Jillian Rayfield January 4, 2011, 9:59 AM

President Obama said this morning that he hopes Republicans “realize that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012.”

Obama spoke to the press on board Air Force One on the way back from his trip to Hawaii, and CNN reports that he said: “My hope is that John Boehner and Mitch McConnell will realize that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012. And that our job this year is to make sure that we build on recovery.”

“They are going to play to their base for a certain period of time,” Obama continued. “But I’m pretty confident that they’re going to recognize that our job is to govern and make sure that we are delivering jobs for the American people and that we are creating a competitive economy for the 21st Century.”

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