Comments on: What keeps Barack Obama up at night? – and other questions I asked the President today

By: The Secret Diary of Barack Obama » Tom Daschle and Other Dilemmas

The Secret Diary of Barack Obama » Tom Daschle and Other Dilemmas — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:10:50 +0000

[...] nearly as much as I’d hoped. Hard with all the Daschle controversy, I do realize. Although the cigarette question from Anderson Cooper did annoy me. can’t people let that go? I’m President of the United States! Allow me to have [...]

By: Rita Cristina, Lucerne Switserland

Rita Cristina, Lucerne Switserland — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:59:14 +0000

Dear Anderson,
I took the time to read all the above comments.
I'm Italian,so, my English will certanly disappoint someone.
First: Great interview. You gave me the idea you were there In the living room talking with THE PRESIDENT. Two great personalities !!!! ( that's the reason why I do not watch LK ).
Second:Mr. President lost 20 points in two weeks? I can't believe it. Are the U.S. Citizens.....? Do you remember Berlin last summer? I don't.
Are the U.S. Citizens aware of the problems The PRESIDENT has to solve? What do U.S. Citizens DO to solve their problems? " aks yourselves what you can do for your Country and not what the Country can do for you ".Are they aware it will take at least 2 years to begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel?
Do they remember where ALL these problems started?.
Personally: for the first time in years I watch the President speak and I LEARN how pleasent it can be.I listen to the President _ Human Beeing who has no problems to apologize. I'm glad he can be himself and undress his "uniform " once in a while.
Change,trasparency. I do not understand why jornalists refer to him as Mr. Obama. TV must also be education. Respect is always present in your interviews no matter to whom you are talking to.
Anderson I wish you'll be there when your President meets PM Berlusconi to ask him about his remarks on your President. ( ask Alessio about them !!).
Yolanda Alcorn,Singleton thank you.
Unfortunately I have to get up at 04.00 CET to watch your programm.
could you air it at a decent time?
It has been a pleasure.until next time.ciao.Rita Cristina

By: Waymon

Waymon — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:14:22 +0000

as you can see,the job is not a easy one.with all the second guessing the news media is doing,you all make the united states look weak.let the young man work.anyone of you could have ran for the office.it only been three weeks

By: ann holzheimer

ann holzheimer — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:44:00 +0000

Has anyone asked President Obama what will happen if there is a major disaster like Katrina? (Freezing temps, earthquake etc.) Where will the money come from? Do we have an infinite supply of money? Are we about broke?

By: Demarco Wilder

Demarco Wilder — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:33:50 +0000

What's up AC i think five hunderd stacks should be the most a ceo make's.The rest of that money should into a trust for the company and the works. People are making too much money this was bound to happen they suck the well dry. I mean you get paid millions for getting fired. I never got paid a dollar for getting fired and if they don't want the five hunderd stacks i do.

By: McAndrew Williams, Rochester; New York

McAndrew Williams, Rochester; New York — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:23:37 +0000

here's what i have to say to the president
"ACTIONS ARE LOUDER THAN WORDS"

By: Mac Mewan

Mac Mewan — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:13:36 +0000

HEY AC,
thanks a million for the interview it really helped me a lot seeing that the president 'actually' cares more about the welfare of the people rather than the previous 'BUSH ADMINISTRATION' which was more into 'IRAQ'!!

I hope the Stimulus package is able to stimulate the American economy

Michelle and Obama make the perfect team leaders
they're both so hardworking and committed to the country itself
bless you both

Once again thanks AC for doing job ......
hope there are more people like you

By: Mae

Mae — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:06:16 +0000

I always enjoy seeing President Obama whenever I can. Mr. Anderson your interview with the President was insightful, however I find your interviewing techniques to be very irritating. I maybe wrong in what I am about to say, but I sense that you are very jealous of President Obama. Most of your questions were designed to put the President down. You constantly referred to him as appearing "weak", etc. I have watched you interact with President Obama prior to him winning the presidency and you were rude and disrespectful then as well. Mr. Anderson, stop being so jealous and pray for our new leader.

