President Obama takes off on a five-state tour after laying out his vision for the nation last night in the State of the Union address. He urged the rich to pay more taxes, businesses to keep jobs in the U.S., and Americans to work hard but it's what he didn't mention that's got Republicans talking.
Mentioning the death of Osama bin Laden brought bipartisan applause but he quickly turned off Republicans with promises to ensure millionaires pay no less than 30 percent in taxes.
"You can call this class warfare all you want," said President Obama. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense."
Promising to fight, President Obama announced a special group of prosecutors to investigate risky mortgages and new opportunities for homeowners to save up to $3,000 a year by refinancing.
"No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks," said President Obama. "It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no cop-outs."
He pitched some efforts that failed before: ending oil subsidies, getting rid of underperforming teachers and he warned colleges to put the brakes on rising tuition:
"If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," the President said.
That, plus eliminating tax breaks for businesses that send jobs overseas, and paying for it all with savings from the Iraq war.
"Use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home," he said.
Republicans call the President's ideas extreme.
"No feature of the Obama Presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," said Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.
The President's tour begins in Iowa and Arizona Wednesday and includes states key to his re-election.
