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When President Obama takes to the airwaves Monday evening to rally support for his $800 billion-plus stimulus plan, he'll find himself in the tricky position of simultaneously needing to inspire confidence in the long-term strength of the economy while also dramatizing the current crisis as so dire that immediate action by Congress is necessary.

It's part of a White House publicity blitz to sell his strategy to the public, and it'll be in press conference format so the president can defend criticism of his plan rather than just laying out the details.

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.

Lately, he's done little to balance these competing positions. In Indiana Monday, Obama warned that delay would mean that "millions of jobs will be lost, and national unemployment rates will approach double digits," also adding that no matter what is done "recovery will likely be measured in years, not weeks or months."

It wasn't exactly a fireside chat. Don't expect one tonight, either. Here's what you're likely to see in Monday's press conference:

The selling points

Expect Obama's remarks Monday to be directed at individuals, just as they were during his Indiana speech. He'll point out that the plan will provide extended unemployment benefits, tax credits of up to $1,000 for families, partially refundable student tax credits and that more than 90% of the jobs created will be in the private sector.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime may have acknowledged that "Wii Fit" supplies will "fall short" this "holiday season," but that does not mean the 3.5 million balance boards lurking in living rooms are still seeing daily use.

Like any fitness program, it is suspected that most quit "Wii Fit" within two months. According to the Nintendo Channel--an online portal accessed through the Wii that is currently tracking some 1.3 million consumers--the average amount of time spent with the game is 15 hours and 41 minutes over 12 sessions. (See "How To Have Wii Fun.")

That is only a sample of "Wii Fit" owners, but one can guess that most of them are currently looking for some long-term storage for their oversized scale--at least until the Balance Board compatible "EA Sports Active" launches next March.

But don't be so hasty to find cupboard space. A wave of Balance Board compatible titles has hit stores this holiday season. Transform your Wii Balance Board into a skateboard, snowboard or toboggan with these Balance Board compatible games:

(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain said Sunday he would not necessarily support his former running mate if she chose to run for president.

Speaking to ABC's "This Week," McCain was asked whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could count on his support.

"I can't say something like that. We've got some great other young governors. I think you're going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party," he said.

He then mentioned governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jon Huntsman of Utah.

McCain said he has "the greatest appreciation for Gov. Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them."

"She invigorated our campaign" against Barack Obama for the presidency, he said.

McCain was pressed on why he can't promise support for the woman who, just months ago, he named as the second best person to lead the nation.

"Have no doubt of my admiration and respect for her and my view of her viability, but at this stage, again ... my corpse is still warm, you know?" he replied.

In his first Sunday political TV appearance since November 4, McCain also promised to work to build consensus in tackling America's challenges, and criticized his own party for its latest attack on Obama.

McCain rejected complaints from the Republican National Committee that Obama has not been transparent about his contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary," McCain told ABC's "This Week."

"You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody -- right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy, stimulus package, reforms that are necessary."

McCain's answer came in response to a question about comments from RNC Chairman Mike Duncan. The RNC also released an Internet ad last week, titled "Questions Remain," suggesting Obama is failing to provide important information about potential links between his associates and Blagojevich.

Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday and charged with trying to trade Obama's Senate seat for campaign contributions and other favors.

"I don't know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois," McCain told ABC. "But I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me."

McCain said he, like Obama and many other lawmakers, believes Blagojevich should resign.

Despite the heated nature of the race and attacks both former candidates lobbed at each other, McCain emphasized that he plans to focus on pushing lawmakers past partisan politics.

"I think my job is, of course, to be a part of, and hopefully exert some leadership, in the loyal opposition. But I emphasize the word loyal," McCain said.

"We haven't seen economic times like this in my lifetime. We haven't seen challenges abroad at the level that we are experiencing, certainly since the end of the Cold War, and you could argue in some respects that they're certainly more complex, many of these challenges. So let's have our first priority where we can work together...

"Will there be areas of disagreement? Of course. We are different parties and different philosophy. But the nation wants us to unite and work together."

McCain said he wouldn't comment on whether he thought he had a good chance of winning the presidency, given the Bush administration and the GOP were perceived to be responsible for the economy's problems. McCain said he would "leave that question" for others "to make that kind of judgment."

