This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted Tuesday in Chicago with President-elect Barack Obama. The interviewers were Peter Nicholas and Christi Parsons of our Washington bureau and reporter John McCormick of the Tribune.
Have you ever spoken to [Illinois] Gov. [Rod R.] Blagojevich about [filling] the Senate seat?
I have not discussed the Senate seat with the governor at any time. My strong belief is that it needed to be filled by somebody who is going to represent the people of Illinois and fight for them. And beyond that, I was focused on the transition.
Given the state of the economy, has that forced any changes in your priorities?
You've got an interesting convergence between the circumstances that we find ourselves in and the agenda that I have set. Because we need to jump-start the economy, all the proposals that I put forward earlier are ones that are directly designed to put people to work and get the economy moving: a tax cut for 95% of working families; . . . a serious investment in infrastructure that lays the foundation for a green-energy economy, that's a job-creator and makes our economy more competitive. Investing in technologies that can reduce healthcare costs and errors . . .
Now, I also think that the economic crisis is going to make the issue of our long-term fiscal problems more severe. You know there are some estimates that I'm already going to be inheriting a trillion-dollar deficit, even before we get started.
On card-check protection [which would make it easier for unions to organize], we've heard that there might be a delay on that, or it might not be an immediate priority. Also, on NAFTA, we've heard that you might support maybe a study and then a report, instead of a wholesale reworking of the agreement right away.
Well, look, my economic team is reviewing these issues. You know, I've consistently said on trade issues that I want environmental and labor provisions that are enforceable in those trade agreements. But I also have said that I believe in free trade, and don't think that we can draw a moat around the American economy. . . .
When it comes to unions, I have consistently said that I want to strengthen the union movement in this country and put an end to the kinds of barriers and roadblocks that are in the way of workers legitimately coming together in order to form a union and bargain collectively.
