Mitch McConnell on Obama: He sounds like he’s ‘running for a third term’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell chastised President Obama during an interview on “60 Minutes” on CBS, saying the White House chief’s speech during the State of the Union gave him pause for one somewhat shocking reason — that his tone seemed as if he were launching another run for the executive office.

“My first thought was it sounded like he was running for a third term,” Mr. McConnell said, The Hill reported. “He seemed to have completely forgotten or chose to ignore the election last November” that put a Republican majority in the Senate.

House Speaker John Boehner, meanwhile, expressed disappointment about the lack of an “olive branch” from Mr. Obama toward the Republican majority.

“You know, the president could have, with the State of the Union, just put out an olive branch, could’ve taken just a little bit different tone that would’ve indicated to us that there’s some interest in working with us,” he said during the same sit-down interview with CBS, The Hill reported. “I can tell you, we’re interested in working with him.”

But not on all issues — not on ones that Republicans see as damaging to Americans, Mr. McConnell suggested.

“We added more debt during the Obama years than all the presidents from George Washington down to George Bush,” he said, The Hill reported. “And giving away free tuition strikes me as something we can’t afford.”