Obama's broken campaign pledge

As a candidate, he promised to allow public comment before signing bills, eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses, provide tax credits to businesses for hiring new employees, allow Americans to withdraw funds from 401(k) and retirement accounts without penalties, ban lobbyists from serving in his administration, reform earmarks, bring all combat troops home from Iraq in 16 months, sign the "Freedom of Choice Act," give Americans $4,000 in credits for college and run a "transparent" administration.
However, after giving his word to the American people on so many issues, Obama has yet to fulfill many commitments.
Broken promise No. 1: 'Sunlight Before Signing'
When Obama campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in Manchester, N.H., on June 22, 2007, he announced his "Sunlight Before Signing" promise.
"When there is a bill that ends up on my desk as the president, you the public will have five days to look online and find out what's in it before I sign it," he said.
He repeated that promise on his campaign website:
"Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."
However, Obama signed his first bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, on Jan. 20 – only two days after its passage. He signed a second bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program just three hours after Congress passed it.
Again, on Feb. 17, Obama signed his 1,000-page $787 billion stimulus aimed at jolting the declining U.S. economy. He did so only one business day after it passed through Congress – without allowing for five days of public comment.
Broken promise No. 2: Capital gains tax elimination
According to his comprehensive tax plan released during his campaign, Obama promised to "eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses."
Just weeks prior to the election, Obama advisers Austan Goolsbee and Jason Furman told the Wall Street Journal that Obama planned tax cuts that included "the elimination of capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups." People who invest in small businesses have only been allowed to exclude 50 percent of that gain from capital gains taxes. While Obama's $787 billion economic-stimulus package reduces that tax liability – raising the exclusion to 75 percent – it does not eliminate it.
Broken promise No. 3: New American jobs tax credit
During his transition, Obama's promised to provide a $3,000 refundable tax credit to existing businesses for every additional full-time U.S. employee hired in 2009 and 2010. "If a company that currently has 10 U.S. employees increases its domestic full time employment to 20 employees, this company would get a $30,000 tax credit – enough to offset the entire added payroll tax costs to the company for the first $50,000 of income for the new employees," the transition website stated. "The tax credit will benefit all companies creating net new jobs, even those struggling to make a profit." Obama's promise was never included in the stimulus package.

