Stimulus Stew

The state of the economy, it's safe to say, is iffy at best but, less than six months after its passage, the market for badmouthing the stimulus bill is booming.

On the left, Paul Krugman insists that a "bad employment report for June made it clear that the stimulus was, indeed, too small" and "damaged the credibility of the administration’s economic stewardship."

From right field, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells us "the stimulus or so-called stimulus plan that spent almost $800 billion has not worked," while economist Karl Rove proclaims that "Obama can't be trusted with numbers" as he bashes the White House for being too slow in getting the money out the door.

In the center, Warren Buffet is musing about the need for a second round of pumping money into the economy, complaining that the first was "like taking half a tablet of Viagra and having also a bunch of candy mixed in...as if everybody was putting in enough for their own constituents."

Meanwhile, Joe Biden is on a tour touting positive results here and there, as the Recovery blog announces web seminars (Webinars) to spread the good news.

In this flurry of opinionating, the prize for empty news goes to USA Today for its headlined revelation, "Billions in aid go to areas that backed Obama in '08," which undermines itself by noting:

"Investigators who track the stimulus are skeptical that political considerations could be at work. The imbalance is so pronounced--and the aid so far from complete--that it would be almost inconceivable for it to be the result of political tinkering, says Adam Hughes, the director of federal fiscal policy for the non-profit OMB Watch. 'Even if they wanted to, I don't think the administration has enough people in place yet to actually do that,' he says."

Oh.