It was Bill Clinton’s campaign chief, James Carville, who said, “It’s the economy, stupid,” and it was one of the smartest things that’s ever come out of a liberal’s mouth. And it’s the mantra Democrats should be reciting to themselves as they devote all of their time, energy, and attention to making ridiculous allegations against President Donald Trump. The aforementioned Clinton survived his own impeachment process, largely because Americans were fat and happy in the late 1990s. We were collectively disgusted by what Slick Willie was up to in the Oval Office, offended by his arrogant lies under oath, and generally sick to death of both him and his wife. And still, a booming economy meant he got a much longer leash than he would have otherwise had.
Now, we can argue about how much of that economy was really Clinton’s doing and how much credit belongs to then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, but that’s beside the point. The buck stops at the White House. The president gets the blame and the credit – unless you’re Barack Obama, in which case the media gives you only praise for eight long years, regardless of what you actually do or don’t do.
The media is locked in a savage war against President Trump, but we’re going to bet that it’s still the economy, stupid. When all is said and done, low gas prices, a skyrocketing Dow Jones, and the addition of millions of jobs will mean much more than whisperings about Vladimir Putin. Americans are enjoying the drama right now, but, you know, we were enjoying the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal back in the day, too. Just because the country is obsessed with a story doesn’t mean they’re ready to throw the government into upheaval. And as long as the economy keeps roaring the way it has been for the last six months, it’s going to be damn hard for Democrats to push their arch enemy out of the White House.
While the Russia story and all of its side-stories sucks all the oxygen out of the room, the American economy is looking brighter than it has in a long, long time. Unemployment numbers haven’t been this low since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. The S&P 500 is up 12% since the day Trump defeated Hillary in a shocking upset. Overall economic growth could reach 2.3% by the end of 2017, a huge improvement over Obama’s final year in office.
These are the numbers that actually matter to American families that crave prosperity. And if they keep climbing, the Democrats are going to be in deep trouble when the next election comes around.
