About time!

Obama comes out strongly for the stimulus package and takes on the Republicans at the House Democrats’ retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia, you can see the full speech here.

And not a moment too soon. After two weeks of ceding the debate to such economic experts as Joe Scarborough and Dick Morris actual economists and financial columnists come forth to review the GOP's mantra of tax cuts now, tax cuts tomorrow, takes cuts forever!

Krugman:

A not-so-funny thing happened on the way to economic recovery. Over the last two weeks, what should have been a deadly serious debate about how to save an economy in desperate straits turned, instead, into hackneyed political theater, with Republicans spouting all the old clichés about wasteful government spending and the wonders of tax cuts.

It’s as if the dismal economic failure of the last eight years never happened —...

Pearlstein:

What really irks so many Republicans, of course, is that all the stimulus money isn't being used to cut individual and business taxes, their cure-all for economic ailments, even though all the credible evidence is that tax cuts are only about half as stimulative as direct government spending.

Today we will get the January jobs report, hopefully at least 60 Senators will be slapped with some reality.

[cross-posted at FDL]