Fox News "Fox News Sunday" - Transcript

Interview

FOX NEWS "FOX NEWS SUNDAY"
HOST: CHRIS WALLACE
GUESTS: HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA); ROBERT GIBBS, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY

MR. WALLACE: On Friday we sat down with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We talked about House Democrats' $825 billion economic stimulus plan, and we got her sense of what Washington will be like under the new president.

Speaker Pelosi, welcome back to "FOX News Sunday."

SPEAKER PELOSI: My pleasure to be here.

MR. WALLACE: In the weeks after the election, there was a lot of talk about all sides coming together in the economic crisis to get a stimulus package on the president's desk by Inauguration Day.

Now that has slipped to mid-February. There's more and more talk about an old-politics, party-line vote. Whatever happened to the new bipartisan spirit under Barack Obama?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, what you say is one interpretation, and I see it quite differently.

MR. WALLACE: Well, I mean, we just had this vote on the TARP, the -- and it only got six Republican votes in the Senate.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Which's amazing, because they had voted for it in much more -- in stronger numbers when President Bush was president.

But to the point of --

MR. WALLACE: So what happened to the bipartisan spirit?

SPEAKER PELOSI: I could only speak to what's happening in the House of Representatives. Yes, we are going to work together to have a recovery package for the American people. It's essential that that happen.

To that end, the president-elect came to Capitol Hill on the 5th of January, the day we were sworn in, met in a bipartisan way -- Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate, said he was open to ideas that any of us had and that he would be making some suggestions that talked about what he believed would create -- or save 3 (million) to 4 million jobs, to do so in a timely fashion, and that we had to act now.

We will -- we will lose a half a million jobs a month the longer we go without a package.

So we have taken some of the suggestions, listened to others, put together a package which we announced on Thursday. The Republican leader, Mr. Boehner, has said to me, what I want is a mark-up.

We could go faster without a mark-up, but he wants a mark-up. And so we certainly agreed to that, which will happen next week, this coming week, in the Congress, following the Inauguration.

MR. WALLACE: But if -- if I may cut through the process, Speaker, I mean, we're --

SPEAKER PELOSI: But that process is the bipartisanship. That's where people --

MR. WALLACE: But the fact is, as I say, in the Senate all but six Republicans voted against it. The Republicans have come out against your new economic stimulus package.

Is the president making -- new president-elect -- making a mistake chasing Republican votes by putting in, for instance, more business tax cuts --

SPEAKER PELOSI: No.

MR. WALLACE: -- instead of pursuing the Republican agenda?

SPEAKER PELOSI: No, I think that the president-elect is doing what he believes will create jobs for our country. He knows very much what the urgency is of the matter.

And some of the issues, like net operating loss carryback, bonus depreciation, are suggestions that have come from the Republicans. And to the extent that they will create jobs, they are in the package that we put forth.

But we're talking about listening to ideas. We also have to listen outside the Congress to, for example, the economic adviser to John McCain, Mark Zandi, has suggested to us that investments create more jobs than tax cuts.

We are committed to a middle-income tax cut, in addition to the business tax cuts, and that is in the proposal. But we also have a strong element of investments.

When our package came out, Mr. Zandi said that this was needed, that it will create jobs; without it, we will lose jobs, and it was a good stimulus. And others have said this will create -- this will create over 3 million jobs --

MR. WALLACE: But let's talk about this $825 billion economic stimulus package you're talking about.

You barely got it out of your mouth before House Republicans, starting with John Boehner, started criticizing it. They said there's $650 million in there to help people convert to digital television; there's money to re-sod the National Mall.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Right.

MR. WALLACE: There's money in there for increasing college aid grants --

SPEAKER PELOSI: But that doesn't mean that they were against it --

MR. WALLACE: And -- if I may just finish -- so the point, they were saying, was this is just more government spending. It's not economic stimulus.

SPEAKER PELOSI: No, no, no, no. Actually, the fact is that, again, the economists had told us you must make these investments, which will be job-creating.

