Washington – Obama To Take On Economy In State Of The Union

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    Washington – Addressing a divided nation amid a determined GOP campaign to take his job, President Barack Obama is preparing to issue a populist cry for economic fairness as he aims to corral the sympathies of middle-class voters 10 months before Election Day.

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    Obama delivers his third State of the Union address Tuesday in a capital and country shot through with politics, with his re-election campaign well under way and his potential GOP opponents lobbing attacks against him daily as they scrap for the right to take him on.

    Obama’s 9 p.m. EST address to a joint session of Congress and millions of television viewers will be as much as anything an argument for his re-election, the president’s biggest, best chance so far to offer a vision for a second term.

    Senior political adviser David Plouffe said Tuesday morning the president is “happy to have a debate” about his performance. Asked in an interview about Republican candidate Newt Gingrich’s description of Obama as the “food stamp president,” Plouffe replied, “It’s a cheap applause line for the Republican base.”

    Bill Galston, a former Clinton administration domestic policy adviser now at the Brookings Institution, said, “Almost by definition it’s going to be at least as much a political speech as a governing speech.”

    “The president must run on his record,” Galston said, “and that means talking candidly and persuasively with the country about the very distinctive nature of the challenges the American economy faced when he took office and what has gone right for the past three years, and what needs to be done in addition.”

    With economic anxiety showing through everywhere, the speech will focus on a vision for restoring the middle class, with Obama facing the tricky task of persuading voters to stick with him even as joblessness remains high at 8.5 percent. Obama can point to positive signs, including continued if sluggish growth; his argument will be that he is the one to restore economic equality for middle-class voters.

    Implicit in the argument, even if he never names frontrunners Gingrich and Mitt Romney, is that they are on the other side.

    Obama’s speech will come as Gingrich and Romney have transformed the Republican campaign into a real contest ahead of Florida’s crucial primary next week. And he’ll be speaking on the same day that Romney, a multimillionaire, released his tax returns, offering a vivid illustration of wealth that could play into Obama’s argument about the growing divide between rich and poor.

    Asked in an interview Tuesday about Romney’s relatively modest tax rate in the range of 15 percent, given that he’s a multi-millionaire, Plouffe said, “We need to change our tax system. We need to change our tax code so that everybody is doing their fair share.”

    Obama will frame the campaign to come as a fight for fairness for those who are struggling to keep a job, a home or college savings and losing faith in how the country works.

    The speech will feature the themes of manufacturing, clean energy, education and American values. The president is expected to urge higher taxes on the wealthy, propose ways to make college more affordable, offer new steps to tackle a debilitating housing crisis and push to help U.S. manufacturers expand hiring.

    For three days following his speech, Obama will promote his ideas in five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he’ll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he’ll discuss energy; and in Michigan Friday he’ll talk about college affordability, education and training. Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama’s overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.

    The lines of argument between Obama and his rivals are already stark, with America’s economic insecurity and the role of government at the center.

    Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, said that Obama “can’t run on his record.”

    The president has offered signals about his speech, telling campaign supporters he wants an economy “that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few.” Gingrich, on the other hand, calls Obama “the most effective food stamp president in history.” Romney says Obama “wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society.”

    Obama will make bipartisan overtures to lawmakers but will leave little doubt he will act without their help when it’s necessary and possible, an approach his aides say has let him stay on offense.

    The public is more concerned about domestic troubles over foreign policy than at any other time in the past 15 years, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. Some 81 percent want Obama to focus his speech on domestic affairs, not foreign ones; just five years ago, the view was evenly split.

    On the day before Obama’s speech, his campaign released a short Web ad showing monthly job losses during the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration, with positive job growth for nearly two Obama years. Republicans assail him for failing to achieve a lot more.

    House Speaker John Boehner, responding to reports of Obama’s speech themes, said it was a rehash of unhelpful policies. “It’s pathetic,” he said.

    Presidential spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that Obama is not conceding the next 10 months to “campaigning alone” when people need economic help. On the goals of helping people get a fair shot, Carney said, “There’s ample room within those boundaries for bipartisan cooperation and for getting this done.”

    Plouffe appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” with Ryan and Plouffe also was interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show and “CBS This Morning.”


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    9 Comments
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    Mikey
    Mikey
    12 years ago

    Talk, talk, and more talk… When will this vacation-going, golf-playing, do nothing productive president actually do something? He is not in touch with the middle class. Since taking office he has had the chance to go play golf 90, YES 90, times and go on exhorbinant vacations. I work my rear off to make it by without any vacations – cause I can’t afford one, although I am middle class – and this shmuck tells me he understands and cares for me?
    If he had any sense of decency he would not take such exhorbinant vacations in the face of the millions of hard working Americans. He has disgraced the office with his public behavior…

    12 years ago

    Spin doctors are about the only ones who have no problem with unemployment. Someone has to be able to write a speech for Obama in which he can convince us that he has accomplished something. I’m looking at a report card that is worse than poor. Let’s list some (Liberals – prepare your typing fingers to copunter-attack).
    * Unemployment is horribly high, despite promises it will return to much lower numbers. In every shul in my neighborhood, there are dozens of Yidden out of work. No parnossoh, no food, no tuitions, etc.
    * National debt was inflated by several hundred percent.
    * Bailouts were ineffective, at a huge price.
    * Foreign policy is comical. Negotiate with Iran? Insult Israel? Force preconditions on Israel when the other side doesn;t want peace?
    * Regulations are growing and getting dumber all the time.
    * Immigration policy is a wreck – with the administration challenging states for seeking to enforce Federal Law?
    * More vacations than any president in US history. When does he work?
    * White House more about party politics than governing. That is shameful.

    Enough? I hope Obama cracks some jokes at least to make it worth listening.

    MidwesternGuy
    MidwesternGuy
    12 years ago

    Translation guide for the perplexed: This will greatly enhance your understanding of the speech:

    When Obama says “working people” he means “union members”
    When Obama says “wealthy people” he means “people making more than $250K”
    When Obama says “fairness” he means “taking from the wealthy (see above) to give to everyone else”
    When Obama says “fair share” he means “you’re all going to take a hit”
    When Obama says “green energy” he means “giveaways to my favorite friends and supporters that you, the sucker taxpayers will pay for whether profitable or not”
    When Obama talks about “job growth” he means “so many of you suckers gave up looking for work that you made it look like there’s job growth.”

    I could go on, but that’s a start.

    jaayy
    jaayy
    12 years ago

    Yes sir. After 3 years taking it down. You will take it on ……….. Thanks – but no thanks

    Miriam377
    Miriam377
    12 years ago

    He has shown time and again that he is a communist. I could have told you 4 years ago that he would be a disaster for this country. Shows I am right.

    Mark Levin
    Mark Levin
    12 years ago

    Glad he’s been focused on this since day one.

    If he was concerned, he would have signed the pipeline deal BEFORE it reached his desk. He is full of himself! He has no interest in the economy or anything positive about the country.

    ANYONE BUT OBAMA IN 2012!!!!!

    RebKlemson
    RebKlemson
    12 years ago

    on the bright side theres a standup comedian on tonite at 9, obama