Abbreviated Pundit Round-Up
Daily Kos — Your one stop stimulating pundit shop. Barack Obama (yes, that Barack Obama) says of the economic stimulus bill: So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our ...

Obama Goes On Offense-- Pushes Trillion Dollar Boondoggle
Gateway Pundit — ... Glenn Reynolds put it: "It’s not the messenger. It’s the message that stinks. And, as a wise man once said, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig." So, it's no wonder Obama is using the politics of fear to push the massive hog through Congress. St. Barack wrote that this is the massive spending action America needs. The Washington Post reported: In recent days, there have been misguided ...

Change!... Team Obama Scraps Oil and Gas Leases In Utah (Video)
Gateway Pundit — Barack Obama wrote today about "The Actions America Needs" including a strategy to free America from its dependence on foreign oil. ...

Read These Now Because 'Erection-Inducing' Wipes are BS
Shakesville — Another day. I am not feeling chatty so let's get right to it. World stock markets fall amid grim company news. (AP) President Obama: Defending the Stimulus Philip Ragon pledges "$100 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to create an institute that will search for vaccines for AIDS and other infectious diseases." Palin vs. Judd Senate to hold first hearing on peanut outbreak. "Lawmakers in the Senate rejected a proposal by Republican Sen. John McCain of ...

Barack Obama Lands Gig at WAPO!
The Jawa Report — ... February 05, 2009 Barack Obama Lands Gig at WAPO! WAPO, The new bully pulpit ? The writer is president of the United States. Sure he is..... Actual commentary at ...

Obama pivots: Tougher talk for GOP
The Swamp — ... But in an unusual op-ed piece in today's Washington Post, and in remarks he made at two White House appearances, the president Obama seemed to acknowledge that his approach wasn't working. ...

'The normal rules don't apply'
Political Animal — ... , noting the practical and ideological failures of the recovery package's detractors. Today, he has an op-ed on the subject, which we'll talk more about in a bit. Despite having dangerous and demonstrably ridiculous ideas, it seems as if Republicans have been dominating a debate in which they've had no opponent. The White House, it seems, is finally getting in the game.— ...

Bold, Swift Action: Is the Stimulus Bill Enough?
TalkLeft — In the WaPo today, President Barack Obama writes: What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis. Is the economic stimulus plan looking bold and wise enough (on the swift part, Obama is trying)? Obama's opening proposal was too timid and not near enough to stem the tide of this economic calamity imo. But it is better than nothing I suppose. Of course, Fred Hiatt and the WaPo Editorial Board and ...

My Response to the President’s WaPo Column.
RedState: Conservative News and Community — This is the column. My response? So pass it today, already. You won, remember? Crossposted at Moe Lane. ...

The President pens an op-ed on the economic recovery package and "the old partisan gridlock" that's blocking it
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — ... Barack Obama has an op-ed in today's Post, reminding people about the elections and the failed GOP strategy that caused the economic crisis. He starts by describing the crisis, which is apparently necessary because many in Congress and most of the pundits in DC don't really grasp the severity of the situation. This is one of those times when the public is way, way, way ahead of Washington in understanding the problem. That's because they're living it and the elites in DC aren't. ...

Morning Skim: Pork's Ubiquity and Facebook's, Well, Ubiquity
Opinionator — Washington Post : Barack Obama writes an op-ed in support of his stimulus proposal: In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis — the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive. I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they ...

OF IDEOLOGY AND IDIOCY
Right Wing Nut House — ... president feels he can leverage his enormous popularity to pass items unrelated to jumpstarting the economy and because those unrelated items would have a hard time being made into law at a later date. The president is using this primal legislative thrust of the stimulus to make an end run around not only the GOP but the American people as well. But the bill is out there and Obama is committed. And when a president invests as much in something as Obama has invested in the stimulus, he will do everything in his considerable power to pass it. It may end up being an exercise ...

