http://twitter.com/#!/markknoller/status/212295107142098945

In one of his many local interviews today, President Obama was asked about his absence from Wisconsin in the run-up to last Tuesday’s recall election.

Here’s what he had to say:

WBAY reporter Matt Smith: I’d like to ask you about Wisconsin’s recall election. There are a lot of Democrats that are upset you didn’t campaign for Tom Barrett.

President Obama: The truth of the matter is that as President of the United States, I’ve got a lot of responsibilities.

As you may recall, this was a pretty important election — and one whose result certainly provoked some unhinged  reactions from Governor Walker’s opponents!  As it turns out, the main “responsibilities” the president was dealing with during the days and weeks leading up to the election were the soirees and fundraisers he was attending in Middle American locales like Beverly Hills and Manhattan.

Obama had 13 fundraisers in the two weeks before #WIrecall. 9 in four days prior. http://t.co/mVzg7xqk

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) June 11, 2012

#Priorities #DoingFine RT @ZekeJMiller: Obama had six fundraisers on the Friday before #WIRecall, 3 on night before. http://t.co/iuGBZH1d

— Brittany Cover (@bccover) June 11, 2012

The short version of Obama’s answer caught Twitter’s attention, and spawned a new hashtag: #ObamasTooBusy.

Election that determines the future of public sector unions? #ObamasTooBusy

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) June 11, 2012

http://twitter.com/earlybyrdsworm/statuses/212331315821940738

As it turns out, there are quite a few other things folks can think of that Obama has blown off:

He was going to verify that private sector is #DoingFine but #ObamasTooBusy

— Darren Schachenmeyer (@dschachenmeyer) June 11, 2012

Create a real budget or dinner with Sarah Jessica Parker #ObamasTooBusy

— Big Brother Watching (@alphaplusmale) June 11, 2012

Ouch! It’s almost like people think the president has better things to do than hobnobbing with Hollywood’s deep-pocketed elite!  What else is he too busy to deal with?

#ObamasTooBusy taking credit for things Navy SEALS do

— Michi I. (@michi83) June 11, 2012

Come up with a budget that could possibly get a single upvote in the House? #ObamasTooBusy

— Mark McClain (@MarkMMcClain) June 11, 2012

Sorry about that whole median household income dropping over the last year #ObamasTooBusy

— Michi I. (@michi83) June 11, 2012

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2012/06/11/obama-responsibilities-kept-me-away-from-wisc-recall-election/