captioning funded by cbs and ford-- built for the road ahead. >> kroft: what's the most important thing you've learned about your two years here? >> i'll get knocked down a couple of times. but whatever i'm going through, it's nothing like what families around the country are going through. and if they are able to keep going even when things don't go the way they want, then i sure can as well. >> kroft: we spoke to mr. obama in the oval office exactly two years to the day after he was elected president and two days

after he suffered his worst political defeat. >> what i'm going to do is, i'm going to reach out to the republicans, and i'm going to say, "what can we work on together?" >> kroft: but republican leadership isn't eager to compromise, and the president finds himself reevaluating where he goes from here and reflecting on his first two years in office. do you think you were naive? ( cheers and applause ) >> simon: he psychs out his opponents before the fight begins the way he walks down the aisle-- smiling, not a care in the world, going to a dance, not a duel. but watch out when he gets into the ring. >> oh, and a beautiful combination. >> simon: "pacman," as he's called, is the biggest boxing sensation in years. >> manny pacquiao is the best fighter that i have ever seen. >> simon: but next saturday at cowboy stadium, he'll be fighting antonio margarito, who is a lot heavier than manny,

five inches taller, and in the best shape of his life. that's only part of why manny's trainer is worried he could lose. >> i'm steve kroft. >> i'm lesley stahl. >> i'm bob simon. >> i'm morley safer. >> i'm byron pitts. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories tonight on "60 minutes." [ male announcer ] gout's root cause is high uric acid. ♪ if you have gout, high uric acid can lead to more attacks. ♪ to help reduce attacks, lower your uric acid. uloric lowers uric acid levels in adults with gout. it's not for the treatment of high uric acid without a history of gout. uloric reduces uric acid to help you reach a healthy level. [ female announcer ] don't take uloric if you are taking azathioprine, mercaptopurine, or theophylline. gout may flare when starting uloric.

don't stop taking it. your doctor may give you other medicines to help prevent flares. a small number of heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related deaths were seen in studies. it's not certain uloric caused them. certain tests to check liver function may be required. tell your doctor about liver or kidney problems, or history of heart disease or stroke. the most common side effects are liver problems, nausea, gout flares, joint pain, and rash. [ male announcer ] if you have gout, ask your doctor about uloric. right now at sears themed décor is 25% off. including all stylish country living... ...and beautiful ty pennington collections. be the santa you want to be. find your santa at sears.com. [ female announcer ] now your favorite folgers gourmet selections flavors are available one perfectly brewed cup at a time in under one minute. new folgers gourmet selections k-cups. now available where you buy groceries. [ ted ] for years, i was just a brewer.

until one of the guys brought in some fresh bread that he'd made from our pale ale. and from that first bite, i knew my business would never be the same. [ male announcer ] when businesses see an opportunity to grow, the hartford is there. protecting their property and helping them plan their employees' retirement. ♪ beer or bread? [ male announcer ] see how the hartford helps businesses at achievewhatsahead.com. [ male announcer ] one hundred years ago, chevrolet sprang bolt by bolt, car by car, out of the very best america had to offer. ingenuity. integrity. optimism. and a belief that the finest things are the most thoughtfully made -- not the most expensive. today, the american character is no less strong. and chevrolet continues as an expression of the best of it. bringing more technology to more people than ever in our history. inventing new ways to get around our planet while preserving it at the same time.

exploring new horizons of design and power. and making our vehicles amongst the safest on earth. this isn't just any car company. this is chevrolet. and the strength of our nation can be found in every car and truck we make. it's why, today, tomorrow, and on into a bright future, we can proudly say... ...chevy runs deep. ♪ >> kroft: president obama is on a trade mission in india tonight, following a long flight and an even longer week which saw him lose his democratic

majority in the house of representatives and nearly lose it in the senate. although his name wasn't on the ballot, his performance in office was certainly a factor in the outcome. late on thursday afternoon, two years to the date after his election as the 44th president, we sat down with him in the oval office-- and the mood was different. we talked about tuesday's vote, the economy, and where he goes from here. the republicans have said that this was a referendum on you and the democratic party. do you agree with that? >> obama: i think, first and foremost, it was a referendum on the economy, and the party in power was held responsible for an economy that is still underperforming and where a lot of folks are still hurting. >> kroft: at your news conference, you seemed unwilling to accept the idea that this was a rejection in any way of your agenda and your policies. is this a defeat, a reflection on your leadership?

