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- Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law during a ceremony at the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, CO today and recovery.gov finally went live, detailing how the stimulus dollars will be spent. Marc Ambinder notes that by including one of the largest tax cuts in American history in the package, Obama has deprived his would-be 2012 Republican challengers of one of their most familiar lines of attack.
- Gallup finds that public approval of Congress has jumped to a sky-high 31 percent -- 12 points in one month. Of course, Congress rarely exceeds a 50 percent approval, but I think this current jump is attributable to the fact that Congress is actually getting things done, and doing them quickly, which is more important to the public than doing it in a "bipartisan" fashion.
- The Washington Post has a must-read on how Timothy Geithner's plan for addressing the financial meltdown was deemed at the last minute to be "too expensive, too complex and too risky for taxpayers" and resulted in an alternative plan that, due to time constraints, was light on details at its unveiling.
- Oh Roland Burris, we hardly knew thee: "U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has acknowledged he sought to raise campaign funds for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich at the request of the governor’s brother at the same time he was making a pitch to be appointed to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama. Burris' latest comments in Peoria Monday night were the first time he has publicly said he was actively trying to raise money for Blagojevich. Previously Burris has left the impression that he always balked at the issue of raising money for the governor because of his interest in the Senate appointment."
- As Tim notes, it's hardly surprising that Republican governors strongly support the president's stimulus plan. No one gains political capital by presiding over a meltdown of their state's finances, especially if they're looking to parlay that executive experience into a Senate or presidential run down the road.
- This Post article on liberals pressing Obama to do more now that the stimulus battle is over doesn't do a very good job of identifying who these "liberals" are. There's quotes from two well-known academics and Robert Reich but that's it. Who are these shadowy "liberal Democrats?" Do they have a spokesperson? Do they have a specific agenda?
- Recommended reads: Amy Sullivan's overview of the politics behind the 2010 census, and Gabriel Sherman's behind-the-scenes look at Politico.
- Remainders: George Will and Fred Hiatt cowardly won't own up to writing and publishing known lies about climate change, Tennessee GOPers move forward with a lawsuit to force Barack Obama to "prove" he is a U.S. citizen, Steny Hoyer gets tough with Nancy Pelosi, Fred Barnes compares George W. Bush to Abraham Lincoln, and gopproblemsolver.com provides better advice than even the luckiest magic eight ball.
--Mori Dinauer
