Obama Rallies Supporters: ‘We’ve got a lot of unfinished business’
EmailABC News’ Mary Bruce (marykbruce) and Devin Dwyer (@devindwyer) Report:
With the market reeling from Friday’s credit downgrade, tonight President Obama worked to secure four more years to right the fiscal crisis. At a high-dollar DNC fundraiser at a private residence in Washington, D.C., Obama made clear “We’ve got a lot of unfinished business.
“I don’t know about you, but I think we have no choice but to finish it,” Obama told the roughly 140 supporters gathered at the home of R. Donahue "Don" and Katrina Peebles. “We're going to have to go forward. And the only way I'm going to be able to go forward is with you.”
The president said, “There's no doubt that we’ve got to fix our long-term finances. “We still have a dysfunctional political system in Washington, as we just witnessed over the last couple of weeks.”
Once again the president stressed that there are steps Congress can take right now to boost job creation, including investing in infrastructure.
“This is not rocket science in terms of how we can create more jobs in this country,” he said.
Given the sharp partisan culture on Capitol Hill, the president said the upcoming election would be one about fundamental principles. “It's going to be as fundamental a debate as 2008. In some ways, it may be even a more profound debate, because the contrast is going to be clearer, and it's going to be sharp,” Obama said at his third fundraiser this quarter, his 38th of the year.
“I want everybody to understand if we are going to get to the vision that we all believed in, in 2008, and we still believe in, it is going to be imperative that we run a clear, forceful campaign,” he said.
Tickets for the private event at the Peebles’ residence ran a steep $15,000 per family and included a photo with the president, according to a DNC official. The money, which goes to the Obama Victory Fund, is split between the Obama re-election campaign, which takes $5,000, and the DNC, which gets the remaining $10,000.
Peebles, a developer who served on Obama's National Finance Committee, is the CEO of Peebles Corp., a major African-American real estate development company with holdings in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and Miami Beach, according to the company website. The Peebles are not listed as Obama campaign bundlers.
Later this evening, Obama attended a smaller outreach event at the St. Regis hotel in D.C. for donors and possible donors. No one had to buy tickets for the event, which included roughly 60 guests.
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Barack Obama doing his Jake Blues impression:
“I ran out of gas! I got a flat tire! I didn’t have change for cab fare! I lost my tux at the cleaners! I locked my keys in the car! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! IT WASN’T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!”
Posted by: Dave in Colorado | August 8, 2011, 11:11 pm 11:11 pm
“This is not rocket science in terms of how we can create more jobs in this country,” he said.
.
It may not be rocket science, but it sure appears to be above the pay grade of a radical community organizer. How about talking to a rocket scientist and maybe finding a CLUE!
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | August 8, 2011, 11:15 pm 11:15 pm
He almost won this state last time. Next time he’s going to lose the election.
Posted by: whatever | August 8, 2011, 11:24 pm 11:24 pm
When it comes time to vote again, we’ll all keep in mind how the Republicans played politics with raising the debt ceiling, threatening the country with default on its loans – and destroying the county’s AAA credit rating.
Posted by: Junior | August 9, 2011, 12:19 am 12:19 am
I’m a Democrat who does not want four more years of Obama because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I want another Democrat to run against him. Please!!
Posted by: Susan | August 9, 2011, 3:08 am 3:08 am
Posted by: Susan | Aug 9, 2011 3:08:07 AM
That’s ironic Susan. I’m a former Republican who will be voting for Obama, because he seems to be the only one who knows what he’s doing. The Republicans are posturing like politicians but doing nothing for the country, nor for employment.
Posted by: Jeremy | August 9, 2011, 4:05 am 4:05 am
Obama:
“We didn’t need a rating agency to tell us that we need a balanced, long-term approach to deficit reduction. That was true last week. That was true last year. That was true the day I took office.”
The day Obama took office, 931 of them ago. Subsequently, in his Monday remarks the president said this:
“I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed.”
Over the coming weeks? The need for a balanced, long-term approach was clear the day he took office $3+ trillion dollars ago and sometime soon he’ll share his plans?