He pointed out that his poll numbers dropped along with the Dow.

"That would sound like I am detracting from President-elect Obama's campaign. I don't want to do that... Nobody likes a sore loser."

The key to moving past the stinging defeat, he said, is to, "Get busy and move on. That's the best cure for it. I spent a period of time feeling sorry for myself. It's wonderful. It's one of the most enjoyable experiences that you can have.

"But the point is: You've got to move on... I'm still a senator from the state of Arizona. I still have the privilege and honor of serving this country, which I've done all my life, and it's a great honor to do so."

With President-elect Barack Obama vowing to plow hundreds of billions of dollars into the nation's infrastructure, some state officials are warning that public works projects will fail to effectively lift the country out of recession unless they are chosen carefully and implemented rapidly.

In a private meeting yesterday in Philadelphia with 48 of the nation's governors, Obama stressed the importance of identifying projects that could put people to work quickly, participants said. He raised the specter of Japan, which languished in a decade-long recession in part because massive spending on construction projects in the late 1990s flowed too slowly to boost economic activity.

During the two-hour meeting, governors from both parties assured Obama that they could break ground almost immediately if Washington were to put up the cash to make up for state budget shortfalls. But less than half of the $136 billion in projects they said were ready to go could get underway within the next six months, according to the National Governors Association. And choosing among those projects could prove politically difficult, some governors said.

"The problem is going to be deciding in a rational and targeted way how to spend that money," Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said in an interview. "We all know about the bridges to nowhere. But we also know the projects that are critical to moving people around."

With the nation's economy in recession, Obama has pledged to create or preserve 2.5 million jobs over the next two years, primarily by dedicating federal dollars to rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges, schools and airports and to expanding sources of alternative energy. Democrats hope to send a spending package that could exceed $500 billion to the White House by Jan. 20, when Obama takes office.

In a recession that lasts only a few months, economists say spending on infrastructure would do little to revive the economy; public works projects typically take years to get underway. Even with projects that are ready to go -- meaning they have been designed, engineered and have cleared environmental and other bureaucratic hurdles -- only about a quarter of the overall cost is spent within the first year, according to the Transportation Department.

Because this recession is projected to extend well into 2009, many economists see infrastructure spending as a viable way to put people to work and keep money circulating domestically. Unlike tax rebates, which might be spent on foreign goods or used overseas, money for road projects would be used to hire U.S. workers and to purchase domestic gravel and steel.

The need for infrastructure improvements is enormous. Federal transportation officials have estimated that the nation should spend $225 billion a year to modernize and maintain its crumbling roads, bridges and transit systems.

But with 41 states facing budget shortfalls, many governors are cutting scheduled projects. Maryland and Virginia recently cut more than $1 billion each from their six-year transportation programs. North Carolina expects to cut $200 million by next June. And New York plans to eliminate 10 percent of its projects, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

The slowdown in public spending, combined with the worst housing bust in a generation, has devastated the construction industry. The unemployment rate among construction workers was 10.8 percent in October, well above the national average of 6.5 percent. Currently, nearly 1.1 million homebuilders, steelworkers and highway contractors are out of work.

"This is not going to be a situation where we're going to be putting money into something the contractors can't handle," said Bill Buechner, chief economist at the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. "There's plenty of capacity, and there's a lot of workers."

The devil, however, is in the details. What emerged yesterday in Philadelphia, and in ongoing discussions in Washington and in state capitals, is the concern that injecting such huge sums into public works projects could prove more complicated than anyone yet imagines.

In January, President George W. Bush will join the growing ranks of the nation's unemployed. And though he's guaranteed a presidential pension that will approach $200,000 next year--and has his family's oil fortune to fall back on--being an ex-president can often be a boon.

In Pictures: Out Of Office, In The Money

Between speeches, book deals, consulting arrangements and sitting on myriad corporate boards, ex-presidents stand to make far more than the $400,000 annual salary they earned while in office.

How much will Bush make in the coming years? It's difficult to say. He'll surely be able to earn a few million dollars giving speeches at an estimated $100,000 a pop to right-leaning think tanks and advocacy groups.

