In an interview with Barack Obama aired on Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith lobbed softballs at the Democratic candidate, spending half the interview on Obama visiting his ailing grandmother: "Lincoln said, 'all I ever hope to be, I owe to her,' in speaking about his mother. Your grandmother was very much like a mother to you. How important is this trip?" Smith later observed: "Some people say there's risk involved in this, with so little time left." Obama replied: "Yeah, well, the -- I think most people understand that if you're not caring for your family, then you're probably not the kind of person who's going to be caring for other people."

Realizing that he is supposed to be a serious journalist, Smith moved on: " I want to talk about some campaign issues..." One of the "issues" Smith asked about near the end of the interview was: "Whoever gets elected president, somehow, has to put their arm around the whole country and say, 'we're in this together.' Can do you that?" That gave Obama the opportunity to call for unity and attack conservatives at the same time: "I can. And I think that's the tone that we've set from the beginning of this campaign. I mean, look. Is Sean Hannity suddenly going to get on the air waves and say 'You know, I was wrong about this Obama guy, he's my man.' No, that's not going to happen. I mean's there's going to be a certain wing of the Republican Party that is, you know, dug in and resistant to the notion that we need to change direction."

Just prior to that, Smith focused on the "rancorous tone" caused by John McCain: "The rancorous tone of this campaign. I was with John McCain on Monday and I said our poll data shows that it's actually hurting you. He says ‘I wouldn't be doing it if he weren't doing it.’ At that, Obama laughed and replied: "Well, look. I mean, politics is tough, but I will say this. I don't think there's any equivalence between what we've been doing and what John McCain's been doing. Witness some of the comments that have been made just over the last several months, the last several weeks. 'Socialistic,' you know? 'Pals around with terrorists.' I mean, just the kinds of stuff that -- that I can't imagine saying about an opponent of mine." Then Obama proceeded to deride that "certain wind of the Republican Party."

To his credit, Smith did ask Obama about Joe Biden’s recent foreign policy gaffe: "...your running mate Joe Biden. Talked about, well, 'Barack Obama is going to be tested within the first six months.' John McCain jumped on that and said 'I don't need to be tested, I'm ready.' Are you more ready to be President of the United States than John McCain?" Obama responded: "I tell you, all I can say is this. We've had, over the last couple of months, I think, an interesting series of tests, and I think that I have been steadier."

At the top of the show, Smith teased the interview, which took place in Richmond, Virginia, by describing how: "Here he is in Virginia, campaigning for the umpteenth time. I spent some time with the Virginia governor yesterday. They've got a shot there. This is -- this is almost unprecedented." Except for when Virginia went for Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In a report just prior to the interview, correspondent Jeff Glor exclaimed: "President Bush won Indiana, the state of Indiana, by 21 points four years ago. But the latest polls show it's now a toss-up...As Barack Obama visits this morning. As he continues his drive into reliable Republican territory..."

Here is the full transcript of the segment:

7:00AM TEASE:

HARRY SMITH: Our exclusive interview with Barack Obama as he leaves the campaign trail to be with his grandmother.

BARACK OBAMA: My grandmother, my grandfather, my mom, they're really the people who -- who took care of me all throughout my childhood. My grandmother's the last one left.

SMITH: And we talk about negative campaigning, being tested, and his chances of winning.

7:01AM SEGMENT:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: How'd it go yesterday with Barack Obama?

SMITH: Well, we went back on the campaign trail with him yesterday where we got an exclusive interview in Richmond, Virginia. This is one of those strange twists in this campaign. Here he is in Virginia, campaigning for the umpteenth time. I spent some time with the Virginia governor yesterday. They've got a shot there. This is -- this is almost unprecedented. So we have some very revealing things from Barack Obama in our interview with him in just a couple of minutes.

7:05AM SEGMENT:

HARRY SMITH: Twelve days until election day and both Barack Obama and John McCain are concentrating on key battleground states. Early Show national correspondent Jeff Glor is in Indianapolis with more. Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF GLOR: Good morning to you, Harry. President Bush won Indiana, the state of Indiana, by 21 points four years ago. But the latest polls show it's now a toss-up. As Barack Obama visits this morning. As he continues his drive into reliable Republican territory, Barack Obama was forced to veer off his usual economic express.

JOE BIDEN: Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

GLOR: To contain the fallout from Joe Biden's comments about what would happen if Obama is elected? Obama agreed with the intent, if not the exact wording.

