44, Day 22: On the Road Again

A ongoing log of the daily activities of the 44th president of the United States and what they might mean for business:

-President Obama had his second campaign-style event away from Washington to stump for his stimulus plan. Today, he went to Fort Myers, Florida. And by his side, he had the state's Republican governor Charles Crist. The president seems to be getting more support for his economic plan from GOP governors and normally Republican friendly business groups than he is from Republicans in Congress. By now, Obama's pitch is well known: if Congress doesn't pass the stimulus, the nation might face a catastrophe. Read the latest remarks here.

-The new president is getting used to arguably the best perk of being commander in chief, that blue and white 747 called Air Force One. See some photos here.

-Back in Washington, the Senate passed its version of the stimulus bill. As with a key procedural vote Monday, all Democrats and both independents voted for the massive spending bill while only three Republicans (Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania) backed it.

-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a vague plan to continue the rescue of financial institutions. It wasn't received too well, as all of the major U.S. markets lost more than 4 percent of their value. But the U.S. dollar had a good day.

-The president held his first full press conference in the White House on Monday night (that would be on Day 21). Read a transcript here.

-White House transparency watch: Geithner said the public would be able to follow how the bank bailout funds are spent at a new site, FinancialStability.gov, but not much is there yet. Will they wait until everything is signed, sealed, and delivered as they are with the special website to track how the stimulus funds are spent, Recovery.gov?
by J. Jennings Moss

Sources: AFP, Associated Press, CNNMoney, the New York Times, and the White House.

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