Obama renews push for economic stimulus plan

"On the House side they seem to be moving toward a vote on Wednesday, and unless there are some real changes in the bill, I can't imagine there will be much if any Republican support," said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House minority leader John A. Boehner, an Ohio Republican

Boehner gave a radio address of his own yesterday, in which he called for a stimulus plan that relies mostly on tax cuts - "not slow-moving government spending programs."

Boehner cast the proposal by Obama and Democratic leaders as fraught with wasteful spending. He cited plans to pump $6 billion into wealthy colleges and universities; set aside $600 million for the federal government to buy new cars and lay out $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Even though the main action is in Congress, both Obama and the Republicans want to mobilize voters. If Boehner wanted to stoke outrage, Obama's strategy is to persuade Americans that the stimulus would improve their lives in concrete ways.

The White House says the plan will modernize 10,000 schools, improving the classroom setting for 5 million school children. A centerpiece is alternative energy. Obama is proposing to reduce energy costs by weatherizing two million homes and 75 percent of all federal buildings.