Obama is still saying, ‘Yes, we can.’ But he never explains why we haven’t.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | August 9, 2011, 6:44 am 6:44 am
If it’s so easy to create jobs, why hasn’t he been doing it for the last three years? His own jobs man is sending GE jobs to China. He talked down the economy when he was campaigning and then instead of focusing on fixing the economy when he became president, he went on to do his pet projects like Obamacare, cap and trade, and his stimuLOSE and now we are in a mess. Where is Sheriff Joe during this mess? Geting hair plugs or something?
Posted by: Rafe | August 9, 2011, 7:21 am 7:21 am
What do those supporters think of Obama’s April 27th fake birth certificate, which has a smiley face and a gross misspelling while missing the official seal of the state in the official stamp?Surely just these two little anomalies can be explained by the intellectual prowess of the liberal left. We don’t even need to ask them to explain why a 1950′s typewriter was capable of kerning or had multiple variations of a single letter. Nor should we ask them to explain why it was in layers or that the scan bent some lines of letters and not others. I am afraid it would simply blow their minds to come up with an explanation as to why Stanley Ann Dunham’s signature was written in an exact straight line without one pixel of divination from the documents horizontal. But I am sure the libs would say the out of sequence of Obama’s document number being higher than those two twins born a day later than he was supposedly born, as being born while black. Now Obama is asking for campaign donations!
Posted by: Colonel Rebel | August 9, 2011, 7:37 am 7:37 am
“With the market reeling from Friday’s credit downgrade, tonight President Obama worked to secure four more years to right the fiscal crisis.”
This man’s vision of himself as a savior knows no bounds. As the country toils with this horrible economy he is socializing with the incredibly well-to-do in this country asking for money for an election that is 15 months away. Unreal.
Posted by: J.R. | August 9, 2011, 8:59 am 8:59 am
“That’s ironic Susan. I’m a former Republican who will be voting for Obama, because he seems to be the only one who knows what he’s doing.”
You were no more a former Republican than I was the King of England.
Posted by: J.R. | August 9, 2011, 9:01 am 9:01 am
“I don’t know about you, but I think we have no choice but to finish it,” -Barack Obama
He’s gone from ‘hope & change’ to ‘coup de grâce’.
Posted by: Larry | August 9, 2011, 9:26 am 9:26 am
Is he not listening? We have had enough of his failed policies, his big spending, his pushing his agenda down our throats, his meaningless speeches, his arrogance, his campaigning and fundraising, no plans, no budgets, his blame game, his class warfare, and most important, no clue.
Posted by: Freedom | August 9, 2011, 10:31 am 10:31 am
Barack Obama = Epic Failure
Posted by: tjp612 | August 9, 2011, 10:35 am 10:35 am
Obama is right that he has “a lot of unfinished business.” For example, he hasn’t caused a complete economic collapse yet. That’s his final goal as prescribed by the Cloward-Piven strategy he’s executing. He’s doing his best to fit that in between fund-raisers.
Posted by: Chuck | August 9, 2011, 11:05 am 11:05 am
he never explains why we haven’t.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | Aug 9, 2011 6:44:55 AM
Sure he has, but the GOP whines about the pointed criticism every time.
Posted by: Kimberly | August 9, 2011, 11:09 am 11:09 am
Kimberly,what does GOP “whining” have to do with Obama’s recession.Can’t he take criticism? George Bush was attacked much more than this wallflower has been and he never made excuses.A real leader never needs to make excuses.
