"In his first television interview since being elected President, Barack Obama talked about a range of personal, economic and foreign policy issues on "60 Minutes" Sunday night. In one of the most important exchanges, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to human rights and restoring America's "moral stature" by banning torture and closing Gitmo." - William Harryman

I thought the interview last night was really good. I am troubled a bit though by what seems to be his commitment to U.S. automakers. I understand why it's important to the economy right now potentially to avoid a ripple effect of a U.S. auto industry failure but it just seems to be sending the wrong message. Who do we bail out next? Newspapers, because people aren't reading newspapers as much anymore? Why not give newspapers $25 billion. Sometimes natural selection in business can be a good thing. - Thomas Hawk

What I got from the interview. 1. Gitmo gets shut down. 2. He starts pulling troops out of Iraq. 3. He wants to save the automakers. 4. He's not worried at all about deficit spending or inflation. I especially enjoyed his humility and the authenticity with which he came across. He could just be very, very slick and packaged well, but he seemed more "real" than any President I've seen. - Thomas Hawk

Oh, and I think Michelle Obama's going to make a great First Lady. - Thomas Hawk

Thomas, I heard an interesting take on the auto bailout. What if the money came with strings like green innovation. Not only would that help toward climate change but reinstate the US as a leader in technology. By growing the tech, this guy believed more jobs would be created. - Johnny Worthington

The auto industry wants the loan with no strings attached though. they just want the money. - Jason Shultz from twhirl

I don't know John. It's more than just green trouble. The unions may ultimately bring down any U.S. auto manufacturer when competing against non-unionized competitors. By keeping the old model alive you might need alot more than just mandating green automobiles. Maybe best to let it die and see what emerges from the ashes. People will still need cars. Maybe there is a better business model to make and sell cars going forward. - Thomas Hawk

One thing that I did like in his interview was that Obama referred to the unemployment rate of about 28% in the Great Depression. It puts things in perspective with today's much lower number. I don't think 7-9% unemployment is the worst we will see though. I don't think it's going to 28%, but I think it is going to get much much worse in the next few years ahead. - Thomas Hawk

very true :-) - Marissa "malouie"