Obama: “I screwed up.”

In the wake of the Daschle Debacle, President Obama made the top-shelf media rounds today and repeated a simple message: “I screwed up.”

Yeah, that’s exactly what he told NBC’s Brian Williams. “I’ve got to own up to my mistake,” Obama said, saying he was frustrated with himself and his team in how it handled the revelations around Daschle’s tax issues. Funny thing about responsibility, the O said. When you make mistakes, you’ve got to own up to them.

Moments later, Williams was before the home crowd on MSNBC waxing about how saying “I screwed up” — or “taking responsibility” as it is known in polite company — is something that never was heard from over the previous eight years by the previous White House tenant — and especially not by his top henchman. Not even for a poorly executed occupation of Iraq or federal government’s Katrina response or anything.

So Team Obama successfully — at least in friendlier circles — blunted the bad news of the morning (Daschle pulling out) by making news. Yeah, yeah, Daschle’s out. But the president of the United States just ADMITTED SCREWING UP. Roll tape.

CNN

“I screwed up … yes, just like I told Brian Williams.”

Listen to the O tell CNN’s Anderson Cooper that: “Ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics. And I don’t want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards, one for powerful people, and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes.”

Cooper replied: “Do you feel you’ve lost some of that moral high ground which you set for yourself on day one with the …”

Said the O: “Well, you know, I think this was a mistake. I think I screwed up. And, you know, I take responsibility for it and we’re going to make sure we fix it so it doesn’t happen again.”

Posted By: Joe Garofoli (Email) |
February 03 2009 at 04:03 PM