Spreading Front-Page Doubts About the Strong Bush Economy
 

     With much of the mainstream media exploiting what it sees as a Bush administration vulnerable on the war and scandal fronts, Wednesday's Times zeroes in on the administration's strong spot: The economy, which continues to chug along even in the face of natural disasters and the Iraq War.

      The Times gives Page One play to an "Economic Memo" from business reporter Vikas Bajaj, "Upbeat Signs Hold Cautions For the Future," that purports to show that the supposedly good economic news may not really be all that good:

     "Gasoline is cheaper than it was before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Consumer confidence jumped last month and new-home sales hit a record. The stock market has been rising. Even the nation's beleaguered factories seem headed for a happy holiday season. By most measures, the economy appears to be doing fine. No, scratch that, it appears to be booming. But as always with the United States economy, it is not quite that simple.

     "For every encouraging sign, there is an explanation. Consumer confidence is bouncing back from what were arguably some of its worst readings in years. Gasoline prices -- the national average is now $2.15, according to the Energy Information Administration -- have fallen because higher prices held down demand and Gulf Coast supplies have been slowly restored.

     "The latest reading on home sales, released yesterday, contradicts most recent measures of housing activity, which generally indicate a slowdown. And, yes, manufacturers' fortunes are on the mend, but few besides airplane makers are celebrating."

     The Times warns consumers who dare to have confidence in the Bush economy -- hold off on that helpful spending: "It all means the economy is likely to end the year with a splash. But before you splurge on a new car, consider this: Many economists do not expect the party to continue, especially if the Federal Reserve continues taking the punchbowl away and raises interest rates. That could further slow the housing market, damp consumer spending and crimp corporate profits."

     But Bajaj's cause for concern seems rather mild: "Indeed, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said yesterday that 2005 growth would most likely settle at 3.6 percent, down from 4.2 percent in 2004. The organization also forecast 2006 growth at 3.5 percent, but other economists think that may be too optimistic."

     Bajaj even "seemingly" spreads doubt with his choice of adverbs: "In another seemingly upbeat report, the Conference Board, a research group supported by business, said consumer confidence jumped 16 percent. Still, it is below the pre-Katrina level. And the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods -- big-ticket items that last more than three years -- jumped 3.4 percent, but most of that increase was concentrated in military and commercial planes."

     NewsBusters has more. Commenting on the doubting tone taken by the Times to describe the strong economy, Mithridate Ombud writes: "The word you're looking for here is begrudgingly."

For the rest of Bajaj, click here.

Cunningham Indictment May Spell "Wider Damage" for GOP
 

     The Times makes hay Wednesday after Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's pled guilty to charges of bribery and tax evasion, suggesting Cunningham's pleas reflect badly on Congressional Republicans as a whole. The text box to the story by John Broder and Carl Hulse reads, "A wounded party is concerned about wider damage to its political prospects."

     "Concerned that the stain of former Representative Randy Cunningham's admission that he took bribes and evaded taxes could damage the party's prospects, President Bush and other Republican leaders issued strong denunciations of Mr. Cunningham's actions on Tuesday."

     As if Republicans couldn't possibly be genuinely outraged over bribery, but are denouncing Cunningham solely out of political concerns.

     Broder and Hulse continue: "Though some Republican officials said Democrats in Congress were equally guilty of questionable behavior, including lobbyist-paid trips and underreporting of campaign contributions, they acknowledged that Republicans, because they control the White House and Congress, are being held to a higher standard by many voters."

     And by the Times as well, judging by the paper's lack of eagerness to investigate prominent Democratic links to scandal-plagued lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

     "The case intensified attention to charges of ethical and legal violations by members of Congress, including such influential leaders as Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican leader in the Senate, and Representative Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who was forced to step down as majority leader after he was indicted in Texas in September. In addition, three of Mr. Cunningham's Republican colleagues in California have drawn scrutiny for possible violations of House ethics rules."

     The Times goes into the nitty-gritty of those other three cases, something the paper rarely has time for when Democrats are in the metaphorical dock.

For more from Broder and Hulse on GOP congressional scandals, click here.

An Anti-McCarthy Rerun on DVD
 

     DVD reviewer Dave Kehr's predictable Joseph McCarthy-bashing take on the new-to-DVD anti-McCarthy documentary, "Point of Order," begins: "Culled from discarded kinescopes of the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954, Emile de Antonio's 1964 documentary, 'Point of Order,' offers both a complement and a contrast to 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' George Clooney's docudrama treatment of the McCarthy era currently in theaters. Where Mr. Clooney's hero is a television newsman, Edward R. Murrow, who pushed back against the smear and scare tactics of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign, Mr. de Antonio's protagonist is, in a way, television itself."

     Kehr: "In this, the first fully televised Congressional hearing, the medium's unmoved, unblinking eye allowed the nation to see -- without commentary from anchormen and special correspondents -- just how far the demagogic senator was willing to go in pursuit of his agenda."

     Kehr is actually late to the anti-McCarthy festivities; Times critic Charles Taylor reviewed "Point of Order" two months ago, with similar McCarthy-bashing: "What do you possibly need to make the case against Joe McCarthy besides Joe McCarthy? As adults, we may disdain the childish belief that evil can be seen in a person's face. Try being adult about it while watching the beady-eyed, beetle-browed McCarthy or his frankly thuggish gunsel, Roy Cohn."

     Kehr also reviews the DVD release of the 1970 politically paranoid dystopian fantasy "Punishment Park" and finds "the desert landscape, the detention without formal charges and the military tribunals give 'Punishment Park' a certain contemporary resonance."

For more of Kehr's critiques, click here.