Beiruting News

President Obama's relationship with Kanye West has been a rocky one. Obama famously called West a "jackass" on two occasions, and the rapper fired back in an onstage rant earlier this year.

"The American dream involved some pretty basic stuff, a good job where you felt some security, a good education," O said in an interview with Kindle Singles. "People felt if they worked hard they could get there, I don't think people went around saying to themselves, 'I need to have a 10,000-square-foot house' ... I think there has also been a shift in culture.

Obama responded, speaking about a shift in the expectations of the American dream. He said that the dream used to involve a good home, a good job, and the possibility of higher education. Growing up today, however, children are exposed to such wealth in the form of celebrities' lifestyles that everything seems smaller by comparison. Speaking on his own experience, Obama said, "There was not that window into the lifestyles of the rich and famous."