The first thing GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson said yesterday in the first debate he attended, held in the state with the nation's highest unemployment rate, is that the U.S. economy is strong and will be for the next decade.
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Despite polls showing that two-thirds of Americans believe the nation is in a recession or churning toward one, Mr. Thompson said things look "rosy" for at least 10 years.
"I think there is no reason to believe that we're headed for a recession," Mr. Thompson said in a nationally televised afternoon debate with eight other GOP contenders.
Yesterday's event in Michigan was the eighth GOP presidential debate and Mr. Thompson's debut elicited a jab from former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who referred to Mr. Thompson's recent television role.
"This is a lot like Law and Order, Senator. It has a huge cast. The series seems to go on forever and Fred Thompson shows up at the end," Mr. Romney joked.
Mr. Thompson closed the debate by saying, "I've enjoyed watching the fellows [in previous debates]. I've got to admit it was getting a little boring without me."
Despite his late entry and some campaign-trail gaffes, a nationwide Gallup Poll completed Thursday through Sunday showed Mr. Thompson in second place among Republican contenders with the support of 20 per cent of GOP voters surveyed. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani led with 32 per cent. Arizona Senator John McCain was third at 16 per cent. No other candidate was in double figures, and Mr. Romney's 9 per cent was just two points better than ex-Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, theglobeandmail.com reports.
As Pravda.Ru previously reported the key questions are how the American economy is going to perform and how far the Fed will (or must) go with its rate cuts.
There are some crucial signs that there is a thaw in progress. First, if, as seems likely, the mortgage and CDO portfolios of investment banks are not in such bad shape as feared, credit markets could see a quick turnaround, the evidence of which was already there last week in the easing of LIBOR spreads on Fed Funds.
Second, US stock markets rose for days in a row, suggesting ‘big’ and ‘smart’ money sees value even in these dog days. Also, the results of some investment banks, including the big daddy of them all, Goldman Sachs, were better than expected.
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