Transcript of CNBC’s Barack Obama interview

Below is the transcript of CNBC's John Harwood's Jan. 7 interview with President-elect Barack Obama.

John Harwood: First of all, Mr. President-elect, congratulations.

President-elect Barack Obama: Thank you so much.

Harwood: Thanks for making time for us.

Obama: You bet. Thank you.

Harwood: You've just come from the White House, which, for the last few days, you and your girls have been looking at outside the window of the Hays-Adams Hotel.

Obama: Right.

Harwood: How did it feel to be there with the former presidents today and what can you learn from them, especially the current President Bush whom you criticized so strongly in the campaign?

Obama: Well, first of all, President Bush has been incredibly gracious. The transition, I think, has been as smooth as any we've seen in history partly because President Bush and Josh Bolten and his team have worked very closely with ours. And all of the former presidents as well as current President Bush, I think have a unique understanding of what the pressures and possibilities of that office. And so they gave me good counsel, not just on specific issues, but more importantly, some of the typical problems that you may end up confronting in the office. How do you make sure that you get good information? How do you make sure that people aren't just telling you what you want to hear? How do you make sure that people are thinking as a team instead of promoting their own individual agendas? And so I found it very helpful. All of them have insights that I hope to apply when I'm president.

Harwood: Any family advice as well?

Obama: Well, I think that I believe in the general theory that if mom is happy, everybody's happy. So the — and I think everybody concurred on that one. I — you know, President Carter and Clinton both had some unique insights because they had younger children when they were in the White House. And, obviously, Malia and Sasha are 10 and seven, and we just want to make sure that we are creating normalcy as much as possible in what obviously is an extraordinary situation.

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