Obama NBC Interview 2013: President is `Sorry` for Americans` Losing Insuranc
In an interview with NBC, president apologized for a broken promise he made about health care law.
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Obama NBC Interview 2013: President is `Sorry` for Americans` Losing Insuranc - Video
Obama underwent diagnostic tests at Walter Reed
Obama underwent diagnostic tests at Walter Reed Courtesy of Obama goes to Walter Reed for tests to diagnose sore throat ...
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Obama underwent diagnostic tests at Walter Reed - Video
President Obama, responding to the wave of protests and racial tensions across the country in recent weeks, appealed for patience and persistence in solving what he described as an issue that is deeply rooted in our society ... our history.
When you're dealing with something as deeply rooted as racism or bias in any society, you got to have vigilance, but you have to recognize that it's going to take some time, Obama said in an interview to be aired Monday evening on BET Networks. You just have to be steady so you don't give up when we don't get all the way there, he said in a short video clip of the interview released Sunday.
Obama has come under increasing pressure to speak out after a grand jury declined last week to indict New York police Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was being arrested on suspicion of illegally selling loose cigarettes. The Staten Island grand jurys decision came little more than a week after a St. Louis County grand jury failed to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old whose death prompted unrest.
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5:36 p.m.: An earlier version of this post misspelled Daniel Pantaleo's name as Pantoleo.
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Responding to these cases has proved challenging for Obama. As the first African American president, he has in the past addressed America's racial tensions in a personal way, saying after the 2012 shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin that the victim would have looked like Obamas son, if he had one or even Obama himself 35 years ago.
Amid the protests in Ferguson, Obama has expressed empathy for those angered by what they perceive as unfair policing practices. The administration also has provided funding for police departments to equip their officers with body cameras to record their activities.
At the same time, the president has condemned looting and violence that stemmed from the protests. Obama has refrained from visiting Ferguson and has generally sought to frame the problem as part of a national debate on law enforcement and its tactics and relations with minority communities.
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Obama calls for persistence in confronting 'deeply rooted' racism
Veto brinkmanship between congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama was virtually absent in his first six years in office, but it's about to unleash itself on Washington.
Until now, controversial Republican-backed legislation rarely reached the president's desk because Senate Democrats blocked it. Starting in January, however, Republicans will control both the House and Senate, and Obama may have to decide more often whether to sign or veto GOP-crafted bills.
Obama gave lawmakers an early taste of veto politics recently when he forced congressional leaders to drop a proposed package of tax breaks that were popular with many Republican constituents. Some Democrats did support the plan, but liberals and the White House said it tilted too heavily toward corporations, not lower-income workers.
The White House also has promised to veto any bills restricting the president's major changes to immigration policies, setting up likely showdowns early next year.
Obama's threats present the type of bind that Republicans may face repeatedly in the next two years. They can agree to many or all of the changes he demands in legislation, or they can let him use his veto and hope Americans will blame him more than them.
It's a gamble, especially with critical spending bills Congress soon must address. Some Republicans want to amend these must-pass bills to thwart Obama's bid to protect millions of immigrants, now in the country illegally, from deportation.
Assuming Obama keeps his veto promise, Republican lawmakers would have to decide whether to drop their demands or let parts of the federal government close for lack of money. GOP leaders say there will be no shutdowns, but they have yet to explain how they can force Obama to back off on immigration.
The 2013 partial government shutdown occurred under similar partisan circumstances. Polls show the public blamed congressional Republicans more than the Democratic president.
It's unclear how often Obama will face a veto decision. Even in the minority, Democratic senators can use the filibuster, the name for unlimited debate, to block many measures that break strictly along party lines.
But some proposals, such as building the Keystone XL pipeline, enjoy significant bipartisan support. They might attract enough Democratic backing to reach 60 Senate votes, overcoming a filibuster and sending the measure to Obama.
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Obama, GOP-Led Congress Prepare for Veto Showdowns
President Barack Obama is prescribing time and vigilance to tackle problems as entrenched in American society as racism and bias.
He also is urging patience, saying progress usually comes in small steps.
In an interview with BET, the president described his conversation with a group of young civil rights activists, including a leader of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, he hosted last week in the Oval Office.
Obama said he told them that "this is something that is deeply rooted in our society, it's deeply rooted in our history."
America has made gains, and that "gives us hope" of making more progress, he said.
"We can't equate what is happening now to what was happening 50 years ago," Obama said, "and if you talk to your parents, grandparents, uncles, they'll tell you that things are better, not good in some places, but better."
Obama said he is advising young people to be persistent because "typically progress is in steps, it's in increments."
In dealing with something "as deeply rooted as racism or bias in any society, you've got to have vigilance but you have to recognize that it's going to take some time and you just have to be steady so that you don't give up when you don't get all the way there," Obama said.
The full interview is set to air Monday night. A video excerpt was released Sunday.