Morning Quickie: It's the Economy, Stupid

Yesterday the Bush Administration was tripping over each other to congratulate themselves for the quarterly unemployment numbers; at 4.4 percent, it's a new 5 year low. And they cheered for the 92,000 of new jobs that were created during the quarter.

But if you worked for Ford, GM, AOL, Intel, or any of the hundreds of other companies large and small that laid you off and thousands of your fellow employees, ar you cheering? If you snagged one of the new jobs -- most likely at a pay grade lower than what you left -- is this the news that will make you vote for "Stay the Course?"

As President Bush and company hooray over these numbers, please remember that in 6 short years we've gone a from a budget surplus to a budget deficit of record proportions, borrowing from foreign companies (particularly China) has increased massively, we spend over $40 billion every day in Iraq (money that has no direct return on investment to the US and nothing indirect either), outsourcing of good jobs continues, the housing market is in trouble, and although the stock market cracked 12,ooo, a number of analysts feel its pace is unsustainable.

The unemployment numbers represent a national average. Across the country, what I'll call "grass-roots" unemployment -- the state of your local economy is what will impact your vote. If you're one of the thousands who lined up for 200 jobs at a candy store, or are facing seasonal unemployment, end of the year lay-offs, or a just an uncertain future, you're in the grass-roots economy. And you're more likely to vote for change.