the tea party will oppose that. how will you work with them? >> we will working that out over the next couple of mons. >>ths. that operated under the 2008 levels of spending before the bailout and the stimulus is a responsible way forward. >> are you going to continue the u-cut program and formalize the relationship with the people on line and your administration in the capital? >> we will continue to talk to the american people every day and we will continue to listen to the american people everyday. programs like america speaking out and u-cut and other programs will be intended to provide the american people a forum and a vehicle to talk to us so that we can in fact was an everyday. >> house republicans have

pledged to repeal the health care reform. do you plan to use the appropriations process to de- fund the reform law? >> i believe the health care bill was enacted by the current congress and will kill jobs in america, role in the best health-care system in the world and bankrupt our country. that means we have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill and replace it with common sense reforms that will bring down the cost felt care. -- will bring down the cost of health care. >> [inaudible] >> i think one of the things that congress has not done a very good job or the last 15 years is real oversight. i'm not talking about gotcha oversight. i'm talking about rock solid

oversight of the executive branch which is a constitutional responsibility of the congress. when it comes to the financial- services bill and the 358 regulatory filings required under that bill, it will require a significant amount of oversight. not only will the congress understand this but the american people understand what this bill will do to our financial services industry. thank you all very much. >> will you answer the question about the perception of the gop? [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [general chatter]

>> later, president obama spoke to reporters at the white house about the congressional elections. this is one hour. >> i told john boehner and mitch mcconnell but i look forward to working with them and i thank nancy pelosi and harry reid for their extraordinary leadership over the last two years. after what i am sure was a long night for a lot of you and may list to say it was for me, i can tell you that some election nights are more fun than others. some are exhilarating, some are humbling but every election,

regardless of who wins and who loses is a reminder that in our democracy, power rests not with those of us in elected office but with the people we have the privilege to serve. over the last few months, i have had the opportunity to travel around the country and the people where they live and where they work from backyards to factory floors. i did some talking but mostly i did a lot of listening. yesterday's vote confirmed what i heard from folks across america. people are frustrated. they are deeply frustrated with the pace of our economic recovery and the opportunities that they hope for their children and their grandchildren for the one job to come back faster. they want paychecks to go further and i want the ability to give their children the same chances and opportunities as they have had in life.

the men and women who sent us here don't expect washington to solve all their problems. they do expect washington to work for them, not against they want to know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely, not wasted. that we will not leave our children a legacy of debt. they want to know that their voices are not being drowned out by ec of lobbyists and special interests and partisan bickering. they want business to be done here openly and honestly. i ran for this office to tackle these challenges and give voice to the concerns of everyday people. over the last two years, we have made progress but clearly, too many americans have not felt that progress is yet. they told us that yesterday. as president, i take responsibility for that. what yesterday also told us is that no one party will be able to dictate where we go from here. we must find common ground in

order to set -- in order to make progress on some uncommonly difficult challenges. i told john boehner and mitch mcconnell last night that i am eager to sit down with members of both parties and figure out how we can move forward together. i am not suggesting this will be easy. i will not pretend that we will be able to bridge every difference or solve every disagreement. there is a reason we have two parties in this country and both democrats and republicans have certain beliefs and certain principles that each feels cannot be compromised. what i think the american people are expecting and what we owe them is to focus on those issues that affect their jobs, their security, and their future, reducing our deficit, are promoting a clean energy economy, making sure that our children are the best educated in the world, making sure we are making the investment in technology that will allow us to

keep our competitive edge in the global economy. the most important contest we face is not the contest between democrats and republicans. in this century, the most important competition we face is between america and our economic competitors around the world. to win the competition and to continue our economic leadership, we will need to be strong and we will need to be united. none of the challenges we face lend themselves to simple solutions are bumper sticker slogans. and nor are the answer is found in any one particular philosophy or ideology. as i have said before, no person, no party has a monopoly on wisdom that is why i am eager to hear good ideas wherever they come from, whoever opposes them. that is why i believe it is important to have an honest and civil debate about the choices we face. that is why i want to engage both democrats and republicans

