Obama 'punch drunk?' -- 'Gallows humor'

The on the job training for these people has already been painful to watch, especially Geithner. It would've been nice if Steve Croft would've asked this type of question during the campaign.

Obama didn't have a Teleprompter in front of him to tell him what to say.

At least he can laugh about the ploblems, and he is open to explaning things. Good for president Obama

A big part of the problem is many investors are looking for short term gain instead of long term growth

Given the MSM's deservedly tattered reputation and especially given their rapt adoration of all things Obama, I skipped '60 Minutes' last night.

Again

What will bring me back?

A live, unscripted interview with a rightie, a leftie and perhaps even someone who aspires to being fair in the middle.

Until then forget it.

Obama still wants to blame Bush. Before we know it he will be adding Hoover and Nixon to his blame list. What a coward!

The liberals must be really proud of this president...a comedian and a president all rolled in one. Now I understand why our country is being laughed at...it's called presidential humor...let's all laugh together...What a joke.

For the next 4 years, this clown is guaranteed a free car, private jet, a mansion, and a Sultan’s staff.

Why should he care? It’s not like he’s compensated on performance.

Obama can afford to laugh he doesn't have to pay for anything...even the party he had in Grant park, he argued the tab for 3 months until the DNC picked it up, in fear of the new President looking like the tightwad that he is. He just doesn't get it, if your going to be a big McGaffer you have to pay the bill.

Face it. We're stuck for four years with an non-experienced president who's so far in over his head that his ears look like water wings. Laughing at the plight of millions who have lost their jobs. Laughing at people with disabilities. Doing his Blago imitation with pop-TV interviews trying to "charm" the unthinking populace which elected him. Woe is us.

This president will never get out of campaign mode. He panders to the most prolific consensus of the day and if that changes daily, so does his position.

He appears to be not only clueless but cannot keep a straight face while flopping all over the place. He knew of the language in the bail out legislatioin and voted YES for it, then he was appauled by the AIG bonuses (not really bonuses after all) and decried the Audacity of the Monsters and their Greedy ways. Now he's "indifferent" to the whole sharade?

We're in big trouble and the talking head doesn't get it.

That he laughed a bit just shows he knows how to handle stressful situations. I know in the most stressful situations in my life I am able to laugh and see the irony and I generally am able to handle them 10 times better than those who can't and let everything get to them. To me it shows a certain amount of confidence.

What I didn't like about the interview was the health nag. I think it is great the First Lady has a garden. It is good for so many reasons. But I don't need or want any "message about nutrition" from any politician. All government messes up the lives of citizens more than it helps and I certainly don't want politicians as role models for my personal life. They should be nothing more than administrators and keep out of our lives as much as possible.

This is a joke.

Check out infowars.com for some real political news.

Punch drunk??? Not sure about that...more like inexperienced, totally incompetent, yet refreshingly arrogant.

The republican plan, I hope he fails, is much better for the country. Leave it to the "great" Americans to form another perfect plan.

I'm pretty sure most of the predictable hate comments here are from people who didn't actually bother to watch the interview. It was impressive, reassuring, and substantive. What a relief after the last eight years. We have a steady leader who keeps his eye on the prize (reviving the economy) instead of the flap of the day. Thank goodness.

How can this be accepted? Are people that stupid? Making jokes about the state this country is in shows a total lack of respect for the job he has fallen into. Lord help us all! What a fool. If you voted for Hobama you should be ashamed of yourself.

I'm soo cool. I'm on Jay Leno. I'm such STAR. It's ALL about me and how KOOL I am. I'm even more slick than Slick Willie.

I can laugh and joke. It's O.K. to have this on the job training. It's like being in the Senate AND doing NOTHING.

I have all of the experience at DOING NOTHING I need. So I can laugh and make fun of people and play on.

This guy is clueless. This is the "Change" that we all need to fear.

We have inherited 8 years of mismanagement and now people want to crucify Obama for 60+ days of damage control.

I am surprised that the liberal media has decided to say something negative about this knucklehead that was elected last year. It sure seems that he has found a way to keep himself in the news by being a knucklehead all by himself. Just imagine what he could do if he had a teleprompter to read from he would never step in it. Just keep drinking the cool aid and see what happens.

Someone raised a good point. He is pretty much a celebrity in his own mind and might not mind his presidential legacy. There was a time when presidents did not make what they make now and did not have a pension at the end and the last 4 presidents have shown they don't even need it. Maybe we should start writing our senators and congressmen and ask for the president’s pension to be abolished. He will make enough money on his own and save the country money to be used to pay for his policies in the future.

