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Obama's Solutions for America
Q: Education is another area in which people think we're not getting what we're paying for. Two Democratic groups released position papers, one saying that attacking poverty is the way to address this issue; the other believes schools aren't doing what they should be doing. Where do you come out?A: I am a big believer in what Dr. King called "both-and" solutions instead of "either-or" solutions. Our schools need to be restructured and refinanced. There is not enough money in a lot of our public schools. Our teachers aren't paid enough. You have crumbling infrastructure. We have to reform our schools to update them to the 21st century. We've still got a school year that is structured around kids going out to harvest.
But we also have to change attitudes. The fact is that we as a culture have become a little soft and a little complacent and a little indulgent, and a lot of our kids don't have the kind of support that they need at home that says, You go to bed at a regular hour, you turn off the television set, you do your homework.
Q: Well, one of these groups says that the teachers union itself is often the problem. They think it's inhibiting reform. As president, would you be willing to take on the teachers union?
A: I think that, generally, reform should not be imposed on teachers, but we should have teachers involved so that they have ownership over reforms that are taking place. But if you've got bad teachers in the classroom, for example, they need to be given the resources to improve, and if they don't improve, they should be replaced. That's not always going to be something that sits well with the unions. If we've got work rules that are preventing the best approaches to teaching kids, those have to change.
Q: On June 3 in St. Paul, the night you clinched the nomination, your wife joined you onstage, and after you exchanged fist bumps, she said something to you. Would you tell us what she said?
A: If I'm not mistaken, she said, "I'm really proud of you." I think that's what she said -- it was a little loud.
Q: Our readers want to know when was the last time you were able to do normal stuff like go to the grocery store, pump your own gas, shoot hoops without cameras?
A: I can still shoot hoops without cameras. I have a group of friends who have been willing to come and play at the gym with me. So that's been fun. I don't drive anymore because of the Secret Service. They don't allow you to drive -- that's part of the deal -- and going to the grocery store, it's probably been about the same, about a year.
Q: How would you translate the success you've had campaigning on the Internet into governing? What do you do on the Internet yourself? Do you have favorite websites? Do you e-mail?
A: I spend a lot of time e-mailing, mostly on my BlackBerry these days because I'm traveling so much. Can I be honest? On the Internet, mostly I check sports scores.
What we've been able to accomplish in the campaign points to what I think we can accomplish in our government. I passed a bill last year that sets up a searchable website where you can find every dollar of federal spending. So if there's a bridge to nowhere being built, you can find out who was that congressman who is wasting my money. And that creates accountability.
Q: What is the single difference the world will notice between a Barack Obama presidency and George W. Bush's presidency?
A: That's a long list. But I think the one thing is a philosophy that says the United States is the largest economy in the world, it's the largest military power in the world, but it can't solve problems alone. I think that's fundamentally different from the approach George Bush has taken.
Q: What is it with you and young people, even those who aren't yet of voting age? One of us has a three-year-old son who goes around saying, "Barack Obama, Barack Obama."
A: When it comes to three-year-olds, I do think Obama sounds like mama. So I think it's a fun name to say. I'm not sure it's because of my position on Iran. [Laughs] For teenagers and younger voters, they understand that the 21st century is going to be different and new, and I think they're attuned to it -- that there's going to be more diversity, there are going to be fewer top-down, command-and-control institutions, and there's going to be more collaboration and networking. I also think that it's been a long time since young people were called on to be involved. There's a pent-up idealism there that they are responding to.
Q: What is the best thing about John McCain's appeal, the best thing about his candidacy?
A: John captures a code of honor, a love of country that is really important and sometimes gets lost in the materialism and the superficiality of modern culture. I think there's a sense that he has been forged by extraordinary hardship, so that he is willing to sacrifice on behalf of the country, and I think that is not lifted up enough in our culture today. It has always been something that we need.
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