Obama vs. GOP on jobs: Let the blame game begin (The Christian Science Monitor)

The partisan debate over jobs creation has descended into a blame game between President Obama and congressional Republicans.

“Over and over, they have refused to even debate the same kind of jobs proposals that Republicans have supported in the past – proposals that today are supported, not just by Democrats, but by Independents and Republicans all across America,” Obama complained in his radio address Saturday morning. “Meanwhile, they're only scheduled to work three more weeks between now and the end of the year.

Republicans in the House respond that they’ve passed 15 job-creating bills only to have those measures bottled up in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“We call these bills the 'forgotten 15',” Rep. Bobby Schilling of Illinois said in the Republican address Saturday.

“These are common-sense bills that address those excessive federal regulations that are hurting small business job creation,” said Rep. Schilling, a freshman lawmaker whose family owns a pizza business in Moline. “A number of them have bipartisan support. Yet the Senate won't give these bills a vote, and the president hasn't called for action.”

The essence of the divide remains: Increase federal investment to stimulate job creation versus easing environmental and other regulatory restrictions that critics say can hinder job creation.

As with much of the debate in Washington these days – including the effort by the bipartisan congressional “super committee” to cut the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion before draconian budget cuts kick in automatically – this one can’t avoid the subject of taxes.

A new report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office gives Obama ammunition for his assertion that “millionaires and billionaires” can afford to pay more.

The CBO reported this week that while the rich got a lot richer over the past 30 years, the rest of American society struggled to keep up.

The CBO found that average after-tax income for the top 1 percent of US households had increased by 275 percent while middle-income households saw just a 40 percent rise and for those at the bottom of the economic scale, the jump was 18 percent.

"The distribution of after-tax income in the United States was substantially more unequal in 2007 than in 1979," CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said in a blog post. " Income a€| for households at the higher end of the income scale rose much more rapidly than income for households in the middle and at the lower end of the income scale.a€

Obama says he’s doing what he can through executive order because GOP lawmakers refuse to consider his proposals.

On Friday, Obama directed government agencies to shorten the time it takes for federal research to turn into commercial products in the marketplace. The goal is to help startup companies and small businesses create jobs and expand their operations more quickly.

The president also called for creating a centralized online site for companies to easily find information about federal services. He previously had announced help for people who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth and for the repayment of student loans. The White House also challenged community health centers to hire veterans.

"We can no longer wait for Congress to do its job," Obama said Saturday. "So where Congress won’t act, I will."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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Obama touts foreign policy successes in Iraq, Libya (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama sought on Saturday to cast himself as a strong leader on foreign policy, highlighting a U.S. pullout from Iraq and the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as success stories.

In a message Obama is likely to push in his 2012 re-election campaign, he said his leadership had made it possible to turn the page on a decade of war and refocus on bolstering the U.S. economy and paying down the national debt.

Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address that Gaddafi's death and the announcement that all U.S. troops would be removed from Iraq this year were "powerful reminders of how we've renewed American leadership in the world."

The emphasis on foreign policy comes as confidence in Obama's stewardship of the economy has fallen sharply, causing his overall approval ratings to slide to around 42 percent, the lowest of his presidency.

With the economy's woes weighing heavily on Americans' minds, Obama may have trouble gaining political traction from his message on foreign policy.

The killing in May of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by a U.S. Navy Seal team in Pakistan brought only a temporary boost to Obama's poll numbers.

Obama mentioned bin Laden in the radio speech and said victories against al Qaeda -- along with the policies toward Iraq and Libya -- were "part of a larger story" of success.

"In Libya, the death of Muammar Gaddafi showed that our role in protecting the Libyan people, and helping them break free from a tyrant, was the right thing to do," he said.

"In Iraq, we've succeeded in our strategy to end the war," Obama added.

Prominent Republicans have criticized the decision to fully withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, saying it would embolden neighboring Iran.

Republicans also contend Obama has hurt America's image by pursuing a "leading from behind" strategy on the "Arab Spring" uprisings.

Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the Republican race to challenge Obama in 2012, in a speech earlier this month accused the president of pulling back from the view that America should be the "strongest nation on Earth."

(Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Obama, Lee pitch trade deal in Michigan (AP)

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. – President Barack Obama and South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak are promoting a new trade deal by visiting an auto plant in Michigan, a state battered by Asian car imports, in a rare joint appearance outside of Washington by a U.S. president and a visiting head of state.

In choosing General Motors Co.'s Orion assembly plant for a post-state dinner tour Friday, the two leaders will draw attention to an aspect of a U.S.-South Korea trade agreement that had been among the most difficult to negotiate. Congress approved the deal Wednesday after negotiators overcame U.S. auto industry complaints that previous efforts at a deal failed to do enough to lift South Korea's barriers to U.S.-made cars.

Obama is taking Lee to the heart of the region that has been hardest hit by foreign car competition, especially the influx of vehicles like South Korea's Hyundai.

Aides contend Obama drove a hard bargain -- insisting the deal give U.S. automakers a much better shot at selling in South Korea.

"He was willing to walk away from the (deal) because he didn't think it was good enough, strong enough, or provided enough protection for American workers and American businesses," press secretary Jay Carney told reporters as Obama flew to Michigan.

But for Obama, the trip is also an opportunity to highlight the auto industry's resurgence after he engineered an $80 billion government bailout for GM and Chrysler in 2009. The Orion plant, about 30 miles north of Detroit, had been shuttered before the federal government stepped in and helped usher the two carmakers through bankruptcy protection. The plant now is producing the subcompact Chevrolet Sonic and will start production of the compact Buick Verano soon.

The Sonic, the only subcompact sold in the U.S. that is assembled in the U.S., is being built with Korean parts. GM began building the Sonic last year following an agreement with the United Autoworkers that allowed the company to pay some workers lower wages that are more competitive with those in GM's foreign plants. The Sonic's predecessor, the Chevrolet Aveo, was built in South Korea.

All in all, Obama could profit from calling attention to policies aimed at benefitting Michigan, a state that has the third highest unemployment rate in the country at 11.2 percent and which represents an important battleground in his bid for re-election. Obama won the state by a 57-41 margin in 2008, but could face difficulties in the state, especially if his general election opponent is Mitt Romney, whose father was Michigan governor.

The trip also serves as an opportunity to illustrate his special relationship with the South Korean leader. Inviting Lee to the U.S. heartland is an unusual addition to the itinerary of a high-profile state visit. The two men were expected to fly separately to Michigan; once at the plant, both men planned to make remarks.

Lee's is the fifth state visit during Obama's presidency, but the first that has included added travel beyond Washington D.C.

President George W. Bush was more predisposed to travel outside the capital Beltway with foreign leaders. In 2006, he invited Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, an unabashed Elvis Presley fan, to Graceland. In 2001, Bush took Mexican President Vicente Fox to Toledo, Ohio, where the two addressed Hispanic voters the day after their state visit at the White House. The following year, then-Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski accompanied Bush to a Polish cultural center in the Detroit suburbs.

