While the bill's $253 billion in tax cuts could well draw support from Republicans, an additional $194 billion in new spending likely will prove a harder sell. The president asked for the money to fund highway and other construction projects, modernize schools, stabilize blighted neighborhoods and help states hire teachers and first responders. "The president's plan is nothing new," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the senior Republican on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee. With a nod to deficit hawks -- independent voters among them -- Obama also said he would outline legislation in coming days to offset the bill's $447 billion price tag so it wouldn't add to federal deficits. Politics shadowed every element of Obama's speech. He appealed to people watching on TV to lobby lawmakers to act. He did the same thing before his speech in an email to campaign supporters, bringing howls of hypocrisy from Republicans who wondered why Obama was telling them to put party above country.
