Obama pushes jobs bill in Pa. visit
During president's swing through Pittsburgh suburb, those who support him weren't overly enthusiastic, but general frustration was aimed at Congress.PITTSBURGH —
After a year of accusations from Republicans that he'd done nothing to fix the economy, President Barack Obama is aiming to turn the tables on them. And the message may be resonating.-snip-
As Senate Republicans prepped to block the president's jobs package back in Washington, the Obama campaign circulated a memo touting an upswing of public support for his plan and a greater trust in him over Republicans in Congress.
And about 15 minutes outside of downtown Pittsburgh, in the upper middle class suburb of Mount Lebanon, which picked Obama in 2008 but Republican Tom Corbett for governor in 2010, people seemed to be giving Obama the benefit of the doubt.
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"I don't think anyone could have done anything to move the economy any quicker," Quealy said. "I think with the partisanship it's just completely incapacitated this whole government."
Since Obama has taken his jobs pitch on the road, the public's faith in his ability to create employment saw a significant increase in just a month, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Oct. 2. And though just 35 percent surveyed approve of his job so far, only 20 percent approve of congressional Republicans' efforts.
"The Congress is against him, everyone is against him it seems like, but I don't think it's all his fault. I think he's tried," Mary Dunn, 59, said. Dunn, a registered Democrat who voted for John McCain in the 2008 election because of social issues, said she's unlikely to vote at all next year. The gridlock in Washington has left her and many other voters disenchanted.
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Later, Dylan Steigerwald, a 27-year-old restaurant manager racing to a haircut appointment, said Obama gets a "bad rap." A registered independent, he doesn't know much about Obama's jobs plan, but said he gets the sense that Obama is more honest than the rest.http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-obama-sells-jobs-plan-20111011,0,422887.story