Over the course of the year President Obama has spent a lot of effort telling Americans how wealthy individuals and corporations should contribute more of their money to taxes. The boldest of these efforts was during his September 8 jobs speech:

I am also — I’m also well aware that there are many Republicans who don’t believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can best afford it. But here is what every American knows: While most people in this country struggle to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and most profitable corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets. Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary — an outrage he has asked us to fix. (Laughter.) We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake and where everybody pays their fair share. (Applause.) And by the way, I believe the vast majority of wealthy Americans and CEOs are willing to do just that if it helps the economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order.

He will no doubt continue along this line, that the wealthy are not paying their “fair share,” for the rest of his term. I bet a large portion of his next State of the Union will be dedicated to this stance.

The concept is simple. Right now he believes that too few Americans are willing to push their Congressmen to close loopholes and raise taxes that apply to the wealthy. But if he can make the argument often enough that they’re benefiting from the system without paying enough back – if he can tell stories of some people suffering while others are living in luxary – they may start to agree and take action to get laws changed.

It’s social engineering at its core. Use an authority figure like the president and many people will take his word for it. Then make changes to the laws that “the people” demanded. The post-9/11 world showed that a president still holds a lot of sway over public opinion, and it’s no different now.

Who are these people the president can sway? It’s not likely you or I. If you’re here reading this post, you already are far too politically involved to have your opinions changed much. That’s unless you’re a liberal, in which case you already probably support his vision. The same is true of politically active conservatives, who were against Obama’s vision before he explained it.

No, the people who are likely most affected by Obama’s arguments are those who have been affected by the recession. These are people desperately looking for an answer to their problems. And so enters Obama with the reasons why the economy remains bad and a solution to all the ills. Obama hopes to politicize these people and get them, along with his base, to lobby Congress to pass his legislation.

Obama’s efforts may be working. In a Gallup poll from earlier this month, 43% of people favored his bill to 26% who do not. There are still a lot of people undecided, so the speech wasn’t an ace in the hole for Obama. The coming months will show if more people are turning around to his point of view, especially if the economy does go into a double-dip recession, or if things still don’t improve.

If things don’t turn around for Obama, we can expect to see him make another televised push for the American Jobs Act, and another attempt to influence the minds of Americans.