Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama takes the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Here are some of the interview’s highlights:
Tell me your reaction when you first heard that he had picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. I didn’t know her, so it was a surprise decision. Look, you have to give them credit: It obviously energized the conservative wing of the party. And that’s worth something in politics.
Weren’t you shocked, at least a little, by the choice of someone with no real experience on the national stage? As I said, we didn’t know her, so we were surprised. It wasn’t anticipated.
Looking back over the past eight years, what’s the thing that Bush screwed up the worst? I think Iraq has to rank number one. Although the economy and his failure, utterly, to anticipate the dangers of such a highly leveraged Wall Street, combined with such a highly leveraged federal government, combined with such highly leveraged consumers, at a time when we knew that baby boomers are about to retire and we need to start storing the acorns for the winter — it’s breathtaking. The level of irresponsibility that’s taken place over the last eight years is breathtaking.
To read the full cover feature on Barack Obama, visit RollingStone.com.
