With jobless claims rising, residents living day-by-day

LYNN – Klaus Morgenstern hopes to get by on his translating skills until he can find a job. April Lee is looking for work but keeps getting a busy signal when she calls the employment office.The job losses and economic gloom President Barack Obama underscored in his Monday night press conference are realities for Morgenstern, Lee and other local residents like Chalia Taylor who is relying on family to weather job loss.”Right now, we’re taking it day by day,” Taylor said.Unemployment numbers tell the story that Taylor and the president know all too well: The jobless rate for Massachusetts stood at 4.3 percent in December 2007 and 5 percent for the nation. The state unemployment rate in December 2008 was 6.9 percent and the national rate stood at 7.2 percent.President Barack Obama hailed the Senate’s passage of a massive economic rescue plan on Tuesday but warned that there’s more work to do as lawmakers begin difficult talks on a final deal.”That’s good news,” the president said repeatedly in announcing the Senate’s action to a Florida crowd, as people jumped to their feet and cheered in joy.Still, Obama soberly cautioned: “We’ve got a little more work to do.”The Senate, with support from just three Republicans, passed an $838 billion stimulus bill, and now House and Senate negotiators will have to work out the final details.Suzanne Bell likes the president’s plan. She thinks it makes sense to spend money now to jump start the economy.Obama also announced that he will unveil an “overall housing strategy” in the weeks ahead, but he’s already looking at ways to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Obama told the audience that there needs to be a system in which banks recognize that it’s in their best interest not to foreclose on homes.Obama called for Democrats and Republicans to work together as he appeared at a town hall forum, his second in as many days.”This is not about partisan politics,” Republican Gov. Charlie Crist said in introducing the Democratic president. “This is about rising above that.”Trying to strike the same tone, Obama thanked Crist, saying: “When the town is burning, you don’t check party labels. Everybody needs to grab a hose.”Still, buoyed by his own popularity and the nation’s desire for help, Obama clearly used the stage to put pressure on Republican lawmakers.Obama’s overt message is that the pain being felt in American homes demands Washington’s quick and bold attention. But his more subtle message, delivered through his choice of hard-hit but GOP-leaning locales and in the kind of sarcastic barbs he lobbed at Republicans in his prime-time news conference, was a nakedly political one: Republicans may well pay in voting booths for ignoring the president’s call to pass the stimulus.Associated Press material was used in this report