In this week's Watcher, we write about how the political landscape for a fiscal stimulus package is shaping up. Essentially, everyone agrees there needs to be some sort of fiscal policy legislation called "a stimulus package," but that's where the agreement stops. At issue is the size and what elements should be included in the package. We get into these issues in the article, but here I wanted to flag what I think will be typical of the ensuing debate.

Pushing back against Democratic congressional leadership's call for another stimulus package, White House spokesperson Dana Perino told reporters: A lot of their discussions yesterday, as I understood it, are not necessarily items that we think would stimulate the economy. Additional benefits to individuals who may need support during an economic downturn aren't necessarily stimulative. And yet, about three weeks ago, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service issued a report on the economic slowdown saying just the opposite.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson took time out of his busy schedule nationalizing recapitalizing banks to announce with OMB Director Jim Nussle that the federal budget deficit for FY 2008 was $455 billion or 3.2 percent of GDP. The deficit- a record in nominal dollars -- had been projected by the Congressional Budget Office last week to be $438 billion.