President Obama starts three-day bus tour

President Barack Obama blasted Republicans for playing politics with the economy on Monday as he took to the road on a bus tour of the US Midwest to focus on job growth and distance himself from anger toward Washington that could dent his 2012 re-election hopes.The presidents three-day trip, on a black bus with darkened windows and red and blue flashing lights, started in Minnesota, wound through backroads, rolling hills and farm communities to Iowa, and will end in Illinois.The White House says Obama is on a listening tour to hear from Americans about the economy and talk about how to boost jobs and hiring. With US unemployment mired at just above 9 percent, jobs are expected to be the central issue for voters in next years presidential and congressional elections.Obama said he would put forward a plan for economic growth when Congress returns from summer recess and challenged lawmakers to take action.The tour also exposes the Democratic president to voters who, polls suggest, are furious about political gridlock in Washington as he begins serious campaigning for the November 2012 election.Republicans slammed the trip as a taxpayer-funded debt end bus tour and hammered Obama over high unemployment, record national debt and the flagging economy.Obama was distracted for much of the summer by a divisive debate over the national debt and deficits that triggered a downgrade in the US credit rating and undermined the publics faith in Washington.A Gallup tracking poll completed on Saturday showed Obama with a 39 percent approval rating -- the lowest of his presidency -- but recent polls have shown far lower approval ratings for Congress.Obama will hold a rural economic forum in Peosta, Iowa, on Tuesday (August 16) and town hall meetings in Atkinson and Alpha, Illinois, on Wednesday (August 17) before returning to Washington.