in serious conversations about where we are going as a nation. with so much at stake, what the american people don't want from us, especially here in washington, is to spend the next two years re-fighting the political battles of the last two. we had an midterm election and we will have another in 2012. i am not so naive to think that people put politics aside until then but i hope to make progress on the very serious problems facing us right now. that will require all of us, including me, to work harder at building consensus. a little over a month ago, we held a town hall meeting in richmond, virginia. one of the most telling questions came from a small- business owner who runs a day tree-care firm party told me how hard he works and how busy he is an alley does that time to pay attention to the back and forth

in washington. he asked," is there hope for us return to civility in our discourse, to a healthy legislative process?" as i strapped on the boots again tomorrow, i know you guys got it under control it is hard to have faith in that right now, he said. i do believe that there is hope for stability. i do believe there is hope for progress. that is because i believe in the resiliency of a nation that has bounced back from much worse than what we're going through now. it is a nation that has overcome war, the depression, that has been made more perfect in our struggle for individual rights and individual freedoms. each time progress has come slowly and even painful but progress has always come. because we worked at it and because we believed in it and

most of all because we remembered that her first allegiance as citizens is not to the party or region or faction but to country. while we may be proud democrats are proud republicans, we are prouder to be americans. that is something we all need to remember right now and in the coming months for it if we do, i no doubt we will continue this nation's long journey toward a better future. with that, let me take some questions. >> are you willing to concede that the election yesterday it was the confirmation of your policies? >> i think there is no doubt

that people's number one concern is the economy. what they were expressing great frustration about is that we have not made enough progress on the economy. we have stabilized the economy. we have job growth in the private-sector but people all across america are not appealing that progress. they don't see it. they understand that i am the president of the united states and that my core responsibility is to make sure we have an economy that is growing and that jobs are being created. i think i have to take direct responsibility for the fact that we have not made as much progress as we need to make. moving forward, the question will be, can democrats and republicans sit down together and come up with a set of ideas that addressed those core concerns?

i am confident that we can. i think there are some areas where it will be difficult for us to a great. i think there will be a whole bunch of areas where we can agree. i don't think there's anybody in america that things we have an energy policy that works the way it needs to. that things we should not be working on energy independence and that gives opportunities for democrats and republicans to come together and think about whether it is natural gas or energy efficiency or how we can build electric cars in this country. how do we move forward on that agenda? i think everybody in this country thinks that we have to make sure our kids are equipped in terms of their education, their science background, their math background to compete in this new global economy. that will be an area where it think there's potential common ground. on a whole range of issues, there will be areas where we disagree.

i think that the overwhelming message that i hear from the voters is that we want everybody to act responsibly in washington, we want you to work harder to arrive at consensus, we want you to focus completely on jobs and the economy and growing it so that we are ensuring a better future for our children and our grandchildren. i think there is no doubt that as i reflect on results of the election, it underscores for me that i have to do a better job just like everybody else in washington does. i think john boehner and i and its mcconnell and harry reid and nancy pelosi will have to sit down and work together because i suspect that if you talk to any individual voter yesterday, they will say that there are some things they agree with on democrats and some things they

agree with on the democrats. republicans. i don't think people carry around a fixed ideology. people are going about their business and want to make sure that we are making progress and that will be my top priority in the next couple of years. >> following up on that, you don't seem to be second-guessing any of the policy decisions you have made. you said the message the voters are sending is frustration with the economy or maybe talk enjoy failure on your part to communicate effectively. if you are not reflecting on your policy agenda, is it possible boaters can conclude that you are still not getting it? >> that was just the first question. we will have a few more gear. i am doing a whole lot of reflecting. i think there will be areas in policy where we will have to do a better job.

