President Obama's stimulus helped fill the gap in demand. At this point there have been numerous studies by independent economists, including the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, almost all of which find that the stimulus created between 2 million and 3 million jobs. This was an important boost to the economy at a time when it desperately needed it. It is important to remember that President Obama had to push through this stimulus over the near-unanimous opposition of the Republicans in Congress.

[Ignore the 2012 Polls, Obama-Romney Will Be Close.]

The contrary claims by Republicans that the stimulus blocked recovery literally do not make any sense. Is there any employer anywhere who didn't hire workers because stimulus money allowed state and local governments to keep teachers and firefighters employed? Is there a restaurant or factory that cancelled expansion plans because roads and bridges in the area were being repaired?

There can be times when excessive government spending can slow private sector expansion by pushing up interest rates and crowding out private investment. However, with interest rates near 60-year lows, this is clearly not one of those times.