With economy, poll numbers low, Obama asks voters to give him leverage

So the president has taken a somewhat unusual strategy: Go directly to the voters and challenge House conservatives.

In doing so, Obama hopes they will prod GOP lawmakers into compromise. In national addresses, at fund-raisers, and during his Midwest tour this week, the president’s refrain has been consistent: Contact Congress.

“I need you to keep your pressure on your elected representatives for things like the payroll tax cuts or road construction funds or the other steps that will help to put our country back to work,’’ he told attendees at an economic forum in Iowa on Tuesday. “That’s our great challenge.’’

That strategy is expected to continue as the GOP presidential campaign heats up in the fall. A senior administration official said yesterday that the president is planning another national address after Labor Day detailing his plans for the economy.

By adopting the direct-appeal approach, Obama has largely tossed aside the traditional Rose Garden strategy of ignoring the opposition party’s primaries process by appearing presidential and letting lieutenants take on the battle out of the spotlight.

Obama’s plan is reminiscent of the successful gambit of Democrat Harry Truman, who in 1948 vilified the Republican-controlled Congress as “do-nothing’’ and obstructionist to his policies. Truman won in a famous upset over Thomas Dewey.

Some analysts say it may backfire on Obama - and may already have done so, as indicated by his shrinking support in the polls. Jennifer Duffy, senior analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said she believes it may have weakened him in the minds of the electorate, raising doubts about his ability to get the job done.

“No matter what sort of crisis we were in, I have never heard a president say, ‘Hey, can you help me out here and call these guys because I’m having trouble here?’ ’’ she said.