i think that over the last two years, we have made a series of very tough decisions but decisions that were right in terms of moving the country forward in an emergency situation where we had the risk of slipping into a second great depression. what is absolutely true is that with all that stuff coming in focus fast and furious, a recovery package, what we had to do with respect to the banks, what we had to do with respect to the oil companies, i think people -- the auto companies, i think people look to this and felt as of governments was getting much more interested in people's lives than they were accustomed to. the reason was is because it was an emergency but it is understandable that folks said to themselves that maybe this is the agenda as opposed to as a

response to an emergency. that is something that i think everybody in the white house understood was a dangerous. we thought it was necessary but i am sympathetic to folks who looked at it and said this is looking like potential over reach. in addition, there are a bunch of pricetags that went with the bat. even though these were emergency situations, people rightly said we have these big deficits already, this is potentially going to compound it and at one point will we get back to a situation where we are dealing with families around the country do which is make sure that if he spends something, you know how to pay for it as opposed to racking up the credit card for the next generation. the other thing that happened is that when i won the election in

2008, one of the reasons i think that people were excited about the campaign was the prospect that we would change how business is done in washington. we were in such a hurry to get things done that we did not change how things got done. i think that frustrated people. i am a strong believer that the earmarking process in congress is not what the american people want to see what it comes to making tough decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent for it by, in the rush to get things done, had to sign a bunch of bills that had earmakrs in it which is contrary to what i talked about. folks look at that and they said this feels like the same partisan squabbling, it seems like the same ways of doing business as happened before.

and so, one of the things that i've got to take responsibility for is not having moved enough on those fronts. i think there is an opportunity to move toward on some of those issues. my understanding is that eric kanter today said he wanted to see a moratorium on earmarks continuing. that is something we can work on together. >> what about the notion that the voters rejected a policy choices you made? >> what i think is absolutely true is that voters are not absolutely satisfied with the outcomes. it right now we had 5% unemployment instead of 9.6%, people would have more confidence in us policy choices. the fact is that for most folks, proof of whether they

work or not is as the economy gone back to where it needs to be and it hasn't. my job is to make sure that i am looking at all ideas that are on the table when it comes to job creation. if republicans have good ideas for job growth that can drive down the unemployment rate and we have not thought of them or have not looked at them but we think they have a chance of working, we want to try them. on the policy front, i think the most important thing is to say that we will not rule out ideas because they are democrat or republican, we want to see what works and ultimately, i will be just as president by the bottom- line results. >> health care -- many

republicans ran against a health care block. some have talked about repealing the law. do you believe that health care reform that you work so hard on is in danger at this point and whether there is a threat as a result of this election? >> i know there are some republican candidates who won last night who feel strongly about it. i am sure this will be an issue that comes up in discussions with the republican leadership. as i said before, we would be misreading the election if we thought they'd the american people want to see us for the next two years re-litigate arguments we had over the last two years. with respect to the health-care law generally and this may go to some of the questions raised before, when i talked to a woman

from new hampshire who does not have to mortgage your house because she got cancer and is seeking treatment but now is able to get health insurance, when i talk to parents who are relieved that their child with a pre-existing condition can now stay on their policy until they are 26 years old and give them time to transition to find a job that will give them health insurance, or the small business is now taking the advantage of the tax credit provided, i say to myself that this was the right thing to do. if the republicans have ideas for how to improve our health care system, if they want to suggest modifications that would deliver faster and more effective reform to our health care system that has been wildly as expensive or too many families, businesses, and our

federal government, i am happy to consider those ideas. for example, one thing that has come up is that the 1099 provision in the health-care bill appears to be too burdensome for small businesses. it involves too much filing. it is probably counterproductive. it was designed to make sure that revenue was raised to help pay for some of the other provisions but it ends up being so much trouble that small businesses find it difficult to manage, that is something we should take a look at. there will be examples where it think we can tweak and make improvements on the progress we have made. that is true for any significant piece of legislation. i don't think that if you ask the american people if we should stop trying to close the doughnut hole that will help senior citizens get prescription

drugs, should we go back to the situation where people with pre- existing conditions cannot tell the health insurance -- cannot get health insurance, should we allow insurance companies to drop your coverage wants to get sick even though you're paying premiums, i know that you have a strong vote from people saying those are provisions i want to eliminate b. >> one out of two voters said they want to see it changed are repealed. well that involve those from the other party? >> it means one out of two voters think is the right thing to do. obviously, this is an issue that has been contentious. what will be useful is for us to go through the issues that republicans have issues on for it not talking generally. let's talk specifics.

