With GOP Nomination Fight On-going: Obama Set to Give Major Speech and Fights for Coverage | Democracy, elections, and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Obama to lay out reelection case in key speech

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama will Tuesday set out to convince Americans he is worthy of a second White House term, as he lays out a blueprint for future economic security in his State of the Union address.
Obama is expected to detail new jobs programs, plans to boost manufacturing and to call for a renewal of American economic values of fairness and opportunity in the annual showpiece speech, beginning at 9 pm (0100 GMT).
The address will be Obama’s best chance for months to leverage the prestige of the presidency to his political benefit, before millions of television viewers, as the race towards November’s presidential election heats up.
Seeking an emotional connection with voters, Obama will contrast his vision of an economy where the middle classes get a “fair shake” and Republican plans which he says further enrich millionaires as the economy struggles.
“This is a make or break time for the middle class,” senior Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett told CNN Tuesday, laying out the populist economic pitch which forms Obama’s reelection platform.
“We want to really make sure that our system is based on fairness, where everybody who plays by the same rules can exceed their wildest dreams.”
Obama signaled Tuesday he will make a new effort to convince Congress to adopt a plan proposed by billionaire financier Warren Buffett for a new tax rate on the richest Americans.
First Lady Michelle Obama will welcome Buffett’s secretary Debbie Bosanek to her box in the House of Representatives, to highlight the legendary investor’s complaint that his staff are taxed at a higher rate on their income than he is, owing to loopholes upheld by lawmakers.
Obama is also expected to propose higher anti-fraud penalties in the financial industry and to call for increased domestic energy production, the Wall Street Journal reported.