Calling for a New Stimulus, Obama Is Ready to Rumble

[SpartanDem]

What a difference a year makes. The first time President Obama appealed to Congress to pass a stimulus package, in January, he went with arms outstretched, seeking "solutions that advance not the interests of any party or the agenda of any one group but the aspirations of all Americans." He was, in no uncertain terms, courting Republican cooperation.

On Tuesday, by contrast, when he asked Congress for a second major stimulus effort in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, he arrived ready to rumble. In place of extended arms, Obama accused Republicans of presiding "over the decision-making" that led to the financial crisis and then handing it "over to others to solve." He decried his GOP opponents for "waxing political about fiscal responsibility," adding, with an uncustomary bit of sharp sarcasm, "It's a sight to see."

This new Obama, long past his Panglossian dreams of new Beltway comity, used fighting words because, quite frankly, he is trapped in a political tight spot, wedged between sky-high unemployment and lingering public worries over government spending. Almost 10 months after signing the $787 billion stimulus, the largest such federal program in U.S. history, he announced on Tuesday that the Federal Government needed to spend even more, a prospect that polls poorly, as concern about spending and the budget deficit continue to fester.

Republicans, for their part, did not hesitate to dig in their rhetorical knives. South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint called Obama "delusional" and "out of control" in an interview on Fox News. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called the President's proposal "another spending spree." Virginia's Eric Cantor, the House Republican whip, told one conservative website, "Clearly the White House has taken the position that deficits don't matter."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1946482,00.html#ixzz0ZLyOlaQR

Funny when their beloved Ronny said deficits don't matter that was ok.

[Cha]

1. Allow me to Rec'd this to wipe

out the knee jerk unrec.

Anything the repubs say is given a pass by the media and the Dems have to work 1000 times harder bc they're going after something that is real.

It's easy for the gop to tear down America and build up their private stock.

[Bobbie Jo]

2. Here's another.

K&R

[ClarkUSA]

3. And another rec to counter the Obama Haters who dislike any positive story about our President.

Thanks for both the story and the pithy point about Raygun.

:hi:

[unblock]

4. ronny never said deficits don't matter. it was cheney, shortly after stealing the first election.

iirc, saint ronny actually railed against CARTER's deficits, which were cute and dinky by today's standards.

of course, ronny ballooned the national debt and never apologized for it. when republicans are in office, deficits are important, just not as important as military spending and tax cuts. they're only important when it comes to cutting programs for the poor, the homeless, education, that sort of thing. or whenever a democrat is in office, of course.

[PBS Poll-435]

5. Rec!

:-)

[Clio the Leo]

6. The GOP was able to take out the Dems in '94....

.... by stalling health care and making it look like it was the Dems' fault.

Not this time. Barack Obama is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them.

[Lugnut]

7. K&R n/t

[Hekate]

8. He'll only take BS for so long, I've always thought. KnR

[vaberella]

9. He's said as much in an interview. It ended with him saying he'd crush them. nt