Back in May he was killed for saying "the private sector is doing fine." Even though that was a defensible comment, he didn't put it in quite the right way-it actually has been the government sector that has been the problem, thanks to the GOP.
At some point though, it becomes unrealistic to deny all the strong signs of improvement we've seen lately that point to much stronger economic growth.
As Greg Sargent says:
"I very much agree with Steve Benen, who gives us the rundown of all the good economic news we’re seeing, and urges the Obama team not to shy away from highlighting it as much as possible. And here’s why:
the Romney/Ryan argument that the economy’s getting worse is now literally unbelievable. All of those folks who were eager recently to delve into the “are we better off than we were four years ago” question might want to take another look at where the economy currently stands.http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/17/14511553-us-housing-starts-to-pick-up-steam?lite
So yes, at this point, to point out that things are clearly getting better is simply the truth, in addition to being a no-brainer politically. As the whole basis of Romney's camapign has been the bad economy the President should make the strong case that while we have more to do we now have the foundation of a recovery firmly in place and while we're not done, we don't want to abort it now.
From Steve Benen himself:
"For all the Romney/Ryan efforts to convince Americans the economy is getting worse, reality stubbornly keeps getting in the way
"Groundbreaking on new homes surged in September to its fastest pace in more than four years, a sign the housing sector's budding recovery is gaining traction and supporting the wider economic recovery. [...]
The U.S. economy has shown signs of faster growth in recent months as the jobless rate has fallen and retail sales data has pointed to stronger consumer spending.
The data showed housing, which was battered by the 2007-09 recession, is increasingly one of the brighter spots in the economy and could add to growth this year for the first time since 2005.
"This morning's report was surprisingly good -- no one saw news this good coming -- and points to an economy that's picking up steam."
"Indeed, keep in mind the economic news we discussed yesterday. The unemployment rate is at its best point in four years; consumer confidence is at its best point in five years; the federal budget deficit is at its best point in four years. Just this week, reports on retail sales, industrial production, and new housing construction showed sharp and unexpected improvements."
"This probably isn't what Republicans wanted to hear."
"To be sure, there's a school of thought that suggests Americans economic impressions were locked in months ago -- there are chunks of the population that likely decided "Obama presidency = bad economy," and will overlook the encouraging new data."
"But for voters who are still paying attention and who consider the economy an important election issue, the Romney/Ryan argument that the economy's getting worse is now literally unbelievable. All of those folks who were eager recently to delve into the "are we better off than we were four years ago" question might want to take another look at where the economy currently stands."
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/17/14511553-us-housing-starts-to-pick-up-steam?lite
It doesn't seem that in general the Americans' views on the economy are set in stone. After all, Romney had about a 6 point edge on the economy all year until the Democratic convention. Since then we've seen the President draw into a tie. Indeed, the recent CBC/Washington Post poll showed the President leading Romney by 5 points on the economy.
The good news is yesterday the President was out talking optimistically about the economy:
"President Obama has at times hesitated to tout the economy's strength too much given high unemployment, but he's sounding increasingly optimistic on the campaign trail. In his first post-debate speech on Wednesday in Iowa, he tied together a slew of positive news in the stock market, jobs market, and housing to make the case that the economy was heading towards a breakthrough."
OBAMA: "Today four years after the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes we're moving forward again. After losing 800,000 jobs a month when I took office, our businesses have now added more than 5 million new jobs over the last 2.5 years. Unemployment has fallen from a peak of 10 percent to 7.8 percent. The stock market has nearly doubled, which means your 401ks have started to recover. Foreclosures are at their lowest point in five years, home values are back on the rise. Manufacturing is coming back to America, our assembly lines are starting to hum again. Look we've got a lot more work to do, but we've got to build on that progress."
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/obama-sounds-optimistic-note-on-jobs-stock-market
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