By: Larry Stroud

Larry Stroud — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:06:08 +0000

I have been following the whole presidential campaign and all i here is how to create more jobs. I only have one major question. How many politicians, judges, people in power are over the age of 65. I am sure if you were to tally it up over all 50 states their would be thousands and thousands. Wy is it the average American has to retire at 65 and yet there seems to be a different standard for all the above mentioned. How many jobs could you create by letting new younger people replace them. It just seems there's always a double stand when it comes to politicians and people in government.
And being a Canadian i feel it is just as bad over here. I was forced to retire after 35 years due to a major accident and was told don't call us were not letting people that are damaged goods back in.
I'd also like to see some of these so called big CEO's live on a fixed income and with out all there perks and bonus's removed . Let them see how the rest of the American as well as Canadian people live.
It just makes me sick how much greed there really is in both Countries. And yes i have always voted for the Democrates here in Canada. Yet we never get in.

Yours Truly
Larry From Ontario Canada

By: Joe Negro

Joe Negro — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:50:03 +0000

I think the interview was ok, The presidents lengthy responses are likey ment to limit the amount of questions. I wish Anderson could've asked why the banks are holding on to that money they were given. It seem like they're balancing their books and not giving out loans. I think if it seems that Obama allowed to much "pork" in this stimulus package its because he understands that the bill will be revised in the Senate. I have to give AC credit he consistantly relates a personable and impartial (as much so as cnn can be hahaha) interview of our newly elected president. We should take a step back and realize its a little over two weeks in and we'll be lucky if the recession is over in two years. We should all stay infomed and remember that all of our elected officals have email adresses, if something (relavent) is on your mind you should let it be known.

By: twosense!

twosense! — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:37:53 +0000

Sorry folks but this is the first time I have posted. I just had to let out my disgust and rage.

Dick Cheney SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!

If you love your country -SHUT UP!

SHUT UP BECAUSE ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!

SHUT UP!

Anybody got a big shoe out there, one with metal in the toe-industrial variety? Send it airmail to Cheney. PLEASE.

We voted. We won. Obama has his turn now. The majority of Americans voted against you Cheney. You were a giant failure.

YOU ARE OUT NOW! SO SHUT ALREADY!!!!!

I hope you end up in jail. How about we disappear YOU to some undisclosed location and you get no writ of habeus corpus and we torture you with all those acceptable methods to get you to SHUT UP! Totally valid approach under your morality.

YOU wouldn't like it much WOULD you? Human rights only mean something when someone has taken yours away, right?

Lord deliver us from evil . . . . . .. .

I need to take a shower. What a slime ball. DOESN'T HE JUST MAKE YOU SHUTTER AND PUKE.?

By: Elie Balas

Elie Balas — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:34:24 +0000

Limiting salaries of the CEO's doesn't even begin to address the real problem. we should tie all compensations to top executives to company's profit. In small companies, bonuses are paid from profits not from loses. Congress should protect shareholders from this criminal behavior of public company's managements. Awarding bonuses when companies are loosing money is unethical and in an ethical society – would be nothing short of thievery.
I believe that most shareholder would agree to award 10% -20% of NET profit to employees/executives, based on personal and company performance.

Elie Balas
Los Angeles

By: Michelle Morgan

Michelle Morgan — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:23:41 +0000

Dear Mr. President,
ARE YOU OKAY WITH LEAVING THIS DEFICIT TO OUR CHILDREN?? I'm 20 years your junior, but our children – my Kayleigh and Kevin are only 7 years younger your Sasha and Malia! I SURE DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE THIS DEFICIT to my generation or ANY OF THEIR GENERATION. It's a sad Barrel of Democratic Pork covered in a "stimulus package" name. At best, this Dear-Santa-Wishlist of projects wouldn't stimulate until MONTHS down the road, if it even has any effect at all!!! If we're going to dump money into this tough economy, we need to be fiscally responsible and make sure that it has a quick effect without being greedy with our kids' financial futures! We can't pass on the fiscally irresponsible choices made by generations before us in the credit market by making the same irresponsible choices in the national deficit we're leaving my generation and our children's generation to dig out of! -M Morgan

By: Saad, NJ

Saad, NJ — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:11:56 +0000

With all due respect to all the druggies of the world including Rush Limbaugh, Bill, and Shawn, I hope President Obama succeeds. He is the man chosen by our democratic system and it is indeed in the best interest of our country that he can put our country back on track. The track that we lost in the last 8 years of who we are, why we are and why we are because of who we are!

