Obama reflects on lack of 'unity' in first term

''The mistake of my first term - couple of years - was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right,''

The mistake of his first term was thinking their could be any common ground with Republicans, any compromise possible with the party of no and, even worse, pursuing it.

Between the Democrats demonizing everthing under the sun and the Republicans refusing to do anything productive there must be quite a bit to reflect on. Now we have Dems vs Repubs, Poor vs Rich, birth control vs religious freedom, and a million other splinter problems.

Mitt has the teeth and hair but absolutely no new ideas other than" repeal and oppose, like the rest of the party.

If the only ideas you have are bad then better to do nothing at all. I'd actually be cool with the idea of the congress not signing or doing anything for a few years. No resolutions, no new requirements, no barely comprehensible laws. Thats not what Romney offers but it would be a nice change of pace.

A large part of the US doens't agree with the policies of Pelosi and Reid, who were in control for the first two years of Obama's presidency. Obama, lacking leadership, couldn't whip either of them into shape. Thus many efforts foundered and the Dems lost control of the house. If Pelosi and Reid had been willing or if Obama had beat them with his mandate to get things done then something might have happened. But, at the end of the day, the Reps realized that compromise wasn't going to be offered, moderate Dems refused to go along with the left wing leadership and it's all over but the crying. Now we have even more polarized politics; Soros and his ilk versus the tea party. Going to be a long election campaign.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said he regrets not fostering “a sense of unity and purpose and optimism” early in his term

Yes We Can??? was not fostering enough?

“The mistake of my first term—couple of years—was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right,”

Policy resulted in....The Republican Party has swept the Democrats out of power in the House and gained seats in the Senate, sending a strong message of voter discontent to President Obama on the economy.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2010/1103/After-GOP-landslide-of-Election-2010-what-next-for-Obama

Some highlights of "The One" while at the helm of our country:

RECORD unemployment;

RECORD deficits;

RECORD debt;

No budget of his ever passed (including by his own party);

Alienation of our allies while pandering to our enemies;

Worsening of division along racial and class lines

But when asked, according to him, his only failure is his inability to tell his "stories" in a way that Americans would swallow them whole.

RR

@Serrano Just wondering why you shook your head when an intelligent, eloquent man was elected. I didn't shake my head when a semi-literate Texan halfwit won the presidency.I held it in my hands.

The other issue indicated is "politics" and "political rhetoric".

One must look at the root of it all... it is not what was said or communicated.... or even the rhetoric,... it is the physically provable results of actions taken or not taken.... don't you think?

It appears that it is the primary cause of "disunity".

@Serrano

I still shake my head whenever I see this.

Unbelievable, eh? The boy should be picking cotton, shining your shoes or singing in a blues band, right?

I hear this election will be tight, and that it's not a foregone conclusion that Obama will be re-elected. How is this possible? I mean, isn't Obama a great president, and isn't Romney just some rich white guy?

"U.S. President Barack Obama"

I still shake my head whenever I see this.

Mr. Obama has been the "primary" cause of the destruction of "unity" with the USA and no one and nothing else. That may have been good in awakening the awareness of the people in the USA. But that has also opened up a huge chest full of cans of worms throughout the world. When USA shows lack of unity, it shows "weakness" as during the beginning of WWII that emboldens other nations in other parts of the world to act irrationally and unpredictably. It is like when "mother" is away the children will play.

By Mr. Obama actually admitting the state of disunity, he has made the situation worse all over the world. For Japan, that means more and more aggressive action by China and Russia.

Hopefully the Japanese people also do not get out of hand and misunderstand their current status. Until Japan becomes fully armed and military, their only ally is the USA. None of the other nations would even come close to defending Japan at this time. They have their own problems within their own countries.

'I like being able to fire people who provide services to me' - Mitt Romney

Heh, Rick Perry apparently turned it into a ringtone and Jon Huntsman invoked the word “unelectable” in response.

"Obama hopes to remedy the situation my "getting out of ( Washington )"

Just resign, bro! Situation remedied!

'I like being able to fire people who provide services to me' Bravo, Mitt. Well said. Unemployed.

Leadership through offshore and Swiss accounts and screwing the American tax-payer eh Ramen?

Mitt has the teeth and hair but absolutely no new ideas other than" repeal and oppose, like the rest of the party.

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.

Bravo, Mitt. Well said.

RR

I'd have thought he'd regret most entertaining the notion that the GOP would put country ahead of politics to cooperate in solving America's problems. He wasted a whole lot of time with his hand extended; the GOP never had any intention of reciprocating.

"Obama admitting to failure, he's up to something."

Reflection is not admission of failure. It's right up there Frank what the rabid end of the Republican party don't want to admit:

"who took office at the height of the economic crisis in 2009."

4 years later, you will hear Mr Romney's stories blaming the democrats of who is responsible for America woes! So what is the two parties political systems up to...? Everyone got get food stamps for a living? A generation of despair, handicapped in battlefield or sit idle in front of TV watching their 'blame games'?

Obama admitting to failure, he's up to something.