A Debatable Farewell

At Bloomberg News, Albert Hunt bids farewell to Representative David Obey (D-WI) and Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT). The article is open to debate. "For a combined three-quarters of a century, David Obey and Christopher Dodd walked the halls of Congress; they are both retiring this year on a high."

• Obey chaired the Appropriations Committee. In 2010, Congress failed to pass a single regular appropriations bill. Hunt cites the stimulus as an Obey success, but many would disagree. For instance, Vermont's stimulus czar recalls: "The stimulus failed to keep the national unemployment rate below 8%, as had been promised. Overall, the stimulus had a negligible effect on overall unemployment, although it saved government jobs (temporarily) at the expense of private employment. Counts of `jobs created or saved' are meaningless. Jobs lost due to higher taxes, national debt or government crowding-out were not counted."
• Dodd announced his retirement after his corporate ties caused his popularity to plummet, making reelection unlikely. He leaves the Senate with a majority of Connecticutians disapproving of his job performance.