Today a reporter asked Robert Gibbs, Obama’s press secretary, to explain the $200 million for the National Mall in Washington.

He actually tries to justify it as a means to create new jobs.

REPORTER: Clearly with the contraceptive decision, the president is open to revising some component parts of the stimulus

GIBBS: I think that’s accurate.

REPORTER: And to pick up on the phrase you used before, look at the whole package through the lens of what’s economically productive. Does the President believe some other spending that’s been criticized – $200 million for the National Mall, $44 million to spruce up the exterior of the Agriculture Department….

GIBBS: Let’s talk about the Mall for a second.

REPORTER: Okay.

GIBBS: When we met on the first day of our presidency, we were on the Mall. Right? 1.8 million people stood on the Mall, which happens to be the most visited national park that we have. Right? I think that you can make a very credible case and the economic team has, that reconditioning the National Mall will create jobs. Probably through spending in small businesses.

Since when is the Park Service a small business? I mean the money will go there, not to small businesses. Sure, they’ll buy some grass seed from private businesses, which will take from existing inventory — not create new inventory or new jobs — but then the work will be handled by the government, which likewise will not hire new people to do the job.

So how again will this create new jobs? And even if it did, exactly how many would it create and how long would they last? Will we have to keep reseeding the lawn to keep the people employed?

These guys really do have no clue. And it is another reason the GOP should oppose the stimulus plan and be proven right when it fails.