Of Dope and Details
Day 66
March 26, 2009
"I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy — and job creation."
—President Obama at his online town-hall meeting
"We just hope that next time it will contain actual numbers so somebody can evaluate what it means."
—Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary, blasting the Republicans' counter–budget proposal
Obama is a President of the YouTube era, so it's not that surprising that he decides to have a town hall streamed entirely online. The questions, submitted in advance, come from some 104,000 people and include video queries. Obama makes a point to answer one of the most popular questions among Web users: Would he legalize marijuana? He ends up disappointing them by saying he doesn't support that.
Meanwhile, Republicans on the Hill appear to disappoint with the unveiling of their alternative budget proposal. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs trashes the GOP's plan for being vague, joking that "there's one more picture of a windmill than there is of a chart of numbers."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner continues to get down to business and proposes an overhaul of the financial system that would impose greater regulation on major players like hedge funds.