From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Does bipartisanship really matter?

Hello again, I'm Arminolny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look of the issues Americans care about most.

President Obama ended his first full week in office with an appeal to America's middle class. A daily look of the issues, Americans care about most. President Obama ended his first

full week in office with an appeal to America's middle class, appointing a task force to be

headed by Vice President Biden. Will that appeal to Republicans around the country and set their

congressional leaders off stride? House Republicans gave Obama a warm welcome on Capitol Hill,

but not a single vote for his stimulus package.

Will bipartisanship raise its head in the Senate? Some Democrats are complaining that the president's made too many concessions, especially on tax cuts, when GOP help isn't needed to pass a bill.

Today we'll get an early progress report on emerging strategies and the prospects for

action with New Blood in the White House. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and

Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation, supporting social entrepreneurs around the world. Uncommon Heroes dedicated to the Common Good. Learn more at Skoll.org.

Hello again, Mormon Olney, back with To the Point. Barack Obama won big, but he's been spending his first few days in the White House reaching out to Republicans.

So far, they haven't reached back.

Whatever adds up in the stimulus package, the economy is likely to get worse.

So which side is outsmarting the other?

We'll hear different answers today.

First, this news update, the U.S. economy shrank last year, but not as fast as expected.

Instead of a predicted drop of 5.1% in the gross domestic product, it was 3.8.

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