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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010
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 OPINION 
21

Blame Obama for Botched Stimulus

President's hunger for bipartisan support led to disaster: Krugman

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(Newser) – Even if the Obama stimulus package had been enacted in its original $800 billion form, writes Paul Krugman, it wouldn't have plugged the hole in the American economy. Yet the "centrists" who cut it down have taken out some of its best provisions, like aid for state governments, while leaving its most egregious items in. For the New York Times columnist, the final bill may produce "substantially more suffering"—and the president is to blame.

Many economists expected Obama to produce a massive stimulus that reflected his own electoral mandate. Instead, Krugman writes, he went for a bipartisan effort that relied too much on tax cuts—and still failed to garner a single House Republican's vote. This weekend the president tried to put a "postpartisan happy face" on the watered-down stimulus, but for Krugman, Obama's belief in compromise "warped his economic strategy."

The American flag flies at the U.S. Capitol, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, in Washington.
The American flag flies at the U.S. Capitol, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Economic Recovery Advisory Board Chair Paul Volcker, speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009.
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Economic Recovery Advisory Board Chair Paul Volcker, speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
President Barack Obama speaks about the economy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
President Barack Obama speaks about the economy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama speaks about the economy and the establishment of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
President Barack Obama speaks about the economy and the establishment of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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By coming in with such a low initial bid, the president guaranteed that the final deal would be much too small. Such are the perils of negotiating with yourself. - Paul Krugman

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21 comments
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cornelison
Feb 9, 09 8:02 AM CST
Mr. Krugman, how do you pass the type of bill you suggest and get it passed through Congress? How are you going to get the Republicans in the Senate to vote for it??? Reply
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Snowleopard
Feb 9, 09 3:21 PM CST
Obama had the votes to pass the bill, but he chose to try to get bi-partisan support anyway, just in an effort to create a new kind of politics. This was commendable, but GOP's positioning and clinging to their old, broken ideology that gutted this bill.
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infidel
Feb 9, 09 8:11 AM CST
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infidel
Feb 9, 09 8:32 AM CST
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AClotfelter
Feb 9, 09 10:02 AM CST
Which rules are you talking about?
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