Interview With Robert Gibbs; Interview With Janet Napolitano
CANDY CROWLEY, HOST: A December to remember for President Obama, a deal on the Bush tax cut extension, approval of his missile reduction treaty with the Russians and repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The guy who took of for a Christmas vacation in Hawaii did not look or sound like the same one who got nailed in the November elections.</s>PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I'm doing a whole lot of reflecting and there are going to be areas in policy where we're going to have to do a better job. You know, I think that over the last two years we have made a series of very tough decisions. This has been the most productive post-election period we've had in decades and it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we've had in generations. There's a reason we have two parties in this country, in both Democrats and Republicans who have certain beliefs and certain principles that each feels cannot be compromised. We are not doomed to endless gridlock. We've shown in the wake of the November elections that we have the capacity, not only to make progress but to make progress together.</s>CROWLEY: A good month for the president, but in politics as in war, sic transit gloria, all glory is fleeting. It's the next two years that will determine whether he gets another four. The as an invigorated president takes a holiday break, his spokesman Robert Gibbs. And a year after the Christmas day bomber the state of play this holiday season with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Then the broad view with former intelligence heads General Michael Hayden and Admiral Mike McConnell. And really getting to know our guest this is year.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a big construction project on Capitol Hill near the house that I live in, with George Miller and Chuck Schumer, and we were inundated by rats, I mean it.</s>CROWLEY: I'm Candy Crowley. And this is State of the Union. Joining me here in Washington, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Happy holidays to you.</s>GIBBS: Happy holidays to you.</s>CROWLEY: thanks for being here. Let me take a slightly different view of the great, great month for the president, and it was, but let me argue that there was something hanging over his head, and that is you all didn't want January to come while you watched every American have a paycheck that got smaller. So there's nothing like something hanging over your head to get something done. What about this lame duck session encourages you that when you get to big ticket items and cutting spending, and other things, immigration reform, that you're actually going to be able to duplicate the kind of let's call it cranky bipartisanship that we saw in December.</s>GIBBS: Well, I would say this, Candy, I think you're absolutely right that I think neither party wanted to see taxes go up on middle class families.</s>CROWLEY: The true goal.</s>GIBBS: Right. And look, the president did not want to see tax cuts extended for millionaires and billionaires but we didn't have the votes for our position to prevail. You're right we are going to have some tough issues coming into the next congress and over the next couple of years. I think a couple of things can help what has happened in the last few weeks bleed over into next year. I think, and you heard the president say this at his year-end news conference, there was a responsibility of government that I think the Republicans got in the November elections and they began to understand that responsibility a little bit more in this lame duck than they had in the previous, quite frankly, 18 or so months. They realize now...</s>CROWLEY: They didn't have the responsibility in the last 18 or so months that they have now.</s>GIBBS: Exactly my point. They understand that to a certain degree, they have had over the past few weeks in this lame duck session and they're definitely going to have on January 5th responsibility for running half of congress. They can't afford any longer to just simply sit and say no, they have to be part of a constructive conversation, and I think that's what exactly what happened. I think also everyone put aside politics and partisan interests to put forward what was best for the American people. There will be plenty of time for an election in 2012 and for elections beyond. Let's resolve to make 2011 a year in which both political parties can put aside future political gains and decide to concentrate on what's best for the American people.</s>CROWLEY: I just never thought of you as an optimist but let me say Mitch McConnell, senate Republican leader told me in a recent interview - so I said where do you want -- what next? Where can you see yourself coming together with the president? He said entitlement reform. I can see us doing that. Are you game at the White House for entitlement reform? And what does that mean specifically? Would you agree to a larger, a higher age for retirement and Social Security? Would you agree for some sort of means testing of Medicare? Where are you all willing to look?</s>GIBBS: Well look, I think you've touched on what we need most of all and that is a willingness for both political parties to sit at that table, like we did for the tax agreement, like we did for the START agreement, though we didn't have Senator McConnell's support on that, and be willing to discuss issues. The president obviously wants to strengthen our entitlement programs for future generations. We have to do something about our mid and long-term deficit and debt problems. We have an education plan that has to be reauthorized every few years. That's coming up next year, and I think that provides an occasion for bipartisanship. But I think most of all, each of these two parties and we are certainly hopeful that the Republicans come into next year with a willingness to sit down at that table and begin having a discussion about how we're going to make progress. Sometimes the first step is the biggest one.