McCain fundamentally stepped in doo-doo

Obama sycophant and devoted reader Mitch makes a good point:  The meltdown of the markets have pushed Sarah Palin off page one -- way off page one -- at least for the moment.

While Biden was all over the morning shows this morning hammering away at "McCain's economy", Sarah was nowhere to be found, mostly because she can't really contribute much to the conversation beyond a few canned quotes.  Of course, having Palin off the front page for a few days might not be a bad thing for Team McCain, either.  I think we all need a break from Sarah.

Bottom line: John McCain may have stepped in some doo-doo yesterday in stating that the fundamentals of the economy remain strong, which the Obama team has jumped on.

McCain is probably technically correct: by all accounts, this is a sector recession -- housing and financial services.  The economy grew up at 3.3% last quarter, which is typically considered robust growth. And unemployment, while it has risen the past eight months, remains at a historically low figure of 6.1%.

But perception is reality.  McCain's "fundamentally strong" comment is probably going to hurt him in the short run -- it's looks slightly discordant with the financial meltdown -- and will dominate the news cycle for the next few days.  Obama may finally have found the opening he needed to talk about the economy.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight tick in the polls over the next few days back to Obama.

Comments

[Mitch]

Right on Nick. This cross section of Wall St/Main St will be the focus for the remainder of election. Iraq war? What Iraq war? Palin can't possibly have a role here and she is now officially marginalized. Add McCain's admission he doesn't know much about economy and boom...a sea-change shift back to Obama takes place.

This race is as fun to watch as my superior fantasy football team.

[AJ]

I saw Biden this morning on CNBC. Good for him for getting up early to make the rounds . But like Mitch, he said a lot without actually saying anything. I wasn't impressed.

The day's still young. Let's see who's smart/bold enough to stick there neck out following Fed annc at 2pm ET. If I were Johnny Mac that's when I'd insert some prep'd comments on the economy.

[Scott]

The events of the last couple of days have brought everyone back down to earth (and maybe a bit under the earth). I'm talking about the hurricane coverage (which was a bit over the top but at least non-partisan) and of course this economic meltdown which can only favor the Democrats. It will be very hard for Sarah Palin to maintain the aura that she has for the last two weeks. The current market event is probably the "excuse" that the media needs to drop the incessant Sarah Palin coverage in favor of a more issues oriented approach. Not to say she won't be a focus, but I think you are right Nick in that the Republicans will be very hesitant to bring her out as a spokesperson on economic affairs...

[Mitch]

AJ, funny

[Sebastian]

Nick,

The 3.3% was the product of an out of character revision. Or simple manipulation of the stats, ala LBJ, or Nixon.. GDP usually follows CPI, with the glaring exception of this instance. Go to the Big Picture, http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/08/are-you-measuri.html for yourself and see. TBP is no home to fuzzy liberals.

This may be a "sector recession," but you misrepresent the term. This isn't the equivalent of a boo-boo, it's a gaping compound fracture. When did the government have to spend so much to bail out rich people and Wall Streeters during the last "sector recession"? "Never" comes to mind.

This is really bad, and for once the secrecy of the Bushies is actually helping. It's probably 40% worse than what we're being allowed to see.

Watch AIG. They may yet be the next Welfare Momma you and I are going to have to bail out.

This isn't going to be a 36-hour story.