Obama heads to Indiana to tout economic recovery

For the first time since the election and after two international summits, President Obama leaves the Washington Beltway for an event meant to highlight on an issue that contributed to Democrats’ steep losses on Nov. 2: the economy.

FOR THE RECORD
An earlier version of this article said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels had not been invited to the president’s event in the state Tuesday. Jake Oakman, spokesman for Daniels, now says the governor was invited but declined because of a scheduling conflict.

Obama will speak to workers Tuesday at a Chrysler plant in Kokomo, Ind., in the latest stop on his “ White House to Main Street Tour.” The White House describes the community as one “that is turning the corner,” thanks in part to the president’s stimulus program as well as the administration’s efforts to rescue the auto industry.

Also attending Tuesday’s events is Vice President Joe Biden, marking a rare joint road trip for the two and the latest example of what seems to be a more high-profile role in the administration’s communication strategy for Biden.

Early in his term, Obama twice visited another Indiana town, Elkhart, as he first sold his proposed Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As the White House looks to begin making a two-year case that Obama has turned around the nation’s economy, Obama will highlight an 8 percentage-point drop in Kokomo’s unemployment rate – from nearly 20% in June 2009 to 12% as of September. The town has received more than $400 million in direct aid from the Recovery Act, and the Council of Economic Advisors estimates that 71,000 jobs were created or saved in the state as a whole.

The focus on the auto sector comes one week after General Motors’ initial public offering, which raised more than $20 billion. The White House says that without the auto rescue efforts, Chrysler would have liquidated, resulting in a million jobs lost across the country.

Intentionally or not, the trip to Indiana — Obama’s fourth as president — holds political significance as well. He carried the state in 2008 by less than 30,000 votes, becoming the first Democrat to do so since 1964. But his approval rating has since lagged in the state, and Republicans picked up both a U.S. Senate seat and two congressional seats in the midterm elections.

Indiana Rep. Mike Pence stepped down as the House Republican Conference chairman in order to explore other political opportunities as well, including a possible presidential run in 2012. The state’s Republican governor, Mitch Daniels, is considered as a potential contender for the White House.

Daniels’ office said he would not be attending the president’s events Wednesday. Instead, he’ll be speaking in Indianapolis about his agenda in the new legislative session — a legislature that is now controlled by Republicans.

“There’s definitely going to be some competing ideas between what the governor’s accomplished and what the president’s talked about,” said spokesman Jake Oakman.

The White House hopes Tuesday’s economic message from this first domestic trip since the election resonates, but other issues threaten to distract from it. Obama woke to the news that North Korea had fired artillery rounds at South Korea; a spokesman said the United States “strongly condemns this attack and calls on North Korea to halt its belligerent action and to fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement.”

Controversy about new airport security policies also continues to generate wide attention, a day before a planned “opt out” protest.

mmemoli@tribune.com

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