President-elect Barack Obama's Chief of Staff has said that politics is going to be on bi-partisan basis as the challenges facing the U.S. are such that it requires all parties to be involved in the process.
"President Obama is very clear... we have to govern in a bipartisan fashion. And if you look at the way his campaign is run and also the ideas, he has always said that we have to be bipartisan," Rahm Emnauel said on ABC's Sunday programme.
"The challenges are big enough that there's going to be an ability for people of both parties, as well as independents, to contribute ideas to help meet the challenges on health care, energy, tax reform, education," he said.
"So, that is the tone. That is the policy. And that is exactly how we're going to go forward. And he has said it for us," he said.
"Because the challenges... whether on the national security front or on the economy, are looming large, and they're going to require both parties and leaders of both parties, as well as independents, to offer up ideas as to how to meet those challenges," Emanuel, a known tough no-nonsense person, remarked.
The incoming chief of staff stressed that on the economic front one of the things that will be meriting a high order of attention is the goings on in the auto industry; with a second being another stimulus package.
"...first, the auto industry is an essential part of our economy, an essential part of our industrial base. Second, they should look at accelerating the USD 25 billion that was offered for retooling for the industry, going forward.
"Third, there are other authorities within the administration they should use at this immediate time. And, fourth, President-elect Obama has asked his economic team to look at different options of what it takes to help bridge the auto industry so they are a part of not only a revived economy but part of an energy policy, going forward, where America is less dependent on foreign oil," Emanuel said.
"There is no doubt that a larger economic recovery act, as President-elect Obama has said repeatedly, must do two things. One, get people working rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our schools, our basic infrastructure that allows the economy to be very productive. Second, there should be a tax rebate to the middle class," he said.
"...You cannot have a strong and resilient economy that does not have a strong and resilient middle class. They have been squeezed over the last number of years. And it is essential to have an economic strategy that strengthens them going forward," Emanuel said.
Speaking of his own role, Emanuel said he is going to be focused on the basic problems. He has been hailed as the good choice in many quarters but some have also attacked him.
"... the business of what we have to do when we get sworn in is focusing on what the American people care about.
Priority one is the economy," he added.