In addition to the South Korea agreement, Congress approved free trade deals Wednesday with Colombia and Panama. The South Korea deal, which would be the largest since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, still must be approved by South Korea's National Assembly_ a vote that Lee said he was confident would succeed.

The South Korea deal alone could expand U.S. exports by $11 billion and support 70,000 jobs, according to the White House. The agreements would lower or eliminate tariffs that American exporters face in the three countries. They also take steps to better protect intellectual property and improve access for American investors in those countries. The last free trade agreement completed was with Peru in 2007.

Many labor groups opposed the deals, but the agreements won wide bipartisan support in part because their passage was linked to legislation to extend aid to workers displaced by foreign competition. Obama had demanded that the worker aid bill be part of the trade package.

Standing with Lee at his side during a press conference Thursday, Obama declared the trade deal "a win for both our countries," adding that he was "very pleased that it'll help level the playing field for American automakers."

Still, five of the six House Democrats from Michigan voted against the trade deal, including Rep. Gary Peters, whose district includes GM's Orion plant. Peters said Obama had helped make the deal fairer to U.S. carmakers, but said he believed the deal would cost jobs in Michigan.

The trade agreement comes as South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. are on track to set U.S. sales records this year. Both companies build car and light truck models in the United States, but also export vehicles to the U.S. market.

Last year, the Ford Motor Co. ran an aggressive ad campaign to improve the trade deal by pointing out that for every 52 cars South Korea exported to the U.S., the U.S. only exported one to South Korea. "We believe in free trade, and this isn't it," Ford said in ads that ran in newspapers across the country.

On Friday, Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally praised the deal, saying it would "open new opportunities for Ford to reach even more Korean customers."

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Obama ups pressure ahead of Senate jobs bill vote (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama maintained his attack against congressional Republicans over his jobs bill on Saturday, upping pressure before it faces a vote in the Senate next week.

Repeating a warning to make them explain to the American people why they oppose his measures, Obama said the country needed it as insurance against a double dip recession.

"This jobs bill can help guard against another downturn here in America," the president said in his weekly address.

Republicans, who complain Obama is more interested in keeping his own job in next year's election than creating work for ordinary Americans, dismissed the steps as more of the same policies they say have missed their mark in the past.

"It's nothing but a rehash of the same failed ideas he's already tried, combined with a huge tax increase," said Republican Senator John Thune in his party's weekly address.

The president has toured the country since he launched the proposal last month in a bid to enlist public opinion to pressure Congress to pass the bill, and he held a short-notice press conference on Thursday to hammer home this message.

"If their plan doesn't measure up, the American people deserve to know what it is that Republicans in Congress don't like about this jobs plan," Obama said.

Senate Democrats will vote on his $447 billion proposal for tax cuts and spending on Tuesday, after replacing Obama's suggestion of how to cover its cost with their own millionaire tax surcharge. However, the Senate is not expected to get enough votes to pave the way for the bill's passage.

If it does fail to win the 60 votes needed to avoid Republican delaying tactics in the Senate, congressional Democrats will likely look at other ways to advance bits of Obama's initiative, either through promoting individual bills or by attaching measures into other legislation.

Obama said action was needed and the latest monthly jobs data, released on Friday, bore him out.

It showed U.S. unemployment remained pinned at a historically lofty 9.1 percent last month -- a rate of joblessness the president must reduce to improve his hopes of winning reelection in November 2012.

Trade pacts between the United States and South Korea, Colombia and Panama that will be voted on by U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday could generate business that Obama says may create tens of thousands of new U.S. jobs.

He hosts South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to a White House state visit on Thursday and they will travel together to Detroit on Friday to discuss the job benefits of the pact.

But Republicans complain that he should have advanced these deals when he entered the White House 2-1/2 years ago.

"It's extremely unfortunate that we had to wait so long for the president to do something so simple, to help promote American exports, and create American jobs," Thune said.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Emails raise fresh questions on Obama energy loan (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An Obama administration appointee at the Energy Department pressed White House analysts to sign off on a $535 million loan to Solyndra even though his wife worked for the failed solar panel maker's law firm, according to internal emails made public on Friday.

The revelation adds new drama to a political battle over the administration's backing for Solyndra, which has filed for bankruptcy and has been raided by the FBI. The newly disclosed emails reveal "a disturbingly close relationship" between the White House, campaign donors and wealthy investors relating to Solyndra, a senior congressional Republican said.

The emails show frequent inquiries from Steven Spinner, who was an adviser to the Energy Department on its use of economic stimulus funding to spur clean energy technology, on the Solyndra loan, according to a report in the New York Times.

On September 29, the Energy Department had posted a "fact check" on Spinner's involvement in the Solyndra case on its website, explaining that he started his job after the company received conditional approval for its loan application.

The department said Spinner "was recused from engaging in any discussions on decisions affecting specific loan applications in which his spouse's law firm was involved out of concern for the appearance of a conflict of interest."

Allison Spinner is a partner at the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which represented Solyndra.

Energy Department spokesman Damien LaVera said on Friday that the department's ethics officer had cleared Spinner to "oversee and monitor the progress of applications," although he was not allowed to make decisions on loans or their terms.

LaVera added that Allison Spinner had "agreed not to participate in or receive any financial compensation from her law firm's work on behalf of any loan program applicant."

Allison Spinner did not work on the Solyndra matter and the firm created an "ethical wall" between her and any of its work on Energy Department issues while her husband worked for the government, according to Courtney Dorman, a spokeswoman for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati said.

While Steve Spinner was at the department, Allison Spinner had agreed to not work on Energy Department issues for clients, and the firm did not discuss or disclose related issues or documents with her, Dorman said.

Steven and Allison Spinner did not respond to requests for comment.

'BREATHING DOWN MY NECK'

The White House, which has aggressively defended decisions made on the loan guarantee, turned over the emails on Friday to the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, which has been probing the loan for the past eight months.

"The paper trail released by the White House portrays a disturbingly close relationship between President Obama's West Wing inner circle, campaign donors, and wealthy investors that spawned the Solyndra mess," Representatives Fred Upton, the panel's chairman, and Cliff Stearns, the head of the investigation, said in a statement.

The emails show Spinner discussed the pending final decision often with Solyndra officials, Energy Department colleagues, and the White House budget office, the New York Times said.

"I have the O.V.P. and W.H. breathing down my neck on this," Spinner wrote, referring to the office of the vice president and the White House in an email to an Energy Department loan officer.

Spinner, who advises clean tech companies in San Francisco, was an Obama fundraiser during the 2008 presidential campaign, the newspaper said.

Other emails showed top Treasury Department officials were alarmed about an Energy Department decision to restructure the company's debt earlier this year, when it ran out of cash.

The plan allowed some $75 million in private investment to be ranked ahead of the government in the event of bankruptcy. That private fund was backed by a prominent Obama fundraiser, George Kaiser.

IN THE DARK

Mary Miller, Treasury's assistant secretary for financial markets, emailed the White House budget director two weeks before Solyndra filed for bankruptcy, complaining the Energy Department had kept Treasury in the dark.

The loan was provided by Treasury's Federal Financing Bank but was guaranteed and monitored by the Energy Department.

Treasury Department lawyers did not think the law allowed for the government loan to be subordinated, Miller said in an August 17 email to Jeffrey Zients, deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

"In February, we requested in writing that DOE seek the Department of Justice's approval of any proposed restructuring. To our knowledge, that has never happened,'" Miller said in the email, excerpts of which were provided by House Republicans.

She also complained that "DOE has not responded to any requests for information about Solyndra" despite requests dating to July 2010.

But emails provided by the administration showed that top staff at the Energy Department discussed the concerns with the chief financial officer of Treasury's Federal Financing Bank.

"Ultimately, DOE's determination that the restructuring was legal was made by career lawyers in the loan program based on a careful analysis of the statute," an Energy Department spokesman said.

A Treasury spokesman declined to elaborate on the contents of Miller's email.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has now requested Treasury turn over all documents related to the Solyndra loan guarantee.

The panel has collected tens of thousands of pages of documents from the Energy Department and White House, and has requested information from two private investors in Solyndra.

The committee has also asked the Energy Department for information on 27 other guarantees backing about $16 billion in loans. The panel is slated to hold another hearing on its findings next Friday, October 14.

(Editing by Will Dunham)

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Obama hits China on trade; cautious on currency bill (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama accused China on Thursday of "gaming" international trade by keeping its currency weak, but was cautious about a bill before the U.S. Senate aimed at pressing Beijing to revalue the yuan.

Obama stopped short of explicitly backing legislation that calls for U.S. tariffs on imports from countries with deliberately undervalued currencies, and he restated concerns that any measure must comply with global trade rules.

Still, in his toughest language on China to date, the president echoed sponsors of the bill, which is heading toward a final Senate vote that could come later on Thursday. The measure, which has drawn warnings from Beijing that it could trigger a trade war, is widely expected to pass.

"China has been very aggressive in gaming the trading system to its advantage and to the disadvantage of other countries, particularly the United States," Obama told a news conference focused on his bid to revive a weak U.S. economy.

"Currency manipulation is one example of it," he said.

Obama, who faces a tough bid for re-election next year, did not say whether he would sign or veto the legislation if it reached his desk. Both the Senate and the House would have to approve the measure first.

"My main concern ... is whatever tools we put in place, let's make sure that these are tools that can actually work, that they're consistent with our international treaties and obligations," Obama said.

"I don't want a situation where we're just passing laws that are symbolic knowing that they're probably not going to be upheld by the World Trade Organization," he said.

The authors of the bipartisan Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act insist the bill complies with WTO rules.

BOEHNER CALLS BILL "WRONG" AND "DANGEROUS"

Many economists say China holds down the value of its yuan currency to give its exporters an edge in global markets. China says it is committed to gradual currency reform and notes that the yuan has risen 30 percent against the dollar since 2005.

The Senate voted 62-38 on Thursday to curtail debate and send the bill toward a final vote in that chamber.

Supporters say that decision, which required a super-majority of 60, virtually guarantees Senate approval, but the bill faces stronger opposition in the House of Representatives and may never be brought to a vote.

"For the Congress of the United States to pass legislation to force the Chinese to do what is arguably very difficult to do I think is wrong, it's dangerous," House Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday.

"You could start a trade war," he warned.

Boehner has the power to block the bill in his chamber, even though backers of the legislation say it has 225 House co-sponsors, including 61 Republicans -- enough for passage if it came to a vote.

Top House Democrats lost no time in stepping up pressure on Boehner.

"Now is the time for the House Republican leadership to stand with American workers by allowing the House to pass the bipartisan China currency bill, and put more Americans back to work," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.

Obama touted his administration's record on pursuing trade cases before the World Trade Organization with the Chinese and others as "more aggressive than any in recent years." But he also noted he had taken great pains to stabilize ties with China that have been dogged by disputes over trade, human rights and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

VOTES VS. DIPLOMACY DILEMMA

If the House were to pass the bill, Obama would face a dilemma. Many Americans blame China's $260 billion trade surplus as one reason the U.S. unemployment rate is stuck above 9 percent.

The bill could hit Obama's desk just weeks before he hosts Chinese President Hu Jintao at a regional economic forum in Hawaii and meets Hu again at an Asian summit in Indonesia.

But vetoing the bill ahead of those November summits will not play well in industrial heartland states like Ohio and Michigan, which Obama likely needs to win a second term. A leading Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, has vowed to crack down on China over currency.

"I think Obama would prefer not to take a position, but if he wants to be consistent with his past policies and statements, he will sign the bill," said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a bill supporter.

"I don't think Obama wants to be outflanked on this," he said.

Obama said he believed "a win-win trading relationship with China" was possible.

But he said competing with the world's second-biggest economy requires Washington to "make sure that we're aggressive in looking out for the interests of American workers and American businesses and that everybody is playing by the same rules and that we're not getting cheated in the process."

Underscoring that stance, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk on Thursday accused China of flouting WTO rules by failing to notify the world trade body of nearly 200 Chinese government subsidy programs.

"The situation was simply intolerable," Kirk said in a statement, which also scolded India for being delinquent with the subsidy reports.

(Additional reporting by Jason Lange, Andy Sullivan and Donna Smith; Writing by Paul Eckert; Editing by Philip Barbara

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Walmart Moms: Not giving up on Obama yet (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Their views on the economy are relentlessly bleak, but America's so-called Walmart Moms -- the much-coveted working-class female voters whose support can swing an election -- do not blame President Barack Obama and have not given up on him.

In voter focus groups conducted on Wednesday night in the political battleground states of Florida, New Hampshire and Iowa, the young mothers used words like disappointing, mediocre, wishy-washy and indifferent to describe Obama.

But they also acknowledged Obama alone could not resolve persistent U.S. economic difficulties in the three years he has been in the job. Many gave the president credit for trying and said they would consider voting for him again in 2012.

"I think President Obama inherited this mess. I think he's doing the best he can," said Debbie in New Hampshire, an Obama voter in 2008. Laura in Florida, another Obama backer, said: "You can't expect a miracle worker."

The three 10-person focus groups consisted of women with children at home who had shopped at the retail giant Walmart in the last month. The 90-minute sessions were organized by pollsters and watched by video by journalists in Washington who were allowed to identify the women only by first name.

Many of the participants, split roughly between those who backed Obama in 2008 and those who voted for Republican John McCain, criticized Obama for a lack of results. Some said he was not a forceful leader.

"I don't feel like he is being strong enough," said Cheryl in Florida. "He does have good ideas but I don't think he pushes them through. That concerns me."

The Walmart Moms -- a catch phrase used by pollsters to identify key political swing groups, in the tradition of U.S. "soccer moms" and "NASCAR dads" -- account for about 15 percent of the electorate.

