During an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” President Obama lamented that he sometimes failed to mobilize public opinion to back him in battles with Congressional Republicans.
“Part of the job description is also shaping public opinion. And we were very effective, and I was very effective, in shaping public opinion around my campaigns,” Obama said in a preview clip published online on Thursday.
“But there were big stretches, while governing, where even though we were doing the right thing, we weren’t able to mobilize public opinion firmly enough behind us to weaken the resolve of the Republicans to stop opposing us or to cooperate with us. And there were times during my presidency where I lost the PR battle,” he told CBS.
Obama made the comments while discussing Republicans’ refusal to consider his last Supreme Court nominee.
Watch the interview clip via CBS News:
Once again, Obama’s class act shows through in stark contrast to his (gag, barf) successor.
Obama honestly and openly examines his own weaknesses and shortcomings (few though they may be), and speculates where he might have acted differently for a better result, or takes responsibility for things not going as well as hoped.
The Orange Menace just spews blame and invective on everyone but himself. Especially when he himself is to blame.
Exactly, I agree with him on this, and it’s probably my biggest criticism of him and his administration. They were great in campaign mode, but they didn’t campaign hard enough for their own issues and beliefs in the off season. They were too busy being adults in a country with the emotional age of toddlers. History will shine brightly on them. Still, it was my biggest frustration.
Yes, while I admire and applaud Obama’s cool head in rough times, it may well have played against him in not enough visible “heart and soul” in some of his endeavors to “sell” to folks who needed a more emotional appeal.
You did the best you could with what you had to work with Mr. President. You can’t run around the country mobilizing opinion with so much on your plate at one time. But you can soon!
trump will joy ride on Air Force One to his klan rallies a lot since he is completely incapable of doing the job, leaving the monsters to do the dirty work. Though he can’t mobilize anyone but the rabid base even now, and the more he does those rallies the bigger the hole he will dig.
I keep fantasizing that when Roberts goes to hold up the Bible for him to take the oath, it’s a pair of handcuffs instead.
Watching that beautiful ceremony for Joe Biden yesterday, I kept thinking, gosh, they’re so calm in the midst of all this this craziness. And then I thought…I remember that he was so calm and behaviorally appropriate during the Correspondence Dinner (was that the one where he dissed trump?) and later that night he gave the order to kill Bin Laden. (Was it the correspondence dinner…refresh my memory if I am mistaken) But my point is, do they know something we don’t? God, the Universe & FSM, I hope so.
“there were big stretches, while governing, where even though we were doing the right thing, we weren’t able to mobilize public opinion firmly enough.”
Frankly, Mr. President (and you will always be Mr. President to me), you didn’t try hard enough. You were so wrapped up in policy issues that you neglected to give enough recognize how vital it is to get the American people behind you, even if it means spending precious hours telling us what we ought to know already.