President Obama on Sixty Minutes

Sunday, November 7, 2010 - Two years after President Obama was elected President of the United States, he sat down for a talk with Steve Kroft on Sixty Minutes, the iconic CBS show. After the recent election in which President Obama "took a shellacking," to use his own words, from the American voters, he spoke on his Presidency so far, what he could have done better and how he intends to continue.

When President Obama was asked if the current election was a referendum on his policies, like the Republicans say it was, President Obama stated that he felt it was a referendum on the economy, which is "under performing." People are hurting, President Obama admitted. Although the Republicans say it was a rejection of his agenda, he feels he was unable to actually perform his original agenda. He stated that there were a series of big, emergency steps that had to be quickly taken, and each had a big price tag. People naturally perceived this as a large expansion of government, and he feels he didn't drive home the fact that he was only doing these things because the economy was in an emergency state. Meanwhile, the Republicans were representing it as traditional, Democratic government expansion led by President Obama, and people didn't want that.

People want jobs, said President Obama, and they are worried about the deficit too. He is aware that the people that voted him in didn't vote for Democrats this time, if they voted at all. He acknowledged that millions of people are frustrated because of lack of jobs that occurred before and during his administration; the economy got worse before his policies could turn things around, he claims, so he is blamed, which he thinks is fair.

President Obama says that, while he hasn't changed his ideals, the recent election has changed the way he will operate on a daily basis; instead of just "getting it done," he now realizes that how you do it is important.
President Obama reflected that when one is campaigning, it is easy to say that you will do certain things, without thinking how you will actually do them.

Being President is a hard job, Obama admits, and it is hard to push against the entrenched Washington practices. Meanwhile, assuming power means that he is now considered part of Washington instead of an outsider. So, as President, he is held responsible for everything even though he doesn't have control over everything.

President Obama is hopeful that "the two sides" can now meet and agree on things that need to be changed, such as earmarks, otherwise known as pork. Even though he tolerated earmarks in the past in order to pass legislation, he thinks every day how he could do things better, and he believes a bipartisan effort will make a difference. His next challenge, he says is meeting with the Republican majority and hashing out a compromise on the tax breaks that President Bush instituted; should they let them expire, or should they extend them, and if they do, how will we pay for it?

Another challenge facing President Obama is the strained relationship with the business community. The "exceptional circumstances" of the last two years "don't reflect my philosophy," and the business community is leery of the new regulations and uncertain how to proceed, "so we have a lot of work to do there." But while reassuring the business community that it is safe to begin hiring again, Mr. Obama wants to preserve the new consumer protections that are in place.

When reminded that his former supporters are disappointed in his performance so far, President Obama laughs and shrugs his shoulders. "They say I'm aloof; then they criticize me for being unpresidential when I go on popular shows like The View." He adapts, he says, to reach as many people as possible in whatever venue they are comfortable with. Anything from Sixty Minutes to Late Night With David Letterman are viable avenues to reach a wide and diverse population.

Asked whether he has lost his mojo, President Obama admits that he was so busy "getting stuff done" that he stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn't just legislation. It's bringing people together and persuading them. No matter how good his arguments, President Obama points out, not everyone is going to agree with him. President Obama hopes that we all, whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, as Americans, can disagree without being disagreeable. He admits he's slipped up on that sometimes, but he has high hopes for future relationships.

The most important thing President Obama has learned in his two years in office is that America is pretty resilient. "I'm pretty resilient too!" he says. "I'll get knocked down, but it's nothing like what families across the country are going through, and if they can keep going, I can as well."

Source: Personal experience watching Sixty Minutes with Steve Kroft on CBS