</s>CROWLEY: So you're going to have to cut programs. I think everybody does know that. So you have it seems to me some sort of competing things here. You have the base of the party that says wait a second, don't cut Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, you know, the tax cuts are what's really to blame for this. And they're afraid the president and they are going to get the blame for this.</s>GIBBS: Well, let's understand what we got as Democrats and progressives out of this tax agreement. Middle class families as you started off this interview saying won't see their tax bill go up. Middle class families will see money directly in their pockets as a result of a payroll tax cut and for people who have lost their jobs as a result of reckless decisions made on Wall Street aren't going to have to play politics or have politics played with them in terms of their unemployment benefits. We could have fought this for a few months. We could have hoped that the polls didn't blame everybody as they would have for people's taxes going up, and when we come back into congress in January and probably not gotten half of what we had gotten. So I think first and foremost this president, this president was animated by one single thing, what is the best thing for our economy and that tax agreement was the very best thing we could have done for our economy.</s>CROWLEY: A couple of quick issues. The first is, we are a month away from being a year late in closing down Guantanamo Bay prison. When is that prison going to close?</s>GIBBS: I don't -- it's certainly not going to close in the next month. I think it's probably going to be a while before that prison closes.</s>CROWLEY: Another year?</s>GIBBS: I think part of this depends on the Republicans' willingness to work with the administration on this. And the question is, are Republicans willing to listen to General David Petraeus? Are they willing to listen to others in the national security arena that have told us and will tell them and quite frankly told the public that al Qaeda recruits young people to do harm, to try to blow up airplanes, to blow up themselves and kill others. They use that as a recruiting tool. The question is are we going to continue to have and let al Qaeda use Guantanamo Bay as a recruiting tool?</s>CROWLEY: The Republicans did not figure into the president's promise to close down Guantanamo Bay when he was campaigning. You could close it down, but you're not closing it down. So what is holding you back? It's that you don't have anyplace to put them, correct?</s>GIBBS: Well, obviously there are prohibitions legislatively on the transfer of some of the prisoners that are there into some part of this country, some would be tried in federal courts as we've seen done in the past, some would be tried in military commissions, likely spending the rest of their lives in a maximum security prison that nobody, including terrorists, have ever escaped from and some regrettably will have to be indefinitely detained, I say regrettably not because it's a bad thing necessarily for them in terms of the fact that they're very dangerous people and we have to make sure that even if we can't prosecute them, we're not putting them back out on the battlefield.</s>CROWLEY: Why is it so hard to replace Larry Summers who was supposed to leave in the fall, top economic adviser to the president? Where is his replacement?</s>GIBBS: Well, first and foremost Larry continues to be on the job and helping the president and the economic team and will do so through the end of the year. I expected the president will make an announcement on a new NEC director probably the first week or two weeks after congress comes back into session. I think obviously it's an important part of our economic team, and the president wants to take some time to make a good decision because as you mentioned we have had a lot on our plates the last couple weeks.</s>CROWLEY: You have. And quickly, do you expect big changes in cabinet shuffles?</s>GIBBS: I don't expect quite honestly big changes. I think we've had a very capable and good cabinet that has helped move the president's agenda forward. I think there's obviously a lot that has to be done at Treasury to implement financial reform at HHS to implement health care reform. And I think we have very talented team.</s>CROWLEY: And the president is running for re-election. Can we write that sentence?</s>GIBBS: I don't -- he has not told me that but I would assume most of -- most people are planning for that likely to happen, yes.</s>CROWLEY: Certainly you have David Axelrod leaving the White House to start up the re-election, so it would come as news to you if the president wasn't going to run for re-election?</s>GIBBS: It would come as news to me because I think, Candy, he understands that there's a lot of work that's left to do. When he walked into that White House, we were shedding 700,000, 800,000 jobs in a month. Now for 11 straight months we've added jobs. So we're making progress and I know he wants to continue making that progress and finish those jobs.</s>CROWLEY: Robert Gibbs, happy New Year.</s>GIBBS: Happy New Year. Thanks for having me.</s>CROWLEY: Up next, one year after a failed terror plot on Christmas Day, is the U.S. any safer?