BO More Than Doubles New Deal

Score this one in Headlines & Coverage We Like to See:

Obama Scores Early Victory of Historic Proportions

By Michael D. Shear and Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, February 14, 2009; Page A09

CHICAGO, Feb. 13 — Twenty-four days into his presidency, Barack Obama recorded last night a legislative achievement of the sort that few of his predecessors achieved at any point in their tenure.

In size and scope, there is almost nothing in history to rival the economic stimulus legislation that Obama shepherded through Congress in just over three weeks. And the result — produced largely without Republican participation — was remarkably similar to the terms Obama’s team outlined even before he was inaugurated: a package of tax cuts and spending totaling about $775 billion.

…The feat compares only with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s banking system overhaul in 1933, which cleared Congress within days of his inauguration.

Speaking of Franklin Roosevelt, how does this legislation compare to the New Deal?

The New Deal of the 1930s equaled no more than 2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. The new legislation represents over 5 percent and is probably no more than an opening bid…

Remember…Barack Obama? Not a progressive.

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.