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Obama is contrasting his American Jobs Act, which includes giving tax credits to employers who hire veterans, against a “do-nothing Congress.”

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Photo: Associated Press/Charles Dharapak

Credits: 

Illustration: Patrick McQuade

He’s (much) more popular than Congress.

According to a recent Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll, only 9 percent of Americans strongly approve of the way Republicans are running the House of Representatives. Obama’s “strongly approve” rating was 21 percent.

In 1948, Harry S. Truman won by campaigning against the “do-nothing Congress.” And that’s what Obama tried to do when he challenged the Republicans to pass his American Jobs Act in September.

“He has done everything he can to engage the Republicans in a bipartisan effort,” Sen. Durbin says. “Look what they’ve done. Every chance they’ve had, they have tried to stop it. Too many Republican leaders are afraid that the President will succeed if the economy gets better. I think in the end, the President will be able to handle this issue, because he has a plan; the Republicans do not.”