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| President Barack Obama smiles as he prepares to answer a question during an end-of-the year news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2013. Obama will depart later for his home state of Hawaii for his annual Christmas vacation trip. It's the first time in his presidency that his departure plans have not been delayed by legislative action in Washington. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Putting a rosy spin on a difficult year, President Barack Obama
acknowledged frustrating "ups and downs" on Friday but exulted that the
improving economy is creating new jobs and claimed crucial progress for
his troubled health care overhaul. He predicted 2014 would be "a
breakthrough year for America."
In his annual
year-end news conference, Obama refused to dwell on his tumbling
approval ratings, the disastrous rollout of his signature health care
law or the pile of unfinished domestic priorities he leaves behind as he
heads for a Christmas holiday in Hawaii. Asked whether this had been
the worst year of his presidency so far, he laughed and said, "That's
not how I think about it."
Yet not all was
sunny. He did suggest that, given widespread criticism, he may alter the
power of the National Security Agency to collect information on
Americans.
And when it came to the start of
his health care law, Obama conceded that "we screwed it up," and said,
"I'm going to be making appropriate adjustments once we get through this
year." It was unclear if he meant to signal high-level personnel
changes.
Obama does have some reason to be
optimistic. He spoke hours after the government announced the economy
grew at a solid 4.1 percent annual rate from July through September, the
fastest pace since late 2011 and significantly higher than previously
believed. And he heralded a modest bipartisan budget deal that cleared
Congress this week, saying that while it's too soon to declare a new era
of bipartisanship, Washington is "not condemned to endless gridlock."
Obama
heads to his annual home-state Hawaiian vacation armed with dozens of
recommendations from a presidential task force on ways to limit the NSA
programs. The recommendations were released just days after a federal
judge declared the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records
unconstitutional, ratcheting up pressure on him to make changes.
The
president insisted that the NSA has not inappropriately used the
massive amounts of data in its possession, though he added, "We may have
to refine this further to give people more confidence."
After
lying dormant for years, the government surveillance issues shot into
the spotlight after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked a trove
of secret documents. Snowden is a fugitive from the U.S. and living in
Russia, where he received temporary asylum. Some of his supporters have
pressed Obama to grant him amnesty, though the president declined to
comment on those calls.
"I will leave it up to the courts and the attorney general to weigh in in public on Mr. Snowden's case," he said.
The
president opened his hour-long news conference with upbeat news on his
health care law, announcing that 1 million people have enrolled in
federal and state insurance exchanges since Oct. 1. That's more than
two-and-a-half times the number on Nov. 30, when major fixes to the
deeply flawed sign-up website were completed.
"The demand is there," he said. "The product is good."
Still,
it was too soon to say whether the widely panned health care rollout
had turned a corner for good. The HealthCare.gov website was down for
part of the day Friday as technicians attempted to fix an error that
occurred Thursday night when the site was undergoing routine
maintenance. And the administration has had to enact a series of delays
and exemptions for businesses and individuals, including one just
Thursday for some people whose health insurance policies were canceled
because of the law's new standards.
No one in
the administration is known to have been fired over the health care
failures. Obama said he would make "appropriate adjustments once we get
through this year." There have been repeated calls for the ouster of
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, but Obama gave no
indication that was what he had in mind.
Other
disputes lie ahead. Obama renewed his long-standing statement that he
will not negotiate concessions with Republicans in exchange for
legislation that will be needed in late winter or early spring to raise
the nation's debt limit. "It is not something that is a negotiating
tool. It's not leverage. It's a responsibility of Congress," he said,
although he added he was willing to discuss other issues separately.
On
a key foreign policy concern, Obama said it would be wrong to impose
new sanctions on Iran at a time when the United States and other nations
are testing an interim accord designed to curtail Tehran's nuclear
program. If necessary, "we can pass new sanctions in a day," he said,
referring to lawmakers.
The president also
addressed his decision to include openly gay athletes in the U.S.
delegation to the Winter Olympics in Russia, which has a national law
banning "gay propaganda." Obama said the delegation, which includes
athletes Brian Boitano, Billie Jean King and Caitlin Cahow, shows the
U.S. doesn't make distinctions on the basis of sexual orientation.
The
Sochi Games are the first since 2000 to which the U.S. is not sending a
president, former president, first lady or vice president. That
decision has been seen as an indication of Obama's increasingly tense
relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Following
the news conference, Obama and his family were to depart for Hawaii.
It's the first year that last-minute legislative wrangling has not
prevented the president from departing on schedule.
Obama did leave behind a New Year's resolution before boarding Air Force One.
"My New Year's resolution is to be nicer to the White House press corps," he said.
