>> charlie: alyssa mastromonaco, she is the kind of person we like to have on this program. someone who is not well known, someone who has a fascinating job and someone who has a charming personality. we talk about her role tonight as one of the most powerful women in washington and one of the closest advisers to president obama. why do you think the president of the united states trusts you so well? >> i think it's all part of the journey and people really sort of are tested and prove themselves. when we got to this office -- >> charlie: this was his office when he was in the united states senate. >> when he was in the senate. when he first came here, there was a group of people, some whom he knew a year or two or longer and some of us were brand new to him. so i think over the years of decision-making and navigating

tough times, your metal is really tested and i think i proved to him that his success was my number one priority, that his hard work on my behalf wasn't self-interested and i had good judgment. >> charlie: judgment. where does that come from? >> i think i was born with it. my parents had good judgment. you know the difference between right and wrong. sometimes it's as simple as that, just right and wrong. >> charlie: your instinct is right there. >> mm-hmm. i think that the thing that develops judgment is when people give you the room to make decisions, and you have to sit down and critically think about all of the options and the consequences and the sides of each one. when i met the president, he didn't know me at all. you assume because people give you a good reference that this woman must have good judgment,

but i think we've also developed, you know, my judgment is good judgment for him. i think that -- i mean, in life i think i have good judgment, but the two of us together, i think we understand each other, and i understand what he's trying to do and how to get there. >> charlie: alyssa mastromonaco for the hour. next. >> there's a saying around here: you stand behind what you say. around here, we don't make excuses, we make commitments. and when you can't live up to them, you own up and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country

has gone missing in the places where it's needed most. but i know you'll still find it, when you know where to look. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> charlie: alyssa mastromonaco is often called one of the most powerful people in washington you haven't heard of. she is the white house deputy chief of staff of operations, one of president obama's longest-serving advisers. at the white house, they say basically nothing gets done that involves the president doing anything without alyssa being part of it. alyssa decides who the president sees, talks to and appoints.

she weighs in on strategy. after coordinating the obama's lives for so long, she has become like family. she started working with then senator obama in 2005. next came the campaign, and soon the white house. >> i barack obama do solemnly swear -- >> charlie: she leaves this may. she will remain engaged as an outside advisor and help plan obama's post-presidency. we talked last week at obama's old senate office now occupied by senator brown from ohio. we started at her old desk. so this is it. >> this is it. >> charlie: this is where young senator obama had his four key staffers. >> me, jon favreau, tommy vietor, robert gibbs and pete rouse. >> charlie: so former deputy chief of staff. the secretary -- >> yeah, he did okay. >> charlie: every time i read a piece about you, it talks about power.

>> okay. >> charlie: tell me what you do. >> what i do -- so i think that the reason people think i have power is that i'm the person that everyone comes to. i have the answer for everything. >> charlie: we have been looking for you. >> all over. i think the reason people think i'm so powerful is because they don't know what i do, and that mystery, which i have kept for good reason over the years, just really intrigues people. >> charlie: it gives you power. >> exactly. but at the white house, the deputy chief of staff's job over the years has had many different permutations. i run the campus of the white house -- that includes air force one, camp david, marine one, the personnel, their 1700 full-time employees in the executive office of the president. we run the searches for cabinet

secretaries, we run the president's schedule, how he uses his time, who he sees. all those things because they're so hard to define. >> charlie: you decide who the president of the united states sees. >> there's a group of people. i can't take credit for it all. >> charlie: you decide where and how he goes. >> yes. >> charlie: you decide who's going to be in his cabinet. >> yes. >> charlie: you're more powerful than they even say. >> that's generous. >> charlie: somebody calls you scary powerful. >> that was probably a friend. >> charlie: now, what did the president say about this? he said, at one point, as soon as they see you, all your power will go -- >> that is so -- this is true. i've had it said to me by quite a few people that because so much of my job -- there are a lot of external folks. i'm a very internal person. i don't do a lot of public speaking. this is the first interview i've done in eight years. but when i'm on the phone, i think i sound like the booming

voice of oz. when people see me in person, i think someone once said i look like sally field in "the flying nun" and i should stay behind the curtain if i wanted people to be scared of me. >> charlie: why do you think the president of the united states trusts you so well? >> i think it's all part of the journey and people sort of really are tested and prove themselves. when we got to this office -- >> charlie: this was his office when he was in the united states senate. >> this was his office in the united states senate. when he came here, there was a group of people. some he had known for a year or two, some longer and some of us brand-new to him. over the years of decision-making and navigating tough times, your metal is really tested, and i think i proved to him that his success was my number one priority, that my hard work on his behalf wasn'tself-interested and that, you know, i had good judgment.