Broken promise No. 4: Hiatus on 401(k) penalties
Many unemployed and financially strapped Americans have considered early withdrawals on 401(k) and retirement accounts to survive the current recession. However, the IRS imposes strict penalties of up to 10 percent plus federal, state and local income taxes on such advances.
Workers who have taken $10,000 in early withdrawals from retirement plans have lost as much as 40 percent to taxes and penalties, depending upon tax brackets.
In October 2008, Obama released his "Rescue Plan for the Middle-Class" in which he promised to allow financially distressed Americans to withdraw up to $10,000 from their 401(k) accounts and retirement savings without having to pay penalties. They would only pay income taxes on the amount.
"Since so many Americans will be struggling to pay the bills over the next year, I propose that we allow every family to withdraw up to 15% from their IRA or 401(k) – up to a maximum of $10,000 – without any fine or penalty throughout 2009," Obama said. "This will help families get through this crisis without being forced to make painful choices like selling their homes or not sending their kids to college."
However, Obama's promise was never included in his recent stimulus package.
Broken promise No. 5: 'No jobs for lobbyists'
Obama promised America he would loosen the grip of lobbyists on Washington.
In his Nov. 10, 2007, speech in Des Moines, Iowa, Obama declared:
I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists — and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president.
During his campaign, Obama also said, "I have done more to take on lobbyists than any other candidate in this race. I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House."
However, USA Today reported Obama's campaign fundraising team included 38 members of law firms that were paid $138 million in 2007 to lobby the federal government. "Those lawyers, including 10 former federal lobbyists, have pledged to raise at least $3.5 million" for Obama's campaign, the report states. "Employees of their firms have given Obama's campaign $2.26 million." It wasn't long before he allowed at least two dozen exceptions and broke his promise. Obama's own ethic rules barred officials of his administration from lobbying their former colleagues "for as long as I am president." He also said former lobbyists would be prohibited from working for agencies they had lobbied within the past two years. President Obama later waived his rules for at least two of his nominees – William J. Lynn III, undersecretary at the Department of Defense and recent lobbyist for Raytheon, and William Corr, deputy secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services and anti-tobacco lobbyist for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Broken promise No. 6: Earmark reform
As WND reports, at the first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., Obama declared, "[W]e need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."
However, in February, Obama passed his $787 billion stimulus aimed at jolting the declining U.S. economy. Before a joint session of Congress, Obama declared: "Now, I'm proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks." Some chuckled in amusement when he claimed the bill contained no pork.
"There was just a roar of laughter – because there were earmarks," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told CNN.
U.S. News & World Report found at least eight earmarks in his stimulus bill.
Obama also signed a $410 billion omnibus bill for 2009. More than 9,000 earmarks in the spending bill total an estimated $7.7 billion. Even though the Democrat-controlled Congress crafted the bill after Obama's election, the administration claims the added pork is just "unfinished business" from last year. The White House website states, "Obama and Biden will slash earmarks to no greater than 1994 levels and ensure all spending decisions are open to the public." However, watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that the omnibus pork alone already totals $7.7 billion – just less than the total of $7.8 billion in earmarks in 1994 – and the figure does not include $6.6 billion in earmarks contained in three previous spending bills Congress passed amid the bailout crisis last year. During his three years in the Senate, Obama requested more than $860 million in earmarks, according to the group. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has 16 earmarks – worth approximately $8.5 million – in the bill.
Broken promise No. 7: Bring troops home in 16 months
On his campaign website, Obama promised he would "remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. "His commitment to bring combat troops home by May 20, 2010, and end the war gave him an edge among Democrats over candidate Hillary Clinton. However, on Feb. 27, Obama declared, "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By Aug. 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end." If Obama adheres to his plan, combat troops will return home months later than originally promised. The New York Times reports, Obama will withdraw only two of the 14 brigades before December.
As part of a "new era of American leadership," he also said he would leave behind a residual force of 35,000 to 50,000 troops and remove all U.S. soldiers from Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011 – the same deadline the Bush administration negotiated with the Iraqi government last year in its Status of Forces Agreement.
Additionally, some combat units would remain in Iraq beyond Obama's declared August 2010 withdrawal. Rather than returning home, they would simply face reassignment as "advisory training brigades."
Even as combat troops are brought home, Pentagon officials have said fresh units will continue deploying to Iraq.
Broken promise No. 8: Sign 'Freedom of Choice Act'
On July 17, 2007, Obama told the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, "The first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."
Obama expressed his support for the sweeping plan that would repeal all national and state regulations of abortion passed over the last 35 years. His agenda regarding "reproductive choice" is posted on the White House website. It states, Obama "has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Administration."
