CNN

Once again the President , like a Hollywood celebrity, uses the television networks to sell his plan ,like the Hollywood celebrity, sell their movies. He choose the questions that only serve his needs.

Hey everyone,

It is a wrap.

I suspect that Patty is part of the 64 percent of Americans who approve of how President Obama is handling his job. On the other hand, Observant represents the 34 percent who disapprove of how the president is handling his job. (The numbers are from the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll I have been citing).

But how do YOU think he handle today's virtual town hall?

Was it worth it?

Should he do it again?

Let us know.

My takeaway is that President Obama said nothing that was earth shattering. He has answered all of these questions before. But I have to give him credit for embracing new technology. And even though there were no surprises in the questions - I still love the idea that YOU can ask the president a question.

Thanks for watching/blogging along with me on CNN.com - THE HUB for politics.

Mark

Hey Mike in Fairfax,

I can't agree with you more. President Obama stood before the nation the other night and took questions from trained journalists without knowing the content. Why not do the same with these on-line questions?

I think he should have a journalist ask the questions, much like Anderson Cooper did during the CNN/YouTube presidential debates.

Let's bring Anderson back!

Mike in Fairfax,
No offense meant by my Harvard Law comment, congratulations on your accomplishments. As to your comment on going back and changing your vote, if McCain hadn't run his campaign so far to the right to appease the Republican Party. We would be speaking of President McCain, maybe.

jose, you cannot go from a free market system to a universal health care system overnight, you'd have a riot. Heck, just look at the small changes he's trying to push through and the fit people are having. Though I do agree universal health care is needed. Every other first world country has it, and they pay less percentage of their GDP to it than the US does, with better care. I'd think there's a reason for that and maybe the US should learn from them.

@ steroid point... steroids and HGH are legal for non-athletes. Our bodies, our rights to use any and all available medicines when being fully apprised of the risks.

My question is the regards to unemployed baby boomers. My father is 54 years old and has been laid-off, basically unemployed for over a year. He has spent most of his savings that was meant for his later years just to survive. He is finding that while age discrimination is illegal, it is very unspoken. Employers don't seem to value years of experience and education as in the past. What does the future hold for these people?

Mr. President, New York state's Governor wants to bring back institutions to get rid of the waiting list of developmentally disabled people waiting to get into a group home, do you agree with this and if not what can you do to help?

I cannot believe that we as the people have been alotted this opportunity to ask the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES anything we wanted and marijuana has been the most talked about subject. And some of us actually wonder why Main St. isn't considered in big governmental decisions....

The questions from the participants are great. I love this administration.

Drummer, I severely doubt the "no death due to cannibus use". I think I could easily die from it due to my allergic reaction. So stop, please. You cannot defend drug use if it is not for medical use. I don't even like cigarettes and alcohol being legal but I can live with it because neither are likely to kill me off in 10 minutes.

When asked (Obama) if we could have a health care system comparable to the Canadians or Europeans, his answer was that we were "accustomed" to our current system, and even though it was not perfect, we should keep it. You know what other system we were accustomed to? slavery, it wasn't perfect, but it worked, maybe we should bring it back.
Our health system is broken, the only people profiting are the insurance companies, cut out the middle man and get rid of them!

Mike in Fairfax: The election is over. Most of us made that evaluation BEFORE we voted. We know the President can "think on his feet," in a chair, in a car, at the table, and pretty much anywhere.

President Obama, what I'd like to know now is how do you plan to get past this partisan bickering that has poisoned the political environment? It is apparent that you plan to be persistent in your effort to locate common ground at home and abroad. Do you believe there are any signs of progress on both fronts and, if so, can you offer examples? How do we move people like Mike, who are stuck in campaign mode, forward to solve the critical problems we face?

Mike in Fairfax,

How would your idea of a townhall meeting be different from the ones he gave, where the 'unfiltered' citizens in the audience asked questions? His responses at his news conferences are never filtered. He is the type person who likes to convey his message with preciseness. That is why he likes the teleprompter. But he thinks with swiftness, and confidence on his feet.

March 26th, 2009 12:40 pm ET

@Brian,

I mean one like this, where those who are not necessarily there to get a gander at his greatness might actually ask a question that doesn't just give him a chance to toss out his regular stump speech.

That's what happened in CA. They weren't hand selected attendees, he didn't know what they would ask ahead of time. I just feel like you're being a little bit absurd here. You want him to hold an open town hall, but when he does you say everyone there is just there to gander at his greatness and not as a tough question. If I had a really hard question to ask him, I would get all my friends together right away and we would be the first ones in line. There's nothing to stop people who want to ask whatever they want from going to an open town hall.

Well Gosh! He graduated from Harvard Law?!? So did I, and I sure don't remember having an final exam where I had to think on my feet, or one where I didn't know which subject to study for. Look, I'm not against the guy. I just don't like what his administration has done to this point. If I could, as of today, I would go back and change my vote.

Mike in Fairfax,

The previous live town hall meetings he held were in districts that did not support him. Please pay better attention.

I"m all for legalizing marijuana. I think it's a ridiculous double standard given the legality of booze and tobacco and the insane damage that both do in our society when used irresponsibly. However, I think you have to take Obama's response to the questions in stride and in context. First, it's not a top-of-the-agenda item given the other more pressing concerns we must address right now...so I wouldn't be suprised if it actually took him by suprise. You can't be prepared for all possible questions in the realm of political issues. Second, it's a hot button issue that elicits some pretty crazy and irrational responses from people on both sides and he was likely playing it off because he'd rather think it through and provide a responsible response, rather than something off the cuff that could come back to haunt him, which is very understandable given the problems along the Mexico border right now. Sure, he was being political...but what did you expect?

This forum is fantastic!

President Obama is setting new standards for presidents to come - all presidents should make a point of communicating directly with the people who helped elect them.
This is so refreshing, considering the secrecy of the Bush Administration.

