On Main Street tour, Obama ties his Wall Street reforms to economic recovery

President Obama used the first day of his Main Street tour, yesterday in struggling rural areas of Iowa, to tie the chances of economic recovery to his Wall Street reform. "You should not have to wait one more day for some of the strongest consumer protections ever," Obama told more than 2,000 people in the gymnasium of Indian Hills Community College. "And I'm not going to let this effort fall victim to industry lobbyists who want to weaken it. We can't let another crisis like this happen again. And we can't have such a short memory that we let them convince us that we don't need common-sense rules on Wall Street."

Obama said the economy nationally was beginning to turn the corner, but many areas like the ones he visited are still suffering, Thomas Beaumont and Jason Clayworth of the Des Moines Register report. "Without proposing any new policy, Obama walked through his administration's efforts to spur economic growth, arguing that its work is taking root," they report. "We're making some progress" in adding back jobs, Obama said. "Not as fast as I'd like, but the trends are good." (Read more)

In addition to showcasing his administration's efforts to revitalize rural America, the trip is a chance for Obama "to try out a populist message intended to rally his base in time for the fall campaign," Scott Wilson of The Washington Post writes. "I think he knew that he was well supported in Iowa," Donald Bailey, an Iowan who lost his job with a survey company 18 months ago and has not found employment, told Wilson. "Now he's trying to get the financial regulation bill, and maybe he needs a little support from his supporters." (Read more)

This morning, Obama made an unadvertised stop at Peggy Sue's Cafe in Monroe City, Mo., where "a totally unfazed waitress" took his order for a cheeseburger and fries, according to the press pool report. This afternoon, he visited the Poet ethanol plant in Macon, Mo., and a farm in Palmyra, Mo., where he was "greeted by a three-legged dog," the pool report said. Later, in Quincy, Ill., he told a crowd, "It’s towns like this where working men and women built the American Dream with their bare hands. This is where our roots are. ... Now, the truth is, is that sometimes it feels like that dream is slipping away." The speech text is on the White House site, along with others.