CNN's Michaela Pereira gushed over President Obama on Monday's New Day, after co-anchor Kate Bolduan asked for "any best advice for first-time parents" (Bolduan is pregnant with her first child): "Getting parental advice from the President of the United States – fantastic." Pereira complimented Bolduan for her question: "Well done getting a little advice from the President, too. I like that."
The expectant journalist admitted that she was "a little self-serving at the end," but her colleague reassured her: "No, no, no, no, no! It was really sweet." The President gave a pretty basic answer to Bolduan's question: [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]
KATE BOLDUAN: Mr. President, we need to wrap up. But since she has been kicking throughout our entire interview, the little miss would probably want to know if you have any best advice for first-time parents – this one included?
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: You know, you're going to do great. Michelle and I talk about this. Kids are more resilient than you realize. You give them unconditional love; and then, you give them some structure and some rules; and they usually turn out really, really well. And they'll bring you a lot of joy. But, you know, we were pretty big believers in, as early as – as soon as they could understand words – you know, you start giving them some assignments: nap, eat your peas (Bolduan laughs) – you know, pick up the toys off the floor and – you know, by the time they're – they're 16, they turn out pretty good – although they don't always give you as much time with them as you want.
Just before her "self-serving" question, the CNN anchor did ask Mr. Obama a skeptical question concerning his "working families" summit on Monday:
BOLDUAN: ...[I]t's no secret that Democrats' midterm election strategy is to pitch to women to get the women to come out to vote. They've said that. Is this all politics?
OBAMA: Yeah. I was raised by a single mom, who had to work; go to school; raise two kids. I didn't come from a wealthy family. We were helped by my grandparents, and the primary breadwinner there was my grandma, who never got a college education, but worked her way up from a secretary to being a vice president of the bank – but also hit a glass ceiling.
I've got a – a strong, successful wife, who I remember being reduced to tears sometimes because she couldn't figure out how to juggle everything that she was doing. And I've got two daughters that I care about more than anything in the world. And so, this – this is personal for me, and I think it's personal for a lot of people.
This is not just a women's issue. This is a middle class issue and an American issue. I'd welcome a bipartisan effort with ideas coming from the private sector and from Republicans and from Democrats, and – you know, from non-profits and the faith community – about how we make sure that we're supporting families and reducing their stress. And that's what this Monday summit is all about.
