CNBC Press Releases

QUICK: ALL RIGHT. LET'S TRY ANOTHER ONE. MY NAME IS JOHN McCAIN. AND, MR. BUFFETT, YOU ARE ON THE RECORD SAYING, YOU WOULD SUPPORT EITHER OBAMA OR CLINTON, BOTH OF MY OPPONENTS, AND I JUST HAD A QUESTION FOR YOU, SIR. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO, ANY ECONOMIC ISSUE I CAN GET BEHIND THAT WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE YOU THINK TWICE ABOUT POTENTIALLY SUPPORTING ME?

BUFFETT: I WOULD SAY THAT IF YOU FELT THAT THE TAX BURDEN SHOULD BE SHIFTED IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY TO THE SUPERRICH AND AWAY FROM THE MIDDLE CLASS, I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT WOULD MAKE ME RE-EVALUATE YOU.

QUICK: I COULD POTENTIALLY GAIN YOUR SUPPORT COME NOVEMBER?

BUFFETT: IN THE END, I VOTE ON ISSUES NOW. I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR IN THE MAJOR AREAS WHAT ALL THREE CANDIDATES WOULD DO. AND I THINK IT'S UNLIKELY THAT, YOU KNOW, UNLESS HE HAS A -- I WOULDN'T SAY A SEX CHANGE, BUT A LOBOTOMY OR SOMETHING, I DON'T THINK McCAIN IS GOING TO CHANGE HIS VIEWS TO BE IN ACCORD WITH MINE. I ADMIRE HIM A LOT. I THINK HE'S AN ABSOLUTELY FIRST CLASS HUMAN BEING AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE GOING TO ELECT SOMEBODY I HOPE IT IS JOHN McCAIN. BUT HE HAS TOO MANY IDEAS THAT ARE DIFFERENT THAN I DO, PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF WHAT I WOULD CALL SOCIAL JUSTICE.

QUICK: LET ME TRY ONE MORE FOR YOU. I AM GOING TO ASK YOU, MY NAME IS STEVE BALLMER AND I COME TO YOU --

BUFFETT: YOU SHRUNK.

QUICK: I SHRUNK A LITTLE. I COME TO YOU THIS MORNING BECAUSE YOU ARE KNOWN AS THE NEGOTIATOR, THE MAN WHO KNOWS THE ART OF THE DEAL BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE. I'M NOT ASKING YOU ABOUT TECHNOLOGY, BUT I HAVE DECIDED TO WALK AWAY FROM YAHOO!. WAS THAT THE RIGHT DECISION? WAS THAT THE RIGHT NEGOTIATING TACTIC?

BUFFETT: WELL, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S A NEGOTIATING TACTIC. HE MAY HAVE DECIDED HE'S GONE AS FAR AS HE CAN GO. YOU DO HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF LIMIT. YOU CAN WANT SOMETHING BADLY, BUT IT'S NOT WORTH ANY PRICE TO THE BUYER AND I DON'T KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT YAHOO! SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE HIS CHOKING POINT WOULD BE. BUT HE EVIDENTLY HIT IT. IF YOU HIT YOUR CHOKING POINT YOU QUIT.

QUICK: YOU DON'T COME BACK FOR MORE? DO I WALK AWAY FOR GOOD?

BUFFETT: YOU MAY COME BACK LATER ON. HE MAY HAVE SOME SHAREHOLDERS OF YAHOO! COMING TO HIM SIX MONTHS FROM NOW. WHO KNOWS HOW THAT ALL PLAYS OUT. YOU HAVE TO DECIDE HOW MUCH SOMETHING IS WORTH. I HAVE WALKED AWAY FROM DEALS AND I MEAN IT WHEN I WALK AWAY. AND THE SELLER OCCASIONALLY HAS COME BACK.THAT HAPPENED WITH IN 1972. THEY WANTED 30 MILLION. WE WERE GOING TO PAY 25 MILLION. AND WE WALKED AND THEY WALKED AFTER US, FORTUNATELY.

QUICK: OKAY. SO YOU COULD BE CONVINCED TO COME BACK. ALL RIGHT. LET'S TRY ONCE MORE. I'M JEAN CLAUDE TRICHET THE HEAD OF THE ECB. I'M THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANKER. AND I HAVE BEEN STANDING PAT ON INTEREST RATES. AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING OR IS THERE A RISK THAT THIS FLU VIRUS THAT THE AMERICAN ECONOMY SEEMS TO HAVE PICKED UP WILL ACTUALLY COME OVER TO EUROPE?

BUFFETT: WELL, I THINK HE'S -- IT CAUSES PROBLEMS FOR THE UNITED STATES WITH THE CURRENCY PROBLEM THAT WE ALREADY HAVE, IF INTEREST RATES IN EUROPE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE U.S. I DON'T THINK HE'S EXACTLY PLAYING BALL BUT HE'S GOT A DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITY IN LIFE AND HE MAY BE MUCH MORE WORRIED ABOUT INFLATION THAN BERNANKE IS OR BERNANKE MAY FEEL LIKE HE'LL BE LIKE SCARLET O'HARA THAT I'LL WORRY ABOUT INFLATION TOMORROW. BUT HE HAS TO DECIDE IN TERMS OF HIS OBLIGATIONS, HIS OBLIGATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION AND HE OBVIOUSLY FEELS IF HE DROPS RATES A LOT THAT HE'S GOING TO PAY A PRICE IN TERMS OF POSSIBLY IGNITING INFLATION THAT HE'S NOT WILLING TO PAY.

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