From last night’s All Stars.

On Obama’s handling of the stimulus bill:

Had it been written in the White House, we might have had a clean bill. Instead, it was written by the House, by Pelosi, and it is one of the ugliest ever produced by an American legislature.
It has got pork. It is a 40-year wish list. It has all the stuff that you heard about. It’s novel length-a late Norman Mailer novel long. You throw a dart at it and you will have on any page six items which are outrageous.
Now, what’s ironic about all this is that Obama ran as the man who would redo our politics, who would eliminate the lobbying and the special interests and the earmarks.
This is the largest earmark bill – earmark, but without stealth, just out in the open–of special interests, favors, parochial interests, in American history. And it is under his aegis.
I think it contradicts his idea of the new politics, but he’s stuck with it. And all he can do now is strip out the stuff that’s in it.
But I think it’s impossible. It’s–more than half of it is all of this small stuff.

On GOP opposition to the bill:

Look, when you’re in power, it’s hard to maintain your principles. The temptations of power are rather strong.
The Republicans are now out of power and have an opportunity to actually act on principle. If they stand for anything, it’s discipline, fiscal discipline.
Now, you can argue that it’s hypocrisy because in the Bush years they spent promiscuously, and it did. But, look, hypocrisy will be a charge that will be around no matter what. You might as well start with a virtue today, and I think opposing the bill, which is essentially an abomination, is a good way to start.
Look, the politics of this are going to hinge, in the end, on whether the bill succeeds or not. If the economy is revived in a year or so, all of these arguments will be moot, and Obama will get the credit, and Republicans will get the blame for oppositionism.
If, on the other hand, the stimulus is, as it appears, a lot of pork and payback and is not going to help the economy, Republicans will benefit.
But I think you should at least stand on principle and act on what you believe. And the majority of Republicans think it’s an ugly, bad bill.