By the way, all of those Republicans who are touting that they want "Obama to fail" are going to see a huge backlash. This campaign is going to backfire. The President is too popular. This is the first administration since Clinton's in 1992 in which the people actually feel that they were part of the process.

@ Observant,

I am very angry and upset with President Obama. How dare he say we (America) don't want the out-sourced jobs back. Manufacturing jobs average pay 50 – 60 K, finance jobs avg pay 45-60K. An American combined household income of 90 to 100K. And he want to provide all of us with green jobs that haven't even been created yet. I personally voted for him because he said he would look into the closing some of tax loopholes. "Watch way they do and not what they say." With that being said, "Watch what I do in 2012″. Anyone but the current (with the exception of Sarah Palin, I am angry not stupid).
----

If you were really observant, you would realize that green jobs will replace these jobs that you want back. That's long term thinking versus short term thinking. Green is where its going. That's like I am trying to explain to people in my school district, you need to learn how teach to children who speak a second language because soon they will comprise a great deal of your students. Short term thinkers are saying, nay, lets just improve this now, and wait till later. (Just an example). If you noted in your own statement, he said, he would close "some of the tax loopholes." He can't close them all. Realistically, we cannot stop outsourcing. Companies have always been doing it, it just became more obvious with a hurting economy. If you vote Republican, remember, most of those guys are in states that have foreign based auto companies, therefore you will have protested in vain.

I listened to the President and I think it was really cool....

What a generation we have in the white house. How refreshing?

President Obama,

Would you consider making student loans 100% tax deductible without income limitations.

"If we legalize weed, why dont we also legalize STEROIDS for athletes? You get results but later, your bodies suffer from it. "

THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ONE DOCUMENTED DEATH DUE TO CANNABIS USE. EVER.

You can't say the same for steroids, alcohol, tobacco, or prescription drugs.

Bottom line, cannabis is illegal because you can grow it in your own backyard and big companies can't profit from it. They have all the lobbying money.

And if you can show me 1 documented death due to cannabis, please provide a link!

@Brian,

I mean one like this, where those who are not necessarily there to get a gander at his greatness might actually ask a question that doesn't just give him a chance to toss out his regular stump speech.

@ Mike in Fairfax, who asked "My question would be: Why not hold a live town hall meeting in this format and answer questions "off-the-cuff" rather than pick and choose between 150,000 questions that were submitted ahead of time? "

He just did a live town hall in CA and answered live questions on his feet and it was fantastic. He's testing a different medium/venue to see how well WE can work together to make it work. He can't be everywhere at all times except on the internet.

Mike Fairfax,
I totally agree that the questions should be 'winged'. However, there is no doubt that he can think on his feet he is a top graduate from Harvard Law.

Mark, yes I think he boned up on the answers to the questions he wanted to answer or someone wanted him to answer. He can get his story straight and have someone write him out an answer before he makes it look like he has got all the answers. That's my story and i'm sticking to it.

Excellent question from the teacher from Philadelphia.

I just wish the President had a better understanding of economics. If his proposals are adopted we'll have the largest expansion of the federal government since FDR. Handing over control of whole industries to the government and saddling the country with vast amounts of additional debt will not make a more prosperous nation. Command economies just don't work in the real world, just ask the Russians and Chinese.

On the subject of education: One of the fundamental problems with the education system is not the schools, it is in the parents who do not value education and the environment that children must live in from day to day. Their environment is not nurturing. Schools are taking on the roles of parents, psychologists, disciplinarians, chaplins, and meal makers. Parents are abdicating their responsibility to develop productive citizens who can contribute to our society. On a side note to this, is that the third generation of welfare has learned to use the system to do as little as possible and depend on the government and the responsible citizens to fund their lack of responsibility.

Mickie,

There is NO WAY taxing weed alone can turn the economy around, even if they add an additional sales tax at like 90% like the proposed tax on AIG bonuses, but that would anger a big chunk of Obama's voters. Then they'll have to move on to a cheaper high like buying peoples prescription meds or sniffing paint... anything they can do to avoid sobriety, because sobriety is apparently so oppressive and out of the question.

Of all the pot smokers I know, not one of them admits to being an irresponsible user although an objective look at their lives will tell you otherwise.

MIke, exactly what is the difference? He only had two hours for people to submit questions before the meeting started. The only difference is the medium with which its presented. The internet reaches more people.

Mike,

We saw that on Tuesday, and his message was almost exactly the same.

Obama seems to be very good at making his points regardless of the question or the lack of preparation. Very impressive.

"'m deeply disappointed by Obama's sarcastic summary response to all the cannabis questions. It's a real issue to many Americans."

You should be disappointed in the cannabis lobby, they flooded the question queue with legalization questions. I support legalization/decriminalization, but seeing all those weed questions on Jobs, Green Jobs, Budget etc made the issue a joke issue.

I... I just lost a lot of respect for President Obama. Watch as he answers each question up to the marijjuana reform question fully and intelligently.

Watch as he blows off the reform question and the crowd laughs.

I've never been so disappointed in my leaders... and that's saying something.

Google to find out how much we're spending every year on excessive sentencing of drug USERS. THAT is where the money is getting thrown away. Sure, DEALERS should be in jail, but USERS??? Ridiculous. It's all so politicians can pretend they're "tough on crime" and cite statistical data showing how many "druggies" they threw in jail for 10 years for having a gram of coke on them and claim that they're "cleaning up the streets." Streets are still looking pretty dirty to me.

