looking forward to it, picture looks interesting.

My solution is to crawl into a fetal position until all the bad things go away.

Biggest challenge would be to prevent a 3rd World War! Best solution; create a,"Economic (also responsible in controlling currency manipulation,float) Regulatory Free Trade Coalition", similar to the (no laughing,please) United Nation's",that is a wholely independent entity. It must be located in a neutral country,let's say Switzerland,and democratically elect it's leaders annually. PS, Nice to hear from you again, Mr. Micheal Ware.

While I voted for Obama and was overjoyed that he won, all the while I was thinking, he is such a nice guy. Why am I doing this to him and why is he doing this to himself? Looking forward to tonight's broadcast. And to echo Earle–hooray that Michael Ware is back. I missed him sorely.

Obama has overcome 1 extreme challange by becoming President-Elect. He's 1/1 in my book. The economy is suffuring true but americans should have been watching there pocket book instead of living beyond there means. If we keep going to war then we won't even beable to protect ourselves. And not only Obama has to make the change, it's first us the Americans to set an example to the World. So follow his lead and we shall overcome!

Its the economy stupid. Part of America's strength is the ablity to show the rest of the world how to do it. We need to get back into position of strength. We the United States in our short history of little more then 200 yrs have been written off before only to come back stronger and better . Putin, Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Al Qaeda could take a lesson from what happen on Nov 4th and what will happen on Jan 20th. Democracy and Capitalism warts and all work better than anything these jokers could come up with.

You all are acting, like any President, no matter who he or she was,wasn't going to face the same challenges as Obama. And, he knew going in what he was facing. So please stop with the pity party already.

Extreme Challenges indeed! President Obama will turn grey in the first couple of months of his presidency. But make no mistake, this President will succeed!

President Elect Barack Obama certainly will be walking into a mess thanks to our current leader. The biggest challenge I would like to see him conquer, would be to capture and FINALLY dismantle Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist network. After 9/11, our current leader made the wrong decision by trying to finish and accomplish a battle his daddy couldn't complete years ago. It is a crying shame that the current war and it's outstanding casualties serve as a cheap cover up for our failures to find and bring those to justice who made our country stop in its tracks on that very dreadful day. I want to see America be the leading country in the world once again.

I think Obama will need to take things slow and think things through. We didn't do so well with the bailout and thinking that through. Now is the time to get all that settled, create jobs, energy independence, and everything else.

wali,houston tx

i will like to ask your panal.

what they think about the pakistani and a obama white house working side by side .

what they think he will do diffrent in the mid-east and how will we go about talking to iran.

one i will ask all of you. how can we the USA make the muslims around the world feel like that we not a going after them and we are there to help them.

Hellooo Anderson.......
It is so cool to watch Obama...... It is so interesting to see all analysts are talking about Obama's policy economy, war, healthcare and more..... I love your show "Extreme Challenges" Thanks for posting with me tonight...... See you tomorrow night on 360 program and Live Blog! Take care yourself and you will take rest until tomorrow night!

I love Ali Velshi and David Gergen. Both are the voices of reason and understandability. Ali always makes the market less confusing for me and David always puts politics in layman's terms.

@lampe,

President elect Obama is walking into the worst economy our country has seen since the last depression. That in itself is sad for any President and I would feel sympathy for any person elected to serve in the situation we are in now.

Having said that, I am confident he will manage just fine.

Who is going to help the people who are struggling to make a large house note every month? What about the people who can make the note but the house is not worth what the house was financed for. Who helps them? I see the upper end get help (banks car companies ect.) I see the lower end of the spectrum get help with their foreclosures but what about us the ones who sturggle to do the right thing and not just walk away. I have two houses one in michigan I cannot even give away and another in Arizona where the whole development was mostly bought on speculation and for rental purposes. It is now a ghost town.

Good evening Anderson and all bloggers. Running late tonight but the program on Dafur and Rowanda was really an eye opener.

The president elect has a long ways to go when he enters in office. I just hope he can really turn our country around and bring back jobs to hard working Americans.

Hi Anderson!

