I'm trying to minimize my typing b/c of a wrist injury. I'm astounded, however, that today's Herbert NYT column got no play here today other than a brief mention in the daily columnist roundup. Herbert totally nailed the Dems current predicament in the 1st 3 paras and went on from there:
The Obama administration and Democrats in general are in trouble because they are not urgently and effectively addressing the issue that most Americans want them to: the frightening economic insecurity that has put a chokehold on millions of American families.
The economy shed 36,000 jobs last month, and that was trumpeted in the press as good news. Well, after your house has burned down I suppose it’s good news that the flames may finally be flickering out. But once you realize that it will take 11 million or more new jobs to get us back to where we were when the recession began, you begin to understand that we’re not really making any headway at all.
It’s also widely known by now that the official employment statistics drastically understate the problem. Once we take off the statistical rose-colored glasses, we’re left with the awful reality of millions upon millions of Americans who have lost — or are losing — their jobs, their homes, their small businesses, and their hopes for a brighter future.
Think about this for a second. 36k jobs were lost last month, and that was good news? U-3 stayed @ 9.7% and U-6 rose from 16.5% to 16.8%, and that's acceptable? What, exactly, would be bad economic news?
Again, I'll quote Herbert:
The talk inside the Beltway, that super-incestuous, egomaniacal, reality-free zone, is that President Obama and the Democrats have a messaging or public relations problem. We’re being told — and even worse, Mr. Obama and the Democrats are being told — that their narrative is not getting through. In other words, the wonderfulness of all that they’ve done is somehow not being recognized by the slow-to-catch-on masses.
That’s just silly. People are upset because they are mired in economic distress and are losing faith that their elected representatives are looking out for their best interests. They’ve watched with increasing anger as their government has been hijacked by the economic elite. They know that the big banks that were bailed out by taxpayers can borrow money at an interest rate of near zero while at the same time charging credit-card holders usurious rates of 20 to 30 percent.
They know that the financial fat cats are fighting the creation of a truly independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency. They know that while ordinary Americans are kept out of the corridors of power, the elites with their lobbyists and lawyers and campaign contributions have a voice in every important decision that is made.
Palin's latest hypocrisy, Massa's apparent meltdown, and Charlie Crist's cratering poll # in my state's R-Sen primary will likely not have much effect on the looming potential tsunami that the Dems currently face. Near Depression-level U-3 and U-6 #s, however, will likely have a decisive effect. Adding in cratering home prices, rising foreclosure rates, and the vague understanding that Wall Street continues to profit at Main Street's expense shows the true extent of the problem.
Herbert spoke some self-evident truths today. Those truths will likely matter far more than any others in this cycle. His truths need the widest possible audience here.