With the House widely expected to pass a $825 billion stimulus plan today, a number of media reports are focusing on whether President Obama's outreach to GOP lawmakers -- he met separately with House and Senate Republicans yesterday -- will translate into bipartisan backing for the package. While indications are that it will not, the President is getting credit for at least listening to Republican concerns. All three network newscasts led with the story last night. ABC World News said Obama "went the extra mile," while the CBS Evening News said Obama was fulfilling "a promise to actively seek bipartisan support for his $825 billion economic stimulus package." NBC Nightly News similarly reported that Obama "used his fight to pass the economic stimulus plan as a way to showcase another campaign promise, and that is, changing the tone in Washington."
USA Today headlines its report "Obama Faces First Test Of Bipartisanship Pledge," and notes "Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., said there could be as many as 10 to 15 Republicans supporting the package, but added, 'If I had to bet, I would bet zero.'" CNBC's Kudlow Report reported "while the President did not agree to any specific changes, there was a pledge that his aides would consider GOP lawmaker concerns about the need for additional tax relief for businesses." The AP says that "prodded to budge on another point, Obama said that despite opposition, he will insist on giving relief to wage-earners who pay Social Security taxes but do not earn enough to owe income tax." The Politico describes Obama as "rising above the fray" and "almost omnipresent" yesterday, though McClatchy says Obama "is likely to fall short of getting the strong bipartisan consensus he wants." The Washington Post notes Obama "devoted nearly three hours to separate closed-door meetings with House and Senate Republicans, an investment that is unlikely to result in new support for the relief package but could help clear a path to final passage." The AP, The Hill, the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor and Roll Call run similar reports. Less optimistic was The Politico, which in a story titled "GOP-Obama Love Affair Fizzles" says that "beneath the polite give and take between the new president and the newly disempowered Republican caucus, there was a sense that Obama's honeymoon had already begun to ebb."
Obama: GOP To Have More Say Later The Washington Post reports that "participants in the meetings said Obama conceded that both the House and Senate versions of the bill had been larded with Democratic spending priorities and sought to reassure GOP lawmakers that their concerns would receive consideration during final negotiations." The AP says that according to "one Republican," the President said "any changes would have to come after the House gives what is expected to be largely party-line approval Wednesday to the Democratic-backed bill."
Keith Olbermann, on MSNBC's Countdown asked, "What does it profit a president if he should gain the whole bipartisan world but lose his majority?" Before Obama "got there, House Majority Leader Boehner" was "urging his members to oppose the stimulus plan no matter how the discussion went. Yet publicly, the GOP tried to give the appearance that they are all ears and any problems with the bill [are] the fault of Democrats."
Some House Democrats Disappointed The Washington Post reports some Democrats "on Capitol Hill and other administration supporters are voicing a separate critique: that the plan may fall short in its broader goal of transforming the American economy over the long term." On its front page, however, the New York Times reports "the stimulus bill...is not just a package of spending increases and tax cuts intended to jolt the nation out of recession. For Democrats, it is also a tool for rewriting the social contract with the poor, the uninsured and the unemployed, in ways they have long yearned to do."
AFP reports the US Treasury "on Tuesday ordered new rules to curb the influence of lobbyists from companies receiving government aid under the massive 700-billion-dollar financial rescue program." The Washington Post reports Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner "issued new guidelines yesterday aimed at eliminating the influence of lobbyists" by "restricting their contact with officials who are reviewing applications for money and deciding how to disburse it." It "remains unclear, however, how the Treasury will implement the new changes and on what timetable."
CNN's The Situation Room reported Geithner is "promising to push for transparency, accountability and oversight in how the TARP money is spent. ... In his first official move as treasury secretary, Geithner targeted lobbyists and special interests, putting new rules in place that will limit their influence on the $700 billion rescue program, and try to ensure that politics plays no role in how money is handed out."
The Wall Street Journal reports the rules, "part of an effort by the Obama administration to repair the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program's tarnished image, will require Treasury to certify to Congress that its decisions are based on 'investment criteria' and the health of the financial system."
Meanwhile, USA Today reports each of the "six of the law and accounting firms hired by the Treasury Department to help manage the $700 billion financial bailout have clients who received the federal money, contracting and regulatory records show."
And the Wall Street Journal reports Secretary Geithner's new chief of staff, Mark Patterson, was "was a top lobbyist for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. until last year, and will have to recuse himself from some government duties under new White House ethics rules."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that President Obama's "top advisers are in the final stages of debating several perilous options to right the financial system, all of which are likely to prove unpopular and in some cases carry a significant risk of failure" The options include giving firms "a federal guarantee protecting them against losses on assets that are backed by failing mortgages and other troubled loans," the creation of a "bad bank" to "buy these toxic assets," or partial nationalization.
CNBC's Steve Leisman, appearing on CNBC's Kudlow Report, reported that the Obama administration "is close to deciding on a plan to purchase bad, or nonperforming, assets from the banks." The "so-called 'bad bank plan' would address the key problem of how to price the assets using what's called a 'model pricing mechanism.'"
The Hill reports House Democrats "aren't eager to consider another request for funds to bail out the financial system, despite warnings that the $700 billion rescue package will not be enough." Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "suggested he's already thinking about the bailout's implications for the 2010 election."
Default Rate On Jumbo Loans Another Concern The Wall Street Journal reports the increasing default rate for prime "jumbo" loans is "raising the specter of another cloud over banks and investors, which could get stuck with thousands of expensive homes." About "6.9% of prime 'jumbo' loans were at least 90 days delinquent in December," compared to 2.1% for conforming non-jumbo prime loans.