>> obama: i think that what happened over the course of two years was that we had to take a series of big emergency steps quickly, and most of them in the first six months of my administration. each of them had a big price tag. and people looked at that and they said, "boy, this feels as if there's a huge expansion of government." >> kroft: well, it was a huge expansion of government. >> obama: what i didn't effectively, i think, drive home is that we were taking these steps not because of some theory that we wanted to expand government. it was because we had an emergency situation, and we wanted to make sure the economy didn't go off a cliff. i think the republicans were able to paint my governing philosophy as a classic, traditional, big-government liberal. and that's not something that the american people want. >> kroft: the republicans say the voters sent you a very clear message that they want a smaller, less costly, more accountable government. is that the message that you

received? >> obama: i think that, first and foremost, they want jobs and economic growth in this country. >> kroft: are you saying, then, that this small... the idea of smaller, less costly, more accountable government was not what you think the voters were saying? >> obama: no, no, no. there is no doubt that folks are concerned about debt and deficits. i think that is absolutely a priority. and by the way, that's a concern that i had before i was even sworn in. >> kroft: you lost a lot of your base on tuesday. a lot of the people that helped elect you two years ago voted for republicans: women, senior citizens, independents. young people and african americans did not turn out in large numbers. how do you explain that? >> obama: well, as i said, i think that folks are frustrated with what they've seen over the last two years. you know, one of the challenges we had was that we'd lost four million jobs in the six months before i was sworn in.

we lost 750,000 jobs the month i was sworn in; 600,000 the month after that; 600,000 the month after that. so what you had was the economy continuing to get worse in the first several months of my administration, before any of our economic policies had a chance to be put into place. appropriately, i'm held accountable for that. >> kroft: you ran as somebody who was going to come to washington and change it, and in the end, as some of your predecessors, it ended up changing you to a certain extent. >> obama: you know, yeah, i'm not... i... >> kroft: you haven't given up? >> obama: exactly. i think it's fair to say it hasn't changed me in terms of my ideals. but i think that in terms of how i operated on a day-to-day basis, when you've got a series of choices to make, i think that there are times where we said, "let's just get it done," instead of worrying about how we're getting it done. and i think that's a problem. i'm paying a political price for that. >> kroft: well, to a certain

extent, the tea party and some of the republicans ran on the same message or much of the same message that you ran on two years ago, which is, "we're going to change washington." and now, you are washington. >> obama: that's one of the dangers of assuming power. and, you know, when you're campaigning, i think you're liberated to say things without thinking about "okay, how am i going to actually practically implement this?" >> kroft: do you think you were naive? >> obama: no, i don't think i was naive. i just think that these things are hard to do. you know, this is a big country, and democracy is an inherently messy business. and congress is an institution that has a whole lot of traditions, some of them that aren't, you know, all that healthy. and there are a lot of special interests who have got a lot of power. it's a hard, long slog to push up against that. but i think you make a good point, steve, which is that you

now have a lot of republicans who ran as outsiders who are coming in. and my hope is that we may be in a position now where the two sides meet and agree on some things that need to be changed. >> kroft: the president is talking about earmarks, billions of dollars in political pork dispensed each year by congressional leadership. the tea party and conservative republicans want to end the practice, and president obama is now ready to help them, even though he tolerated earmarks to pass key legislation. he says it was just one of his regrets. are there things that you wish you could do over, pull back? >> obama: oh, i think... i think there are things every day that i think about doing better. i mean, i think that one of the areas that a lot of folks have focused on, obviously, is the health care bill, because after we took a whole series of these emergency measures to save the economy-- the stimulus, the steps to shore up the banking system, the auto bailout-- i

