Robert Gibbs

“ No, look, I -- look, I think as the President said today, we're all -- we all each day live with -- in a society because of many of the tough and courageous decisions that President Lincoln had to make a long time ago. ”

“ I think the debate about this bill has taken place very publicly. We've all -- I've been asked about it for several weeks now. I think it's hard to imagine that people's opinions haven't been known. And I think the events of the last few days have shown that Democrats and Republicans can work together to get something done.
I think it looks as if we'll get a vote tomorrow. And I think we're on the cusp of something that's a very important first step in order to get our economy moving again. ”

“ Again, I think the President feels like the task force is an idea that combines a lot of smart people and a lot of different governmental jurisdictions with a senior advisor who has some real expertise in doing some of this restructuring and representing both the concerns of investors and bond holders, but also the livelihoods of tens of thousands of auto workers in the Midwest who need to have a seat at the table, as well. ”

“ I mean, obviously, as you heard administration officials say throughout the weekend, a strong, vibrant auto industry as the basis for our manufacturing in this country is extremely important. We have to ensure that the cars of tomorrow are built here by Americans, for Americans.
Obviously we are anxious to see the plans that will be offered by the auto companies. We've had teams of people from our economic team working on this issue throughout the transition, in the first few weeks of this administration. ”

“ But, you know, many of them wanted a package that wasn't too big. Many of them wanted a package that included more tax cuts. Many of them wanted a package that spent the money in a spend-out rate that would stimulate the economy quickly. I don't think there's any doubt that the test that had been laid out by many of the critics of this package are met by the final package.
And look, you know, I've seen people argue on the floor the definition of bipartisan doesn't include three Republicans being part of a solution. ”

“ I also would say there's -- I think there are a lot of Republicans around the country -- there's certainly Republican mayors that don't want to lay off police officers and teachers, there's Republican governors that don't want to cut health care for working families that are supportive of this bill. There are Republicans outside of the friendly confines of Washington, D.C., that understand the importance of getting something done to help the people of their locality or their state and certainly of their country. ”

“ But this President isn't seeking to compare himself with I think what many believe is one of the two or three greatest Presidents that this country has ever had. There are decisions and stresses that President Lincoln faced that I think many would hope aren't faced by many of our Presidents as we go forward. ”

“ I also think there will be -- and we'll see this this afternoon, I think, in Caterpillar -- you'll see, in some ways, people anticipating the benefits of a stimulus package and changing the business decisions that they make. We've got the CEO of Caterpillar, which we're going to go see today, that has told the White House that they would reevaluate decisions that they've made about hiring, based on the passage of this bill. So I think we'll get a chance, as we land in Peoria, to see how a package like this is playing in Peoria. ”

“ GIBBS: Mara, people can go to the same website you go to when you read bills. There's congress.gov, there's the Library of Congress. There are any number of resources. I can only imagine that your reporting is informed by the careful examination of that very legislation throughout the process --
[REPORTER] : I'm just wondering why you wanted the five days in the first place. ”

“ No, again, I think he has -- he's been working on this in consultation with military leaders and in conjunction with his foreign policy team. As you know, Ambassador Holbrooke is in the region and has met with the Afghans and the -- I believe has met with the Pakistanis, I should double check -- but is in the region. The administration continues its review of our policy relating to Afghanistan. And I would expect that the President's decision could come shortly -- without laying out a firm timetable of when, exactly, that might be. ”