Momentum might be building to build up the U.S. infrastructure

By 2012, an Obama administration could have hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of pickup-driving, Carhartt-wearing former McCain voters employed in lucrative jobs paving roads, building transit lines and connecting wind turbines to the electrical grid. Even Joe the Plumber could apply.

Sure, any such package will raise howls from a new flock of deficit hawks, taking flight on creaky wings after eight years of being grounded under George W. Bush. But with a deep recession looming, the pressure on Obama to balance the budget will be minimal. His charge is to create jobs that lead to the creation of still more jobs.

The historical timing is right for massive investments. All over the country, bridges that were built as part of the Interstate Highway System are nearing the end of their useful lives. Traffic congestion in major metropolitan areas is sparking new interest in mass transit. The philosophical aversion to investments in high-speed intercity rail that has marked the past eight years is about to be loaded up on a moving truck and sent to that new presidential library in Texas.

We can expect Obama to give a nod to his backers in the environmental lobby by giving his infrastructure plan a decidedly green tint. Transit projects and alternative energy transmission facilities will move to the front of the line. Given the industry's relatively low fuel consumption per ton hauled, freight rail projects should do well. Maybe Maryland can finally get the federal funds it will take to replace the obsolete Howard Street Tunnel and break the bottleneck that's strangling the port of Baltimore.

There is a distinct danger that a lot of the money will be poured into wasteful ventures. But after years of underinvestment in infrastructure, there's a considerable backlog of Bridges to Somewhere and other righteous projects. The challenge will be to apply the brakes when those start running out.

One way or another, the mantra of the new administration is likely to be a twist on the chant heard at the Republican National Convention:

Build, baby, build.