think there were some that argued, "well, you should just stop and let people digest all these changes, and so you shouldn't take on something as big as health care." and i'll be honest with you, steve: at the time, we knew that it probably wasn't great politics. >> kroft: you were told that by your aides. >> obama: absolutely. and the reason is, there... there's a reason why our health care system hasn't been reformed over the last several decades, why every president talks about it and it never happens: because it's hard. it's a huge, big, complicated system. i made the decision to go ahead and do it, and it proved as costly politically as we expected-- probably actually a little more costly than we expected, politically, but... >> kroft: in what ways? >> obama: well, partly because i couldn't get the kind of cooperation from republicans that i had hoped for. we thought that if we shaped a

bill that wasn't that different from bills that had previously been introduced by republicans-- including a republican governor in massachusetts who's now running for president-- that we would be able to find some common ground there. and we just couldn't, and that was costly, partly because it created the kind of partisanship and bickering that really turn people off. >> kroft: you've mentioned a couple of times the emergency that you faced when you came into office, and you've mentioned continually the unemployment problem and the economy. this emergency, is it over? >> obama: not for the people who are out of work. i think that the way to think about it is, the dangers of a second big recession are now much reduced. the danger of us tipping into a great depression-- i think most economists would say-- is not there on the horizon.

what is a danger is that we stay stuck in a new normal where unemployment rates stay high. people who have jobs see their incomes go up, businesses make big profits, but they've learned to do more with less, and so they don't hire. and as a consequence, we keep on seeing growth that is just too slow to bring back the eight million jobs that were lost. that is a danger. so that's something that i've spent a lot of time thinking about. >> kroft: do you get discouraged? are you discouraged now? >> obama: i do get discouraged. i mean, there are times where i thought the economy would've gotten better by now. one of the things i think you understand as president is, you're held responsible for everything.

but you don't always have control of everything, especially an economy this big. there are limited tools to encourage the kind of job growth that we need. i am constantly reminded that we have been through worse times than these, and we've always come out on top. and i'm positive that the same thing is going to happen this time. >> kroft: you spent nearly a trillion dollars on the stimulus package. you've got short... short-term interest rates are zero, practically zero, and still the unemployment rate is 9.6%. what can you do to create jobs that hasn't already been done? >> obama: some of this is going to be just a matter of the economy healing. there are some things we can do to accelerate growth. we still... we've got a couple of trillion dollars' worth of infrastructure improvements that need to be made around the country. i mean, there are construction crews all across the country that are dying for work, and companies that are willing to take a very small profit in

order to get work done. and so, for us to say... now is the time for us to rebuild this country and equip ourselves for the 21st century. that's something that could make a real difference. but... >> kroft: but the republicans aren't interested in spending on infrastructure right now. they don't want stimulus programs. >> obama: well, you know, again, historically, rebuilding our infrastructure is something that has garnered democratic and republican support. i want to have a conversation with them and see if that's still the case. >> kroft: the political landscape has changed. how do you plan to govern? president clinton found himself in a very, very similar circumstance, and he reacted by pivoting to the middle, and was successful at it. is that what you're going to do? >> obama: well, when i... >> kroft: you have to, don't you? >> obama: what i'm going to do is, i'm going to reach out to republicans and i'm going to say, "what can we work on together?" >> kroft: haven't you tried that? >> obama: well, i have, but i'm

going to keep on trying. >> kroft: but so far, the republicans aren't showing much interest. no sooner than president obama had left on his trip to asia, republican congressman john boehner, the next speaker of the house, questioned whether the president had gotten the voters' message. boehner and republican senate leader mitch mcconnell oppose any new spending, have vowed to repeal or decimate health care reform, and slash more than $100 billion from next year's budget. tea party activists are demanding even deeper cuts. the tea party: according to the exit polls, four out of ten voters on tuesday said they supported the movement. how seriously do you take the tea party, and will it make the task of finding common ground with the republican party more difficult? >> obama: it'll be interesting to see how it evolves. we have a long tradition in this country of a desire for limited government, of the suspicion of

the federal government, of a concern that government spends too much money. you know, i mean, that's as american as apple pie. but you're still confronted with the fact that the vast majority of the federal budget are things that people really think are important, like social security and medicare and defense. we're going to have to, you know, tackle some big issues like entitlements that, you know, when you listen to the tea party or you listen to republican candidates, they promise we're not going to touch. those are the choices that i think republicans and tea party members are going to have to confront in a serious way. >> kroft: you, i would say, don't have a very close relationship with mr. mcconnell, senator mcconnell, and congressman boehner.

