Obama blasts 'bad economics' of congressional Republicans

In a speech Wednesday at Knox University in Galesburg, Ill., President Barack Obama presented an economic campaign focused on strengthening the middle class, while deriding Republicans for blocking forward progress and calling their strategy “morally wrong” and “bad economics.”

President Obama’s speech is the first of three that he will present in a campaign-style tour over the next two days, with additional stops in Jacksonville, Fla. and Warrensburg, Mo. But his efforts to reframe the debate over the economy comes with Congress reloading for a new round of battles over raising the debt ceiling and other economic fights.

Obama told the crowd Wednesday that his administration helped to fend off the nation's economic stagnation, rescuing the auto industry, revamping the health care system and shoring up the financial sector, among other achievements.

"Thanks to the grit and resilience of the American people, we've cleared away the rubble from the financial crisis and begun to lay a new foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth," he said.

But in pointing to continuing flows of income gains to the top 1 percent of earners within the last decade paired with a lack of income increases in the middle class, he said Congress needed to stop partisan stalling and to work together to boost the areas of job creation, education, home ownership, secure retirement and affordable health care.

“Reversing these trends has to be Washington’s highest priority,” he told the crowd. “It’s certainly my highest priority.  Unfortunately, over the past couple of years in particular, Washington hasn’t just ignored this problem -too often, Washington has made things worse.”

He said the trends of a winner-take-all economy that he spoke about in a 2005 speech at Knox College "have been made worse by the recession."

As the November 2014 midterm elections loom in the distance, the U.S. debt ceiling will provide another likely battleground in addition to the budget battles.

“With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball.  And I am here to say this needs to stop,” Obama said in his speech. “Short-term thinking and stale debates are not what this moment requires.”

The president hopes to negotiate a new fiscal compromise by October -- the end of the current fiscal year -- in order to head off the threat of a government shutdown that could further damage the sluggish recovery.

Republicans have dismissed Obama's focus on the economy as a thinly veiled excuse to seek more spending.

"If the president was serious about helping our economy, he wouldn't give another speech, he'd reach out and actually work with us," House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday.

Al Jazeera and wire services