By: Derrick Levingston

Derrick Levingston — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:42:20 +0000

"Whether You Say It or Not!"

Following the inauguration of President Obama I have been shocked at the number of political television personalties and pundits alike who suddenly find it so difficult to refer to our President as such. Maybe it's the down home, personal manner in which he seems to speak to us that has relaxed us to the point where we feel like such "good buddies" that a single name or a mister suffices. I am not so reverent about politics myself but I do feel that a certain level of respect is due to the President of the United States. Specifically, referring to the President as such when you are reporting, editorializing or otherwise hawking his every move and hanging on his every word.

For me, the "double whammy" occurred this week when I heard two of my favorite personalities refer to President Obama as Mr. Obama. One did so twice on consecutive shows/days. What's more ridiculous is that in the next segment a story was run about Dick Cheney and, sure enough, he received the "proper" reference, Vice President, oh well I can't even write it but you know what I mean. What's even more ridiculous than that is the two personalties (2 of my favorites??) I'm referring to are John Stewart and Anderson "AC 360" Cooper.

Oh, well! I guess I'm gonna just hope for some change from Mr. O to get us out of this Bush....el!

By: Jowel

Jowel — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:38:53 +0000

PLease carry our voices to the president to stick ONLY to jobs creation. Do not let the stimulus package burns you, just like the TARP was a failure because it was rushed in. Make the stimulus package Lean & Clean . Stop this mascared of porc. You will not have another chance Mr. President

By: S. Grant

S. Grant — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:29:46 +0000

For anyone in this country to be making millions a dollars a year is crazy. That is why we are in this mess now. The upper management is being paid more than the banks/major companies are bringing in a year. If everyone makine over $500,00 a year would get paid only that about in 2009, they would not need a stimulus package rom tax payer's money. Another thing who could possibly need that much money a year. It is the greed that has bought us to this point.

By: T. Guindon

T. Guindon — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:22:14 +0000

Having been elected President doesn't mean that he can elect to be WRONG. It IS business as usual. Most of this package does NOT create long lasting jobs and is just a liberal's way of getting the left wing trash they want.

The CEO's of these companies should receive no more than $100,000.00 like the CEO of Japan Airlines. Once again, the Japanese set the example.

By: shameonU

shameonU — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:54:04 +0000

How is it that Dick Cheney is so sure that we are going to be under more attacks because President Obama is against human torture? He was probably just as sure about 9/11 as well! We didn't have war until he, Cheney, Rumsfeld and former President Bush came to the White House after all the illegal voting was done in 2000. Hmmm, something had to happen to take the minds of the American people off of the criminal activities of that time and well, 9/11 did it. We readily forgot about the crooked election and focused on something even more devastating. Hince, we were thrust into a time of fear, lies and eventually a war that never should have happened that has killed so many of our young men and women who deserved to live a little longer than they did. And yet, these terrorists of opportunity are allowed to just fly away, walk away and roll away without ever giving account of their deeds and efforts to bring America to their knees. For that, (bringing us to our KNEES and our NEEDS, I am truly grateful. We can begin to fight our way back to a great nation with honesty and integrity and Love for each other and for those in other countries who are far less fortunate than we are here in America.

By: shameonU

shameonU — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:35:10 +0000

We in America don't have to worry so much about outside terrorism; we need to focus on the FINANCIAL TERRORISM that our own people are committing against us, the less fortunate ones who try to do the right thing and pay our taxes and exert integrity in our daily activities. You would hope that those who sit in HIGH places would have HIGH integrity, but it is just the opposite. President Obama should not put a cap on these FINANCIAL TERRORISTS, but a striped suit for what they have done. This is only the beginning of the end for those who think themselves more highly than they ought to think. I would love to have the job that Ms Sillfer refused today. You see, it is going to take someone who really has had to oversee every penny in their own budget to buy a house, buy cars, raise 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren and remain honest in their civic obligations to our country and our government. RICH people just don't "GET IT!" But, they will one day! "It will be easier for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle than for a RICH man to get into heaven". So, they will eventually "get it". It's not impossible for them to get to heaven, but highly unlikely because their "GOD" is their financial portfolio, bank accounty, and their Congressional position.