In a letter to congressional leaders requesting the Sept. 7 slot, the president said he will urge Congress to put aside politics and focus on creating jobs during the 8 p.m. speech...
... The speech will fall on the same night Texas Gov. Rick Perry makes his debut on the GOP 2012 debate stage. The Republican presidential field is set to take part in a debate, also scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
Asked whether the speech was purposefully scheduled the same night as the Republican debate, White House press secretary Jay Carney said "of course not."
"It is coincidental," said Carney, who explained that a number of considerations were taken into account when Obama settled on Sept. 7.
"One debate of many that's on one channel of many was not enough of a reason" to pick another date, Carney said. ...The Hill
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Americans are virtually divided over which party they wish to see control both the White House and Congress as a product of the 2012 elections.
A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found President Obama in a statistical tie with the two Republican candidates he seems most likely to face next fall, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Obama and Romney each would win 45 percent of the vote if the election were held today, according to the survey of registered voters.
Obama performs slightly better against Perry; the president would best the Texan, 45 percent to 42 percent.
The race for Congress is similarly divided. The poll found registered voters split, at 38 percent apiece, over whether they prefer to see Republicans or Democrats control the House starting in January 2013. ...The Hill
