GOP MORE DIRECT - AT 7:56 A.M. ET:  The Republicans are becoming more confident about attacking President Obama personally.  From The Politico:

After tip-toeing around the popular new president for months, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has shifted gears and gone directly at President Barack Obama and the budget blueprint his White House unveiled last week.

"Look, it's the president's budget," Boehner said. "He sent it to the Hill."

"The president certainly remains popular, but his policies are becoming less and less popular," Boehner said, citing the continuing slide in the financial markets. "Certainly the stock market hasn't acted very well" since Obama's inauguration.

As the markets continue to falter, Republicans are becoming more confident in their criticisms of the president — some have already taken to using the phrase "the Obama economy."

COMMENT:  But Boehner acknowledged, and as we urged last night at The Angel's Corner, Republicans must come up with alternatives, not just criticize.  There must be a Republican program that the American people can see and feel.

March 5, 2009