Revving the nation's economic engine represents more than an opportunity for a newly empowered President--it's a political imperative. "Republicans now have the ability to do many of the things they wanted to do," says Mark Kvamme, a partner at Sequoia Capital, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm. "They will have no excuses."

Trouble is, Bush's economists are still debating the details of his 2003 agenda. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill, worried about the impact of a huge stimulus on the deficit, wants to limit the size of any package. Besides, he believes the nation's economic malaise is limited largely to a few sectors, such as tech and telecom. White House economic adviser Lawrence B. Lindsey, who frets that a sluggish stock market could drag the economy down, wants to aid hard-hit investors and consumers. Council of Economic Advisers Chairman R. Glenn Hubbard, meanwhile, thinks p

Still, the U.S. also has an ailing economy. Dr. Bush's prescription will depend on just how sick the patient is. He has two choices: a big stimulus and a bigger stimulus. And the one he picks is likely to have a powerful effect on the economic future of the nation--and his own political future

Business leaders, naturally, say tax relief couldn't come soon enough. A new survey by the Business Roundtable reports that 64% of CEOs expect growth of 2% or less next year. "It may sound self-serving, but cutting the corporate tax would help," says Herbert M. Baum, CEO of Dial Corp. in Scottsdale, Ariz. "It would allow us to keep more people."

In the end, economic conditions in early 2003 will shape the package. If the economy appears to be slowly gaining momentum, Bush will be tempted to offer just a sprinkling of short-term incentives while pushing aggressive, longer-range tax cuts. But if things start unraveling, turning Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's concerns about an economic "soft spot" into a swamp of malaise, the President will push a bigger stimulus plan. Its focus: quick tax relief for individuals and investment incentives for businesses.

One sign of the new political dynamic in Washington: There could be bipartisan backing for business tax breaks despite the bad aftertaste left by this summer's corporate crime wave. Under the rubric of stimulus, oil-and-gas producers are in line for billions in tax goodies to boost domestic production. But the Administration's focus will be to provide companies with more generous breaks for capital investment. Earlier this year, business got faster write-offs for equipment purchased before Sept. 11, 2004. Administration officials are now considering ways to sweeten those incentives. One possibility: making the depreciation rules permanent. Another: making them more generous for a limited time to encourage companies to speed up purchases.

But if grow

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