Posted by: Nephron | August 9, 2011, 11:28 am 11:28 am
..didn’t it make you feel good yesterday (Stock Mkt.Ride)…..when you learned that,in London, rioters were hitting the streets for some unknown at that time reason? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM DID?? HE CALLED HIS GOVERNMENT IN TO DISCUSS AND HOPEFULLY BRING THE PROBLEM TO RESOLUTION……COMPARE THAT WITH THE PERSON WE HAVE IN THE OVAL OFFICE….OUR “SO CALLED” LEADER….HE GIVES A STOCK SPEECH BLAMING S&P…OUR FIGHTING WARS…THE JAPANESE TSUNAMI…YOU NAME IT…IT WAS IN THERE. DID HE ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY AT ALL? NO…HIS SHILL, DAVID AXELROD SAID IT WAS THE TEA PARTY….PLAIN OLD B.S………I MAY VOTE THE TEA PARTY LINE JUST TO GET EVEN WITH THE SHAKESPEAREAN COMEDY ACT WE ARE WATCHING…….ALL OF THIS, MR. CAMERON TOILS IN LONDON WHILE MR. OBAMA PACKS HIS SUITCASE FOR AN EXENDED BUS TRIP IN CRUCIAL ELECTION STATES AND HOPEFULLY FINDS A MINUTE OR TWO TO COME UP WITH HIS OWN ‘RECOMMENDATIONS’ TO SOLVE OUR FINANCIAL MESS…………LORDY,LORDY, I WISH IT WAS ELECTION DAY…..ANYBODY..ANYBODY BUT WHO WE HAVE NOW.
Posted by: justj joey | August 9, 2011, 11:33 am 11:33 am
I WISH IT WAS ELECTION DAY…..ANYBODY..ANYBODY BUT WHO WE HAVE NOW.
Posted by: justj joey | Aug 9, 2011 11:33:37 AM
It’s election day in Wisconsin.
I agree… get rid of the Republicans in office.
Out!
Posted by: Kimberly | August 9, 2011, 11:44 am 11:44 am
Obama-Biden_Geithner 2101…..I never said tomorrow & it could have been worse.
Posted by: pauldia | August 9, 2011, 12:04 pm 12:04 pm
KIMBERLY….now I guess I have to offer reading instructions to some folks, don’t I? I will draw you a picture next time….sorry ’bout that.
Posted by: justj joey | August 9, 2011, 12:22 pm 12:22 pm
Jill,I would match my education against yours any day.The fact that you use “charts” instead of grafts or diagrams reveals that you don’t have any idea what the diagrams state.I certainly can read grafts-I’ve published them.
Posted by: Nephron | Aug 1, 2011 5:03:03 PM
Nephron, they’re called ‘graphs’ not ‘grafts’. Your ‘education’ is revealing itself.
Posted by: Jill | August 9, 2011, 1:13 pm 1:13 pm
“Your ‘education’ is revealing itself.”
Posted by: Jill | Aug 9, 2011 1:13:33 PM
If you’re so smart, why aren’t you wealthy?
Posted by: Chuck | August 9, 2011, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm
Posted by: justj joey | Aug 9, 2011 12:22:59 PM
I’ll draw you one: Residents in six Wisconsin state Senate districts are voting today in the nation’s largest ever group of recall elections.
Buyer’s remorse.
Posted by: Kimberly | August 9, 2011, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
Who needs reason when appealing to identity polics is much more rewarding thanks to the sheep who only listen and take in thoughts and opinions that are selected for them. If you give man dominion over you, guess what you are a SLAVE! Now cheering your slavery, that makes you nearly sub human. Human race…have some pride and enough self respect to get OFF your KNEES! Beck aint the answer, Obama aint the answer… The only one you will find will have to come, not from outsiders or the government, but (GULP) your own damn selves…
Posted by: HAHA | August 9, 2011, 5:03 pm 5:03 pm
It is amazing to me that far-right, tea party types actually think a country as large as ours, in these modern times can ever go back to the wild-west days of every man for himself, or that the majority of people would want to.
And they can hypocritically claim that our nation is based on Christian values but refuse to see that the poor can’t be helped by charity alone thoroughly. That we need rules like minimum wage and worker safety rules so unscrupulous employers won’t take advantage of anyone. And we need food inspectors and clean drinking water and safe bridges, not to mention police and firemen and EMT’s etc. all of which need to be organized by someone paid for by all of us, our government.
Time and again we’ve seen when private companies are left to their own devices, their greed hurts us individually or as a group, healthwise, financially or economically.
Posted by: Lydia | August 10, 2011, 11:33 am 11:33 am
LMAO, but at least we have a health care plan…. This president, if you would even call him one, is a total failure and these liberals are too stupid to realize it! It is pathetic how they worship him as if he did something and follow him as if he is GOING to do something. When we said change, we didn’t mean to take the last of it.
Posted by: Larry | August 15, 2011, 1:35 am 1:35 am