Fundamentals of the Economy are now strong?

[Preacher]

How in the world, when the stock market is close to 4000 points lower,

The unemployment rate has climbed almost 2 PERCENT

And Quarterly (Oct. Nov. Dec.) GDP drops 3.8 PERCENT and a 11.8 percent drop in January

Can Obama talk about "ALL THE FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND ASPECTS OF OUR ECONOMY."

Either he 1. Now admits that McCain was RIGHT back then. . . since we are in much worse shape, yet still have "all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy."

Or 2. He was playing politics, and now is caught in his own words. Again.

What a time for amateur hour.

. . .

After meeting with Paul A. Volcker, one of his top economic advisers, Mr. Obama said, “There are a lot of individual families who are experiencing incredible pain and hardship right now.”
“But if we are keeping focused on all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy,” he added, “all the outstanding companies, workers, all the innovation and dynamism in this economy, then we’re going to get through this. And I’m very confident about that.”
Mr. Obama actually came close to using the same language that helped doom the campaign of his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, who was hammered by Democrats last year for declaring that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Recognizing the danger in appearing too upbeat, however, the president and his advisers were careful to warn that recovery could take a long time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/us...14message.html

[revefsreleets]

Hey, if you were focused solely on the band playing as the Titanic sank, you'd probably think things were pretty hunky-dory too...

Of course you'd have drowned a few minutes later, but let's focus on the POSITIVE aspects of the gutting of our economy and the blatant mishandling of the crisis by the amateurs running the show right now, shall we?

[revefsreleets]

Even the Chinese are worried about us (although they HUGELY contributed to the problem themselves):

http://www.ohio.com/news/world/41247847.html

U.S. debt worries Chinese premier

Country questions safety of its investment in America

By Michael Wines, Keith Bradsher
and Mark Landler
New York Times

Published on Saturday, Mar 14, 2009

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao spoke in unusually blunt terms Friday about the ''safety'' of China's $1 trillion investment in American government debt, the world's largest such holding, and urged the Obama administration to provide assurances that the securities would maintain their value.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of finance ministers and bankers this weekend near London to lay the groundwork for next month's Group of 20 summit, Wen said he was worried about China's holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds and other debt, and that China was watching economic developments in the United States closely.

As the financial crisis has unfolded, China has become increasingly vocal about what it perceives as Washington's mismanagement of the global economy and financial system, joining a chorus of foreign critics of unbridled U.S. capitalism.


On Thursday, for example, France and Germany rebuffed American calls to coordinate a global stimulus package at the G-20 meeting, saying financial regulation should come first.

In January, Wen gave a speech criticizing what he called an ''unsustainable model of development characterized by prolonged low savings and high consumption.'' There was little doubt he was referring to the United States.

Wen sounded similar themes in his remarks Friday, which came in response to questions at a news conference at the end of the Chinese parliament's annual session.

While refraining from direct criticism of the Obama administration's economic policies, he reminded Washington of China's status as its largest creditor. With budget deficits mounting rapidly, the United States needs China if it is to finance all that new debt at low interest rates.

''President Obama and his new government have adopted a series of measures to deal with the financial crisis. We have expectations as to the effects of these measures,'' Wen said. ''We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course, we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.''

He called on the United States to ''maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China's assets.''

What he did not mention was that Chinese investments in the United States helped drive the debt-fueled boom of the last decade, during which China grew increasingly dependent on the American market — a point that was driven home this week when China reported a record 26 percent drop in exports in February.

He stopped short of any threat to reduce purchases of American bonds, much less sell any of them, underscoring the two countries' mutual dependence.

Investment called safe

Some specialists say China's investment in American debt is now so vast that it would be impossible for Beijing to unload its Treasury securities without flooding the market and driving down their price.

Still, it is rare for any world leader to raise questions about the safety of U.S. Treasuries. Both the White House and Treasury Department issued reassuring statements. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said, ''There's no safer investment in the world than in the United States.''

While economists dismiss the possibility of the United States defaulting on its obligations, they say China could face steep losses in the event of a sharp rise in U.S. interest rates or a plunge in the value of the dollar.

Wen praised China's comparatively healthy economy and said his government would take whatever steps were needed to end the country's slump. He also predicted that the world economy would improve in 2010.

Political tit-for-tat

Many China experts said Wen appeared to be speaking as much to a domestic audience as to the United States.

Other analysts interpreted Wen's comments simply as a sign of irritation that the Obama administration has paid little attention to China in the planning for the G-20 conference. At the last such meeting in November, Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke about the importance of listening to the voices of major developing economies in reforming the international financial system.

''The Chinese are peeved, legitimately, that the Americans have ignored them in the run-up to the G-20,'' said Adam Posen, deputy director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. There may also be a bit of tit-for-tat for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's claim, in written Senate testimony, that China manipulated its currency, keeping it artificially low against the dollar.

Wen's confident performance also underscored the growing financial and geopolitical importance of China, one of the few countries to retain enormous spending power despite slowing growth. It has the world's largest reserves of foreign exchange, estimated at $2 trillion, the product of years of double-digit growth.

