奥巴马争取民众支持其避免“财政悬崖”计划

U.S. President Barack Obama is making a campaign-style trip Friday aimed at winning public support for his plan to avert a potential fiscal crisis.

Mr. Obama's visit to a toy factory in Pennsylvania is part of a series of public events to sell the nation on his strategy to avoid the $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect January 1.

Congressional Republicans say there is little progress in resolving the partisan stalemate over how to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."

House Speaker John Boehner said he was "disappointed" after speaking with the president late Wednesday and meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday.

Boehner, the leader of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, criticized the president for staging gatherings of taxpayers this week who support his call for eliminating tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

The forced spending cuts would affect important defense and domestic programs, while the question on the tax cuts is whether they should be extended beyond their scheduled December 31 expiration.

The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, said, "We are still waiting for a serious offer from Republicans."