The economy (search) is expanding at its fastest rate since 1984, according to data out today. This, of course, great news for the Bush administration. And the Democratic response is the growth is "jobless recovery (search)."
But there's no question a vibrant economy will help any incumbent president. So Mr. Bush has to be happy. And we assume anyone unemployed would vote against him, but it is consumer confidence that swings elections.
Talking Points believes the economy will continue to grow this year, as the Bush administration uses its power to keep interest rates low and energy prices under control. So a major issue may be taken away from the Democrats, who now have to run on the situation in Iraq.
Usually the Democrats can run on entitlements, but President Bush is a huge spender. So that issue is off the table as well. Once again, it will come down to Iraq. If that situation stabilizes, Mr. Bush will win the election. If it degenerates further, he'll have a struggle.
The New Hampshire primary is just three months away, yet no Democrat has broken out of the pack. In fact, a Quinnipiac poll says Hillary Clinton is by far the most popular choice to replace Mr. Bush. And she's not even running yet.
Finally, it's interesting to see how the anti-tax cut people are handling the good economic news. The New York Times, for example, has been hysterical over the Bush tax cuts. And so have some of the Democratic candidates, like Howard Dean.
Now Mr. Bush can say those tax cuts ignited the economy and what can The Times say? You can't prove it one way or the other. But the president can connect the dots since he created the dots.
All in all, President Bush must be feeling a bit of relief as he strolls around the White House. And if you listen closely, you can hear some gnashing of teeth in the Democratic precincts.
And that's The Memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
The results of our poll on billoreilly.com: The question was: If the CBS miniseries about former President Reagan treats him unfairly, will you boycott CBS and its sponsors?
More than 30,000 people came on in the vote. Ninety-two percent say, yes, they will boycott CBS. Only 8 percent say no. That movie is set to run in mid-November. We'll continue to follow the story for you.
Also on billoreilly.com, we've got a little contest going. You can win a trip to New York City, airfare, two nights in a nice hotel, and backstage visits to the radio and TV Factors. Wow! You might even get to see me throw a tantrum or something. That would be ridiculous but not unheard of.
And the best part of this contest -- it's free. Just register on billoreilly.com. We appreciate everybody coming in to the poll.
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