Fundamentals of the Economy Are Sound -- Really?

During the presidential campaign, Senator John McCain said that the fundamentals of the economy were sound. This sent the media and Obama into orbit. Today and earlier this week, however, President Obama and Christina Romer -- Chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisors -- basically said the same thing. Jake Tapper's Political Punch blog has more details.

Romer, for example said:

"Of course, the fundamentals are sound," Romer said on Meet the Press, "in the sense that the American workers are sound. We have a good capital stock, we have good technology. We know that, temporarily, we're in a mess, right? We have seen huge job loss, we've seen very large falls in GDP. Certainly in the short run, we're in a bad situation."

But Obama beat down McCain as being "out of touch" for making the same comment:

"We just woke up to news of financial disaster, and this morning he said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong," Obama said on September 15 in Grand Junction, Colo. "Sen. McCain - what economy are you talking about? "What’s more fundamental than the ability to find a job that pays the bills and can raise a family? What’s more fundamental than knowing that your life savings is secure, and that you can retire with dignity? What’s more fundamental than knowing that you’ll have a roof over your head at the end of the day?"

And earlier last week, Obama himself said that:

"[I]f we are keeping focused on all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy, 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."

Even Huffington Post, which beat up McCain for saying the fundamentals of the economy were sound last September, has published an article showing the striking similarities between Romer's and McCain's statements. Since the time McCain made his comments, the stock market has plunged, unemployment has soared, foreclosures have climbed to record highs, and GDP is in free fall. But now, the fundamentals of the economy are sound when they were not last Fall. Amazing stuff.

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