The Recovery Act was enacted to create jobs and boost the economy. In genuine transparency, the White House has a handy clickable map online so you can see who is getting funding. Lots more info too.
During the campaign, I said Obama is no liberal, but a pragmatic centrist who will do unfortunate things as well as really good stuff. Looks like I was right. His stands on torture and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell have been disappointing, to put it mildly. But he’s great on cleantech and renewable energy, is trying to pass health care, and has made a huge amount of government info freely available on the net. As for the bailouts, IMO, they needed to be done. If any of those huge vampire squid investment banks genuinely cratered, it probably would bring down the world financial system with it. But Goldman Sachs and their ilk do need to be broken up like Teddy Roosevelt did to the oil companies..
Obama also treats the populace like adults, has brought science back to its rightful role and banished fundamentalist superstition, and isn’t afraid to apologize when he thinks he should, like he did with Gates-Gate. These are welcome changes. So is the increased transparency. Is he a progressive? Not hardly. But he’s a whole lot better than his predecessor.