CBS’s O’Donnell Lobs Softballs to Obama on His ‘Historic Action’ to Fight Climate Change

December 4th, 2015 12:30 PM

Touting her softball Wednesday sit-down with President Obama that aired on Friday’s CBS This Morning, co-host Norah O’Donnell gushed over the commander-in-chief’s “effort to take historic action” on climate change and how that “could affect his legacy.”

She began the exchange by fretting: “In order for this deal to work in Paris and in order to get developing countries like India to sign on, they want money from developed countries. And you’ve promised $3 billion. If you can't get Congress on board, how can you deliver on that promise to the world?”

Obama proclaimed that “over the next 20, 30 years,” if carbon emissions were left unchecked, “South Florida is gone because the oceans would have risen too high.”

O’Donnell didn’t bother to challenge the claim, but simply wondered: “How much of your legacy do you want to be about climate change?”

The President offered a gooey response:

...20 years from now, let's say, and I'm still around, I've got some grandkids, I want to be able to take my little grandson or granddaughter on a walk to the park and know that the planet’s in pretty good shape. And I want to feel like I contributed to that....if he or she are able to enjoy that sunny day and feel good about it and breathe clean air and go swimming in an ocean and I can watch them play, that will be a pretty good legacy. I'll feel pretty good about that.

Fellow co-host Charlie Rose praised the exchange: “This is a great interview.”

O’Donnell offered liberal talking points to bolster Obama’s agenda: “You know, we have had 14 of the 15 hottest years in the past couple of years. 2015 was the hottest year on record. And it's clear the world wants to do something about it.”

Gayle King worried: “We always celebrate warm temperatures in November and December, but really, that’s a problem. That’s a problem.” O’Donnell replied: “And the rising sea levels are an issue when you live on an island like Manhattan.”

Rose declared: “Well, you know, we need to find a way to get between this idea of what it does to the economy versus what it does to our life.”

In another portion of the interview aired earlier on the show, O’Donnell did gently question the President’s comparison of climate change to terrorism:

President Obama faces criticism from his opponents this morning for suggesting the world's greatest threat is not terrorism, but climate change. So we asked him to explain his comments....[to Obama] And you did say in the State of the Union that, “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” Do you mean that it's a greater threat than terrorism?

After that exchange, O’Donnell told viewers: “...the President has a view there, along with 190 world leaders. The Republican Party is debating a different view....Our polling suggests, however, though, that almost two-thirds do believe that climate change deserves action.”

Here is a full transcript of the climate change portion of the interview, aired on December 4:

7:36 AM ET

NORAH O’DONNELL: President Obama faces criticism from his opponents this morning for suggesting the world's greatest threat is not terrorism, but climate change. So we asked him to explain his comments during Wednesday's one-on-one interview at the White House. It is his first interview since returning from the Paris climate talks.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: America’s Greatest Threat; President on Danger of Terror vs. Climate Change]

[TO OBAMA]: And you did say in the State of the Union that, “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” Do you mean that it's a greater threat than terrorism?

BARACK OBAMA: What I mean by that is that we're going to get ISIL. They will be defeated. There will be ongoing efforts to disrupt the world order from terrorists, from rogue states, from, you know, cyber attacks. There’s always some bad people out there trying to do bad things and we have to be vigilant in going after them.

But if you start seeing the oceans rise by five, six, seven feet, if you see major shifts in weather patterns so that what had been previously bread baskets to the world suddenly can no longer grow food, then you're seeing the kind of crisis that we can't deal with through the deployment of the Marines, we can't deal with it through throwing money at it. What we know is that as human beings are placed under strain, then bad things happen. And, you know, if you look at world history, whenever people are desperate, when people start lacking food, when people are not able to make a living or take care of their families, that's when ideologies arise that are dangerous.

O’DONNELL: Donald Trump, who is the frontrunner on the Republican side, said your remarks were “One of the dumbest statements I've ever heard in politics.”  

