Obama Startles, Admits: 'No I Can't!'

“Eyebrow-Raising Concession” … “Worst Gaffe” … “Scuttled His Hope-And-Change Campaign” … “A Pretty Disappointing Lesson”

BuzzFeed’s Zeke Miller: “The Admission Also Seemed To Undercut A Central Premise Of His 2008 Election… Reinforces The Perception That Obama Could Not Accomplish What He Set Out To Do.” “But the admission also seemed to undercut a central premise of his 2008 election, and even to raise questions about the urgency of re-electing the president. The comment reinforces the perception that Obama could not accomplish what he set out to do.” (BuzzFeed, 9/20/12)

Politico’s Jonathan Martin: “Eyebrow-Raising Concession…” “Romney was alluding to Obama's eyebrow-raising concession that ‘you can't change Washington from the inside’ just about an hour earlier at the Univsion forum in Miami.” (Politico, 9/20/12)

BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith: “Perhaps Obama's Worst Gaffe Since He Met Joe The Plumber…” “‘you can't change Washington from the inside’ is perhaps Obama's worst gaffe since he met Joe the Plumber?” (Twitter.com, 9/20/12)

The Atlantic’s Elspeth Reeve: “President Obama Said He's Learned Some Lessons In The White House, And This One Is A Pretty Disappointing Lesson…” “President Obama said he's learned some lessons in the White House, and this one is a pretty disappointing lesson: ‘The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t change Washington from the inside. You can only change it from the outside.’” (The Atlantic, 9/20/12)

New York Daily News’ Kristen Lee: “A Surprising Admission After Four Years In Office…” “President Obama — who ran his 2008 campaign on the promise of ‘hope and change’ — made a surprising admission after four years in office on Thursday: ‘You can't change Washington from the inside.’” (New York Daily News, 9/20/12)

Politico’s Maggie Haberman: “Not An Especially Helpful Comment For A President Running For Reelection…” “A surprising comment from President Barack Obama, at the Univision forum in Florida earlier, on things he has learned after four years: ‘You can't change Washington from the inside.’ It's a tricky thing to claim outsider status after serving in the White House for four years (and in the Senate before that), after running on a hope and change message, and it is not an especially helpful comment for a president running for reelection with a plea to voters to let him finish the work he began but hasn't closed out.” (Politico, 9/20/12)

Miami Herald’s Marc Caputo: “Under Pressure, Obama At One Point Sounded As If He Scuttled His Hope-And-Change Campaign Of Washington Reform That He Ran On Four Years Ago.” (Miami Herald, 9/20/12)

The Huffington Post: “Should've Chosen His Words More Carefully.” “President Obama -- you know, that incumbent guy -- probably should've chosen his words more carefully when asked at the forum about what he's learned during his presidency.” (“HuffPost Hill - Romney Mired In Womp Womp,” The Huffington Post, 9/20/12)