Obama's new opponent: 'Broken' politics

President Obama has a new 2012 opponent, it would seem: A "broken" political system.
The president did not go after Republicans specifically in some scathing remarks yesterday, but instead focused on "partisanship" and "gridlock" in Washington as barriers to economic recovery, and a big issue in his 2012 re-election bid.
"When I ran in 2008, I think that a lot of folks believed we elect Obama and suddenly we're going to fix politics in Washington," Obama told campaign donors last night in New York City.
But now, facing a Republican House since the 2010 elections, Obama has dealt with a near-shutdown of the government, the debt ceiling standoff and near-default, the credit rating downgrade, and continuing public frustration over unemployment and the economy generally.
"Democracy is messy, and it's tough, and our system is broken to a large degree," Obama said. "And that makes this election more important than 2008."
Obama said his election "put us in a position to do some extraordinary things, and I can't be prouder of what we did. But in 2008, I also think everybody figured, we get through this one election and then it's all done."
Earlier in the day, in a speech about clean energy in Michigan, the president criticized what he called "the refusal of some folks in Congress to put the country ahead of party."
"There are some in Congress right now who would rather see their opponents lose than see America win," Obama said. "And that has to stop. It's got to stop. We're supposed to all be on the same team, especially when we're going through tough times."
Of course, some Republicans think Obama himself is part of the problem.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama spending programs, particularly the heath care plan, are hampering the economy. He also said Obama created the debt ceiling impasse by insisting on tax increases to reduce the debt, saying that would cost jobs.
After Obama's anti-partisanship comments in Michigan, Boehner said the president "likes to talk about being the adult in the room -- but there's nothing adult about political grandstanding."
Expect Obama to talk more about "broken" politics in the month ahead, as he prepares a 2012 campaign against the Republicans "about competing visions about where we're going to take the country."
"I hope you guys aren't tired because we've got a lot more work to do," Obama said. "And this is an ongoing project."