Washington:
It was billed as "Investing in America," a live televised conversation on the state of the economy between President Obama and American workers, students, business people and retirees, a kind of Wall Street to Main Street reality check.
But it sounded like a therapy session for disillusioned Obama supporters.
In question after question during a one-hour session, which took place on Monday at the Newseum here and was televised on CNBC, Obama was confronted by people who sounded frustrated and anxious -- even as some said they supported his agenda and proclaimed themselves honoured to be in his presence.
People from Main Street wanted to know if the American dream still lived for them. People on Wall Street complained that he was treating them like a piñata, "whacking us with a stick," in the words of Anthony Scaramucci, a former law school classmate of Obama's who now runs a hedge fund and was one of the president's questioners.
"I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for," said the first questioner, an African-American woman who identified herself as a chief financial officer, a mother and a military veteran. "I've been told that I voted for a man who was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class and I'm waiting sir, I'm waiting. I still don't feel it yet."
A 30-year-old law school graduate told Obama that he had hoped to pursue a career in public service -- like the president -- but complained that he could barely pay the interest on his student loans, let alone think of getting married or starting a family.
"I was really inspired by you and your campaign and the message you brought, and that inspiration is dying away," he said, adding, "And I really want to know, is the American dream dead for me?"
The extraordinarily personal tone of the session, coupled with more substantive policy questions from the host, John Harwood of CNBC and The New York Times, reflects the erosion of support for Obama among the constituencies that sent him to the White House two years ago.
It was all the more compelling coming from such a friendly audience; one questioner, a small-business owner in Pennsylvania, began by praising the president for turning around the auto industry, then lamented, "You're losing the war of sound bites. You're losing the media cycles."
As he leads his party into what many analysts expect to be a devastating midterm election for Democrats, the president faces overwhelming skepticism from Americans on his handling of the economy. A recent New York Times poll found 57 per cent of respondents believed the president did not have a clear plan for fixing the nation's broken economy.
Obama sought on Monday to address those concerns, telling his business critics that he was not anti business and his middle class questioners that "there are a whole host of things we've put in place to make your life better." He cited his health care bill, a financial regulatory overhaul measure that imposed tough requirements on credit card companies; an education bill that increased the availability of student loans.
The president also laid down a challenge to the Tea Party movement, whose candidates have swept aside mainstream Republicans in recent primaries in Alaska and Delaware. He said it was not enough for Tea Party candidates to campaign on a theme of smaller government; he tried to put them in an uncomfortable box by prodding them to offer specifics about the programs they would cut.
"The challenge for the Tea Party movement is to identify specifically - What would you do?" the president said. "It's not enough to say get control of spending. I think it's important for you to say, 'I'm willing to cut veterans benefits, or I'm willing to cut Medicare or Social Security, or I'm willing to see taxes go up.' "
Obama hinted that he was open to considering a payroll tax holiday to spur job growth, saying he would be willing to "look at any idea that's out there," although he went on to say that some ideas that "look good on paper" are more complicated than they appear.
And he ducked a question from Harwood about whether he would be willing to debate the House Republican leader, John Boehner of Ohio, the way former President Bill Clinton had a debate 15 years ago with Newt Gingrich, who was then the House speaker.
"I think it's premature to say that John Boehner's going to be the speaker of the House," Obama said.
Obama is stepping up his efforts to mobilize Democratic voters and find ways to improve the political climate for his party heading toward Election Day. He will begin trying to build enthusiasm among some of the voters who propelled him to victory in 2008, like college students, while Democratic strategists are considering ways to turn the increased prominence of the Tea Party movement to their advantage by characterizing positions taken by some Tea Party-backed Republican candidates as extreme.
The White House denied an article in The New York Times on Monday saying that Obama's political advisers were considering national advertising to cast the Republican Party as having been all but taken over by the Tea Party movement.
"The story that led The New York Times yesterday was flat out wrong," Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director, said in an e-mail message. "The White House has never discussed, contemplated or weighed such an ad campaign."
Pfeiffer said the article "was based on the thinnest of reeds," an anonymous source.
The Times stood by the report.
After his appearance on CNBC, the president flew to Philadelphia, where he appeared at two fund-raisers for Representative Joe Sestak, the Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, and raised $1 million for the Democratic National Committee.
If the televised session on Monday seemed to put Obama on the spot, he did not appear ruffled. Rather, he seemed resigned to the frustration of his questioners.