Nice to see that all the bitter GOP supporters are still out there commenting. I suppose "bomb. bomb, Iran" was just so much funnier?" If a constitutional law professor can be reduce to a comedian in your eyes, what respect do you give an genuine actor as president? You all are bitter hypocrites and paranoid. I didn't hear one thing about Bush. To me he seemed to focus on Wall Street in this interview. Despite the chuckle he had a lot to say that shows he knows what has happened and he knows there is a lot to be done. How can acknowledgment have you more afraid the the denials of your party? Ludicrous.

I can't stand Obama, but those were the questions that should have been put to him before the election by the media. Now, they want the guy to pull a rabbit out of his hat and for everything to be right. It going to take allot of effort and time to get this ship right again.

Why should he care about the regular American suffering through the recession? He signed a 2.5 MILLION dollar book deal a week before he became president. He has 4 years of being catered to, and has secured his own financial future FOREVER with talks, TV appearances, more boring books, and whatever else his publicist can get him into. We're in a lot of trouble folks.

Laughter is the enemy of the chicken little right. Without fear....they got nothing. Fear will help the I want him to fail agenda of the "great" Americans. Praying for suffering of all Americans certainly seems a low road to take but, if that's all you've got, I guess you have to go with it.

People are out of work. People are losing their homes.
People are starving.
People have lost their life savings.
Obama laughs and says we need 'Gallows Humor'.
I would say that he needs the finger

Why are there so many haters out there? Not because the President is a good or bad one, people want him to fail because he is born of a white mother and black father. Show your respect, people of mankind!!!!

This has been a helluva week for the OBAMASSIAH. First he makes fun of disabled citizens and now laughs at the dire economic plight a lot of Americans find themselves in. Keep fiddlin' NERO, its just Rome that's burnin', but you'll be safe in your ebony tower. Tony R and the boys will see to it. I am LMAO over this. It appears that the training wheels are flying off this bicycle and we are in for helluva ride. Go Hillary!

"I don't think we anticipated how steep the decline would be, particularly in employment."

What?

On the campaign trail, Obama repeatedly said we're in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

He doesn't know what he's doing and he's arrogant about it too.

How does Obama's performance compare to Bush joking about looking for Iraq WMD underneath his desk in the oval office? I think favorably.

"A big part of the problem is many investors are looking for short term gain instead of long term growth"

Well said. But on the flipside, that is just a single part of the "I want it now" attitude that America has developed. Just look at all the fools that put thousands of dollars on a 20% interest credit card just to get those clothes, TVs, video games, etc right now instead of saving and waiting until they can afford it. It's not just investors that have the "me me me" attitude without keeping an eye on the future...

President Obama is like a breath of fresh air in the Oval Office, it's about time compared to what the previous administration did. Keeping us living in fear for 8 years. Just about every time I saw Bush he would always remind us that we are a nation at war or he is the Command-n-Chief(draft Dogger). How many times have you heard Obama echo those same sentiments? What a stark difference.

This is just one more irritating and humiliating performance by Mr. Obama. I'm ashamed of his Special Olympics comment, and am appalled that he laughs when questioned about issues that are severely serious for the millions of Americans and the very state of our livelihood. I didn't believe him when he was campaigning with his sing-song slogans, and I don't believe him now that he is president- a sitting president who is more and more showing signs of being hardly more than a pop icon than the leader of the free world.

Wow, it's amazing how critical everyone is of the guy. At least he's telling us the truth (that this is not an easy fix), and he's not backing away from the challenge. So what if he laughs? When times are tough, we all need to find some levity. Lighten up!

"On the job training"... isn't that what George W. Bush had as well as far as national security? He was presented with a crisis in his first year of office, and he had to learn on the fly. Well, give Obama the same consideration...

He did not create this situation, but he is doing his best to get us out of it. Whether you like him or not, he's The President. I hope he succeeds.

PEOPLE, can't we give him a year to see if he is actually a decent president, I mean look it took BUSH four years to destroy us and you all were PUNCH DRUNK in love with this idiot until he started two wars. It's quite unfair to be so critical to a man who is taking on so many massive problems. If you were this critical when bush was in office than perhaps half the problems we have now wouldn't exist. AND don't even attempt to say that it wasn't the BUSH administration because HE started two wars, helped passed legislation that undermined the working and middleclass and he honestly did not care about anyone other than the upper echelons. There is not question about it, so let's be as generous to Obama as we were to Bush and give him some time before we have to decide whether or not he's inadequate.

