We've all seen one of those horrible movies where the American travels abroad to a place where English isn't spoken. The American tries to communicate with a local, who can't understand him, and the tourist reacts by speaking louder. After repeated failed exchanges, the American turns away in frustration, muttering that everyone should speak English.
Speaking the same message over and over, louder each time, seems to be the method of choice for politicians this election year. Despite the data, and there is plenty of it, from groups such as the U.S. Commerce Department, the Federal Reserve Bank, the Conference Board, the Association for Manufacturing Technology, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association, the Precision Metalforming Association and others, Democrats and perennial spoiler Ralph Nader seem intent on continuing to increase their volume that the economy is in the tank.