Obama jabs at media for furthering coarsened rhetoric

President Obama made some pointed jabs toward the very media outlets on which he appeared Sunday, blaming them in part for a coarsened political debate nationally.

The president called for cooler heads to prevail when it comes to political discussion, blaming media outlets for giving voice to the most outrageous claims about him and his legislative priorities.

"You know, and the other thing I've got to say is, is that I think it's important for the media -- you know, not to do any media-bashing here -- to recognize that right now, in this 24-hour news cycle, the easiest way to get on CNN is or FOX or any of the other stations -- MSNBC -- is to just say something rude and outrageous," Obama said during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union with John King."

The president pushed for a more temperate national debate, especially in the wake of Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-S.C.) now infamous "You lie!" outburst toward Obama during the president's joint session address to Congress earlier this month.

"The one thing I hope is, is that we can have a civil argument about it and that we are able to acknowledge good motives on both sides," Obama said during his appearance on ABC. "Everybody is a patriot. Each of us are Americans that care deeply about this country."

"If you're just being sensible and giving people the benefit of the doubt, and you're making your arguments, you don't get time on the nightly news," the president added.