Obama "60 Minutes" Interview: Hits Back At Cheney, Supports Geithner

[ProSense]

Obama "60 Minutes" Interview: Hits Back At Cheney, Supports Geithner

From the CBS press release:

In his longest interview since taking office, President Barack Obama tells Steve Kroft that New York's Wall Street executives need to get out of town to appreciate the public's anger towards them and that embattled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's job is safe. The president even joked that were Geithner to tender his resignation, he would say, "Sorry Buddy, you've still got the job." <...>

The president said neither he nor Geithner has mentioned resignation from his Treasury post and that criticism is natural. "It's going to take a little bit more time than we would like to make sure that we get this plan just right. Of course, then we'd still be subject to criticism," he tells Kroft. "What's taken so long? You've been in office a whole 40 days and you haven't solved the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression," Obama said with a laugh. <...>

Obama fires back at former Vice President Dick Cheney's charge that his plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay and end torture of terrorism suspects has made the U.S. less safe. "How many terrorists have actually been brought to justice under the philosophy that is being promoted by Vice President Cheney? It hasn't made us safer. What it has been is a great advertisement for anti-American sentiment." Pressed by Kroft that some of the released prisoners have returned to terrorist groups, the president said, "There is no doubt that we have not done a particularly effective job in sorting through who are truly dangerous individuals...to make sure are not a threat to us," he says. But he called the Bush administration's policy on detainees at Guantanamo -including long incarcerations with no trials - "unsustainable."

Obama Says Would Not Accept Geithner Resignation

By REUTERS
Published: March 21, 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said he would not accept Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's resignation if it was offered, according to excerpts from a television interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

Obama said he would tell Geithner: "Sorry buddy you've still got the job." The Treasury secretary has been under fire from some lawmakers for his handling of the AIG bonus scandal.

U.S. television network CBS, which secured the interview, said Obama told its "60 Minutes" program that neither he nor Geithner had mentioned his resignation from his Treasury post.

[jefferson_dem]

1. I Salute You, Mr. President!

:patriot:

...Exactly what this country needs at this moment. Naysayers be damned.

[ProSense]

3. And, they will ignore this and launch into another spin. n/t

[BeFree]

9. Salute!

Man, it feels good to do that. Right on Mr. President!

[Kdillard]

2. Good for him for hitting back at Darth Cheney who should just crawl back

into whatever hole he came out of and never come back out. Good that he is being loyal to Geithenr and hopefully he will have help soon.

[Cha]

4. And, when Obama hits back at the dick cheney

he hits back at the corporatemediawhores who whine about his mistreatment from Gibbs.

[Jennicut]

5. Cheney is an idiot and I feel less safe knowing he is not locked up somewhere

[Colobo]

6. Excellent- gotta watch it tomorrow.

[BlueJac]

7. FUCK TIM and Goldman -Sach!!

I have had it with these assholes

[pnorman]

8. I'm a late supporter of Obama, having "signed on" late May of last year.

But I'm positively amazed at his political/communication skills, his multi-tasking ability, as well as his apparent ability to think "several moves ahead". Like many here, I have serious reservations about Geithner, but I'll trust Obama's judgment on this. Perhaps a good analogy here, would be FDR's appointing of Joe Kennedy to head the SEC ("Set a thief to take a thief"?)

pnorman
Edit to add: I'm also impressed with Obama's poise and "unflappability". Dubya had some of the latter, but it was the unflappability of the CLUELESS!