Economy

A funny thing happened on the way to finding yet another year of media emphasis on the use of "holiday" vs. "Christmas" in describing the shopping season. Google News searches conducted this morning at about 7:30 ET on "Christmas shopping season" and "holiday shopping season" came back with the highest percentage of "Christmas" results I've seen in the six years I've been doing these searches…

Did you know that the "big new tax law" signed by President Obama yesterday "will save taxpayers, on average, about $3,000 next year," and that it will have "tax breaks for being married, having children, paying for child care, going to college or investing in securities"? Don't spend that extra $3,000 yet, because it mostly won't be there. With the only major exception being the 2-point cut…

Leave it to the Associated Press, with the assistance of the "magic" of seasonal adjustments, to make the November housing market appear as if it was a bit better than the two months that preceded it. It wasn't. Thursday, the wire service grabbed the single crumb that was available, namely the Census Bureau's report earlier that day that annualized, seasonally adjusted housing starts had…

For all of the bluster and glory, for all of the pomp and circumstance and yes, for all of the anticipated hope and the promised change, the whirlwind of hype and expectation surrounding the President a mere two years earlier has virtually dissolved, and Barack Obama has set a course that will leave his legacy as no more than a footnote in American Presidential history.

With a huge bipartisan majority, the House passed Obama's tax compromise plan Thursday evening 277 to 148.  139 Democrats voted for the measure with only 36 Republicans voting against it. As a result, Charles Krauthammer said in the Washington Post Friday the GOP made a huge mistake supporting this plan, and that this victory by the President clears the way for his reelection:

The morning after a contentious vote in which over 100 House Democrats revolted against the Democratic president's proposed tax package, NBC congressional correspondent Kelly O'Donnell chose to frame the debate as a resounding victory for the White House. Appearing on MSNBC's "Daily Rundown" today, O'Donnell was only willing to admit "some" Democratic opposition to the extension of current…

As one of the liberal media members that have expressed feeling betrayed by the President's recent tax compromise proposal, Ed Schultz on Wednesday said Barack Obama did a better job of selling the Bush tax cuts than George W. Bush ever did. So dismayed by today's 81 to 19 Senate vote in favor of the measure was the host of MSNBC's "The Ed Show" that he asked Nation magazine editor Katrina…

For Chrystia Freeland, the thought of only taxing wealthy estates 35 percent is "destructive to the fabric of America." The Reuters global editor-at-large went on a ear-piercing tear this afternoon on MSNBC's "Dylan Ratigan Show," stoking the flames of class warfare. "[The wealthy] were just born–it's the lucky sperm club, right?" screeched Freeland. "I don't think American wealth should be…

Liberal media members opposed to President Obama's tax cut compromise plan have been making the case that it's hypocritical of the Tea Party not to be universally against the measure given its impact on the deficit. After Ed Schultz and Bill Press not surprisingly took this view on Monday's "Ed Show," Michael Medved gave them both a much-needed education on the subject (video follows with…

Comparing the current tax cut compromise with Barack Obama's stimulus plan of 2009, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough labeled the tax cuts a "steaming pile of garbage" on his December 13 show. Complaining that the compromise will add another $900 billion to the deficit, Scarborough compared it to the stimulus plan that cost a similar amount in the name of "stimulating" the economy. "This is a…

Some refreshing frankness from Chuck Todd today.  Commenting on the MSM hoopla about Bill Clinton's recent White House press room solo, NBC's political director and chief White House correspondent acknowledged that there are "a lot of Clinton Kool-Aid drinkers" in the media. Chris Matthews, who had played a couple Clinton clips and gushed over his brilliance, protested that Todd was…

The network morning shows on Saturday thrilled over Bill Clinton's impromptu return to the White House. Commenting on the ex-President and Barack Obama's appearance on Friday to promote the tax bill compromise, Good Morning America's Dan Harris raved, "That was an awesome bit of political theater. An amazing atmosphere in the room, I have to imagine." Reporter David Kerley saw Clinton's Q…

How did the nation ever survive without the government telling its schools what foods they should serve? This is one of many questions the Associated Press's Mary Clare Jalonick did not explore in her brief de facto press release this morning trumpeting the wonders of the "nutrition bill" President Obama is signing into law these days (presented in full for fair use and discussion purposes):

Somewhere, George Bush is laughing . . . That was the image in Joe Scarborough's mind this morning.  The Morning Joe host repeatedly made the point that whereas Dems continue to control the White House and massive congressional majorities, they now are looking at the Bush tax cuts, which for years they vilified, as their last best hope. When it comes to Republican and Dem support for…