Obama’s Sweetened Stimulus

The president-elect is back in Washington and wasting no time promoting his big pre-inauguration plan, the Obama stimulus. Its biggest hurdle: congressional Republicans, whom Obama is pledging to consult after leaving them out of the initial negotiations on the package. “The monopoly on good ideas does not belong to a single party. If it’s a good idea, we will consider it,” he told congressional leaders. Early reports are he’s getting favorable reviews from Republicans, particularly for his decision to increase the tax-cut ratio to 40 percent of the stimulus package. GOP leaders say the legislation should be signed into law by mid-February; Obama, who spoke on Capitol Hill yesterday of a “very sick” economy, would like to see a bill by the end of the month.