@karen-Phoenix, I couldn't have said it any better. He did say he is here for all of us not just to sit behind his desk in the Oval office and then hearing what his plans are from his Press Secretary. This way we as the people can truly hold him accountable for his statements, you know getting it straight from the horses mouth. This is what he did as a community organizer. Yes he may have been stumped at some of the questions but at least he is allowing us to ask. With regards to legalizing pot, well if there is a study and I'm sure there is I believe you will find more deaths coming form DRUNK DRIVERS than POT SMOKING AND MORE DUI DUE TO ALCOHOL RATHER THAN POT. Legalizing Pot will stop crime and what is going on in Mexico it will cut shut down the drug cartel with regards to Pot. This is a tough one. If crime is reduced and it generates revenue then why not just like Alcohol was legalized. My husband traveled a lot there are countries in Europe where drugs are legal, the police don't even carry guns and the crime rate is no where near ours.

By the numbers

From the White House:

* 92,928 people submitted 104,113 questions
* 3,606,692 votes were cast for the questions.

March 26th, 2009 12:31 pm ET

My question would be: Why not hold a live town hall meeting in this format and answer questions "off-the-cuff" rather than pick and choose between 150,000 questions that were submitted ahead of time? I'd like to see if you can actually think on your feet and I'd like to know where you stand on issues without the filter of preparation.
=========================================================
He did that last week twice in California.

Although obviously many people,including the president, feel that the question of legalizing weed is a joke, the amount of support demonstrated recently shows that many of us feel it is not. As a Purple Heart veteran who is on the verge of dropping out of college because my GI Bill benefits total less than 400 dollars a month, as someone who cannot find a job and is unemployed, and suffers from PTSD and has not gotten the help I need, I was interested in all the topics discussed. But I know the answers already. The administration has been asked and answered all of their responses. Instead of answering a question I tuned in for I was laughed at by the president of the United States for supporting policy that would help diminish crime, respect personal freedom, lower law enforcement costs, and generate jobs. Shame on you, sir. Whether you agree with legalization at least respect our legitimate questions.

Hey Mark,

You have to give the President high mark on explaining things to the american people in simple terms and keeping them involve in the process.

He is the Commander-In-Chief and Explainer In-Chief. He is the people's champ.

Thanks,
FJ

Marijuana will someday eventually be legal. It makes no sense for it to be illegal while alcohol is widely available wherever you look, and causes untold amounts of pain and misery every year. You never see anyone staging an intervention for marijuana.

Isn't it interesting how most of the posts here address the President directly, as opposed to something like "Why don't those people in Washington ..."?

Obama seems to be very successful at addressing the American People directly, because we're answering directly!

My question would be: Why not hold a live town hall meeting in this format and answer questions "off-the-cuff" rather than pick and choose between 150,000 questions that were submitted ahead of time? I'd like to see if you can actually think on your feet and I'd like to know where you stand on issues without the filter of preparation.

President Obama!

Thank you for you time. My problem is with The people in banking handling short sales. My room mate and I are disabled Veterans living in Ridgecrest, Ca. in an old home full of black mold. I have been trying to buy a home with an approved not pre approved but an approved amount. The only ones within my price range are short sales. Finding several homes with asking prices within my means I put bids on them at or over asking price. We are going on three months and no answer or have been lied to by selling agents about the status of the properties.

If we are bailing these people out how much of the debt that they have is generated by inventory they are not releasing in order to show a higher loss.

Meanwhile I am doing my part to get both healthy and stimulate the economy by buying and spending money to fix a home or at least I would be if the banks claiming losses would do something. I put a bid on a Countrywide held home on Ranier St. in Palmdale Ca. for the asking price it has been three months and have been lied to by the selling agent so many times he is trying to use the same excuses twice. I even upped the bid to cover all Broker/Agent fees and VA closing costs and still not one word.

Please tell me again why we are bailing them out??

I am sure that most Americans will want answers to this!

Awaiting your response

3/23/2009

The man has only been in Office for a little over 60 days. Therefore some of you who act as though he has broken his promises need to sit down. He has almost 4yrs to go.

In response to Mel, we know some, probably very few, people are allergic to pot. Did you know some people are allergic to cigarettes too? Lots of people have asthma in this country, yet cigarettes are seen everywhere. If it(weed) were legal, I'm sure you wouldn't be allowed to smoke it everywhere. You can't smoke cigarettes in my state inside any building. I'm sure they would implement the same laws with smoking the chronic too for people like you who are allergic. And you see that tax stamp on the bottom of every pack of cigarettes? Liquor tax? That's a lot of money. Taxing the green would definitely help out quite a bit. Sorry bro, you know it makes sense. It helped with alcohol back 75-80 years ago, it'll help now.

Indeed, Mel. If you look at the history of the US and "social practices" such as witch hunts, slavery, issues of prohibition, more modern debates of abortion, gay marriage etc. – "traditional values" is a very subjective thing.

On just about every issue, the American people are giving President Obama high marks ... except on the auto and bank bailouts.

The most recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows that only 46 percent of Americans approve of how he is handling the auto bailout.

(The bank bailout you ask? Only 47 percent approve of how he is handling that situation.)

I am very angry and upset with President Obama. How dare he say we (America) don't want the out-sourced jobs back. Manufacturing jobs average pay 50 – 60 K, finance jobs avg pay 45-60K. An American combined household income of 90 to 100K. And he want to provide all of us with green jobs that haven't even been created yet. I personally voted for him because he said he would look into the closing some of tax loopholes. "Watch way they do and not what they say." With that being said, "Watch what I do in 2012". Anyone but the current (with the exception of Sarah Palin, I am angry not stupid).

his making light of the question on marijuana ticks me off. as a member of norml, if he can't at least show the respect to be serious ,about a serious issue, then, he just made me a libertarian, again. the President just lost all respect i had for him.

No making it illegal does not stop people from smoking it, but they're sure alot more cautious about smoking it in public.

Make some news? Aren't you pleased that you are reporting on comments made by a President that are COMPLETE SENTENCES – with subjects and predicates? Thoughtful, intelligent answers? Literate, intelligent answers? Can you imagine the previous president doing this?

