Larry King: Transcript Page 1 of 9 900% Penny Stocks Gainer “Killer White Teeth” Stocks that blow up overnight. Free reports. Join today. Dentists don't want you to know THIS teeth whitening secret. www.Stockpickss.com AmericanDermaSociety.org Get listed here Home | Larry King Interview Archives | Larry King Live Radio Archives | Listen to CNN Radio | CNN Radio Hourly News Update archives Interview with Sen. Barack Obama; Mortgage Crisis Affects Thousands of Homeowners Aired July 15, 2008 - 21:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, Barack Obama sounds off right here on the magazine cover that created a firestorm. Some were outraged. Now it's his turn. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've seen and heard worse. (END VIDEO CLIP) KING: What does he think about being portrayed as a Muslim? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: I'm a Christian and I wasn't raised in a Muslim home and I pledge allegiance to the flag. (END VIDEO CLIP) KING: And then, foreclosure nightmare -- are you in danger of losing your home? Surprising confessions from a mortgage loan officer. And a former mortgage company worker forced to live out of her car. It's all right now on LARRY KING LIVE. We welcome to LARRY KING LIVE Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. He made a major foreign policy address today in Washington. We'll get to that in a moment. But I've heard a lot of others comment on it. We haven't heard you speak about it yet. That "New Yorker" cover which depicts you and your wife, and you dressed in a Muslim outfit, your wife in a kind of military outfit, Osama bin Laden's picture burning. What do you make of that? OBAMA: Well, I know it was the "New Yorker's" attempt at satire. I don't think they were entirely successful with it. But you know what, it's a cartoon, Larry, and that's why we've got the First Amendment. And I think the American people are probably spending a little more time worrying about what's happening with the banking system and the housing market, and what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, than a cartoon. So I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it. KING: But didn't it personally sting you? OBAMA: No. You know, we've -- one of the things, when you're running for president for almost two years, is you get a pretty thick skin. And, you know, I've seen and heard worse. I do think that, you know, in attempting to satirize something, they probably fueled some misconceptions about me instead. But, you know, that was their editorial judgment. And, as I said, ultimately, it's a cartoon, it's not where the American people are spending a lot of their time thinking about. KING: Considering that, though, there's a lot of e-mails going around. It gets rather terrible. A "Newsweek" poll shows that 12 percent of America believes that you're a Muslim and 26 believe -- 26 percent believe you were raised in a Muslim home -- a lot of misinformation. How do you fight that? OBAMA: Well, you know, by getting on LARRY KING and telling everybody I'm a Christian and I wasn't raised in a Muslim home and I pledge allegiance to the flag and, you know, all the things that have been reported in these e-mails are completely untrue and have been debunked again and again and again. So, hey, all you can do is just tell the truth and trust in the American people that, over time, they're going to know what the truth http://www.westwoodone.com/pg/jsp/larryking/transcript.jsp?pid=23014 7/29/2009 Larry King: Transcript Page 2 of 9 is. One last point I want to -- I do want to make about these e- mails, though. And I think this has an impact on this "New Yorker" cover. You know, this is actually an insult against Muslim-Americans, something that we don't spend a lot of time talking about. And sometimes I've been derelict in pointing that out. You know, there are wonderful Muslim-Americans all across the country who are doing wonderful things. And for this to be used as sort of an insult or to raise suspicions about me I think is unfortunate. And it's not what America is all about. KING: All right. Let's turn to Iraq. Do you go, by the way, with any kind of agenda? OBAMA: You know, well, my agenda is making sure that we have a strategy to keep America safe and to meet our long-term national security interests. And the speech I gave today, Larry, really tried to describe what I think is the central difference between myself and John McCain. John McCain, who supported the war from the start, said we'd be greeted as liberators, has really focused on the tactical issues in Iraq. And the surge has no doubt reduced violence. And I think all Americans are thrilled by that. But what George Bush and John McCain have missed consistently from the start of this process is the broader strategy. You know, was it a wise thing to go in there and what are the costs and benefits of staying there indefinitely? We're spending $10 billion a month there. We've spent $200 billion since the surge began. Meanwhile, the situation where -- you know, where the central front against terrorism should be taking place, in Afghanistan, the situation has deteriorated. And we had this brazen attack on a U.S. base where nine servicemen were killed. And we've got to recognize that perpetuating the strategy that we have in Iraq is costing us elsewhere, not only in Afghanistan, but also investments that we could be making here at home. Imagine what we could have done with $200 billion invested in clean energy technology and figuring out how we're going to raise -- how we're going to raise fuel efficiency standards on cars. John McCain wants to spend $300 million in a prize to try to figure out the next round of car technologies. And meanwhile, we're spending $200 billion on a surge in Iraq. It's just not a wise policy. That's why I want to bring this war to a close. But I do want to consult with our commanders on the ground to find out tactically how do we do it in a safe way and how do we make sure that the gains that have been obtained with respect to violence in Iraq are sustained. KING: Senator McCain said that you were wrong about the surge and wrong in your Iraq proposals. Now, here's an example of what -- here's a sample of what he said. And we'll get you to comment. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama is departing soon on a trip abroad that will include a fact-finding mission to Iraq and Afghanistan. And I note that he's speaking today about his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan before he's even left, before he's talked to General Petraeus, before he's seen the progress in Iraq and before he has set foot in Afghanistan for the first time. (END VIDEO CLIP) KING: Now, Senator Obama, Senator McCain is saying that you're going about it backwards. OBAMA: Well, I mean, Senator McCain obviously is involved in a political campaign. I understand that. You know, when I said that I was going to be talking with commanders and we would be refining our plan, he suggested that somehow we had changed our mind. Where Senator McCain I think is confused is the difference between tactics and strategy. I am absolutely convinced that, strategically, it is time for us to bring this war to an end. And we can bring our combat troops out over the course of 16 months, which would mean that we would have gotten our combat troops out two years from now -- seven years from the time that the war began. And that is not a precipitous withdrawal. It is a pace that I think would allow us to do what we need to do in Iraq, and that is to make sure that their army and their police forces are sufficiently trained to manage day-to-day operations inside of Iraq. I've also said that we'll leave a residual force there to engage in counterterrorism activities inside of Iraq, as well, to protect our bases and our diplomats and civilian workers there. But this gives us ample time to wind this thing down in a way that allows us to support what's happening in Afghanistan and relieves the extraordinary stresses that have been placed on military families. Larry, when you travel around the country, you meet folks all the time -- their spouses are on their third or fourth tour of duty. The family has been completely upended. And it's not sustainable over time. And I think everybody has acknowledged that. Not to mention the amount of money that we're spending there -- $10 billion a month at a time when we've got enormous needs here at home. We've got to stabilize the housing market. We've got to help people. And we've got 7,000 people a day who are undergoing foreclosure proceedings on their homes.