WASHINGTON—Hoping to reignite efforts to shore up the economy, President Barack Obama this week will begin a series of speeches focusing on his jobs agenda and his priorities to build a stronger middle class.
Mr. Obama will deliver about a half dozen talks in the coming weeks, beginning with an address on Wednesday at Knox College in Illinois. The school was the site of a commencement speech Mr. Obama gave as a newly minted U.S. senator in 2005, when he called for retraining and education to prepare workers for foreign competition.
Mr. Obama has in recent months voiced frustration with Washington's focus on what he regards as manufactured crises and partisan maneuvering. In making full use of the bully pulpit, Mr. Obama hopes to shift the debate to what he sees as more substantive matters involving the livelihood and long-term interests of tens of millions of families.
Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House adviser, said in a statement Sunday that "the president thinks Washington has largely taken its eye off the ball on the most important issue facing the country. Instead of talking about how to help the middle class, too many in Congress are trying to score political points, refight old battles and trump up phony scandals."
He added that Mr. Obama wants to "chart a course where America needs to go—not just in the next three months or even the next three years, but a steady, persistent effort over the long term."
Mr. Obama's opening speech will lay out broad economic themes. In subsequent addresses he will discuss old and new policy ideas involving manufacturing, health care, jobs, housing and education. Some plans will require congressional approval, others he will set in motion through executive action, the White House said Sunday.
Mr. Obama has had difficulty getting congressional support for some of his more ambitious proposals. In his State of the Union address in February, he laid out plans for repairing the nation's aging bridges, raising the minimum wage, and expanding access to preschool programs.
So far, these proposals have been languishing in Congress.
Republicans remain skeptical of Mr. Obama's vision for the economy. "We welcome the president's focus on the economy, but given that so many are still struggling after nearly five years it's clear his agenda of higher taxes and higher spending isn't the answer," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.
It is by no means clear the new round of speeches will ease the gridlock. In a speech before a joint session of Congress in September 2011, Mr. Obama tried to win support for an ambitious infrastructure repair program and other job-creation ideas packaged as "The American Jobs Act." Despite the effort, he couldn't win passage of the bill, with some lawmakers deriding it as a stimulus program the nation couldn't afford.
Write to Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com
