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Woman 'exhausted' defending Barack Obama's policies loses her job

The woman who put President Barack Obama on the spot by telling him she was "exhausted" by defending his economic policies has lost her job.



Velma Hart in a town hall meeting intended to reassure beleaguered voters

By Toby Harnden, Washington 5:39PM GMT 23 Nov 2010

Velma Hart, an Obama supporter, became a celebrity after she expressed her frustration with Mr Obama at a televised "town hall" meeting in September. The chief financial officer of AmVets, a military veterans' group, seemed to sum up the growing disillusionment with Mr Obama.

Mrs Hart, from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, said she was summoned last week. "They called me in on a Friday afternoon and said they had made a decision ... we should make that cut," she told CNBC. She said she was "afraid" but remained hopeful and believed the president's economic policies would work.

"I'm a data-driven person. The data says the economy's getting better. ... I want to focus on the positive and be optimistic. And assume that somehow things will work out, that there's an opportunity out there with Velma's name on it that's right around the corner." Mrs Hart made attracted attention in September when she challenged Mr Obama.

"I'm one of your middle-class Americans," she said at the meeting. "And, quite frankly, I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for and deeply disappointed with where we are right now.

"I have been told that I voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I'm one of those people. And I'm waiting, sir. I'm waiting."