From the 60 Minutes interview.

(CBS) Kroft: When the price of oil was at $147 a barrel, there were a lot of spirited and profitable discussions that were held on energy independence. Now you’ve got the price of oil under $60.

Mr. Obama: Right.

Kroft: Does doing something about energy is it less important now than…

Kroft: Why?

Mr. Obama: Well, because this has been our pattern. We go from shock to trance. You know, oil prices go up, gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it’s not important, and we start, you know filling up our SUVs again.

And, as a consequence, we never make any progress. It’s part of the addiction, all right. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it.

Can anyone honestly say that Obama's not radical, in the true sense of the word?

I've never heard a president speak like this in my lifetime, at least, not that I can recall. Cuomo used to speak this way.

Obama is clearly not amassing his cabinet simply so he can check out and let the government run on auto pilot.

For the life of me I can't figure out what all the concern is about.

Then it's a good idea.

The man has a deep well of credit with me.

The bottom line is, he's the boss. If he feels he needs Hillary Clinton to help him execute his will, then that's fine with me.

The man obviously knows what he's doing and does nothing unadvisedly.

Trust him.

Let him hire all the Clinton-era staffers and officials he likes. He's hiring their expertise to enact his will. He's not hiring them to enact Bill Clinton's will.

Their job is to do what Obama tells them to do; it's not as if Obama will install them in their posts, wind them up, and then spend the rest of his term smoking pot and phoning it in from Hawaii.

Am I missing something here? Is there really cause for concern that I'm just not seeing? What *is* the concern, precisely?

I agree with the other posters who have appreciated that this piece is not about Michelle Obama, but about one woman's experience with issues of race and body-image.

Yes, it's rendered in a superficially frivolous way, but please, I'd urge everyone to read the piece again a bit more empathetically.

One reason race is so difficult to discuss is because it seems as if, however it's discussed hits nerves. Whether it's solemn or frivolous, matter-of-fact or ironic.

I don't disagree that on one level there's a disturbing breach of decorum going on. Yes, there's something offensive about this piece.

But that's not the sum total of what's going on here. I both cringed *and* felt warmth and a sense of catharsis.

Please, people, give the piece another chance; it's not so shallow as it appears once you get past the sensational "Michelle Obama's butt!" angle, which sensationalism may or may not be intrinsically necessary to the author's purposes.

I'm ambivalent about this piece, but it upsets me that so many are outright contemptuous. I don't believe contempt does justice to what the author is trying to express.

Yes. That answer about gasoline consumption was downright prophetic coming from a politician, let alone the president-elect.

I remember four years ago when Dean suggested the US should think about preparing for the day when we're not the world's only remaining super power.

He was eviscerated, by Kerry, among others, for that remark.

That Obama can get on television and say that falling gasoline prices are actually a bad thing for our long term health as a nation/planet is truly mind-blowing.

Surely it's the kind of thing he couldn't have said three weeks ago but did say more at the beginning.

It's amazing to see that, in this way at least, this is the same guy who won me over those many months ago with his honesty and his vision.

He did say he won't just tell us what we want to hear.

Let's hope he continues to do so.

"I'm not stupid, man, that's how I got elected president!"

I love this man. And Michelle too.

It still feels like a dream; precisely like it's too good to be true.

The country is in good hands. Quite possibly, the best of all possible hands.

I recognize you recognize it was a quibble, Rebecca, but really. I don't think the point of that moment was that "girls don't like football," but rather that Michelle doesn't like football.

It was a completely intimate moment and Michelle's "Don't mind me" was charming and wry.

I know you said it was a quibble but honestly, calling that moment "regrettable" and suggesting it harks back to the 1950s seems entirely off-base, if you'll forgive the expression. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

:)

Oh, and Joan, well said re: the last thing you posited to me (I'm sleepy).

I, too, am inclined to split the difference, mostly because I recognize that reality is complex and as such demands complex explanations rather than simple ones.