President Obama emphasized yesterday that the lack of any election in his future liberates him to pursue his agenda as he likes — and that this freedom has affected his fiscal cliff negotiation strategy.

“And one of the nice things about never having another election again, I will never campaign again, is, you know, I think you can rest assure that all I care about is making sure that I leave behind an America that is stronger, more prosperous, you know, more stable, more secure than it was when I came into office,” Obama told David Gregory on Meet the Press.

“I think that the issue that we’re dealing with right now in the fiscal cliff is a prime example of it,” he continued. “What I’m arguing for are maintaining tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans. I don’t think anybody would consider that some liberal left wing agenda.” He’s also arguing for tax increases on the wealthy.

Obama’s remark about never having another election seems to echo his notorious comment to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev during a March meeting in Korea.

“This is my last election,” Obama said as they discussed missile defense disagreements. “After my election I have more flexibility.”