CNN's Anderson Cooper sat down with U.S. President Barack Obama over the weekend for an extensive interview and joined him as he walked around Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. Below please find select bites from the interview, a rough transcript from today's Anderson Cooper 360°, and a link to photos from the trip. Please credit photos to Brent Stirton / Reportage for CNN. 

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PLEASE CREDIT ALL USAGE TO CNN's ANDERSON COOPER 360°

Contact:  Chris Dwyer (Email: chris.dwyer@turner.com/ Tel: +852 3128 3536) or Evonne Inn (Email: evonne.inn@turner.com/ Tel: +852 3128 3538)

SELECTED QUOTES:

Economy & Slavery

Anderson COOPER: Vice President Biden said that you misread the economy.  You said no, no, no, we had incomplete information, and nevertheless you said that you would not have done anything differently.  That seems contradictory. How can you say that, if you had known unemployment would go to 9.5 percent, would you -- wouldn't you have

PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, it's not contradictory. Keep in mind that we got an $800 billion stimulus package, by far the largest stimulus package ever approved by a United States Congress.  And the stimulus package is working exactly as we had anticipated. We gave out tax cuts early so that consumers could start spending or at least pay down debts so they could, at a later date, start spending. We put in $144 billion to states so that they wouldn't have to cut teachers and police officers and, you know, other social services that are vital, particularly at a time of recession.  And we always anticipated that a big chunk of that money then would be spent not only in the second half of the year, but also next year. This was designed to be a two-year plan and not a six-month plan.  Now, it may turn out that the enormous loss of wealth, the depth of the recession that's occurred requires us to reevaluate and see what else we can do in combination with the...

AC: A second stimulus?

POTUS: Well, there are a whole range of things, Anderson, that we've done. The banks have stabilized much more quickly than we had anticipated. They're not all the way to where we'd like them to, but we've seen significant progress.

AC: Do you still see glimmers of hope?

POTUS: If you look at both the financial sectors, the ability of the businesses to get loans, the drop off of volatility that's taken place, the general trajectory is in the right direction.

AC: do you think what happened here still has resonance in America? That the slave experience is something that should be talked about and should be present in everyday life?

POTUS: I think the experience of slavery is like the experience of the holocaust. It's one of those things that you don't forget about. I think it's important that the way we think about it, the way its taught is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer, and that's the end of the story. I think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant is whether it's what's happening in darfur or what's happening in the congo or what what's happening in too many places around the world, the capacity for cruelty still exists."


Africa Message

AC: YOU HAD A PRETTY TOUGH MESSAGE TO AFRICAN LEADERS TODAY, ESSENTIALLY SAYING STOP MAKING EXCUSES.  HOW DO YOU THINK THAT'S BEING RECEIVED?

POTUS: UM...I THINK -

AC: AND IS THAT THE PROBLEM?

POTUS: I THINK BY THE PEOPLE IT'S BEING RECEIVED VERY WELL.  I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE LEADERS.  I KNOW THAT...

AC: BUT THAT'S THE PROBLEM, FOR THE LACK OF DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA, YOU THINK?  LEADERS MAKING EXCUSES?

POTUS: I THINK IT IS A MAJOR PROBLEM.  I THINK IT'S A MAJOR PROBLEM.  IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES, I THINK IT - WHAT'S FAIR TO SAY IS THAT AFRICA HAS NOT MADE AS MUCH PROGRESS BECAUSE RULING ELITES HAVE NOT THOUGHT ABOUT RE-INVESTING WHAT RESOURCES THESE COUNTRIES HAVE INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORDINARY PEOPLE AND GIVING THEM THE TOOLS AND THE SKILLS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO SUCCEED AND THRIVE.  INSTEAD WHAT YOU'VE HAD IS A TENDENCY TO...FOR RULING ELITES TO...TO EXTRACT WEALTH FROM THESE SOCIETIES AND NOT PLOW IT BACK IN.  NOW, I'M...AFRICA'S A VAST CONTINENT, SO YOU CAN'T MAKE ALL THESE GENERALIZATIONS, AND THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT THE HISTORICAL DISADVANTAGES THAT ARE...TESTIFIED TO BY THIS PLACE WHERE WE'RE HAVING AN INTERVIEW, HAVE HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT, BUT YOU KNOW...THE POINT THAT I MADE DURING THE SPEECH THAT AT THE TIME THAT KENYA WON ITS INDEPENDENCE, IT HAD A HIGHER PER CAPITA INCOME THAN SOUTH KOREA.  YOU LOOK AT THE EXTRAORDINARY GAP IN PER CAPITA INCOME THAT EXISTS NOW, WHAT THAT TELLS ME IS THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES LOST, AND WE CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER FORTY OR FIFTY YEARS IN WHICH AFRICA LOSES THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.


