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Divided We Stand

Divided We Stand
New book about the 2020 election.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Filling Gaps in the White House Website, Part 73

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, President Obama talked about 2012:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We have a brand new poll out at ABC. It's just coming out-- later today, showing the majority of Americans, 55 percent, think you'll be a one-term president. Are you the underdog now?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Absolutely. The-- because-- you know, given the economy, there's no doubt that, you know, whatever happens on your watch, you've got--

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You embraced that pretty quickly.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: You-- you-- you know, I-- I don't mind. I-- I'm used to being an underdog. And-- and I think that-- at the end of the day, though, what people are going to say is, "Who's got a vision for the future? That can actually help ordinary families recapture that American dream?" When I ran in 2008, the basic idea was that-- you know, ordinary folks, who are working hard, you know, doing everything right, just weren't getting ahead. Wages, incomes had flat-lined, costs were going up, everything from health care to college education. And-- you know, the whole approach of everything I've tried to do over the last three years is to say, "What are those big changes that we have to make so that our kids are getting the best education, we've got the best infrastructure in the world, we've got the tools that allow us to succeed again?"

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We actually got a great question on Twitter about 2008. It's from Gale Glover, and he asks, "If hope and change define the 2008 campaign, what two words are going to make-- are going to define 2012?"

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I-- you know, I haven't quite boiled it down to a bumper sticker yet. But I think what'll-- define 2012 is-- you know, our vision for the future. That's three words. Four.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: It's five, actually.