President Barack Obama met for more than two hours with Republican members of Congress today, making the case for his economic-stimulus plan and submitting himself to questions.

"A week after being sworn into office, Mr. Obama returned to the Capitol for the first of what his advisers said would be frequent visits with members of Congress," the New York Times reported. "Yet it was still a rare event for a president, particularly a Democratic one, to sit down with the entire Republican conference. ...

"It was far too early to say whether Mr. Obama’s visit to Capitol Hill would attract any more Republican votes for the economic recovery plan that is scheduled to be considered on Wednesday in the House. But officials from both sides said it was the beginning of a dialogue between Congressional Republicans and the White House that did not exist even when George W. Bush was in the Oval Office."

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