Last month, CNN reported that the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis measured a decrease in the rate of growth of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to the tune of 0.1 percent. But relax, they insisted, it was merely due to the “winter weather effect.”
Fast forward to today and the Bureau’s downward revision of GDP growth. The feds now tell us the economy contracted one percent in the first quarter. Yes, this is “the first downturn since 2011," CNNMoney noted but, hey, “it’s not a big deal,” according to the network’s dismissive headline.
“A slump was entirely expected,” CNNMoney’s Annalyn Kurtz noted, as “colder than usual weather stunted retail sales, international trade and the housing market.” Apparently the weather is entirely to blame for shrinking US opportunity, and everyone knows the president can’t control the weather. He certainly has proven ineffective at slowing the rise of the oceans as promised in a June 2008 speech celebrating Obama’s having cinched the Democratic nomination.
NewsBusters can only imagine the comparable article title that would accompany this news were there a Republican president. The insistence that “it’s not a big deal” serves as a “nothing to see here” spin when the president suffers low approval ratings and is dogged by numerous scandals months prior to a crucial midterm election.
NBC blames the downturn on "Old Man Winter"
Blame Old Man Winter: economy contracts for first time in three years http://t.co/xmKrqEm1s6 pic.twitter.com/zahLsLDW4W
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 29, 2014
