August is always Barack Obama’s darkest month. Whether it’s a faltering campaign (2007), Paris Hilton comparisons (2008), town hall rebellions (2009), or an inability to stay on message just weeks before a midterm wipeout …
Economy
S&P’s Political Miscalculation
Over at the Curious Capitalist, Steve Gandel offers an approving take on Standard & Poor’s downgrade of U.S. debt. “The ratings agency’s decision on Friday to downgrade the credit rating of the U.S. government to AA+ from AAA — …
Don’t Mess With the Stimulus! It Had All Your Creamed Spinach and More
Oh, Joe, it is on! You can trash-talk me or my family or even my questionable taste in basketball teams. But how dare you take a backhanded swipe at my dearly beloved stimulus? You know, the poor thing has no one to defend it but me. And me again. And yet again. So, its infrastructure spending was too “rushed,” and sent cash to the …
Romney’s Recession Riddle
The political media is having fun with a new Mitt Romney flip-flop, namely that the former Massachusetts governor first said, last week, that Barack Obama’s policies made the great recession worse, then denied having saying said that*, and then repeated the original charge in New Hampshire on Sunday, saying that “the recession is deeper …
Tim Geithner Owns the Economy, Too
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the last remaining principal from President Obama’s original economic team, apparently may step down once the debt ceiling gets sorted out. The obvious point to make about Geithner is that …
Should Obama Defend the Recovery at All?
Stanley Greenberg, the Democratic pollster who helped elect President Bill Clinton, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and Israel’s Ehud Barak, says all of his clients have had the same, sometimes terrible, instinct: “They want to …
In the ArenaViewpoint
Obama Bound
Mike Gerson has a pretty smart column in the Washington Post today about the President’s political dilemma, given the current economic doldrums. Gerson starts with the coincidence of Obama’s visit to a Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, …
What Would Anthony Weiner Tweet About This Worthy Effort to Reduce Waste?
It’s a trivial matter, with no connection whatsoever to the obscene congressional tweets that demand our attention in these troubled times, but President Obama’s widely ridiculed stimulus bill has brought unprecedented transparency and accountability to federal spending, which is why it’s been virtually fraud-free. So now the …
Rick Perry’s Jobs Problem, Part II
Governor Rick Perry’s office called in response to my post on his jobs record last week. His spokesperson, Catherine Frazier, wanted to defend Perry’s business-luring tax credit funds, and I’ll get to that below. But first, some more context on the subject of Texas and job creation, which will be central to the 2012 campaign if …
Bernanke: Sharp Spending Cuts Could Hurt the Economy
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke again on Tuesday, but you didn’t miss much. He still thinks unemployment is way too high, and he still has no plans to do anything about it. His primary message didn’t change since …
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s Long Shadow in Washington
It’s some 250 miles from 2613 Dumbarton Street in a quiet corner of Georgetown to the cell blocks at Riker’s Island in New York City, but the psychic distance is much greater. One of the stately Georgian mansions that provide …
Q&A: The White House Economic Team’s Departing Lefty
Jared Bernstein, the most prominent Manhattan School of Music alumnus on the White House economic team, has left his job as Vice President Biden’s chief economist. He was the most liberal member of the team, so it’s no …
Why John Boehner Needs to Reassure Wall Street
House Speaker John Boehner will address the Economic Club of New York City on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Monday night. Though Boehner has long been an avowed friend of business – he received a 94% Chamber of Commerce rating …