President Obama chose Cincy’s Brent Spence Bridge as the backdrop to introducing the American Jobs Act last year, and the Queen City is once again in the spotlight today as he returns for another major visit to talk up his economic record here and what it means to the tri-state. He’ll be at Music Hall around 2 PM this afternoon. I’m hoping Kay has tickets, I’m stuck up here in Mason for the day.
Obama is holding a town hall event in Cincinnati, one of the state’s most heavily Republican areas. Ohio and Florida again are shaping up as the most intensely competitive states in the presidential race.
White House aides said Obama will cite news reports suggesting that Romney’s plans for limited taxing of overseas profits by U.S. companies would encourage foreign job growth. The two candidates have repeatedly accused each other of outsourcing American jobs.
The White House said Obama will renew his call for extending the Bush-era tax cuts on all households except those earning more than $250,000 a year. Romney says the wealthiest Americans also should keep their tax breaks because they are the most likely people to create jobs.
And no, Cincinnati isn’t as Republican as you think. Ask Mayor Mark Mallory, who is thrilled to see the President and is one of his strongest supporters in Ohio in his Enquirer op-ed this morning.
During the week of the Fourth of July, President Obama visited Ohio to talk about a great American comeback story made possible because of a bet on the American worker.
He visits Cincinnati today with the same message, reminding residents of the choice between two very different economic visions, placed on two very different kinds of bets. Where President Barack Obama bets on America’s middle class, Mitt Romney bets against them. Where Obama is moving us forward, Romney would hold us back.
And as a mayor, I believe there are two areas where that contrast is most clear: economic security and public safety. Cincinnati is moving forward with the president’s policies that invest in the soul of our economy – our small businesses and manufacturers, teachers and safety forces. We have more work to do, but our city has a partner in the White House who understands how we leverage federal investments to promote local growth.
The Enquirer of course is immediately complaining about the expected traffic snarl. That’s the Enquirer for you. Still, I expect the President to continue kicking ass on the trail like he did this weekend in Eric Cantor’s neck of the woods. There’s a reason he’s following that up with a visit to Orange Julius’s backyard today.
Guess who just got back today, driving all the orange men crazy.
Also, the Enquirer’s Amanda Van Benschoten is liveblogging the President’s arrival and visit here.
Maude
You need to say Ohio. We here in the tri state area, think you mean NY, NJ and whatever that third state is.
DougJ
Them wild eyed boys who had been away.
Zandar
The tri-state area is usually under attack by mad scientists anyway.
Villago Delenda Est
@Maude:
The foul state of Looserman. That’s the third state.
elmo
I tried to get tix to the President’s speech in Centreville, VA on Saturday. They started giving them away at the OFA office in Fairfax at 5:30. When I got there at 6 (I know, but I had to work, dammit) the line for tix was alllll the way around the building, and the people I talked to, near the end of the line, had been waiting since 4. They said they’d heard that people had started camping out at 10 am. They were pretty sure they weren’t going to have any luck, but they were sticking it out.
Me, I was wearing heels. I bailed.
Zach
“Romney says the wealthiest Americans also should keep their tax breaks because they are the most likely people to create jobs.”
Have we just forgotten that Romney is promising a 20% cut to all income tax rates, on top of the Bush cuts? Or is this just some red meat that he promised to an empty Ford Field in Detroit, never put into his 59-point-plan-of-vague-promises-not-very-related-to-jobs and has reneged on?
Zach
“Romney says the wealthiest Americans also should keep their tax breaks because they are the most likely people to create jobs.”
Have we just forgotten that Romney is promising a 20% cut to all income tax rates, on top of the Bush cuts? Or is this just some red meat that he promised to an empty Ford Field in Detroit, never put into his 59-point-plan-of-vague-promises-not-very-related-to-jobs and has reneged on?
BGinCHI
If Caesar can conquer Cincinnati, all of the pagan lands lie open to him.
PeakVT
@Maude: There’s lots of tri-state areas out there.
rlrr
@Zandar:
Fortunately, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz’s plans display Romney-like levels of incompetence.
JenJen
I just watched Air Force One swoop over Northside, then turn back south to land at CVG. It was thrilling! That is one gorgeous, gleaming aircraft.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
As I mentioned in DougJ’s open thread, we got the robocall last night announcing the protest rally at Fountain Square. And I also notice The Cincinnati Inquisitor (as I think of it) has been hitting the “expect traffic delays” angle early and often.
I so wish I could be down there, but I was already scheduled elsewhere, for work.
quannlace
Yes, ‘likely,’ as in ‘possiblely’, ‘maybe’ and ‘not now but sometime in the future if they’re in the mood.’
It’s nice to dream
Cris (without an H)
And that time over at Romney’s place, Barack got up and slapped Romney’s face. Man, we just fell all about the place.
Litlebritdifrnt
@quannlace:
I wish one of these nitwits spouting this bullshit could point us to exactly how many jobs were created since the Bush tax cuts went into effect. Like Ed Schultz says “really? Where are the jobs?”
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): There, of course, being the President’s visit. Though it will be interesting to compare press reports of the protest to what people without an agenda say.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
@top
…in what country, I wonder?
