The President is following in Mitt Romney’s footsteps and launching a bus tour that will include the state of Ohio. It’s a defensive move by the President, and one that highlights his campaign’s growing concerns about the effect of the worsening economic slowdown on his re-election chances.
That downtown is particularly worrisome here in Ohio. Our manufacturing sector has been one of the few economic bright spots over the last three and a half years. But now it seems that even manufacturing is starting to stall. The Associated Press reported earlier this week:
U.S. manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in nearly three years, a troubling sign as evidence builds that economic growth is slowing. . . . Production fell to a three-year low and a measure of new orders plummeted by the most in more than a decade, suggesting the weakness will likely persist in the coming months.
This news came on the heels of a Reuters report noting the recent downturn in manufacturing. According to the piece:
U.S manufacturing grew in June at its slowest pace in 11 months and hiring in the sector slowed as overseas demand for U.S. products waned, an industry survey showed on Thursday.
Given the President’s tendency to point to manufacturing as one of the few tangible successes of his economic efforts, it’s no wonder that the President has chosen now to visit Ohio in an effort to shore up his sagging campaign.
