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Obama to Congress: Pass stimulus, don't play games

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-10 12:51

US President Barack Obama walks through the Cross Hall to the East Room for his first news conference as president at the White House in Washington, February 9, 2009. [Agencies]

Obama said he had made a deliberate effort to reach out to the GOP, putting three Republicans into his Cabinet, and "as I continue to make these overtures, over time, hopefully that will be reciprocated."

"So my bottom line when it comes to the recovery package is: send me a bill that creates or saves 4 million jobs."

Obama acknowledged the difficulty of mending political divisions between Republicans and Democrats.

"Old habits are hard to break," he said. "We're coming off an election, and people sort of want to test the limits of what they can get. There's a lot of jockeying in this town and who's up and who's down, testing for the next election."

Still, he said, "I am the eternal optimist. I think that over time people respond to civility and rational argument."

Obama said the federal government was the only power that could save the nation at a time of crisis, with huge spending outlays and tax cuts.

"At this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life," he said.

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