Excerpts from The Wall Street Journal
By Jonathan Weisman & Carol Lee
November 28, 2011
“When President Barack Obama jets to Scranton, Pa., Wednesday to promote his jobs package, he’ll log his 56th event in a presidential battleground state this year, putting him well ahead of President George W. Bush’s record-breaking swing-state travel in 2003.
“Mr. Obama’s extensive travels this year have opened the president to criticism from Republicans that he is intertwining campaigning and governing at a time when he has called for bipartisanship on intractable national problems. Most of the cost is typically born by taxpayers.
“Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 17 of his third year in office, Bill Clinton held 40 events over 24 days in the battlegrounds of his time…Over that same stretch, George W. Bush held 49 events in 34 days, drawing complaints from Democrats.
“Mr. Obama has surpassed his predecessors in both categories; as of Nov. 17, he attended 54 events in 11 battleground states over 42 days. ‘Obama has certainly ramped up the volume’…
“Mr. Obama has expanded the number of states considered battlegrounds, adding Virginia as a regular go-to for presidential events. The administration also has scheduled speeches and fund-raising by Obama cabinet secretaries.
“Presidential candidates blamed the failure of the congressional deficit-reduction supercommittee on his inattention…
“Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said Mr. Obama came to power promising to put politics aside and to unite the country. Instead, ‘he’s been absent when it comes to leading,’ said Mr. Spicer. ‘But when it comes to campaigning and saving his own job, he is front and center.’
“Presidential travel tied to official business, such as promoting legislation—in this case, Mr. Obama’s jobs’ bill—is paid for by taxpayers…Much of the president’s travel has been connected to official business.
“In an electoral system where winning swing states is crucial, Mr. Obama’s 11 events in Virginia, 10 in Florida, eight in Pennsylvania and seven in North Carolina are to be expected…
“Mr. Obama has been pursuing two goals at once: taking his jobs proposals to the American people, and doing so in the states he needs most next November. ‘This is the 2012 election in full swing’…
“Critics on the right and left also have seized on some recent policy decisions, charging they were politically motivated. The administration cheered Hispanic groups, who are important to the next election, by expanding its legal challenges to state immigration laws to include four states…recently, the administration deferred until 2013 a decision on approvals for an oil-shale pipeline from Canada that had divided two Democratic constituencies, environmentalists and labor unions.
“President Obama has highlighted domestic policy during his travels. His speech last Tuesday in Manchester, N.H.—his 55th visit that upped his battleground state total to 12—was laced with jabs at the GOP. After the event he lingered to shake hands as the Central High School marching band blasted out ‘Anchors Aweigh,’ ‘The Halls of Montezuma’ and ‘Into the Wild Blue Yonder.’
“Mr. Obama has also conducted two campaign-style bus tours, the latest through swing states North Carolina and Virginia, where he rallied large crowds, ate at local diners and made roadside stops to shake hands and pose for photographs…
“Mr. Obama’s travel is one of several elements that critics say has brought a political cast to his presidency. The Obama campaign has launched what it calls a ‘Speakers Series’—for $5,000 a year, or $1,000 an event, supporters can meet with cabinet secretaries, top administration officials, celebrities and Democratic political stars.
“White House chief of staff Bill Daley has rubbed elbows with small groups of top Obama campaign donors, as has senior White House advisors David Plouffe and Valerie Jarrett…”
Click Here To Read The Article: http://on.wsj.com/utNWkt
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