Obama: I’m An Optimist — But Not A Sap
In an interview with National Journal, President Obama said he is open to reaching across the aisle, but policy results matter. “My bottom line is not how pretty the process was,” he said. “My bottom line was: Am I getting help to people who need it?” He also added: “I am an eternal optimist [but] that doesn’t mean I’m a sap.”
Obama Heading To U. of Chicago Campus
President Obama and Vice President Biden do not have any scheduled public events for today. However, Obama is visiting the University of Chicago campus today, where he formerly taught as a part-time law professor.
Obama To Sign Stimulus On Tuesday, Discuss Foreclosures Wednesday
President Obama will sign the stimulus bill on Tuesday, in a special trip to Denver — the city where he formally accepted the Democratic nomination. Then on Wednesday he will head to Phoenix, Arizona — John McCain’s home state — to put forward a plan to fight home foreclosures.
Axelrod: Obama To Take Action On Stem Cells
David Axelrod said on Fox News Sunday that President Obama will soon take action on stem-cell research, and is considering an order to formally lift the ban on federal funding that was put in place by George W. Bush.
Burris: Blagojevich’s Brother Asked Me For Contribution Last November
Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) has now admitted that Rod Blagojevich’s brother asked him for campaign contributions last fall, which Burris says he declined to do. Burris didn’t disclose this when asked by the state impeachment committee to name any contact he’d had with Blago’s people about the Senate seat.
Cantor: I Get Advice From Gingrich
In a new profile in the New York Times, Eric Cantor said he has regularly sought out the advice of a previous House Republican Whip who faced similar circumstances as he did, and then put his party in the majority: Newt Gingrich. Said Cantor: “I talk to Newt on a regular basis because he was in the position that we are in: in the extreme minority.”
McCain: Stimulus Bill A ‘Bad Beginning’ For Obama
Appearing on CNN today, John McCain lambasted President Obama’s performance in passing the stimulus bill. “It was a bad beginning because it wasn’t what we promised the American people, what President Obama promised the American people – that we would sit down together,” said McCain, adding that “almost all of our proposals went down on a party-line vote.”
GOP Senator Graham: ‘The Country’s Screwed’
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his dissatisfaction today with the legislative process that led to the stimulus bill. Appearing on This Week, Graham had this to say about Democrats dominating the process: “If I may say, if this is going to be bipartisanship, the country’s screwed.”
