Country First

President Obama came to my home state today...to a little town of about 4,000 people between the Twin Cities and Rochester named Cannon Falls. And here was his message.

So there were a bunch of things taking place over the last six months that were not within our control. But here’s the thing -- the question is, how do we handle these challenges? Do we rise to the occasion? Do we pull together? Do we make smart decisions? And what’s been happening over the last six months -- and a little bit longer than that if we’re honest with ourselves -- is that we have a political culture that doesn’t seem willing to make the tough choices to move America forward.

We’ve got a willingness to play partisan games and engage in brinksmanship that not only costs us in terms of the economy now, but also is going to place a burden on future generations. And the question is, can we break out of that pattern? Can we break out of that pattern?...

Now, we can’t have patience with that kind of behavior anymore. I know you’re frustrated, and I’m frustrated, too. We’ve got to focus on growing this economy, putting people back to work, and making sure that the American Dream is there not just for this generation but for the next generation...

So here’s the bottom line: Obviously, with the markets going up and down last week and this downgrade, a lot of folks were feeling a little anxious and distressed and feeling like, boy, we’ve been working so hard over the last two and a half years to get this economy back out of recession, and some folks worry that we might be slipping back. I want all of you to understand: There is nothing that we’re facing that we can’t solve with some spirit of America first; a willingness to say, we’re going to choose party -- we’re going to choose country over party, we’re going to choose the next generation over the next election. If we are willing to do that, then I have absolutely no doubt that we can get this economy going again, we can put people to work back again, small businesses can start growing again. But I’m going to need your help to make it happen. You’ve got to send a message to Washington that it’s time for the games to stop. It’s time to put country first. It is time for the games to stop.

(Emphasis mine)