President Obama on the American Jobs Act -- VIDEO and TRANSCRIPT

Here is President Obama's address to a joint session of congress for the American Jobs Act. He urged Congress to "end the circus" and act now:



Here is a transcript of the President's prepared remarks, courtesy of the New York Times. At one point, the President said:

And to make sure the money is properly spent and for good purposes, we're building on reforms we've already put in place. No more earmarks. No more boondoggles. No more bridges to nowhere.

The President has stolen a lot of the Republicans' thunder; the act has tax cuts, business incentives, and will be paid for without additional taxes. The President not only discussed the jobs act, but addressed the country's future, saying at one point that we shouldn't join the race to the bottom by repealing regulations and devaluing labor, but should win the race to the top. Eric Cantor called the speech a "my way or the highway" speech. Mitch McConnell called it the President's re-election act.

The President says that he will campaign for passage of the act in "every corner of the country." As he said during the speech, most Americans will support the plan, so congressional republicans risk throwing away an opportunity to get much of what they want, just like they did during the debt-ceiling negotiations by refusing a better $4 Trillion deal. How will Republicans explain losing an opportunity to reduce workers' taxes and get new business tax credits and incentives?

The Washington Post's Greg Sargent comments on the speech in his "Obama’s bold effort to shift the conversation to jobs"

The White House has released "Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Act."

Update: The New York Times has "Obama Speaks on Jobs Plan in Virginia," in Eric Cantor's congressional district. Next Tuesday, Obama will go to Columbus, Ohio. The Times' article indicates economists believe that the American Jobs Act will work.

Update: From Richmond, Virginia, USA Today has a story, "Obama to voters: 'You have every right to be frustrated'"