Economic Recovery: The Case For and Against

I watched the news conference last night and was very impressed with the case President Obama made about the need for the Economic Stimulus bill. He was clear, coherent and convincing in outlining his short, medium and long term goals of economic recovery. It was so nice to see a President so informed and engaged. My only quibble, at the time I was watching it, was that Obama seemed stuck on answering his critics. There is always a danger in worrying too much about what your opponents are saying about you and I thought that maybe he was too focused on them rather than the majority of Americans and lawmakers who are with him and ready to jump start the economy.

Then I saw this clip! In it, newly elected GOP chairman Michael Steele, explained why his party is against the bill. EUREKA! Now I get it. While the majority of Americans grasp the severity of the situation, people on the other side of the aisle, like Steele, are simply lost in a fantasy world. Now we are used to reality detachment from the right side of the political spectrum, but it is an alarming reminder that there are some powerful forces out there who still don’t have a clue about the real world. Steele seems to think that all ” real” jobs last forever and the cure for the failings of trickle down economics is more trickle down. Oh my goodness - this guy, chosen to lead the Republicans out of the wilderness, is a real example of why we do have to answer the naysayers. The media will continue to give them unlimited air time so we have to continue to expose their ideology for the fraud that it is. Watch this and laugh - and then try to keep from crying.