Obama criticized gerrymandering and joked it’s the reason “why our districts are shaped like earmuffs or spaghetti”.
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The Pauls have had a unique front-row seat on Barack Obama’s journey from IL state senator to president of the United States. That’s a tall order in IL where the Democratic legislature and Republican governor are often at odds.
President Obama will speak on unity and bipartisanship before, ironically, a body that exhibits neither in IL, nor does it in Congress in Washington. Dunkin will face a Madigan-backed opponent, Julianna Stratton, in the March 15 primary.
Even in this rural capital famous for wheeling and dealing among partisans of all demographics, the reality today is a far cry from the hopeful picture Obama presented during his first presidential campaign, when he declared that America is neither red nor blue, and “not as divided as our politics would suggest”.
Obama said he’s heard many lawmakers are proud of refusing to compromise on controversial issues.
“In a big, complicated democracy like ours, if we can’t compromise, by definition, we can’t govern ourselves”, Obama said.
“If 99 percent of us voted it wouldn’t matter how much the one percent spent on elections”. “We’re in one of those moments…We’ve got to build a better politics. Grandiose speeches may help President Obama frame his legacy but they won’t help our state climb out of the hole his party has been digging for decades”.
But that same legislature has changed drastically since Obama left for Washington, D.C.in 2004.
“American politics has never been particularly gentle or high minded, especially not during times of great change”, Obama said. “I have no doubt that a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office”.
That’s something Obama is keenly aware of: “I had to acknowledge that one of my few regrets is my inability to reduce the polarization and meanness in our politics”, he said in his address in the Illinois State House Chamber. “I was able to be part of (reducing) that here and yet couldn’t translate it the way I wanted to into our politics in Washington”.
By his own admission, Obama the president has come up short on his campaign pledge to ease partisanship.
Elected officials will make up the bulk of Obama’s audience along with invited guests, the Illinois House Speaker’s office said.
But as he spoke in a Capitol that has become a prime example of political dysfunction, it was questionable whether Obama’s visit and rhetoric would have any effect on the tone in Springfield.
So there’s more than a hint of irony in Obama’s appeal for Americans to start working together, Illinois Republicans said.
“I think he’s felt the frustration”, Radogno said.
Wedging the political gap that’s widened over his years as president will definitely be easier said that done, which was evident during his speech in the legislator. It is one Obama has repeated throughout his presidency amid miserable relationships with congressional opposition and new levels of gridlock in Washington.
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“This shouldn’t be controversial”, Obama said, noticing the difference in response.
