In Indiana, Obama to take victory lap spurred on by 2016 race
WASHINGTON -- Seven years ago, newly elected President Barack Obama came to a blighted stretch of northern Indiana and predicted a tough but certain recovery - if the country embraced his approach to re-juicing the economy.
He returns Wednesday to the city of Elkhart seeking credit for having lifted the U.S. out of the doldrums with policies Democrats are now rallying behind as they work to elect his replacement.
"When I spoke to the people of Elkhart in February of 2009, I promised them that if we worked together, we could pull that community and this country out of the depths of recession -- that we could not only recover, but put ourselves on a better, stronger course," Mr. Obama wrote in an email published Wednesday previewing his trip. "Today, Elkhart's manufacturing industry is back, and the town has regained nearly all of the jobs it lost during the downturn."
In Elkhart, Mr. Obama will encounter a community whose experience during his presidency has mirrored the country's broader economic revival: uneven and bumpy, with both winners and losers.
In his letter, he highlighted the town's unemployment rate -- "lower now than it was before the recession" -- and the growing number of people who have health insurance. But Mr. Obama also acknowledged that Elkhart will "still face some tough economic challenges."
To the president, lingering challenges aren't enough to forestall a planned victory lap. Arguing that his controversial $840 billion stimulus package was ultimately vindicated, Mr. Obama will call on the next president to be willing to spend big to enable further economic growth.