what do you think of these guys? >> obama: both john and mitch are very smart. they're capable. they have been able to, i think, organize the republican caucus very effectively in opposition to a lot of the things that we tried to do over the last two years, and that takes real political skill. my assumption is that we're going to be able to work together. and whenever we've had conversations here at the white house or over on capitol hill, they've always been cordial. >> kroft: it's just in the newspapers that they've been less than cordial? >> obama: well, you look at the... during election season, i think the rhetoric flies. and by the way, i've been guilty of that. it's not just them. part of my promise to the american people when i was elected was to maintain the kind of tone that says we can disagree without being disagreeable. and i think over the course of two years, there have been times

where i've slipped on that commitment. >> kroft: when we come back, president obama talks about his upcoming negotiations with the republican leadership over tax cuts affecting nearly every american that are about to expire, and considers whether, halfway through his term, he's lost his mojo. money watch update. >> good evening, another big deal for boeing, following orders from india, saudi arabia said it would buy a dozen boeing 777s for more than $3 billion. gas rose a nickel in a week to an average of 2.85 a gallon. and the animated "megamind" won the weekend box office. i'm russ mitchell, cbs news. so i asked my doctor thi. if spiriva could help me breathe better. spiriva is the only once-daily

inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd... which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva keeps my airways open... to help me breathe better for a full 24 hours. and it's not a steroid. spiriva does not replace fast acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, have vision changes or eye pain... or have problems passing urine. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate... as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take... even eye drops. side effects include dry mouth, constipation and trouble passing urine. i'm glad i'm taking spiriva everyday because breathing better is just better. ask your doctor if once-daily spiriva is right for you.

to bring you a low-price medicare prescription drug plan that has the lowest national premium in the country of only $14.80 per month. so you can focus on the things that really matter. go to walmart.com for details. ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪

♪ but it makes me out of breath ♪ ♪ when you say ♪ ♪ love is a game -♪ a game for two -[ ring ] ♪ love is a game i want to play with you ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing the dell streak 5 pocket tablet exclusively at dell.com and best buy. >> kroft: president obama's next big challenge working with the republicans will begin in two weeks when he meets with the

congressional leadership. the bush-era tax cuts automatically expire at the end of the year unless congress renews them. the president wants to keep the tax breaks for middle class families earning less than $250,000 a year. he would let them expire for wealthier taxpayers. the republicans want the tax cuts extended for everyone to keep the economy moving. are you ready to compromise on the bush tax cuts? >> obama: well, i think we're going to have to have a serious conversation about it. here's an example where i'd like to think we could at least settle on those things we agree on. i think both democrats and republicans agree that, for people making $250,000 a year or less, the last thing we want right now is to see their taxes go up. not only would it be bad for them, but it would be bad for the economy as a whole. for folks who are making more than $250,000 a year, you and me, steve... you know, the question is, can we afford to

borrow $700 billion? >> kroft: that's what it is? >> obama: that's how much it would cost over the course of ten years to give us an extra tax break. look, sometimes i think this debate gets framed as if i think rich people, folks who are doing well, should be punished. part of what america is all about is going out there and getting rich. and, you know, if you make a good product, you make... provide a good service, god bless you, i want you to do well. that's... and then you can plow that money back into creating jobs and building your businesses. that's terrific. what i don't think makes sense is for us to borrow $700 billion to pay for that. and we don't have the money. i mean, everybody is already talking about our debt and our deficit. why would we want to add to it? now, having said all that...

