I think it would be a lot worse if we hadn't done that and I think we need to, you know, be able to get from stability of the financial system, which is still the first priority, to recovery and repair and I think there's a lot of work that...]]> Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:00:00 -0800 SEC. PAULSON: Peter, I do because today we have stabilized our financial system - our banking system - here in this country and around the world. So I feel good about that. A month ago or certainly in the - you know, coming up to the middle of September and the end of September, the credit markets were frozen, banks weren't lending to each other, and I think the steps that have been taken have helped remedied that problem. So I feel better about that. Clearly, we're going through a tough patch in our economy and -

MR. COOK: Do you see a light at the end of the tunnel, for lack of a better expression?

SEC. PAULSON: Well, what I said - there's always light at the end of...]]> Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:00:00 -0700 MS. BAIR: Well, no, no, not at all. I think that the Wells deal - offer is new. Everybody's evaluating it. What we were trying - we also said in that statement that we were reviewing - so we'd be talking with the other regulators and all the parties to determine what's in the public interest.

What we wanted to make clear was until things are settled with what's going on with the Wells bid, that the Citi deal was still there. We just wanted to make sure that it was clear to people the Citi deal was still there - we made that agreement.

MR. HUNT: So it may not necessarily - we should not assume that you have problems with the Wells deal -

MS. BAIR: It's - no, you...]]> Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:00:00 -0700 PETER COOK: If I could begin by asking you, what did you hear from Tim Geithner? Is he among those convinced that nothing short of this massive government intervention will prevent some sort of economic catastrophe?

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): Well, Peter, I wanted to review with him and with the New York Fed some of the issues that obviously directly affect New York. As a New York senator, I am worried about the hard-working people losing their jobs and the ripple effect through our city and state economy. But I think it's fair to say that we have to look at what we're doing now from three different perspectives. We need to move to try to inject the liquidity that is...]]> Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:00:00 -0700 MR. COOK: Given what played out on Wall Street today, I've got to ask you your reaction to it. How serious is this situation? How dire a situation? Is it going to be the top priority of the next president?

SEN. OBAMA: Well, I think it's a very serious situation. We don't yet know how it's going to play out this week. But here's what we know. One of the most storied firms on Wall Street is now gone. The fact that Merrill was purchased by Bank of America I think was very helpful because there's no doubt that there might have been a move in the direction of Merrill going under as well. But we still have problems with AIG out there, we still have problems with WAMU. I think...]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0700 First of all, good to see you again. Welcome to Bloomberg.

MARK WARNER: Peter, nice to see you. Thank you for having me on again.

MR. COOK: Your thoughts on being tapped to be the keynote speaker.

MR. WARNER: Well, it's a little intimidating. The bar was set pretty high four years ago by Senator Obama. But you know, I think we've got a good story to tell where we actually, as a Democrat in a state that had a two-to-one Republican legislature, got things done. You know, fixed our budget shortfall; got named the best-managed state in America; the best state in the country for business by Forbes Magazine. We really spent a lot of time reinvesting in some of our...]]> Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0700 GOVERNOR ED RENDELL (D-PA): Well, I think the American people really haven't started paying attention, Al. All of us do, the insiders and the people who watch the political shows. But the American people, after the Olympics, I think they'll pay a little bit of attention to the convention and a little bit more attention to the campaign. And when the debates roll around starting September 26th, that's when they'll really fix on this. I think after those debates, Barack Obama is going to widen his lead significantly.

MR. HUNT: Vin Weber, on the other hand, John McCain is known by almost everybody, can't get above 43 percent and Republican, former colleagues of his like Jim Leach...]]> Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0700 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0700 MR. HUNT: Let me try one other way. Do you think that given McCain's emphasis on national security and his experience that Barack Obama should look first to someone with national security credentials as a running mate?

GOV. SEBELIUS: Well, I think he'll make a great choice. I support him because I think he's the kind of leader we need for the future of America, and I think he's got an array of talent and people with a variety of capabilities. You know, to me, the American people want to be assured that we will have a commander in chief who is ready to stand up for America, to protect America, to keep our citizens safe and secure. And that's really the opportunity that Barack...]]> Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0700 MR. HUNT: Let's go next door to Iran which, as you know, launched nine missiles this week, including one capable of -

AMB. HOLBROOKE: Maybe eight, who knows with the photoshopping.

MR. HUNT: Well, that's right. (Laughter.) If the Israelis, as has been speculated a great deal over there, decide the danger is too grave and plan a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, should the United States give them the green light or try to stop it?

AMB. HOLBROOKE: Obviously, you can't take a force option off the table completely in any contingency. And obviously, Iran proposes an existential threat to the state of Israel. But at this time, based on what we...]]> Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0700 MS. WOODRUFF: - including a stop in South Korea and the news of a breakthrough with North Korea on their nuclear weapons program. Now, this comes, though, after, what, six years of disavowing the work that was done by the Clinton administration on all of this, which, in a way, gave North Korea a chance to ramp up its nuclear program. So some are asking is the United States really better off with North Korea today than it was under President Clinton in 2003.

SEC. RICE: Well, it is true that President Bush decided to take a different course. It was not that we believed that the Clinton administration had not done their best, but in fact, we learned in 2002 that North Korea was...]]> Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0700