President Barack Obama took “direct responsibility” for his administration’s inadequate progress on the economy, striking a sombre tone after US voters delivered a stinging repudiation of his first two years in office.
Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives in the vote on Tuesday and saw their majority in the Senate sharply reduced – a result that will make it much more difficult for the president to pass legislation during the remaining two years of his term.
With unemployment running at 9.6 per cent and the economic recovery spluttering, more than 80 per cent of voters cited concern about the direction of the economy as their primary worry, according to exit polls.