Bush Boom Pffffffft

Well, here's a rosy economic scenario:

The U.S. economic outlook dimmed on Tuesday after reports said business productivity grew more slowly in the third quarter than first estimated, labor costs rose and other indicators signaled softening activity.

Chain store sales fell in the crucial shopping period after Thanksgiving, planned job cuts climbed during November and a survey of consumer confidence waned in possible pointers that the economy tempered its pace in the final months of the year.

Outstanding U.S. consumer credit swelled to $2.093 trillion in October, the Federal Reserve said.

The Labor Department said nonfarm business productivity, or worker output per hour, grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the July-to-September period -- the slowest clip since the fourth quarter of 2002. It also nudged up growth in unit labor costs to a 1.8 percent pace in a potential boost to inflation.

Wall Street had expected an upward revision to productivity growth to a 2.0 percent rate from an originally reported third-quarter pace of 1.9 percent. Productivity in the second quarter grew at a rate of 3.9 percent.

Terrific. I salute our Chimperial Wizards of the Economy. I think there is only one thing for Bush to do, blame Greenspan. I can imagine somebody over at the intersection of Sophistry Street & Sweet-Sweet Derbyshire Ass Avenue bloviating (in a sure winner of a 2005 Weblog Award):

"I cannot be the only one to notice that the mass marketing of Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis all all coincide with the struggle of the American Economy to rebound. One cannot help but notice the correlation between increased Andrea Mitchell humping and the stagnation of the American Economy. It has little to do with the President, and much to do with a preoccupied and aroused Alan Greenspan."

You know, or words to that effect, my bet is it will be Rich Lowry.

Aroused, Alan Greenspan, surely enough to make K-Lo break out the vibrator and read "How to Make Love Like a Youth Pastor".

And it's not getting any better:

"The biggest worry for the economy is that the large number of lower-middle class and middle-class Americans struggling to make it paycheck to paycheck will be short of discretionary income during the holiday shopping season," said John Challenger, the firm's chief executive, in a statement.

A survey of consumer confidence told a similar story, with Investor's Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence reporting that their economic optimism index fell modestly to 54.5 in December after dropping to 55.1 in November. A reading above 50 indicates optimism.

Indeed, U.S. retailers continued to report disappointing sales in the key week after the Thanksgiving Day holiday, which kicks off the Christmas shopping season.

A report by Redbook Research, an independent company, showed sales in December to-date were down 0.8 percent compared with November.