Rather than write up something on the President's tax cut plan, pointing out how cutting taxes in economic hard times is about as courageous as giving out cotton candy at a circus (thank you, Doonesbury, for writing my jokes for me) Im just going to steal the piece from somewhere else. Since that was all going on during my "too tired to write" phase, I never commented on the tax cut issue here in this journal, but I did phone my senators in Washington and let them know that I opposed the tax cuts. I haven't checked the record to see how they actually voted, but the end result can definitely be described as a qualified victory, I think. Here's an excerpt from an article in the Wall Street Journal from Thursday, May 22:

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows the
high-profile, postwar
debate on tax policy in recent weeks has moved public
opinion -- away
from the White House position. Not only have Americans
drifted away
from Mr. Bush's cherished repeal of taxes on stock
dividends, but
majorities also assign tax cuts a lower priority than
other measures
to spur the economy and spending on health-care
benefits.

"The tax cuts are clearly not viewed as the answer" to a
weak economy,
says Republican pollster Robert Teeter, who conducts the
Journal/NBC
poll with his Democratic counterpart Peter Hart. The
president has
"banked everything on selling the tax cut, but he hasn't
sold it," Mr.
Hart adds.

...

Indeed, the survey demonstrates that Mr. Bush has made
little headway
in cross-country advocacy of his approach to spurring a
sluggish
economy. Fully 57% of respondents name strengthening the
economy as a
priority for the White House and Congress, exceeding the
36% who cite
fighting terrorism. Yet an even more robust 64% say
there are better
ways to strengthen the economy than by cutting taxes;
just 29% say tax
cuts are the best solution.

On specific tax measures, a 48% plurality says
eliminating stock-
dividend taxes wouldn't be effective in stimulating
economic growth,
outpacing the 40% who say it would. That is a retreat
from the showing
Mr. Bush's centerpiece proposal received in January,
when Americans
split at 44% on the matter.

...

Some 53% of Americans say Mr. Bush's 2001 tax cut has
had no real
effect on U.S. economic performance, while an additional
15% say it has
hurt; only 25% say it has helped the economy. On Mr.
Bush's general
approach to economic policy, more than six in 10 say it
shortchanges
job creation in favor of tax cuts, benefits the wealthy
more than
average people and will increase the federal-budget
deficit. By a
narrower 54% to 43% margin, Americans say the president
has been too
preoccupied with the war on terrorism and hasn't spent
enough time on
economic matters.

[End of Wall Street Journal excerpt]