(Image source: The New York Times)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

You're watching multisource politics news analysis from Newsy. 

It’s a $447 billion jobs plan -- and President Obama unveiled it with a plea to Congress.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: “I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. … Pass this jobs bill. … Pass this jobs bill. … You should pass it right away. … You should pass it right away.”

And that was just the first ten minutes! But will Congress get the message?

Rice University history professor Douglas Brinkley tells CNN -- not likely. Not all of it anyway.

“President Obama’s running against the economy and he had to create this jobs bill. He had a good name for it. He talked about a fair shake for the American people. And so I think it's a winner for President Obama tonight. But I don't think it's anything historic. It's just some more stimulus that most of it is going to be rejected.”

Among the president’s proposals -- subsidies to stop teacher layoffs -- infrastructure spending -- and cutting payroll taxes in half. And he says -- it’s all paid for.

But a Bloomberg correspondent notes -- all the speeches in the world won’t do any good if Republicans don’t get on board.

“If it is just a political speech, then it will not be all that helpful. The real crux of the matter is to see if the president can try to challenge Republicans successfully to say that these are programs that will help the middle class, help small businesses, and if Republicans can't concede to some of the plants, it will be considered a success by the White House standards.”

Still - a New York Times editorial published shortly after the speech calls the plan a good start -- noting it marked a shift in tone for the president.

“...[Americans] heard a president who was lately passive but now newly energized, who passionately contrasted his vision of a government that plays its part in tough times with the Republicans’ vision of a government starved of the means to do so. … [H]e was authoritative in demanding that Congress pass his plan quickly and in laying out its benefits for average Americans.”

No official Republican response to the speech -- but one of the president’s GOP presidential challengers -- Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann -- delivered her own rebuttal. None of the cable networks carried it live -- but CNN’s Anderson Cooper aired this excerpt:

"I stand here tonight to say to the president not only should Congress not pass his plan, I say, Mr. President, stop. Your last plan hasn't worked and it's hurting the American economy. Instead of temporary fixes, do what has worked in the past. Permanent, pro-growth policies that are driven by the free market."

President Obama said he’ll also be unveiling a detailed deficit reduction package in the near future.



Transcript by Newsy.