This is the beginning of the fight
(Jim Young/Reuters)
If you haven't seen Paul Krugman's
take on President Obama's jobs plan, it's worth reading:
First things first: I was favorably surprised by the new Obama jobs plan, which is significantly bolder and better than I expected. It’s not nearly as bold as the plan I’d want in an ideal world. But if it actually became law, it would probably make a significant dent in unemployment.
The reason Krugman was favorably surprised is that the proposal was 50% larger than early reports: $450 billion, including more spending than early leaks suggested as well as a bigger temporary tax cut for the middle-class. The big problem? Republicans:
Of course, it isn’t likely to become law, thanks to G.O.P. opposition. Nor is anything else likely to happen that will do much to help the 14 million Americans out of work. And that is both a tragedy and an outrage.
Or to put it more bluntly:
So, at this point, leading Republicans are basically against anything that might help the unemployed.
But even though it may be an impossible task for President Obama to get Republicans to do the right thing, at least he's put forward a plan to change the conversation from the dreary talk of deficits and towards the important challenge of creating jobs now:
The good news in all this is that by going bigger and bolder than expected, Mr. Obama may finally have set the stage for a political debate about job creation. For, in the end, nothing will be done until the American people demand action.
Even if President Obama's plan isn't perfect, it would do a lot of good. And it gives him, congressional Democrats, and people like you and me something to rally around and something to push for.
Odds are, Republicans will turn their backs. But the only chance we have of getting something done is to demand that they take action. President Obama's speech last night was the beginning of that effort. And it can't be the end.