Obama to defend his record in Chicago

President Obama will deliver a speech on “America’s economic greatness” Thursday at Northwestern University in Chicago as the White House looks to refocus attention on the economy ahead of the midterm elections.

Obama will “take a step back from the rush of current events to explain what we’ve done to recover from the Great Recession and what we need to do to ensure that more middle-class Americans feel that progress in their own lives,” senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said in an email to supporters.

{mosads}The president will also tie America’s economic prosperity to its ability to project leadership across the world, Pfeiffer said.

“The President will make the case for what has always fueled America’s leadership — and that’s America’s economic greatness,” the Obama aide said.

The president faces a tough challenge on the economy ahead of November’s vote. While the country has enjoyed months of gains in employment and in the stock market, Obama’s approval rating on the economy remains stubbornly low.

In a CBS News/New York Times poll released earlier this month, a majority of Americans — 53 percent — disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy. Asked to describe the state of the economy, 35 percent of respondents described conditions as “fairly bad” and another 20 percent said things were “very bad.” Just 26 percent of Americans say the economy is getting better.

During an interview this weekend with “60 Minutes,” Obama acknowledged the problem, saying many Americans “don’t feel” the economic recovery.

“The reason they don’t feel it is because incomes and wages are not going up,” he said.

But Obama said the economy was improving and that he would spend the next six weeks campaigning on his record.

“The country is definitely better off than we were when I came into office,” Obama said, offering to put his record “against any leader around the world in terms of digging ourselves out of a terrible, almost unprecedented financial crisis.”

“Ronald Reagan used to ask the question, ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’ In this case, are you better off than you were in six?’” Obama said.

Obama said Democratic policies could address wage stagnation and that he believed Democrats could hold on to the Senate if they’re able to convince voters the economy has improved under his watch.

“Hopefully, they get a chance to hear the argument, because all I’m doing is presenting the facts,” Obama said.