Geithner is trying to regulate and the GOP is "concernend" about the Feds (the company that you the people and I own) having to much power. Meanwhile they don't worry about those private AIG's that are destroying our country.

If we legalize weed, why dont we also legalize STEROIDS for athletes? You get results but later, your bodies suffer from it. Do you plan to live in the short term and die at the age of 40 or do you plan to live a healthy life for up to 90? Do you want to see your grandkids? I guess when you're young you think you'll never die, but when you hit a certain age, you understand life better. I say if you legalize weed, then legalize STEROID.

"If I'm in a room with pot smoke, it only takes five minutes for me to be crawling on the ground with my head pounding so bad I can barely see. Last time that happened, I almost ended up hospitalized."

And I'm allergic to peanuts. That doesn't make peanuts illegal.

I'm deeply disappointed by Obama's sarcastic summary response to all the cannabis questions. It's a real issue to many Americans.

So much for change we can believe in. I'm done with Obama now.

March 26th, 2009 12:22 pm ET

If we want to survive as a nation, we must keep traditional values. They have always worked and have always stabilized societies. What happened when we decided to DEREGULATE and take out laws that were created to regulate the banks? We ROTTTED financially at the core and we are feeling it. We CAN LEGALIZE drugs, but we will raise generations of SPIRITUALLY dead human races. Let's have one population of monkeys on healthy environment and one populatin with legalized drugs. I can guarantee you that a MONKEY society free from drugs is more healthy. Learn from the banks!!! The UNIVERSE has rules so WE TOO must have rules to govern US in our places.
======================================================
So let's go back to prohibition while we're at it. Let's also get rid of any bad language or sex on tv and the movies and in our music. We better get rid of all that "touch dancing" the kids are doing nowadays. Give me a break. If we have alcohol and tobacco, we should have marijuana. If we don't have marijuana, we shouldn't have alcohol or tobacco either.

In regards to FOCA.
1. Yes, Prolife. Go to Google images and type in abortion. They're human and need all rights of humans. Have you seen it?

2. What adult-father-mother will vote to allow their 17 year old to get an abortion whenever they felt it necessary without their permission? Then have the tax payers pay for it. Have a Christian hospital perform abortions? Mr. Obama, how would you feel if, in a few years from now, your daughter had an abortion and you just found out about it? Image from qestion one. Your potentially voting to kill your grand child and have the tax payer pay for it. Now we all have blood on our hands.

3. We'll ban waterboarding because it is torture. Its only after we see this that we go, "what are we thinking". Show an abortion. This is not "A New Brave World" and I hope we are not going in that direction.

I voted for you, but not for this.
Tom

Traditional values is a relative term.

The very last thing they need to do is legalize pot. You do understand that some people have deadly allergies to pot smoke, right? And that most people don't have enough consideration in them to think about that kind of thing before smoking it in public right?

If I'm in a room with pot smoke, it only takes five minutes for me to be crawling on the ground with my head pounding so bad I can barely see. Last time that happened, I almost ended up hospitalized.

But people don't have enough consideration to think of things like that.

No, lets keep it illegal.
======================================================
That's why you ban it in public places just like we ban cigarette smoke in most public places now. There's a difference between legalizing and decriminalizing. If we decriminalize (which was the plan in MA and is kinda how it works in Canada), we can't tax it or anything, they just can't arrest you for having a certain amount in your possession. That may be the first step. But over 50% of the drug money going to Mexico is from Marijuana, and making it illegal doesn't stop anyone from smoking anyway. If we have legal alcohol and legal tobacco, both of which are infinitely more dangerous than marijuana, why not legalize?

What good is taxing marijuana and drugs? The money is good but the aftermath is HORRIBLE. In your 40's or 50s, the price for healthcare will cost more than the money you get for taxing.

Come on Mr. President - make some news here today!

President Obama,

How do your stimulus plans such as those in, medical changes, employment, and other stimulating plans help those of us with Disabilities?

If we want to survive as a nation, we must keep traditional values. They have always worked and have always stabilized societies. What happened when we decided to DEREGULATE and take out laws that were created to regulate the banks? We ROTTTED financially at the core and we are feeling it. We CAN LEGALIZE drugs, but we will raise generations of SPIRITUALLY dead human races. Let's have one population of monkeys on healthy environment and one populatin with legalized drugs. I can guarantee you that a MONKEY society free from drugs is more healthy. Learn from the banks!!! The UNIVERSE has rules so WE TOO must have rules to govern US in our places.

The folks over at Norml are not going to be very happy with Obama's answer on the marijuana question.

The group urged people visiting their Web site to "Ask him to support taxing and regulating marijuana."

Well Obama did answer the question - just not to their liking.

Yaaaaay Mr. President. Our veterans (and all troops) deserve so much more than we as a country have given them, so far. Let's rev up the support US!

The very last thing they need to do is legalize pot. You do understand that some people have deadly allergies to pot smoke, right? And that most people don't have enough consideration in them to think about that kind of thing before smoking it in public right?

If I'm in a room with pot smoke, it only takes five minutes for me to be crawling on the ground with my head pounding so bad I can barely see. Last time that happened, I almost ended up hospitalized.

But people don't have enough consideration to think of things like that.

No, lets keep it illegal.

Wow i can't believe he just laughed off a legitimate question like that. Legalization of Marijuana is a serious topic and one that should be discussed. It could boost economy but if we just keep laughing about it then we will get nowhere. I am really disappointed and have lost a lot of respect for him.

His responses are pretty lenghty, which reduces the number of questions. I can't believe the online question segment is over already.

He is a gift this president. God Bless him. He is changing the world, out country, and raising the bar big time for the future presidents.

Mickie, there is no way legalizing marijuana would turn the economy around. Would it be a lucrative industry and potentially generate a great deal in tax revenue? Sure, but to think it could actually generate enough to turn the economy around is a little "overreaching".

