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Okay, so more than 19 percent of Americans are underemployed-which means either unemployed or looking for full-time work. For the first time, Gallup has endeavored to discern how underemployed people feel about their situation. It's not surprising there are more discouraged people without jobs than there are hopeful people. Rather, it's in the survey's details where Gallup's findings become interesting.

Last Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Recovery Act, also known as the "stimulus." In the midst of the political gridlock that has stalled health care reform, it is easy to forget that President Obama started off his term with what undeniably was a major legislative accomplishment. In fact, the Recovery Act was one of the largest progressive achievements of our time, and one wonders whether Obama would still be considered ineffectual if it had been broken down into smaller pieces and passed individually throughout last year, rather than all at once. The media, after all, has a very short attention span, and tends to forget success quite easily.