"...people tend to assess the economy through the eyes of the national media."

Housing is up, consumer confidence is up, and people are enthusiastic that the economy is turning around, at least according to the cheerleading media. You can bet that the great news will keep up right up to the election in the hope that people will vote for Obama to continue the good news. It reminded me of how hard the media is working to give a false impression of the economy to steer the election in Obama’s favor. Even Mark Penn, chief adviser to Clinton, acknowledged in his book Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes, that people thought because of the media that the recession and economy prior to Clinton getting elected was worse than it was:

Advertisement

I have found over the years that there is often a huge disconnect between belief about the economy and the true economic state of affairs. Until the statistics are actually published, people tend to assess the economy through the eyes of the national media. In 1992, when Bill Clinton won the presidency based on worries about the economy, the statistics that came out after the election showed that the period leading up to November had actually been a period of record growth. . . . In his 1996 State of the Union speech, President Clinton said we had the best economy in thirty years — a statement that sent a flurry of reporters to check actual statistics rather than popular political movements and sweeping, politically motivated statements. The more people looked at the facts, the more they agreed, and six months later, there was near-unanimity that the economy was in good shape. Had the economy changed? No, what had changed was knowledge about the true facts of the economy.

Advertisement

The media was lying about the economy 20 years ago to favor the Democrat and they’re still doing it. Are people still as gullible? I sure hope not.

Recommended

Trending on PJ Media Videos

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Advertisement
Advertisement