As a whole they are about two-thirds white, mostly under the age of 44 and fairly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. About half make less than $50,000 a year, said pollsters Neil Newhouse, a Republican, and Margie Omero, a Democrat, who conducted the focus groups.

The group leaned slightly to Obama when he won in 2008 but shifted to Republicans in the 2010 congressional elections, making them a potentially crucial indicator of the prevailing political winds in the 2012 battle for the White House.

'NOT GIVING UP ON OBAMA'

In that respect, the message from the focus groups provided some good news for Obama. His overall approval ratings have sunk into the low 40s as the economy continues to falter.

"These voters don't seem like they have given up on Obama," Newhouse, the Republican pollster, said. "They are losing patience with Washington, but it seemed like Obama doesn't come out that bad."

A few members of each group said they definitely would not vote for Obama in 2012, and a few said they would. But most were not close to deciding who they would support.

"I'm disappointed at the lack of action," said Lisa in Iowa. She backed Obama in 2008 but said she would not do so again.

Few were paying much attention to the Republican race to pick a nominee to challenge Obama in 2012, and they had little good to say about the U.S. Congress. Many said members of Congress were more interested in politics than progress.

"It takes forever to get things passed," said Kimberly in Florida. "We're waiting and we're waiting and we're waiting."

Social issues like abortion and immigration that can play a big role in Republican primary campaigns were totally ignored by the focus group moms, who listed pocketbook economic issues, education and healthcare as their big concerns.

Many said they or someone in their family had been laid off from a job and nearly all said they had been forced to adjust their lifestyle to deal with the worsening economy.

Some moved in with parents after a divorce. Others were working a second job, delaying vacations, paying off credit cards or clipping coupons when shopping. They used words like scared, confused, worried and frustrated to describe the economy.

"It's a daily struggle," said Debbie in New Hampshire. Added Denise: "I feel like there is a new disaster every day."

Few blamed Obama for the economic troubles, but banks and Wall Street did get some of the blame. Some blamed themselves for overextending their credit.

"These voters seem like they have lost control," Newhouse said. "There is a sense of total uncertainty. There is a sense they are living on the edge, they are living on the precipice."

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

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Obama says expects jobs bill vote by end of October (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Monday he expects the Congress to vote on his $447 billion jobs package by the end of October.

"It's been several weeks now since I sent up the American Jobs Act, and as I have been saying on the road, I want it back. I am ready to sign it," he told reporters.

"My expectation is that now that we are in the month of October, that we will schedule a vote before the end of this month," he said, adding he would be talking with congressional leaders "and insisting that we have a vote on this bill."

Obama unveiled the jobs plan in early September as a mix of measures he said both parties could accept, but then promptly recommended that it be paid for with higher taxes on wealthier Americans that Republicans and some of his fellow Democrats oppose.

He said at the start of a Cabinet meeting on Monday that he wanted to hear from Capitol Hill on what parts of the jobs bill were most palatable to move the debate forward.

"We have been hearing from Republicans that there are some proposals that they are interested in. That is not surprising, because the contents of the American Jobs Act includes proposals that in the past have been supported by Republicans and Democrats alike," Obama said.

"If there are aspects of the bill that they don't like they should tell us what it is they are not willing to go for, they should tell us what it is they are prepared to see move forward," he said, adding he believed most Americans supported his plan to put more construction workers back to work, hire more teachers and help small businesses.

"I am very much looking forward to seeing Congress debate this bill, pass it, get it to my desk," he said, stressing he would also "put as much pressure as I can bring to bear" on his administration and its agencies to do everything possible to create jobs and help businesses aside from what Congress does.

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis, Editing by Sandra Maler and Eric Beech)

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GOP candidates assail Obama on Israel (AP)

By BETH FOUHY and KASIE HUNT, Associated Press Beth Fouhy And Kasie Hunt, Associated Press – 42?mins?ago

NEW YORK – Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry on Tuesday criticized the Palestinian Authority's effort to seek formal recognition by the U.N. General Assembly and assailed the Obama administration's broader policies in the Middle East.

In a speech in New York, Perry pledged strong support for Israel and criticized President Barack Obama for demanding concessions from the Jewish state the Texas governor says emboldened the Palestinians to appeal for U.N. recognition.

"We would not be here today at this very precipice of such a dangerous move if the Obama policy in the Middle East wasn't naive and arrogant, misguided and dangerous," Perry said in a speech in New York. "The Obama policy of moral equivalency which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and Palestinians, including the orchestrators of terrorism, is a very dangerous insult."

In a statement before Perry spoke, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also waded into the tense foreign policy dispute over Mideast policy. He called the jockeying at the United Nations this week "an unmitigated disaster." He accused Obama's administration of "repeated efforts over three years to throw Israel under the bus and undermine its negotiating position."

Perry also criticized Obama's stated goal that any negotiations should be based on the borders Israel had before a 1967 war that expanded the Jewish state. While the 1967 borders have been the basis for diplomatic negotiations, they have never been embraced before by a U.S. president. Perry called that stance "insulting and naive."

Perry's remarks came as the Obama administration has redoubled its efforts to block the Palestinian bid. The U.S. has promised a veto in the Security Council, but the Palestinians can press for a more limited recognition of statehood before the full — and much more supportive — General Assembly.

Perry also expressed support for allowing Jewish settlements to be constructed on the West Bank, a practice Obama has asked the Israeli government to cease. And Perry said that the entire city of Jerusalem should be part of Israel, a move that would make key religious and historical sites part of the Jewish state. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967.

Perry even suggested he would move American diplomatic personnel out of Tel Aviv and instead recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. "As the president of the United States, if you want to work for the State Department, you will be working in Jerusalem," he said.

Romney said the policy of limiting Israel's negotiating flexibility "must stop now." He called on Obama to unequivocally reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Israel's security and a promise to cut foreign assistance to the Palestinians if they succeed in getting U.N. recognition.

Both Perry and Romney said the U.S. should reconsider funding for the U.N. itself if the global body votes to recognize the Palestinian Authority.

The GOP presidential hopefuls are intent on standing strongly behind Israel, an effort to appeal to Jewish voters and donors who play a pivotal role in presidential elections. It's also an effort to reach evangelical Christians, who play a key role in the Republican primary process and who support Israel for theological reasons.

Perry on Tuesday said that his own Christian faith is part of his support for Israel.

"I also as a Christian have a clear directive to support Israel, so from my perspective it's pretty easy," Perry said when a reporter asked if Perry's faith was driving his views. "Both as an American and as a Christian, I am going to stand with Israel."

Complaints about Obama's Israel policy helped a Republican, Bob Turner, win a special election in a heavily Jewish and Democratic New York congressional district last week. Turner appeared with Perry at the speech.

"It's vitally important for America to preserve alliances with leaders who seek to preserve peace and stability in the region," Perry said. "But today, neither adversaries nor allies know where America stands. Our muddle of a foreign policy has created great uncertainty in the midst of the Arab Spring."

