A little humor goes a long way in the Obama White House.

While the nation’s facing a bevy of economic crises, President Obama and his top decision-makers have a lot on their plate. And though none is a laughing matter, Obama’s trying to keep the mood light. During a "60 Minutes" interview, correspondent Steve Kroft asked the president about helping General Motors and Chrysler avoid bankruptcy, noting that 18 percent of people support bailing out the auto industry, while 67 percent are against it.

"I just want to say that the only thing less popular than putting money into banks is putting money into the auto industry," Obama said. "It’s not a high number," he added with a chuckle when faced with the numbers.

Responded Kroft: "You’re sitting here. And you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems. Are people gonna look at this and say, ‘I mean, he’s sitting there just making jokes about money.’ How do you deal with, I mean, explain the mood and your laughter. Are you punch drunk?"

"No, no. There’s gotta be a little gallows humor to get you through the day," Obama explained. "You know, sometimes my team talks about the fact that if you had said to us a year ago that the least of my problems would be Iraq, which is still a pretty serious problem, I don’t think anybody would have believed it. But we’ve got a lot on our plate. And a lot of difficult decisions that we’re gonna have to make."

Obama also hit back at criticism by former vice president Dick Cheney over his counterterrorism policies, saying he’s "drawing the wrong lessons from history." He also said there’s no way Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is resigning. "If he were to come to me [to resign], I’d say ‘sorry, buddy. You’ve still got the job," Obama said. The president also explained that he wasn’t surprised at the public backlash against the AIG bonuses, but that "we can’t govern out of anger." To the perception by some on Wall Street that Obama isn’t being supportive enough, the president — who insists he’s not "anti-Wall Street" — recommends they get out of New York for a harsh dose of reality. 

"If you go to North Dakota, or you go to Iowa, or you go to Arkansas, where folks would be thrilled to be making $75,000 a year — without a bonus, then I think they’d get a sense of why people are frustrated," he said. The president also talked about how wife Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia are adjusting to life in the White House. Click here to watch more segments.  Watch part of the video below: