Obama Vows Swift Action on Vast Economic Stimulus Plan.

Obama is beginning to outline just what we can expect from his administration which looks out for "the public interest ahead of the same special interests that have come to dominate" American politics.

His plans appear even more ambitious than those he laid out during the campaign trail.

In the Democrats’ weekly radio address, Mr. Obama said he would direct his economic team to craft a two-year stimulus plan with the goal of saving or creating 2.5 million jobs. He said it would be “a plan big enough to meet the challenges we face.”

Mr. Obama said he hoped to sign the stimulus package into law soon after taking office on Jan. 20. He is already coordinating efforts with Democratic leaders in Congress, who have said they will begin work next month.

Advisers to Mr. Obama say they want to use the economic crisis as an opportunity to act on many of the issues he emphasized in his campaign, including cutting taxes for lower- and middle-class workers, addressing neglected public infrastructure projects like roads and schools, and creating “green jobs” through business incentives for energy alternatives and environmentally friendly technologies.

And Obama promised that the new jobs he seeks to create will all be part of the new green revolution which Obama campaigned on.

“We’ll be working out the details in the weeks ahead,” Mr. Obama said, “but it will be a two-year, nationwide effort to jumpstart job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy. We’ll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels, fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.”

Democratic leaders in Congress are calling for a recovery initiative of up to $300 billion to create new jobs, a figure which the Bush administration have balked at, even though some conservative economists have hinted that $300billion is the minimum needed to kick start the economy.

The financial turmoil is producing extraordinary actions all over the west, with Gordon Brown's government here in the UK announcing plans to reduce Vat in this country for the first time in 34 years.

The cut will be at least 2 per cent, possibly to 15 per cent, where it will remain for a "holiday" of one-and-a-half to two years, bringing some relief for millions of families as the economic downturn worsens.

This cut in Vat would come on top of possible tax cuts here in the UK.

It would be very hard for the Republicans to stand in the way of Obama's plans when the feeling - worldwide - is that action needs to be taken to avert disaster.

But Obama's job, certainly for his first term, with financial disaster and two wars on his hands, will be to clean up Bush's shit.

Even though Bush is now the lamest of lame ducks, I still feel a sense of deep rage when I consider what that incompetent twat has done.

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Tags: Obama, Bush, financial crisis, bailout, $300billion