Speaking in shirtsleeves and drawing on his own struggles with student debt as a young man, husband and father, Obama told the energized crowd that he was determined to act wherever possible to relieve economic distress without going through the gridlocked Congress.

“The reason I’ve been hitting the road so much, is because the people I’ve been talking to in cities and small towns, in communities all across America, let’s face it, they make a lot more sense than the people back in Washington,” Obama said.

Revving up to full campaign form, Obama said people around the country are hurting and spending months and years looking for work. He also reiterated the point, underscored by the Occupy Wall Street protesters lined up outside the building and at the back of the hall, that the deck has been stacked in favor of the wealthy and powerful for decades and to the detriment of the country.

“For decades too many of our institutions, from Washington to Wall Street, failed to adapt [to the globalized world] or they adapted in ways that didn’t work for ordinary folks. … We had a philosophy that said if we cut taxes for the very wealthiest and we gut environmental regulations and we don’t enforce labor regulations, that somehow, you know, if we just let Wall Street write the rules, then somehow that was going to lead to prosperity. Instead, it led to the financial crisis and the deepest recession since the Great Depression.”

The status quo has to change, he said, and added that Republican lawmakers “don’t share our sense of urgency.”

“We’re not going to wait for Congress. I’m going to act with or without Congress. Where they won’t act, I will, through a series of executive orders. … We’re going to look every day to see what we can do without Congress.”

Taking action now on educational debt

Obama’s plan is aimed at speeding up student loan repayment reforms passed last year but not scheduled to take effect until 2014. His executive order will lower the maximum percentage of income students will have to pay toward their student loans to 10 percent, and it will lower the number of years that must pass before such a debt can be forgiven from 20 from 25. Education seekers will also be able to consolidate loans in new ways that should provide lower interest rates.

The proposal drew roars from the “generation debt” crowd that packed the hall.

Auraria is an urban campus that hosts students at several different colleges and universities and that attracts a large number of returning students — people who work their way through school and depend heavily on federal assistance to pay expenses.

Obama made the point that the reforms will affect not just hundreds of thousands of current students but also the millions of former students who still still pay their student loan holders. The reforms could save individuals hundreds of dollars in loan payments each month.

U.S. Student loan debt has recently overtaken credit card debt. There is roughly $1 trillion in outstanding loans and this year’s crop of university graduates holds the highest average debt to date. Parents who aren’t themselves paying student loans are saving to pay the loans their children will may soon carry.

“The very fact that you are here investing in your education, making an investment in your futures tells me you all share my faith in America’s future. You inspire me,” Obama said.

“We live in a global economy where businesses can set up shop anywhere there’s an internet connection. We live in a time where over the next decade 60 percent of new jobs will require more than a high school diploma.

“Other countries are hustling to out-educate us so they can out-compete us tomorrow. They want the jobs of the future. I want you to have those jobs. I want Americans to have those jobs. I want us to win the future. That means we should be doing everything we can to put a college education within reach for every American.

“It’s never been more important, but let’s face it, it’s also never been more expensive.”

The middle-class connection

The president spoke informally about the debt he and his wife Michelle wracked up as students. He said together they owed in excess of $100,000 in student loans when they married.

“We combined liabilities, not assets,” he joked, building on a personal story that obviously resonated with the audience.

Although the October snow and sleet piled up on roadways throughout and around Denver, the standing-room-only crowd comprised of mostly students and faculty was fully energized — dancing in groups and shouting positive responses back to the opening band and to the President during his remarks.

Although it remains unclear if Obama will be able to motivate young voters in his 2012 reelection campaign as effectively as he did in 2008, the size, energy and scope of the Colorado audience is a strong indicator that he continues to build excitement within the demographic.

“It is great to be back in Colorado. It’s great to be here at CU Denver,” Obama said when he first stepped to the microphone. “I tend to have some pretty good memories of Denver. We had a little gathering here a few years ago at Mile High,” he said, jokingly referring to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, where he was chosen to be the party’s presidential nominee.

“So coming here gets me fired up even when it’s snowing outside,” he said. “I don’t know where else you can go sledding on Halloween.”

His new position as head of Joining Forces was announced via email by Michelle Obama over the weekend and will be officially unveiled by the first lady and Jill Biden on Tuesday.

Joining Forces’ mission statement, according to the New York Times, is:

to encourage companies, schools, philanthropic and religious groups and local communities to recognize the unusual stress that is endured by families of active-duty personnel, reservists and veterans, and to strive to meet their needs.

