Anderson Cooper interviews President Obama in Ghana

CNN's Anderson Cooper and President Obama walking around Cape Coast Castle.

By Anderson Cooper
AC360° Anchor

Interviewing the president is always a difficult prospect. There are so many questions you want to ask, but you only have a limited amount of time.

We had been told we might get about 15 to 20 minutes sitting down with the president and then perhaps 10 minutes walking around Cape Coast Castle – a whitewashed fort through which enslaved Africans were sent to the New World.

We arrived in Ghana last week, one day before the president arrived with his family. We spent the day shooting a story about African Americans who visit Ghana to retrace their roots, and we also spent an hour or so walking through the Castle with members of the president’s advance team.

It is a remarkable thing to see how much effort and organization goes into the president’s movements. The Castle and the nearby hotel were full of secret service, embassy personnel, White House advance personnel, military backup and I’m sure more from other agencies as well.

Everything is timed to the minute: When the president will arrive, where he will go, etc. I read something on Drudgereport that said the crowds were not enthusiastic for the president’s trip. I’m not sure where that impression came from.

Keep reading this story »

Watch a clip of the interview here and see the full thing tonight at 10 p.m. ET on CNN's "AC360."