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Obama After Football: Will Close Guantanamo, Break the Addiction to Oil

November 16th, 2008
By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor

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Delayed 30 minutes on the east coast by the confused ending of the Pittsburgh-San Diego game (the only 11-10 score in NFL history), the first post-election interview of Barack and Michelle Obama aired on 60 Minutes.

On the economy Obama said “for the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster” but assistance “can’t be a blank check.” He was generous toward Paulson saying he “worked tirelessly under some very difficult circumstances.” He acknowledged the parallels between today and the Great Depression, but supports solutions that are “true to our times.”

He was clear that he will shut down Guantanamo and move forward on energy independence despite low oil prices:

Kroft: There are a number of different things that you could do early pertaining to executive orders. One of them is to shutdown Guantanamo Bay. Another is to change interrogation methods that are used by U.S. troops. Are those things that you plan to take early action on?

Mr. Obama: Yes. I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn’t torture. And I’m gonna make sure that we don’t torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America’s moral stature in the world.  […]

Kroft: When the price of oil was at $147 a barrel, there were a lot of spirited and profitable discussions that were held on energy independence. Now you’ve got the price of oil under $60.

Mr. Obama: Right.

Kroft: Does doing something about energy is it less important now than…

Mr. Obama: It’s more important. It may be a little harder politically, but it’s more important.

Kroft: Why?

Mr. Obama: Well, because this has been our pattern. We go from shock to trance. You know, oil prices go up, gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it’s not important, and we start, you know filling up our SUVs again.

And, as a consequence, we never make any progress. It’s part of the addiction, all right. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it.

Michelle, saying “women are capable of doing more than one thing well at the same time,” said the focus for her first year will be making sure the kids make it through the transition. After that:

[T]here are many issues that I care deeply about. I care about military families and the work/family balance issue. I care about education. I, both Barack and I, believe that we can have an impact in the D.C. area. You know, in terms of making sure we’re contributing to the community that we immediately live in. That’s always been something that we try to do. Whether it’s in our own neighborhoods or in the schools that we’ve attended. So there’s plenty to do.

Dog lovers will appreciate that they are not getting the dog until after they’re settled because, said Michelle, “as responsible owners, I don’t think it would be good to get a dog in the midst of transition.”

And Michelle’s mom has been invited to move in with them. All in all a bravura performance!



This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 10:27 pm and is filed under Barack Obama, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 
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