What did the Nazis do 1st. ? Take over the media(check) 2nd. Take away guns (check)3rd. Make people afraid all the time (check)Invade and control a foriegn country under the guise of help(double check) !!!!!

What's with the negative, partisan, opinionated, editorializing headline? Most of us, about 60 percent, are with the president. And many of us appreciate his cool, smiling gallows humor because that's the way we are getting through this too. There were tons of important points to billboard as a headline and those important ideas are highlighted in the text. But some bozo decides that Steve Croft's perception of Barack's smile, warrants a headline for the whole story? Shameful. What did he expect? A Jimmy Carter great malaise grimace? Double shame on Croft. Here's yet another elite person making a high 6 or 7 figure income, with great job security, deciding how those really affected by the economic crisis should feel. Well, my bet is that most of us would much rather see Barack's smile than Steve Croft's phony, constipated frown.

Posted by: Mike Joyce | March 23, 2009 11:02 AM

What did the Nazis do 1st. ? Take over the media(check) 2nd. Take away guns (check)3rd. Make people afraid all the time (check)Invade and control a foriegn country under the guise of help(double check) !!!!!

The more I see him, the happier I am I voted for him. Someone who can think, speak in coherent sentences, has maturity and a sense of perspective -- what a change.

Lot's of great ideas from our Country First Republic heroes! I never knew you could fix an economy with personal attacks such as "what a coward!" or this gem, "this clown(Obama) is guaranteed a free car, private jet, a mansion, and a Sultan’s staff". Way to roll up your Country First sleaves to get this country moving forward again. The nation salutes you and your grand ideas!

There is often humor among intelligent, dedicated people doing deadly serious jobs. To suggest Obama is laughing at any of this is simply absurd.

JJJ - If the state of the U.S. economy isn't Bush's fault, who had eight years to turn a surplus into a deficit, then whose fault is it??? Obama's, who has been in office for three months??? Give me a break.

"Because you know, if you go to North Dakota, or you go to Iowa, or you go to Arkansas, where folks would be thrilled to be making $75,000 a year without a bonus"

What divisive pandering.

In those states you can buy a house for $75,000. In Manhattan, that won't cover your rent and groceries. Surely Obama ought to know that there is a huge difference in the cost of living.

Of course the Obama family has always been sheltered from such matters with their over-inflated lawyer's salaries. Especially the Mrs' $300k job at the U of C hospitals (so gratuitous that it was eliminated when she left for the White House).

And of course, there's the nice $500k bonus the family's finances got just days before the inauguration when Mr O received an advance from his publisher (to turn his autobio into a children's book). How about a 90% tax on THAT bonus?

Remember when people hated lawyers instead of bankers?

It's very easy to slam Obama when he's been handed the worst possible combination of issues that any President has faced in decades. He's also been on the job for only 2 months, yet people expect instant results. I am not praising him as the messiah, and perhaps he will indeed fail, but he does deserve enough time to fix these issues. As far as inexperience, let us not forget the massive issues left behind by Governor Bush and his 8 years of incompetence.

Intelligent people generally have a sense of humor: you learn to laugh at the absurdity of this country in order to cope with it on a daily balance. Kudos to him for being earnest about it. Beats "Mission Accomplished," doesn't it?

Far less satisfying are the boards here, particularly the response to Sunday's Civil War piece. Burning question for the Trib: is attracting any consumer more important than the kind of reader they seem to be getting? We'll see how long ignorant haters prop up old media.

He's also probably exhausted from working on so many major problems.

"A big part of the problem is many investors are looking for short term gain instead of long term growth

Posted by: Michael J Hartman Sr | March 23, 2009 9:07 AM "

I agree to a certain extent, but I believe that the actual investors have abandoned the market right now. The wild swings we're seeing from day to day tell me that the traders control the stocks right now. Actual investors are sitting back and waiting for things to ccalm down.

Treasury is going to have make a decision: Save the banks or save the market. I don't think they can do both.

The people posting on this board are pathetic. Obama has been in office for 60 days. You gave George 8 years to do his thing, and look what we were left with. I'm also annoyed with the title of this article. It is not at all representative of 99% of the story. If Steve Kroft is going to say something as stupid as what he did, it speaks volumes about him. Would you prefer the president to be sallow and depressed? I'm sure that would make us all feel better and have hope for the future.

