Obama to push ahead with agenda

WASHINGTON -- President Obama is relying on direct appeals to the public to focus attention on his agenda and drive debate.

The president plans to use a flurry of events to make his case, including a network television interview airing today and a prime-time news conference Tuesday.

"I realize there are those who say these plans are too ambitious to enact," Obama said in his weekend address. "To that I say that the challenges we face are too large to ignore. I didn't come here to pass on our problems to the next president or the next generation -- I came here to solve them."

Obama said Saturday that people are more concerned about having a paycheck and being able to pay college or medical bills than they are about "the news of the day in Washington."

Those are the concerns, he said, that he addresses in his budget. It is "a vision of America where growth is not based on real estate bubbles or overleveraged banks, but on a firm foundation of investments in energy, education and health care that will lead to a real and lasting prosperity," Obama said.

Obama said in the end his four priorities must be met. Those are plans to boost investments in clean energy technologies, including wind and solar power; more money for childhood education programs, affordable college costs and higher standards for schools; a health-care overhaul to lower costs, including Medicare and Medicaid costs; and added scrutiny on domestic spending that will lead to cuts in the deficit.

"The American people sent us here to get things done, and at this moment of great challenge, they are watching and waiting for us to lead," Obama said. "Let's show them that we are equal to the task before us."

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On the Net:

Obama address: http://www.whitehouse.gov