"We are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads -- that's enough to circle the world six times. ... We're going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways -- enough to stretch coast-to-coast," Obama told a labor rally in Milwaukee where several thousand supporters cheered his every line.

 

The infrastructure plan, one of several initiatives Obama is unveiling this week, was immediately criticized by Republicans, who many analysts predict could win control of the House of Representatives in November 2 congressional elections.

 

With fellow Democrats facing punishment from recession-weary voters in November, Obama is under pressure to do more to create jobs and bring down the stubbornly high 9.6 percent unemployment rate, even as economists agree he has few good options left.