President Barack Obama

President-elect Barack Obama, and future First Lady Michelle Obama, both appeared last night on CBS 60 Minutes. This was Obama’s first interview since the November 4 presidential election.

During the course of the interview, Barack Obama answered questions on a wide range of topics, including the economy, national security and plans to include Republicans in the new administration’s cabinet. Michelle joined her husband in responding to questions on how they planned on raising their daughters after moving into the White House. The interview was a major coup for CBS, while also offering the viewing public an opportunity to assess how the 44th president is handling the transition into the new administration. Obama projected his typically calm demeanor throughout the interview, while making clear he views the unfolding global economic crisis as a matter of great urgency for the nation.

Barack Obama has stated that the U.S. has only one president at a time, so he will not be present at the November 15 emergency meeting of the G20 in Washington DC, which is discussing the global financial and economic crisis. President George W. Bush is presiding over the summit, addressing what he himself termed the “meltdown” of the world’s financial system.

Bush is widely viewed as an ineffective lame-duck president, so the world leaders attending the meeting are keen to develop close ties with the incoming Obama administration. Though Barack Obama will not be at the G20 meeting, he will have high level representatives in attendance, who doubtless will be approached by the world leaders eager to sound out the initial economic plans of president-elect Barack Obama.

More information on the global economic crisis can be found at the website,

http://www.globaleconomiccrisis.com