Day: February 23, 2009

Just a month into his presidency, Barack Obama has had to deal with everything from Cabinet missteps that have strained his "no-drama Obama" image to an economic crisis that seems to worsen by the day.

But with his approval ratings high and his presidential honeymoon far from over, he will seek to regain momentum this week and build on an early flurry of legislative successes, financial initiatives and diplomatic moves.

After an evening of black tie grandeur at the White House, governors planned to return Monday morning for a business meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss how to spend the economic stimulus money soon flowing to their states.

Concluding a three-day winter meeting of the National Governors Association devoted largely to a discussion of the stimulus bill, governors planned to bring questions and offer ideas to Obama at a 90-minute meeting Monday morning.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat and the NGA chairman, said he planned to press the president on the need for more investment in infrastructure projects like road and bridge repair going forward.

President Barack Obama is bringing together dozens of advisers and adversaries to discuss how to curb a burgeoning federal deficit laden with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid obligations.

Obama’s summit at the White House on Monday is the first meeting toward a strategy to address the long-term fiscal health of the nation. The gathering also comes as Obama prepares ambitious plans to cut the federal deficit by half within four years.