Transcript: Obama Adviser David Axelrod

[ProSense]

Transcript: Obama Adviser David Axelrod

STEPHANOPOULOS: The other big appointment on track, of course, is Senator Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state -- expected to be announced after Thanksgiving. Received a lot of praise from a lot of quarters, but also some criticism, including from David Ignatius of the "Washington Post."

And he asked this. He says, "Clinton is immensely talented, but it could be the wrong job for her, since it has the potential to undermine Obama's own transformational role in foreign policy -- perhaps the greatest opportunity he has. Why subcontract this to Clinton and her entourage?"

What's the answer?

AXELROD: Well, first of all, George, you're right that they've had some great discussions. We've not made any announcement related to that yet, and probably won't until after the holidays.

But let me say this. People need to understand one thing. There's one person who's going to be in charge of American foreign policy, and there's one person who's going to be in charge of American economic policy. And that's Barack Obama.

He's going to set the direction, and he's going to assemble a group of talented and brilliant people to help execute that vision. So, and certainly Senator Clinton, should she be selected, fits that category of brilliance and ability.

And he is assembling the best possible team to move this country forward, but he will set the direction.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Clearly, as president of the United States, the question, though, a lot of people have -- and I think that Senator Clinton may have had it herself -- is how much authority will she have as secretary of state?

According to our reporting, she was fairly reluctant mid-week to take the job, but she had a conversation with the president-elect on Thursday, I believe, where he did convince her and got everything back on track.

And the question is, given the recent history of secretaries of state, we saw that Secretary of State Powell did not seem to have the full backing of the president, President Bush, and it hurt him -- unlike Secretary of State James Baker under the president's father.

Will Secretary of State Clinton, if, indeed, she is nominated and confirmed, have the full backing of the president? And will she have a direct line to the White House?

AXELROD: Well, I think it's fair to say that all of these appointees will have the full backing of the president. That's why he's selecting them.

And the one thing I can tell you from working for six years with Barack Obama, that he is someone who invites strong opinions. He enjoys that. He thinks it's an important element of leadership.

And I think that he'll have a great working relationship with his secretary of state, his secretary of treasury, and his entire Cabinet. They are not going to be a potted plant in their departments. They are going to be partners with him in governance, and he is going to encourage that.

And I'm sure that that's the message that he's given to everyone he's spoken to about potential positions in the administration.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Other names begin talked about on the national security team, potentially General Jim Jones, the former commandant of the Marine Corps as national security adviser, maybe Bob Gates staying on for a while as secretary of defense.

When you look at that array, what do you say to some of your supporters, particularly those supporters who were energized by their opposition to the Iraq war, who look at this and say, "Wait a second. This isn't the kind of change I was voting for"?

AXELROD: Well, the president-elect was clear throughout the campaign, that when he became president, that he was going to give the secretary of defense a new mission. And that mission was going to be to wind down our involvement in Iraq.

Nothing has changed. And obviously, events are moving there in that direction as we speak.

But our supporters can be -- and the entire nation and the world can be -- assured that, when he gives -- that the commitments that he's made are the commitments he's going to keep.

[Doctor_J]

1. Wat a great question, Georgie!

"Will Secretary of State Clinton, if, indeed, she is nominated and confirmed, have the full backing of the president?"

DUH!!!

[Frances]

2. Great interview

Axelrod is a great spokesperson and certainly reassured me.

The contrast between Obama and his cabinet and Axelrod with Bush and his team of cronies is enough to make me cry.

How did the American people ever put up with Bush?!!