RUSH: We’ve got the sound bites coming up. The media is having an orgasm over this 2.5% growth rate. “The economy is back!” All right. In fact, here. Grab sound bite four. This is Stephanopoulos. This is last night, ABC’s World News Tonight.
STEPHANOPOULOS: (giddy) All day today they were hard to miss, perhaps because we hope for them so much, signs of life in our economy! Starting with the stock market, on a tear of 340 points today! October is now on track to be the single best month in 25 years — 25 years! We learned today that the American economy grew faster than expected over the summer, not roaring yet but a growth spurt that see has tamped down fears of a second recession!
RUSH: Oh, yeah, 2.5%! They’re excited as hell. “That means it’s okay for Obama!” It means nothing of the sort. Obama’s not trending upward. Don’t believe anybody who tells you he is. But do believe this. Stock market, 340 points? The stock market is way ahead. People with skin in the game are way ahead. The stock market is already reacting to the very real possibility Obama will not win a second term. That’s why the market is up, and we will be back.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: A story by James Pethokoukis. We cite James Pethokoukis often. Last I knew he was blogging and posting at Reuters and he’s been a number of other places. Now, the Drive-Bys are excited. You just heard Stephanopoulos barely able to contain himself in his underwear. Going on and on and on, oh, the economy, oh, my God, 340 points, Wall Street, wow, best month in 25 years, 25 years, Stephanopoulos said. Hopping up and down in his little anchor chair. And we learned today the American economy grew faster than expected over the summer. Ah, ah, ah, ah. James Pethokoukis, “The Obama Boom?” Disposable income adjusted for inflation fell 0.1% in September after being down minus 0.3% in July and minus 0.4% in August.
“Disposable income,” meaning that’s most people’s reality (How much money do you have to spend after you’ve paid the bills?) and it’s not increasing. So they can sit out there and lie to themselves and fool themselves all day long with a 2.5% growth rate, and they can tell themselves the stock market is booming. Since when did they care about that anyway? I mean, they’re organized against Wall Street! The very people who are pushing the Occupy Wall Street protesters, the very people hoping for a Kent State moment — the very people hoping for violence, the very people hoping that some hell breaks loose down there! Stephanopoulos and the left are now talking to us about the stock market being up 340 points and how great that is?
Oh, wait! Maybe they’re being all enthusiastic about it to tick off the Occupy Wall Street protesters so they’ll start blowing up bank buildings like they were doing in the sixties. But I talked to some people whose life is the market, and there’s a (I wouldn’t call it “conventional wisdom) popular opinion that the market is actually reacting to long-term view that Obama’s not gonna be reelected and that the Democrats are gonna lose the Senate. I think both those things are entirely possible. I absolutely do. I’ll take it. I just wish for a stronger conservative leadership on Capitol Hill, but regardless. Folks, you’re gonna need a really tough backbone from now on (the next 12 months, 13 months) because any news like what we had, this 2.5% growth rate?
“We’re back!” I’m gonna tell you what it’s gonna be: “See? It was worse than we knew when Obama was inaugurated, and it’s taking longer for his policies to work than anybody knew — and they’re finally starting to work! Look at it all now: Stock market going through it roof, GDP up 2.5%. It took longer than any of us knew, but we can’t afford start change horses now! We can’t change horses in the middle of the stream.” You’re gonna see Obama approval numbers start inching up, and you might see unemployment come down. I’m still waiting for the government to report a below 9% unemployment figure, and if that happens — and even if the below 9% number is 8.9%, forget the .9. It will be the eight that they focus on. They can’t wait for it. They’re setting it up. But they are all lying to themselves, or better stated, they are fooling themselves. Here’s another example. On last night’s ABC’s World News Tonight, they have a reporter there, a correspondent by the name of Dan Harris. Here is a portion of his report about the economy…
HARRIS: (excited) The American economy grew at a 2.5% rate from July to September! (rollercoaster sound-effect) Before today, the American economy was on an unsettling roller coaster ride! But today the rollercoaster appeared to be heading back uphill! So we’re not gonna solve the massive unemployment problem right now, but we are heading in the right direction!
MAN: We are absolutely heading in the right direction!
HARRIS: So why are economists optimistic about jobs? Because as consumer spending picks up, companies have to hire more people to meet that demand, and that creates a virtuous cycle of more employment and more spending and more employment and more spending —
RUSH: Wait, wait, wait, wait!
HARRIS: — and they say we could be back —
RUSH: Wait, wait, wait!
HARRIS: — COULD be back — at normal levels of unemployment in three to four years.
RUSH: Oh, really? You see how this is now starting to manifest itself? But note: Yeah, yeah, this is the ABC reporter. So why are economists optimistic about jobs? “Well, because as consumer spending picks up…” Where’s that happened? I didn’t think so. “As consumer spending picks up, companies have to hire more people to meet that demand, and that creates a virtuous cycle: More employment and more spending and more employment and more spending…” You mean this all happens in the private sector? You mean this is not happening because of stimulus? This is not happening because of Obamanomics?
This is happening because what’s going on in the private sector? Does this guy realize how he’s just screwed up royally? Even if none of it’s true, “They say we could be back at normal levels of unemployment in three to four years.” Folks, we’re gonna have to have job creation at 150,000 a month for four years just to get down to eight or seven percent unemployment! We’re nowhere near getting back down to the 4.7 or 5% that we had just three years ago before Obama assumed office. (interruption) That’s a good point. How many times is this now that we’ve “turned the corner”? How many times is this that we’re finally “back from the brink”? About 20 times?
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here’s F. Chuck Todd on The Daily Rundown today on MSNBC on… Well, wait a minute. Oh, he had a guest from CNBC on, Andrew Ross Sorkin, and F. Chuck, he’s all excited, too, about the economy, what it might mean.
TODD: (giddy) We’re gonna have to best October in decades! Does that mean anything for the US economy?
SORKIN: Well, the good news is it means that we’re not going into near Lehman-like moment, and I think the market clearly surged yesterday off of this European deal. However today we’re having a little bit of a hangover. Uh, markets opening up, uh… Well, it’s almost flat, a little down, and that’s really a function of the fact that people are now digesting what’s happened in Europe and they’re saying, ‘There might be some questions about how this deal all gets done.” So I think w-w-we’re not out of the woods yet.
RUSH: Damn! Damn it! F. Chuck is unhappy: “Not out of the woods yet.” His question: “We’re gonna have the best October in decades, does that mean anything for the US economy?” No, F. Chuck. They’re all focusing on that stock market being up 340 points. Remember, remember, this is the same bunch that wants all these Wall Street people in jail. The stock market goes up 340 points, what do you think benefits? They’re not thinking so much shareholders. They’re thinking the traders, they’re thinking the bankers, and they’re all excited. They’re so excited, they’re so desirous that the economy popped back so it can make Obama look good, that they’ll shelve for a moment the very idea that they are ticked off that it’s the Wall Street people that are benefiting.
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