Obama to Democrats: 'Turn off the cable news and lead'

President Obama continued his post-State of the Union effort to get his message out on Wednesday with a live televised question and answer session with Senate Democrats.

The meeting came just days after the president took questions from Republicans in an unprecedented live telecast from his fiercest critics.

Obama took on the institution of Congress and the media echo chamber for creating a climate that has stifled change in Washington.

"Do you know what I think would actually make a difference," Obama said. "If everybody here -- excuse all the members of the press who are here -- if everybody turned off your CNN, your Fox, just turn off the TV, MSNBC, blogs, and just go talk to folks out there, instead of being in this echo chamber where the topic is constantly politics. The topic is politics."

Asked by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) what lawmakers need to do differently to fix Washington, Obama said the problem is that the institution of Congress is increasingly not adapted to the demands of a 21st century. Nonetheless, he said the problem is not the individuals but the system. "I am a fierce defender of the integrity and hard work of individual members," Obama said.

Despite a stinging loss of Senator Ted Kennedy's former Senate seat in Massachusetts last month, Obama told his fellow Democrats to continue pushing their agenda. "We still have to lead," he said.

The president rejected GOP arguments for tax cuts as a solution to the nation's economic woes. "What you're going to start hearing [from Republicans] is the only way to provide stability is to go back and do what we were doing before the crisis," the president said. "The result is going to be the same. I don't know why we would expect a different outcome, pursuing the exact same policies that got us into this fix in the first place."

Obama also criticized the GOP for complaining about the lack of bipartisan legislative achievements. "We'll call them out when they say they want to work with us, and we extend a hand and get a fist in return," he said.

The president reminded Democrats of his message to Republicans last week. "The challenge I gave to Republicans ... is if you want to govern, you can't just say no."