Gratitude to so many but let me try the broad brush. first of all of all, our audience. without you watching, the voice is silent. when you called me in the old days of stationary or called me on the phone, thank you for being happy enough or angry enough or frustrated enough to chime in. i didn t always like what you said, i didn t agree with what you said, but it mattered to me that you were saying it. and thank you to the thousands of people, literally thousands of people who over nearly three decades is sat down with me for interviews, honoring me with their stories and their thoughts. television news is a team sort. it doesn t take a village, it takes a mid-sized country. to my cnn s colleagues current and former who made it happen, i hope i have stopped to thank you over the years of the craziness for the many, many things you have done for me and for the love of news. to my state of the union crew in that control room standing behind these cameras with me now ever more, it s n
Is there some sort of contradiction there? i have known you since the reagan years when we were both kids covering that white house and whether it was in the field or at the anchor desk, you have always been one of the journalists that i really admire. you do serious work. congratulations on a great stint at state of the union. this is not just cnn s loss but all of ours. your insights, your political instinc instincts, your righting and reporting are just the best. we ll miss seeing you in iowa, new hampshire, and again every sunday on cnn. candy, you have set such a high standard in so many ways, not just on sunday mornings but with your expert moderating of debates and the work you put in to day to day political reporting. i don t know if anyone who aknos as much as about the ins and outs of politics and you show it. you were an incredibly gracious colleague. someone who provided advice to me someone like me rising up.
Conference on friday. sitting down with candy crowley as the president dismissing those who says he s weakening america by normalizing relations with cuba. this was said about mr. putin, for example, three or four months ago, there was a spade of stories about how he was the chess master and outmaneuvering the west and outmaneuvering mr. obama and this and that and the other, and right now, he s presiding over the collapse of his currency, a major financial crisis, and a huge economic contraction. that doesn t sound like somebody who has rolled me or the united states of america. there is this knee jerk sense, i think on the part of some in the foreign policy establishment that shooting first and thinking about it second projects strength. i disagree with that. more of that interview just ahead on state of the union with
Morning. happy hanukkah and mercury christmas. final state of the union with candy crowley, we will miss her here, starts right now. lame duck? go tell that to president obama who s sounding and acting like a man on a mission. today, our exclusive with the president of the united states on cuba, race, guantanamo bay prison, and north korea s hack attack on sony pictures. you know, i don t think it was an act of war, i think it was an act of cyber vandalism. then a response from the incoming chairman of the senate armed services committee, senator john mccain. it s more than vandalism, it s a new form of warfare. plus brazil, geng rich, the company i like to keep on jeb bush s debut week on the president for campaign trail. this is a special edition of state of the union.
And my friendship and to my staff, the mighty band on the ninth floor, you are talented and fierce and loyal and a girl couldn t ask for anything more. if i ever have to storm the barricades, i want you by my side. and now for some names i have to say outside loud. mike rozelli who has been with me for a quarter century. he s been a superior producer. he remains a life long member of mire family. that brings me to richard, jonathan, and lauren. you are my supernovas. you blaze across my universe with a brilliance that overwhelms me. but you re also my north star. you are the direction of my life, grounding me no matter where i have been, you always turn me toward home. i know all of you pretty much grew up at cnn and this is the sea change for you as well. i have some good news, i am not moving in with any of you. so for the last time, thank you all so much for joining me. please continue to watch state of the union and cnn.