My main concern is healthcare. I don;t have access to an employer sponsored plan since I do contract work and since I havce diabetes, I cannot get my own insurance plan. My meds cost me over $1000 a month. This is not including any doctor visits or if I have to go the hospital (which I did for 4 days back in February at yhe cost of $19,855). Without some sort of relief, this is financially killing us. We need usinversal healthcare desparately, or at a minumum, a federally sponsored insurance plan that doesn't discriminate against people with long term, chronic illnesses. I don;t have a problem paying a premium, but I do have a problem with 30% of my take home pay going to my regular medical costs when they would be 1\5 of that if I had ccess to some form of insurance.

What are you going to be doing to help people like me Mr. President?

What about all the campaign promises, can you explain yourself?

I didn't ask this to the White House site, but thought I'd post it here:

Just WHY exactly did we create the "earned income" tax credit?
How did we get in the habit of giving tax rebates to people who paid no taxes to begin with? Why are we encouraging the idea that the government gives hand outs – instead of a hand up?

We should be making sure a day's work merits a decent paycheck. We should be working to lift wages in this country. Big Business always fights higher wages – every time they're proposed, they claim they'll have to lay people off. But I've never seen it happen. It seems to me the economy keeps rolling along just fine when wages go up.

Low wages don't make us a wealthy country – high wages make us a wealthy country. Two thirds of our economy is consumer spending – and without money, people can't spend.

So why don't we just mandate an increase in the minimum wage and unemployment benefits to a level that isn't unconscionably low? It's decent here in California, but in most states, it's deplorable. (The Stimulus added $25/week to benefits, but that's only temporary.)

...

(On an unrelated note, I'm not happy we're not allowed to ask why we don't seem to be holding anyone other than Bernie Madoff – who turned himself in – accountable for all of these big business scams.)

I want to know what President Obama thinks of the fact that world leaders are starting to express concern with the way the US is spending. They (and rightly so) own a lot of stock so to speak in the US market (especially China) and right now they don't like what they see happening. Can the President express his opinion on this subject?

HA HA @ Obama responding to all those weed questions

So there you go. He answered the marijuana question. Personally, I think he could have given a better answer rather than just brush it off, but I also understand why he addressed it the way he did. I guess it is simply not time for this yet. Besides, it certainly could not be something the President initiates, it would have to be a bill put forth by a Congressman.

In response to Shooky: Well if they legalize weed and tax it like they do cigarettes, that alone will turn the economy around. And, no, I am not a pot smoker and never have been. But they don't stop other people from drinking too much.

Well...if "Campaigning" means taking questions from the American Citizenry every few months or so..I certainly do hope he continues it for 8 years. I think it helps break up the Washignton "bubble" that Politicians can find themsleves encased in.

I voted for him and I believe he wants to change things but he's hitting a lot of opposition because Americans are a bunch of technologically spoiled brats that want everything in a nano-second. This country was driven into the ground and it's gonna bounce back in 5 months or even a year. I commend him for being open and bringing it to the people. George W. would have never done this. If this all works though ...who knows but we'll have a better fighting chance with him than John McCain.

How is President Obama handling the issue of healthcare?

A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll showed that 57 percent approve of how he is handling the issue, while 41 percent disapprove.

When are you going to start teaching Financial Education to our children in our schools?? Without proper Financial Education, we will continue to fail as a Powerful Country!!

@AJ Would you rather he forgot who he's working for an ignored us? Shouldn't he be able to do both at the same time? He seems to be doing fine so far. The only thing I'm worried about is how long its going to take before he burns out by trying to do too much.

2 Things:

1. AIG – If they are too large to fail then they should be slpit up into smaller companies.

2. Healthcare needs to be fixed – Single Payer health care – Midicaer for all is the only way we can save money and cover everyone. You refuse to even consider it, and I find that very bad.

When does this guy find time to govern in between campaign events? Is his presidecny going to be an 8 year campaign?

Tough talk by President Obama: "Not all of these jobs are going to come back."

John McCain said something similar in the Republican presidential primary about jobs in Michigan. He was raked over the coals for it. McCain didn't back down, lost the Michigan primary but he went on to win the GOP nomination.

I don't see what the problem is having a President that can multi-task (via the "doing to much" comments) and who's actually willing to try to get the publics approval for what he's doing. No other President has ever done that, and he is working for the people, not Congress.

I'm very impressed with him.

But doesn't it seem that he's still on the campaign trail and not taken on the Presidency yet?
We voted on him to make the hard decisions on our behalf, not get our continuous opinion.
I see his good intentions, but this isn't part of the job title..

President Obama has done more in 8 weeks than the last guy did in 8 years. He sees a wide variety of viewpoints, he's motivated, he keeps a level head, and he actually cares. And he doesn't seem blatantly beholden to one industry like the previous administration. What's not to love?

Politics are politics, but even if you hate the guy... you gotta like the guy.

This is Mel in Fl. Thank you President Barack Obama for your dedication. we'll rolling up our sleeves and working for a better future. Regarding about Hillary Clinton, about how much is our fault with illegal drugs, I agree with her. Alcohol is also a drug. and a very lethal drug. the difference is a legal one. why not make all this legal. People are going to continue using, no matter what.

Knowing the questions ahead of time shouldn't matter in this case, as long as he can answer then. It'll be a little different if these were pre-selected questions by the administration, but these questions were chosen by the people themselves online. The intent of this isn't to pull out "gotcha" questions, but to understand what President Obama's intentions for many of the concerns for this country. So, it's sorta irrelevent if these question are spur of the moment of known ahead of time, because these are the most popular concerns the nation currently has at this moment.

I'm loving this! I have been very impressed with President Obama. He is thoughtful, sincere, and looking out for the best interest of our country. I also enjoy that he is talking to the American people wihtout the filter of the media and their biased questions, but really listening to what Main Street is saying.

