets say this, 2016, this is a bitter problem Going Forward. If they are seen as the party that still does not bring in latinos, its a problem. They are not thinking about 2016. They worry about that. All right. Coming up, ive got more from president obama. But first a little bit of a break here. What washington can learn from American Cities, where more and more mayors are getting things done despite the redblue divide. Announcer meet the press is brought to you by the Morgan Stanley institute for is brought to you by the Morgan Stanley institute for sustainable investing. The so what were looking for is a way to plus our Accounting Firms mobile plan. And minus our expenses. Perfect timing. Were offering our bestever pricing on mobile plans for business. Run the numbers on that. Well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be. Oneseventyfive a month. Good calculating kyle. Good job kyle. You just made partner. Our bestever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. Now with a 100 bill credit for every business line you add. Its a powerful reflection of validayour drive to succeed. Nts. So, forget the gold watch; grab the brass ring. You dont need anyone to tell you that success is yours, because youre busy. Seizing it. Drafting it. Tuning it. Making it. The new 2015 cadillac ats. When folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. This is shirley speaking. How may i help you . Oh hey, neill, how are you . How was the trip . [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors. [ shirley ] hes right here. Hold on one sec. [ male announcer ]. Youd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. Kevin, neill holleys on line one. Ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. And welcome back. Were introducing a new feature here on meet the press. Who needs washington . Dysfunction Left Congress with alltime low Approval Ratings, the president not far behind. Away from washington, American Cities are growing and revitalizing rapidly under the leadership of some dynamic mayors. My colleague Kevin Tibbles now on how many cities have put p t partisanship aside to put people over politics. Reporter there are cities across this nation pulling themselves from the depths of desperate economic times. By rolling up their sleeves and going it on their own with little of washingtons help or dysfunction. From houston and its rebuild houston plant, 200 projects to improve quality of life with quarter billion of mostly taxpayer dollars. To seattle, which voted to raise the minimum wage and detroit where private money is revitalizing a moribund motor city. In Oklahoma City, what used to look like this now looks like this. All designed to jumpstart city economies. Scenes us bureau figures now show many urban populations are on the rebound. How desperate was Oklahoma City . We may have had the worst economy in the country. We finally decided were going to have to invest in ourselves. No one is going to come bail us out. The mayor says Oklahoma City had been decimated. A tanked economy, the horror of the bombing of the federal building, and a tornado had left it desperate for rebranding. Its almost as if we grabbed hands, pulled each other up and dared the world to separate us again. A penny on the dollar sales tax was agreed to. Yes, a tax increase that will pump some 1. 8 billion into rebuilding. Everything from a new Minor League Baseball stadium to brick town entertainment district. Attracting young people seeking vibrant city life and seniors seeking services. Every school in the city received dollars for improvements. To ensure the city got noticed and stayed noticed, it lobbied for and won an nba franchise, the thunder and star player kevin durant now call Oklahoma City home. This place is humming. This place is on fire right now. The secret this towns republican mayor says is in attracting people. If they come, businessing will follow. Its all been done without a meny of debt and with little help from washington. We stand here and look with our jaws open at the inefficiencies of washington where it seems more important to win some partisan argument that it does to deliver services to the citizens of your community. Here he says there are no republican potholes or democratic potholes. And getting them fixed has been taken care of right here locally. For meet the press, Kevin Tibbles. Im now joined by three mayors who are getting things done. Republican cornett and from pittsburgh and Marilyn Strickland from washington, an independent. Look at that, dri perfectly. Mayor strickland, ill start with you. I know theres a little seattle Oklahoma City rivalry with the basketball team. Dont get too upset about sonics. What was famine his story to you . What was familiar to me was a story of resilience. I think thats something Oklahoma City shares with tacoma and pittsburgh. Economies that struggled in the past but really trying to rebound by doing innovative things in our communities. I think whats interesting, you went to the private sector. You have bill and linda gates foundation. They are locals. They helped you transform an education process. Absolutely. Its the tacoma housing project. Were basically trying to address the fact that for a lot of students who arent doing well in elementary school, its mobility. The families move around too much. Through this project were able to stabilize housing five years through housing vouchers and give a chance for stability. Mayor, pittsburgh, the most livable city, talking about it, transforming from manufacturing economy to this new tech economy. What is it about washington you wish would help you out more or forget it, well have to find different ways . I think were living in a new normal. Pittsburghs overnight Success Story was 30 years in the making. It really came through an idea that it would be transformed into something that it wasnt. Today were looking and saying how do we become a city of learning. Partnerships with the white house. Early on conversations with the president and with his administration on if Early Childhood education isnt going to take off in washington, or if its going to take two years in battles to get something that may be watered down, find a dozen innovative mayors around the country. Let us run with the ball. A pilot project. Secretary duncan come into pittsburgh to announce a yuu ur e grant which im sure were going to be competing with