March 26th, 2009
12:18 PM ET
14 years ago
Liveblogging President Obama's town hall
Watch the Obama town hall on CNN.com/live.
On Tuesday, President Obama took questions from the national press corps - today, it's your turn. The president will be responding to questions from ordinary Americans this morning in a video live stream, and CNN wants hear what you think of the answers. If you'd like to weigh in, submit your comment here during the livecast. CNN Political Editor Mark Preston will be joining the conversation with instant analysis.
Click here to read the live blog and submit a comment!
Join us here on the Political Ticker at 11:30 am ET.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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..
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.
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.
When does this guy find time to govern in between campaign events? Is his presidecny going to be an 8 year campaign?
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.
@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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
HA HA @ Obama responding to all those weed questions
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?
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.)
What about all the campaign promises, can you explain yourself?
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?
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".
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.
His responses are pretty lenghty, which reduces the number of questions. I can't believe the online question segment is over already.