Watching this makes you wonder why in the world John McCain seems to be pining for a rematch:
For more swattage, see Muzikal203's recommended diary Getting Smacked Down By the POTUS. . . Priceless.
Transcript below the fold.
QUESTION: Were you influenced at all by John McCain and Lindsey Graham accusing you of being timid and weak?
MR. OBAMA: What do you think?
(LAUGHTER)
Look, the — you know, I think John McCain has genuine passion about many of these international issues. And, you know, I think that all of us share a belief that we want justice to prevail.
But only I’m the president of the United States. And I’ve got responsibilities in making certain that we are continually advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool to be exploited by other countries.
I mean, you guys must have seen the reports. They’ve got some of the comments that I’ve made being mistranslated in Iran, suggesting that I’m telling rioters to go out and riot some more. There are reports suggesting that the CIA is behind all this. All of which patently false. But it gives you a sense of the narrative that the Iranian government would love to play into.
So the — you know, members of Congress, they’ve got their constitutional duties, and I’m sure they will carry them out in the way that they think is appropriate. I’m president of the United States, and I’ll carry out my duties as I think are appropriate.
...
And so I think that in the hothouse of Washington, there may be all kinds of stuff going back and forth in terms of Republican critics versus the administration.
That’s not what is relevant to the Iranian people. What’s relevant to them right now is are they going to have their voices heard. And, you know, frankly, a lot of them aren’t paying a lot of attention to what’s being said on Capitol Hill and probably aren’t spending a lot of time thinking about what’s being said here.
They’re trying to figure out how can they make sure justice is served in Iran.