Did Obama "bone up" on questions beforehand? What would be wrong with that? As metioned earlier, it is refreshing to hear an articulate, intelligent President speak – attributes that have been embarassingly missing the previous eight years.

Isn't it better for him to prepare his answers to the question ahead of time. If the question is good, then don't you want his best answer? I don't understand the advantage of a question that is not known in advance.

If the question is bad, then this is not a good event. If the questions are good, then I want his best answer. I guess there is a better chance for a gaffe if he is unprepared for a question. Is that what news is – capturing gaffes? I thought it was getting at what the president's policy ideas are. Don't you want him to think about it carefully so he can fully answer the questions? Then the news media can criticize him if he does not answer fully. Or criticize him if the questions are softballs are irrelevant. Or is every question a softball? I got the impression with Bush that every question was difficult to answer no matter how hard you prepared ahead.

I wonder who the target audience here is...I suspect most of the online crowd are likely either strongly pro Obama or strongly against Obama. I doubt any middle of the road people are currently watching...but then again I could be wrong...

I find President Obama to be honest, hardworking, clean, highly educated beyond the qualifications for being President and capable of dealing with got 0 plans Republicans. He is the best this country has for our times it will be a scary time when his eight years will be over, i pity this country unless the voters are still smart and elect another good person and we should know it won't be a republican just listen to how unintelligent they speak!

President Obama came on board with multiple major problems and issues facing the country !! He is confronting these issues with excellence !! It will be hard to find a President with such high morales, values and so willing to work hard for the American people !!
Indira

Is this true or false–If South Carolina's Governor elects not to
accept the stimulus monies for our state will we as SC citizens of
the state still be required to pay the monies back with interest. I understand that since this money has been set aside for our state
that we will indeed be taxed to pay it back even if we do not accept it.

Misty,

The issue, most likely, is that the house value has decreased to a point where it's worth less than when you bough it, thereby evaporating your down payment (if any was made), With everyone and their brother looking at loans that are being made now, you are in a very difficult spot.

obama-mama because getting people to buy American made cars does not reach the entire problems. These companies need to be restructured.

"The top 4 vote getters in the Financial Stability section are about legalizing weed.

The top 7 vote getters in the Budget section are about legalizing weed.

The top 2 vote getters in the Green Jobs & Energy section are about legalizing weed.

The 1st and 3rd vote getters in the Jobs section are about legalizing weed.

The #2 vote getter under Health Care Reform is about legalizing weed."

Now if only the government would actually listen to the people!

Well, judging from the lenghty pause prior to answering the first video question, I doubt he was ready for that one. I don't think he saw it in advance. I suspect he saw the text questions, simply because everyone knew the most popular ones were going to be asked. Not so certain about the video ones though...

thaks to this graet president of us,he is engaging,informative and smart,no one knew what the bush admistration was doing for eight years behind the close doors,we have waited so long for this kind of a presidency,god bless him and the us,i am very proud of him,he is doing all the right things to put the country on the right path.i watch him every night on cnn,msnbc comments.you go mr. president,we will be behind you all the way.

Interesting questions: where did our jobs go and when will they be back?

Mark:

Why didn't the President give taxpayers money to buy vehicles instead of giving it to the auto industry. If the taxpayers received vouchers from the government to purchase an American made vehicle of their choice there wouldn't be a need for a bailout.

i have one of those intrest only loans for 7 yrs and then the full bal comes due that was the only way we could seem to get into a home and believe it or not we were more aware then most as to what we could afford and stayed with in that amount. my problem is now that we are in we would like to conform our loan to a traditional 30 yr fixed but our lenders will not work with us neither will other banks. The only debt we have is a home and 1 car that will be paid off next feb. if you could help with an idea or 2 on what to do?

Ryan,

He does have his own talk show. It is called the bully pulpit of the White House. Whenever he speaks we all listen to him. If you can imagine, he is more powerful than his friend Oprah!

@ SAMMY WARSAME

Go to recovery.gov. Let me know if that's what you're looking for.

Mark,

The President campaigned on transparancy. He broke his promise about posting legislation for 5 days before it is signed.

Your thoughts?

Chad,

I agree with you. I think President Obama should be praised for embracing new media to help bring more people into the process. But he does have an advantage because he knows the questions in advance.

Do you think he boned up on the answers to the questions before he entered the room?

"...What's next? Will our president start to twitter about what he does on the daily basis?.."

Better than the twit before who could not string two sentences together- who then disappeared and hid behind the White House Walls! I, for one, am interested in what the President does each day ... working hard, keeping in touch with the American people and not in bed by 9:00PM!

If you don't care to be informed in detail, change the channel to TV Land and browse somewhere else on the internet.

Higher teacher pay is a must.

Everyone votes on the questions, so next time, maybe more people will vote to make sure the questions the most people think are important get asked.

Just don't keep sending in the same question all the time....

President Obama's opening remarks seemed to me to be very much like a campaign stump speech.

But I think it is fair to say we are in a permanent campaign. Did you know that Organizing for America launched a national cable ad today urging voters to pressure Congress to support his budget?

Obama's political arm buys TV time to pressure Congress

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/26/obamas-political-arm-buys-tv-time-to-pressure-congress/

Why doesn't the president just get his own talk show?

Mark, my question is,

President Obama, When are you going to start posting bills on your website for the american people to review before you sign them. You promised durring the campaign that you would give the American public 5 days to review bills before you sign them.

Thank you

This is just more smoke & mirrors from Obama. Is he really going to take the questions that received the most votes? Of course not. Most of them are about making weed legal! Even in the Budget & Financial Stability categories! Look for yourself at http://www.whitehouse.gov. They will hand pick questions that fit with the same tired talking points he always makes. He will blame Bush for inheriting a $1 Trillion deficit, but never mention the CBO estimates of the $9 Trillion deficit his plans will create. He'll take a question about AIG bonuses and give an answer about healthcare. I never have fallen for it and I never will. People really need to THINK about the things that come out of his mouth!

