Obama: We've Gotten Plenty Done Already

But Admits To Mistakes And Predicts More; Chats With Harry Smith About Lighter Side Of White House Life

(CBS)  President Obama says his administration has been "extraordinarily productive" in its first five months in office under "some fairly extraordinary circumstances," but concedes it's made mistakes and that more are likely.

"We're not satisfied," the president told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith in an exclusive interview. "We've got a lot of work to do."

After delving into the challenges posed by developments in Iran and North Korea, and answering criticism thrown his way by former Vice President Cheney, Mr. Obama addressed a broader query from Smith.

"What do you most wish you knew now before you came to the White House?"

"I'm not sure that -- you can ever anticipate what -- what the pace of this is like," the president replied. "I -- I think that by the time I actually was sworn in, we had a pretty clear sense of the magnitude -- of the financial crisis. And I have to tell you -- the -- the -- we've made mistakes, and we'll make some more. I mean, we made some mistakes early on around appointments, and there were some other issues there, in terms of how we rolled out the bank stress test, etc.

"Overall, though -- I think you look at our track record over the last five months -- under some fairly extraordinary circumstances -- we have, I think, been extraordinarily productive. But we're not satisfied. We've got a lot of work to do."

Then, things lightened up.

Smith kidded Mr. Obama about First Dog Bo, saying he appears to be out of control at times.

"Bo -- Bo's -- you know, Bo, he's a teenager,' the president pointed out. "He's a puppy still. And -- he -- he, every once in a while, does get a little frisky. But I would not want just a -- passive dog. I want a -- a dog with a little bit of spirit. And he definitely has some spirit. He's a smart dog, though. And -- and he has a good temperament. You know, he is -- he is very friendly and fun loving. But -- but when he gets out in the south lawn sometimes -- when he breaks loose, it's -- it's tough to catch up with him."

"As our camera crew was breaking down," Smith says, "I had a chance to ask the president about golf. He's gone golfing seven times since he took office. Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton have often sought refuge on the links -- and, perhaps, now we know why."

What does golf do for Mr. Obama?

"First of all, I'm terrible," the First Golfer said, slightly off-mike as he and Smith spoke in hushed tones to each other. "It is the only time that, for six hours, first of all, that I'm outside. And second of all, where you almost feel normal, in the sense that you're not in a bubble. There are a whole bunch of Secret Service guys, but they're sort of in the woods. And when you're up there in the tee box and you're hacking away, and hitting some terrible shot and your friends are laughing at you, you know, it feels as if, you know- you're -- you're out of the container."

---

Part One of the interview was aired on the CBS News broadcast Sunday Morning on June 21. To read the transcript, click here. It dealt with Mr. Obama's views on fatherhood.

Part two aired on The Early Show. It went into the president's thoughts on Iran, North Korea, Dick Cheney, and more.

[Questionews]

Where's Hungry!!

People are questioning Obama's leadership. We need him to smite these infidels for their non-belief. Oooooo. just wait till Hungry get's here. You guys are in sooooooo much trouble.

[specialty8]

I told you, even Hungry has to laugh about this one. He knows Obama has done little to nothing. Like the other week when the chosen one said "pay as you go", everybody about slit a gut laughing on that one.

[Questionews]

Where's Hungry???

There's three post in a row that questions some Obama's decisions.
That's like saying there might not be a God to radical Christians!!

[specialty8]

Hungry only likes to get on the stuff that makes his hero look good.This is not one of them.

[specialty8]

I can't see a single thing Obungler has done up to this point but put 3 generations in debt. Have I missed something? All thats right the new tobacco bill and tax. That really helps. Where in the world is Pelosi and side kick Reid at when you need something really messed up? Obama could use them right now to ensure he is a one term president.

[erasmus111]

by Questionews June 23, 2009 9:33 AM PDT


Another thing that has been happening since they changed the format, is that it's been slower. I thought that it was CBS, but I think maybe it is the "Internet Explorer". I'm not sure though because if I go other places, it's not as bad. I started using "Firefox" instead of the "Internet Explorer" and now it's a lot faster. It was taking forever to scroll down through the posts and getting it to refresh the page.

