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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Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said today that a collapse of one of the "Big Three" American car companies would not only effect the other two, but would also have a huge impact on foreign car makers, too.

"It will impact all auto companies -- including Honda and Toyota and all the others -- because they have the same supply network," Stickland, a Democrat, said on CBS News' Face The Nation. "This supply chain is very fragile, and if it starts to collapse it could have a cascading effect that could quite frankly cripple an industry that has been so vital to the economy of our entire nation for so long. So it's very important that the auto industry gets the help it needs to survive."

Strickland also told host Bob Schieffer about conversations he's had with officials from Honda about the problems facing General Motors, Chrysler and Ford.

"I've had officials from the Honda corporation come to me, say to me, 'Governor, we're not usually in the business of advocating for our competitors, but it is so important that the auto industry and the big three be preserved.'"