Continuing with the "damned if they do" theme of economic policy, today Rep. David Obey seriously tamped down expectations for the stimulus package:

"You have to look at this bill not as a salvation for the economy by any means," he said. "It's simply the largest effort by any legislative body on the planet to try to take action to prevent economic catastrophe."
...
He observed that many projections show the unemployment rate growing even after the stimulus is approved. Later in the briefing, Obey got more candid. "I believe this [bill] may in fact under-shoot the mark" for economic recovery, he admitted.

Dems face an almost-impossible task: fix the economy. But everyone knows that a) the economy won't rebound immediately, and b) Republicans (and our broken media) won't wait to start blaming it on Dems even before the effect of the stimulus peaks.

All at once, Dems are lowering expectations, courting Republicans to share ownership, and leaving rhetorical room for additional actions in the future. Messy.