Obama in 2008: “We’re going to keep on trying a bunch of stuff until something works”

Via morgenr. This is fantastic and should be run by Romney in ads in all the battleground states:

Here is the full transcript of this interaction just to prove it wasn’t taken out of context. I’ve highlighted the portions in the video:

GIBSON: You also said at this rally we need new direction, we need new leadership in Washington. What would you be doing right now that’s any different than what the Bush Administration has done and is doing?

OBAMA: Well, I’ll tell you what. I do think that the administration is hampered by the fact that people don’t have a lot the confidence in the president. I mean, if you think about previous crises — you know, FDR. There were a whole bunch of programs that he tried that didn’t work. But what he was able to provide to people was a sense that somebody’s in charge and we’re going to get through this.

And — and that is as important as anything. And the fact that, if you’ve seen President Bush come out of the Rose Garden for two minutes at a time and, you know, not give a clear sense of what is taking place, describing this — describing this rescue package as — seeing it described as a bailout where the average person still thinks that what’s happening is $700 billion is going out the door, and we’re never going to see it again, and it’s going to a bunch of Wall Street types. You know…

GIBSON: That’s puts you in a position — that puts you in a position of essentially saying trust me. I’m a 47-year-old guy with one term in the Senate.

OBAMA: Yeah.

GIBSON: You got to put your faith in me.

OBAMA: Well, of course. Look, if I wasn’t — if I didn’t have confidence in the ability to lead the country, I wouldn’t be running for president. But it’s not simply trust me. What I’m saying to the American people is trust in us. Trust in ourselves. Trust in our innovation, the talent of our workers. Trust in our ability to be pragmatic and think these problems through and solve them. I mean, the truth is that very rarely when we have a crisis like this do we just have a blueprint solution that pops out and everything runs smoothly. That’s not how things work. One of the great gifts of America is we’re practical people so we try things. If they don’t work, then we try something else. And we fidget with this and we tinker with that. But we maintain confidence in our core institutions, our core values, and we remain confident in the American people. And that’s the job of the president to organize the — the best people out there to rally the country, to give them a sense of direction and vision and say, you know what, we’re going to keep on trying a bunch of stuff until something works.


Comment Policy: Please read our comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges.