NEW ORLEANS, US - US President Barack Obama got a blunt question from an unexpected quarter Thursday - a daring nine-year-old boy who asked "why do people hate you""

Obama, caught up in a divisive political row over his plans for health care reform, called on the boy, Tyren Scott, in a public meeting during his first visit to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as president.

"I have to say, why do people hate you? They supposed to love you. God is love," Tyren, from Paulina, Louisiana asked.

Obama, appeared tickled by the question, saying "hey, that's what I'm talking about," adding "I did get elected president, so not everybody hates me now... I got a whole lot of votes.'

'If you were watching TV lately, it seems like everybody's just getting mad all the time. And you know, I think that you've got to take it with a grain of salt. Some of it is just what's called politics.'