Now, we have a strong -- this is not an old-time, public works investment package. This is about the future.

We have major investments for rebuilding the infrastructure of America in a very forward-looking way that reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

Secondly, it is a commitment to innovation, to science, to keep America number one and competitive and grow our manufacturing base.

Third, it is -- and all of that depends on investment in education. And in addition to that, it's aid to the states so that they do not have to fire people or reduce meeting the needs of their people.

And again, I come back to the science that is in it to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reverse climate change. It's about science, science, science, and science -- innovation, as we rebuild America, create jobs, invest in our people and turn this economy around.

MR. WALLACE: And so --

SPEAKER PELOSI: Now, if somebody wants to take a little initiative here or there which are responsibilities of the government, and describe the package that way, I don't think that that is quite fair.

And I -- I don't think that -- I think we will get Republican votes on this, because it has, again, tax cuts for the middle class -- 95 percent of the American people will get a tax cut. There are business initiatives that are job-creating, and there are investments to address the needs for jobs, but also addressing the consequences of a severe downturn in our economy.

MR. WALLACE: Simple question: Do you see any signs that the House Republican leadership is willing to meet you in the middle?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I certainly hope so. We will have the mark-up, which is what they asked. We call that process --

MR. WALLACE: Writing the bill.

SPEAKER PELOSI: -- we call that bipartisanship. But it is -- we are reflecting what the American people want us to do. Their priorities are children's health, job creation.

The American people want results that are relevant to their lives, and that is what this package does at the same time, as I say, creating -- or saving 3 (million) to 4 million jobs. And it's essential that we pass it soon.

Now, you make the point that it was going to be by Inauguration. That would have been my hope. But the worse the economy got, and the later we do this -- the bigger the package got, the more time we needed to have the mark-ups that the Republicans have suggested.

MR. WALLACE: And let's talk about the agenda for the first 100 days, because there seem to be some differences between the Obama administration that's incoming and congressional Democrats.

Case in point, the president-elect says, with the economic crisis, he's in no hurry for what's called union card check.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Right.

MR. WALLACE: And while he wants to make it easier for workers to unionize, he'd like to see if there's a way to do it without taking away the secret ballot.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, you're talking about the first 100 days. The first 100 days we have to turn this economy around. Our commitment is to our economic recovery package, and that is what our focus is.

We also have to deal with the housing crisis, which is central to the financial crisis in our country. So that is where our focus is in the first 100 days.

MR. WALLACE: So you agree union card check later rather than sooner, and maybe not taking away the secret ballot?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I -- I believe that, I know that President-Elect Obama is a strong supporter of America's workers. I myself am a strong supporter of that legislation. We passed it with a strong vote in the House in the last Congress, and I continue to be supportive of it.

But in terms of what we have to do in the first 100 days, we must address the needs of this -- 500 million (sic) people will lose their jobs each month until we have an economic package.

MR. WALLACE: No, 500,000.

SPEAKER PELOSI: What did I say, million?

MR. WALLACE: Yes. That would really be a recession!

(Cross talk.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: Excuse me. Thank you for correcting me. It feels like 500 million.

Five hundred thousand Americans will lose their jobs each month until we have a recovery package. That's why I said we will have this package by Presidents' Day recess, and if we don't have it signed into law by then, we will not have a recess.

MR. WALLACE: Mr. Obama has not committed on whether to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 a year or just to let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010. You say you want to do it now.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I didn't say now, but I -- what we're saying is that's not part of this discussion for this economic package.

MR. WALLACE: I understand that, but -- but my point is this: Isn't it a mistake to raise taxes on anyone during a recession?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, first of all, I don't know that a decision has been made by the Obama administration. But I will tell you this, that in '04, '06, and '08 we have campaigned in saying what the Republican Congressional Budget Office told us: Nothing contributed more to the budget deficit than the tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America.

Fiscal discipline is central to what we do, and we can't --

(Cross talk.)