Every night when I watch you debating the pros and cons of the various phases of 'economic bailout' being considered by the govt. and the lobbying being undertaken by corporate America – along with the recent reports that the first half of the originally allocated $700 billion may be essentially unaccounted for as no stipulations for it's use were in place when it was appropriated by congress – I'm think of the email that circulated a few weeks ago around the country:

Subject: "We Deserve It" Economic Bailout by John Harrity
>>
>> I'm against the $85 BILLION bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of
>> giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a "We Deserve It" dividend. To
>> make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bona fide
>> U.S. citizens, aged 18+. Our population is about 301 million counting
>> every man, woman and child. So, 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at
>> adults 18 and up. Now, divide 200 million, 18+ adults into $85
>> billion – that equals $425,000.00 each! Yes, my plan is to give that
>> $425,000 to every adult as a "We Deserve It" dividend.
>> Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So, let's assume a tax rate of
>> 30%. Everyone would pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25.5
billion
>> right back to Uncle Sam! It also means that every adult 18+ has
>> $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife would have
$595,000.00!
>> What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00?
>> * Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
>> * Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads.
>> * Put away money for college – it'll really be there.
>> * Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
>> * Buy a new car – create jobs .
>> * Invest in the market – capital drives growth.
>> * Pay for your parent's medical insurance – health care improves.
>> * Enable deadbeat parents to come clean – or else.
>> Remember this is for every adult U.S. citizen, 18 and older(including
>> the folks who lost their jobs at Lehmann Brothers and every other
>> company that is cutting back) and of course, for those serving in our
>> Armed Forces.
>> If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it! Instead of
>> trickling out a puny $1,000.00 "economic incentive".
>> If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every
adult
>> U.S. citizen!
>> As for AIG – liquidate it.
>> * Sell off its parts.
>> * Let American General go back to being American General.
>> * Sell off the real estate.
>> * Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
>> We deserve the money and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea, but
can
>> you imagine the coast-to-coast block party?!
>> How do you spell Economic Boom? W-e D-e-s-e-r-v-e I-t
>> d-I-v-I-d-e-n-d! I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to
use
>> the $85 Billion "We Deserve It" dividend more than do the 'geniuses'
at
>> AIG or in Washington, D.C..
>> And remember, my plan only really costs $59.5 billion because $25.5
>> billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam. Good idea? I
>> think so.

I'd love to hear you ask your panel of experts one evening on the air "why not" this solution? It just seems incredible that we're spending billions and billions of dollars to bail out companies while half of America can barely pay the mortgages, car payments, child care and health care they need to keep their families afloat, much less necessities like groceries, heat and power. We as taxpayers will be saddled with this unimaginable debt for my foreseeable lifetime (I'm 37) and likely my son's as well (he's 7). Where does it end and "why not" bail out the American people as opposed to some of these firms who clearly keep snubbing their noses at the idea of accountability for the money they're accepting. The president of Ford riding shotgun in a Hybrid car to lobby Washington? Are you kidding me? It's like a Saturday Night Live skit gone wrong! After the first trip on the company owned private jets, it's clear that this is nothing more than a PR stunt to 'talk the talk' and get funding approved. I OWN a Chevy Avalanche, but you don't see me driving it to Washington to lobby for money for the car payment...maybe because I couldn't afford the gas to get there an my mortgage.

Please ask the question – when I first received the email I thought it was absurd, and now I am beginning to wonder!

Thank you!
Skye Heeren

ISI {Pakistan} is blackmailing USA in every whch way.
Only solution is destruction of ISI

It is quite amusing to watch 5 white people discuss the middle-east and Indo-Pak regions. Are you serious? Don't you have any experts of Middle-eastern or Indo-Pak descent who can speak with far more credibility these white folks? Was Farheed Zakaria not good enough to be on this panel? Guess CNN International has no good people to be on this panel either?

What a double-standard...just like when you want to talk race issues in the US and only have white & African-American panel members only (ignoring Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, etc.). Guess that makes you fair-and-balanced, eh?

