President Obama Is on His 19th Jobs 'Pivot

President Barack Obama today will address the state of the U.S. economy, growing the middle-class and curbing unemployment.

The Obama administration promises the president is ready to “pivot” back to jobs.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Today’s speech will mark the 19th time the president “pivoted” his attention to the U.S. economy:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/SalenaZitoTrib/statuses/360023034440060928"]

“This speech, this pivot – pivot to the economy, again it’s like déjà pivot I have when it comes to the economy,” said NBC News' chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd.

“But it seems like they really are signaling they are going to have a campaign approach to this fight with congress when it comes to the debt ceiling, when it comes to sequestration 2.0. All of the decisions coming to a head in the fall, they’re basically saying, hey, we’re going to travel the country,” he added.

Via the Weekly Standard, the Republican National Committee put out a list of the president’s previous "pivots."

The Weekly Standard's Daniel Halper notes that the RNC list "adds up to 14 ["pivots"], but only goes back to January 2011, two years after Obama became president." Here is part of the RNC list:

JANUARY 2011: “The White House Has Quickly Pivoted To Jobs After The President’s State Of The Union.” “Turning to domestic politics, the White House has quickly pivoted to jobs after the president’s State of the Union -- even if it’s being overshadowed by the situation in Egypt.” (Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg, “First Thoughts: Balancing Act,” NBC News’ First Read,1/31/11)

APRIL 2011:  “Obama’s Day: Turning Back To Jobs … President Obama Returns Today To What He Calls His Top Priority: Jobs.”“Though his presidential hours have been crowded by Libya, Japan and other foreign policy challenges, President Obama returns today to what he calls his top priority: jobs.” (David Jackson, “Obama’s Day: Turning Back To Jobs,” USA Today, 4/1/11)

AUGUST 2011: “OBAMA AND SENATE DEMS PLAN PIVOT TO JOBS” “OBAMA AND SENATE DEMS PLAN PIVOT TO JOBS: Senate Democrats hope they now have ‘checked the box’ on debt reduction and can move to an agenda focused on job creation and economic growth, through a combination of spending and tax cuts.” (Mike Allen, “DEMS PLAN PIVOT TO JOBS: Transportation, Infrastructure, Tax Breaks On Fall Agenda,” Politico’s "Playbook", 8/2/11)

AUGUST 2011: The Huffington Post Headline: “Obama’s Jobs Pivot” (Joe Peyronnin, “Obama’s Jobs Pivot,” The Huffington Post, 8/2/11)

AUGUST 2011: National Public Radio Headline: “Obama, Democrats ‘Pivot’ To Jobs But May Be Hamstrung” (Frank James, “Obama, Democrats ‘Pivot’ To Jobs But May Be Hamstrung,” National Public Radio, 8/3/11)

AUGUST 2011: Yahoo! News Headline: “Obama ‘Pivots’ To Jobs – But What Can He Do?” (Zachary Roth, “Obama ‘Pivots’ To Jobs – But What Can He Do?,” Yahoo! News’ The Lookout, 8/5/11)

SEPTEMBER 2011: Politico Headline: “President Obama Pivots To Jobs – And Dares GOP To Follow” (Glenn Thrush, “President Obama PivotsTo Jobs – And Dares GOP To Follow,” Politico, 9/8/11)

JUNE 2012: The Wall Street Journal Headline: “Obama To Revisit Economic Debate” (Carol E. Lee and Laura Meckler, “Obama To Revisit Economic Debate,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/11/12)

JULY 2012: MSNBC: “The Jobs Pivot: With The Economy Struggling, How Does President Obama Make The Case To Be Reelected?” (MSNBC’s “NewsNation,” 7/6/12)

FEBRUARY 2013: National Journal Headline: “Stung By Media’s Focus On Liberal Agenda, Obama Pivots Back To Economy” (Ron Fournier, “Stung By Media’s Focus On Liberal Agenda, Obama Pivots Back To Economy,” National Journal, 2/8/13)

And so on and so forth.

Click here to see more examples of the president’s “pivot” to jobs.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

Featured image Getty Images. This post has been updated.

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