>> kroft: the republicans want everybody to get it. >> obama: i understand the republicans have a different view, and so, we are going to have to have a negotiation. and i am open to, you know, finding a way in which, you know, they can meet their principles and i can meet mine. but in order to do that, i think we do have to answer the question of how we pay for it. >> kroft: congressman boehner has offered you a compromise back in september. he suggested extending the tax break for the wealthiest for two more years and rolling back discretionary government spending to levels before the bailout in 2008. is that something that you could live with? >> obama: i think that when we start getting specific like that, there's a basis for a conversation. i think that what that means is that, you know, we can look at what the budget projections are. we can think about what the economy needs right now-- given

that it's still weak-- and hopefully, we can agree on a set of facts that leads to a compromise. >> kroft: do you want to make a counterproposal to him right now? >> obama: i think i've already invited them over to the white house, and, you know, there are going to be a bunch of discussions. but i think we can make progress on this. >> kroft: the point of view of a lot of people is, why would you want to tax or raise taxes on the people who have money to spend, not necessarily the wealthiest people in america? you're not talking about goldman sachs here. you're talking about small business people who maybe make $250,000 a year. >> obama: well... >> kroft: why would you want to take that money back, when you're looking to try and... they've got money to spend to put it into the economy? >> obama: well, the truth is, is that the way this thing works out, it's folks who are millionaires and billionaires who get the biggest breaks, and it turns out that actually the people who are most likely to use that money and spend that money are actually people of more modest means.

and if what we're concerned about is how we can grow the economy, there are more efficient ways to recirculate dollars out there and get people to spend. >> kroft: there is a perception out there that you're anti- business. >> obama: well, i think there's no doubt that the relationship with the business community over the course of the last two years at times has gotten strained, and so i think that we've got some repair work to do there. these were exceptional circumstances over the last two years. i think we have to make sure that people understand and business understands that my overarching philosophy is not one in which we have constantly increasing government intervention, although i do think that some of the provisions we put in place to protect consumers, to correct... create a regulatory framework where we don't have a repeat of the kind of crisis we had in the banking sector, those have to be preserved. >> kroft: one of the things that is... that drives business crazy is this idea that they don't know what's going on.

they have trouble planning. they don't know what the tax rates are going to be. >> obama: right. >> kroft: they're not convinced that things are getting better. >> obama: right. well, it... there are two separate arguments here. i think a lot of businesses still don't know what the economy is doing. there's still a lot of uncertain data out there, and we're still working through some big problems of the economy. the housing market is a huge headwind. now, the second part of uncertainty-- and this is the one that the republicans focused a lot on during the campaign-- is, we've got a new healthcare law, we've got a new financial regulatory reform law, and we don't know what all these regulations coming out of various agencies might be. and so, that's making people hesitate. you know, i think that it is entirely legitimate that in the banking sector, let's say, it's very important for us to write these rules in collaboration with interested parties, so that

they can start knowing how things are going to work. when it comes to health care, we need to be consulting with the insurance industry, make sure they know how things are going to work. >> kroft: there is this feeling, particularly among people who are among your most ardent supporters, who feel a little disappointed that they think that they've lost your mojo; that you've lost your ability, that touch you had during the campaign, to inspire and lead; that everybody in washington writes about this sort of aloofness that you have. and i'm sure that drives you crazy, that you've let other people define you, that you haven't sold your successes well enough. >> obama: i think that's a fair argument. you know, i think that over the course of two years, we were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that we

stopped paying attention to the fact that we... yeah, leadership isn't just legislation. it's a matter of persuading people and giving them confidence and bringing them together and setting a tone. we haven't always been successful at that, and i take personal responsibility for that. and it's something that i have to examine carefully as i go forward. i will say that when it comes to some of my supporters, part of it, i think, is the belief that if i just communicated things better, that i'd be able to persuade that half of the country that voted for john mccain that we were right and they were wrong. one of the things that i think is important for people to remember is that, you know, this country doesn't just agree with

the "new york times" editorial page. and i can make some really good arguments defending the democratic position. there are going to be some people who just don't agree with me, and that's okay. >> kroft: one that has not been okay with a lot of people has been his eagerness to spread that gospel to the far reaches of the broadcast/cable universe. it seems like he has been almost everywhere: leno and letterman, mtv, bet, comedy central, "america's most wanted," and "the view." >> have you ever left us.

