Bush and the Economy

President Bush said Wednesday the U.S. economy is thriving and he is doing what it takes to keep it strong.

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"My administration follows a simple philosophy: Our economy prospers when we trust the American people with their own paychecks," Bush said.

  Money.CNN

Apparently, that trust is not a two-way street.

Overall, 23% of Americans say that they approve of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy, 73% disapprove, and 4% are undecided. Among registered voters, 23% approve and 72% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.

  American Research Group

But they must be wrong...there's a headline on the White House web site they must not have seen:

The President's Pro-Growth Policies Are Helping Keep Our Economy Strong, Flexible, And Dynamic

Maybe they should stop reading that liberal rag, The New York Times.

Penned the New York Times, "the sober forecasts reverberated across Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index down by nearly 2 percent, with the Dow dropping more than 200 points. Shares of both Wal-Mart and Home Depot fell around 5 percent.

"Economists said the sluggish performance of the chains — Wal-Mart missed its profit forecast and Home Depot’s earnings dropped — could signal broader troubles in the economy."

Buried in the article was a sobering remark indeed: “Many customers are running out of money at the end of the month,” said H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive of Wal-Mart.

In Los Angeles, economic concerns hit close to home.

Anxious customers of Countrywide Bank jammed its phone lines, branches and website after the nation's largest mortgage lender -- which owns the bank -- announced it was facing problems from a credit meltdown.

  Raw Story

Meltdown.