“An increasingly tough sell.”

That’s how some are describing the 838 billion economic stimulus being debated in Congress.

The challenge has driven President Obama to the streets, where he is taking his dire message to the people in a public play to pressure Congress into passing the largest single bill ever considered.

But according to two recent studies, the PR campaign isn’t working. The Pew Research Center is reporting that only 51 percent of Americans support the stimulus, down from 57 percent in January. Moreover, A Rasmussen poll reports that 62 percent of voters want more tax cuts and less government spending in the plan.

So we have to ask, why isn’t Congress listening to the voters?

Most of us agree that America is facing a crossroads in our economy. What we need is confidence, in the banking system; in the flow of credit; in the availability of jobs that pay fair wages. But what is proposed is a bill filled with pork, government-created jobs that even the Congressional Budget Office says cannot sustain real economic growth for any length of time, and a nearly $1 trillion debt that will be passed on to generations to come.

President Obama’s goal of righting the economy is a reasonable one. But his efforts are being waylaid by the pork politics of Washington and, unfortunately, a deaf ear to the concerns of millions of Americans.

The concept of an economic stimulus is a easy sell; the challenge lies in drafting plan that taxpayers will buy.