BRISTOL, Va. — Whether it’s real or not, there is “a perceived anti-business rhetoric” coming out of President Barack Obama’s administration, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said during a swing through Southwest Virginia on Friday.

The Virginia Democrat and former governor shared his frustrations over partisanship and a slow economic recovery with about 50 business and government leaders at a Bristol Public Library event sponsored by the Bristol Chamber of Commerce.

“I didn’t fully appreciate until I got this job how close our country and the world came to a total financial meltdown in the fall of 2008 and the beginning of 2009,” Warner told the group. “TARP (also known as the federal bank bailout) was unpopular, the ($787 billion federal) stimulus was the worst explained piece of legislation I’ve ever seen. ... Probably most of you don’t realize the stimulus (filled with payroll tax cuts and homeowner tax cuts) was actually the third-largest tax cut in American history.”

Warner said the nation does not need another economic stimulus package.

“I think we’ve run out, at the macro level, what the government can do,” he told reporters before the event. “What we need to do is spur private-sector investments. ... Virginia has received $6 billion from the stimulus, and $2 billion has gone to local education. Folks sometimes complain about that, but I’ve heard folks in Richmond say ‘We’re going to keep complaining about the federal government, but keep sending those checks to balance our budget.’”

Congress, said Warner, now needs to focus on cutting government spending and do some “small targeted things” like pass legislation helping small business lending.

“Sixty-five percent of the jobs coming out of the recession will be from small business lending...” he said. “Overall the economy is starting to recover, but this is slower than any of us would like to see. ... The federal government does nothing to attract business back into the country. ... We need a dramatic reworking of the business tax code.”

When asked whether the worst is over for the Obama administration, Warner said: “This is a pretty frustrating job I’ve got. When I was governor, we could kind of force both political parties to sometimes come together. Too much of that is not happening in Washington.”

Warner stressed he worked closely with U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, on recently passed financial reform.

Corker voted against the final version of the bill, saying the legislation is a “net negative” for the American public.

Warner emphasized Americans are bipartisan in their frustration with Congress.

When asked how Democrats will do in this year’s midterm elections, Warner said: “I think folks are angry at most elected officials whether they are Democrat or Republican because I think they’d like to see us spend less time bickering and more time trying to get our country’s problems solved.”

Warner also indicated Congress needs to tweak health care reform.

When asked what he thought about the commonwealth’s court attempt to resist federal health care reform, Warner said: “This might be about politicians trying to score political points. My feeling was the status quo in health care was going to bankrupt the nation. Health care costs went up $130 billion in 2009. The health care bill was imperfect, but it provides a shock to the system that we are now going to come back and fix it. ... We’ve got to come back and focus on cost containment. Unlimited health care without any regard to what actually works in the health care system and what doesn’t work isn’t affordable. ... The one thing I would ask is don’t give up hope.”