Putin's Nod to Obama Win; Grading President Obama's Policies
MALVEAUX: President Obama is mixing pleasure and business on his Hawaiian vacation in between some golf and other outings. You can bet that he's, obviously, preparing for a challenging new year. Our new poll shows that more than a fourth of Americans hope that Mr. Obama's policies will fail in the months ahead. That's up slightly from a year ago. My colleague, senior white house correspondent, Ed Henry, well, he's with the president in Hawaii. The president, obviously, Ed, may want to get some rest while he can. He got a lot done this last year, but he's got a lot on his plate coming up, huh?</s>ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, Suzanne. I mean, the way you laid that out. He's certainly going to want to get a little bit of R and R here in Hawaii. He's got a lot of big challenges waiting for him back there in Washington in 2011. But, it actually feel pretty good inside the White House and here in Hawaii, some of the White House staffers who are travelling that he's ending the year on a high note because of all those victories in the lame-duck session in Congress. But the big question moving forward really is will this kind of new found bipartisanship really last?</s>HENRY (voice-over): To hear the president tell it, bickering with the Republicans is so 2010.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of folks in this town predicted that after the midterm elections, Washington would be headed for more partisanship and more gridlock. And instead, this has been a season of progress, and it's a message that I will take to heart in the New Year. And I hope my Democratic and Republican friends will do the same</s>HENRY: But with the Republican, John Boehner, taking the speaker's gavel, that rosy scenario will be tested immediately in 2011. Because both parties will now have to agree on a long-term budget after kicking the can down the road on all those spending cuts the tea party was demanding, and the president's own debt panel was proposing to no avail.</s>OBAMA: I expect we'll have a robust debate about this when we return from the holidays. The debate that will have to answer an increasingly urgent question, and that is how do we cut spending that we don't need while still making investments that we do need.</s>HENRY: With the federal cash register tapped out, it will be, especially, difficult to tackle the president's biggest challenge of all.</s>OBAMA: My singular focus over the next two years is not rescuing the economy from potential disaster but rather jump-starting the economy so that we actually start making a dent in the unemployment rate.</s>HENRY: Mr. Obama also may face resistance to his economic plans from both liberals still smarting from the tax deal he just cut, and conservatives determine to repeal his health reform law. A Republican-turned independent is urging both sides to give the new balance of power a chance.</s>SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI, (R) ALASKA: Let's figure out how we deal with some of these very, very difficult issues, whether it's tax policy or whether it's going to be what we're going to be doing on spending. We've got enough that we need to do that we don't need to get weighted down in the partisan politics.</s>HENRY: Music to the ears of White House aides trying to hammer the message that Republicans now have a responsibility to govern.</s>ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They can't afford any long to just simply sit and say no. They have to be part of a constructive conversation.</s>HENRY: Suzanne, senior aides say the president is already starting to work on his State of the Union address which should be at the end of January. And you can expect that to be a major theme, just what you heard from Robert Gibbs. This idea that now the Republicans are running at least half of Capitol Hill, they have to meet the president halfway on some of these big issues, especially the economy, Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: And Ed, obviously, one of those issues is going to be creating jobs. I understand that the president is going to try to get a head-start, a jump-start on 2011. What are you hearing?</s>HENRY: Well, you know what, they're already kicking around with some of the ideas that will be in the State of the Union address. They don't want to preview too much of it. But, I mean, they're running up against the fact that because they've spent so much money in that tax deal, they don't have a whole lot of money to spend for some brand-new initiative. There can't be a -- what would now, essentially, be a third stimulus package. So instead, they're looking at some other initiatives in the education area, in the job-creating area to maybe get this economy boosted -- Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: All right, Ed, enjoy the rest of your covering the president there in Hawaii and safe travels back.</s>HENRY: Coming to a close, unfortunately. Thanks, you, too.</s>MALVEAUX: Thanks, Ed. Well, a new pat on the back of sorts for President Obama from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin today praised the new START nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States. It is Putin's first remarks on the pact since the U.S. Senate approved it last week, one of the big wins for President Obama during the final days of a lame duck Congress. We are monitoring other top important stories, including four suspects arrested for allegedly plotting what is being called an imminent terror attack in Denmark. The details of what authorities have uncovered. Plus, two people are trapped following a massive explosion at a Michigan furniture store. We'll have the latest on rescue efforts underway right now.