NEW YORK (AP) ? President Barack Obama says the public deserves better than what it’s getting from Washington and that people are beginning to realize they need to speak up to get it.
Obama told wealthy donors in Manhattan on Thursday that people think folks in Washington are from outer space because they refuse to work together for the good of the country. He says people are realizing they’re going to have to get engaged to get results.
The president delivered a sterner version of the message earlier Thursday at a battery-making plant in Michigan. It was his first official trip outside Washington since spending weeks negotiating on the debt.
A few celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Jimmy Fallon, were among the approximately 50 people who paid $35,800 to attend the fundraiser.