I’m aware I’m not partial to his ideology and leadership style, but he’s my president and he disappointed me yet again in Michigan yesterday. What Barack Obama did to Pete Hoekstra — a sitting congressman — just seems unnecessary, below-the-belt, and classless.

Here’s the Washington Post write-up:

Obama inserted himself into one Michigan race Thursday, taking a shot at Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Obama welcomed Hoekstra during his opening remarks at the car battery plant here. At the same moment, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs sent a note to reporters pointing out Hoekstra as a “great quote opportunity!” in the audience. Hoekstra has been a vocal critic of the stimulus package — which provided funding for projects like the battery plant.
“There are some folks who want to go back, who think we should return to the policies that helped to lead to this recession,” Obama said later in his comments honoring an advanced car battery factory being built by the company LG Chem. “Some made the political calculation that it’s better to obstruct than lend a hand. They said no to the tax cuts, they said no to small-business loans, they said no to clean-energy projects. It doesn’t stop them from coming to ribbon-cuttings — but that’s okay.”

It raises Hoekstra’s profile, of course, when the president takes the time to be snippy about him. But I think Congressman Hoekstra might just be the kinda guy who would have been happier if the president had been a little more presidential instead.