FYI: Just announced in this Hollywood Reporter article, 60 Minutes will be taping an interview with the Obamas on Friday to air this coming Sunday.
So, did anybody watch it?
I thought it was a good interview. No real surprises, but the whole family came across as down-to-earth and just trying to go along with the transition as well as possible.
Some humor, a few candid comments, some hints as to how things will be when they get to the White House; all in all, a good interview that seemed to capture them as real people just dealing with the nuts and bolts of preparing to move into new house - granted, a rather large house with quite a bit of history, but still…
I got the feeling that although I doubt there will be a U-Haul involved, they will probably oversee what goes into the boxes and will know where the kids toys are when they unpack.
I liked when Obama responsed to Steve’s comment, “You’re pretty smart (or something)” saying, “That’s why I got elected President, man (or something close.)” I thought it would’ve been hilarious if Obama had perfected an Eddie Murphy laugh and replaced it with his normal laugh. All in all, a great interview. He and Michelle are just tremendously warm and natural with each other and they seem totally in love.
I just watched it online. It can be found here. Everytime I hear him talk I am more and more assured that he’s going to be a good president, possibly a great president. He’s going to make a difference, in a very good way. And Michelle, once she gets the kids settled, is going to be a kickass First Lady!
Right. I read an article the other day that said as soon as the Bush’s leave the White House to go to the Inauguration, trucks will pull up and start loading the Bush’s possessions and unloading the Obama’s possessions (I picture them waiting down the street, engines going, drivers waiting for the word), so that when the Obamas get home, their own linens and drapes will be hung and everything in place to make it feel like their own home. Michelle will probably tell whoever is in charge of that which linens and drapes she wants, and where she wants which other homey things put, like the girls’ toys and whatnot. It’s a good first step to letting them re-arrange and personalize their new home.
It’s a weird feeling, but a good one, listening to the interview. The past eight years have conditioned me to avoid listening to the current President speak; it’s almost physically painful. (And how did we get used to that? He’s the leader of the Free World, and when he gets through a sentence without stumbling, people say, “Good for you!”)
So listening to somebody who keeps sounding articulate, intelligent, reality-based and principled – and who also sounds like he’s cracked a history book – is almost intoxicating. I could get used to that.
And I think Michelle Obama is going to be a great First Lady.
I watched it and enjoyed it. My one complaint was that I would have preferred it to be two-thirds about policy and one-third about the family, rather than the other way around. On the other hand, I doubt that Steve would have gotten much more policy information from Barack had he gone at for two hours.
On the policy side, I particularly enjoyed how Barack would just not answer the question, rather than bullshitting around. I liked how he responded to the question about when he would begin naming cabinet nominees with the ambiguous “soon”, and when pressed on when, just repeated “soon.” He didn’t flap his jaws about “careful consideration, time is right, blah blah blah.” Likewise, he squarely refused to answer a few more questions.
On the personal side, I loved how he made it perfectly clear that, President or not, he wasn’t telling his mother-in-law to do anything. Given what I know of her and her daughter, I strongly suspect that Marian Robinson is not a woman who can be readily told what to do, though I am quite sure that she will do whatever she feels will be best for her family. It was also nice to see Barack giving Steve crap about his mother-in-law. It’s nice to see a President who can (appropriately) joke around.
I also was amused by what must have been an absolutely crappy (for a Senator) apartment that he had in Washington. I think that it says something about his priorities, which are very clearly family-focused. It was nice that Michelle was so positive about the Presidency being able to bring the family together under one roof for the first time in a long while. I also think it was sort of depressing that Barack now simply could not just go out for a walk because of the security bubble.
After the interview, I am quite happy that he’s moving into 1600 Pennsylvania. At the very least, he’s someone that I’m quite happy hear when he speaks.
Agree with what has been said – he came across as smart and competent – and as a nice guy with a sense of humor and with his priorities straight. Ditto for Michelle. I’m so looking forward to the next four to eight years!
Man, I can’t remember the last time that we had a president who could drop the word “frenetic” into an interview without even batting an eye. That’s refreshing.
I loved the mother-in-law banter, too.