MR. WALLACE: You're about to pass a trillion-dollar spending program. That's not fiscal discipline. Do you want to do this in the middle of a recession?

SPEAKER PELOSI: No, it is fiscal discipline. First of all, we are not proposing a trillion-dollar -- it's 800 and a quarter --

MR. WALLACE: Stimulus. Okay.

SPEAKER PELOSI: -- recovery package that will grow the economy to bring more revenue into the -- into the Treasury so that we can reduce the deficit.

Investments in education, which are a strong element of --

MR. WALLACE: But tax increases in the middle of a recession?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, the point is it's not a tax -- it's a drain on the economy which has done nothing to grow our economy. Mind you, we're in pretty bad shape. It has contributed enormously to the deficit. But it's not time to be talking about that now.

Now we're talking about how we do an economic package. When we get to the next stage of this recovery package, when we get to the next stage, we'll have that debate.

We'll listen to experts --

MR. WALLACE: But you want to do it now. I mean --

SPEAKER PELOSI: No -- (cross talk) -- no --

MR. WALLACE: I don't mean --

SPEAKER PELOSI: I don't want them to wait two years to expire.

MR. WALLACE: Okay.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Because they have to prove their worth to me as to how they grow the economy, how they create jobs, how they do not -- a justification for being the biggest increase in the budget deficit than any element that you can name. Don't take that from me; that's the Congressional Budget Office, under the Republicans.

MR. WALLACE: Mr. Obama says he wants to start tackling entitlement reform -- Social Security and Medicaid -- beginning with a summit next month.

Do you think it's a mistake for him to take on that subject so early in his administration?

SPEAKER PELOSI: No, I think it's very important. I think it's very important and I support what he wants to do, to have a summit of that kind.

And we -- we'll have our own initiatives in the Congress to work with him on that, because we do --

Again, fiscal discipline, fiscal discipline. We are committed to pay-as-you-go, not heaping mountains of debt on our children. And the investments that we make have to be job-creating and bring money into the economy.

So of course the entitlements are an important part of how we make judgments.

MR. WALLACE: Speaker, you talk about fiscal discipline. Are you willing to accept in this discussion, at the very beginning, benefit cuts as well as tax increases?

SPEAKER PELOSI: I say you put everything on the table.

MR. WALLACE: Everything?

SPEAKER PELOSI: You put everything on the table.

MR. WALLACE: Including benefit cuts?

SPEAKER PELOSI: You put everything on the table.

The only thing we didn't want to put on the table is eliminating Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

MR. WALLACE: So we're not talking about that?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, President Bush was talking about eliminating parts of it.

MR. WALLACE: I understand that.

SPEAKER PELOSI: And that was not something we wanted on the table.

But I think on any of these things they have enormous impact on people's lives. They have enormous cost to our budget and also to our economy. And so this has to be done in a bipartisan way.

Put everything on the table, let it prove its worth, and compare it to other options that we have, similar to what President Reagan did with Speaker Tip O'Neill over 20 years ago when they were very successful in how they went forward on Social Security.

MR. WALLACE: The president-elect is now talking about it possibly taking as long as the end of his first term to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Would you be disappointed if it took that long?

SPEAKER PELOSI: I don't think it will. But he -- you know, if somebody gives an outside date it doesn't mean you can't do it sooner. But I'm pleased that he has said he will close Guantanamo.

And we have some ideas about how it could be done, and we'll compare notes as to what the timing of that would be. But I think it's very important that the message go out to the world that Guantanamo will be closed.

MR. WALLACE: Mr. Obama says that he's not particularly interested in investigating whatever went on in the past with the Bush anti-terror programs. You've got John Conyers, head of your Judiciary Committee, who wants to set up a commission to do exactly that.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Right.

MR. WALLACE: Mr. Obama says that at this point we've got to be looking forward, not backward.

SPEAKER PELOSI: I think that we have to learn from the past, and we cannot let the politicizing of the -- for example, the Justice Department, to go unreviewed.

