President Obama wants to address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, Sept. 8, at  which time he will lay out the detailed jobs proposal that he has been working on for weeks. It will air in prime time, enabling him to also make his case to the American public.

"As I have traveled across our country this summer and spoken with our fellow Americans, I have heard a consistent message: Washington needs to put aside politics and start making decisions based on what is best for our country and not what is best for each of our parties in order to grow the economy and create jobs,” Obama said in a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), requesting the time for the rare session. “We must answer this call."

(Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)