Milbank: Experts Date (Recession) to Bush; Bush Says It Was Clinton's

[wellst0nev0ter]

The Bush administration, irked that the official arbiter of recessions continues to say the current downturn began on President Bush's watch, has unilaterally changed the official start of the recession to the last months of the Clinton administration.


A new Bush campaign ad released this week proclaims: "January 2001. The challenge: an economy in recession." This backs up the claim often made by Bush and top aides that they "inherited" an economic recession.

The only trouble with this assertion is the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research, which does the official dating of recessions, says the downturn began in March 2001 -- early in Bush's presidency. NBER is examining revised economic statistics to see if the official date should be moved earlier, but spokeswoman Donna Zerwitz said there is "nothing imminent."

LINK

Gawd, Josh Marshall was right. The accurate campaign theme for Bush shoulda been "It ain't MY fault!"

I only wish that the Bushelvics would read their their own damn economic report (especially middle of page 31) which says that monthy GDP reached its peak in February 2001. What kind of recession is it when the GDP is still rising?

</end rant>

on edit: fixed link.
on edit: added page number.

[DeepModem Mom]

1. Big find here -- we Dems need a fast-action truth squad...

working effectively against this kind of thing in the campaign now beginning.

[tom_paine]

16. We do indeed. Kerry, where are you?!?

(inquirirng minds want to know)

[stopbush]

2. There are lies, damned lies...and Republican lies. n/t

[Tim4319]

3. Please tell Sean Hannity!!!!!

Can someone please tell Hannity this? He swears up and down that the Bush administration inherited this recession!

[Robroy]

13. Hannity's...

so full of shit, he even believes there has been a net gain in jobs since bush was installed. His head is so far up Bush's ass you can't tell his eyeballs from his gonads.

[MikeG]

4. Whatever happened to "The Buck Stops Here"?

[rfranklin]

6. That was a Democrat...

and a figure of speech.

It's only applicable to Republicans when it literally involves payoffs and other loot.

[peterh]

15. The WH is a “buck-Free-Zone”….

All bucks are to remain outside the perimeter and any buck caught trying to enter will be subject to loss of serial number and banished to that big black hole, otherwise known as the bush 1 library, where executive order 13233 insures that that hole remains as black and unseen as possible.

[moondust]

19. "The Buck Stops Over There Someplace."

"There, there, behind that tree. Why it's.....Clenis!"

[Creamed Corn]

25. Changed to

"The Bucks Shop Here"

[papau]

5. Whatever happen to MEDIA saying STOP-A LIE - on 6 pm news?

They do not seem to have a problem saying "not quite true" with Dem comments/ads.

but there is no rw media bias - right?

[progressivebydesign]

7. I remember Consumer Confidence plummeted when he took office.

I remember distinctly, that after Bush was sworn in.. the next month consumer confidence dropped, and continued to drop to record low levels.

[Lugnut]

14. Yep!

That's my recollection as well. And it's still dropping.

[Ready4Change]

8. Bush is bad for budget, but...

I fully agree Bush's policies have been distastrous for the budget.

However, I remember during the last months of the Clinton administration there were solid signs that the economy was turning down. The question was, how far would it turn?

So, I don't buy into "the economy was perfect before Bush."

OTOH, I also believe that the Bush administration has taken steps that changed a "pausing for breath" economy into a "gasping for survival" economy.

[Sagan]

9. That is my view as well, pretty much...

My firm belief is that if consumers and businesses had seen a government that wisely used the surplus and continued running surpluses, this would have kept confidence high in the economy.

Chimpy spending and giving away the surplus to his rich buddies helped confidence in the economy take a beating.

[Randomthought]

10. Who the hell cares!

Shrub has been in charge for four years why didn't he fix it?

[young_at_heart]

11. Clinton's fault....Clinton's fault....Clinton's fault

Who was it that said if you spread a rumor or lie three times it automatically becomes the truth?

[pacifictiger]

12. does anyone else remember? I recall

they started this lie about halfway through the 1999 campaign saying the economy was going south and that people needed to elect them because of it because bush was the first president to have an MBA and he would be able to straighten the mess out. The Dems said at the time the economy was fine, but that if enough people believed it was going bad they would stop spending and the repubs just might get what they were projecting. Maybe a bunch of 2000 campaign things need to be pulled out and compared to reality.

[kskiska]

24. I remember it vividly

Both * and Dickie were talking it down, the say way they were running down the military, claiming it lacked "readiness," which was false, as the Pentagon claimed.

[bushisanidiot]

17. AWOL Started Talking Down The Economy On The Campaign Trail

even as President Pussy took office he continued to talk it down.. all the while the DOW was going up.

They wanted a recession for partisan political purposes. AWOL doesn't give a shit about america or tax payers.

[Manix]

18. This is the most incompetent administration in US history.

[Fovea]

20. I clearly remember * talking down the dot com economy.

They were trying to bring California to its knees under Gray Davis.
That was the political arm of the Enron energy gaming scheme, to stick it to the Dems, instead of Wilson, so he could run again.

Somebody should offer Ross Perot immunity against prosecution to tell what he knows.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. I'm One Of Them

April 2001. My models show that is when a statistically significant downturn began. Right about the time that the first tax cut was passed and the bond market overreacted.

Interest rates plummeted on savings and within a month, consumption had dropped 4%. No such rapid change occurred in any single month, up or down, during Clinton.

So, these experts in this report are right on. But, nobody listens to people with the "wrong" opinion. I've had 3 articles published in this regard, but i still hear on the news that we're in recovery from a recession Li'l Georgie inherited. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Maybe now, they'll listen.
The Professor

[wellst0nev0ter]

22. It's Been Said That A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around The World

While the truth is still putting on its shoes.

as we see, the Bushies know this better than anyone else.

[Lisa]

23. ah, but they only listen to scientists who AGREE with their position ...

Professor, they won't even give the time of day to economists, physicists, epidemiologists, or periglacial geomorphologists who won't give them the results they've dictated in advance.