I understand the need to pick and choose projects, but the mall is embarrassingly decrepit. I was there last fall. The sidewalks were in disrepair, the lawn was full of bare spots. Worst of all, the relecting pool was almost pure scum. It was disgusting to look at and smelled bad. The Republicans have neglected infrastructure for decades, including our national front yard. I remember last fall being embarrassed that this is what foreign visitors see - I'm sure it leaves a lasting impression....

Maybe the Stimulus bill is the wrong place for repairs to the Mall, but I have to say as a person who grew up in Washington, D.C. and then returned a few years ago, I was appalled at the sorry state of public facilities on the Mall, which is the national showplace. Bathrooms awful and inadequate. Grass in horrible condition -- large portions unmowed and gone to seed. It was disgraceful and not at all representative of the Washington, D.C. I remembered.

This needs to be done, and the Park Service employs a lot of people. I hope Congress finds a way to restore Washington, D.C.'s public facilities to the dignity and beauty that should be our national standard -- and employs quite a few people in doing so.

Why the hell are the Democrats giving the Republicans ANY concessions? The Repubs have made it very clear they're not voting for this thing, and so everything the Democrats strip is a victory for them with absolutely no payment necessary.

The Democrats rolling over every time the Republicans look at them funny: Change YOU can believe in!

The republicans want Obama to fail, and for the economy to stay bad for four more years. The dems will never make the republicans happy, so they should stop trying.

Democratic leadership capitulating to repeated GOP temper tantrums - not change I can believe in, as we've seen plenty of that over the last few years. I'm willing to give Obama some time but this legislative strategy better pay some dividends at some point.

If the GOP isn't negotiating in good faith, then all the post-partisan wishes in the world won't help. The Illinois GOP that Obama dealt with most of his career was always more moderate and less partisan than the national version. I hope he knows what he's doing.

The several National Park jewels out west that I've visited in the last few years are all looking shopworn. One can easily notice many signs of "deferred maintenance" without even looking under the carpet. Closed restrooms. Severely deteriorated pavement. Decrepit facilities. Peeling paint... it's all there, and getting worse. This has been a trend for the last eight years (big surprise there, eh?).

The park staffs are wonderful; helpful, hard working, and severely under appreciated. But you can only do so much with reduced staffing levels, worn equipment, and a lack of funding.

Oh well... I understand that the neighborhood that Bush is moving into is quite nice, and that new expensive gate we're paying for will keep the filthy hordes at bay.

The Republicans are just going to keep hitting us until we hit them back. HIT BACK!

Fix it in Conference.

(that is how the Republicans did it)

...you've played nice. You've made a couple of tiny, symbolic concessions. Now ignore any more petty, bitter GOP bitching and cram this bill up their ossified asses.

These pricks care NOTHING for the country and are blind to the damage their ideology has caused, so fuck them. Time to turn Bulldog Emmanuel loose and make sure any member of the GOP caucus who votes against the stimulus package is demonized as "hating Americans."

How sweet an irony would that be?

By the way, the Mall? Perfect symbol for the country.

They'd would rather see it spent at the mall, rather than on the Mall.

They'd would rather see it spent at the mall, rather than on the Mall.

I live in D.C. and have been fortunate enough to visit the capitals of various European nations, and while I really like D.C., if I came here as a tourist and went to our vaunted National Mall, I'd pity the United States as a country in deep decline. Other nations glory in their capitals; here, we let ours decay in a swamp of neglect, crime, and poverty.

The Mall is a wreck and a national shame. The benches are falling apart, the walkways are cracked, the grass (often abused) is full of dirt patches, the reflecting pool is filthy. The public restrooms are disgusting, and pity the poor tourist who would like to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or glass of wine and perhaps a nice light meal while enjoying the scenery: there is nothing on the National Mall but ice cream and popcorn and hot dog vendors. The "restaurants" in the museums serve fast food garbage. For example, the most popular museum on the Mall is the National Air and Space Museum. You know who runs its restaurant? McDonalds.

This is where the world's tourists come to see the capital of the most powerful nation on Earth, and this is what they find: a nation in decline.

Thank you, Democrats and Repuglicans, for nothing.

The Republicans want tax cuts for the wealthy so they (the wealthy) can invest more money in industrial infrastructure that is already unused because of the economic downturn. It is all right for tax payers to support takeovers by banks. It is not acceptable to provide money so that someone may make a living wage by floating concrete during the rebuilding of the National Mall or any other part of our heritage or infrastructure.

I actually agree with the Republicans on this issue. I may agree with the family planning spending and the mall, but one of the problems we've had in the past is Congress packing each bill with millions of silly little provisions to fund this or that.

This is suppose to be an emergency stimulus bill. Let's show the American people that Democrats can stay focused on what we're suppose to be doing without slathering a layer of pork over everything. The pork issue is one of the major things that got the Republicans in trouble.

They'll be plenty of other appropriation bills where we can slip in family planning and funds for renovating the National Mall.