U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye said yesterday that President Obama acted responsibly after the terrorism scare in Detroit on Christmas, choosing to investigate rather than react impulsively.

"I would prefer to have a leader who investigates first to determine what we're dealing with," the Hawai'i Demo-crat told local reporters yesterday in an interview in his Honolulu office.

Inouye said it would have been irresponsible for the president, who is vacationing in Hawai'i, to rush after the failed airliner bombing and make people feel scared.

Earlier, in an interview with CNN, Inouye pushed back against criticism by former Vice President Dick Cheney that Obama's response has been too low-key.

"That's nonsense," the senator told CNN. "I think, I hate to say this, but I think the former vice president lost all of his credibility by the way he's been conducting himself. I would expect a person with the potential of leading this country to be a bit more responsible."

Cheney said Obama is trying to pretend the United States is not at war with terrorists.

"Why doesn't he want to admit we're at war?" Cheney said in a statement. "It doesn't fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn't fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency: social transformation, the restructuring of American society."

Inouye, who endorsed then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primary for president and initially thought the Hawai'i-born Obama was too inexperienced for the White House, described Obama's first year in office with praise.

"He did much more than I expected of him," said Inouye, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Inouye said Obama has sought to live up to his campaign promises and persisted in trying to push health care reform through Congress even though many lawmakers felt it was too ambitious for his first year.

"He is not afraid to handle promises that many politicians would have considered ill-advised," he said.

On Hawai'i issues, Inouye said a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill will likely be amended to reflect concerns from Gov. Linda Lingle and discussions with the Obama administration.

The bill would authorize Native Hawaiians to form their own government, similar to those of American Indians and Alaska natives, and the governor has concerns about whether Hawaiians will be be given sovereign power before or after negotiations with the state and federal governments.

Inouye said a Senate vote on the bill could come by February.

Inouye, after cautioning that he does not like to intervene on state issues, urged the state and educators to keep students first in mind during negotiations on reducing teacher furloughs in public schools.

"The one thing that has deeply concerned me is that throughout the negotiations and discussions, very seldom do you hear the word 'student' being used," he said. "It's teachers' pay or the budget."

Asked about his preference in the potential Democratic primary for governor between U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, the senator said:

"To suggest to you that I'm a complete blank and I don't prefer one over the other is a lie. Because, we have our preferences. But I have not, and I will not, use the word 'endorse' until primary day is concluded."

Inouye, the state's leading Democrat, has not disputed that he has urged Hannemann to run in the gubernatorial primary.