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Jon Ralston's post | Latest updates on Sulia

Obama during stimulus negotiations: "We will not roll out an aggressive housing plan"

That's what the president said to congressional Democratic leaders during the to and fro on passing the stimulus, according to a sneak peek I have been able to get at Bob Woodward's new book, "The Price of Politics." The exchange comes early in the book, on Page 8: "'What about the thousands of homeowners who owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth?' asked (Sen. Dick) Durbin. ‘We will not roll out an aggressive housing plan,’ Obama said, and it would not be part of the stimulus bill. The housing problem was massive and baffling, and none of them had solid ideas for fixing it.” Really? No kidding. That quote could go a long way to helping Team Romney blunt their guy's awkward comment to the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board last year, when he said the solution to the housing crisis was to let the market "hit bottom." Obama's seemingly dismissive tone in that excerpt, suggesting it wasn't the key to any economic solution, will be fodder for Mitt Romney here and elsewhere. Mark my words.