>> charlie: judgment. yep. >> charlie: where does that come from? >> i think you're born with it, generally. i think my parents had very good judgment. you know the difference between right and wrong. sometimes it's as simple as that, just right and wrong. >> charlie: your instinct is right there. >> mm-hmm. i think that the thing that develops judgment is when people give you the room to make decisions and you have to sit down and critically think about all of the options and the consequences and upsides of each one. so when i met the president, he didn't know me at all. you assume because people give you a good reference that this woman must have good judgment, but i think we've also developed, you know, my judgment is good judgment for him. i think that it's also -- i mean, in life, i think i have good judgment, but the two of us together, i think we understand each other, and i understand what he's trying to do and how

to get there. >> charlie: i want to come to the president in a moment, but it began here when he was a senator. >> yes. >> charlie: you were on the scheduler on the john kerry presidential campaign. >> that's right. >> charlie: and the campaign does not end well. >> does not end well. >> charlie: you had the terrible job of packing up. >> it was awful. you never want to lose a campaign. it was a really sad time, and i felt like it was my duty, my loyalty to john kerry that i wanted to make sure we wrapped everything up right, and we had an office, i think on connecticut avenue, and one day i was sitting there alone typing on my computer and an instant messenger window popped up, going back to aol, and it was robert gibbs, and he hadored for senator obama's campaign in illinois in 2004, and they were getting his office up and running, and he said, i think

you might need a job. and that's how i -- >> charlie: you said, you have been reading my mail. >> i said, i'd love to talk, and that was the beginning. >> charlie: what did you know about barack obama? >> actually pretty funny, i did not know that much about barack obama, but since he was in the middle of his senate race since john kerry was only running for president, we crossed paths. when we went to chicago, we did an event for obama, and he asked secretary kerry to do a radio call while he was in the state with him. we get this email back and it says barack obama has asked j.k. to do this radio call. i thought, this isn't how we do things. we don't do things fly by the seat of our pants, and i was really upset about it. a couple of months later, we were in boston, getting ready to

go to the convention, we're all packing our bags, and we hear -- it must have been tuesday night -- as we're packing, we hear this speech coming from the television, it was the second night of the convention, and it was barack obama, and we couldn't believe it because, of course, you know, there's the keynote and -- >> charlie: i was there. it was incredible. we thought, oh, my goo goodness. >> charlie: and he was a state senator at the moment. >> yes, and it was the most incredible speech. >> charlie: you were drawn to it? >> i remember exactly where i was in my apartment when i heard it. >> charlie: what is it about him? >> he is so authentic. a lot of the things that people criticized him for -- you know, he was too new to run, he hadn't been in the senate long enough -- a lot of those things were the attributes that made him such an authentic candidate. we didn't have the national, political roots. there weren't people that we had

sto say they supported us for x number of years so we had to fill in the blank. we were unfettered. we could do what we wanted to do. it allowed him the space to say what he wanted to say. he was either going to win his way or not winners and not winning was okay, as long as we tried our way. >> charlie: it would not have been okay with you, not winning. >> it would have been two in a row, and people probably wouldn't have hired me ever again, but the thing that made that campaign so fun is the mood from the top. it was we were going to do it totally authentic, he was going to talk to the voters, say what he wanted to say, and david, he was sort of our internal north star a. that's what was fun because you never had to fake it. >> charlie: but from this office you had you, the speech writer -- >> jon favreau, robert gibbs -- >> charlie: robert gibbs, the

press person. >> tommy vietor. >> charlie: tommy vietor the national security security council. >> and pete rouse. >> charlie: later went to the white house. >> counselor to the president, just left a couple of months ago. >> charlie: but you bond in a campaign, you test each other's metal. but you had that before when he was out on the road selling his book. >> it was in the fall of 2006, hope came out, and there were mid-term elections. we campaigned for about 30 candidates. >> charlie: anybody who called. >> any democrat that wanted our help, we helped them. there were about 30 people we campaigned for. >> charlie: did you know he was going to run for president at that time, that you would be part of this? >> i was always very cautious. the whole reason i thought working for barack obama was a good idea was because i thought, after running for president, i

would love to work for someone i knew wasn't going to run for president. even the political plan -- because in 2006, i transitioned to his political action committee, and the plan that i wrote for us was the plan for the best person not running for president. and i wrote that in july of 2006. so we really didn't think that this was going to happen. but when senator harken asked him to come to the steak fry which is a tremendous honor, very big deal in iowa. >> charlie: just happened to have a caucus there, too. >> we said, let's go, we'll try it. it will be great. i had been to iowa a few times before in other capacities, and it was different. >> charlie: how was it different? >> it was folks in iowa test you. they want you to prove yourself. it is rare, i think, that you get such an outpouring of

