If men were angels.

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself." --James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788

12/08

•  The president-elect declined to say Sunday how much his economic stimulus plan would cost. Obama called it the largest public-works program since the creation of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.The plan includes spending on what Obama called "shovel-ready" projects to rebuild roads, make buildings energy efficient, modernize schools and upgrade hospital technology. President Elect Obama, Meet the Press

12/08

•  President-elect Obama wants a proposed economic stimulus package to include billions of dollars for infrastructure improvements. Mr. Obama maintains states have projects that are "shovel ready. The Missouri Department of Transportation says with federal money, it could start $510 million of highway and other construction projects within six months. NPR

1/09

•  On “Meet the Press,” fill-in host Tom Brokaw wants to know how quickly Barack Obama can create jobs, and the president-elect promises to move fast. After all, he says, he’s met with a bunch of governors “and all of them have projects that are shovel-ready.”

2/09

•  As Congressional negotiators worked to reconcile competing versions of the economic stimulus package, President Obama today visited Fairfax County to stump for the plan.Joined by Virginia governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Timothy M. Kaine, Obama showed off one of the "shovel-ready" projects that would be funded by the stimulus plan: a 1.3-mile segment of the Fairfax County Parkway Washington

3/09

•  WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Shovels already are hitting the ground in just the two weeks since the $787 billion stimulus package was signed, U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

3/09

•  President Barack Obama claimed today that 150,000 jobs will be created or saved by the end of next year with the road-building provisions of the $787-billion economic stimulus that he signed."We are seeing shovels hit the ground,'' Obama said in an appearance this morning at the Department of Transportation.

3/09

•  President Barack Obama claimed today that 150,000 jobs will be created or saved by the end of next year with the road-building provisions of the $787-billion economic stimulus that he signed."We are seeing shovels hit the ground,'' Obama said in an appearance this morning at the Department of Transportation.

3/09

•  Infrastructure, or "shovel-ready," projects are set to get underway almost immediately after President Obama signs the $787 billion stimulus bill on Tuesday, his senior adviser said Sunday. "There will be signs of activity very quickly," David Axelrod told "FOX News Sunday," fox News

3/09

•  President Obama said Tuesday that the country already is "seeing shovels hit the ground" on the first infrastructure repair project funded through the Transportation Department's share of the $787 billion stimulus bill. CNN

10/10

•  With unemployment hovering near 10 percent nearly two years after President Obama signed his economic stimulus package, Mr. Obama is acknowledging that, despite his campaign promises, "there's no such thing as shovel-ready projects." New York Times

I am willing to assume that the President was not lying when he made his claims about shovel ready jobs. But if he was not lying, then he must have been ignorant to make that claim week after week. So in typical political fashion say anything to sell your political agenda, in this case to justify spending $787 billion with no idea if it will help the short term problem. Makes me wonder what else he is trying to sell us that he has no idea what he is talking about.

We are not governed by angels……