Obama is also in New York on Tuesday for meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly. He planned to meet later in the week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

____

Hunt reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper contributed to this report.

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Obama deficit plan: Is there ever a good time for a tax increase? (The Christian Science Monitor)

New York – Would President Obama's tax-the-rich proposal, part of a plan to raise some revenue for deficit reduction, actually harm the economy?

Critics say it would, but economists suggest a major part of the equation involves the state of the economy itself. By 2013, the earliest Mr. Obama's tax reform policies would go into effect, no one knows if the economy will be humming along, muddling through, or in a recession.

To that, economists suggest it's anyone's guess. Yes, the economic outlook is that uncertain, leaving any analysis of the economic impact of a potential $1.5 trillion in tax hikes equally uncertain. Congress, Greece, and the housing market could all play significant roles – but what those roles might be are yet to be determined, experts say.

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The optimists believe the US housing market, suffering since 2008, will revive, giving the economy a significant boost.

Those who are less optimistic, think the economy will be moving ahead at a snail’s pace – not much different than today.

And the pessimists think the financial problems in Europe could send the US economy back into recession – assuming it’s not there already.

“Next year is probably more uncertain than 2013,” says economist Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pa. “If we get through 2012 OK, then 2013 will be good. But if not, then 2013 will be a disaster.”

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What Congress doesSome economists say that Congress could play a significant role in what happens next. It has already agreed to cut spending, but that will actually reduce economic activity, says Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics.com.

He estimates the impact of the fiscal austerity will cost the economy 1.7 percentage points of economic activity unless Congress does something such as renewing the reduction in payroll taxes (think Social Security and Medicare taxes). In 2013, the belt-tightening will cost the economy 1.5 percentage points.

It’s also not clear if Congress will agree to any of Obama’s job-creation plans – a combination of some tax reductions, some spending on new schools, and direct grants to the states. If Congress does nothing, it could mean the economy just “muddles along for the next two years,” says economist Richard DeKaser of the Parthenon Group, a Boston-based strategy consulting firm.

What Greece doesThe economy next year could also be adversely affected by events in Europe, says Mr. Zandi. If the Greek government were to default on its loans, he expects Europe will have a mild and short recession. However, if the debt woes were to spread to other countries, he predicts that would drag the US into a recession as well.

If the bankers reach some accommodation on Greece, then the US economy may start to get a lift from the housing market, predicts Mr. Naroff. “A year from now you will have worked off the inventory in the housing market,” he says.

Zandi, also a housing optimist, expects the housing market to increase from a current rate of building 600,000 new homes a year to 1.7 million homes a year. “That is a lot of growth,” he says, “and it begins in 2013 in earnest.”

What the economy doesThe shape of the economy may well have a lot of bearing on what Congress does – if anything. If the economy is suffering, lawmakers are less likely to make any significant changes in tax policy. No one wants to run for reelection right after raising constituents’ taxes. However, if the economy has its swagger back, they might be more inclined to act.

a€?The worst time to raise taxes is during a recession,a€

That’s because tax hikes tend to take money out of the economy at a time when consumers are already in a funk. Ms. Villarreal, who supports some form of tax reform, such as a consumption tax, argues that even tax increases on the wealthy could have an adverse impact on the economy.

“If they have less to invest in job creation that trickles down to the rest of the economy,” she says. “What they do to the top earners will effect the rest of us.”

However, Naroff argues that tax changes on the well-to-do probably won’t change their spending habits. “The Obama proposals are not aimed at people who are likely to dramatically or even at all change their spending behavior,” he says.

Changing the tax codeOne of the biggest battles of the year is likely to be whether to extend the so-called “Bush tax cuts” for high-income earners. Those tax cuts expire at the end of 2012 and Obama has vowed to veto any legislation that extends them again.

“I am assuming the Bush tax cuts expire but are replaced with something else,” says Mr. DeKaser. “Maybe there is a change in the tax brackets, a gradual introduction of a more stringent tax policy.”

If the economy is not a recession, tax changes might be good, argues Zandi. He particularly endorses some form of broadening the tax base, which is usually means shutting down loopholes and making the tax code less complex.

“If tax reform means the flattening of the tax base and it stays that way for a lengthy period of time, the economy could easily digest that and perhaps even benefit from it,” he says. “If you are talking about scaling back many of the deductions and tax credits in the tax code and it becomes less complex, that could be therapeutic.”

No matter what happens in terms of tax reform, Zandi expects it will be phased in. “We could not do it all cold turkey,” he warns. “Households and businesses have made decisions based on those loopholes.”

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Obama to offer his own deficit reduction package (AP)

WASHINGTON – Even as President Barack Obama prepares his opening bid on long-term deficit reduction, the White House wants to keep the focus on jobs and is determined to avoid getting sucked into another budget fight with lawmakers.

Administration officials see the task of attending to deficits as necessary but not necessarily urgent, compared with the need to revive the economy and increase employment.

The White House also sees this as the time to draw sharp contrasts with congressional Republicans, whose public approval ratings are lower than Obama's.

As a result, when Obama announces at least $2 trillion in deficit reduction measures Monday, he is not expected to offer all the compromises he reached with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in July before those talks broke off.

"I would view this as the president's vision for how we achieve deficit reduction, which makes it inherently different than the sorts of legislative negotiations we were undertaking with the speaker over the summer," said the White House communications director, Dan Pfeiffer.

The plan represents an economic bookend to the $447 billion in tax cuts and new public works spending that Obama has proposed to as a short-term measure to stimulate the economy and create jobs. He's submitting it to a special joint committee of Congress given the task of recommending how to reduce deficits by $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

The White House signaled its approach Saturday by highlighting a proposal in the president's plan that would set a minimum tax rate for taxpayers earning more than $1 million.

The measure — Obama is going to call it the "Buffett Rule" for billionaire investor Warren Buffett — is designed to prevent millionaires from using tax-avoidance schemes to pay lower rates than middle-income taxpayers. Buffett has complained that he and other wealthy people have been "coddled long enough" and shouldn't be paying a smaller share of their income in federal taxes than middle-class taxpayers.

However, the proposal is a certain dead-letter with Republicans, who have pledged to oppose any increase in taxes.

"It adds further instability to our system more uncertainty and it punishes job creation and those people who create jobs," said GOP Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the House Budget Committee chairman. "Class warfare may make for really good politics but it makes for rotten economics," he told "Fox News Sunday."

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, noting that a similar effort to raise taxes on the wealthy failed a few years ago, continued to push for revising the tax code and looking to increasing revenue through economic activity rather than taxes. He was dismissive of Obama's so-called Buffett Rule.

"With regard to his tax rate, if he's feeling guilty about it, I think he should send in a check," McConnell said of Buffett while appearing on "Meet the Press" on NBC. "But we don't want to stagnate this economy by raising taxes."

The White House also has said that Obama will not offer any proposals to reduce long-term spending in Social Security, even though Obama had suggested to Boehner reducing annual cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients. The idea drew loud objections from Democrats.

