White House Budget Director Josh Bolten was on The Situation Room today debating poll numbers on the economy with Wolf Blitzer. Bolten provided a great explanation of the economic and polling data and the seeming disconnect between the two (while the economic data show a strong economy, polls indicate that people think the economy is not doing well). Bolten pointed out that if you talk to pollsters, you find that when people are asked about their individual economic situation, people usually say things are the same or better than they were before. Bolten didn’t say it, but I will: This suggests that people are benefiting from the strong economy, but they believe the media when news reports tell them over and over that the economy is weaker than the numbers suggest. (Bolten’s statement is backed up by this CBS News poll from October, which found that 68 percent of respondents thought their economic situation was the same or better compared to a year ago, and 72 percent thought it would be the same or better a year from now.)

This is a must-watch for those of us who have been wondering why the White House isn’t doing a better job of getting the message out that the economy is booming. They need to get Bolten on TV more often.

Video here. Full transcript below the jump.

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