Buck stops with me over midterm poll losses, admits Obama

US President Barack Obama has taken responsibility for his party's crushing defeat in last week's midterm elections.

The president had previously stopped short of explicitly shouldering the blame for his Democratic party's drubbing at the November 4 polls.

But in an interview with CBS News that was broadcast on Sunday, Obama acknowledged that "the buck stops right here at my desk," echoing a refrain made famous by late US president Harry Truman. "Whenever, as the head of the party, it doesn't do well, I've got to take responsibility for it," Obama said.

The Republicans snatched control of the Senate, tightened their grip on the House of Representatives and won key Democrat governorships.

"The message that I took from this election, and we've seen this in a number of elections, successive elections, is people want to see this city [Washington] work," Obama said. "They feel as if it's not working," he said, adding that there had been a "failure of politics" in America.

Obama also renewed his vow to use his executive powers to make changes to the immigration system - unless Republicans approve legislation by the end of the year.