Looking back at his first term in office, President Barack Obama said his major mistake was not telling the American people a story and giving them a sense of unity and purpose, the New York Daily News is reporting. During an interview with CBS News, Obama said “the mistake of my first term-couple of years-was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that’s important, but the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people.”
Obama also said that if re-elected to a second term, he would spend more time with Americans, “listening to them and also then being in a conversation with them about where do we go together as a country. I need to do better job of that,” he added.
But Obama’s Republican rival, Mitt Romney, criticized Obama’s words. He wrote in a tweet that “being president is not about telling stories. Being president is about leading, and President Obama has failed to lead.”
Obama fired back at Romney in the interview with CBS News, questioning his tenure at the private equity firm Bain Capital. The president said that he doesn’t think Romney’s experience at Bain disqualifies him to be president. However, it is “entirely appropriate” to examine his business record if Romney is using it as his “main calling card.”
Written by: Karen Benardello
