Obama Plans to Head West to Sign Stimulus Bill

In this photograph provided by "Meet the Press," White House adviser David Axelrod appears on "Meet the Press'" Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009, at the NBC studios in Washington. (AP Photo/Meet The Press, Alex Wong)

(AP)

Keeping the economy front and center, President Barack Obama heads west this week to sign the $787 billion stimulus bill and tackle the home mortgage foreclosure crisis. The direct appeals for public support follow scant GOP backing in Congress for his agenda and increasing partisan bickering.

Passage of the stimulus measure — unprecedented in its cost — was a major triumph for Obama as he struggles lift the country from a financial nosedive unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Top aides said Sunday the skyrocketing unemployment rate would fall once the money begins to flow. But they also said the economy will continue its downward spiral in the short term.

"I think it's safe to say that things have not yet bottomed out," press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "They are probably going to get worse before they improve. But this is a big step forward toward making that improvement and putting people back to work."

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The stimulus package, which passed with no GOP support in the House and three Republican votes in the Senate, aims to save or create as many as 3.5 million jobs through massive government investment while boosting consumer spending through modest tax cuts.

The president's determination to sign the stimulus bill into law in Denver on Tuesday suggests Obama will continue taking his economic message to the American people, who are giving him high marks for handling the crisis. The symbolism is obvious for Colorado, where a growing green-energy industry will draw major benefits from the stimulus.

"He is determined to keep in touch with the American people who sent him here to do this job," senior adviser David Axelrod said.

Gibbs said the president had taken "unprecedented" steps in a bipartisan effort to include Republicans in the legislative process. But Sen. John McCain was highly critical, declaring the stimulus would create what he called "generational theft" — huge federal deficits for years to come.