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8A Daily News – Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Obama promotes modest American dream WASHINGTON (AP) — This time around, Presi- dent Barack Obama's mes- sage can sound decidedly down-to-earth. Four years after winning the White House, Obama is dealing with a different eco- nomic and political reality as he seeks re-election. He's focused less on a lofty vision for overcoming divi- sions and remaking Wash- ington, and more on the most basic building blocks of middle-class economic security: a job, a house, a college education for the kids, health care, money for retirement. What Obama describes as the American Dream can seem a spare, fundamental aspiration, tailored for a campaign that looks to be fought over who is best equipped to safeguard the interests of middle-class Americans. The question is whether it will convince, even as Mitt Romney and the other GOP presidential hopefuls mount a counter-argument that the president has made the American Dream hard- er, not easier, to achieve. And Obama must overcome the grinding realities many voters confront daily, even with the economy showing signs of life: no jobs, mort- gages they can't pay, dwin- dling retirement funds and college savings. The president is betting that if he shows voters he understands their yearning for economic stability and security, they'll reward him over Republicans he's cast- ing as just watching out for the rich — even though he hasn't succeeded in fully reviving the economy so far. ing to create of front-runner Romney as preoccupied with the concerns of the rich. But Romney is answering Obama's mes- sage head-on, seeking a careful balance between sounding optimistic about the nation's future and accusing Obama of destroy- ing the American Dream. ''I've met Hispanic entrepreneurs who thought they had achieved the American Dream and are now seeing it disappear,'' Romney said after his recent victory in Florida's GOP primary. ''We want to restore America to the founding principles that made this country great.'' GOP candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gin- grich also have accused Obama of tarnishing Ameri- can opportunity, as Republi- cans make clear that no mat- ter the nominee, Obama's claim to be the one to restore the American Dream is sure to be challenged. ''If you're willing to put in the work, the idea is that you should be able to raise a family and own a home; not go bankrupt because you got sick, because you've got some health insurance that helps you deal with those difficult times; that you can send your kids to college; that you can put some money away for retire- ment,'' Obama said recently in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. ''That's all most people want,'' he said. ''Folks don't have unrealistic ambitions. They do believe that if they work hard they should be able to achieve that small measure of an American Dream.'' The goals can seem almost humdrum in com- parison with some of the rhetoric from Obama's 2008 White House cam- paign. But the message sounds made for the times, with the country emerging haltingly from recession, the income gap widening and unemployment stuck above 8 percent. At the White House Tuesday Obama said, ''We want to build an economy where every American has a chance to find a good job that pays well and supports a family.'' ''He can't run on change because he's the incumbent, and he can't paint too rosy a scenario because things aren't that rosy,'' said John Geer, professor of political science at Vanderbilt Uni- versity. ''He's got to come up with a theme that appeals to voters, especially middle- class voters, alleviates their fears and gives them reason to believe the future will be better.'' The message also creates an implicit contrast with the portrait Democrats are try- The candidates' focus on the American Dream is in itself a sign of the times, said Michael Ford, found- ing director of the Center for the Study of the Ameri- can Dream at Xavier Uni- versity. The phrase was coined during the Great Depression and since then has tended to become a cen- tral theme during economic downturns, Ford said. He said rhetoric about the American Dream has been featured during this election cycle more than in decades, which he attributed to the tough times the nation has been suffering. ''It's pretty basic stuff (Obama) talks about and I think as it turns out that's pretty much where the dream is right now,'' Ford said. ''We can say the dream might have been lowered a little bit in terms of its aspiration but the aspi- ration is still there, and it's always there.'' NEW! In the Daily News' WEEKEND EDITION Every Saturday! 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