WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama told fellow Democrats on Saturday this is no time to “lick our wounds and try to hang on” and vowed instead to press ahead with financial regulatory and healthcare reforms.

With his legislative agenda in limbo, Obama sought to rally Democratic activists still reeling from the loss of a pivotal Senate seat last month and now scrambling to head off a Republican challenge in the November congressional elections.

Obama came out swinging at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee, accusing Republicans of caring more about “scoring political points” than solving the country’s pressing problems like high unemployment.

But Obama presented no new ideas on how the Democrats could overcome obstacles that have stalled his domestic priorities.

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama told fellow Democrats on Saturday this is no time to “lick our wounds and try to hang on” and vowed instead to press ahead with financial regulatory and healthcare reforms.

With his legislative agenda in limbo, Obama sought to rally Democratic activists still reeling from the loss of a pivotal Senate seat last month and now scrambling to head off a Republican challenge in the November congressional elections.

Obama came out swinging at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee, accusing Republicans of caring more about “scoring political points” than solving the country’s pressing problems like high unemployment.

But Obama presented no new ideas on how the Democrats could overcome obstacles that have stalled his domestic priorities.

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama told fellow Democrats on Saturday this is no time to "lick our wounds and try to hang on" and vowed instead to press ahead with financial regulatory and healthcare reforms. With his legislative agenda in limbo, Obama sought to rally Democratic activists still reeling from the loss of a pivotal Senate seat last month and now scrambling to head off a Republican challenge in the November congressional elections. Obama came out swinging at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee, accusing Republicans of caring more about "scoring political points" than solving the country’s pressing problems like high unemployment. But Obama presented no new ideas on how the Democrats could overcome obstacles that have stalled his domestic priorities. The political climate in Washington has become more fractured as lawmakers adjust to a new reality now that the Republicans’ gain of a Massachusetts Senate seat has given them the ability to block bills using procedural hurdles. Hammering one of his biggest challenges, Obama said "America can’t afford to wait" for a financial regulatory overhaul to plug gaps widely seen as the root of the 2008 markets crisis that tipped the economy into deep recession. He spoke a day after Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd declared an impasse with Senator Richard Shelby, his Republican counterpart in negotiations to reach a compromise on tightening financial rules. The situation leaves Democrats with the option of trying to proceed alone. "If we’ve learned anything from the devastating recession, we know that wise regulation actually can enhance the market and make it more stable and make our economy work better," Obama said. "We can’t return to the dereliction of duty that helped deliver this recession." Obama senior adviser David Axelrod suggested, in an interview to air on C-SPAN on Sunday, that some Republicans were yielding to an "enormous lobbying campaign" by financial firms opposed to reform. "If the Republican Party makes a decision that they can turn this into a fund-raising device, then it’s going to become more difficult," he told the network on Friday. POPULIST RHETORIC Venturing out of the White House in a snowstorm to address Democratic leaders at nearby hotel, Obama also renewed his populist critique of big banks and Wall Street, a source of public anger amid the resurgence of large executive bonuses. He said taxpayers had a right to feel "outrage" that they had to bail out the financial sector to prevent its collapse. Obama acknowledged that a healthcare overhaul, which once seemed on the verge of passing, will now be subject to a "long and difficult debate." But he pledged: "I am not going to walk away from health insurance reform." His effort to expand health coverage hit a stalemate after Democrats lost their 60-seat "supermajority" in the Senate. They are now trying to decide on a new course. "The easiest thing to do right would be say this is too hard. Let’s just regroup and lick our wounds and try to hang on," Obama said. "There are some, perhaps the majority in this town, who say perhaps it’s time to walk away." But he insisted to cheers, "I’m not going to walk away on any challenge. We’re moving forward." Obama again urged Republicans to work to find "common ground," an appeal that has gained little traction from the opposition, which prefers to paint Obama as a big spender for the congressional election campaign. With his approval ratings down amid persistently high unemployment, Obama acknowledged that "people are frustrated." "I know we’ve gone through a tough year. But we’ve gone through tougher," he said, seeking to boost Democrats’ morale. One year into office, Obama has recalibrated his agenda to make job creation his top priority. The Senate begins debate next week on a series of bills to boost employment. (Additional reporting by Pedro da Costa; editing by Mohammad Zargham and Bill Trott)

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Saturday not to abandon his push for financial regulatory and healthcare reforms as he sought to boost the morale of fellow Democrats after the loss of a pivotal U.S. Senate seat.

With his legislative agenda in limbo, Obama came out swinging at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee, accusing Republicans of caring more about “scoring political points” in a congressional election year than solving the country’s pressing problems.

The political climate in Washington has become more fractured as lawmakers adjust to a new reality now that the Republicans’ gain of a Massachusetts Senate seat last month has given them the ability to block bills with procedural hurdles.

Hammering one of his biggest challenges, Obama said “America can’t afford to wait” for a financial regulatory overhaul to plug gaps widely seen as the root of the 2008 markets crisis that tipped the economy into deep recession.

