Actually, this is more an exchange than a quote:

Matt Lauer: Have you spoken directly with the CEO of BP?

Barack Obama: I have not spoken to him directly and here’s the reason, because my experience is, when you talk to a guy like the BP CEO, he’s going to say all the right things to me. I’m not interested in words. I’m interested in actions . . .

Matt Lauer: In all due respect, that seems strange to me.

If we might interject here, isn’t Obama the same guy who said he thinks the American president should be talking to folks like Chavez and Ahmedinejad “without preconditions?” If he thinks Hayward is going to give him the runaround and waste his time, what does he think Ahmedinejad would do? As even Lauer agrees, the inconsistency and idiocy of statements like this call into question what kind of man is occupying the White House regardless of politics.