this particular provision when it comes to pre-existing conditions, is this something you are for or against attacks helping seniors get the prescription drugs, does that make sense or not? if we take that approach, which is different from campaigning, this is now governing, then i think we can continue to make progress and find some common ground. >> republicans say more than anything else is that this election was about spending and it will be when alfred is over that they will accept anything like a stimulus bill or any proposals you have out there to stimulate job growth through spending. do except that spending to create jobs is dead at this point and if so, what else can government do to create jobs which is the number one issue? >> i think this will be an important question for democrats and republicans.

i think the american people are absolutely concerned about spending and debt and deficits. i will have a deficit commission that is putting forward its ideas. it is a bipartisan group that includes republican and democratic members of congress. hopefully, they were able to arrive at consensus in areas where we can eliminate programs that don't work, cut back on government spending that is inefficient, can streamline government, but is not cutting into the core investments that will make sure that we are a competitive economy that is growing and providing opportunity for years to come. the question that my republican friends and me and democratic leaders will have to answer is, what are our priorities. what do we care about?

that will be a tough debate because there are tough choices here. we already had a big deficit that i inherited and that has been made worse because of the recession. as we bring it down, want to make sure we're not cutting into education, that it will help that we compete around the world. i doubt that we cut back on research and development. if we can develop new technologies and area like clean energy, that could make the difference in terms of job creation here at home. i think the proposal i put forward with respect to the infrastructure is one that historically we have had bipartisan agreement on. we should be able to agree now that it makes no sense for china to have better rail systems than us and singapore has better airports than us. we just learned that china now

has the fastest supercomputer honor. that used to beat us. they are making investments. bonobos investments will pay off for the long term. in these budget discussions, the key is to be able to distinguish between stuff that is not adding to our growth, isn't an investment in our future and those things that are absolutely necessary for us to be able to increase job growth in the future as well the single most important thing we need to do economically -- this is something that has to be done during lame-duck session is making sure that taxes do not go up on middle-class families next year. we've got some work to do on that front to make sure that families are not only seeing a higher tax break which will automatically happen if congress doesn't act but also making

sure that business provisions that historically we have extended each year that for example provide tax breaks for companies investing in the united states in research and development, that those are extended. it makes sense for us to extend unemployment to rise because there are still many folks out there hurting. there are things we can do right now that will help sustain the recovery and advance its even as we are also sitting down and figuring out over the next several years what kind of budget cuts can we make that are intelligent, smart, and will be undermining our recovery but in fact will be encouraging job growth. >> the thing you call investments, they call wasteful spending. without their support, it sounds like you cannot get any of it through. >> without any republican support on anything, it is true that it will be hard to get things done.

i will not anticipate that they will not support anything. part of the message sent to republicans was that we want to see stronger job growth in this country. if there are good ideas about putting people to work, that traditionally have garnered republican support and that don't add to the deficit, but they are willing to have a serious conversation about it. when we put forward to put forth acceleration for business, if they are investing in a plant, that is not historically considered a liberal idea.

that is how we will the judge over the next couple of years. >> you said elections have consequences and you pointed out you won in 2008. what consequences should this election have in terms of consequences.

>> there are republicans who ran against the energy bill passed in the house last year. it is doubtful you could get the votes to pass that through the house this year. or neck year or the year after. that does not mean there is no agreement that we should not have a better energy policy. where wed those areas can agree. is agreement to make sure that we develop electric cars in the united states in don't fall behind other countries. there are things we can do to encourage that. there has been bipartisan interest on those issues. there has been discussion about

how we can re-start our nuclear industry as a means of reducing our dependence on oil and reducing greenhouse gases. we have been able to increase fuel efficiency on cars. we needed the cooperation of autoworkers and lawmakers and investors and other shareholders and that will move us forward in a serious way. there are areas where there is too much disagreement. sometimes we cannot get it done right now but let's not wait. let's go and make some progress on the things we do agree on and we can continue to have a strong and healthy debate about those areas where we don't.