>> of course. >> kroft: some find it demeaning and unpresidential. i don't know if you saw this cartoon... >> obama: let me take a look at it. yeah, in case people are wondering... >> kroft: body by bam. >> obama: body by bam. >> kroft: from the "daily news." >> obama: the challenge right now-- and you know this better than i do, steve-- is that it used to be a president could call a press conference, and the three major networks would come and he'd talk to them, and you pretty much reached everybody in america. and these days, the closest i can get to that is being on "60 minutes." but there are a whole bunch of folks who watch the "daily show" or watch "the view." and so i've got to adapt the presidency to reach as many people as possible, in as many settings as possible, so that they can hear directly from me. but this is an example of where, you know, on the one hand, folks say, "well, you know, he's a little too remote." then, if i'm on "the view"-- "well, you know, he shouldn't be, you know, on some daytime tv

show." my attitude is, if i'm reaching people, if i'm talking to them, i'm willing to take the risks of overexposure on that front. >> kroft: you're halfway through... >> obama: uh-huh. >> kroft: ...just about halfway through your first term. what's the most important thing you've learned about your two years here, about yourself, about the job? >> obama: you don't... i think that i've learned that america is incredibly resilient. i think i've learned about myself that i'm pretty resilient, too, you know, that... you know, i'll get knocked down a couple of times. but whatever i'm going through, it's nothing like what families around the country are going through. and if they are able to keep going even when things don't go the way they want, then i sure

can as well. i can't believe i used to swing over those rocks... took some foolish risks as a teenager. but i was still taking a foolish risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more... and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol...stop. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39% to 60%. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. let's go, boy, go! whoo-whee!

if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. that's not how successful investing is done. at e-trade it's harnessing some of the most powerful yet easy to use trading tools on the planet to help diversify, identify opportunities, take action. it's using professional grade research and your brain to seek maximum returns to reach your goals. it's investing with intelligence and cold hard conviction. you made the money. you should have everything you need to invest it. e-trade. investing unleashed. progresso. oh yes hi. can you please put my grandma on the phone please? thanks. excuse me a sec. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wha? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. philips sonicare is the number 1 recommended power toothbrush by

dental professionals it's no wonder philips sonicare is the toothbrush america loves switch now and if you're not 100% satisfied, we'll give you a full refund. [ water pouring ] beat your worst flu symptoms. new theraflu max d [ punches ] contains the most powerful medicine allowable without a prescription to fight your worst flu symptoms. theraflu max d. serious power.

i've had two heart attacks, the first in '91 and the second one in '06. in no time they discovered that i just needed a new heart-- a bypass was out of the question.

i told them if i could get five more days with my family, then it was worth doing it. they saved my life. i feel like a new person. announcer: at sutter health, our story is you. for more stories, visit sutterhealth.org. >> simon: we haven't done many stories about boxers, but there's good reason to do one now. next saturday, there will be a fight in dallas featuring a 31- year-old filipino who is, quite simply, the best boxer in the world today. his name is manny pacquiao, and he is generating excitement not seen in the ring since mike tyson, sugar ray leonard, or muhammad ali. incredibly, manny-- or "pacman," as he's called-- holds world champion titles in seven weight divisions from 105 to 148.

that's never been done before. and on saturday, he'll be going for his eighth title. in the philippines, he's an obsession. everybody watches every fight. when he's in the ring, the insurgents call a cease-fire in their running battle with the philippine army. they're not risking anything; the soldiers are watching, too. what psychs out his opponents even before the fight begins is the way manny walks down that aisle-- smiling, not a care in the world; going to a dance, not a duel. i've never seen a fighter walk towards the ring smiling. are you just doing that? is it a tactic? or are you really happy? >> manny pacquiao: that's me. i'm always smiling.

