Return to the (political) days of yore

USA Today is reporting an odd discrepancy in the distribution of stimulus spending:

Counties that supported Obama last year have reaped twice as much money per person from the administration's $787 billion economic stimulus package as those that voted for his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, a USA TODAY analysis of government disclosure and accounting records shows. That money includes aid to repair military bases, improve public housing and help students pay for college.

The reports show the 872 counties that supported Obama received about $69 per person, on average. The 2,234 that supported McCain received about $34.

Investigators who track the stimulus are skeptical that political considerations could be at work. The imbalance is so pronounced — and the aid so far from complete — that it would be almost inconceivable for it to be the result of political tinkering, says Adam Hughes, the director of federal fiscal policy for the non-profit OMB Watch. "Even if they wanted to, I don't think the administration has enough people in place yet to actually do that," he says.

Although the pattern certainly implies intent, I think the view of OMB Watch is probably correct: the current administration hasn't yet developed the kind of competence that this sort of huge scam would require . . .

Even with the vast sums of money being spent, it'll take some time for the differences to show up in actual infrastructure.

Give it long enough, and it may start to resemble rural Nova Scotia in the 1970s, where you could accurately predict whether the local MPP was government or opposition by the state of the roads. I mean, literally the high quality tarmac, signage, and other amenities would stop dead at riding boundaries, then resume when you crossed over into the next riding. My local guides were eager to point this out to me as we travelled through the province.