IN THE MIDDLE of our interview, Armstrong has to take a call from Nike. Today is the company's annual corporate awards banquet, in Beaverton, Oregon. They're patching Armstrong in live via telephone to answer a few questions from the emcee. The volume on his phone is high enough that I can hear both ends of the conversation, which starts off with roaring applause.

NIKE: Lance, are you there?
You betcha, thanks for having me.

How is the comeback going?
You didn't get my voice mail? I've decided to call it off. [Laughter] No, that was a joke…

Like a veteran politician, he seamlessly transitions from an intimate media interview to fielding questions in front of a giant live audience. It's both impressive and fitting; in many ways Armstrong's life resembles one long political campaign. He's got a team of advisers who help hone his strategy. He travels from city to city making speeches. He raises tons of money. He has his own version of a campaign slogan— "Live Strong"—and his own take on the campaign button, the rubber yellow bracelet. And when called upon, he can deliver a flawless stump speech on the fly, even substituting "we" for "I," uniting his audience under a common struggle.

Listen as he explains his comeback—and the larger mission—to the Nike audience: "Well, we have a lot to accomplish. I remind people who are part of the LiveStrong team here in Austin that we picked a tough fight here. This disease is one of the most complicated, toughest, and most determined foes that any of us will ever face, personally or as a society. There are success stories, which are a great thing, but we've got a heck of a lot of work to do. And that's going to take renewed commitment on our part personally. It's going to take renewed commitment on the part of the federal government, which I'm incredibly optimistic about after last Tuesday. And it's going to take a lot of effort from people all over the world."

A few minutes later, the Nike call ends and Armstrong picks up right where we left off.

What will getting back on your bike do to help cure cancer? In Australia, for example, is there a quid pro quo for you going down there? "I'll race if you commit to doing X, Y, and Z"?
No, but they understand. They understand that it's a public-health priority. It's an ongoing process. Listen, I'll be the first to admit if I go down there and the government of Australia doesn't really commit to anything, that'd be a shame. It'd be a waste of time. I think the budget for cancers [in Australia] is about 150 or 160 million dollars. It'd be nice to get that up a little bit.

A couple of years ago you asked President Bush for a billion.
Yeah, never got it.

Are you talking to President-elect Obama?
I have a personal relationship with him—not like we talk every day, but I've had more than several conversations with him about this. You know, he lost his mother years ago to cancer. He lost his grandmother just two days before the election.

Are you more optimistic about what you can accomplish with Obama?
Absolutely. Anything would have been better than what we had on the cancer front. You had a cutback in funding to the National Institutes of Health. You had a relaxed approach when it came to tobacco. A lot of distractions, a lot of other things they were thinking about spending money on. I think our country ought to invest in these issues like cancer. I viewed [the billion] as an investment, not just spending. And I like George Bush as a person and as a friend. But as a cancer survivor? Terrible.