Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 04:58 pm
At a grassroots rally in Mentor, Ohio earlier today, President Obama told supporters that we are in this together, that we rise and fall as one nation. As the President praised leaders from different parties working together, the Romney camp is threatening Chris Christie for working with Obama at a time when doing so might help the President.
Watch the President’s remarks here:
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TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRESIDENT’S REMARKS:
OBAMA: You see heroes running into buildings, wading into the water to help their fellow citizens; neighbors helping neighbors cope with tragedy; leaders of different political parties working together to fix what’s broken; it’s a spirit that says no matter how bad a storm is, no matter how tough the times are, we’re all in this together – that we rise or fall as one nation, as one people.
And that spirit has guided this country along its improbable journey for more than two centuries. It has carried us through the trials and tribulations of the last four years. Remember in 2008, we were in the middle of two wars and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Today, our businesses have created nearly five and a half million new jobs. The American auto industry is back on top. Home values are on the rise. We’re less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in 20 years. Because of the service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform, the war in Iraq is over. The war in Afghanistan is winding down. Al Qaeda is on the run and Osama bin Laden is dead.
So we’ve made real progress these past four years. But Ohio, we’re here today because we all know we’ve got more work to do.
SUPPORTER: We love you!
OBAMA: I love you back and we’ve got more work to do. As long as there’s a single American who wants a job and still can’t find work; as long as there are families who are working harder and harder but are still falling behind; as long as there’s a child anywhere in this country who’s languishing in poverty, or barred from opportunity, we got more work to do. Our fight goes on.
End transcript
The President has always talked about our being one nation, even when it irritated his base. He knows he is the president of all Americans, not just his supporters. That’s the kind of leadership we need in the White House. Not petty partisanship and grudge holding. Republicans have given this President every reason to withhold help from them, but he continues to put emotions aside and do what’s best for the country.
Ironically, last night Mitt Romney sent out an email telling us that he will be the President of “one nation”. Coming from the guy who holds half the nation in contempt, this was nothing more than empty rhetoric. But what makes Romney more dangerous is that he not only refused to work with Democrats in the past, he refused to work with his own party members.
The Romney campaign is now suggesting that if Romney wins, Chris Christie better look out. “If Romney wins, it (Christie’s embrace of Obama) won’t be forgotten,” the adviser told Politico. Petty and dark much?
What did Christie do other than put the people of his state first and work with the Democratic president? For this, he will be punished by King Romney, the same Romney who is promising that he will be bi-partisan and lead “one nation”. He forgot to add he will lead one nation — but only of those who are willing to service his agenda.
Character matters. But then so does competence. Barack Obama is has more character in his pinkie than Romney has in his entire campaign and when it comes to competence as President, Obama has wiped the floor with Republican ineptness.
If you don’t believe in government and don’t like it, and you think it’s there to harvest for profit for you and your rich friends, you probably shouldn’t be given the reins. If you are so petty as to hold a grudge against a governor for working with the current president when his state was destroyed by a storm, you probably shouldn’t be chosen to lead this country.
We need to stand together as one nation, and that means having leaders who can put aside their own pettiness and campaigning during a national crisis.
The real problem here is that Mitt Romney is running for President for his own ego, not because he feels a calling to help the people. Everything is about him, even when folks have lost their loved ones to a devastating storm — all he can think about is how to punish Christie for daring to accept help and praise the President. Mitt Romney is a small man with a huge and yet fragile ego.
Correction: Reins for reigns in 3rd to last paragraph. Apologize for the delay. I’m having internet access troubles due to storm repair.
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