Ok, so this diary won't last 10 minutes, but maybe it will bring some folks back to earth on the Rethugs' big night.
While Sen. "The Fundamentals of the Economy Are Strong" McCain spends the evening alternating between saying "my friends" and "P.O.W.", American pocketbooks are hurting more and more.
When the show's over, folks will be reminded once again that "It's the economy, stupid."
The AP reports today:
Dejected investors sent stocks plunging Thursday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 340 points after retailers and the government added to a mountain of bad economic news and devastated hopes for a late-year recovery.
There is obviously no end in sight to this "mental" recession we're in. The market has lost 15% of its value since January and
"We're seeing nothing but sellers," said Ted Oberhaus, director of equity trading at Lord, Abbett & Co. "In a bear market, you sort of really don't need an excuse to sell."
(snip)
All three indexes moved back into bear market territory, defined as a 20 percent drop from a recent peak. The indexes were at highs, including a record 14,198.09 for the Dow, last October [Today the Dow closed at 11,188.23].
Why? Because almost all indicators are negative. New unemployment applications rose 15,000 over the previous week. And things don't look any better looking ahead as the unemployment picture for August, which will be released soon, is expected to reflect the eighth straight monthly drop and another rise in the unemployment rate.
Housing is still in trouble. Stocks of major builders tumbled again today, and, in the "duh" category:
"You have to have a paycheck to pay that mortgage," said Craig Peckham, market strategist at Jefferies & Co.
The financial markets also continued to fall with stock of Bank of America, Citigroup, and AIG all down between 6 and 7.2%.
And more bad news. Ford, GM, and Toyota all saw sales continue to plummet. Ford had the worst of it, with sales down 26.5% compared with August 2007.
Ford sold 155,172 light vehicles last month, down 3.6 percent from 160,990 in July, which was the industry's worst month for U.S. sales in 16 years.
For auto workers, this is bad news as Ford plans to cut 50,000 vehicles from its plan for the last half of the year.
All this on the heels of last Friday's report that
the government said personal incomes fell last month by the largest amount in nearly three years while consumer spending slowed.
(snip)
[T]he Commerce Department reported that personal incomes fell by 0.7 percent in July...[and] spending fell by 0.4 percent in July. Wall Street has been concerned about Americans' ability to help the economy grow, as high prices for gas and food have strapped many household budgets.
"My biggest concern with the income data is that we're getting off to a weak start to the third quarter," said Robert Dye, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group. "The income numbers are a reminder that the economy is going to look worse before it gets better."
Folks, it doesn't matter what McSame says tonight or what his "lipstick on a pig" VP mocks. The fact is that this economy is in the tank and will be there on Nov. 4.
Claims that "the fundamentals are strong" and that these problems are "psychological" will continue to be the bread-and-butter quotes that the Dems will throw in the Rethugs' faces.
Trust me, no one will remember Rudy mocking community organizers when they are trying to find a job, fill the gas tank, or buy groceries. So take McCain's big night and big week with a grain of salt because at this rate, consumers won't be able to buy a box of Morton's by Election Day. And that, my friends, will defeat the P.O.W. and his beauty queen running mate.