we should have pushed for -- order on some of those issues. if you take republicans and democrats that the word, this is an area they want to deliver on for the american people and want to be supportive of that. >> i have a policy question and a personal one. you talked about how the immediate goal is the bush tax cuts and making sure they don't expire for those who earn under $250,000. republicans disagree with that strongly. one of the tax cuts extended. are you willing to compromise on

that? are you willing to negotiate and let them expire for everyone over $1 million? where are you willing to budge on that? also, president bush, when he went through a similar thing came out and said this was a thhumbling. when you call your friends like congressman periello and others and you see 19-state legislators go to the other side, governorships and swing states, the democratic party set back, what does it feel like? >> it feels bad. the toughest thing over the last couple of days is saying really terrific public servants not have the opportunity to serve

any more, at least in the short term. you mentioned that there are terrific mentions -- members of congress who took orgel -- really tough votes because they thought was the right thing even though they no that this could cause them political problems and even though many of them came from really tough swing districts or majority republican districts. the amount of courage that they showed and conviction they showed is something i admire so much. there is not only sadness about seeing them go but there is also a lot of questioning on my part if i could have done something differently so those folks could still be here. it is hard.

in conversations they have told me that they don't have regrets because they feel like they were doing the right thing. they may be just saying that to make me feel better which again is a sign of their character and their class and i hope i a lot of them cut continued to pursue public service because i think they are pretty terrific public servants. with respect to the tax cuts -- my goal is to make sure that we don't have a huge spike in taxes for middle-class families. not only would that be a terrible burden on families going through tough times, it would be bad for the economy. it is very important that we are not taking a whole bunch of money out of the system from

people who are most likely to spend that money on goods, services, groceries, buying a new winter coat for the kids. that is why i think unemployment insurance is important. not only is that it the right thing to do for people who are struggling in this tough economy but it is the right thing to do for the economy as a whole. my goal is to sit down with the speaker-elect boehner and mitch mcconnell and nancy pelosi and harry reid in the next couple of weeks and see where we can move forward in a way that first of all does no harm, that extends those tax cuts that are very important for middle-class families and also and extends those provisions that are

important to encourage businesses to invest and provide business with certainty over the next year or two. how that negotiation work itself out i think it is too early to say. this will be one of my top priorities and my hope is that given that we all have an interest in growing the economy and encouraging job growth, we will not play brinksmanship but act responsibly. >> would you be open to epa car emissions through administrative action?

do you think -- you said you did not do enough to change the way things are handled in this city. in order to get your health care bill passed, you needed to make deals. do you wish to murder retrospect to have not made those deals? >> -- do you wish in retrospect that you had not made those deals? >> we want to make sure we were on a trajectory on health care costs and that was critical for this country. you are absolutely right that when you are now getting through a house and a senate in this kind of partisan environment, it is an ugly mess with it comes to progress. that is something that really affected help people viewed the outcome. that is something that i regret that we could not have made the process healthier.

than it ended up being. the outcome was a good one, i think. with respect to the epa, i think the smartest thing for us to do is to see if we can get democrats and republicans in a room or a serious about energy independence and are serious about keeping our airplane and their water clean and dealing with the issue of greenhouse gases and seeing if there are ways where we can make progress in the short term and invest in technologies in the long term that start giving us the tools to reduce greenhouse gases and solve this problem. the epa is under a court order that says greenhouse gases are a pollutant. that falls under their jurisdiction. one of the things that is

important for me is not to have us ignore the science but rather to find ways we can solve these problems that don't hurt the economy, that encourage the development of meant of clean energy in this country and in fact they give us opportunities to create entire industries and jobs that put us in a competitive posture around the world. it is too early to say whether we can make progress on that front. i think we can. cap and trade was one way of stemming the cat. it was a means and not an end and i will look for other ways to address this problem. the epa oneself and the legislature on this. i don't think the desire is to be protective of their powers. they want to make sure that the issue is being dealt with.

