Bloodless Coup

Grading Bush-onomics: Not Even a Gentleman's C

In the May 15, 2004 issue of the National Journal the publication asked 12 economists to grade the Bush administration in 5 areas of economic policy: short-term fiscal policy, long-term fiscal policy, international economics, regulation and leadership. In some areas (notably short-term fiscal policy on which he received a B+) these economists liked the president. But on long-term fiscal policy the group rates Bush "somewhere between a catastrophe and a calamity". So while at the moment the economy appears to be picking up a bit, in a second Bush term we can look forward to ... well, I don't think I can do better than that "catastrophe and a calamity" line.