Obama chose radical pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to serve as the Health secretary, moved to void job protections for health workers who oppose abortion and repealed a ban on U.S. taxpayer funding of foreign abortions. While many pro-life advocates consider it a blessing that Obama has no fulfilled his promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, he has made no mention of the legislation since he took office.
Broken promise No. 9: $4,000 college credit
Obama pledged to make college "affordable for all Americans" when he announced his American Opportunity Tax Credit. His campaign promise read: "This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service."
While the American Opportunity Tax Credit was included in the recent stimulus bill, it offers a credit of only $2,500 for up to two years and requires no commitment to community service.
Broken promise No. 10: Transparency
On the White House website, the Obama administration claims it will be "the most open and transparent in history.
The administration released a memo on Jan. 21, stating:
My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.
Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. …
However, Congress and the administration hurried the $787 billion, 1,027-page American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to a vote after allowing lawmakers just a few hours to read the bill. It was also available online in a form that could not be keyword searched.
While former administrations immediately posted transcripts of presidential speeches – including some remarks before delivery – the White House website often waits until days or even weeks after an event to release transcripts. Also, some say recent reports of tax evasion by Obama nominees is evidence that the administration is not as transparent as promised.
Just before Obama named Timothy Geithner to be his treasury secretary, the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank quietly paid $26,000 in back taxes and interest due since 2001 and 2002.
Obama characterized the eight-year tax evasion as "an innocent mistake."
But as many as five of his picks defaulted on taxes, including former nominee for health and human services secretary, Tom Daschle; former nominee for chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer; U.S. trade representative nominee Ron Kirk and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. Furthermore, while the president posted his own weekly "fireside chats" on YouTube during the campaign, many journalists report that he has a history of being less than welcoming to the Fourth Estate. Columbia Journalism Review noted Obama's treatment of the press: "During the campaign, reporters' access to Obama was severely limited. On-the-record conversations with the candidate were even more so. Indeed, Obama's overall treatment of the press – not just in his general rejection of the day-to-day news cycle, but also in his tendency to shun his national traveling press corps ... created the impression that its members were, to him, a buzzing nuisance. Instead of the voice of the people."
WND's correspondent at the White House, Les Kinsolving, raised the issue in February that most of the reporters recognized for questions in the briefing room were among the same handful over and over again. Some of them had been given four or even five opportunities for questions while other reporters were not recognized at all.
Kinsolving, a senior journalist in the White House press corps, was not allowed to voice his questions on issues on which millions of WND readers have expressed an interest. There were also complaints about the time of the November election that not only did Obama rely on a few key reporters for questions, those reporters were chosen ahead of time.
And, finally, WND has reported on dozens of legal challenges to Obama's status as a "natural born citizen." The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."
Obama's alleged Certification of Live Birth is not his original 1961 birth certificate
However, Obama has refused repeated calls to publicly release his Hawaiian birth certificate, which would include the actual hospital that performed the delivery. His campaign posted an alleged "Certification of Live Birth" online, but it is not the same as a Hawaii birth certificate. COLBs have been issued by Hawaii to parents whose children are not born in the state. Instead of providing the documentation to end the lawsuits, a series of law firms have been hired on Obama's behalf around the nation to prevent any public access to his birth certificate, passport records, college records and other documents. – even after more than 320,000 people signed a petition demanding that he live up to his promise of transparency by releasing the certificate to the public.
Nonetheless, during his campaign and after he took office, Obama maintained that his administration would have an unyielding commitment to transparency. "The American people want to trust in our government again – we just need a government that will trust in us," he said in a campaign speech. "And making government accountable to the people isn't just a cause of this campaign – it's been a cause of my life for two decades."
Broken promise No. 11: Executive signing statements
During the campaign, Obama criticized President Bush for issuing "signing statements," attached letters to congressionally-passed bills that add interpretation and instruction on how to carry out the law.
"That's not part of [the president's] power," Obama told an audience in a recorded video during the campaign, further alleging it was a violation of the Constitution for the president to attach signing statements to signed bills.
On March 9, Politico reports, Obama even issued a memorandum negating Bush's signing statements by telling agencies not to follow on them without consulting with the Justice Department in advance.
Two days later, Obama attached his first signing statement to a $410 billion government spending bill, even as he signed it into law.
Obama's signing statement modified, interpreted and even dismissed dozens of statutes of the bill, including a section limiting his ability to put U.S. troops under United Nations command.
The New York Times reports Obama said he would continue the practice of issuing signing statements, though "with caution and restraint, based only on interpretations of the Constitution that are well founded."
The White House declined to respond to WND's request for comment on Obama's promises.