>> you have a lot of fun the campaign trail saying that the republicans were drinking na slurpee while the republicans -- while the democrats were doing all the work. now there are 50 house districts that rejected the message, is there a majority of americans thinking your policies are taking us in reverse? what is of the changes will you make your approach to try to fix that and better connect with the american people? tell isk, don't something promised to end. you have not been able to do do you have to tell your liberal base that you're not going to be able to get it done in the next two years? >> let me take the second issue

first. i have been a strong believer in the notion that somebody is willing to serve in our military in uniform putting their lives on the line for our security that they should not be prevented from doing so because of their sexual orientation. since there has been a lot of discussion ofpolls over last 48 hours, it is worth noting that the overwhelming majority of americans feel the same way. it is the right thing to do. as commander in chief, i have said that making this change need to be done in an orderly fashion and i have for the pentagon, secretary datesgates, admiral mullen to make sure we are looking at this in a systematic way that maintains good order and discipline but that we need to change this policy. there will be a review the comes out at the beginning of the month.

it will have a survey of attitudes and opinions within the armed forces. i will expect that secretary of defense gates and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mullen will have something to say about that review. i look at it carefully. that will give us time to act to change this policy during the lame duck session. we have a bunch of court cases out there as well something that would be very disruptive to good order and discipline and unit cohesion is if we have this issue bouncing around in the courts as it already has in the last several weeks where the pentagon and the chain of command does not know at any given time what rules they are working under. we need to provide certain tape. it is time for to move this policy far. this should not be a partisan issue.

folks serving on our behalf should be treated equally and fairly. as far as moving forward, i think the american people understand that we are still still digging our way out of a pretty big mess. i don't think anybody denies we are in a bit. i don't think they feel we have gotten out of the ditch yet completely. to move the analogy for word that i used in the campaign, i think what they want now is democrats and republicans both pushing more to get the car on level ground. we have not done that. if you think of was engaging in

too much campaign rhetoric saying that republicans were sitting on the side of the road watching us get that far out of the debt, at the very least, we were pushing in opposite directions. >> [inaudible] you rejected the idea that your policies could be going nowhere? >> yes, here is the bottom line -- when i came into office this economy was in a free-fall for of the economy has stabilized for the economy is growing. we have seen nine months of private sector job growth. i think it would be hard to argue that we are going backwards. what you can argue is that we are stuck in neutral. we are not moving the way we need to to make sure that folks have the jobs, have the opportunities, are seeing economic growth in their communities the way they need to. that will require democrats and

republicans to come together to look for the best ideas to move things forward. it will not be easy. that is not just because democrats and republicans may have different priorities as we were just discussing when it comes to how we structure tax cuts, but because these issues are hard. the republicans throughout the camp and said they are concerned about debt and deficits. one of the most important things we can do for debt and deficits as economic growth. what other proposals to they have to grow the economy? if they are rejecting some of proposals i have made? i want to hear from them what affirmative policies can make a difference in terms of encouraging job growth and promoted the economy? . i don't think that tax cuts alone, are going to be a recipe

for the kind of expansion we need. from 2001-2009, we cut taxes produce it mckinley and we did not see the kind of expansion that will be necessary in terms of driving the unemployment rate down significantly. what the american people want is to mix and match ideas and move forward on ideas we agree on an disagree without being disagreeable on the areas we cannot agree on if we accomplished that, there will be time for politics later. over the next year, i think we can solidified this recovery and give people more confidence. >> i want to ask if you are going to have john boehner over 4 slurpee. >> they are delicious [laughter]

] they slur the summit. >> regionthe slurpee summit. >> how you plan to reset business tax how will you get them off the sidelines and get businesses to start hiring again? >> this is a question we have been asking ourselves for several months. you are right, as i reflect on what has happened over the past two years, one thing that has not been managed by me as well as it needed to be was finding the right balance in making sure that businesses have rules of the road and are treating customers fairly whether it is

their credit cards or insurance, their mortgages. also making absolutely clear that the only way america succeeds is it businesses are succeeding. the reason we have an unparalleled standard of living in the history of the world is because we have a free market that is dynamic an entrepreneurial and that free market has to be nurtured and cultivates. d.. there is no doubt that when you have the financial crisis on wall street, the bonus controversies, the battle around health care, the battle around finance reform, and then you had bp, you had a success of a set of issues in which business took the message that it seemed like we may be paid to the bad guy.

