President Barack Obama responded to Democrats who criticized him for not visiting Wisconsin to help Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in the Wisconsin recall election by saying he was too busy,
Politico reported.
Obama’s absence from Wisconsin spoke volumes to both Democrats and Republicans. He did manage to post an endorsement of Barrett on Twitter and dispatched top surrogates to the state such as former President Bill Clinton and Democratic National Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“The truth of the matter is that as president of the United States, I’ve got a lot of responsibilities,” Obama told WBAY, the ABC affiliate in Green Bay.
“I would have loved to have seen a different result. But the broader principle that we want an economy that is not just focused on the few at the top, but is a broad-based economy that invests in our future . . . I think that's something that in everything I do shows that those are the values I care deeply about, and we're going to be fighting very hard in Wisconsin just like we have in the past to make sure that's the kind of government that the American people get.”
Tea party and conservative activists are hoping to turn their Wisconsin victory over unions into a roadmap for their efforts in several other presidential battleground states, where big labor has long-dominated the political landscape.
Obama said in the interview that he didn't see the recall as a precursor for the general election in Wisconsin.
"I think probably you have specific circumstances in Wisconsin. Keep in mind, it's pretty unusual when a governor attracts this kind of attention in the middle of his term. And my suspicion is that all across the country governors who are having to deal with tough budgets have to make tough decisions, but one of the lessons learned is that it is better to make them with people as opposed to against people.”
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