Home bailout

President Obama, calling the housing meltdown a "crisis unlike we've ever known," rolled out a $75 billion plan Wednesday that his administration hopes will keep as many as 9 million families in their homes.

The announcement in Phoenix comes a day after he signed a $787 billion economic rescue package that combines spending and tax cuts aimed at saving and creating millions of jobs.

The foreclosure prevention plan is more ambitious than initially expected -- and more expensive. It aims to aid borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, and borrowers who are on the verge of foreclosure.

Obama said the plan is a critical component in his administration's efforts to pull the nation out of recession.

"In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen -- a crisis which is unraveling homeownership, the middle class, and the American dream itself," Obama said. "But if we act boldly and swiftly to arrest this downward spiral, then every American will benefit."

The plan would draw $50 billion from existing financial bailout money, as well as $25 billion from government-backed entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Part of the program would instruct Fannie and Freddie to automatically approve refinancing at current rates. That change is expected to give 4-5 million people an immediate reduction in their mortgage payments, according to a senior administration official.

Another component would provide government incentives to modify at-risk mortgages to drive down payments.
Lenders would be asked to reduce monthly payments to 38 percent of the borrower's income, and then the government would split the cost of reducing that to 31 percent.

Obama said the funding would not reward "unscrupulous or irresponsible" speculators.

"This plan will not save every home," he said. "But it will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild."

Obama said the goal is to target families who are "underwater or close to it" and help those who "played by the rules and acted responsibly."

The goal of the overall plan is to save 7 to 9 million mortgages.

Announcing his plan in a state hard hit by the housing crunch, Obama said that stemming the tide of foreclosures is key to turning around the recession-bound economy.

Obama's stimulus really just socialism at work

Everyone else is talking about what's in the $825 billion stimulus package, but here's the one thing I want to know: How can we let the government get away with calling it a "stimulus" in the first place?

Let's break down the numbers on this with the help of those non-partisan, radical hate-mongers over at the Congressional Budget Office.

According to the CBO, only $26 billion — just over 3 percent — will be spent this year. Another $110 billion — or 13 percent — will be spent next year. Which means that by the time President Obama's term is halfway through, just 16 percent of the money will have been spent.

I thought President Obama said this is supposed to be a quick "jolt" to the economy?

The president has also billed the stimulus as an investment in America's infrastructure. And if that were true, I'd be all for it. I mean, I-95 over on the East Coast isn't exactly the autobahn. Yet only 3 percent — just $30 billion — of this entire package is dedicated to road and highway spending.

Then you have the promise about creating "green jobs" and clean energy.

Again, you want to seriously get wind and solar and nuclear power off the ground, I'm in. But this isn't serious. Only 2 percent of the money is earmarked for clean energy and only 1/7th of that will be spent over the next 2 years.

The CBO tells us that billions of dollars are going to buy new computers and replace government cars with new alternative fuel vehicles. In all, the money is going to 150 different federal programs — from Amtrak to the TSA — and it's not clear a single new job will be created.

America, let's call a spade a spade: This package isn't meant to stimulate the economy, it's meant to reshape it.

If President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the progressives really believe that socialism is the best way out of this mess and the best way forward for America, then make the case. Let's debate it and allow the American people to decide.

But what they're doing now — using fear to promote long-term changes to the country — is exactly the kind of thing that has led to the biggest deficit of all: The deficit of trust we now have in our leaders.

Free the terrorists

As President Obama pushes for the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison, the debate over where to house the terror detainees being held there is heating up.

An exclusive video of a former Gitmo detainee's martyrdom tape, obtained by FOX News, is a reminder of the concerns that terror suspects — who have been held but released from Guantanamo Bay — are increasingly returning to the fight against the United States and its allies.

Abdallah Ali al-Ajmi was transferred back to his home country of Kuwait after his release from Guantanamo in 2005. Last April he blew himself up in a homicide attack that killed 12 people in Mosul, Iraq.

Al-Ajmi, known in Guantanamo as Detainee 220, made his martyrdom tape before the attack.

"In the name of Allah, most compassionate, most merciful and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet," al-Ajmi says in the video. "I thank Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who freed me from Guantanamo prison and, after we were tortured, connected me with the Islamic State of Iraq [ISI]. And it is the gift of Allah to follow the path of this nation, the ISI."

In the video, translated by the NEFA Foundation, a non-profit that tracks terror groups, al-Ajmi mentions Guantanamo Bay right away. For many jihadists, having served time at Guantanamo is seen as a badge of honor.

Al-Ajmi's attack is one of the most well known and well documented cases of an ex-Gitmo detainee returning to the battlefield as a homicide bomber. His video renews concerns of many in the intelligence community of the potential consequences by releasing these prisoners.

Sixty-two detainees released from the U.S. Navy base prison in Cuba are believed to have rejoined the fight, said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, citing data from December. That's up from 37 as of March 2008, Morrell said.