these mayors on. Well do it. Well create universal education for four years old. I want pittsburgh to be that type of city as im sure other mayors will see in their cities. Washington has to understand its about getting the job done. It really isnt about the political victory that holds us back. Youve asked for tax increases when youve needed it. Here you are republican, deep red oklahoma. Lets not pretend, this is not light red, deep red oklahoma. Youve got people to back tax increases. What do you pull off that maybe republicans in capitol hill cant . I think the citizens have begun to differentiate between the type of government they would like to pay for and dont like to pay for. They like Capital Project they can go up and touch and feel. Less enthused about social programs when they really wonder how efficiently run they are. What would you say a lesson to washington should be of your story and really the same question to all of you guys. Whats one lesson they want to take away from Oklahoma City . In your interview the president talked about this great divide between republicans and democrats. In my view its up to the executive branch to be the bridge in that divide. Its what i do with my city council. I think its one of the ways our city has begun to move forward so rapidly. What about you . I would say as mayor, youre about being an ambassador, bringing people together. An opportunity to keep people focused on the goal and not get people bogged down. Itsez to say, mayor, we all know raw politics there are. It seems Like Washington is there. Whats something you would tell these guys enough . The ultimate goal is what is the vision. It has to be a shared vig. Just as we have to work with our councils, president needs to work with congress. At the end of the day, you have to move forward. The idea that trying to get to perfection for anybody, especially with the congress that really doesnt have a track record right now of getting things done, there has to be that compromise to see that success does happen. We want to show some people practice the art of politics. Remember, its not politics people hate, they hate the art. Thanks for being on my inaugural show. I really appreciate it. Coming up, some very surprising polling numbers and the president s reaction to the criticism he played golf shortly president s reaction to the criticism he played golf shortly afteryou probably know xerox as the company thats all about printing. But did you know we also support hospitals using Electronic Health records for more than 30 million patients . Or that our Software Helps over 20 million smartphone users remotely configure email every month . Or how about processing nearly 5 billion in electronic toll payments a year . In fact, todays xerox is working in surprising ways to help companies simplify the way work gets done and life gets lived. With xerox, youre ready for real business. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. My mom works at ge. Dad,thank you mom for said this oftprotecting my future. You. Thank you for being my hero and my dad. Military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa Auto Insurance could be one of them. If youre a current or former military member or their family, get an Auto Insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. Our new election look. Decision 2014. But more importantly, a few new polls to show you. The Senate Battleground this year. This is the big kahuna, these are the 11 seats in play right now. Red state democrats, are they going to hold on in arkansas. Swing state democrats, are they going to hold in colorado. We took a look at kentucky, one of the few republican seats in play. Here is what we found out. In red state arkansas mark pryor behind by 5 pounds. By five points. Red state kentucky alison grimes, democrat, ton of money, shes behind eight. Not looking very good for her. Look at colorado here, democrats have to feel a little better mark udall in purple to blue colorado is hanging on. This idea that somehow democrats cut into the republican momentum of the summer doesnt look very true in our polls. Well have a lot more about this right after momentum of the summer doesnt look very true in our polls. Im randy and i quit smoking with chantix. For 33 years i chose to keep smoking. Because it was easier to smoke than it was to quit. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Its a nonnicotine pill. 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Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Its in this spirit that ingu u. S. Is becoming a new kind of company. One that helps you think differently about whats ahead, and whats possible when you get things organized. Ing u. S. Is now voya. Changing the way you think of retirement. Revolutionary by every standard. And that became our passion. To always build something better, airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. That redefine comfort and connect the world like never before. After all, you cant turn dreams into airplanes unless your passion for innovation is nonstop. One final chunk of my interview with the president where we talked about the pressure of the job and how he sometimes struggles being under the relentless strcrutiny. Ive had former aides of yours, plenty of supporters of yours say he looks exhausted. Are you exhausted . I actually feel energized about the opportunities that weve got. There are days where im not getting enough sleep because weve got a lot on our plate. When youre president of the United States, youre not just dealing with the United States, as we saw during the nato summit. If theres a problem in ukraine, were the ones who are expected to mobilize the World Community to isolate russia, put pressure, support ukrainians and to vindicate the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity and freedom that we stand for. If theres a problem in the middle east, the expectation is that we create the coalitions to deal with a problem like isil. If theres an issue in africa around ebola, we need to help mobilize that Public Health infrastructure. So you know, its not just me, its my staff also. Where our in box gets pretty high. During vacation, made the statement on foley, went and golfed. Do you want that back . You know, it is always a challenge when youre supposed to be on vacation, because youre followed everywhere. Part of what i would love is a vacation