It’s not yet clear exactly what form that encouragement will take or if the program will simply be a more symbolic attempt to honor soldiers and bridge the civilian-military gap.

Both Michelle Obama and Jill Biden have been active in seeking networks of support for military families during two American wars that have both lasted nearly a decade.

McChrystal will not be commanding any troops in his new capacity as co-chair of Joining Forces, and he remains retired from the U.S. Army. Joining Forces will partner with the nonpartisan think tank the Center for a New American Security, which has published studies in the past focusing on stress among military servicemembers.

Michelle Obama said last week, “We’re working to promote breastfeeding, especially in the black community, where 40 per cent of our babies never get breastfed at all, even in the first weeks of life, and we know that babies that are breastfed are less likely to be obese as children.”

The first lady wants to encourage employers to be more open to women who are breastfeeding. The IRS also announced on Tuesday that breast pumps are now considered as a tax-deductible expense for Flex Spending Accounts along with other over-the-counter medical items such as pain relievers, bandages and contact lens supplies.

But, on Ingraham’s show, Bachmann was having none of it.

“I think this is very consistent with where the hard left is coming from. For them government is the answer to every problem. Clearly they are wrong because more spending won’t do it,” she said.

Bachmann continued, “I’ve given birth to five babies and I breastfed every single one of these babies. To think that government has to go out and buy my breast pump for my babies. You wanna talk about the nanny state? I think we just got the new definition of a nanny.”

Ingraham asked if she thought that Michelle Obama’s push for breastfeeding was an indication of a run for U.S. Senate.

“I think she is really committed to the hard left agenda, more than anything else. Can you imagine if Laura Bush was doing this? The media would be after her.”

And thanks to Bachmann they are after the first lady.

Megan Kelly of Fox News provided “Breaking News” on Tuesday morning about Bachmann’s statements immediately following her interview with Ingraham.

Fox contributor Sandy Rios said she had concerns about Mrs. Obama’s proposal because it’s being promoted in the African American community. Rios is the former head of the religious right organization Concerned Women for America and current head of the Culture Campaign, a group “dedicated to involving citizens in the culture war.”

“You have to remember that 75 percent of American women already breast feed,” said Rios. “We are talking about a problem that is specifically in the black community and so for you to change federal law and IRS regulations and start forcing businesses to make accommodations for nursing women to promote it in the black community is the problem that I have with it and I agree with Michele this is the nanny state on steroids.”

In an email sent out to supporters, Michelle Obama wrote:

Charlotte is a city marked by its southern charm, warm hospitality, and an “up by the bootstraps” mentality that has propelled the city forward as one of the fastest-growing in the South. Vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunity, the Queen City is home to innovative, hardworking folks with big hearts and open minds. And of course, great barbecue.

Barack and I spent a lot of time in North Carolina during the campaign — from the Atlantic Coast to the Research Triangle to the Smoky Mountains and everywhere in between. Barack enjoyed Asheville so much when he spent several days preparing for the second Presidential debate that our family vacationed there in 2009.

The Republican National Convention will be held in Tampa, Fla.

House Democrats refused to cut food stamps — a voucher program that helps 41 million of the poorest Americans, many of them children, pay for food — once more.

Politico reports that the White House, including Michelle Obama herself, lobbied for the House to move the bill, which will now wait until after the midterms.

Despite personal appeals by the first lady, the Democrats balked at what they saw as a plan to pay for the nutrition bill by quietly cutting SNAP — an essential food safety net that lawmakers had already borrowed from to pay for emergency aid to states.White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said the administration has committed to restoring any proposed cuts to SNAP and will do all it can to move the $8 billion bill forward.“SNAP is not blocking the bill,” he said. “We’re working with the House leadership to schedule the bill as soon as it fits into the House schedule.”

But Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), who co-wrote a letter to the White House opposing the use of SNAP funds, told POLITICO that he and 106 others who signed it “have been saying everything we possibly could to make it clear that this would be a problem.”

As I reported earlier this week, anti-hunger campaigners broadly support the child-nutrition bill, which provides more funding to school lunches, beyond changes for inflation, for the first time since the 1970s. But they were incensed at the food stamp cuts. Joel Berg, the executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, explained that the SNAP cuts would mean less food for low-income families, full stop — therefore, he would not support the child-nutrition bill.

