I think this was brilliant.... Politics.
Really puts the clamps on the GOP. If they pass it, UE will decline, the economy will improve, and Obama gets re-elected.
If they block it (which I think part of Obama hopes they will), he takes to the streets with that information. You'll find that the kind of things you see in this bill are actually what a majority of us support; If he sells GOP obstruction tactfully, he not only gets re-elected but a bunch of GOPers and especially teabaggers get the boot next year.
Win-win. The only way he can lose is if the GOP/Fox Machine spins it better than he can. This will prove difficult, both because most of the country desires this sort of thing, and because the teabagger/anti-government/conspiracy bullshit is on its last gasp for air.
The gloves are off, and it's obvious to me from both Mr. Obama's demeanor and the lackluster response from the GOP, that both sides have a knot in their stomachs anticipating the way it develops.
Contrast it to the response to HCR - Screaming, shouting, pulling out all the stops to desecrate and destroy the bill at all costs... To this... "Well we think there's some good ideas in there... Not big on the tax cuts... Maybe we should focus on what we agree on..." Very mousy by comparison.
It'll be interesting.