Imagine, if you will...

I was just doing an update of an item about the economy and I got to thinking.

President Bush, seeking re-election in November, has touted the strong economic growth rates of the second half of 2003 as vindication for the tax cuts he pushed in early 2003.

"America's economic recovery is now well underway thanks to the President's tax relief," Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said Friday.

So says CNNMoney for January 30. But the deficit is expanding like a weather balloon, two million jobs have disappeared and wages are going nowhere, the most recent Census Bureau figures show poverty is up and median family income is down - and poverty is likely to worsen as poor people are pushed off assistance rolls because states don't have the money to pay for the programs.

George Bush makes me think of a driver who loses control of their car and smashes though a storefront. Shattered glass, pieces of wood and plastic flying everywhere, merchandise run over and ruined, screaming customers and staff diving for cover. The driver screeches to a stop, puts the car in reverse, and starts to back out. When people start shouting "Look at what you've done!" the driver just rolls down the window and says "What are you complaining about? I'm going the right direction now."