Couldn’t Help But Notice (021408)
The Associated Press made sure that its story on the yesterday’s good retail sales report had can’t-miss gloom and doom in it:
Retail sales posted a surprising rebound in January following a dismal December, although much of the strength reflected rising gasoline prices. Economists saw the increase as a temporary blip rather than a sustained recovery.
….. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales rose by 0.3 percent last month after having fallen by 0.4 percent in December.
The AP story’s writer threw in a lot more in his or her attempt to ensure that no reader takes anything positive away from the news:
But the positive retail number did little to change the view of economists who are forecasting the economy will fall into a recession in the first half of this year.
….. Given all the troubles facing the economy from a prolonged slump in housing to rising food and energy costs, job losses and turbulent financial markets, analysts said it was not surprising to see lackluster retail sales.
It took until Paragraph 6 for the writer to tell us that expectations were for 0.3% decrease.
Posted in longer form at NewsBusters.org.
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Things are getting ugly inside the Hillary Clinton campaign. I suspect they will get uglier.
This top-of-page Drudge tease is why:
RASMUSSEN National Poll at 11 AM: Obama Takes Double Digit Lead: Obama 49% to Clinton 37%; Obama leads among women 46% to 41%… Developing ….
(Update: Link to article.)
Meanwhile, in Ohio, there’s at least one indication that Clintonian dreams of taking Ohio are just that: dreams.
I don’t think anything like this — 700-1,000 people attending a campaign’s first organizational meeting — has ever happened in Cincinnati. Hillary’s problem is that it was for the campaign of BOOHOO (Barack O-bomba Overseas Hussein “Obambi” Obama), and not hers. There have apparently been similar indications of Obamamania around the state.
Note that the event’s leader was Katina Tsongas, daughter of the late Paul Tsongas, who beat Bill Clinton in the New Hampshire Primary in 1992, only to see his victory swept away in the “Comeback Kid” hype of Bill Clinton’s second-place finish. You don’t think she’s fired up to knock Hillary out?
And now representatives of Latinos, one of Mrs. Clinton’s remaining go-to constituencies, are losing it, and losing it some more (HT Gabriel at Ace’s Place), over the removal of her Latino campaign manager.
This looks more and more like a Chernobyl-like meltdown.
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Toledo’s City Council has, in a resolution, apologized (HT Weasel Zippers via Instapundit) for its mayor’s refusal (previous posts here and here) to allow previously-cleared Marine Reservists to conduct training exercises in the city this past weekend.
Mayor Carty Finkbeiner hasn’t apologized and still defends his decision.
A 0.75% city income tax renewal is on the ballot March 4. The mayor’s actions could affect the fate of that renewal with angry voters.
Who said Democrats can’t be tax cutters?
Update: King’s Right Site has more.
