“We tend to talk about the negative. … Things are beginning to turn and I think the American people are going to feel that very soon,” Reid said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show.
Reid’s comments contrast with recent remarks of President Obama, who has repeatedly said the economy will get worse before it gets better.
Reid said, “We’re getting very close to stabilizing the banking industry.” He added that he traveled around the country last week and was impressed with what he saw, noting he was in Dallas to see firsthand what AT&T has invested in broadband technology.
Well now, how can that be, Harry??? The “stimulus” hasn’t even hit. Stock markets are still nose diving. But the banking industry is getting “very close to stabilizing”????
But here it is… ol’ Harry contradicting the doom in gloom of the Delegator-in-Chief.. in today’s The Hill.
Responding to criticism of the stimulus from a few GOP governors, Reid pointed out that many Republican governors from Florida to California backed the stimulus legislation.
Reid added, “We understand the Republicans are betting on failure. We’re betting on success. The stimulus package will help.”
You’ve got to be brain dead to buy his BS… Not a dime of the stimulus has been spent. And none of the promised money has any effect on what was taking place under their noses as they put the fear of God into the nation to pass their $800+ spending bill… sans reading the devil in the details… or “catastrophe” would strike.
Frankly, I’m stunned. I figured they’d give it a bit of time, *then* try to credit their spoiled children spending spree for the turn of events. But nooo… this bozo thinks that, within days of the stimulus being passed… we’re going to believe that stroke of a Presidential pen, indebting generations, has magically reversed the spiral.
Fact is, the real estate world has been yawning and stretching back to life with sales up over the past couple of months, potential home owners pecking around looking for the bargains, and solvent buyers still able to get loans.
In fact, the LEI (leading economic indicators) increased in Jan.
LEADING INDICATORS. Five of the ten indicators that make up the leading economic index increased in January. The positive contributors — beginning with the largest positive contributor — were real money supply*, the interest rate spread, index of consumer expectations, manufacturers’ new orders for nondefense capital goods*, and manufacturers’ new orders for consumer goods and materials*. The negative contributors — beginning with the largest negative contributor — were average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance (inverted), building permits, average weekly manufacturing hours, stock prices, and the index of supplier deliveries (vendor performance).
The leading economic index now stands at 99.5 (2004=100). Based on revised data, this index increased 0.2 percent in December and decreased 0.7 percent in November. During the six-month span through January, the leading economic index decreased 1.9 percent, with three out of ten components advancing (diffusion index, six-month span equals 30 percent).
COINCIDENT INDICATORS. Two of the four indicators that make up the coincident economic index increased in January. The positive contributors to the index — beginning with the larger positive contributor — were personal income less transfer payments* and manufacturing and trade sales*. The negative contributors — beginning with the larger negative contributor — were industrial production and employees on nonagricultural payrolls.
The coincident economic index now stands at 103.3 (2004=100). This index decreased 0.5 percent in December and decreased 0.5 percent in November. During the six-month period through January, the coincident economic index decreased 2.7 percent, with one out of four components advancing (diffusion index, six-month span equals 25 percent).
Tain’t all rosy. No instant cure. But the first positive movements that… if not tamped down by other economic factors, give some good news. 2009 will still be a rough year, but not necessarily a spiral… providing the government stops “helping” in the willy nilly fashion they have chosen.
But ol’ Harry’s not done yet. Just like the “war on terror” phrase had to be banned to protect the hypersensitive, Harry’s got a beef with another word… “nationalization”. From Politico today:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he supports efforts of the federal government to dramatically expand its stake in Citigroup, but wants people to back off from the dramatic rhetoric.
“It’s not nationalization, it’s protecting the taxpayers’ interests,” Reid (D-Nev.) told MSNBC’s Morning Joe program on Monday.
“In the bailout, the TARP, that we made sure the American taxpayer had a way of getting paid back for their investments,” Reid said. “That’s what this is all about and it’s the right way to go.”
The federal government is in talks to take as much as a 40 percent stake in the struggling bank’s common stock, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
A rose by any other name….
The opinion these elected elitists have of the nation’s brain power is nothing short of insulting.
Vietnam era Navy wife, indy/conservative, and an official California escapee now residing as a red speck in the sea of Oregon blue.