The new figures come as President-elect Barack Obama issued an executive order last week to close the controversial prison. It's unlikely, however, that the Guantanamo detention facility will be closed anytime soon as Obama weighs what to do with the estimated 250 Al Qaeda, Taliban or other foreign fighter suspects still there.

I think that Mr. Obama has bitten off more than he can chew. What was he thinking when he decided to halt the trials and close gitmo? These prisoners were not picked out of thin air. They were there for a reason. Because they are terrorists and they are bent on destroying our country as we know it.

Obama can not get it straight.

(CNN) -- Just a couple of nights ago, we heaped praise on the new president for announcing what he called a new era of openness, where in his administration, transparency would rule the day.

And the lobbyists that he was so critical of during the campaign? Well, he told us they will now face even tougher new restrictions.

President Obama: "The executive order on ethics I will sign shortly represents a clean break from business as usual. As of today, lobbyists will be subject to stricter limits than under any other administration in history. If you are a lobbyist entering my administration, you will not be able to work on matters you lobbied on, or in the agencies you lobbied during the previous two years. When you leave government, you will not be able to lobby my administration for as long as I am president."

That's what he said two days ago. But as first reported by Campbell Brown at CNN Thursday, and sadly we are learning more about this Friday, President Obama already wants an exception to his own rule.

You see, what happened is, there is this former lobbyist for a big defense contractor called Raytheon. His name is William Lynn.

President Obama wants him to be deputy defense secretary. So, the Obama administration wants a waiver to its own rule.

That basically means they are saying, we will mostly put tough new restrictions on lobbyists, except when we won't.

Really? Is this how it is going to be?

Please, please don't make us all any more cynical than we already are, Mr. President.
If you have no intention of abiding by your new rules, then don't make new rules. That would be "actual" transparenc

Obama sides with Bush

The Obama administration fell in line with the Bush administration Thursday when it urged a federal judge to set aside a ruling in a closely watched spy case weighing whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants.

In a filing in San Francisco federal court, President Barack Obama adopted the same position as his predecessor. With just hours left in office, President George W. Bush late Monday asked U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to stay enforcement of an important Jan. 5 ruling admitting key evidence into the case.

Thursday's filing by the Obama administration marked the first time it officially lodged a court document in the lawsuit asking the courts to rule on the constitutionality of the Bush administration's warrantless-eavesdropping program. The former president approved the wiretaps in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"The Government's position remains that this case should be stayed," the Obama administration wrote (.pdf) in a filing that for the first time made clear the new president was on board with the Bush administration's reasoning in this case.

The government wants to appeal Walker's decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, a legal maneuver requiring Judge Walker's approval. A hearing in Walker's courtroom is set for Friday.

The legal brouhaha concerns Walker's decision to admit as evidence a classified document allegedly showing that two American lawyers for a now-defunct Saudi charity were electronically eavesdropped on without warrants by the Bush administration in 2004.

The lawyers — Wendell Belew and Asim Ghafoo — sued the Bush administration after the U.S. Treasury Department accidentally released the Top Secret memo to them. At one point, the courts had ordered the document, which has never been made public, returned and removed from the case.

The Obama stimulus plan

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama met with his economic advisers Saturday after he asked Americans to support his economic package as a way to better schools, lower electricity bills and health coverage for millions who lose insurance.

The two-hour session in the Roosevelt Room focused the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package that Congress is considering. The group also discussed the upcoming federal budget, Obama's first chance to shape the country's spending amid a recession that lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most in a single year since World War II.

Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future," Obama said in a five-minute address released Saturday morning by radio and the Internet.

"In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse."

It was the latest appeal from the new president for a massive spending bill designed to inject almost $1 trillion into the economy and fulfill campaign pledges. Obama spent much of last week wooing reluctant legislators -- many from his own Democratic Party -- and weighing whether there's a need for a second economic package, which aides refused to rule out.

That sequel would be designed to assuage Democratic lawmakers who fret that too little of the money is going toward public works projects that would employ their constituents. Others aides are trying to work with Republican leaders to sustain the current bill's bipartisan flavor; the president planned to visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet privately with GOP lawmakers.

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said his party would continue to push for immediate tax cuts -- "not slow-moving government spending programs" -- in the weekly GOP address.

