Prediction on the stimulus

The House's stimulus bill is getting bad reiews, not just from the usual conservative sources (example), but even from middle-of-the-road, I-want-to-love-the-new-president-so-much-it-hurts David Brooks:

But they’ve created a sprawling, undisciplined smorgasbord, which has spun off a series of unintended consequences. . . .

This recession is scary and complicated. It’s insane to try to tackle it and dozens of other complicated problems, all in one piece of legislation. Leadership involves prioritizing. Those who try to do everything at once will end up with a sprawling, lobbyist-driven mess that does nothing well.

Ouch.

I predict that the Obama and Pelosi will do a version of good cop/bad cop.  I think Obama wanted and anticipated that the House would dump everything but the kitchen sink into their bill. The House version will be substantially revised in conference at the behest of the administration. There will be more money for infrastructure, less for pork, and maybe even a payroll tax cut. Obama will get huge credit from people like David Brooks for being "bi-partisan".

My only question is whether Pelosi is knowingly playing along or is being played. I think the latter, but could be convinced otherwise. Watch her spin the final law.

 

Comments

[kyle8]

You are more optimistic than I am, I don't think the Senate version will be all that much better. In fact, once Byrd, Reid, and the go along Rinos add all their pork it might be worse.

[TheBigHenry]

(1) I'm pretty sure I saw the kitchen sink in the House bill.

(2) The Pelosi spin will be a must see for bulimia sufferers.

[JorgXMcKie]

Pelosi is an idiot, so who knows if she's playing along or just got taken by 'Teh One'?

And if you think Brooks is bad, did you see Matt Lauer sucking up to Obama yesterday before the Super Bowl? If his questions had sucked any more Obama's face would have been ripped off his head.

[nohype]

I love predictions--they help clarify issues. I keep waiting to see the brilliance of Obama that so many keep talking about. Too many are judging him by his words--what matters are actions. If your prediction is right, then I will have seen some of that brilliance. Some changes will take place in the bill, they always do. But if all that happens is some tweaking for PR purposes, and the result is still a mess, then I will remain skeptical of the brilliance of Obama.

At a more fundamental level, can any changes (other than a dramatic reduction in its size) really make this into a decent bill? Has the real point ever been to produce a stimulus package, or has the goal all along been to spend on all the things that could not be justified before?

If the Republicans vote for this thing, then I will know with 100% percent certainty instead of only 90% certainty that they are idiots.

[nohype]

Was Obama the good cop? Was the House version substantially revised in conference? Or did Obama let the House and Senate do their thing?