by L.B. Woodgate

Created on: November 20, 2010

Republican messaging has affected the American voter's perception of Barack Obama but at what price?

Writer Irwin M. Stelzer for the conservative Weekly Standard tells us there are “reasons to be happy” about the American economy.  I know it’s hard to fathom that a part of the establishment that has attacked Obama and the Democrats for everything they do is actually conceding that perhaps it is working.  Of course there are no literal comments praising Obama.  In fact he makes several statements intended to put the President in a bad light.  But the message is clear that despite actions the administration and their allies in Congress have taken, recovery is in fact occurring in the markets and appears to be generating consumer confidence.

In his article, “Rays of Happiness Cutting Through the Economic Gloom”, Stelzer notes that “The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia – the Philly Fed in investors’ jargon – reports that new manufacturing orders, shipments, and numbers of employed workers rose in October, while mortgage delinquencies and the percent of loans in foreclosure proceedings fell. Nationally, sales at retail shops increased for the fourth consecutive month, and recorded their sharpest gains in seven months. Mid-priced retailers, Macy’s, J.C. Penny, and Kohl’s, report that sales are beating expectations, giving reason to believe that the fears that have kept middle-income shoppers out of the malls are dissipating. New York City’s mid-priced restaurants report that non-rich consumers are once again dining out.”

What makes this so interesting is that though jobs are the primary focus for many Americans, conservatives are focused on market successes.  It’s not that conservatives do not want to see a jobs recovery but their view on how this should be achieved is through policies that benefit the wealthiest, expecting lower income people to benefit from any trickle down effects.  It’s a laissez faire approach which doesn’t allow any government interference in what goes on in the market.  Yet here we have an economy that is clearly recovering, according to a conservative publication, in a time when government bailouts and federal stimulus money and regulations have been active and clearly present.  Can anyone honestly say that what is going on in the markets has not been affected by these government actions?  I really

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