I agree 100%. I noticed I was watching with a feeling of enormous tension, and realized it’s because of that conditioning. I am accustomed to our president saying embarrassing things, and that put me on edge. It’s going to take a little while to adjust my brain, but given their performance in this interview, I think it will be a relatively easy and pleasant transition.
I also have so much respect for Michelle for consistently putting her kids first. My older daughter is only two years younger than Sasha, and I can’t imagine how tough the campaign and this new life could be for them. But actually both parents seem really committed to making things easy and smooth for them. And, as Barack said, to make sure they don’t get stuck-up or spoiled, which is just as important.
When it was over, my husband and I said to each other what a pleasure it is to be able to watch our president and feel happy and proud.
Edit: Of course, as I criticized Bush’s stupidity, I made a grammatical error.
America DEFINITELY needs that kind of breath of fresh air at this point in time. I enjoyed the interview, even though I too would have preferred the accent to be placed more on substantive issues rather than personal ones.
Barack Obama is quite intelligent, down-to-Earth, cool, calm and collected. Let’s hope he is allowed to put those qualities to good use during the crucial first months of his presidency so that he can lay out a new course for his country and the rest of the world.
Listening to him speak is like a warm wave washing over me. Like others, listening to GWB speak is like fingernails on a chalkboard. It literally makes me cringe.
I thought he was very articulate, as usual. It is quite refreshing, isn’t it?
I loved how Michelle said “routine” about three times. A woman after my own heart! Routine is my way of establishing control over my surroundings, and feeling at peace. I guess I’m boring, in a way. 
She seems to feel the same way; get everybody in a routine again - then get a puppy! 
She’s going to be a hell of a diplomat and spokesperson in this country, providing a strong role model for women of any race.
very smart thinking on the dog. they do say not to get it during holiday times or hectic times. good on them waiting until things are settled and they know how things work in the w.h.
some of the people in the senate and house not only have apts like obama’s but some of them will pool together and share apts. i remember reading about 4 members of the house and senate that shared a two bedroom apt.
things can get expensive in d.c. and some don’t have a huge amount of wealth behind them. esp. in the house.
i hope mom robinson moves into the white house with them. i would love to see the staff spoil her a bit!
the move in/move out is very impressive. i watched the bush to clinton inarg. and it was an amazing amount of people and trucks moving things around. abc got a bit bored when not much was going on so they would go back to the w.h. for the real action.
you can also “borrow” historical funiture from the white house catalog. so you don’t have to empty out your own house.
Oooh, that would be interesting. It’s funny, I’ve gone from having less than zero interest in what happens in the White House (anything to do with the presidency or politics at all, including, like others, hearing Bush speak unless Jon Stewart’s making fun of him) to being totally fascinated with the White House, Washington in general, and politics. I never ever could have named a White House Chief of Staff or White House council from any previous president (even the Democrats that I voted for) but now I not only know Obama’s, I’m hanging on to every scrap of information and will be keeping track of every hire, appointment and Cabinet position and will be watching all of Obama’s speeches and reading about all his executive orders. I want to know everything!
Back to the White House, I found this little gem. The link leads to a page that has a video of a White House tour Jackie Kennedy gave to CBS in 1962. I adore Jackie, even though she comes off very stiff and nervous and way too overgroomed (I say that because the pictures I like best are those where she’s on a boat or in the back yard, very casual with wind-blown hair, with Jack and the kids).
Here are some other White House links.
http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/ (nice floor by floor map that leads to pictures of each room)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
http://www.whitehousehistory.org/
White House - Wikipedia
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Obama interview set a record for 60 Minutes with the most viewers of the show since 1999. 24.5 million viewers tuned in!
Michelle Obama will be 44 when Barack becomes #44. A professor who knew them at law school thought it was going to be Michelle who would be President.
So she might be thinking about doing a Hillary. First Lady -> Senator -> ???. Lot’s of time.
But the interview suggests she has learned a lesson from Hillary and will start off very slowly. Don’t show any ambition for a good while and gradually ramp up involvement in national affairs.
Michelle 2020.
She’s fully qualified right this second to run for Senator from New York.
No she isn’t. She has to become a resident of the State of New York first. Granted, she need not become a resident until the day before the election.