Obama's Op-Ed
Corrente — Pravda. Go read. Read more…

The Message
N/A — ... The Official Message? Obama says “everyday our economy gets sicker.“  True, that.  If one thing is true in recent politics, Democrats are sick of fighting Republicans before the fight has even started.  So Republicans control the message.  And the message out of all that?  We screwed. ...

BO
Sister Toldjah — We need that stimulus package passed, and we need it NOW

Ericka Andersen: Obama's Missing Message
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog — While President Obama continues his attempt gain the support of the American people and votes of Senate Republicans (and moderate Dems) for the $900 billion economic stimulus package, he omits the most important component of getting America back on track. Personal responsibility. It's a simple concept that is -- yes, sometimes difficult -- but why isn't this a main message coming from the White House? In his Washington Post op/ed today , Obama writes about "what Americans expect from Washington" and how they voiced that by "vot[ing] resoundingly for change" in the last ...

On the Other Hand
The Corner on National Review Online — ... ] the president has spoken. And he won, you know: In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive. I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and ...

The Message
Shakesville — ... The Official Message? Obama says "everyday our economy gets sicker." True, that. If one thing is true in recent politics, Democrats are sick of fighting Republicans before the fight has even started. So Republicans control the message. And the message out of all that? We screwed. ...

What Are the "Failed Theories That Helped Lead Us Into This Crisis"?
Hit & Run — In today's Washington Post, Barack Obama pummels a strawman: In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive. Raise your hand if you have criticisms of the ...

Obama's op-ed pitch
Political Animal — OBAMA'S OP-ED PITCH.... As part of a more aggressive public-relations push, President Obama has a 767-word op-ed in the Washington Post this morning, offering a big-picture defense of the economic stimulus package. It's pretty consistent with the message Obama touched on yesterday, emphasizing short- and long-term investment... That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by ...

So much for “rejecting the politics of fear”
Michelle Malkin — ... during the campaign. In a WaPo op-ed this morning, he invokes Chicken Little tactics to scare Washington into ramming his massive, ineffective, debt-stimulating plan through Congress. At least he didn’t use Nan Pelosi’s “500 million” jobs line: By now, it’s clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow ...

The Battle Is Joined
The Mahablog — ... bipartisan stance and pointedly blaming Republicans for demanding what he cast as discredited “piecemeal measures.” Obama’s comments were a marked departure from the conciliatory tone he has maintained as he courted Republican votes for his stimulus package through compromise. Against the wishes of his own party, Obama crafted a plan that relied heavily on tax cuts rooted in Republican economic doctrine. As part of this counter-offensive, President Obama has written an op ed for today’s Washington Post. ...

Obama in the Post
The Corner on National Review Online — ... ] President Obama s op-ed in today s Washington Post is a very peculiar move by the White House. It makes a case for refusing to compromise on the stimulus bill that Obama is clearly about to compromise on, and it makes the argument of his opponents: that the bill is not really emergency legislation to give the economy a short-term boost but an ambitious move to enact a much larger long-term liberal agenda in one fell swoop rather than working through the normal legislative and budget process. Why not wait a day or two for a compromise measure to emerge in the Senate and ...

Progressive Breakfast: The Majority Fights Back
LiberalOasis : The Blog — ... vote on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act could be today. Call your Senators at 1-866-544-7573 and demand immediate passage of a big and bold economic recovery bill. ALERT 2: New jobless claims jump more than expected to 626K The Majority Fights Back President Barack Obama follows yesterday's forceful remarks reiterating the mandate for public investment and rejection of Bush-style tax cuts with W. Post oped: This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- ...

Bully Pulpit
Shakesville — Pet and Heretik have already linked Obama making his case for, as Chris Matthews would call it, "his big package" in an op-ed in the Washington Post. But we really need to talk about the most awesome writer's bio evah, found at the end of the piece: "The writer is president of the United States." LOL! The only way that could be improved is if it was: "The writer is president of the United States and has a kung-fu grip."

