White House Downgrades Itself

According to a story in the

, the White House has taken the unusual step of downgrading its own economic forecasts. The Republicans are sure to have a field day with this, and the LA Times is certainly aiming a few tidy snarky remarks at the President to kick things off. “Who knows why we should believe the Obama-Biden White House now? They've been so flat-out wrong about the improving economy almost every single one of the 955 days they've been in the White House,” they write. “But now they're saying the economic outlook is going to get worse. Apparently, that's still possible.” It is either a very ballsy or very stupid move by the current administration, to basically admit that things are going to go from bad to worse in an election year, and that there is nothing they can do about it. “Is this some kind of "Princess Bride" trick to make us think that because we haven't believed them when they said things were improving, when they say things are worsening we won't believe them again?” asks the LA Times. “And we'll fall into their Chicago trap of thinking the economy really is getting better and reelect the guy whose economic advisors can't run a taco stand, let alone anything more complex than a lecture hall?” Perhaps. Or perhaps this is Obama saying that things will get worse before they will get better. He certainly needs to have a good look at the unemployment figure, which looks to average 8.8 to 9.1 percent this year and 8.3 to 9 percent next year. That is a lot of people that are going to need help. Of course, Republicans will unfairly call them moochers. The LA Times points out that the only President Franklin Roosevelt won reelection while unemployment was above 7.2 percent, and that was 75 years ago. That record could well be broken next year.