Obama Hits Road to Sell Deficit Plan

The New York Times reports:

After weeks of tussling and political gamesmanship in Congress over federal spending, President Obama will take his message on the road this week, traveling to the West Coast to promote his deficit-cutting plan.

It is the first campaign-style tour for Mr. Obama since he emerged from the sidelines of the deficit debate last week with a speech calling for a mix of long-term spending cuts, tax increases and changes to entitlement-benefit programs.

With its emphasis on cutting the budget, the speech had elements to appease moderates and independents who have been drawn to the calls from freshman Republicans in Congress to rein in government spending. But at the same time, the address was a nod to the liberal wing in his party, with its progressive notes about the government’s responsibility to provide a safety net to its citizens.

The 44-minute speech seemed to win over at least some leading liberal figures — a big first step toward shoring up and energizing his party’s base at the outset of a re-election campaign that will inevitably require him to play to the middle and, potentially, draw renewed ire from the left.

“Undoubtedly, he rediscovered his voice,” said Robert B. Reich, the chancellor’s professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. “Hopefully, this will be his campaign voice.”

The trip, with stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Reno, Nev., is also Mr. Obama’s first since the unofficial start of his re-election campaign in Chicago last week.

While he faces a fractured and late-starting field of Republican challengers, some political clouds hang over him, too.

In the latest Gallup tracking poll, Mr. Obama’s approval rating was 41 percent, tied with the lowest level of his presidency. Among Democrats, his approval was 77 percent, four percentage points below his average rating in 2011 and seven points below his average rating since he became president.

It is hard to say whether Mr. Obama’s deficit plan dampened his ratings, since the interviews were conducted on April 12 and 14, before and after the speech. But they clearly reflect worries about the economy and pessimism that the White House will find common ground with the Republicans.