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House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) attacked President Obama's economic recovery platform in a Washington Post op-ed today. The congressman argues that Obama's plan is resulting in continued unemployment, higher taxes and debt.

"American families and small businesses face daunting economic challenges," Boehner writes. "They have watched with anxiety this year as the government has focused on implementing a takeover of health care, a 'cap-and-trade' national energy tax, 'card check' legislation for union membership and more tax increases."

Boehner's message is a continuation of the consistent opposition Mr. Obama has faced from Republicans, even after the president hosted a bipartisan meeting on job creation.

The president's meeting with Republicans fell into a conversation about politics, after President Obama accused Republicans of trying to "scare the heck out of people."

In his op-ed, Boehner added that Mr. Obama "said that Republicans are primarily interested in unemployment because of the 2010 midterm elections, and that we seem to be almost rooting against recovery. I told the president very directly that everyone -- Republicans and Democrats -- wants to get people back to work."

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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:

** Reconciling a vision of peace with the reality of war...

** Democrats have few details to share of their new health care plan...

** Extending TARP for another year...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "A wartime president being honored for peace, Barack Obama said Thursday that criticism of his Nobel prize as premature might recede if he advances goals such as a nuclear-free world and tackling climate change," writes the Associated Press' Ben Feller.

"But, he added, proving doubters wrong is 'not really my concern.'

"'If I'm not successful, then all the praise in the world won't disguise that fact,' said Obama from this chilly, damp Nordic capital where he is picking up his Nobel Peace Prize."

In his acceptance speech, the president said, "perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by forty three other countries – including Norway – in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.

"Still, we are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict – filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other...

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President Obama today sought out Republican input about how to revive the American economy. Republicans say they have ideas.

The two parties, however, just can't see eye to eye.

Republicans have roundly criticized Mr. Obama's plans for stimulating job creation, which include new spending for infrastructure projects like highways, deeper tax breaks for small businesses and tax incentives for energy-efficient home improvements. The president, nevertheless, invited both Democrats and Republicans to the White House today to discuss job creation.

The meeting, as White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs put it today, "was not without politics."

Multiple sources say the president accused Republicans of "trying to scare the heck out of the American people" on health care and the economy, according to CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Chip Reid. Republicans returned the fire -- accusing the White House of playing politics.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) discussed the exchange during a national radio interview on "The Lars Larson Show." Boehner said that Mr. Obama said Republicans were "scaring" people after the GOP members continued to press the president about his "job-killing policies."

"It was breathtaking," Boehner said of the president's comment.

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The American public's outlook on the economy continues to inch up, according to a new CBS News/ New York Times poll, even though their overall assessment of it remains grim.

Americans continue to volunteer the economy and jobs as the nation's top problem, far outdistancing their second most pressing issue – health care.

As many as 47 percent of Americans say the economy and jobs are the country's most important problem, and 77 percent say the economy is in bad shape. By contrast, only 12 percent say health care is the nation's most serious problem.

Just 29 percent of Americans think the economy is getting better, while 23 percent think it is getting worse. Most people – 47 percent – say the economy is staying the same.

Even though the public's outlook for the economy isn't especially hopeful, it is significantly more optimistic than earlier this year. In February, just 5 percent of Americans thought the economy was improving.

The struggling economy has an impact on how Americans view the overall direction of the country. This month, 37 percent of Americans say the nation is headed in the right direction – down slightly from September. Fifty-six percent think the country is on the wrong track.

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President Obama plans to pressure top bankers next Monday to increase lending to the nation's small businesses.

A White House official confirms the president has summoned bankers and other financial industry CEOs to meet with him early next week to discuss his efforts to grow the economy and create an environment for more hiring in the private sector.

The meeting will follow yesterday's speech in which he announced a number of proposals to create jobs in the face of government numbers showing 15.4-million unemployed nationwide. Half that number lost their jobs since the recession began two years ago.

One proposal would use some of the $200-billion in unspent money from the TARP bank bailout fund as loans to small businesses, to help them expand and hire new employees.

Mr. Obama will also use Monday's meeting to push for more support of his proposal to create a new regulatory system for the financial industry – which opposes the idea. The plan has so far made little progress in Congress.

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Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

Republicans in Congress came out swinging today against President Obama's new new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, calling for completely different measures to revive the economy.

"Clearly, the president is trying, yet again, to get Americans back to work... he essentially announced a 'stimulus II' program," House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) said at a press conference today, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer Jill Jackson reports. However, he added, "I absolutely disagree that we can spend the way out of recession."

