President Obama painted a sorrowful picture on “60 Minutes,” but his smiles overshadowed the economic crisis (“O, ‘you punch drunk’?” Mar. 23).
Will the private sector have the choice to rebuild as it pleases, or will Obama’s staff force the American people into a state of pseudo-socialism?
Money is still the root of all evil.
Richard Homer Bucco
Bloomfield, NJ
***
I cannot understand how anyone can try to compare Obama with President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan was reassuring; Obama goes on “60 Minutes” and does “Apocalypse Now” jokes.
This is not what I want to hear. I want to hear that he has a plan, and a backup plan and a backup to the backup plan.
I don’t want to hear that he’s waiting for things to bottom out, because Obama’s administration has no idea how far away the bottom is.
Expecting people to start buying when they already are over-extended and in fear of losing their jobs makes no sense. Most people are now trying to pay down their debts and save money.
When Obama ran on his promise of hope, he didn’t say we needed to hope for a miracle.
Patrick Grant
Brooklyn
***
I am so sick of “The Obama Show.”
Less than six months off the campaign trail, and Obama apparently misses the appeal of an audience so much that he has to do his “stand-up” on TV.
What’s next? “Vanna, are there any vowels for Mr. Obama?” Or “Dancing with Cheryl tonight will be the president of the United States”?
Maybe Obama should just go right to “American Idol” and let Simon Cowell have his say.
Deborah Fleming
Lavallette, NJ
***
I take great offense at seeing our president mock this country’s dire circumstances on a television show while citizens are in desperate straits.
Much like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, this president has made a mess of everything he’s touched since taking office — from tax-cheat cabinet members to bulldozing the Congress with a stimulus bill that no one read, to increasing taxes on everything in sight and putting us in enormous debt for years to come.
I hope voting Americans will change their tune when the next round of elections comes up.
Mara Kurtz
Manhattan
***
In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Obama is flying around the country making TV appearances and telling jokes on “The Tonight Show” and “60 Minutes.”
If he is trying to emulate New York’s flamboyant mayor of the 1920s, Jimmy Walker, the timing is wrong.
Let’s get down to the business of righting the country and putting us on the road to recovery.
Ed Michaelson
Staten Island
***
Obama thinks everything is a joke with his punch-drunk gallows humor.
This man is unqualified, dishonest and uncaring.
This is his mess, and he hasn’t a clue.
Obama can’t keep blaming President Bush. It’s time to grow up and take responsibility rather than parading around like a rock star.
Obama should find himself in the White House taking care of business rather than trying to keep his ratings up.
Linda Greco
Cedar Grove, NJ
***
In these difficult times, a president deserves a little rest and relaxation.
But there are two problems: timing and location.
None of the millions of sufferers watching TV are interested in seeing Obama engaging in joke-telling and gibberish. Instead, they are interested in seeing and hearing new ideas to help fix the economy.
If Obama needs to release tension, let him do it with family members and staff. If he wants to be on a comedy show, exercise better timing when accepting an invitation.
Carl Rosenberg
Great Neck