Obama urges Senate to pass stimulus bill

Citing a devastating crisis seen "rarely in history," President Barack Obama used his weekly address on Saturday to urge the U.S. Senate to approve his $800 billion stimulus package this week.

The president described what he called "unprecedented economic turmoil," reinforced by Friday's dismal GDP numbers that showed the economy shrank at 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. "Yesterday we learned that our economy shrank by nearly 4 percent from October through December," said Obama. "That decline," he said, "was the largest in over a quarter century, and it underscores the seriousness of the economic crisis that my administration found when we took office."

Obama also expanded on blunt language he used earlier this week when he characterized as "shameful" the billions of dollars of Wall Street bonuses paid out at the end of last year even as the economy faltered. The president attacked Wall Street leaders who gave out the money while taking federal funds for their "arrogance" and "greed."

The president tried to humanize the crisis by describing the economic statistics as "not just numbers." "Behind every statistic there's a story," he said. He mentioned parents who "are struggling to pay the bills," patients who "can't afford care," and students who "can't keep pace with tuition," but he did not mention any specific names of Americans, as some presidents have done in the past.

Careful not to paint too negative a picture, Obama cited "some good news," including his administration's own efforts to move forward "with a sense of urgency equal to the challenge." He hailed the House passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, but he did not mention that the bill passed with no Republican support despite several efforts by the White House and the president to woo GOP leaders.

Although the Democrats have the votes to win passage in the Senate, the Republicans could still filibuster or threaten to filibuster to block the bill. Under the best-case scenario, Democrats still fall one vote short of a filibuster-proof majority. Assuming Al Franken is allowed to be seated from Minnesota, the Democrats will eventually have 59 votes in the Senate. Reports also indicate that Obama may choose Judd Gregg, a Republican Senator from New Hampshire, as his Commerce Secretary. If the Democratic governor of New Hampshire appointed a fellow Democrat to replace Gregg, that would give the party 60 votes in the Senate, enough to break a filibuster.

The president made no mention of a filibuster in his Saturday address, and some pundits think it is unlikely at this point. But Obama did call on Republicans to join with him and not to block the bill. "With the stakes so high we simply cannot afford the same old gridlock and partisan posturing in Washington," he said. "It's time to move in a new direction."

"Americans know that our economic recovery will take years -- not months. But they will have little patience if we allow politics to get in the way of action, and our economy continues to slide," the president said.

In the wake of recent scandals with John Thain redecorating his office at Merrill Lynch and corporate executives paying big bonuses, the president challenged the financial industry to operate with greater transparency and accountability, and warned that ordinary Americans need to be helped as well. "Banks have been extended a hand, but homeowners, students, and small businesses that need loans have been left to fend on their own," he said.

"And adding to this outrage, we learned this week that even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008." The president said "the American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed."

Obama promised that his Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, would soon announce a new plan to bolster the financial system, help lower mortgage costs and extend loans to small businesses so they can create jobs.

"Rarely in history has our country faced economic problems as devastating as this crisis," Obama said. "Now is the time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities."