President Obama had the opportunity to extol a bipartisan deal. He could have made the speech in the company of Democratic and Republican leaders and thanked them publicly for coming to a compromise. He could have noted that neither party got all they wanted, but in the end compromised for the good of the American people. It would have set a great tone for working together in the years ahead.

Unfortunately, he did not do this. Instead he complained about and attacked the Republicans for not fully agreeing with him. There are and will continue to be disagreements about how this country should go forward. Compromise can be found, but only if both sides are willing to work together. President Obama instead of trying to build such a situation, threw a hissy fit on national television.There was no graciousness in his words, only pettiness. We need better.