I'm best suited as basketball commissioner: Obama

 

New Delhi, Jan 31  He has less than a year left as the US president, but Barack Obama knows one job that he'd really want to take up later -- that of a basketball commissioner.

In an interview to GQ India magazine's February 2016 edition, Obama was asked: "Baseball, football, basketball, all the commissioner jobs open up next year. Which one would you want?"

Given his love for basketball, Obama said: "Well, I'm best suited for basketball. But I cannot believe that the commissioner of football gets paid $44 million a year."

Obama's term ends in January next year.

Talking about the one perk of being president that he's going to miss the most, he said: "So the clear answer would be Air Force One: an amazing plane with an amazing crew, they clear out airspace so you don’t have to wait. And you land anytime, you leave anytime.

"But it maybe Marine One, because even post-presidency, I may be able to round up a private plane sometime, but it’s tough not to have your helicopter waiting for you."

On a serious note, Obama shared that he feels he has a "pretty good handle".

"One thing I learned during the campaign was that I’ve got a good temperament. I don’t get too high and I don’t get too low. I’m able to stay focussed even when there’s a lot of stuff going on around me.

"So there was never a point, even early on - even in the first six months, where we weren’t sure whether we were going to dip into another Great Depression, we weren’t sure whether the steps we were taking on rescuing the auto industry or stabilising the financial system were going to work - there weren’t moments where I thought, 'Sheesh, feels like we’re in over our head'," he said.

The 54-year-old also shared that he "didn't fully appreciate and nobody can appreciate until they’re in the position, is how decentralised power is in this system.

"...A lot of the work is not just identifying the right policy but now constantly building these ever shifting coalitions to be able to actually implement and execute and get it done," he added.

In the interview, by writer Bill Simmons, Obama also spoke about his "guiltiest-pleasure TV show".

While he named "Big Break", he even said: "I do love 'Game Of Thrones'"

The magazine's February issue will hit stands on Monday.