i have to take responsibility to make sure that i make clear to the business community as well as to the country that the most important thing we can do is to boost and encourage our business sector and make sure they are hiring. we do have specific plans in terms of how we constructor that average. over the last two years that we have been talking to ceo's constantly. as i plan my trip later this week to asia, the whole focus is on how we will open a market so that american businesses can prosper and we can sell more goods and create more jobs in the united states and corporate executives will be joining us. this is so i can help them open

up those markets and allow them to sell their products. there has been a lot of strong interaction behind the scenes but setting the right tone publicly will be important in and of making a difference at the margins in terms of how businesses make investment decisions. [inaudible] >> i discussed a couple and i made this proposal two months. it was in the midst of a campaign season where was doubtful they would get a full hearing just because there was so much political noise going on. as we move forward, sitting down and talking to businesses to figure out what would help you make more investments that could create more jobs in the united states and listening hard to them in a context where

maybe we are receiving the message of the same time and acting on that agenda could make a big difference. >> how do you respond to those who say the election outcome at least in part was voters saying they see u.s. out of touch with their personal economic pain. . n? are you willing to make changes in your leadership style? >> there is an inherent danger in being in the white house and being in bubble. folks did not have complaints about my leadership style when i was running around iowa for a year and they got a good look at

me up close and personal and they were able to lift the hood and kicked the tires. i think they understood that my store was their story. i might have a funny name. i might have lived in some different places, but the values of hard work and responsibility, honesty, and looking out for one another that had been instill in them by their parents were the same values that i got from my mom and my grandparents. the track record has been that when i am out of this place that is not an issue. when you are in this place, it is hard not to seem removed. one of the challenges we have to think about is how do i made my responsibilities here in the white house which require a lot

of hours and a lot of work, but still have that opportunity to engage with the american people on a day-to-day basis? i want to give them confidence that i am listening to them. those letters that i read every night, some of them just breaks my heart. some of them provide me encouragement and inspiration but nobody is filming me reading those letters. and so it is hard for people to get a sense of how he is taking in this information. there are more things that we can do to make sure that i am getting out of here. it is important to point out as well that a couple of great communicators, ronald reagan and

bill clinton, were standing at this podium two years into their presidency getting very similar questions. the economy was not working the way it needed to be and there was a whole range of factors that made people concerned that maybe the party in power was not listening to them. this is something that i think every president needs to go through because of the responsibilities of this office are so enormous and so many people are depending on what we do and then the rush of activity, sometimes, we lose track of the ways we connected with folks like us here in the first place.

i am not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like i did last night. [laughter] i am sure there are easier ways to learn these lessons. this is a growth process. an illusion. the relationship i have had with the american people -- and an illusion. -- and evolution. during the course of the last two years as we together have gone through difficult times and the relationship has gone rockier and tougher. i am sure there will still be more of sundowns during the course of me being in this office. the one thing that i want to end on his getting out of here is

good for me, too, because when i travel around the country, even in the toughest of these templates, health care last year when i am meeting families that lost loved ones in afghanistan or iraq -- i always come away from those interactions just feeling so much more optimistic about this country. we have such good and decent people who on a day to day basis are finding all kinds of ways to live together, educate kids, grow their communities, improve their communities, create businesses, work together to create great new products and services.

as tough as it's been and as many scary moments as we have gone through, i have never doubted that we will emerge stronger than we were before. i will be looking for to play my part in helping that journey along. thank you very much, everybody. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> "washington journal" is next live with your phone calls. ben, senator mitch mcconnell talks about the agenda for the congress. analysis of election results from the american enterprise institute. in about one hour ,ap economics writer on the federal reserve writer on the federal reserve plan to stimulate the