The moveslikely to meet resistance from Republicans in Congressare meant to pay for the long slate of new programs the President began laying out two weeks ago designed to bolster the middle class, including offering two free years of community college to qualified students.
Obama’s aides have been seeking ways to expand a robust economic recovery beyond top earners, who have been buoyed by record closes on Wall Street. Despite reams of positive economic news, most Americans still say economic conditions in the country are only fair.
And, if they see improvement, they aren’t crediting the White House.
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The early look is meant to introduce Americans to each scheme individually, said administration aides, who determined the yearly laundry-list of plans — combined with updates on America’s foreign policy — wasn’t digestible during a single prime-time event.
That doesn’t mean, however, the speech will necessarily be any shorter than the 65-minute address Obama delivered last year.
“It will still be a healthy speech in terms of breadth and length,” one official said.
