BY DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY BILL BURTON

Aboard Air Force One

En Route Washington, D.C.

6:30 P.M. PDT

MR. BURTON:  Good afternoon.  The President made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics.  He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world.

All right.  Do you guys need anything?  You’ve got the guidance, you’ve got –

Q    Do you when we’re going to get Geithner’s bank plan out — any plan on the banks?

MR. BURTON:  Soon, but I don’t have a date for you?

Q    Soon?  Like a week soon, or next week soon?

MR. BURTON:  Soon, but I don’t have a date.  I’ll keep you posted, though.  You’ll be the first person I tell.

Q    Very first.  I’ll hold you to that.

MR. BURTON:  — and you second.  (Laughter.)

Q    CNN will be the first.  (Laughter.)  Anything on autos — any other new plans on autos coming out?

MR. BURTON:  No, nothing beyond what happened today with the auto suppliers.

So if you guys think of any good, tough questions, I’m just a couple feet away.

Q    What about — so Dodd is basically putting the entire burden of the change that was made in the stimulus plan language on the bonuses on the administration.  Is he being fair?

MR. BURTON:  Having been on planes and helicopters all day long, I can’t say that I’ve seen the full extent of all the remarks that were made.  So I’m just going to refer you to Secretary Geithner’s interview with CNN where he addressed the issue.

All right.

END             6:32 P.M. PDT

First, the news: Speaking to the nation’s governors in the State Dining Room, POTUS tapped VP Joe Biden to oversee the implementation of the stimulus package and “keep things on track,” and he officially named Earl V. Delaney as inspector general to dig out fraud, abuse and waste as the money is spent on the federal level.

Many of you may recognize Earl as the dogged (and very busy) IG for the Interior Department during the last administration. Delaney was there but didn’t speak; he raised his hand when recognized by POTUS: “He looks like an inspector general,” Obama said. “He’s tough. He barely cracks a smile.”

Biden did speak directly after POTUS — for a record 16 seconds. “Let’s get to work. Let’s make this work,” Biden said.

He also announced that on Wednesday would release $15 billion to the states to help shore up their Medicaid funds. (White House is sending remarks from event related to this)

“That means that by the time you get home, money will be waiting to help 20-million vulnerable Americans in your states keep their health coverage,” Obama said.

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Your pool was ushered into the Red Room, adjacent the State Dining Room on the west side side of the White House, at 9:52 a.m. to find the doors to the State Dining Room closed. We amused ourselves by marveling over the decor – deep red fabric wall paper, a portrait of Angelica Van Buren looking down from over the white marble mantle; an Albert Bierstadt painting, “Rocky Mountain Landscape” on the opposite wall and, on the north wall, “Florida Sunrise,” a painting by Martin Johnson Heade.

One gets the sense it would be nice to wander out French doors of the neighboring Blue Room to the veranda overlooking the Elipse and the Washington Monument for a stogie and a cordial, then retire to the Red Room for Scrabble.

During his speech, which ran 12 minutes, 25 seconds, POTUS looked towards Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, who were to his right, and complained that much of the rat-tat-tat-tat on the “cable news” about the stimulus package was over picuyune stuff, and urged the governors to help make the money in the bill work for their people.

Quotes, color TK

Wes Allison