“I’ve been pulling my punches, and my progressive colleagues have been pulling their punches, because we’re rooting for this administration to succeed,” he said. “But honestly, if George W. Bush did what they’re trying to do, we’d be camping out in front of the White House. Goodwill only goes so far when tens of thousands of children need food.”

The First Lady–supported legislation does a lot of good. It gives the Agriculture Department the ability to regulate the food schools sell in cafeterias and vending machines. It requires schools to offer more fresh fruit and vegetables. And, it automatically qualifies children on Medicaid for free school meals.

But the House and Senate are at a standoff on the legislation, and there are reports of internal White House dissent as well. Why? To pay for the bill, Senate Democrats cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, already cut to help pay for the state aid bill. Congress made SNAP benefits more generous in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the $787 billion Feb. 2009 stimulus. To pay for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the bill cuts those additional benefits.

This has many House members enraged. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), for instance, told the New York Times: “I want to pass a child nutrition bill. I am committed to the first lady’s campaign. I want to be helpful. But I won’t vote for a bill that robs Peter to pay Paul. The White House needs to work with us to find a better way to offset the cost.” More than 100 House Democrats have signed a letter opposing the cuts. Unions and hunger groups, such as the Food Research and Action Center, oppose it as well.

Nevertheless, Congress needs to act soon, as the bill contains funding for several federal programs — including school lunch and breakfast, SNAP, and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits — due to expire on Sept. 30.

The House is returning from its recess on Tuesday to vote on a $26.1 billion state aid bill, but is not expected to vote on the child nutrition bill then, meaning it will get a vote in mid-September.

The bill was bipartisan and deficit-neutral, and came with the support of First Lady Michelle Obama. On Monday, she wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post urging the Senate to fit the provision into its intensely busy legislative calendar. Today, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) came to an agreement with Republican leadership, and moved the provision by unanimous consent, waiving a voice vote.

The bill, controversially, is offset mostly with cuts from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, already cut to help pay for the state aid bill. Congress made SNAP benefits more generous in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the $787 billion Feb. 2009 stimulus bill. To pay for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the bill reduces some of the additional benefits, starting in a few years. Senate aides stressed that Democrats left the SNAP benefits requested in the Farm Bill untouched, and argued that tackling childhood hunger would reduce the strain on family food budgets and the SNAP program overall.

From the Agriculture Committee, where the bill originated, here is a summary of its major provisions:

• Expanded After-School Meals for At-Risk Children Nationwide: For the vast majority of states, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) at-risk after-school program only provides reimbursement for a snack. This section will allow communities in all 50 states to be reimbursed for a meal.
• Expanded Universal Meal Service: This new option will allow schools in high-poverty areas to offer free meals to all students without collecting paper applications, which will expand access to more children and reduce administrative burdens on schools.
• Increasing the Number of Eligible Low-Income Children with School Meals: Children whose families receive SNAP benefits are directly certified for free school meals. This provision will expand the direct certification process to include Medicaid in select districts in the U.S.
• Automatically Enrolling Foster Children for Free School Meals: This section will add foster children to the list of those that are automatically eligible for free meals, eliminating the need for foster children to demonstrate their income when applying for school meal benefits.
• Promoting the Availability and Locations of Summer Meal and Breakfast Sites: This provision will require school food authorities to coordinate with institutions operating the Summer Food Service Program to develop and distribute materials to families to inform them of the availability and location of summer meal sites and school breakfast sites.
• Piloting Innovative Methods to Provide Nutrition to Hungry, Low-Income Children: The bill provides mandatory funding to test pilot projects to improve methods of providing nutritious foods to hungry children, including during out-of-school times.

Henry Waxman won’t mind if the “difficult” Dems lose reelection.

Next Michelle Obama will be telling us to eat cake.

Conservatives argue Prop 8 ruling shouldn’t count because the judge is gay.

Jeff Sessions won’t filibuster Kagan’s confirmation.

…and she will be confirmed today.

Barbara Boxer is leading Carly Fiorina (barely).

Maxine Waters wants her House ethics trial to be held before the elections.

Don’t be fooled by Real Housewives — DC is boring.

Michele Bachmann can’t stop talking about impeaching Obama.

Crack sentencing will soon be more fair.

Rand Paul says mountaintop removal just needs a better name.

Shirley Sherrod plans to sue Andrew Breitbart.

Saggy pants are still legal.

Chelsea Clinton doesn’t want Obama at her wedding.

Joe Sestak prefers Michelle to Barack.

