Obama administration in full-court political press to sell $3.8-trillion budget plan
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The Obama administration on Tuesday unveiled a full-court political press to sell the just-released $3.8-trillion budget plan, with top Cabinet officials going to Capitol Hill and the president heading to New Hampshire.
Obama will pitch his $30-billion jobs plan to help local businesses get more financial credit from local banks. He is expected to continue to argue that the recovery of the jobs market depends on the private sector creating employment to deal with an economy with 10% joblessness.
“Jobs will be our No. 1 focus in 2010,” he said, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks released by the White House. “And we’re going to start where most new jobs do -- with small businesses. These are companies that begin in basements and garages when an entrepreneur takes a chance on his dream, or a worker decides it’s time she became her own boss.”
In many ways the New Hampshire trip is more interesting politically than in terms of policy. It comes weeks after neighboring Massachusetts voted in a GOP senator to hold a usually safe Democratic seat.
New Hampshire, whose state motto is ‘Live Free or Die,’ is generally regarded as more conservative than Massachusetts, but is becoming more Democratic after once being faithfully Republican. It still has a libertarian streak, however, and has been the scene of some Tea Party activities that might enliven the town hall-style session Obama is planning.
While Obama is traveling, Cabinet officials Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the $768.2-billion defense budget before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Gates argued that the money would go to a variety of efforts including financing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as changing the armed forces to deal with more security issues.
“The Afghan people are the center of gravity and defeat of Al Qaeda the primary goal,” Mullen said, reflecting Obama’s escalation of the war there.
Other administration officials testified at three separate committees to outline Obama’s new budget. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag, were to push it during appearances where the growing deficit is expected to take center stage.
-- Michael Muskal
