FLA: (another must win state for Bush):
White House snow job
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Friday, February 20, 2004
Here's the headline that terrifies the president: "Bush first since Herbert Hoover to end term with fewer jobs."
President Bush fears it because: 1) Jobs are the No. 1 domestic election issue; 2) So far, that headline is becoming true. During his first three years in office, America has lost 2.3 million jobs. But on Feb. 10, the real headlines were much better for President Bush. "White House predicts 2.6 million new jobs in '04," said one. "2.6 million jobs on the way," said another.
The universal reaction was: Great, if true.
But the prediction, from the president's Council of Economic Advisers, was being chuckled at within hours, laughed at within days and, about a week later, reluctantly repudiated by President Bush himself after his Treasury secretary disavowed it. The prediction of 2.6 million new jobs assumed that 217,000 new jobs would be created each month. At latest count, however, the economy has lost jobs in 24 of 37 months under the Bush administration. In January, the economy gained 112,000 jobs.
What happened? How was the Council of Economic Advisers so wrong? The 2.6 million figure gave the administration just enough cover to claim that President Bush wouldn't lose jobs. The problem, as with the president's budget, is that analysts looked into the assumptions and noticed that they were ludicrous. The deficit will be much higher than the president claims, the creation of new jobs much lower. The trial balloon flopped.
This week's headline: "President backs off new jobs forecast." Goodbye, phony numbers. Hello, Herbert Hoover.
palmbeachpost.com |
