CNN's Pereira Swoons Over President Obama's Parental Advice to Kate Bolduan
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]
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.
Bolduan ended the interview by asserting, "Yours have turned out pretty well. Thank you, Mr. President."
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.
— Matthew Balan is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matthew Balan on Twitter.