- The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that would make the state’s immigration laws some of the toughest in the country. Senate bill 1070, called the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” would allow officers to question anyone they come into contact with about their residency status, make it a misdemeanor for failure to carry documentation that shows legal status, make it illegal to transport illegal immigrants (with the exception of medical emergencies and church visits) and ban sanctuary city “soft-enforcement” of immigration laws. It still has to be approved by the state senate before it goes to the governor, but the bill is already at the center of controversy.

- Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) assured activists of their commitment to comprehensive immigration reform during two immigration rallies April 10. The rallies, in Las Vegas and Chicago, coincided with four other Rally for America immigration protests that took place around the country that same day, also featuring senators and congressmen. While many saw these commitments as a step in the right direction, some activists and writers see Reid and Durbin’s words as merely a political strategy to get ahead in November elections.

- The U.S. and Mexico struck a new agreement to crack down on cross-border drug smuggling that crosses the border into El Paso that will allow the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Mexico (PGR) to prosecute certain Mexican nationals (excluding U.S. permanent residents) under the country’s laws. According to a press release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (via Media-Newswire.com), the agreement came after Alonzo R. Peña, deputy assistant secretary for ICE, and Bernardo Espino del Castillo Barrón, PGR deputy coordinator of delegations, met in El Paso Thursday to discuss cooperation on the Illegal Drug Program (IDP). El Paso is the second U.S. city (ICE began the program in Nogales, Ariz., in late 2009) to participate in IDP.

- “Yesterday, at several bus stations and other locations around Arizona, more than 800 law enforcement officials carried out the largest operation against human smuggling in [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] history,” reported The Takeaway today. The raids targeted shuttle bus operations that carry illegal immigrants into the U.S. instead of workplaces, but civil rights groups have reported hearing from families and workers who fear deportation because of these tactics. The raids involved 800 officers from nine federal and local enforcement agencies. Read more here and here.

- During her trip to Mexico, Michelle Obama said that immigration reform is necessary, but that it requires support from Democrats and Republicans in Congress. “We’re seeing young children who are trying to cross the border just to reconnect with their parents, and their lives are in danger,” Obama said (via USA Today). “They’re put in precarious situations. And a strong immigration reform policy would help alleviate some of those challenges.” Obama also said the U.S. should work to reduce its demands for illegal narcotics to help alleviate Mexico’s cartel violence.

- According to a new study, in 14 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country, a larger number of immigrants hold white-collar occupations than lower-wage work such as construction, manufacturing or cleaning. St. Louis, Boston, New York and San Francisco are among those areas. From The New York Times: “Over all, the analysis showed, the 25 million immigrants who live in the country’s largest metropolitan areas (about two-thirds of all immigrants in the country) are nearly evenly distributed across the job and income spectrum. ‘The United States is getting a more varied and economically important flow of immigrants than the public seems to realize,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director for immigration research at the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan group in New York that conducted the data analysis for The New York Times. … The findings are significant because Americans’ views of immigration are based largely on the work immigrants do, new research shows.”

- Tea Parties Against Amnesty, a branch of the larger Tea Party movement, continues its nationwide protests today (April 15-17) to oppose any proposed legislation for comprehensive immigration reform. There are over 56 protest events posted on AgainstAmnesty.com, with close to 10,000 supporters. The rallies include some well-known Tea Party and anti-immigration speakers, including former Rep. Tom Tancredo, the outspoken founder and co-chairman of border security, anti-immigration PAC Team America; J.D. Hayworth, John McCain’s Republican primary challenger for U.S. Senate; Arizona’s controversial sheriff, Joe Arpaio; and Americans for Legal Immigration PAC President William Gheen.

- The Center for American Progress released a report Monday detailing their suggestions for improving security along the U.S. border. Its ten reform proposals include passing comprehensive immigration reform, using new technology, implementing stronger oversight and collaborating with Mexico. According to the CAP report, the Secure Border Initiative is flawed because of a border fence that is too heavily relied on for border security; management and oversight issues; a Department of Homeland Security that is too slow to address mistakes; and misguided spending decisions (namely on SBInet, a technology-heavy program designed to help Border Patrol detect illegal immigrants and smugglers along the border). Read more here.

- Immigration reform and cartel violence are two major items that will be discussed during Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s visit to Capitol Hill. This is the first visit to Congress from a Mexican president since 2001, when former president Vicente Fox addressed Congress. Read more here.