"It's the economy, stupid."

Remember this famous line from Bill Clinton's campaign team?   I believe it was specifically attributed to James Carville who, along with George Stephanopolis, managed the campaign.

Everyone says the economic situation should determine the outcome of the 2012 election and that it should favor the Republicans.   And it probably would, if they had a better candidate.   They have an almost good one (good from their standpoint).   The problem is that Romney has no core positions, and his stragety presents a paradox to the electorate.

He is trying to sell two contradictory stances:   (1) He says, "I have a plan to fix the economy;  I'm not going to give you the details, but you can trust me because I have been a very successful businessman";  and (2) At the same time, he is the biggest chameleon in the history of presidential races.   So on the one hand, he asks voters to just trust him;  then he proves himself so malleable to the moment -- how can you trust one word he says?

They are really depending on the Republicans' ability to fool the American people into voting against their own best interests, for believing what they're told by FoxNews, Rush Limbaugh, and the false ads that are paid for by an obscene amount of money given by wealthy, right-wing fat cats.

And then for a little something extra, they're trying to manipulate the vote by suppressing the Democratic voters.    Lying and stealing the election -- that's the only way they can win the election.

But here are some good signs for Obama -- about the economy:

1.  Gasoline prices are down.   I saw one sign this morning for $3.29

2.  The final pre-election jobs report this morning was better than expected:  showing 171,000 new jobs in October, when economists had expected 125,000.   The report also revised the prior reports upward by another 84,000 jobs.

3.  Although the unemployment figures for October ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in September, analysts suggest this was because some who had given up looking have returned to the job market -- a positive sign indicating more hope of finding a job.

4.  Housing starts and prices are going up.

5.  Consumer confidence is at the highest in four years.

6.  Consumers are beginning to add to their credit card debt, which means they are buying again.  This will stimulate production, meaning more jobs.

And Nate Silver's number crunching shows a steady upward climb of Obama's chances of winning:   82.7% -- up 2% in the last 24 hours.


Ralph