奥巴马及其国会盟友们签署了8 000亿美元的“刺激法案 ” — —该法案充斥着有利于民主党票源（如环保主义者和公务员）的项目；实施了普遍覆盖但相当不受欢迎的医保改革（今年最高法院将裁决此项改革是否合宪 ） ； 对经济的方方面面实施了新的广泛监管；采取了区别对待某些公司的产业政策；借入并花掉了仅次于二战时期水平的资金；还将权力都集中于华盛顿（在联邦政府内，则把权力都集中在执行部门和监管部门 ） 。
Obama and his congressional allies enacted an $800 billion “stimulus” bill that was loaded with programs geared to key Democratic constituencies, such as environmentalists and public employees; adopted a sweeping and highly unpopular health-care reform (whose constitutionality will be determined by the Supreme Court this year); imposed vast new regulations on wide swaths of the economy; embraced an industrial policy that selects certain companies for special treatment; engaged in borrowing and spending at levels exceeded only in World War II; and centralized power in Washington, DC (and, within the federal government, in the executive branch and regulatory agencies).