Obama returns focus to nation’s economy

GALESBURG, Ill. – President Barack Obama sought Wednesday to steer the nation’s attention back to his stewardship of an improving economy with a high-profile speech that took credit for a comeback but warned that persistent “inequality of opportunity” and fights over the federal budget could undo the progress.

Speaking from a college gymnasium in this economically distressed town, Obama issued his sunniest description yet of the economy and praised the “resilience” of Americans in the face of diminished income, a sluggish job market and a widening gap between rich and poor.

“Today, five years after the start of that Great Recession, America has fought its way back,” Obama said. “As a country, we’ve recovered faster and gone further than most other advanced nations in the world.”

Economists agree the United States is gaining ground with steady job growth and increasing investor confidence. But a large share of the new jobs this year have come in lower-paying businesses, and analysts question whether the economy can sustain the rate of growth as the year wears on.

Obama acknowledged “we have more work to do,” and for more than an hour he spoke on his economic agenda, including proposals for expanding public preschool, raising the minimum wage, overhauling the tax code, and curbing the rising cost of higher education.

The speech and another later Wednesday at the University of Central Missouri offered broad, familiar themes, only hinting at specific policy actions to come. Obama promised he would outline details in future remarks. He also vowed to use his executive authority whenever possible to override the Republican opposition that has thwarted much of his economic agenda for the past two years.

“With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball. And I am here to say this needs to stop,” Obama said. “This moment does not require short-term thinking. It does not require having the same old stale debates.”

The speech was an attempt to revive the populist economic message that helped propel Obama to re-election but has recently faded from view, crowded out by months of unwelcome news on other fronts. Controversial leak investigations, wariness about the economy, a stalled immigration bill and public surliness directed at Washington have blunted the president’s post-election momentum.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday put Obama’s approval rating at 45 percent, the lowest since August 2011, when Congress and Obama flirted with default in a showdown over raising the debt ceiling.

A replay of that fight may be on the horizon, and Obama’s two-day economy tour – which takes him to Jacksonville, Fla., today – is, in part, aimed at positioning the White House for the next go-around. Congress will have to raise the debt limit this fall to allow the nation to pay its bills, and funding will need to be approved to keep the government running after Sept. 30.