Obama Tries To Shift Media Focus To Middle-Class Issues
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President Obama will make middle-class economic issues his focus in his
first State of Union speech. (Creative Commons)
The President detailed five proposed tax and funding changes created to assist those in middle-income tax brackets during an announcement that came a week after the White House had to face the fallout of a game-changing election win by the GOP in Massachusetts and increased criticism of administration economic policies.
Obama highlighted the proposals on the same day a Gallup poll was released that showed his favorable rating among Republican voters has shrunk considerably, from 41 percent in his first week in office to 18 percent.
This further evidence of a highly polarized electorate and persistent concerns about the economy leave the Democratic Party with little margin of error during the buildup to the 2010 midterm elections.
Seeking to hold onto a base of support among independents, the State of the Union speech on Wednesday is expected to include more proposals for assisting the middle-class.
"Their stories are why Joe and I ran for this office: ... to fight for the middle class, to make sure working families have a voice in the White House, and to do everything within our power to make sure they don't just survive the crisis, but again they can thrive," said Obama Monday morning at a press conference.
The initiatives described today include an increase in the child care tax credit, a cap on required payment levels on school loans, and retirement saving incentives.
The Obama administration's attempt to re-engage on the issue of jobs and the economy started at the beginning of January with the President's "Jobs" speech, which promised a plan to stimulate job growth.
But the L.A. Times reports that many are still unsure about what exactly the administration's economic goals and plans are.
"It's not clear what Obamanomics is," Robert D. Atkinson, president of a nonpartisan Washington think tank, said to the Times. "That does hurt the administration. It becomes harder to convey a vision of where you want to go."
Another economic policy challenge that the administration faces this week is securing votes for the re-confirmation of Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman. Bernanke's term as Chairman expires this Sunday and awaits a final confirmation vote in the Senate this week.
Just a month after being named Person of the Year by Time Magazine, Bernanke is facing criticism from both Republican and Democratic senators. California Sen. Barbara Boxer said she would not vote to confirm Bernanke. The Chairman's detractors are questioning his handling of the financial meltdown and bank bailout programs.
Despite the criticism, the administration was still confident it had the votes to let Bernanke keep his job, White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said Sunday on Meet the Press.
Commenting on the White House response to economic issues, Jarrett claimed the administration "turned the economy around."
Commenting on the White House response to economic issues, Jarrett claimed the administration "turned the economy around."
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Later in the show, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell expressed some of the frustration about the administration's policies and their effects on business hiring.
"You know, if you sum up the first year, what this administration has done best is rattle the markets, advocate tax increases and run up deficits," said McConnell. "That's not a very comforting message to business people looking at trying to expand employment."
Speaking with Neon Tommy, Los Angeles County GOP chairwoman Jane Barnett echoed McConnell's sentiments saying that Obama's first year has left businesses leaving rapidly.
"I don't disagree with tax credits as a boost to the middle class and other people," said Barnett. "But we need to have tax credits for major businesses, small businesses, large corporations. We need more incentives to do business in this country."
When asked about what she would want the President to say in his State of the Union speech, Barnett said his efforts to bailout banks and other industries are the wrong approach.
"I would want him to say 'I'm sorry America that I didn't keep my pledges,'" Barnett added.
White House Adviser Jarrett, speaking on Meet the Press, proved the President's speech Wednesday would not exactly follow Barnett's example. Jarrett confirmed that the focus in the speech will be on providing a boost to the struggling middle-class.
"They're having to make terrible choices between paying their rent and putting food on the table and paying for their health care and sending their kids to college, said Jarrett. "These are the same principles that the president advocated in the course of the campaign."
Comments
Obama is trying to make the pivot. At this point he's probably going to have to do more than talk about fighting for the middle-class. He will have to come up with some very tangible bailout programs for the bottom fifth or so of the population that is unemployed or underemployed. I voted for him. Not for more Republicans. I hope the old Obama shows up.