Coleman lawyer pleads for another forger’s ballot to be entered into Coleman’s pile.

This time it’s even better. The guy in question apparently forged a ballot for his wife. So Coleman admits he’s probably not entitled to that one. But he’s holding out for the forger’s own ballot.

There is so much fog and uncertainty — much of it intentionally injected into the debate — about the different moving parts of the Stimulus Bill. But some of the broad outlines are arresting and straightforward.

We’re hearing all this talk about the staggering size of the bill. And it is a staggering amount of money. But according to Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the amount of demand that the financial crisis is pulling out the economy is likely to be between $1.1 and $1.2 trillion this year (and that is not a controversial estimate). The Stimulus Bill (which, remember, is $800+ billion over two years) would try to compensate for that drop off with about $400 billion of spending and tax cuts. How efficiently the money is spent, how quickly and so forth — all very good questions. But judged in these terms you start to see how the real question is whether any bill of that size is enough.

David Kurtz and Baker discuss the issue in today’s episode of TPMtv.

From Theda Skocpol …

In response to what you are saying: Obama is, sadly, much to blame for giving the Republicans so much leverage. He defined the challenge as biparitsanship not saving the U.S. economy. Right now, he has only one chance to re-set this deteriorating debate: He needs to give a major speech on the economy, explain to Americans what is happening and what must be done. People will, as of now, still listen to him — and what
else is his political capital for?

Speaking as a strong Obama supporter who put my energies and money into it, I am now very disillusioned with him. He spent the last two weeks empowering Republicans — including negotiating with them to get more into Senate and his administration and giving them virtual veto-power over his agenda — and also spending time on his personal cool-guy image (as in interview before the Super Bowl). The country is in danger and he ran for president to solve this crisis in a socially inclusionary way. He should be fighting on that front all the time with all his energies — and he certainly should give a major speech to help educate the public and shape the agenda. That is the least he can and should do. Only that will bypass the media-conserative dynamic that is now in charge.