Obama's Stimulus

Obama's Stimulus

Joshua Zumbrun, 02.09.09, 09:56 PM EST

The recession, deficit and bailout were inherited--the stimulus is all his.

WASHINGTON -- After weeks of negotiations with Congress, President Barack Obama took to the primetime airwaves Monday night to make his case for the passage of a more than $800 billion stimulus package to revive the economy. He said the package was not perfect, but, "the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life."

A friendly fireside chat this was not. Obama painted a grim picture of the economy he inherited, which he said underscored the need for the passage of the stimulus, noting that last month alone the economy lost the equivalent of every single job in the state of Maine.

"My hope is after a difficult year--and this year is going to be a difficult year--that businesses start investing again … consumers start feeling their jobs are stable and safe and start making purchases again," Obama said. Predicting another year of recession may be realistic, but it is hardly confidence boosting.

For confidence Obama had this: "I am absolutely confident that we can solve this problem." If, that is, Congress starts by passing the stimulus package.

Obama's first primetime press conference as president is part of a White House publicity blitz to sell his strategy to the public. Earlier Monday, the president made a targeted pitch at a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind., where unemployment reached 15.3% in December. Tuesday, Obama takes the same message on the road to Florida. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to come up with a bill to send to the president's desk--a process Obama wants to see resolved quickly.

On Monday the Senate voted to end debate on its version of the legislation, with an estimated price tag of $838 billion, by a vote of 61 to 36. On Tuesday, they will vote--likely with the same number of supporters--to pass the legislation.

Members of the House and Senate will then meet to reconcile the Senate package with the $819 billion plan passed by the House. Despite nearing passage, hopes for a bipartisan bill have been squashed. Only three Republicans in the Senate--Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania--and not a single Republican in the House--supported the legislation.