The presidency

Obama's plan, is built around $250 tax rebates to workers that Goolsbee said could be deposited "overnight," meets the condition of immediacy that he said is necessary for a stimulus package to have any positive effect. If the recession did begin in the last quarter of 2007 as some economists speculate, any further delays in people receiving money would be too late to help.

Clinton's plan demonstrates the candidate's unique understanding of the American middle class. "She has observed a disconnect between Washington policy and what she's heard on the campaign trail," he said. Clinton's plan consists of, in part, the establishment of a $30 billion emergency housing fund to mitigate foreclosures, $10 billion for unemployment insurance, and $30 billion in energy assistance.