Obama's road trips: More than just jobs?
(CNN) – President Barack Obama took his jobs plan to Virginia Friday during the first of two upcoming visits planned in the 2012 battleground.
The president traveled to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's district in Richmond to talk up his jobs recovery proposal, which is expected to be put before Congress next week.
"The time for gridlock and games is over," he said. “Now is not the time for people in Washington to be worrying about their jobs. It's time for them to be worrying about your jobs."
Political Notebook: Listen as CNN Contributor John Avlon and CNN’s Bob Costantini look at the political ups and down of the president’s address to Congress. And the White House Communications Director talks sales.
Bob McDonnell took the Virginia governor's mansion from Democratic hands in 2009, defeating opponent Creigh Deeds after then-Gov. Tim Kaine was picked to head the Democratic National Committee.
But the state broke narrowly for Obama in 2008 and may factor heavily in whether he'll be able to get re-elected.
President Obama will travel to Ohio Monday-after commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in Pennsylvania, DC, and New York, Sunday-to continue touting is $447 billion jobs plan that includes some tax cuts, infrastructure spending, and job training assistance.
He carried Ohio by five percentage points over McCain in 2008, and will likely attempt to recapture state again in 2012.
Like Virginia, Ohio elected a Republican following four years of Democratic gubernatorial leadership, but Gov. John Kasich recently stirred up controversy by spearheading a move to limit collective bargaining rights for workers in an effort to battle the state's budget deficits. Kasich saw his approval ratings fall as a result, and the state is expected to be competitive in electing the next president.
And though the White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday that Obama's agenda in both battleground states is focused on drumming up support for his "American Jobs Act," by going “all over the country urging Americans to urge their representatives to take action on this essential package of proposals to help grow the economy, Ohio and Virginia are also states he'll need to make a play for in 2012.
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@ TEA PARTY Mike – Tried to read your blah, blah, blah, but you seem to be regurgitating views from last night's panels. An original thought now and again would be interesting. Then your final statement, that they "will instead want Obama to work with Republicans", you seem to have it backward. Obama has been trying to work with the Republican Party of NO for two and a half years now. How about you capitulate and ask your Republican representatives to work with the President?! They are the ones that have NOT put one JOBS bill forward and continue to promote the LIE that the stimulus packages have not worked. The CBO claims that had it not been for the stimulus packages, the US would already be in a deep RECESSION!!! The staunchness of your opposition is pathetic!
"........he says the rich have to pay thier fair share yet 47 million low income americans dont pay federal income tax......"
It's funny how the right wingers add two words to this statement that changes the whole statement. They add "low income" which is NOT what the original was. The fact simply said "47 million Americans don't pay federal income tax. Now I submit that a great portion of those 47 million Americans are NOT low income Americans but fairly high income earners who can take advantage of all the tax loopholes in the tax code. But like all right wing nuts they like to blame the poor for all of the countries problems. Typical GOP lies which keep getting repeated over and over again. Another GOP Big Lie. I know this to be true since while I do pay income tax it certainly isn't as much as many people I know because I can take advantage of the loopholes. I pay far less tax than any of my employees.
President Obama great job keep showing the teabaggars that you not a weak president. Go to all the republicans and teabaggars district show them that you are the chief in command and you fire up. The independent voters will show the republicans and teabaggars dont take our votes for granted.
He needs to take this to the people we are all fed up with the lies by the gop...and he smart to take it to va and oh. i do not care if it helps open peoples eyes! you people wjo say this is for his re election...i say so what? that is exactly what the goptp have been doing for months now!
@terry, Va. I will pray for you because you are so filled with hate. Don't stereotype your fellow americans. The majority of Americans live in the city. We are neither thugs nor degenerates but work hard, and pay more than our fair share of taxes to help out those in the small population areas of the country. Those of us in the city love our country as much as you do. Remember September 11, 2001 when we came together as a Country. Let's be civil to each other because we are all Americans no matter our political ideas, gender, race, religion, or income.
White and Unbias
I have to say I am so sick and tired of people saying they are part of the “TEA PARTY”. Please stop the MADNESS. First, if you really cared about your Country, you would support your president regardless who he is (white, black, yellow, red, man or woman). Get over yourself. I was born a Democratic and will always be a Democratic and there are times I have not agreed with everything my party wanted to do, which led to me voting outside of my party because I put the Country FIRST, not my party. We must all work together to make this Country what it used to be. The United States of America is very resilient and will bounce back. It is sad I cannot say that about the people because of the many hurts feelings and hurtful words that have been split out all over the world for no good reason at all, selfish, self-absorbed, egotistical, ideological reasons maybe, but definitely no good reason.
I am proud we have a President who knows how to give a grand speech that will ignite excitement and hope for a better future. It is better than sitting around being sad and miserable, that comes a dime a dozen. Try listening to his speech for a change and if you cannot do that, then shut up.
The president does care about what people think about him and it is not just political. He is a caring person and he does want to be liked. If I had one thing to disagree with him on it would be that. Stop worrying about what they may say or think about you Mr. President…because they do not like you anyway. You can save the world and make everyone millionaires; they would still find a reason to hate you. Just do the job we put you in office to do. If they do not want to come on board then so be it. Move on even if you have to use Executive Orders to get things done. So with that said, the Tea Party is not the majority so please get over yourself and who are you to determine who will jump on board for his Job Plan. Move over, because President Obama will be reelected again and you will have to see his face and hear his speeches another 4 years. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ricky Vee, please do your homework, the number is incorrect about the 47 million who do not pay income tax. You are one of those that get their talking points from the media. Do your research before you speak, please……………………….. And yes, the top 1 or 2% should do their part. Hell they are ones who helped to get us in this mess in the first place.
Obama is a master trickster and deceiver.
He says in his speech that Republicans have supported everything in his plan in the past, so they should again. This is short sited and shows limited thinking and a lack of ability to adjust to environment. But most likely it is just a political stunt to make Republicans look bad if they should object to any part of the plan.
First of all, I don't think Republicans ever supported a bailout of the states. Sounds like Obama wants to give more money to the states to save government public union jobs. I don't think there was ever much Republican support for that.
Second there are many reasons why things Republicans may have supported in the past should not be supported now.
1) Conditions in the economy have changed, what may have worked in the past may not work in the present environment.
2) The size of the deficit. Obama has added 4 trillion to the total debt. What may have been affordable in the past may not be now. Even paying for it with long term deficit reduction which is the way Obama looks to be heading may be a bad idea. Because the total debt is so much higher and still growing, any long term deficit reduction needs to be used to reduce the deficits, not pay for new spending. To use it for new spending means less deficit reduction can be realized. So in fact it is really not paid for, it actually will increase the debt. If 400 billion were to be shifted from the current budget to pay for this, that would be different because that would not increase spending, just shift it.
3) The total cost may be too much. Some things may have to be cut out in order to bring the cost down to what is affordable.
4) Something tired in the past may not have worked or worked as well as expected. It does not merit trying again.
5) Obama and the Democrats have put a roadblock in front of the private business sector in the form of a mountain of new regulations and mandates passed over the last 3 years. Stimulus that would have worked before Obama and the Democrats did that will not work now unless government removes the roadblock.
But Obama can not think critically, only politically. The speech was all about getting re-elected, not about creating jobs. Everything in Obama's plan has already been tried. Some of it does merit being done again as part of a plan that includes new things that need to be done in light of the fact that the environment has changed since the first stimulus 3 years ago. But Obama is more interested in getting re-elected than putting together a plan that will work.