Now Democrats are waiting to see what Obama proposes to do with Medicare, the government health care program for older people.

In his talks with Boehner, Obama was willing to go along with gradually increasing the eligibility age for Medicare beneficiaries from 65 to 67. That idea has run into opposition from Democrats, and the White House was deciding whether or not to leave it in the president's new deficit plan.

"Potentially raising the retirement age for Medicare is something that deserves a lot of consideration," said Christina Romer, the former head of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. She said such an increase in the eligibility age is more conceivable with Obama's health care law because guaranteed private health insurance would be available to middle-class early retirees starting in 2014.

Still, an analysis by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation found that two-thirds of 65- and 66-year-olds would pay more for their new coverage than they would have under Medicare.

Raising the eligibility age is "bad policy and bad politics," said Nancy Altman, one of the leaders of Strengthen Social Security Campaign, a coalition of advocacy organizations.

"What the president proposes on Monday, especially if the Republicans were to embrace it, would be harder for Democrats in Congress to separate themselves from it," she said.

Overall, the president's proposal could help reduce long-term deficits by about $4 trillion.

Under a compromise in early August that averted a threatened government default, Congress agreed to cut nearly $1 trillion from some programs. The president's proposal would reduce deficits by an extra $2 trillion. On top of that, drawing down military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq is estimated to reduce projected deficits by $1 trillion over 10 years.

Republicans have ridiculed the war savings as gimmicky, but House Republicans included them in their budget proposal this year and Boehner had agreed to count them in his talks with Obama.

In addition to the new minimum tax rate for millionaires, Obama's proposal will include revenue increases that Obama has identified to pay for his $447 billion jobs plan. Those include limiting deductions for wealthier taxpayers, closing corporate loopholes and eliminating tax subsidies to oil and gas companies. Boehner last week ruled out many of the tax increases Obama has proposed.

William Galston, a former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, said it would have been better if Obama had presented his jobs plan and his deficit reduction proposal sooner and as one package.

"The president has generated a problem for himself by giving the appearance of not being forthcoming enough with regard to his own fiscal plan," Galston said. "He feels the need, as he should, to lean forward a bit more. It's a shame this didn't happen a whole lot earlier."

Senior administration officials say that in pushing for his jobs plan, Obama will highlight the need for long-term deficit reduction and the need to achieve it through spending cuts and tax revenue. In so doing, they will try to create sharp differences with Republicans that could serve him in the 2012 presidential campaign.

To that end, some Democrats say it would be foolish for Obama to offer a deficit reduction plan that embraces some of the deals he was prepared to strike with Boehner.

"I don't think he is bound by the compromise they were working on," said Rob Shapiro, a former undersecretary of commerce in the Clinton administration Shapiro. "It has always been the president's position that in a compromise, he was prepared to support entitlement reform if the Republicans were prepared to support revenue increases."

Still, the White House considers passing the jobs bill far more pressing and Obama has been looking for every opportunity to bring it to the public's attention.

In his Saturday radio and Internet address, Obama said he would lay down a plan that would show how to pay down the nation's debt and pay for his employment legislation.

"But right now," he said, "we've got to get Congress to pass this jobs bill."

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Mrs. Obama applauds Olive Garden announcement (AP)

HYATTSVILLE, Md. – Michelle Obama said Thursday that a pledge by the Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and its sister chains to serve healthier meals is a "breakthrough moment" for the industry.

Darden Restaurants Inc. is pledging to cut calories and sodium in its meals by 20 percent over a decade. Among other changes for children, a fruit or vegetable side and low-fat milk will become standard with kids' meals unless a substitution is requested. No more French fries for the little ones unless an adult asks for them.

"With this new commitment, Darden is doing what no restaurant company has done before," said the first lady, who joined executives of Orlando, Fla.-based Darden for the announcement at an Olive Garden restaurant in suburban Maryland, just outside Washington.

"This is a breakthrough moment in the restaurant industry. I believe the changes that Darden will make could impact the health and well-being of an entire generation of young people," added Mrs. Obama, who is leading an effort to reduce U.S. childhood obesity rates.

The kids' menu changes are scheduled to take effect next July.

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Obama to exclude Social Security from deficits plan (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will not include reforms to the Social Security retirement program in his deficits proposals to Congress next week, the White House said Thursday.

Obama upset many fellow Democrats during this summer's bitter negotiations with Republicans on raising the debt ceiling when he expressed a willingness to change the way government benefits are linked to inflation.

He saw the move as a way to ensure the federal pension program remains viable in the long-term, but liberal supporters who champion entitlement programs for the elderly felt he was giving up too much ground to Republicans.

White House spokesman Amy Brundage said Obama's long-awaited deficit reduction plan, to be unveiled Monday, "will not include any changes to Social Security."

"As the president has consistently said, he does not believe that Social Security is a driver of our near and medium term deficits," she said.

With Obama's shift in stance, the six Democratic members of a congressional "super committee" charged with tackling the federal deficit would not have to make immediate concessions, giving them more negotiating room with their Republican counterparts. The super committee is trying to find more than $1.2 trillion in budget savings over 10 years by November 23.

Obama's change of heart on the inflation formula could help lower the heat from his liberal base, and could also help Democratic members of Congress who are up for re-election.

Obama also expressed a willingness in the summer debt talks with House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, to raise the eligibility age for Medicare health benefits to 67 from 65.

But The Wall Street Journal said Thursday the White House was now looking at cuts to providers and increased premiums for wealthier recipients of Medicare, the healthcare program for the elderly.

A senior administration official said final decisions have not been made about Obama's recommendations to the super committee.

While Obama's proposals will not be binding on the committee, they will likely feed into 2012 campaign rhetoric and give the president an opportunity to counter the Republican image of him as a tax-and-spend liberal.

Obama is expected to recommend more than $3 trillion in budget savings next week, although Republican members of the super committee have already questioned whether that is achievable.

Boehner, the top U.S. Republican, will call Thursday for the super committee to consider tax reform that would close loopholes but not raise rates, as well as changes to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

He will also argue in a speech that Republicans and Democrats should work together to reduce business regulations and lower taxes and spending to boost job creation and economic growth, according to a summary provided by his office.

(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan and Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Ross Colvin and Vicki Allen)

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Obama urges no "political games" on jobs plan (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama called on Republicans not to play "political games" with his jobs plan as he pressed for swift passage of a $447 billion package he hopes will revive the U.S. economy and boost his re-election prospects.

Four days after challenging Congress to act in a televised address, Obama stepped up his campaign to sell his proposals to American voters as he prepared to send the jobs bill to lawmakers later on Monday.

"This is a bill that is based on ideas from both Democrats and Republicans, and this is a bill that Congress needs to pass, no games, no politics, no delays," Obama said in an appearance in the White House Rose Garden, holding up a thick text of the legislation held together with a black clip.

The president, who pushed through an $800 billion economic stimulus package in 2009, will see his re-election chances hinging heavily on his ability to reduce stubbornly high unemployment above 9 percent.

