WASHINGTON—On Sunday, Barack Obama was just 44 days away from becoming the 44th president of the United States, and in an interview with Tom Brokaw for NBC’s Meet the Press he discussed the challenges that lay ahead for him and the country.

“Fortunately, as tough as times are right now—and things are going to get worse before they get better—there is a convergence between circumstances and agenda,” said President-elect Obama.

“The key for us is making sure that we jump-start that economy in a way that doesn’t just deal with the short term, doesn’t just create jobs immediately, but also puts us on a glide path for long-term, sustainable economic growth,” continued Obama.

On Obama’s Saturday radio address he said that his planned infrastructure initiative would be the biggest since the 1950s when the government established the federal highway system.

He also spoke of his infrastructure and stimulus plans in his interview with Brokaw. “What we need to do is examine what are the projects where we’re going to get the most bang for the buck, how are we going to make sure taxpayers are protected.”

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India as well as Obama’s nominations last week for his security team, foreign policy was also a key topic in the President-elect’s interview.

Obama frequently brought the discussion back to Afghanistan, saying, “We can’t continue to look at Afghanistan in isolation. We have to see it as a part of a regional problem that includes Pakistan, includes India, includes Kashmir, includes Iran. And part of the kind of foreign policy I want to shape is one in which we have tough, direct diplomacy combined with more effective military operations.”

The president-elect ended the interview on an optimistic note, talking about the cultural role he hopes he can play in the nation, inviting scientists, musicians, and poets to give lectures and performances for young and old alike.

“Historically, what has always brought us through hard times is that national character, that sense of optimism, that willingness to look forward, that, that sense that better days are ahead. I think that our art and our culture, our science, you know, that’s the essence of what makes America special, and, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House,” concluded President-elect Obama.

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