U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday called for bipartisan cooperation to change the "bad habits" of Washington.

He made the pitch at his first press conference as president.

Obama said he has been reaching out to the Republicans since winning the presidential election last year.

"I made a series of overtures to the Republicans, going over to meet with both Republican caucuses, you know, putting three Republicans in my cabinet -- something that is unprecedented," he said.

Obama said the moves were designed to "try to build up some trust over time."

"And I think that, as I continue to make these overtures, over time, hopefully that will be reciprocated," he said.

Obama made the remarks as the bipartisan divide got worse around the stimulus deal.

The stimulus package passed the House without a single Republican vote and only three Republican senators supported the bill in the Senate.

At the press conference, Obama also cautioned that it could take some time to ease the bipartisan fight.

"It's going to take time to break down some of those bad habits, " he said.

Again, he pleads with Republicans for cooperation on the stimulus bill.

"I can't afford to see Congress play the usual political games. So my bottom line when it comes to the recovery package is: Send me a bill that creates or saves 4 million jobs," said the president.

"I'm going to keep on engaging. I hope that, as we get the Senate and the House bills together, that everybody is willing to give a little bit, "he said.

However, the Republican party doesn't seem to buy into Obama's appeal.

Even before Obama’s first primetime news conference came to a close, National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh released this statement:

"President Obama promised change and bipartisanship in Washington, but that’s not what Americans have witnessed in the crafting of this gargantuan spending bill," it said.

"Despite his rhetoric tonight, President Obama cannot possibly be proud of the final result --a bloated, trillion U.S. dollar spending bill crafted in a partisan manner that represents the same wasteful Washington spending and will fall on the shoulders of future generations," said the statement.

"Unfortunately, this bill is not change, it's more of the same and Senate Democrats will be held accountable for their growing record of fiscal irresponsibility," said the statement.

A CNN poll shows that a partisan divide is evident as 75 percent Democrats support the bill, but that number drops to 51 percent for Independents and just 32 percent for Republicans.

In other words, nearly seven in 10 Republicans oppose the bill.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2009)