You guys will probably take the following as some sort of “in your face” challenge, but it isn’t offered in that spirit. There is simply a disconnect with the “optimism” expressed in various places on this blog that Obama is in the process of alienating the country and what is actually going on. Basically, the so-called erosion in support for Obama’s job performance comes from a relatively small number of otherwise partisan Republicans, who basically decided to kick the tires of the Obama Presidency for a few weeks and give him the benefit of the doubt, and then decided, that, no, we don’t like this guy after all.
So we are back to the same 30% of the country that: (1) supported the Clinton impeachment, (2) gave George W Bush high job approval ratings, (3) think that Sarah Palin would make a great President, (4) think that the Iraq War was a brilliant success and worth every penny of the debt we’ve piled on and human casualties.
Well, you have every right to think this way, but, if you think that this is the road to future conservative success (which, despite what many may think, I’d really like to see — that is, success of true conservatism, which is a concept which I’d like to discuss at some future date) — where was I? Oh yes, if you think that the way to win the hearts and mind of the voters is to embrace the failed political strategies of Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly and Dick Cheney, as opposed to listening closely to the likes of Crist (70% approval rating in Florida, despite “core” GOP grumbling) and Pawlenty, well, you are dooming yourselves to a long time of wandering in the political wilderness.
By the way, I watched Jindal’s speech (and I’m a Jindal admirer) and I watched Obama’s question and answer session today, and there is simply no comparison.
Obama has thought this whole thing out, both economically and politically. He is about 4 moves ahead of his GOP critics. I’m watching what’s going on, and I’m just in awe. Obama is the most skilled politician I’ve ever seen. He’s toying with you guys, and you don’t even see it.
Fortunately, some Republicans do see it. That’s why Crist took his huge gamble in supporting the stimulus and why Pawlenty is being muted and statesmanlike. Mark Sanford is betting his political future on the economy going down into the toilet and staying there. It’s not a gamble for most Republican congressmen with safe seats, nor for Southern Republican Senators, but it’s a huge gamble for most Republicans running for state-wide office. The GOP is finding itself being pushed perilously close to the brink of long-term oblivion. It’s a terrible position to be in when the best shot your political party has is if the USA enters a Great Depression and you find yourself being cheered by what others would consider to be bad news. Sort of similar to Democrats deriving grim satisfaction about bad news in Iraq.
We gotta get away from this s—. As Pogo famously said, “we have met the enemy, and he is us.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE51N0JN20090224
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/us/politics/24poll.html?em
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Larry, what are you talking about? I didn’t discuss eroding approval ratings and alienating the country here. What I brought up is that the economy didn’t need no stinkin’ stimulus to begin a turn around.
Yes, spending is in order. But *wise* spending. The stimulus is laden with unwise spending, but Pelosi/Reid/Obama were determined to shove it down the nation’s throats with little scrutiny because it was … supposedly… an “emergency”. A “catastrophe”. Horse manure.
But of course I don’t see any erosion of approval ratings. Because the lying bastards are up there daily, working on convincing people with BS like this, that they are the economy gods.
That erosion of approval ratings won’t happen until the chicken comes home to roost on their economic damage. Between the wasteful spending in the stimulus… when it finally rolls out… and Obama’s HASP, a dangerous attempt to reinflate the housing bubble, the Democrat truck will have already done a hit and run on average Joe Blow before he “gets” it. Because, as we’ve already seen, the average voter just ain’t that bright….
And it’s a good thing you consider yourself a Democrat liberal, because your idea of conservatism via Crist is pure fantasy.
As for Jindal and Obama… you evidently prefer political flash to policy substance. Also evidenced by your exceptionally rude comment on Palin on another thread. You are exhibiting the superficial characteristics of those who live in California too long.
Larry –
you may be right about the political feasibility of the current Republican platform, which I have my own disagreements with; however, I’m not that interested in whether an idea is popular or not. The stimulus could have 90% support and I’d still argue that it was a bad idea.
