Staff Report
Alabama Political Reporter
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday evening will include a significant focus on manufacturing jobs, despite GOP criticism of his Jan. 18 decision to nix construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Obama revealed the planned focus on manufacturing at the tail end of an 83-minute meeting with business leaders serving on his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.
The growing competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector “is a good news story … so we’re going to keep on pushing that and you’ll see that as significant focus in our State of the Union” speech, Obama said as he ended the Jan. 17 meeting.
The focus on manufacturing is intended to help jump-start his 2012 campaign.
The pitch may help Obama’s November campaign in critical swing states, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and even Michigan, where his low job-approval ratings among blue-collar workers threatens to cost him the race.
In a Jan. 21 video at his campaign site, Obama said the speech would “lay out a blueprint for an American economy that’s built to last … And most importantly, a return to American values of fairness for all, and responsibility from all.”
The “big ideas” of his campaign, he said in the video, include “more good jobs and more products stamped with ‘Made in America,’ energy policy and programs for the education and training of workers.”