enthusiasm, and people who are just -- people were just so excited to meet him. that day, robert gibbs and i were both with him in iowa, and we were, like, oh, my god... >> charlie: oh, my god what? what if this happens? what if he runs? and i don't even know if it had crossed his mind. >> charlie: to run? when we were sitting there -- this was fun. we were on the campaign trail. we were, you know, going to keep the senate, take the house, i mean, that's all we wanted to do. this was just -- it was unexpected because it's not what we sought out to do. it wasn't, like, a three-month plan to see how iowa goes. >> charlie: in 2006? in the fall of 2006. december 17th. >> charlie: two years later, you win the presidency. >> mm-hmm. unlikely. >> charlie: and there are only what -- we're now in 2014 -- there are two years left. >> yep.

>> charlie: and you're leaving. >> i am. >> charlie: why? because i think that -- you know, especially as i tell you these tales of us over the past nine years -- i've had an incredible journey, and i think that someone else deserves the chance to have the experiences that i've had. >> charlie: and the person succeeding you is a long-time veteran of the obama team. >> she is an old obama person. she and i became friends when i sat at that desk out there. she was our down-state director in illinois. >> charlie: did he have any hint this was coming when you walked in and said, i'm gonna leave? >> i think so. i mean, when you get ready to leave the white house, you don't go in one day and just say, i'm leaving. >> charlie: you don't do that, do you? >> you don't do that. so i had sort of previewed several months prior that i thought my time was coming. >> charlie: he knew what that meant.

>> mm-hmm. >> charlie: did he try to talk you out of it? >> of course. of course. but he knew. he newel yeah. >> sometimes it's just -- i think that he knew that, for me to actually get to the point where i said, you know what? it's time. that he understood. >> charlie: you got married in what year? >> six months ago. >> charlie: how long was the honeymoon? >> there hasn't been one yet. a point i made when i talked to him. >> charlie: your husband is chief of staff for senator reid. >> yes. >> charlie: majority leader of the united states senate. >> yes. >> charlie: there mustn't be a lot of off-time between the two of you. >> there's not. when we come home at the end of the day, there's a lot of work talk sometimes. >> charlie: pillow talk is a lot about politics? >> more about who did what to who. >> charlie: who screwed who today? >> i'm not going to put it that bluntly, but, you know, we definitely -- >> charlie: so you relish the fact that you might have done in

somebody -- >> yes, there's a reason at the end of the day that i come home and -- >> charlie: and you wonder why they're scared of you? >> no, not like that. i mean, democrats have many priorities, and sometimes the white house and the senate aren't always aligned, and, so, there's a lot of discussion about that sometimes, which is why i choose to watch, like, the mindy project and shows that make me laugh. >> charlie: i love her. she just was on the program. >> i saw that. she was hall hilarious. so great. >> charlie: take me to this moment. >> sure. >> charlie: you're laying in bed together and you talk about who got whom today? >> it's more like a blackberry and an ipad -- >> charlie: who has the blackberry? >> i have the blackberry and he has the ipad. he says, did you read this and see what so and so said? i said, i don't care.

and i said, have you seen this? and he doesn't want to talk about it. so sometimes we have a time out. >> charlie: have you stayed behind the scenes on purpose? >> yes. >> charlie: because? because i think there are people in the administration are fundamentally outward facing and folks who should be internal. i think that, when you're talking about, you know, some of the things that i do, there is no reason for me to be external and, so, i have just chosen to keep my head down and do my job as i see it. >> charlie: you were satisfied knowing that you were one of the most powerful women in washington? >> i know i would be one day. who wants to do anything else when this is the capstone of my career. >> charlie: i made you that night in new york, didn't i? >> i'm hooked forever. >> charlie: so you've had this amazing life and you go in to the president and you say, you know, this is time. >> it's time. >> charlie: it's time. and he knows it's time.

