Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama called Wednesday for Republicans to work with his administration and Democrats in Congress on winding down the federal economic bailout program and creating jobs.
In a brief White House statement after meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, Obama said changing economic conditions since he took office called for new efforts to stimulate job growth.
Acknowledging "less than full bipartisan support" for his stimulus package and other steps "that have broken the free-fall of our economy," Obama said he hoped "we can move forward together."
One step would be ending the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) from the previous administration that bailed out U.S. banks and automakers in danger of collapsing in the recession, Obama said.
"This program has served its original purpose and the cost has been lower than expected," the president said, adding that the savings would help pay down the federal deficit and invest in job creation.
Obama said he would work with congressional leaders from both parties on "how we can structure a plausible scenario to get to medium- and long-term debt reduction," saying such issues were neither Republican nor Democratic.
"I'm absolutely committed to working with anybody who is willing to do the job to make sure we can rebuild our economy," Obama said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the top Republican in the Senate, attended the meeting with Obama but signaled continued GOP resistance to the president's agenda, especially sweeping proposals such as health care reform and cap-and-trade energy legislation.
"We're willing to talk about some kind of job-creating measure, but the best thing we could do to get this economy rolling again would be to stop these measures from becoming law," McConnell said.
Such GOP intransigence sometimes bothers Obama, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told his daily news briefing.
"Has the president been frustrated about this? Absolutely," Gibbs said, citing a lack of Republican support for the stimulus package and other steps that helped prevent "another Great Depression."
Now, Gibbs said, Obama was proposing job creation measures previously advocated by Republicans, such as increased investment in infrastructure development, cutting taxes for small businesses and helping them get access to capital.
"But, again, if the president outlines ideas that the Republicans have previously supported, and then Republicans seem unwilling to support the ideas they (previously) supported ..., you can leave it up to others to judge why it is they don't want to participate in a solution that we all agree and we've said in the past would put people back to work," Gibbs said.
From CNN Politics
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'Changing economic conditions'/ Oh you mean how you made a bad situation worse by implementing the failed stimulus which did nothing but put us $800 billion more in debt.
Mr. President – Marxist policies do not create jobs. They destroy them. Why would anyone with a love for this country support you in an effort to destroy the economy ?
Doesn't job creation mean that the people have more purchasing power and thus stimulate the economy?
but the GOP has only one goal, not to help the U.S., but instead to get elected
they are bankrupt morally
There won't be a bi-partisan anything because the GOP is unwilling to work for the good of the American people. They offer no ideas, only complaints. They are not just a loser party, they are a sore loser party.
Kinda hard to be bipartisan when you don't play well with others. These people just don't get it....the democrats will do what they want and not what the majority of Americans want. They will find that out in 2010 and 2012 unfortunately they will destroy what little is left of the American dream and lifestyle.
So let's see, TARP which was implemented by Bush actually worked and cost less than anticipated. The stimulus enacted by Obozo has done nothing and needs to be rescued. Demodrones, what's your excuse now? Republicans supported TARP and not the stimulus. Your Pretender President hasn't a clue and is bankrupting the US.
Greed Over Principals=GOP plain and simple,they are the reason we are in this position in the first place.They're quick to switch blame but the voters have not forgotten who this crap started under a republican white house and congress the shipment of jobs overseas start on your watch now get to work or get out of the way of progress.We as a country can not go back to the crooked ways and the lying the republicans want us to.
I see the GOP taking back the House big time in 2010, while the Senate stays in Democratic hands, forcing President Obama to become MODERATE and centrist.
Blue Dogs are going to take over the Democratic Party sooner or later as liberals are running it into the ground.
Our president is awesome by reaching out to the Republicans, but these repulsive lying Republicans do not want to work with our President and Republican politicians do not want jobs to be created. Republicans want President Obama to fail and they do not care if they fail America in the progress.
President Obama is doing an extraordinary great job under extraordinary difficult circumstances.
Folks who use works like "Marxist policies" speak in ignorance repeating clever sounding catch phases to promote policies that are not in thier self intertest – in other words thay are idiots.
The elected officials of the anti debate, anti participation, communist principle leaning republican party will do nothing to help Americans. They have been elected to destroy our country and almost succeeded over the last 8 years.
So the DEMS are so so smart...
Let me see. Medicare is broke.
And now we are going to lower the age to 55 from 65.
Are you people idiots. We can not afford it right now. It is broke.
Now you are going to add another 10 years of individuals.
Dear All You Socialists.... We are broke. Stop spending.
you mean like he called for bi-partisan healthcare reform. Yeah, that worked out alright...
Our country needs this stimulus - & the banks are paying us back the TARP, with interest. If people have jobs they'll be able to buy things and pay taxes, so we'll ultimately get paid back for that too, and the good effects will snowball throughout the economy & our society.
Bipartisan, the only word Republicans know is no.
Bipartisan or otherwise, it doesn't matter, because... THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT CREATE JOBS AND PROSPERITY.
Only the private sector creates jobs and prosperity.
If created prosperity, there would be NO NEED for a private sector.
We'd just all stand in line for free government bread like the Soviets did for generations. How did that work out for them?
I am embarrassed that Dick Cheney was once vice president of the United States. You right wingnuts should be, too.
Calling President Obama a Leftist or a Socialist or a Marxist is just more of a broken record...
In actuality, he's more moderate than many in the Democratic party, so they don't give him enough support
and way too moderate for the right-wingers running the Republican party these days...
If Moderate Democrats & Moderate Republicans could just sit down together and come up with REAL solutions to our problems, maybe the President could have a chance to fix our ailing economy....
Right now, neither side wants to give any ground, and the President and American people are both caught in the middle of a mess...
OBAMA 2012 !!!
The left over TARP money is supposed to go back to pay off the deficit. Obummie you are a socialist. Get your hand out of my pocket.
People need to realize the issue is not republican versus democrat. It is not conservative versus liberal. It is the individual versus the state. The state is growing while many of us are taking paycuts and layoffs. They are militarizing our police and volunteering us into international agreements which undermine the sovereignty of this country.
If you want to do something about it, stop voting for republicans and democrats. They are all in bed with the banks, big corporations and foreign interests which seek to bleed this nation dry.
Respect the constitution and the intent of the founders to keep this a free nation with sound money and freedom for all.
Bi-partisan support surely you jest Mr. President. The Republicans are only good at pointing fingers, and telling you that any plan proposed will not work. They are incapable of real ideas. The sooner you start treating Republicans like the non-entity they are, the better off you will be.
america first ,,,people are hurting...
The GOP will only support President Obama regarding war issues and that's only in certain circumstances. I wish President Obama could get them to work with his party. That would be best for this country; but by their negative attitudes and actions against the little guy, the GOP will continue to be uncooperative. I am old enough to remember when the parties would have differences, but the behavior of the GOP (and some Democrats too, but to a lesser degree) is astounding for their ugliness, etc. It would be wonderful if people would care about Americans and not be of the disagreeable nature of their current being, setting up roadblocks to everything the President proposes. Where are the moderate, reasonable Republicans? Shall they rise from the ashes of their old GOP.
Right wingnuts are destroying a once significant political party.
THE GOVERNMENT CAN CREATE JOBS.
Putting it in all caps doesn't make you right, GOPs.
In my town they're doing all sorts of needed road repair work thanks to stimulus money & our unemployment is lower than the rest of the country.