Obama: 'I'd rather be a really good one-term president' (Roundup)

Jan 26, 2010, 5:56 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama said in a broadcast interview Monday that he would hold firm to his initiatives, such as reforming the health care system, even if it costs him reelection in 2012.

'I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president,' he said in an interview on ABC News aired late Monday.

His attempts to reform the US health care system have come under attack and the bill's unpopularity with voters in Massachusetts was seen as leading in part to the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate in a special election earlier this month.

'You know, there is a tendency in Washington to believe our job description, of elected officials, is to get reelected. That's not our job description,' Obama said. 'Our job description is to solve problems and to help people.'

Obama is expected to address health along with the still weak US economy and other domestic and international issues in the annual State of the Union speech before Congress on Wednesday evening.

He is also expected to propose a three-year spending freeze on domestic budget items, media reports said. Funding not related to defence would be capped at 447 billion dollars per year in an attempt to rein in government spending.

The move would trim 15 billion dollars off the next budget, but would save significantly more over time, the Washington Post reported. The expansion of government spending has been a key criticism by Obama's opponents.