President Obama sees Republicans as the obstacle to stimulus bill

February 5, 3:13 PMFirst 100 Days ExaminerKim McIntyre

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Despite a flurry of interviews with the anchors of all major U.S. networks this week, President Barack Obama will hold his first press conference in front of the White House press corp on Monday.  In his first address the President is hoping to announce the date he will sign his economic stimulus bill into law.                                                

Of course that depends a lot on what happens on Capitol Hill Friday, where Senators are scrambling to trim down a massive stimulus bill.  Some reports say Republicans and Democrats are trying to cut as much as 200 billion dollars in programs from the nearly 900 billion dollar bill that passed in the House last week.  The White House is anxiously awaiting a compromise on the terms of the stimulus bill but President Obama's Press Secretary Robert Gibb's says "covering the fundamentals will move the country forward." 

The President has been reaching out to Republican leaders over the past couple days, looking for a way to get more GOP members on board with his economic plan.  But today, instead of trying to bow to Republican desires to increase tax cuts in the economic bill, Obama seems to be rejecting that effort.  Washington insiders believe he now sees Republicans as his obstacle in getting an economic stimulus package passed.  Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters during an afternoon briefing, "we've tried those (Republican) tactics of cutting taxes before" and not seen much result.  Gibbs adds the new plan will have some tax cuts but also offer ways to create jobs.

Job creation seems to the White House's top priority, more so than the nation's plunging housing market or energy dependence.  Today the Labor Department says jobless claims rose to a 26-year high of 626 thousand. Tomorrow new unemployment rates will be released and are expected to eclipse 4.8 million, creating the highest unemployment rate in 17 years.  President Obama has stressed transportation and infrastructure programs in his economic stimulus bill will create more than a million new jobs.

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