You don't want to pass laws that target just a few people.
What about the tax loopholes that favor just a few people or corporations?
What a crock.

Cheap shot Silva.

If you took on this kind of mess, we'd be changing your diapers for the rest of your life.

The negative posters obviously didn't watch the interview last night. Obama came off as very thoughtful, intelligent, and yes personable.

What happened to my post? To friendly to the President for your taste?

The right should embrace "gallows humor." After all, they've lost two national elections in a row, they embrace Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber as intellectual equals, and they've made Rush Limbaugh the honorary leader of their party! At some point they may want to try something that appeals to the electorate instead their usual caterwauling.

For a supposedly “educated” man, I’ve never seen so many “gonnas”, “wannas” and “gottas”. He makes Bush look like a Thespian. Perhaps, he’ll start talking “gangsta” soon…..PLEASE, start acting presidential (a charge leveled at Bush all the time) ENOUGH special olympics bowling, Leno appearances, reneging on agreements made with AIG with TARP recipients (aren't contracts valid in this country anymore? oh, yes, but we can then go back and tax it all back??!!) and TV coverage saturation. GET TO WORK ON REAL SOLUTIONS

Perhaps, he’ll start talking “gangsta” soon…..
Posted by: Kim | March 23, 2009 11:38 AM

Gosh Kim...why would you say that ...wink...wink...

I guess this guy wasn't educated:

"Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?"

Remember him Kim? Did you at anytime expect him to talk "gangsta" Kim?

One side benefit here is that it is great to see all the deep thinkers who were assuring us of the wisdom of big tax cuts for the rich and less regulation of banks and financial institutions are back posting again from their four year hiatus. It’s been a little boring while you were hiding in your garages scraping the "W” stickers off your giant station wagons.

It is a little different now after we know that your idiotic “ideas” have resulted in the destruction of America’s infrastructure, economy and standing in the international community.

We spent eight years in the nineties cleaning up your S&L meltdowns, budget deficits and economic stagnation and now despite your insipid whining we’ll overcome the latest plundering of our dreams by these greedy tools and their witless drones who take their programming cues from their talk radio masters.

Now maybe if Obama would just invade some country under a fake premise, get 3,000 or 4,000 of our troops killed and spend ten trillion dollars or so with Biden’s former employer these guys would give him a little respect.

Clowns indeed.

And what is Mark Silva doing to help the country out of Bush/Cheney's economic mess? Besides writing biased articles for a bankrupt company.

"Why are there so many haters out there? Not because the President is a good or bad one, people want him to fail because he is born of a white mother and black father. Show your respect, people of mankind!!!!

Posted by: Larry Copeland"
You�re not serious, right? With a basketball playing president this could not be more appropriate, regardless of race. He talked so much trash during his campaign without anyone seeing his game. Now we see his game and he can�t hit a simple layup let alone the clutch shot. I did not read one post here that went where you think it did.

"The more I see him, the happier I am I voted for him. Someone who can think, speak in coherent sentences, has maturity and a sense of perspective -- what a change."

Posted by: Grandblvd03 | March 23, 2009 11:05 AM

This sums up very nicely how I felt while watching the interview. I would much rather see a president with a sense of humor, which is a positive sign of mental health and an appropriate way to deal with stress, than a bitter crybaby who wants to relive the past.

Finally, the honeymoon with the liberal press is beginning to crumble... Time to get serious President Hussein. This is the class presidency or the student council class president and it isn't class clown presidency either. Jokes over and your training period is OVER. Many people saw this coming and I had hoped that it would not be this bad but it is. He has no idea what he is doing and his thugs are calling all of the shots except for maybe his picks for the NCAA Championship. It is a very disturbing time in American history to say the least. Pretending to be presidential and being president is 2 different things-arrogance can only get you so far, and now many are having buyers remorse for what they voted for. Speaking words of hope and change will go nowhere now thanks to this guy who abused those words and used them just to get himself elected. He lacked the experience, the leadership skills and credible people for his team. I would have voted for a black man if he or she was qualified. Unfortunately, he was not qualified and his first 60 days have proven it.

(For the next 4 years, this clown is guaranteed a free car, private jet, a mansion, and a Sultan’s staff.

Why should he care? It’s not like he’s compensated on performance.)

You are confusing Obama with the management teams on Wall Street.

On other matters...when I heard Obama make the point that the government shouldn't use the tax code to punish certain people, my thought was, "This man is a better person than I am. He has a cooler head." That's exactly the kind of person we need in office. Would you rather have a president like Daley, who gets obsessed about foie gras?