>> mm-hmm. >> charlie: he understands that. he says an interesting thing. >> mm-hmm. >> charlie: i'm not gonna let you go. >> right. >> charlie: unless you promise me you will be there for me -- >> yeah. >> charlie: -- not only during the presidency, but in the post-presidency. >> yes. so -- >> charlie: i mean, that's an ultimate act of respect. i don't want you in my life just now, i want you in my life the rest of my life. >> it makes you realize that we're just linked. we have been through a great adventure and what he said was, you can go and you can take some time off, but, you know, we're together forever and i need you around. he said, you have to tell me that that's the deal. i said, of course. >> charlie: there is also this -- it hasn't turned out exactly like you two imagined it would. >> no. >> charlie: tell me about

that. >> well, when he first hired me, he wasn't totally sold on me. pete rouse convinced him. >> charlie: because you were d.c. and he wasn't really interested in d.c. >> i was d.c. he wasn't really interested in d.c., but pete rouse said, trust me. pete rouse. >> charlie: and the president trusted pete rouse. >> he did. he said, okay. >> charlie: i'll take her. i'll take her. >> charlie: i know -- and he called me. he called my cell phone, and i didn't recognize the number, so i didn't pick it up, but it was him. he called me himself, which was such -- that's not something a lot of people do. >> charlie: said something right there. >> he said, alyssa, let's do this. it's obama. call me back. and that was it. >> charlie: now, go forward to the time that you had during the campaign rented at $30,000 a

plane. >> mm-hmm. >> charlie: turns out, you rented that plane for the wrong day. >> yeah. that was actually the fall of 2006. >> charlie: yes. during our campaigning for everyone. the whole front political office, it was three or four people, probably, five people, and i was doing the book tour and all the political travel myself and i made a big mistake and i rented the plane for the wrong day and i cried in the office and called robert and jordan kaplan, the finance director, and i said, i'm so sorry, the plane's not there, i booked it for the wrong day. and i was so upset. and president obama takes the phone and he says, hey, i hear tears. i was like, yes (sniffling) there's a commercial flight

leaving in two hours. >> charlie: back to it hasn't turned out like you two imagined. you thought you were going to ride into washington and eliminate partisanship. you thought you were going to ride into washington and do great things. you thought you were going to ride into washington and really -- i think the presidency was not worth having unless you did great things. >> mm-hmm. >> charlie: assess that for me now. >> so, one, when we were on the campaign, he always said, change of heart. you know, if a voice can change a room, then, you know, everything builds and builds. i think he was always honest with our supporters about that, how hard it would be. we got to washington, and it's been hard. but when you think about the

sort of lack of bipartisanship, he's still gotten an incredible amount done. he saved the economy from the -- the american economy from going into a great depression, and the war in iraq. i think as of this afternoon, 7.5 million people have healthcare. so it may not be this vision that we or americans had, that it would be a kumbaya, hands across america, you know, it's like one party. but i do think we've still gotten a lot done despite that. >> charlie: if that's true, and it is true, why are his polls so low? >> i mean, i don't put much in polls. when we were in iowa however many years ago in 2007, we had bad polls and we sort of ignored them. >> charlie: very different. it is different.

>> charlie: this is based not on campaigning, this is based on performance. >> sure. i think that, for a lot of people, they want to know that the president is focused on them, and we've had, over the past couple of months, you have to spend time on ukraine, and people think, well, why is he not spending that time on me? and people start wondering, now, does the president care about them? does he want to make sure that people who work hard and play by the rules get ahead? absolutely. every day. that's his north star. but i think that, with everything happening in the world, sometimes people wonder, well, why aren't we getting things done through congress? i mean, he's sort of doing his executive actions, because we're not going to wait for congress all the time. he's not going to be slowed in helping america -- >> charlie: this is state of the union in 2014, we'll do by executive order if we can't get congress to go along.

and you can do some things but not big things, as you know. >> absolutely. but if you go into some of the approval numbers and podus says -- >> charlie: you call him that? yes. >> charlie: president says you're family. that's beyond staff. >> there were, i think in a lot of ways the president considers a lot of us family, but he considered pete rouse family because there are people who, even when the polls were bad, no matter if it looked like we were going to lose iowa, doesn't matter. everybody, chin up, straight ahead, win or lose, we were going to be there. that's how we feel about him and he feels about us. so we're all family. >> charlie: yeah, but to talk to people, it's different about you. >> yeah. >> charlie: somehow it's different and you know it's different. >> i think -- well, we have a --

he fansies himself a bit of a big brother, i think. >> charlie: ah! mm-hmm. he gives me advice. >> charlie: on? all kinds of stuff. >> charlie: so you go to him -- >> he likes to call me "short" just like a big brother. whenever we're having -- obviously, i'm diminutive, but -- >> charlie: but powerful. mighty. >> charlie: mighty, i would say that, too. >> when we would travel sometimes and be on the road and maybe not everything's going great, we can always make him laugh when we say, let's talk about how short alyssa is, and then he'll just crack a smile. >> charlie: when have you been the most elated during this presidency? when were you the highest after you won in 2008, of course. >> sure? but once you occupied the white house and you dealt with the day-to-day problems, your first job was you were the scheduler.

