Their support for the badly needed stimulus bill shows they understand what most in GOP don't.

I received my first e-mail from President Obama a short time ago. In it was a short video message about the economy and the need for an economic stimulus package.

It was well done. The president said that the economy would be in serious trouble without decisive action to "put Americans to work."

He cited Maine as benefiting with 60,000 new jobs as a result of his plan and, as a measure of accountability, he pointed out that I could go to www.recovery.gov to track the progress of the stimulus bill once it is passed.

I like the personal touch of Obama's reaching out to all Americans (I do not think I was the only recipient of this e-mail, particularly as there were instructions to forward it to all my friends).

I believe that a significant economic stimulus package is needed. I am frustrated by the seemingly endless partisan debate in Congress and the even more endless nattering of the talking heads on CNN and Fox News.

Thank God for Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. We can be proud that Maine has produced two-thirds of the sensible Republicans in Congress, if not in the country.

These two senators have once again put partisan politics aside to try to figure out what is best for the country.

The leadership of Collins has been particularly noteworthy in bringing together a small group of centrists from both parties to hammer out a compromise that has enough Republican support (three votes) to withstand procedural challenge in the Senate.

The fact that most Republicans have decided to continue their lemming-like walk to political oblivion is disappointing, but not surprising.

The GOP has been taken over by ideologues and is likely to be spending a long time in the wilderness.

The stimulus legislation is big, complex and flabby in spots. Here is how I think about it. First, to understand some of the background and underpinning of the Obama approach, check out the excellent article "The Big Fix" by David Leonhardt in the Feb. 1 New York Times Magazine.

Leonhardt points out that the president has dual goals for the stimulus – immediate job creation (the focus of Obama's e-mail) and investing for long-term growth.

Spurring immediate job creation is important because our economy is in a significant crisis. Tax cuts and targeted government spending on infrastructure projects can help stimulate job growth – if done in a sufficient, sustained way.

However, investing for long-term growth is also critical because the only way the United States will work its way out of the deficit situation we are now in (and which the stimulus will exacerbate) is through a sustained period of strong economic growth.

This is just the kind of growth we experienced in the Clinton years, when a large Reagan-era debt was completely erased.

The Obama stimulus proposal thus has four thrusts: immediate job creation, longer-term investments in "green" energy (to reduce our dependence on oil), health care technology and education.

There is little disagreement, even from Republicans, that tax cuts and infrastructure spending are needed. The disagreement is mostly about the amount and kinds of longer-term investments required.

I believe Obama makes a good case for investment in each of these three areas, particularly for education.

Where we once led the world in educating our people, we have fallen to the middle of the pack. As we look to the future, middle of the pack will not be good enough. The Obama plan has significant investment to strengthen both K-12 and higher education.

As to "why now" for the longer-term investments, the Obama camp has two answers:

The first is that the sooner we make these investments, the sooner we reap the benefits.

The second is that the United States is in a situation where the dollar is strong, and we can borrow long term at low interest rates.

For the same reason that the current low mortgage interest rates provide opportunity for longer-term investment for new home buyers, so too does the global demand for Treasury bills provide opportunity for investment for the country.

This stimulus package is needed for both the short-term crisis and the longer-term investment. For the past 20 years we consumed much and invested little.

Let's pull together, reconcile the House and Senate bills and get this package passed. It is the right thing to do.