Solange adds to the discourse surrounding Bill Murray amid ‘Being Mortal’ scandal
It was a rainy, cloudy day in New York City when President Barack Obama took the stage at Madison Square Garden for a speech meant to promote healthcare reform.
And there he was in the middle of the crowd dressed in a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and a pair of leather chaps.
His speech was supposed to be about healthcare for seniors, but the president took a different tone at the end and addressed the political future of his own administration. Rather than making the case for reform, Obama talked about what it would take to keep him in the White House.
“I never pretended to be a crusader for progressive causes,” he began. “I’m not a firebrand or even a Democrat. I’m a pragmatist, and I don’t want to sound like I’m always voting with the left. But I just want to make clear that the reason I’m in office is because I earned it. I don’t owe it to anyone to use force to get my way. I don’t owe it to the American people to make them choose between coverage and the cost of that coverage.”
He concluded by saying he wasn’t going to let the country “fall into the trap of arguing about politics.”
“I don’t care if you’re right or I’m right,” he said. “I think you’re going to be in office for a long time. I don’t know what the end game is for you, that’s not my job. If you’re going to be in office long-term it’s up to you. And I don’t care if it’s right, I don’t care about how much money it costs, what do you think?”
There is a point here, and it’s a key one: There is a line of thought in which the president can be judged and, ultimately, even punished, for actions that others take