Obama has hinted that he's willing to let Congress inflate the price tag of his recovery plan beyond the initial $775 billion. His proposal combines a large dose of spending - for bridges and roads, medical research and modernizing federal buildings - with tax cuts for nearly all working Americans and emergency financial aid to help hard-pressed state governments provide health care for the poor.
What seems more important to him is the level of bipartisan support he receives. Obama made it clear in private talks with lawmakers that he wants a substantial number of Republican votes. That's smart politics, since getting a lot of Republicans on board would give him cover.
Obama "doesn't want to own" the recovery plan by himself, explained a Republican Senate aide. "He needs Republicans, so that it will be everybody's" plan.
Broad support would also help Obama preserve his political capital, which is at its peak at the start of a new presidency.
Reagan, in his first year, brought more change to Washington than any president of the last four decades. His deep "economic recovery" tax cut and huge increase in military spending were only possible with help from Democrats, who controlled the House and gave the president what he wanted.
Hoyer said Obama can enjoy a similar degree of early success "if some Republicans are as cooperative as some Democrats were" back then. He punctuated the remark with a wry smile; Democrats still believe they got rolled by Reagan, whose popularity made many in their party afraid to oppose him.
Obama, who envisions changes at least as large as the ones that Reagan engineered, may not be as feared. But he also won't need as many votes from the opposition, since Democrats control both houses of Congress.
"At least in the next couple of years, Obama can get his way with little or no Republican support," said John J. Pitney Jr., a political scientist who worked for House Republicans during the Reagan era.
For now, he indicated, Republican lawmakers would be foolish to attack Obama too aggressively, given his high poll ratings and the public's desire to see him get off to a good start.
"I think a lot of people are pulling for him to succeed, even a lot of Republicans," he said. "Because if he fails, their retirement accounts go in the dumpster."
