Obama: People Saw "Overreach" in My Actions

President Obama said at a press conference Wednesday that the results of yesterday's midterm elections - in which his party lost Control of the House as well as Senate seats and governorships - "underscores for me that I've got to do a better job."

"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," he said. "And we were in such a hurry to get things done that we didn't change how things got done. And I think that frustrated people."

He also placed the blame for the outcome of the midterms on that "very tough decisions" made by his administration during his first two years in office on the stimulus package, the bank bailouts (which were first passed under President Bush) and the auto bailouts.

"I think people started looking at all this and it felt as if government was getting much more intrusive into people's lives than they were accustomed to," he said. "Now, the reason was, it was an emergency situation. But I think it's understandable that folks said to themselves, 'You know, maybe this is the agenda as opposed to a response to an emergency.'"

Continued the president: "And that's something that I think, you know, everybody in the White House understood was a danger. We thought it was necessary. But, you know, I'm sympathetic to folks who looked at it and said, 'This is looking like potential overreach.'"

(source:cbsnews.com)

India to collaborate on innovations in agriculture sector

WASHINGTON: India and the United States will collaborate in the areas of agricultural innovation, during President Barack Obama's visit to the country, which will increase food security for Indians and help bring green revolution in Africa, the White House has said.

" agriculture would be one of the main focus areas of the presidential trip to India. The trip would discuss how innovation can support the kind of agriculture that allows people to have a broader food base," Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication said in response to questions at "Tuesday Talks", a live web cast from the White House on the President's 10-day Asia trip.

"That's the kind of cooperation we are going to announce in the course of the trip," he said, adding that USAID administrator Raj Shah and Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack were going on the trip.

In Mumbai, they would have a roundtable with some of their counterparts and some Indian farmers to discuss ways in which technology and innovation can help to increase food security for Indians.

"That includes things like technologies... that allow you to predict the weather so you can gear your crops towards more efficient use of your efforts and predict the kinds of weather that will allow you to enhance your food security; the kinds of technologies that will help farmers get their products to the market," Rhodes said.

"So there's a whole host of innovations and technologies that we want to focus on in the area of agricultural cooperation."

President Obama , in addition to roundtable, may likely to visit an expo where some Indian farmers would be highlighting these technologies.

"One additional exciting component of this is the high level of cooperation between the US and India can support continued efforts in India to lift people out of poverty, but they can also help people around the world," he noted.

"US has been part of Food Security Initiative in Africa, where we are trying to apply technology, innovation, capacity building to help African farmers lift their countries and their peoples into a higher standard of living.

"We see great potential for the US and India to cooperate, not just within India but in African countries as well, to apply the extraordinary lessons learned within India and the extraordinary innovations made by Indians to support development in other parts of the world," he said.

"So it's an exciting collaboration, both in terms of extending the progress that's been made within India and also extending that progress into parts of Africa that, of course, are in bad need of development," Rhodes said.

(source:indiatimes.com)

Obama’s Post-election Trip: The One flees town for India

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”

–John Adams, Founding Father, 2nd US President

Obama India Trip 2010 Includes Challenges During 'Strategic' Visit

Following a colossal dip in U.S. public support, President Barack Obama will touch down in India on Saturday for a four-day trip that promises to be simultaneously challenging and significant.

Following his arrival in Mumbai Nov. 6, he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and address a joint session of the Indian Parliament, reports Reuters. Among the varied topics Obama will reportedly discuss: lifting a 1998 ban on U.S. exports of dual-use technology, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, to India. "Our teams continue to work hard to reach an agreement that strengthens the international non-proliferation system while treating India in a manner that is consistent with our strategic partnership," he is quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying.

While describing India as a "cornerstone" of American engagement in Asia, Obama acknowledged difficulty in supporting India's long-standing bid for a permanent place on the U.N. Security Council. "I do...expect to discuss India's role on the global stage during my visit," he told Reuters.

As two of the world's largest global democracies, the U.S. and India share a natural affinity and many of the same core values, according to Indian Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan. In addition, Obama faces a somewhat unique challenge in visiting India, a country known for its unusually warm stance toward former U.S. President George W. Bush, says the New York Daily News.

(source:huffingtonpost.com)

Obama Appeals for 'Common Ground' After Democrats Lose House

President Obama, reflecting on the Democrats' historic losses in Congress in the midterm election, appealed Wednesday for both parties to find "common ground" while continuing to stand by his administration's policies.

Though those policies were used to tarnish Democrats in races across the country, Obama described his decisions to date as "tough" but "right." But as he faces down a new landscape in Congress starting in January, the president said he must take "direct responsibility" for the frustration over the economy that led to those changes and pledged to do more to reach "consensus" with Republicans.

"No party has a monopoly on wisdom," the president said. "I want to engage both Democrats and Republicans. ... I do believe there is hope for civility. I do believe there's hope for progress."

The news conference in Washington gave Obama his first opportunity to explain what his approach will be to a split Congress, with Republicans decisively in charge of the House and cutting deep into the Democrats' majority in the Senate.

Pressed for specifics, Obama suggested he'd be open to joining Republicans in calling for a moratorium on earmarks and taking a second look at a controversial provision in the health care law that requires businesses to file 1099 tax forms for large purchases. Republican leaders, in a series of speeches since Tuesday night's victories, have called on Obama to move toward the center. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, calling the election a "referendum" on Obama's policies, pointedly said Wednesday that the Democrats can either "work with us" or face another "change" election in 2012.

Obama on Wednesday directly attributed GOP gains to frustration over the economy, declining to sign on to claims that it was a referendum on his policies.

"Some election nights are more fun than others. Some are exhilarating. Some are humbling," Obama said. "Yesterday's vote confirmed what I've heard from folks all across America. People are frustrated, they're deeply frustrated with the pace of our economic recovery."

Republicans are projected to pick up about 65 seats in the House of Representatives, surpassing the gains they made in the 1994 election. They will not take the majority in the Senate but so far have snatched six seats away from Democrats.

(source:foxnews.com)