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"It's not so much what he says but what they do," Gaines said, referring to Congress. "They need to quit talking and do something. "That's what is holding consumer confidence down, is the inability of Congress on both sides of the aisle to do what the people elected them to do," he added. After the speech, Gaines said he was heartened to hear the president urge lawmakers to work together, not against one another. "I do like the fact that he said it's time to stop the divisiveness between the two parties," Gaines said. "If they set the right tone, everyone will follow along. If they don't, the nation will just drift." Political affiliation aside, Moberly residents interviewed Tuesday tended to agree that improving the economy and creating more local jobs are the most important issues facing their community and the country. Look no further than a commuter parking lot along U.S. 63 packed with cars while their owners work 35 miles south in the college town of Columbia. Moberly, in turn, attracts workers from dozens of surrounding rural towns. "Folks are regularly commuting 40 or 50 or 60 miles to go to work every day," Gaines said. "When we share that with the folks we talk to in Atlanta and Chicago and LA, they are quite amazed that people are willing to commute that far for a good job. But they have to." Elsewhere in Moberly, Obama's speech was met with disinterest, if not outright scorn. At Nelly's Someplace Else restaurant, dozens of Republicans filed past a pair of televisions showing the president's address as the monthly meeting of the Randolph Area Pachyderms Club. Few stopped to listen, though some jeered as they walked past.
[Associated
Press;
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