Obama pitches economic agenda
CLEVELAND — Dogged by the botched enrollment launch of his health care law, President Barack Obama on Thursday sought to put the spotlight on his economic and energy agenda, touting increased automobile fuel efficiency for helping reduce reliance on foreign oil.
For the first time in nearly two decades, the U.S. produced more oil at home in October than it imported from abroad. Obama called the shift “a huge competitive advantage” for the United States.
The president spoke at a Cleveland plant that makes steel used for higher fuel-efficient cars. Obama says the comeback of the auto industry during his presidency helped the ArcelorMittal plant and saved more than 1 million American jobs.
“We’ve got to do more to get those engines of the economy churning even faster,” Obama said.
“But because we’ve been willing to do some hard things, not just kick the can down the road, factories are reopening their doors, businesses are hiring new workers.”
The president was highlighting some of the positive notes in the still sluggish economic recovery even as problems with the health care law were the focus Thursday in Washington.
