WASHINGTON // President-elect Barack Obama kicks off his three-state "Whistle Stop Tour" today, mirroring Abraham Lincoln's historic 1861 journey by train from Philadelphia to Washington. Mr Obama will speak in Philadelphia today before he and his family depart on their journey accompanied by a group of "everyday Americans" who have met Mr Obama or vice president-elect Joe Biden at some point and told them a compelling story. Capacity crowds are expected at the inauguration celebration in Washington and the 135-mile trip, with various stops along the way, is aimed at allowing as many people as possible to participate in the celebrations.
Yesterday Mr Obama made a pitch for his massive economic stimulus plan at a Midwestern factory that manufactures wind turbine parts, saying his proposal would help create solid jobs in up-and-coming industries. "Renewable energy isn't something pie in the sky. It's not part of a far-off future. It's happening all across America right now," Mr Obama told workers yesterday in a Cleveland suburb. "It can create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries if we act right now."
Just days before taking the oath of office as the 44th president, Mr Obama used the factory as a backdrop as he sought to generate support from the public - constituents of sceptical Republicans and Democrats in Congress - for his pricey plan to pull the country out of recession. Mr Obama held the campaign-style event a day after the Senate agreed to give him access to the second half of last fall's $700 billion financial industry bailout and House Democrats unveiled an $825bn stimulus package. One of the largest bills ever to make its way through Congress, it calls for federal spending of roughly $550bn and tax cuts of $275bn over the next two years to revive the sickly economy.
It also focuses heavily on energy, education, health care and jobs-producing motorway construction. Seeking to counter critics' claims of excessive spending and too few tax cuts, Mr Obama cast the package as necessary to create long-lasting, well-paying jobs in industries such as alternative energy, and help hard-hit industrial states such as Ohio now and in the future. "It's not too late to change course - but only if we take dramatic action as soon as possible," Mr Obama said.
Also two US officials said Mr Obama was preparing to prohibit the use of waterboarding and harsh interrogation techniques by ordering the CIA to follow military rules for questioning prisoners. The proposal Mr Obama is considering would require all CIA interrogators to follow conduct outlined in the US army field manual, the officials said. The plans would also have the effect of shutting down secret "black site" prisons around the world, they said. The new rules would abandon a part of outgoing President George W Bush's counterterrorism policy that has been condemned internationally.
* AP
