Obama tells of Washington confusion
WASHINGTON, Thursday
Barack Obama vented and mocked his foes on Thursday, shedding his trademark cool in a spasm of frustration that made his vow to heal Washington’s divides seem a curiosity of a past political age.
The president said his kids had their act together better than Congress, rebuked lawmakers for taking too much time off and chided them for making a “fuss” and a “cause celebre” over the US mission in Libya.
At the same time, President Obama said he was pleased with the outcome of a “contentious and emotional” legislative battle in New York that ended with the state passing a gay marriage law.
“What I have seen happen over the last several years, and what happened in New York last week, I think was a good thing,” President Obama told a White House press conference.
“It was contentious and emotional, but ultimately they made a decision to recognise civil marriages. I think that’s exactly how things should work,” Mr Obama said, defending his record on civil rights for gay Americans which some activist in that community have said has not gone far enough.
The president’s sardonic White House press conference perhaps revealed the frustrations of seeing his agenda stalled by recalcitrant Republicans who make no secret they plan to crush his hopes of a second term. It also reflects a political reality that has the president struggling to ignite a swift economic recovery and an explosion in jobs growth: he admitted the economic plight of Americans “weighs on me, every minute of every day.”
He reserved particular frustration for Republicans he said were refusing to budge from a “maximalist” refusal to allow tax hikes, even after he made his “tough” decisions to slay Democratic “sacred cows” with spending cuts.
Mr Obama was also fed up that frequent congressional recesses were eating up time as the August deadline looms that could see the US government pitched into a damaging debt default.
“I think members of Congress need to understand, we are going to, you know, start having to cancel things and stay here until we get it done,” he said, days before the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