The past is prologue; we learn from it. And my views on the subject -- I don't think that Mr. Obama and Mr. Conyers are that far apart. I think that --

MR. WALLACE: But you want to see investigations?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I want to see -- I want to see the truths come forth. Now, how that is done, I'm really not completely familiar with what Mr. Conyers is putting forth or the --

(Cross talk.)

MR. WALLACE: But on the -- on the Justice Department and the politicization of that? On --

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I think that's a matter of -- that's not up to us to say that doesn't matter anymore. I think they're different subjects and you treat them differently.

We have a contempt of Congress against members of the executive branch who withheld information from us on that subject, and that was reinforced the first day of this new Congress.

So I think you look at each item and see what is a violation of the law and do we even have a right to ignore it, and other things that are maybe time spent better looking to the future, rather than to the past.

MR. WALLACE: I get the sense from this conversation -- presidents often have more problems with their own party, especially when they enjoy big majorities, than they do with the opposition.

I get the sense -- you shake your head immediately, he's not going to have problems. You don't intend to kowtow to this new president?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, the point is is we're very excited about the election of this new president. Much of his campaign agenda is what we have been working on for a very long time -- the creation of jobs in an innovative way that takes us into the future, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reverse global warming, to meet the needs of our children by investing in education.

All of these things are part of an agenda. That's why, in the first week of Congress, of our legislative work, we passed the Children's Health Insurance Program. It's first on the agenda of the American people, the health of our children, and it's -- and it was early on the agenda for us, probably among the first bills to be signed by the president.

So we have -- again, we are two independent branches of government. Within our own party we have a range of thinking. We built consensus.

We will, by and large, come to the middle on it.

We want to have as much bipartisanship, especially on issues that relate to, again, our recovery and turning around this economy, how we deal with the housing crisis and the rest.

So we'll take -- you know, we have to respect every voice and every view in the White House, in the Congress, Democrats and Republicans. And it is -- it is -- and this is a president who is committed to that.

I wish President Bush had been more bipartisan. We reached out. This president is reaching out, and we will look forward to working with him. And again, we have a wealth of knowledge and experience here. We all draw upon expertise from outside. We make judgments about it.

But I didn't want a rubber-stamp Congress when President Bush was president and the Republicans were here, and I don't want any rubber- stamp members of Congress rubber-stamping what I think.

We want to hear their views, convey them respectfully to the president, from both sides of the aisle.

MR. WALLACE: Speaker Pelosi, big job. A lot of work ahead. Thank you for talking with us.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you. My pleasure. Thank you very much, Chris.

MR. WALLACE: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Up next, we get a preview of the new president's plans when we're joined by one of Mr. Obama's closest advisers, incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Back after the break.

(Announcements.)

MR. WALLACE: When Barack Obama takes over Tuesday, one of the most influential and visible members of his team will be White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

And Robert, welcome to "FOX News Sunday."

MR. GIBBS: Thanks, Chris. Thanks for having me.

MR. WALLACE: Let's start with the Inauguration. Give us a preview of what Barack Obama's going to say.

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think the themes that you'll hear on Tuesday around noon will be very familiar to people that have watched the campaign. But they'll be heavily infused with this notion of responsibility and getting our country back on track.

He had us clear his schedule from virtually everything last weekend. He sat down and wrote out the bulk of the speech as it is now, and I think he's relieved to have something on paper and ready to give on Tuesday.

MR. WALLACE: Now, when you say responsibility, are you saying he's going to ask for personal sacrifice or personal responsibility from the American people?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think those -- any -- you know, we need more responsibility and accountability certainly in the way our government acts. We have to have it, certainly, within many of our financial institutions that sort of have gotten us to where we are in this economic crisis today.

Obviously the American people are all going to have to give some. What's important, though, is ensuring that those that have had the short end of the stick for the last few years, make sure that they get the help that they need, that this administration begins to create the jobs and give some financial stability to families so that they can feel hopeful about going forward.

