All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today that President Obama will likely back using some portion of the $700 billion in TARP bailout funds during a speech on the economy next Tuesday.

That idea isn't sitting well with House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), who released a statement this afternoon arguing that such a move would be against the law.

"The President and Speaker Pelosi need to recognize that TARP money was borrowed from the taxpayer to deal with a dire emergency, and now it must be returned," he said. "In fact, current law states that returned TARP funds are to be used to reduce the debt – not more spending preferred by the President. This country is in debt, and the only responsible action is to pay it down, not preserve and expand it."

"TARP funds borrowed from the taxpayer should not become a slush fund for the political whims of Washington," he added.

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SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. – It's enough to make President Obama long for questions from the White House press corps. Well, almost.

At the end of a speech about the economy and today's drop in the national unemployment rate, the president invited members of his audience at Lehigh Carbon Community College to tell him what's on their mind.

Have you considered legalizing prostitution, gambling and drugs as a way of stimulating the economy, asked a college sophomore?

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," said the president as laughter filled the hall. But he made it clear the suggestion "will not be my jobs strategy."

He commended the college kid for questioning conventional wisdom. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing - which is thinking in new ways about things."

There are studies that show legalizing certain vices – and taxing them – would provide economic stimulus and reduce, if not eliminate, government deficits. But don't expect many politicians to get behind the idea.

Another questioner had a request, not a suggestion.

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SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. - President Obama traveled to the economically hard hit Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania to say, "I know times are tough."

To illustrate his message of commiseration, he suggested that joblessness hits close to home. He told a community college audience in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, "Michelle and I were talking the other day. There are members of our families that are out of work."

Mr. Obama added, "We're not that far removed from struggling to pay bills."

A White House official declined to identify any unemployed relatives of the Obamas except to say, "I don't think they are close close" family members.

Mr. Obama's stop in came as part of his economic tour across the country to discuss job creation.

Obama Takes Jobs Message to Allentown
Obama Deflects Question on Legalizing Pot, Prostitution
Photo: President Obama in Allentown

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Peter Maer is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET.

When President Obama told attendees at his economic town hall today that he only had time to take three questions, he probably did not expect the first question to be about legalizing drugs and prostitution.

He ultimately responded to four questions from the crowd at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Penn. but took his time to steer the initial inquiry from a discussion about drugs to the future of the U.S. economy, emphasizing that manufacturing will play a less significant role in the nation. The town hall was part of Mr. Obama's tour of cities around the country in which he will discuss the economy.

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," Mr. Obama said to laughter after a young man asked him if he would consider legalizing drugs, prostitution, gambling or nonviolent crimes. "That will not be my job strategy."

"First of all, part of what you're supposed to do in college is question conventional wisdom," the president continued. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation

The rest of the nation, Mr. Obama went on to say, will have to rethink the shape of the nation's economy.

"Manufacturing will never be as high of a percentage [of the economy] as it was in the 1950s," he said, but the capacity for states to cash in on new sectors is "enormous."

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The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 10 percent according jobs numbers released this morning, though the economy still shed 11,000 jobs last month.

The figured were taken as a sign of hope for the economy and heralded by Christina Romer, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

"Today's employment report was the most hopeful sign yet that the stabilization of financial markets and the recovery in economic growth may be leading to improvements in the labor market," she said in a statement.

Roemer said that the loss of 11,000 jobs represented a "dramatic improvement from the decline of 597,000 in November 2008 and 741,000 in January 2009."

"It is by far the closest we have been to stable employment since the recession began almost two years ago," added Roemer.

As could be expected, Republicans had a different spin on the new numbers.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Obama tries to keep politics out of his economic tour...

** White House gives different stories on Afghanistan withdrawal...

** The Senate finally starts voting on health care amendments...

ECONOMY: Per the White House: Today, "President Obama will kick off his White House to Main Street tour by traveling to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley to speak directly with Allentown families about both their experiences in this economy and their ideas about job creation. ... As part of his visit to the region, President Obama will tour Allentown Metal Works, make local stops in Allentown to visit with local citizens to discuss job creation and deliver remarks to area students, educators, business owners, and members of the community at Lehigh Carbon Community College."

Allentown Morning Call's Brian Callaway, "Of all the stops President Barack Obama is expected to make as his nascent jobs tour arrives in the Lehigh Valley today, perhaps none will be more sobering than his scheduled visit to the Allentown Metal Works -- it employs some of the region's last remaining steelworkers.

"Manufacturing was once the backbone of the Valley's economy, as it was for the nation's economy. Bethlehem Steel alone had more than 31,000 workers at its flagship plant during its heyday.

"'The Steel' is gone now, of course, and the United Steelworkers of America has only about 1,000 members left in the Valley. A relative handful of those workers are employed by Allentown Metal Works -- fewer than before the recession, and far fewer than possible if manufacturing's fortunes rebound."

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Last Christmas season, as the economy fell into a tailspin, Washington filled the stockings of suffering companies — and not always checking whether they'd been naughty or nice.

President Bush offered up $17.4 billion in loans to troubled U.S. automakers, and Congress OK'd the administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of troubled financial institutions (with $1.6 billion of that going to bonuses and perks for bank executives.)

This year, CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer says, Washington is not Santa Claus.

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President Obama, fresh off his jobs summit, will deliver a speech on the economy next Tuesday, December 8th at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

The White House just announced the invitation-only event, which will be held at 11:25 a.m. Eastern Time. More details will be released in coming days.

Having delivered his much-anticipated address laying out his new Afghanistan strategy, Mr. Obama is now shifting his focus to the economy and jobs. Polling suggests economic issues are the top concern among Americans, who are grappling with an unemployment rate above 10 percent.

Tomorrow, the president travel to Allentown, Pennsylvania, the first stop on his "White House to Main Street Tour."

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** The White House faces limitations in what it can do for the job market...

** Congress questions Obama's Afghanistan plan...

** White House crashers may be forced to testify before Congress...

JOBS SUMMIT: Today, President Obama hosts the "Jobs and Economic Growth Forum" where he'll speak then hear from CEOs, small business owners and labor leaders, along with the heads of a number of nonprofit organizations.

"The forum will assemble economists, union heads and business leaders such as Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Mountain View, California-based Google Inc., and Fred Smith of Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx Corp.," writes Bloomberg News' Nicholas Johnston. "With the nation’s unemployment rate at a 23-year high of 10.2 percent, Obama will solicit feedback on job-creation proposals such as incentives to make homes more energy efficient, increased access to financing for small business and tax credits for companies…

"The companies that will be represented at the White House, including Dallas-based AT&T Inc., Chicago-based Boeing Co. and New York-based Pfizer Inc., provide a snapshot of the nation’s employment woes, having cut more than 36,000 jobs this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."

"Obama convenes a summit here on jobs, then flies Friday to Allentown, Pa., for the first in what will be periodic listening tours on the economy," adds USA Today's Richard Wolf. "The goal is to develop new spending and tax proposals to help many of the nation's nearly 16 million unemployed people find work in 2010...

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After a week dominated by Afghanistan, President Barack Obama will try to turn attention to the economy tomorrow when he hosts a jobs forum at the White House. The president will be joined by business leaders and economists to brainstorm ideas to bring down the 10.2 percent unemployment rate.

On the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, House Democrats have a plethora of ideas – and the 2010 midterm elections looming. They are trying to cobble together a new jobs package to specifically tackle the unemployment problem. Lawmakers insist it will be a targeted package, but there are numerous, possibly competing, proposals among the Democratic Caucus.

Here are some of the ideas House Democrats are considering:

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