But Bush likely won't come close to the megabucks President Clinton has banked since leaving office. The reason: With his approval ratings below 25%, Bush is being advised to hold off on signing a multimillion-dollar book deal--the linchpin of any former president's money machine.

"There's just a little bit too much animosity [toward Bush] right now," says literary agent Harvey Klinger, adding that, with time, more people will be interested in the president's introspection.

Klinger says it's likely that first lady Laura Bush will write her memoirs first. She reportedly has been entertaining publishers at the White House to discuss a possible book deal, which will likely fetch at least $5 million. Hillary Rodham Clinton received an $8 million advance for her 2003 memoir, Living History, which focused largely on her years in the White House.

Kim Witherspoon, founder of literary agency InkWell Management, who has represented Anthony Bourdain, Cindy Crawford and Lionel Shriver, says there is no doubt that Bush will get a book deal if he wants one.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to help start a nuclear energy program in Venezuela and then departed for Cuba Thursday in a tour aimed at restoring ties that have dwindled since the Cold War.

Medvedev used his visit to Venezuela -- the first by a Russian president -- to raise Russia's profile in Latin America and deepen trade and military ties. Chavez denied trying to provoke the United States, but he welcomed Russia's growing presence in Latin America as a step away from U.S. influence toward a "multi-polar world."

The two leaders toured a Russian destroyer docked in a Venezuelan port, one of two large Russian warships that arrived this week for training exercises in the first deployment of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War.

Chavez saluted the captain, and while touring the vessel joked to reporters from the deck: "We're going to Cuba!" The warships will hold joint exercises with Venezuela's navy next week.

Business deals also were high on Medvedev's agenda: Russia pledged to help Venezuela with oil projects and building ships, while Chavez's government signed a deal to buy two Russian-made Ilyushin Il-96 passenger jets to add to the state airline's fleet for long-range flights.

Wednesday's accords included a pledge of cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy.

Moscow plans to develop a nuclear cooperation program with Venezuela by the end of next year, said Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency.

"We are ready to teach students in nuclear physics and nuclear engineering," he said. He said the help would include "research and development" and "looking for uranium in the territory of Venezuela."

Chavez says Venezuela hopes to build a nuclear reactor for energy purposes.

Medvedev also said Russia is ready to "think about participating" in a regional socialist trade bloc led by Chavez, likely as an associate member.

Chavez launched the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, named after South American independence hero Simon Bolivar, as an alternative to U.S.-backed free-trade pacts.

Cuba is the last stop on a four-nation tour, which also included visits to Peru and Brazil and talks in Caracas with Bolivia's Evo Morales and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega.

Medvedev said he also discussed the global financial crisis with Chavez, and "exchanged different ideas of what actions to take in this situation." Chavez blames the financial crisis on U.S. free-market capitalism.

Venezuela has bought more than $4 billion in Russian arms, including Sukhoi fighter jets, helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles.

Medvedev pledged to keep supplying Chavez with weapons, saying Russia has a "pragmatic relationship" with Venezuela and the arms sales aren't meant to threaten any country.

When Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo said in early November that the company was interested acquiring mid-sized tech manufacturer Sanyo Electric, he envisioned finalizing the deal by late December (BusinessWeek.com, 11/7/08). The path to forming a tech giant with $110 billion in annual revenues seemed clear-cut: Panasonic would start by buying out Sanyo's three biggest investors (BusinessWeek.com, 11/6/08)—Goldman Sachs (GS), Daiwa SMBC Capital and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking—for their combined 70% stake.

But that's not how things are playing out. On Nov. 26, after nearly three weeks of discussions, Goldman Sachs said it had rejected Panasonic's offer earlier in the week and walked out of the talks. "We didn't agree on the price and the deal structure," says Goldman Sachs spokeswoman Miyako Takebe in Tokyo.

Panasonic was offering 120 yen for each Sanyo share, according to Daiwa SMBC and other sources. That's roughly $7.8 billion, or three times the $2.6 billion that Goldman, Daiwa, and Sumitomo Mitsui coughed up for their Sanyo stakes in January 2006, less than three years ago.