Did anyone actually read the entire interview? Or did you just stop at the headline. You are the ones that are making yourselves look like a bunch of fools. If you actually read what Obama said it was actually very well put and intelligent. But then again, the negative posters voted for Dubya.

To: Kate, Joe Moore, Kate, MCD, Sweet Polly Purebred, City Guy, Ella, De Mojica, The Downward Spiral, Tom R., BDD, Truth Hurts, Bill R., Chris, Frank, Springfield, Graydon, Bessie, Greg, Tim, JJJ, Terry;
People like you make me sad...if McCain would have won I would have supported him equally. But people like you are so negative and ignorant. I'm sad for you. True Americans don't make fun of their president, they are supportive. But you don't have the strength of character to do that. Equally ignorant I sometimes feel people like you should just leave my country...if you're not going to love your country and support your leader...maybe you should just leave.
P.S. I am an executive in the banking industry and I think taking away all those bonuses is the right thing to do. Where is the accountability...in four years we're going to hold the president accountable for many decisions he makes. Why wouldn't we want to hold bank executives accountable for making greedy and bad decisions lending money to millions of Americans that weren't ready to be home owners. Where is their accountability, responsibility. Being an American you owe something to your country. It's time for them to humble themselves and take their medicine.

What happened to the Liberal biased media? Come on guys; you're only supposed to trash the GOP! Didn't you know that. Now what happens to our theories about liberal-loving media suck-ups? You jerks are making us look bad!!!.....Yet again!!! Boooohoooo!!!!

"Obama allowed that he was surprised by the depth of recession underway when he took office in January."

Surprised?? Wasn't he a US senator for two years? Oh yeah I forgot. As soon as he got elected to the senate he ran for president. Guess he had no time to understand what everyone else knew back then.

Jo said: "Finally, the honeymoon with the liberal press is beginning to crumble... Time to get serious President Hussein. This is the class presidency or the student council class president and it isn't class clown presidency either. Jokes over and your training period is OVER. Many people saw this coming and I had hoped that it would not be this bad but it is. He has no idea what he is doing and his thugs are calling all of the shots except for maybe his picks for the NCAA Championship. It is a very disturbing time in American history to say the least. Pretending to be presidential and being president is 2 different things-arrogance can only get you so far, and now many are having buyers remorse for what they voted for. Speaking words of hope and change will go nowhere now thanks to this guy who abused those words and used them just to get himself elected. He lacked the experience, the leadership skills and credible people for his team. I would have voted for a black man if he or she was qualified. Unfortunately, he was not qualified and his first 60 days have proven it."

Okay -- ENOUGH of using the President's middle name to incite fear -- what an incredibly cheap shot -- and what a sign of a small-minded, bigoted, fearful person. Did you have any control over the middle name your parents gave you? Name calling is for kindergarten, and racial slurs are for the ignorant -- which one are you? And you say you would have voted for a black man for president is he or SHE was qualified? Um, men are he's, not she's. Your post is nothing but hatred and slander and an uneducated. There is no substance. You should be ashamed of yourself.

OH NOOOOOO !!!

To Re; Have you ever heard of freedom of speech? That is one of our rights. When these morons in washington screw up this is the only way we can try to bring about change. The bonuses you mention are such a small part in these schnanagings. They only account for a less then one percent of the money they are passing out to AIG. The bigger picture is the rest of the money that is being spent and how we are ever going to get out of debt. Along with the total tarp fund will be 70 percent of the newly projected deficits. And try to think for yourself, maybe you can rise above being a teller.

We, the oppressed vassals of Chicago, know this act too well, as we have been subjects of King Richard Daley II for 30 years. Now, the nation has Prince Obama, a born and bred Chicago Machine politician, who laughs while the Republic burns.

Con law prof... right, good thing he is taking a pause to consider the unconsitutionality of the 90% tax. BarBri told me bill of attainder would never be the right answer for the bar exam, I guess the same doesn't apply for Congress. I don't think it cares what it chuses.

He doesn't know what he's doing and he's arrogant about it too.

Posted by: MCD

Is this your way of saying this 'black man' don't know his place?

I just love it when some of you white folk use the term arrogant for black folks who know who they are and walk with their head held high and their shoulders back and because we don't bow down to you anymore, now we're arrogant! What a laugh!!

