Is the new $8K tax credit useful? Will it do THE JOB it was designed to do?

I'd like to find out what people think...is this federal program a good one, or is it just providing "lip service" to people concerned about the housing market?

Here's an article that appeared on CNN that describes the tax credit:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/13/real_estate/homebuyer_tax_credit_finalized/index.htm

What do you think?