President Obama's Biggest Frustration
Herb
2012/07/15 21:34:07
In an excerpt of an interview that will air Monday morning on CBS, President Obama reflected on the lessons of his first term, expressing frustration with what his administration has been able to accomplish.
"I think it's important to know we did an awful lot in the first four years," Obama told Charlie Rose in an interview taped in the White House last week. "But when I think about the next four years, what's undone?"
Obama said that the bulk his frustrations with the presidency have stemmed not from his workload, but from the political climate in Washington.
"It's not the, you know, enormity of the decisions," he said. "It's not the pace. It is that I haven't been able to change the atmosphere here in Washington to reflect the decency and common sense of ordinary people -- Democrats, Republicans, and independents -- who I think just want to see their leadership solve problems. And, you know, there's enough blame to go around for that."
He continued: "I think there is no doubt that I underestimated the degree to which in this town politics trumps problem-solving."
The president also said if he were in Mitt Romney's shoes, he would be "making the same argument" about the Obama White House not doing enough to pull the country out of its economic slump.
"In this office, everything takes a little longer than you'd like," he said.
In another excerpt from the same interview released last week, Obama said his biggest mistake in his presidency "was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right."
"The nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times," Obama said.
Romney's campaign immediately hit back on the comment, issuing a statement criticizing the president's leadership.
"Being president is not about telling stories. Being president is about leading, and President Obama has failed to lead. No wonder Americans are losing faith in his presidency," the statement read.
Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/15/obama-fir...
Top Opinion
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kmay 2012/07/15 21:41:05
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Oback Barama. Growing up in a multi-racial and broken home, Oback always felt confused as to who he was and, without a strong male role model in his life, how to behave like a mature man. He therefore grew older but no wiser. Spoiled by a wealthy family and educated in top-notch schools, he was able to enjoy a life without want and with plenty of leisure time to imagine how much better the world would be if only people saw clearly how they were wrong and he was right. He met and befriended others who shared his vision of fundamentally transforming the world and human nature. To overcome his sense of guilt for being well-off and his frustration for not being recognized for the genius he believed he was, Oback sought acceptance and adoration from those less fortunate than he. The more he pandered to their hatred, fears, ignorance, laziness and greed, the more he was loved. The more he was loved, the more he believed in his own importance as a savior of the underclass. His smug arrogance was tied to his own delusion of self-importance. Because he believed his Messianic vi...
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Oback Barama. Growing up in a multi-racial and broken home, Oback always felt confused as to who he was and, without a strong male role model in his life, how to behave like a mature man. He therefore grew older but no wiser. Spoiled by a wealthy family and educated in top-notch schools, he was able to enjoy a life without want and with plenty of leisure time to imagine how much better the world would be if only people saw clearly how they were wrong and he was right. He met and befriended others who shared his vision of fundamentally transforming the world and human nature. To overcome his sense of guilt for being well-off and his frustration for not being recognized for the genius he believed he was, Oback sought acceptance and adoration from those less fortunate than he. The more he pandered to their hatred, fears, ignorance, laziness and greed, the more he was loved. The more he was loved, the more he believed in his own importance as a savior of the underclass. His smug arrogance was tied to his own delusion of self-importance. Because he believed his Messianic vision to be infallible, he had no qualms about lying or cheating to accomplish his goals. He thought anyone who stood in his way didn't deserve to be treated with respect because they were either too foolish to recognize his intellectual and moral superiority or they were simply greedy and selfish. In order to bring Oback's utopia to fulfillment, it was necessary to destroy the existing order. Again, lying and cheating were valid and useful tools, which justified the ends. He was able to convince enough people who naively believed that human nature could be changed and he managed to attain a position of great power. He smirked and scoffed at those who tried to stop him and but he was able to exploit the country's racist past and the guilt of wealthy donors to increase the country's debt beyond what was sustainable in order to fund pipe dream projects based on pseudo-science and bad economics. As he watched the ensuing chaos, he accused those who blamed him of racism, greed and intolerance. After three and a half years of ruin, he asked for more time to complete his mission. Thankfully, enough of the people had had enough and threw him out on his @$%! Obie was forced to relinquish his post but the arrogant and wounded man-boy grew more petulant and lived the rest of his life in an institution for the insane grumbling about how no one understood his genius.
Obama has been telling us stories NOW WE WANT THE TRUTH !!!!!!!!!!!
What he was REALLY saying was " I'm telling you , 100 plus rounds of golf is NOT that
much".
He continued: "I think there is no doubt that I underestimated the degree to which in this town politics trumps problem-solving."
What he was REALLY saying was " I should have spent more time and paid better
attention on my last job and these things wouldn't come as such a suprise.
The president also said if he were in Mitt Romney's shoes, he would be "making the same argument" about the Obama White House not doing enough to pull the country out of its economic slump.
What he was REALLY saying was " Dang you people , I got healthcaretax passed ".
"The nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people..."
What he was REALLY saying was " The lying part of this job is easy ".