Eccentric Flower:200906/Sane

HARWOOD: But when you add it all up - AIG, Citigroup, Fannie and Freddie, the auto companies, executive compensation guidelines - do you ever wonder that it's just too much messing with the engine of capitalism, and that it's going to get hard to stop messing with it?

Pres. OBAMA: No. And I'll tell you why. Most of these interventions didn't start on my watch. So the auto companies, let's take as a good example, when I came in, we had already put in - not me, but the previous administration had already put in $10 billion to shore up the auto companies and asked nothing for - in return. Now, I had three choices. I could continue giving them money without asking anything in return, I could let them liquidate in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, or we could say, "We don't want to run your company. Would you show us a plan that allows you to stand on your own two feet, so that what we're providing is a meaningful bridge for you to get to a better future?" We chose option three. That's not something that we welcomed, and the sooner we can get out the better.

Pres. OBAMA: And I would love nothing better than to let the auto companies operate, thrive, manage themselves without us being involved. Financial regulation, I think, is different, because what we've proposed is to essentially update those regulatory tools that existed back in the 1930s that were put in place after the Great Depression to increase transparency and openness. But I think everybody would acknowledge that if we've got rules of the road, that's what makes American capitalism thrive. That's why people invest in this country because they have confidence that, if they read a prospectus, somebody's made sure that what's in there is true. If they take out a loan, that there are laws in place to make sure that they're protected.

And, you know, unfortunately the growth of the nonbank sector as well as all the complexities and financial instruments outstripped those old regulatory regimes. If we can get that right, that, I think, is a permanent improvement that will enhance and not impede the operation of the free market.

Pres. OBAMA: Well, I think first of all, it's important to understand that although there is amazing ferment taking place in Iran, that the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised. Either way, we were going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States, that has caused some problems in the neighborhood and is pursuing nuclear weapons. And so we've got long-term interests in having them not weaponize nuclear power and stop funding organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas. And that would be true whoever came out on top in this election.

The second thing that I think's important to recognize is that the easiest way for reactionary forces inside Iran to crush reformers is to say it's the US that is encouraging those reformers. So what I've said is, "Look, it's up to the Iranian people to make a decision. We are not meddling." And, you know, ultimately the question that the leadership in Iran has to answer is their own credibility in the eyes of the Iranian people. And when you've got 100,000 people who are out on the streets peacefully protesting, and they're having to be scattered through violence and gunshots, what that tells me is the Iranian people are not convinced of the legitimacy of the election. And my hope is that the regime responds not with violence, but with a recognition that the universal principles of peaceful expression and democracy are ones that should be affirmed. Am I optimistic that that will happen? You know, I take a wait-and-see approach.

HARWOOD: Last question. When you and I spoke in January, you said - I observed that you hadn't gotten much bad press. You said it's coming. Media critics would say not only has it not come, but that you have gotten such favorable press, either because of bias or because you're good box office, that it's hurting the country, because you're not being sufficiently held accountable for your policies. Assess that.

Pres. OBAMA: It's very hard for me to swallow that one. First of all, I've got one television station entirely devoted to attacking my administration.