Economy is Improving -- For Who? Where?

• "I don't know what Kerry would do, but I want to get Bush out"

"It's the economy, stupid" has claimed its place in US political history as the strategy that Bill Clinton used in 1992 to dislodge the Republicans from their 12-year command of the White House. That is no accident: The economy tops the list of US voter concerns in any normal election, and even now, amid concerns about Iraq and terrorism, it is solidly in the top two. Opponents of President George W Bush blame him for the roughly 2.2 million jobs they say have been lost since he took office, saying he will be the first president to post a net loss of jobs since the early days of the Great Depression. Bush supporters say the economy has been growing steadily for over a year and that new jobs are now being created. Tell Karen Kosniewski that the economy is recovering and she laughs. "Maybe, but not in Michigan," she says. [more ]