Obama in Michigan

Plans to make the case for tax hikes on the rich

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama heads for familiar campaign ground Monday, an auto plant in Michigan, to press his case for tax hikes on the wealthy.

Obama's trip, part of an aggressive White House public relations effort, comes a day after a Sunday meeting with the Republican leader of the House of Representatives raised hopes of progress in talks to avert the "fiscal cliff" - automatic tax increases and spending cuts that could deliver a jolt to the economy if Congress fails to stop them by the end of the year.