You know, the great thing about our democracy and our country is we always find ourselves at crossroads, and we always find ourselves -- at least, this country always has -- doing what is necessary to make this country and the lives of the American people better for each and every generation that follows.

MR. WALLACE: Now, you talk about -- he's going to talk about the responsibility of the financial institutions. I remember in 1933 -- I remember I read about it --

MR. GIBBS: (Laughs.)

MR. WALLACE: -- FDR talked about the moneychangers. Is he, either in that speech or in subsequent action, going to get tough with financial institutions and say get lending, get going, let's get this economy going again?

MR. GIBBS: Chris, there's no doubt that if we don't do that, nothing is going to get this economy moving again. There are no silver bullets.

The president-elect and his team have been working with members of Capitol Hill to get an economic recovery and a reinvestment plan moving as quickly as possible. We have to get a financial stability package that works far differently than what we've seen over the past few months.

When this country lends money to banks and buys a stake in those banks, those banks have to lend that money to small businesses and families that are looking to buy cars or send their kids to school. We have to do things differently, in a more transparent way.

We have to ensure that the American people feel confident that the stakes that they're buying in these banks, that that money isn't going simply directly into the pockets of executives that got us into this mess.

We have to do things differently. We're going to ask that the financial sector reform itself -- not reform itself, but be involved in a reform that asks them to do things far differently than they've done in the past few years.

We have to get ourselves out of this mess, and only by demanding more of the financial institutions will we be able to do that.

MR. WALLACE: On his first full day in office, Mr. Obama will reportedly meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

MR. GIBBS: Mm-hmm. (In affirmation.)

MR. WALLACE: Will he keep his campaign promise and tell them right then that they have a new mission, to get us out of Iraq?

MR. GIBBS: He will, Chris. But he's interested -- in his first day, he's going to meet with his economic team to see where we are on an economic recovery and reinvestment plan to save and create millions of jobs and do so in a transparent and accountable way, so that the American people can feel confident that things are moving in the right direction.

And he'll also meet with military advisers to talk about the conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The goal of the meeting, certainly as it relates to Iraq, is to keep our commitment to remove responsibly and safely our troops, our combat brigades, over the course of the next 16 months; to give the Iraqis more --

MR. WALLACE: But the new mission is to get out of Iraq, given those provisos?

MR. GIBBS: Absolutely. But we're very interested in -- the president-elect and the vice president-elect are very interested in hearing from military commanders, both here and on the ground, about what that entails.

And just as I said a minute ago, what's also key is we have to give more responsibilities to the Iraqis, as we remove our troops safely and responsibly.

MR. WALLACE: There are also reports that the president-elect, as soon as he becomes president, will issue in the first 24 hours a series of executive orders.

On what?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think it's safe to say that next week we'll address ethics and transparency in government and how it relates to senior White House staff and members of departments and agencies.

We're going to close the revolving door that lets people come into government and then leave quickly to go lobby the government that they were just in. I think you'll see stuff on that.

I think, obviously, you've seen mentioned the closure, or the process for the closure of Guantanamo Bay. And I think you'll see a series of things where the president will keep his commitments that he made during the campaign.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that we did not get -- we did not get into this situation overnight. The problems and the challenges that our country face didn't happen all last week. They've been building for years. It's going to take -- it's going to take us some time.

Everything's not going to be done in the first month of this administration, but we're going to work hard each and every day to bring change to Washington and bring hope and confidence to the American people.

MR. WALLACE: Let me ask you about that, because as you just heard me discuss with Speaker Pelosi, House Democrats have come up with an $825 billion economic stimulus plan.

Is that the Obama plan, or is he open to Republican criticism about needing more tax cuts and less spending?

MR. GIBBS: Look, Chris, the president-elect went up to Capitol Hill as one of the very first things that he did when he got to Washington earlier in January.

