Today President Obama met with clean energy entrepreneurs and researchers and spoke about the American Investment Recovery Act and his 2010 fiscal year budget proposal, which would provide $39 billion in energy investments and $20 billion in tax incentives for clean energy.

The president taped an interview with journalist Steve Kroft for CBS’ 60 Minutes.  Much of the interview focused on the troubled American economy.  “If you had said to us a year ago that the least of my problems would be Iraq, which is still a pretty serious problem, I don’t think anybody would have believed it,” Obama said.  “[W]e’ve got a lot on our plate … and a lot of difficult decisions that we’re going to have to make.”

The president said that in his first 60 days, his most difficult decision was to send 17,000 more American troops to Afghanistan.  “You can understand that intellectually.  But understanding what that means for those families, for those young people when you end up sitting at your desk, signing a condolence letter to one of the family members of a fallen hero, you are reminded each and every day at every moment that the decisions you make count,” he said.

Obama said he is looking for a comprehensive strategy going beyond a military approach in Afghanistan.  He and his security team are “mindful” that some in Afghanistan and Pakistan see the United States as simply the newest foreign power trying to take over the region, a perception .

There needs to be an exit strategy, he said.  But the troops are still pursuing the same mission against al-Qaida and the Taliban that originally brought them after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks against Washington and New York.  “It is not acceptable for us to simply sit back and let safe havens of terrorists plan and plot,” he said.