Axelrod Won't Rule Out Second Stimulus

With unemployment rates still rising, the White House isn’t ruling out the possibility of a second stimulus package, The Hill reports. On This Week, David Axelrod refused to “prejudge” the issue. But on Face the Nation, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour countered, “The real long-term effect is very negative on interest rates, inflation, and the value of the dollar.”

Tension over reform bills ruled the Sunday airwaves in a week dominated by the King of Pop:

• Axelrod said President Obama wrote the family of Michael Jackson a letter of condolence. The top adviser also called GOP concerns about the climate change legislation “a phony issue” and vowed Washington’s health reform bill “will be bipartisan by definition.”
• But Chuck Grassley took issue with the claim, saying, “Republicans are not going to be hoodwinked into calling that a bipartisan bill.”
• On Fox News Sunday, Mitch McConnell, who consistently dodged questions about Mark Sanford, said senior citizens will be hurt by the Democrats’ health care reform plan.
• Ray Odierno said Iraqi security forces are ready to assume control from US troops on Tuesday. “This is the time for us to move out of the cities and for them to take ultimate responsibility,” the top American commander in Iraq told State of the Union.

(More David Axelrod stories.)