Beth Kobliner on the American middle class

For many years, an integral part of the American dream has involved making it to the middle class. We associate the phrase with steady, secure work, home ownership and providing for a comfortable ? if not lavish ? lifestyle for our family. But has middle class America fundamentally changed since the Great Recession hit? Do people that once saw themselves as solidly middle class see themselves differently now?

We take you on a journey on what the middle class has given this nation.

The President of the United States has almost always had to seem as if he’s the ultimate protector of the middle class. So how is President Obama doing? Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner says that while Obama’s policies are helping the middle class, he clearly needs work on staying on message.