Eye Opener: What to watch with the stimulus

Updated 10:18 a.m. ET

Happy Tuesday! (Unless you're Gannett.) The economic stimulus data continues to drip out in small bits, as the Obama administration starts to hear criticism from economists, Republicans and "good government" groups about the merits of the economic recovery program and the effectiveness of the Web site built to publicly report the jobs and spending data.

The stimulus created or saved 250,000 education jobs, according to a report (pdf) issued by the White House and the Education Department on Monday. But the report "does not address how many education jobs have been cut this year because of the recession, nor does it project how many are in jeopardy in the coming year," reports The Post's Nick Anderson.

The report suggests that without $67 billion in federal aid provided through Sept. 30 under the economic stimulus law, "state and local budgets for public schools and higher education would be hemorrhaging." Some critics say however that the federal aid just backfilled state and local funding cuts and that larger average class sizes across the country showed that many jobs were not saved.

Beyond the economic debate, other critics say the White House has thus far failed to deliver on the "unprecedented" levels of transparency Obama promised with the launch of Recovery.gov, the official economic stimulus Web site.

"This is not the 'unprecedented' level of transparency and accountability that we have been promised," government transparency expert Jerry Brito wrote Monday. "It’s certainly not what I expect from an $8 million website. Vice President Biden, in charge of ensuring recovery transparency, should take notice and take action."

Administration officials would also ask for patience, noting that the first full wave of data will not appear in full on Recovery.gov until the end of October and that most of the spending data is yet to come.

"I want to stress that those of us who have been Keynesian economists throughout our lifetimes have never contemplated this level of transparency in a government stimulus program," White House Economic Adviser Jared Bernstein said Monday during the White House press briefing. "We've never seen anything like this, where recipients are telling you precisely how taxpayer dollars are at work preserving and creating jobs."

As the back-and-forth about the stimulus continues, keep a close Eye on these movers, shakers and scenarios that could impact the public's perception and future recovery efforts:

Earl Devaney: He oversees the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, or RAT Board, which is responsible for posting all of the information and data related to the economic stimulus program on Recovery.gov. His "Don't blame me, I'm just the messenger" approach will likely solidify his already squeaky-clean reputation, thanks to previous stints as Interior Department inspector general and Secret Service agent.

Vice President Joseph Biden: If Devaney is "just the messenger," then Biden will get the blame, or credit as the political/public face of the recovery. He provides regular updates to President Obama and speaks with mayors and governors about the recovery via conference calls. Biden travels across the country with Cabinet secretaries to make funding announcements and warn potential bad apples that he will call out waste and corruption.

White House Economic Aides: The aforementioned Bernstein, along with Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Christina Romer and Domestic Policy Adviser Melody Barnes lend their economic and policy expertise to the cause, by working as surrogate spokespeople for the stimulus. They're also handling the dirty economic details behind the scenes.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: His department had much of the spending involved in the first round of jobs and spending reporting released last week. Though the bulk of the early spending was in non-discretionary, non-infrastructure spending (food stamps, aid to states, etc.), discretionary spending by the Transportation Department has moved quickly and helped create thousands of construction jobs. Of course, highway and bridge construction is also prone to waste and corruption.

"Good Government" Groups: OMBWatch.org, Brito's Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the Project on Government Oversight, ProPublica, the Sunlight Foundation and others will keep close tabs on how well the government reports the stimulus data on Recovery.gov and any efforts to spin the information in its favor.

Sen. Tom Coburn and Other Republicans: The Oklahoma lawmaker has already made noise about the transparency efforts, and his GOP colleagues will remain most skeptical of stimulus success and of how quickly the government distributes economic assistance.

The Unknown: The unknown -- good or bad -- could help or hurt the public's perception of the stimulus program: Will reporters or the good government groups discover widespread waste, fraud or abuse? Will economic experts and columnists declare the stimulus a smashing success? Could Recovery.gov crash? Will a Drudge-like critic mischaracterize stimulus data and cause headaches for the White House? Will the gaffe-prone Biden get too candid or fast and loose with the economic facts?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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