Late in Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez interviewed 9-year-old actress Fatima Ptacek and wondered: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Ptacek replied:
"I definitely want to be the first female president. But I also want to be a lawyer, so I can protect those innocent people."
Rodriguez gushed: "Oh, that's good.
You sound like President Obama."
Rodriguez then remarked: "So he [Obama] went to Harvard. Where do you want to go to college?" Ptacek predictably responded: "Harvard."
Later in the interview, Rodriguez mentioned a recent television appearance by Ptacek: "And you've gotten to do some really cool things. What was it like to be on Sesame Street with Michelle Obama?" Ptacek declared: "It was an amazing experience, Michelle Obama is very sweet, very down to earth. She's great." Rodriguez asked: "Did she give you any words of wisdom?"
Ptacek revealed that she had written letters back and forth with the First Lady, prompting Rodriguez to excitedly proclaim: "You're pen pals with Mrs. Obama? Well that's a nice perk, isn't it?" Ptacek joked: "It's great. And I look up to her, literally." Rodriguez added: "Yeah, she's very tall. I look up to her, too."
Rodriguez concluded the segment: "Fatima, congrats....It's a pleasure to meet you, good luck....Madame President."
This is not the first time Rodriguez jumped to a Barack Obama comparison. On the April 13 Early Show , the President was the first person on her mind when she remarked to Entertainment Weekly assistant managing editor Dalton Ross that comedian Conan O'Brien would need a "young revolution, you know, a la President Obama" in order for his new TBS cable show to be a success.
On the March 8 broadcast , fellow co-host Erica Hill described a "compassion boom" of volunteerism in America, as her guest, Parade Magazine contributing editor Emily Listfield argued: "There's something we call the 'Obama Effect.' People are responding to the President's call to service."
Here is a transcript of relevant portions of Rodriguez's Tuesday interview with Ptacek:
Rodriguez then remarked: "So he [Obama] went to Harvard. Where do you want to go to college?" Ptacek predictably responded: "Harvard."
Later in the interview, Rodriguez mentioned a recent television appearance by Ptacek: "And you've gotten to do some really cool things. What was it like to be on Sesame Street with Michelle Obama?" Ptacek declared: "It was an amazing experience, Michelle Obama is very sweet, very down to earth. She's great." Rodriguez asked: "Did she give you any words of wisdom?"
Ptacek revealed that she had written letters back and forth with the First Lady, prompting Rodriguez to excitedly proclaim: "You're pen pals with Mrs. Obama? Well that's a nice perk, isn't it?" Ptacek joked: "It's great. And I look up to her, literally." Rodriguez added: "Yeah, she's very tall. I look up to her, too."
Rodriguez concluded the segment: "Fatima, congrats....It's a pleasure to meet you, good luck....Madame President."
This is not the first time Rodriguez jumped to a Barack Obama comparison. On the April 13 Early Show , the President was the first person on her mind when she remarked to Entertainment Weekly assistant managing editor Dalton Ross that comedian Conan O'Brien would need a "young revolution, you know, a la President Obama" in order for his new TBS cable show to be a success.
On the March 8 broadcast , fellow co-host Erica Hill described a "compassion boom" of volunteerism in America, as her guest, Parade Magazine contributing editor Emily Listfield argued: "There's something we call the 'Obama Effect.' People are responding to the President's call to service."
Here is a transcript of relevant portions of Rodriguez's Tuesday interview with Ptacek:
8:34AM
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: I know school is super important to you. You're in an academically gifted program and you have high aspirations, right?
PTACEK: Yeah, so I got to keep up. But I'm doing it.
RODRIGUEZ: What do you want to be when you grow up? I heard you want to be the first female president.
PTACEK: Yes, I definitely want to be the first female president. But I also want to be a lawyer, so I can protect those innocent people.
RODRIGUEZ: Oh, that's good. You sound like President Obama. So he went to Harvard. Where do you want to go to college?
PTACEK: Harvard.
RODRIGUEZ: You want to go to Harvard?
PTACEK: Definitely.
...
RODRIGUEZ: And you've gotten to do some really cool things. What was it like to be on Sesame Street with Michelle Obama?
PTACEK: It was an amazing experience, Michelle Obama is very sweet, very down to earth. She's great.
RODRIGUEZ: And she has two daughters. Did she give you any words of wisdom?
PTACEK: No, not really. She was really, really focused on what she had to do because she had to flight out right afterwards.
RODRIGUEZ: Yeah.
PTACEK: But, you know, we got to speak, to get to know each other and sometimes we send letters to each other, say hello.
RODRIGUEZ: You do?
PTACEK: Yeah.
RODRIGUEZ: You're pen pals with Mrs. Obama? Well that's a nice perk, isn't it?
PTACEK: It's great. And I look up to her, literally.
RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, she's very tall. I look up to her, too.
