Gibbs: Obama Will Still Reach Out To GOP
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."
"The president got a grand total of three votes from Republicans," Schieffer pointed out. "How can you say that this is a bipartisan effort?
"It never would have gotten through the Senate if it weren't for Republican support," Gibbs argued. "Republican ideas were solicited and some of them were contained in this stimulus plan."
He cited a plan to build a Web site where anyone can track how stimulus money is being allocated as an example of how the administration is taking Republican concerns into account.
Later in the interview, Schieffer asked if President Obama felt he had "screwed up" in appointing Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), for Commerce Secretary (once Gregg backed out of the nomination), as he admitted after Senator Tom Daschle's confirmation fell through.
"We thought this was a good selection," Gibbs responded, saying the president had looked for someone he thought would be good for the Cabinet post, and that that the Republican senator had approached the administration expressing interest in serving. Gibbs said Gregg's withdrawal from consideration simply represented a change of his mind.
Schieffer asked if Gregg's announcement was really just that — a change of heart about serving on President Obama's team — or if there was some behind-the-scenes impetus for his decision to withdraw.
"This is just what it appears, Bob, I know it seems funny sometimes in Washington," Gibbs said. "This did not come from the White House."
Gibbs also said he was not sure if another Republican would be tapped as yet the third person to be appointed to head the Commerce Department, saying the president "certainly wouldn't as a result of this episode preclude asking another Republican to serve."
Also in the interview: The White House announced Saturday that President Obama will sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill Tuesday in Denver. "Why Denver?" Schieffer asked.
"We thought that Denver would be as good a place as any," Gibbs said, explaining that the president wants to "get out of Washington" to show people the effects of the legislation.
Schieffer asked what effects the American people should be on the lookout for after the legislation is signed into law. Gibbs tried to tamper expectations, cautioning that "this economy is going to get worse before it gets better."
Saying that he hopes the legislation will slow unemployment before it hits the double-digit mark, Gibbs said the biggest measure of the package will be "creating jobs and putting people back to work.
"Hopefully with this plan, now that it's through Congress and awaiting the president's signature, we believe that 3.5 million jobs will be saved or created by this plan, that money will come directly to people into their pockets so that they can spend on their bills and investing in this economy. We're hopeful that it will get this economy moving again and that people will see a better end to this year than they have seen a beginning to it."
More from Face The Nation (2.15.09):
