Obama: Keep jobs in U.S.
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By Jack Torry and Jessica Wehrman, Hamilton JournalNews, Ohio
Jan. 25--WASHINGTON -- Calling it "the defining issue of our time,'' President Barack Obama Tuesday urged that America keep alive the promise from the past of an economic system "where everyone gets a fair shot'' and "everyone plays by the same set of rules.''
Delivering his third State of the Union address against the backdrop of what is expected to be a divisive presidential election, Obama told lawmakers that he wanted to "apply the same rules from top-to-bottom: No bailouts, no handouts and no copouts.''
"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by,'' Obama said. "Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone gets their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.''
In the Republican rebuttal, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said that "no feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others.''
With his speech, Obama laid out his legislative agenda for the year. But he also attempted to frame the November election as a choice between economic fairness for the middle class or a system which he argued has allowed a small group of Americans to accumulate a greater share of the national wealth.
With the national unemployment rate hovering at 8.5 percent, Obama enters this election year with 44 percent of American voters approving of his performance, according to a Gallup Poll released yesterday.
But at the same time, Americans harbor far greater disapproval of the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, with a CBS News/New York Times poll last week showing that just 13 percent of voters approve of the job of Congress.
In addition, Republicans are engaged in a divisive presidential primary between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Obama outlined a handful of proposals that he called on Congress to pass, including a one-year, $160 billion cut in the Social Security payroll tax for middle-income Americans. He called for assistance to small companies through fewer regulations and expanded tax relief.