Obama Holds Mini-Town Hall In Ohio Family’s Backyard

President Barack Obama continued his campaign-style swing through the country on Wednesday, taking questions from voters in Columbus, Ohio.

Before engaging a crowd of about 30 which had gathered in the backyard of Joe and Rhonda Weithman, the President made a few remarks about the economy. The message was clear: though millions of Americans remain out of work, the administration  has taken steps to put the country on the road to recovery.

“We had to act fast to prevent what could have been a Great Depression, and we were successful in doing so,” said Obama. “We stabilized the economy, we stabilized the financial system [and] we didn’t have a complete meltdown.”

Obama met with the Weithmans in their kitchen for about 15 minutes prior to his backyard remarks. According to the White House, the family benefitted directly from President’s Recovery Act, with Joe - a small business owner - able to retain two of his employees, and Rhonda able to keep her health insurance despite losing her job last year.

During the nearly 45 minute question and answer session that followed, participants focused mainly on pocketbook issues, such as jobs, social security, healthcare and educational costs.

The President said new infrastructure spending included in the stimulus law, and reforms to the student loan industry included in the healthcare reform law passed earlier this year will hopefully create jobs for those living in the ‘Rust Belt,’ and will ease the process by which college students apply for and pay off loans.

Obama also addressed concerns over the nation’s growing deficit, which is expected to run near $1.47 trillion next year.

“People, consumers, are not going to start spending until they feel a little more confident that the economy’s getting stronger,” he said. The President added that he wants to ensure that measures to lower the deficit do not interfere with economic recovery.

A number of Democrats running for re-election were in attendance today, including Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D), who faces a stiff challenge from his opponent, former state Representative John Kasich (R), in his bid for re-election this November. Democratic Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who is running for U.S. Senate, as well as U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D), who is fighting to keep her seat, were also present.

U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D) did not attend.

Following the stop in Columbus, the President was expected to make remarks at an afternoon fundraising event for Strickland before flying to Miami to help raise money for Florida Democrats tonight.

Labor Secretary Claims Electric Vehicle Development Will Create Thousands Of Jobs, Revitalize Auto-Industry

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis praised the Obama administration’s announcement Wednesday to allocate $2.4 billion of Recovery Act funds for the development of electric vehicles.

“This is a perfect example of an investment that meets both short-term and long-term goals,” Solis claimed during a conference call with reporters. “[The] projects will create tens of thousands of good, sustainable jobs all across America and immediately help to revitalize the auto-industry in America.”

Solis also described the decision as an important step in combatting climate change and dampening U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D), whose state will receive $30 million in grants, cited the funding as proof of the stimulus plan’s success.

"We are just thrilled,” Strickland said. “There are some who talk about the stimulus not working. I can tell you, in Ohio, it is working.”

Obama campaign on the Ohio battlefield

The Barack Obama campaign is focusing in on "battle ground" states and making sure what happened to John Kerry's presidential bid in Ohio in 2004. "Ohio has the third most electoral votes of all the battleground states," said Steve Hildebrand a deputy campaign manager for Obama during a call with the media. Hildebrand and Ohio campaign director Aaron Pickerell discussed the base that had been laid by the successful bids of Democrats Sen. Sherrod Brown and Governor Ted Strickland in 2006.

Pickrell said that the campaign is spending more time in traditionally Republican districts, following the strategy of Brown and Strickland to target the whole state instead of urban and suburban areas. Much like the Obama campaign organized in Iowa the Ohio strategy involves 1200 neighborhoods organized by resident neighborhood team leaders. Pickrell said that this campaign can build on the foundation of increased Democratic voting rates built by Strickland and Brown.

Strickland said that the manpower Obama has placed in the field will make a major difference. He also said that he is impressed at the efforts to court Clinton supporters and that he, along with Hillry and Bill Clinton, will do "anything and everything" he;s asked to do to support the Obama campaign.

Strickland said that Obama won't win every region of the state, but he won't repeat "the Kerry mistake." Strickland said that he thinks that these effors in Ohio will increase the percentage of Democratic votes in some counties by 10 to 12 percent. Strickland will be a speaker at the upcoming Democratic National Convention; he said his speech will focus on the economy.