Obama pitches his economic plan to conservatives in Idaho

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Prodding the new Republican Congress from a conservative state, President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged GOP lawmakers to work with him on an agenda that helps the middle class and insisted they offer better alternatives if they disagree with his ideas. "Tell me how we get to yes," he declared.

On his first stop in Idaho as president, Obama pitched the proposals he outlined Tuesday night in his State of the Union address and called on politicians to move beyond their party labels to find common ground.

Speaking to a crowd of 6,600 people at Boise State University, Obama said he can achieve success late in his presidency just like the school did in its overtime victory in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

"I don't need to remind you that big things happen late in the fourth quarter," he said.

Obama acknowledged that his economic proposals to pay for free community college initiatives and middle-class tax breaks with tax increases on the rich face Republican opposition. "I could tell from their body language," he said, recalling the reaction to his State of the Union speech.

"They should put forward some alternative proposals," he continued. "I want to hear specifically from them how they intend to help kids pay for college. It is perfectly fair for them to say we have a better way to meet these national priorities. But if they do they have to show what those ideas are."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in response that Obama isn't living in reality.

"Republicans are saying 'yes' to good, common-sense jobs bills, and they'll soon be sitting on the president's desk," said the spokesman, Cory Fritz.

From Idaho, Obama stops in Kansas, another state that typically backs Republicans. White House officials say Obama deliberately chose conservative states for his first stops following the annual address to Congress.

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Obama pitches his economic plan to conservatives in Idaho