http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/191291-obama-im-not-a-particularly-ideological-personNovember 25, 2013, 07:09 am
Obama tells donors: 'I'm not a particularly ideological person'
By Rebecca Shabad
President Obama told donors Sunday night that he's not "particularly ideological." He made the comment at one of two Democratic fundraisers he attended in Seattle.
”I’m not a particularly ideological person,” Obama said, according to the White House pool report. “There’s things, some values I feel passionately about.” Those include, he said, making sure “everybody gets a fair shake” and “everybody being treated with dignity or respect, regardless of what they look like or who they are.”
Congress, Obama said, is the “biggest barrier and impediment” to achieving progress. He added that, without politics, there’s strong agreement on how to tackle infrastructure, immigration reform, early childhood education and investing in science and research.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) attended the event, and Obama said she’s “soon-to-be speaker again.”
“More than anything, what we’re looking for is not the defeat of another party, what we’re looking for is the advancement of ideas,” he said. “But to do that we’re going to need Nancy Pelosi as speaker because there’s a lot of work to be done right now.”
At the event, Obama also acknowledged Washington Democratic Reps. Rick Larsen, Susan DelBene and Derek Kilmer, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), and New York Rep. Steve Israel, who serves as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Obama spoke for about 10 minutes at the fundraiser, which was held at the home of Jon Shirley, the former president of Microsoft.
The president continues on to San Francisco Monday for more fundraisers, and is expected to address immigration reform.