Economy Seems to be Lighting Up!

You’d think politicians would be thrilled with the percolating of the economy at last, but at least half of them are not.

by Charlie Leck

So, in the last few days there’s been all kinds of news about an awakening of the American economy. Things seem to be stirring. The U.S. added about 163,000 jobs in July. New home construction appears to be up and the price of houses is finally rising again. There is clear evidence of this here in Minnesota. The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) indicates that closings are up nearly 15 percent over a year ago. On top of all that, the government is reporting a sharp (sharp, mind you) hike in U.S. exports. We are seeing some industrial investment. Though the market is down a few points as I write this, it saw a steep climb earlier this week and the DOW settled in well over the 13,000 mark. The agricultural segment of the economy is sizzling also. Farm income is way up and the individual earnings of farm workers has climbed considerably.

Again, so everyone is pleased, right? Not the Republicans. They’ve gone ballistic about these reports. Can you imagine? They prefer a bad economy so that it is more certain they can beat the president in November.

This is the craziest political time I have seen in all my years; and I think it is starting to catch up with the Republicans. The polls are showing some signs of reaction against the eternal pessimists and it seems as if people are starting to understand the GOP’s wish to have everything go bad just so they (Republicans) can win. Real Clear Politics is a web site I'll visit very frequently between now and November in order to give you a summary of what the polls are saying about this presidential election. You might like to get to know the site as well.

It appears that we’ll hear about Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick today. He is not going to go for the foreign policy expert, as I predicted, but a Republican who joined zestfully in the fight against the American middle class – Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan, a leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. It looks like Romney’s strategy, again, is to cater to the negative and radical Tea Party advocates.

I think this is a good sign for the President. He wasn’t going to get any of the Tea Party or far right votes anyway. The GOP could have seized this moment to makes gains among moderate party members or among women. They chose not to do it.

The GOP has signaled four-square that this election and their campaign is about the economy – the economy, the economy, and the economy stupid!

If the economy continues to show signs of improving this may all work against the Romney campaign.

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