I have never posted an article by Peggy Noonan on WS but when I read this, I was in shock! I could not believe Ms Noonan would write such a piece! I am glad she understood that on this very important issue, she could not back the House or the President. Thank you Peggy!
Look at the Time
WS Journal - By Peggy Noonan - Jan. 30, 2009
It looks like a win but feels like a loss.
The party-line vote in favor of the stimulus package could have been more, could have produced not only a more promising bill but marked the beginning of something new, not a postpartisan era (there will never be such a thing and never should be; the parties exist to fight through great political questions) but a more bipartisan one forced by crisis and marked by—well, let's call it seriousness. President Obama could have made big history here. Instead he just got a win. It's a missed opportunity.
It's a win because of the obvious headline: Nine days after inauguration, the new president achieves a major Congressional victory, House passage of an economic stimulus bill by a vote of 244-188. It wasn't even close. This is major.
But do you know anyone, Democrat or Republican, dancing in the street over this? You don't. Because most everyone knows it isn't a good bill, and knows that its failure to receive a single Republican vote, not one, suggests the old battle lines are hardening. Back to the Crips versus the Bloods. Not very inspiring.
The president will enjoy short-term gain. In the great circle of power, to win you have to look like a winner, and to look like a winner you have to win. He did and does. But for the long term, the president made a mistake by not forcing the creation of a bill Republicans could or should have supported. (continues...)
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