Straw poll rebuttal: Iowa bus tour isn't political, White House says

President Obama and his economic team met Wednesday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as volatility continued to haunt the markets.


Obama, Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, National Economic Council Chairman Gene Sperling and White House chief of staff Bill Daley huddled in the Oval Office “to discuss the economy and global recovery,” the White House said in a statement.




“The president and the chairman discussed the outlook for the recovery and for jobs as well as fiscal issues, including the need to tackle long-term deficit reduction,” according to a readout of the meeting provided by the White House.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday down 520 points, shedding all its gains from Tuesday, and then some.


Continued reaction to Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the U.S. AAA credit rating to AA+ and concern over Europe’s debt crisis — which now is threatening France’s top credit rating and its banks — all contributed to the downward slide. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 stock indices both also ended the day sharply down, each falling more than 4 percent.


Obama and Bernanke, in their third meeting this year, did discuss the critical economic situation in Europe.


Even if the White House won't admit that the trip has a political dimension, that doesn't mean they aren't watching what goes on in Iowa this week.


Earlier Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest seized on one moment in particular from Thursday's GOP debate, when the candidates were asked if they would accept a budget deal that included $1 in new tax revenues for every $10 in spending cuts. All said they would reject it.


"That basically puts these candidates in a position of not even asking corporate jet owners to assume one-tenth of the burden that we’re asking college students to bear. ... They would not even consider asking millionaires and billionaires to bear one-tenth of the burden that middle-class families would be asked to bear in a deficit reduction package," Earnest told reporters at a White House briefing. "That's clearly not where the American people are."


Obama's trip is billed as an Economic Bus Tour, and also includes one stop in Minnesota and two more in Illinois. The president is expected to discuss his plan to expand the economy and strengthen the middle class, the White House said, with a particular focus on rural communities.


One day after the president castigated Republicans for blocking his economic proposals in Congress and pledged to outline additional measures in the coming weeks, aides said not to expect any major policy announcements during the trip.