While the media are pounding home economic fear — some of it very real — there are some good things in the midst of the very bad recession.
Home prices are falling rapidly and mortgage rates are low, about 5 percent, which means people who have some money could buy property at bargain rates. Also, there has never been a better time to buy a car. Deals are outstanding, gas prices are down, and inflation is almost zero.
In addition, very quietly some speculators are buying up cheap stocks hoping to become gazillionaires in five years. It's risky but the upside is huge, as the market demonstrated Tuesday.
But — and this is big — President Obama himself is holding back the recovery, so "Talking Points" has some advice.
First of all, Mr. President, listen to former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, who says you are not focused enough:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK WELCH, FORMER GE CEO: This guy is locked in another world, and he's throwing all these initiatives into this game in the middle of a crisis. Focus on the economy. Focus on the crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could argue all these initiatives are interrelated, energy, health care…
WELCH: Get out of here. They're not related at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Welch is echoing what Wall Street believes, that all this social engineering Barack Obama is promoting has little to do with getting the economy untracked. Until the president understands that Wall Street is not buying into his Western European vision for America, the economy will remain at risk.
Ideology and capitalism are not a good mix. Free markets are tough places, where the strong survive and the weak go under. Big government cannot dictate a vibrant marketplace. It can provide fair regulation, holding financial crooks accountable, but it cannot drive the profit system.
At this point, it doesn't seem like Barack Obama understands that, as his income redistribution policies are wreaking havoc on this country. I can't read his mind, but I can hear words from Obama supporters like FOX News analyst Marc Lamont Hill:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Are you a socialist, an outright socialist?
DR. MARC LAMONT HILL, FOX NEWS ANALYST: No, I believe...
O'REILLY: Would you take my house and give it to somebody else?
HILL: I would never do that, Bill.
O'REILLY: No property?
HILL: I would never do that.
O'REILLY: But when I die, you'd come in for most everything, right?
HILL: I think the people deserve, you know, the fruits of your labor as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
What is quite clear is that President Obama's vast spending on health care, global warming strategies, alternative energy blueprints, educational and labor union infrastructure, and other things liberals love has put additional pressure on a faltering economy. The president needs to pull back from the social engineering — quickly.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
Jay Leno wants to cheer up auto workers in Detroit by giving them a free show:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Like I say, if you're an auto worker and you've been laid off and you haven't just gotten out of the house because there's nothing to do, not that I'm the greatest comic in the world, but it's free. If you don't like it, get your money back, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
The show will be in April at the Auburn Hills Palace. Mr. Leno is a patriot.
On the pinhead front, if you are driving in Romania — and who isn't these days — you might encounter this guy:
Click here to watch the dancing driver in "Pinheads & Patriots"!
Romanian police are investigating 23-year-old Iulian Breazu. At the very least they could charge him with being a pinhead.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox