Politics | John Conyers Obama to Conyers: Stop 'Demeaning' Me President calls liberal congressman to carp about criticism By Nick McMaster Posted Dec 8, 2009 2:28 PM CST Copied In this April 7, 2009, file photo, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., talks with reporters during a news conference at the Toussaint Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File) John Conyers hasn't been shy about what he sees as the president's failings, and his remarks seem to have struck a nerve. “I’ve been saying I don’t agree with him on Afghanistan, I think he screwed up on health care reform, on Guantánamo," said the long-serving liberal congressman. “Obama called me and told me that he heard that I was demeaning him, and I had to explain to him that it wasn't anything personal, it was an honest difference on the issues." The president asked to talk about those differences, but Conyers, steaming after the announcing of the new deployments to Afghanistan, tells the Hill he wasn't in the mood to "chat." Instead, he's expressing his criticism in writing and expects the president to respond the same way. Conyers, 80, was the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse Obama over Hillary Clinton in the campaign. Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. Iran's supreme leader makes first public comments since ceasefire. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Report an error