Obama says we are 'right to be concerned' but to focus on 'hope.' WE'RE TRYING.

After a prolonged period of silence, former President Barack Obama spoke at a Democratic National Committee Fundraiser in California last night and offered a few words of wisdom.

"You are right to be concerned," Obama said. As Politico reported, he cautioning the crowd: "Do not wait for the perfect message, don’t wait to feel a tingle in your spine because you’re expecting politicians to be so inspiring and poetic and moving that somehow, 'OK, I’ll get off my couch after all and go spend the 15-20 minutes it takes for me to vote."

Obama told donors and organizers in the crowd to focus their energy on one emotion -- hope.

“All these people that are out here kvetching and wringing their hands and stressed and anxious and constantly watching cable TV and howling at the moon, ‘What are we going to do?,’ their hair’s falling out, they can’t sleep,” Obama said. “The majority of the American people prefer a story of hope. A majority of the American people prefer a country that comes together rather than being divided. The majority of the country doesn’t want to see a dog-eat-dog world where everybody is angry all the time."

Thanks, Obama? Though far easier said than done.

You can read more of his comments here.