NYT: The Economy and the Blame

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/opinion/the-economy-and-the-blame.html?_r=1

The Economy and the Blame
Published: September 28, 2012


As Mitt Romney sees it, this week’s economic data ought to be bad news for President Obama. The economy slowed to a crawl in the second quarter and the current quarter looks like more of the same. A nascent housing recovery was offset by setbacks in manufacturing. A drop in military spending previewed the pain that is to come if lawmakers don’t find a way to avert even deeper automatic cuts that Republican lawmakers insisted on for 2013.

This is just what Mr. Romney’s campaign strategy was built on — a weak economy that would doom the president. Yet the stock market largely brushed off the grim reports, and opinion polls show Mr. Obama is ahead right now, including in voters’ assessments of the candidates’ ability to deal with economic issues.

The problem with Mr. Romney’s “blame Obama” mantra is that Mr. Obama is not responsible for the deep and protracted recession that predated his administration and is at the root of the persistently high unemployment. Job creation under Mr. Obama’s term far outpaced the job growth following the first recession of George W. Bush’s presidency in 2001. New evidence released this week showed recent employment has been stronger than previously tallied.

snip//

Politicians can control fiscal policies. The challenge is to foster the recovery and then put the budget on a sustainable path. Meeting the first challenge requires a belief that government has a stimulative role to play at times of economic weakness and a willingness to play it, which only Mr. Obama has demonstrated. Meeting the budget challenge requires raising taxes, which Mr. Obama is prepared to do but Mr. Romney is not.

He has assumed voters will reject Mr. Obama because of the weak economy. They may well re-elect him because the economy needs more help.

[abelenkpe]

1. Exactly

You mean republicans "every man for themselves" plan isn't an easy sell during an ongoing global economic crisis?