Afghanistan/Iran/Don't Ask, Don't Tell

AC: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU SENT U.S. TROOPS INTO COMBAT.  YOU SENT TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND, FOUR THOUSAND MARINES RIGHT NOW INVOLVED IN HELMAND PROVINCE.  DOES IT MAKE YOU THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THE CONFLICT KNOWING THAT YOU WERE THE ONES WHO SENT TROOPS IN?

POTUS: ABSOLUTELY, I THINK IT'S THE MOST PROFOUND DECISION THAT I'VE MADE SINCE I'VE BEEN PRESIDENT, AND I THINK ABOUT IT EVERY DAY.  YOU KNOW, I...HAVE TO SIGN LETTERS FOR THOSE WHO ARE FALLEN.  WE'VE SEEN A RAMP UP OF...OF FIGHTING TAKING PLACE IN AFGHANISTAN.  DURING THE G8 SUMMIT, I WAS WITH GORDON BROWN AS HE RECEIVED NEWS REPORTS THAT YOU HAD ADDITIONAL BRITISH SOLDIERS KILLED.  THE ENTIRE COALITION IS MAKING ENORMOUS SACRIFICES, AND OBVIOUSLY OUR SOLDIERS ARE FIGHTING HARD, AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE BEST POSSIBLE STRATEGY TO SUCCEED IN A VERY LIMITED AIM, AND THAT IS TO ENSURE THAT AL QAEDA AND ITS ALLIES CANNOT LAUNCH ATTACKS AGAINST THE U.S. HOMELAND AND U.S. INTEREST.

AC: ON IRAN, YOU HAD INDICATED REPORTEDLY TO ISRAEL THAT, THAT YOU WERE BASICALLY GOING TO GIVE THEM TO THE END OF THE YEAR TO MAKE SOME SORT OF PROGRESS ON THEIR NUCLEAR PROGRAM.  DO THEY STILL HAVE THAT MUCH TIME GIVEN ALL THAT'S HAPPENED NOW IN IRAN?

POTUS: WELL, AS I SAID BEFORE, GIVEN THE OUTRAGEOUS VIOLENCE THAT WE'VE SEEN DIRECTED AGAINST PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATORS POST ELECTION, THE CRACKDOWN BY HARD LINERS AGAINST JOURNALISTS, THE RAIDING OF FOREIGN EMBASSIES, IT'S NOT CLEAR WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THE KIND OF ROOM IN IRAN THAT WOULD WALK THROUGH THE, THE DOOR THAT...WE'VE LEFT OPEN FOR THEM TO STAND DOWN ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT, AND TO BE ABLE TO PURSUE A MORE PEACEFUL PATH WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS AND ABIDE BY INTERNATIONAL NORMS.

AC:  SO IN YOUR MIND, SOMETHING HAS CHANGED?

POTUS: WELL I THINK THAT IT'S STILL IN FLUX, AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS EVALUATE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS BOTH HOW...THE...IRANIAN LEADERSHIP WORKS THROUGH WHAT APPEARS TO BE STILL DESCENSION WITHIN IT'S RANKS.  I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO RECOGNIZE THAT ALTHOUGH THE...THE PROSPECTS OF BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT MAY HAVE BEEN...SHIFTED AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS POST ELECTION ACTIVITY, THAT WE STILL HAVE A MULTILATERAL TRACK WITH THE EUROPEANS AND THE RUSSIANS AND THE CHINESE AND OTHERS THAT...NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO MOBILIZE TO HELP TO OBTAIN SOME SORT OF SERIOUS AGREEMENT WITH THE IRANIANS, AND THAT DIPLOMATIC EFFORT IS GOING TO CONTINUE.  SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE AGREED TO AT THE G8 WAS THAT WE WOULD RE-EVALUATE AT THE END OF AUGUST, END OF SEPTEMBER, HOW THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT IS RESPONDING, AND MY HOPE IS THAT THEY CONTINUE TO SEE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT OBVIOUSLY WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS RAISES SERIOUS QUESTIONS.