President Obama,

Your Healthcare Reform, will it help lower the premiums for all corporations? I ask this because where I work , our premiums increase every year and in return it takes away the raise that we receive. I consider myself in good health and at times I feel this is not fair to people that only have their annual office visit once a year for their permiums to keep continuing to increase.

I think this is great. The media keeps focusing on Obama's "overexposure" but really, it's only because of the sharp contrast between him and Bush. Bush never reached out to every day people and asked their opinions. He had his own agenda. Obama has his own agenda too but at least he's considering idea's of all of us.

It impresses me how Obama is criticized for KEEPING his promises. Imagine the criticism had he decided not to keep his promises.

People in this country DO go bankrupt because of health issues. Most politicians do not care. They have free government funded health care.

I think:
if the republicans do not want government funded health care that they should all give up their free government funded health care.
if the republicans think government is the problem, they should get out of government. I work for a company and if I thought the company was the problem with the USA I would leave in a heartbeat. Live what you believe.
if republicans think public education is the issue they should work to fix it. Of course it is easier to lead the uneducated blindly. That is why it was illegal to teach a slave to read.
Republicans need to step up to the plate with ideas, but I guess it is hard to get ideas out of people that can not think for themselves.

I have some very serious concerns about his projected budget deficits.

But based on his moments about petty, trival cable chatter. It is clear he does not care about my concerns on that issue.

His opening remarks seem a little lengthy...

I'm not really sure to make of this whole thing. Half of me thinks, "neat" President who takes questions from the people. The other half of me thinks (after reading marks posts) "Obama already knows the questions in advance?" Thats a little Bush-esk isn't it?

What is obama going to do for the students who are about to graduate from college with a lot of debt and can not find a job? supporter but can never find any information on this issue. Thanks

I wonder if he'll tackle the DREAM Act issue.

This is awesome. This President keeps getting better and better each day. Innovative, Intelligent, Handsom, Caring, Listening, Hardworking, Brave, etc, etc, etc. The Haters just do not know what to do as he is always some steps ahead. God Bless you MR PRESIDENT!!! Please remain focussed and you will definately OVERCOME.

Question: There are people who have not only lost their homes but also their credit trustworthiness. How can people refinance a mortgage to keep from foreclosing if their credit score has dropped? This is the same issue for those who chose to pay their mortgage but not pay credit cards.

Where can you watch this event. Well, you can go to the official White House Web site, or you can hang with the cool kids who are viewing it at CNN.com Live. That is where I am watching it. Open another browser - watch and blog away.

OK, I admit I am not a cool kid. But I at least try.

Mr President

As somebody who is continually amazed by the short-term thinking of companies, I am watching with great interest your attempt to actually increase investment when we are down. Theoretically, it seems like the only sensible thing to do; yet, in 30+ years of working with the oil industry, I am yet to see an executive roll the dice on a large capital project when oil prices are down, even though project economics are based on a 30-year life.

Can you comment on your strategy to convince sufficient members of Congress to take the longer-term view?

@ Sherwood M, Not sure what you mean. Did you review some of the questions that were asked? So many people asked questions regarding illegal aliens, border contorl, etc.... If you think about it, the topics you mention can fit into just about all of the main topics listed, i.e. jobs, financial stability, etc... You just have to be creative in forming your question.

Mel, we should ban peanuts too! Completely! I'm allergic to peanuts, and anything that was prepared with peanuts. The last time I had peanuts, I DID go to the hospital.

Oh wait...perhaps I can just avoid peanuts myself, so others can enjoy them. Yea that sounds like a better plan. Personal responsibility.

Hey Sam Sixpack:

Did you ask that question? I would be interested in hearing how President Obama would answer that one.

Mr. President, you are doing a fantastic job leading this country out of a very deep recession. My question is, "How soon after the banks are relieved of their toxic accounts, will they be required /or if they will be required to loan money. This seems to be the blockage that is stiflening the economy.

I would like to hear him talk about Afghanistan, but this is not the forum for that discussion. He can't answer every question. Try and be a little understanding.

This event reminds me a lot of the CNN/YouTube debates during the presidential campaign. Except during those debates, the candidates did not know questions.

Here is a little bit of inside information - most of the candidates were cool to the idea of taking questions from YouTube. And now look how far we have come.

I think it is really great that we finally have leadership in the white house. What I would really like to know is this: We have bailed the financial markets and the auto industry and I am not saying that is wrong. If, I lose my job, I will not be able to pay all my bills on unemployment benefits, so not only is my credit ruined, I may lose my home and my car. Where do I go for help. My friend and I only owe 10 more years on our mortgage and we have never missed a payment. We followed all the rules. And we may still lose it all. So, someone please tell me how, myself and others in this situation get help, before they lose everything.

Hey Mark where/how can i view this live stream?

As a "Palin democrat" (Republican voter until Palin showed up), I am impressed by what I have seen and heard from President Obama so far. He is the first president to really try and reach out to the people. In addition to openness, his accessibility shows a high level of confidence in his ability and understanding of the issues. Of course, it is a long way from understanding the issues to actually doing something about them, and the jury is still out on that.

Hey Mark! Glad to read you're watching. Why do we hear nothing about the consequences of borrowing so much money (to give to fat, greedy executives) from CHINA?

"my question would be: Are you going to do anything you campaigned on?"

You mean like :

Set deadline for withdrawal of troops in Iraq.

Start the process of closing G-Bay

Help Women employee rights by signing the Lily Ledbetter Act.

Set a budget that focuses on fixing HealthCare, increasing Education, and creasting Green Jobs

You mean like those?

Another first! I am waiting for this historic moment to take place. Thank you President Obama.

