Are you ready for some political football? For the fourth straight year
His chat this year with
Lauer also did the interview with Obama in 2009, barely more than a week into his presidency. That interview began as a discussion of some of the excitement that marked his first days in office and the transition for him and his family to life in the
"How much worse is the economy going to get, Mr. President, before it gets better?" Lauer asked.
"I think we're going to be in for a tough several months," Obama said. "It's going to take a number of months before we stop falling, and then a little bit longer for us to get back on track."
An extended portion that aired the next day provided Obama's rivals, particularly
"I've got four years," Obama said. "A year from now I think people are going to see that we're starting to make some progress, but there's going to be some pain out there. If I don't have this done in three years, than this is going to be a one-term proposition."
Romney's stump speech of late quotes the president's prediction, with Romney adding that it's "time to collect."
Obama will have the chance Sunday to make his case to a huge audience that his policies have, indeed, begun to take hold. Bill O'Reilly's pre-Super Bowl interview with the president in 2011, when
Consider that 5.4 million viewers watched the last Republican presidential debate on
Pregame interview continues Obama's Super Bowl tradition

President Obama walks with NBC's Matt Lauer for an interview before the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, 2009. (Pete Souza / White House)