Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) said Thursday that he won't challenge President Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2012, despite his and other Democrats' recent frustrations with the White House.
When Kucinich was asked on ABC's "Good Morning America" if he had plans to run for president in 2012, the Ohio Congressman responded "no," and said that Democrats instead had to "focus on coming together."
Tensions flared recently when White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs attacked the so-called "professional left," saying, among other criticisms, that they "wouldn't be satisfied" if the liberal Dennis Kucinich was in control of the White House.
Kucinich said that he didn't take personal offense to Gibbs's statements, but that they were a sign of a larger misunderstanding by the White House.
"I think that Mr. Gibbs and the White House need to realize that liberals support the president but the criticism is really a measure of hopes that have not been realized," Kucinich said. "We have to do something about the joblessness, its a key issue. And until the Administration effectively addresses that, than those of us who call ourselves liberals are going to continue to insist that we should be talking about a full-employment economy, we should be getting America back to work."
Kucinich continued, clarifying that his "criticism is really about hopes that have not yet been realized, and the intention to make sure they get realized while we have a president that we do want to support."
Watch Kucinich on "Good Morning America":