GOPer: Obama Said Stimulus Package Will Impact His Legacy

At a meeting with Republican leadership in the House of Representatives, President Barack Obama acknowledged that passage of a stimulus package will impact his legacy and possibly his chances for reelection, according to the no. 2 ranking House Republican.

"He talked a lot about whether he would be reelected," said Minority Whip Eric Cantor, shortly after leaving the midday meeting. "He talked about the fact that this is about his legacy and what kind of America he wants to leave his children. He said that he didn't want -- if he had his druthers, he didn't want a huge stimulus to be his first mark on the legislative process but he said it was that important."

Obama's political investment in passing a stimulus package does appear to be growing by the day. This is his second meeting with House Republicans since taking office -- for Cantor, his third. But the president's efforts in recruiting bipartisan support for the legislation have largely gone unrewarded. Republican leaders blamed the impasse on their Democratic counterparts, not the president. They left the gathering on Tuesday to convene and refine their alternative bill.

Earlier in the day their were conflicting reports over the extent to which House Republicans would oppose the White House-backed stimulus -- which comes to a vote on Wednesday. Majority Leader John Boehner reportedly told his colleagues to form a united front against passage of the bill. But another aide told the Huffington Post that GOPers would be open to supporting the measure provided their were tweaks.

Leaving the gathering shortly before House members, Obama described the exchange as "cordial."

"I recognize that we're not going to get 100 percent of support but I think everybody there felt good about that I'm willing to explain how I put the package together, how we were thinking about it," he said.