President Barack Obama admitted Friday that life in the US capital could "drive you crazy" as he returned to election campaigning mode by holding a townhall meeting in Ohio, dpa reported.
"It's nice being out of Washington," Obama told the crowd in Elyria, Ohio. "I mean there are some nice people, but it can drive you crazy."
Obama, whose Democrats suffered a shock electoral defeat in Massachusetts earlier this week that robbed them of a 60-vote super- majority in the Senate, acknowledged the frustrations coming from a US public still facing economic hardships.
Obama said he was pushing for new legislation in Congress that would help bring the unemployment rate down from a quarter-century high of 10 per cent.
But he also vowed to push ahead with the rest of his domestic agenda, including health care reforms that are in limbo as Democratic lawmakers consider how to proceed in the wake of the Massachusetts election Tuesday, which swept Republican Scott Brown to power.
"Health care is part of the drag on our economy. It's part of the eroding security that our middle class families feel," Obama said.
"I'm gonna keep fighting for meaningful health insurance reform," he said.