PEOPLE

Charles Daniel: "The president knows that it's an election year and that he has to be at least perceived as taking some definitive action with regard to the economy, and that's what he has done. I believe the country will slowly come out of the recession without a lot of legislation to affect it."

Pat Wagoner: "The president's writers did a good job. I think a lot of the points he made were to benefit him for the coming election year because the polls show him down in popularity. I would like to see some of his points passed, but I doubt if they will make it."

Paul Harper: "I thought the president brought out some good points. We do need to make some changes. The economy is sluggish right now and we need to stimulate it. I'm optimistic, but it will take some effort. I don't think that withholding less money for taxes will amount to much."

David Glastetter: "Most of the package has merit. I think the $5,000 benefit for the first-time home buyer would have a ripple effect. The people selling their house can then move up to another house. Then those selling that house could build a new house to stimulate the building industry."

Bob Roloff: "It was mostly a speech to get our confidence back again. The most important thing is to get it into people's minds to get back on with recovery. I think the money is out there, but it's a matter of getting people to start spending it again. It won't happen overnight, though."

Ron Swift: "I would like to think that the president's message was more than just election-year hype and that there are issues that he is sincerely concerned about. I think excessiveness has caused a lot of our problems with the federal government's budget. A lot of trimming can be done."