“He doesn’t talk about the fact that he’s been governor of Massachusetts for four years very much.”

“CBS This Morning” co-host Charlie Rose sat down Thursday, July 12, 2012 with President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in the blue room of the White House for a wide-ranging exclusive interview.

Q:
How do you take the measure of his business experience?

A:
I do not think at all it disqualifies him.
But I also think it’s important, if that’s his main calling card, if his basic premise is that ‘I’m Mr. Fix-It on the economy’ because I made a lot of money…

Q:
(Interviewer interrupting):
But that’s not what he’s saying.

A:
Well, no… that is to some degree. What he says is he understands the economy and the private sector…

Q:
(Interviewer interrupting): And they built businesses, and they bought businesses and made them better.

A:
They invested.

Q:
But they invested and made them better.

A:
Exactly. So that’s his premise.
I think it is entirely appropriate to look at that record and see whether in fact his focus was creating jobs, and [if] he successfully did that.
And when you look at the record, there are questions there that have to be asked, and…

Q:
(Interviewer interrupting): Like… like what?

A:
Look… as I said, when some people questioned why I would challenge his Bain record, the point I made there in the past is…
If you’re a head of a large private equity firm or hedge fund, your job is to make money – it’s not to create jobs.
It’s not even to create a successful business.
It’s to make sure you’re maximizing returns for your investor.
Now, that’s appropriate.
That’s part of the American way.
That’s part of the system.
But that doesn’t necessarily make you qualified to think about the economy as a whole, because as president, my job is to think about the workers, my job is to think about communities where jobs have been outsourced.
And so, it is not that he is disqualified because of what he’s done.
It is, if that’s your main claim – since he doesn’t talk about the fact that he’s been governor of Massachusetts for four years very much…

Q:
(Interviewer interrupting): Or ran the Olympics…

A:
Then, I want us to make sure that we know what your theory is about to grow the economy.
And that is a question that I think most Americans want to know as well.
This is the nature of running for president.

–President Barack Obama, Interview with the Obamas on “CBS This Morning,” by Charlie Rose

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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505267_162-57471664/obama-romney-not-necessarily-qualified-to-think-about-economy-as-a-whole/