Rather than wait for the crucial middle route to be completed (due in 2010), Beijing is drawing water from the Hebei reservoirs as a stopgap.

We propose partial shipment. We can ship whatever is ready to meet your urgent need instead of waiting for the whole lot to get ready.

Yet the government' s recent boost, amounting to just 0.25% of GDP, hardly suggested urgency.

He thinks that savings is a good idea in the long run, but not now.

What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis.