"I don't think Washington wins," President Obama tells NBC's Brian Williams in the interview that the TV network will broadcast this evening -- one of five sit-downs the president did with national news anchors this afternoon.

"The fact of the matter is Tom Daschle pulled out today," Obama continues. "And I'm here on television saying I screwed up and that's part of the era of responsibility; is not never making mistakes; it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them and that's what we intend to do." (Update at 7:45 a.m. ET, Feb. 4: Video of NBC's interview has been posted online here.)

(Update at 10:45 a.m. ET, Feb. 4: What do you think of the way the president is handling this? Join a Forum discussion here.)

The networks are sending out excerpts. Highlights from the others we've gotten so far:

• Obama tells ABC's Charles Gibson this was an embarrassing day for his administration, with the collapse of Daschle's nomination as Health and Human Services secretary and Nancy Killefer as chief performance officer.

"We're going to have some glitches," Obama adds, "and I understand that that's what people are going to focus on. And I'm focused on it because I don't want glitches. We can't afford glitches because, right now, what I should be spending time talking to you about is how we're going to put three to four million people back to work. And so this is a self-induced injury that I'm angry about, and we're going to make sure we get it fixed." (Update at 7:45 a.m. ET, Feb. 4: Video of ABC's interview has been posted online here.)

• The president tells CNN's Anderson Cooper that "I think my mistake is not in selecting Tom originally, because I think nobody was better equipped to deal both with the substance and policy of health care. He understands it as well as anybody, but also the politics, which is going to be required to actually get it done. But I think that, look, ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics. And I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards, one for powerful people, and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes." (Update at 7:45 a.m. ET, Feb. 4: Video of CNN's interview has been posted online here.)

• He says to CBS' Katie Couric that Daschle's withdrawal is "frustrating for me and it's something that I take responsibility for. Tom, I think, is an outstanding individual. I am absolutely convinced that he would’ve been the best person to help shepherd through, uh, what's going to be a very difficult process to get healthcare for American families." (Update at 7:45 a.m. ET, Feb. 4: Video of CBS' interview has been posted online here.)

• The two nominees stepped down, however, because "we can't send a message to the American people that we have two sets of rules -- one for prominent people and one for ordinary people," he tells Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace.

"Ultimately I have to take responsibility for a process that resulted in us not having an HHS Secretary at a time when people need relief on their healthcare costs<" Obama also says to Wallace. "This is a mistake, probably not the first one I am going to be making in this office, but what I'm absolutely committed to doing is fixing it, getting a highly qualified HHS Secretary, and then making sure we start delivering some healthcare relief to families who so desperately need it." (Update at 7:45 a.m. ET, Feb. 4: Video of Fox's interview has been posted online here.)

Obama also tells ABC's Gibson that:

"You know, I feel surprisingly comfortable in the job. I think I've got a great staff. We've got a great team.



"The challenges are big. You know, we've got an economy that I think is worse than anybody would have anticipated even two or three months ago. We've seen some progress in Iraq, but in Afghanistan we've got enormous challenges. And we've got a -- not just an immediate economic crisis, but a long-term budget issue in terms of the amount of debt that we're accumulating.



"Trying to square all those circles is a challenge. But one thing that I'm absolutely convinced about is that you want to be president when you've got big problems. If things are going to smoothly, then this is just another nice home office."

All five networks will be broadcasting their interviews this evening.