Do these moves portend a new and aggressive Obama? I certainly hope so. After the can of whupass that was opened up on him by Beltway Republicans and Democrats last week, he’s really the only hope that we’ve got.

Last year’s Nobel Prize-winning economist isn’t pleased, enthusiastic or hopeful about the outcome of the stimulus package the Senate’s likely to pass on Tuesday. He anticipates it won’t do enough, that half a million or more jobs have been lost as a result of the compromises reached by self-described centrists.

Steve Benen fleshes out Krugman’s worry with reminders of the concerns Krugman went public with earlier.

This is what happens when a bluesman gets infested with an outbreak of blue dogs. They’re the tiny heel nipping yappers that pee on the floor and retain the compulsion to eat cat poop. Ain’t they cute as the dickens?

In a fire, you can count on them to bring half a bucket of water. In a flood, they’ll offer half a life preserver. In a fight, they’ll send half a cavalry at half speed. And they’re convinced they’re the only level-headed responsible animals in the room.

This isn’t prudence. It’s a failure to learn from history and a failure to grasp economics. More accurately, it’s an intentional rejection of economic advice from the very people who accurately foresaw the crisis looming because of the policies in place and the business practices of the worst decisionmakers America’s seen in 80 years. It’s a deliberate decision to allow the jobless numbers soar - no matter who or how many get hurt.

Pragmatism is the mask that hides the sadism and ignorance that the blue dogs have dragged to the table. Those representatives must be properly labeled and rooted out of the system by voters, but there’s a great impediment to doing that: the mask worn by Obama.

Patient, non-partisan and always moderating, he models a sober, cooperative approach that seems positive to most voters. But when arrayed against the machine-like functions of the modern GOP establishment, his effectiveness will, continually, be evident.

The times demand a fighter. For us and the country. And unless a louder, more strident and aggressive Obama emerges from under that cooperative mask, every economic remedy will be too little, too late. And maintaining that course is ineffective and, ultimately, stupid.

At that point, there’s only one reason Obama can have to remain unconfrontational: cowardice. And millions will be hurt if Obama can’t ramp up the fight. As Krugman says:

The real question now is whether Obama will be able to come back for more once it’s clear that the plan is way inadequate. My guess is no. This is really, really bad.

Can Obama fight? In similar circumstances, FDR could, and did. He wasn’t afraid to innovate, to end run around procedural blockades, and to piss people off. Now, continued centrism may prove as likeable and effective as Hooverism.