President Obama Visits New Jersey, New York

MYFOXNY.COM - President Barack Obama visited New Jersey on Wednesday to meet with small-business owners and speak about breaking the partisan logjam in Washington in order to pass tax relief for and make capital available to small businesses across the nation.

Obama met with the business owners at Tastee Sub Shop in Edison, a popular store that has been serving subs since 1963. At the shop, he spoke briefly in front of reporters and cameras. He called on Senate leaders to make a deal and pass a bill designed to help small business.

"Helping small businesses, cutting taxes, making credit available," Obama said from the sub shop . "This is as American as apple pie. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They are central to our identity as a nation. They are going to lead this recovery."

After the meeting and public comments in Edison, the president went to New York City to tape an interview with the daytime talk show "The View" and attend two high-dollar fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee.

Unemployment in New Jersey has been above 9 percent for more than a year, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

On Thursday, the president signed into law an extension of unemployment benefits after a standoff in Congress was ultimately resolved. The measure restores benefits for people who have been out of work for six months or more.

Meantime, President Obama's approval rating has suffered while his disapproval grade has risen significantly in the Garden State since he took office.

In a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll released July 17, 52 percent of New Jersey voters approve of the president's job performance, while 42 percent disapprove.

But in July 2009, the president enjoyed a 59 percent approval rating with a 29 percent disapproval rating, the Monmouth University Polling Institute reported.

A visit to the Garden Staten by the President that was scheduled for May was postponed because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.