by Damozel | Meanwhile, John McCain thinks that the "fundamentals of our economy are still strong." (Ben Smith) Huh. Well, that's reassuring, anyway. If McCain thinks it, it must be so, right? As we all know from eight years of Bush, making a false assertion with confidence and sincerity makes it almost indistinguishable from actual truth to an electorate and press too lazy to make any reality checks, at least till reality kicks in.
TPM provides the full quote:
"You know that there's been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall St. And it is -- people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think still -- the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times."
Not that he's saying that things are good right now, mind you. McCain does realize that we're in temporary difficulties, at least, and he's quite prepared to blame Bush (though without naming him). He promises to lead us out of the darkness of this "failure."
"I promise you we will never put America in this position again," McCain said. "This is a failure. We’ve got take every action to build an environment of robust energy supplies, lower inflation, control health care costs, access to international markets, low taxes and reduce burden of government to allow people to move forward toward a future of prosperity. The McCain Palin administration will replace the outdated patchwork quilt of regulatory oversight and bring transparency and accountability to Wall Street, we will bring transparency and accountability and we will reform the regulatory bodies of government." (Ben Smith)
Does "transparency and accountability" mean "regulate"? But why do that, if the "fundamentals," whatever that means, are "still strong," which....then why all the turmoil?
Sam Stein suggests:
John McCain may want to refine his economic message a bit more during this potentially disastrous week for the financial sector...
Yeah, because he sounds even more clueless than ever before. At Talk Left, Big Tent Democrat says:
John McCain has demonstrated that when it comes to politics and governance, he is a clone of George W. Bush. A know nothing blusterer whose political resurgence has been on the back of the Bush/Rove politics of the personal attack and the trivial ("Lipstick on a pig" anyone?). When it comes to actual policies, particularly on the economy, McCain himself has said he is is a know nothing. (TL)
Are things that bad? Economics blog Naked Capitalism considers a WaPo op-ed by Don Luskin, which says in pertinent part:
Things...just aren't that bad. Sure, there are trouble spots in the economy, as the government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and jitters about Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers, amply demonstrate. And unemployment figures are up a bit, too. None of this, however, is cause for depression -- or exaggerated Depression comparisons.
Overall, the pessimists are up against an insurmountable reality: In the last reported quarter, the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.3 percent, adjusted for inflation. That's virtually the same as the 3.4 percent average growth rate since -- yes -- the Great Depression. (WaPo)
The Naked Capitalism post is called "Comic Relief Courtesy Don Luskin."
Luskin blames the negative perception of the economy first and foremost on Obama (no I am not making this up) rather than, say, mounting foreclosures. We are in the midst of the worst one-year decline in household wealth in US history, greater than took place in 1929. But Luskin thinks the citizenry is full of irrational gloomsters.
In the meantime, ordinary people---those at the lower end of the middle class-- don't have to read Washington Post op-eds or listen to McCain to know the score. They already have lost their jobs or their homes or both, and can't afford to buy gas.
And that's what is going to work against him.
Steve Benen mused, "There's being politically tone-deaf, and then there's being this politically tone-deaf. It's almost as if McCain wants to make it easy for Obama to call him out of touch."
And Obama responds accordingly:
Today of all days, John McCain's stubborn insistence that the 'fundamentals of the economy are strong' shows that he is disturbingly out of touch with what's going in the lives of ordinary Americans. Even as his own ads try to convince him that the economy is in crisis, apparently his 26 years in Washington have left him incapable of understanding that the policies he supports have created an historic economic crisis.
Yes. That's got the hallmark on it, all right.
MORE BLOGGER DISCUSSION AT MEMEORANDUM
RECENT RELATED POSTINGS.
Krugman: "Yikes." Imminent Collapse of Our Woefully Under-Regulated Financial System?
Hurricane Ike Leaves Massive Damage Behind in Texas
SEC Charges 2 Wall Street Brokers
Lehman Might Need Bail Out but Might Not Get it
The Plan for Freddie and Fannie; Our Current Dire Staits
More "Fun" with Freddie & Fannie: Did Accounting Games Inflate Freddie's Cushion?
It sounds cynical, but Obama needs to exploit this moment of uncertainty on Wall Street. McCain by his own admission doesn't understand the economy. While I'm worried for my country's financial markets, which admittedly I don't fully understand myself, I'm gleeful that a crisis has arrived for which I'm sure the Republican candidate will have no sensible solution. He may have the disgraced Phil Gramm whispering solutions sub rosa into his ear, but we will all know McCain didn't come up with whatever he says on his own. He will not have a "we are all Lehman Bros. employees now" moment. This is the moment for Obama to have a major policy speech this week, with lots of media attention, and announce a "New Contract" for America, a play on the GOP's Contract for America from the 1990s. Only this will be nothing like that Gingrich-authored set of proposals. If Obama and his advisors seize this moment, this can be something that harkens back to FDR's New Deal. This is his moment to sway those undecided independents. Bush has never more looked like Herbert Hoover than he does today, Red Monday, September 15th.
Posted by: hillcountry | September 15, 2008 at 12:28 PM