The interview captured the balancing act that Obama must strike on the economy. He gave a nod to public anger at Wall Street while saying it could not dictate his response.<\/p>\n
He got in a few whacks of his own at Wall Street executives who contributed to the meltdown\u201d\u201dreferring to them ironically at one point as \u201cthe best and the brightest\u201d\u009d\u201d\u201dwhile being ever-mindful that he still needs their help to dig out of the crisis.<\/p>\n
His talk of depression could be viewed as alarmist\u201d\u201dbut it also seemed aimed at bracing Congress and the public for the unpopular prospect of spending even more taxpayer dollars to prop up Wall Street. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is set to roll out a plan Monday aimed at restoring the flow of credit that would back up private investments with government funds.<\/p>\n
Even his awkward laughter highlighted an issue Obama has faced dating back to the campaign, a sense that he sometimes is too \u201ccool\u201d\u009d and detached to fully grasp the public anxiety over mounting job losses and economic worries.<\/p>\n