Story highlights Obama held a town hall meeting with 800 young Vietnamese

He was asked how he went from pot smoker to President

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (CNN) President Barack Obama told an audience of young Vietnamese leaders Wednesday that he knows people in other countries think the U.S. electoral system is a "mess," but he said things would turn out OK in the end because "the American people are good people."

Obama made the remarks at his last public event during his Vietnam trip -- a town hall event hosting approximately 800 young Vietnamese people from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative in Ho Chi Minh City.

"I think sometimes other countries look at our election system and people think 'wow what a mess,' but usually we end up doing OK because the American people are good people, as I hope I've gotten to know," Obama said in response to a question from the audience.

"The American people are generous, and decent, and hardworking, and sometimes our politics doesn't express all the goodness of the people, but usually the voters make good decisions and democracy works, so I'm optimistic we'll get through this period."

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