American auto executives are "tone deaf"! That's one of the most striking comments President-elect Barack Obama unleashed in his recent interview with Barbara Walters. Appearing on ABC's Barbara Walters Special to be broadcast later today, Obama said that these executives have lost tough with what is happening in America, to their employees and to the ordinary Americans in this financial crisis besetting the nation. Reacting to a question Barbara Walters posed regarding recent news that three heads of companies flew in to Washington in private jets to lobby for a bail-out for the auto industry, Barack Obama added, "When people are pulling down hundred million dollar bonuses on Wall Street, and taking enormous risks with other people's money, that indicates a sense that you don't have any perspective on what's happening to ordinary Americans. When the auto makers are getting
paid far more than their counterparts at Toyota, or at Honda, and yet they're losing money a lot faster than Japanese auto makers are, that tell me that they're not seeing what's going on out there, and one of the things I hope my presidency helps to usher in is a, a return to an ethic of responsibility."

In his second major television interview after winning the election, the focus of the exchange was still on the economy. Weeks away from his inauguration, Obama stressed to Walters the importance of personal, corporate and civic accountability in light of the financial crisis. He said "captains of industry" on Wall Street and in Detroit who took advantage of corporate perks while their companies benefited from government loans paid for with taxpayers' money, don't have "any perspective on what's happening to ordinary Americans."

There's got to be a point where you say, 'I have enough, and now I'm in this position of responsibility. Let me make sure that I'm doing right by people and acting in a way that is responsible,'" Obama said. Asked about his reaction to news that executives at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have recently announced they would forgo Christmas bonuses this year, Obama said that they "should do it" adding that such a move is a good example of taking responsibility and making some sacrifice in these hard times.

Here's an excerpt from that portion of the interview:

Walters: How did you feel when you read about the three heads of the auto companies taking private planes to Washington?
Obama: Well, I thought maybe they're a little tone deaf to what's happening in America right now. And this has been a chronic problem, not just for the auto industry, I mean, we're sort of focused on them. But I think it's been a problem for the captains of industry generally. When people are pulling down hundred million dollar bonuses on Wall Street, and taking enormous risks with other people's money, that indicates a sense that you don't have any perspective on what's happening to ordinary Americans. When the auto makers are getting paid far more than their counterparts at Toyota, or at Honda, and yet they're losing money a lot faster than Japanese auto makers are, that tell me that they're not seeing what's going on out there, and one of the things I hope my presidency helps to usher in is a, a return to an ethic of responsibility. That if you're placed in a position of power, then you've got responsibilities to your workers. You've got a responsibility to your community. Your share holders. That if -- there's got to be a point where you say, 'You know what, I have enough, and now I'm in this position of responsibility, let me make sure that I'm doing right by people, and, and acting in a way that is responsible.' And that's true, by the way, for members of congress, that's true for the president, that's true for cabinet members, that's true for parents. I want all of us to start thinking a little bit more, not just about what's good for me, but let's start thinking about what's good for our children, what's good for our country. The more we do that, the better off we're going to be.

Walters: Should bank executives -- it's almost Christmas time -- forgo their bonuses?
Obama: I think they should. That's an example of taking responsibility. I think that if you are already worth tens of millions of dollars, and you are having to lay off workers, the least you can do is say, I'm willing to make some sacrifice as well, because I recognize that there are people who are a lot less well off, who are going through some pretty tough times.

While a majority of the questions Barbara Walters posed were about the current financial crisis, a good portion of the interview was also devoted to other aspects of the of Mr. Obama's incoming presidency, including troop deployments in Afghanistan as well as more personal issues a the Obama's plans for Thanksgiving and the personal adjustment their family will have to make when they move into the White House in less than two months.

One of Obama's concern is the president's isolation in the White House. He fears that the coterie of officials, assistants and Secret Service personnel will limit his access to information and will, in turn, make him lose touch.

"One of the things that I'm going to have to work through is how to break through the isolation - the bubble that exists around the president. I'm in the process of negotiating with the Secret Service, with lawyers, with White House staff ... to figure out how can I get information from outside of the 10 or 12 people who surround my office in the White House," he said.

Obama also revealed that he is negotiating to keep his Blackberry. Throughout his campaign, the gadget was very useful in keeping track of everything, talking to his people in the field and giving his own inputs on every issue. However, once he steps into office on January 20, 2009, every presidential communication will have to go through the proper channels for monitoring and archiving. Hence, the Blackberry will have to go. Moreover, the risk of hacking is too great for the President of the United States to use such a gadget.

Find out more about what Barbara Walters asked the incoming president of the United States and what his answers were. The interview will be broadcast later today and as soon as a video is available it will be posted here. Same goes for the transcript. (Update: A short version of the video is now available online. Watch it below. The longer version will be posted here once it is available. Please check back regularly.)

Barbara Walters Interviews Barack Obama (video)

(Click the link on the video to watch the continuation)

Update: Barack Obama has just been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. Watch videos of Obama's inauguration and inaugural speech, or read the full transcript of the Obama inaugural address.

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