I also haven’t seen Obama’s latest Q&A, though I did see his pledge to cut the deficit in half. When you say he’s ‘thought this whole thing out, both economically and politically. He is about 4 moves ahead of his GOP critics.’, I have to say: it’s not the GOP critics he should be worried about, it’s the actual economy. Do you find his pledge to cut the deficit in half credible? I find it ludicrous – but that’s because we have such different opinions about what direction the economy is going in, which is in part because we don’t agree on the actual effects of the stimulus.
Anyway, the post was mainly about Reid and his feeling that things were beginning to turn. That does strike me as a pretty wild claim when you look at the stock market (breaking back down to 1997 lows) and various other economic measures.
bbart, the first indicators of recovery will not be seen in the stock market, but in housing and insurance (both commercial and new construction). NAR (Nat’l Assoc of Realtor) status show a modest turn around.
Hint: “improved affordability” does not mean programs to keep housing prices inflated, i.e. HASP
The other arena that starts showing movement is insurance for construction, commercial ventures. Via some friends in that industry, they are also seeing that start to step up because of the buying opportunities with declining prices. The first things that go into place for these big ventures are insurance/bonds and financing.
The stock market is reactive. Investors are holding back there, and it may be a while before you see anything. And many may be more inclined to reinvest in varying real estate ventures.
See also my link to the LEI’s, updating the post.
Harry Reid and ilk probably all saw this in January… thus the rush to push it thru so that the stimulus became law before the turn around became readily apparent to the public. Insurance and commercial venture plans they may not know about. But housing stats will be something many can identify with. Reid had to start talking about “improvement”.
First off, I despise polls such as this. With only 1,000 people polled, can you honestly extrapolate that to the headline “Most Americans support Obama’s economic plan”.
Washington Post-ABC News Poll
You are right about the skilled politician thing, but it is not his political ability that I have problems with, it is his political ideology. As for toying with us, I think the point is that we DO see it. That’s why we speak out against it.
NAR (Nat’l Assoc of Realtor) status show a modest turn around.
Yes, although in some places like LA a lot of the houses being moved are foreclosure sales. Anyway, sure, the housing market is trying to bounce back – but there is still so much trouble in the pipeline (failing commercial real estate loans, corporate bonds, european banks and so on) that it may get taken down again before it can be much help to other sectors of the economy.
Can we just say that Harry Reid is just dumb, and move on.
Gallup had Obama at 62-63% and falling. Interesting and remarkable because it is EXACTLY (per Gallup) where GWB was at this time in his presidency, but he was climbing.
Larry,
I wouldn’t trust the NYTimes to report anything that is statistically valid, especially with regards to left-leaning politics. Unless they took great pains to ensure that their survey was free from bias, there’s not much value in the survey other than political propaganda. I’ve taken numerous phone surveys, and the majority were designed by someone with an ideological bent – something well within the norm of NYTimes reporting. Not only that, but as ICan… mentioned, a survey of around 1000 (1,112 to be exact) is not very trustworthy. The article states an accuracy of +/- 3 points, and that’s even suspect. Surveys of 1,000 or so respondents are generally no better than +/- 4%, and even that assumes a non-biased survey. It is statistical folly to claim that the survey shows broad support for Obama.
As a moderate and independent voter, I follow blogs that are both conservative and liberal (or progressive), and lately the common thread among most is dissatisfaction with Obama. Particularly strong is the sentiment that true progressives feel – that they have been sold a bag of goods. There’s a lot of complaint of Obama using bait-and-switch tactics, and a lot of people feel like they’ve been pushed under the bus now that they’ve served their purpose (to get Obama elected). Obama’s cabinet picks and other administration assignments have also hit a raw nerve, and even progressives are starting to talk about taking the government back. I feel that blogs give a much better indication of people’s sentiment than polls of questionable veracity, and what I’m seeing does not bode well for Obama.
I have to agree that he is doing everything he can to stay ahead of the GOP, but here again he is losing his progressive base. His recent echo chamber cheerleading squad may make him feel like he’s moving forward, but progressives are not happy with the invitee list.
Obama has a couple things going for him. One, the housing market is attempting to turn itself around as people are taking advantage of bargains. And two, he’s only been in office a month or so. If things turn around and recover substantially over the next 2 1/2 to 3 years, Obama will likely be credited with saving the economy. Otherwise, he’s going to be licking his wounds and wondering what went so terribly wrong.
Jeff V