Obama's jobs speech: Will it rescue his plummeting popularity?

As the president's approval numbers continue to crater, the White House hopes Obama's plan to fight unemployment will reverse the trend

President Obama
(Image credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

President Obama's poll numbers have sunk to their lowest yet, and the public's despondency about the economy and persistently high unemployment has only deepened. Obama will address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, in what's being built up as a major speech on jobs. Though the public reviles Congress even more than Obama, the president's sinking approval rating casts serious doubt on his re-election prospects. Can he say anything on Thursday to reverse his political fate?

One speech won't do much: Obama's terrible poll numbers "should set off loud warning bells" at his campaign headquarters, say Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake in The Washington Post. A growing majority of Americans say they're not better off than before Obama took office, and dismiss his economic policies as ineffective. He won't win next year unless he truly convinces voters that he's actually making things better, not just orating. "He's not there yet. Or even close."

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