Obama Would Rather Have Good One-Term Than Mediocre Two-Terms

Slammed with criticism of his massive health care reform bill and the recent loss of a longtime Democratic Senate seat to a Republican, President Obama says he's not giving up his health care dreams -- even if it costs him a second term.

"I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president," Obama told ABC News Monday. "You know, there is a tendency in Washington to believe our job description, of elected officials, is to get re-elected. That's not our job description. Our job description is to solve problems and help people."

Obama's approval ratings have dipped during his year in office, and many say Scott Browns win in Massachusetts was a direct referendum on the president's policies.

Still, as he gets ready to deliver his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress, Obama remains committed to the plans that got him to the White House.

"I don't want to look back on my time here and say to myself all I was interested in was nurturing my own popularity," he told ABC News.

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