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Anyone who really puts country ahead of personal ambition wouldn’t even be thinking about reelection a fortnight after taking office. I’m pretty sure that, in 1789, George Washington wasn’t all that concerned about the election of 1792. Ditto for Ronald Reagan shortly after he took office in 1981. To him, 1984 was just the title of a book, not an upcoming election year.

Anyone who really puts country ahead of personal ambition wouldn’t even be thinking about reelection a fortnight after taking office.

Totally agree. This isn't the first time he's said this. Here's a snippet from Major Garrett, January 23, Obama Says His View on Taxes Prevailed Because 'I Won' reporting on the first meeting with Republicans at the white house

....Obama explained that lawmakers were closer together than the public realized on the stimulus package but warned of pitfalls if Congress and the White House don't work together. Again, according to participants in the meeting, Obama said this about rising above typical partisan differences: "We're all political animals, we've all got political bases," the president is reported to have said. "If we don't get this done we (the Democrats) could lose seats and I could lose re-election. But we can't let people like Rush Limbaugh stall this. That's how things don't get done in this town."