An interesting point about the Bush tax cuts, from Newsweek's Robert Samuelson:

From 2003 to 2013, the tax cut totals an estimated $350 billion. Fully 60 percent ($210 billion) is crammed into the 15 months before the election. This was no accident.

Samuelson's point is that presidents regularly try to get economics good times to coincide with elections, but Bush is trying awfully hard -- Samuelson also cites renewal of generous farm subsidies and an apparent effort to weaken the dollar so U.S. goods will sell better overseas -- and he really might get the timing just right, as Nixon did going into the '72 campaign.

But, as Samuelson notes, Nixon's fix for the economy (wage and price controls) was a long-term disaster. Deja vu all over again?