Jim Dandy:Not judging his "record" but judging his most recent actions and decisions.  Not a good start.  He's shown great skill at campaigning, not so much as a leader, so far.

His recent comments aimed at Republicans who had criticized the "stimulus" package as nothing more than a "spending" package displayed a side of Obama people haven't seen much of.  He showed a lack of leadership and demonstrated he is not above using mockery and sarcasm to blast his opponents.  Yeah, that will win them over.

The problem is, thinking people understand that what the Republicans were pointing out by calling it a "spending" package, is that the so-called "stimulus" package will not do the very thing it is supposed to do.  As Bwild has pointed out, it's a pig with lipstick.  All the "spending" attached to the stimulus bill is just a repeat of old failed economic policies the democrats are famous for.  Pet projects and paybacks to political supporters are NOT going to create the kind of jobs that benefit the man on the street. Most Americans view Obama's plan with doubt and most also agree that the democrats crafted it with unnecessary "spending."  The republicans are just trying to draw attention to the fact that spending money for the sake of spending isn't the answer the American people are hoping for.  Anyone can "spend" but it takes real leadership to spend it in the right way.  Obama has failed in a big way here.  This stupid idea (crafted by the dems) will not only fail, but it will put the US economy in a worse state.  But hey, Obama can always blame Bush once again.