All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

On CBS News' Face The Nation this morning, three of the nation's governors – two Democrats and one Republican – all said they would take the stimulus money given to their state in the package signed by President Obama last week.

"I think the president has done the right thing," Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, whose state faces a $2.8 billion drop in tax revenue, told host Bob Schieffer.




"We will use those resources to make sure that college tuition doesn't explode, that we are going to invest in elementary and secondary education, to provide quality child care for our kids," said Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio, who said his state will receive about $8.2 billion. "We need these resources. And I'm very happy that the congress and the president is providing this resource to our states."

"This is a very unusual time in the history of Ohio and in the history of the country," Strickland added. "This is not a normal economic up-and-down cycle that we're seeing. It's historic, unprecedented. And I think it's necessary and appropriate that the administration and the Congress is helping us out in these ways."

While it is not surprising to hear such sentiments from Democratic leaders, some Republican governors have been under pressure to not accept the money available to them in the stimulus. No Republicans voted for the package in the House and only three voted for it in the Senate.

But Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana said his state will take the money too, even though Indiana currently has a balanced budget.

"We are in a little different situation… But it won't last if the erosion of the economy continues at the present rate," Daniels said. "We will take it. We will try to spend it prudently and wisely. In our case, we'll try to invest it for the future of our state. We don't have the holes to fill that other states do. But that doesn't mean that we can't, I hope, use it to leave permanent assets behind, whether they're roads and bridges, or better prepared teachers. So we're a stronger Indiana when this is over."

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“So much of this is in the eye of the beholder,” Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said in reaction to his colleague Senator John McCain’s bashing of the economic stimulus bill on Face The Nation Sunday. “But let me be very clear, it is absolutely essential for this country that we have a significant economic recovery package.

“This economy is falling away from us,” Conrad said, citing increased job losses and a contracting economy that, he warned, may contract further in the coming quarter.

Conrda also said he believed there could be more Republican votes for a bill once House and Senate versions are reconciled, adding that he thinks the Republicans' insistence on not supporting the package is politically motivated.

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On his ninth day in office, President Obama met with business leaders and CEOs at the White House and then touted his economic stimulus plan.

"We don't have a moment to spare," Mr. Obama said.

In the afternoon, Mr. Obama made his first trip to the Pentagon as president. After meeting with military leaders, the commander-in-chief told the assembled press that "difficult decisions" remain in regard to continued U.S. actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he was not specific as to his plans. Previously, he has promised a 16-month withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.

"Our efforts to continue to go after extremist organizations that would do harm to our homeland is uppermost on our minds," Mr. Obama said.

In the evening, Mr. Obama got some good news from the House as his economic stimulus bill was approved. But despite repeated pleas to Republicans to back the bill, none voted for the bill.

Watch Chip Reid's CBS Evening News report on the stimulus bill and the president's day below:

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"It is worse, quite frankly, than everyone thought it was, and it is getting worse every day," Vice President Joe Biden said about the American economy on CBS' Face The Nation Sunday morning. "There has been no good news," he admitted. Yet he said that "we are off and running" regarding the stimulus package designed by the Obama administration.

"We have already had a lot of bipartisan support," Biden argued, saying that the bill expected to come out of the Senate includes elements to satisfy (or dis-satisfy) both Republicans and Democrats. He argued that there is a "genuine effort here" for bipartisan cooperation.

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