Tag: stimulus

Obama gives Biden the Stimulus.

Well, at least it isn’t foreign policy.

(Via Hot Air Headlines) Why, what could possibly go wrong?

Obama Taps Biden to Oversee Stimulus Package Implementation

President Obama has turned to his own vice president to oversee implementation of the $787 billion economic stimulus package, part of which will be available this week for state Medicaid programs.

Obama announced his decision before the National Governors Association in Washington on Monday, saying Vice President Joe Biden will help ensure the distribution of the money is not just swift, “but also efficient and effective.”

“The fact that I’m asking my vice president to personally lead this effort shows how important it is for our country and future to get this right,” he said.

Well, that, or it shows how important it is for your administration and your future to make sure that what is not going to be a universally beloved program six months from now – to put it mildly – is publicly linked with chains of unbreakable steel to, well, Joe Biden. However, I don’t think that you’ve made it clear enough that you don’t want to be tied to this sucker. May I suggest a moat filled with burning gasoline and maybe some apotropaic symbols burned into the walls?

Moe Lane

Crossposted at RedState.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) must now repair jobs-destroying mistake.

Tell me again about how the American people don’t care about pork.  Chuck.

You know, like you did here:

…because you just realized that they actually do care when it comes to keeping their existing jobs, huh? Continue reading Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) must now repair jobs-destroying mistake.

Mike Lupica thinks that we need to leave Obama alone!

This is Keith Olbermann’s greatest sin, you know.

That is, convincing sports writers that they, too, can be political pundits. Which maybe they can, but this particular example rapidly went from ‘funny’ to ‘sad’:

Naysayers in media and partisans in both parties are undermining Obama

The real wisdom on the current state of American politics comes from the great Walt Kelly, from his Earth Day poster from 1970, the one in which Pogo famously says, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Appropriately enough, the subject of the poster is pollution. There is so much of that going on around the new President these days he probably wants to wear a gas mask.

Look, I have nothing against Walt Kelly – but geez, whenever I see that quote used in a column I immediately groan. It’s a tell. It’s a whining tell. Continue reading Mike Lupica thinks that we need to leave Obama alone!

Jobs ‘saved’ by ‘stimulus’ reduced to 2.5 million.

This week.

Contra Wizbang and Roger Kimball, this is actually the latest estimate of Mark Zandi, not the Obama administration itself. What the Obama administration is merely doing is trying to lower the expectations of their debt bill:

WASHINGTON (Reuters)- President Barack Obama’s aides warned Americans on Sunday not to expect instant miracles from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill he will sign this week, but said it would help eventually.

[I’m snipping the nonsense about how this was Obama’s first major legislative victory. The sentence should more properly read: “It was the legislature’s first major victory over his young presidency.” – ML]

“There will be signs of activity very quickly,” David Axelrod, the White House senior adviser, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “But it’s going to take time for that to show up in the statistics. The president has said it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.”

Continue reading Jobs ‘saved’ by ‘stimulus’ reduced to 2.5 million.

Good morning, Senators Collins, Snowe, and Specter.

Karma.  It’s what’s for dinner.

Jim Geraghty is quite blunt about the consequences of Sen. Kennedy’s being absent for today’s vote, and Sen. Gregg’s return to the Senate: “Guess what, Sens. Snowe, Specter, and Collins? You are providing the decisive votes.”

And Senator Reid is worried about this. He’s trying to scare up another GOP Senator to give cover to these three – something that even his own people are admitting to be a low probability scenario. Roll Call (no link, sorry) is also reporting that he’s trying to pair Kennedy’s yes vote to a Republican’s no (this requires the approval of the Republican in question, by the way) in order to make it a 61/38 vote on a technicality. Just in case this isn’t clear by now: this is contraindicated for any Republican Senator.

Contraindicated. Continue reading Good morning, Senators Collins, Snowe, and Specter.

[BREAKING] Boehner to House GOP: Vote against the stimulus.

But, hey, remember: “I won.”

Or, as Heritage put it, “The Pelosi-Reid-Obama Debt Plan”. Anyway, Politico reports:

President Barack Obama is coming to the Capitol this afternoon to curry favor with congressional Republicans. But it appears GOP leaders have already made up their minds to oppose his $825 billion stimulus plan.

House Republican Leader John A. Boehner and his No. 2, Whip Eric Cantor, told their rank-and-file members Tuesday morning during a closed-door meeting to oppose the bill when it comes to the floor Wednesday, according to an aide familiar with the discussion. Boehner told members that he’s voting against the stimulus, and Cantor told the assembled Republicans that there wasn’t any reason for them to support the measure, according to another person in the room. Cantor and his whip team are going to urge GOP members to oppose it.

In a nod to the president, Boehner did point out that this is the third time that Obama has met with Republican leaders, compared with the zero meetings they’ve held with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — a now-familiar refrain from Republicans in the House. But Obama’s diplomacy clearly isn’t buying any votes yet.

(H/T: Instapundit) Apparently, “I won.” counts as diplomacy these days. Continue reading [BREAKING] Boehner to House GOP: Vote against the stimulus.