Obama 'bullied a lot?' - no slam dunks

by Mark Silva

Damon Weaver, an 11-year-old sixth grader from rural Pahokee, Fla., worked for some time at getting his "dream" interview with President Barack Obama.

"As president, you get bullied a lot,'' Weaver told Obama. "How do you handle it?''

"When you're president, you're responsible for a lot of things, and a lot of people are having a tough time and they're hurting out there,'' Obama said. "The main thing I just try to do is stay focused on trying to do a good job... And try to be understanding that sometimes people are going to be mad about things.''

Was he ever bullied in school?

"I wasn't bullied too much in school,'' Obama said. "I was pretty big for my age.''

"Can you dunk?'' Weaver asked the first basketball player.

"Not anymore,'' Obama said. "I'm almost 50 now... Your legs are the first thing to go.''

Being president?

"It's very exciting. There's a lot of work,'' Obama said. "There are times when you get a little worn down. But every day, you have the possibility of helping other people.''

Weaver wanted to know what can be done for schools in places like his home town, which is closer to hardscrabble Lake Okeechobee than the Gold Coast of Palm Beach County -- "kind of a poor town.''

"Unfortunately, a lot of times, if you've got a community that is lower-income, they don't have as much money in their schools,'' Obama said. "A lot of that is state funding. I want to see states be more fair in terms of how they give money to schools.''

Weaver, who said he had gotten a similar pledge from Vice President Joe Biden, asked the president this: "Would you like to become my homeboy?''

"Absolutely,'' Obama said.

"Thanks for making my dream come true,'' the sixth-grader said.

CBS News' Early Show asked the young journalist about his get.

"President Obama was nice. He gave good details,'' the young interviewer said, noting: "And he's a very tall person.''