Obama Bets Political Future on Economic Stimulus

Not even a month into his presidency, Barack Obama has bet his administration on his economic stimulus package succeeding.

At a town hall rally in Fort Myers, Fla, where the president promoted the bill, he said that in "a few years from now" if his prescriptions haven't worked and people don't feel like he's led the country in the right direction, "then you'll have a new president."

That was a clear reference to his likely re-election bid in four years.

Obama said he won't make any excuses if he fails in his effort to turn the economy around or improve the health care system.

"I won't lie to you," he said.

Obama hailed the Senate's passage of the massive stimulus bill.

"That's good news," the president said repeatedly in announcing the Senate's action to the crowd, as people jumped to their feet and cheered.

Obama joked that senators advanced their plan because they knew he was coming Florida.

"They didn't want to mess with people from Fort Myers," he said with a laugh, drawing loud cheers from the crowd. "They said they didn't want folks from Fort Myers mad at us."

Unemployment in Fort Myers, among the hardest-hit areas in the country by mortgage foreclosures, has climbed to 10 percent as of December, more than triple the rate just two years earlier. Nearly 12,000 jobs were lost in the past year in a town of  64,000-plus.

Obama announced that he will unveil an "overall housing strategy" in the weeks ahead, but he's already looking at ways to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Obama told the audience that there needs to be a system in which banks recognize that it's in their best interest not to foreclose on homes.

Obama called for Democrats and Republicans to work together as he appeared at a town hall forum, his second in as many days.

Rebuilding the crumbling economy is "a mission that transcends party," Obama said.

"When the town is burning, you don't check party labels," he told the crowd. "Everybody needs to grab a hose."

Obama said that's what Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican and an unlikely ally, was doing. Crist introduced Obama, calling on bipartisan support of the stimulus package.

"This issue, helping our country, is about helping our country," Crist said. "This is not about partisan politics. It's about rising above that, helping American and reigniting our economy."

The Senate's passaged of a $838 billion stimulus bill Tuesday sets the stage for possibly contentious negotiations with the House on a final compromise on legislation. Congressional leaders hope to get the bill to Obama's desk by President's Day, this Monday.

The Senate will be entering negotiations with House lawmakers with most of the leverage. Even though their plan is bigger than the $819 billion House version, it calls for different ratios of tax credits to spending programs.

Centrist senators who drafted the compromise aren't eager to see much of their bill revised by negotiators. Once negotiators introduce a compromise bill, it cannot be changed but it can be filibustered.

Three weeks into his presidency, Obama is discovering how much more difficult governing can be than campaigning. He failed to win over the Republicans he courted for his economic plan while some of his supporters have wondered if he has yielded too much ground in the pursuit of bipartisanship.

Yet Obama's approval ratings remain high -- 67 percent according to a Gallup poll released Monday. He is trying to tap into that popularity to win public and congressional support for his economic recovery plan as the country faces its worst economic downturn in 80 years.

Obama worked to build public support for quick passage of the economic recovery plan in his first nationally televised press conference Monday night. He warned that if Congress risks turning "a crisis into a catastrophe" if it fails to approve the measure.

Obama defended the stimulus plan, saying the federal government "is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life."

"The plan is not perfect," the president said. "No plan is. I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.