Obama takes responsibility for AIG mess

"Washington is all in a tizzy over who's at fault," Obama said. "Some say it's the Democrats' fault, the Republicans' fault. Listen, I'll take responsibility. I'm the president."

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, California on Wednesday, Obama tried to channel taxpayers' anger about the AIG bailout.

"I know a lot of you are outraged about this," President Obama said. "I'm outraged, too. It's hard to understand that a company that is relying on extraordinary assistance from taxpayers to keep its doors open would be paying anyone lavish bonuses. It goes against our most basic sense of what is fair and what is right. It offends our values."

But Obama said the bonuses, although outrageous, were merely "a symptom of a much larger problem," which he described as a "system and culture that made them possible." The president said the culture allowed people to make enormous sums of money "for taking irresponsible risks that have now put the whole economy at risk."

Obama said he recognized a problem when "taxpayers are on the hook for losses in bad times and all the wealth generated in good times goes to those at the very top."

The president also responded to critics who have complained that his administration was unfocused and too ambitious. "I know some folks in Washington and on Wall Street are saying we should focus on only one problem at a time," Obama said. "But that's just not the way it works. You don't get to choose between paying your mortgage bills or your medical bills. You don't get to choose between paying your kids' tuition and saving enough for retirement. You need to take on all of these problems. And you need a government that will do the same. That's what leadership is all about."

As for the argument about his ambitious agenda, Obama said "our challenges are too large to ignore." Citing the rising cost of health care, America's dependence on oil and what he called America's "education deficit," the president said it would be irresponsible "to kick these problems down the road for another four years or eight years."

"I did not run for President to pass on our problems to the next generation," Obama said. "I ran for President to solve them."