Liberal Columnist: Bush "Lucky" On Economy

Also from Blaster: A liberal throws in the towel on trying to poor-mouth the economy and instead now just decides Bush is "lucky."

When it comes to economic policy, George W. Bush has all the luck. He's like a drunk who wanders across a six-lane highway and somehow never quite gets smushed.

First Bush proposed enormous tax cuts to shore up his conservative credentials in the 2000 primaries. Then, after the first reckless cuts were enacted, along came the perfect after-the-fact justification: terrorism. Suddenly people were terrified about air traffic grinding to a standstill, consumers being too frightened to go shopping and buildings being uninsurable. The economic boost from the tax cuts seemed almost prescient.

Why, one might even speculate that tax-cuts are a generally useful economic move, having numerous benefits!

Nah. Bush just got "lucky" and wound up seeming "almost prescient."

His big gripe is that the markets aren't properly "punishing" Bush-- he really thinks they ought to, and wishes they would. He discounts the possibility that Bush isn't "lucky" in not being so punished, but is, perhaps, actually managing the economy rather prudently (with points docked for overspending) and thus making the US an attractive place for foreign investment.

Nah. Gotta be just "luck." Without liberal-approved economic policies, there's no way for the economy to grow in a stable fashion absent "luck."

He whines:

So thanks to Asian central bankers, cash-rich oil states and testy European voters, Bush has escaped the consequences of his profligacy -- and now, because the economy is growing, the budget deficit is coming down. In the long term, to be sure, Bush has put the federal government on an unsustainable financial glide path, and one day the foreigners will refuse to keep us airborne. But there's no justice in politics. The comedown may not happen on Bush's presidential watch.

Setting him up for his defense of any bad economic news during a future Democratic Presidency: It's still all Bush's fault!

Oh, I missed this: The GDP grew at the healthy rate of 3.4% in the second quarter, according to current estimates, and, as usual, that will probably be adjusted upwards by .3 or .4% in the coming months.

Click on Gene to hear Blaster's "I got a feevah" theme.

posted by Ace at 12:45 PM

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