Obama's Super Tuesday message to Romney: "Good luck tonight"
As the Republican presidential candidates battle it out for the Republican nomination in ten states on this Super Tuesday, the president has a few words for the Republican front-runner Mitt Romney: "Good luck tonight."
CBS News chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell asked the president to respond to comments by the former Massachusetts governor in which he called Mr. Obama the "most feckless president" since Jimmy Carter and said "hope is not a foreign policy." In response, the president smirked and offered little other than just "Good luck tonight."
A reporter pressed him to expand by asking "No, really?" The president replied by saying "really" amid laughter, and then moved on to the next question.
It was a rare moment of brevity for the often-verbose president who delivered responses to other biting attacks from the Republican field over his policy on Iran.
Despite his lack of comment to O'Donnell's question, Mr. Obama opened the news conference acknowledging the political season.
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As he stepped on to the podium, the president sarcastically remarked, "Now I understand there are some political contests going on tonight, but I though I'd start the day of by taking a few questions, which I'm sure will not be political in nature."
The president did weigh into the Republican presidential battle at other points during the news conference. The president said the Republican candidates are "beating the drums of war" and charged them with tough rhetoric because "those folks don't have a lot of responsibility; they aren't commander-in-chief."
"This is not a game," Mr. Obama said, adding that if they want to advocate for war with Iran, then they should "explain to the American people what they think the costs and benefits would be."
Below, CBS News chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell discusses the key moments from Obama's press conference.