President Barack Obama admitted Wednesday that many Americans are not feeling the economic recovery, but insisted he had staved off a depression, on the first anniversary of his huge stimulus bill. Obama also lashed out at Republicans he accused of misrepresenting the aims and achievements of the 787-billion-dollar mix of tax cuts and government spending, which he said had saved or created two million jobs. 'One year later, it is largely thanks to the Recovery Act that a second depression is no longer a possibility,' Obama said, at an event marking the anniversary of the day he signed the bill last year in Denver, Colorado. 'We acted because failure to do so would have led to catastrophe.' With unemployment at 9.7 percent and predicted to only come down slowly as economic growth gathers pace, Obama admitted that for many Americans, the misery was not yet over. 'Millions of Americans are still without jobs. Millions more are struggling to make ends meet. It doesn't yet feel like much of a recovery. I understand that.' 