GOP House Leader Complains That Obama Is Doing Too Much

In November, most Americans voted for change. That term was Obama's mantra.

One of those changes, presumably, was in the level of activity at the White House. After eight years of incompetence by Bush and his cronies, the new Democratic leadership wanted to hit the ground running.

Ah, but too much activity is a bad thing. Just ask House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. Here's how one blog described Cantor's charge:

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) seized on the opportunity to criticize the president Tuesday for over-reaching in his first 50 days on the job.

Following the GOP's weekly conference meeting, the second-ranking House Republican told reporters that President Obama should be focusing on the "economic crisis," as opposed to holding four-hour meetings on healthcare, as the president did last week. The efforts may be laudable, Cantor said, but the White House should be devoting all resources to fixing the economy and not to "impose these cap-and-trade schemes."

And how did President Obama respond? Read it for yourself:

I know there's some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. And they forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad and passed the Homestead Act and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of civil war. Likewise, President Roosevelt didn't have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war; he had to do both. President Kennedy didn't have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don't have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term.

Verdict: Obama 1; Cantor, 0.