Obama's Sober Mood

But other efforts have failed.
It's conceivable that the international community would be interested in bolstering security efforts during a transition phase as part of a larger peace package. I don't think that's an inherent barrier.

When you say bolster, would they come in as an international force?
There are a range of things that are possible. But the point is that if we've got a serious deal that addresses final status issues as the Annapolis conversation has begun to do, and the parties are deeply invested in that, then I think the international community can help the parties muster both the resources and the capacity to make the deal stick.

You wrote in your first book about the seductive nature of talking to big crowds, getting them moved by your words. How does speaking to 200,000 people in Berlin not go to your head?
[Laughs] Because most of them can't vote in a U.S. election. My overriding mood during the course of this trip is a sober one. When you look at the very difficult problem of Iran, the very difficult problem of Afghanistan and Pakistan, continuing difficulties in Iraq, the challenges of Middle East peace, the next president is going to have his hands full. And that's before you start talking about climate change, the economy, relationships with Russia, China and North Korea. The point is it doesn't take much to puncture any euphoria you may feel because of a speech you've given.

Your conservative critics have suggested that with your focus on your own story, and this campaign's focus on you, there's a narcissism in how you've been campaigning.
How so?

Because you tell your story so often.
When have I mentioned my story over the last week?

Yesterday you started with it.
I had, what? Two lines? [Laughs] I think to some degree every presidential race has a biographical aspect to it. John McCain, I think people understand, has been profoundly shaped by his war experiences in Vietnam. And it's right for him to talk about that and it's right for the American people to draw conclusions from it. I'm trying to describe to people who I am. Ultimately I don't think that's a plausible criticism.

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