>> yes. >> charlie: i just would love to be a fly on the wall when you were calling up some general or admiral and say, this is the way we're going to do it. >> we're coming to afghanistan. >> charlie: and this is not a conversation. i am telling you what we're doing. >> i was always very nice, though. >> charlie: how would you do it? >> i would -- i mean, most of the time -- it depends on whether you're asking someone to do something they don't really want to do. it's always wonderful if you can make it their idea. >> charlie: the biggest moment was the mission to either capture or kill osama bin laden was successful, how big a moment was that? >> that was tremendous. i was home in bed when i found out. >> charlie: i told you, you were very powerful. >> i was home in bed. >> charlie: when they went to get osama bin laden, this person i have been telling everybody was so powerful was home in bed! they didn't even call her!

they didn't call her! >> a lot of people -- >> charlie: how could they have done that without calling you? >> the president had a small group of people that were working on it. we saw cnn breaking news and got an email on our blackberrys about a conference call, and then we knew. that was tremendous. i mean, i had worked in the world trade center right out of college and, so, i had friends that died on 9/11, and it was more knowing that, because of what he did, those people would sleep more peacefully, you know, how many years later. that was really powerful. >> charlie: that was a high moment. >> mm-hmm. >> charlie: what else? passage of obamacare? >> passage of obamacare, i mean, for the administration, that was the realization of one of the real dreams that the president had for coming. >> charlie: is that his legacy and are you happy with that? >> i think so.

7.5 million people. i think it's one of the -- i think it will -- when people write the stories years from now, i think it will be a huge part of his legacy. >> charlie: lowest point. the lowest point was newtown. >> charlie: children. you know, you never -- when the president -- you know, every day you get some snippet of news and you never know what that snippet's going to turn into. is someone -- i think that morning, the first reports were, you know, a gunman in a school and maybe potentially a teacher has been shot. and within four hours, the news was so gruesome, so unbelievable, and, i mean, i think it was, like, december 14, the holidays in the white house. so you have terrible news, you have people down the hallway who

are here for a holiday party, family's here for a holiday party, and you're just trying to get the facts. the president, when things like this happen, he wants the facts. but as we are standing there, it was john brennan and i, and we were talking to the president, all of us cool as cucumbers, everyone with tears. >> charlie: i think he said it was his lowest moment. >> i bet that's true. >> charlie: but we all look at that and said, for sure, this will be enough to rally the nation and the congress to do something about. >> and it wasn't. >> charlie: it wasn't. that was a sad day, too. >> charlie: doesn't that say something about presidential leadership? >> i think that, in a lot of ways, it says even more about

special interests. that was a huge vote for the n.r.a., and i think that if people want gun control, i want gun control, that it needs to really be a grassroots movement. people need to call their congressmen and senators and tell them enough is enough, and everybody wasn't ready. >> charlie: let's talk about style in the oval office. >> sure. >> charlie: i mean, everybody now talks about lyndon johnson and his ability to schmooze, the ability to threaten, the ability to promise. >> mm-hmm. >> charlie: all of those qualities, they say if the president had more of those, he would have done better in dealing with the congress. >> sure. i don't think that's true. i think that people don't give him credit for all of the things that he has done. >> charlie: do your parents talk to you about what it's like

to do what you do? >> oh, sure. every time i go home, i give a solid 30-minute rundown on all the things, and they're really sort of like the mirror that you check yourself in because you say things like they're so ordinary. well, and then we went to baghdad and -- and they're, like, stop. >> charlie: and i sat next to the king at dinner and met the queen. >> met the queen. i'm on my way to the vatican, i'm going to meet the pope. that was a huge day. that's incredible. >> charlie: all that's nice. mm-hmm. >> charlie: but what's really nice is to have power. >> sure. >> charlie: to be able to exercise power. to be able to change things for benefit. if you have power, you can do things. >> right. >> charlie: when you look back at this and talk to your children about it, what will you say? look, this is what i did. yes, i helped the president, but there are four top things that will go with me to my grave

where i made a difference because it was me and because this president trusted me. >> hmm... i would say -- well, one of the things that is important to me and where i think i made a huge difference is, back in 2007, we, you know, of course, the clinton roots went much deeper and we didn't have a sort of vast staffing of resources, and, so, i made some phone calls and i begged people to come work for me, begged. i mean, it was, like, on my knees begged. and there were probably about 15 or 20 who answered my phone call and i talked them all into coming, and here we are how many years later. they stayed with me, they gave me a chance.

