'Meet the Press' transcript for May 31, 2009

MS. MULCAHY:  ...vs.  other parts of the world.  But I would agree that it is early days.  It would be tough to show a lot of tangible benefits right now from the stimulus plan.

MR. SCHMIDT:  There's a huge divergence in outcomes, different countries. Russia, for example, is going to take many, many years to recover from the enormous bubble and burst that they went through, stock market financials, whereas China will do pretty well.

MR. GREGORY:  Let me ask you all to, to comment on the frightening prospect of what's next.  In the financial sector, credit card losses are expected to be quite big.  Commercial real estate is another flash point.  Pension funds and state budgets across the country are really at a breaking point.  So I'll start with you, Jim.  What's next in this crisis?

MR. OWENS:  You know, I--this confidence is a critical factor, and I think any time you go through the kind of free fall in economic activity that we've seen in the fourth quarter and the first and second, people get genuinely very concerned.  My guess is that it's, it's usually darkest before the dawn, and I think this economy is going to bottom by the, the third quarter of this year globally and we're going to start to see positive real growth in the latter part of this year going into next year.

MS. MULCAHY:  I think in the near term we've got some tough problems, but I think the flip side of this is the deleveraging of the consumer and the deleveraging of the business environment as well.  And that actually, I think, is going to have an--we're going to have an opportunity to solve some of the more, I think, difficult physical problems in the future because I do believe and hope that we get a little bit of permanent change in terms of the way we think about both, you know, corporate debt as well as personal debt.

MR. SCHMIDT:  Well, most of the metrics are back to normal averages.  The stock market averages, the volatility indices, the real estate metrics are back to something reasonable after being way out of whack.  So that tells you're we're set up for what we do best, which is innovation, literally creating new industries, growing, growing global companies as represented by all three of our, our firms.  So there's every reason to believe that the strengths of America will, will show off in the stable market.  We'll recover quicker than everybody else, and because we have the world's best research universities, because the president in the stimulus package, anyway, focused on using the stimulus money to get things going even faster...

MR. GREGORY:  Right.

MR. SCHMIDT:  ...there's every reason to believe that people will do very well in America.

MR. GREGORY:  And will we need more stimulus, do you think, from the federal government?

MR. SCHMIDT:  It's, it's too early to tell.  It depends on how quick the recovery is.  When the stimulus package went through, an awful lot of people thought that it was the first of a, of, of a two-shot process.

MR. GREGORY:  Right.

MR. SCHMIDT:  We'll, we'll determine--we'll know after we see what happens to the president's budget proposal, which is having a more deliberate process through the Senate and the House.

MR. GREGORY:  So when there is recovery, Anne, what is the new normal?  What does the new economy look like?  How is it different?

MS. MULCAHY:  Well, I think it's slower growth.  I think that, you know, we'll all be living in a world where perhaps the capacity that got created in the last decade is not coming back as quickly.

MR. GREGORY:  Meaning we talk about--is wealth going to return?

MS. MULCAHY:  I think wealth does return.

MR. GREGORY:  To the levels that we've experienced it?

MS. MULCAHY:  Not to the levels we've experienced it.

MR. GREGORY:  Right.

MS. MULCAHY:  And I think that's growth across all segments, whether it's personal wealth, whether it's business growth and profits.  I think there is a sobering of the economy that, that will happen and that is appropriate.  But that's not a bad thing, and I think it's just--it's an adjustment, it's clearly a transitional process that we're going through, but I think it's also a soft landing as we come out of here.

MR. GREGORY:  What is the foundation of a, of a new economy...

MR. OWENS:  Well, what...

MR. GREGORY:  ...as you see it?

MR. OWENS:  One point, I think the United States, we have to have more savings and more investment.

MS. MULCAHY:  Right.

MR. OWENS:  We have to change the structure.  With the twin deficits we have, both the budget deficit and the trade deficit are, I don't think, sustainable. So we need to be thinking about how to create more savings and investment and an export-oriented oriented growth.  I'm very optimistic about the global economy, and I think the key thing for America is we've got to think about being a global leader.  Back to some of Eric's points; we've got the best scientists, a lot of innovation.  We need to focus on being competitive in the global market.  We're 5 percent of the world's population.  The key thing now is avoid protectionism, think about global competitiveness.  That's going to--you know, the best American companies will invest all over the world and be leaders in the world market.

MR. GREGORY:  Eric Schmidt, California.  The problems in California: joblessness, a broken political system and an out of control deficit which in many ways mirrors, in some ways, the deficit problem for the federal government, and a huge debt burden that this administration is only adding to as we go along.  Is what's happening in California going to spread across the country?

MR. SCHMIDT:  I, I hope not.  The California problems are so specific to California.  There's relatively little reliance on property tax due to property 13--Prop 13.  There's higher reliance on income tax, which is highly cyclical.  You have an entrenched bureaucracy and political structure which is very inflexible, with very highly polarized parties on both sides.  Not a good model for the United States.  I don't know how we're going to get through it in California.  The state is a, is functionally operating in a bankrupt way. And of course, we're getting a new governor next year.

