DON LEMON: But, Jake, he is the African-American president. He's an African-American president. He's a president of all people but, again, he has a responsibility as president to help everyone but he is a black man.



And as I said, he understands the issues that we as African-Americans face more than any other president that we have had. You know, we used to call Bill Clinton the first black president, but I mean, in reality, we know that -- we know that was just sort of fun.



But, yes, I think he has more of a freedom. And his -- listen, in his first term he didn't do that much about, you know, gay rights, about gay marriage, whatever, and it started happening in the second term. I said in the beginning that that issue would be a second term issue.



He had to prove himself in the beginning. He had probably more criticism than most presidents because when you are the first of anything, there is a bigger responsibility put on you. He's a spectacle in a way.



Everyone is being looking to hit him and everyone is looking to punch him, and I understand that, and as a journalist you weigh how much you should criticize the president, because he's black, what have you, but then you have to do it because ultimately you're a journalist. Journalists have to, black people have to, white people, Hispanic. We all must hold him to this because, as he said, it is an issue for the country, not just for one demographic.