The economic stimulus enacted during President Obama's initial weeks included a down payment on his ambitious education reform agenda. By combining short-term policy with reform, the strategy gained his administration three advantages: a discretionary funding source with little Congressional scrutiny; flexibility in pursuing education reform goals without crowding out other policies on his agenda; and the ability to shape the national reform discussion for more than a year, without being constrained by negotiations over a specific piece of legislation. This article details the strategy and discusses whether the Obama administration's political dexterity can be matched by skill in fashioning institutional arrangements to ensure the long-term sustainability of these reforms. (Contains 10 footnotes.)