If all you left wingnuts would look beyond the messiah's ability to put two sentences together you would know that pelosi is running this country and not very well. If you agree with socialized medicine, wealth redistribution, big govt, no right to bear arms, etc than keep drinking the kool aid. A community organizer is not qualified to run this country and it is really starting to become very apparent. Holding the president accountable is not on your agenda obviously as those who disagree with his policies automatically are labeled racist...how absurd.

Living in the South and reading all the inane attacks on President Obama in our local newspapers, I see the same trend of people who are so clouded by their own deeply-rooted racism that all they can do is spew venom. Sad that we're still reducing ourselves (with the media's active compliance) to the lowest common denominator. Hey, if we want some real uplift, we can obsess on the Octomom!

I'm so glad that these grouches did not live during WW 2 At that time we had Bob Hope, Jack Benny and a few others to help keep our spirits up. We need a smile or 2 to keep us from going crazy these days.
Signed from one who lived the second world war and had blood relatives captured by both Japs and Germans. There were 2 POW camps outside my town.
I have one word for you. GET OVER YOURSELVES

I'm so glad that these grouches did not live during WW 2 At that time we had Bob Hope, Jack Benny and a few others to help keep our spirits up. We need a smile or 2 to keep us from going crazy these days.
Signed from one who lived the second world war and had blood relatives captured by both Japs and Germans. There were 2 POW camps outside my town.
I have one word for you. GET OVER YOURSELVES

A lot of haters on this site! So what if Obama chuckled. That doesn't mean he and his staff are not diligently working on a solution to the problem. Let me remind you that Bush would also occassionally chuckle at his predicaments and the criticisms that were levied against him. That's a way to cope with difficult issues.
As far as being stuck with an inexperienced President, I will say that the only ones who are experienced at being President are ex-Presidents. Bush, during his first term, was also inexperienced- as was Clintno during his first term, the first Bush, Ronald Regan durin his first term, Carter, etc. What matters is the fact that Obama has the vision and leadership qualities that are crucial. And he has a cabinet and staff that are very competent and experienced.
People voted for him because they believed he had the intelligence and leadership skills required to get the job done- not because he's had some random "experience" doing something else in the past.

Barack Obama = Jimmy Carter 2.0!

Really. The. Worst. President. Ever.

(And it's only been a couple months!)

This is what you get from a guy who votes "present" 140 times.

Yes, I miss the good old days when presidents joked about nuking Russia.

The really funny part of this story is all the weak defenses offered by liberals against the same kind of attacks they lauched at Bush for 8 years. If Bush had said he bowled like a retard or laughed at the economic woes, he'd be skewered, and rightly so. Those are idiotic things to say. We have to hold Obama to the same standard. Instead, we have Larry Copeland playing the "race card." Nice! And Bill R whining about fear. Bill, FEAR is what Obama's been selling since the inarguation. But I hope his people do get the economy fixed, because that is what America needs.

The really funny part of this story is all the weak defenses offered by liberals against the same kind of attacks they lauched at Bush for 8 years. If Bush had said he bowled like a retard or laughed at the economic woes, he'd be skewered, and rightly so. Those are idiotic things to say. We have to hold Obama to the same standard. Instead, we have Larry Copeland playing the "race card." Nice! And Bill R whining about fear. Bill, FEAR is what Obama's been selling since the inarguation. But I hope his people do get the economy fixed, because that is what America needs.

Holding the president accountable is not on your agenda obviously as those who disagree with his policies automatically are labeled racist...how absurd.

Posted by: tim | March 23, 2009 1:30 PM

One need only read some the posts to reject your "obsurd" statement. Is it true there are some who just disagree with his policies? Yes....Is it true there is latent racism? Absolutely.

Here are a few you must not have read:
Perhaps, he’ll start talking “gangsta” soon…

he is born of a white mother and black father.

He's a democrat who believes in abortion, sodomy, woman's lib and multiculturalism. How can his heart be in the right place? He's a black. Most blacks hate whites. HE'S IN THE WRONG PLACE!

Since Black seems to be the “in-race” in the twenty first century, their reasons seem obvious, Mariah for musical success and Barack for electoral success.

Now if can't see it....I don't believe you can see a problem in the economy much less have a solution.

The more whining I see from your CONservatives the happier I feel and know that Obama is doing what the American People voted him to do.

We, the oppressed vassals of Chicago, know this act too well, as we have been subjects of King Richard Daley II for 30 years. Now, the nation has Prince Obama, a born and bred Chicago Machine politician, who laughs while the Republic burns.

