I have written several pieces the last couple of years – including one last week -- challenging the "dinosaur" label that some analysts tried to put on 60 Minutes because of the show’s age. It was an easy label to refute because of your consistently strong ratings. But these past two weeks at number one during this historic period in American life have been something else. What’s your reaction to the ratings?

What makes the season particularly gratifying is that we’ve succeeded by doing what we do best – covering big and important stories and sticking with that. This fall, for example, we have really been on the campaign and the financial crisis and had three stories on the two wars. And winning numbers like this considering what we’ve been focusing on, I find that fulfilling.

It is sort of central to what people expect from 60 Minutes. We really operate on the assumption that Americans want substance – they want that in the reporting that we’re going to bring them. They want us to be covering big stories. And that has been paying off in the number of viewers. And I hope it’s been paying off for the viewing experience as well.

I just want to follow up on your assumption that American viewers do want substance. Can you elaborate? It is so refreshing to hear a news executive say that in an era where so many media outlets seem to be heading in panic in the other direction.

Well, I think it’s a particularly difficult time in the country. And if you just look at the past two weeks, there’s a fascination with Barack Obama -- whether you were with him or not. He’s a compelling figure. There’s something reassuring about a president so thoughtful and articulate and seemingly normal at a time like this.

… And I think we’ve benefited from being on top of the campaign at a time when people want to hear what he has to say. He’s moving into some troubled waters, and because of that, there’s a lot of anxiety out there and to hear him talk about some of these issues is obviously bringing a lot of people into our broadcast.

Your team seems to have understood the importance of forging a relationship with Barack Obama before almost anyone else. Can you talk about how you came to be the place Obama goes to talk with Americans as he did Sunday?

First of all, Steve Kroft, Michael Radutzky and Frank Devine (producers) just deserve so much credit. They’ve been working that camp quite hard and I think earned their trust. And we have done several stories with Barack Obama.

And I know you have done almost as many on McCain.

Yes, it’s true, and we also wanted to focus on Hillary Clinton as well, and actually her campaign made it more difficult for us to do it. They weren’t as interested in co-operating. We did end up doing a little bit more with the Obama people because we actually reported our first story at the time he announced for President.

That said, part of what I think kept us on the front burner is that we have dedicated more of our time than typical to this campaign. And the message it sent to the campaigns was: "These people care about the issues and they want to help their viewers understand where the candidates stand."

I think that was important in terms of building trust. I think the Obama people and the president-elect himself appreciate that the questions they are getting from Steve are substance. And that makes a big difference, I think. He wants to get a message across, but they want – and the McCain people wanted this, too – a sense that we will avoid the petty and really help the people understand the difference between these two candidates.

And I think we did a pretty good job of that by dedicating the whole broadcast of September 21st to the candidates. It showed our viewers – which was also a sizeable audience on that night by the way – that we’re in this for the long haul. That was an important message, and the campaigns heard it. If John McCain had won, I hope he would have felt the same way, "Let’s go on 60 minutes and share our feelings about the country right now as president-elect." So, I do think that made a difference.

But I also think good old fashioned shoe leather reporting means you really do get to know the subjects of the story. And that’s really how you earn a trust – and a certain bond. An I know that there is one between Kroft and the president elect, because they’ve been together a lot. He’s asked very tough questions. I feel like Barack Obama is prepared for that. He’s never shied away from a tough question. But when Steve said to him "why you?" on September 21st -- "why do you think you’re the guy who can do this?" – he may have been a little taken back by it. But, nevertheless, his full answer appeared on the air. In a traditional reporter’s method, you do work your way into a story, and if you’re going to hold onto it, you have to be tough but fair and consistent. I think that’s a big part of what happened here.

Can you talk about how you guys have stayed on your mission at a time when so many media institutions – and I am talking about some pretty good newspapers and TV outlets – have just gone crazy in desperately trying to re-make themselves. I think there might be a larger message for the media in your actions and subsequent success.

Oh my gosh yes, that’s a big source of pride on our floor that we have maintained our central kind of purpose, which is what (founding executive producer) Don Hewitt taught us so well over the years. We really believe in what we do, and it does involve important stories and covering them well and telling them in an interesting way. But not losing the mix that we adhere to on a regular basis, which is that there might be something really hard, and there might be something just plain interesting – something for everybody is the point.

We really have stuck to that in part because I’m not sure we’d be able to anything else very well. If someone said to us, "Hey look, you’ve got to work at getting 18-year-olds into the tent and change the way you're doing things." I couldn’t do it. I’d have to find another job. I know a lot of people on our floor feel that way. And I know a lot of our staff that has been here many years believes in what we do.

And, you know, I think the word "brand" is overused, but, boy, it does mean something when you see that stopwatch ticking. And I think you do great injustice to your core audience that’s been loyal over all the years if you go in a different direction and attempt to pander to something else.

That said, we also get enormous support from CBS. Nobody is saying move in a different direction or do something else. Les Moonves (network CEO) and Sean McManus (president of news and sports) are proud of what we do, and they say so all of the time. So, you need that as well. You see a newspaper that is being told by the publisher, "Why are you covering Iraq?" Well, we don’t get that. We’re an expensive broadcast. What we do is expensive and risky and tough to make interesting sometime. It says a lot about the company and the dedication to what we do. I don’t it for granted, because you see in some of theses news organizations what happens when the people at the top decide this isn’t working.

Can you talk about future stories? Are you going to stay hard on the transition?

Yeah, we’re on it. We’re working on many other fronts. We have these huge stories swirling all around us. We’re not going to let go of the finacial crisis. We have a couple of stories working there that I think are going to be very important. And we’ve got a terrific story coming about oil – actually two….So, it’s not just what’s happening in the White House, or who’s going to take these jobs. We really want to be on many different fronts. Look, it’s an incredible moment in history, and God knows how long it’s going to take the country to pull out of this. But we’re going to try and be all over it.

Speaking of the financial crisis, one last question. There is a lot of confusion and anger about how we got to the horrible place this nation is in today. Do you think part of the ratings surge might be related to Americans turning to you guys for answers and help in sorting it out?

I hope so. I mean, that's our hope. We work as hard as we can to try and be America’s watchdog. You know, what are we being told – and not being told in all this? What are people trying to keep from us? Where are the millions of dollars going? We're all over it.