Obama's Campaign Tactics Don't Sway GOP
When Mr. Obama returns to Washington on President's Day, he expects to have a stimulus, or economic recovery, bill to sign, and an opposition party that wants no part of it.
Speaking on CBSNews.com's Washington Unplugged, CBS News Director of Political Coverage Steve Chaggaris suggested that Republicans may hope that the stimulus plan signed by Mr. Obama fails.
"They are looking ahead," he said. "If the stimulus plan doesn't work they will be in good shape for 2010....They don't see any political need to sign up for this bill."
Chaggaris added that Mr. Obama set the bar for cooperation too high. As a result, bipartisanship has become a focal point and scorecard and thus a distraction.
4786300Mr. Obama has now fallen back on his campaign strategy, taking to the streets and using his new bully pulpit to force the direction of the debate on Capitol Hill. He got plenty of coverage for his recent visits to Indiana, Florida and Illinois to highlight how the economic downturn is affecting so-called real people.
And his campaign organization, which has now become a grassroots organization, Obama for America, is sending out millions of emails enumerating tales of economic woe.
But the Obama team's attempt to focus the conversation on the severity of the economic meltdown and the plight of millions of citizens doesn't appear to have an impact on the Republican mindset when it comes to their political agenda. With few exceptions they don't want to be seen supporting the Democratic plan, and they don't have to since it will be signed into law anyway.
The Obama team is not giving up hope. The word from the White House press office is that Mr. Obama is an "eternal optimist" when it comes to building bridges to the future and the Republican party. In his daily press conference today, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the President is stubborn enough to continue to try to find common ground with the opposition party.
"It's a work in progress--it takes longer than a week to change how this place works," Gibbs said. On the other hand, Mr. Obama hasn't been shy about pointing a finger at the eight years of the Bush administration as the culprit for the recession – and he has clenched his own fist to make sure a stimulus package is enacted even without Republican support.
Daniel Farber is editor-in-chief of CBSNews.com.