We are bitter clingers to guns and religion, we are too reptilian-minded to understand his plans, we let fear overwhelm our intelligence, and Valerie Jarrett said that the Obama team should try talking in simpler terms (you know....because we are dumb ).

Good lord. Is The One starting to direct some of the same condescending nonsense he aimed at voters during the campaign back at ... his own base? This sounds a bit like his now infamous stump speech about people not thinking clearly in preferring the GOP.

"I know that there's some folks who are angry about it," he said. "They are confused about the extensions on the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and there are policy and political objections. Some people are saying, ‘Well, did we fight hard enough for our position? Did we position ourselves properly on this?'"

The president said the bottom line is the votes weren't there.

"We put up the best and smartest fight that we could under the circumstances. That means without 60 votes in the Senate," the president said, "not a single Republican would support our position in the Senate, and as a consequence we could not get the 60 vote we needed to overcome their filibuster."