Barack Obama Seeks Democrat Votes For $350 Billion Bailout

WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama has asked Democratic senators not to stand in the way of an additional $350 billion in bailout funds, calling the money essential to helping the troubled economy.

Obama made his pitch in a meeting in the Capitol, where he attended the Democratic senators’ closed-door luncheon.

Lawmakers who emerged from the session said the president-elect pledged to correct what they believe were shortcomings in the way the Bush administration handled the first $350 billion. They added he would veto any attempt to block his own administration’s use of the funds.