and it was much more than doing it for me than anything else. they didn't know barack obama. now -- i call them kids. they're adults now. they were probably closer to adults the time i called them kids. they have gone out and done great things. they are ambassadors and they are running the kennedy school and i'm really proud of them and i think that we've created people who will go and carry the legacy. that's something that's really important to me. >> charlie: is the most exciting time of your life behind you? >> it might be. but that's okay because keeping -- in a certain way, if you look at the things that are made everything so exciting, one, that pace of life is sort of unsustainable. so that's one sort of -- running off adrenaline every day, that's exciting. the actual experiences, you

know, part of me thought, i've met the queen, i've met the pope, i was at nelson mandela's funeral, i have been on "charlie rose," what is there left? i want you to help us understand, because you're so close, and this was a young senator who became president, one of the youngest presidents in the history of the country, and you come to the oval office and you're an eyewitness to history. you have the ear of the man, and the man depends on you to make the trains run on time, among other things. >> sure. >> charlie: give us a sense of how that is for you, what it was like, what it is like, what makes it so -- what makes so many people covet it? you know? i mean, this is the time right now, when they're planning political campaigns, that a bunch of people who are anywhere from 20 to 60 are thinking how

can i do something to be part of some campaign that will put me on the winning side and dreams can be had to be sitting if the oval office -- in the oval office or next to the oval office, if not that deputy assistant secretary in the pentagon, if not that, helping frame great legislation? that's why they're all gearing up to sort of find a campaign. you were one of those people. >> i was one of them. >> charlie: you were one of those people and you hit the jackpot. >> i did hit the jackpot, i did. very lucky. but i think the reason we were successful is that very few people who joined that campaign really did it to get to the office next to the white house. >> charlie: oh, so we have the purest of the pure here. >> dreamers. >> charlie: was the candidate a dreamer or a realist?

>> i think he was a realist who was optimistic. if you look at david faust who was our campaign manager, he didn't leave and go to the white house. it wasn't that for him. >> charlie: get me for whatever it is -- >> i just think part of the recipe for getting where i ended up was because i didn't say that's the only place i want to end up because i think that can be very disappointing. >> charlie: if you want it so much, it might not be as much fun as if you were simply there for the dream. >> it's almost like when we see people alongside the road and they're taping us with their iphones, i'm, like, put your iphone down and take it in, be in the moment. if i had been in the chicago headquarters, 233 north michigan, and my motivation was

getting to where i am now, i think i would have missed a great experience. >> charlie: your motivation was what? >> my motivation was to be part of a great team that believed in what they were doing, and -- >> charlie: do you think the people aroun around hillary or e people around george bush or bill clinton, do you think you're that different? >> no, i don't think we're that different. i think the first campaign and what it attracted was so kind of different and authentic that, you know, even if we had lost, it would have been a pleasure. it would have been an exciting time, even if we had lost. >> charlie: do you wish there was no term limit? >> no. >> charlie: no? there should be term limits. >> charlie: so two terms is

enough. if you can't get it done in two terms, then -- >> then you're probably tired. you're probably ready to go anyway. >> charlie: do you get tired doing this? >> yes, ma'am. >> charlie: how many e-mails or texts do you get a day? >> i probably get a couple hundred. >> charlie: do you really? do you answer every one of them? if you know the person... >> even people i don't know, i try to respond to every single email. >> charlie: do you really? mm-hmm. >> charlie: you want people to know that -- that's a nice reputation to have, that you care. >> it's paid forward from pete rouse, who had the same philosophy, always respond, even if the answer is no. always respond. that's how it is. >> charlie: someone said to me who was a former aide to president johnson said to me the last thing he did every night was make sure he returned, at that time, every phone call. >> we're so lucky to have email (laughter)

so lucky. but it's the best way to end your day, and a lot of times, when i'm at home, those are the e-mails you're returning. it's thank you for contacting me, good to hear from you. can't do this, can do this. you know. >> charlie: what about you are you most happy for people to know? what is it about you you're glad that people know about you? judgment? trust of a president and a staff? >> yes. i also like that people know i got this job not because i'm from a political family, i didn't have any connections -- >> charlie: your dad wasn't a big fundraiser for barack obama? >> he was not. you know, from upstate new york. >> charlie: rhinebeck? rhinebeck, new york. i got here because i worked hard. when i had internships and people said, fax this, answer the phone, i said, yes, please,

