(CNN) – U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., has apologized for calling President Obama “idiotic” while recently speaking to a group of voters.
“That was absolutely stepping over the line and I apologized,” Walsh told CNN’s Wolf Bliter on “The Situation Room.” ”He’s not an idiot, he is the president of the free world.”
“What I meant to say,” said Walsh, “and I didn’t say it very artfully, is the notion of him using his office to call a joint session of Congress to just repackage a few old jobs ideas – that to me is idiotic.”
In a statement, Walsh announced that he would not attend Obama’s address to Congress.
“To me this is nothing but a political move by this president and I simply didn’t want to be a pawn in this political theater,” the congressman said.
The White House has said the president will lay out a new jobs plan that he intends to submit to Congress following the speech.
Walsh said, “I would rather go home … and talk to small businessmen and women and find out from them what we need to do about this economy. And I will bring those ideas back to the president.”