BARACK OBAMA: I think that his core point was that the next administration is going to be tested, regardless of who it is.

GLOR: This foreign policy flap was welcome news for John McCain, as he sought to seize the economic message of the day.

JOHN MCCAIN: You know, Joe's dream is to own a small business that will create jobs and the attacks on him are an attack on small businesses all over this nation.

GLOR: Plugging away with Joe the Plumber and tax talk at rallies.

MCCAIN: Sarah Palin and I will not raise your taxes, my friends! We want you to get wealthy!

GLOR: And on TV:

[CLIP OF MCCAIN AD]

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN A: I'm Joe the Plumber.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN B: I'm Joe the Plumber.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN C: Spread the wealth?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN A: I'm supposed to work harder...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN B: ... just to pay more taxes?

GLOR: Obama responded by saying he's trying to give Joe a tax cut. Both men are working to keep the attention off running mate related side stories, as both now face an election only 12 days away. After Barack Obama leaves Indianapolis, he'll make his way to Hawaii to visit his sick grandmother. The McCain campaign will be up and down the state of Florida today on what they call their 'Joe the Plumber tour.' Harry.

SMITH: Jeff Glor in Indianapolis this morning, thanks. I caught up with Senator Obama yesterday in Richmond, Virginia, and asked him about leaving the campaign trail at such a crucial time to visit his grandmother. Lincoln said, 'all I ever hope to be, I owe to her,' in speaking about his mother. Your grandmother was very much like a mother-

OBAMA: Absolutely.

SMITH: -to you. How important is this trip?

OBAMA: It's very important to me. You know, my mother was a single mom, so she raised me with the help of my grandparents and so my grandmother, my grandfather, my mom, they're really the people who -- who took care of me all throughout my childhood. My grandmother is the last one left. She has really been the rock of the family, the foundation of the family. Whatever strength, discipline, that I have, it comes from her.

SMITH: You said in the past that you regretted your own mother's illness and her death came so quickly, you didn't have time to get back there to see her.

OBAMA: Got there too late. We knew she wasn't doing well, but, you know, the diagnosis was such where we thought we had a little more time and we didn't, and so I want to make sure that I don't -- I don't make the same mistake twice.

SMITH: Some people say there's risk involved in this, with so little time left.

OBAMA: Yeah, well, the -- I think most people understand that if you're not caring for your family, then you're probably not the kind of person who's going to be caring for other people.

SMITH: I want to talk about some campaign issues, not the least of which is your running mate Joe Biden. Talked about, well, 'Barack Obama is going to be tested within the first six months.' John McCain jumped on that and said 'I don't need to be tested, I'm ready.' Are you more ready to be President of the United States than John McCain?

BARACK OBAMA: I tell you, all I can say is this. We've had, over the last couple of months, I think, an interesting series of tests, and I think that I have been steadier.

[CLIP OF OBAMA WITH SCREAMING CROWDS]

OBAMA: I think my advisers and my team and my organization, what we built has performed with the kind of calm, resolve, and deliberation that the White House needs right now. Any president is going to be tested by the enormity of the challenges that we face.

SMITH: The rancorous tone of this campaign. I was with John McCain on Monday and I said our poll data shows that it's actually hurting you. He says 'I wouldn't be doing it if he weren't doing it.'

OBAMA: [Laughs] Well, look. I mean, politics is tough, but I will say this. I don't think there's any equivalence between what we've been doing and what John McCain's been doing. Witness some of the comments that have been made just over the last several months, the last several weeks. 'Socialistic,' you know? 'Pals around with terrorists.' I mean, just the kinds of stuff that -- that I can't imagine saying about an opponent of mine.

SMITH: Whoever gets elected president, somehow, has to put their arm around the whole country and say, 'we're in this together.' Can do you that?

OBAMA: I can. And I think that's the tone that we've set from the beginning of this campaign. I mean, look. Is Sean Hannity suddenly going to get on the air waves and say 'You know, I was wrong about this Obama guy, he's my man.' No, that's not going to happen. I mean's there's going to be a certain wing of the Republican Party that is, you know, dug in and resistant to the notion that we need to change direction.

SMITH: When you close your eyes for a moment and you think about election night. Do you win?

OBAMA: Well, I wouldn't have gotten into this race if I didn't think I was going to win. If it's tied going into election day, I like our chances because I think we've got enormous enthusiasm on the ground.

SMITH: And just days to go.

—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.