Quoting the new president:

“Now, I just want to say this — I value the constructive criticism and the healthy debate that’s taking place around this package, because that’s the essence, the foundation of American democracy. That’s how the founders set it up. They set it up to make big change hard. It wasn’t supposed to be easy. That’s part of the reason why we’ve got such a stable government, is because no one party, no one individual can simply dictate the terms of the debate. I don’t think any of us have cornered the market on wisdom, or that do I believe that good ideas are the province of any party.

But we’re going to have to do it by not thinking about ourselves, not thinking about how does this position me, how am I looking. We’re going to have to just think about how are we delivering for them.”

The Republicans honestly seem lost. They are falling back on the Us v. Them argument. The are employing tactics while Obama unfolds his larger strategy. If there were any doubts that he was going to speak frankly and change the rhetoric they should now be gone.

Who knows if this will work. Not even the economists can agree but the tone coming from the Republicans is the same as it has always been. It’s funny how all of a sudden they are concerned about our ballooning national debt. Where were they the past eight years? They are employing the same old power play tactics they have become comfortable with. I have my doubts about this bill passing. I don’t think the Dems have the votes. It will now be up to the Republicans to find an alternative. I don’t think they have one. They will turn to the same old tax cut ideas they recycle every year. While I believe targeted tax cuts have a place in this bill they are not the only answer. Let’s hope Obama’s efforts at changing the way Washington works take hold and he changes it before it changes him.