Top Republicans have said they are open to some aspects of the Obama jobs plan but are not convinced the infrastructure and other stimulus spending is a good idea, given it would further swell budget deficits in the near-term.

They have resisted the White House suggestion that the jobs plan would be "paid for" with longer-term deficit cuts, saying it is important to make fiscal health a priority now and not push it forward for future generations to grapple with.

"It is my hope that we will be able to work together to put in place the best ideas of both parties and help put Americans back to work," John Boehner, Republican speaker of the House of Representatives.

Boehner said his party has a "different vision" from Obama on job creation and that the president's ideas will require "careful examination" in light of what Republicans see as wasteful spending in previous stimulus plans.

KEEPING UP PRESSURE

Obama sought to keep up the pressure.

"This is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country. This is a bill that will help our economy in a moment of national crisis," Obama said, flanked by teachers, police officers, construction workers and small business owners he said would be helped by his plan.

He took aim at Republicans who have resisted many of his economic initiatives in the past.

"We can't afford these same political games, not now," Obama said.

Cooperation could be hard to find in Washington's climate of dysfunction where a nasty feud over the government's debt levels this summer brought the country to the brink of default and led to an unprecedented U.S. credit downgrade.

But Republicans, while not wanting to give Obama any help before the November 2012 election, may have to cede some ground to help boost the economy or risk a voter backlash.

Obama will take his jobs message on the road again this week to build support for his ideas in battleground states.

His Tuesday visit to Ohio -- home of Boehner, the top Republican in Congress -- and Wednesday's stop in North Carolina mark the start of a series of trips the president is set to take to convince skeptical voters he has the right formula to get the economy going again.

He may also replicate his August bus tour through Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota -- possibly in another part of the country -- to try to generate enthusiasm for his proposed tax cuts and infrastructure projects and to pin blame on Congress if lawmakers fail to move quickly on the jobs package.

(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

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Analysis: Time running out for Obama to pull Reagan recovery (Reuters)

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Obama jobs speech venue part of election strategy (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's use of a rare joint session of Congress to deliver a jobs speech on Thursday reflects a political strategy to try to blame Republicans for an economy at risk of sliding back into recession.

The choice of venue -- the Republican-controlled House of Representatives -- is aimed at sending a clear message to voters that if his plan to reduce high unemployment is blocked by Congress, it is Republicans and not the White House standing in the way of job growth.

With unemployment stubbornly high and most Americans unhappy with his handling of the economy, Obama's speech is part of a 2012 election strategy to shift some of the blame for the struggling economy onto Congress and to portray it as obstructionist.

"It's very important for the president to invoke Congress from the very beginning of this round in the jobs debate," said Jared Bernstein, chief economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden until April 2011.

"Because if Congress in general, and the House Republicans in particular, block his agenda, he needs to be able to explain to the American people who's standing between them, their jobs, their paychecks and economic opportunities."

Republicans reject the view that they have been obstructionist. They say Obama has spent nearly $1 trillion to try to stimulate the economy but that it has failed to create jobs and instead dramatically increased the national debt.

David Gergen, a political analyst and adviser to four presidents, said using a joint session was "first and foremost an attempt to have Republicans be jointly responsible for the state of the economy."

Gergen, who has advised both Democratic and Republican presidents, said: "He is in effect going into the lion's den and looking at the Republicans in the eye. It's very personal. He wants to say 'I am trying to do something -- are you?' It's a dare. It's a way to shame them."

White House officials have said the speech is being delivered inside the U.S. Capitol because many of the job creation proposals Obama will offer will require the approval of Congress, which controls the purse strings.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the proposals should get bipartisan support "if members of Congress are serious about trying to help the economy, which we believe is their number one obligation."

VENUE CARRIES RISKS

Yet Obama's decision to deliver his critical jobs speech to a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate, with all the pomp and ceremony attached to such an event, carries substantial risk if it disappoints or is perceived as being too partisan.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former top adviser to the 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, said he believed Obama was using the venue because "it basically allows him to run against Congress" in next year's presidential election.

But Holtz-Eakin said Obama has a delicate task of delivering a speech in such a high-profile and formal setting that does not appear too political.

He added: "There are a lot of disadvantages in terms of raised expectations. It looks to me like the ratio of hype-to-substance is pretty high here."

Most analysts do not expect the speech to contain any bold new proposals, but instead job-creation measures that have already been debated since the 2008 financial crisis, such as additional tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

Gergen said: "When you ask for a joint session you are diving off a high board -- you've got to deliver. And he runs a real risk of markets sinking the next day."

Barry Bosworth, a veteran fiscal and monetary policy expert at the Brookings Institution think tank, said Obama's choice of venue was "very dangerous if he does something that is perceived as purely political."

"If he does not have a big announcement, if he's not got something more concrete to offer, it will be perceived by a lot of outsiders as an inappropriate use of a joint session."

Presidents rarely call a joint session of Congress. Apart from the annual State of the Union address, the platform is used sparingly.

During eight years in office, Democratic President Bill Clinton called a joint session twice, to deliver speeches on the economy and on healthcare reform, according to the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Republican President George W. Bush used the venue just once -- nine days after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Two years ago, Obama used the platform to push Congress to pass his healthcare plan.

A former Capitol Hill Republican and leadership aide with close ties to the House Republican leadership told Reuters there was already a feeling of cynicism among Republicans about a speech they view as simply recycling old ideas.

"The benefit of a joint session is you are really elevating things to a new level," the former aide said. "But you've set expectations of something new and something bold. If that is not the case even the average American will view this somewhat cynically."

(Editing by Ross Colvin; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Obama ups pressure over transportation (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, under fire over high unemployment, stepped up pressure on Congress on Saturday to pass transportation legislation he said would protect almost 1 million American jobs.

"Allowing this bill to expire would be a disaster for our infrastructure and our economy," the president said in his weekly radio address, after a monthly employment report showed the economy created no jobs in August.

Democrat Obama, who delivers a major speech on Thursday on how he would boost hiring and growth, must bring down a jobless rate stuck at 9.1 percent to improve his chances of winning a second presidential term next year.

Repeating a message he issued in the White House Rose Garden earlier this week, Obama urged lawmakers to pass multibillion-dollar temporary funding bills for aviation and highway projects, or risk heaping more pain on the economy.

"If it's delayed for just 10 days, we will lose nearly $1 billion in highway funding that we can never get back. And if we wait even longer, almost 1 million workers could be in danger of losing their jobs over the next year," he said.

Republicans say they support an extension of the highway bill and view Obama's words as a way to deflect criticism over the economy away from the White House and toward Congress.

Obama's approval rating has slipped, after he spent July and August fighting with Republicans to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which resulted in rating agency Standard & Poor's cutting the AAA U.S. credit rating. But polls show the American public holds Congress in even lower esteem.

"There's a lot of talk in Washington these days about creating jobs. But it doesn't help when those same folks turn around and risk losing hundreds of thousands of jobs just because of political gamesmanship," Obama said.

