Barack Obama was asked today on The View what would the first three things he would do if he got in the White House.  He said call a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and give them a new mission, to withdraw the troops from Iraq; give healthcare to all Americans and deal with the energy crisis with the objective of driving down gas prices.

He said he would also roll back the tax breaks for the wealthy, (increasing taxes) and cut taxes for those making $75,000 or less.

Obama again tried to put Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s outlandish anti-American invective in context when asked by Elizabeth Hasselbeck why he did not resign from the church rather than just condemning the comments but not “disowing” him.

He said he probably would have resigned had the pastor not retired.  With respect to what was said, he again said he had not heard the comments that were put into sound bites and taken out of context.  And then he turned the question back at Hasselbeck saying, “Imagine if someone put together five stupid things you ever said on this show?”

Joy Behar, a known left wing Democrat, was caught on camera smirking.  Joy and Elizabeth, a conservative Republican, frequently go at it over politics.

Obama said he has met with Wright after he took a vacation and that, he Wright, was “saddened by what happened.”

Obama said he expects close scrutiny when running for the presidency, but he refused to change his position on the pastor who helped him to find Christ, married him and his wife and baptized his children.

Asked how tough he was in light of the “swift” boat attacks on John Kerry, he said, “I may be skinny, but I’m tough.”  He said with respect to future attacks that he would respond, “honestly, forcefully, swiftly and truthfully.”

He noted that so far he hasn’t had, “a cake walk.”