During his appearance at a shipbuilding factory in Newport News, Va., President Obama reminded the audience that he needed help sending a message to Congress to block the sequester cuts.

“You know, the one thing about being president is after four years you get pretty humble,” he said. “You’d think maybe you wouldn’t, but actually you become more humble.”

Obama added that realized that he was capable of making mistakes and understood that he needed Congress.

“But you also realize you can’t do things by yourself,” he added. “That’s not how our system works. You’ve got to have the help and the goodwill of Congress.”

Part of a successful effort to block the sequester, Obama noted, was makng sure that constituents put more pressure on members of Congress.

“I need you, Virginia, to keep up the pressure,” he said. “I need you to keep up the effort.”