President Obama sat down with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders on Tuesday to discuss jobs and the economy in an effort to create legislation that transcends party lines.

Though he acknowledged that the parties won't agree on every single item, Obama said that Americans are frustrated with the lack of progress and there should be more agreement on some issues.

After he finished with the leaders, Obama appeared in the White House briefing room for a surprise appearance, and joked to reporters about bipartisan progress, saying Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell were "out doing snow angels together on the South Lawn."

But partisanship poses a serious problem that is far from being fixed. Both Republicans and Democrats are saying, "We're ready to cooperate right now. All you need to do is go along with what we want" said the Associated Press. But neither side seems prepared to take the steps necessary for true bipartisanship.

There was some optimism, however, that leaders could come together on a new jobs bill. According to CNN, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said that the Senate could pass a bill by working through this weekend.

The stimulus package is going to be roughly $80 billion, said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. The push would supplement an already improving unemployment rate that fell into single digits last month, from 10 to 9.7 percent.

But whatever job package is passed will most likely be done in a "series of incremental steps," said Obama. Since the two parties have different ideas on stimulating job growth, leaders must build trust along party lines, said the Christian Science Monitor.

"Bipartisan cannot mean simply that Democrats give up everything that they believe in, find the handful of things that Republicans have been advocating for, and we do those things, and then we have bipartisanship,'' Obama said. ''There's got to be some give and take.''

In a similar effort to decrease partisanship, Obama has scheduled a health care summit on February 25 to open discussion by both parties on the issue.

The future success of the summit, however, is yet to be determined. Earlier on Tuesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner "had stood outside the White House and openly questioned whether Obama's bipartisan health care summit will have any value," said the Christian Science Monitor.

Despite the negativity, the Tuesday meeting was only the first of a series of monthly gatherings of bipartisan leadership. Only time will tell whether or not they have any influence on advancing the legislation that the country demands.