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| In this Nov. 14, 2008 photo released by CBS, President-elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama speak with CBS' 60 Minutes reporter Steve Kroft. | ||
In an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes— his first since the election — Obama spoke about the economy, home foreclosures and whether his mother-in-law will join the first family when it moves into the White House.
"There's no doubt that we have not been able yet to reset the confidence in the financial markets and in the consumer markets and among businesses that allow the economy to move forward in a strong way," he said.
"And my job as president is going to be to make sure that we restore that confidence."
Obama, a Democrat, vowed to quickly establish a program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and said Congress and the Bush administration should find a compromise this week to provide financial aid to the auto industry.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, also offered a glimpse into their family. They will get a dog, they said, but not until later this winter, after they settle in. And the new president will leave it up to his mother-in-law to decide whether she will move into the White House.
"I don't tell my mother-in-law what to do," Obama said. "I'm not stupid. That's why I got elected president, man."
Michelle Obama teased her husband when he lamented he would no longer enjoy the "soothing" experience of dishwashing.
"Since when was it ever soothing for you to wash the dishes?" she asked. "You know," he responded, "when I had to do it. I'd make it into a soothing thing."
The future first lady said her first priority is ensuring their daughters adjust to the new way of life. After that, she wants to help military families and improve the public school system in Washington, D.C., she said.
"The thing we've learned … as we've watched this campaign is that people, women, are capable of doing more than one thing well at the same time," Michelle Obama said. "And I've, you know, had to juggle being mom in chief and having a career for a long time."
Obama officially resigned from the Senate on Sunday and has named key White House personnel in recent days. The interview aside, he has kept a low profile since beating Republican Sen. John McCain on Nov. 4.
Though he acknowledged meeting with his former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., he would not say whether he will name her to a Cabinet position.
As he prepares to take on the economic crisis, Obama said he has been reading about the early days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration during the Great Depression.
He said he hopes to emulate FDR's willingness to keep looking for solutions until something worked.
"That's what the American people expect," Obama said. "And, you know, that's the kind of common-sense approach that I want to take when I take office."
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