"My goal here is not to convince you that everything is where it needs to be," the president said, "but what I am saying is that we are moving in the right direction."
But it sounded like a therapy session for disillusioned Obama supporters.
In question after question during a one-hour session, which took place on Monday at the Newseum here and was televised on CNBC, Obama was confronted by people who sounded frustrated and anxious -- even as some said they supported his agenda and proclaimed themselves honoured to be in his presence.
People from Main Street wanted to know if the American dream still lived for them. People on Wall Street complained that he was treating them like a piñata, "whacking us with a stick," in the words of Anthony Scaramucci, a former law school classmate of Obama's who now runs a hedge fund and was one of the president's questioners.
"I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for," said the first questioner, an African-American woman who identified herself as a chief financial officer, a mother and a military veteran. "I've been told that I voted for a man who was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class and I'm waiting sir, I'm waiting. I still don't feel it yet."
A 30-year-old law school graduate told Obama that he had hoped to pursue a career in public service -- like the president -- but complained that he could barely pay the interest on his student loans, let alone think of getting married or starting a family.
"I was really inspired by you and your campaign and the message you brought, and that inspiration is dying away," he said, adding, "And I really want to know, is the American dream dead for me?"
The extraordinarily personal tone of the session, coupled with more substantive policy questions from the host, John Harwood of CNBC and The New York Times, reflects the erosion of support for Obama among the constituencies that sent him to the White House two years ago.
It was all the more compelling coming from such a friendly audience; one questioner, a small-business owner in Pennsylvania, began by praising the president for turning around the auto industry, then lamented, "You're losing the war of sound bites. You're losing the media cycles."
As he leads his party into what many analysts expect to be a devastating midterm election for Democrats, the president faces overwhelming skepticism from Americans on his handling of the economy. A recent New York Times poll found 57 per cent of respondents believed the president did not have a clear plan for fixing the nation's broken economy.
Obama sought on Monday to address those concerns, telling his business critics that he was not anti business and his middle class questioners that "there are a whole host of things we've put in place to make your life better." He cited his health care bill, a financial regulatory overhaul measure that imposed tough requirements on credit card companies; an education bill that increased the availability of student loans.
The president also laid down a challenge to the Tea Party movement, whose candidates have swept aside mainstream Republicans in recent primaries in Alaska and Delaware. He said it was not enough for Tea Party candidates to campaign on a theme of smaller government; he tried to put them in an uncomfortable box by prodding them to offer specifics about the programs they would cut.
"The challenge for the Tea Party movement is to identify specifically - What would you do?" the president said. "It's not enough to say get control of spending. I think it's important for you to say, 'I'm willing to cut veterans benefits, or I'm willing to cut Medicare or Social Security, or I'm willing to see taxes go up.' "
Obama hinted that he was open to considering a payroll tax holiday to spur job growth, saying he would be willing to "look at any idea that's out there," although he went on to say that some ideas that "look good on paper" are more complicated than they appear.
And he ducked a question from Harwood about whether he would be willing to debate the House Republican leader, John Boehner of Ohio, the way former President Bill Clinton had a debate 15 years ago with Newt Gingrich, who was then the House speaker.
"I think it's premature to say that John Boehner's going to be the speaker of the House," Obama said.
Obama is stepping up his efforts to mobilize Democratic voters and find ways to improve the political climate for his party heading toward Election Day. He will begin trying to build enthusiasm among some of the voters who propelled him to victory in 2008, like college students, while Democratic strategists are considering ways to turn the increased prominence of the Tea Party movement to their advantage by characterizing positions taken by some Tea Party-backed Republican candidates as extreme.
The White House denied an article in The New York Times on Monday saying that Obama's political advisers were considering national advertising to cast the Republican Party as having been all but taken over by the Tea Party movement.
"The story that led The New York Times yesterday was flat out wrong," Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director, said in an e-mail message. "The White House has never discussed, contemplated or weighed such an ad campaign."
Pfeiffer said the article "was based on the thinnest of reeds," an anonymous source.
The Times stood by the report.
After his appearance on CNBC, the president flew to Philadelphia, where he appeared at two fund-raisers for Representative Joe Sestak, the Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, and raised $1 million for the Democratic National Committee.
If the televised session on Monday seemed to put Obama on the spot, he did not appear ruffled. Rather, he seemed resigned to the frustration of his questioners.
"My goal here is not to convince you that everything is where it needs to be," the president said, "but what I am saying is that we are moving in the right direction."
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