During a town hall meeting in Ohio this afternoon, President Obama will acknowledge the new political challenges he faces in the wake of the Massachusetts Senate special election, but promise to keep "fighting" for those struggling in a tough economy. Framing his struggles in populist terms, he says the hurdles he's run into are a result of the strength of "special interests" and "their armies of lobbyists," as well as "partisan politics."

"I have to admit, we've run into a bit of a buzz saw along the way," the president will say, according to prepared remarks released by the White House. "The longer it's taken, the uglier the process has looked."

And while "folks in Washington" are in "a little bit of a frenzy" over the victory of Republican Scott Brown, Obama will downplay to some extent the impact of the race on his goal of health care reform.

"I didn't take up this issue to boost my poll numbers or score political points - believe me, if I were, I would have picked something a lot easier than this," he will say. "No, I'm trying to solve the problems that folks here in Elyria and across this country face every day. And I am not going to walk away just because it's hard."

The visit to Ohio is part of Obama's "White House to Main Street" tour. In his remarks, the president follows up on a point he made in an interview with ABC this week, that perhaps his administration has not communicated sufficiently its efforts to help Americans.

"The truth is, being President is also a little confining," he'll say. "I can't just walk around and visit people like I used to. I can't just go to the barber shop or sit at a diner."

To that end, Obama's trip included an unscheduled stop at a local diner, where he picked up the tab for one man's chili. A reminder of days on the campaign.

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