The Tea Party movement makes President Obama laugh.
Obama told Florida Democrats that his administration was responsible for “25 different [tax] cuts last year.
“So I’ve been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies about taxes,” he said.
“You would think that they would be saying ‘Thank you.’ ”
The president made his comments Thursday night in Miami while thousands of Tea Party demonstrators rallied across from the White House to protest Tax Day.
Obama listed the 25 cuts he took credit for.
“And one thing we haven’t done is raise income taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year — another promise that we kept,” he said.
But he acknowledged, “The true measure of our progress is the progress that the American people feel in their lives, and there’s still a lot of hurt there.”
The president shrugged off predictions that the Democrats are headed toward disaster in the November elections because of sinking poll numbers.
“One of the great things about running for president is it gives you a little perspective because you realize that these things go in cycles, the mood of the media and how things get portrayed,” he said.
“And so you’re a genius for about a month, and then you’re an idiot for about six months.
“Then, you know, you’re smart again . . . you’re not as smart as you were, but you’re a little smarter than they thought you were — then you’re an idiot again.”
Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton warned of a slippery slope from angry anti-government rhetoric to violence like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, saying “the words we use really do matter.”
Speaking on the 15th anniversary of the bombing, Clinton alluded to the Tea Party movement, saying, “By all means keep fighting, by all means, keep arguing.”
* “But remember, words have consequences as much as actions do, and what we advocate, commensurate with our position and responsibility, we have to take responsibility for. We owe that to Oklahoma City,” Clinton added.