AC: ONE MORE QUESTION BEFORE WE GO TO AFRICA...DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL.  IT REQUIRES AN ACT OF CONGRESS TO OVERTURN IT.  YOU SAID YOU WANTED IT OVERTURNED, BUT YOUR, YOUR CRITICS, EVEN SOME OF YOUR SUPPORTERS SAY LOOK, YOU COULD STOP ENFORCEMENT RIGHT NOW OF DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL.  YOU COULD DEFER ENFORCEMENT UNTIL YOU PRY CONGRESS TO ACT, WHY NOT?

POTUS: WELL...LOOK, I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH BOB GATES AS WELL AS ADMIRAL MULLEN ABOUT THE FACT THAT I WANT TO SEE THIS LAW CHANGE.  I ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT A. WE ARE NOT SIMPLY IGNORING A CONGRESSIONAL LAW.  IF CONGRESS PASSES A LAW THAT IS CONSTITUTIONALLY VALID, THEN IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH SIMPLY TO SAY WE WILL NOT ENFORCE A LAW.  IT IS OUR DUTY TO ENFORCE LAWS.  I DO THINK THAT THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY, THOUGH, THAT...WE CHANGE HOW THE LAW IS BEING ENFORCED, EVEN AS WE ARE PURSUING A SHIFT IN...CONGRESSIONAL POLICY, BUT LOOK, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, I WANT TO SEE THIS CHANGED, AND WE'VE ALREADY CONTACTED CONGRESSIONAL ALLIES.  I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CHANGED IN A WAY THAT ULTIMATELY WORKS WELL FOR OUR MILITARY AND FOR THE OUTSTANDING GAY AND LESBIAN SOLDIERS THAT ARE BOTH CURRENTLY ENLISTED OR WOULD LIKE TO ENLIST, AND...

AC: DO YOU PERSONALLY HAVE A TIME TABLE IN YOUR MIND OF WHEN YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT CHANGED?

POTUS:  I'D LIKE TO SEE IT DONE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER...AND WE'VE GOT A PROCESS TO NOT ONLY WORK IT THROUGH CONGRESS, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PENTAGON HAS THOUGHT THROUGH ALL THE RAMIFICATIONS OF HOW THIS WOULD BE MOST EFFECTIVE.

Obama's Father

AC:  BEFORE WE WALK, I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU ONE OTHER QUESTION.  YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR FATHER ON THIS TRIP.  HOW MUCH OF YOUR...YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT AFRICA ARE EFFECTED BY HIS EXPERIENCES, THE PROBLEMS HE FACED IN KENYA WITH CORRUPTION, WITH TRIBALISM?

POTUS: I THINK HIS STORY BUT MORE BROADLY THE STORY OF MY FAMILY IN KENYA, WHICH STILL CONTINUES INFORMS HOW I THINK ABOUT THIS.

AC: HOW SO?

POTUS: WELL I'M REMINDED OF THE FACT THAT ON ONE HAND YOU HAVE PEOPLE OF EXTRAORDINARY TALENT AND ENERGY AND DRIVE, SOME OF WHO'VE SUCCEEDED, BUT OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BECAUSE THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT...AFRICANS ALL ACROSS THE CONTINENT FIND THEMSELVES.  CAN'T GET ADEQUATE SCHOOL FEES TO GET THE EDUCATION THAT THEY NEED.  TRY TO GET A JOB AND TURNS OUT THAT YOU'VE GOTTA PAY A BRIBE TO GET THAT JOB.  UH...YOU KNOW...LIVING IN, IN SMALL VILLAGES IN WHICH BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE STILL ISN'T PROVIDED, AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM IS INADEQUATE SO THAT YOU'RE SEEING CHILDREN WHO AT A VERY EARLY AGE START HAVING SIGNIFICANT DISADVANTAGES.  THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT I'VE, I'VE SEEN AND WITNESSED, AND...THOSE ARE STORIES THAT...I'VE HEARD DIRECTLY FROM PEOPLE WHO, WHO I KNOW, AND...SO, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THESE DEVELOPMENT ISSUES THAT ARE NOT ABSTRACTIONS TO ME, I CAN PUT A FACE AND A NAME TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH, AND THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

