Interview

Obama: Election Was About the Economy

Accepts responsibility for unemployment rate.

In his first interview since the midterm elections—taped before his trip to Asia—President Obama admitted that he had "slipped" on his commitment to change the tone of politics in Washington. "I’ve been guilty of that. It’s not just them," he told 60 Minutes, referencing the Republican opposition. Obama also painted his own party’s staggering losses in last week’s elections as a "referendum on the economy" rather than the Democrats' policies, insisting that his legislation was sound but that he didn’t sell it as he should have. He also accepted that "the party in power was held responsible for an economy that is still underperforming." As for the idea that the election was a mandate for small government, Obama answered, "First and foremost, they want jobs and economic growth."