OBAMA: Well, you know, Mr. Trump should run back a tape recorded on some of the stuff he’s said. But look, here’s what we know. 99.5% of scientists in the world say this is a really urgent problem. The only people who are still disputing it are either some Republicans in Congress or folks on the campaign trail.

O’DONNELL: You know, this is part of the debate, because the President has a view there, along with 190 world leaders. The Republican Party is debating a different view, and I think it's going to continue to play itself out in this campaign.

CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah.

GAYLE KING: I thought that was an interesting analogy he made, because so many people do not believe that this is a crisis that all of the experts say that it is.

O’DONNELL: Yeah. Our polling suggests, however, though, that almost two-thirds do believe that climate change deserves action. Okay, we’re going to have more of our conversation in the next hour. We’re going to talk about his fight to make a deal with the world to limit global warming. That story is ahead.

(...)

8:16 AM ET

NORAH O’DONNELL: We have more now from our one-on-one interview with President Obama. He is back home, but in Paris this morning, negotiators from around the world are in the middle of two weeks of talks, and they’re trying to reach an agreement to limit global warming. During our White House visit, we asked the President about his effort to take historic action and how his climate change priorities could affect his legacy.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Climate & Compromise; President Obama on Importance of Int’l Agreement]

O’DONNELL [TO OBAMA]: In order for this deal to work in Paris and in order to get developing countries like India to sign on, they want money from developed countries.

BARACK OBAMA: Right.

O’DONNELL: And you’ve  promised $3 billion. If you can't get Congress on board, how can you deliver on that promise to the world?

OBAMA: Well, keep in mind, these are pledges over a number of years and this is in our interest. Let’s take a country like India, that’s got over a billion people. If they are to develop using, let's say, coal as their main way of generating electricity, with a billion people, three times as – four times as many people as the United States, over the next 20, 30 years, you know, you're looking at an amount of carbon that would mean South Florida is gone because the oceans would have risen too high. You can't build a border wall when it comes to carbon emissions or global temperatures or the oceans. And so, we’ve got to make sure that people have incentives to work with us.

O’DONNELL: How much of your legacy do you want to be about climate change?

OBAMA: You know, as I go into my last year, I think about what I've gotten done and what I still haven't gotten done yet, I don't think any president ends the presidency saying, “I got everything done.” You're always a little dissatisfied, you always wish, “If I just had a little more time, maybe this would have happened that would have happened.”

But I think about it this way, Malia is 17, Sasha’s 14. Every once in a while, I tear up thinking about how fast it's gone and they’re about to go. And I do picture that if I'm lucky, and you know, I have enough years left, that 20 years from now, let's say, and I'm still around, I've got some grandkids, I want to be able to take my little grandson or granddaughter on a walk to the park and know that the planet’s in pretty good shape. And I want to feel like I contributed to that. And when with I'm holding that little hand or pushing that kid on a swing, if he or she are able to enjoy that sunny day and feel good about it and breathe clean air and go swimming in an ocean and I can watch them play, that will be a pretty good legacy. I'll feel pretty good about that.

CHARLIE ROSE: This is a great interview.

GAYLE KING: Yeah.

O’DONNELL: Thank you. You know, we have had 14 of the 15 hottest years in the past couple of years. 2015 was the hottest year on record. And it's clear the world wants to do something about it. The question is, is whether China and India, who are the first and third largest carbon emitters in the country [sic] will agree to do that. India is a big story, too. Three hundred million people in India without electricity are going to be coming online in the future and the economy is a big issue, as Marco Rubio [said], will they agree to slow down or use different ways to build their economy at the same –

KING: We always celebrate warm temperatures in November and December, but really, that’s a problem. That’s a problem.

O’DONNELL: And the rising sea levels are an issue when you live on an island like Manhattan.

ROSE: Well, you know, we need to find a way to get between this idea of what it does to the economy versus what it does to our life.

O’DONNELL: Agreed. Yeah, agreed. But look, you're going to see in Paris, I think, something come out of there where not just 190 countries, but also business leaders are trying to craft some sort of compromise on that front.

And for more of our interview with President Obama and the issue of climate change, we want you to go to CBSThisMorning.com.