[dukeymom]

Enough! Every single day Obama is in the "news" - now it's the golf game and father's day - do we really care? And, the wife should be kept under tighter wraps - bad enough to listen/watch him without her spouting policy - remember the outrage when Hillary Clinton said it was like getting 2 for 1 - this is even worse! All we need to know about the Obamas is their donation to the silent auction at the kids' private school - autographed copies of magazines featuring them on the covers - that about sums up this presidency so far. If he's on TV all the time, or on the plane, exactly when is he running the country, is only one question.

[specialty8]

You Obamabots are funny,You have the same thing you had with Bush, only three times worse and you praise him. Why did't you praise Bush, same policies, but a diferent party? You have a congress full of idiots, Pelosi, Reid, Backdoor Barney,the same ones that created most of this mess to start with, and don't forget, bless his heart, Biden, the dumbest foot in his mouth about every day, and the cast of tax crooks in the administration. Now go and watch the news, Obama will pump you up somemore with all those jobs he has created. Maybe he will talk about another "historical" moment he is about to make happen, highest unemployment and inflation in history.

[erasmus111]

by Questionews June 23, 2009 9:33 AM PDT
erasmus111

I see that you're going back to capturing a post & replying to it as an original post instead of clicking "Reply". Me too! I tried the reply button a couple times, but unless you click on "see all comments" the reply doesn't show up. I enjoy a little back & forth and the reply button doesn't generate that. There was much of the old format that I liked. (Are you listening CBS??)


No, the buzzards aren't listening. The whole purpose of this change was to stop people from having "a little back & forth". It SUCKS, I tell ya!

I tried the "reply" also. I hate it. I want the posts to go to the end, I don't want to have to keep going back to the original post. I left a reply to someone that had replied to mine, one time, but I don't think they saw it because they didn't go back again. Whereas if I had copied and pasted it like before, it would have been at the end, or at least closer to the end and they probably would have seen it. IT SUCKS!!!! : )

[parrots7]

by IThoughtItWasFunnyAsIs June 23, 2009 7:39 AM PDT
Me, too, Dumbama just disappearing is the best idea I've heard yet!!!

Good going, there, Skyk...I like that idea, totally.


***** Bet you're proud of the incompetent and very Dumb Repug in SC. Dumb Repugs !

[ReallyMeanIt]

Just got to laugh at the libs, still repeating the same old talking points feed to them by the obamas apologist.
Think they'll be shocked to learn that most of us liked obama as a person, the real michele obama, Foxnews is just one of a news channel, the real reason the democratic congress got lower approval rating than Bush, etc.
Can't really blamed the libs for staying in their fantasy world because is much better than reality.

[parrots7]

Fantasy World ??? Coming from a Rabid Repug ?? Dude, where u been ?

[Questionews]

erasmus111

I see that you're going back to capturing a post & replying to it as an original post instead of clicking "Reply". Me too! I tried the reply button a couple times, but unless you click on "see all comments" the reply doesn't show up. I enjoy a little back & forth and the reply button doesn't generate that. There was much of the old format that I liked. (Are you listening CBS??)

[erasmus111]

by USASTILLONTOP June 23, 2009 4:33 AM PDT
Lied about pulling out of Iraq....


Did he not set a time to pull them out? I don't believe that time has been reached yet. Idiots like you just want something to b*tch about. It doesn't matter if you are right or not.

It took well OVER the 8 years to get into the mess you are in now, and it's going to take more than 5 months to get you out of it. Personally, with a country that is as corrupt as yours, I think that it will be an impossible task. But you should be at least grateful that you have someone that is willing to try. You could have McCain sitting there now, DOING NOTHING. Actually, he wouldn't be doing nothing, he would be working hard at getting you into another war.

