By Jim Geraghty
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
President Biden, yesterday: “Exactly four weeks ago today,
I signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, the single most important
legislation passed in [this] Congress to combat inflation and one of the most
significant laws in our nation’s history, in my view . . . Today offers proof
that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright, and the
promise of America is real . . . This bill cut costs for families, helped
reduce inflation at the kitchen table, because that’s what they look at — how
much are their monthly bills and how much do they have to pay out for their
necessities.”
As I find a need to mention more and more frequently,
this administration has many bad habits, but one of the worst is their
inclination to spike the football in victory at any glimpse of good news, only
to be quickly overtaken by bad news. In Biden’s eyes, everything is always
going great. Inflation will be temporary, the Afghan army is well-trained, all
the Americans in Afghanistan will be rescued, the Covid tests will be
plentiful, and “the much-predicted crisis didn’t occur. Packages are moving.
Gifts are being delivered. Shelves are not empty.”
Here’s a selection of headlines from the print edition of
today’s Wall Street Journal:
Page A1: Stocks Sink on Dashed Inflation Hopes
Page A6: Fed Set for More Tightening
Page A6: Inflation Hits Families in the Pantry
Page A6: Where Prices Rose and Fell in August
Page A7: Energy Bills Are Climbing Sharply
Page A7: U.S. Deficit Widened from a Year Earlier
Page A7: U.S. Household Income Stalled Last Year, Census Bureau Says
This is all separate from the potential economic
chaos that a freight-rail strike would bring.
It says something that Biden and his team would choose to
do the political equivalent of an elaborate touchdown dance on a day when the
U.S. was deluged with bad economic news. A combination of blind optimism,
reflexive denial, and a desperate need to convince people that they’re doing a
great job permeates everything this administration does. And the inability or
unwillingness to look at national problems with clear-eyed realism keeps catching
up with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment