Obama insists 2013 not worst year of presidency

US President Barack Obama has reportedly denied that 2013 was the worst year of his presidency, even as the biggest mass surveillance programmes in the history of the nation were exposed along with a government shutdown and a botched rollout of the healthcare website.

Obama admitted that his biggest mistake of the year was his troubled healthcare law's rollout.

According to the BBC, Obama is about to end his fifth year in office with the worst approval ratings of his tenure, but the president focused on positives and highlighted improving economic data, saying 2014 would be a "breakthrough year" for the nation's economy.

He argued that Congress should extend unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for extended period of time.

He further said that there were indications that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives might consider immigration-reform legislation next year.

Obama further said that they head into next year with an economy that's stronger than it was when they started the year and more Americans are finding work and experiencing the pride of a paycheck, the report added.