Obama touts jobs bill as new maneuvering looms

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama heads to electoral battlegrounds to tout his jobs bill Tuesday, as his campaign brain trust argues voters are warming to the plan, despite its doubtful prospects in Congress.


Obama will hold events in the key electoral state of Pennsylvania, a must-win for him in 2012, and in vital swing state Florida, as an amended version of his dollar 447 billion package faces a symbolic Senate vote.


The day will likely evolve into a new round of partisan posturing, as Republicans and Democrats, eyeing a date with voters next year, seek political advantage from a measure that has almost no chance of passing in full.The American people agree with economists across the political spectrums who are saying that the (act) will immediately create jobs and put more money in the pockets of middle class Americans who are struggling to make ends meet.


“Yet Republican leaders – from Congress to the presidential campaign trail – have been steadfast in their opposition without providing an alternative that would create jobs now.”


Republicans, however, argue that even some lawmakers from Obama’s own Democratic Party are wary of voting for the legislation.Obama, who has crisscrossed the country for the last few weeks demanding Congress “pass this bill” argues his plan will boost growth by two percent and shave one percent off the unemployment rate, currently at 9.1 per cent.


Democratic strategists hope that if the plan fails to pass Congress in recognizable form, Republicans – who brand it the latest in a series of failed stimulus measures – will pay a political price with voters.