Citigroup Abandons Jet Purchase Plans The Financial Times reports the "US financial sector's new political masters began exerting their influence on Tuesday as Citigroup was forced to scrap the purchase of a $50m executive jet that was seen as a misuse of money at a time when the bank is reliant on public support."
The CBS Evening News reported "under White House pressure," Citigroup "reversed course and said it's canceling the purchase, even though it could lead to multimillion dollar penalties." NBC Nightly News reported, "A call from the Treasury Department apparently persuaded Citi officials to reverse themselves." Citi will "lose its deposit on the jet but could get it back when it's sold to somebody else." ABC World News reported Citigroup "which received $45 billion in taxpayer money, buckled under public pressure, even pressure from President Obama, deciding to give up plans to buy a $50 million corporate jet."
New York Probes Merrill Lynch Bonus Payouts ABC World News reported, "If Merrill Lynch lost $27 billion last year, why did its outgoing CEO dole out $4 billion in bonuses anyway? That's precisely the question New York's attorney general is now asking of John Thain, the outgoing CEO who reportedly paid out the money just before his failing financial giant was bought out by Bank of America."
In her New York Times column, Maureen Dowd criticizes corporate executives for their excesses, saying, "The former masters of the universe don't seem to fully comprehend that their universe has crumbled and, thanks to them, so has ours."
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On Tuesday at the impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Illinois Senators heard excerpts from FBI surveillance recordings, as well as testimony from FBI Special Agent Daniel Cain. The CBS Evening News reported that the senators "listened only to tapes that federal prosecutors feel won't hinder their criminal investigation. On one tape, investigators say the governor is heard talking to his brother Rob about a campaign donation in return for signing legislation." NBC Nightly News reported, "Prosecutors played some of their wiretap conversations in an effort to prove what they say is a pattern of abuse of power." The AP reports that "Blagojevich was hundreds of miles away, but his voice captivated" the lawmakers, although neither he "nor the others on the call...specifically mentions money or any amounts."
The Washington Times reports that in his ongoing "public relations campaign" yesterday, Blagojevich "claimed prosecutors are using snippets from the audiotapes out of context," while CNN reported on its website that Blagojevich on Tuesday "spoke to CNN's Campbell Brown about the hearings and the federal criminal charges against him." At one point in the interview, Brown said, "it doesn't seem like, watching you, frankly, that it is about the office of the governor. It seems like you're making it very much about you. ... It seems like you're very much enjoying the drama of all of this." Blagojevich replied, "No, I hate all of this. ... But there's principles involved. And that is, I did nothing wrong, and I'd like an opportunity to prove it in a process that allows me to bring evidence, witnesses and sworn testimony, which this impeachment process would do."
The Anchorage Daily News reports that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) "opened a political action committee Tuesday, a move that may not outright confirm her intentions of running for president in 2012 but indicates she intends to remain a regular on the national political stage." The AP adds that aides said the PAC "will help serve as a vehicle for" Palin's "political activities going forward." The Chicago Tribune reports, "Aides said Palin will limit her political activity until the Alaska legislative session ends in April. But she planned to travel to Washington on Saturday to attend the Alfalfa Club dinner, an elite gathering of the capital's political and media establishment. Palin was also expected to address the Conservative Political Action Committee meeting in Washington in February."
CNN reported on its 'Political Ticker' blog that the National Republican Senatorial Committee is "using their first television ad buy of the 2010 election cycle to criticize" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) "in his own backyard, a Republican source tells CNN." The GOP committee "will begin running an ad Wednesday in the Reno television market and purchase ads on Nevada Web sites criticizing Reid for voting for last year's $700 billion bailout and now supporting President Obama's stimulus plan."
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McClatchy reports that Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning (R) yesterday said he was running for reelection and "lashed out at Kentucky's senior senator, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Tuesday in a teleconference with reporters, expressing frustration that McConnell hasn't publicly backed Bunning's 2010 re-election bid." The Louisville Courier-Journal adds that with "little money and no campaign presence so far in Kentucky, combined with his skipping a week of Senate work this month," Bunning "has fed speculation" that he wasn't running.
The Hill says that the 2010 census could help the GOP on "their long road back to the majority" in the House. The census "could add multiple House seats to red-leaning states - as many as four districts to Texas and two each to Arizona and Florida. And it could subtract seats from blue-trending states like Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania." The Hill adds, "Most of the states slated to gain seats in reapportionment next cycle feature Republican-controlled state legislatures and governor's mansions - the powerhouses that decide how to allocate congressional districts."
The Hill adds that New York GOP leaders yesterday selected Assemblyman James Tedisco (R) "as their nominee in an upcoming special election to fill" former NY20 Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D) vacated House seat. Roll Call reports that "five candidates had been vying for the Republican nod in the special election, which has not yet been scheduled. ... Leading contenders for the Democratic nod include former TV broadcaster Tracy Egan, venture capitalist Scott Murphy, state AFL-CIO official Suzy Ballantyne and former New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter." The Politico adds that the move gave the GOP a "valuable head start" and that Democrats "still have a long ways to go in choosing a nominee."
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Jay Leno: "And President Obama said today when it comes to passing a stimulus package, 'We can't afford distractions' or 'delays.' And, of course, you know who took offense to this in Congress? The head of the Senate Distractions and Delays Committee. He was furious."
David Letterman: "But listen to this. They're closing Guantanamo. That's how bad things are, ladies and gentlemen. That's how bad the economy is. You know it's tough, you know the economy is bad, when even the terrorists are being laid off."
Conan O'Brien: "Gov. Blagojevich is being criticized because he recently compared his experience to that of Nelson Mandela." That "may be a stretch, but at least he got the prison part right."
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