Robert Gibbs

“ I assume there will be amendments and alternatives in the Senate. But again, I don't -- I don't see that that will delay the process. I mean, we have encouraged on the House and the Senate side ideas and amendments to be debated and voted on. I think that's part of a process that has been undertaken in this bill that allow everybody to take part.
But again, I don't -- the way we look at the legislative calendar, we don't see delay on the horizon. And I don't think the American people want to watch Washington delay what they know they need. ”

“ The President understands that people are hurting and believes that we have a unique opportunity in this town to bridge our usual partisan differences to get the economy moving again, and that that's what the American people expect and, quite frankly, that's what they deserve. ”

“ And we talked yesterday about -- in a couple of answers, changing, for instance, the way some of the tax cuts are structured to individuals in a way that is likely to see them receive and spend that money far more quickly than they would if we simply handed them one lump sum; instead to spread out an increase in that pay over a period of time in which people are likely to get more used to having that money in their paycheck and in their pocket and spending that money. ”

“ Well, I think the President feels like the efforts that he's made, and will continue to make on this, will live up to what he wants to do to reach out to Democrats and Republicans. Again, this is -- it's not just being nice to be nice; it's being nice to get something done that's important for the American people. ”

“ The government is out of a lot of options as it relates to monetary policy. And that a fiscal stimulus targeted in the right way that puts money in people's pockets and uses spending to create jobs can have, as Christina Romer said, an impact in lessening what we believe has already been and will continue to be a fairly deep recession. ”

“ Thanks, Robert. A couple questions on the economy. Can you explain what the President's strategy will be in the coming days to all these senators on the stimulus package? What kind of meetings does he have planned? Does he plan any sort of different-looking strategy than he did with the House, for whatever reason? And then secondly, I want to clarify, or see if you can clarify, something that Vice President Biden said in an interview yesterday. He said that any new money for the financial industry-type bailout would not be requested until all the $350 billion has been spent. ”

“ I think the American people understand that. I think what the American people also want to see is somebody who will level with them about the challenges that we face, and will give them a sense of where he hopes to take them. ”

“ First, talking to CEOs who met with the President earlier this week, they said the economy clearly has a structural problem, but they also said it has a psychological problem. The President today called the economic statistics a continuing disaster. ”

“ I think that's certainly important for this country and for other countries to have that kind of confidence in the economic system both here and abroad, to not just understand what happened, to respond to it and to get it moving again. ”

“ I think he would likely tell you that if Congress and the President can work together across party lines, put aside differences, and get something good for the American people, then help would be on the way.
The President understands that people have hit hard times. He spent two years on the road and heard about these problems, quite honestly, long before some of these statistics ever started being spit out by a government computer or out of an agency. ”

“ But make no mistake that there are big challenges economically. The President talked this week with Republicans in the House and Senate about not just a recovery plan but a stability package, and there will be some meetings next week at the White House relating to reregulation of the financial industry to greatly assure that the structure that enabled some of what happened -- most recently to happen doesn't come again on this President or another President's watch ”

“ How much of a problem is this that some of these key jobs in the administration are not filled? And what's your target for really having all of your top jobs filled?
GIBBS: Well, I mean obviously we want to get jobs filled as quickly as we can. I think we want to make good decisions. And I think the American people can be extremely confident in the professional level of the government that's both in place, hopefully, at the White House and in the executive branch ”

“ Well, obviously the President will watch the results, and believes that the provincial elections this weekend mark another significant milestone in Iraq's democratic development. There are a series of elections that will happen throughout the country throughout the rest of the year -- an important year, again, for that democratic development to continue. ”

“ Or with the difficulty on the House side with Republicans and resistance on the Senate side, is there any flexibility on that, or is that still absolutely the date? And also, could you tell us a little bit about his schedule? I mean, the conventional wisdom is he works well into the night. Is he working nights? Is he staying up late working on this? Is he going to be working all through all the weekends?
GIBBS: I don't have meetings on his weekend schedule at this point. You know, he's traditionally a night owl. ”