All you need to know: 18th and 19th January

THE PRESIDENT'S ECONOMIC STIMULUS

George W Bush is back in the news with a $140bn tax relief package to boost the faltering US economy.   

Irwin Stelzer's conclusion:

"With politics trumping economics by more than the usual margin in this election year, the president is demonstrating his compassion by joining the pro-stimulus, bipartisan crowd. The plan that is taking final shape will not add to the structural budget; it will target the right people, and get the cash to them quickly; and it will be temporary. Not what big-government spenders would prefer, nor the first choice of those who believe that the effectiveness of an economic readjustment is proportionate to the pain it is allowed to inflict. But not a bad merger of sound economics with the politically possible."

McCAIN VOWS TO VETO WASTEFUL SPENDING

Quoted on Washington Wire: "The president just signed into law a couple of weeks ago a spending bill with 9,200 earmarks worth $17 billion of your money,” he said. “It’s disgraceful.” He vowed to veto such bills as president."

THE GOP IS NOT IN THE GRIP OF THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

That's the view of Daniel Casse over at Commentary magazine: "We have Huckabee –  the most attractive and least divisive Christian political leader we have ever seen –  failing to make a mark in Michigan, where some 40 percent of GOP voters describe themselves as evangelical. It turns out that evangelicals, like Michigan union members, don’t vote as a bloc."  Hardly conclusive but interesting.

HILLARY CLINTON PLAYS THE MONICA LEWINSKY CARD

Tony Harnden on why the former First Lady needs to address the issue of her husband's relationship with Ms Lewinsky (video): "The fact that she didn’t divorce Bill Clinton is an issue for many voters, particularly women. Again and again on the campaign trail, ordinary people cite it to me as an example of political calculation.  But many other women admire her for her fortitude. Some see her as a victim. I was very struck by a woman behind a Walgreens counter in Des Moines who told me that she admired Hillary for not divorcing Bill but instead using him as a vehicle for her own political ambitions."

OTHER LINKS

• Giuliani may be tanking in polls of GOP voters but he remains competitive with Clinton and Obama in General Election surveys.
• Pete du Pont of the Wall Street Journal compares the policy positions of the leading candidates on five top issues.
• TechPresident on how online searches predicted Hillary's New Hampshire comeback.

Thursday's All You Need To Know.

Comments

[Dmitry Medvedev]

TechPresident is a brilliant link.
I have not seen this before.
Thank you.
Dmitry Medvedev Russia President

[l arginine]

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