Gibbs: Obama Will Still Reach Out To GOP
803648 White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that despite minimal Republican support for the stimulus bill, the president will "continue to reach out to Republicans, and he is hopeful that Republicans start to reach back."
Gibbs told Face The Nation host Bob Schieffer that the White House and Congressional Democrats have taken Republican lawmakers' suggestions on the stimulus package seriously, describing the administration's outreach plan to the opposition party as "more than Wednesday night cocktails."
The $787 billion package passed in both the House and Senate on Friday, after a week of public appearances by President Obama campaigning for its passage, and complaints from Republicans about the size and parameters of the bill. Despite receiving the votes of only a few Republican Senators(with zero Republican votes in the House), Gibbs called Congress' speedy movement to pass the stimulus bill "bipartisan."
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Gibbs told Face The Nation host Bob Schieffer that the White House and Congressional Democrats have taken Republican lawmakers' suggestions on the stimulus package seriously, describing the administration's outreach plan to the opposition party as "more than Wednesday night cocktails."
The $787 billion package passed in both the House and Senate on Friday, after a week of public appearances by President Obama campaigning for its passage, and complaints from Republicans about the size and parameters of the bill. Despite receiving the votes of only a few Republican Senators(with zero Republican votes in the House), Gibbs called Congress' speedy movement to pass the stimulus bill "bipartisan."
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White House Not Challenging Rove's Privilege
The Obama White House is not challenging whether a valid claim of "executive privilege" can keep former presidential advisor Karl Rove from testifying in the matter of the U.S. Attorney firings during the Bush Administration.
In a statement provided to CBS News, White House Counsel Gregory Craig says Pres. Obama is "very sympathetic to those who want to find out what happened."
But at the same time, Craig makes it clear that Mr. Obama is not disputing the claim of privilege.
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In a statement provided to CBS News, White House Counsel Gregory Craig says Pres. Obama is "very sympathetic to those who want to find out what happened."
But at the same time, Craig makes it clear that Mr. Obama is not disputing the claim of privilege.
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Renegade Republicans Push Stimulus Over The Finish Line
President Obama owes the passage of his stimulus bill to three senators from the losing side, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.
Renegade Republicans – senators Arlen Specter (left) of Pennsylvania and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine – tipped the balance toward Mr. Obama's plan in a late night Senate vote on Friday, forwarding the package to the president's desk by a 60-38 margin.
"I really believe that what I decided to do was right," Collins said.
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(CBS)
"I really believe that what I decided to do was right," Collins said.
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Day 25: Obama Mourns Crash Victims
(CBS)
He offered kind words in particular for Beverly Eckert, a Sept. 11th widow killed in the crash. The president met with Eckert just last week.
"She was an inspiration to me and to so many others, and I pray that her family finds peace and comfort in the hard days ahead," the president said.
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Pro-Stimulus Republicans Targeted In PAC Ads
The National Republican Trust, a political action committee famous for producing the anti-Obama commercials featuring Rev. Jeremiah Wright during the 2008 election, is back on the airwaves with new radio ads targeting four senators who supported the stimulus.
4793418 "Families like yours are in trouble, but leading economists, the Wall Street Journal, even the Congressional Budget Office all agree Barack Obama's nearly trillion dollar spending scheme just won't work. It's packed with pork barrel programs..." an announcer says.
The ads attack Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania -- the three Republicans who voted for the economic stimulus bill. Also released is a 60-second spot which attacks Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., who was included in the buy because she is a conservative Democrat who's vulnerable in 2010, according to the PAC's Executive Director Scott Wheeler.
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4793418 "Families like yours are in trouble, but leading economists, the Wall Street Journal, even the Congressional Budget Office all agree Barack Obama's nearly trillion dollar spending scheme just won't work. It's packed with pork barrel programs..." an announcer says.
The ads attack Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania -- the three Republicans who voted for the economic stimulus bill. Also released is a 60-second spot which attacks Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., who was included in the buy because she is a conservative Democrat who's vulnerable in 2010, according to the PAC's Executive Director Scott Wheeler.
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New Editorial Cartoons
As we close out the week, check out these editorial cartoons from Tom Toles and Pat Oliphant poking some fun at the stories we have covered in the last few days.
For more, click here to visit our Puzzles & Cartoons page.
For more commentary from the left and the right, click here to visit our Opinion section.
For more, click here to visit our Puzzles & Cartoons page.
For more commentary from the left and the right, click here to visit our Opinion section.