RUSH TRANSCRIPT FROM TODAY'S AC 360

ANDERSON COOPER: I WANT TO TALK TO YOU OBVIOUSLY ABOUT AFRICA AND YOUR EXPERIENCES HERE, BUT A COUPLE OF ITEMS IN THE NEWS THAT I WANT TO GO OVER WITH YOU.  AFGHANISTAN IT NOW SEEMS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION RESISTED EFFORTS TO PURSUE INVESTIGATIONS OF AN AFGHAN WAR LORD NAMED GENERAL DOSTUM WHO WAS ON THE CIA PAYROLL.  IT'S NOW COME OUT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF TALIBAN PRISONERS UNDER HIS CARE WHO GOT KILLED, SOME WERE SUFFOCATED IN A STEEL CONTAINER, OTHERS WERE SHOT, POSSIBLY BURIED IN MASS GRAVES.  WOULD YOU SUPPORT, WOULD YOU CALL FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE WAR CRIMES IN AFGHANISTAN?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: YOU KNOW...THE...THE INDICATIONS THAT THIS HAD NOT BEEN PROPERLY INVESTIGATED JUST RECENTLY WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION SO WHAT I'VE ASKED MY NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM TO DO IS TO COLLECT THE FACTS FOR ME THAT ARE KNOWN UH, AND WE'LL PROBABLY MAKE A DECISION IN TERMS OF HOW TO APPROACH IT ONCE WE HAVE ALL THE FACTS GATHERED UP.

ANDERSON COOPER: BUT YOU WOULDN'T RESIST CATEGORICALLY AN INVESTIGATION?

POTUS: I THINK THAT YOU KNOW THERE ARE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT ALL NATIONS HAVE EVEN IN WAR, AND IF IT APPEARS THAT OUR CONDUCT IN SOME WAY SUPPORTED VIOLATIONS OF THE LAWS OF WAR THEN I THINK THAT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT THAT.

ANDERSON COOPER: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU SENT U.S. TROOPS INTO COMBAT.  YOU SENT TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND, FOUR THOUSAND MARINES RIGHT NOW INVOLVED IN HELMAND PROVINCE.  DOES IT MAKE YOU THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THE CONFLICT KNOWING THAT YOU WERE THE ONES WHO SENT TROOPS IN?

POTUS:ABSOLUTELY, I THINK IT'S THE MOST PROFOUND DECISION THAT I'VE MADE SINCE I'VE BEEN PRESIDENT, AND I THINK ABOUT IT EVERY DAY.  YOU KNOW, I...HAVE TO SIGN LETTERS FOR THOSE WHO ARE FALLEN.  WE'VE SEEN A RAMP UP OF...OF FIGHTING TAKING PLACE IN AFGHANISTAN.  DURING THE G8 SUMMIT, I WAS WITH GORDON BROWN AS HE RECEIVED NEWS REPORTS THAT YOU HAD ADDITIONAL BRITISH SOLDIERS KILLED.  THE ENTIRE COALITION IS MAKING ENORMOUS SACRIFICES, AND OBVIOUSLY OUR SOLDIERS ARE FIGHTING HARD, AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE BEST POSSIBLE STRATEGY TO SUCCEED IN A VERY LIMITED AIM, AND THAT IS TO ENSURE THAT AL QAEDA AND ITS ALLIES CANNOT LAUNCH ATTACKS AGAINST THE U.S. HOMELAND AND U.S. INTEREST.

ANDERSON COOPER: ON THE ECONOMY...JOSEPH BIDEN, THE OTHER DAY, VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN SAID THAT YOU MISREAD THE ECONOMY. YOU SAID NO, NO, NO, WE HAD INCOMPLETE INFORMATION, AND NEVERTHELESS YOU SAID YOU WOULD NOT HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY.  THAT SEEMS CONTRADICTORY.  HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT IF YOU HAD KNOWN UNEMPLOYMENT WAS GOING TO GO TO NINE POINT FIVE PERCENT, WOULDN'T YOU HAVE ASKED FOR MORE MONEY IN THE STIMULUS.

POTUS: NO...IT'S NOT CONTRADICTORY.  KEEP IN MIND THAT WE GOT AN EIGHT-HUNDRED BILLION DOLLAR STIMULUS PACKAGE, BY FAR THE LARGEST STIMULUS PACKAGE EVER APPROVED BY A UNITED STATES CONGRESS, AND THE...STIMULUS PACKAGE IS WORKING EXACTLY AS WE HAD ANTICIPATED.  WE GAVE OUT TAX CUTS EARLY SO THAT CONSUMERS COULD START SPENDING OR AT LEAST PAY DOWN DEBT SO THAT THEY COULD AT A LATER DATE START SPENDING.  WE PUT IN A HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR BILLION DOLLARS TO STATES SO THAT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO CUT TEACHERS AND POLICE OFFICERS AND YOU KNOW, OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES THAT ARE VITAL, PARTICULARLY AT A TIME OF RECESSION, AND WE ALWAYS ANTICIPATED THAT A BIG CHUNK OF THAT MONEY, THEN WOULD BE SPENT NOT ONLY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR, BUT ALSO NEXT YEAR.  THIS WAS DESIGNED TO BE A TWO YEAR PLAN AND NOT A SIX MONTH PLAN.  NOW IT MAY TURN OUT THAT...THE ENORMOUS LOSS OF WEALTH, THE DEPTH OF THE RECESSION THAT'S OCCURRED REQUIRES US TO RE-EVALUATE AND SEE WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO IN COMBINATION WITH THE STABILIZING...