Cantor was joined by freshman Republican members of the House today to criticize Mr. Obama's plan. They said it would be more effective to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, permanently eliminate the death tax, pass free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, and to reduce the deficit.

The president's proposals today included new spending for infrastructure projects like highways, deeper tax breaks for small businesses and tax incentives for energy-efficient home improvements.

"Instead of passing another big spending bill, we should keep government out of business, keep taxes low and expand trade," said Rep. Lynn Jenkins (Kansas). "It's time to empower entrepreneurs and small businesses instead of the federal government."

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Democrats in the House reacted positively to President Obama's job speech today at the Brookings Institution.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that House Democrats will work with the president to put "Americans to work building a 21st century infrastructure and making our homes more energy efficient, ensuring that small business owners gain easier access to capital and credit, and helping to keep teachers, police, and firefighters on the job in our communities."

At Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's weekly meeting with reporters this morning, he said that it is more important to do a jobs bill right than fast, but that it needs to be done soon. Hoyer said doing it in the next 10 days is not essential, but said 30 to 40 days from now is more realistic.

Exact details of the package, and the price tag, are still under negotiation, though it is expected to include money for infrastructure, tax cuts and credits for small businesses and credits for homeowners who make their homes more energy efficient. Hoyer said figures ranging from $75 billion to $150 billion have been discussed.

What will come to the floor, however, before the House leaves for the holidays is an extension of unemployment insurance and subsidies to help the unemployed purchase COBRA health insurance.

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Updated 1:26 p.m. ET

Below is the transcript of President Obama's speech on the economy and job creation ideas, as delivered at the Brookings Institution in Washington and released by the White House:

Thank you so much, Strobe, for your extraordinary leadership here at Brookings, and thanks to all of you in attendance.

Almost exactly one year ago, on a frigid winter's day, I met with my new economic team at the headquarters of my presidential transition offices in Chicago. And over the course of four hours, my advisors presented an analysis of where the economy at that time stood, accompanied by a chilling set of charts and graphs, predicting where we might end up. It was an unforgettable series of presentations.

Christy Romer -- who's here today -- tapped to head the Council of Economic Advisers, as well as Larry Summers, who I'd chosen to head the National Economic Council, described an imminent downturn comparable in its severity to almost nothing since the 1930s. Tim Geithner, my incoming Treasury Secretary, reported that the financial system, shaken by the subprime crisis, had halted almost all lending, which in turn threatened to pull the broader economy in a downward spiral. Peter Orszag, my incoming Budget Director, closed out the proceedings with an entirely dismal report on the fiscal health of the country, with growing deficits and debt stretching to the horizon. Having concluded that it was too late for me to request a recount -- (laughter) -- I tasked my team with mapping out a plan to tackle the crisis on all fronts.

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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:

** Use of leftover bailout funds may be limited by budget rules...

** A set of compromises to replace the public option?...

** Gates says we're in it to "win" it in Afghanistan...

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY: President Obama is set to deliver a speech on the economy today at 11:15am ET at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., where, according to a White House official, he "will announce three key priorities for targeted investment—including a series of steps to help small businesses grow and hire new staff, an additional investment in infrastructure to continue modernizing our highways and railways, bridges and tunnels, airports and seaports and a new program to provide rebates for consumers who retrofit their homes to become more energy efficient.

"We don’t think there is on silver bullet, one plan, one speech or a singular piece of legislation that alone will solve double digit unemployment," the official adds. "And the President’s speech does not represent the totality of our plans for continued economic recovery."

"Obama plans to talk about what he wants to see in the coming weeks and months — chiefly, more Americans in the workplace and fewer on unemployment, which now stands at 10 percent," adds the Associated Press' Philip Elliott. "The White House worked around the clock in recent days to pull together the president's speech."

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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:

** Another public option compromise surfaces...

** Making a profit on TARP...

** World leaders look at the economic side of combating climate change...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The New York Times' John Harwood ponders, "As Obama's Poll Numbers Fall, Criticism of Multitasking Rises": "President Obama began his week lobbying Democratic senators to unite on an overhaul of the health care system.

"On Tuesday, he will lay out his agenda for creating jobs for the 15 million Americans out of work. Then he travels to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, even as he seeks support for sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

"And next week he heads to Copenhagen in search of a worldwide deal to curb climate change by reducing carbon emissions, with sweeping implications for the American economy.

"Ever since Mr. Obama took office, critics of his leadership style have accused him of tackling too many initiatives at once. That blurs the focus of the White House and Congress, they say, and prevents the president from communicating a clear theme about his agenda to ordinary Americans.

"Now, as Mr. Obama’s approval rating in polls has dwindled to 50 percent or below, that criticism has grown louder."

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