Akiko's 3rd Journal–David Letterman with Barack Obama-

The Talk Show which I watched on the blog was really difficult to understand well. They were talking about smoking and Iraq. However I have no idea about politics, so I couldn’t draw it in my mind. I know political the situation between the U.S.A. and Iraq a little but not that much. Moreover, the host, David Letterman, was talking with a stutter. It made me confused. Until I got the whole meaning clearly, I needed to listen to their conversation more than 5 times, which is a lot compared with the last three or four videos on the blog. To dictate or to meticulously understand what they say in the video, I usually listen to them many times. However, to understand the general idea, I listen to them only several times. Maybe because my brain wasn’t working at that time but I felt that this one is a little more difficult and they talked a little faster.

First, they started talking about smoking. Obama said that he ate gum called “Nicolette” instead of smoking cigarettes for nicotine. He had smoked on and off and now he didn’t smoke because the gum was working well. After a while, Letterman suggested him that it is cool to have a president who smokes cigarettes. I know it is a joke but I don’t get it well because whether people smoke or not is their own decision. The president of the United States cannot smoke, can he/she? It sounds really strange to me. Smoking is not good for human’s health, but people require the president not to smoke, do they? I, personally, don’t care if the prime minister in Japan smokes or not, so I wonder and I cannot understand why people laugh at the joke. I think it is related to American ideas. I want to ask people from different countries if they feel the same way about it or not.

Second, their topic turned to about Iraq. I got the meaning but I cannot write anything about it.

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