Washington, Friday. The White House yesterday denied President Barack Obama's latest row with Republicans proved he will struggle to pass a major new jobs programme, describing the clash as an irrelevant sideshow.

Obama's decision to back down Wednesday over an issue as mundane as the timing of a major economic address before a joint session of Congress next week cast new scrutiny on his diminished political heft in the US capital.

New polls meanwhile showing Americans sour on his leadership and management of the economy further raised the stakes for Obama's new plan -- possibly his last chance to revive the economy before his 2012 reelection bid fires up. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday's political shoving match over the date of the speech with Republican House Speaker John Boehner left most Americans cold, as they look to Washington to lift their economic gloom.

"It's irrelevant, this is small stuff. The sideshows don't matter. The economy matters. The American people matter. Jobs matter," Carney said.Though the White House took the high ground, the episode revived questions aired during a July debt standoff over whether Obama's penchant for compromise leads to him getting rolled over by Republicans.

Obama offered a bold gambit on Wednesday by asking Boehner to host a rare joint session of Congress to debut his new economic plan on September 7 -- the same night as a Republican presidential candidates debate in California.
The White House insisted the timing was "coincidental" though few Washington observers buy that, reasoning that the president wanted to steal the spotlight from candidates vying to turf him out of office. (AFP)

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