Barack Obama actually said...

The economy is not doing fine. There are too many people out of work. The housing market is still weak and too many homes underwater.

In the meantime, given the signs of weakness in the world economy, it's critical that we take the actions we can to strengthen the American ...

It's astonishing to him that Congress won't do something to help government add more teachers' jobs, add more police officers, add more fire...

These are ideas that... have gotten strong validation from independent, nonpartisan economists.