Day: March 27, 2009

President Obama handled himself very well at his second press conference a few days ago.

He asked us to be patient and to understand that solving the economic crisis takes time, and he answered the criticism that he was slow to react to the AIG bonus issue by stating wisely that he does not believe in reacting on any issue before he has time to understand and think about it.  He also answered a question about whether race comes up at meetings, and his answer was that it has not, as it is not relevant and we have too many important issues to deal with to focus on that.

He showed total command of the questions and continues to promote confidence that he has a sense of where he is moving us.  This press gathering, along with the more recent internet press conference, are having the effect of restoring faith and hope in the future.  In that sense, he follows in the tradition of Franklin D. Roosevelt with his fireside chats on the radio. 

President Obama commented on the issue of legalizing marijuana so it could be taxed and help the economic situation, during the internet press conference he held on Thursday.  He joked about it and then said it would not be a good idea.

I totally agree with this judgment of President Obama.   Economics should not be a justification for legalizing a drug which has proved it can be the first step toward the use of hard drugs, including heroin and cocaine.  Legalizing marijuana would be the wrong message to send to our younger generation.

However, at the same time, medical marijuana should be allowed, and we should not be filling up our prisons with set terms for possession or use of marijuana.  So don’t legalize it, but don’t destroy many people’s lives by giving them a criminal record, and allow sick people to utilize it since it has been shown to have a positive effect on cancer patients.