Anaylsis: Obama, Clinton Interview Light on Substance

Lots of softball on 60 Minutes

If CBS ever needs a softball team, they should sign Steve Kroft. The veteran newsman filled nearly three fourths of his big interview with President Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with easy questions (11 out of 15). So much so that laughter was more commonplace that any challenging questions.

For media watchers, the much-ballyhooed half-hour was a waste of good interviewing time. Kroft only threw four mildly tough questions at the power duo and two of those were still fairly easy health questions aimed at Clinton. Only the last two questions tackled Libya, Syria and conservative criticisms that there has been "an abdication of the United States on the world stage."

Kroft then let Obama dodge questions of his failure in Syria and let stand Obama's bizarre assertion that the revolution in Egypt has turned out well. "When it comes to Egypt, had it not been for the leadership we showed, you might have seen a different outcome there," said Obama.