and thank you, and the more that i did that, the more people, i think, liked being around me and knew i could get things done, even then, and that basically anyone could -- >> charlie: so if i ask you what's the secret of your success, you would say, a, good judgment and, b, i work harder than anybody? >> i work hard and i'm nice. i try to be kind. >> charlie: talk to me about that. my friend made a commencement speech at princeton which he worked on for six months and the essence of it was kindness. >> i think it's really important. >> charlie: so you can be tough -- >> you can be tough but still kind. >> charlie: you can be powerful and you can still be kind. >> yes. >> charlie: how do you exercise your kindness? >> you try to do nice things for people. when you treat people with

respect, i think that that is -- i don't yell at people. i don't -- when i need someone to do something for me, it's please, it's thank you. and the more that you do that, you know, the expression you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. >> charlie: my mother used to tell me that all the time. >> nothing is more true. when i was desperate for something and needed something, everyone was always willing to help. >> charlie: it seems to me that you have been ambitious for a long time. >> mm-hmm. >> charlie: you say you were ambitious because of the nobility of the campaign and all that. but you have been ambitious for yourself to be part of something large. >> mm-hmm. >> charlie: you did not want to be ordinary. you wanted to be in a place that you could do special things. >> i think that's it. >> charlie: and you took every opportunity and created every opportunity you could to make that happen. >> mm-hmm. i think that most people don't want to be ordinary.

i think there's something that's special about everyone, and i think that the thing that's most important, when i have thrived and been successful, is when i was part of a team that had a mission. having a mission, knowing what you're getting up to do every single day and being with people who make that possible and, you know, who than flank you and leu and follow you, that's what i have always wanted to be a part of. that's the important thing. >> charlie: how are you different now? >> how am i different now? >> charlie: than when you first started working for then senator obama. >> my hair is totally grey. this is a very good dye job (laughter) my hair is totally white. >> charlie: that's not true. 100%. i got my hair done for you, but it's all white. >> charlie: you're lying. no, it's true. it's true. totally white. >> charlie: so the president gets a little white in his hair

and you say, look at me -- >> it's pointed out because everyone is so much taller that when i need to get my roots done he point it out. >> you're not talking one every here and there -- >> no, a silver fox. >> charlie: show me a picture. no pictures. never pictures. one day before i get my roots done, i'll send you a picture. you wouldn't believe me. i wouldn't make it up. >> charlie: it overcame you. had to. i've got to do this for just a couple more years. >> charlie: anything else we ought to know? do you work out? >> i do work out. i actually have this wonderful -- i work out only on saturdays and sundays -- >> charlie: that's not enough. beliefer me, this is going to change. >> charlie: do you have a gym at the white house?

>> we do but i don't go there. >> charlie: exercise with the president. >> no, i do this exercise that requires your total attention and focus. you can't have your blackberry. you're focused so you don't fall off the machine. >> charlie: back to my question, how are you different now? >> probably a little more cynical. >> charlie: really? mm-hmm. >> charlie: why? just because you see how things happen, you know that life is probably a little bit more transactional than you want it to be. that, you know, not everyone is necessarily kind and that -- >> charlie: does it make you cynical? >> a little bit. >> charlie: yeah, it does. a little bit. but i'll still be kind. >> charlie: are you less trusting? >> no, i'm still pretty th trusting. all the people i've needed who i've trusted have never let me down, so i'm still very

trusting. >> charlie: the president and the first lady have said to me that they somehow became closer in the white house. >> yep. >> charlie: that this big place where they live upstairs, because they see each other. >> so much more than they used to. >> charlie: tell me about her and him. >> they're hilarious. they love each other. they love their family. >> charlie: oh, i know all that. >> i'm just telling you. >> charlie: i know all that. have you ever heard them fighting or screaming at each other. >> no, never, ever, ever. no, really, never. you know, i think that the life that they had in chicago was so different. you know, saturdays were about ballet lessons and the 52n 52nd street book store, that it's a huge testament to their marriage, because suddenly -- on the one hand, the house is big. on the other, there's, like, nowhere to go. so i think that that was a hard

transition, but that's part of why the president loves to meet people so much. the people -- >> charlie: he loves to meet people? >> he loves to meet people. >> charlie: people on the road? >> people on the road. >> charlie: not people in congress. >> of course, he loves to meet people in congress, too. we bring everybody in. that's how he stays in touch. that's our current equivalent of the book store, how people think. >> charlie: you said to me, at his core, he's a writer. >> i think that's true. >> charlie: do you think that's how he'll spend the rest of his life as a writer or teacher. >> i would guess writing would be a big component of his afterlife. >> charlie: i bet you're the one person who knows what he talks about, this is what i would like to do. once i get past this

responsibility i have, which is huge, i'm going to do this and that. >> i think he would enjoy having christmas in hawaii not interrupted by those feelings. i think that will be a huge achievement. he'll want to spend more time with his family. when i think about it, if i haven't even thought about what i'm going to do, truly -- >> charlie: you haven't thought about it? >> not really. i can't imagine he's thought about it. i know he hasn't thought about it. >> charlie: i bet he has. maybe. >> charlie: he's going to write a book is the first thing. >> i hope so. >> charlie: he's been taking notes, haven't he? >> not that i've ever seen. >> charlie: is he a reflective man? >> very much so. and one of the most sort of intellectually curious people i think that i've ever known but there is not anything -- when big moments happen, it's not like the moment is happening and we're done.

