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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (34699)	7/30/2010 1:33:41 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 103300

Florida, the Canary in the Coal Mine Jul 30 2010, 12:37 PM ET theatlantic.com While Quinnipiac Polling (at least according to some Florida experts) may not be the state's most accurate, nobody doubts the basic premise of its latest survey: two wealthy but deeply flawed outsiders lead in primaries for governor and the U.S. Senate. Rick Scott, a former hospital executive pushed out in a billion-dollar Medicare fraud scandal, would beat State Atty. Gen. Bill McCollum if the GOP gubernatorial contest were held today. In the Democratic Senate primary, Rep. Kendrick Meek, who's been campaigning for a year, is well behind Jeff Greene, a sub-prime hedger who moved to Florida two years ago and announced his candidacy just before the filing deadline May 1. Yes, McCollum and Meek have been outspent--but each has still poured millions into TV ads pointing out his opponent's problems: Scott's management style (two sets of financial records at his old company), Greene's shady associations (Mike Tyson and Heidi Fleiss are personal friends). And yet, as Susan MacManus, longtime professor of political science at the University of South Florida, says, "Voters know how they made their money and don't seem to care." Want to know how intense anti-incumbent sentiment is in the U.S. these days? You could look at the president's approval rating (in the 40s), Congress's (in the 20s), the number of people who think the country's on the wrong track (in the 60s) ... or perhaps you could just look at Florida. MacManus says "the attitude is, I'm really upset, I hate incumbents, I want a new face, I don't care what face." It's true that Scott and Meek have run savvy campaigns against fairly weak establishment candidates; each has campaigned close to his party's base and trumpeted "real world experience." But, as one Democratic consultant told me, "In any other year, with his history, Greene wouldn't have a prayer and neither would Scott." He added that "the White House better watch Florida ... this state is the canary in the coal mine."

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (34699)	7/31/2010 12:11:02 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

US Growth Slows, Underscoring Recovery Concerns By LUCA DI LEO AND DARRELL A. HUGHES Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy slowed in the second quarter and the government said the recession was deeper than earlier believed, adding to concerns over the recovery's strength. The Commerce Department Friday said gross domestic product, or the value of all goods and services produced, rose at an annualized seasonally adjusted rate of 2.4% in April through June. In its first estimate of the economy's benchmark indicator, the government report showed growth was lifted by business investments and exports while consumer spending, a big engine for the U.S. economy, made a smaller contribution to growth. First-quarter growth was revised to 3.7% from an original 2.7% increase, but growth estimates back to the start of 2007 were revised lower. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting second-quarter GDP to rise by 2.5%. U.S. stocks tumbled on the GDP data but retraced those losses after other economic data Friday came in better than expected. The closely watched survey of Chicago area purchasing managers suggested the pace of U.S. business activity accelerated in July and signaled the nation's economy isn't headed to a double-dip recession. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said its Chicago Business Barometer jumped to 62.3 in July from 59.1 in June and 59.7 in May. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires forecast a July reading of 56.0. The manufacturing sector has been leading the economic recovery. The GDP data Friday showed business spending on equipment and software surged again in the second quarter, rising by 21.9% after a 20.4% climb in the first three months of the year. The figures highlight the contrast in the economy between high company profits and a limp job market that's curtailing consumer spending. A separate report, the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, had a final reading for July of 67.8, up from a preliminary reading of 66.5. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the final July index to increase to 67.2. Still, the reading was way down from the final-June mark of 76.0. "The economy has lost some steam during the second quarter," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist who teaches at California State University. "The slowdown in consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the economy, is worrisome. The poor job picture is the Achilles' heel of the economy." Separately, a new Labor Department report Friday also pointed to the weak economy, with U.S. wages and salaries rising just 0.5% in the second quarter, which met analysts' expectations. High unemployment curbed workers' abilities to push for larger pay packages.