Politico
Barack Obama said Americans’ “fear and frustration” is to blame for an intense midterm election cycle that threatens to derail the Democratic agenda.
“Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we’re hardwired not to always think clearly when we’re scared,” Obama said Saturday evening in remarks at a small Democratic fundraiser Saturday evening. “And the country’s scared.” Obama told the several dozen donors that he was offering them his “view from the Oval Office.” He faulted the economic downturn for Americans’ inability to “think clearly” and said the burden is on Democrats “to break through the fear and the frustration people are feeling.”
“You can respond in a couple of ways to a trauma like this,” Obama said, referring to the economy. “One is to pull back, retrench and respond to your fears by pushing away challenges, looking backwards. Another is to say we can meet these challenges and we are going to move forward. And that’s what this election is about.”
Obama was speaking at a suburban Boston fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which raised an estimated $900,000.
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“The biggest mistake we can make right now is to – is out of hurt and confusion, the worst thing we could do is to go back to the very same policies that caused this mess in the first place,” Obama said.
He framed Nov. 2 as an opportunity for voters to “set the direction” of the country. The economic crisis, he said, “was a once-in-a-lifetime challenge – a once-in-a-generation challenge.”
“I hoped, like many of you hoped, that we could have both parties put politics aside for the sake of the country,” Obama said at the rally. But, he said, Republicans in Washington instead decided to “ride people’s anger and frustration all the way to the ballot box.”
Obama predicted even more partisanship and gridlock in Congress next year.
“I don’t anticipate that getting better next year,” he said at the fundraiser. “I anticipate that getting worse.”
He said he needs Democrats in the Senate “because every bit of progress that we need to make is going be a matter of grinding it out.”
“Grinding” is a word Obama returned to several times Saturday as he tried to empathize with Democrats who are frustrated with his administration and leaders in Congress.
“Now we’re in the midst of not just advocating for change, not just calling for change – we’re doing the grinding, sometimes frustrating work of delivering change — inch by inch, day by day,” Obama said.
“I understand that sometimes hope may have faded as we’ve grinded out this work over the last several years,” he added. “I know it’s hard to keep faith when a family member still hasn’t found a job after months of trying, or another foreclosure sign is hung on the house down the street. And you’re watching TV and all you see are politicians tearing each other down and pundits who treat politics like a sport.”
Obama indicated that he intends to move forward with an energy bill, regardless of what happens on Nov. 2, but said he needs a Democratic majority in the Senate to do so.
He called the legislation “a piece of unfinished business” that’s going to require some heavy lifting, and he predicted being able to win over as many as seven Republican Senators to support the legislation.
At both of his campaign stops Saturday, Obama tried to conjure up a sense of history in Democrats. He insisted that despite the rough times right now, Democrats will years from now recall this period with the same pride people involved in the civil rights movement, Social Security or the space program felt in retrospect.
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Wild Thing’s comment……..
OMG… talk about delusional… this guy may wind up being marched out of the white house in a straight jacket
“Barack Obama said Americans’ “fear and frustration” is to blame for an intense midterm election cycle that threatens to derail the Democratic agenda.”
Fear and frustration? more like fed up , angry as hell and determined!!!!! We’re not scared…Just mad as hell!
“”Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we’re hardwired not to always think clearly when we’re scared,”
WTH is he talking about.
Would that his father had met Monica Lewinsky instead of the rat eared Kansas chick. Obama would have just ended ujp as a stain on a blue dress.
Can he say anything that doesn’t belittle the entire United States of America?
Quote: “OMG… talk about delusional… this guy may wind up being marched out of the white house in a straight jacket”
Well dear. I’d settle for a large Zip Lok!!!
Off he goes again blaming someone else or something else other than himself. He is so reminiscent of Carter blaming Americans’ malaise for the political errors and terrible economy that were Carter’s fault.
The person and the Party that is actually scared here, is Obama and the Dems.
He needs to look back at what one of his professed heroes, Abraham Lincoln, is quoted as saying. “You can fool some the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
” Fool all of the people all of the time.”, is what he and the compliant Congress have been doing for the past 2 years. There are still enough of us out here who were taught what this Country is all about, and how to love and respect the Freedoms we have.
We are not scared, we are full of anger and are about to channel this anger by voting many of his supportive members of the Senate and House, out of office. We are going to do the same thing with our State and Local offices as well.
Many of us realize where this Administration is intent on taking us. We are mad as hell, and refuse to take any more. We are committed to taking our Country back, so that future generations can live and enjoy the freedoms that this Republic provides.
Maybe some mew medication, the old stuff just isn’t doing its job.
Jack, hahaha good one, me too.
Tom, your right. I have never seen this kind of thing with so much blaming others. It is constant with Obama and has worn itself out long, long ago.
Sean, well said and thank you too for the quote.
Mark, heh heh good one.