Obama ties unemployment report and economy to health care bill

With town hall meetings facing stiff protest across the country, and with approval ratings at the lowest point of his presidency, President Obama seeks to tie an unexpected jobs report to the health care overhaul bill.

In his weekly radio address to the nation, President Obama sought to associate an unexpectedly positive unemployment report with the controversial health care bill that has met stiff opposition at town hall meetings across the country. "Using better-than-expected jobs numbers to press his top domestic priority, President Barack Obama argued Saturday that overhauling the nation's costly health care system is essential to the country's economic well-being," the Associated Press reported on Saturday. The Labor Department jobs report showed an unexpected decline in unemployment - a potential sign that America may be coming out of its recession. "We must lay a new foundation for future growth and prosperity, and a key pillar of a new foundation is health insurance reform," Obama said, according to AP. Various interest groups on both sides of the health care debate are launching major campaigns, and town hall meetings have devolved into partisan ranting sessions. "Obama is also redoubling his effort to explain his positions to a public that polls say is becoming increasingly wary he can deliver on his promise to revamp health care," AP reported.