A fired up US President Barack Obama has told Republicans to 'show us what you got', cranking up political pressure ahead of his pivotal national address on jobs later this week.
Obama, seeking to restart stalled US job creation, revive the economy and his own tumbling political fortunes, on Monday issued his most strident challenge yet to political foes he accuses of blocking his recovery efforts.
He also offered a glimpse of the initiatives he will offer in anaddress to the joint chambers of Congress on Thursday, confirming he would push for a scheme to repair infrastructure and for the extension of a payroll tax cut.
Obama said that despite months of bitter infighting in Washington, he believed that Democrats and Republicans could still work together to create jobs, but used a Labor Day speech to toughen his rhetoric on the economy.
"Given the urgency of this moment, given the hardship that many people are facing, folks have got to get together," he told a crowd which serenaded him with chants of "four more years."
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"But we are not going to wait for them," Obama said, in remarks likely to cheer some supporters who have questioned whether the president still has the stomach for a fight against his political enemies.
"We are going to see if we have got some straight shooters in Congress. We are going to see if Republicans will put country before party."
Facing the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, Obama was rattled on Friday by disastrous Labor Department data showing the stumbling economy created no jobs in August, at a time of 9.1 per cent unemployment.
Obama said he would present Republicans in the House of Representatives with a plan to put construction workers back to work, money in the paycheques of middle class Americans and to open up foreign trade markets.
"Show us what you got," he said, in a direct challenge to Republicans who oppose his economic plans and are determined to deprive him of a second term in November 2012.
"The time for Washington games is over, the time for action is now. Now is not the time for the people you sent to Washington to worry about their jobs. Now is the time for them to worry about your jobs."
