Exit interview: Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.)

After 35 years representing Minnesota constituents in the U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar will empty his office on Capitol Hill at the end of this month. Oberstar currently serves as the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a position he has held since 2007. He is one of dozens of incumbents voted out of office earlier this year during midterm elections. What are his thoughts on the eve of his departure?

Earlier this week, Representative Oberstar sat down with Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich for an exit interview. The outgoing Congressman talked of days earlier in his career in the House when Democrats and Republicans were more easily able to find middle ground.

“There was a real perceptible change at the beginning of this year, in the Republican leadership in the Senate and in the House, to be somewhat less cooperative and more confrontational.”

His words of advice for his remaining colleagues: remember to “serve the greatest public good.”