US President Barack Obama has set out on a cross-country bus tour to help boost his political support ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
Mr Obama will travel on a brand new $1.1m Secret Service armoured bus through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, all states he carried in 2008 and which he can ill afford to lose when he seeks a second term next year.
Speaking in Minnesota Mr Obama blasted Republicans for their refusal to compromise on fiscal issues, namely in relation to tax increases.
Many Americans are angry at the way recent US budget negotiations were handled and Mr Obama will be keen to put the blame for that squarely in the Republican corner.
However Republicans were also quick to use the tour to attack their opponents, branding the three-day trip a tax-payer funded ‘Magical Misery Tour’ and a ‘debt-end’ bus ride.
The US President is seen as politically weakened due to the recent debt showdown with Republicans, a lagging economic recovery, 9.1% unemployment and questions about his leadership.
In recent weeks, Mr Obama has also been particularly discomforted by a decision by ratings agency Standard and Poor's to cut the top notch US AAA credit rating amid fears dysfunction in Washington will hamper efforts to trim the deficit.
However the White House said Mr Obama was taking the tour because he wants to listen to voters after weeks stuck in the capital.
One of the tour's destination, Iowa, is also the epicentre of the race to take him on in 2012 among Republicans who are savaging his record on the economy and job creation.
Texas Governor Rick Perry, who shot to the top tier of the Republican pack when he jumped into the race at the weekend, will also be on the stump in the state today.
Meanwhile Tea Party favourite Michele Bachmann is also on the attack, vowing to make Mr Obama a one-term president after winning the state's closely-watched Republican Party straw poll on Saturday.
