Obama to Clinton: Thanks for the Support and the Memories

President Obama on Wednesday eschewed Republican distaste for his jobs plan, deferring instead to another opinion.

"I appreciate President Clinton's strong support of this plan over the weekend," Obama said in remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York City.

"And the reason that that's important is because he knows a good jobs plan when he sees it. He created more jobs in his tenure than just about anybody."

On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Clinton threw his support behind Mr. Obama's "American Jobs Act."

Citing economic analysts' predictions of economic growth if the plan is passed, Clinton said, "Unemployment will drop a percent, maybe more than a percent lower than it otherwise would. It looks to me like that's a good thing for America. But I -- I doubt that the -- that the Republicans want it to happen in 2012. But it's the right thing to do."

However, at least one GOP-er read Clinton's overall take on the bill differently.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va) issued a press release Wednesday proclaiming, "President Clinton is right, now is not the time to raise taxes and we ought to be working together to produce results and get people working again...I hope President Obama will heed the advice of President Clinton and drop his demand for one of the largest tax increases in American history," Cantor said, referring to President Obama's call for leveraging higher taxes on the rich.

But the Obama jobs pitch continued to center around Clinton's support.

"We can create jobs now and invest in our future, and still tackle our long-term debt problems. Don't tell Bill Clinton it can't be done. He did it," Mr. Obama said.

"We were able to live within our means, invest in our future, and ask everyone to pay their fair share."

President Obama also took the time in his remarks to observe that the non-political grass can be a lot greener for former commanders in chief. Referring to the ensuing battle over jobs and cutting the deficit, he noted, "I have to say that I do envy President Clinton because when you're out of Washington, it turns out that you're just dealing with people who are reasonable all the time," Mr. Obama said to laughter.

Lest his comments signal the president is ready to give in and settle for one term, the president closed with a coy smile and the line, "Thank you to all of you who are participating in CGI. You are doing the Lord's work. And I can assure you that you will continue to have a partner in the Obama administration for what I expect to be years to come."