Grand Rapids , Michigan ( CNN ) -- Say what you will about the Republican Party 's politics , but one thing I think we all can agree on is that they know how to control the message . Instead of `` educated , '' they say `` elitist . '' Instead of `` the rich , '' they prefer `` job creators . '' And in their latest linguistic sleight of hand , the modern-day Houdinis have managed to turn `` stimulus '' into a four-letter word . Or at least a word President Barack Obama no longer feels comfortable saying . In 2009 , he could n't say it enough . Now ... well , I did n't hear it once during his jobs speech last week , even though $ 447 billion in tax cuts and government spending would certainly qualify as being one . But the president and his administration can avoid whatever word they choose in describing the jobs bill ; that 's not going to change what Republicans say about it : . `` With the president traveling the country touting his Stimulus II plan , it is important to understand the lessons from his first stimulus , '' Republican National Committee Reince Priebus said . `` I suspect I am not the only American asking , if a trillion dollars ' worth of stimulus did n't work , why will another $ 450 billion do the trick ? '' former New Mexico Gov . Gary Johnson asked . `` He had $ 800 billion worth of stimulus in the first round of stimulus . It created zero jobs , $ 400-plus billion in this package . And I can do the math on that one . Half of zero jobs is going to be zero jobs , '' said Texas Gov . Rick Perry . As usual , Republicans are dictating the conversation , this time massaging their response to the president 's jobs bill to support their assertion that his $ 787 billion stimulus package was a failure . And each day Obama avoids saying the word , he inadvertently gives their claims credibility by appearing to distance himself from his initiative . Instead of using equivocal language , the president just needs to reclaim the word `` stimulus . '' And he needs to do it now as he tries to sell his jobs bill to the public . After all , it 's not like anyone 's forgotten the word or the 2009 measure he pushed through Congress . Might as well talk about its successes and shortcomings while trying to help out-of-work Americans , as opposed to being forced to do so in the general election , where such talk will be interpreted as simply trying to help himself . Besides , the truth is the administration 's projections were overly optimistic and failed to meet the president 's own mark of keeping the unemployment rate under 8 % . Not to mention by its very spending structure , the impact of the stimulus package was not even designed to be felt by the majority of Americans quickly , which may have been wise fiscally but not so politically . However , even with all of that , for anyone to characterize the stimulus package as a complete failure means he or she either had no idea just how bad the country 's economy was or they 're just parroting partisan talking points . ( Between May 1999 and May 2009 , private-sector jobs increased by just 1.1 % , the lowest 10-year period since the Depression . ) And I ca n't help but notice how the chatty Republicans ' tongues are tied when it comes to mentioning the 750,000 jobs that were lost on average in the first three months of 2009 , during which the stimulus took effect and how that number declined to 35,000 by the beginning of 2010 ? And am I the only one who finds it strange that Republican leadership wants to deem the stimulus a failure but fails to mention the studies performed by economists across the political spectrum that credit the stimulus for staving off a depression . And then there 's front-runner Perry calling the president 's stimulus package a failure during Monday 's debate while not mentioning how he used $ 6 billion from the first `` failed '' stimulus package to balance his state 's budget . Not sure what they call that in Texas , but in the Midwest we call that hypocrisy . Maybe I 'm just being silly for letting the facts get in the way of a good campaign slogan . Perhaps I 'm a bit naive to think the GOP should actually point out the stimulus pros with the cons in hopes of finding a more perfect solution to the country 's economic woes . In any case , it seems Obama 's strategy of trying to pass a jobs stimulus package without saying the word `` stimulus '' just makes talking about the bill more difficult than it has to be . And if he continues to let undecided voters believe the first stimulus package was unsuccessful , what 's their motivation for getting behind him and pressuring their representatives to pass the second ? Or even vote for him ? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson .
LZ Granderson : President Obama proposes jobs bill but avoids word `` stimulus '' Republicans are attacking it as another stimulus , Granderson says . Obama might as well call it what it is -- and defend it , he says . Granderson : The president has been criticized for not doing enough to spur the economy in his first term.