Posted by: Richie | March 23, 2009 1:20 PM

Joh Kass! I was wondering when you would post a comment

I just finished watching this "60 Minutes" clip, and I must say to me Steve Kroft seemed a bit angry throughout the interview. I think his "Are you punch-drunk?" remark was way over the top and disrespectful, reflecting quite possibly Kroft's personal hostility towards--and perhaps his fundamental dislike of--President Obama.

The really funny part of this story is all the weak defenses offered by liberals against the same kind of attacks they lauched at Bush for 8 years.
Posted by: Max Sherwood | March 23, 2009 2:05 PM

Wow...you defended him for 8 years? And you want to complain of defending Obama after 2 months? Ah heck...I guess you're right. You should feel great about the wonderful job you did of defending Bush for 8 years.

This mess did not belong to Bush! The Democratic Congress in 2006 said that everyone needs to have a home so they passed the legislation that the banks were obligated to make loans to those who did not qualify. Yes, there was a lot of abuse by the banks, but if you know that your annual income is $50,000 and you purchase a house for $600,000, you have to know that you can't afford that house! Come on, let's take responsibility for ourselves, instead of relying on the taxpayers to bail everyone out for their own stupidity!

It's obvious he is still on the campaign trail and remember he preached a lot of "fear" - better he should stay at home (in the White House), take Congress to task, get rid of Pelosi (she's bad for business) and do what's necessary to help America get back on its feet. Enough with the public appearances, they aren't needed.

the market is up almost 450 pts today as Wall St is happy with the Financial Plan details announced

House sales were up over 5% announced today

The haters need to focus on trivia because on facts and the big picture - President Obama has done more in 50 days than seemed humanly possible

So focus on inanities and gaffes - because the truth hurts people who put their own political view over the good of the country

This President is good for this country both domestically and internationally

Be Happy about it

you bunch of republican haters!!!Get a life.

This mess did not belong to Bush! The Democratic Congress in 2006
Posted by: Betsy | March 23, 2009 2:34 PM

You're already a year late. The bubble burst at the end of 2005. Sales were flat through 2006.

This was the best un-scripted presidential interview given in the last 8 years or so. If there were a better candidate in either party, that person would be president now.

Let's help the president dig us out of the hole we are in instead of criticizing every move he makes.

The snide tone of the majority of the comments made here (and pretty much every other message board) really irk me. Can't we argue without being condescending?

What? Of course Wall Street's happy with it! They just heard that the federal gov't is going to buy billions of dollars worth of bad loans and take them off their books! That doesn't necessarily mean it's good for the country. Isn't Gibbs the one who always says what's good for Wall Street isn't necessarily good for Main Street?
The truth is this plan can actually work, it was MCCAIN'S plan before it was Obama's, but it lets the banks off the hook for the shoddy lending practices of the last 15 years. It also lets off people who bought too much house, in that they're going to be able to renogotiate at unheard of low rates. What it doesn't do is let the taxpayers off. What happens when Obama and Geithner run out of TARP money to buy up all these "toxic assets?" Why would private investors POSSIBLY want to take said assets off the government's hands? The devil is in the details and while this is better than saying "complex" nine times, it's still not the full story.

I was dumb founded by his laughter. What a disgrace.

More importantly, the markets began to tank when it was clear he was going to be elected and set forth to destroy America. The markets cannot be fooled by an empty suit. Nobody wants to risk money with this light weight in office.

Our underlying economy is so strong that it can overcome even the disastrous efforts of a goof like this.

This mess did not belong to Bush! The Democratic Congress in 2006 said that everyone needs to have a home so they passed the legislation that the banks were obligated to make loans to those who did not qualify. Yes, there was a lot of abuse by the banks, but if you know that your annual income is $50,000 and you purchase a house for $600,000, you have to know that you can't afford that house! Come on, let's take responsibility for ourselves, instead of relying on the taxpayers to bail everyone out for their own stupidity!

Posted by: Betsy | March 23, 2009 2:34 PM

Oh yeah? You wanna come up with some particulars on exactly WHICH legislation it was that "obligated" banks to loan money to people not qualified for the loan? You SURE you're not talking about red-lining here? The issue is VASTLY different! I'm certainly ALL FOR people being responsible in their home-buying, but PLEASE remember that it's the BANK who is responsible for approving a loan, based on good business practices. Once they decided to loan money to NON-MINORITIES who were of a certain credit-worthiness, THAT obligated them to make THE SAME TERMS available to minorities, but it was THEIR decision to loan foolishly in the first place, not any legislation "forcing" them, that got them in trouble.
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And was it not Bush who said in his speech to the White House Conference on Increasing Minority Homeownership at George Washington University on October 15, 2002: "That’s what we want. This is — an ownership society is a compassionate society.

