Mr. Obama acknowledged widespread skepticism that partisan politics will prevent passage of his jobs plan — and that the next election is just 14 months away.

But he said voters who sent him and others to Washington do not, in his words, have the “luxury of waiting 14 months.” He said many of those same people are living week to week, and paycheck to paycheck. Said the president: “They need help, and the need it now.”

Quoting President John F. Kennedy, Mr. Obama said “Our problems are man-made – therefore they can be solved by man.”

The president closed his speech by saying Americans are tougher than the times they live in — and he pledged to work with Congress to show the world that the United States remains the greatest nation on Earth.