The presidential campaign is getting hotter as the November election nears. One of the issues that are being tackled during the campaign trail is the economy, which is seen as the major political problem for President Obama. Economy

The economy’s recovery has stalled and the further into the incumbent’s first term, the more Americans blaming him for it rather than placing the blame on the former administration under Republican George W. Bush, under whom the problems started.

Obama’s strategy is to tell the voters that times are tough and recovery is slow but there are factors beyond the powers of the president. Some of these factors include the economy crisis in Europe and international oil prices. He blames the Republicans for not supporting his ideas to improve employment growth, such as infrastructure repair.

On the other side of the fence, the Republicans blame the president’s failed policies that resulted to high unemployment rate and weak economy. House Speaker John Boehner spoke about the issue after May’s employment numbers was released.

Around 69,000 jobs were created last month and unemployment rate went up 8.2 percent. Even more troubling for the Republicans is the revision in the growth rate of the gross domestic product for the first quarter from 2.2 percent to 1.9 percent. In the past, a president seeking re-election must have a GDP growth rate of over 3 percent to have a high chance of winning.

Presidents has a to-do list for Congress which includes reward American jobs and not outsource them; expand refinancing for responsible homeowners; invest in tax credits for small-business jobs; invest in clean energy manufacturing; and create a veterans jobs corps. He urged Congress to get to work.

The president said during his weekly radio address last Saturday that he already sent Congress a jobs bill last September that could have put Americans back to work and help reinforce the economy but Congress has only passed few parts of it, like the tax cut that allows Americans to keep more of their paycheck each week.