Obama says GOP comments 'troubling'

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama, who has campaigned hard telling people Republicans ran the country into a ditch, Saturday criticized the GOP's "heated rhetoric."

In his final weekly radio and Internet address before Tuesday's midterm elections in which the Democrats will be hard-pressed to retain control of Congress, the Democratic president said he found it "troubling" that Republican congressional leaders have vowed not to compromise and have set their sights not only on winning this election but the next one, as well.

"I know that we're in the final days of a campaign. So it's not surprising that we're seeing this heated rhetoric. That's politics," Obama said. "But when the ballots are cast and the voting is done, we need to put this kind of partisanship aside -- win, lose, or draw.

"In the end, it comes down to a simple choice. We can spend the next two years arguing with one another, trapped in stale debates, mired in gridlock, unable to make progress in solving the serious problems facing our country.

"Or we can do what the American people are demanding that we do. We can move forward."

Obama called for the two parties to work together to provide tax relief for the middle class and small businesses, invest in education, rebuild the nation's infrastructure and encourage entrepreneurship.

"It may not always be easy to find agreement; at times we'll have legitimate philosophical differences. And it may not always be the best politics," he said. "But it is the right thing to do for our country."