Obama Says Economy Can Take Hit and Keep Going

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Refocusing on the nation's economic struggles, President Barack Obama welcomed news Friday that the economy added more than 200,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations. "We are regaining our footing," he said.

The president spoke during a visit to a transmission plant in Indianapolis, even as the killing of Osama bin Laden continued to dominate headlines, and much of the president's own agenda.

From Indianapolis he was to travel to Fort Campbell, Ky., home to the Army unit involved in transporting Navy SEALs in and out of bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

At Allison Transmission in Indianapolis, the president promoted his clean energy agenda while offering an optimistic assessment of the economy's growth.

April's labor market report marked the third straight month in which more than 200,000 jobs were created, the best three-month hiring spree in five years and a sign of increasing confidence in the private sector.

"We've made this progress at a time when our economy's been facing some serious headwinds," the president told workers, citing high gas prices and the earthquake in Japan.

"There will undoubtedly be some more challenges ahead, but the fact is that we are still making progress," he said. "And that proves how resilient the American economy is, and how resilient the American worker is, and that we can take a hit and we can keep on going forward."

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