Daiwa SMBC left the door open

Still, the offer was 23% below Sanyo's stock price at the close of trading on Nov. 25. (Sanyo stock lost 3.9% Nov. 26.) And it fell far short of the 250 yen per share that Goldman wanted, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun and financial daily Nikkei newspapers.

Among Sanyo's trio of key investors, Goldman was the only one to break off talks. While Daiwa SMBC also dismissed Panasonic's offer as too low, the difference was that Daiwa spokesman Kenichi Kanda didn't rule out more discussions in the future. (Sumitomo Mitsui and Panasonic both declined to comment.)

Panasonic is eager to add Sanyo's expertise in two areas—batteries and solar panels. Sanyo is the largest global supplier of rechargeable batteries for laptops, cameras, mobile phones, and other portable gizmos. It's also the world's seventh-biggest manufacturer of solar cells. Together, the two companies would have a strong portfolio of green technologies, giving them an edge in developing new batteries for hybrid and electric cars and solar energy equipment for homes and offices.

First, however, Panasonic must negotiate a compromise with Sanyo's investors. A key reason for the dispute stems from the two sides' differing views about how to value the 430 million Sanyo preferred shares held by the three key investors. Each share will be convertible to 10 common shares as of mid-March 2009. Added together, the 4.3 billion shares would account for 70% of Sanyo's stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui Favors the deal

According to sources close to the talks, Panasonic wants the price to reflect the reduction in value of each Sanyo share after such a stock conversion took place. For its part, Goldman is said to contend that Sanyo's current share price already reflects that dilution. The truth lies somewhere in the gray zone between the two claims, says Macquarie Securities analyst David Gibson, who has done the math. "The market has not [fully] factored in the dilution from the preferred shares," Gibson says.

Without Goldman's cooperation, Panasonic would have to woo the remaining two. Getting Sumitomo Mitsui Banking on its side shouldn't be a problem. Apart from being a major shareholder, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking is also Sanyo's main creditor. It has said its top priority is finding a buyer that can help Sanyo pay back the loans, according to someone with knowledge of the discussions between Panasonic and Sanyo. Indeed, it was a top Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Group executive who set up the first secret meetings between the heads of Panasonic and Sanyo a couple of months ago, says this person.

Panasonic might try to lure Daiwa by sweetening the offer a bit. If Daiwa agrees, then what? Panasonic would still face a battle if it asks all Sanyo shareholders to vote on the matter, although it's too early to know whether this might happen and whose side ordinary shareholders would rally behind. The uncertainty has hurt Panasonic's shares, which fell 2.7% on the news—a bigger drop than that sustained by the Tokyo Bourse's electrical machinery index, which slid 1.4%.

By Kenji Hall and Hiroko Tashiro
Hall and Tashiro cover Japan's corporate sector from BusinessWeek's Tokyo bureau .

The president-elect introduces his economy squad. They'll be busy. Here's where to start.

Missing from the list: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who was reportedly offered the position of secretary of commerce; University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee, who is expected to take a slot on the Council of Economic Advisers; and Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag, who has reportedly been selected as director of the president's Office of Management and Budget.

"I've sought leaders who could offer both sound judgment and fresh thinking, both a depth of experience and a wealth of bold new ideas," Obama said in a Chicago press conference. The president-elect said that all of these nominees "share my fundamental belief that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers." (Full Text: Obama's Economic Team Announcement)

Despite the impressive credentials of this group, what is more important is what they will do with the economic hand they have been dealt. Late Sunday, Uncle Sam agreed to lend troubled Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) an additional $20 billion from its bailout purse and to backstop $306 billion of the firm's troubled loans and securities.

Meanwhile, last week, the heads of General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ), Chrysler and Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ) returned to Detroit, discouraged that they were unable to convince Congress (at least for now) of the need to direct $25 billion in bailout money their way. Aside from a late afternoon rally Friday on the news of Geithner's appointment, equity markets continue to plunge.

Obama at least has seized the moment. Over the weekend, he announced broad plans for a two-year economic stimulus plan that would create 2.5 million jobs. Initial analyses put the price tag anywhere between $500 billion and $700 billion, dwarfing the $150 billion stimulus proposal he put forth on the campaign trail.