That Was Fast – White House Backs Off From Jobs Act Ultimatum

Just this morning, White House adviser David Axelrod went on network television and laid down an ultimatum about the president's jobs bill:

Obama's top political adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday that the administration was unwilling to break up the president’s $447 billion jobs plan if Republicans were only receptive to passing certain elements.

"We're not in a negotiation to break up the package. It's not an à la carte menu. It's a strategy to get this country moving,” Axelrod said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"The president has a package; the package works together. We need to do many things to get this economy moving," Axelrod said.

That was just a few hours ago. The Hill is now reporting that the White House is indeed willing to deal:

President Obama wants Congress to pass his jobs bill as is and quickly, but he would not veto individual bills if Congress broke the American Jobs Act into pieces.

Senior administration officials said that if House Republicans were to separate the employee payroll tax cuts, for example, Obama would sign that bill and then demand that Congress move forward with the rest of the package.

If the White House wants to appear both weak and indecisive, they're doing a pretty good job of that today.