MR. GREGORY:  And finally, Anne Mulcahy, you have a successor.

MS. MULCAHY:  Yes.

MR. GREGORY:  Ursula Burns, the first African-American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company.

MS. MULCAHY:  Yes.

MR. GREGORY:  Women, as I don't have to tell you, make up 60 percent of the work force and just 16 percent of the top most senior positions in corporate America.  Why is it still difficult for women, do you think, at the highest reaches of the U.S. economy?

MS. MULCAHY:  Well, I think there's a long history of opportunity, of the right assignments, clearly of role models, which play a, a huge factor in building confidence and aspirations for women in business today.  I'm encouraged by the fact that there is an amazing, you know, bench now of women coming through, you know, the private sector that I think are going to be extraordinary candidates for the future.  I think Xerox has always been ahead of its time in terms of inclusiveness, decades of a level playing field.  And we're in the enviable position where we can make that handoff from one woman to another woman.

MR. GREGORY:  All right, Anne Mulcahy, Eric Schmidt, Jim Owens, thank you all very much.

MS. MULCAHY:  Thank you.

MR. OWENS:  Thank you, David.

MR. GREGORY:  And our thanks also to the New York Stock Exchange for opening their floor to us.

Coming next, we'll be back here in Washington live with our political roundtable.  Insights on the Obama administration, the economy and the politics of the Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination.  With us, the BBC's Katty Kay, author Richard Wolffe and the managing editor and anchor of the "NBC Nightly News" Brian Williams, after this brief station break.

(Announcements)

MR. GREGORY:  We are back and joined here in Washington by new authors Katty Kay of the BBC and Richard Wolffe, who covered the Obama campaign for Newsweek magazine.  And up in New York at 30 Rock, the managing editor and anchor of NBC's "Nightly News," Brian Williams.

Brian--welcome all of you.

But, Brian, I want to, I want to start with you.  Unique access to this Obama White House in preparation for the special "Inside the Obama White House." There you were inside the White House this week.  With such a crowded in box of problems, tell me what your observations were having spent the day there.

MR. BRIAN WILLIAMS:  Well, the reason I'm up here in New York and not with you in Washington, David, we are--we had something like 20 camera crews, we have something like 150 hours of videotape.  All of our crews were dispatched through East and West Wings, and they dropped off the tape of what they saw from their vantage point.  I spent the day with the president and senior staff.  So we're going through all of this to distill it down to two hours--9 o'clock Eastern Tuesday, 9 o'clock Eastern Wednesday--and trying to put it all together to give an accurate depiction.  We, we had extraordinary access.  I think it's very safe to say that our viewers will see a view of the White House never televised before, saying nothing of the first really up close view of, of this Obama White House; senior staff, the president himself, the first lady and yes, to answer some of the questions I've had about what we were given access to, Bo will make an appearance with us on television.  But it was truly extraordinary, David.

MR. GREGORY:  You, you were there at such an important time, and you broke news with the interview with President Obama about the Supreme Court fight over his pick, his nominee, Judge Sotomayor.  He made the point in his interview with you which was on "Nightly News" on Friday that he felt she would've restated her views about a Latina woman making better decisions than a white man, and you had that exchange.  What has not been seen is another point of the interview where he came back to this topic, and I want to show that and have you react to it.

(Videotape, Friday)

MR. WILLIAMS:  I can't thank you enough for the generosity of your time.

PRES. OBAMA:  Well, I appreciate that.  And, you know, actually, before we cut off, I mean, I just want to--I want to go back to that earlier point about the justice, because I just think when, when somebody has a 17-year record of extraordinary service on the bench, you know, I, I think it's very important for, you know, my former colleagues in, in the Senate to stay focused on, you know, judging this person on the merits and, and not engaging in the kinds of, you know, political silliness that has come to surround the, the Supreme Court these days.

(End videotape)

MR. GREGORY:  Brian, laying down a marker here in this debate.

MR. WILLIAMS:  Now that's interesting.  We were in the Blue Room at the end of the business day, David.  We're going back Tuesday for another full sit-down interview with the president prior to his big overseas trip.  But this was the end of the day, thus you heard me thanking him for all of the access they granted us.

MR. GREGORY:  Mm-hmm.

MR. WILLIAMS:  And even though we had already done several questions and answers about Judge Sotomayor at the top of the interview, it wasn't enough. He went back.  They were angered by what had been said all week and they wanted to make this point that if given the chance, she would probably take back that wording that's been problematic.  But it was interesting that he, he didn't get enough and he brought the conversation back around a few more things he wanted to say.

MR. GREGORY:  Katty Kay, your observations from our interview here today with Senators Leahy and Sessions.  Senator Sessions making it very clear it's an area that he's very uncomfortable with.

MS. KATTY KAY:  Making it clear that here's an area that he's uncomfortable with, and yet referring to Judge Alito and at the same time saying, "Yes, it is good to have life experience and empathy when you're making the decision." So there seemed to be some contradiction there, I thought, in what Senator Sessions was saying...

MR. GREGORY:  Mm-hmm.