More and more people own their homes in America today. Two-thirds of all Americans own their homes, yet we have a problem here in America because few than half of the Hispanics and half the African Americans own the home. That’s a homeownership gap. ...
We’ve got to work to knock down the barriers that have created a homeownership gap.

I set an ambitious goal. It’s one that I believe we can achieve. It’s a clear goal, that by the end of this decade we’ll increase the number of minority homeowners by at least 5.5 million families. …"
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Sounds to ME like Bush sure was in favor of minorities owning homes, and his speech here also showed his gratitude for the lenders who made that ownership a possibility.
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While Bush was not the sole creator of this mess, it's most disingenuous INDEED to try to deny that he had ANY contributory blame for it.

The really funny part of this story is all the weak defenses offered by liberals against the same kind of attacks they lauched at Bush for 8 years.
Posted by: Max Sherwood | March 23, 2009 2:05 PM

I actually kind of think it's pretty funny that YOU'RE attacking in the same way we did, using the same arguments and the same verbiage, in the face of how convinced YOU were all during the past 8 years that saying such things were insane, stupid, vicious, and downright treasonous. Yet, when YOU say them, they seem to be pretty much A-Okay, huh? Oh, well. Thank God you're not hypocritical!
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(BTW -- most of the RESPONSES I've seen so far have been recycled from yours of the Bush era. So, does that mean your rebuttals were weak back then, too???)

Isn't Gibbs the one who says what's good for Wall Street isn't necessarily good for Main Street? Wall Street is grinning from ear to ear today because they can unload their bad debts to the federal government, but the question still remains: what will make private investors take these "toxic assets" off the government's hands? Even at a discount? Why are we rewarding the people that bought too much house by giving them new loans? Will they need bailed out of these, too? Most importantly, what happens when Geithner runs out of TARP money to buy up these toxic assets with?

Wow...you defended him for 8 years? And you want to complain of defending Obama after 2 months? Ah heck...I guess you're right. You should feel great about the wonderful job you did of defending Bush for 8 years.

Posted by: bill r. | March 23, 2009 2:26 PM

Wrong, Bill. Kindly re-read what I wrote. I said Bush was attacked, I did not say I defended him. Bush was a horrible president. He was a liberal in conservative clothing.

I actually kind of think it's pretty funny that YOU'RE attacking in the same way we did, using the same arguments and the same verbiage, in the face of how convinced YOU were all during the past 8 years that saying such things were insane, stupid, vicious, and downright treasonous. Yet, when YOU say them, they seem to be pretty much A-Okay, huh? Oh, well. Thank God you're not hypocritical!
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(BTW -- most of the RESPONSES I've seen so far have been recycled from yours of the Bush era. So, does that mean your rebuttals were weak back then, too???)

Posted by: Op109 | March 23, 2009 5:29 PM

Op109, Please learn to read. What attack did I give? How was MY post hypocritcal? And what responses of MINE have been recycled?

What? Of course Wall Street's happy with it! They just heard that the federal gov't is going to buy billions of dollars worth of bad loans and take them off their books!
Posted by: Jeff | March 23, 2009 5:05 PM

Why Jeff...which is it now......stocks up good or bad......you're so confusing, or do you just twist and spin as you see fit. Oh....and I see you're still trying to give McCain credit for the ideas Paulsen and Bush first started with. I believe McCain can also cure cancer in your book. After all....it is a fiction.

I really can't believe the people of this great country are still standing behind the previous President. The rest of world can see are we better off now, but of course, time will tell as always. It has done so with the Bush era. Are we just afraid to admit it and move on!

Obama is intoxicated with his own power and could care less about anything but being in POWER.

Obama's so smart - gallows humor.

Now Bush was punch drunk.

The white people that voted for Hobama did it because of 'white guilt' .... now, after watching 60 minutes and being laughed at, they all have buyers remorse.

Paulo

Just playing by your rules, Hussein,isn't it Gibbs who always says "what happens on Wall Street doesn't necessarily help Main Street?" I actually think this plan could work in creating downward pressure on interest rates (just like I did 8 months ago, unlike you) but as in everything, the devil's in the details. What happens if Geithner - a former staffer of Paulsen - runs out of TARP money to buy these assets up with? Do you really think congress will approve ANOTHER bailout?