Transcript: The President's Interview with Print Media Columnists
Anyway, that's where my – that's what I'm thinking about these days. Upbeat about things. Upbeat about the elections. As I said – I'm sharing with you what I said in the press conference – I'm not breaking a lot of news here, but I said, look, I understand the conventional wisdom, it's over. You've got people who are dancing in the end zones and they're measuring their drapes in their new offices. It's not over. We've got the issues on our side.
Protecting this country is the number-one issue. And you talk to – admittedly, my focus groups are not broad, but people always say to me, thank you for protecting us. I view this as a struggle of good versus evil, by the way. I don't think religious people murder. I think people are misusing religion to justify their murder. And a lot of Americans understand it that way. Maybe it's not nuanced enough for some of the thinkers and all that stuff – that's fine. But that's exactly what a lot of people like me think. And my job is to make it clear to the American people the stakes, and to spell it out as plainly as I can. And a lot of people understand it.
The other thing that's really interesting about this particular part of the war on terror, and the overall war on terror, is we've got a military that is, one, full of decent, honorable, courageous people; two, who strongly support what we're doing – strongly. I find it really interesting that those most attuned with the stakes of the struggle are those who are right in the middle of the fight. And the reason I tell you that morale is high is because the re-enlistment rates are high and the sign-up rates are high. And everybody knows the stakes when they're signing up. They understand the rotations. You're a U. S. Marine, you understand you're there for seven months, home, and you're back. These guys are talking to people that have been two or three tours in Iraq. And yet, people are signing up, and they're saying, I want to do my duty.
And it's a remarkable country. They tell their parents, this is a – again, very unique in the sense that people are emailing their loved ones. I've worked rope lines and the wife says, I'm emailing my husband after the event. I said, tell her the commander – tell him the Commander-in-Chief respects him – send – and all of a sudden the guy – wow, Mom, I saw the President. It is amazing when there is that direct communication. The point is, is that when these people are motivated to fight these people, word gets back here and the families tell their friends, and their friends tell their friends. And it's just an interesting – it's just an interesting aspect of today's society.
As I say, people want to know, can you win? They're with us if we can win. If we're there and can't win, we're gone. If we can't win, I'll pull us out. If I didn't think it was noble and just and we can win, we're gone. I can't – I'm not going to keep those kids in there and have to deal with their loved ones. I cannot – I can't cover it up when I meet with a family who's lost a child. I cry, I weep, I hug. And I've got to be able to look them in the eye and say, we're going to win. I have to be able to do that. And I'm not a good faker.
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