Reader one:
Jonah,
Please please let the White House try to tell the Middle Class that the economy is doing fine. Salary volatility is at an all time high, fuel costs are soaring, health care costs are increasing, more and more businesses are jettisoning their promised benefits to billions of workers, and winter heating costs are going to shock the entire northeast and midwest.
Sure oil companies are recording record profits and executive compensation continues to ballon for mediocre executives.
Sign me up for more Kool aid or give me some indications that for Joe Six pack things are going well.
Economic growth of 3+% means nothing to him.
And reader 2:
Right on!
You get this quote from the AP story announcing 3.8% growth in the 3rd quarter: “Three-quarters of those surveyed rate the current economy as fair or poor – and they blame Bush, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.” Add to that that Iraq, while not without troubles, is a huge success. Even if the Sunnis voted against the constitution, guess what, they still voted. And while it was not at the 99% rate Saddam won reelection with, this is historic stuff here.
The President has some real communication issues. His supporters and aides need to stop whining about media bias and do something to correct it. Blogs, talk radio and the like are preaching to the choir. Given that he can have a press conference and command national attention at any time, why doesn’t he trumpet his successes as much as he should? Just like Reagan, he needs to take the message straight to the American people. They are smarter than they are given credit. It is really frustrating.
There is more work to do, but the early returns are: The Bush Doctrine is working and while congressional spending is out of control, tax cuts fuel the economy. John Q. Citizen needs to hear these things every day.