Even if we agree that Iraq is a giant blunder, what ever happened to "it's the economy, stupid?" We have GDP growth which is still in the 2s, not too shabby after 17 interest rate hikes. We have 4.4% unemployment and no, that figure doesn't exclude people whose benefits have run out. Inflation remains beaten. Even oil and other commodity prices, which were up mostly because of rising Asian demand but partly because of the weak dollar, have come back down.
Bush '41 had remarkable success in Iraq but we tossed him out on his ear because of a temporary blip in the middle of what has been basically a 25-year bull run for the US economy.
I know the two are related - when Bush leaves office, $1TN of the debt will arguably be attributable to Iraq. So far the impact to the economy appears to be all of 25 bps on the long bond. Out of 300MM people you can always find someone who is suffering but the national economy is in fine shape.
Is it or isn't it "the economy, stupid?"
2007-01-29
07:29:51
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3 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
in
Politics & Government
➔ Politics