Stimulus Bill Rekindles New Deal Debate

Stimulus Bill Rekindles New Deal Debate
Underlying partisan division over stimulus bill is a dispute over history -- a decades-old debate between liberals and conservatives over the impact the New Deal had in bringing the country out of the Great Depression. The Washington Post reports.
White House: Money flows within month

by Mark Silva

For those who say the economic stimulus ready for congressional approval won't help anyone anytime soon, the Obama White House has an answer:

It "will start coming within a month,'' says Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary.

Gibbs, who spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One before landing in Peoria, Ill., this afternoon, noted that President Barack Obama will be making a big exception for his stated policy of allowing a public comment period before the signing of the billthe president had promised five-day waiting periods during his campaign.

"This would certainly meet the president's test of emergency legislation,'' said Gibbs.

The way the House and Senate are moving, Obama may well get the bill-signing he wanted by President's Dayindeed on President's Day. The president, who toured three cities with Air Force One for his economic plan this week and also took a short hop to suburban Virginia, plans two more outings next week to rally public support for what then may be a fait accompli: Phoenix and Denver.

Asked about the goal of bipartisanship that Obama had with a measure that all of the House's Republicans so far have opposed and only three Republican senators are warming up to, Gibbs said that three Republicans represent a "pretty good chunk of the U.S. Senate."

On this day that will close with a stop in Springfield, Ill., Gibbs also was asked about Obama's repeated use of Lincoln imagery. "This president isn't seeking to compare himself" to Lincoln, Gibbs said, though he did point out some "parallels" between the two.

(Photo of President Obama boarding Air Force One for the third journey this week, to Illinois, by Jose Luis Magana / )

Lincoln's Manuscripts Reveal A Constant Reviser

Abraham Lincoln changed the way leaders talk to the American people, says author Harold Holzer, editor of In Lincoln's Hand, a collection of the 16th president's manuscripts. Lincoln used simple language to speak to a broader audience, and the documents reflect his efforts to find the right words.