"We let families, entrepreneurs, small businesses and the self-employed keep more of what they earn to encourage investment and create millions of new private-sector jobs," he said.

Republicans also proposed a tax credit for home purchases, an end of taxation of unemployment benefits and tax incentives for small businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new employees. Boehner was scheduled to make the case for the GOP plan on Sunday morning talk shows; Vice President Joe Biden and Obama economic adviser Larry Summers also planned interviews that morning.

"We cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity," Boehner said.

Both parties, though, agree something has to be done.

Manufacturing is at a 28-year low and even Obama's economists say unemployment could top 10 percent before the recession ends. One in 10 homeowners is at risk of foreclosure and the dollar continues its slide in value.

That harsh reality has dominated Obama's first days in office.

In addition to the president's speech, Obama aides released a report Saturday that outlined exactly what people could expect if Congress supported his proposed economic legislation.

Many of the ideas, such as shifting to electronic medical records and investing in preventive health care, were familiar from Obama's two-year campaign for the presidency. Other parts added specifics.

Obama's recovery package aims to:

--Double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources. That is an ambitious goal, given the 30 years it took to reach current levels. Advisers say that could power 6 million households.

--Upgrade 10,000 schools and improve learning for about 5 million students.

--Save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.

--Triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.

--Tighten security at 90 major ports.

The plan would spend at least 75 percent of the total cost -- or more than $600 billion -- within the first 18 months, either through bricks-and-shovels projects favored by Democrats or tax cuts that Republicans have pushed.

There is heavy emphasis on public works projects, which have lagged as state budgets contracted. Governors have lobbied Obama to help them patch holes in their budgets, drained by sinking tax revenues and increased need for public assistance such as Medicaid and children's health insurance. Obama's plan would increase the federal portion of those programs so no state would have to cut any of the 20 million children whose eligibility is now at risk.

Obama still side stepping the hard questions

WASHINGTON -- President Obama paid a surprise visit to members of the White House press corps on Thursday evening when he walked through their working area of the West Wing, but when he was confronted with a question by one of the journalists he quickly became agitated.

According to reports, when Politico's Jonathan Martin asked the president about his nominee for deputy Defense Secretary, William Lynn, Obama refused to answer, saying he was not there to take questions.

"I came down here to visit. I didn't come down here -- this is what happens. I can't end up visiting you guys and shaking hands if I am going to grilled every time I come down here," the president said.

Pressed further by the Politico reporter about his Pentagon nominee, Obama turned more serious, putting his hand on the reporter's shoulder and staring him in the eye.

"Alright, come on" he said, with obvious irritation in his voice. "We will be having a press conference at which time you can feel free to [ask] questions. Right now, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys - that's all I was trying to do," politico.com reported.

The situation came to a close when a cameraman in the room declared: "I'd like to say it one more time: 'Mr. President.'"

The nominee in question, William Lynn, is a former lobbyist for defense contractor Raytheon, a pick Obama made in contradiction to his much-heralded anti-lobbying rules.

Obama was willing to field lighter questions, though.

Yes, he's discovered the gym in the White House residence. No, he hasn't played basketball yet on the outdoor White House court because it's been too cold.

The president's walk-through came without notice, causing a bit of a wild scene. Reporters started running toward him, wary of missing a single word. When one reporter who hadn't spotted Obama yet asked what everyone was rushing toward, another one responded: "The big guy."

Obama made it to the back of the briefing room, in a narrow hallway, where he shook hands.

"I gotta say, it's smaller than I thought," the president said as he looked around for the first time.

He introduced himself to those whom he didn't already know from the long campaign trail and said it would take a little while to learn everyone's names.

The president then continued on, walking by the media outlets' booths on the same floor.
Obama asked about the reasoning behind why certain media outlets had work space where they did. When he got an answer involving the intricacies of press corps protocol, Obama responded: "This is worse than the Middle East here -- who's sitting where and all that stuff."

As he walked through the area where journalists have lunch, Obama noticed a pair of vending machines that dispense soda and junk food.

"Looks like you have some healthy snacks, guys," Obama said.

Then he walked through the basement quarters, where several other news outlets set up shop. He said that was smaller than he expected too.