AC: POSSIBLY A SECOND STIMULUS?

POTUS: WELL...THERE, THERE ARE A WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS, ANDERSON, THAT WE'VE DONE.  THE BANKS HAVE STABILIZED MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN WE HAD ANTICIPATED.  THEY'RE NOT ALL THE WAY TO WHERE WE'D LIKE THEM TO BE, BUT WE'VE SEEN SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS. 

AC:YOU STILL SEEM GLIMMERS OF HOPE?

POTUS:WELL...IF YOU LOOK AT BOTH THEFINANCIAL SECTORS, THE ABILITY OF BUSINESSES TO GET LOANS, THE DROP OFF OF VOLATILITY THAT'S TAKEN PLACE, THE GENERAL TRAJECTORY IS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION,

AC:ONE MORE QUESTION BEFORE WE GO TO AFRICA...DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL.  IT REQUIRES AN ACT OF CONGRESS TO OVERTURN IT.  YOU SAID YOU WANTED IT OVERTURNED, BUT YOUR, YOUR CRITICS, EVEN SOME OF YOUR SUPPORTERS SAY LOOK, YOU COULD STOP ENFORCEMENT RIGHT NOW OF DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL.  YOU COULD DEFER ENFORCEMENT UNTIL YOU PRY CONGRESS TO ACT, WHY NOT?

POTUS:WELL...LOOK, I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH BOB GATES AS WELL AS ADMIRAL MULLEN ABOUT THE FACT THAT I WANT TO SEE THIS LAW CHANGE.  I ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT A. WE ARE NOT SIMPLY IGNORING A CONGRESSIONAL LAW.  IF CONGRESS PASSES A LAW THAT IS CONSTITUTIONALLY VALID, THEN IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH SIMPLY TO SAY WE WILL NOT ENFORCE A LAW.  IT IS OUR DUTY TO ENFORCE LAWS.  I DO THINK THAT THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY, THOUGH, THAT...WE CHANGE HOW THE LAW IS BEING ENFORCED, EVEN AS WE ARE PURSUING A SHIFT IN...CONGRESSIONAL POLICY, BUT LOOK, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, I WANT TO SEE THIS CHANGED, AND WE'VE ALREADY CONTACTED CONGRESSIONAL ALLIES.  I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CHANGED IN A WAY THAT ULTIMATELY WORKS WELL FOR OUR MILITARY AND FOR THE OUTSTANDING GAY AND LESBIAN SOLDIERS THAT ARE BOTH CURRENTLY ENLISTED OR WOULD LIKE TO ENLIST, AND...

AC:DO YOU PERSONALLY HAVE A TIME TABLE IN YOUR MIND OF WHEN YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT CHANGED?

POTUS:I'D LIKE TO SEE IT DONE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER...AND WE'VE GOT A PROCESS TO NOT ONLY WORK IT THROUGH CONGRESS, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PENTAGON HAS THOUGHT THROUGH ALL THE RAMIFICATIONS OF HOW THIS WOULD BE MOST EFFECTIVE.

AC:BEFORE WE WALK, I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU ONE OTHER QUESTION.  YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR FATHER ON THIS TRIP.  HOW MUCH OF YOUR...YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT AFRICA ARE EFFECTED BY HIS EXPERIENCES, THE PROBLEMS HE FACED IN KENYA WITH CORRUPTION, WITH TRIBALISM?

POTUS:I THINK HIS STORY BUT MORE BROADLY THE STORY OF MY FAMILY IN KENYA, WHICH STILL CONTINUES INFORMS HOW I THINK ABOUT THIS.

AC:HOW SO?

