Obama plugs industry in Wis.

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

President Barack Obama is using the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing to make an economic case for his re-election, touring factory floors and promoting a made-in-America message that seemed to fit his political campaign like, as it turned out Wednesday, lock and key.

Most presidents like to surround themselves with proud workers at factories, but Obama has gone further by making the rebounding manufacturing a key plank of his election-year agenda, arguing that the increasingly service-oriented U.S. economy needs to make things in order to prosper in the long run. He opened a three-day political trip with a stop in Wisconsin, a state he won handily in 2008 but is expected to pose more difficulty for him this year.

Obama called for tax cuts for American manufacturers and higher taxes for companies that move overseas, pressing what he hopes will be a winning campaign issue. He also acknowledged that many factories have closed, their jobs have gone overseas, and a lot of them “are not going to come back.”

“In a global economy, some companies will always find it more profitable to pick up and do business in other parts of the world. That’s just a fact,” Obama said at the Master Lock plant in Milwaukee. “But that doesn’t mean we have to sit by and settle for a lesser future.”

Departing Milwaukee, Obama was to attend two fundraisers in Los Angeles. The first was an outdoor fundraising reception at the home of soap-opera producer Bradley Bell and his wife, Colleen.

Obama also was to attend a dinner at Bell’s home co-hosted by actor Will Ferrell and his wife, Viveca Paulin. Eighty people were expected, with tickets costing $35,800.

When Obama talks up the economy, his focus on manufacturing is an essential ingredient, from his decision to rescue automakers General Motors and Chrysler to efforts to modernize plants and retrain workers. That message matters in places such as Wisconsin.

Obama carried Wisconsin by 14 percentage points in 2008 but has watched his popularity fall amid tough economic conditions.