As seen on FOX News Channel’s “Special Report” on October 13

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST/FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think the brilliance of this [plan] is that Obama understands that the economic meltdown has helped him in two ways. First of all, obviously, it makes people want to throw the incumbent rascals out and bring in Democrats.

But, secondly, because the government had passed a package of $700 billion, which is a huge number and which is impressed itself in the national consciousness, everything else seems like lunch money.

So here he is proposing $60 billion in spending that in ordinary times you would have an argument about. People would say you are exploding the deficit. You would have a debate about each of these elements, all of which are the traditional Democratic, liberal, tax and spend stuff that you would expect in a pending or looming recession, including not only the elements we have heard, but a 10 percent rebate from the government. It pays 10 percent of your mortgage, extending unemployment insurance, relief of property taxes for municipalities, all kinds of goodies. And $25 billion extra thrown at the auto companies. We already had a piece of that $25 billion thrown in a week or two ago that nobody noticed, again in the shadow of the $700 billion.

So he is using that, in a time of national emergency, in which the $700 billion was really an exception, but using it cleverly as a way to cover handing out the usual goodies to Democratic constituencies on the eve of an election.

Normally it would be called a pander and now he calls it a national rescue.

BRIT HUME, HOST: Well, you have told us what you think about it politically–brilliant. What do you think about it economically?

KRAUTHAMMER: It’s money thrown in the wind and will have no effect.