What a guy BHO is! It seems he is deterrmined to get his message across, not to gain popularity or immediate fame, but with genuine concern for the general public's GDP, and to generate feed back from the generations of tomorrow, even! Let's wit and see. Give him a chance to prove his worth.

The novelty of having a thoughtful, articulate president with superior intelligence and character has improved my mental health.

Comment by Sherwood M.

I thought this town hall is about the Economy, not the National Security, maybe that is the next one!!! So hold on to the seat of your pants and don't be so critical!!!!

Mr. President,

I would like to know what your adminiatration plans on doing with the runaway inflation that will inevitably occur as a result of the infusion of trillions into the monetary system.

I am in a situation like most others with their house fixing to be foreclosed on because of sub prime mortgage, however, I have done everything right. I tried the Hope for Homeonwers, tried to work with my mortgage company and do a reduce amount and they would only reduce it by $200.00, and that did not work, I am trying to do a short sale now, and my second lien holder wants 75% of what I owe them, so that is not working and now I am going to foreclosure.

For all of us who have done it right and tried to make it right we get nothing from our lenders to help out.

Why does ithave to be that way?

I am absolutely disgusted at the number of questions by people trying to legalize marijuana on whitehouse.gov.

I'm so against it there aren't even words. If nothing else, because people in the US are so selfish that they don't care if someone else may be allergic to it like I am. It could put me in the hospital. The last time I was in a room filled with the smoke for only five minutes, I had to crawl up the stairs on my hands and knees because I could barely see. I was almost hospitalized.

This is absolutely an innovative idea! We now have a president that is so interested in the people's thoughts, questions, and concerns, that he seeks out new ways to engage us. Well done, President Obama!

I've heard many in the press bemoaning the event as a way to "bypass" the traditional press. Since when did the press become the only way American citizens can hear from their president? Shouldn't the press be thrilled that people are so interested in politics? Also, did it occur to any of the press that they are American citizens too? Perhaps they could take the time to create an account, login, and submit a question – as a regular American.

The role of the press should never be interpreter for the common citizen – if/when this happens, the press becomes the power, not the people. As citizens, we are responsible to listen to our politicians, be informed about issues, and communicate through voting and/or contact with our representatives.

It's kind of funny that nobody has addressed the one million or so petition given to Pres. Obama about disclosing UFO's in America...
or the petitions send to legalize marjuannia...... those are two issues that have alot of young dying to get answers on.....

I will be watching.....Oh...what a great president...let's just hope that everyone is nice to him and does not make him mad or he will not answer your questions and that would not be very nice. I also hope that he stops the blame game! So tired of hearing it! Reform of health care...NO!!!!!! Talk to other countries who have it! OH...am I paying your TAXES!!!!! I believe sooooooo.

President Obama,
You have been a wonderful President and I want to hear anything and everything you have to say. If you want to talk about an ant trying to cross the road, believe me I will be where ever there is television set to hear and watch you speak. You are awesome!

Sherwood don't get too upset....Your comment is now being read by say...a good 3 million people....so It's my guess..you were just heard.

When will there be help for homeowners with jumbo loan mortgages? Many people with more expensive have either been laid off or are no longer earning the same amount of money and have trouble paying these mortgages. We need help too!

I cannot predict the measure of success President Obama will be able to achieve through his programmes, spending, initiatives and policies, but one thing is sure and that is, no other President could have done any better. This is a "People's President". Let us give him the support and our trust and I am sure that things will turn around for the better. This president has the people's welfare at heart and nothing else. Let us not listen to any one who says otherwise. gretta

Talk about Propaganda...

Look at the topics we ARE ALLOWED TO DISCUSS....

Education ...
Home Ownership ...
Health Care Reform ...
Veterans ...
Small Business ...
Auto Industry ...
Retirement Security ...
Green Jobs and Energy ...
Financial Stability ...
Jobs ...
Budget

Even though it affects ALMOST EVERY AREA OF DISCUSSION, where is the topic of Illegal Aliens, Illegal Immigration, Border Control and NATIONAL SECURITY....

Am I the only one that finds it VERY DISTURBING that we Americans cannot discuss this important topic with the president? E Verify would see 4 million illegal aliens FIRED, would keep 300,000 Illegal Aliens NOT GET STIMULUS JOBS....so why are we as Main Street Americans not allowed to give our say on this important issue to our own financial well being and stability?

Good morning everyone.

I will be spending the next hour with you watching and commenting on President Obama's virtual town hall. So, please fire away and let me know if YOU think the president is answering the questions.

Obama is a President for the People! Politics will never be the same. Just think... Even the GOP is starting to embrace technology. Obama is a true leader.

my question would be: Are you going to do anything you campaigned on?

President Obama,

The Bush and Cheney years saw a huge expansion in executive power. What will you do to return the "balance" to our checks and balances?

This is great. President Obama really, really cares about ordinary citizens.

President Obama rocks! And its great to have a president who can handle several things extremely well at one time!!

Obama/Biden 2012

Like the Jackson Five, 'I'll be there.'

I'm so very impressed with Obama and I'll be there. I just won't be able to hear anything he says because I'm at work.

What's next? Will our president start to twitter about what he does on the daily basis?

President Obama, You have done a great job connecting with the individual Americans. As we understand these crisis better, what are you doing to specifically encourage development of grassroots leaders, to ensure the actions we need to push towards recovery are taken?

What a great President!!! From the people, by the people and FOR the people!!

I am there waiting!

Have any of you gone to the website to see the questions that have been voted on? I will save you some time:

The top 4 vote getters in the Financial Stability section are about legalizing weed.

The top 7 vote getters in the Budget section are about legalizing weed.

The top 2 vote getters in the Green Jobs & Energy section are about legalizing weed.

The 1st and 3rd vote getters in the Jobs section are about legalizing weed.

The #2 vote getter under Health Care Reform is about legalizing weed.

WHAT A JOKE.