Obama to unveil housing plan on campaign swing: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will unveil new measures to help struggling homeowners on Monday in the first leg of a campaign-style swing through western states that may be crucial to his re-election in 2012.
Stymied by Republican resistance to his $447 billion jobs package and tapping into public displeasure with Congress, Obama will propose actions that do not require congressional approval to help the economy, a White House official said.
They include an initiative to help homeowners refinance their mortgages, which Obama will discuss in Nevada, a state hit hard by the housing crisis.
In Colorado, the president will unveil a student loan initiative. He will also attend fundraising events in both states plus California during the three-day trip.
The states on Obama's tour were chosen deliberately.
Each has large populations of Hispanics, a voting bloc Obama's campaign is eager to win over. Nevada and Colorado are "swing states" that alternate allegiance between Republicans and Democrats, making them valuable political prizes in presidential elections. Both could prove critical to Obama's chances in the November 2012 election.
He will use them as a backdrop to make his latest push to boost the weak economy, which remains the biggest obstacle to his hopes of retaining the presidency. According to the White House official, he will also try out a new slogan to put pressure on Congress: "We can't wait."
Republicans, choosing among a field of presidential candidates currently led by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and businessman Herman Cain, accused Obama of focusing more on fundraising than helping the unemployed.
Stymied by Republican resistance to his $447 billion jobs package and tapping into public displeasure with Congress, Obama will propose actions that do not require congressional approval to help the economy, a White House official said.
They include an initiative to help homeowners refinance their mortgages, which Obama will discuss in Nevada, a state hit hard by the housing crisis.
In Colorado, the president will unveil a student loan initiative. He will also attend fundraising events in both states plus California during the three-day trip.
The states on Obama's tour were chosen deliberately.
Each has large populations of Hispanics, a voting bloc Obama's campaign is eager to win over. Nevada and Colorado are "swing states" that alternate allegiance between Republicans and Democrats, making them valuable political prizes in presidential elections. Both could prove critical to Obama's chances in the November 2012 election.
He will use them as a backdrop to make his latest push to boost the weak economy, which remains the biggest obstacle to his hopes of retaining the presidency. According to the White House official, he will also try out a new slogan to put pressure on Congress: "We can't wait."
Republicans, choosing among a field of presidential candidates currently led by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and businessman Herman Cain, accused Obama of focusing more on fundraising than helping the unemployed.
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