President Obama blasted criticism that he is emotionally detached from the state of the economy as "nonsense," saying Tuesday that he spends all his time thinking about it.
"Ordinary folks understand I spend all my time thinking about this stuff because I'm talking to these folks every single day," he said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show.
"When I see them at meetings, and they start crying, the notion, somehow, that I'm calm about that, is nonsense. But what is true is that as president, my job is to make sure that I am finding every good idea that we can to move the country forward."
Obama says the real challenge is to develop new industries to spur job growth.
"The challenge, though, is it only takes 100 workers to make what it used to take 1,000 workers to make in terms of the amount of steel," he said. "So that's why we're going to have to look at new industries and encourage entrepreneurs to invest in these new industries and make sure that our workers have the skills to train them.
"For us to employ the same numbers of workers as we need to, to get the unemployment rate down, we've got to look at new sectors, new markets. We've got to do more exporting. So one of my big areas of focus has been on increasing exports."
He admitted that there are difficult days when he wonders about running for re-election, but that he and his family are firmly believe in what he is doing for the country.
"What keeps me going is a belief that the work that we started in 2009 is not yet complete," he said. "I am constantly thinking about the work that needs to be done."
He also remarked about Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords miraculous recovery from a gunshot wound that he attributed to her "incredible spirit."
Obama says it's "almost unimaginable" that Giffords is now walking, talking and laughing.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/06/14/2011-06-14_president_obama_blasts_critics_who_say_hes_emotionally_detached_from_the_economy.html#ixzz1PJJPatPw
"Ordinary folks understand I spend all my time thinking about this stuff because I'm talking to these folks every single day," he said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show.
"When I see them at meetings, and they start crying, the notion, somehow, that I'm calm about that, is nonsense. But what is true is that as president, my job is to make sure that I am finding every good idea that we can to move the country forward."
Obama says the real challenge is to develop new industries to spur job growth.
"The challenge, though, is it only takes 100 workers to make what it used to take 1,000 workers to make in terms of the amount of steel," he said. "So that's why we're going to have to look at new industries and encourage entrepreneurs to invest in these new industries and make sure that our workers have the skills to train them.
"For us to employ the same numbers of workers as we need to, to get the unemployment rate down, we've got to look at new sectors, new markets. We've got to do more exporting. So one of my big areas of focus has been on increasing exports."
He admitted that there are difficult days when he wonders about running for re-election, but that he and his family are firmly believe in what he is doing for the country.
"What keeps me going is a belief that the work that we started in 2009 is not yet complete," he said. "I am constantly thinking about the work that needs to be done."
He also remarked about Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords miraculous recovery from a gunshot wound that he attributed to her "incredible spirit."
Obama says it's "almost unimaginable" that Giffords is now walking, talking and laughing.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/06/14/2011-06-14_president_obama_blasts_critics_who_say_hes_emotionally_detached_from_the_economy.html#ixzz1PJJPatPw
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