Obama's Interview Included The Important Things

Super Bowl Sunday is an occasion reserved for sports, food and, obviously, football. But in the midst of the football frenzy, some overlook the presidential game day interview, an annual tradition for political indulgence on this sports-heavy day, during which the president sits down with an anchor from the network that broadcasts the game — in this case, NBC. This year, TODAY's Savannah Guthrie interviewed President Obama during the Super Bowl pre-game show, as Guthrie asked Obama about the economy, Republicans, and whether he preferred Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton.

Live from the White House kitchen, Guthrie first brought up Obama's beer-brewing hobby, his prediction for the game (none, as is the president's custom) and of course, Deflategate. The interview quickly turned to politics, as Guthrie pressed Obama on the midterm elections that Democrats lost heavily to the GOP. The president listed off his administration's successes — a decrease in unemployment and increase in wages, the housing and auto industry recovery — and in familiar rhetoric, stressed the need to strengthen the middle class. Guthrie then grilled Obama about the difficulties in his proposals getting through a Republican-led Congress, asking whether he thought it was counterproductive. Obama replied:

I disagree with that. My job is to present the right ideas. If the Republicans think they have better ideas, then they should present them. But my job is not to trim my sails and not tell the American people what we should be doing, pretending somehow that we don’t need better roads or more affordable college.

Responding to how he would like to close the "fourth quarter" of his presidency, President Obama addressed infrastructure goals, affordable higher education, and naturally, economic and middle class growth — to which Guthrie interjected with:

You've had six years to do that.

In a rather uncomfortable moment in the interview, Obama hesitated for a fleeting second before pointing out, again, the country's economic progress since the 2008 recession, and emphasized building a strong economic foundation for the future. At the end of the interview, Guthrie fired off a series of questions about his preferences — it turns out Obama is a "basketball guy" who loves football and prefers guac and chips over wings, and when asked, "Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden?" he said quickly:

Love 'em both.

Very smooth, Mr. President.

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