President Barack Obama.
WASHINGTON — As part of his trip to Denver this week, President Barack Obama is expected to meet with several Colorado residents who wrote the White House and shared their stories of trying to make it in today’s economy, according to a White House official.
The conversations are meant to reinforce the main theme of his in Cheesman Park — that Congress, in particular Republicans, aren’t doing enough to “expand opportunities for the middle class,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, in an interview.
These include efforts to raise the minimum wage, ensure access to Pre-K programs and lower the cost of college tuition.
“While these kinds of issues don’t get a lot of attention in the news media or Washington, they are at the top of the agenda every time the president walks into the Oval Office,” Earnest said. When he speaks at Cheesman Park, Obama will “reiterate his commitment” to making a difference in these areas and “underscore the degree” that he is “fighting for the issues that will benefit middle-class families in Colorado,” Earnest said.
The Cheesman Park is closed to the public, but Earnest said that the crowd will include “people invited by the governor’s office and other community organizations and elected officials.”
This focus dovetails with Democratic efforts this election cycle to focus on populist issues — such as raising the minimum wage — to try and keep control of the U.S. Senate, which could switch to Republican hands if Democrats such as Colorado’s Mark Udall don’t win re-election. The Denver trip to help candidates like Udall.
Republicans, in turn, have attacked the trip and tried to make that argument that Obama and his poll numbers across the national map.
