WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama welcomed the nation's governors to the White House on Sunday night, joking that the black-tie dinner shared some of the qualities of the Academy Awards taking place in Hollywood.
"I know some of you may be confused and think this is the Oscars," Obama said to laughter. "There are some similarities. First of all, everybody looks spectacular. And the second is this: If I speak too long, the music will start playing."
Obama welcomed the governors - many of them newly elected Republicans who rode November's wave to power - and urged collaboration.
"Our goal has to be to find ways to find common ground to work together. And I am confident we can do that moving forward," Obama said.
The governors, in town for weekend National Governors Association meetings, planned to return to the White House on Monday to meet with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other administration officials. On Friday, Obama met privately with the Democrats; Monday's bipartisan affair will be open to reporters.
"Know that you've got a partner here in the White House," the president said Sunday. "If you look around the room, we come from a lot of different parts of the country and people may have different perspectives. But one thing that we all absolutely share is the belief in the American Dream and the confidence that when our people get opportunities, they've got the ingenuity, the stick-to-it-iveness and the drive to succeed."
But Obama acknowledged the governors were on the front lines and often received the brunt of the criticism.
"The thing about governors is that you're in charge and people know where to find you, and they expect you to help them in tough times," he said.
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