When President Obama comes to Northern Kentucky Thursday to visit the Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River, he can expect to be greeted by a wide range of opinions on his jobs plan. The trip has already generated controversy among Kentucky leaders, not all of whom like the idea of using the weakened bridge as a backdrop to promote the president's nearly half-a-trillion dollar piece of legislation that would in part boost spending on national infrastructure.

From the Senate floor, Kentucky's senior senator lashed out at the president's trip. "President Obama may think the best way to distract people from the challenges we face is to stand near a bridge in a swing state and pit one group of Americans against another," Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "and hope his critics look bad if they don't go along with him, but I don't think he's fooling anybody."

In Louisville, local leaders have called for the president to visit the damaged Sherman Minton Bridge connecting Kentucky to Indiana. Cracks found on a steel beam forced a shutdown of the bridge earlier this month, leading some to insist this bridge is a more immediate problem that warrants attention from the White House. "The golden opportunity is for every person in this community to pick up your phone," Kentucky-based Humana Insurance co-founder David Jones said, "call the President of the United States, and say, while you are in Kentucky on Thursday, come to Louisville, and put a spade in the ground. If the President of the United States wants to create jobs, here's the place to do it."

When the president makes the trip, Senator Rand Paul will be aboard Air Force One with him for the Kentucky visit. Paul plans to present his own Emergency Highway Fund Plan to prioritize projects repairing bridges and roads.