President Elect Barack Obama to appear On Barbara Walters...

    and he has a few good things to say about our economic crisis and the bankers who are now asking for bailouts.

   A few excerpts from the interview.

ABCNews

"One of the concerns I have is that the economy is so weakened that the next 60 days are going to be difficult because we've got a president who, even though he may mean well, is now sort of in lame-duck status [and] Congress isn't in [session]."

"And I don't have the reins of power," Obama added.

  On the Wall Street bailout, Obama said,

    "I'm not president yet, so I don't know yet how much more money is going to be spent. I'm going to scrutinize very carefully how that money is spent. If the Bush administration chooses to draw down that money, then I'm going to have something to say about whether it's doing it wisely," he told Walters.

Obama said the executives at those companies who have taken federal loans should act responsibly with the tax payers' money, chiding Wall Street executives who sought multimillion dollar bonuses and the leaders of Detroit's Big Three automakers who last week flew to Washington aboard private jets to ask Congress for a bailout.

He called the automaker executives "tone deaf" to the concerns of the American people.

  Is Obama lost when it comes to these CEO's? They haven't acted in a responsible manner with their companies or its money. What makes Obama think that they will show any care for the taxpayers cash?

Executives at many of Wall Street's top firms, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, have, in recent days, laid off scores of workers and announced they would forgo Christmas bonuses, a policy the incoming president indicated he wanted to see more of.

Asked by Walters if bank executives should forgo their bonuses, Obama said, "I think they should."

  How about forgoing some of those Golden Parachutes and other retirement benefits while they are at it?

    Watch the show "A Barbara Walters Special: Barack and Michelle Obama," Tonight at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

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