( laughter ) >> simon: every announcer in the world can pronounce his name now, and they dwell on it longer than they used to. >> manny "pacman" pacquiao! >> simon: he is more than a fighter, he is a phenomenon. he is equally brutal with his left and his right, always hammering boxers a lot larger than he is. he ducks and he dances. it doesn't disturb him when he gets hit because retaliation is instant. after a fight, manny always goes down on his knees in prayer. that's the closest he ever gets to the canvas.

just how good is manny pacquiao? >> bob arum: i think that manny pacquiao is the best fighter that i have ever seen. >> simon: bob arum has promoted many of the world's great fighters, including the greatest. >> arum: i did 25 fights for ali. >> simon: and you're saying... you're saying that manny pacquiao is a greater fighter than muhammad ali? >> arum: yes, he is, because muhammad ali was essentially a one-handed fighter. manny pacquiao really shocks these fighters because he hits equally hard from the left side and the right side. >> simon: most boxers are born poor; manny was born hungry. he grew up in the unpaved alleys of a forlorn city called general santos. his single mother had six children to support. they often missed school to help her sell cigarettes in the streets. but like many youngsters determined to get out of these slums, manny would often disappear.

he had a secret. when you started boxing, you didn't tell your mother you were starting boxing, did you? >> pacquiao: no. ( laughter ) she doesn't want me to box. >> simon: she didn't want you to box. >> pacquiao: yes. >> simon: she wanted him to be a priest, he wanted to play basketball. but basketball didn't bring in bread. boxing did. how much? >> pacquiao: 100 pesos. >> simon: a hundred pesos? >> pacquiao: this is equivalent to $2. >> simon: $2? $2 to box? >> pacquiao: yes, but... >> simon: and what are you making now? >> pacquiao: huh? millions. ( laughter ) >> simon: general santos churns out a remarkable number of champions because boxing is the only way for these poor kids to make a little money. but the $2 manny was earning wasn't feeding his family, so, when he turned 14, he left home to try for more.

he stowed away on a boat to manila, and ended up in this street, doing odd jobs by day and training in a rundown gym by night. he slept wherever he could, sometimes in the gym, sometimes in the street, but always dreaming of becoming a professional boxer. but the dream seemed, frankly, preposterous. he had no technique, his punches were wide and wild, and he was too young and skinny to even qualify for a professional fight. so he came up with a plan. before your first fight, you weighed 98 pounds? >> pacquiao: yes. the fighting weight is... the minimum weight is 105 pounds. >> simon: you weighed 98 and the minimum was 105? >> pacquiao: yes. so, i think to put a heavy... things in my... my pocket. >> simon: you put heavy things in your pocket? >> pacquiao: just to... ( laughs ) ...to meet the 105. >> simon: and it worked? >> pacquiao: it work, yes. ( laughter ) i was... i was 16 years old.

>> simon: manny won that fight, and the little upstart-- four-foot, 11 inches-- kept on winning. soon, he was the world fly weight champion. the prize money bought him a ticket to hollywood. he ended up here at the wild card gym, perched above a laundromat and an alcoholics anonymous center. it's run by trainer freddie roach, a legend in the boxing world who hasn't slowed down, even though he suffers from parkinson's disease. he agreed to do one round with manny to see if he was worth a second. when did you first realize that manny was more than a really good boxer, that he was going to be champion? >> freddie roach: i... you know, that first round really told me something. i mean... >> simon: already? the first round, you.. >> roach: the first round. because i never saw somebody with so much explosion on a punch. bang, bang, bang, bang-- just like a gun firing off. he's... i never saw that in my life, and... and i've been with a lot of good fighters.

>> simon: that's an understatement. roach has been with 28 world champions, including mike tyson and superstar oscar de la hoya, famous for his left hook, his smarts, and his pretty face. was manny ready for him? manny's supporters were scared he would be massacred. >> arum: there was even a bill introduced in the philippine legislature to ban the fight, to prevent manny from leaving the country to participate in the fight because he would be annihilated. >> simon: the bill was defeated. >> they call this a dream fight-- a good dream, a bad dream, an exciting dream. let's find out. >> simon: in the first few rounds, manny was doing

surprisingly well. >> pacquiao is annihilating de la hoya. >> simon: maybe it was de la hoya's strategy-- wait a while, then go in for the kill-- but it didn't seem to be working out that way. >> manny pacquiao is gradually reconfiguring de la hoya's beautiful face. >> death by a thousand left hands. >> simon: by the ninth round, oscar de la hoya not only quit the match, he quit boxing. and manny? his name was getting even longer. >> manny "pacman" pacquiao! ( cheers and applause ) >> simon: i mean, he was such a... such a handsome guy, and you turned his face into a nightmare. >> pacquiao: that's... that's boxing. ( laughs ) you have to understand, i have to understand-- it's part of the

