Obama sets politics aside — mostly — to send holiday greeting

A day after pointing to an improving jobs picture as proof his
administration’s economic policies were working, President Barack Obama
largely set aside politics to urge Americans to be “mindful of a unity
of purpose” in a short, holiday weekend address Saturday.

Obama again noted the “heartening” news that the economy created
jobs in March for the first time in two years. The Labor Department
reported Friday that the economy added 162,000 last month, although the
unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent.

{mosads}But Saturday’s address instead focused on a “shared spirit of
humanity” as Jews celebrate Passover and Christians celebrate Easter.

“Amid the storm of public debate, with our 24/7 media cycle, in a
town like Washington that’s consumed with the day-to-day, it can
sometimes be easy to lose sight of the eternal,” Obama said.

In the brief remarks on the economy, Obama said the country had
“begun to reverse the devastating slide, but we have a long way to go
to repair the damage from this recession.”

In a speech Friday in North Carolina, Obama had more direct
in taking some credit for the turnaround. He attributed the stronger
jobs numbers in part to the $787 billion stimulus legislation that
passed with little Republican support. His senior adviser, David
Axelrod, also touted the stimulus package in a statement Friday afternoon.

---

“Two million more Americans are on the job today because of the
Recovery Act, and we have broken the back of the worst recession in a
generation,” Axelrod said.

Saturday’s radio address by the president, however, largely ignored hot-button political issues.

Among the traits Americans share, Obama said, was a desire for
quality healthcare and a good education. He did not mention the hard-fought healthcare reform legislation Democrats recently pushed through
Congress, although the message was probably clear.

“Our health is the rock upon which our lives are built, for better and for worse,” Obama said.