It's not really all that shocking for a president to toe the party line at a DNC event, but rhetoric like this isn't going to help the political climate in Washington, D.C., if you're calling for people to put aside party politics. Said the president tonight at the private event:
"And my hope has been for the last two and a half years that in the midst of a crisis like this, that we could pull America together to move forcefully on behalf of the American Dream and on behalf of all those who aspire for something better for their kids. And what has been clear over the last two and a half years is that we have not had a willing partner.
"Now, we’ve been able to get some stuff done despite that, and despite a filibuster in the Senate. But at least over the last nine months what we’ve seen is some irreconcilable differences, let’s put it that way; a fundamentally different vision about where America needs to go. And the speech that I gave at the joint session described a vision that is fundamentally different from the one that’s offered by the other side, and that was then amplified today by our discussion about how we’re going to lower our deficit even as we’re creating growth and creating jobs all across the economy."
The most memorable Senate filibuster in recent history was Sen. Harry Reid's virtual filibuster of his party's own debt ceiling deal. The president is right that the two parties have irreconcilable differences, to a certain extent: one party's policies have kept the unemployment rate above 9 percent, despite billions of dollars.
My favorite line, personally, was when he said, "You know, over the last two and a half years, obviously, we’ve gone through extraordinary times. And a lot of people in this room have seen directly the damage that’s been done as a consequence of this recession."
The cost to attend the event, according to Politico, was approximately $38,500 per ticket. Are these the very rich people who, according to Obama's Buffet Tax, really haven't been paying their fair share?