First, though, our sit-down interview, a wide-ranging discussion about the economy, don't ask, don't tell and Afghanistan, where an offensive is under way, commanders say they don't have enough Afghan support, and where three American service men have been killed since Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: This is the first time you have sent U.S. troops into combat. You sent 21,000, 4,000 Marines right now involved in Helmand Province.

Does it make you think differently about the conflict, knowing that you were the ones who send troops in?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely. I think it's the most profound decision that I have made since I have been president. And I think about it every day.

You know, I have to sign letters for those who are fallen. We have seen a ramp-up of -- of fighting taking place in Afghanistan. During the G8 Summit, I was with Gordon Brown as he received news reports that you had additional British soldiers killed.

The entire coalition is making enormous sacrifices. And, obviously, our soldiers are fighting hard. And, so, I want to make sure that we have got the best possible strategy to succeed in a very limited aim. And that is to ensure that al Qaeda and its allies cannot launch attacks against the U.S. homeland and U.S. interests.

COOPER: On the economy, Joseph Biden the other day, Vice President Biden, said that -- that you misread the economy. You have said: "No, no, no. We had incomplete information."

And, nevertheless, you said that you would not have done anything differently. How -- that seems contradictory. How can you say that? If you had known that unemployment was going to 9.5 percent, would you -- wouldn't you have asked for more money in the stimulus?

OBAMA: It is not contradictory.

Keep in mind that we got an $800 billion stimulus package, by far the largest stimulus package ever approved by a United States Congress. And the stimulus package is working exactly as we had anticipated.

We gave out tax cuts early, so that consumers could start spending, or at least pay down debt, so that they could, at a later date, start spending. We put in $144 billion to states, so that they wouldn't have to cut teachers and police officers and, you know, other social services that are vital, particularly at a time of recession.

And we always anticipated that a big chunk of that money then would be spent, not only in the second half of the year, but also next year. This was designed to be a two-year plan, and not a six-month plan.

Now, it may turn out that the enormous loss of wealth, the depth of the recession that's occurred, requires us to reevaluate and see what else we can do in combination with the...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Possibly a second stimulus?

OBAMA: Well, it -- you know, there -- there are a whole range of things, Anderson, that we have done. The -- the banks have stabilized much more quickly than we had anticipated. They're not all the way to where we would like them to be, but we have seen significant process.

COOPER: You still see glimmers of hope?

OBAMA: Well, I -- if you look at both the financial sectors, the ability of businesses to get loans, the drop-off of volatility that has taken place, the general trajectory is in the right direction.

COOPER: One more question, before we go to Africa.

Don't ask, don't tell, it requires an act of Congress to overturn it. You have said you want it overturned.

OBAMA: Yes.

COOPER: But your -- your critics, and even some of your supporters, say, look, you -- you could stop enforcement right now of don't ask, don't tell. You could defer enforcement until you prod Congress to act.

Why not? Why not act? OBAMA: Look, I -- I have had conversations with Bob Gates, as well as Admiral Mullen, about the fact that I want to see this law changed.

I also want to make sure that, A, we are not simply ignoring a congressional law. If Congress passes a law that is constitutionally valid, then it's not appropriate for the executive branch simply to say, we will not enforce a law.

It is our duty to enforce laws. I do think that there's the possibility, though, that we change how the law is being enforced, and -- even as we are pursuing a shift in congressional policy.

But, look, the bottom line is, I want to see this changed. And we have already contacted congressional allies. I want to make sure that it is changed in a way that ultimately works well for our military and for the outstanding gay and lesbian soldiers that are both currently enlisted or would like to enlist. And...

COOPER: Do you personally have a timetable in your mind of when you want to see it changed?

OBAMA: I would like to see it done sooner, rather than later.

And we have begun a process to not only work it through Congress, but also to make sure that the Pentagon has thought through all the ramifications of how this would be most effective.

COOPER: Before we walk, I just want to ask you one other question. You talked about your father on this trip. How much of your thoughts about Africa are affected by his experiences, the problems he faced in Kenya with corruption, with tribalism?

OBAMA: I think, yes, his story, but, more broadly, the story of my family in Kenya, which still continues, informs how I think about this.

I -- I...

COOPER: How so?

