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Obama: Presidents ‘don’t start with a clean slate’
Politico ^

Posted on 01/19/2014 12:08:36 PM PST by Sub-Driver

Obama: Presidents ‘don’t start with a clean slate’ By: Reid J. Epstein January 19, 2014 12:41 PM EST

President Barack Obama believes his presidency can be successful even if none of his policy goals are accomplished during his term in office, Obama told New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick.

“One of the things that I’ve learned to appreciate more as president is you are essentially a relay swimmer in a river full of rapids, and that river is history,” Obama told Remnick. “You don’t start with a clean slate, and the things you start may not come to full fruition on your timetable. But you can move things forward. And sometimes the things that start small may turn out to be fairly significant.”

Obama spoke to Remnick several times in the White House and aboard Air Force One for a profile that runs 17,000 words and is set to appear in this week’s issue.

Obama described his role as president as steering the country in a direction that’s more advantageous to the middle class and the poor, even if he doesn’t succeed in winning the reforms he seeks while in office.

“I can tell you that I will measure myself at the end of my presidency in large part by whether I began the process of rebuilding the middle class and the ladders into the middle class, and reversing the trend toward economic bifurcation in this society,” Obama said.

Without comparing himself to predecessors directly, he cited Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan as examples of presidents who steered the country to fit their will.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: davidremnick; newyorker
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To: Sub-Driver

Wow, so with this logic, everything wrong on Bush’s watch was Clinton’s fault, which was George Bush 1’s fault, which was Reagan’s fault, which was Carter’s fault, which was Ford’s fault...all the way down.


21 posted on 01/19/2014 2:36:05 PM PST by riri (Plannedopolis-look it up. It's how the elites plan for US to live.)
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To: F15Eagle

Or a paper trail...

Or a membership card to the heterosexual party...

Or a brain...

Or a clue...


22 posted on 01/19/2014 2:45:08 PM PST by DoughtyOne (ZERO is still zero, and John Kerry is a mock-puppet!)
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To: riri

Damn whoever preceded George Washington...


23 posted on 01/19/2014 2:45:55 PM PST by DoughtyOne (ZERO is still zero, and John Kerry is a mock-puppet!)
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To: Sub-Driver
I can tell you that I will measure myself...

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.

24 posted on 01/19/2014 2:57:27 PM PST by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: Sub-Driver

“Obama: Presidents ‘don’t start with a clean slate’”

Doesn’t mean you try to make it dirtier.


25 posted on 01/19/2014 3:09:56 PM PST by Politicalkiddo (Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. -M. Twain)
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Comment #26 Removed by Moderator

To: DoughtyOne

John Hanson?


27 posted on 01/19/2014 3:23:42 PM PST by Politicalkiddo (Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. -M. Twain)
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To: Sub-Driver

“get in the back seat... “


28 posted on 01/19/2014 3:43:37 PM PST by 4Liberty (Mr President 'If you Like your college transcripts...can we see them?')
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To: Sub-Driver

0bama is winning the only issue on his dashboard.

The promotion and spread of sharia throughout the World, and especially in America


29 posted on 01/19/2014 3:52:45 PM PST by Steven Tyler
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Comment #30 Removed by Moderator

To: F15Eagle

What’s Obongo’s REAL Name?????????????????????


31 posted on 01/19/2014 3:59:59 PM PST by bandleader
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To: Paladin2

That’s right!The “GENIUS” VP Pronounced Obongo to be a “Clean”N-Word!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


32 posted on 01/19/2014 4:01:14 PM PST by bandleader
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Comment #33 Removed by Moderator

To: F15Eagle

Yep.


34 posted on 01/19/2014 8:29:28 PM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: Politicalkiddo

Beats me...

He’s to blame for everything though. LOL


35 posted on 01/19/2014 9:04:25 PM PST by DoughtyOne (ZERO is still zero, and John Kerry is a mock-puppet!)
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To: Sub-Driver

In his case, we started with a blank slate....


36 posted on 01/20/2014 2:35:41 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: Sub-Driver
“I can tell you that I will measure myself at the end of my presidency in large part by whether I began the process of rebuilding the middle class and the ladders into the middle class, and reversing the trend toward economic bifurcation in this society,” Obama said.

Zero is delusional if he really thinks any of his policies were supposed to accomplish that. His policies do nothing but destroy the middle class by turning them into a dependent class while making everyone poor and dependent of the government.

37 posted on 01/20/2014 2:48:24 AM PST by Fzob (Jesus + anything = nothing, Jesus + nothing = everything)
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