He sat with Democrats and Republicans, the leadership on both sides of Congress, and said, if you've got a good idea, then let's talk about it. He's willing to listen to any of the ideas that Democrats or Republicans have.

He's often been quoted as saying that he doesn't think that good ideas are the province of simply one person or one political party.

MR. WALLACE: So the House plan is not the end-point. It's the starting point.

MR. GIBBS: Well, we've all watched Capitol Hill, and as you go from a proposal to what the president expects to sign into law by Presidents' Day recess, we understand there's going to be some give- and-take in that. We've already seen some give-and-take.

We think that we're going to have the best plan possible, that we're going to get ideas from across the political spectrum from Democrats and Republicans, as long as they do a few things: as long as they get this economy moving again, that we save or create the millions of jobs that we're going to lose if Congress and this president don't act swiftly and surely to get something in front of the American people that improves this economy.

MR. WALLACE: Now, you said a moment ago we didn't get into this mess in a quick period of time, a short period of time, it's -- we're not going to get out of it.

MR. GIBBS: Right.

MR. WALLACE: That's a theme that we're beginning to hear, in effect, saying to the American people you're going to have to be patient. Are we talking about a recession that goes into next year, into 2010?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think the American people understand, as the president-elect does, that this economy is likely to get worse before it gets better. And I think the American people and the president- elect understand also that it's certainly going to get far worse unless or until we act immediately.

Chris, if we wait and wait and wait, more and more people are going to lose their jobs. We're going to fall further and further behind. Credit is going to be harder to get. People aren't going to borrow money to go to college; people aren't going to borrow money to buy cars.

Congress and the president, I think, are both committed to acting quickly to getting an economic recovery and reinvestment plan on his desk and signed into law by mid-February so that we can get this economy turned around quickly.

MR. WALLACE: Treasury Secretary Nominee Timothy Geithner, we know now that he did not pay back taxes.

MR. GIBBS: Well, he's paid back taxes --

MR. WALLACE: Well, wait; let me finish. That he paid back taxes after he was audited in 2006, but that he didn't pay some of the back taxes for 2001 and '02 until you guys were about to nominate him in November.

MR. GIBBS: Right.

MR. WALLACE: We also know that he claimed a tax deduction for sending his kids to sleep-away camp, which I have to say is the first time I've ever heard of that.

Do you really want someone in charge, as he will be, as Treasury secretary, of the Internal Revenue Service, who has what even The New York Times calls such a cavalier attitude towards paying his taxes?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I don't think Mr. Geithner has a cavalier attitude toward paying his taxes at all.

I think there are two things that are the consensus in this town -- that even as Mr. Geithner said, he made a -- he made some embarrassing but honest mistakes as an employee of an international organization, but also --

MR. WALLACE: Can I just pick up on that, because I keep hearing --

MR. GIBBS: Well, let me finish this part --

MR. WALLACE: Well, let me just ask a (new ?) question.

MR. GIBBS: Well, let me finish this large answer --

MR. WALLACE: Okay.

MR. GIBBS: -- because there's also a consensus among both Democrats and Republicans that Tim Geithner has the intelligence and the experience to do this job, that he's somebody who's dedicated to public service, and is the right person to steer this economy and lead the Department of Treasury.

That's not just me saying it. That's Democrats and Republican senators on Capitol Hill that understand it's important to have a Treasury secretary in place and that Tim Geithner's the right man for the job.

MR. WALLACE: But I keep hearing from your team and from President-Elect Obama, innocent mistake, honest mistake.

Here's a fellow who, one, was audited in 2006. He was told pay back taxes, because he hadn't paid the self-employment tax for the IMF in 2003 and '04. He had done exactly the same thing in '01 and '02, but didn't pay the taxes. And we now know that he was getting notices from the IMF, which he signed, which said you've got to play (sic) this self-employment taxes.

It sure sounds like he was trying to get away with something.

