In a town hall discussion broadcast live on CNBC Monday, President Barack Obama said the country's economy is "moving in the right direction" -- even if it doesn't feel that way.
Responding to questions from, in addition to the host John Harwood, a student, a Wall Streeter, a small business-owner and a self-described member of the middle class, the president acknowledged that "times are tough for everybody," but pointed to his record so far as president and asked the audience to trust in his agenda. "We went through the worst recession since the Great Depression," he said. "Those programs that we put in place worked. So now you've got a financial system that is stable. ...The challenge is that the hole was so deep."
The tough questions came near the beginning. The chief financial officer for a veterans service organization, who called herself a "middle-class American," said she was "exhausted of defending you" and "deeply disappointed with where we are right now."
WATCH a compilation of attendees' questions for President Obama:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/20/obama-on-cnbc_n_731917.htmlThe president deflected criticism from Wall Street as well. He pushed back against the assertion that he has vilified business, saying the angry response to his reforms has been irrational. His citing of historical examples, such as the creation of Medicare, recalled that passage from a 1933 Time article he read in a speech in April -- "Through the great banking houses of Manhattan last week ran wild-eyed alarm. Big bankers stared at one another in anger and astonishment..." -- which refers to the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. When SkyBridge Capital manager Anthony Scaramucci told Obama, in a question, that Wall Street feels like a "pinata," the president said, to applause, "There's a big chunk of the country that thinks that I have been too soft on Wall Street."
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