Obama Cracks Joke about Sequester in Illinois

The Blaze - Jason Howerton

President Barack Obama and his administration have been harshly criticized by Republicans and conservative commentators for allegedly using scare-tactics when warning about the harmful effects of the sequester.

Regardless of how dangerous the president actually thinks the sequester is, he was comfortable enough with the implications to crack a joke about it during a speech on energy policy in Illinois on Friday.

Speaking before a supportive crowd that had yet to sit down at the Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill., Obama inserted some sequester-themed humor.

“I wasn’t sure everybody had chairs there,” he said. “Please feel free to sit down. I’m sorry. Everybody was standing. I thought Argonne — you know, one of the effects of the sequester, you had to get rid of chairs.”

The crowd apparently thought the joke was hilarious.