Rachel Maddow Interviews Obama (VIDEO)

UPDATE:

Barack Obama appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Thursday night for a two part interview with the MSNBC host.

Here is the first part of the interview.

Here is the second part of the interview:

Comments

[girlonthestreet]

living abroad, i dont watch her all the time. She is EXCELLENT, in a class of her own.

[VivaMariaElena]

New ``yes we can`` video of Obama on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN_NNZyh43s

[DSphoto]

Wow
Never dug your radio show on Air America, love what I'm seeing now.

Best

D

[kas70]

I *like* Rachel, her look, her style, and much of her commentary - but I disagree that this was a "good" interview.

I felt she went off on more than a few tangents, tried a little too hard to put a serious poker/journalistic face on while he answered, and completely missed his brilliant strategy for not alienating all conservatives by refraining from attacking all of conservatism. He leaves uncomfortable conservatives a way out with their dignity intact - as I said, brilliant.

And lastly, I would very much like it if Rachel could tone her extreme facial expressions down, just a little. Being expressive and showing how you really feel is fine, but I just find hers more distracting than merely providing emphasis to a commentary­/interview­.

Obama was fantastic, if understandably a little tired.

[booboo111]

I don't agree. Rachael was under a time restraint, and Barak answered her questions in depth, overcoming the republicans charge that he is "light on specifics." It would have been nice to see a four hour interview, but Americans attention spans are short, thus viewers would decline, thus ratings, thus $$$$. I doubt Obama, with his campaign schedule, would have had another couple of hours either. When you're "barnstorming", this close to the election, you don't have much time for anything!

[KITUKU CRIS]

AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELOR TRAINEE, THERE IS NO OTHER WORD ANYBODY CAN ADD ON THE TOP OF THE WORD LIST. OBAMA IS JUST THAT. AMERICA AND INDEED THE ENTIRE WORLD IS HONOURED TO HAVE HIM AS PRESIDENT. VOTE OBAMA AND GOD BLESS HIM

[girlonthestreet]

amen

[booboo111]

HERE! HERE! (as the Brits would say)

[jameskatt]

Barrack Obama is SO SMART and ELOQUENT IN SPEECH.
I have high respect for him as President.
He is THE MAN.

[imfedup]

I love Rachel, but I'm PISSED that she seems to be fixating on how he didn't answer her question about going after conservatives rather than just going after McCain. Obama answered that he seemed to be doing well doing it his way, and he's absolutely correct. If he wants to attract disenfranchised conservatives, he should concentrate on McCain -- not conservatives. He's handled it brilliantly, and I'm not sure why she keeps harping on it. She did it again on her show last night. Is she trying to prove that she doesn't think he's perfect to deflect accusations of bias?

[AmeriAus]

Something that I've noticed about Obama is that he moderates his accent depending on his audience. In this one-on-one interview he sounds very midwestern (Illinois specifically), if you listen to his hard "a's" in word such as "have", "battery" etc, whereas when he is making stump speeches, or in gatherings with larger groups he adopts much more of an urban black sound, sort of mimicking an MLK oratorical style.

Not that any of this means anything, just an observation.

[Dottedvoile]

I see what you are saying. He does that b/c he's been raised around so many different dialects and cultures, that how he connects with people. I do that too. I have family in london. australia, and ghana. My parents speak english, but also speak their native language from ghana, but also have british accents b/c we live in london. It's someone one does unconsciously to match the person as a way to understand, be understood, and connect.

[AmeriAus]

Yeah you are right, it is probably not a conscious thing. Since moving overseas I really notice variations and the variety in Americans' speech patterns, and it's just been interesting to listening to him.

[cyndeewi]

Oh please, it's the sound in your computer vs the TV. Leave Obama alone and work on your own accent.

[AmeriAus]

"Leave Obama alone?" I wasn't complaining or criticising, just commenting! I'm a supporter and I've already cast my vote for him. "Work on your own accent?" I think you might need a good night's sleep or something. Relax and don't be so defensive.

[imfedup]

Yes, he does that. Nothing wrong with it, but he does it.

[girlonthestreet]

oh give it a break, he's not one thing, he does not have one mood. he's a mix of influences and levels of passion, not a wind up doll. do you always talk the exact same way, tired, sad, mad, passionate, casual, in a meeting, drinking a glass of wine, giving a presentation to your clients or in-house? your suspicions are unfounded. he most often has a drawl when hes fired up. when hes thoughtful in a one-on-one he sounds more matter of fact and has less of an accent. this guy is least of all things contrived.

[Omidal]

Where is the rest of the interview?

[hellmart]

I think George W. Bush's legacy will be that he was the fertilizer (if you put it nicely) that made America blossom under Obamas presidency.

[boogygran]

Methinks your assessment of Dubya's legacy is MUCH, MUCH too kind, putting it nicely.

[hukkahukkabirninglove]

It's great to see two intelligent people having a rational conversation. I wish there were more like Maddow in the MSM. She's the best there is on Air America, btw.

[obamanation31]

Please vote! the Future of this country as well as this earth depends on it.

[MTOrtega]

McCain is 72.

McCain has had four instances of melanoma.

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer.

Suppose stress lowers his immune response causing a recurrence of his skin cancer?

Will a recurrence of McCain’s skin cancer lead to McCain’s incapacitation?

Lead to McCain’s death?

Hasten Palin’s ascension to the Presidency!

Let’s rid American politics of GOP miscreants.

Let’s give dignity and fair play a chance.

On November 4th vote for Senator Obama.

[MTOrtega]

The financial crisis born in the United States has much of the globe following the United States into economic disarray as it spreads to Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Allen Sinai, chief global economist for Decision Economics, a consulting and forecasting group said - “The economy has taken a turn for the worse, big time.” “The fundamentals around the consumer are all negative, and there are no signs of any help anytime soon, from anywhere.” (NYT 10.30.08)

Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute in Washington said - “There’s only a couple of ways that consumers can finance their spending. It’s labor income or nonlabor income, and both are on the mat.”

Consumer spending makes up more than 70 percent of United States economy!

Consumer confidence is at its lowest level on record.

- Layoffs are accelerating.
- Hours of workers on payroll are being cut, further diminishing paychecks.
- Housing prices continue to plunge.
- Investment by businesses for hiring people and buying equipment is slipping.
- Unemployment rate could jump from the current 6.1 to 8 percent.

Let’s rid American politics of GOP miscreants.

Let’s give dignity and fair play a chance.

On November 4th vote for Senator Obama.

[MTOrtega]

Here is a top of mind word list I think describes Senator Obama;
- Authentic
- Astute
- Disciplined
- Poised
- Proactive
- Focused
- Pragmatic
- Curious
- Humble
- Confident
- Conscientious
- Perceptive
- Respectful
- Enthusiastic
- Unflappable
- Generous
- Principled
- Strong
- Compassionate
- Considerate
- Aspirational (to achieve the greater good)

And most exciting of all - a work in progress.
Senator Obama's contributions lay before us!