Bush Just Escapes Being $5-Trillion Man
(White House/Eric Draper)
The latest posting on the Department of the Treasury website shows the National Debt just hit $10.759-trillion dollars. And that $5-trillion and change more than it was on the day Pres. Bush took office on Jan. 20, 2001.
Even so, Mr. Bush ran up the biggest increase in the National Debt of any American president. The Debt was $5.727-trillion on his first day in the White House. And on the day he left, it was $10.626-trillion. That means the Debt increased by $4.899-trillion on his watch. Some would round it off to $5-trillion – but that wouldn't be fair. He was saved from five trillion dollar infamy by $101-billion.
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Thomas Ricks: Obama's Iraq War Will Be Long
(CBS)
"I think there are a lot of reasons Iraq '09 is going to be very tough and in fact harder than the last year of Bush's war," he told guest moderator John Dickerson. "And I think there is a good chance that Obama's war in Iraq will last longer than Bush's war [in Iraq]."
The author of "Fiasco" is out with a new book about the U.S. experience in Iraq during last two years of the Bush administration titled, "The Gamble: General Petraeus And The American Military Adventure In Iraq 2006-2008."
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Obama's Campaign Tactics Don't Sway GOP
(CBS)
When Mr. Obama returns to Washington on President's Day, he expects to have a stimulus, or economic recovery, bill to sign, and an opposition party that wants no part of it.
Speaking on CBSNews.com's Washington Unplugged, CBS News Director of Political Coverage Steve Chaggaris suggested that Republicans may hope that the stimulus plan signed by Mr. Obama fails.
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Obamas Plan Valentine's Homecoming
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
No word yet on how their romantic evening will play out or if the roses will be red or white, but as the Obamas were staples of the Chicago restaurant scene, it's safe to assume that any Valentine's day dinner out will be one to remember.
Will the first couple opt for an old favorite like Topolobampo, where chef Rick Bayless is famous for serving up Mexican food with locally produced ingredients? Or will they take a risk and try a new place?
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Budget Shortfall Snarls Judicial Systems
(CBS/AP)
In Virginia, an untimely effortby Republican lawmakers to expand the death penalty in the Commonwealth faces a veto from Governor Timothy M. Kaine. Among the many other arguments against the measure, no doubt Gov. Kaine will point to the fact that capital cases are tremendously more expensive to the state than are cases which result only in the possibility of a life sentence without parole. Here's how the Death Penalty Information Center's Richard Dieter calculates it:
"A Maryland study concluded that the cost was about $37 million per execution. In Florida, the estimate was about $24 million per execution. In California, they are spending about $138 million per year on the death penalty. Considering that they only have one execution every two years, that amounts to a cost of over $250 million per execution."
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House Passes Stimulus Bill
4761667The House just passed the compromise economic stimulus package by a vote of 246 to 183, with 1 member voting present.
Once again, not a single House Republican backed the legislation.
If the Senate also votes the compromise legislation through, it will go to President Obama's desk for a signature, most likely Monday.
The Democrats who voted against the package are Bobby Bright, Parker Griffith, Heath Shuler, Gene Taylor, Walt Minnick, Peter DeFazio, and Collin Peterson.
For more on House passage of the stimulus package, click here.
Once again, not a single House Republican backed the legislation.
If the Senate also votes the compromise legislation through, it will go to President Obama's desk for a signature, most likely Monday.
The Democrats who voted against the package are Bobby Bright, Parker Griffith, Heath Shuler, Gene Taylor, Walt Minnick, Peter DeFazio, and Collin Peterson.
For more on House passage of the stimulus package, click here.
Burton On Washington Unplugged: After Gregg, White House "Moving Forward"
(CBS)
Gregg, a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative, said he made the decision because of ideological differences with the administration, which has pushed hard in recent weeks for the now $790 billion dollar economic stimulus plan.
"At the end of the day, it's true that Sen. Gregg had some misgivings about the position and decided that he didn't want to serve, and we're moving forward," said Burton. "We're going to have a strong nominee who is going to fill that role."
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Washington Unplugged: The Journalist Roundtable
(CBS)
That's the question "Washington Unplugged" guest moderator John Dickerson of Slate asked at the top of his roundtable discussion with Politico's Eamon Javers and CBS News' Political Director Steve Chaggaris.
"I think he had a change of heart," Chaggaris answered.
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Job Opening In The Obama Cabinet
(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
President Obama missed a job recruiting opportunity in the East Room this morning when he addressed dozens of top corporate executives who comprise The Business Council.
"Anybody here want to be Commerce Secretary?" he should've asked.
It's beginning to feel like the job opening is jinxed. For the third time since his election, Mr. Obama finds himself trying to fill the slot.
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