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao spoke in unusually blunt terms Friday about the ''safety'' of China's $1 trillion investment in American government debt, the world's largest such holding, and urged the Obama administration to provide assurances that the securities would maintain their value.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of finance ministers and bankers this weekend near London to lay the groundwork for next month's Group of 20 summit, Wen said he was worried about China's holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds and other debt, and that China was watching economic developments in the United States closely.

As the financial crisis has unfolded, China has become increasingly vocal about what it perceives as Washington's mismanagement of the global economy and financial system, joining a chorus of foreign critics of unbridled U.S. capitalism.


On Thursday, for example, France and Germany rebuffed American calls to coordinate a global stimulus package at the G-20 meeting, saying financial regulation should come first.

In January, Wen gave a speech criticizing what he called an ''unsustainable model of development characterized by prolonged low savings and high consumption.'' There was little doubt he was referring to the United States.

Wen sounded similar themes in his remarks Friday, which came in response to questions at a news conference at the end of the Chinese parliament's annual session.

While refraining from direct criticism of the Obama administration's economic policies, he reminded Washington of China's status as its largest creditor. With budget deficits mounting rapidly, the United States needs China if it is to finance all that new debt at low interest rates.

''President Obama and his new government have adopted a series of measures to deal with the financial crisis. We have expectations as to the effects of these measures,'' Wen said. ''We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course, we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.''

He called on the United States to ''maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China's assets.''

What he did not mention was that Chinese investments in the United States helped drive the debt-fueled boom of the last decade, during which China grew increasingly dependent on the American market — a point that was driven home this week when China reported a record 26 percent drop in exports in February.

He stopped short of any threat to reduce purchases of American bonds, much less sell any of them, underscoring the two countries' mutual dependence.

Investment called safe

Some specialists say China's investment in American debt is now so vast that it would be impossible for Beijing to unload its Treasury securities without flooding the market and driving down their price.

Still, it is rare for any world leader to raise questions about the safety of U.S. Treasuries. Both the White House and Treasury Department issued reassuring statements. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said, ''There's no safer investment in the world than in the United States.''

While economists dismiss the possibility of the United States defaulting on its obligations, they say China could face steep losses in the event of a sharp rise in U.S. interest rates or a plunge in the value of the dollar.

Wen praised China's comparatively healthy economy and said his government would take whatever steps were needed to end the country's slump. He also predicted that the world economy would improve in 2010.

Political tit-for-tat

Many China experts said Wen appeared to be speaking as much to a domestic audience as to the United States.

Other analysts interpreted Wen's comments simply as a sign of irritation that the Obama administration has paid little attention to China in the planning for the G-20 conference. At the last such meeting in November, Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke about the importance of listening to the voices of major developing economies in reforming the international financial system.

''The Chinese are peeved, legitimately, that the Americans have ignored them in the run-up to the G-20,'' said Adam Posen, deputy director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. There may also be a bit of tit-for-tat for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's claim, in written Senate testimony, that China manipulated its currency, keeping it artificially low against the dollar.

Wen's confident performance also underscored the growing financial and geopolitical importance of China, one of the few countries to retain enormous spending power despite slowing growth. It has the world's largest reserves of foreign exchange, estimated at $2 trillion, the product of years of double-digit growth.

[MasterOfPuppets]

if these other countries are so worried about our financial status, why don't they try lending a hand with our on going financial burdens in irag and afgahnistan. if just half of our troops troops were replaced with others it would save a few billion a month....

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

if these other countries are so worried about our financial status, why don't they try lending a hand with our on going financial burdens in irag and afgahnistan. if just half of our troops troops were replaced with others it would save a few billion a month....

Good question. The answer, IMO, is because they think it would somehow put them in league with the US. It is "sexy" to oppose the last great superpower- until they need something from us.

Then again, there are a couple countries, like Japan and Germany, that I REALLY don't mind being pacifist. In fact, I hope they stay that way!

[KeiselPower99]

Anyone else worried about the fact that China is one of our biggest political enemies and they own over 1 TRILLION dollars in U.S. bonds???

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by KeiselPower99

Anyone else worried about the fact that China is one of our biggest political enemies and they own over 1 TRILLION dollars in U.S. bonds???

You know what they say. . . borrow a buck and the bank owns you. Borrow a million and you own the bank.

If they have bought a trillion in US bonds, we can devalue the bonds and pull the carpet out from underneath them.

It stabilizes the world just a bit.

[Dino 6 Rings]

Did he really say the economy was fundementally strong?

Really? After 8 months of ripping and attacking McCain for the exact same comment, he comes out and says that?

[KeiselPower99]

Originally Posted by Dino 6 Rings

Did he really say the economy was fundementally strong?

Really? After 8 months of ripping and attacking McCain for the exact same comment, he comes out and says that?

Always remember no matter how right a Republican can be deny it until the last possible second.

[revefsreleets]

Wait, here is what my ultra-liberal East coast (DC) attorney friend had to say about this:

"That's the thing. McCain said it it is fundamentally sound, Obama did not...which is why you had to misquote him"

I read the quote again. It SEVERELY strains credulity to try and interpret Obama's statement as anything BUT saying that the economy is fundamentally strong. But that left can SPIN anything, can't they?