OBAMA: Well -- well, I'm reminded of the fact that, on the one hand, you have people of extraordinary talent and energy and drive, some of -- who have succeeded, but others who have been blocked, because they find themselves in the circumstances that Africans all across the continent find themselves, can't get adequate school fees to get the education they need, try to get a job, and it turns out that you have got to pay a bribe to get that job, you know, living in -- in small villages, in which basic infrastructure still isn't provided and the public health system isn't adequate, so that you're seeing children who, at a very early age, start having significant disadvantages.

You know, those are all things that I have -- I have seen and witnessed. And those are stories that I have heard directly from people who -- who I know. So, when I think about these development issues, I -- they're not abstractions to me. I can put a face and a name to what people are going through. And -- and that makes a difference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Some of the images from Ghana that we saw while there, as well.

President Obama's personal experience in Africa next.

Also, you can join me on the live chat happening right now at AC360.com.

When we come back, my exclusive walk with the president through Cape Coast Castle, where so many enslaved Africans died and where so many African-Americans now visit to retrace their heritage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I think that there is a special sense for African- Americans of somehow connecting up with a part of yourself that you might not have even been aware was there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Also tonight, breaking news -- a new arrest in the murder that shocked the country, left more than a dozen kids without a mom and dad -- an arrest and word of more possibly to come, new details on the murders in Florida.

Also, the investigation into Michael Jackson's death -- La Toya Jackson's explosive allegations about her brother's death. Even before the autopsy reveals what killed Michael Jackson, she says she knows who killed him -- that and more tonight on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: I was in Ghana this weekend following President Obama and his family while they spent two days in the West African nation.

I spoke with the president at Cape Coast Castle, where he had just taken a tour with his family. He had just visited the dungeons where countless enslaved Africans were held for shipment, literally shipment as human cargo, to be sent to a life in bondage in South America, the United States, and the Caribbean.

The castle is a haunting place, a place visited by many African- Americans now looking to retrace their roots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Do you think what happened here still has resonance in America, that the -- that the slave experience still is something that -- that should be talked about and should be remembered and should be present in everyday life? OBAMA: Well, you know, I think that the experience of slavery is -- is like the experience of the Holocaust. I think it's one of those things you don't forget about.

I think it's important that the way we think about it and the way it's taught is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer, and that's the end of the story. I think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant is because, whether it's what's happening in Darfur, or what's happening in the Congo, or what's happening in too many places around the world, you know, the capacity for cruelty still exists. The capacity for discrimination still exists.

The capacity to think about people who are different, not just on the basis of race, but on the basis of religion, or the basis of sexual orientation or gender, still exists. And, so, you know, trying to -- to -- to use these kinds of extraordinary moments to widen the lens and make sure that we are all reflecting on how we are treating each other, I think, is something the I want my kids to think about and I want every -- every child to think about.

COOPER: How did you explain it to -- to Sasha and Malia?

OBAMA: Well, you know, you try to explain that people were willing to degrade others because they appeared differently.

And, you know, you tried to actually get them to engage in the imaginative act of what it would be like if they were snatched away from mom and dad and sent to some place they had never seen before.

But, you know, part of what you also try to do with kids is to get them imagine themselves on the other side, as being the slave merchant. And -- and, you know, that slave merchant might have loved their children and gone to that, you know, place of worship up right above the dungeon, and get them to -- to make sure that they are constantly asking themselves questions about whether they are treating people fairly and -- and -- and whether they are examining their own behavior and how it affects others.

COOPER: They -- they say this is the door of return for African- Americans...

OBAMA: Right. Right.

COOPER: ... who are revisiting Ghana. And I talked to one African-American lady yesterday, who said that coming here is such a powerful experience, that she actually decided to move here.

And I know you have met with many African-Americans...

OBAMA: Yes.

COOPER: ... who decided to move here.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Do you under -- they say that there is a sense of coming home.

OBAMA: Right.

COOPER: Do you -- do you understand that feeling?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I will tell you, the first time that I traveled to Africa, I think that there is a special sense for African- American African-Americans of somehow connecting up with a part of yourself that you might not have even been aware was there.

Now, obviously, for me, it was different, because I was directly meeting relatives and learning about a father I didn't know. But I -- I do think there's -- there's a sense for a lot of African-Americans that it is -- it's a -- it's a profound, life-changing experience.

The interesting thing, though, is, you know, I have met a lot of white Americans who come to Africa and say it was a life-changing experience for them, too.

COOPER: This is the home where everyone comes from.

OBAMA: Yeah, exactly. And there's -- and there's -- there is a powerful sense of -- of tapping into something very elemental about Africa.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: ... once you have come, you sort of always come back?

OBAMA: Yes, you do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)