WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN:

If Obama had pushed a one-year suspension of the payroll tax instead of the first stimulus, wouldn’t the country — and Obama – be much better off right now? He would have gotten money directly into the hands of the American people instead of teachers’ unions, state governments, and rent-seeking green companies. It would have been every bit as Keynesian, but infinitely more popular, including among Republicans.

Instapundit comments: “Insufficient opportunities for graft.”