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Source: Reuters
President Barack Obama had a message for his political friends
and foes on - "just because I'm skinny doesn't mean I'm not
tough."
Obama was in Miami raising $2 million for Democratic congressional
candidates for the 2010 elections, in which Democrats are seeking
to hold onto their strong majorities in the House of
Representatives and the Senate.
After weeks in which he has been angrily criticized by some on the
right, to the point of creating a poster image of him with a Hitler
moustache, Obama told a fund-raising event that some of his
supporters have been expressing concern to him.
"I've tried to explain ... just because I'm skinny doesn't mean I'm
not tough. I don't rattle. I'm not going to shrink back, because
now is the time for us to continue to push and follow through on
those things that we know have to be done but have not been done in
decades," he said.
And he had tough words for those Republican critics who he says are
not helping solve some of the problems that festered when they were
in control of the White House and Congress.
"Lately I feel like somebody made a big mess and I've got my mop
and I'm mopping the floor and the folks who made the mess are there
(saying) 'you're not mopping fast enough. You're not mopping the
right way. It's a socialist mop.'"
The president also used speeches at two Miami political events to
contest the notion circulated by some political commentators and
Republican critics that he has little show in the way of
accomplishments during his nine months in office.
He reeled off a string of legislative achievements, starting with
the $US787 billion (1.05 trillion) economic stimulus he credited
with helping stop the bleeding in the US economy.
Republicans, on the other hand, contend the spending has done
little to restrain the 9.8% US jobless rate.
Among other items Obama listed: Lifting the Bush ban on using
federal funds for stem cell research, signing legislation to ensure
women gain equal pay as men for the same work, banning housing
fraud, toughening credit card regulations and bringing the country
close to a massive healthcare overhaul.
Abroad, Obama said he had put the United States on a path to
getting US troops out of Iraq and is working on a new strategy for
Afghanistan.
"Here's my main message to you. We're just getting started," he
said.
