One year later, political battle rages over stimulus' effectiveness

Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington - One year after launching the largest federal economic stimulus program in American history, a fiercely partisan political battle continued to rage over its effectiveness even as fresh data showed the economy continuing to make a gradual, if halting, recovery.

In what has become a predictable pattern, Democratic and Republican leaders in Washington marked the Wednesday anniversary by sniping at each other's claims about the $787-billion package of tax cuts and spending known as the Recovery Act.

Defending the stimulus, President Obama said that "one year later, it is largely thanks to the Recovery Act that a second Depression is no longer a possibility.

If the stimulus package has been so effective, why is Obama trying to float another a job creation bill?