Not So Bad After All

Q. Who said this about the economy:
"I think ... part of the way to think about it is things could be worse. I mean, we could have seen a lot more bank failures over the last several months."
"We could have seen an even more rapid deterioration of the economy - even a bigger drop in the stock market. So part of what we have to measure against is what didn't happen and not just what has happened."
You'd make a lot of sense if you guessed President George W. Bush or Secretary Paulson.
Q. Who said this about spending and the deficit:
"We're going to have to spend money now to stimulate the economy."
"And we shouldn't worry about the deficit next year or even the year after."
Again, Bush or Paulson or any of those currently in power would sound about right.
But you'd be wrong, wrong, wrong.
But that's understandable.
Because the same man who said these things last night also said just a couple of weeks ago that we were in dire straits; that the economy couldn't get much worse; that it was as bad as the Great Depression and that we needed to get the deficit under control and stop mortgaging our children's futures.
But that's what Barack Obama said before the election.
And what you've just read above is what Obama says now (on 60 Minutes last night) after the election: Don't worry. The economy ain't so bad. It could have been worse. Much worse. We have to spend, spend, spend even if it increases the deficit further.
What a difference a couple of weeks makes!
Hey, this guy's got more quick changes than a runway star.