he always thinks back, what about this person? i haven't seen this person in a while. i think that he's not one and done. i think things stick with him always. >> charlie: loves sports. loves sports. >> charlie: loves sports. i really tried to break in with the sports during the olympics. i was trying to talk about skating and skiing -- >> charlie: he watches television? >> loves house of cards. >> charlie: is that instructive for him? >> i've never asked that question. i think it's more entertainment. >> charlie: you have not said one bad word about him. >> how could i? >> charlie: because there's not one bad thing? there's not one flaw? are you saying to me that -- have you spent all these years and you've never seen a flaw? >> i have a lot. >> charlie: i have so many flaws.

i have a temper. i'm disappointed if i'm not as good as what i want to be. if i don't play a good round of golf, i'm not happy about that. >> well, i think he has all the same emotions you do. >> charlie: yeah. we certainly saw expressions of anger when the healthcare web site wasn't working. i mean, he did not whistle a tune. that was a very serious time. >> charlie: have you ever had to say to him, just cool it? you know, just calm down. >> only one time. only one time. and it was never "cool it." he was very upset about something, and i -- and you just sort of, oh, come on, it could be so much worse, is basically the only way you can go. then he raises an eyebrow because he knows what you're trying to do. but, really, he really doesn't get mad. he doesn't really have a temper. has to be really, really bad for you to see his temper.

>> charlie: but you've seen it? >> once or twice. >> charlie: are you serious? mm-hmm. >> charlie: all the family, you would think he would have a temper about so many things. this is a tough world. he has responsibility for this world. >> well, that is true, and those things are, of course -- he gets mad about things that happen. he was serious about newtown and healthcare. >> charlie: of course. but in terms of anger towards me, there's one very vivid example, it was right before the campaign ended -- >> charlie: 2012. no, this is 2008. and we were in pennsylvania and it started sleeting and john mccain was in pennsylvania, and i said i think we have to keep our events. and the president does not love cold weather. let me start the story there. and, so -- >> charlie: i'm with him on that. >> we see the snow start and all of a sudden it starts sleeting.

we're, like, oh, my god. and we tell him he's going to do this. he gets up there, the sleet is hitting him in the face. we're attaching it on tv. we see him come off stage, puts his handout, reggie love puts the phone in his hand and two minutes later my phone rang. he said, alyssa, it's obama, where are you? i said, i'm at my desk. he said, must be nice. and he hung up on me. that's the only time. i tried to explain john mccain canceled his event and how great the coverage was, but that was the end of the conversation. >> charlie: must be nice. must be nice, click. >> charlie: what did you think at that moment? >> i told plouffe the story and he was, like, he'll get over snit this iget over it.>> charlt somebody said about you. the president will find her exit harder to deal with because she

was the back stop and she handled so much stuff that people were not aware of. what is he talking about? >> i think that i have a very -- you know, i think that one thing that makes the white house function is that people swim in their lanes and i have always made it a point to swim in my lane, but i see things. so if we're having an event and i notice someone hasn't been invited, i say, hold on, have we thought about this person? if we're going to do something new, if we're going to make a decision, make an announcement, there are only a handful of us that have the historical knowledge that goes all the way back to, oh, wait, he shouldn't do that announcement there because when he was a senator he voted against the funding -- >> charlie: exactly, so historical memory is walking out of the white house -- >> it will be fun. so those are the things. there aren't a lot of us that remember every pothole going all

the way back to the beginning of time. >> charlie: thank you. thank you. >> charlie:ates pleasure. amazing. thank you so much. >> charlie: thank you for joining us. see you next time. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org 

. this is "nightly business report," with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. dow deluge, what results from dow stocks at general electric, goldman sachs and united health care, say about the industry and economy, industry, finance and health care. and every do something as simple as download a coupon for cherrios? well, you just gave up your right to sue them in court. and stocks the best week in court. a list of under the radar names that could see double digit returns. we have all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for thursday april 17th. good evening, everyone, and welcome, a triple play for earnings today, three dow