National Journal's Linda Douglass sat down with former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., for the May 2 edition of "National Journal On Air." This is a transcript of their conversation.

Q: I want to welcome Lee Hamilton. He is the co-chair of the 9-11 Commission that investigated the attacks on the World Trade Center, and also a leading foreign policy expert and former chairman of the International Relations Committee in Congress. Welcome, Congressman Hamilton.

Hamilton: Linda, I'm delighted to be with you. Thank you.

Q: Well, thanks for joining us. So you have endorsed Barack Obama. You were for many, many years a leading congressman from Indiana. Why do you think Obama is the strongest candidate in Indiana?

Hamilton: Linda, the beginning point for me in making a choice is to ask myself the question -- what kind of leadership the country needs at this particular juncture. I think we've got an unpopular war. We've got an economy that's not working well. Most Americans are dissatisfied in record numbers with the country's direction. They are also very displeased with the partisanship in Washington and the stalemated process. But importantly, the country is very evenly divided politically, and so you need a leader, I think, that can speak for real, deep, transformational change, that wants to move the country in a new direction, and I think Senator Obama meets that standard.

Q: Well, one of the things that was so noted about your endorsement is this: You are a leading expert in foreign policy, and one of the leading criticisms of him is that he doesn't have as much experience as Hillary Clinton does in this area. Why do you think that he would be, for example, a better commander in chief than she would, given her claim of more experience.

Hamilton: Linda, I think the most important thing that you need in foreign policy is judgment, and I really think Senator Obama has shown good judgment on foreign policy issues. I think he would have a foreign policy that is pragmatic, but also visionary, and American foreign policy is at its best when we combine the realism and the pragmatism of the American people with idealism.

I also think he would be tough as a president. He's said, for example, he wants to go after Osama bin Laden, who now has a safe haven in Pakistan. We're not going after him, and we should. I like his emphasis on nuclear nonproliferation. I think that's the dominant issue for American foreign policy as we see the erosion of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. I like his willingness to use all of the tools of American power, non-military as well as military. I like his willingness to talk to adversaries as well as to friends in order to solve problems. So I think he's got good judgment on American foreign policy.

Q: You know, of course, that this week has not been his best week -- that he has been, at least according to the polls, politically damaged by the controversy over Reverend [Jeremiah] Wright. Couple questions here -- do you think that the controversy is legitimate, and do you think that it's fair?

Hamilton: Well, I think any issue is legitimate that the American people are interested in, and this is a legitimate issue as far as I can see. Now I do think a distinction has to be made, and the distinction, really, is between what I would call first-tier issues and second- or third-tier issues. Presidents deal with the big issues, the first-tier issues -- war, peace, an economy that is prospering or stagnating, health care for all. And those decisions profoundly impact the ordinary lives of Americans. I put them in a class by themselves. There are a lot of other issues that are important; I don't mean in any way to denigrate them, but I think they are less important than these other issues. I think the Reverend Wright controversy is legitimate, but I certainly don't put it in the tier one level of issues, which I think most Americans will be focusing on.

Q: What is it about the issue that makes it a legitimate issue?

Hamilton: Well, it makes it a legitimate issue because it calls into question Senator Obama's relationship with someone -- his pastor. And his pastor, obviously, has said a lot of things that are offensive to most Americans, so you can legitimately raise the question of judgment about personal relationships. My own personal view is that that aspect has been hugely magnified by people who benefit from raising it, because every single one of us have relationships with people with whom we disagree. It's a very normal thing in human conversations and relationships. So I think it's a legitimate issue. It bothers some people, so it should be fully vetted and explored, but I don't put it in the level of the big issues.

Q: You say that it has been magnified by people who would stand to benefit from the issue. Who is to blame, do you think, for the level of this controversy?

Hamilton: Oh, I can't go into that. I don't really know. But any person who is a front-runner, who is out leading the pack, as Senator Obama clearly is for the delegate votes, you're going to have people shooting at him -- friends and supporters of opponents. So any number of people could've brought that to the front.

What is important, I think, is this is a senator who will inspire the country. The country needs a lift at this point. Americans have indicated displeasure with the direction of the country at the highest levels ever recorded in the polls. Senator Obama has had energy and enthusiasm. He's inspired a tidal wave of political participation. He's understood and articulated that Americans want to believe again in the greatness and in the goodness of their country.

Q: So if, because of all this controversy, Hillary Clinton wins or comes very close in North Carolina, wins in your state of Indiana -- what is the argument, then, to the superdelegates who might begin to fear that the air has gone out of Obama's candidacy?

Hamilton: Well, I think you have to recognize that Senator Obama has a commanding delegate lead. In order to overtake Senator Obama's lead, Senator Clinton would not just need to win, but would need to win big in the remaining delegates. That would mean winning decisively in Indiana, winning decisively in North Carolina, but not just that. Not even that's enough. She would have to win decisively in the seven remaining contests, and even if she did that, at the conclusion of the primary calendar, which would be June 3, she would still need to win over 65 percent of the remaining undecided superdelegates. The hurdles for her are very, very high -- exceedingly high.

We have a process. We have a process to choose a president nominee. That process is delegates, and we stay with that process. We don't change the process in the midstream, and so I think you have to keep your eye here on the delegates and where you are at this particular time.

Q: Well, thank you so much, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, a leading foreign policy expert and co-chair of the 9-11 Commission, and supporter of Barack Obama. Thanks very much for joining us.

Hamilton: Thank you, Linda. Bye.