[heavynne]

As far as racism, this country has been run on racism since it was established. All of sudden since there is a black man in the White House there is racism, what a joke.

[winchesterla]

THERE ARE SO MANY BENT ****** HERE WITH BENT MINDS. DISTURBING

[USASTILLONTOP]

hungry1968-15- I'll tell you what he needs to do. He needs to go get his Ba**s back

[Questionews]

It's sad to see how many people fall into the "Our party guys can do no wrong" grouping. I saw with the Bush loyalists and I am now seeing it with the Obama loyalists. For these programmed lemmings, the idea that "their guy" might be making mistakes is blasphemy and they react the same way a hardcore religious person reacts when you tell them there might not be a God. Obama is like the Beatles & they are the tear filled, screaming teenagers in the front row. The Bushbots were no different. Objectivity is strange concept for some.

[despido]

I couldn't agree more. When one questions Obama's actions, he/she is labled a nazi, a 'bushie', all sorts of silly, kindergarten style names. If one points out Bush's failures, he/she is quickly labled as a socialist ot 'dumbocrat'. Cute, but childish.

[CPelzar]

If people think that Trickle Down Economics have failed, can someone explain to me how Trickle up works and sight some examples of thriving economies that practice this?

[CPelzar]

3. Forget the Republicans. Forget bipartisanship. Universal healthcare can pass with 51 votes. You can get 51 votes if you give up on trying to persuade a handful of Republicans to cross over. Eight years ago George W. Bush passed his huge tax cut, mostly for the wealthy, by wrapping it in an all-or-nothing reconciliation measure and daring Democrats to vote against it. You should do the same with healthcare.

The democrats will be the ones to defeat Socialized Healthcare thank god. These people that want free Healthcare have no clue what it is and what it will cost.

In the latest draft from congress, Elected Official such as Dodd and such have exempted themselves fro Universal Coverage in favor of their current tax payer paid for life plan.

[jjp735i]

I voted for Obama and do not wish to see the GOP take control in 2010. However, I am not happy with Obama at all. He appears to be a light weight Bush and it's starting to bother me. The bail outs were wrong and did not help much. Be it the banks or some other business, we as tax payers lost. What happened to "open government"? It sure seems like Obama, who was against Bush's secrecy is now fighting to keep it. His choice for Supreme Court bothers me too. Obama has backed off promises he made while running for President. I understand the GOP caused most of the problems we are now facing, however, Obama is acting more like a tv star then the President.

[dartplayer501]

The bail-outs were wrong, but better than the alternative. Some banks have already paid back the money. The taxpayer's getting 7.5% interest on the loan to Citigroup. Chrysler's alrady out of bankruptcy, GM's headed that way. Thousands of jobs have been saved, even though the number of unemployed is still increasing, it's increasing at an ever slower rate and will turn around. Obama's got more done to benefit the country in 5 months than shrub did in 8 years. I reckon he's doing a great job, given he's only getting interference from the GOPigs while they have not had a new idea since Ray-gun, and we all know how that worked out.

[rushlimpdrug]

Gee, sounds like any criticism of the prez
is out of line with some of these posters.

Yeah, the prez says some purty things.

As the guy in the movie said,

"sure got a purty mouth"

[despido]

First came the claim that he had 'experience'. Then the promise of 'change' implying that he had a solution. After that came a litant of ill concieved promises. Now we have the whines that its not his fault, he's overwhelmed, and 'has made mistakes'.

Billions for failing companies, billions for muslim countries, billions more for Wall Street contibutors, and even more billions for political 'friends' while our most populated and economically important state faces bankruptcy.

More government regulators now promise... really, for sure, positively, absolutely we're gonna get it right this time - uh huh. Guaranteeing certain corporations they're 'to big to fail' puts the government in direct competition with small, innovative companies and banks. All to the public's detriment.

The Obama administration has already encouraged sub-prime auto loans through an agreement with GMAC. Barney Frank has already requested that banks loosen loan new qualifications... here we go again.