A week to go before election, Obama, Biden to campaign across country

In the final week before the midterm elections, President Obama heads to Rhode Island on Monday to try to convince voters there’s good reason to pick Democrats over Republican candidates in November.

Obama will visit American Cord & Webbing Co. Inc., a manufacturer of cords and buckles, in an effort to show his economic policies, and not Republicans’, are helping America recover from the recession.

{mosads}A White House fact sheet says the company has saved more than $9,000 in fee waivers for Small Business Administration loans it has received due to the Small Business Jobs Act that Obama signed in September.

In addition, the White House said, the Rhode Island business will likely benefit from eight new tax cuts meant for small businesses that were included in that same piece of legislation. That is on top of another eight tax cuts Obama signed earlier in the year with the intent to help small businesses.

On a conference call with reporters Sunday, White House aides said Obama’s visit to the small business shows his administration’s commitment to helping the economy recover fully. They also made note that Republicans voted against the small-business jobs bill, including its new tax cuts.

“The president will be talking about the choice that people must make, broadly on many issues, including small business,” White House deputy communications director Jen Psaki said. “This is really a signal by the president that helping small businesses recover and getting the assistance they need is pivotal to the overall recovery of the economy.”

The visit to the Rhode Island manufacturer will kick off a busy week of campaigning for the president.

On Wednesday, Obama will tape an appearance on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show,” designed to help motivate that show’s young audience to go out and vote come Election Day.

On Saturday, he will travel to Bridgeport, Conn., Chicago and Philadelphia to speak at Democratic National Committee events. And for his final campaign rally before the 2010 elections, Obama will travel to Cleveland on Sunday with Vice President Biden.

The Cleveland rally will also cap off a frenetic week of campaigning for the vice president. Over the next week, Biden will travel to New York City, Philadelphia, Bethesda, Md., Dubuque, Iowa, and Quincy, Mass., all to help boost Democratic House and Senate candidates.

First lady Michelle Obama will be out on the campaign trail this upcoming week as well. The first lady will travel to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles early in the week to help Democratic candidates, including Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.).