If you’re the kind of person who spends much of their time on the internet, you have probably heard of the interview between Steve Kroft and Obama on a CBS show called “60 minutes” after which Kroft could very well be crowned the greatest political talk show host ever. So, let’s break the interview down.
When it comes to the American Presidency, the media has always portrayed Obama as the perfect choice for a nation that has had to deal with global adversaries, a dwindling economy and tin-god dictators. While Obama’s jet-set arrival enhanced the attention of the American public and other countries of the world, it seems like the only change that has really come to the U.S., in the past decade or so is in skin tone and the number of “people” out of work.
Well, President Obama’s charisma was called out on 60 minutes by Kroft who clearly had the ambush planned from the very beginning. While the first few minutes of the interview seemed just like a typical interview with the president, things slowly took a change for the worse (for Obama) and the program turned out to be one long (and tragic) slide into something one could only describe as a “lecture from your Dad”.
The clearly agitated President didn’t see it coming and didn’t seem to have an answer that was fit for Kroft. And it only got worse for Obama as a somewhat placid Kroft decided to change gears from modestly invasive to brutally sarcastic that left Obama with no choice but to react angrily to almost all of the tough questions.
From ISIS to the problem in Syria, Kroft eloquently pointed out every single mistake made by the Obama administration on said issues. While Obama was dismissive of the notion that he had to eradicate the threat that was ISIS, he just couldn’t defend the $500 million training program for fighters in Syria, which fell flat on its face.
But the big and “open-ended” questions as Obama put it, just kept on coming from the veteran American journalist and a longtime correspondent for 60 Minutes. Leaving Obama clearly flustered as Kroft continuously challenged Obama on the big issues and just as easily outmaneuvered every single answer that came from the President, who just seemingly lacked to have the acuity necessary to keep up with the interviewer.
But the highlight of the show was delivered after the heated exchange when the visibly irritated President snarkily exclaimed to Steve Kroft, “What else you got?” A line which is mostly expected from a battered and bruised fighter in the UFC ring rather than the leader of the American people, which marks yet another one of those low points in the history of the White House.
All credit goes to Kroft for the CBS sit down since being a somewhat frequent interviewer of the president, Kroft has always been mocked by his critics for presenting the president with “softball” questions. Well, it seems like Steve Kroft finally decided to deliver the goods by putting his investigative reporting skills on display, which had previously earned him nine Emmys and three Peabody Awards.
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