MR. GIBBS: No. Again, Mr. Geithner has paid all those taxes, paid the interest in any of those back taxes. These are honest mistakes. If you go on the IRS Web site, in '06 and '07, they've got a part of that Web site that allows people that work for organizations like Mr. Geithner -- it's a fairly common mistake that happens.

Mr. Geithner said this was embarrassing. His accountant told him he didn't have further tax liabilities. He's made amends for those mistakes.

You know, Chris, I'm reminded that if you or I couldn't make a mistake but still work in this town, it's entirely possible that I wouldn't be able to finish this interview. You might not be able to finish a series of interviews before they shut us down, too.

MR. WALLACE: Well, I certainly wouldn't survive a Senate confirmation.

(Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think Mr. Geithner has made honest and embarrassing mistakes that even he admits. But, again, the consensus is somebody who has the experience and the intelligence and the dedication to public service to move this economy forward.

He's the right person for the job, and we look forward to him being sworn in very quickly as the Department --

MR. WALLACE: Finally, I want to do a lightning round, which we do around here, of quick questions, quick answers. And I want to talk about Robert Gibbs and your new job as White House press secretary.

MR. GIBBS: Sure.

MR. WALLACE: Who do you work for, the president or the people?

MR. GIBBS: I work for both the president, the people, and the working press of the United States of America.

MR. WALLACE: So to what degree do you see yourself as putting the best face, the best spin on things, to help, politically, your boss, and to what degree is it your job to level with the American people?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I can assure you, Chris, that each and every day that I answer questions, whether it's on your show or whether it's from the podium of the briefing room of the White House of the United States, that I will always tell the truth.

Not only would I not be able to look at myself in the mirror any morning, but I certainly wouldn't be able to do my job every day if I wasn't honest and frank and truthful in every answer that I give.

You know, I understand that I --

MR. WALLACE: That raises my -- let me just say that --

MR. GIBBS: Well, hold on. Let me --

MR. WALLACE: Go ahead.

MR. GIBBS: I'm told that my office sits almost equidistant between the Oval Office and the White House briefing room, between the president and the press. It's a unique role. And I want to make sure that --

I know the president fairly well, and I think the -- I think that what I want to do each and every day is help the press understand a little bit about his decisionmaking process, what's going through his mind, and endeavor to make sure that they have the information, the access that they need --

(Cross talk.)

MR. WALLACE: You're breaking the rules of the lightning round, here, Robert.

MR. GIBBS: (Laughs.)

MR. WALLACE: Any excuse for ever telling a lie? Operational security -- you know, national security? Any excuse for telling a lie?

MR. GIBBS: No. There will be times in which I will tell people that there are things that I'm not going to be comfortable talking about. I think the press understand that, and I'm certainly --

I would never endeavor to endanger the lives of the men and women that protect me and the rest of this country each and every day.

MR. WALLACE: What's your attitude towards leaks?

MR. GIBBS: (Chuckles.) They're frustrating at times, there's no question about that.

The only thing -- the thing that concerns me most about leaks is I get concerned that unless or until I hear from the president that a decision has been made, it always makes me nervous when information is out there that might not altogether be accurate.

We're going to -- we will endeavor to make sure that any information that's given to the press is completely accurate and that it reflects the current thinking and the decisionmaking of the president of the United States.

MR. WALLACE: And finally -- again, lightning round, so I need a quick answer from you here.

MR. GIBBS: All right.

MR. WALLACE: You're -- were known for going after reporters during the campaign. In fact, you once said, sometimes I used a sledgehammer instead of a flyswatter. Will this be a combative pressroom?

MR. GIBBS: No. I look forward to working with the press in making sure that they have the information, the access that they need from the administration, and making sure that they have an understanding of what the president's thinking each and every day.

I look forward to it. I think it's going to be a lot of hard work, but I think it'll be a lot of fun.

MR. WALLACE: Robert, thank you. Thanks for coming on. Please come back.

MR. GIBBS: Love to.

MR. WALLACE: And savor the next couple of days.

MR. GIBBS: We'll try. Thank you, Chris.

END.

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