POTUS:WELL I'M REMINDED OF THE FACT THAT ON ONE HAND YOU HAVE PEOPLE OF EXTRAORDINARY TALENT AND ENERGY AND DRIVE, SOME OF WHO'VE SUCCEEDED, BUT OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BECAUSE THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT...AFRICANS ALL ACROSS THE CONTINENT FIND THEMSELVES.  CAN'T GET ADEQUATE SCHOOL FEES TO GET THE EDUCATION THAT THEY NEED.  TRY TO GET A JOB AND TURNS OUT THAT YOU'VE GOTTA PAY A BRIBE TO GET THAT JOB.  UH...YOU KNOW...LIVING IN, IN SMALL VILLAGES IN WHICH BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE STILL ISN'T PROVIDED, AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM IS INADEQUATE SO THAT YOU'RE SEEING CHILDREN WHO AT A VERY EARLY AGE START HAVING SIGNIFICANT DISADVANTAGES.  THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT I'VE, I'VE SEEN AND WITNESSED, AND...THOSE ARE STORIES THAT...I'VE HEARD DIRECTLY FROM PEOPLE WHO, WHO I KNOW, AND...SO, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THESE DEVELOPMENT ISSUES THAT ARE NOT ABSTRACTIONS TO ME, I CAN PUT A FACE AND A NAME TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH, AND THAT

AC:DO YOU THINK WHAT HAPPENED HERE STILL HAS RESONANCE IN AMERICA...THAT THE SLAVE EXPERIENCE STILL IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE TALKED ABOUT AND SHOULD BE REMEMBERED AND SHOULD BE PRESENT IN EVERY DAY LIFE?

POTUS: WELL, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE EXPERIENCE OF SLAVERY IS LIKE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE HOLOCAUST.  I THINK IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU DON'T FORGET ABOUT.  UH...I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT...THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT IT AND THE WAY IT'S TAUGHT IS NOT ONE IN WHICH...THERE IS SIMPLY A VICTIM AND A VICTIMIZER, AND THAT'S THE END OF THE STORY.  I THINK THE WAY IT HAS TO BE THOUGHT ABOUT, THE REASON IT'S RELEVANT IS BECAUSE WHETHER IT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DARFUR  OR WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CONGO OR...WHAT'S HAPPENING IN...TOO MANY PLACES AROUND THE WORLD, YOU KNOW THE CAPACITY FOR CRUELTY STILL EXISTS.  THE CAPACITY FOR DISCRIMINATION STILL EXISTS.  THE CAPACITY TO THINK ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT, NOT JUST ON THE BASIS OF RACE BUT ON THE BASIS OF RELIGION OR THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER, STILL EXISTS, SO TRYING TO, TO USE THESE KINDS OF EXTRAORDINARY MOMENTS TO WIDEN THE LENS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL REFLECTING ON HOW WE'RE ALL TREATING EACH OTHER I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT I WANT MY KIDS TO THINK ABOUT, AND I WANT EVERY CHILD TO THINK ABOUT.

AC: THEY SAY THIS IS THE DOOR OF RETURN FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO ARE RE-VISITING GHANA, AND I TALKED TO ONE AFRICAN AMERICAN LADY YESTERDAY WHO SAID THAT COMING HERE IS SUCH A POWERFUL EXPERIENCE THAT SHE ACTUALLY DECIDED TO MOVE HERE.  I KNOW YOU'VE MET WITH MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO DECIDED TO MOVE HERE.  DO...THEY SAID THAT THERE'S A SENSE OF COMING HOME.  DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT FEELING?

POTUS:WELL, YOU KNOW, I WILL TELL YOU THE FIRST TIME THAT I TRAVELED TO AFRICA, I THINK THAT THERE IS A SPECIAL SENSE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS OF...OF SOMEHOW CONNECTING UP WITH A PART OF YOURSELF THAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN AWARE WAS THERE.  NOW OBVIOUSLY FOR ME IT WAS DIFFERENT BECAUSE I WAS DIRECTLY MEETING RELATIVES AND LEARNING ABOUT A FATHER I DIDN'T KNOW, BUT I DO THINK THERE'S, THERE'S A SENSE FOR A LOT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS THAT IT'S A...IT'S A PROFOUND LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE.  THE INTERESTING THING, THOUGH, IS YOU KNOW THAT I'VE MET A LOT OF WHITE AMERICANS WHO COME TO AFRICA AND SAY, IT WAS A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR THEM, TOO.

- END -

PLEASE CREDIT ALL USAGE TO CNN's ANDERSON COOPER 360°