President Obama’s thoughts after stepping down from Trump’s nomination

Maria Gavrilovic was once the “new girl” she described herself to CBS when her bosses commissioned her to report on the presidential campaign of a 46-year-old senator named Barack Obama.

It was September 2007, and Gavrilovic was one of the few journalists to travel with the candidate from afar as he beat the country in a sprint to win votes and dethrone Hillary Clinton as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. .

Gavrilovic initially thought the role would represent a few months on the road. Then Mr. Obama clinched a victory in Iowa’s first in the national caucus. This propelled him past Clinton and the rest of the Democratic peloton.

“No one expected him to go as far as he did,” Gavrilovic told 60 Minutes Overtime. “I thought I was going to cover the campaign for a few months. I hit the road in September 2007 and didn’t get home until November 2008.”

Gavrilovic began working for 60 minutes shortly after the 2008 election. She helped produce over a dozen interviews Mr. Obama did with 60 Minutes, the most recent of which was by correspondent Scott Pelley.

Pelley interviewed the former president as he prepared to publish his memoir, “A Promised Land”.

“Part of the journey that I am describing is a young man who decides he wants to be a part of this process and ends up having the chance to become President of the United States,” Mr. Obama told 60 Minutes. “[He] is nicked, hissed and a little shaken, but emerges on the other side still believing in America’s possibilities. “

The interview took place at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, where the 44th President was seated near a painting from the 16th. The two men represented the state of Illinois in Washington, DC and Mr. Obama took the presidential oath with his hand on Abraham Lincoln’s bible.

“This is a good example of someone who I think deeply understood the need to be able to see another person’s point of view,” Mr. Obama said of Mr. Lincoln.

As was the case during the Lincoln administration, Mr. Obama believes the country is “deeply divided”. He said commonalities are easier to find at the local level, where he believes the nation needs to start rebuilding the social trust needed to make democracy work.

Mr. Obama has deep ties to local politics. He previously worked as a community organizer in Chicago. His ascent to the Oval Office included a stop at the Illinois State Senate and the Senate Chamber in Washington, DC

Eight years after his inauguration, Mr. Obama attended the swearing-in of his successor, President Donald Trump. Moments after the 45th President was sworn in, Mr. Obama boarded a helicopter and left the Capitol.

She provided the former president with a brief moment to reflect on his two terms, again civilian for the first time since 2009.

“There was an element of relief just in the sense of ‘Phew, okay. You know, we’ve been through that and we haven’t screwed things up completely, “” Obama told Pelley. “For eight years you will never forget that it is your duty to keep the American people safe, to make sure that no major disasters strike. That you conduct yourself in a manner that is faithful to the office So when you’re done, you breathe out and say, “Alright. You know, we did pretty well there. We did well. “

Mr. Obama told 60 Minutes that after the first volume of his memoir is completed and the 2020 presidential election is over, he plans to spend more time creating his presidential center which will be built on the south side of Chicago.

The video above was produced by Keith Zubrow and Sarah Shafer Prediger. It was edited by Sarah Shafer Prediger.