President Barack Obama on Thursday said the U.S. has lost some of its competitive edge and gotten a “little soft.”<br /><br />Mr. Obama, in an interview with WESH-TV in Orlando, said his administration has been tough on the country’s trading partners and tried to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.<br /><br />“This is a great great country that had gotten a little soft and we didn’t have that same competitive edge that we needed over the last couple of decades,” Mr. Obama said in response to a question about the country’s economic future. “We need to get back on track.”<br /><br />Mr. Obama has faced heavy criticism for his handling of the economy, and the high unemployment rate –9.1%– is threatening his re-election bid.<br /><br />Despite his concern, Mr. Obama said he wouldn’t trade positions with any country on Earth. “We still have the best universities, the best scientists, best workers in the world; the most dynamic economic system in the world,” he said. “We just need to bring all those things together.”
