On the stimulus, Obama needs to win over Senate Republicans without losing House Democrats.

Barack Obama held office hours Wednesday. In 15-minute increments in the early afternoon, he met in the Oval Office with senators who want to modify his stimulus bill. Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska talked about removing spending provisions from the bill. He has a tentative list of cuts totaling more than $50 billion that include everything from $122.5 million for new and renovated polar icebreakers to $198 million in military benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine got her own meeting, as did her GOP Maine colleague Sen. Olympia Snowe, who told Obama the bill didn't provide stimulus fast enough. Citing a CBO report that said only 12 percent of the appropriated money would be spent in the first year, Snowe told him, "Twelve percent is causing us 100 percent of the headache." [ more ... ] (link)