President Obama’s Poetic Moment: Channeling Ted Kennedy, Inspired By Bobby

It happened. Last question, the President gave us a glimpse of his core values. And it was the best moment, by far, of President Obama’s press conference today:

“My job is to make sure that we have a North Star out there: What is helping the American people live out their lives; what is giving them more opportunity; what is growing the economy; what is making us more competitive. And at any given juncture, there are going to be times where my preferred option, what I’m absolutely positive is right, I can’t get done. And so then the question is, does it make sense for me to tack a little bit this way or tack a little bit that way, because I’m keeping my eye on the long term, and the long fight. Not my day-to-day news cycle, but where am I going over the long term. And I don’t think there’s a single Democrat out there who if they looked where we started when we came into office, and look at where we are now, would say that we have not moved in the direction that I promised … And so to my Democratic friends, what I suggest is, let’s make sure that we understand this is a long game. It is not a short game.”

Robert F. Kennedy, our North Star. Nicely done, Mr. President.*

“And then the full darkness descends. Seldom is there another boat in sight. And that is the truly magical time of sailing, because the North Star appears: the North Star, which has been the guiding star for all seamen through time. The North Star guides you through the evening. Its light is the most definite thing you can see on the surface of the dark water. And so you have the North Star, and the sound and swell of the shifting water. And sometimes the fog will come in and you must go by the compass for a period. But you are always waiting to see the North Star again, because it is the guide to home port; it is the guide to home. And so the voyage becomes all-inclusive; you are enveloped in the totality of it: you are a part of the beginning, you are a part of the end. You are a part of the ship and a part of the sea. I gazed at the night sky often on those voyages, and thought of Bobby.”

Senator Ted Kennedy, True Compass

* Even if we believe the President tacked too far to the right and lost the wind at his sails. But at least we applaud the sentiment.