Headlines are swamped with news about the debt debate, drowning out some singular bad news for President Obama: The economy is tanking. Even if the debt ceiling is raised, his presidency may be tottering on the verge of a political collapse because the economy is not improving. It’s not just that GDP growth is anemic. It’s going south! I discuss this in greater detail in a blog post over at National Review‘s blog “The Corner” (July 29, 2011, 11:19 am). Poor economic performance sunk Jimmy Carter’s presidency as well as George H.W. Bush’s (Bush I). Realistically, the economy has to turn around significantly by the end of the year. Otherwise, he may be facing an uphill battle in his re-election bid.
My colleague Anthony Randazzo has a more detailed discussion of the implications of the most recent GDP report from the U.S. Department of Commerce in an earlier blog post, and it’s well worth reading.