from the press i promise you in two and a half years i think that happens. The possibility of a jarring contrast given the worlds news, theres always going to be some tough news somewhere is going to be there. But theres no doubt that after having talked to the families where it was hard for me to hold back tears listening to the pain they were going through after the statement that i made, that i should have anticipated the optics. Thats part of the job. You know, i think everybody who knows me, including, i suspect, the press understands that you take this stuff in. Its serious business. You care about it deeply. But part of this job is also the theater. Part of it is how are you you hate the theater. Well, its not something that always comes naturally to me, but it matters. Im mindful of that. So the important thing is in addition to that, am i getting the policies right, am i protecting the American People, am i doing whats necessary . I think i need to prebook you for next week, i have another 35 questions. With that, mr. President , thank you very much. Great to see you. The full unedited interview is already on the website right now on meet the press. Let me start with you, the president talking optics. He does he hates that aspect of the job. He admitted it. It was sort of a very honest moment. I remember president obama in 2008 or candidate obama, he did the optics then. Good optics. He got the theater of politics. This idea that somehow he doesnt get it now, i think, he gets it. I think he probably just doesnt care at this point and hes fine with blaming the press. President s do have to compartmentalize. Thats a fact. You could never go to sleep. They do have to compartmentalize. I remember reading a column talking about first ladies saying pat nixon made a great Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiched that relaxed president richard nixon. If thats what he needs to do, she should do it. President s should be able to golf, do what they need to do. Obviously he made some mistakes. They say they dont do theater. They do theater they want to do. I was glad, it was good to hear the president say. Im not really good at it. I probably should be a little better at optics. Thats hard for him. Its important to note, i messed up the optics. Hes not saying i shouldnt have done it, hes saying, look, i deal with this all time. You guys just had a different picture. They have had this problem, particularly the last few years since the election. Its been a systemic problem for the administration where they dont quite understand these things matter to people. It does matter seeing the president serious. Leaving Something Like that and not being out laughing and joking with his friends. I think most americans get he can compartmentalize, this doesnt necessarily impact doing the job. It matters psychological. To win elections. This guy has hes been attacked for not getting optics since 2008 in many ways. Hes won by a larger margin than any other president since bush in 88. So forgive the white house for shrugging and saying whats the big deal. Just to be clear, we know the people behind him are saying, hey, dont do s it this way, way. They think about the optics all the time. At the end of the day, hes saying, you know what, im going to do what i want to do. He knows more than you do and anybody else in the public knows about all the Security Issues going around. So dont tell me i wasnt taking this seriously. I took 15 calls while i was out there. Absolutely. Stick around. Coming up, ac fun new feature. What everyone in washington knows but is adventure to say or what everyone in washington knows but is adventure to say or wont wnearly one in three children in america is overweight. Say or wont lets lighten up those numbers with fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and lots of water. Add in plenty of active play and the odds of good health are in your favor, the more you know. I am going to be making a decision around the first of the year about whether im going to run or not. I have to be convinced that i have a very clear vision with an agenda of what i think needs to be done. You just heard it there. Hillary clinton, and it dove tails with another new feature were bringing to the show, what everyone knows but afraid to say. With that in mind, im going to make a decision, amy walter, im going to have a decision come on mexico city. What have these last few weeks been . The book tour is the campaign. As she talks about another issue, its cheer shes ready to go. January, is it too soon . When she announced before, she announced in january. January 20th. President obama announced in february. Seven opponents. Take some flack and attention away from her. But shes also going to face a situation where it looks like republicans, wont name any named, rand paul, seems to be eyeing. I guess, joe, obviously if shes making a decision in january, thats a way to freeze everybody else. Thats the decision, go early and go home. I hate to be the thick one on the panel but thats my job. Im not so sure shes going to run. Its just like with jeb. Im still trying to figure out if jeb is going to run. We get the information jeb is freezing everybody. We know shes freezing everybody. Its such a disastrous book tour when it should have been so easy. Why does she want to do it . Shes been struggling a long time. I think the longer she teases people, the worse it is for her. If shes going to run, shes going to have to come out and say sooner rather than later. Its ridiculous theater to watch. The public is going to say all right, guys. I have to leave it there. Well be back next week. You know why . If its sunday, its meet the press. Dont believe the hype right now on nbc10 issue. The final version of common core was something of a disaster. The common core under attack. New guidelines are transforming american education. But the common core state standards are at a crossroads in many states. Of will the common core make our kids smarter . Will it make our kids dumber . There isnt a common understanding about what our children should be learning in the classroom. Really, its increasing the standards and rigor of curriculum throughout the country. We examine this raucous debate today on nbc10 issue. Good morning. Im renee chenaultfattah. According to the recent gallup poll in public schools, among americans aware of the new standards, just 33