Obama defends handling of immigration issue

U.S. President Barack Obama defended his handling of the nation's immigration issue at a town hall meeting in Florida late Thursday. Answer questions on immigration, Obama acknowledged he has not met promises made during his first election to "change the tone in Washington" on immigration reform. Obama said he tried to build support for immigration reform early in his term and then ran into roadblocks when Republicans in Congress declined to work with him on it. Obama said that the president is not "all-powerful," and that he can not act unilaterally without Congress. He said he had learned from his time in office. "Most important is you can't change Washington from inside, only from the outside," Obama said, adding that the American people prompted Washington to act. "That's how some of our biggest accomplishments like healthcare got done - mobilizing the American people." Across the state in Sarasota, the Republican nominee Mitt Romney said Obama's admission was another reason voters needed to reject him in November. "We face a Washington that's broken, that can't get the job done. The president today threw in the white flag of surrender again," Romney told 4,600 supporters at a sweltering outdoor rally. "He said he can't change Washington from inside, he can only change it from outside. Well, we're going to give him that chance in November. He's going outside!" Romney focused on the first part of the president's statement, deemed it "amazing," and pledged that if he is elected president, he will accomplish more by working with both parties.