In a June 23 editorial, The Washington Times falsely claimed that “the stimulus program failed to meet their promised objectives and may have made conditions worse.” In fact, as Media Matters has repeatedly noted, economists agree that the stimulus significantly boosted gross domestic product and employment and nonpartisan studies have said that the economy would be far worse today without the 2009 stimulus.

From the Washington Times:

The most unfortunate line in Mr. Obama's speech [on the war in Afghanistan] on Wednesday was, “America, it is time to focus on nation-building here at home.” It does not do well for the White House to imply that the United States is a failed state in need of reconstruction, particularly since the Obama administration hasn't shown any particular aptitude for it. If Mr. Obama's efforts in Afghanistan were more successful, the situation there wouldn't be so dire. Likewise, administration attempts at domestic “nation-building” like the stimulus program failed to meet their promised objectives and may have made conditions worse.

Mr. Obama should be very cautious in using the imagery of “nation-building” as increasing numbers of Americans begin thinking about 2012 as an opportunity for regime change.