President Barack Obama said that while he never bought into the overly nice things people said about him after his election, he didn’t think he deserved the ‘vitriol’ he says he’s heard from Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

In an interview with CBS News' Harry Smith Thursday, Obama suggested that the two leading conservative voices on the airwaves were stirring up hatred toward him.

Editor’s Note: See the video below.

"I've been out and about, listening to talk radio," Smith told Obama. "The kindest of terms you're sometimes referred to out in America is a socialist. The worst of which I've heard is called a Nazi. Are you aware of the level of enmity that crosses the airwaves and that people have made part of their daily conversation about you?

"Well, I think that when you listen to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, it's pretty apparent, and it's troublesome," Obama said. "But keep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of vitriol comes out. It happens often when you've got an economy that is making people more anxious, and people are feeling like there is a lot of change that needs to take place. But that's not the vast majority of Americans. I think the vast majority of Americans know that we're trying hard, that I want what's best for the country."

Added Obama:

"I didn't buy all the hype, right after inauguration, where everybody was only saying nice things about me. And I don't get too worried when things aren't going as well because I know that over time these things turn."

I asked Limbaugh what he thought about the president's comments. His program's popularity is undeniably soaring now, but has it risen and fallen with economic anxiety -- that is, was he less popular during times of economic security and more popular in times of economic worries? Since Limbaugh has been broadcasting nationally for more than 20 years, there ought to be some sort of pattern, if what Obama says is accurate.

"I have yet to have a down year at the EIB Network," Limbaugh responds. "I and most Americans do not believe President Obama is trying to do what's best for the country. Never in my life have I seen a regime like this, governing against the will of the people, purposely. I have never seen the media so supportive of a regime amassing so much power. And I have never known as many people who literally fear for the future of the country."

The point, Limbaugh says, is not that listeners are feeling anxiety about the economy, although many undoubtedly are. It's that they are feeling anxiety about the Obama agenda.