After crisscrossing the country for weeks pushing his jobs plan directly to the American people, President Obama turned his attention to congressional Republicans on Thursday, promising to target them in 2012 if they stand in the way of his economic agenda.
If Congress does something, then I can't run against a do-nothing Congress, Obama said in response to a question at a morning news conference. If Congress does nothing, then it's not a matter of me running against them. I think the American people will run them out of town, because they are frustrated, and they know we need to do something big and something bold.
With his confrontational news conference at the White House, Obama brought back to Washington the fiscal debate that has been the source of bruising political warfare and left the American public disillusioned with their elected leaders during the economic crisis.