game. >> simon: and manny's game mesmerizes the philippines. tens of millions watch his every fight-- in halls, in bars, in the streets. the crime rate plummets to zero. the criminals and the cops take the night off. >> arum: there is nobody in the philippines, nobody who is not watching manny pacquiao fight. and there must be blind filipinos, and they're listening. ( laughter ) >> simon: and after every fight, the ecstasy becomes close to uncontrollable. the festivities stream through the streets of manila, bringing people the sweetest joys in their often impoverished lives. and when he isn't in the ring, he's everywhere.

manny is an icon, a businessman, and a brand. he has his own shopping mall, his own pool hall manny loves playing for high stakes; he has $30,000 on this game. but his biggest gamble so far was to stand for public office. last may, he ran for a seat in the filipino congress and campaigned as hard as he trains. policy was not the priority. he began the fight as an underdog, but as he had done so many times before, he murdered his opponent. you know, one thing, though-- if you're serious about politics, don't you think it's about time you stopped getting hit in the head? >> pacquiao: i already achieve my... my goals in boxing, my dreams in boxing. and what i want to achieve more is in public service, you know. i want to be a champion there.

>> simon: but manny hasn't quit boxing, not yet. saturday, he'll be fighting former welterweight champion antonio margarito before 70,000 spectators at cowboys stadium. margarito will be a lot heavier than manny, five inches taller, and in the best shape of his life. and manny? >> roach: all right, you stay focused, there'll be no problem at all. >> simon: he's been pounding the pavement, pounding the punching bags and doing two hours in the ring without a single break. but freddie roach says, despite appearances, he's not training the way he used to. manny's distracted, he says, by politics and could lose the fight. >> roach: i've had anxiety attacks over this. i'm worried about it. yes, i re... i'm walking around at 2:00 in the morning, and something is not right and we are not preparing the way we should for this fight.

>> simon: have you said this to manny? >> roach: of course. >> simon: you've told manny that he could lose the fight? >> roach: if he keeps on the road he's going, yes. >> simon: but manny's been on the road, always moving forward, since he stowed away on that ferry to manila. so now, he is a champion and a congressman. what makes anyone think he'll stop there? do you ever think you might one day... you're smiling already, you know what i'm going to ask you. >> pacquiao: i know. ( laughs ) >> simon: okay, do you think one day you might be president? >> pacquiao: it's hard to... to have a comment right now, because it's that far away. >> simon: spoken like a true politician. a boxer as president of a nation of 94 million? now, that would be history. but, then again, manny thinks he's made history already. who do you think is the greatest boxer ever?

>> pacquiao: including me? >> simon: including you. >> pacquiao: of course, me. ( laughter ) >> hello, everyone, welcome to the cbs sports update presented by pfizer. i'm james brown with in fl schols-- scores, cleveland knocks off new england. also in overtime, brett favre leads minnesota to a comeback win over arizona. the giants maintain a one game lead in the east as the eagles knock off the colts. the raiders win their third straight. the falcons take over first in the nfc south. for more news and scores log on to cbssports.com ,,,,,,,,

>> kroft: i'm steve kroft. andy rooney will be back next week-- and so will the rest of us-- for another edition of "60 minutes." being a leader means moving fast. across the country when the economy tumbled, jpmorgan chase set up new offices to work one-on-one with homeowners. since 2009, we've helped over 200,000 americans keep their homes. and we're reaching out to small businesses too, increasing our lending commitment this year

to $10 billion and giving businesses the opportunity to ask for a second review if they feel their loan should have been approved. this is how recoveries happen. everyone doing their part. this is the way forward. right now at sears . living... ...and beautiful ty pennington collections.

be the santa you want to be. find your santa at sears.com. the new healthcare law gives us powerful new tools to fight it.... to investigate it... prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us.