Obama presses middle-class tax-cut extension on Iowa campaign trip

CEDAR RAPIDS — President Obama traveled to crucial Iowa on Tuesday to make his case that Congress should extend middle-class tax cuts for a year — but not tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, as Republicans also want to do.

The president is forcing an election-year showdown with Republicans, including his opponent Mitt Romney. And he is betting that he can win the argument by taking it on the road, out of Washington, and presenting it directly to Americans.