New Obama TV ad pushes Congress to pass jobs plan
(CBS News) President Obama's re-election campaign is out with a new television ad called "Jobs" that suggests that more Americans would be at work if Congress would stop blocking Mr. Obama's agenda.
The ad is airing in nine swing states - Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia - and will also be airing on national cable channels starting next week.
It opens with a shot of Mr. Obama speaking in Minnesota, where he says "We're still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."
"Our businesses have created almost 4.3 million new jobs over the last 27 months, but...we're still not creating them as fast as we want," he continues. The message: You may not be happy with the state of the economy, but the nation has made progress during my presidency.
A narrator then says that "The president's jobs plan would put teachers, firefighters, police officers and construction workers back to work. Right now."
The "jobs plan" being discussed is the American Jobs Act, which the White House (citing an independent economist) says would create 1.9 million jobs. Mr. Obama has been pushing the plan since last year, and Congress has acted on some of its proposals, including a payroll tax cut, but has elected not to act on many of them.
The White House is still seeking passage of measures to keep teachers and police from being laid off, employ construction workers by authorizing infrastructure repairs, and expand refinancing options for responsible homeowners, among other proposals.
In the ad, the narrator goes on to say that the "jobs plan" is "paid for by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more."
"But Congress refuses to act," the narrator continues in what is the president's first ad directly criticizing the legislative branch. "Tell Congress we can't wait."
Update, 11:45 a.m.: The Romney camp's Amanda Henneberg responds: "President Obama has had three and a half years to keep his campaign promise to grow the economy and create jobs. Now, with record-level unemployment and job creation that even the president calls inadequate, it is clear his policies haven't worked."