Obama to Congressional Leaders: Give in a Little

Feb. 3, 2009 — -- President Obama worked to win Republican support of his economic stimulus bill by calling in Democratic congressional leaders and telling them to make concessions to their GOP colleagues.

A group of centrist Democrats is emerging as a potential force to reshape the bailout package by teaming up with moderate Republicans to reduce the overall cost of the bill and funnel more money to rebuilding the nation's infrastructure.

Pressure also mounted on Republican leaders as four GOP governors, including Florida's Charlie Crist and California's Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed a letter Monday urging passage of the stimulus bill. They were joined by Vermont's Jim Douglas and Connecticut's Jodie Rell, both Republicans, along with 15 Democratic governors.

The governors have become powerful allies for Obama in the stimulus debate as states are facing huge budget shortfalls along with increased demand for services by the growing number of unemployed.

California has been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn. With nearly 2 million people out of work, the state's unemployment rate is more than 9 percent. In addition, the state faces a budget deficit of more than $40 billion.

Obama will also blitz the major broadcast and cable networks today with interviews in which he will likely press for quick passage of the stimulus bill.

Watch Charlie Gibson's interview with President Obama on "World News" at 6:30 p.m. ET

At the White House Monday evening Obama met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Party Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later issued a statement saying they had a "productive meeting" and agreed to work for a "bipartisan consensus" on the measure.

What Gibbs didn't say is that Obama told the Democratic leaders to strip away some spending provisions of the massive bill that are not likely to create new jobs, and to increase some tax credits. The president urged the House and Senate leaders to accept some Republican suggestions.

Republicans have objected that the bill is loaded with spending programs that will not boost the economy. The Republicans have also sought more tax breaks to stimulate spending by taxpayers and businesses.