Obama More Patient Than Bible's Job, Says Pelosi
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi praised President Barack Obama’s demeanor during debt limit negotiations with congressional leaders this week, saying his patience was greater than that of Job in the Bible.
Pelosi made her complimentary remark during a press briefing on Thursday.
“I want to commend the president – I have never seen – Job is no place compared to this president in terms of patience,” Pelosi said at the press briefing. “He [Job] doesn’t even begin because this president has demonstrated a level of patience, not only during the meetings but as respect, respectful of the suggestions that are made by all parties at the meeting, in his preparation for the meeting, and his coming back to address concerns that are expressed by others.”
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The tension levels from both sides of the aisle have been high as congressional leaders try and decide whether or not they can compromise on the issues of taxes on individuals and businesses, government spending, and entitlement programs.
Pelosi is apparently tired of the debt limit meetings taking away from other matters and said she is amazed at Obama’s ability to stay engaged.
“Day in and day out, the president has respectfully listened, accommodated, engaged in conversation in a very informed way and he is the president of the United States,” she said. “I know he’s busy. I myself am almost too busy to continue listening to some of the things that are going on in that room. So I know he must be very busy. But he has treated everyone there with great dignity. The only thing I hope he doesn’t ask us to do is go to Camp David. That goes beyond the pale.”
Pelosi then added that Camp David should be a place of study for the president and not be a place to hold debt limit negotiations.
The common expression, “having the patience of Job,” comes from the Bible’s Book of Job, where it details Job’s refusal to condemn God when his family and his livestock were destroyed. Job went from being a rich man to having nothing overnight. Job began having conversations with God and saw the error in his ways. He sought forgiveness and everything was restored.
