Warren Buffett's Dateline Interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw: The Complete Transcript,

Warren Buffett's Dateline Interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw: The Complete Transcript,

Buffett tells Brokaw that Barack Obama is the right "commander in chief for the economy" but warns that no one should expect a "miracle" turnaround in the next few months.
Buffett and Brokaw also covered many other topics, including Obama's leadership style, excessive executive compensation, the challenges facing Detroit's automakers, China, and the role of greed in good times and bad.
This is the complete transcript of that interview, as provided by NBC News


TOM BROKAW, NBC NEWS:

(UNINTEL)-- pollster told me that the election was between hope and fear. When it comes to the economy, who's winning, hope or fear?

WARREN BUFFETT:

Well, right now fear is. I mean, you're seeing it everyplace. You saw it at-- in the sales of almost every item at-- at Christmas. There's a lot of fear throughout the country. Even-- even with people whose jobs are fine, and who have money in the bank. But they-- they're worried.

BROKAW:

I've been describing this as the domestic equivalent of war. Is that an overstatement?

BUFFETT:

Well, actually, in September I said-- this is an economic Pearl Harbor. I-- that was the time congress had made it in. It really is an economic Pearl Harbor. It-- the-- the country is facing something it hasn't faced since World War II.

And they're fearful about it. And they don't know quite what to do about it. And the point is-- and-- and it-- and temporarily it looks like we're losing. It has that-- that same aspect. Interestingly enough, we were losing for a while after Pearl Harbor. But the American people never doubted that we'd win. I mean, we had that attitude then. I think, right now, that they're sort of paralyzed.

Read The Complete Transcript...