President Barack Obama brought his latest prescription for recovery Wednesday to this economically ravaged region of northern Indiana, promising to unleash prosperity for everybody, not just some.
Obama announced that the federal government will distribute $2.4 billion in 48 taxpayer grants to create electric cars and recreational vehicles. The grants will be divided among 25 states.
Afterward, the president talked with Chuck Todd, NBCs political director and chief White House correspondent, who relayed questions submitted by msnbc.com readers.
During his address at the old Monaco RV plant here where 1,400 people were laid off as the company went through a bankruptcy process that was completed in March Obama said that for too long, we failed to invest in this kind of innovative work, even as countries like China and Japan were racing ahead.
Navistar International Corp., which bought the plant this spring, will get $39.2 million to develop 400 advanced electric delivery trucks with a 100-mile range.
Seven of the 48 projects unveiled today will be in Indiana, Obama said part of what he called the largest investment in this kind of technology in American history. Manufacturers in the area say this could help put people back to work in a part of the state where unemployment has neared 20 percent.
In recent days, the administration has pointed to economic indicators that it says suggest the economy is slowly beginning to recover. For Obama, the challenge is to connect directly with Americans to persuade them to remain optimistic while they wait for that recovery to take hold.
Its nice to get out of Washington and spend some time with the people who sent me to Washington, Obama said.
