Obama Chokes on Clean Air Rule - Truthdig: Fearing reduced chances for re-election by a public angry about mass unemployment, President Obama walked away from a nationwide plan to strengthen air quality standards after business interests lobbied aggressively in opposition. Tighter rules would cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs, they argued. On Friday, The New York Times reported that no jobs were added to the nation’s collective payrolls in August, calling the news “a signal that the economy has stalled.”