(AP) President Barack Obama is trying to strike a careful balance between highlighting economic progress and underscoring continued challenges as he seeks to reverse the recession he inherited but now owns.
The president was slated to give an economic speech Tuesday at Georgetown University as his administration nears its symbolic 100-day mark. Aides billed the address as major but acknowledged that it was expected to contain no significant policy announcements.
Rather, they said, the speech would outline the state of the economy when Mr. Obama took office in January, steps his administration has taken in its first three months, and what still needs to be done to right troubled sectors, including the housing, banking and financial industries.
"The president wants the opportunity to update the American people on where we are, what we have to do going forward, and lay out the steps that are being taken to help our economy recover," said presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs.
While Mr. Obama will enthusiastically recognize progress, Gibbs said, "I think the president also understands that even as there are some promising statistics, whether it's housing or something like that, we still are likely to see many, many months of unemployment, where hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs."
Unemployment hit a 25-year high of 8.5 percent in March, and many people are still losing their homes or jobs, or fear losing them. Still, there's been a drop in unemployment benefit filings and predictions of solid April sales from several retailers. Stock investors, shoppers and home buyers also seem less jittery, while once-frozen credit markets are slowly thawing and deeply worrisome economic indicators appear to be stabilizing.
As the backsliding economy appears to be leveling off, the president and his White House have tried to recognize progress with optimistic language while also emphasizing tough tasks ahead in realistic tones. - CBS News Story
I don't know if there really is much to be happy about. The President will show signs of recovery I am sure and take credit for the small things. The problem is that the President has driven us so far into debt, that there is no plan to get us out. He says he will cut the deficit in half in 4 years, but that still will keep us going into debt every year. Does he have a balanced budget anywhere in his plan? Quite honestly the answer is no.
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