NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript

Interview

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And we're back with our political roundtable. Joining me, NBC's chief White House correspondent and our political director, Chuck Todd, NBC News special correspondent and the author of the book The Time of Our Lives, Tom Brokaw, Republican of New Hampshire, Senator Kelly Ayotte, and chief economist for Mesirow Financial, Diane Swonk. Welcome to all of you. Great to have you here.

Our-- political trend tracker this morning is right on point here, if you look at the big stories that people are looking at this weekend. Obama kicks off his reelection campaign, and Romney sharpens his message. And so we're-- we're right on it in terms of what people are talking about. And Senator Ayotte, let me start with you. Between the president's big speech in Ohio and Virginia and what you've heard from the vice president this morning, how would you describe, from the Romney campaign, this pitch for reelection that you're hearing?

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:

Yeah. Well, I think, overall, with all due respect to the vice president, it's very, very sad that the candidate who ran on hope and change and uniting us in 2008 seems unrecognizable now. We've had a divisive president. We've had a president who's failing to lead on the fundamental issues, starting first with the economy. We saw that jobs report on Friday was very, very disappointing.
And the most disappointing aspect of it is that people are leaving the job market. And obviously, they feel hopeless in terms of where the economy is right now. And it's two signature issues. You think about it, health care and the stimulus. When they had a super majority in both Congresses, the Democrats, they didn't work. And they were failures. I mean I hear from employers all across our state about health care costs going in the wrong direction under the president's health care bill.

And then, when you look at foreign policy, I give him credit for some good, tactical decisions. Obviously, getting Osama bin Laden, we all give him credit for that, the drone strikes. But there's been some major strategic errors, starting first with-- I would start with the one that really sticks with me and I think is a major strategic error.

And that is when the people in Tehran stood in the streets since 2009, and this president, you want to talk about standing up for human rights, they were standing for free elections, and this president was silent. And eventually said something, but really talked about how that was going to impact negotiations with the Iranian regime instead of focusing on standing up for those people in the streets. Think about how different it would have been if, somehow, that would have resulted in a regime change in Iran.

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DAVID GREGORY:
And is the vision, Senator, that less government automatically means more certainty, and therefore, the floodgates opened and economic growth is ushered in? Because, I mean, you heard the vice president say this is Bush era Republican ideas on steroids. That's the argument.

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
Well David, I have to say, taking off what Chuck said, if you do look at, "Are you better off," the answer's clearly no, under any measure. But there's also the question of, "Is there any hope, with the failure of leadership-- this president, on the economic issues, that it will be any better?"

And I think people will come to the conclusion no. Why? It's not about no government, less government. It's about smart government. And I've heard it-- you've seen it from the regulations that are coming forth on this administration, whether it's teenagers-- proposals that teenagers can't work on their family farms or what happened with the NLRB in terms of the South Carolina plant and trying to expand there.

So it's smart regulation. It's smarter government. It's getting our fiscal house in order. I mean this president has really failed to lead on that issue. Think about it. $5 trillion added to our debt. His budget failed the House of Representatives zero to 414. And this is an issue where I think Governor Romney, he brings real strength, having been a governor, balanced budgets, been in a position where he's worked across the aisle to do that in a state where it's not easy to do that.

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OM BROKAW:
--a lot of tough medicine involved there. But this past week, Jamie Dimon, who is the head of Chase Manhattan Bank, who was a big supporter of the president the last time around, he came out and said, "Simpson Bowles." Nancy Pelosi: Simpson Bowles. A number of people are finding that as maybe the kind of nexus so you can break the gridlock and find--

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SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
--that's unfortunate is that the president did not at least champion it, if he didn't like all of it, really champion that issue. And that's where we need presidential leadership on this issue of the debt and where we are. That will make it--

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SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
But that's also where presidential leadership can make the difference on these things.

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SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
Well, I want--

DAVID GREGORY:

--Virginia Governor McDonald, Chris Christie, of course, from New Jersey, and Rob Portman. So Senator Ayotte, is this a tryout? Would you like to be on the ticket?

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
Well, it's honor to be-- an honor to be mentioned in that vein. But my focus is on serving New Hampshire. And there's so many good candidates out there that Governor Romney has to choose from. You mentioned some of them: Senator Rubio, Senator Portman in Ohio. So he's got a lot of great choices.

DAVID GREGORY:
What's the message you think he has to send with his choice?

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
I think the message he has to send, first of all, is he comfortable with that individual?

DAVID GREGORY:
Right.

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
Is that person ready to serve as President of the United States?

DAVID GREGORY:
Right.

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
And what does that person bring to the ticket in terms of not only geography, but in terms of their qualifications and their knowledge of the issues.

DAVID GREGORY:
Are you ready to be president?

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE:
Well, I'll tell you this. I have great experience as attorney general of the state. I'm very proud of that experience. And I would say I have, some would say, better experience than Barack Obama had when he was a Senator and ran, having been the chief law enforcement officer of my state. I serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. But again, what it comes down to for me, it's serving New Hampshire.

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