JenJen
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Oh good grief, that Fountain Square protest sounds impossibly lame!!
I did get tickets for today, but alas, did not get the afternoon off work as requested. I returned them to HQ this morning so hopefully someone else will get to go.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Litlebritdifrnt:
It’s such an obvious question, I can’t figure out why every Dem congress critter and candidate isn’t using it as their slogan. But probably a third of them agree with the Republican rhetoric about job creators.
lamh35
man if I wasn’t here to take care of my moms I’d so try to at least be along the motorcade. I would watch it on her hospital tv, but it only shows fox news and CNN. aw well.
anyhow, “Still Unanswered if you’ve lost dick Halperin?????
Jay C
Mayor Mallory also hit a good note there with the “public safety” angle: Republican obsessions with spending and budget (cuts) – especially on the local level – usually impact police and fire forces directly and negatively. The GOP has long promoted itself as the “law and order” party; it’s nice to see at least some Dems push them to put money where their mouths are. Unfortunately, with today’s Republicans, all we get is more mouth…
@Cris (without an H):
…and if Mitt don’t wanna know, well them forget him!
JenJen
@lamh35: Damn! I’m actually surprised that Halperin isn’t saying what excellent news the Bain flap is for Romney. But of course, his little insider “c’mon Boston, you say you want to move on” quip nauseates me nonetheless.
Today on Morning Joe, the Romney folks were whining about Teresa Heinz-Kerry’s tax returns, by the way. It’s amazing to me that the Romney campaign wasn’t in the slightest bit prepared to handle the Bain and tax questions. I’m starting to think his team is clown shoes.
Zandar
For the assembled, Gov. Beshear was at the CVG airport (for those of you playing at home, the Cincy airport is on the south side of the Ohio river here in northern Kentucky) and did not run away from the guy for once.
Hey, Steve’s term limited.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@JenJen: It is really amazing that a guy who’s been running for this gig since at least 2004 couldn’t field a team that got prepared on the most obvious issue – it’s the taxes stupid. It’s kind of amusing though.
geg6
@Maude:
Whereas I always think of it as MY tri-state, which is PA, WV, and eastern OH. And people in Erie think of it as PA, NY, and eastern OH.
Lots of tri-states out there. But only one with Cincinnati as the hub.
JenJen
Enquirer says POTUS is at Skyline Chili and ordered a 4-Way (beans or onion? They don’t say) and two cheese coneys.
Mmmmmmm.
Frankensteinbeck
@Zandar:
Well, Romney is running against an unpopular sitting president, and by unpopular I mean COMPLETELY POPULAR.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JenJen: How did the Morning Schmoes react? That strikes me as the kind of thing that might drive even Scarborough to mock conservatives. Though I’m sure “regular guy” Mike Barnicle would be right in there defending Willard.
JenJen
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Scarborough wasn’t on today, but on Friday, he was slightly mocking Romney’s team.
On today’s panel we had Harold Ford and Dan Senor, so basically, “retroactive retirement” demonstrates the Romney team’s political genius.
Jay C
@JenJen:
SRSLY? Because we all recall how wonderfully secrecy about family tax returns worked out for Sen. Kerry’s campaign??
Zandar
@JenJen: Beans, according to Mark Knoller.
I take mine with onions, personally.
Course, Gold Star has better coneys.
Midnight Marauder
I am honestly perplexed by the amount of people who are surprised that Mittens’ political team is a bunch of incompetent, grossly unprepared know-nothings who all own top of the line clown shoes.
They are who we thought they are. They always have been.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JenJen: Good god. Harold Ford speaking for Democrats. Tell me again how MSNBC is just a mirror image of Fox, Serious People.
ChrisB
When does Obama head down to Dino’s?
And even on Morning Joe they were calling for Romney to release his tax returns.
bk
It would be nice if reporters (and the White House, for that matter) got their heads out of their asses and got the facts right. THE TAX CUTS ARE REMAINING IN PLACE FOR EVERYONE. The only exception is the restoration of the pre-Bush tax cut marginal rate for taxable income IN EXCESS OF $250,000.
RaflW
Argh! I think the WH probably more or less said this. And it makes me nuts. Households earning over 250,000 will get to keep the tax cut on income below $250K. Maybe the WH thinks that’s too subtle a distinction. but it really helps counter the “Obama hates small business” bullshit.
Is there a way to message this succinctly??
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
About 60-70 protesters gathered on Fountain Square, per the liveblog.
Maude
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
Not many.
ruemara
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Coincidentally, that’s also the average age.
Yutsano
@JenJen: This could be my naivete, but that sounds like a mound of chow there. Of course I imagine Lord Stanley has devoured a few of those coneys already. :)
JenJen
@Zandar: Gold Star absolutely has better coneys. I’m a three-way Skyline girl though (now, watch it, non-Cincinnatians, we’re too conservative here to be excitedly kinky).
@Yutsano: Lord Stanley agrees with Zandar that Gold Star coneys are where it’s at! :-)
Kathleen
Yikes! He was a block away from where I work. And I missed the whole thing. Dang.