When President Obama hits the road for a three-day bus tour next week, Minnesota will be part of his itinerary, the White House confirmed on Tuesday.
The tour, designed to promote his job-creating strategy, will include stops in southern Minnesota, northeast Iowa and western Illinois next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The White House offered no other details of the tour.
The tour comes on the heels of the bruising fight with Congress over the federal debt ceiling and, more recently, the erratic performance of the world financial markets.
According to the White House announcement, Obama "will discuss ways to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class and accelerate hiring in communities and towns across the nation and hear directly from Americans, including local families and small-business owners. The president knows we must do everything we can to promote economic growth, restore confidence in our nation's future and restore the sense of optimism for future generations."
Republicans have complain-ed that the bus tour is a thinly veiled campaign swing, but the White House says it is an official administration event and not part of Obama's re-election campaign. In 2008 Obama handily won the three states, all of which are considered key to his re-election prospects.
BOB VON STERNBERG
