” Twenty-four days into his presidency, Barack Obama recorded last night a legislative achievement of the sort that few of his predecessors achieved at any point in their tenure.
In size and scope, there is almost nothing in history to rival the economic stimulus legislation that Obama shepherded through Congress in just over three weeks. And the result — produced largely without Republican participation — was remarkably similar to the terms Obama’s team outlined even before he was inaugurated: a package of tax cuts and spending totaling about $775 billion.
As Obama urged passage of the plan, he and his still-incomplete team demonstrated a single-mindedness that was familiar from the campaign trail. That intensity may have contributed to missteps in other areas, as the president’s White House stumbled repeatedly in the vetting of his Cabinet and staff nominees. And high-minded promises of bipartisanship evaporated as Republicans accused the president and his Democratic allies in Congress of the same heavy-handed tactics that Obama, in his campaign, had often demanded be changed.
But even before the plan passed the Senate last night, the president’s top advisers were crowing. “We’ve been in office, what, 2 1/2 , three weeks? We’ve passed the most major sweeping comprehensive legislation as relates to economic activity ever in a three-week period of time,” White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Thursday evening in the West Wing.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) credited Obama’s leadership on the legislation yesterday, saying, “The American people know, and historians are judging, that this is one remarkable president.”
Certain that he had succeeded in his goal, Obama left Washington before the Senate vote was completed, returning home to Chicago last night for the first time since becoming president.
The feat compares only with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s banking system overhaul in 1933, which cleared Congress within days of his inauguration.
For Obama, though, the costs of that rapid pace may be his relationship with Republicans, who derided the bill as the wrong prescription for a national economy that has appeared for months to be on the verge of collapse.”
It’s hardly a “victory” when you have clear majorities in both houses and you still struggled to get to the finish line. Along the way you nominate inarticulate tax cheat for a treasury secretary who got snickers when he discussed his plan for banks. Two choices for Commerce Secretary withdrew,and two others with tax issues themselves. Hardly a “shepherd”.
Here’s a more true historical benchmark, Obama’s reign has steady tanked the DOW since he took office, to the tune of -17%, or or an average of 148 Dow points a session.

That’s right there with, Hebert Hoover.

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One Response
retire05
February 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
1It was obvious that Obama was the consumate campaigner. What is also becoming obvious is that he is unable to govern. This was clear to anyone who knows how new administrations work. They don’t hand over major legislation that will be the hallmark of their administration to the ruling party and say “Write it and I’ll back it”. Where was Obama this week? Was he in D.C. hawking the bill to those who were going to vote on it and showing them how this bill would actually spur on the economy? No, he was on the campaign trail. I expected the signs saying “Vote Obama ’12 – It’s Still Bush’s Fault” to break out.
We got the flavor of what this administration is going to be like with Timothy Geithner’s testimony this week. He was hailed as the only person that could fill the shoes of the Secretary of the Treasury, and he is clueless. We are in the fourth quarter, there is 15 seconds left and Geithner punts. Needless to say, he missed the goal. Geithner was so bad even the kneepad wearing Obamedia could not cover for him.
Now, what no one wants to talk about, and what Gregg knew, is that Obama is literally usurping federal law by giving the census over to Rahm Emanuel. Title 13, Chapter 1, Subchapter 1 of federal law clearly gives the authority of the census over to the Secretary of Commerce.
Where are the media types harping on a clear violation of the law by a sitting president? Are they all still in Wasilla?
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