Obama sympathizes with ‘Occupy’ protesters: They feel separated from government

• Tweet
• 
• 

• Tweet

Barack Obama told ABC News on Tuesday that he understood the frustration being expressed by the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters.

“In some ways, they’re not that different from some of the protests that we saw coming from the Tea Party,” he said. “Both on the left and the right, I think people feel separated from their government. They feel that their institutions aren’t looking out for them.”

“The most important thing we can do right now is those of us in leadership letting people know that we understand their struggles and we are on their side, and that we want to set up a system in which hard work, responsibility, doing what you’re supposed to do, is rewarded,” Obama continued. “And that people who are irresponsible, who are reckless, who don’t feel a sense of obligation to their communities and their companies and their workers that those folks aren’t rewarded.”

The President previously said that the ongoing “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations were proof people wanted to see tighter financial regulations. He has been sympathetic with the protesters, but has not endorsed the movement.

Organizers maintain that the “99 Percent” movement is not partisan. Yet, much to their disappointment, support for the demonstration has been mostly split along partisan lines.

Watch video, courtesy of ABC News, below: