Obama Lets his Guard Down with Letterman

The life of a sitting U.S. President is always fascinating to the majority of the American public. What it's like to be president? What does he do all day? What's it like raising a family in the White House?

Obama was typically smooth and comfortable during his appearance with Letterman. He used most of his time in the chair to go through his well-documented position on the state of health care in the United States. He is aware that there are rough political waters ahead and that it will likely be a difficult transition as Americans try to embrace and accept a new form of health care.

He also acknowledged some difficult decisions that must be made in regard to Afghanistan and the goals that the U.S. is trying to achieve in its current engagement there. Obama alluded to the fact that the U.S. focus in Afghanistan has drifted in the last seven years and that he understands that more troops and a new strategy are likely necessary to achieve any sort of significant and lasting gains.

Obama also discussed some of the more personal aspects of his family life, revealing that his daughters have had sleepovers at the White House and that they have gone away for evenings to the homes of their friends as well. He also mentioned that he and the First Lady recently watched Up together.

In regards to the racial brouhaha that has been stirring since Joe Wilson's Congressional outburst, Obama replied with a typically thoughtful and clever response: "It's important to realize that I was actually black before the election. That tells you a lot, I think, about where the country is at."