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Saturday not to abandon his push for financial regulatory and healthcare reforms as he sought to boost the morale of fellow Democrats after the loss of a pivotal U.S. Senate seat. With his legislative agenda in limbo, Obama came out swinging at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee, accusing Republicans of caring more about "scoring political points" in a congressional election year than solving the country’s pressing problems. The political climate in Washington has become more fractured as lawmakers adjust to a new reality now that the Republicans’ gain of a Massachusetts Senate seat last month has given them the ability to block bills with procedural hurdles. Hammering one of his biggest challenges, Obama said "America can’t afford to wait" for a financial regulatory overhaul to plug gaps widely seen as the root of the 2008 markets crisis that tipped the economy into deep recession. He spoke a day after Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd declared an impasse with Senator Richard Shelby, his Republican counterpart in negotiations to reach a compromise on tightening financial rules. The situation leaves Democrats with the option of trying to proceed alone. "If we’ve learned anything from the devastating recession, we know that wise regulation actually can enhance the market and make it more stable and and make our economy work better," Obama said. "We can’t return to the dereliction of duty that helped deliver this recession." Venturing out of the White House in a snowstorm to address Democratic leaders at nearby hotel, Obama also renewed his populist critique of big banks and Wall Street, a source of public anger amid the resurgence of large executive bonuses. He said taxpayers had a right to feel "outrage" that they had to bail out the financial sector to prevent its collapse. WILL NOT ‘WALK AWAY’ FROM HEALTHCARE REFORM Obama acknowledged that a healthcare overhaul, which once seemed on the verge of passing, will now be subject to a "long and difficult debate," but he pledged: "I am not going to walk away from health insurance reform." His effort to expand health coverage and rein in soaring costs stalled in Congress after Democrats lost their 60-seat "supermajority" in the Senate following a special election in Massachusetts last month. Democrats are now trying to figure out how to proceed. "The easiest thing to do right would be say this is too hard. Let’s just regroup and lick our wounds and try to hang on," Obama said. "There are some, perhaps the majority in this town, who say perhaps it’s time to walk away." But he insisted to cheers, "We’re moving forward." However, Obama presented no new ideas on how the Democrats could overcome obstacles that have stalled his agenda. He again urged Republicans to work to find "common ground," an appeal that has gained little traction from the opposition, which prefers to paint Obama as a big spender ahead of the November congressional elections. With Americans increasingly anxious about persistently high unemployment, Obama has declared job creation his top priority. The Senate begins debate next week on a series of bills to boost employment. U.S. unemployment dipped to 9.7 percent in January, the lowest reading since September 2009, but the economy still shed another 20,000 jobs. (Additional reporting by Pedro da Costa; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday to address currency rates with economic partners such as China and to get tougher with them on trade to ensure that U.S. goods do not face a competitive disadvantage.

With U.S.-Chinese relations already troubled by Washington’s planned arms sales to Taiwan, Obama said his administration was pushing China and other countries to enforce trade rules and open their markets.

But he insisted he had no intention of taking a protectionist stance toward China, the world’s third-largest economy, warning that “to close ourselves off from that market would be a mistake.”

Still, Obama had stern words for the Chinese as he addressed senators from his Democratic Party at a time of rising Sino-U.S. tensions, including Beijing’s anger over his plan to meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday to address currency rates with economic partners such as China and to get tougher with them on trade to ensure that U.S. goods do not face a competitive disadvantage.

With U.S.-Chinese relations already troubled by Washington’s planned arms sales to Taiwan, Obama said his administration was pushing China and other countries to enforce trade rules and open their markets.

But he insisted he had no intention of taking a protectionist stance toward China, the world’s third-largest economy, warning that “to close ourselves off from that market would be a mistake.”

Still, Obama had stern words for the Chinese as he addressed senators from his Democratic Party at a time of rising Sino-U.S. tensions, including Beijing’s anger over his plan to meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Iran’s leaders were “sowing the seeds of their own destruction” through their harsh crackdown on anti-government unrest.

“The people of Iran are thinking about, the very people marching, they’re thinking about regime change,” Biden told MSNBC when asked whether it was time for “regime change” in Iran since President Barack Obama’s effort to engage the Islamic republic had failed to make progress.

Signaling Washington was sticking to its dual track of diplomacy and sanctions, Biden insisted: “It’s time (for the United States) to reach out, demonstrate that we’re not the problem, the hand that gets rejected, and be able to have the whole world stay with us … against the Iranian government.”

Biden spoke after Iran said it would soon hang nine more rioters over the unrest that erupted after the June presidential vote, and the leader of the opposition said such repression showed the 1979 Islamic revolution had failed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s budget proposal will call for tripling government loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, an administration official said on Friday, a move sure to win over some Republican lawmakers who want more nuclear power to be part of climate change legislation.

The $54 billion in loan guarantees, which follows Obama’s pledge in his State of the Union address to expand nuclear power production, will be announced as part of Obama’s proposed 2011 budget that will be sent to Congress on Monday.

Obama on Wednesday called on Congress to pass an energy and climate change bill with incentives to make clean energy profitable. “And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country,” he said.

“As the world moves to tackle climate change and diversify our national energy portfolio, nuclear energy will play a vital role,” said Carol Browner, who advises the president on energy and climate change issues.

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s budget proposal will call for tripling government loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, an administration official said on Friday, a move sure to win over some Republican lawmakers who want more nuclear power to be part of climate change legislation.

The $54 billion in loan guarantees, which follows Obama’s pledge in his State of the Union address to expand nuclear power production, will be announced as part of Obama’s proposed 2011 budget that will be sent to Congress on Monday.

Obama on Wednesday called on Congress to pass an energy and climate change bill with incentives to make clean energy profitable. “And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country,” he said.

“As the world moves to tackle climate change and diversify our national energy portfolio, nuclear energy will play a vital role,” said Carol Browner, who advises the president on energy and climate change issues.