Is it any surprise the national stage lately has been dominated by Octo-mom and the stimulus plan?

Most would argue these two stories share nothing in common. I say they are twins born of the public's newfangled obsession with personal responsibility. Let me explain.

Obama currently faces an economic mess of Biblical proportion, thanks in large part to trickle-down Reaganomics and poor fiscal stewardship going back decades. Obama started work on the stimulus package while he was still on the campaign trail. Once in office, Republican representatives rewarded his work by blocking passage of the bill. Finally, on Feb.17 Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Meanwhile, the Nadya Suleman fiasco has been a Jerry Springer show writ large, and the public her shameless audience. The miracle of eight healthy babies delivered to one woman in California developed into a sordid tale about a jobless woman with six children living with her mother and dreaming of having a brood of babies to assuage her feelings of emptiness. Her octuplets were the result of an in vitro fertilization performed by a fertility doctor many now deem unethical for implanting six embryos rather than the usual two or three. Family bickering ensued, exclusive interviews were sought, and even the California Medical Board got involved by investigating the practices of Dr. Michael Kamrava, aka the Octo-Doc.

What's the connection? A Los Angeles Times article, "Octuplets' birth spawns outrage from public," says it all. We live in a new era of personal responsibility. Case in point: Obama's 2010 budget proposal is titled "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise." In addition to massive systemic flaws in the financial world, the bad decisions of individuals have fueled the economy's spectacular failure.

The economic implications of Suleman's huge family sans income hits a nerve with most Americans. Headlines like "Octuplets could be costly for taxpayers" and "Are you footing the bill for Nadya Suleman's 14 kids?" lay bare our culture's anxiety over the welfare system. Suleman emerges as a selfish drain on taxpayers' money and, in turn, a parasite sucking resources from the rest of the nation's children. In an unlikely twist, Vivid Entertainment offered Suleman more than $1 million a year to spend on health care for her and her fourteen children--if she stars in a pornographic film. Suleman has yet to respond to the request.

While health care is surely on the minds of millions of unemployed and uninsured Americans, it is also a major part of the Suleman fiasco. Arguments reverberate not only about her medical expenses but also about the procedure that enabled Suleman to have octuplets in the first place. In vitro fertilization has come under fire by experts and patients alike. A WebMD article entitled "Octuplets' Birth Sparks Fertility Debate" cited a number of fertility experts and doctors in the field who were shocked at the number of embryos implanted by Suleman's doctor. The California Medical Board launched an investigation into Dr.Kamrava's practices. Meanwhile, both the media and the government--through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act--are calling for better oversight in the medical community.

Suleman's use of welfare to fund her child-rearing threatens to stain Obama's legitimate provisions for welfare reform in the stimulus package. Increases in food stamp allocation and the expansion of the child tax credit, both included in the package created by Obama, are legitimate assistance for needy Americans. Yet Suleman's case is so high profile and sets such a bad example that welfare could easily become the target of mockery as a result, especially in the midst of economic collapse. Many who might have been supporters may no longer want to extend help to an impoverished mother, no matter her need.

And yet many people have responded to this story with concerns for her children, who are the real victims of this freakshow. An organization called Angels in Waiting has offered to provide around-the-clock care for Suleman's fourteen children, but Suleman rejected the help, according to the Boston Herald article "No thanks to gratis care, says Octo mom Nadya Suleman." The bottom line: people are upset at the lack of responsibility coming from high and low. 

It's no wonder Suleman gained 130 pounds when she was pregnant with the octuplets, as she told Ann Curry in her NBC exclusive interview. Perhaps more significant than the eight babies she birthed is the enormous, multi-faceted controversy she has delivered, ripe for public debate.

From E! to the Tonight Show, all eyes have been on the Octo-Mom and Obama in recent days. But as the president concluded in his budget proposal, bringing change to America means ushering in "a new sense of responsibility among Americans from every walk of life."