Hold The Whoppers, Mr. President
California Conservative — ... That’s my first reaction to President Obama’s opening paragraph in his prepared statements yesterday. It’s painfully obvious that President Obama wasn’t being entirely truthful when he said this: ...

Stuffing the Sausage
Swampland — ... Barack Obama's op-ed piece in the Washington Post today is a bit of a disappointment. It reads like political boilerplate. And it's unnecessary: the President is far more effective when he speaks--and he has gotten a bit more pointed in the past few days, making it clear that the sort of "stimulus" that Republicans support represents the failed economic policies--the fetishizing of tax cuts--that helped lead to the current mess. I have reservations about the stimulus package. Any sentient human would; I'm sure Obama himself does. But the  bottom line remains the same: the ...

How Bad Must The Economy Get?
The Democratic Daily — ... many stories about the Great Depression from my parents who lived through it. This is as bad as I have seen the economy in my lifetime, and as readers here know, I have been writing about the continual downturn in the economy since the early days of The Dem Daily. The claim is out there now that Obama is losing the stimulus message war, but Nate Silver points out that is not exactly the case (h/t Maha). Congress needs to take action, “action,” as President Obama points out in an OP/ED in the WaPo today, “that ...

Vote for the Snuggie Stimulus!
Weekly Standard Blog — ... After all, what better to fix the ailing economy than a giant, cumbersome product of questionable value and exorbitant expense? ...

NSN Daily Update 2/5/09
democracyarsenal.org — ... argues that Moscow’s role in the world is changing, and Europe better get ready. Roger Cohen writes that military options are “unthinkable” in Iran.  David Ignatius writes about Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft’s views on diplomacy with Iran. Rosa Brooks looks at what “finishing the job” means in Afghanistan. President Obama advocates for the stimulus bill in the Washington Post.

Barack Obama Sets Up Straw Men, Knocks 'Em Down in the Washington Post
Little Green Footballs — ... Barack Obama promotes his gigantic spending bill in the Washington Post, with a string of straw man attacks against critics: Barack Obama - The Action Americans Need. ...

2/5: The Limits Of Bipartisanship
Blogometer — ... : "I can only assume that Obama's entirely accurate remarks will be met with a new round of media complaints that the president isn't being nearly 'bipartisan' enough." OBAMA III: Quit Trying To Scare Us Conservative bloggers are criticizing Obama's Washington Post op-ed urging Congress to pass his stimulus bill. Righty bloggers are accusing Obama of trying to scare people into supporting his bill: ...

Nothing to Fear but a Lack of Fear
Hit & Run — President Obama's pro-stimulus op-ed piece, which Matt Welch skewered earlier today, displays the panicky, scare-mongering rhetoric we have come to expect from a politician who entered office less than a month ago with a reputation as a calm, cool, and rational weigher of facts: What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives—action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis. Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning ...

Without A Diagnosis It Is Harder To Find A Cure
JustOneMinute — Barack Obama makes his case for Bold Action on the stimulus package and includes this headscratcher: Come again?  I have only re-read this six times so correct me if I am wrong, but Obama seems to be saying that tax cuts, high health care costs, and our reliance on foreign oil have helped lead us into this crisis.  Really? In my reality we are having a financial crisis that came about from slack mortgage regulation, ...

The President is Wrong. America Hates His Bill and Wants Tax Cuts Now.
The Sundries Shack — Today in the Washington Post, President Obama wrote : In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis — the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive. I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November ...

Command and Control
Comments from Left Field — Pres. Obama has an op-ed in today’s Washington Post: By now, it’s clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring. What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they ...

Is an imperfect stimulus bill better than no bill at all?
Newshoggers.com — ... number of people staying on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of aid surged by 20,000 to a record 4.788 million in the week ended January 24, the latest week for which the data is available, from 4.768 million the previous week. * The four-week moving average for new claims, considered to be a better gauge of underlying trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose to 582,250, the highest reading since the week ending December 4, 1982. Just get it done. ...

Carol Platt Liebau: Obama's Misleading, Partisan Appeal
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog — Today, President Obama has an op/ed in the Washington Post that is both incoherent and misleading. It's incoherent because he argues that the pork bill must be rushed into law quickly to avert an economic "catastrophe" (so much for the politics of hope). At the same time, his appeal notes that the bill is about much, much more than "short term" fixes (which is, actually, what a "stimulus" bill is supposed to be -- something that helps sooner, rather than later). Instead, he argues, the bill is "a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as ...

Fear Itself, and the Deadly Varieties of State Terrorism
Once Upon a Time... — ... And that's what Barack Obama wants you and every other American to have: fear itself. He wants all of you to become quivering pools of mindless goo: ...

Rider on a Pale Horse
Confederate Yankee — Rider on a Pale Horse In a profoundly dispiriting missive to the Washington Post , Beelzobama, Lord of the Flying Excuse, has issued forth one of the most negative, doom-proclaiming pronouncements ever issued forth from the Oval Office , The Actions Americans Need . It is a ledge-walking lament of a false Prophet attempting to extort America into supporting his pursuit of a nakedly partisan ideological agenda. Barack Obama has put radical orthodoxy over country, and chosen opportunism over leadership. It is, in short, an editorial that deserves to be read and understood so ...

The limits of campaign rhetoric
Power Line — ... President Obama took to the Washington Post's op-ed page today to urge passage of the stimulus plan "before Congress." Obama fails to address most of the major objections to that plan: for example, its pork-laden nature and the fact that, as compared to tax cuts, the spending spree will provide very little short-term bang. ...

Important Sense Of Presidential Urgency
Jules Crittenden — ... President Barack Obama to you, the American people. Washington Post  op-ed highlights:  What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives — action that’s swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis. Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper ...

Contra Stimulum
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — The president's WaPo op-ed has generated some reaction from stimulus skeptics. A round-up. Matt Welch: Why do people oppose the stimulus? Here are a few actual reasons: There is no strong evidence that stimuli work, and plenty of evidence that they don't (a relevant consideration, no?). Like the deeply flawed PATRIOT Act, the deeply flawed Iraq War resolution, and the deeply flawed bank bailout, it is being rushed through the legislature in an atmosphere of pants-wetting crisis and presidential warnings of impending doom. It is filled with special ...

"I have urgently endeavored to jam as much of the Democratic agenda into this recovery plan as humanly possible," says Con Man in Chief Obama
sisu — ... the government, not the economy ," writes Mitt Romney in an enlightening must-read "Special to CNN" commentary that breaks through the murkiness of Obama & Company's wobbly, defensive warnings of gloom and doom predicting the end of the world as we know it if Republicans don't get behind the Democrats' "recovery" plan. We loved Jules Crittenden's take-off of the Con Man in Chief's "sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress," quoting from an Obama Wa Po op ed :"And because we know that a lot of the things we might have wanted ...

Will the Mainstream Media Ever Correct Obama's Inaccurate Economic Statements?
Gateway Pundit — ... Obama made many of these same allegations on Thursday in his Washington Post editorial. Obama makes a number of erroneous statements in both Thursday's editorial and today's YouTube address. ...

Obama's Vision Deficit
The Corner on National Review Online — ... back when Jimmy Carter was urging us all to wear sweaters and turn down our thermostats. Instead of thinking outside the box, Obama is nailing it shut from the inside. They continue: In nearly every key area of policy concern, from industrial bailouts to massive deficits, from Afghanistan to the Middle East, from education to energy, the president's standard operating or reach back into the Carter playbook for ideas that didn't work back then, either. All while rhetorically valuing " good ideas ahead of old ideological battles . Their piece is packed with fun pop-culture ...

Obama's Vision Deficit
The New Editor — ... In nearly every key area of policy concern, from industrial bailouts to massive deficits, from Afghanistan to the Middle East, from education to energy, the president's standard operating or reach back into the Carter playbook for ideas that didn't work back then, either. All while rhetorically valuing "good ideas ahead of old ideological battles." ...