Obama team hints at second stimulus

Will it be needed? Probably. Will Americans or Congress who runs for reelection support it? Not so sure. If the Obama administration had focused more on getting a fair deal out of Wall Street it might not be as much of a struggle but they didn't. They caved too often and then Wall Street didn't know when to stop thumbing their nose at the public as they lavished rich bonuses and pay on themselves. A collective "go to hell" from voters is waiting ahead and Obama along with Wall Street have only themselves to blame.

NOTE FROM JOHN: Let me add another point. We're seeing in recent polls that support for the initial stimulus is sinking. As I've written previously, that is due, in part, to the administration's know-it-all hubris. They didn't need friends and allies to pass the stimulus plan initially, so they thought, and they don't need to justify that plan to anyone after the fact. Unless, of course, they want to have a second plan, then they might just want to actually defend the first one at some point before it's all too late.

Reuters:

U.S. officials and private economists forecast a gradual resumption of growth in the second half of the year. But they warn that unemployment will continue to climb for a while, even after the recession has ended.

This has generated talk about a second stimulus package. Obama said during a press conference last week that it was too soon to say if this was the case.

Investors are wary of more government aid on top of a record U.S. budget deficit, and Republicans slam Democrat Obama for what they say is typical liberal tax and spending.

Too soon, perhaps, but that hasn't stopped them from floating this idea. Clearly they are preparing the ground for this next intervention yet they won't have any friends left by the time it's necessary. Republican protests are a joke since they didn't even think their economy needed help nor was in a recession. Even so, they will control the discussion when the economy softens again in the second half. It's unfortunate that Obama has done so poorly with reaching out to those within his own party because if they need to push a second stimulus, he's going to struggle finding friends out there.