What a fascinating discussion this is! Very intelligent, fast-paced, and pertinent. I volunteered myself a year ago to "pay attention" for a full year. Little did I know it would become such a year to do so. Thanks to CNN's proactive programming, I feel much more at peace with my understanding of world issues. Understanding breeds action. For the first time in my life of over 50 years, I am now able to comfortably discuss the issues that matter to me – the global ones. Thanks to you all, but especially to Christiane for tonight's soul-opening broadcast – hard to watch at first – but I needed to monitor a hard-drive backup and found myself quickly consumed with interest in her bigger than us story and all of its profound implications. History during my own life proves to have value, maybe more than the history I learned in high school in 1970-74! Is it really true that there is more "genocide" since WWII? What's next and where?

I am Canadian and have always been interetsed in your polotics . If anything The USA has shown that when times are the toughest the american people have the uncanny ability to elect the right man for the right time . Obama is already the best thing tha has happened to the WORLD in VERY VERY long time . He will succeed and we will all be a better world for his leadership and Vison for the future . Its time for the rest of us to catch up ! ALL THE BEST Mr President Elect and to the USA !

Clean coal is like jumbo shrimp!... It / they don't exist... never will.

One of the most intelligent AC 360 shows in years!
Keep the intelligent discussion going.
But please stop second guessing the mistakes Barack Obama might make and how they will divide the country. If Democrats and Republicans work together, the US has the opportunity to be great in the world again!

I would like to forward comments to Christiane Amanpour who I think is brilliant. SOME COMMENTS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN:
You sound a little optimistic about Afghanistan if issues are handled wisely. From what I have read, the Taliban has factions, which are not always in agreement with each other. You and Mr. Ware have suggested that certain areas in the country might be very amenable to a change in strategy. My idea is this: Why not purchase the poppy crop from the farmers-at a good price-more than the international drug trade would be willing to pay. The purchases would be made through the national government. thereby establishing a direct link between the poppy farmers and the government in Kabul.The program would,of course, need rules and conditions. The farmers would have to agree to reduce their poppy plantings by a percentage each year, in the meantime transitioning to other crops or other means of making a living. In the United States we have alot of experience in paying farmers not to grow crops.
Such a program would be a good vehicle to insert intense training in modern "green" agriculture. Programs similar to Cooperative Extension and/or Future Farmer's Clubs in the United States might be a model.Such an approach could also result in a weakening of the warlords as the farmers develop a direct relationship with the central government. If farmers were assisted to form agricultural coops,such coops could develop into countervailing centers of local power.
Does this idea make any sense at all? Or is it just the ravings of an old guy in Maine with too much time on his hands?
If the idea does have any merit how do I transmit this to the appropriate officials?
Thanks for listening,
Eric Goodale

Pity party for sure!!! He let this go on, along with Hillary and McCain while they wasted millions campaigning for two yrs. when they should hav>e been working in Wash for their piddly 200,000 a year/ They have destroyed the hardworking middle class, we have done without for yrs., saved in 401k's and Ira's to see our future decimated. Busch is non-functional, we need leadership now and we need the market restored, Is there ant hope? Also, bail out the big 3 but give us our retirement savings back . How sad and appalling this has all been.I don;t want this on the air, not that you would, just want you to know that alot of are waiting and lstening and skeptical....

Please understand, partisan politics aside, ANY change(s) may take months and perhaps years to properly execute. With the majority of the younger votes in 2008, Gen X & Y, there tends to be impatience. Observe. It's easy to "say" change, but more difficult to implement.

I am amazed when I hear Ms. Amanpour blame the current POTUS for all perceived ills in foreign policy; you need to understand the motives behind the jihad and that who the POTUS is really isn't that important in their minds over the long-term. It's a propaganda tool.

Logistics may take months or years to shift; plans may or may not be already underway. Now that the POTUS-ELECT has been receiving those briefings, I'm confident that he now has more information that either we or the pundits have. So let's give him a chance. We don't need a pity party or blame games; just a new, strong, united "front."

In this new dawn. My 2c.

MR OBAMA has been the ElectedPresident for only about 1 month and 1 day and it seems so many people are so quick to Judge him. Please Give him a chance He will Suceed God Bless Mr OBAMA

Good discussion between Gergen, Bergen, Amanpour and Ware and your lead questions, Anderson. I liked the images projected on the top of the desk, very clever technology presentation. This is a very modern tech-set. Gupta was good too!