MS. KAY:  ...about Sotomayor.  I think that, you know, the Republicans are going to have to tread very carefully on this one.  They don't want to end up being the party of white men.  They can see that her background is compelling, that the majority of American people are going to look at her life story and think it's something that they can relate to.  And do they want to be the ones that are in the position of blocking a Hispanic?  It just didn't sound to me, from what Senator Sessions was saying to you earlier, David, that they really think they're going to pick much of a fight with this one.

MR. GREGORY:  Richard Wolffe, the author of "Renegade:  The Making of a President," the first real definite account inside the Obama campaign.  And it's interesting, you write about the fact that he talks, back when he opposed Chief Justice Roberts...

MR. RICHARD WOLFFE:  Mm-hmm.

MR. GREGORY:  ...about the precedent that that could set; this is what you write in the book, quoting then Senator Obama:  "`You know, I would hope, if I'm president someday, 20 years down the road, Republicans will judge my nominees on the merits, whether they agree with them philosophically or not,' he told his staff." Describe that thinking at the time.

MR. WOLFFE:  Right.  Well, of course he was wrong on the timing of when he'd be president.

MR. GREGORY:  Right.

MR. WOLFFE:  But here was someone who leaned very heavily towards voting for John Roberts, and he had to be convinced out of it by his staff, his then chief of staff Pete Rouse, now a senior adviser in the White House, saying, "Look, this isn't Harvard Law School's moot court, this isn't an exercise in, in debating.  If you were to vote for him, you'd have to live with the consequences.  And, by the way, Republicans are not going to reward you 20 years down the road anyway." So the interesting thing is here, here's a guy who wants to be unconventional, who actually wanted to right with his party; in the end votes, for political reasons, against John Roberts.  But the postscript is that he goes on Daily Kos, this very activist, progressive Web site, and says, "Stop castigating Democrats who voted for, for John Roberts, because"...

MR. GREGORY:  Mm-hmm.

MR. WOLFFE:  ..."you know, we're all in this together." And I think, you know, he picks fights because he's struggling with that tension between being a renegade and being a conventional politician who can get things done.

MR. GREGORY:  I know we see that throughout the campaign.

Kat, I want to mention your book as well, "Womenomics," and it's so interesting in light of the conversation we just had with those three CEOs. Here you have Anne Mulcahy talking at the end about the ability for a woman to hand off the top job at a company to another woman, and yet the statistic that I brought up about so few women still at the highest reaches of corporate America.  What do you take away from that?

MS. KAY:  I thought it was really interesting what Anne was saying about her experiences as a woman, because I think there is now, perhaps after 30 years--when the last 30 years women effectively tried to be men in the workplace, we wore the broad shoulder pads, we denied that we had differences, and now women are saying, you know what, we do have different management styles.  We are more empathetic, we do take longer term decisions, we're more risk adverse.  And not only are we different, but in some ways we're actually really valuable.  There are studies showing that companies, American companies that employ more women actually make more money.  That gives women a lot of power in the marketplace.  It gives women the power to say we want to work the way we want to work, we want to change the way that companies are actually looking in America.  And I think you have role models like Anne at the top of Xerox and then handing over to another woman, that will filter down; as it does having a judge on the Supreme Court who is a woman, it filters down to women all along the road saying we have those role models now.  We also have power in the marketplace as we've never had.

MR. GREGORY:  Mm-hmm.

MS. KAY:  We can use that to determine our own careers.

MR. GREGORY:  Little less than a minute left, I want to go back to Brian Williams for a final thought here.

Brian, as, as viewers prepare to watch "Inside the White House" and you think about putting all of this together, you're such a, a careful student of the presidency.  How did this president approach the presidency, as you can judge, at this stage?

MR. WILLIAMS:  I would only urge our viewers to hold on to something that's bolted down, because it's a fast ride, some of these narrow stairwells that date back to the top of the last century in the White House.  You see chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, we have no fewer than eight doors being closed in our faces by him.  But at the same time, we hear Rahm Emanuel talking about his family--there's Bo with the first couple--and you see how the president, David, has changed the center of gravity.  We're use to that desk in the Oval Office with paperweights and tchotchkes and family photos.

MR. GREGORY:  Right.

MR. WILLIAMS:  He's moving the work force all over, doing work in the den in the residence, the study off the Oval Office.  Not uncommon at all to see him with a handful of M&Ms just going from office to office in the hallway in the West Wing.  Things are changing on the fly.

MR. GREGORY:  All right, Brian Williams, thank you very much.

I want to leave it there for now, but a reminder:  You can watch the Brian Williams report "Inside the Obama White House," it's a two-night special beginning Tuesday at 9 PM Eastern time right here on NBC.

And check our Web site this week to read excepts of Katty Kay and Richard's new books and here them talk more about their reporting in our MEET THE PRESS Take Two Web extra.  It'll be up on our Web site throughout the week, mtp.msnbc.com.  And we'll be right back.

(Announcements)

MR. GREGORY:  That's all for today.  We're off next week because of French Open coverage here on NBC, so we'll be back here in two weeks.  If it's Sunday, it's MEET THE PRESS.

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