The law authorizing aviation ticket taxes to pay for airport construction under the Federal Aviation Administration expires on September 16. A law directing gasoline taxes to underwrite road construction grants expires on September 30. Both must be extended to continue funding while lawmakers craft legislation authorizing the programs over longer periods.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Obama meets with advisers for update on Irene (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama held a video conference on Sunday with key officials involved in the response to Hurricane Irene as the storm pounded New York City with winds and heavy rain.

"The president was updated on the response and recovery efforts that are currently under way in coordination with state and local officials as well as the status of critical energy and transportation infrastructure," the White House said in a statement.

Among the officials participating in the conference call were White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In the call in the White House Situation Room, Obama asked Napolitano and Fugate to keep in close contact with state and local officials about their response needs.

The White House said Obama planned to reconvene the team on Sunday evening.

(Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Beech)

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Obama says Hurricane Irene "extremely dangerous" (Reuters)

CHILMARK, Massachusetts (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday warned Americans to take Hurricane Irene seriously and urged them to obey orders to evacuate from the path of what is likely to be an "extremely dangerous and costly" storm.

"All indications point to this being a historic hurricane," Obama said in a statement to reporters from the farm where he is vacationing on an island off the Boston coast.

Fifty-five million people are potentially in Hurricane Irene's path, from the Carolinas to Cape Cod on the U.S. East Coast, and tens of thousands are evacuating as cities including New York brace for the powerful storm to hit.

"I cannot stress this highly enough. If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. Don't wait. Don't delay," Obama said.

Obama and his family will leave Martha's Vineyard on Saturday, well before Irene is projected to scour its way this far north on the New England coast. But the vacation had already been marked by natural disaster, after the island felt an earthquake in Virginia on Tuesday that shook Washington and New York.

Obama has held regular conference calls with aides on the storm, in a determined effort to learn from the mistakes of his predecessor George W. Bush, who was slammed for an ineffectual response after Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans in 2005.

"All of us have to take this storm seriously ... If you are given an evacuation order, please follow it," Obama said.

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis and Alister Bull, Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Obama says Assad must go (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) – The United States and European Union called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down on Thursday and Barack Obama accused him of "torturing and slaughtering" his people in what U.N. officials said may be crimes against humanity.

It was a dramatic sharpening of international rhetoric -- major states had urged Assad to reform rather than resign. But with no threat of Western military action like that against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, the five-month-old conflict between Assad and his opponents seems likely to grind on in the streets.

Putting faith in sanctions rather than force, President Obama ordered Syrian government assets in the United States frozen, banned U.S. citizens from operating or investing in Syria and prohibited U.S. imports of Syrian oil products.

Though U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Assad had assured him on Wednesday that military operations were over, activists said Syrian forces carried out further raids in Deir al-Zor and surrounded a mosque in Latakia on Thursday.

"The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way," Obama said. "His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing and slaughtering his own people."

In a coordinated move, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on Assad to step aside and said the EU was preparing to broaden sanctions against Syria.

United Nations human rights investigators said Assad's forces had carried out systematic attacks on civilians, often opening fire at close range and without warning, and committing violations that may amount to crimes against humanity.

A new U.N. report recounted complaints of indiscriminate shooting and of wounded people being put to death with knives or by being dumped in the refrigerated rooms of hospital morgues.

CRACKDOWN "CONTINUING"

In a telephone call with Assad on Wednesday U.N. Secretary General Ban joined a chorus of condemnation, expressing alarm at reports of widespread violations of human rights and excessive use of force by security forces against civilians.

But the Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union, an activists' group, said security forces fired machineguns near a mosque in Latakia which was surrounded by armored vehicles.

In the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, which was stormed by tanks 11 days ago, security forces backed by troops raided houses in al-Jubaila district, it said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Assad responded to protests with "empty promises and horrific violence": "For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for him to step aside and leave this transition to the Syrians themselves."

Nadim Shehadi of London's Chatham House think-tank said the shift in tone from Washington and Europe was significant, since it may give heart to Syrians who saw previous calls for Assad to reform as an indication of support for him, albeit ambiguous:

"The previous messages from the West to Bashar al-Assad were ambiguous," Shehadi said. "Now the West has hit at the very basis of the idea of his power, by telling him that we don't believe in you any more and you should leave.

"People who were standing on the sidelines, and reluctant to join the uprising, will now do so. This message will have much more of an impact than an air raid campaign or an invasion."

SANCTIONS IMPACT

It may take time, however, for the diplomatic broadside, backed by the new sanctions, to have an impact on the 45-year-old president who took power when his father President Hafez al-Assad died 11 years ago after three decades in office.

He has so far brushed off international pressure and survived years of U.S. and European isolation following the 2005 assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri, a killing many Western nations held Damascus responsible for.

Despite the escalating international rhetoric and Western sanctions, no country is proposing to take the kind of military action NATO forces launched in Libya to support rebels fighting Gaddafi. That action has helped rebels take much of the country.

However, Syria's economy, already hit by a collapse in tourism revenue, could be further damaged by Obama's announcement. U.S. sanctions will make it very difficult for banks to finance transactions involving Syrian oil exports.

It will make it also challenging for companies with a large U.S. presence, such as Shell, to continue producing crude in Syria -- although the impact on global oil markets from a potential shutdown of Syria's 380,000 barrels per day oil industry would be relatively small compared to that of Libya.

Assad says the protests are a foreign conspiracy to divide Syria and pledged last week his army would "not relent in pursuing terrorist groups."

Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began, making it difficult to verify reports from the country.

U.N. INVESTIGATION

The U.N. investigators said Syrian forces had fired on peaceful protesters throughout the country, often at short range and without warning, killing at least 1,900 civilians, including children. Their wounds were "consistent with an apparent shoot-to-kill policy," their report said.

Some were reported to have been finished off with knives.

"The mission found a pattern of human rights violations that constitutes widespread or systematic attacks against the civilian population, which may amount to crimes against humanity," it said, specifically citing the Rome Statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

There was a "clear pattern of snipers shooting at demonstrators," and in some cases targeting people trying to evacuate the wounded. In hospitals "there were several reports of security forces killing injured victims by putting them alive in refrigerators in hospital morgues."

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay will address the 15-nation U.N. Security Council in a closed-door session on Syria on Thursday, along with U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos.

"OHCHR (Pillay's office) have indicated that their Syria report will find evidence that Syria has committed grave violations of international human rights law in its actions dealing with protesters over the past five months," a diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Pillay also will say an international investigation is needed and she was likely to suggest the ICC war crimes court in The Hague would be appropriate, the diplomat said.

The Security Council has referred only two cases to the ICC -- over Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region and, earlier this year, Gaddafi's crackdown on anti-government demonstrators.

Council diplomats say veto-holding powers Russia and China would be reluctant to vote for a referral of Syria to the ICC.

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Deborah Charles in Washington, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels, Mohammed Abbas in London, Mariam Karouny in Beirut and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Jon Hemming and Alastair Macdonald)

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