Republican Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.) said he is not trying to obscure congressional Republicans' complaints about a lack of cooperation on the stimulus plan even as he appeared at an event with President Obama.
No, Crist said that his appearance with Obama in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday was a matter of pragmatism.
"I would love for [congressional Republicans] to be able to inject more into the discussion," Crist told The Hill on Tuesday afternoon. "Bipartisanship is a two-way street, after all."
Congressional Republicans argue that Obama's pledge of bipartisanship is not holding true in the negotiations on the stimulus package. They claim Democrats are ramming the plan through Congress.
But Crist said in a telephone interview that while Republicans in Washington are howling about the spending and the size of the plan, "obviously, this bill's passing, so I'm trying to be practical and pragmatic and make sure Florida gets its share."
Obama made it clear in his first primetime press conference Monday night that passing his stimulus package is more of a priority than changing the hyper-partisan traditions of Washington.
But the president said his extended outreach to Republicans since taking office is part of a long-term effort to build trust.
Enter Crist.
The popular Florida governor was widely credited with helping Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) win the Florida primary, propelling him to his partys presidential nomination.
The president stood with Crist in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday and said that Crist "shares my conviction that creating jobs and turning this economy around is a mission that transcends party."
"When the town is burning, we don't check party labels," Obama said. "Everyone needs to grab a hose."
The Senate passed its version of the stimulus package scored by the Congressional Budget Office at $838 billion on Tuesday, but only three Republicans voted with Democrats on Monday's cloture vote. And in the House, not a single Republican crossed the aisle to vote for
the package.
As a result, Republicans took to the airwaves, arguing that Obama's pledge of bipartisan cooperation was largely talk after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hijacked the bill in favor of massive spending with little
stimulative value.
To combat what was largely viewed as a week of lost messaging, Obama set out for the road this week, with a stop in Elkhart, Ind., on Monday and Tuesday's Florida trip.
But Tuesday saw a new addition to the Obama strategy of going around Washington to rally support for the plan: He is now putting a public face on his argument that Republican governors and mayors are backing his efforts.
The president met with Republican Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas at the White House last week, but the meeting was largely ignored in the media. Crist carries much more political heft when Obama makes his argument for bipartisanship, and his political potential he was discussed as a finalist to be McCain's running mate, and there is talk he could be a Senate candidate in 2010 or a presidential candidate in 2012 raises his profile.
Thus the Florida governor provided the new Democratic president with some welcome blocking Tuesday as Obama argued that the economic crisis is too severe to be crippled by partisan Washington gridlock.
"Gov. Crist and governors across the country understand that," Obama said. "Mayors across the country understand that. And I think you understand that, too."
Crist acknowledged that his appearance with Obama could be blunting the effectiveness of the Washington GOP's daily cries of being shut out of the stimulus negotiations, but he said as "Florida's CEO," he has to worry about his state.
Crist said he has been to six Florida unemployment offices in the past five weeks and seen firsthand the economic crisis that Obama is tasked with correcting.
"It's very tangible to me," Crist said.
That and the fact Florida's budget has been cut by $7 billion in the last two years has Crist saying he expects there to be more severe cuts coming.
"It's getting harder every day," he said.
So Crist said that when the Obama administration was "kind enough to invite us," it was a "great honor."
On the Air Force One trip to Florida, the president was asked why no Republican members had joined him on the trip.
"We couldn't find any that wanted to go with us," he joked, before adding: "We got a governor."