44, Day 23: Happy for an Almost Win

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

-President Obama did a roundtable interview today with local newspapers. The points he made, according to a wrap-up from Politico.com: he's optimistic the stimulus bill will pass quickly, he's wants Congress to send him a auto bailout plan that works, he likes Maine's two Republican senators, and he won't take sides in a UNC-Duke basketball game.

-Before he spoke to those papers, he granted the first print interview of his presidency (Obama's made the rounds on TV already) to Black Enterprise magazine. The interview is here.

-On day three of Obama's tour into America to sell his economic plan, he didn't go too far. He hit Springfield, Virginia, and talked up what he said where the job creation aspects of the stimulus bill. Read his remarks here.

-After the Virginia event, Obama got the news that congressional negotiators had reached an agreement on a final stimulus plan. Needless to say, the president was happy. "I want to thank the Democrats and Republicans in Congress who came together around a hard-fought compromise that will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs and get our economy back on track," he said in a statement.

-Obama today made the switch to digital TV official by signing a bill to push back the transition from next week to June 12. Grandparents across the country should be very happy.

by J. Jennings Moss

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Politico, Black Enterprise, and the White House.