Before revision: History Writing for The Washington Post, writer Manuel Roig-Franzia sardonically suggested that the phrase did not exist and had never before been used until President Barack Obama used it during an interview with Meet the Press on 6 December 2008.President Obama on Meet the Press to describe projects for his stimulus plan during a Meet the Press interview - Obama Brings "Shovel-Ready" Talk Into Mainstream by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post (8 January 2009) Obama used the phrase to describe infrastructure projects that were ready to immediately receive stimulus funding of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
After revision: In 2010, then-U.S. president Obama declared: that there is "no such thing as shovel-ready URLHistory Writing for The Washington Post, writer Manuel Roig-Franzia sardonically suggested that the phrase did not exist and had never before been used until President Barack Obama used it during an interview with Meet the Press on 6 December 2008.President Obama on Meet the Press to describe projects for his stimulus plan during a Meet the Press interview - Obama Brings "Shovel-Ready" Talk Into Mainstream by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post (8 January 2009) Obama used the phrase to describe infrastructure projects that were ready to immediately receive stimulus funding of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.