The Honeymoon Is Over

29 January 2009 |permalink | email article

With zero Republican support President Obama won House support of an $819 billion economic recovery plan that will serve as the linchpin for his efforts to resuscitate of the economy. That the Dow advanced 200 points was taken by Democrats as a good omen.

The two-year economic measure passed 244 to 188, and includes $275 billion in tax cuts and more than $550 billion in domestic spending on roads and bridges, healthcare technology and aid to states and local governments.

Republicans believe that tax cuts, not heavy new spending, are key to the economic recovery – a theory not historically borne out by any severe downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

As the RNC’s winter meeting began the party opposite remains undefined: is it still a less government, low tax Hoover-like party given the economic crisis? 
NBC’s analysis – that a popular Obama and Democrats benefit when the GOP’s most divisive figures, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, hold sway – is on the mark  

The House vote was reminiscent of President Clinton’s early months in 1993 when he had to rely solely on Democrats to pass a deficit-deduction bill—the signature triumph of his presidency.

When was the last time a president before the indefatigable Obama invited Senate and House leaders for an evening cocktail party at the White House to chit-chat about a stimulus package? Think back to Ronald Reagan and Johnson eras for clues.

Senate Testimony: How bad is the crunch? Postmaster General John E. Potter, citing flexibility, wants Congress to allow him to cut mail delivery from six days to five days a week. Last year, faced with dwindling mail volume, the post office recorded a $2.8 billion deficit.

 

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