President Barack Obama pleaded with governors on Monday to help advance his "year of action" on the state level.
Speaking to the nation's governors from both parties, who gathered in Washington throughout the weekend for a series of meetings, Obama said he was interested in partnering with them to advance priorities that might stall in Congress during an election year.
"The point is, even when there's little appetite in Congress to move on some of these priorities, at the state level, you guys are governed by practical considerations," Obama said. "That means that there's less room for posturing and politics and more room for getting stuff done."
The president highlighted some areas on which he could work with governors, and lauded some for acting already to raise the minimum wage, address climate change or expand Medicaid under provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Monday morning's remarks cap a series of meetings and events for the governors, who have mixed in some politics with their official business in the nation's capital this weekend.
Obama didn't let the occasion pass, either, to rib some of the governors who have their eyes on his job come 2016.
"I enjoyed watching some of you with your eyes on higher office size up the drapes -- and each other," he joked.