President Obama to deliver speech
on the economy at Wisconsin battery factory

By Mark Arsenault, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON – Continuing to tout the economic stimulus that Democrats passed last year, President Obama is in Wisconsin today to deliver a speech on the economy to workers at a high-tech battery factory.

The president will speak at ZBB Energy Corporation, which used a $1.3 million loan from the stimulus to help pay to expand production capacity, according to the White House.

With the fall elections less than three months away, Obama will continue to pound the theme that the country must not go back to Republican economic policies, according to a preview of his remarks released by the White House.

Elected officials expected to be on hand for the president’s remarks include U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat. Polls suggest Feingold has a tough fight for reelection this fall.
Reporters in Wisconsin asked Feingold this morning if he was reluctant to stand with the president, due to Obama’s lagging poll numbers, especially on his handling of the economy.

"Absolutely none,” said Feingold, according to pool reports. “I'm pleased to stand with this president anytime and anywhere and defend what we've done and what we're doing."

But Reince Priebus, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, predicted that Obama’s visit “will ultimately be an anchor around Russ Feingold’s neck.”

“Barack Obama represents everything that people around here are sick of—runaway spending, debt, and a tin ear in Washington,” he said in an interview.