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That's how Philadelphia talk-show host Michael Smerconish introduced a taped interview this morning with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Among the topics: William Ayers, immigration, gun ownership, Mumia Abu Jamal, and even the baseball playoffs.
Smerconish, who also writes columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, conducted the rapid-fire interview yesterday after doing an appearance on MSNBC's Hardball.
It aired at 7:30 a.m. on "The Big Talker," WPHT (1210 AM).
All subjects were fair game. "No rules, no limitations," Smerconish said.
First, he asked about how some supporters of Republican John McCain keep using Obama's middle name: Hussein.
Obama explained his father was from Kenya, so he ended up with "an Arab-sounding name," just as Obama wound up with a Midwest accent because his mother was from Kansas.
"What you know is they're trying to distract from the economy," Obama said of his Republican opponents.
With the country going through the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, "we better be talking about that in these next four weeks," he said.
Smerconish asked if gun owners, like himself, had anything to fear from an Obama administration.
"No, I am a strong believer in the second amendment," Obama said. "I believe it's an individual right."
He does, however, back measures that benefit public safety, like supporting ways that bullets and guns can be traced back to purchasers.
The shootings of Philadelphia police officers, for example, make it clear more such steps are needed, Obama said.
How about the case of Mumia Abu Jamal, who was convicted of the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulker? Smerconish made clear he'd given legal representation to the officer's widow, Maureen, and they'd written a book together. Had Obama taken a position?
"I haven't, only because the details of this event, you know, I've never studied," Obama said.
He added: "Let just me lay out a very clear principle: In my mind if someone killed a police officer, they deserve the death penalty or life in prison."
Smerconish lamented "the lack of discourse during the campaign about illegal immigration." Should the country at least try to seal the borders first? he asked.
"I believe in a comprehensive approach that involves sealing the borders. We've got to," Obama said. But people would probably still find their way in, so more measures are needed, he continued. "The thing that we really need to do is crack down on employers who are hiring undocumented workers, oftentimes recruiting them actively. ... They don't want to pay American workers a living wage," he said. As far as those already here, Obama said he's open to some process where people "come out of the shadows, pay a fine, learn English, go to the back of the line, and ultimately earn their way into a legal status or citizenship."
In recent days, McCain and running mate Sarah Palin have been alluding to Obama's acquaintance with William Ayers, who as a young Weather Underground radical supported domestic bombings. In 1995, while running for state senate in Illinois, Obama was invited to a fund-raising party at Ayers' home. "Why go to his house to begin with?" Smerconish asked.
Obama explained that after law school, he moved to Chicago, and met Ayres, who was a college professor, while "working on a school reform project that was funded by an ambassador and former close friend of Ronald Reagan's."
"I was sitting on this board with a whole bunch of conservative businessmen and civic leaders, and he [Ayers] was one of the people who was on this board. And he lives in the same neighborhood. Ultimately I learned that he [Ayers] was involved in this reprehensible act 40 years ago, but I was 8 years old at the time. And I assumed he had been rehabilitated."
"I've strongly condemned his actions. The fact that Sen. McCain wants to makes this the centerpiece of his campaign is pretty remarkable," Obama said. "... Nobody is suggesting that in any way the actions that this radical group back in the '60s did was the right thing to do."
"This guy is not part of my inner circle. He doesn't advise my campaign. He's not going to advise me as president. This is a red herring."
When asked about going after terrorists in Pakistan, Obama reiterated a stance he's spelled out before.
First, he agrees with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, that our military efforts in Afghanistan need bolstering. "As he put it, that's where the war on terrorists started, that's where it needs to end," Obama said.
"We've got to send a strong message to Pakistan that we can't tolerate safe havens for bin Laden where he's training terrorists to kill Americans," he said. If Pakistan can't or won't dismantle al-Qaeda training camps or "take bin Laden out ... then we've got to do it."
Finally, Smerconish asked whether Obama favored the Phillies or the Dodgers.
The Phillies, Obama said, because his campaign manager is a huge Phillies fan - and because the Chicago teams have been eliminated.
Smerconish said he steered away from the economy because it was such well-covered ground. "Can I really get value about questioning him about the economy?" he said this morning.
He hopes to get McCain back on the program, and would love to get Sarah Palin.
"That's clearly not going to happen, which is a disappointment to me," he said.
To hear a podcast of the entire interview, go to: www.thebigtalker1210.com.
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