Momentum

President Obama's speech on Thursday continues to signal a political change.  TPM noted that the speech (which Howard Fineman called the finest of Obama's presidency) got "an astonishing" 31 million viewers.  That's a bigger audience than watched the opening NFL game between the Super Bowl champion Packers and the New Orleans Saints, a little later that evening.

E. J. Dionne noted that the stimulus to the economy of the Obama plan would be greater than the Recovery Act stimulus, because it is more concentrated--$450 billion in one year basically, versus $787 billion over several years.  He also approved of Obama's direct call for Congress to pass the bill--indicating urgency, and congressional responsibility for doing something positive for a change.

When the bill is introduced, perhaps today, observers may be surprised how ready for passage it is, and how fast its provisions--both tax cuts (including tax incentives) and spending--could perculate through the economy.  

As for GOPers continuing to resist needed spending, Senate minor leader McConnell of Kentucky got a little extra incentive over the weekend, when a major bridge linking Kentucky and Indiana was shut down for being unsafe.