Obama Wants Bailout Funds for Jobs

Is this the bailout for Main Street that some have been clamoring for? White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Friday that President Barack Obama is likely to endorse using part of the government’s $700 billion financial bailout package for a new jobs-creation program. About $139 billion of TARP money remains unallocated and available, while the government has an additional $10 billion in interest and dividends and $71 billion that has been repaid. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he wanted to use the TARP money to reduce the national debt, but Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats have been crafting a jobs bill that would use the money. Obama, meanwhile, will announce his jobs program on Tuesday.