Obama searches for right note on jobs

MIAMI: US President Barack Obama is searching for the right rhetorical note on the stuttering US economy, as Republicans seek to squelch his 2012 re-election rollout with an assault over the jobs crisis.

By now, the White House had hoped the world's largest economy would be powering ahead, generating hundreds of thousands of jobs every month, along with goodwill for Obama's second term hopes.

But government data last month showing slowed growth, slumbering manufacturing and tepid job creation, forced the White House to recalibrate its message, and raised questions over Obama's 2012 second term prospects.

With unemployment at 9.1 percent, and higher in some key states, Republicans scent a vulnerable target as they kick off their nominating race.

Though the economic crisis erupted under George W. Bush and the economy has created two million jobs in 15 months, Republicans slammed Obama Monday over the pace of the rebound.

"When 14 million Americans are out of work, we need a new president to end the Obama depression," said candidate Newt Gingrich at a campaign debate.

"This president is a declinst," said Tim Pawlenty, another Republican hopeful.

"If China can have five percent growth and Brazil can have five percent growth, then the United States of America can have five percent growth."

When Obama took to the road on Monday to battleground states North Carolina and Florida, he sought to balance empathy for the millions without a job, with a positive vision to animate his re-election bid.

"I won't be satisfied until working families feel like they're moving forward again," Obama said in booming factory in North Carolina.

"That's what drives me every day when I walk down to the Oval Office -- you, your families, your jobs, your dreams, and everything it takes to reach those dreams."

The pitfalls of talking about the mixed recovery however were illustrated when he said this month that data showing only 54,000 new jobs were created in May were "a bump in the road."

Republican front runner Mitt Romney skilfully twisted that comment, in an ad suggesting that Obama did not care about millions of jobless Americans.

The spot showed people lying in a road, then standing up each in turn to declare "I'm an American, not a bump in the road" and holding up a placard with their name followed by "stands with Mitt."

Obama's team will likely combat such an assault by placing the president in settings surrounded by working folk in key states -- such as at a Chrysler car plant this month in Ohio rescued by his auto bailout.

And the White House is also deploying the popular First Lady in a bid to describe her husband's empathy.

"I see the sadness and the worry that's creasing his face," Michelle Obama said in California Monday.

"I hear the passion and the determination in his voice. He says, 'It's not right, we've got to fix this. We have to do more.'"

Democrats also argue the Republican message on the economy is weak.

"In Romney's four years as governor, Massachusetts ranked 47th out of all 50 states in job growth," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse.

"There's a bumper sticker for you -- 'Elect Me: I finished fourth from dead last in jobs.'"

But in political season, any slip can be turned into an attack by campaign war rooms which monitor a candidate's every utterance.

Republicans found a new opening Monday after an Obama aside on his 800 billion dollar stimulus plan.

"Shovel ready was not as shovel ready as we expected," Obama said in North Carolina, saying money had taken longer than hoped to have an impact.

Romney was quick to respond: "the failed stimulus might be funny to President Obama, but it is not funny to 14 million unemployed Americans or those taxpayers who footed the nearly $1 trillion bill.

Obama has already ditched one favourite conceit -- his line from last year mocking Republicans for driving the economy into a ditch, which seemed stale as Democrats took a drubbing in mid-term elections.

Democrats were offered some clues on how to approach the economy by polling for the Democracy Corps group, which said in a recent strategy memo the car analogy was "too light hearted" and "out of touch," and may have offended voters who thought they were still in the economic ditch.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011